Germania Fluggssellschaft (Berlin) on Friday night (February 20), launched a new route from Dรผsseldorf to Tehran. Yesterday (February 22), the airline launched its first flight from Berlin (Schรถnefeld) in the capital city of Iran.
Copyright Photo: Paul Bannwarth/AirlinersGallery.com. Ex-Airberlin Boeing 737-76J D-ABLB (msn 36115) lands at EuroAirport near Basel.
Germania aircraft slide show:ย 
United Airlines (Chicago) will offer two summer seasonal routes from the Houston (Bush Intercontinental) from June 4 through August 17 per Airline Route. This includes Saturday weekly service to Providenciales (Provo) in the Turks and Caicos Islands and twice-weekly weekend service to St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Copyright Photo: Ton Jochems/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 737-724 N16709 (msn 28779) taxies to the runway at Los Angeles International Airport.
United Airlines aircraft slide show (current livery only):
WestJet (Calgary) today announced its fourth quarter and year-end results for 2014, with record adjusted full-year net earnings1 of $317.2 million, or $2.46 per diluted share (all figures in Canadian dollars). This compares with the net earnings of $268.7 million, or $2.03 per diluted share reported in the full-year 2013, up 18 percent and 21 percent, respectively. For the fourth quarter, the airline reported record diluted earnings per share of $0.70, up 35 per cent from $0.52 reported last year. These fourth quarter 2014 results include pre-tax incentive payments of $9.8 million associated with WestJet’s new pilot agreement reached in December 2014 and a pre-tax non-cash loss of $2.5 million related to the previously disclosed sale of 10 of our oldest Boeing 737 aircraft.
This represents WestJet’s 39th consecutive quarter of profitability and based on the trailing twelve months, the airline achieved a return on invested capital of 14.3 per cent, compared with the 13.8 per cent reported in the previous quarter, representing the 10th consecutive quarter in which WestJet exceeded its 12 per cent target.
Notes:
(1)ย Full-year 2014 adjusted net earnings exclude an after-tax non-cash loss of $33.2 million recorded in the third quarter of 2014 associatedย with the previously disclosed sale of 10 of WestJet’s oldest Boeing 737 aircraft. Refer to reconciliations in the accompanying tables for further
information regarding calculations.
Copyright Photo: Brian McDonough/AirlinersGallery.com. WestJet is gradually removing its older Boeing 737-700s. Boeing 737-7CT C-FWSV (msn 32760) arrives at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
WestJet aircraft slide show:
Southwest Airlines (Dallas) hasย announced it will add new destinations with more nonstop flights made possible by acquiring the rights to two additional Love Field gates.
Beginning in April, Southwest will offer daily nonstop flights to nine new cities from Dallas (Love Field), including Memphis, Milwaukee, and Seattle/Tacoma, and will increase the number of nonstop flights to recently introduced destinations added after the October 2014 expiration of the Wright Amendment restrictions on long-haul flying at Love Field.
Details on numbers of flights as well as the full list of the cities and fares will be announced soon. The new flights will be made possible through a long-term sub-lease agreement that will transfer usage of two gates in the newly rebuilt 20-gate facility from United Airlines to Southwest Airlines. Terms of the deal are confidential. The transaction was reviewed and cleared without conditions by the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division. The City of Dallas, the owner and operator of Love Field, also has approved the sublease.
Copyright Photo: Brian McDonough/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 737-790 N560WN (msn 30542) taxies to the runway at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
Southwest Airlines aircraft slide show (current livery):
Southwest Airlines (Dallas) has turned to the McMurdo Group for its Kannad Survival Emergency Locator Transmitters (ELTs) for its Boeing 737s. The McMurdo Group issued this statement:
McMurdo Group, a global leader in end-to-end search and rescue and maritime domain awareness solutions, today announced that its Kannad Survival Emergency Locator Transmitters (ELTs) (below) are being integrated throughout Southwest Airlines’ (Dallas) fleet of 636 Boeing 737 aircraft.
ELTs, which are a key component of passenger and crew safety in the event of an emergency, enable first responders to locate the aircraft as soon as possible and potentially save more lives. Survival ELTs are removable from the aircraft and are stowed to facilitate usage by crew members in emergency situations. The ELTs were provided by McMurdoโs aviation partner, Aviall Services, Inc.
McMurdoโs Kannad ELTs are already used by some of the worldโs largest aircraft and airline brands including Airbus, Boeing, Bombardier, Pilatus, British Airways, United Airlines and China Airlines. The high-performance distress beacons provide the most innovative technology available including pin-point positioning and location data for optimal rescue response time.
In a typical search and rescue scenario an emergency signal from an ELT or distress beacon is relayed via satellite to Mission Control Centers and Rescue Coordination Centers for eventual rescue team deployment. This search and rescue ecosystem (known as COSPAS-SARSAT) has helped to save over 37,000 lives since 1982. McMurdo is the industryโs only provider of this end-to-end search and rescue solution from aviation/maritime/military/personal distress beacons to satellite ground station communications to rescue response solutions.
Copyright Photo: Brian McDonough/AirlinersGalllery.com. Boeing 737-76N N7706A (msn 32661) approaches the runway for landing at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL).
Southwest Airlines aircraft slide show (current livery only):
Transaero Airlines (Moscow) has announced it will start the Moscow (Vnukovo) – Prague route.ย On March 29, 2015 Transaero will launch, for the first time in its history, scheduled services on the Moscow-Prague route.
The daily flights UN 359/360 will be operated from Moscow Vnukovo airport, Terminal A, according to the following schedule (local time):
Departure from Moscow at 12.00, arriving in Prague at 14.00.
Departure from Prague at 15.00, arriving in Moscow at 18.50.
This route will be operated with Boeing 737-700 aircraft.
The company also announced it will launch new flights to India on February 5 with twice-weeklyย Moscow (Vnukovo) โ Delhi service. This new route will be operated with Boeing 767-300 ER aircraft.
Finally, on March 30, 2015, Transaero Airlines will launch for the first time in its history scheduled flights on the Moscow – Komsomolsk-on-Amur route.
The flights UN 2349/2350 will be operated from Moscow Domodedovo airport twice weekly.ย Transaero will increase the flight frequency on this route up to four times per week starting on May 23, 2015.ย Transaero will use on this route Tu-214 aircraft, configured with business and economy class cabins.
Transaero launched its flights to Khabarovsk Krai in July 2007. The airline has carried nearly 1.5 million passenger on the Moscow-Khabarovsk route since the launch of the service.
Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 737-7Q8 EI-EUW (msn 29360) approaches the runway at London (Heathrow).
Transaero Airlines aircraft slide show:
http://airlinersgallery.smugmug.com/Airlines-Europe-3/Airlines-Europe3-QZ/Transaero-Airlines
Europe Airpost (Paris-CDG) is joining the list of airlines operating Boeing 737 aircraft across the Atlantic Ocean. According to Dublin Airport,ย Europe Airpost will operate a new nonstop scheduled summer service between Dublin and Halifax, Novia Scotia this summer. The new route will operate from the beginning of July until mid September.
Europe Airpost, which is the French subsidiary of Dublin-based ASL Aviation Group, has an existing charter operation at Dublin Airport, but the new weekly Halifax service will be its first scheduled service from Dublin. The company has been operating at Dublin Airport since 2010 and is the only charter airline that has an aircraft based year-round in Ireland. Europe Airpostโs new route will operate weekly from Paris Charles de Gaulle to Dublin and then continue to Halifax, Novia Scotia with a Boeing 737-700 aircraft.
The new service will operate weekly from July 9 until September 11 with flights departing Dublin on Thursdays and from Halifax on Fridays. The schedule for the new routes is as follows: Dublin/Halifax Thursday: Departs from Dublin 2:25 p.m. โ Arrives in Halifax 4:45 p.m. Friday: Departs from Halifax 10:15 a.m. โ Arrives in Dublin 8:05 p.m. All times specified are local and subject to government approval. The flights will be operated by a Boeing 737-700, configured in a two-class lay-out, with a capacity of 130 seats: 16 in Premium class and 114 in Economy class.
Copyright Photo: Michael Kelly/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 737-73V F-GZTC (msn 32414) departs from Dublin.
Europe Airpost aircraft slide show:
http://airlinersgallery.smugmug.com/Airlines-Europe-1/Airlines-Europe-1/Europe-Airpost
Southwest Airlines Company (Dallas) today reported its fourth quarter and annual 2014 results:
Record fourth quarter net income, excluding special items1, of $404 million, or $.59 per diluted share, compared with fourth quarter 2013 net income, excluding special items, of $236 million, or $.33 per diluted share. This exceeded the First Call consensus estimate of $.55 per diluted share.
Fourth quarter net income of $190 million, or $.28 per diluted share, which included $214 million (net) of unfavorable special items, compared with net income of $212 million, or $.30 per diluted share, in fourth quarter 2013, which included $24 million (net) of unfavorable special items.
Record annual net income, excluding special items, of $1.4 billion, or $2.01 per diluted share, compared with 2013 net income, excluding special items, of $805 million, or $1.12 per diluted share.
Record annual net income of $1.1 billion, or $1.64 per diluted share, which included $261 million (net) of unfavorable special items, compared with net income of $754 million, or $1.05 per diluted share, in 2013, which included $51 million (net) of unfavorable special items.
Return on invested capital, before taxes and excluding special items (ROIC)1, of 21.2 percent for 2014, as compared with 13.1 percent for 2013.
Gary C. Kelly, Chairman of the Board, President, and Chief Executive Officer, stated, “We are extremely proud to report record annual 2014 net income, excluding special items, of $1.4 billion, or $2.01 per diluted share. Our 2014 total operating revenues were strong, increasing 5.1 percent to a record $18.6 billion. Our 2014 operating cost performance was also solid, with costs declining, year-over-year. Our ROIC for 2014 was 21.2 percent. This remarkable achievement would not have been possible without the hard work, perseverance, and determination of our Southwest People, and I commend them for these exceptional results, which earned them a record $355 million in profitsharing for 2014, up 56 percent from the previous record in 2013. Our strategic plan has come together successfully, and we have realized significant contributions from the AirTran integration, fleet modernization efforts, and the continued growth of our Rapid Rewards program.
“Our balance sheet and liquidity remain strong, with cash and short-term investments of $3.0 billion at the end of 2014. We generated strong free cash flow1 of $1.1 billion in 2014, allowing us to repurchase $955 million of Southwest common stock, pay $139 million to Shareholders in dividends, and reduce debt and capital lease obligations by $261 million, net, during the year.
“We concluded 2014 with record fourth quarter profits, excluding special items, of $404 million, or $.59 per diluted share. Total operating revenues were a fourth quarter record $4.6 billion. On a year-over-year basis, our fourth quarter 2014 revenue per available seat mile increased 2.0 percent, which is outstanding considering the 2.4 percent increase in available seat miles (ASMs); the 2.6 percent increase in stage length; the 2.4 percent increase in seats per trip2 (gauge); and the large percentage of our capacity under development. Customer demand remained strong, resulting in a record fourth quarter 2014 load factor of 82.0 percent, up 1.6 points from fourth quarter 2013. We are pleased with our passenger unit revenue and booking trends thus far in January, considering the continuing impact of increasing ASMs, stage length, and gauge, and the large percentage of our capacity under development. Based on these trends, we currently expect our first quarter 2015 passenger revenues to grow in line with the expected six percent increase in first quarter 2015 ASMs, both on a year-over-year basis.
“Our fourth quarter 2014 unit costs, excluding special items, were down 3.8 percent year-over-year, primarily as a result of significantly lower fuel prices. Our first quarter 2015 cost outlook is also favorable. With the collapse in fuel prices since September 2014, fuel prices have declined nearly 50 percent. Based on our existing fuel derivative contracts and market prices as of January 16, 2015, we estimate our first quarter 2015 economic fuel costs to be approximately $1.90 per gallon, which would result in approximately half a billion dollars in year-over-year fuel cost savings for first quarter alone. Excluding fuel and oil expense, special items, and profitsharing, we currently expect first quarter and full year 2015’s unit costs to decline in the one to two percent range, compared with the same year-ago periods, driven largely by our capacity growth and ongoing fleet modernization initiatives.
“December 28, 2014, marked the sunset of the AirTran brand. Overall, the AirTran acquisition resulted in net pre-tax synergies (excluding acquisition and integration expenses) of approximately $500 million in 2014, exceeding our $400 million target.
“We launched international service on Southwest Airlines to seven destinations in five countries in 2014, which will grow to seven countries with our plans to begin service to San Jose, Costa Rica; Puerto Vallarta, Mexico; and Belize City, Belize, in 2015, pending government approvals. We have been very pleased with the overall performance of our markets under development, most notably Dallas Love Field, New York LaGuardia, and Reagan National.
“Without question, 2014 was a monumental year for Southwest Airlines with many notable achievements. My gratitude goes out to our outstanding Employees for their tremendous efforts and the successful execution of our strategic initiatives, which allowed us to achieve our financial goals and expand our service internationally. As we enter 2015, we are well positioned financially and excited about our growth opportunities ahead. We remain steadfast in our unwavering commitment to preserve our financial strength, provide job security for our Employees, protect our low fare brand, and deliver adequate returns to our Shareholders. We live up to that commitment by offering friendly, reliable, and low cost air travel, and by expanding our network in a sensible manner.”
Read the full report: CLICK HERE
Listen to the conference call at 12:30 EST today to discuss the results: CLICK HERE
Copyright Photo: Raul Sepulveda/AirlinersGallery.com.ย Boeing 737-7H4 N909WN (msn 32458) taxies at San Juan in the new Beats Music – Don’t miss a beat special livery.
Southwest Airlines aircraft slide show (current livery):
Transaero Airlines (Moscow) denied media reports before Christmas that it might have been forced to suspend operations due to the decline in the Russian ruble. Instead the second largest Russian carrier asked the government and state banks for financial help. The airline will now receive a 9 billion ruble ($164 million) credit guarantee according to Travel Weekly. The airline, as part of the deal, promised to freeze ticket prices and will increase operations.
The airline issued this statement:
Transaero Airlines expresses its utmost gratitude to the Government of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation, Transport Ministry of the Russian Federation, the Federal Air Transport Agency and State Corporation “Bank for Development and Foreign Economic Affairs (Vnesheconombank)” for the provided support.
Transaero Airlines expresses its special gratitude to JSC VTB Bank.
The Government has made a decision to support the backbone company providing transport services in the dramatically changing macroeconomic conditions, while the Bank assigns the necessary credit funds.
Transaero, for its part, entirely supports the price freeze principle, and it will not increase airfares on its domestic services in 2015. In addition to this, it will reduce airfares by 5-7% on the domestic routes, which are exclusively served by Transaero Airlines.
In November 2014, taking into consideration the recommendations developed for the airline by the multinational management consulting firm McKinsey & Company, Transaero started to implement a comprehensive set of measures aimed at enhancing its operational efficiency in the changing business environment. It is expected that the key measures will be implemented within three-six months.
In 2015, Transaero Airlines will continue to focus on enhancing the reliability and accessibility of air transport for the Russian residents. The particular attention will be given to the flights to the Southern resorts of the Russian Federation (Transaero will increase its passenger capacity on those routes), as well as to air services to the Russiaโs Far East from Moscow and St Petersburg. The airline will continue to strengthen its cooperation with its long-term partners – the largest Russian travel operators, first of all, on the tourism programmes to the destinations in the South of Russia.
Transaero Airlines expresses its sincere gratitude to all its passengers, as well as partners, banks, leasing companies, airports, fuel companies and suppliers.
Transaero Airlines has been developing, operating and, inter alia, overcoming the challenging times along with its country for 23 years. This term provides the grounds to be certain that Transaero will successfully overcome the difficulties of this stage caused by external factors.
Copyright Photo: Boeing 737-7Q8 EI-ETX (msn 29359) taxies to the runway at London (Heathrow).
Transaero aircraft slide show:
http://airlinersgallery.smugmug.com/Airlines-Europe-3/Airlines-Europe3-QZ/Transaero-Airlines
Germania Fluggesellschaft (Berlin) will start the twice-weekly Dusseldorf – Tehran route on February 20, 2015. In addition, the carrier will launch the twice-weekly Berlin (Schoenefeld) – Tehran route on February 22, 2015. Finally the German airline will commence the weekly Hamburg – Mashad route on February 25, 2015.
Copyright Photo: Ton Jochems/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 737-75B D-AGEN (msn 28100) taxies at Palma de Mallorca.
Germania aircraft slide show:
http://airlinersgallery.smugmug.com/Airlines-Europe-2/Airlines-Europe-2/Germania-Fluggesellschaft
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