Tag Archives: Embraer ERJ 190

Virgin Australia proposes to buy the remaining 40% shares of Tigerair Australia for one dollar

Virgin Australia Holdings Limited (Virgin Australia) (Brisbane) issued this proposal today.

Virgin Australia Holdings Limited (Virgin Australia) today (October 17) announced a transaction which would see Virgin Australia acquire the remaining 40 percent of shares in Tiger Australia Airways Pty Ltd (Tigerair Australia) from Tiger Airways Holdings Limited (Tiger Holdings) for a price of A$1.

The transaction, once completed, will see Virgin Australia secure 100 per cent ownership and full control of Tigerair Australia and brings to a conclusion the joint venture between Virgin Australia and Tiger Holdings which commenced on July 8, 2013.

As part of the proposed acquisition, Virgin Australia will secure the brand rights to fly Tigerair Australia to a number of short-haul international destinations, providing new growth opportunities for the business.

Virgin Australia Chief Executive Officer, John Borghetti said: “This proposed transaction marks an important milestone for Tigerair Australia and forms part of the Virgin Australia Group’s Virgin Vision strategy to 2017.

“Given the ongoing subdued consumer demand in the Australian domestic market, the growth of the Tigerair Australia domestic fleet is likely to be reduced. Under this proposed transaction, we will benefit from the economies of scale and achieve profitability ahead of schedule by the end of 2016, by leveraging the resources of the wider Virgin Australia Group.

“Tiger Holdings and Virgin Australia have worked well together over the past 14 months on building a strong operating platform for Tigerair Australia. The joint venture has strengthened systems and processes, increased aircraft utilisation, established a Brisbane base and leveraged synergies across a range of areas.

“We remain committed to maintaining the airline’s low cost business model and the separate Tigerair brand, ensuring that we can continue to deliver the most competitive pricing in Australian budget travel”, Mr Borghetti said.

The partnership between Virgin Australia and Tiger Holdings will continue into the future through brand licencing and certain services which will continue to be provided by Tiger Holdings direct to Tiger Australia.

The transaction is also subject to conditions precedent, including Foreign Investment Review Board approval, Tiger Holdings shareholder approval and entering into long-form licensing agreements, services agreements and other ancillary transaction documents. It is expected that Virgin Australia will consolidate Tigerair Australia’s financial results going forward as result of the transaction.

Virgin Australia anticipates that completion will occur by the end of 2014 and will keep the market updated on the timing of completion of the transaction.

Copyright Photo: Jacques Guillem Collection/AirlinersGallery.com. Virgin Australia will retain the Tigerair brand but the Airbus A320 fleet clashes with Virgin Australia’s Boeing 737s and the pictured Embraer 190s.

Virgin Australia Aircraft Slide Show:

Tigerair Australia Aircraft Slide Show:

Finnair to offer air-to-rail connection between Helsinki and St. Petersburg with VR trains

Finnair (Helsinki) and Finnish railway operator VR are cooperating to offer combined air-and-rail tickets between St. Petersburg, Russia and international destinations connecting via the Helsinki hub.

Combined air-and-rail tickets will enable passengers flying throughout Finnair’s network in Europe, Asia and North America to connect to and from St. Petersburg on a high-speed Allegro train. Finnair began selling the combined tickets on October 1, 2014, and the first Allegro train (below) connection with AY code will be on December 1, 2014.

The train ride between Helsinki’s Central Railway Station and St. Petersburg’s Finland Station takes 3 hours and 36 minutes. Passport and customs procedures are carried out on board the train while en route, saving customers’ time and allowing for a smooth passenger experience. The ticket also allows stopovers in Helsinki, enabling customers with business in both cities to make a single booking while also giving leisure travellers the opportunity to take time to explore the Finnish capital region.

In other news, Finnair has released this statement:

The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) has awarded Finnair a position on The A List: The CDP Climate Performance Leadership Index 2014, for actions to reduce carbon emissions and mitigate the business risks of climate change.

The index presents 187 listed companies identified as demonstrating a superior approach to climate change mitigation. The A List is compiled by CDP, an NGO that provides the only global environmental reporting system at the request of 767 investors who represent some $92 trillion (US) in assets, or more than a third of the world’s invested capital.

Information provided by nearly 2,000 listed companies has been independently assessed against CDP’s widely-respected scoring methodology and ranked accordingly. Finnair is the only airline awarded an A grade for its climate performance, earning a position on this global ranking of corporate efforts to mitigate climate change.

“Aviation is an extremely energy- and capital-intensive sector, and our advanced capacity to measure and disclose information relating to this intensity allows us and our shareholders not only to understand Finnair’s climate impact but take steps to actively mitigate it while also controlling costs,” says Finnair CEO Pekka Vauramo. “This recognition from CDP shows that we are determined to proactively meet a commercial and regulatory landscape that is rapidly being transformed by climate change.”

“Global greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise and we face steep financial risk if we do not mitigate them,” says CDP CEO Paul Simpson.

“The business case for action to mitigate climate change has never been stronger or more urgent. For this reason we congratulate those businesses that have achieved a position on The A List: The CDP Climate Performance Leadership Index. These companies are responding to market demand for environmental accountability and at the same time are making progress towards the realization of sustainable economies.”

Finnair is on track to reduce per-seat CO2 emissions by 24 percent between 2009 and 2017. The airline’s actions to reach this target and improve its environmental performance include:

Flying with a modern, fuel-efficient fleet. In 2013 Finnair was the global launch customer of Airbus A321 with fuel-saving Sharklets and next year will be the European launch customer of the next-generation A350XWB, which will be approximately 25 per cent more fuel-efficient (and less carbon intensive) than the previous generation of aircraft.

Strict “weight watching” of aircraft, including flying with ultra-light ULDs (unit load devices, or cargo containers) that save more than 2.5 million kg of CO2 emissions every year.

Continuous Descent Landings and other operational measures to limit fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.

Exploring the development (with partners in the value chain) of a biofuel hub at Helsinki Airport

In 2013, consolidating its offices and moving to a new LEED Platinum-certified head office near Helsinki Airport.

Top Copyright Photo: Paul Denton/AirlinersGallery.com. Finnair’s Embraer ERJ 190-100LR OH-LKI (msn 19000117) taxies at Geneva (all others by VR).

Finnair:

VR Train Route Map in Finland and extended routes to Russia:

Finnair Aircraft Slide Show:

http://airlinersgallery.smugmug.com/Airlines-Europe-2/Airlines-Europe-2/Finnair

Swiss European grounds four BAe RJ100s, will lease four Embraer 190s

Swiss European Air Lines (subsidiary of Swiss International Air Lines) (Zurich) has parked four BAe (Avro) RJ100s due to their high operating costs, maintenance issues and recent incidents according to Aero Telegraph. According to the report, four Embraer 190s will replace the grounded aircraft starting in either December 2014 or January 2015. The aircraft will be leased from Helvetic Airways (Zurich).

Read the full article (in German): CLICK HERE

The ACMI cooperation between Swiss International Air Lines and Helvetic Airways has been in existence since 2006. Helvetic has been operating a total of 4 Fokker 100s until spring 2017.

Swiss European:

Helvetic Airways:

Jetairfly to establish a new base at Antwerp

Jetairfly (Jetairfly.com) (Brussels) with the delivery of its third Embraer 190 will establish a new base at Antwerp. Starting in April 2015 Jetairfly will start flying from Antwerp Airport to Mallorca, Malaga and Alicante.

Jetairfly.com is a brand name of Tui Airlines Belgium NV. Jetairfly.com is a part of TUI Travel PLC, the largest tourism group in the world, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom.

Copyright Photo: Ton Jochems/AirlinersGallery.com. Embraer ERJ 190-100STD OO-JEB (msn 19000607) is pictured at the Brussels base.

Jetairfly:

Air Moldova is coming to Turin, Italy starting on December 16

Air Moldova (Chisinau) expands its route network with the launch of new nonstop flights on the Chisinau-Turin-Chisinau route, starting on December 16, 2014.

The new Chisinau-Turin-Chisinau flights will be operated twice a week, on Tuesdays and Saturdays with the Embraer 190 aircraft according to the following schedule (all times are local):

Departure from Chisinau – 1350
Arrival to Turin – 1510
Departure from Turin – 1600
Arrival to Chisinau – 1930

With the launch of the flight to Turin, the number of nonstop routes will reach 25 destinations: Antalya, Athens, Barcelona, Bodrum, Bologna, Bucharest, Dublin, Frankfurt, Heraklion, Istanbul, Kiev, Larnaca, Lisbon, London, Milan, Moscow, Nijnevartovsk, Paris, Rome, St. Petersburg, Sochi, Surgut, Turin, Venice and Verona.

For August 2014, Air Moldova set a new record. For the first time in its history, the company has managed to carry over 100,000 passengers or more exactly, 109,000 passengers during a month. This represents an increase of 58% over the same period in 2013.

Air Moldova has also managed to reach a market share at Chisinau International Airport of 53% in August or 10 percentage points more than last year.

Overall, for the first 8 months of the year, Air Moldova transported 524,000 passengers, an increase of 170,000 passengers (+ 48%) compared with the same period in 2013. ‎ At the same time, Air Moldova transported over 22,000 transfer passengers at Chisinau International Airport, an increase of 70 percent.

Copyright Photo: Paul Denton/AirlinersGallery.com. Embraer ERJ 190-100LR ER-ECB (msn 19000325) prepares to land in Antalya.

Air Moldova Aircraft Slide Show: CLICK HERE

Gulf Air improves its financial position for the first half of 2014

Gulf Air (Bahrain) has issued this financial statement of the first half of 2014 showing improved financial performance:

Gulf Air, the Kingdom of Bahrain’s national carrier, has delivered a strong fiscal and operational performance for the first half of the year, ending June 2014, reducing its year-on-year losses by over 30% and building on the airline’s positive 2013 strategic restructuring results that put the national carrier firmly on-track towards achieving long-term commercial sustainability. The 2014 half year results further strengthen Gulf Air’s position as a key national infrastructure asset that provides essential business links for the Kingdom of Bahrain’s wider economic development.

In the first two quarters of 2014, Gulf Air increased its overall revenue by 10% compared to the same period in 2013. This was realized principally through an enhanced revenue stream that was driven by augmented operations, improved load factors and increased connecting traffic.

H.E. Shaikh Khalid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of Gulf Air’s Board of Directors commented, “The first two quarters of 2014 have been critical in the national carrier’s recent, post-restructuring development. These positive half year results show that Gulf Air is continuing on a positive trajectory to become an efficient, commercially sustainable business and an integral part of the Kingdom of Bahrain’s local economy.”

With a focus on high-demand and high-yield point-to-point routes that connect Bahraini businesses with regional markets, the first half of 2014 saw Gulf Air continue to strengthen its Middle East and North Africa (MENA) operations while maintaining strategic links to select points in Europe, the Far East, India and Pakistan. During this period the national carrier commenced services to its fifth destination in Pakistan – Sialkot, recommenced flights to the Iranian capital Tehran and the Greek capital Athens. Additionally, the airline increased frequencies to Mashhad to now operate daily flights between Bahrain and the Iranian city. Recognizing additional capacity opportunities regionally, the airline’s management team also initiated discussions during the first half of 2014 with various Civil Aviation Authorities to request further additional frequencies across its network. The airline’s ongoing network refinement was partially responsible for its strong performance during the first six months of 2014, delivering a seat factor, revenue passenger count and passenger yield that were all improvements on that achieved in the first half of 2013. This was all further supplemented by the airline’s strong on time punctuality results.

H.E Kamal Bin Ahmed, Minister of Transport and Chairman of Gulf Air’s Board Executive Committee stated: “We are pleased with these strong first half results, which are evidence of the on-going fiscal and operational improvements being made across the business. These early results are fully in line with our expectations as we continue to further strengthen the position of Bahrain’s national carrier. To date, much has been achieved and we look forward to continuing this progress for the rest of 2014.”

Gulf Air’s Board of Directors and executive management team are committed to building upon the successes of the national carrier’s 2013 restructuring. Through process and productivity improvements and procurement savings across the business, the airline has continued to reduce losses in 2014 while increasing revenue as it transforms into a more dynamic and efficient carrier.

Commenting on the half year results, Gulf Air Acting Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Maher Salman Al Musallam said, “The initial benefits from the national carrier’s strategic restructuring were evident in our positive 2013 results and these have translated to significant loss reduction and revenue generation during the first half of 2014. Encouraging summer season bookings confirm the positive trend. Our investment in strengthening our network with the addition of new international destinations occurred within a rising demand environment that also saw us substantially increase our available capacity thanks to schedule enhancements to key routes. The ongoing implementation of the airline’s strategic development is progressing in line with targets, with the full synergy and benefits expected to mature over the coming months. We are looking forward to more positive results in the latter half of 2014 while we continue to deliver a superior product and service offering to our passengers.”

Going forward, and in light of Gulf Air’s positive half year financial and operational results, Bahrain’s national carrier is well positioned to not only address the coming challenges but nurture the airline’s long term future growth. The airline’s 2014 target is to continue on its path towards long-term sustainability, further cutting its losses. This will be achieved through further reducing operational costs, increasing sales efficiency and focusing on customer needs.

With the continued development of synergies between the national carrier’s primary stakeholders – the Government of the Kingdom of Bahrain and Bahrain Civil Aviation Authority – Gulf Air is on track to strengthen its position as a key national infrastructure asset supporting Bahrain’s future economic growth and better serving the Kingdom. Bolstered by increasing public support for the airline, rising sales, growing confidence and national pride in the carrier, Gulf Air, anticipates a positive outlook for the remainder of 2014 and into the future.

Copyright Photo: Yuji Wang/AirlinersGallery.com Gulf Air Embraer ERJ 190-100 IGW A9C-MD (msn 19000373) departs from Istanbul.

Gulf Air:

JAL to add 15 Embraer E170s and E190s for J-Air

Embraer S.A. has signed a firm order with JAL-Japan Airlines (Tokyo) for a total of 15 E-Jets comprising the E170 and the E190 jets models, as well as for an additional twelve E-Jets family options.

All aircraft will be operated by Japan Airlines’ wholly owned subsidiary, J-Air (Osaka-Itami Airport). This order is added to the existing 15 Embraer E170s that the airline currently flies. New deliveries of E-Jets are scheduled from 2015.

J-Air currently operates 176 daily flights across its network of 21 cities that include Osaka-Itami, Sapporo, Sendai, Kagoshima, Miyazaki, and Fukuoka.

Copyright Photo: Akira Uekawa/AirlinersGallery.com. Embraer ERJ 170-100ST JA218J (msn 17000314) completes its final approach at Tokyo (Haneda) in the old 2002 livery.

JAL-Japan Airlines:

J-Air:

AeroMexico restores the Monterrey-Houston route on November 3

AeroMexico (Mexico City) is resuming two routes from Monterrey on November 3; to both Torreon and Houston. The Monterrey-Houston route was last operated in January 2011 per Airline Route.

In other news, AeroMexico previously announced a fourth weekly flight between Merida and Miami effective on November 8. This new service will operate on Saturdays and, as the current three frequencies, will be operated with a 99-seat Embraer 190.

Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing/AirlinersGallery.com. AeroMexico Connect‘s (Aerolitoral) Embraer ERJ 190-100LR XA-ACJ (msn 19000531) arrives in Los Angeles.

AeroMexico:

AeroMexico Connect:

Republic Airways Holdings’ 2Q income rises to $20.1 million

Republic Airways Holdings Inc. (Indianapolis) reported its financial results for the second quarter of 2014. Key points include:

Republic’s pre-tax income from continuing operations for the second quarter of 2014 was $33.3 million, or $0.63 per diluted share, a 23.3% increase over the previous year. Republic’s income from continuing operations for the second quarter of 2014 was $20.1 million, or $0.38 per diluted share. This is a $4.0 million, or $0.08 per diluted share, increase from the previous year.

Republic’s pre-tax income from continuing operations for the six-month period was $56.1 million, or $1.06 per diluted share, a 21.2% increase over the previous year. Republic’s income from continuing operations for the six-month period was $34.1 million, or $0.65 per diluted share. This is a $6.6 million, or $0.12 per diluted share, increase from the same six-month period of the previous year.

On April 7, 2014, Republic’s Board of Directors authorized management to use up to $75.0 million of unrestricted cash to buy back common shares and/or early retire convertible debt during the following 12 months. Pursuant to the authorization, Republic redeemed a $22.3 million convertible note, leaving $52.7 million remaining on the share repurchase and convertible debt retirement authorization. The repayment of the convertible note reduced the Company’s dilutive share count by about 2.2 million shares for the quarter.

“I am pleased we were able to report improved second quarter financial results, as we remain focused on executing on our strategic plan to simplify and streamline our business,” said Republic’s CFO Timothy Dooley.

“Last Friday, Republic celebrated 40 years of commercial passenger service and our long-term success would not be possible without the hard work and dedication of my 6,500 co-workers. I would like to thank them for their diligence and commitment to our mission to provide safe, clean and reliable service to our airline partners and our guests on board,” said Republic’s Chairman, President and CEO Bryan Bedford.

Operating Revenue Highlights

Operating revenues increased $6.3 million, or 1.9%, from the second quarter of 2013 to $343.0 million in the second quarter of 2014. Fixed-fee service revenue increased $20.2 million, or 6.4%, to $337.1 million due to increased Q400 flying with United Airlines and increased E175 flying with American Airlines. Passenger service revenue decreased $13.8 million because of the removal of E190 aircraft operating under pro-rate agreement with Frontier Airlines.

Operating Expense Highlights

The increase in wages and benefits expenses of 8.6% or $7.3 million was primarily due to an increase in E175 operations, an increase in the cost of benefits we provide to our employees and new pilot flight and duty rest regulations (FAR 117).

Fuel expense for the second quarter of 2014 decreased $6.6 million, or 54.1%, to $5.6 million primarily due to a 57.6% decrease in gallons consumed related to the elimination of pro-rate flying for Frontier. Fuel expense is primarily attributable to our fixed-fee charter operations and is a pass-through to our partner.

Landing fees and airport rents decreased $7.8 million, or 54.2%, primarily due to United Airlines beginning to pay all landing fees in June 2013, coupled with the decrease in our small jet operations.

The increase in depreciation and amortization of 16.9%, or $6.1 million, was primarily related to the increase in the E175 fleet.

Fleet Highlights

As of June 30, 2014, Republic operated a fleet of 237 aircraft. Through June, the Company has removed 23 ERJ aircraft from CPA service, and has taken delivery of 11 E175 aircraft and expects to take delivery of 13 E175 aircraft during the remainder of 2014. As of June 30, 2014, within its fixed-fee and charter agreements, the Company operated 45 aircraft with 44-50 seats and 192 aircraft with 69-99 seats.

Balance Sheet and Liquidity

The Company’s total cash balance decreased $14.2 million to $286.5 million as of June 30, 2014, compared to December 31, 2013. Restricted cash increased $0.8 million, to $24.8 million, from December 31, 2013, due to the escrow requirements under fixed-fee charter agreements. The Company’s unrestricted cash balance decreased $15.0 million, to $261.7 million, from December 31, 2013, due to the redemption of the $22.3 million convertible note on April 7, 2014. A consolidated balance sheet and summary cash flow statement have been included in the tables section of this release.

The Company’s debt increased to $2.27 billion as of June 30, 2014, compared to $2.17 billion at December 31, 2013, primarily related to the financing of 11 new E175 aircraft purchased for our American Airlines fixed-fee agreement. As of June 30, 2014, about 97% of the Company’s debt is at a fixed interest rate. The Company has significant long-term lease obligations for aircraft that are classified as operating leases and are not reflected as liabilities on the Company’s consolidated balance sheet. At a 6% discount factor, the present value of these lease obligations was about $0.53 billion and $0.59 billion as of June 30, 2014, and December 31, 2013, respectively.

Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing/AirlinersGallery.com. With the sale of subsidiary Frontier Airlines in September 2013, Republic no longer operates Embraer 190s for Frontier as pictured in the past. As a result, revenue dropped by $13.8 million because of the removal of the ERJ 190 aircraft operating under pro-rate agreement with Frontier Airlines. Republic currently operates five E190s for Caesars Entertainment for gambling charters. Now gone, Embraer ERJ 190-100 IGW N175HQ (msn 19000216) climbs away from Los Angeles International Airport in full Frontier colors.

Frontier Airlines (2nd)-Republic Airlines (2nd):

Tianjin Airlines purchases 20 Embraer E-Jets and 20 E-Jets E2

Embraer has issued this statement about a new order from Tianjin Airlines (HNA Group) (Tianjin):

During Chinese President Xi Jinping’s State visit to Brazil, in a signing ceremony witnessed by the Presidents of both nations, Embraer S.A. concluded an agreement for the sale of 40 aircraft to China’s Tianjin Airlines, a subsidiary of the HNA Group. The contract, with an estimated value of $2.1 billion at list prices, is comprised of 20 E-Jets and 20 E-Jets E2, which also makes HNA Group and Tianjin Airlines the first Chinese airline to order the E-Jets E2 model.

The first current generation E-Jet will be delivered in 2015, and the first E-Jet E2 is scheduled for delivery in 2018. This order will be incorporated in Embraer’s backlog as soon as Embraer receives the initial payment from the customer.

The E-Jets E2 adopts state-of-the-art engines in combination with new aerodynamically advanced wings, full fly-by-wire flight controls and advancements in other systems, which will result in significant improvements in fuel burn, maintenance costs, emissions and external noise.

The first delivery of an E-Jet E2 is planned for the first semester of 2018.

The Embraer-Tianjin Airlines partnership is well established. Tianjin Airlines was the launch customer for the E190 in China and operates the largest E-Jets fleet in Asia with 50 E190s in its fleet. It is also the first carrier in China being appointed as an Authorized Service Center for Embraer aircraft in that country. Recently, the carrier announced to install Embraer AHEAD-PRO system for all its 50 E190s, becoming the first user of this system in China.

HNA Group Tianjin Airlines was launched as the first true regional airline in China in 2009. In 2010, the carrier changed its focus from purely regional operations to a combination of mainline and regional services. Its aim is to become a medium to large-size international airline as it pursues a new “regional aviation and global operations” strategy. In 2011, Tianjin Airlines received the “Best Regional Aviation Airline in China” and “Global Four-star Airlines” awards from Skytrax for its outstanding achievement. Today, the carrier operates a fleet of over 80 jets that serves some 90 domestic and international cities and carries over 8 million travelers.

Copyright Photo: Tomas Asensio Lopez/AirlinersGallery.com. Tianjin Airlines’ Embraer ERJ 190-100LR B-3152 (msn 19000274) is pictured on its delivery flight at Las Palmas.

Tianjin Airlines Slide Show: CLICK HERE