Tag Archives: Embraer ERJ 190

Ukraine International Airlines decreases the number of flights due to the current political crisis

Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) (Kiev) has decreased the number of flights operated each week from 343 to 305 due to the on-going political crisis in the Ukraine. The country is split along east (pro Russian) and west (pro European Union) areas of the country and whether it wants the country to be aligned with the European Union or the Russian Federation (the Ukraine was once part of the old Soviet Union). The two groups have been clashing in often violent rallies in various parts of the country. Now Russian President Vladimir Putin has put its armed forces in western Russia “on alert” according to the The Telegraph (so much for the recent “Olympic Spirit”). Despite this background of violence and tension, Ukraine International Airlines is planning to expand operations on April 1.

Read the full story from The Telegraph: CLICK HERE

The airline issued this statement:

As a result of social and political crisis in Ukraine the travel activity to/from Ukraine has leveled off.

Decline in demand for business and tourist trips affected advanced ticket reservations to Ukraine in February and March. This fact forces the airline to optimize flight program by decreasing frequency on certain routes within the period of February 24 –through March 29, 2014. Thus, the number of UIA-coded services is decreased from 343 to 305 scheduled flights per week. Due to well-developed partner network, UIA clients are offered alternative routes both on UIA-coded and partner airlines` flights.

As soon as the demand for air transportation is back to normal, UIA will increase the flight frequency quickly and efficiently to regenerate the previously scheduled traffic performance.

Starting on April 1, 2014, UIA plans to increase frequencies, offer new routes, and operate seasonal flights. Ticket sales for UIA new routes: Kiev – Chisinau, Kiev – Minsk, Kiev – Dushanbe, Kiev – New York, as well as additional flights to London, Barcelona and summer seasonal flights to Nice are already open.

Copyright Photo: Paul Denton/AirlinersGallery.com. Embraer ERJ 190-100LR UE-EME (msn 19000614) of Ukraine International Airlines arrives in Geneva.

Ukraine International Airlines:

JetBlue Airways to acquire 12 slot pairs at Washington Reagan National Airport, reports fourth quarter and 2013 financial results

JetBlue Airways (New York) has been informed that its bid for 12 slot pairs at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) has been provisionally accepted. These assets became available as a result of divestitures mandated by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in the American Airlines-US Airways merger.

Once approved by DOJ, JetBlue expects to add 12 new roundtrip flights at Washington’s popular, close-in airport. The airline plans to introduce nonstop service to cities it does not currently serve from DCA, expanding the benefits of its award-winning service to more communities, as well as add more flights on some existing routes.

JetBlue first entered the Reagan National market in 2010 and today offers 18 daily roundtrip flights to Boston, Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood, Orlando, Tampa, as well as the airport’s only nonstop service to San Juan, Puerto Rico. With its new slots, JetBlue will operate up to 30 roundtrips per day at DCA.

On the financial side, JetBlue Airway Corporation issued its financial report for the fourth quarter and the entire year of 2013:

JetBlue Airways Corporation reported its results for the fourth quarter and full year 2013:

Operating income of $115 million in the fourth quarter. This compares to operating income of $44 million in the fourth quarter of 2012. For the full year 2013, JetBlue reported operating income of $428 million. This compares to operating income of $376 million for the full year 2012.

Pre-tax income of $77 million in the fourth quarter. This compares to pre-tax income of $1 million in the fourth quarter of 2012. For the full year 2013, JetBlue reported pre-tax income of $279 million. This compares to a pre-tax income of $209 million for the full year 2012.

Net income for the fourth quarter was $47 million, or $0.14 per diluted share. This compares to JetBlue’s fourth quarter 2012 net income of $1 million, or $0.00 per diluted share. For the full year 2013, JetBlue reported net income of $168 million, or $0.52per diluted share. This compares to net income of $128 million, or $0.40 per diluted share for the full year 2012.

Operational Performance

JetBlue reported record fourth quarter operating revenues of $1.4 billion. Revenue passenger miles for the fourth quarter increased 7.1% to 8.7 billion on a capacity increase of 8.3%, resulting in a fourth quarter load factor of 80.9%, a decrease of 1.0 point year over year.

Yield per passenger mile in the fourth quarter was 14.35 cents, up 6.5% compared to the fourth quarter of 2012. Passenger revenue per available seat mile (PRASM) for the fourth quarter 2013 increased 5.3% year over year to 11.62 cents and operating revenue per available seat mile (RASM) increased 5.6% year over year to 12.77 cents.

Operating expenses for the quarter increased 8.7%, or $100 million, over the prior year period. Interest expense for the quarter declined 8.4%, or $5 million as a result of JetBlue’s debt reduction strategy. JetBlue’s operating expense per available seat mile (CASM) for the fourth quarter increased 0.4% year over year to 11.70 cents. Excluding fuel and profit sharing, CASM increased 0.6% to 7.30 cents.

Over the course of 2013, JetBlue improved its return on invested capital (ROIC) to 5.3%. “We remain committed to improving ROIC by one percentage point per year on average,” said Mark Powers, JetBlue’s Chief Financial Officer. “We recognize that while we have more work to do to improve returns, we believe we have a plan in place to achieve these goals in 2014.”

Fuel Expense and Hedging

JetBlue continued to hedge fuel to manage price volatility. Specifically, during the fourth quarterJetBlue hedged approximately 28% of its fuel consumption and managed approximately 12% of its fuel consumption using fixed forward price agreements (FFPs). This resulted in a realized fuel price of $3.10 per gallon, a 3.1% decrease over fourth quarter 2012 realized fuel price of $3.20. JetBluerecorded $3 million in losses on fuel hedges that settled during the fourth quarter.

JetBlue has managed approximately 24% of its first quarter projected fuel requirements using a combination of FFPs, jet fuel swaps and caps. Based on the fuel curve as of January 23rd, JetBlueexpects an average price per gallon of fuel, including the impact of hedges, FFPs and fuel taxes, of$3.13 in the first quarter.

Liquidity and Cash Flow

JetBlue ended the year with approximately $627 million in unrestricted cash and short term investments. In addition, JetBlue maintains $550 million in undrawn lines of credit. For the full year 2013, JetBlue generated $758 million of operating cash flow and had capital expenditures of $637 million, including $453 million of aircraft investments. As a result, JetBlue generated $121 million in free cash flow in 2013.

During 2013, JetBlue repaid $510 million in debt and capital lease obligations, including approximately $248 million in the fourth quarter. In addition, JetBlue prepaid approximately $94 million of aircraft related debt in December. JetBlue recorded a $3 million loss in non-operating income during the quarter in connection with this prepayment. JetBlue expects this transaction will generate $25 million in interest expense savings over the next six years. JetBlue plans to repay approximately $470 million in debt and capital lease obligations in 2014, including approximately$235 million in the first quarter.

JetBlue has increased its pool of unencumbered aircraft from one to 23 and decreased its total debt balance by approximately $550 million since 2011, thereby decreasing the financial risk in the business. “We remain focused on continuing to strengthen our balance sheet as we expect to continue to generate free cash flow and purchase aircraft with cash in 2014,” said Mr. Powers.

First Quarter and Full Year Outlook

JetBlue expects first quarter results to be adversely impacted by severe weather in the Northeast during the beginning of January, which resulted in the cancellation of approximately 1,800 flights. The severe weather reduced JetBlue’s total revenue by an estimated $45 million and reduced operating income for the first quarter by approximately $30 million.

For the first quarter of 2014, CASM is expected to be increase between 0.0% and 2.0% versus the year-ago period. Excluding fuel and profit sharing, CASM in the first quarter is expected to increase between 3.0% and 5.0% year over year.

CASM for the full year is expected to increase between 1.0% and 3.0% over full year 2013. Excluding fuel and profit sharing, CASM in 2014 is expected to increase between 3.0% and 5.0% year over year.

Capacity is expected to increase between 2.5% and 4.5% in the first quarter. For the full year, capacity is expected to increase between 5.0% and 7.0%.

Copyright Photo: Brian McDonough/AirlinersGallery.com. Embraer ERJ 190-100 IGW N316JB (msn 19000291) completes the River Approach into Reagan National Airport on the Virginia side of the Potomac River.

JetBlue Airways:

Air Costa leases two Embraer 190s from GECAS

GE Capital Aviation Services Limited (GECAS), the commercial aircraft leasing and financing arm of GE, today announced delivery of two new leased Embraer ERJ 190 aircraft to Air Costa, a new Indian airline focused on regional operations.

Air Costa (Vijayawada) is promoted by the LEPL Group – a major urban infrastructure player in India. Air Costa started operations on October 14, 2013 and currently flies to six destinations in India (see route map below).

All Images: Embraer and Air Costa.

Route Map:

JetBlue shuts down all operations at New York and Boston, will resume today

JetBlue Airways (New York) shut down its entire New York and Boston operations yesterday afternoon (January 6) due to an on-going winter storm and continued delayed and cancelled flights. The airline was purposely shutting down these these two major hubs in order for its crews to get the required amount of rest and for its aircraft and other assets to be repositioned. Like other carriers, the carrier is also under new mandatory FAA rules on pilot duty hours. The airline hopes to restart operations today with full operations expected by 3:00 pm (1500).

JetBlue issued this statement yesterday:

The new year began with the winter storm some called Hercules, is shutting down the heaviest trafficked air corridor in the world during one of the heaviest travel periods of the year. Mother Nature then followed that up with icing conditions over the weekend, causing even more issues and ground stops at the airports. Even as airports began to reopen though, newly launched FAA regulations on pilot duty times caused delayed flights to quickly turn into canceled ones. Now today, less than a week into the year, we’re watching a polar vortex wreak havoc on flight schedules across the industry, as rainy weather prepares to turn airports in the Northeast into ice rinks once again.

More than 3,000 flights across the industry have been cancelled today, and roughly 300 of those will be JetBlue’s. Beginning at 1 p.m. ET today, we’ll reduce operations at JFK, LaGuardia, Newark, and Boston through 10 a.m. ET Tuesday. At that time, we’ll gradually ramp up again – we intend to be 100% operational by 3 p.m. ET on Tuesday. This plan allows for 17 hours of rest for crews, and time for Tech Ops to service the aircraft.

These industry wide cancellations, on top of the previous days’ cancellations, have now left millions of air travelers displaced, struggling to find any available seat to get to their destinations. With planes already full with previously booked holiday travelers, remaining seats are quickly filled, (for some of the other guys, even overbooked), and some customers aren’t seeing available seats for nearly a week. If your flight has been canceled, you can rebook travel or request a refund online. More information on current travel alerts and fee waivers can be found on our Travel Alerts page. We also still request customers are encouraged to check the status of their flight online prior to leaving for the airport.

For our part, this isn’t the sort of operation we’re happy about, and have stood up every available resource throughout the last week to work with customers and adjust our schedules to minimize impact. While we have to reduce operations in our Northeast cities today, we’ll take the opportunity to use some of those planes and crews for extra sections between cities where we they’re most needed and move crews in preparation for starting back up on Tuesday. Our first priority is to support the operation and assist customers with immediate travel needs, but will be reaching out to any impacted customer we have contact information to offer compensation.

Read the full story from CNN: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: Bruce Drum/AirlinersGallery.com. Embraer ERJ 190-100 IGW N206JB (msn 19000025) arrives in New York (JFK).

JetBlue Airways:

LAM’s ERJ 190 C9-EMC crashed into the ground with the autopilot engaged, did the captain intentionally crash the airliner?

LAM’s (Linhas Aereas de Mocambique) (Luanda) Embraer ERJ 190-100 IGW C9-EMC (msn 19000581) on November 29, 2013 was operating flight TM 470 from Maputo, Mozambique to the Luanda, Angola. The airliner never arrived. The aircraft crashed in a Namibian game park, killing the 27 passengers and six crew members on board.

According to Reuters, citing a preliminary report released to the media by Namibia’s Transport Ministry, the crew was “flying in normal conditions and no mechanical deficiency was detected when it suddenly began a descent from its normal cruising altitude with its automatic pilot on and its altitude selector set to below ground level.”

According to Reuters, “the aircraft made the descent on autopilot, and after actions that would have required knowledge of its systems, denoted a “clear intention”. The aircraft was under the command of the captain, Herminio dos Santos, who “was alone in the cockpit at the time of the crash, after his co-pilot had gone to the bathroom. Alarms going off could be heard on the flight recordings, and also the sound of someone beating on the cockpit door “as if asking to be let in”.

Read the full report: CLICK HERE

LAM:

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LAM Embraer 190 crashes in Bwabwata National Park in Namibia, 34 dead

LAM’s (Linhas Aereas de Mocambique) (Luanda) Embraer ERJ 190-100 IGW C9-EMC (msn 19000581) yesterday (November 29) was operating flight TM 470 from Maputo, Mozambique to the Luanda, Angola with 28 passengers and six crew members. The airliner never arrived. The weather in the area was reported to be stormy with low visibility. Today rescuers located the burned out wreckage in the Bwabwata National Park according to Reuters. There were no survivors. The airliner was only a little over one year old, having been delivered on November 8, 2012.

Read the full report: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: Paul Denton/AirlinersGallery.com. The pictured sister ship ERJ 190-100 IGW C9-EMA (msn 19000301) was the first E190 to arrive on August 6, 2009.

LAM:

Video: LAM’s 33 years of flying:

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Air Dolomiti to operate Bergamo-Munich flights starting on June 2, 2014

Air Dolomiti (Verona), the Lufthansa Group’s Italian airline, will operate flights from Il Caravaggio International Airport in Bergamo Orio al Serio (near Milan) to Munich starting on June 2, 2014.

The new route will operate twice daily (except one flight a day on the weekends).

In other news, Air Dolomiti and Condor Flugdienst (Frankfurt) have agreed to work closely feeding Condor long-haul flights from Frankfurt and Munich from Italy according to airliners.de. Air Dolomiti operates from Ancona, Bari, Bologna, Florence, Genoa, Milan, Palermo, Pisa, Rome (Fiumicino), Turin, Trieste, Venice and Verona.

Copyright Photo: Paul Bannwarth/AirlinersGallery.com. Air Dolomiti’s Embraer ERJ 190-200LR (ERJ 195) I-ADJS (msn 19000597) completes its final approach into the Frankfurt hub.

Air Dolomiti:

Ukraine International to start Bangkok service on December 7 and Stockholm service on June 1, 2014

Ukraine International Airlines-UIA (Kiev) will commence service between its Kiev hub and Stockholm (Arlanda) starting on June 1, 2014. The daily flight will be operated with new Embraer 190s.

Additionally, starting on December 7, 2013, UIA launches its first ever long-haul flights from Kiev to Bangkok. Nonstop scheduled flights will be operated three days a week on Boeing 767-300 aircraft in a three-class cabin layout: business, premium economy, and economy.

The airline continues to develop its “ski” destinations network by offering nonstop flights to Sofia (Bulgaria) and Salzburg (Austria), Erzurum (Turkey) and Grenoble (France), Kittila and Kajaani (Finland), as well as providing all passengers with an opportunity to carry one set of ski equipment free of charge.

UIA traditionally expands travel options` selection for the residents of the cities of Ukraine. In winter UIA nonstop flights will connect Donetsk, Odessa, and Kharkov with the capital of Bulgaria, Sofia, Donetsk and Odessa with Sharm El Sheikh, as well as Lvov, Zaporozhia and Kharkov with Hurghada.

Moreover, UIA has a special offer for winter sports fans: in February 2014 the leading Ukrainian carrier will operate nonstop daily (February 6 and 24 double-daily) flights between the capital of Ukraine and the capital of the 2014 Winter Olympics – the city of Sochi.

UIA turns 21.

Copyright Photo: Karl Cornil/AirlinersGallery.com. Embraer ERJ 190-100LR UR-EMA (msn 19000494) approaches Brussels for landing.

Ukraine International Airlines:

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BA Cityflyer orders one more Embraer 190

BA CityFlyer (British Airways) (Manchester and London City Airport), British Airways’ wholly owned regional subsidiary, and Embraer announced today the acquisition of one additional Embraer 190 jet. This firm order will be included in Embraer’s 2013 fourth quarter backlog. The E-Jet will be operated from the Company’s main operating base at London City Airport (LCY).

The new E190 will be configured with 98 Elite seats.

Copyright Photo: Javier Rodriguez/AirlinersGallery.com. Embraer ERJ 190-100SR G-LCYO (msn 19000430) approaches Palma de Mallorca for landing.

BA Cityflyer:

Alitalia planned job cuts unlikely to persuade Air France and KLM to put in more cash

Alitalia (2nd) (Rome) is facing a major decision today at its board meeting. According to this report by Reuters, Alitalia’s CEO Gabriele del Torchio, a turnaround specialist, is expected to unveil his plan. The drastic measures may include up to 2,000 job cuts and salary cuts.

However the cuts are unlikely to persuade major shareholder and board member Air France-KLM to put any more capital into the failing flag carrier. Alitalia needs a $400 million infusion to keep flying. The group has already zeroed-out its investment.

Read the full report: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: Dave Glendinning/AirlinersGallery.com. Alitalia’s Embraer ERJ 190-100LR EI-RNB (msn 19000479) taxies at London (Heathrow).

Alitalia: