Tag Archives: Star Alliance

United to offer nonstop service from San Francisco to Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood starting on March 2

United Airlines (Chicago) has announced plans to launch nonstop service between its San Francisco hub and Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood, with once-weekly flights beginning on March 2, 2013, and daily service beginning April 9, 2013. The new flights will operate with Boeing 737-800 aircraft.

“South Florida is the largest region in the country not currently served by United from San Francisco,” said Jim Ferea, United’s managing director of domestic planning. “We’re pleased to link these two areas that are important to both business and leisure travelers.”

The daily flights will depart from San Francisco at 8:30 a.m. and arrive in Fort Lauderdale at 5:05 p.m. The return flights will depart Fort Lauderdale at 5:55 p.m. and arrive in San Francisco at 9:15 p.m.

Between March 2, 2013, and April 7, 2013, the airline will offer weekly Saturday-only flights on the route. The schedule varies slightly for the weekly service.

Since February 2011, United has added nonstop service between Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood and Chicago-O’Hare, Denver and Washington-Dulles. The airline also offers nonstop flights between Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood and hubs in Cleveland, Houston and New York.

United will compete against JetBlue Airways and Virgin America on the route. United previously had a hub at Miami (the former Pan Am hub) and previously offered Miami-San Francisco service.

Copyright Photo: Brian McDonough. Boeing 737-824 N26210 (msn 28770) in the Star Alliance scheme arrives at the Washington (Dulles) hub.

United Airlines:

United Continental Holdings reports third quarter net income of $520 million excluding special charges, only $6 million with the charges

United Continental Holdings, Inc. (United Airlines) (Chicago) reported third-quarter 2012 net income of $520 million, or $1.35 per diluted share, excluding $514 million of net special charges. Including special charges, UAL reported third-quarter 2012 net income of $6 million, or $0.02 per diluted share.

UAL third-quarter consolidated passenger revenue decreased 2.6 percent year-over-year. Third-quarter consolidated passenger revenue per available seat mile (PRASM) decreased 1.3 percent compared to the same period in 2011.
Consolidated unit costs (CASM) holding fuel rate and profit sharing constant and excluding special charges and third-party business expense increased 2.5 percent year-over-year on a consolidated capacity reduction of 1.4 percent. Third-quarter consolidated CASM increased 6.6 percent year-over-year.
UAL ended the third quarter with $7.2 billion in unrestricted liquidity.

Third-Quarter Revenue and Capacity

For the third quarter of 2012, total revenue was $9.9 billion, a decrease of 2.6 percent year-over-year. Third-quarter consolidated passenger revenue decreased 2.6 percent to $8.8 billion, compared to the same period in 2011.

Consolidated revenue passenger miles (RPMs) decreased 1.5 percent on a consolidated capacity (available seat miles) decrease of 1.4 percent year-over-year for the third quarter, resulting in a third-quarter consolidated load factor of 85.2 percent.

Consolidated yield for the third quarter of 2012 decreased 1.2 percent year-over-year. Third-quarter 2012 consolidated PRASM decreased 1.3 percent compared to the same period in 2011.

Mainline RPMs in the third quarter of 2012 decreased 1.9 percent on a mainline capacity decrease of 1.4 percent year-over-year, resulting in a third-quarter mainline load factor of 85.7 percent. Mainline yield for the third quarter of 2012 decreased 1.5 percent compared to the same period in 2011. Third-quarter 2012 mainline PRASM decreased 2.0 percent year-over-year.

Passenger revenue for the third quarter of 2012 and period-to-period comparisons of related statistics for UAL’s mainline and regional operations are as follows:

	3Q 2012 Passenger Revenue (millions)	Passenger Revenue vs. 3Q 2011	PRASM vs. 3Q 2011	Yield vs. 3Q 2011	Available Seat Miles vs. 3Q 2011

Domestic	$3,325	(5.8%)	(4.2%)	(2.6%)	(1.7%)

Atlantic	1,591	(8.0%)	(4.5%)	(3.7%)	(3.7%)
Pacific	1,450	11.0%	9.9%	7.2%	1.0%
Latin America	627	(6.8%)	(8.3%)	(9.4%)	1.6%
International	3,668	(1.1%)	0.0%	(0.7%)	(1.1%)

Mainline	6,993	(3.4%)	(2.0%)	(1.5%)	(1.4%)
Regional	1,781	0.5%	1.6%	(0.9%)	(1.1%)

Consolidated	$8,774	(2.6%)	(1.3%)	(1.2%)	(1.4%)

Year-over-year cargo and other revenue in the third quarter of 2012 decreased 2.3 percent, or $27 million, to $1.1 billion.

Third-Quarter Costs

Total operating expenses, including special charges, increased $473 million, or 5.1 percent, in the third quarter compared to the same period of 2011. Third-quarter 2012 operating expenses, excluding fuel, profit sharing, special charges and third-party business expense, increased $92 million, or 1.7 percent, year-over-year. Third-party business expense was $55 million in the third quarter.

Both consolidated and mainline CASM, excluding special charges and third-party business expense, increased 2.3 percent in the third quarter of 2012 compared to the same period of 2011. Third-quarter consolidated and mainline CASM, including special charges, increased 6.6 and 7.5 percent year-over-year, respectively.

In the third quarter, consolidated and mainline CASM, excluding special charges and third-party business expense and holding fuel rate and profit sharing constant, increased 2.5 percent and 2.0 percent, respectively, compared to the results for the same period of 2011.

Third-Quarter Liquidity and Return on Invested Capital

UAL ended the third quarter with $7.2 billion in unrestricted liquidity, including $500 million of undrawn commitments under a revolving credit facility. During the third quarter, the company had gross capital expenditures of $412 million. The company made debt and principal payments under capital lease of $487 million including $104 million of prepayments in the third quarter. The company’s return on invested capital for the 12 months ended Sept. 30, 2012, was 9.3 percent, below the company’s goal of a 10 percent return over the business cycle.

Third-Quarter 2012 Events

United recorded a U.S. Department of Transportation domestic on-time arrival rate of 72.4 percent and a system completion factor of 98.6 percent for the quarter. For international flights, United recorded an on-time arrival rate of 71.0 percent. The on-time arrival rates are based on flights arriving within 14 minutes of scheduled arrival time.
On Aug. 2, the company reached an agreement in principle for a joint collective bargaining agreement with the Air Line Pilots Association representing pilots from the company’s United and Continental subsidiaries. Flight attendants from the company’s Continental and Continental Micronesia subsidiaries ratified new labor agreements, and the company began the joint collective bargaining process with the Association of Flight Attendants, which represents all flight attendants. The company and the International Association of Machinists announced that they would engage in expedited joint collective bargaining agreement negotiations for fleet service employees, passenger service employees and certain other work groups. The company is also in the process of commencing joint negotiations with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which represents maintenance technicians.
United employees earned cash incentive payments totaling $5 million for exceeding 80 percent domestic on-time arrival performance for the month of September.
United took delivery of its first Boeing 787. United is the first North American carrier to take delivery of the 787, and the aircraft is the first of five new Dreamliners the airline expects to receive this year from its total order for 50 of the aircraft.
United announced routes for its Boeing 787 aircraft, in addition to the previously announced service from its Denver hub to Tokyo Narita, including service between its Houston hub and Lagos, Nigeria, and from its Los Angeles hub to Tokyo Narita and Shanghai. The airline will also operate Dreamliner service from its Houston hub to Amsterdam and London Heathrow on a temporary basis.
The company announced an order to purchase 150 narrowbody Boeing 737 aircraft, including 100 Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft and 50 Boeing 737-900ER aircraft for delivery between 2013 and 2022. These new aircraft will allow United to replace older, less-efficient aircraft to reduce fuel and operating costs, enhance the customer experience and maximize network opportunities.
During the quarter, United launched service from Newark to Istanbul. In addition, the carrier launched service from San Francisco to Raleigh-Durham, N.C., from Denver to Shreveport, La., and from Newark to Columbia, S.C. United also announced 12 new routes during the quarter, including flights from its San Francisco hub to Taipei, Taiwan, and Paris, as well as from Washington, D.C. to San Salvador, from Cleveland to Nashville and from Chicago to Monterrey, Mexico, Thunder Bay, Canada, and Nassau, Bahamas.
Emphasizing the importance of service and reliability, United awarded new Ford vehicles to 11 employees for their perfect attendance. Thousands of employees were eligible, and United selected the winners during a random drawing.
United now has 180 airplanes featuring DIRECTV®, offering customers more live television access than any other airline in the world.
United Economy Plus seating is now on 90 percent of United’s entire mainline fleet, and the company continues to install flat-bed seats in premium cabins on its international fleet. United now has 159 aircraft featuring flat-bed seats, more than any other U.S. carrier.
United launched its MileagePlus Digital Media Store, a first-of-its-kind in the airline industry, giving MileagePlus members the opportunity to use miles for music tracks, albums and movies.

United Airlines:

Air New Zealand celebrates 15 years of the Star Alliance with a special logo

Air New Zealand (Auckland) has added an additional “15 Years” logo to its Airbus A320 Star Alliance logojet.

On May 14, 1997, five airlines, namely United Airlines, Lufthansa, Air Canada, Thai Airways International and Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) launched the Star Alliance.

The five airlines adopted the traditional five-pointed star logo to represent the five founding airlines.

Air New Zealand joined the alliance in March of 1999.

Copyright Photo: Colin Hunter. Airbus A320-232 ZK-OJH (msn 2257) completes its final approach into Auckland with the additional markings.

Hot New Photos:

United announces new international and domestic routes from hub cities

United Airlines (Chicago) today announced plans to launch year-round and seasonal service on several new international and domestic routes, including:

New daily trans-Pacific and trans-Atlantic flights from San Francisco, United’s largest Pacific gateway;
New flights from Chicago to points in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean;
New “Capital to Capital” service between Washington and San Salvador; and
Additional flights from Denver and Los Angeles.

United and its regional partners will operate these new routes with a mix of mainline and regional aircraft.

The newly announced and previously launched services are consistent with United’s previously announced 2012 capacity guidance.

United will begin daily year-round service between its hub at San Francisco International Airport and Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport in Taipei on April 9, 2013, subject to government approval. The flights will operate using Boeing 777-200 ER aircraft with 269 seats – eight in United Global First, 40 in United BusinessFirst, 104 in United Economy Plus, and 117 in United Economy.

The new San Francisco-Taipei flights will be available for booking once United receives government approval.

The airline will also begin daily year-round service between San Francisco and Charles de Gaulle International Airport in Paris on April 11, 2013, subject to government approval. The Paris flights will operate with Boeing 767-300 aircraft with 214 seats – 30 in BusinessFirst, 49 in Economy Plus and 135 in economy.

The new Paris and Taipei services will augment United’s ongoing investment in air service at San Francisco International Airport. This year, the airline will operate more than 300 flights daily from San Francisco, more than any other airline and more than 8 percent more departures from San Francisco compared to 2011. United offers nonstop service to more than 60 airports across the United States, including those in top business travel markets in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Houston, and to nearly 20 international destinations, including markets in Asia, Australia, Europe and Latin America

Daily service between United’s hub at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport and Monterrey, Mexico will begin on December 19, 2012, subject to government approval. The United Express flights will operate using Canadair CRJ700 regional jet aircraft with 66 seats – six in first class, 28 in Economy Plus and 32 in economy.

The new Chicago-Monterrey flights will be available for booking once United receives government approval.

United will also offer daily United Express service between Chicago O’Hare and Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada, using Canadair CRJ200 regional jets with 50 economy seats. The Thunder Bay flights will begin on February 14, 2013.

Weekly, peak-season service between Chicago and Nassau, Bahamas will begin on February 9, 2013, subject to government approval. The flights will operate on Saturdays through July 27, 2013, using Canadair CRJ700 regional jet aircraft.

United Express service between the Chicago hub and Jackson, Mississippi will begin on November 4, 2012. The flights will operate using Embraer ERJ 145 regional jets with 50 economy seats.

In addition, the airline will begin service between Chicago and Anchorage for the winter peak-travel period of December 19, 2012 to January 2, 2013. The flights will operate using Boeing 737-800 aircraft with 154 seats – 16 in first class, 48 in Economy Plus and 90 in economy. This service is in addition to United’s summer-season flights between Chicago and Anchorage.

United offers nearly 600 nonstop flights each day from Chicago to more than 150 destinations worldwide – dozens more flight and destination options than any other airline.

The airline will also add new domestic and international routes from other domestic hubs:

Denver – Three-times-daily service between Denver International Airport and Sloulin Field International Airport in Williston, North Dakota, will begin on November 4, 2012. The United Express service will operate with Embraer ERJ 145 regional jet aircraft.
Los Angeles – United Express service between Los Angeles International Airport and Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada, will begin on December 19, 2012, using Canadair CRJ700 regional jet aircraft.
Washington/Dulles – United will add daily service between Washington/Dulles International Airport and San Salvador International Airport in El Salvador, beginning December 19, 2012, subject to government approval. The flights will operate with Boeing 737-800 aircraft with 154 seats – 16 in first class, 48 in Economy Plus and 90 in economy.

In the past 18 months, United has added new routes from its U.S. hubs to international destinations such as Guadalajara, Mexico; Montreal, Canada; Port-au-Prince, Haiti; Shanghai, China, and Stuttgart, Germany, along with new intra-Asia routes between the Tokyo hub and Hong Kong and between the Guam hub and Okinawa, Japan.

In addition, the airline recently launched new service between Houston and Lagos, Nigeria; between Newark and Buenos Aires and Istanbul; between Washington/Dulles and Manchester, U.K. and Dublin, Ireland; and announced new service between Denver and Tokyo.

United also added a number of new domestic routes by using a mix of mainline and regional aircraft.

United Airlines:

SAS is coming to San Francisco

Scandinavian Airlines-SAS (Stockholm) is coming to San Francisco. The airline will launch nonstop Copenhagen-San Francisco service on April 8, 2013. The new route will be operated six days a week. The SFO route will feed Star Alliance partner United Airlines which has a hub there.

The carrier is also launching an evening departure from Copenhagen to Newark (three days a week) starting on April 1, 2013.

SAS:

United to launch nonstop Newark-Istanbul flights tomorrow

United Airlines (Chicago) introduces its first-ever service to Turkey this weekend with the launch of daily nonstop service between Newark Liberty International Airport and Istanbul’s Ataturk International Airport, beginning tomorrow (July 1).

Flight UA 904 is scheduled to depart Newark Liberty daily at 7:27 p.m. (1927) and arrive in Istanbul at 12:20 p.m. (1220) the next day. The return flight, UA 905, is scheduled to depart Istanbul daily at 1:55 p.m. (1355) and arrive in Newark at 6:02 p.m. (1802) the same day (all times local). Flying times are nine hours, 53 minutes eastbound and 11 hours, seven minutes westbound.

Initially, the service will operate with a three-cabin Boeing 767-300 aircraft, featuring a total of 183 seats – six in United Global First, 26 in United BusinessFirst and 151 in United Economy, including 67 Economy Plus seats. Later this summer, United plans to fly this route with its newly-configured Boeing 767-300, which features 30 seats in United BusinessFirst, 49 in Economy Plus and 135 in Economy. Customers traveling in BusinessFirst in this enhanced aircraft will enjoy flat-bed seats, a 15.4″ touchscreen monitor delivering on-demand inflight audio/video content, electrical and USB outlets, an iPod jack and a five-course meal with fine wines. Customers in Economy Plus will benefit from more legroom and more recline than Economy seats. Each Economy Plus and Economy seat in this upgraded aircraft features a 9″ touchscreen on-demand inflight entertainment system, and all Economy rows have access to electrical outlets.

United Airlines:

US Airways announces a new code share agreement with Croatia Airlines

US Airways (Phoenix) and Croatia Airlines (Zagreb) today (June 27) announced a new bilateral codeshare agreement after receiving approval from the Croatian Civil Aviation Agency and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). US Airways’ customers will enjoy expanded service to destinations in Croatia and the convenience of a single-ticket purchase for a seamless travel experience. Customers traveling on Croatia Airlines will also receive expanded access to the United States.

US Airways customers will be able to connect to Zagreb on Croatia Airlines flights from Amsterdam, Brussels, Frankfurt, London-Heathrow, Munich and Zurich. Equally, Croatia Airlines’ customers traveling from Zagreb will have access to US Airways’ East Coast hubs of Charlotte and Philadelphia when traveling from these European destinations. Croatia Airlines will also add its code on US Airways flights from Philadelphia to Cleveland, Detroit and St. Louis. In the future, US Airways and Croatia Airlines intend to expand their relationship to include flights to and from Dubrovnik and Split.

Top Copyright Photo: Jay Selman.

US Airways:

Croatia Airlines:

Bottom Copyright Photo: Keith Burton.

Avianca and TACA Airlines join the Star Alliance

Avianca (Colombia) (Bogota) and TACA Airlines (San Salvador) yesterday (June 21) announced their official entry into the Star Alliance. The airline network is the world´s largest in terms of daily flights, route network, service excellence and number of airline members.

After two years of work in the approval process and with the adoption of the highest standards of operation and service, Avianca and TACA Airlines now offer passengers the opportunity to access this global network, which brings together 28 internationally renowned airlines. It operates more than 4,200 latest generation aircraft, servicing 21,500 daily flights to 1,356 airports in 193 countries.

Star Alliance, with 15 years of experience (since 1997) is recognized as the first truly global airline alliance. Consistent with its goal of offering customers worldwide the largest number of destinations and a great travel experience, it now offers exclusive services and assistance to frequent flyers in 990 airport lounges on all five continents. It has the support of nearly half a million employees in America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia.

The Alliance transports an average of 650 million passengers per year and has sales revenues of USD 160bn.

The combined Star Alliance network will provide Avianca and TACA Airlines an opportunity to strengthen their presence in Latin America and the Caribbean in general. Passengers of the global network can quickly and seamlessly fly to over 50 destinations in the region through Avianca and TACA Airlines Hubs in Bogota (Colombia), San Salvador (El Salvador), Lima (Peru) and San Jose (Costa Rica).

Top Copyright Photo: Jay Selman.

Avianca (Colombia):

TACA:

Bottom Copyright Photo: Brian McDonough.

US Airways to file for antitrust immunity next month for a merger with American Airlines

US Airways (Phoenix) is planning to file the necessary paperwork with the antitrust regulators for a proposed merger with AMR Corporation (Dallas/Fort Worth), the bankrupt parent of American Airlines (Dallas/Fort Worth), according to this report by Reuters. US Airways believes such a filing would ease antitrust concerns about a possible merger. Meanwhile American’s management is proceeding with their own Chapter 11 reorganization as a stand-alone carrier despite undying pressure from the unsecured creditors and the unions to consider a merger with US Airways.

Read the full report: CLICK HERE

Top Copyright Photo: Jay Selman.

US Airways:

American:

Bottom Copyright Photo: Bruce Drum.

EVA Air is accepted to join the Star Alliance

EVA Air (Taipei) and the Star Alliance have announced the Chief Executive Board (CEB) of the Star Alliance have unanimously accepted the membership application of EVA Air. According to the alliance, “this decision underscores the Alliance’s long term strategy of seeking network growth and providing access to new markets which show strong economic potential and development.”

The integration process will now begin, with the respective teams at EVA Air and Star Alliance commencing the work which needs to be completed before a new airline can join the Star Alliance network. Air China will be assisting in this process as the mentor airline.

EVA Air’s network of 62 destinations will add Kaohsiung in Taiwan and Surabaya in Indonesia as unique airports to the Star alliance network. In addition, Taiwan’s geographic location adds to the quality of the Star Alliance hubs in Asia, it has the shortest average distance to all major cities in the Asia-Pacific region. In total, the network of 30 airlines (the current 26 and four future members) will offer more than 22,000 daily flights to 1,345 destinations in 191 countries.

In other news, the company is planning to place an order for seven additional Boeing 777-300 ERs according to a report by Flightglobal.

EVA Air Slide Show: CLICK HERE