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Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes S.a. (GOL)

Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes SA, (NYSE:GOL), Brazil’s second-biggest airline, swung to a profit in the fourth quarter after one-time gains and an economic rebound that spurred travel, according to Business Week. Net income was 397.8 million reais ($225.5 million) in the three months ended December, compared with a restated 541.6 million reais loss a year earlier, Sao Paulo-based Gol said in a filing late yesterday.
Profit included one-time gains from foreign exchange and tax credits, Chief Executive Officer Constantino de Oliveira Jr. said on a conference call. Air travel rebounded as Latin America’s biggest economy expanded 2 percent in the quarter from the previous three months, the fastest pace in two years.

Mar 12 · 2:07:00 PM · Source: Business Week
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by Steve Wieczorek

China Southern Airlines Company (ZNH)

China Southern Airlines’ (NYSE:ZNH) shares soared 7.1% in Hong Kong to their highest level since Jun-2008 (as trading resumed after a two-week suspension), following the carrier's announcement of a much bigger than expected capital raising plan – supported by Beijing – to help it improve its balance sheet, according to the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation. Clearly a return to profitability in 2009 and soaring rates of traffic growth in 2010 were not enough. Beijing is again dipping deeply into its pockets to support the “big three” airlines following a flawed industry consolidation programme and massive debt-fuelled expansion last decade, as well as natural disasters and wrong-way bets on derivatives in 2008 and the global economic morass of 2009.
HSBC Securities raised its rating on China Southern from “underweight” to “overweight”. Beijing is clearly keen to improve the balance sheets of its big three airlines, as the Chinese economy gets back into stride in 2010. But it is not good news for rival private airlines – and it will probably not help the "big three" over the long run. As Beijing sends around the rescue boat every few years, the state-owned carriers lack any real incentive to become efficient.

Mar 12 · 1:57:00 PM · Source: Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation
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by Steve Wieczorek

UAL Corp. (UAUA)

United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAUA) has formalized a commitment originally announced in December 2009, signing a firm order for 25 A350-900 XWB aircraft, the newest twin-engine widebody from Airbus. The aircraft will be powered by Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines. Deliveries of the aircraft will begin in 2016 and run through 2019.
"The A350 XWB will also help us reduce fuel burn and our overall environmental footprint in comparison to older technology aircraft." said John Tague, President of United Airlines. The signing with Airbus comes on the heels of United having finalized an order for 25 Boeing 787-8 jetliners in February with an option for an additional 50 aircraft, as previously reported in MarketBeast. The Airbus and Boeing orders reflect a need to replace its fleet of outdated and expensive to operate older aircraft.

Mar 12 · 1:43:00 PM · Source: Company Press Release
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by Steve Wieczorek

Republic Airways (RJET)

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters is going to court to prevent what the union says is an attempt by Republic Airways Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:RJET) to strip Frontier Airlines mechanics moving to Milwaukee of their union representation, according to The Business Journal. The union’s airline division late Wednesday filed a motion in U.S. District Court in Milwaukee requesting a preliminary injunction against Indianapolis-based Republic Airways — parent company for Denver-based Frontier Airlines and Midwest Airlines of Oak Creek — for allegedly abrogating its collective-bargaining contract with Frontier mechanics.
The request indicates that Republic officials intend to make Frontier mechanics at its heavy maintenance operation in Milwaukee nonunion. It requests that Frontier and Republic Airways Holdings, their officers, agents and subsidiaries maintain the status quo as it existed prior to the transfer of work from Frontier to Republic Airlines and comply with the terms of the Frontier-IBT collective bargaining agreement.

Mar 12 · 1:19:00 PM · Source: The Business Journal
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by Steve Wieczorek

AMR (AMR)

AMR (NYSE:AMR), parent company of American Airlines and American Eagle, faces a possible strike after its biggest labor bloc, the Transport Workers Union, asked federal mediators to declare a deadlock in contract negotiations, according to Investors.com. The carrier's flight attendant union said last week it'll do the same. AMR contends that talks are progressing.
In addition to the the failing talks with the TWU and the flight attendant's union, the airline's CFO Thomas Horton acknowledged that American and its pilots' union are "far apart" on a new labor contract, with American arguing that its labor costs are higher than those of rival carriers. Horton said American wants its pilot costs to be "competitive." The 2 sides are currently in negotiations overseen by a federal mediator. Fighting a war on three fronts does not leave American with the ability to really look at what is the real cost of flying. If the legacy carriers want to be competitive, it's time they reinvented and redesign their models and take the consumer into account and not just charge for everything to make-up costs due to their stuck-in-the-mud thinking.

Mar 12 · 11:46:00 AM · Source: Investors.com
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by Steve Wieczorek

Southwest Airlines (LUV)

Southwest Airlines Cargo was recognized as the top airline in the world in Air Cargo World's annual Air Cargo Excellence (ACE) Survey released today. Rated against 84 airlines, Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV) earned the highest overall airline score, led all airlines in the Performance and Value categories, and received the highest honor, the Diamond Award.
The Air Cargo Excellence Survey, established five years ago and published annually by Air Cargo World, acknowledged Southwest Airlines Cargo for achievements in air cargo excellence in four key areas: Customer Service, Performance, Information Technology, and Value.

Mar 11 · 3:22:00 PM · Source: Company Press Release
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by Steve Wieczorek

Republic Airways (RJET)

Republic Airways (NASDAQ:RJET), the new owner of Midwest Airlines has added almost 400 jobs in Milwaukee since last October, according to WHBL.com. That’s approximately half the 800 total jobs that Republic Airways promised to add by the end of this year. However, it still doesn’t come close to replacing the 2,600 jobs Midwest has dropped since the start of 2008.
Republic says it has 1,140 employees in Milwaukee and nearby Oak Creek. The new jobs are designed to boost Midwest’s market share in Milwaukee, which has dropped from 50 percent to around 35 percent.

Mar 9 · 12:05:00 PM · Source: WHBL.com
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by Steve Wieczorek

Lan Chile S.a. (LFL)

Chilean carrier LAN Airlines (NYSE: LFL) announced on Friday the increase of capacity of its domestic and international operations to and from Santiago International Airport, according to TradingMarkets.com. As of Friday, LAN was operating 54% of its normal flight operations to and from Santiago.
Even though the airline is still operating some temporary LAN facilities at the Santiago airport, the systems that we have in place are working quickly and efficiently, stated a LAN official. We hope to be able to return to operating 100% of our flights out of the Santiago airport terminal shortly.

Mar 9 · 11:12:00 AM · Source: TradingMarkets.com
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by Steve Wieczorek

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