Ryanair Boosts Annual Profit 25%, Predicts Decline This Year By Chris Jasper - 2012-05-21T06:00:44Z Ryanair Holdings Plc (RYA), Europe’s No. 1 discount airline, boosted annual profit 25 percent while predicting earnings will fall this fiscal year as it struggles to increase fares sufficiently to make up for higher fuel costs. Net income rose to 502.6 million euros ($643 million) in the 12 months to March 31 from 400.7 million euros a year earlier. That figure may slip to between 400 million euros and 440 million euros this year, the Dublin-based company said. Ryanair idled 80 aircraft last winter, curbing capacity and helping to boost average fares 16 percent for the year as costs rose 13 percent, led by higher fuel expenses. Slowing economies mean it ... Continue reading →

A Czech Airlines AS pilot who died en route from Poland to Prague had an undiagnosed heart condition death, forcing the copilot to land the turboprop aircraft, Air Accidents Investigation Institute said. The institute will publish the report with detailed findings of the investigation on its website, the head of the Prague-based institute Pavel Strubl said by phone today. The Czech captain died during flight OK-770 from Warsaw to Prague’s main Ruzyne airport on Feb. 15. The ATR plane touched down without incident and none of the 46 passengers were hurt. To contact the reporter on this story: Lenka Ponikelska in Prague at lponikelska1@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: James M. Gomez at jagomez@bloomberg.net Continue reading →

European Aeronautic, Defense & Space Co. (EAD) and Finmeccanica SpA (FNC), the owners of Avions de Transport Regional, are encouraging the turboprop planemaker to work on plans for a larger model to capture demand for aircraft that guzzle less fuel than jets. ATR’s 42- and 72-seat turboprops have been in service since the mid 1980s and ATR’s only remaining competitor in that market is Bombardier’s Q-Series capable of carrying 74 passengers. Both Bombardier and ATR have been eyeing a 90-seat version as rising oil prices drive demand for more fuel-efficient turboprops. After rapid sales in the late 1980s and early 1990s, orders for turbopropeller planes petered as airlines chose faster-and quieter jets. Demand is now surging as higher fuel costs make turboprops much cheaper to ... Continue reading →

Orders to U.S. factories decreased in March, restrained by a pullback in demand for aircraft that overshadowed gains elsewhere. Bookings fell 1.5 percent after a revised 1.1 percent gain in February, figures from the Commerce Department showed today in Washington. The median projection of 61 economists in a Bloomberg News survey called for a 1.6 percent decline. Turbines and household appliances were among areas showing increases. The report comes a day after purchasing managers said manufacturing expanded in April at the fastest pace in almost a year as orders, production and employment picked up, indicating the slump may be short-lived. Exports and consumer spending on big-ticket items like automobiles may be making up for a cooling in business investment, which means factories will continue to ... Continue reading →

Deutsche Lufthansa AG (LHA)’s Austrian Airlines subsidiary will transfer all flight operations, with about 80 aircraft and 2,100 employees, to its Tyrolean Airways unit to cut costs and improve profitability. The company made the decision, which will take effect on July 1, after it proved “impossible to reach agreement over principles” with the company’s works council, Vienna-based Austrian said in an e-mailed statement last night. The transfer of flight operations to Innsbruck-based Tyrolean, where contracts are 25 percent less costly, will help Austrian to make 220 million euros ($292 million) of cost savings. The company posted a 62 million-euro loss in 2011. “The executive board views this as a measure which will secure the future of Austrian Airlines, as the step will result in automatic ... Continue reading →

American Airlines Inc., the bankrupt carrier fighting to cut labor costs, sued the National Mediation Board over a decision directing a union election among a group of nonunion employees. The board applied the wrong standard when it ordered a union-representation election for passenger service employees, American said in a complaint filed yesterday in federal court in Fort Worth, Texas, where the airline is based. American’s lawsuit comes as it’s seeking court approval to void labor contracts with unions as part of its bankruptcy reorganization. The airline is seeking to cut $1.25 billion in annual labor costs. American said it has about 10,000 passenger service employees, who work at airport ticket counters, gates and baggage areas. The “vast majority” of them didn’t provide an authorization card ... Continue reading →

US Airways Said to Approach AMR Bondholders on Merger By Mary Schlangenstein - Wed Apr 25 20:59:17 GMT 2012 US Airways Group Inc. (LCC) is targeting AMR Corp. (AAMRQ)’s unsecured creditors committee to build support for a possible takeover bid for bankrupt American Airlines after winning the backing of the carrier’s biggest unions. Agreements with the labor groups were a “big step” as US Airways progresses from the unions to the creditor panel and eventually to AMR’s board, Chief Executive Officer Doug Parker said today on a conference call with analysts and investors. “We are eager to demonstrate to the creditors of AMR that our plan would result in higher returns than the AMR stand-alone strategy,” Parker said. “We’re highly confident the value created by ... Continue reading →

Shenzhen Air Loses Route After Passengers Protest 15-Hour Delay By Bloomberg News - Thu Apr 26 05:06:49 GMT 2012 Shenzhen Airlines Co. said one of its services was suspended by China’s aviation regulator after passengers stranded for at least 15 hours by a delay protested on an airport taxiway. The Air China Ltd. (753) unit will stop flights to Harbin, northern China, via Nanjing, on April 29 because of the incident, a company spokeswoman said by phone today. She declined to be named citing company policy. Calls to the Civil Aviation Authority of China went unanswered. About 30 passengers flying on an April 10 service pushed their way past security guards and entered the tarmac at Shanghai’s Pudong International Airport after being marooned there overnight ... Continue reading →

AMR Likely to Consider Merger in Bankruptcy, Adviser Says By David McLaughlin - Thu Apr 26 04:01:01 GMT 2012 American Airlines, as part of its bankruptcy reorganization, will probably consider a merger as it seeks to get the best deal for stakeholders, an investment banker for the airline said in court. David Resnick, chairman of global financing advisory at Rothschild Inc., was asked yesterday at a court hearing whether a merger would be considered before exiting bankruptcy. He said it’s likely because American is obliged to get the highest value for stakeholders. “Stakeholders would want to ensure they are getting the highest possible value so they would want the debtor to look at alternatives to a stand-alone plan,” he said during testimony in U.S. Bankruptcy ... Continue reading →

Emirates Says India Carriers Unappealing Without Greater Control By Andrea Rothman - Tue Apr 24 15:08:00 GMT 2012 Dubai-based Emirates, the world’s largest airline by international traffic, won’t invest in Indian carriers unless the government there gives outside investors ultimate control, President Tim Clark said in an interview. The imminent removal of a ban on foreign stakes won’t in itself be enough to persuade Emirates to bid given the limited influence on offer versus the poor financial records of Indian airlines and the prices likely to be demanded, Clark said today. “Part of the deal would be a requirement to do certain things,” Clark said. “If we put money into an Indian carrier and then said we wanted to take down the labor force by ... Continue reading →