¦ The International Air Transport Association has upgraded its forecast for the global airline industry this year — forecasting that it will earn $2.5 billion. The outlook released recently compared with a forecast made in March that airlines would lose a total $2.8 billion in 2010. However, IATA said Europe is a striking weak spot and it anticipates a $2.8 billion loss for airlines on the continent — worse than the $2.2 billion previously predicted.
¦ Affordable Fuel Injection Inc. announced the certification of the Ford 4.9L engine meeting stringent California Air Resources Board (CARB) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) exhaust emissions standards. After two-and-a-half years of research, development and extensive testing, the certified engine is now approved for use in
50 states.
¦ Air T Inc. announced consolidated net earnings of $3,757,000 ($1.54 per diluted share) for fiscal 2010, which ended March 31, 2010, compared to net earnings of $4,379,000 ($1.81 per diluted share) for fiscal 2009. Consolidated revenue for fiscal 2010 was $81,077,000 compared to $90,668,000 for fiscal 2009. This 11 percent decrease resulted from a $7,047,000 (18 percent) decrease in ground equipment sales revenue and a $4,016,000 (9 percent) decrease in air cargo revenue, partially offset by a $1,472,000 increase in ground support services revenue.
¦ Ship it AOG announced that it has added a new 7,000-sq. ft. warehouse adjacent to its existing facility in Addison, Texas, bringing the total warehouse space to 14,000 sq. ft.
¦ Total Airport Services announced that it held its grand re-opening ceremony at its new facility in Newark, New Jersey. The new facility will house TAS warehousing operations for Lufthansa, Air India, and LOT/Polish Airlines, and represents about 60 percent of the company’s existing business in Newark.
¦ The International Air Transport Association announced Automated Carrier Baggage Rules (ACBR), the latest project in IATA’s Simplifying the Business program. ACBR will provide a central database for interline baggage rules, enabling airlines, travel agents, and passengers to know what baggage rules will apply for any given itinerary. According to IATA, airlines will benefit from easier, faster and more accurate handling of baggage charges at check-in. It will reduce costly and time-consuming disputes between carriers over whose baggage allowances and charges apply for any given journey. IATA is partnering with the Airline Tariff Publishing Company (ATPCO), who will host the central database. IATA will populate the database by mobilizing airlines to submit their baggage rules to ATPCO by September 2010 for implementation in early 2011.
¦ WestJet reported first quarter 2010 net earnings of $13.8 million, or 10 cents per diluted share, which marks its 20th consecutive quarter of profitability. Excluding the impact of a one-time special item related to the departure of WestJet’s CEO in the first quarter of 2010, WestJet’s adjusted first quarter net earnings for 2010 were $17.5 million, or 12 cents per diluted share.
¦ JBT Corporation announced first quarter 2010 results for its JBT AeroTech business. Its first quarter revenue of $67.4 million declined 8 percent from the same period in 2009 due to lower backlog entering 2010. JBT AeroTech’s operating profit was $4.8 million, a 13 percent decline from the prior-year quarter due to lower revenue and competitive pricing pressure in airport services. The decline in profit was partially offset by cost savings from restructuring initiatives, improved margins for the gate equipment product line and the absence of restructuring charges. Operating margins were 7.1 percent, a decrease of 190 basis points from the prior-year quarter results excluding restructuring charges. Order activity has increased across most product lines, reflecting improving economic conditions in the airline and airfreight industries. Inbound orders totaled $114.7 million, up 30 percent from the prior-year quarter.
¦ Swissport Cargo Services announced it has launched an improved version of its FREIGHTfinder Track and Trace website. New functionality includes customer-specific information available in real-time, with access through secure log-in. This compliments historic AWB tracking. According to the company, one of the key advantages to the system is that information can be seen at airline or station level, negating the need to check multiple sites. If the shipment is handled in multiple Swissport stations, the full history can be retrieved from all stations on a password-protected basis.
¦ The International Air Transport Association announced international scheduled air traffic results for April 2010. Passenger demand slumped by 2.4 percent as a result of massive flight cancellations centered in Europe during the six days in April following the eruptions of an Icelandic volcano. The fall in traffic interrupted the industry’s recovery from the global financial crisis. International scheduled cargo traffic, less impacted by the cancellations, saw the pace of its recovery slow to 25.2 percent growth in April (down from the 28.1 percent improvement recorded in March).
Partnerships/Acquisitions/Contracts
¦ I.D. Systems announced it has partnered with Garmin to provide SafeNav. The system was designed to enhance the situational awareness of airport vehicle operators — regardless of visibility and other external conditions — by providing an on-vehicle “moving map” of the vehicle’s location on the airport.
¦ Menzies Aviation announced it has won the passenger, ramp and cargo warehousing contract for Emirates new operation at Prague airport. Emirates will operate daily with an Airbus A330-200 starting from July 1.
¦ ASIG announced that it has signed a 5-year renewal to provide 20 area resorts and hotels and two cruise ships with luggage logistics transportation services. Under the terms of the agreement, ASIG provides luggage delivery services for passengers arriving and departing through Orlando International Airport (MCO). ASIG transports over 9,000 pieces of luggage daily to and from the airport, enhancing and simplifying the travel experience for the end customer. To provide these services, ASIG employs 250 people that are responsible for offloading and loading aircraft, baggage sorting and trucking services.
¦ Çelebi announced that it began ground handling services in addition to the cargo warehousing services in Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport, and in parallel to its operations for almost two years in Mumbai.
¦ Aviapartner announced it has been awarded a ground handling license for Köln Airport for a seven-year period up to July 31, 2017. The license will enable Aviapartner to expand its German operations, whcih started in 2000.
¦ Menzies Aviation announced the award of the ground handling contract by Juneyao Airlines in Macau. The company will provide full ground handling services for the carrier, ranging from ramp, passenger, cargo, aircraft maintenance to cleaning services, based on three flights per week for a contract period up to Dec. 2013.
¦ Rentech, Inc. and Fluor Corporation jointly announced today that they have signed a contract under which Fluor will provide front-end engineering and design (FEED) services for the Rialto Renewable Energy Center (Rialto Project), being developed by Rentech. Under the agreement, Fluor will perform FEED services for the facility and the supporting infrastructure for the project. The Rialto Project, which will use green waste as feedstock, is expected to be the first commercial biomass gasification facility in the United States that will co-produce renewable synthetic diesel fuel and renewable electric power.
¦ As part of construction of the new Northwest runway at Frankfurt Airport, Terminal 1 is to be extended by a new departure gate. The airport owner and operator, Fraport AG, has commissioned BEUMER to provide the necessary equipment for the extension of the baggage conveying system. The order has a volume of about 25 million Euros.
¦ JBT Corporation announced that its JBT AeroTech business has been awarded a contract to supply gate equipment for the Bucharest Henri Coanda International Airport, in Bucharest, Romania. The contract, placed by Romairport S.R.L., a company of the Italian construction group Astaldi S.p.A., includes the supply of 9 new Jetway(R) passenger boarding bridges, 11 Jetpower(R) ground power units and 11 JetAire(R) pre-conditioned air units.
¦ Menzies Aviation announced it has been awarded a ground gandling contract by Kingfisher Airlines at Hyderabad Airport. The company started handling Kingfisher Airlines at Hyderabad with 25 flights per day on June 1.
¦ Singapore Airport Terminal Services Limited has been conferred the ‘Best Air Cargo Terminal – Asia’ at this year’s Asian Freight & Supply Chain Awards (AFSCA) held yesterday in Shanghai. It marks the 12th time that SATS has received the title given to an air cargo terminal that received the most number of votes cast by professionals in the logistics and cargo industry.
¦ Airport Terminal Services announced six contract awards: Air Canada in San Diego, Volaris in San Jose, US Airways in Montreal, Virgin America in Toronto, AirTran Airways in Huntsville and AirTrain Airways in Baltimore.
¦ With the launch of a direct connection between Zurich and San Francisco, Swiss WorldCargo announced it is doubling its cargo capacity to and from the West Coast of the United States, where SWISS already serves Los Angeles. As of the beginning of June, SWISS operates a six-times-weekly service with wide-bodied A340-300 aircraft.
¦ JBT Corporation announced that its JBT AeroTech business has been awarded a $10.5 million contract to supply gate equipment for the new Terminal 3, currently under construction, at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, Nevada. The contract, placed by the Clark County Department of Aviation, includes the supply of 18 new Jetway(R) passenger boarding bridges and Jetpower(R) ground power units.
People in the News
¦ Swissport International announced management changes. Mark Faulkner has left the company to take on a new professional challenge. Robin Dickie has been appointed to take over as interim CEO on June 1. Martin Meyer, Swissport International’s global key account manager ground handling, has announced he will leave the company to take on a new professional challenge.
¦ Swissport International has named Natacha Saller as its corporate senior HR manager. She assumed her duties in this newly-created position on June 1. In her new head-office capacity, Natacha Saller will support Peter Moser, executive vice president HR, in the implementation of Swissport’s personnel strategy. She will also be actively involved in recruiting and training issues; and her prime duties will further include developing and ensuring the adoption of performance management and personnel development tools.
