Hawaiian Airlines Hires 100 Workers, Plans To Add 170 More

Hawaiian Airlines has hired 100 employees in recent months and plans to add 170 more by early next year to meet the company’s growth needs as it prepares for the first of its new Airbus A330-200 aircraft.

Recent hires have included aircraft mechanics, service representatives, contract agents, ramp agents, maintenance and cleaning personnel. The new hires going forward will include 25 new pilots and up to 30 flight attendants, the company said.

Hawaiian will take delivery of its first long range Airbus A330 next April.

The widebody, twin-aisle aircraft will seat 294 passengers in a two-class configuration and have an operating range of 6,050 nautical miles, giving Hawaiian the ability to fly nonstop to all of North America and points in eastern Asia.

“Everyone at Hawaiian has worked hard to keep our company in the enviable position of pursuing our growth strategy,” said Mark Dunkerley, Hawaiian’s president and CEO.

Zambian Airways Suspends All Flights

Privately owned airline, Zambian Airways, has suspended all flights and left passengers stranded at various southern African airports. Local press reports indicate that airline had become bankrupt and management had attempted had attempted to put various measures in place to ensure continuation of operation. However, none of these plans saved the airline from it’s current state.

Passengers were informed over the weekend as they arrived for their flights that Zambian Airways had cancelled their flights, thus leaving hundreds stranded and having to make their own alternative travel arrangements.

Zambian Airways cited the increase in jet fuel over the last 18 months which pushed up the operational costs of the company.

This is a massive blow to Zambia’s industry in general as Zambian Airways were the only airline flying to some airports on it’s network. The leisure sector will be hit very hard as the airline had played a big part in opening up the county to tourism, providing a vital link for local an international travellers to tourist destinations across Zambia.

Can this airline survive it’s current predicament? With debts reported to be in the region of US$ 25-30 million a govt. bail out for a private business seems unlikely. Can it attract new investors? Zambian Airways have probably already tried and, sadly, would appear to have failed.

Top US Legacy Airlines Launch Peak Fares

The five biggest US legacy airlines are charging passengers extra for flying on peak days as they seek new ways to take advantage of improving demand.

American Airlines, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and US Airways have all introduced surcharges ranging from $10 to $30 for one-way domestic flights on almost every day between June 10 and August 22.

The charges represent a departure for the major carriers, which have experimented with a range of fees as they struggle to find a formula for profitability after years of losses due to high fuel prices and the recession.

“Instead of hiking all fares across the board, they are picking specific departure dates when they know their planes are already full and people will pay a premium,” said Rick Seaney, chief executive of FareCompare.com, a price comparison website.

In February, for example, Delta added a $50 one-way surcharge for travel to most of its city destinations to coincide with the heavy travel associated with the Super Bowl weekend.

Surcharges for things like travelling on busy days are particularly attractive for airlines because, unlike specific fare increases, which must be implemented route by route, one rule change affects a swathe of fares.

According to an analysis by FareCompare.com, American Airlines introduced the surcharges on a limited number of busy holidays in September 2009 after a series of traditional price rises failed to stick.

The practice was quickly adopted by its peers and has expanded, with airlines adding more days and charging higher amounts for peak travel to the point where almost the whole summer season is covered.

For the most part, low-cost carriers, such as Southwest Airlines, have refrained from using peak travel surcharges.

The moves come as airlines work to capitalise on growing demand. In April passenger revenues rose for a fourth month, according to the Air Transport Association, a lobby group. The ATA expects passenger traffic to improve this summer compared with last year.

Unlike bag fees and other ancillary charges, which are filed under a different category, the peak travel surcharges are rolled into the basic price and so are largely invisible.

Mr Seaney said the fees were in some respects useful to passengers. In effect, airlines are for the first time telling customers “exactly which days to avoid the hassle of flying from or to packed airports”.

source : The Financial Times

British Airways Advance Airline Company Talk Merger with Qantas Airways

British Airways PLC, already in advanced merger talks with Spain’s Iberia Lineas Aereas de Espana SA, Tuesday said it is also in talks with Australian carrier Qantas Airways Ltd.

The U.K. flag carrier said the all-share merger talks with Iberia are continuing, but it is also exploring a dual-listed company structure with Qantas. It has also been talking to AMR Corp.’s American Airlines about a three-way tie-up with Iberia.

BA said it was approached by Qantas, and it has been talking about a merger of equals since August.

Any deal with Qantas will have to overcome Australia’s airline ownership laws, which say a foreign carrier can’t own more than 35% of an Australian airline and total foreign holdings can’t exceed 49%.

The Australian government earlier Tuesday said it will consider removing the 35% cap, although it will maintain the legal requirement for majority Australian ownership of the country’s international airlines, including Qantas, “to ensure a strong, Australian-based aviation industry continues into the future.”

BA has attempted an equity tie-up with Qantas before — in 1993 it bought and sold a 25% stake in Qantas as it tried to gain presence on the profitable London to Australia route.

The latest merger talks come as airlines around the world, but particularly in Europe, seek to merge to build scale and create synergies that will significantly cut costs. The industry has seen losses mount this year as it was battered first by record-high oil prices and then by shrinking passenger numbers as the economic downturn took hold.

BA also needs to keep up with its two main European rivals, Air France-KLM and Germany’s Deutsche Lufthansa AG, which are leading Europe’s consolidation.

Air France-KLM, now the world’s biggest airline by revenue, was created in 2004 by the merger of Air France and KLM of the Netherlands. It is courting the new owners of Italy’s Alitalia SpA about a tie up. Lufthansa, meanwhile, having acquired Swiss, is also courting the Italians and attempting to acquire Austrian Airlines AG.

Emirates Airlines Sees Robust Air Cargo Demand for Africa

Emirates Airlines is banking on the economic vibrancy of its African destinations to boost its cargo business.

Africa is a leading exporter of raw materials as well as being at the forefront of importing infrastructure gear that is boosting business for cargo airlines.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Air Cargo Africa Conference, Emirates Divisional Senior Vice President-Cargo Ram Menen said the volumes of cargo shipped to and from Africa has the capacity to put the global air cargo business to new levels of profitability.

“These are great times for us. Trade in Africa is diverse and it is proving to be a major hub for air cargo with all the developments taking off here,” Mr Menen said.

Emirates operates a freighter four times a week into Nairobi as well as serving 15 other countries with flights to Lilongwe, Entebbe, Lagos and Dakar.

To South Africa, Emirates runs freighters on an ad hoc basis owing to its regular daily passenger flights. South Africa is a major exporter of gold and diamonds, with Mr Menen saying it has been a good source of business.

It is estimated that the global air cargo industry represents almost 100 billion revenue ton-miles of transportation, translating to $52 billion (Sh4.2 trillion) in direct revenue and substantially more revenues in related trucking and logistics services.

The major challenge for the industry is the on ground transport and logistics, which has been a hurdle in increasing turnaround time.

“The transport infrastructure is still a challenge for us but we are seeing African governments addressing this and it should help us a lot,” he said.

Kenya’s horticultural sector currently ranks as one of the economy’s fastest growing industries and largely depends on air cargo to get products to markets in Europe.

With all the development and investment in the telecommunications industry, the Emirates-Cargo VP highlighted that most of its inbound cargo was telecoms equipment.

“Telecommunication equipment are very huge purely because of the upgrading by operators of their telecommunication technology,” Mr Menen said adding the same was also being witnessed in Uganda.

He said that as part of its global strategy, Emirates would be building linkages between both importers and exporters to improve the quality if service offered as well as boost economic growth.

Source : Capital Business