Japan Airlines, Asia¡¯s biggest air carrier, said international cargo volume declined for five months in a row to November, when volume plummeted 25.1 per cent to 47,000 tonnes. During the first eight months of the fiscal year 2008, which started in April, international volume totaled 434,943 tonnes, down 7.8 per cent from the same period a year earlier. By comparison, JAL's domestic cargo in November increased 13 per cent on-year and year-to-date. Japan¡¯s second-largest airline, All Nippon … [Read more...] about Plummeting volumes for JAL and ANA
Carriers
Possible Alitalia cargo sale nears
Alitalia¡¯s bankruptcy administrator is close to selling the cargo unit of Italy¡¯s former state-owned airline. Alitalia's Extraordinary Administrator, Augusto Fantozzi has set a 29 January deadline for companies to make offers for the cargo unit¡¯s five MD-11 freighters and its other assets. This will be followed immediately by a public tender. The cargo unit was not included in the US$1 billion acquisition of Italy's national carrier by CAI, an Italian investor group, which launched a … [Read more...] about Possible Alitalia cargo sale nears
More bad news from China carriers
Air China and Shanghai Airlines joined China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines in announcing that they expect to report losses for 2008. Both carriers cited declining market demand along with the impact of May's Sichuan earthquakes, stricter security measures surrounding the Beijing Olympics, the global financial crisis and the mid-year spike in fuel prices, followed by fuel hedge losses. Air China noted that it suffered a US$993.3 million loss resulting from a writedown in the value … [Read more...] about More bad news from China carriers
FlyLAL ceases operations
FlyLAL Lithuanian Airlines ceased operations recently after its acquisition by SCH Swiss Capital Holdings for €1 million plus an agreement to cover debt of an additional €1 million, fell through. FlyLAL said that SCH "did not fulfill its obligations under the agreement" and that it "cannot secure the continuity of its operations and satisfy the demands of its creditors." SCH did not transfer the funds in time, flyLAL CEO Vytautas Kaikaris said, adding that shutting down was "the only … [Read more...] about FlyLAL ceases operations
AAPA figures reveal "shocking" cargo decline
Recently released figures from the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) indicate that international air cargo traffic for 2008, expressed in freight tonne kilometres (FTKs), suffered a 6.1 per cent decline and while member airlines reduced cargo capacity significantly, the average cargo load factor for the year still fell by one percentage point to 65.6 per cent. The AAPA members carried 141.5 million international passengers in 2008, 1.8 per cent fewer than the record levels achieved in … [Read more...] about AAPA figures reveal "shocking" cargo decline
Singapore inks OSAs with Czech Rep & Iceland
Singapore has concluded an Open Skies Agreement (OSA) with Iceland giving airlines from Singapore and Iceland full flexibility to operate air services between and beyond both countries, as well as via intermediate points, without restrictions on capacity, frequency and aircraft type. The Singapore-Iceland OSA is also more liberal than conventional OSAs, as it allows for unlimited ¡°hubbing rights¡±, also known as ¡°7th freedom traffic rights¡±, for both passenger and cargo services. … [Read more...] about Singapore inks OSAs with Czech Rep & Iceland
