Lufthansa’s supervisory board approved, in early December, the acquisition of Austrian Airlines Group, starting with the purchase of state holding company OIAG’s 41.56 per cent share for €366,000 (US$463,000). Lufthansa said it also will issue a debtor warrant potentially worth up to €163 million, “depending on Austrian Airlines’ economic performance and the Lufthansa share outperforming its competitors.” The German company then will make a €215 million … [Read more...] about EUROPE & CIS: Lufthansa clears first hurdle in Austrian acquisition

Delays to Boeing’s Dreamliner programme may prompt Virgin Atlantic Airways to place additional aircraft orders, possibly for 777s or the A350 XWB, while it is in talks with Boeing on compensation for the delay of its 787s. Virgin placed a firm order for 15 787-9s in April 2007 and had expected delivery of its first 3-4 aircraft in 2011 and all of them by 2014. The carrier, which pushed delivery of the first of its six A380s back to 2013, also remains interested in the A380 stretch … [Read more...] about EUROPE & CIS: Virgin eyes potential aircraft purchases

Air France KLM reported a 96.2 per cent drop in consolidated net income for its fiscal second quarter ended 30 September to €28 million (US$35.4 million) from €736 million earned in the year-ago period. But Europe’s biggest airline said its cargo operation swung to a profit in the fiscal second quarter from a loss a year ago as increased operating margins off set lower freight volumes. The carrier’s cargo unit reported operating income of 5 million euros (US$6.25 million) … [Read more...] about EUROPE & CIS: Cargo bright spot as profits plunge at AF/KLM

A Volga-Dnepr Airlines’ AN-124-100 freighter has transported the fuselage section of a Sukhoi Superjet 100 (SSJ-100) passenger aircraft from Komsomolsk-na- Amure in Khabarovsk to Novosibirsk. The Sukhoi Superjet 100, tail number 95006, was transported to the Siberian Research Institute for tests in order to confirm the service life of the airframe – 70,000 flight hours – and to perform a Technical Inspection Program to demonstrate the conformance of the aircraft’s … [Read more...] about EUROPE & CIS: Volga-Dnepr transports Sukhoi’s new Superjet

The Italian government wants the €1.05 billion sale of Alitalia to investor group Compagnia Aerea Italiana, or CAI, to be completed by January 12, in yet another delay in the sale of the ailing state-controlled airline, Dow Jones reported. Industry Minister Claudio Scajola said the delay of the sale until after the Christmas holidays was decided to avoid disruptions during a peak travel season. Alitalia said the government agreed to the delay on the condition CAI takes responsibility … [Read more...] about EUROPE & CIS: Alitalia acquisition and relaunch delayed again