Saudi Arabian Airlines said it is seeking a business partner to contribute to the privatization of 30% of its MRO unit. The carrier is moving to privatize all its business units following a ruling by the Supreme Economic Council, the Arab Air Carriers Organization reported.
Alaska Airlines and the Transport Workers Union jointly announced the carrier's 36 dispatchers have ratified a new four-year contract by a ratio of nearly 86%. The contract includes wage increases and provisions that improve quality of life issues, among other changes. A tentative agreement was reached in March and becomes amendable March 24, 2015.Jazeera Airways announced it has passed the IATA Operational Safety Audit after a six-month evaluation.
Virgin Atlantic Airways expects further delivery delays of the 15 Boeing 787s it has on order and will be seeking compensation, Virgin Group Chairman Richard Branson said Wednesday in Australia on the sidelines of the event marking the rebranding of Virgin Blue to Virgin Australia
“We had some coming four years ago, three years ago, two years ago, one year ago and it looks like it's delayed even further, so it's been a nightmare,” he was quoted as saying by Dow Jones. He conceded that VS has already been compensated for previous delays, and added: “I think sadly we'll be talking about another lot.”
Lufthansa 747-400. Photo: By Rob Finlayson.
Lufthansa Group incurred a first-quarter net loss of €507 million ($752.6 million), widened 70.1% from a €298 million net deficit in the year-ago quarter. LH said the loss is not as steep as it appears since it includes a €300 million charge associated with a change in the value of fuel hedge options.
CFO Stephan Gemkow characterized the charge as "purely an accounting effect," adding that the "hedging options are taking a lot of pressure off our operating result." First-quarter revenue lifted 11.8% year-over-year to €6.4 billion and operating loss was €227 million, narrowed from an operating deficit of €330 million in the year-ago period.
Finnair will start five-times-weekly Helsinki-Hong Kong service, increasing to 12 flights per week during the summer schedule from May 30 to Oct. 9. AY’s new daily HEL-Singapore route will open May 30. The carrier operates 74 flights per week to Asia.
Air Berlin launched four-times-weekly Airbus A330 Berlin Tegel–New York JFK service.
