September 2009 Archives

AMR Corp., the parent company of American Airlines and American Eagle, announced Thursday that has obtained $2.9 billion in new liquidity and financing to buy new Boeing 737 aircraft and exercised options to buy 22 CRJ-700s for American Eagle.

AMR will end up the third quarter Wednesday with about $1.1 billion more in cash and short-term investments than it had in hand on June 30.

SkyWest Inc., which owns SkyWest Airlines and ASA Airlines, operates the largest regional airline in the United States. From humble beginnings in rural Utah, to the cutting edge of the airline industry, SkyWest’s history is an American success story.

Frontier Airlines Holdings reported today that they had earned an operating profit of $10.2 million for the month of August.

Some 25,000 new passenger and freighter aircraft valued at US$3.1 trillion will be delivered from 2009 to 2028, according to Airbus’ latest Global Market Forecast. Emerging economies, evolving airline networks, expansion of low cost carriers and the increasing number of mega-cities as well as traffic growth and the replacement of older less efficient aircraft with more eco-efficient airliners are factors driving demand for new aircraft.

Delta is expecting to report a 3% to 4% operating profit margin for the third quarter and a breakeven operating margin for the full year, thanks in part to lower fuel prices than previously anticipated, the airline said in an investor update issued Monday.

This year's financial outlook is in better shape than carriers elsewhere in the world. That's according to Reuters, which writes "U.S. airlines are expected to fare better than most of their foreign counterparts this year because they are trimming unprofitable routes and beefing up balance sheets as the economy begins to rebound. U.S.-based carriers have been cutting capacity since last year in response to surging oil prices, while most European and Asian carriers have been slower to reduce flights or fly smaller aircraft on their routes."

The Federal Aviation Administration is expected to propose changes to two of the most hotly contested issues involving cockpit fatigue, as part of a broader effort to revamp decades-old limits on how long commercial pilots can safely stay behind the controls according to The Wall Street Journal.

ATP has again responded to the needs of their students by modifying its popular Airline Career Pilot Program. Important changes have been made to the pricing structure to accommodate Students’ requests.

Frontier Airlines won bankruptcy-court approval Thursday for its reorganization plan, clearing the way for the Denver airline to emerge from Chapter 11 protection.

The Florida Keys resort town of Key West will become AirTran Airway's newest destination. AirTran will announce today that it will begin service to the Key West on Dec. 17 with four weekly round-trip flights from Orlando. The carrier will fly Boeing 737 jets on the route, with one-stop same-plane service from Atlanta. Connections will be available from most of AirTran's other cities via Orlando or Atlanta. The carrier said the service gives it the claim of being the only airline to provide full-size commercial jet access to the island.

SkyWest Inc., which runs regional carriers SkyWest Airlines and Atlantic Southeast Airlines, said on Friday that its August traffic rose 8.5 percent.

ATP welcomes three more of its graduates as new CFIs:

• Michael from ATP Jacksonville
• John L. from ATP Daytona
• John B. from ATP Jacksonville

American Airlines, along with its regional partner American Eagle, continue to grow their schedule in South Florida. This is beyond the schedule additions previously announced for November 2009 at Miami International Airport (MIA).

Southwest Airlines said Friday its traffic rose 1 percent in August even as it cut capacity, exactly the combination airlines like to see as they adjust to the travel downturn in a recession.

Denver-based Frontier and Midwest are destined to become sister airlines when Indianapolis-based Republic Airways Holdings Inc. closes on its purchase of Frontier. Republic recently acquired Midwest.

Allegiant Air, a unit of Allegiant Travel Co., said Thursday that total system traffic and capacity surged in August, compared to the same month a year ago.

Republic Airways Holdings has flown under the radar for many U.S. travelers. Over the last couple of months, however, the Indianapolis-based airline company has emerged as a prominent player through the acquisitions of Midwest Airlines and Frontier Airlines.

With this nation's recovery from the current recession, the airlines will recover and once more they will be in search of pilots to fill open positions on their flightdecks. As you consider whether you will pursue a career as an airline pilot, there are a few things you should consider.