26 2015

http://www.ainonline.com

United To Swap Boeing 787 Positions for 777s

United Airlines has reached an agreement with Boeing to

exchange orders for ten 787s with the same number of
777-300ERs as part of a new fleet plan designed to
increase the average size and range capabilities of its
long-haul airplanes. The deal comes as Boeing aims at a
target to sell 60 current-generation 777s a year in an
effort to ensure an uninterrupted transition to production
of the new 777X in 2018. During the companys firstquarter earnings conference call on Wednesday, Boeing
CEO Jim McNerney said Boeing had collected orders and
commitments for twenty-five 777s so far this year, and
that the company had sold out all delivery positions for
2016 and roughly half of its positions for 2017.
United also confirmed plans to completely remove more
than 130 fifty-seat jets from its schedule by the end of
this year. It added that it will remove more 50-seat
airplanes next year and beyond as their leases expire

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Further widebody fleet plan refinements involve a life
extension plan for 11 more 767-300ERs, meaning the
airline now plans to extend the life of all 21 Boeing 767300ERs in its fleet through investments in winglets,
reliability improvements and interior modifications. The
changes will improve financial performance and customer
appeal, it said. Meanwhile, United plans to reconfigure and
move ten 777-200s now used in international markets into
its domestic network, and position number of its
transatlantic 757-200s into the domestic and Latin
American markets.
Finally, the airline has entered final negotiations involving
the lease of 10 to 20 used narrowbodies for delivery over
the next few years as part of a wider plan to continually
add used aircraft to meet its needs as market
conditions allow.
United said the changes will not affect its 2015 capacity
guidance, nor will it alter its current gross annual capital
expenditure guidance of $2.7 billion to $2.9 billion over the
next three to four years.
These changes are part of our strategy to improve
operational reliability, grow capacity with demand, and
enable us to achieve our long-term goal to improve
margins and return on invested capital, said John Rainey,
UAL's executive vice president and chief financial officer.
Customers tell us they prefer larger aircraft, and these
fleet modifications will provide more opportunity for our
customers to travel on the type of aircraft they prefer.

http://www.arabiansupplychain.com
US dossier claims Qatar Airways mulled shutting down
Qatar Airways shareholders considered dissolving the airline five year
ago amid mounting liabilities, according to a new dossier released by US
airlines.
Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, and United Airlines, under the
umbrella of Partnership for Open and Fair Skies, have released financial
records of Qatar Airways, Emirates and Etihad Airways obtained after a
two-year investigation.
Based on this evidence, the US airlines claim their Gulf counterparts
have received $42 billion in subsidies and other state benefits since
2004.
The investigators claim they managed to obtain financial statements,
charter documents and other records from corporate registries in
various countries where the Gulf carriers have local operations.
The worldwide search spanned nearly 30 jurisdictions, including
Singapore, Australia, India, Belgium, Ireland, Malta and the United
Kingdom, and yielded 44 documents totalling 1,021 pages all of which
are now available online.
The investigation unearthed 19 years of Qatar Airways financial
statements. In the 2009 financial statement, which was audited by Ernst
& Young, it was reported that the airline had accumulated losses that
exceeded 50 percent of the share capital.
In accordance with the articles of association of the company, an
emergency general meeting (EGM) had to be convened to decide
whether the situation required a dissolution of the company, decrease its
stake or take any other suitable measures, the documents claim.
At the meeting on September 8 2009, the shareholders resolved to
continue operations as adequate financial support was made available to
meet any liabilities, the documents claim. Qatar Airways did not respond
when contacted by Arabian Business for comment.
Both Etihad and Emirates have strongly denied that they have received
subsidies, while Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker is due to address
the allegations in presentations scheduled for May 13.

http://www.usatoday.com
American CEO gives up cash pay, to be
compensated entirely in company stock
American Airlines CEO Doug Parker will give up the cash portion of his
pay package, instead opting for compensation that comes entirely from
company stock. Parker said the change would align his compensation
closer to shareholder interests.
"I believe this is the right way for my compensation to be set at risk,
based entirely on the results achieved, and in the same currency that our
shareholders receive," Parker wrote in a letter to employees.
"The target amount will remain approximately 20% below my peers at
Delta and United until all of our team members have joint contracts that
compensate as well or better than those airlines," Parker added.
Reuters notes: "Only pilots and flight attendants at American, the world's
largest passenger carrier since it merged with US Airways in 2013, have
joint collective bargaining agreements in place."
Parker said Wednesday he asked American's board of directors to stop
paying him a salary and annual bonus. Instead, Parker will be paid with
restricted stock. Some of that value will be tied to the airline's
performance.
American earned record profits in 2014, with Parker receiving a $687,884
salary,"maximum" incentive payments of $4.2 million, stock awards
valued at $7 million, and $414,092 in other payments, according to The
Associated Press.
Bloomberg News says Parker will join only four other CEOs from among
companies in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index to earn a salary of $1 or
less. The others: Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg; Kinder Morgan's Rich
Kinder; Google's Larry Page; and Fossil Group's Kosta Kartsotis. But
Bloomberg adds "unlike Parker, they don't receive stock awards."

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Despite the change for 2015, The Dallas Morning News says "don't worry
about Parker ... . He'll do OK." More than half -- about 54% of Parker's
stock compensation -- will be tied to the carrier's performance over the
next few years. The value likely will be in the millions.
Parker, of course, is the CEO who helped engineer a series of mergers
that have resulted in American's current status as the biggest airline in
the world. In 2005, Parker led America West into a merger with US
Airways, with the combined company taking the name of the latter. Then,
with Parker still at the helm, US Airways engineered a merger with thenbankrupt American Airlines.
Parker is now the combined carrier's CEO and is the longest-tenured top
executive at a major U.S. airline. American's share prices have more than
doubled since the merger with US Airways closed in December 2013.
AP notes "Parker's deal seems to cut against a trend in CEO pay. Stock
grants were attractive just after the financial crisis of 2008 but are less
appealing now after a long rally in the stock market the shares are less
likely to rise. Cash payments to CEOs in 2014 grew at the fastest rate in
at least four years, according to a study that the Hay Group conducted
for The Wall Street Journal."
Aaron Boyd, director of governance research at Equilar, tells AP that
paying a CEO with stock instead of cash "is usually meant as a
demonstration to employees and shareholders that the CEO is really
committed to the growth of the stock price."
"The message it sends is pretty clear that the CEO is fully on board and
in line with the shareholders," Kevin Kuschel, a director at the
Longnecker & Associates firm that consults on executive pay, says to
Bloomberg News. Parker is "willing to take the downside risk to the stock
and ride the upside along with the shareholders."

http://www.azcentral.com
Plane runs off runway in Deer Valley airport

An airplane that had landing gear

problems ran off the Deer Valley
Airport Thursday afternoon, the
Phoenix Fire Department said.
No fire started and the pilot was
unharmed when the plane went off
the runway at about 2 p.m., according
to Phoenix fire.
No other passengers were on the
plane, a fire official said.
Fire crews are currently making sure
there are no further issues, officials
said, and more information will be
released as it is made available.

http://www.ethiosports.com
Ethiopian Airlines Starts flights to Tokyo
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Ethiopian Airlines, the largest
airline in Africa, is pleased to announce that it has
started new services to Tokyo Narita International
Airport in April 21, 2015, in codeshare partnership with
fellow Star Alliance member, All Nippon Airways,
Japans leading airline.
The thrice weekly flight, the only direct connection
between Africa and Japan, will be operated through
Hong Kong with the ultra-modern Boeing 787
Dreamliner aircraft, which offers customers the best
on-board comfort with the biggest windows in the sky,
high ceiling, less noise than any aircraft with less
carbon footprint, and higher cabin humidity ideal for
long haul travel.
The flight schedule in local times is as follows:

Flight No

ET672 ADD
ET673 NRT

Departure days Arrival days &

& time
time
Mon, Wed, Fri Tue, Thur, Sat
22:15
19:30
Tue, Thur, Sat Wed, Fri, Sun
20:45
06:00

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Chief Executive Officer of Ethiopian Airlines Group, Ato Tewolde Gebremariam,
said: As the only direct service between Africa and Japan, our flights to Narita will
give our customers the best possible connectivity options and will be critical role
in enabling greater people-to-people, investment, trade and tourism ties between a
rising Africa, the second fastest growing region in the world, and a highly
industrialized Japan, the third largest economy in the world.
Tokyo is one of the worlds most populous metropolis and serves as Japans
political, economic and cultural hub. Japan is the worlds third largest economy
and one of the main financial and economic centers with growing investment,
trade and tourism ties with Africa. Ethiopian flights to Tokyo will enable the
strengthening of investment, trade, tourism and people-to-people ties between
Africa and Japan.
Ethiopian is a Pan-African global carrier voted by Passenger Choice Awards as the
Best in Africa for two consecutive years, in the most comprehensive survey in the
industry. The airline operates the youngest fleet in the continent with an average of
less than 7 years and currently serves 84 international destinations across 5
continents with over 200 daily departures.
About Ethiopian
Ethiopian Airlines (Ethiopian) is the fastest growing and most profitable airline in
Africa. In 2014, IATA ranked Ethiopian as the largest airline in Africa in revenue and
profit. In its operations in the past close to seven decades, Ethiopian has been a
pioneer of African aviation as an aircraft technology leader providing the first jet
service in the continent in 1962, and availing the first African B767 in 1984, the first
African B777-200LR in 2010 and the first African and second only to Japan B787
Dreamliner in 2012.
Ethiopian commands the lion share of the pan-African passenger and cargo
network operating the youngest and most modern fleet to more than 83
international destinations across five continents. Ethiopian fleet includes ultramodern and environmentally friendly aircraft such as the Boeing 787, Boeing 777300ER, Boeing 777-200LR, Boeing 777-200LR Freighter and Bombardier Q-400 with
double cabin. In fact, Ethiopian is the first airline in Africa to own and operate
these aircraft.
Ethiopian is currently implementing a 15-year strategic plan called Vision 2025 that
will see it become the leading airline group in Africa with seven strategic business
units: Ethiopian International Passenger Service; Ethiopian Regional Service;
Ethiopian Cargo; Ethiopian MRO; Ethiopian Aviation Academy; Ethiopian In-flight
Catering Service and Ethiopian Ground Service. Ethiopian is a multi-award
winning, including SKYTRAX and Passenger Choice Awards in 2013 and has been
registering an average growth of 25% per annum in the past seven years.

http://www.ch-aviation.com
Lufthansa at risk of losing DAX index listing

Lufthansa (LH, Frankfurt Int'l) parent, Lufthansa Group, risks demotion

from Frankfurt's blue-chip DAX index German business daily,
Handelsblatt, has reported. Market analysts who spoke to the paper said
that if Lufthansa Group's share price and market capitalization continue
to fall, that could precipitate the Group's relegation to the MDAX, the
index that caters for companies ranked below the DAX.
A review of the DAX's composition is due to take place in September and
among the criteria used to determine eligibility include market
capitalization, as measured by the free float, and stock trading volume
over the past twelve months. DAX-listed firms must be ranked higher than
thirtieth for both criteria for them to maintain their listings.
From a six-year market high of EUR20.26 per share last year in July, a
series of damaging strikes not to mention the devastating crash of
germanwings (4U, Cologne/Bonn) flight 4U9525 last month, ostensibly
due to pilot suicide, have hit the Group's share price hard with it now
trading at EUR12.42.
While of the thirty firms listed on the DAX Lufthansa Group ranks
seventeenth in terms of trading volume, its overall market capitalization
has now slipped to thirty-seventh putting its continued presence on the
elite index in jeopardy.
However, according to the paper, despite Lufthansa's slide, the Group's
DAX membership is not in immediate danger given that German chemical
giants K+S and Lanxess are said to be in a far more precarious situation
in terms of their respective stock-market listings.

http://www.arabianaerospace.aero
EgyptAir Group enters medical tourism market

EgyptAir Hospital has signed a cooperation protocol

with EgyptAir Tourism (Karnak) & Duty Free and
EgyptAir Airlines to activate medical tourism.
The signing ceremony was attended by Capt. Sameh ElHefny, chairman and CEO of EgyptAir Holding
Company, Capt. Ahmed Adel, the vice president, in
addition to CEOs and a group of the senior managers of
the company.
"This cooperation between EgyptAir companies in this
field aims at activating medical tourism and offering
medical services in Egypt in general and through
EgyptAir in particular. The field of medical tourism has
a remarkable development during the last few years. In
addition, Egypt has a good climate, competitive prices
and very qualified doctors in all specialties," said ElHefny.
Dr. Anwar Helmy, chairman and CEO of Medical
Services, said: EgyptAir Hospital will be the
headquarters for the new program by providing medical
services, performing surgical operations, whether by
the hospital's capabilities or by contracting with
specialized companies in medical tourism and services.
There will be a follow-up of the cases in the hospital
after the medical procedure as well as facilitating all
legal and financial procedures for the patients".