Etihad ! EY ! ETD !

Wax a écrit:Bonjour

Commande d'Etihad en B 787 ( tous modèles ) ramenée de 35 à 31.

Le premier devait être livré fin 2014 suivant le dernier calendrier présenté par Boeing; et donc accepté par les clients du 787. Signifiant par là que le nouveau calendrier annule et remplace le précédent.

Trois B 777 (des -300ER sans doute...) correspondant au timeframe du plan d'expansion de flotte d'Etihad tenant compte des soucis du 787.

Ces 3 Boeing 777 viennent donc en compensation.

Lufthansa is set to enter exclusive talks to sell loss-making carrier bmi by the end of the month, with arch rival IAG, the owner of British Airways and Iberia, seen as the front-runner, sources said on Tuesday.

"The price won't be substantial, it's mainly about cleaning Lufthansa's balance sheet and getting rid of the debt," one source close to the sales process said.

Bmi has been a millstone around Lufthansa's neck and by putting it up for sale, the company has admitted efforts have stalled to turn around the unit, which reported losses of EUR€154 million (USD$214.8 million) for the first nine months of 2011.

Lufthansa finance chief Stephan Gemkow said at the group's third-quarter results last week talks were going on with several interested parties and that a binding deal could be reached this year.

The source added there were a handful of bidders, including IAG and Virgin Atlantic.

While Lufthansa is seeking to sell bmi as a whole, another source close to the deal said the most likely outcome would be Lufthansa selling bmi's coveted slots at Heathrow, Europe's largest airport, to IAG.

IAG would then pass on some of those slots to Virgin to relieve competition concerns.

"Lufthansa will likely sell bmi's slots for about GBP£300 million max and its stake in (air traffic manager) NATS and fetch about GBP£400 million in total, so just enough to recover from the losses accumulated since the bmi acquisition," the person said.

With the Heathrow slots sold, smaller players such as Flybe or Eastern could then look to pick up bmi regional.

While some have queried whether Lufthansa would sell bmi to arch rival British Airways, thus strengthening the latter's position at London's Heathrow, one of the sources close to the deal said Lufthansa's desire to be rid of bmi would come first.

Le droit international et britannique des Contracts ("International Contract Law") a prévalu ! Pas ces combines qu'on trouve dans les coins ténébreux de certains autres pays de l'UE (dirait tout bon Britannique qui se respecte ) !

"Lufthansa is losing patience and could finally surrender to selling to IAG. They really tried hard to avoid giving them such a strong presence at Heathrow."

Mince alors ! LH avait essayé d'empêcher BA / IAG d'obtenir les créneaux de Bmi ! Sa tentative a échoué, par sa propre ineptie managériale ! On voit bien que l'Allemagne ne pratique ni le rugby ni le cricket !

One airline industry specialist, who did not want to be named, said Lufthansa would also be keen to avoid bmi falling into the clutches of Gulf airline Etihad, which sources say is teaming up with Virgin for a bid.

"Lufthansa is doing everything in its power to keep the fast growing Gulf airlines at bay - why should they allow a main competitor to gain a foothold on Europe's busiest airport in Heathrow," he said.

(Reuters)

Etihad Airways has ordered an additional 10 Boeing 787-9s, making it the largest customer for the type.

Abu Dhabi's national carrier also signed up for two Boeing 777 freighters, bringing the list price of the combined purchase to $2.8 billion.

The airline, which cancelled an order for 4 787-9s this year, now has a total of 41 of those aircraft on order. Its new freighters order also brings its current 777 backlog to 12.

[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir cette image][Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] style="width: 445px;height: 296px" alt="" />
© Boeing

Etihad Airways (EY) has finalized a $367 million sale/leaseback deal with Sanad Aero Solutions and Engine Lease Finance Corp. (ELF) to finance 23 spare engines.

The transactions, which are for a 10-year operating lease, cover the financing for 16 in-service spare engines and seven future spare engine deliveries.

Sanad will buy and lease back five GE90 and six Rolls-Royce Trent 500 engines. ELF will purchase and lease back six Trent 700 and six IAE V2500 engines, EY said. The spare engines are for EY’s fleet of passenger and cargo aircraft.

“These spare engine sales and lease back transactions provide the airline with a long-term financing solution for its entire spare engine fleet while mitigating residual value risk and providing competitive cost of ownership over the long term,” EY CEO James Hogan said.

Sanad was set up by Mubadala Development Co. in early 2010 to provide leasing and management of spare components and engines to the global airline industry. Mubadala also owns Abu Dhabi Aircraft Technologies (ADAT) and SR Technics.

Etihad Airways has cancelled six Airbus A350-1000s, the first carrier to have cut its backlog for the type since the aircraft was redesigned last year.

Airbus had a backlog of 75 A350-1000s but its latest order and delivery figures show Etihad's backlog of 25 has been cut to 19.

While Etihad has not commented on the A350-1000 redesign, a source close to the carrier said it was not content with the changes made to the twinjet, echoing the feelings expressed by Emirates and Qatar Airways.

Airbus chief Tom Enders indicated there might be "short-term" issues regarding discussions with existing customers for the A350-1000.

The A350 programme secured orders for only 10 aircraft in 2011, while cancellation of 41 left the type in negative net figures for the year.

Cancellation of a single A350-800 also helped to reduce the A350 order backlog to 555 aircraft, comprising 118 -800s, 368 -900s and 19 -1000s. (Sevrien : non ! 69 -1000's ; 19 est le nombre de'Etihad, après déduction des 6 annulations précitées).

Enders reiterated the airframer's caution over A350 development, admitting that postponement of its entry to the final assembly line had been decided after the programme "ran into some serious problems" with key elements.

He said the A350's final assembly would begin in March 2012. Without caution, and assurance of maturity, he said, "you're setting yourself up for disaster".

Chief operating officer for customers John Leahy said he was in discussions with three major airlines for the A350-1000, and added that the main problem was "getting them early delivery positions".

Certains, qui ironisent, parlent même de Qatar et d'Emirates !

Two major Gulf Arab carriers said they have no interest in taking a stake in struggling Indian carrier Kingfisher Airlines, which is grappling with a pile of debt and on the hunt for fresh equity.

Abu Dhabi's state-owned Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways said on Thursday they were not inclined to invest in Kingfisher.

Sources in India familiar with the matter told said that Kingfisher was in early talks with Qatar Airways about a possible stake in the company. The Indian carrier is also known to have met officials at Etihad, one source said.

"We have no interest in Kingfisher," a spokesman for Qatar Airways said.

Etihad's chief executive James Hogan said they too had no interest in the Indian carrier. He declined to elaborate.

Kingfisher, controlled by drinks baron Vijay Mallya, has said it is in talks with potential investors. Kingfisher officials did not respond to a request seeking comment.

The carrier has failed in its long-running efforts to bring in fresh equity. Its banks are stuck with a quarter of Kingfisher's shares after a debt recast and lead lender, State Bank of India, refuses to lend more in the absence of an equity injection.

The cash-strapped carrier said last month that it had began talks with SC Lowy Financial, a Hong Kong distressed debt firm, in a sign it may be running out of more attractive traditional funding options.

One of the sources said Kingfisher was also talking with US private equity firm WL Ross.

Backed by sovereign wealth from oil-producing states, Gulf carriers have been on an aggressive acquisition drive in Europe, picking up stakes in debt-ridden airline companies.

Etihad, which is owned by Abu Dhabi, increased its stake in Air Berlin to nearly 30 percent in December and bought a 40-percent stake in Air Seychelles last month.

Qatar Airways bought a 35 percent stake in freight carrier Cargolux last year.

These fast-growing carriers are seen as key potential investors in Indian carriers, which are struggling amid fierce competition. The Indian government is expected soon to allow foreign carriers to own up to 49 percent in local airlines.

(Reuters)

Middle Eastern carrier Etihad Airways has reported a full-year net profit of $14 million for 2011, exceeding its breakeven target and bringing the airline into the black for the first time in its eight-year history.

Revenue for the 12-month period ending 31 December 2011 grew 36% to $4.1 billion from $2.98 billion in 2010.

Etihad has recorded earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation and rentals (EBITDAR) of $648 million.

"Five years ago we said we would be profitable by 2011. Despite the global financial crisis, continued high oil prices, regional instability and natural disasters, we have delivered," said Etihad chief executive James Hogan.

"And we will aim for strong growth again in 2012, in spite of the tough global economic environment, with a passenger traffic target of 10 million and a corresponding increase in profits."

Passenger numbers in 2011 increased by 17% to 8.3 million. Traffic rose 15.8% on a 13% growth in capacity, resulting in a 1.8 percentage point increase in load factor to 75.8%.

Revenue at Etihad Crystal Cargo increased 25.7% to $651 million.

Hogan said Etihad's recent investment in Air Berlin would be "our most important catalyst for growth in 2012", adding that the carrier would continue to look at other opportunities this year.

Abu Dhabi's Etihad is interested in holding talks with the Irish government over the sale of its 25 percent stake in Aer Lingus, the Middle East airline's chief executive James Hogan told the Irish Independent newspaper.

The Irish government last year said it was considering selling its stake in the airline as part of a privatisation drive required under its European Union/International Monetary Fund bailout.

"When the government is ready to sit down, we're happy to sit down and talk to them," Hogan told the newspaper. Executives at Etihad "have looked" at Aer Lingus, but no discussions have taken place about a possible offer, he said.

The stake is valued at about EUR€118 million (USD$157 million) based on the Irish carrier's current market capitalisation of EUR€471 million.

Middle East carriers such as Etihad, Qatar Airways and Dubai-based Emirates have been aggressively expanding route networks. Etihad in December announced the purchase of a stake of almost 30 percent in Germany's Air Berlin.

(Reuters)

Etihad Airways (EY) plans to launch daily Abu Dhabi (AUH)-Washington Dulles (IAD) Airbus A340-500 flights from March 31, 2013, pending regulatory approval.