PARIS (Reuters) – Airbus delivered 49 aircraft in July, up from 36 in June as it continues to recover from a slump in deliveries during this year’s coronavirus lockdowns, the company said on Thursday.
The aircraft were all narrow-body jets, highlighting a dearth of demand for the industry’s biggest models, which last month prompted Airbus to trim A350 production for a second time.
The month’s deliveries included 47 A320neo-family jets.
Airbus also scored its first orders in three months as it sold two A320neos to an undisclosed customer and two A321neos to Lufthansa Technik, the modification and repairs business of German carrier Lufthansa <LHA.DE>.
So far in 2020, Airbus has delivered 245 jets and sold 369, or 302 after cancellations.
Demand for aircraft has been crippled by the coronavirus crisis and its heavy impact on air travel.
Airbus is boosting deliveries on a monthly basis despite the industry’s worst crisis as it negotiates deals with airlines.
But although deliveries are rising compared to the trough seen in April, several bankers and analysts have questioned how many of the aircraft are being placed into service as airlines struggle to save cash. Some are said to go straight to storage.
Airbus has issued default notices and threatened to sue airlines that refuse to collect planes already built while showing flexibility in deferring jets not yet in the factory.
(Reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by Keith Weir)
An Airbus A320neo aircraft is pictured during a news conference to announce a partnership between Airbus and Bombardier on the C Series aircraft programme, in Colomiers near Toulouse, France
Tesla (TSLA) posted a surprise second-quarter profit last week on cost cutting and strong deliveries, offsetting the effects of its Covid-19 related factory shutdowns. The report may help the electric vehicle manufacturer gain inclusion into the S&P 500 index (^SPX).
Tesla announced earned net income of $104 million for the quarter, or $0.50 per share. This marks the first time the company has posted four straight quarterly profit, a benchmark for the company to be considered for inclusion in the highly coveted S&P 500.
This marks another major win for Chief Executive Elon Musk, whose quest to lead the global auto industry with Tesla, and the aerospace industry with SpaceX, has increasingly been making major leaps forward.
Musk said last Wednesday that the city of Austin, located in Travis County, would be the site of Tesla’s newest factory. The victory for Texas comes at a loss for Oklahoma, which also was seeking to have the factory land in Tulsa. The facility seeks to create as many as 5,000 new jobs. The County offered up to $65 million in tax rebates to entice the company, and plans to begin construction in the third quarter.
The additional plant is slated to produce Model 3 and Model Y vehicles for the Eastern half of the United States, as well as a potential new Tesla Semi truck and its Cybertruck pickup. Elon Musk has stated that his cars are not affordable enough yet for the average consumer, and he hopes to develop a plan to address that issue.
The company also needs to address its growing need for affordable battery cell production, and is looking to expand its partnerships with Panasonic Corp <PCRFY> and Contemporary Amperex Technology of China (CATL) <300750.SZ>.
JetBlue Airways Corp. (NASDAQ: JBLU) and American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ: AAL) announced a strategic partnership that will create seamless connectivity for travelers in the Northeast and more choice for customers across their complementary domestic and international networks. In addition, the relationship will accelerate each airline’s recovery as the travel industry adapts to new trends as a result of the pandemic.
The partnership includes an alliance agreement that proposes codeshare and loyalty benefits that will enhance each carrier’s offerings in New York and Boston, providing strategic growth and driving value for customers and crewmembers of both airlines. (Graphic: Business Wire)
The partnership includes an alliance agreement that proposes codeshare and loyalty benefits that will enhance each carrier’s offerings in New York and Boston, providing strategic growth and driving value for customers and crewmembers of both airlines. Customers will experience a number of benefits from the new partnership, including:
New and expanded routes: The partnership enables new strategic growth opportunities for both airlines. As a result, American will launch international service from New York (JFK) to Tel Aviv (TLV) and to Athens (ATH) and JFK to Rio De Janeiro (GIG) will return as a daily seasonal route in winter 2021, in addition to continuing to serve popular long-haul destinations like London (LHR) and Madrid (MAD). JetBlue will also accelerate its growth in key cities, bringing its award-winning service to more customers. JetBlue will grow in greater New York City, adding flights at LaGuardia (LGA) and Newark (EWR), while also increasing its presence at JFK for seamless connections to American’s expanded international network. JetBlue plans to enhance service to strategic markets on the East Coast, West Coast, and in the Southeast, building on JetBlue’s recently announced service between EWR and nine markets, including Mint® service to Los Angeles (LAX) and San Francisco (SFO).
More choice and loyalty benefits: Through their integrated networks,JetBlue and American will operate reciprocal codeshare flights, giving customers new options with improved schedules, competitive fares and nonstop access to more domestic and international destinations. JetBlue will gain connectivity to more U.S.destinations, a broad global network and an improved frequent flyer proposition, while American will complement JetBlue’s improved and expanded service with new international routes. JetBlue and American loyalty members will also enjoy new benefits while the carriers are exploring additional premium experiences for customers.
Seamless experience: Customers will enjoy a seamless experience across both airlines, including the ability to book a single itinerary on either website, convenient connections and an improved on-the-ground experience — resulting in a compelling proposition for both leisure and corporate customers. Additionally, customers seeking more comfort in transcontinental service will have access to both JetBlue’s Mint and American’s three-class Transcon service.
“Pairing JetBlue’s domestic network with American’s international route map creates a new competitive choice in the Northeast, where customers are longing for an alternative to the dominant network carriers,” said Joanna Geraghty, president and chief operating officer, JetBlue. “This partnership with American is the next step in our plan to accelerate our coronavirus recovery, get our crewmembers and our aircraft flying again, and fuel JetBlue’s growth into the future.”
“This is an incredible opportunity for both of our airlines,” said American Airlines President Robert Isom. “American has a strong history in the Northeast, and we’re proud to partner with JetBlue as the latest chapter in that long history. Together, we can offer customers an industry-leading product in New York and Boston with more flights and more seats to more cities.”
New routes from the Northeast
The partnership between American and JetBlue enables sustainable international growth for customers in the Northeast from JFK, which will continue to complement the robust international service from Philadelphia (PHL), for even more options.
Upon the implementation of the alliance agreement, American intends to launch service between JFK and TLV and will introduce new seasonal service between JFK and ATH next summer, to meet the strong local demand. The new nonstop service to TLV and ATH from JFK will be the first long-haul international flights that American has launched from New York in more than four years. American will also operate daily seasonal service to GIG beginning in winter 2021 during the peak summer travel period in Rio de Janeiro. And, once the coronavirus pandemic has ended, the new partnership is certain to facilitate American adding new long-haul markets in Europe, Africa, India and South America
As New York’s Hometown Airline®, JetBlue plans to increase flying out of New York’s three major airports, bringing its award-winning experience to more customers. Its growth at JFK will be aimed at offering even more connection opportunities to American’s growing international network of destinations. From both New York and Boston, JetBlue plans to enhance service to strategic markets, including those on the East Coast, West Coast, and in the Southeast. This will further build on JetBlue’s recently announced growth between EWR and nine markets, including Mint service to LAX and SFO.
More choice and loyalty benefits: Codeshare creates more options for customers
JetBlue and American will begin a new codeshare relationship, giving customers seamless access to more destinations, including international service. The codeshare will introduce JetBlue customers to more than 60 new routes operated by American and will introduce American’s customers to more than 130 new routes operated by JetBlue. Codesharing allows customers to book a single itinerary combining flights from both airlines, which will result in a one-stop check-in experience and seamless flight connections from origin to destination.
“JetBlue customers will have more routes and destinations to choose from through American Airlines’ extensive global network,” said Scott Laurence, head of revenue and planning, JetBlue. “Together we will offer customers better options than either of us could alone. This partnership enables JetBlue to bring our low fares and great service to even more customers by expanding our presence in our hometown, growing relevance in Boston, and supporting our successful Mint franchise.”
“Leisure travel is important to our customers, and JetBlue’s network paired with their award-winning service, are the perfect fit,” said Vasu Raja, Chief Revenue Officer at American Airlines. “Both airlines’ customers value access to more destinations, whether it’s a JetBlue customer who wants more direct access to South America from New York, or an American customer who wants more robust service to Florida. Together, we can give our customers the best of both worlds.”
Airbus logo at the entrance of the Airbus facility in Bouguenais
PARIS (Reuters) – Airbus <AIR.PA> deliveries rose 50% in June compared with May and reached their highest level since the coronavirus crisis spread to Europe in March, but the accelerating recovery failed to prevent first-half deliveries from sliding to a 16-year low.
Figures released by the European planemaker late on Wednesday underscored a collapse in aerospace industry fortunes since early this year, hours after Airbus workers facing job cuts staged their first strike in 12 years.
Deliveries rose to 36 aircraft in June from 24 in May and a low of 14 in April. For the first half, deliveries fell by 49% to 196 planes compared with 389 in the same period last year.
Airbus has said it faces an average 40% drop in business over the next two years, forcing it to cut 15,000 jobs, or 11%, of its workforce. Unions oppose compulsory cuts.
Facing a slump in demand, planemakers have been urging airlines to take planes that have already been built in return for agreement to defer others due at later dates.
Some aircraft, however, are going straight into storage because travel demand is recovering slowly, experts say.
June’s figures suggested negotiations were partially paying off as Airbus handed over three wide-body A350-900 aircraft for European airlines despite a glut of large jets.
But deliveries of many other wide-body aircraft at Airbus and U.S. rival Boeing <BA> remain hampered by weak demand for long-haul travel as a result of the crisis.
Sources said last month that Airbus had sent out dozens of default notices to airlines in a bid to keep deliveries moving.
With airlines focusing on survival, Airbus posted no orders for a second month.
Gross orders so far this year remained at 365 jets, but net orders adjusted for cancellations slipped by one unit to 298, after lessor Avolon cancelled one of 10 A330neos it has ordered.
(Reporting by Tim Hepher and Benoit Van Overstraeten; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Leslie Adler)
(Reuters) – German logistics company DHL plans to cut as many as 2,200 jobs of U.K-based workers at Jaguar Land Rover factories, the Unite trade union said on Tuesday.
The job cuts comprise just under 40% of the entire DHL workforce on the contract, the union said.
DHL indicated that the half of the job cuts are due to a decline in car production and half are the result of anticipated “efficeincy savings”, the union added.
“DHL must not attempt to make permanent full-time staff redundant while continuing to outsource work to sub-contractors,” Matt Draper, Unite national officer for logistics, said.
Last month India’s Tata Motors Ltd said it expected to shed about 1,100 temporary jobs at Jaguar Land Rover after it raised the cost-cutting target at its luxury unit by 1 billion pounds ($1.3 billion) to ride out the disruptions caused by the coronavirus outbreak.
DHL and Jagaur Land Rover were not immediately available for comment.
(Reporting by Sabahatjahan Contractor in Bengaluru; Editing by Stephen Coates)
Presentation of a new DHL/Deutsche Post parcel center in Bochum
New safety initiatives will continue to be in effect for customers and employees
In coordination with state partners at the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, beginning Monday, July 6, Amtrak is partially restoring full-lengthKeystone Service (New York – Philadelphia – Harrisburg) with one roundtrip between Harrisburg and New York in response to anticipated increased demand. Keystone Service train 640 will operate through to New York and train 653 will originate in New York and operate through to Harrisburg.
Modified Keystone Service includes nine weekday roundtrips and six roundtrips on weekends. Aside from the one additional roundtrip being added to New York, other Keystone Service trains will continue to temporarily operate between Philadelphia and Harrisburg only. Pennsylvanian (Pittsburgh – Philadelphia – New York) service was previously fully restored in June and includes one daily roundtrip operating normally between New York, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.
Amtrak continues to take extra steps to keep train travel safe, including limiting bookings to less than half of capacity to maintain ample space for physical distancing onboard trains. All trains will be reserved to allow for physical distancing. Ticketing is now available on Amtrak.com, on Amtrak mobile apps or by calling 800-USA-RAIL.
“We are dedicated to doing everything possible to return service safely. We want everyone to feel comfortable as they navigate this new normal,” said Amtrak President and CEO Bill Flynn.
In addition to aggressive steps to disinfect stations and trains, additional Amtrak measures deliver a New Standard of Travel by including the following:
Face coverings: As part of Amtrak’s ongoing commitment to protect customers and front-line employees in response to the coronavirus pandemic, Amtrak is requiring that all customers in stations, on trains and Thruway Buses wear face coverings. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends the use of simple cloth face coverings or masks to slow the spread of the virus and prevent transmission.
Limiting bookings: We are limiting bookings on most trains to allow for more physical distancing in seating areas. Individuals traveling alone may use the seat next to them for personal belongings, while friends and family members will easily find seats together.
Air quality: All Amtrak trains are equipped with onboard filtration systems with a fresh air exchange rate every 4-5 minutes.
Cashless service: As an added measure to ensure the health and safety of our customers and employees, we are temporarily accepting only cashless payments in stations and on trains.
Physical distancing: Signage has been displayed at our busiest stations to indicate safe distances in high customer traffic areas such as waiting rooms, ticket offices, base/top of escalators, lounge entrances, etc. In addition, clear protective barriers have been installed at stations where there were no barriers.
(Reuters) – Electric carmaker Tesla Inc is negotiating possible incentives with a Texas county that could bring a new auto assembly plant to the area near Austin, the state capital, the Austin American-Statesman reported on Monday.
Travis County Commissioners Court is scheduled to discuss terms of the deal on Tuesday, the paper reported, citing people with knowledge of the situation. A vote is expected in the coming weeks.
The paper said it was unclear whether negotiations with Travis County show that Tesla has picked the Austin region as the site for the plant, which would build the company’s electric pickup truck and Model Y SUV and employ thousands of people, or if the company is also negotiating with officials in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Tesla officials could not immediately be reached to comment. The company’s chief executive, Elon Musk, has tweeted previously about the possibility of bringing a plant to Texas. Oklahoma also has been mentioned as a possible site.
Travis County officials declined to comment, and a spokesman for the Texas governor’s office did not immediately comment.
Last month, Texas Governor Greg Abbott said he had spoken with Musk about a potential plant.
Abbott’s comments came three days after Musk had threatened to move Tesla’s headquarters and future operations to Texas or Nevada after officials in California’s Alameda County, where Tesla’s only U.S. vehicle assembly plant is located, said the plant could not yet reopen because of coronavirus lockdown measures. The plant has since reopened.
Officials with the United Auto Workers union, which represents hourly workers at General Motors Co’s assembly plant in Arlington, Texas, said they believe a Tuesday county meeting will include talks about the possible deal. The union, which has unsuccessfully tried organizing Tesla’s Fremont, California, plant, called on Texas officials to obtain assurances from Tesla about any potential jobs.
(Reporting by Ben Klayman in Detroit and Brad Brooks in Austin, Texas; Editing by Leslie Adler and Jonathan Oatis)
FILE PHOTO: Delta Air Lines passenger planes parked in Birmingham
(Reuters) – The United States and China will each allow four weekly flights between the two countries, the U.S. Transportation Department said on Monday, easing a standoff on travel restrictions in the midst of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
The U.S. government still hopes China will agree to restore full U.S. flight rights under their bilateral aviation agreement, the Transportation Department said Monday in its revised order on China flights.
“As the Chinese government allows more flights by U.S. carriers, we will reciprocate,” it said.
The United States had threatened to bar Chinese passenger flights on June 16 due to Beijing’s curbs on U.S. airlines amid simmering tensions between the world’s two largest economies, and has raised concerns about the number of charter flights Chinese carriers want to fly.
Among U.S. airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines had each sought to restart daily passenger flights to China in June but changed their plans in the absence of government approval.
Following China’s agreement to allow four U.S. flights total, Delta said it would operate two flights to Shanghai from Seattle next week and once weekly flights from Seattle and Detroit beginning in July, all via Seoul.
United said it was aiming to re-launch service to China in the weeks ahead.
Chinese authorities have already agreed to some changes on requirements for U.S. carriers, including allowing temperature checks to be done before flights take off for China, rather than mid-flight as previously discussed, a person briefed on the matter said.
(Reporting by David Shepardson and Tracy Rucinski; Editing by Grant McCool and Stephen Coates)
A China Eastern Airlines aircraft is seen at Hongqiao International Airport in Shanghai
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Transportation Department plans to issue a revised order in the coming days that is likely to allow some Chinese passenger airline flights to continue, government and airline officials said.
On Thursday, China said it would ease coronavirus restrictions to allow in more foreign carriers, shortly after Washington said it planned to bar Chinese passenger airlines from flying to the United States by June 16 due to Beijing’s curbs on U.S. carriers.
The change should allow U.S. carriers to resume once-a-week flights into a city of their choice starting on June 8, but that would be still significantly fewer than what the U.S. government says its aviation agreement with China allows.
The Transportation Department did not immediately comment.
The department said on Wednesday Chinese carriers could operate “the same number of scheduled passenger flights as the Chinese government allows ours.” It added the order was to “restore a competitive balance and fair and equal opportunity among U.S. and Chinese air carriers.”
The U.S. order would halt the four weekly U.S. roundtrip flights by Air China <0753.HK>, China Eastern Airlines Corp, China Southern Airlines Co <1055.HK> and Xiamen Airlines Co.
U.S. and airline officials have privately raised concerns about the revised Chinese rules and it is unclear if carriers would agree to fly just once a week to China when they have sought approval for two or three daily flights.
Delta Air Lines <DAL.N> and United Airlines <UAL> asked to resume flights to China this month. Both said they were reviewing the order from the Civil Aviation Administration of China.
American Airlines <AAL> is sticking with its previous plan to resume service to China at the end of October, spokesman Ross Feinstein said.
The CAAC said all airlines can increase the number of international flights involving China to two per week if none of their passengers test positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, for three consecutive weeks.
If five or more passengers on one flight test positive upon arrival, the CAAC will bar the airline for a week. Airlines would be suspended for four weeks if 10 passengers or more test positive.
(Reporting by David Shepardson in Washington; additional reporting by Tracy Rucinski in Chicago; Editing by Chris Reese, Richard Chang and Bernadette Baum)
Outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Renton, Washington
PARIS (Reuters) – Safran <SAF.PA> shares rose on Thursday after Boeing <BA.N> said it would restart production of its 737 MAX jet and announced further cost-cutting measures.
Shares in the French aerospace firm, which co-produces the 737 MAX’s engines with General Electric <GE.N>, were up 2.2%, while Airbus <AIR.PA> shares were 0.7% higher.
Boeing said on Wednesday it was eliminating more than 12,000 U.S. jobs, including 6,770 involuntary layoffs, as the largest American planemaker restructures in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. The move nevertheless lifted Boeing’s shares.
The U.S. rival to Airbus said it had restarted 737 MAX production at a “low rate” at its Renton, Washington factory. Reuters reported in April that regulatory approval for the MAX was not expected until at least August.
(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by David Goodman and Alexander Smith)
The Safran company logo is pictured at the company’s logistic area in Colomiers near Toulouse
