American Airlines is trying to strengthen its case for an additional slot at Tokyo Haneda Airport by telling the US DoT it will operate flights from Dallas/Fort Worth to both Haneda and Tokyo Narita airports. The carrier has been deeply critical of the DOT’s tentative decision to award one of the five daytime Haneda slots to Delta for flights from Minneapolis to the close-in Tokyo airport. Now, American said Delta could drop its Minneapolis–Narita flight if it gets the slot for a Haneda flight. Delta last week said it would draw down some flights at its Narita hub, including routes to New York; Osaka, Japan; and Bangkok. American pointed out that Delta did not include Minneapolis in a list of cities it said it would continue to serve from Narita, inferring that the carrier would reduce Tokyo–Minneapolis service. “Delta’s announcement confirms what American and other carriers argued throughout this proceeding—that Delta will withdraw Minneapolis–Narita service upon inaugurating Minneapolis–Haneda service,” American said in a DOT filing. “Should the [DOT] award Haneda service to Dallas/Fort Worth instead, however, American will continue to serve Narita alongside service to Haneda.”<br/>
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Finnair shares fell the most in almost three years after the carrier scaled back plans to add flights this year as terrorism in Europe hurt demand for travel. Finnair dropped as much as 10%, the steepest intraday drop since October 2013, and was down 7% at E4.89 as of 11:33 a.m. in Helsinki. The Finnish airline will increase seating by 7% this year instead of a planned 8%, with the slowdown also prompted by Airbus Group SE’s delivery delays of A350 planes, the carrier said in a statement. The airline has been more optimistic about increasing traffic than competitors, saying in May that it would increase capacity by as much as 10% annually through 2018. Terrorist incidents in French cities, Brussels and Istanbul this year have deterred US and Asian travellers from making trips to Europe, prompting airlines to reduce expansion plans. “With all the activity in Europe, with the incidents that have taken place, we’ve seen some group cancellations, and it’s reducing our revenue forecasts,” CEO Pekka Vauramo said Wednesday. At the same time, the effects of terrorism on demand are likely to only be short-term, he said.<br/>Finnair posted a Q2 comparable operating profit of E3.2m, versus a year-earlier loss, while revenue increased 4.7% to E569.6m. The airline said separately that it’s planning a cost-reduction project targeting 20m euros in annual savings by the end of June 2017 as it waits for a better operating environment.<br/>
Cathay Pacific says it’s getting tougher to find premium fliers from Hong Kong. The lack of first and business-class travellers from the Asian financial center -- the worst since the global financial crisis days of 2009 -- is such a dent on Cathay’s financials that analysts are asking whether CEO Ivan Chu needs to find a Plan B. After more than two years at the helm of the marquee Hong Kong airline -- his two predecessors stayed for about three years at the top -- Chu is under pressure to revive earnings that have slumped amid an expansion by his Chinese and Middle Eastern rivals. Cathay shares have lost about 25% of their value since Chu took over while passenger yields slumped to their worst in seven years. With Chinese airlines offering more direct services to the US and Europe from the mainland, Cathay’s Hong Kong hub is no longer critical. The carrier also reported Wednesday that it lost HK$4.49b (US$579m) from fuel hedges in H1 of the year. “Everything is quite negative for them and their business model is ripe for change,” said Shukor Yusof, founder of aviation consulting firm Endau Analytics in Malaysia. “They need to review their hedging and focus on things that have contributed to growth. They should focus more on regional services." The carrier reported Wednesday an 82% drop in H1 net income. Passenger yields fell 10% to 54.3 Hong Kong cents as an economic slowdown in China hurt premium class demand and depressed corporate travel from Hong Kong to London and New York, Cathay said. Security concerns related to terrorism has also dented travel demand, Chu said.<br/>