Airline

State-owned national carrier Montenegro airlines on Tuesday admitted a net loss of 9.5 million euro in 2014, blaming the economic crisis for its poor financial performance.

Boeing and Turkish Airlines have celebrated a milestone with the delivery of the airline's 125th airplane purchased from Boeing, a Next-Generation 737-900ER, one of 12 airplanes that the Turkish flag-carrier will take delivery of this year, the companies announced in a press release on May 12. 

German airline Lufthansa said on May 5 it flew back into the black in the first three months of the year, powered particularly by the good performance of its Swiss and Lufthansa Cargo subsidiaries.

Lufthansa said in a statement it booked a net profit of 425 million euros ($473 million) in the period from January to March, compared with a loss of 252 million euros a year earlier.

Turkish Airlines and Turkish State Railways signed a cooperation agreement on April 21, laying the ground for combined transport operations and the joint training of staff.

The protocol was signed at the headquarters of Turkish Airlines by CEO Temel Kotil and the general manager of Turkish State Railways, Ömer Y?ld?z.

Turkish Airlines, the country's national flag-carrier, has announced it increased its total number of passengers by 6.5 percent in the first quarter of 2015 compared to the same period of the previous year.

The total number of passengers in the first quarter of 2015 was 12.8 million compared to 12 million in January-March 2014, according to a statement from the company on April 14.

Airlines rushed on March 26 to change their rules so as to require a second crew member in the cockpit at all times, hours after French prosecutors suggested a co-pilot who barricaded himself alone at the controls of a jetliner had crashed it on purpose.
   

Turkish Airlines posted a 2014 net profit that almost tripled yesterday and unveiled plans to invest more than $3 billion mostly on its fleet, partly financed by a bond issue in the coming months.

Net profit rose to 1.82 billion Turkish Liras ($739 million) from 683 million liras, in line with a Reuters poll forecast of 1.81 billion.

Sales rose 29 percent to 24.1 billion.

Tourism representatives have welcomed the government's new incentives for tour operators and airlines, but have added that additional steps need to be taken.

The Cypriot government decided on Wednesday to try to sell off the name and logo of national carrier Cyprus Airways, shut down last week after breaking EU state aid rules.

Axed Cyprus Airways staff scuffled with police on Monday during protests against the closure of the national carrier after it was deemed to contravene EU state aid rules.

Around 300 airline staff demonstrated outside the Finance Ministry in Nicosia to voice their disagreement with the government over the closure.