Condor Flugdienst (Frankfurt) welcomed its second new Airbus A321-211 (D-AIAB, msn 5603) atย Flughafen Berlin-Schรถnefeld yesterday where it will be based. The new airliner was baptized by Miss Berlin and Miss Germany 2010, Anne Julia Hagen, as “Voyager Android” (below). The pictured D-AIAB (top) was handed over to Condor on May 30.
Bottom Copyright Photo: Andi Hiltl/AirlinersGallery.com. The first Condor A321 is the pictured A321-211, registered as D-AIAA (msn 1607), seen arriving at Antalya. D-AIAA joined the fleet on April 30.
Monarch Airlines (London-Luton) is launching two new routes from East Midlands.ย On May 7 the airline launched its first ever scheduled flight to Malta from East Midlands Airport.ย The flights will operate twice a week on a Tuesday and Saturday.
Malta is the first of two new routes to launch this summer from East Midlands Airport with Ibiza also launching on May 23.
Video: Monarch makes flying fun for 600 kids:
Copyright Photo: Paul Denton. Airbus A321-231 G-OZBL (msn 864) lands at Geneva in the updated look.
Monarch Airlines:ย
What does it take to repaint an airliner? Monarch Airlines explains the process that takes nine days on their excellent Monarch blog:
First step, checks and scaffolding
The first task was to fly Airbus A321 G-OZBZ down to a specialist aircraft painting company in Bournemouth called Airbourne Colours. The A321 would spend about 9 days being stripped down and repainted by a team of 10 to 12 highly experienced specialist painters each with 10 to 20 years experience. The team in Bournemouth would be in constant communication with Monarch operations teams and engineers during this time.
When G-OZBZ first arrived at the painterโs hangar, a Monarch engineer carried out an acceptance check on the aircraft. This check included removal of window wipers and a series of other tasks such as disconnecting batteries.
Next, the painting specialistโs hangar supervisor and a Monarch engineer worked together to check on the condition of the current paintwork and assessed any damage. While this check was carried out, a team put scaffolding into place around the aircraft. There had to be enough scaffolding to give access to every point of the aircraft during the painting process.
Second step, masking and stripping
There are two kinds of paint job that you can give an aircraft โ a strip or an abrade (otherwise known as a โrubโ). A strip involves the use of chemical washes to remove the paint back to bare metal. During a โrubโ the aircraft fuselage (the body of the plane) is sanded back to a smooth finish ready to accept paint.
Generally the fuselage and fin are stripped as these are made of metal but the engines and wings and rubbed as they are made of composite materials.
G-OZBZ needed a fuselage strip and repaint, so the next step was to cover or โmaskโ all the areas which needed to be protected from sanding dust and paint overspray, for example the cockpit and cabin windows. As the wings werenโt being painted (just the ends were to be painted yellow), these were also masked. Masking was also applied to sensitive items such as ports, antennae, aerials and engine intakes.
The metallic areas were then chemically stripped back to bare metal, a process which includes a power wash and alkaline shampoo. The tail fin and engine cowlings (covers) are made of composite materials, so these were abraded, followed by a solvent wash. Once all the paint was removed and sealants checked and repaired or replaced, Monarch engineers carried out a bare metal inspection to check the state of the aircraft before painting commenced.
ย Then, itโs time to paint
After masking, a team of 10 to 12 people hand-sprayed primer to the fuselage.
Once the primer was dry, a layer of white paint was applied to the fuselage.
Next, yellow paint was sprayed on to the tail and once dry, the indigo was applied to the underneath of the fuselage and Monarchโs famous spotty M logo was added to the tail.
There are a number of mandatory markings and Monarch titles that need to be put on the aircraft. These are a combination of decals (industrial stickers) and paint. The Monarch title for instance was applied by placing a massive spray mask (or stencil) over the fuselage and spraying the mask with paint.
Aircraft paints are designed to be tough in order to withstand extreme environmental conditions as well as corrosion, chemicals, and rain erosion. However, unlike paint you might use to protect your home, aircraft paints also need to be incredibly lightweight and the completed paint job was allowed to be no more than 250 microns thick (0.25mm or about 0.01 inches).
Taking all the primer, white, yellow, purple basecoat and the clear coat together, the total amount of paint used was about 360 litres.
Finally, itโs very important to the safe and efficient operation of commercial aircraft that we know how much everything weighs. When the painting was complete, G-OZBZ was given a โcalculated reweighโ, which compared the thickness of the new paint to the original paint. These figures were sent to a loadmaster company to produce accurate trim data for the aircraft, which will be used eventually by the pilots and other people in operations.
Spirit Airlines, Inc. (Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood) today reported first quarter 2013 financial results.
Adjusted net income for the first quarter 2013 was $32.8 million, or $0.45 per diluted share1. GAAP net income was $30.6 million, or $0.42 per diluted share.
For the first quarter 2013, Spirit achieved an operating margin, excluding special items, of 14.4 percent1. Operating margin on a GAAP basis was 13.4 percent for the first quarter 2013.
Spirit ended the first quarter 2013 with $483.5 million in unrestricted cash.
Spirit grew total available seat miles (“ASMs”) 20.8 percent as compared to the first quarter 2012.
Spirit’s return on invested capital (before taxes and excluding special items) for the last twelve months ended March 31, 2013 was 28.0 percent. See “Calculation for Return on Invested Capital” table below for more details.
“We are pleased to report strong first quarter results. Our team continues to do a great job delivering among the best results in the industry while offering our customers low base fares. Our average base fare per passenger segment in the first quarter 2013 was $79.09. Spirit is proud to offer extremely low base fares so that, even when adding in optional extras, the total price our customers pay is almost always less than what they would pay on other airlines,” said Ben Baldanza, Spirit’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “We are committed to our low-cost, low-fare strategy and to providing value for our customers and our shareholders.”
Revenue Performance
For the first quarter 2013, Spirit’s total operating revenue was $370.4 million, an increase of 22.9 percent, compared to first quarter 2012.
Total revenue per available seat mile (“RASM”) for the first quarter 2013 was 11.85 cents, an increase of 1.7 percent compared to the first quarter 2012 driven by strength in operating yields. The calendar shift of Easter occurring in March this year compared to April in 2012 contributed to the strong first quarter 2013 results.
Passenger flight segment (“PFS”) volume grew 17.8 percent year-over-year in the first quarter 2013. Average non-ticket revenue per PFS for the first quarter 2013 increased 5.9 percent year-over-year to $54.75 and average ticket revenue per PFS for the quarter increased 3.2 percent year-over-year to $79.09. The growth in non-ticket revenue per PFS during the first quarter 2013 was primarily driven by the introduction of advance purchase restrictions on bags as well as other various changes in our pricing structure for optional services.
Cost Performance
Total operating expenses in the first quarter 2013 increased 21.4 percent year-over-year to $320.8 million on a capacity increase of 20.8 percent.
Cost per available seat mile excluding special items and fuel (“Adjusted CASM ex-fuel”) for the first quarter 2013 was 6.04 cents, up 0.8 percent year-over-year. The increase in Adjusted CASM ex-fuel was primarily driven by depreciation and amortization expense related to amortization of heavy maintenance events. Due to an increased number of severe winter storms during the quarter, the Company experienced a higher number of weather-related flight cancellations compared to the same period last year. The CASM pressure associated with the resulting decrease in ASMs as well as other weather-related expenses such as higher deicing expense, also contributed to the increase in Adjusted CASM ex-fuel. The impact of these items was partially offset by efficiency benefits resulting in lower labor expense per ASM, lower distribution expense per ASM, and an increase in average stage length.
Selected Balance Sheet and Cash Flow Items
As of March 31, 2013, Spirit had $483.5 million in unrestricted cash and cash equivalents, no restricted cash, no debt on its balance sheet, and total shareholders’ equity of $614.8 million.
During the first quarter 2013, Spirit incurred capital expenditures of $10.6 million, which includes the purchase of a spare engine that was financed under a sale leaseback transaction after it was delivered. The Company paid $15.1 million in pre-delivery deposits (“PDPs”) for future deliveries of aircraft, and paid $6.8 million in maintenance reserves, net of reimbursements.
Fleet
In the first quarter 2013, Spirit took delivery of two used A319 aircraft and two new A320 aircraft, ending the quarter with 49 aircraft in its fleet. Spirit’s March A320 aircraft delivery was the carrier’s first aircraft to be delivered with sharklets. The Company has five additional new A320 aircraft with sharklets scheduled for delivery in 2013.
Copyright Photo:ย Bruce Drum. Spirit Airlines will phase out its last two Airbus A321s (N587NK and N588NK) in 2017 on the expiration of the leases.ย Airbus A321-231 N588NK (msn 2590) in the old 2004 livery arrives at Las Vegas.
Lufthansa (Frankfurt) will be impacted heavily tomorrow due to a strike by the Verdi union which represents around 33,000 of its employees. The airline is pre-canceling almost 1700 flights. Only a few flights will operate. The airline has issued this statement:
The Lufthansa Groupโsย flight operations will be considerably restricted on Monday April 22, 2013ย as a result of the planned warning strike by the Verdi trade union.
Due to the announced strike actions on Monday, April 22,ย nearly all Lufthansa flights within Germany and Europe will be cancelled. Only a select few short-haul flights will operate on Monday, such as in Berlin, where strike actions should end by 2:30 pm CET. In all, only 20 of the 1,650 planned Lufthansa short-haul flights on Monday will operate due to the limited flight schedule.
In addition to the cancellations in Germany and Europe, massive flight cancellations and delays are to be expected forย long-haul flightsย beginning Sunday April, 21. Of the 50 planned flights in Frankfurt, only six will operate; in Munich, of the 17 planned flights, only three will operate; whereas, in Dusseldorf all three long-haul flights are scheduled to operate as planned.
Flights operated byย Germanwingsย will not be affected.
Lufthansa regrets any inconvenience to Lufthansa passengers caused by the threatened strike measures by ver.di and will do its utmost to minimise impacts on passengers. Passenger support and service has paramount priority.
Passengers are kindly asked to please check theย status of their flightย before leaving for the airport. Passengers for flights that will take placeย please calculate extra time at the airport.
An overview of currently cancelled flights can be found here:
Aegean Airlines (Athens) reduced its annual net loss for 2012 down to $13.4 million, down from a $34.8 million net loss in 2011.
The airline issued this financial statement:
Aegean reports 2012 revenue of โฌ653.4m, 2% lower compared to 2011. ฮet result after tax improved to a loss of โฌ10.5 million compared to a loss of โฌ27.2 million in 2011.
Passengers carried totaled 6.1 million compared to 6.5 million in 2011, with load factor improving from 69% to 74%. The number of passengers carried on domestic routes declined significantly by 12% with average fare falling by more than 10%, declining for the fourth consecutive year. International traffic reached 3.5m passengers with traffic from/to Athens declining by 6% whilst from/to other regional airports increased by 10%.
Despite weak local demand, the company managed to improve its operating result reporting marginally positive EBITDA of โฌ2.9 million, given improved performance in international routes with incoming leisure focus, cost management efforts and also more stable conditions in the country during the second half of the year.
The Companyโs cash position stood at โฌ149 million at the end of December 2012.
Mr. Dimitris Gerogiannis, Managing Director, commented:
โOur efforts on improving our efficiency and cost structure are ongoing within an environment of declining domestic demand. In 2012 after a difficult start due to lack of visibility about the course of our country in 1H12, we have managed to limit our losses and defend our revenue relative to 2011. The gradual recovery of incoming leisure traffic as of July, as well as our cost management efforts have contributed to the improvement of our results. We need the economies of scale from the acquisition of Olympic Air, which we can only yield post the pending approval from the European Commission, in order to achieve profitable growth. Our best European regional airline award strengthens our efforts and resolve. We continue to invest in strengthening Greek tourism and increasing our international activity by utilizing the capacity which by necessity is released domestically due to declining demand.โ
ย
Aegean Airlines 2012 results
ย
Inย โฌย 000
2011
2012
%
Revenue
668.218
653.388
-2%
EBITDAR*
61.779
73.394
19%
EBITDA
(17.688)
2.944
Profit / (Loss) before tax
(31.153)
(12.618)
-59%
Profit / (Loss) after tax
(27.176)
(10.496)
-61%
*EBITDAR: Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation & amortization and lease costs
Passengers (million)
2011
2012
%
Domestic
2,96
2,60
-12%
Internationalย from/to Athens
2,2
2,1
–6%
Internationalย from/to rest of country
1,3
1,4
+10%
International
3,5
3,5
0%
Total
6,5
6,1
-6%
Load Factor (RPK/ASK)
68,9%
74,3%
5,4pp
Copyright Photo: Ole Simon.ย Airbus A321-232 SX-DVP (msn 3527) taxies at Paris (CDG).
Spirit Airlines, Inc. (Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood) ย reported fourth quarter 2012 and full year 2012 financial results.
Net income for the fourth quarter 2012 was $19.5 million, or $0.27 per diluted share. Results for the fourth quarter and full year 2012 include an estimated $25 million negative revenue impact ($24 million pre-tax income, $15 million after tax) from Hurricane Sandy.
Adjusted CASM ex-fuel for the fourth quarter 2012 decreased 2.5 percent year-over-year. See “Reconciliation of Adjusted CASM ex-fuel to CASM” table below for more details.
Net income, excluding special items, for the full year 2012 was a record $103.8 million, or $1.43 per diluted share1. GAAP net income for the full year 2012 was a record $108.5 million, or $1.49 per diluted share.
For the fourth quarter 2012, Spirit achieved an operating margin, excluding special items, of 9.7 percent (15.8 percent adjusted for Hurricane Sandy)1. For the full year 2012, Spirit’s operating margin, excluding special items, was 12.6 percent (14.2 percent adjusted for Hurricane Sandy). Operating margin on a GAAP basis was 9.7 percent and 13.2 percent for the fourth quarter and full year 2012, respectively.
Spirit ended 2012 with $416.8 million in unrestricted cash.
Spirit’s return on invested capital (before taxes and excluding special items) was 26.5 percent (28.8 percent adjusted for Hurricane Sandy) for the year ended December 31, 2012. See “Calculation for Return on Invested Capital” table below for more details.
“2012 was a very exciting year for Spirit. We successfully grew our business, delivered strong financial results and remained committed to our low-cost, low-fare strategy. This low-cost, low-fare strategy helped us to achieve among the highest margins in the industry,” said Ben Baldanza, Spirit’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “I want to thank and congratulate our team members that contributed to our success.”
Revenue Performance
For the fourth quarter 2012, Spirit’s total operating revenue was $328.3 million, an increase of 19.8 percent, compared to fourth quarter 2011.
Total revenue per available seat mile (“RASM”) for the fourth quarter 2012 was 11.10 cents, a decrease of 6.6 percent compared to the fourth quarter 2011 due to the negative revenue impact from Hurricane Sandy and a 5.3 percent increase in average stage length.
Passenger flight segment (“PFS”) volume grew 22.0 percent year-over-year in the fourth quarter 2012 with average non-ticket revenue per PFS for the fourth quarter 2012 increasing 9.4 percent year-over-year to $52.73 and average ticket revenue per PFS for the quarter decreasing 8.6 percent year-over-year to $71.30. The growth in non-ticket revenue per PFS was primarily driven by a passenger usage fee increase implemented late in the fourth quarter of 2011.
For the full year 2012, total operating revenue increased 23.1 percent to $1.3 billion compared to the same period last year on a 21.3 percent increase in available seat miles.
Cost Performance
Total operating expenses in the fourth quarter 2012 were $296.3 million, an increase of 25.6 percent compared to the same period in 2011. The increase in operating expenses was primarily driven by fuel and other expenses associated with additional available seat miles (“capacity”) which grew by 28.3 percent year-over-year.
Cost per available seat mile excluding special items and fuel (“Adjusted CASM ex-fuel”) for the fourth quarter 2012 decreased 2.5 percent year-over-year to 5.93 cents. Primary drivers of the decrease included lower labor expense per ASM year-over-year due to lower unit overhead costs, lower distribution expense per ASM as a result of a decrease in credit card fees, and an increase in average stage length. These benefits were partially offset by start-up costs related to Spirit’s seat maintenance program of $1.4 million during the fourth quarter 2012, bringing the total start-up costs related to this program to $6.8 million, and higher depreciation and amortization expense related to amortization of heavy maintenance events.
Total operating expense for the full year 2012 was $1.1 billion, up 23.5 percent as compared to the full year 2011, largely driven by fuel and other expenses associated with capacity increasing by 21.3 percent year-over-year.
Selected Balance Sheet and Cash Flow Items
As of December 31, 2012, Spirit had $416.8 million in unrestricted cash and cash equivalents, no restricted cash, no debt on its balance sheet, and total shareholders’ equity of $582.5 million.
During the fourth quarter 2012, Spirit incurred capital expenditures of $2.1 million, paid $5.8 million in pre-delivery deposits (“PDPs”) for future deliveries of aircraft, net of reimbursements, and paid $2.1 million in maintenance reserves, net of reimbursements.
Fleet
Spirit ended 2012 with 45 aircraft in its fleet. The Company has nine aircraft scheduled for delivery in 2013, including seven new Airbus A320 aircraft and two used A319s.
Copyright Photo: Bruce Drum. Spirit Airlines is expected to retire its last two Airbus A321s (N587NK and N588NK) in 2017. Both are not expected to be repainted in the new colors. A321-231 N587NK (msn 2476) climbs away from the Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood hub.
American Airlines (Dallas/Fort Worth) and US Airways (Phoenix) continue to negotiate a very delicate merger proposal that could fall apart at any time. Negotiators are rushing to meet a February 15 deadline according to this report by the Wall Street Journal. The proposal, according to their sources, would be a stock deal with AMR’s creditors holding 72 percent of the new company and US Airways stockholders holding the other 28 percent. US Airways’ Doug Parker would take control of the “new American”. Still to be resolved, what role will American’s CEO Tom Horton play?
This merger, if approved, will create the world’s largest airline.
Read the analysis of a prospective AA-US merger by the WSJ: CLICK HERE
Top Copyright Photo: James Helbock. With US Airways’ CEO Doug Parker taking control, was the American new livery approved by Doug? Will this new brand survive the takeover? The first Boeing 737-800,ย 737-823 N908NN (msn 39238), taxies to the runway at San Diego.
American Airlines:ย
US Airways:ย
Bottom Copyright Photo: Jay Selman. The US Airways’ 2005 livery and brand will be phased out in any merger. Airbus A321-231 N535UW (msn 3993) climbs away from the runway at the Charlotte hub.
Airberlin (airberlin.com) (Berlin)ย plans to eliminate almost 10 percent of its workforce of 9,300 (900 jobs) as part of a cost-cutting campaign designed to eliminate is continuing yearly losses.
Airberlin hopes to achieve $535 million in annual savings by the end of 2014. The airline has not posted an annual profit since 2007.
The company issued the following statement today about its “Lean and Smart” “Turbine” turnaround program:
Today Airberlin began to implement its “Turbine” turnaround program. This is a comprehensive scheme to ensure that Germany’s second largest airline focuses on its key markets on the basis of a stringent business model. The two-year program extends across all divisions. The airline will be expediting the optimization of its network, fleet and timetables already under way, improve its offering, sales and customer orientation and slim down its administration and working processes as well. “Turbine” has defined initiatives of around 400 million euros by the end of 2014 to achieve a lastingly competitive result.
Efficient operations, greater cost-efficiency and an attractive, intelligent offering are designed to make airberlin profitable and achieve a sustainable future. That is why the company will continually improve its integrated business model for serving leisure and business customers. The entire change process instituted by “Turbine” will develop the company on the basis of “Lean & Smart” criteria. In this context “Lean” signifies the simplest and most cost-efficient organization possible in conjunction with streamlined processes. “Smart” shifts the focus onto core markets and partnerships as well as towards integrated, intelligent and innovative customer orientation offering “that little bit extra”.
Meetings with staff representatives to discuss the turnaround programme and the planned personnel measures have already begun. airberlin’s management will be implementing “Turbine” in conjunction with employees and on the basis of a constructive dialogue with the employee representatives and will be giving these discussions top priority over the next few months.
The program covers all areas of operation and relationships with business partners as well. It also involves cutting about 900 jobs in which the possibility of redundancies cannot be excluded.
The elements that make up “Turbine” include network and fleet optimisations that have already been initiated, concentrating on profitable routes and increasing flight frequencies in key markets. These measures are specifically designed to strengthen Airberlin’s position in its core market, for example, the D/A/CH region (Germany, Austria and Switzerland). There will be even more flights to Palma de Mallorca. The hubs in Berlin and Dusseldorf with their long-haul services are to be expanded. The airports in Vienna, Hamburg, Munich, Zurich and Stuttgart will retain their function as principal stations within the Airberlin route network. Reducing the fleet to 142 aircraft in the current year, with six earmarked as operational reserves, and optimising the network go hand in hand with further fleet harmonization, stationing concentration and simpler rotation.
Airberlin already has a product with high customer acceptance and will be further enhancing this strong position with intelligent and customised services along its entire travel chain to delight its guests. The offering will continue to feature an excellent price-performance ratio, the “Airline with heart” brand image and trend-setting innovations. Airberlin is planning to concentrate its customer contacts in a single Customer Care section, to offer more technical opportunities for self service and to provide much-enhanced business class facilities on long-haul flights.
Copyright Photo: Javier Rodriguez. The diverse fleet will be reduced to 142 aircraft from 158. Airbus A321-211 D-ABCH (msn 4728) arrives at Palma de Mallorca which will seek further expansion in the AB system.
Air Astana (Almaty), Kazakhstanโs flag carrier, has taken delivery of its first A321 (PR-KDA, msn 5357) out of a total of six A320 Family aircraft ordered from Airbus in May 2008. The delivery was celebrated in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan. The aircraft will join Air Astanaโs fleet, which already includes 10 A320 Family aircraft, operated on the airlineโs domestic and international network.
The airlineโs A321, powered by IAE V2500 engines, features a two class cabin layout, seating 28 passengers in business class and 151 in economy.
Air Astana started commercial service with its first Airbus aircraft, an A320, in 2006, and is currently operating one A319, seven A320s and two A321s.
Copyright Photo: Keith Burton. The pictured Airbus A321-231 PR-OAS (msn 1204) was leased from Tombo on May 11, 2007.
Iberia (Madrid) will not be dealing with any strikes this month. The unions have called off their December strikes and will readjust their strategy against the company in January. Iberia issued the following statement:
For Iberia, โcalling off the strike can and should be a first step along the necessary path of dialogue and negotiation, which is the sole reasonable way to resolve the companyโs problems without harming customers.โ
The unions decided to call off the strike after meeting with Iberia Management under the auspices of the mediation and arbitration service. No agreement was reached at the meeting, despite Iberiaโs undertaking to be flexible in considering the proposals advanced by the unions. However, though the opportunity to move forward was missed, the meeting could be another step towards future negotiations. Iberia hopes that in the future the possibilities of dialogue and negotiations will be exhausted before any new strikes are called since they inflict great harm on the company and its customers.
Iberia is delighted that its customers may now look forward to travelling without problems, though it regrets the damage already caused to companyโs public image and to its business.
Iberia also thanks the mediation and arbitration service for its herculean efforts two bring the tow side closer together. Though no agreement was reached, its efforts had very positive results for Iberiaโs customers.
Meanwhile Iberia will drop three more routes from Madrid in January: Athens (January 9), Cairo (January 21) and Istanbul (January 21) per Airline Route.
Copyright Photo: Ariel Shocron. Airbus A321-211 EC-JQZ (msn 2736) arrives back at the Madrid hub.
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