Tag Archives: Airbus

Wizz Air Hungary takes delivery of its first Airbus A320 with Sharklets

Wizz Air (Hungary) (Budapest) has taken delivery of its first A320 aircraft equipped with Sharklet fuel saving wing tip devices. The carrier becomes one of the first Eastern European Airlines to do so, following the delivery in March of the first A320 with Sharklets to Wizz Air (Ukraine). Wizz Air’s cumulative orders stand at 112 aircraft. Including this delivery, Wizz Air Hungary’s in service fleet rises to 38 A320 Family aircraft.

Wizz Air (Hungary):

JetBlue to add new seasonal service from Hartford/Springfield to Fort Myers and Tampa

JetBlue Airways (New York) announced today plans to add daily nonstop service to two new Floridian destinations from Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, Connecticut (BDL): Winter seasonal service to Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers (RSW) service; and year-round service to Tampa International Airport (TPA), effective Thursday, October 24, 2013.

JetBlue’s schedule between Hartford/Springfield and Fort Myers:

Hartford (BDL) to Fort Myers (RSW):	Fort Myers (RSW) to Hartford (BDL):
Depart – Arrive	Depart – Arrive
11:40 a.m. – 3 p.m.	3:45 p.m. – 6:40 p.m.
– Flights operate daily effective October 24, 2013 for winter seasonal service — All times local – – Schedules for October 24-26 vary from the stated times –

JetBlue’s schedule between Hartford/Springfield and Tampa:

Hartford (BDL) to Tampa (TPA):	Tampa (TPA) to Hartford (BDL):
Depart – Arrive	Depart – Arrive
9:10 a.m. – 12:20 p.m.	12:25 p.m. – 3:15 p.m.
– Flights operate daily effective October 24, 2013 – – All times local — Schedules for Oct 24-26 vary slightly from the stated times –

JetBlue’s flights between Hartford/Springfield and Fort Myers as well as Tampa will be operated with its comfortable Airbus A320 fleet.

Copyright Photo: Luimer Cordero. Airbus A320-232 N510JB (msn 1280) (DIRECTV On Board) taxies to the runway at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

JetBlue Airways:

Jetstar Airways celebrates its 100th aircraft with a special livery

Jetstar Airways (Australia) (Melbourne) this month celebrated reaching 100 aircraft, a milestone reflecting the impressive scale of the airline across Asia Pacific.

Since launching in 2004, Jetstar has grown from a small domestic carrier – with just 14 aircraft flying up and down the east coast of Australia – to become the fastest airline brand in Asia Pacific to grow its fleet to 100 aircraft.

Jetstar Group Chief Executive Officer Jayne Hrdlicka said this milestone was only possible because of the 400,000 passengers who choose to fly with the Jetstar Group each week.

To commemorate this milestone, Jetstar has applied a special 100th aircraft livery on its first Sharklet-equipped Airbus A320.

The livery features 132 people doing the Jetstar star jump including passengers and ambassadors from across Asia Pacific representing the five Jetstar branded airlines.

“This aircraft also celebrates the huge achievement of carrying more than 100 million passengers in our nine year history,” Ms Hrdlicka added.

“The delivery of this new A320, with its remarkable wing-tip technology, reflects our on-going commitment to invest in modern aircraft and innovation to benefit our customers.

“The distinctive wing-tips bring about higher fuel efficiencies and help us to continue to deliver everyday low fares to our customers.”

The Jetstar Group now has three aircraft fitted with the fuel saving Sharklets – one each for Jetstar Asia, Jetstar Japan and now Jetstar Australia and New Zealand.

The Airbus A320-232 with the special 100th livery registration of VH-VFN (msn 5566) will be flown on major domestic routes and over the coming months and is expected to visit New Zealand, Singapore and Japan.

The Jetstar Group is made up of Jetstar Airways (subsidiary of the QANTAS Group) in Australia and New Zealand, Jetstar Asia in Singapore, Jetstar Pacific in Vietnam and Jetstar Japan in Japan.

Subject to regulatory approval, Jetstar Hong Kong will fly to destinations in Greater China, Japan, South Korea and South East Asia later this year.

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Jetstar Airways (Australia):

Spirit produces a 1Q net profit of $32.8 million

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: Bruce Drum. Spirit Airlines will phase out its last two Airbus A321s (N587NK and N588NK) in 2017 on the expiration of the leases. Airbus A321-231 N588NK (msn 2590) in the old 2004 livery arrives at Las Vegas.

Spirit Airlines:

Republic Airways Holdings improves in the 1Q to a net profit of $300,000

Republic Airways Holdings Inc. (Indianapolis) has reported first quarter 2013 net income of $0.3 million, or $0.01 per diluted share, compared to a net loss of $7.1 million, or $0.15 per diluted share, in the first quarter 2012.

“I am pleased that during our seasonally most challenging quarter, we were able to restore our consolidated results to profitability,” said Bryan Bedford, Chairman and CEO of Republic Airways Holdings. “This is the first time in four years that we have produced positive earnings during the first quarter and our results reflect the continued improvement in the business and the substantial efforts of my coworkers and our senior leadership team.”

Republic Segment Summary

Republic revenues decreased 8.6% from the first quarter of 2012 to $324.7 million in the first quarter of 2013. Republic passenger service revenue decreased $52.2 million due to operating 12 fewer Embraer ERJ 190 aircraft under pro-rate operations with Frontier Airlines (2nd) (Denver). Five of the aircraft were moved into fixed-fee charter service, five aircraft were sold over the last two quarters, and two aircraft were returned to lessors. Fixed-fee service revenues increased 9.4% to $304.0 million, despite the removal of fuel expense and the related reimbursement on our United Embraer ERJ 170 fixed-fee agreement, which accounted for $24.6 million of revenues in the prior year’s first quarter. This reduction was more than offset by revenue from the growth in our Bombardier Q400 operations at United and our new ERJ 190 fixed-fee charter service agreement.

Fuel costs for Republic decreased $46.2 million to $13.6 million for the quarter. The fuel cost per gallon, including into-plane taxes and fees, increased to $3.86 per gallon in the first quarter of 2013, compared to $3.33 per gallon in the prior year’s first quarter. The fuel cost per gallon related to our fixed-fee charter agreement is generally higher than our pro-rate operations and is treated as a pass through cost under the agreement.

Pre-tax income improved to $20.6 million, from $10.9 million in the prior year’s first quarter. The prior year’s first quarter included $5.3 million of expense for idled aircraft, and this year’s first quarter includes the benefit of our ERJ restructuring effort completed in late 2012.

As of March 31, 2013, Republic operated 70 aircraft with 44-50 seats and 152 aircraft with 69-99 seats to support its fixed-fee commercial agreements. Under the pro-rate agreement with Frontier, Republic operated five 99-seat ERJ 190 aircraft. Compared to March 31, 2012, this reflects a net increase of six aircraft for the Republic segment. The Company has returned or subleased three ERJ aircraft, placed 16 Q400 aircraft into service, sold five ERJ 190 aircraft, and returned two ERJ 190 aircraft to the lessor over the past year.

Frontier Segment Summary

Frontier total revenues decreased 9.2% to $310.9 million for the quarter, compared to $342.4 million for the same period in 2012. Capacity on Frontier, as measured by available seat miles (ASMs), was down 12.6% from the prior year’s first quarter, as a result of four fewer Airbus aircraft in operation. Load factor for the first quarter was 87.8%, an increase of 3.1 points from the first quarter of 2012. Total revenue per ASM (TRASM) increased 3.9% to 11.86 cents in the first quarter 2013 from 11.41 cents in the first quarter 2012.

Fuel costs for Frontier were $118.0 million for the quarter, a decrease of $13.9 million from the prior year’s first quarter. The fuel cost per gallon, including into-plane taxes and fees, increased to $3.41 per gallon in the first quarter 2013, compared to $3.39 per gallon in the prior year’s first quarter. The first quarter 2013 result included a gain on fuel hedges of $0.4 million.

The operating unit cost for Frontier, excluding fuel, was 8.08 cents for the first quarter 2013, a 5.2% increase compared to 7.68 cents for the same quarter 2012.

For the quarter ended March 31, 2013, Frontier posted a pre-tax loss of $20.1 million compared to a pre-tax loss of $21.6 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2012. Frontier recorded $5.9 million, or 0.23 cents per ASM and $0.07 per diluted share, of aircraft return costs associated with the return of five leased Airbus A318 and A319 aircraft during the first quarter of 2013.

As of March 31, 2013, Frontier operated 56 Airbus aircraft compared to 60 Airbus aircraft as of March 31, 2012. Frontier returned two A318 aircraft and three A319 aircraft and took delivery of one leased A320 aircraft.

Recent Business Developments

On March 12, 2013, the Company received bankruptcy court approval of its capacity purchase agreement (CPA), as amended, with American Airlines to operate 47 ERJ aircraft in fixed-fee operations. The first aircraft is expected to be delivered in July and is scheduled to enter service for American on August 1, 2013. The Company anticipates taking delivery of 18 new E175 aircraft in 2013.

Balance Sheet and Liquidity

The Company’s total cash balance increased $34.2 million to $428.5 million as of March 31, 2013, compared to December 31, 2012. Restricted cash increased $35.8 million, to $182.9 million, from December 31, 2012. The Company’s unrestricted cash balance decreased $1.6 million, to $245.6 million, from December 31, 2012. A condensed cash flow statement has been included in the tables section of this release.

The Company’s debt decreased to $2.0 billion as of March 31, 2013, compared to $2.1 billion at December 31, 2012. As of March 31, 2013, almost 90% of the debt is at a fixed interest rate. The Company has significant long-term lease obligations for aircraft that are classified as operating leases and are not reflected as liabilities on the Company’s consolidated balance sheet. At a 6.0% discount factor, the present value of these lease obligations was approximately $0.9 billion and $1.0 billion as of March 31, 2013 and December 31, 2012, respectively. A condensed consolidated balance sheet has been provided in the tables section of this release.

Copyright Photo: Norbert G. Raith. Frontier is now expected to retire the last two Airbus A318s by early August. Airbus A318-111 N809FR (msn 3092) prepares to land in Atlanta.

Frontier Airlines:

Philippine Airlines expands with 12 new routes

Philippine Airlines (PAL) (Philippines) (Manila) has announced the launching of 12 new destinations to Australia, China, Malaysia and the Middle East, including a new domestic service to Northern Luzon in the continuing expansion of PAL’s route network.

The 12 new destinations include Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) starting on May 2; Darwin, Brisbane and Perth (Australia) on June 1; Guangzhou (China) on June 2; Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) on October 1; Doha (Qatar) on November 1; Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam (Saudi Arabia) on December 1; Dubai (United Arab Emirates) on November 1 and Basco, Batanes on May 1 (the last two to be operated by PAL Express).

PAL’s current network, operated with PAL Express, consists of 32 domestic and 28 international destinations.

Philippines:

Fastjet to enter the South African market via Federal Airlines, drops its fight with Don Smith of Five Forty Aviation

Fastjet (Fastjet.com) (Dar es Salaam), Africa’s low-cost airline, has announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with local South African investment company Blockbuster, with the objective of Fastjet operating services in South Africa by the end of May 2013.

Blockbuster is associated with a number of high profile South Africans including, Mr Edward Zuma and Mr Yusuf Kajee. It is anticipated that the new entity will be 75% owned by Blockbuster, in compliance with South African law, and 25% owned by Fastjet. Tickets could go on sale within a few weeks and Fastjet is targeting May 31 to launch the initial Johannesburg to Cape Town route.

A commercial arrangement has been struck between Blockbuster and local operator Federal Airlines, a company with a 20 year history in South Africa, which will allow Fastjet to leverage Federal Airlines’ existing licensing infrastructure and deliver its low-cost airline model to the South African public.

In recent months, Fastjet has been in discussions with a number of South Africa-based entities to support its market entry strategy, including negotiations regarding a potential purchase of liquidated airline 1time. In the opinion of the Directors, the value of the 1time has diminished over time.As there is still no indication that 1time creditors will accept the Fastjet offer, the Company has therefore chosen to invest in the Blockbuster/Federal Airlines venture to pursue its entry into an important African market and a country well-suited to Fastjet’s low-cost operating model

Fastjet is also pleased to announce that it has raised additional working capital to assist with the South Africa launch though a successful placing with an institutional investor who is committed to low cost air travel in Africa.

The Company has received legally binding commitments to raise £2,000,000 by way of the issue of 160 million new ordinary shares (the “Placing Shares”) at a price of 1.25 pence per share (the “Placing Price”). These shares will rank pari passu in all respects with existing ordinary shares of fastjet. Following completion of the Placing the Company will announce the issue of the Placing Shares and the date of their admission to AIM, expected by 1 May 2013. The Placing Shares carry one attaching warrant for every two allocated Placing Shares subscribed, with each warrant entitling the holder to subscribe for one ordinary share in the Company at the Placing Price with an exercise period of one month.

In South Africa, the airline intends to initially operate flights along the Johannesburg – Cape Town route twice a day, seven days a week in the prime business travel morning and afternoon slots. Flights to other key destinations will be launched once the Cape Town route is established.”

Earlier this week, Fastjet announced the signing of a MOU with Don Smith, CEO of Five Forty Aviation Limited which trades in Kenya as Fly 540 to resolve issues that have concerned the media in particular. The signing of this MOU provides a positive platform for Fastjet to strengthen its East African hub.

The MOU includes, among other provisions, an agreement by both parties to stop legal proceedings in order that mutually beneficial and constructive resolutions are discussed and implemented.

Fastjet plc is the holding company for African airline Fly540, which operates in Tanzania, Kenya, Ghana and Angola. Flights under the Fastjet brand commenced in Tanzania in November 2012. The airline has introduced Airbus A319s into its fleet and by adhering to international standards of safety, quality, security and reliability, Fastjet has brought a new flying experience to the African market at unprecedented low prices . Fastjet is implementing the low-cost model across Africa and its long-term strategy is to become the continent’s first low-cost, pan-African airline.

Air Seychelles and South African Airways sign a code-share agreement

Air Seychelles (Mahé), the national airline of the Republic of Seychelles, on April 25 announced that it has entered into a code-share agreement with South African Airways (SAA) (Johannesburg), the national airline of the Republic of South Africa.

The first phase of the agreement will see South African Airways place its “SA” code on Air Seychelles’ non-stop flights between Johannesburg and Seychelles. South African Airways will also place its code on flights between the two largest islands of Seychelles, Mahé and Praslin, subject to approvals.

Subsequent to the launch of the partnership between Air Seychelles and SAA, the airlines will look into expanding the agreement to include Air Seychelles placing its ‘HM’ code on South African Airways’ non-stop flights between Johannesburg and destinations across South Africa.

Ticket sales are set to open on April 29, for travel from April 30.

The deal follows a strategic move by Air Seychelles to increase its connectivity throughout South Africa and continental Africa.

In March 2013, Air Seychelles introduced an enhanced schedule and additional weekly service on its Johannesburg route, bringing the flights to three return services per week with daytime departures and arrivals. The new schedule greatly enhances leisure and business travelers’ ability to connect seamlessly on both airlines across Africa and South Africa, particularly to Cape Town and Durban.

Top Copyright Photo: Rainer Bexten. Airbus A330-243 A6-EYY (msn 751) arrives at Johannesburg. The aircraft is wet leased from strategic partner Etihad Airways.

Air Seychelles:

South African Airways:

Bottom Copyright Photo: Terry Wade. South African is planning to retire its last Airbus A340-200 in late May. The SAA A340s are some of the oldest A340s flying. The pictured A340-212 ZS-SLB (msn 011) arrives at London (Heathrow).

Lufthansa faces additional strikes by Verdi

Lufthansa (Frankfurt) is facing additional strikes by its Verdi union.

According to this report by Reuters, Verdi is demanding a 5.2 percent pay raise over 12 months and job security for about 33,000 cabin crew and ground staff.

Read the full report: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: TMK Photography. Airbus A340-311 D-AIGC (msn 027) in the Star Alliance livery climbs away from the runway at Toronto (Pearson).

Lufthansa:

Aer Lingus to lease three Boeing 757-200s for thin trans-Atlantic routes, 1Q operating loss widens to $59.1 million

Aer Lingus (Dublin) is planning to wet lease three Boeing 757-200s starting in early 2014. The aircraft will be assigned to thin trans-Atlantic routes. The company believes there is growth potential on these new routes because of its new jetBlue Airways (New York) relationship.

Read the full report from Bloomberg: CLICK HERE

On the financial side, the company will seek to reduce its staff by 100 positions by the end of the year after its first quarter operating loss widened to $59.1 million.

Copyright Photo: SM Fitzwilliams Collection. The Boeing 757s will supplement the Airbus A330 fleet. A330-302 EI-EDY (msn 1025) prepares to depart from the Dublin hub.

Aer Lingus: