Tag Archives: ERJ 190-100

JetBlue Airways to acquire 12 slot pairs at Washington Reagan National Airport, reports fourth quarter and 2013 financial results

JetBlue Airways (New York) has been informed that its bid for 12 slot pairs at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) has been provisionally accepted. These assets became available as a result of divestitures mandated by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in the American Airlines-US Airways merger.

Once approved by DOJ, JetBlue expects to add 12 new roundtrip flights at Washington’s popular, close-in airport. The airline plans to introduce nonstop service to cities it does not currently serve from DCA, expanding the benefits of its award-winning service to more communities, as well as add more flights on some existing routes.

JetBlue first entered the Reagan National market in 2010 and today offers 18 daily roundtrip flights to Boston, Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood, Orlando, Tampa, as well as the airport’s only nonstop service to San Juan, Puerto Rico. With its new slots, JetBlue will operate up to 30 roundtrips per day at DCA.

On the financial side, JetBlue Airway Corporation issued its financial report for the fourth quarter and the entire year of 2013:

JetBlue Airways Corporation reported its results for the fourth quarter and full year 2013:

Operating income of $115 million in the fourth quarter. This compares to operating income of $44 million in the fourth quarter of 2012. For the full year 2013, JetBlue reported operating income of $428 million. This compares to operating income of $376 million for the full year 2012.

Pre-tax income of $77 million in the fourth quarter. This compares to pre-tax income of $1 million in the fourth quarter of 2012. For the full year 2013, JetBlue reported pre-tax income of $279 million. This compares to a pre-tax income of $209 million for the full year 2012.

Net income for the fourth quarter was $47 million, or $0.14 per diluted share. This compares to JetBlue’s fourth quarter 2012 net income of $1 million, or $0.00 per diluted share. For the full year 2013, JetBlue reported net income of $168 million, or $0.52per diluted share. This compares to net income of $128 million, or $0.40 per diluted share for the full year 2012.

Operational Performance

JetBlue reported record fourth quarter operating revenues of $1.4 billion. Revenue passenger miles for the fourth quarter increased 7.1% to 8.7 billion on a capacity increase of 8.3%, resulting in a fourth quarter load factor of 80.9%, a decrease of 1.0 point year over year.

Yield per passenger mile in the fourth quarter was 14.35 cents, up 6.5% compared to the fourth quarter of 2012. Passenger revenue per available seat mile (PRASM) for the fourth quarter 2013 increased 5.3% year over year to 11.62 cents and operating revenue per available seat mile (RASM) increased 5.6% year over year to 12.77 cents.

Operating expenses for the quarter increased 8.7%, or $100 million, over the prior year period. Interest expense for the quarter declined 8.4%, or $5 million as a result of JetBlue’s debt reduction strategy. JetBlue’s operating expense per available seat mile (CASM) for the fourth quarter increased 0.4% year over year to 11.70 cents. Excluding fuel and profit sharing, CASM increased 0.6% to 7.30 cents.

Over the course of 2013, JetBlue improved its return on invested capital (ROIC) to 5.3%. “We remain committed to improving ROIC by one percentage point per year on average,” said Mark Powers, JetBlue’s Chief Financial Officer. “We recognize that while we have more work to do to improve returns, we believe we have a plan in place to achieve these goals in 2014.”

Fuel Expense and Hedging

JetBlue continued to hedge fuel to manage price volatility. Specifically, during the fourth quarterJetBlue hedged approximately 28% of its fuel consumption and managed approximately 12% of its fuel consumption using fixed forward price agreements (FFPs). This resulted in a realized fuel price of $3.10 per gallon, a 3.1% decrease over fourth quarter 2012 realized fuel price of $3.20. JetBluerecorded $3 million in losses on fuel hedges that settled during the fourth quarter.

JetBlue has managed approximately 24% of its first quarter projected fuel requirements using a combination of FFPs, jet fuel swaps and caps. Based on the fuel curve as of January 23rd, JetBlueexpects an average price per gallon of fuel, including the impact of hedges, FFPs and fuel taxes, of$3.13 in the first quarter.

Liquidity and Cash Flow

JetBlue ended the year with approximately $627 million in unrestricted cash and short term investments. In addition, JetBlue maintains $550 million in undrawn lines of credit. For the full year 2013, JetBlue generated $758 million of operating cash flow and had capital expenditures of $637 million, including $453 million of aircraft investments. As a result, JetBlue generated $121 million in free cash flow in 2013.

During 2013, JetBlue repaid $510 million in debt and capital lease obligations, including approximately $248 million in the fourth quarter. In addition, JetBlue prepaid approximately $94 million of aircraft related debt in December. JetBlue recorded a $3 million loss in non-operating income during the quarter in connection with this prepayment. JetBlue expects this transaction will generate $25 million in interest expense savings over the next six years. JetBlue plans to repay approximately $470 million in debt and capital lease obligations in 2014, including approximately$235 million in the first quarter.

JetBlue has increased its pool of unencumbered aircraft from one to 23 and decreased its total debt balance by approximately $550 million since 2011, thereby decreasing the financial risk in the business. “We remain focused on continuing to strengthen our balance sheet as we expect to continue to generate free cash flow and purchase aircraft with cash in 2014,” said Mr. Powers.

First Quarter and Full Year Outlook

JetBlue expects first quarter results to be adversely impacted by severe weather in the Northeast during the beginning of January, which resulted in the cancellation of approximately 1,800 flights. The severe weather reduced JetBlue’s total revenue by an estimated $45 million and reduced operating income for the first quarter by approximately $30 million.

For the first quarter of 2014, CASM is expected to be increase between 0.0% and 2.0% versus the year-ago period. Excluding fuel and profit sharing, CASM in the first quarter is expected to increase between 3.0% and 5.0% year over year.

CASM for the full year is expected to increase between 1.0% and 3.0% over full year 2013. Excluding fuel and profit sharing, CASM in 2014 is expected to increase between 3.0% and 5.0% year over year.

Capacity is expected to increase between 2.5% and 4.5% in the first quarter. For the full year, capacity is expected to increase between 5.0% and 7.0%.

Copyright Photo: Brian McDonough/AirlinersGallery.com. Embraer ERJ 190-100 IGW N316JB (msn 19000291) completes the River Approach into Reagan National Airport on the Virginia side of the Potomac River.

JetBlue Airways:

Air Costa leases two Embraer 190s from GECAS

GE Capital Aviation Services Limited (GECAS), the commercial aircraft leasing and financing arm of GE, today announced delivery of two new leased Embraer ERJ 190 aircraft to Air Costa, a new Indian airline focused on regional operations.

Air Costa (Vijayawada) is promoted by the LEPL Group – a major urban infrastructure player in India. Air Costa started operations on October 14, 2013 and currently flies to six destinations in India (see route map below).

All Images: Embraer and Air Costa.

Route Map:

JetBlue shuts down all operations at New York and Boston, will resume today

JetBlue Airways (New York) shut down its entire New York and Boston operations yesterday afternoon (January 6) due to an on-going winter storm and continued delayed and cancelled flights. The airline was purposely shutting down these these two major hubs in order for its crews to get the required amount of rest and for its aircraft and other assets to be repositioned. Like other carriers, the carrier is also under new mandatory FAA rules on pilot duty hours. The airline hopes to restart operations today with full operations expected by 3:00 pm (1500).

JetBlue issued this statement yesterday:

The new year began with the winter storm some called Hercules, is shutting down the heaviest trafficked air corridor in the world during one of the heaviest travel periods of the year. Mother Nature then followed that up with icing conditions over the weekend, causing even more issues and ground stops at the airports. Even as airports began to reopen though, newly launched FAA regulations on pilot duty times caused delayed flights to quickly turn into canceled ones. Now today, less than a week into the year, we’re watching a polar vortex wreak havoc on flight schedules across the industry, as rainy weather prepares to turn airports in the Northeast into ice rinks once again.

More than 3,000 flights across the industry have been cancelled today, and roughly 300 of those will be JetBlue’s. Beginning at 1 p.m. ET today, we’ll reduce operations at JFK, LaGuardia, Newark, and Boston through 10 a.m. ET Tuesday. At that time, we’ll gradually ramp up again – we intend to be 100% operational by 3 p.m. ET on Tuesday. This plan allows for 17 hours of rest for crews, and time for Tech Ops to service the aircraft.

These industry wide cancellations, on top of the previous days’ cancellations, have now left millions of air travelers displaced, struggling to find any available seat to get to their destinations. With planes already full with previously booked holiday travelers, remaining seats are quickly filled, (for some of the other guys, even overbooked), and some customers aren’t seeing available seats for nearly a week. If your flight has been canceled, you can rebook travel or request a refund online. More information on current travel alerts and fee waivers can be found on our Travel Alerts page. We also still request customers are encouraged to check the status of their flight online prior to leaving for the airport.

For our part, this isn’t the sort of operation we’re happy about, and have stood up every available resource throughout the last week to work with customers and adjust our schedules to minimize impact. While we have to reduce operations in our Northeast cities today, we’ll take the opportunity to use some of those planes and crews for extra sections between cities where we they’re most needed and move crews in preparation for starting back up on Tuesday. Our first priority is to support the operation and assist customers with immediate travel needs, but will be reaching out to any impacted customer we have contact information to offer compensation.

Read the full story from CNN: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: Bruce Drum/AirlinersGallery.com. Embraer ERJ 190-100 IGW N206JB (msn 19000025) arrives in New York (JFK).

JetBlue Airways:

LAM’s ERJ 190 C9-EMC crashed into the ground with the autopilot engaged, did the captain intentionally crash the airliner?

LAM’s (Linhas Aereas de Mocambique) (Luanda) Embraer ERJ 190-100 IGW C9-EMC (msn 19000581) on November 29, 2013 was operating flight TM 470 from Maputo, Mozambique to the Luanda, Angola. The airliner never arrived. The aircraft crashed in a Namibian game park, killing the 27 passengers and six crew members on board.

According to Reuters, citing a preliminary report released to the media by Namibia’s Transport Ministry, the crew was “flying in normal conditions and no mechanical deficiency was detected when it suddenly began a descent from its normal cruising altitude with its automatic pilot on and its altitude selector set to below ground level.”

According to Reuters, “the aircraft made the descent on autopilot, and after actions that would have required knowledge of its systems, denoted a “clear intention”. The aircraft was under the command of the captain, Herminio dos Santos, who “was alone in the cockpit at the time of the crash, after his co-pilot had gone to the bathroom. Alarms going off could be heard on the flight recordings, and also the sound of someone beating on the cockpit door “as if asking to be let in”.

Read the full report: CLICK HERE

LAM:

Video:

JetBlue announces its 50th destination from Boston: Savannah, Georgia

JetBlue Airways (New York) today announces that Savannah, Georgia will be the 50th nonstop destination for customers in Boston. JetBlue, the largest airline in Boston with up to 121 daily flights, will begin daily nonstop service on Flight 50 between Savannah/Hilton Head and Boston on Thursday, February 13, 2014.

JetBlue’s schedule, operated by 100-seat Embraer 190 aircraft:

Flight 49 Boston (BOS) to Savannah (SAV):		Flight 50 SAV to BOS:
Departs	11:10 a.m.	Departs	2:25 p.m.
Arrives	1:46 p.m.	Arrives	4:43 p.m.
All times are local. Service begins Feb. 13, 2014

Copyright Photo: Bruce Drum/AirlinersGallery.com. Embraer ERJ 190-100 IGW N304JB (msn 19000257) in the Windowpane tail design taxies to the runway at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

JetBlue Airways:

Premier Aviation to maintain Air Canada’s Embraer fleet

Air Canada (Montreal) and Premier Aviation have announced the signing of a five-year agreement for the provision of airframe maintenance in support of Air Canada’s fleet of 60 Embraer ERJ 190 and ERJ 175 aircraft. With the addition of a second line of maintenance at Premier Aviation’s Trois-Rivières, Quebec facility now in place, the work performed for Air Canada will have created a total of 120 jobs for aircraft technicians on the two lines. This contract follows a successful year of operations meeting the quality and on-time delivery requirements for 37 Air Canada Embraer ERJ 175 and ERJ 190 maintenance visits at Premier’s Trois-Rivières maintenance center.

Premier Aviation performs maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services consisting of airframe, painting and support services for Air Canada’s Embraer fleet at its Trois-Rivières maintenance center. Air Canada’s Embraer fleet consists of 45 ERJ 190 aircraft, with an additional 15 ERJ 175 aircraft now operated by Sky Regional Airlines.

Copyright Photo: Ton Jochems/AirlinersGallery.com. Air Canada’s Embraer ERJ 190-100 IGW C-FHNY (msn 19000085) taxies at the Vancouver hub.

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Air Canada:

AMR and US Airways Group extend their merger agreement

AMR Corporation (Dallas/Fort Worth), the parent company of American Airlines, Inc., (Dallas/Fort Worth) and US Airways Group, Inc. (Phoenix), the parent of US Airways (Phoenix), have each agreed to extend the outside date at which either party may terminate the previously announced Agreement and Plan of Merger (the Merger Agreement), in light of the trial schedule surrounding litigation with U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).

In a joint statement, Tom Horton, chairman, president and CEO of AMR, and Doug Parker, chairman and CEO of US Airways, said, “The Boards and management teams of AMR and US Airways remain committed to completing this combination to create the new American, and the extension of this outside date is a reflection of this commitment. Our focus is on mounting a vigorous defense and winning our court case so the new American can enhance competition, provide better service to our customers and create more opportunities for our employees.”

The amended Merger Agreement extends the date on which either AMR or US Airways may terminate the Merger Agreement from December 17, 2013 to the later of January 18, 2014, or, if the Court enters an order on or before January 17, 2014 in favor of American and US Airways, on the 15th day following the entry of such order. In the event of an unfavorable ruling by the Court, AMR or US Airways may terminate the merger agreement five days after the Court enters a final, but appealable, order permanently enjoining the merger.

Top Copyright Photo: Brian McDonough/AirlinersGallery.com. American’s Boeing 737-823 N925NN (msn 31169) prepares to touch down at Washington’s Reagan National Airport.

American Airlines:

US Airways:

Bottom Copyright Photo: Jay Selman/AirlinersGallery.com. US Airways’ Embraer ERJ 190-100 IGW N961UW (msn 19000183) taxies to the runway at the Charlotte hub.

The first Embraer 190 is delivered to FlyNonstop, will launch operations on April 25

FlyNonstop (Kristiansand, Norway) this week received its first Embraer 190 at a ceremony at Embraer’s headquarters in São José dos Campos, Brazil. The aircraft, leased from a third party, will be used to launch nonstop routes between Kristiansand and key cities in Southern and Central Europe.

The E190 is configured with 100 Elite seats in single class configuration.

The airline will commence operations between Kristiansand on April 25 and major European cities, including Barcelona, Berlin, Dubrovnik, London City Airport, Nice, Palma de Mallorca and Parma.

FlyNonstop:

Copyright Photo: Embraer. The pictured Embraer ERJ 190-100LR PT-TJU became PH-FNS (msn 19000616) on delivery and is named “Elias”. The airliner was leased starting on April 16.

Embraer delivers the 900th E-Jet to Kenya Airways

Embraer on October 10 reached a significant milestone, with the delivery of its 900th E-Jet, an ERJ 190-100 IGW to Kenya Airways (Nairobi) in a ceremony held at the company’s headquarters in Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil.

Today, E-Jets are in service with more than 60 airlines from 40 countries with four different types of business models – mainline, low-cost carriers, regional application and most recently, with scheduled tour operator. The aircraft routinely fly long sectors over water and operate at some of the world’s most challenging airfields, like London City airport (LCY). The family also offers onboard entertainment systems, live satellite TV and radio, in seat power ports and Wi-Fi connectivity to the passengers.

Kenya Airways:

Frontier Airlines to fly Kansas City-Fort Myers

Frontier Airlines (2nd)-Republic Airlines (2nd) Embraer ERJ 190-100 IGW N174HQ (msn 19000211) LGB (James Helbock) “Buddy”, originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

Frontier Airlines (2nd) (Denver) announced new seasonal nonstop service between Kansas City International Airport (MCI) and Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) in Fort Myers, Fla., the airline’s 15th nonstop destination from Kansas City.

Frontier will offer a once-weekly roundtrip flight beginning on December 18, 2010, and will increase service to two weekly roundtrip flights in February.

Republic Airlines (2nd) will operate a 99-seat Embraer ERJ 190 aircraft on this new route for Frontier.