Tag Archives: Reagan National

Southwest to serve Cancun and Los Cabos starting on August 10

Southwest Airlines (Dallas) has announced the next phase of its international service by offering Customers new Southwest Airlines flights to both the Pacific and Caribbean coasts of Mexico, as well as other new domestic and international flying, as the carrier extended flight schedules through October 31, 2014.

Beginning August 10, 2014, Southwest Airlines will operate daily, nonstop flights between:

Cancun, Mexico, and Atlanta, Baltimore/Washington, and (Saturdays only) Milwaukee
San Jose del Cabo/Los Cabos, Mexico, and Santa Ana/Orange County
Nassau, Bahamas, and (Saturdays only) Atlanta

As the planned conversion of wholly owned subsidiary AirTran Airways’ destinations continues, Southwest intends to serve five countries previously served by AirTran by the end of this year. Southwest previously announced service to Aruba, Nassau, and Montego Bay, beginning on July 1, 2014, and throughout this booking window is adding domestic connectivity through international gateway cities to many of the more than 80 cities served by Southwest Airlines across the United States.

Southwest’s phased rollout of international nonstop with domestic connecting service also brings new options for Denver customers who have made Southwest Airlines the largest air carrier in Colorado.

Beginning in October 2014, Southwest Airlines will offer nonstop service between Denver and:

Cancun, with daily roundtrip flights beginning on October 7, 2014; and
San Jose del Cabo/Los Cabos, with Saturday-only service beginning on October 11, 2014

Some flights will be operated by AirTran Airways which is being slowly integrated into Southwest Airlines.

Copyright Photo: Brian McDonough/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 737-7H4 N730SW (msn 27862) completes its final bank on the river approach into downtown Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA).

Southwest Airlines:

American Airlines ends its bereavement fares for family members

American Airlines (Dallas/Fort Worth) has ended its policy of extending special fares to family members who must buy a ticket a last-minute flight because of a relative’s death according to the Associated Press.

The change at American now mirrors the policy at merger partner US Airways, which does not offer bereavement fares. US Airways management is now running the “new American”.

Copyright Photo: Brian McDonough/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 737-823 N815NN (msn 33208) completes its final approach from the south into Washington’s Reagan National Airport.

American Airlines (current):

Virgin America outbids for the last eight slots at Washington Reagan National Airport

Virgin America (San Francisco) has secured the last eight landing and takeoff slots at Washington’s Reagan National Airport (DCA). Virgin America outbid Spirit Airlines and others for the last slots according to Reuters. This last allotment comes after last month’s award of 54 slots to Southwest Airlines and 40 to JetBlue Airways (including 16 it had been leasing). The slot sales were demanded by the Department of Justice (DOJ) a precondition for the American Airlines-US Airways merger.

Copyright Photo: Brian McDonough/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A320-214 N839VA (msn 4610) completes its final approach from the south into Washington Reagan National Airport.

Virgin America:

Current Route Map: There will now be more Virgin America routes and flights radiating from DCA probably starting with LAX and more flights to SFO. Here are the current routes from Los Angeles (LAX):

Southwest Airlines to add 27 daily flights at Washington’s Reagan National Airport

Southwest Airlines (Dallas) has confirmed it has been notified of its winning bid in an auction for 54 slots–allowing 27 additional daily flights–that will bring more competition to Reagan National Airport, three miles from downtown Washington, D.C. Details of the carrier’s bid to acquire divested slots remain confidential under terms of the deal and are subject to final approval of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and completion of customary written agreements. The additional slots will translate to an increase in Southwest’s service at Reagan National from 17 daily departures to 44 daily departures. The carrier plans to announce destinations, schedules, and fares for the additional flights later this quarter and anticipates it will begin flying in the third quarter of 2014.

The slots that Southwest will purchase at Reagan National became available as a result of a settlement of litigation last Autumn by the U.S. Department of Justice against the merger of American Airlines and US Airways. In a separate development, Southwest recently announced new service between Reagan National and Kansas City International Airport beginning Feb. 1, 2014.

In addition to Southwest’s presence at Washington Reagan National Airport (DCA) and Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD), Southwest offers the greater Baltimore/Washington region more than 200 daily departures from Baltimore/Washington Thurgood Marshall International Airport (BWI) to nearly 60 cities and, beginning on July 1, 2014, will offer new daily service on Southwest between BWI and Aruba, The Bahamas, and Jamaica, launching a new international chapter for both the carrier and Maryland’s largest airport.

Copyright Photo: Brian McDonough/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 737-7H4 N486WN (msn 33852) of Southwest Airlines with the “Free Bags Fly Here” sticker arrives at Washington’s Ronald Reagan National Airport on the River Approach.

Southwest Airlines:

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:

Is Alaska Airlines moving closer to American Airlines?

Alaska Airlines (Seattle/Tacoma), as we have previously reported, has been trading “I will match you” route additions with Delta Air Lines (Atlanta) at their respective hubs at Seattle/Tacoma (SEA) and Salt Lake City (SLC). These moves come even though Alaska Airlines has an extensive feeder and code-share relationship with Delta. Delta even named a new Boeing 737 after the city of Seattle! Simply put, each carrier feeds each other at both SEA and SLC. However that close relationship began to unravel when Delta started adding feeder routes of its own at SEA, basically inferring to Alaska the relationship could be on the rocks. The aggressive move at SEA by Delta may have spurred Alaska to look to the new American Airlines (Dallas/Fort Worth) (soon to become the largest airline in the world) for help and possibly a closer relationship. The two carriers already have a code-share relationship. A merger is probably out of the question since AA is becoming the largest carrier already and already had to overcome DOJ merger objections. The question will be in 2014 and beyond, will both carriers expand their relationship to fight off the advances of Delta at SEA?

Ted Reed of The Street (of Jim Cramer fame) looks at this intriguing question: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: Brian McDonough/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 737-890 N586AS (msn 35189), despite the Hawaiian Lei on the tail, arrives at a frigid Washington Reagan National Airport on January 18, 2014. The famous Eskimo tail emblem is expected to survive the next livery for Alaska Airlines that has been promised for this year.

Alaska Airlines:

American and US Airways announce the routes it will drop from Washington Reagan National and New York LaGuardia

American Airlines Group Inc. (American Airlines and US Airways) (Dallas/Fort Worth) has announced the planned network adjustments resulting from the required divestiture of slots and related assets at Washington Reagan National Airport (DCA) and New York LaGuardia Airport (LGA). The divestitures, which enabled American Airlines and US Airways to complete their merger, were mandated by the previously announced settlements with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the States ofArizona, Florida, Michigan, Tennessee, the Commonwealths of Pennsylvania and Virginia, and the District of Columbia.

Washington Reagan National Airport (DCA)

As a result of the 52 slot pair divestitures at DCA required by the DOJ, American will no longer operate year-round, daily nonstop service to 17 destinations from DCA. Customers in these communities will still have access to DCA, which remains a key hub for American, through connecting flights from one or more of the airline’s other eight hubs.

Communities no longer receiving year-round, daily service include:

Augusta, Ga.Detroit, Mich.Fayetteville, N.C.Fort Walton Beach, Fla.Islip, N.Y.

Jacksonville, N.C.

Little Rock, Ark.Minneapolis, Minn.MontrealMyrtle Beach, S.C.Nassau, Bahamas

Omaha, Neb.

Pensacola, Fla.San Diego, Calif.Savannah, Ga.Tallahassee, Fla.Wilmington, N.C.

Effective dates for the changes at DCA will be announced after the sale of slots and related assets is finalized in the coming weeks. American is currently working through the DOJ-approved divestiture process which includes transition agreements with acquiring airlines to minimize the disruption to customers.

Customers in Washington, D.C., and on the West Coast will benefit from other schedule changes, as American will soon add a second daily nonstop frequency between DCA and Los Angeles by shifting US Airways’ current San Diego flight to Los Angeles.

In addition, American will adjust its service to Fort Myers, Florida, moving from year-round service to a seasonal schedule.

New York LaGuardia (LGA)

As a result of the DOJ-required 17 slot pair divestitures at LGA, American will no longer operate nonstop service to Atlanta, Cleveland and Minneapolis/St. Paul. However, changes to the schedule made possible by the combined network of American and US Airways will provide opportunities for new service to 10 communities. New service from LGA includes:

Charlottesville, Va.	Little Rock, Ark.	Roanoke, Va.
Dayton, Ohio	Louisville, Ky.	Wilmington, N.C.
Greensboro, N.C.	Norfolk, Va.
Knoxville, Tenn.	Richmond, Va.

Customers can begin booking tickets for these new routes Sunday, January 26 for travel beginning April 1.

In December 2013, American and US Airways finalized the DOJ-approved sale of slots and related assets at LGA with agreements that allow the appropriate time for American and the acquiring airlines to transition their operations and minimize the disruption to customers.

Copyright Photo: Brian McDonough/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 737-823 N936NN (msn 31176) approaches the runway at Washington’s Reagan National Airport (DCA).

American Airlines (current):

American Airlines (historic):

US Airways:

Southwest to aggressively bid for AA-US slots at the Washington Reagan National Airport

Southwest Airlines (Dallas) will bid aggressively for landing and takeoff slots at Washington’s Reagan National Airport (DCA) that are being divested by American Airlines-US Airways according to this report by Reuters. American Airlines-US Airways are giving up 52 slot pairs at DCA. Southwest currently has 32 slots at DCA.

Read the full report: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: Brian McDonough/AirlinersGallery.com. Southwest’s Boeing 737-7H4 WL N443WN (msn 29838) with the special “The Spirit of Hope” markings banks on the river approach into DCA.

Southwest Airlines:

Virgin America posts net income of $33.5 million in the third quarter

Virgin America (San Francisco) today reported its financial results for the third quarter of 2013 with operating income of $44.4 million and net income of $33.5 million on total revenue of $387.3 million. The airline posted an operating margin of 11.5 percent – a 7.2 point improvement for the third quarter, driven largely by a 9.4 percent growth in revenue per available seat mile (“RASM”) over the year-earlier period.

Third Quarter 2013 Financial Highlights

Virgin America reported $33.5 million in net income compared to a year-ago loss of $12.6 million, an improvement of $46 million.
The Company significantly outpaced all U.S. carriers with year-over-year RASM growth of 9.4 percent on a 3.9 percent decrease in capacity. Virgin America has now led the industry in RASM growth every month since October 2012.
Load factor increased by 0.9 points and yield increased by 7.4 percent year-over-year.
Operating revenue was $387.3 million, an increase of 5.2 percent from the third quarter of 2012.
Cost per available seat mile (CASM) excluding fuel increased by 4.5 percent year-over-year, largely due to the airline’s expansion into major airports like Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), increased labor costs, and decreased utilization of the fleet as part of the Company’s plan to improve unit revenue.
Year-to-date, Virgin America has generated operating income of $57.3 million, an increase of $94.1 million from the first nine months of 2012.
Unrestricted cash was $156.9 million as of September 30, 2013, an increase of $80.9 million since December 31, 2012.

Since taking a pause in its fleet and network expansion, Virgin America is now experiencing improved revenue and profitability performance across its network. Virgin America took delivery of one aircraft in the first quarter of 2013, increasing its total operating fleet to 53 aircraft. The Company does not plan to increase its fleet again until the second half of 2015, when aircraft on order from Airbus are scheduled for delivery.

Virgin America completed a restructuring of the majority of its debt with investors during May 2013, eliminating more than $300 million of existing debt and accrued interest. As a result of this restructuring, Virgin America expects its interest expense to substantially decline to approximately $10 million per quarter through 2014. Had the May 2013 restructuring been completed prior to the beginning of the year, Virgin America’s year-to-date net income would have been approximately $30 million higher.

Copyright Photo: Brian McDonough/AirlinersGallery.com. Virgin America’s Airbus A320-214 N836VA (msn 4480) completes its final bank on the River Approach into Washington’s Reagan National Airport.

Virgin America:

JetBlue begins operations at Worcester

JetBlue Airways (New York) yesterday (November 7) began flying from the Worcester Regional Airport to Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood and Orlando, as the airline continues to grow its foothold in New England. JetBlue now offers 256 daily flights in and out of New England and is the exclusive commercial airline to operate at the Central Massachusetts facility.

JetBlue’s schedule between Worcester (ORH) and Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood (FLL) effective November 7, 2013:


ORH to FLL:		FLL to ORH:
Depart – Arrive		Depart – Arrive
4:25 p.m. – 7:39 p.m.		7:32 p.m. – 10:30 p.m.

JetBlue’s schedule between Worcester (ORH) and Orlando (MCO) effective November 7, 2013*:


ORH to MCO:		MCO to ORH:
Depart – Arrive		Depart – Arrive
7:30 a.m. – 10:33 a.m.		1:00 p.m. – 3:38 p.m.

*= First flight from Orlando to Worcester is scheduled for November 7, 2013. First flight from Worcester to Orlando is scheduled for November 8.

Copyright Photo: Brian McDonough/AirlinersGallery.com. Embraer ERJ 190-100 IGW N353JB (msn 19000576) (Barcode) banks on its final approach into Reagan National Airport in Washington.

JetBlue Airways: