Dozens of incidents have prompted scrutiny of the safety and maintenance practices at Allegiant Air. In an industry that has habitually struggled to make money, Allegiant’s soaring earnings stand out. Last year, its profits jumped 154%, to US$220.4m, as the carrier — relying heavily on cheaper, previously used planes — flew more than 300 routes. In June, Allegiant announced a dozen new routes and 3 new cities. But observers are asking whether Allegiant has pursued fast growth and financial success at the expense of other considerations. Unwanted attention has come from federal regulators worried about safety, investors betting against the stock, a pilots union concerned about maintenance, and corporate governance experts who fault the airline’s cosy board of directors as not doing more to head off problems. <br/>
unaligned
Flydubai reported a loss of Dh89.9m (US$24.47m) during the first half of the year because of pressure from currency fluctuations. It reported revenue of Dh2.3b, an increase of 5.4% compared with the same period last year. In March, Flydubai’s Boeing 737-800 crashed in south-west Russia, killing all 62 people on board. "It is too early at this stage to estimate the full cost of the accident," said Ghaith Al Ghaith, the CE of Flydubai. Flydubai had cash and cash equivalents, including the pre-delivery payments for future aircraft deliveries, of Dh2.4b. "We have seen continued pressure on yields due to the uncertain international economic situation set against a backdrop of lower oil prices and adverse currency exchange rates," said CFO Mukesh Sodani. <br/>
UTair Airline reported H1 2016 net loss of RUB684.9m (US$10.7m), narrowed from the carrier’s RUB1.77b loss in H1 2015. Revenue rose 13.5% YOY to RUB33.7b. Operational costs increased 20% YOY to RUB32b. The airline’s operational profit for the first half fell 43.8% YOY to RUB1.7b. “UTair continues to realise its restructuring program focused on cost reduction, productivity increases and the continued optimisation of its aircraft lease portfolio,” the airline stated. H1 2016 interim financial statements assume the company will continue on a going concern basis despite having negative equity of RUB11.8b, short-term assets exceed short-term liabilities by RUB2.8b. The company benefits from a number of the Russian govt guarantees that allowed it to restructure its financial liabilities over a number of years. <br/>
Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary has insisted that the airline's growth at Dublin Airport has not "topped out" following a decision to cut capacity at the capital next summer. The airline will reduce the number of seats out of Dublin by about 370,000, or 3% as it redeploys the capacity elsewhere on its network in Europe. O'Leary blamed the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) for a failure to offer an extension to route incentives for Ryanair's decision. "We've been unable to get an answer from the DAA about the extension of growth discounts for 2017," O'Leary said. He insisted the DAA had adopted a "remarkable position" of saying it would wait to see what route announcements were made by carriers for 2017 before deciding on what growth discounts would be. <br/>