British regional airline Flybe Group cautioned that the country's vote to leave the European Union could affect the aviation industry "operationally and commercially" and posed short-term challenges because of the pound's sharp slide. Flybe, which connects British regional airports to London and other European cities, said adjusted pretax profit fell 25 percent to 15.9 million pounds in the six months ended Sept. 30, weighed down by a deterioration in the European travel environment. "The aviation market is tough at the moment," Executive Chairman Simon Laffin said Wednesday. The surprise departure of industry veteran Saad Hammad as CEO last month has left Flybe to seek new leadership even as European airlines face lower demand due to Brexit uncertainty, a string of attacks in Europe and depressed appetite for corporate travel. At the same time, carriers, particularly low cost ones, have put more seats on to the market to try to take advantage of low fuel prices and gain market share.<br/>
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Emirates airline reported on Wednesday a 75% year-on-year decline in profits to reach Dh786m for the first half of 2016-2017 financial year ending in September 2016. The airline said the decline followed one of Emirates’ best half-year performances in 2015, and attributed it to a stronger US dollar and a challenging operating environment. Emirates also said increased competition resulted in lower airfares, which impacted revenues. Emirates’ revenues were almost flat, dropping one per cent year-on-year to reach Dh41.9b in the first half of the financial year. “The airline was also impacted by currency devaluation and hard currency shortage in some African countries, as well as dampened travel demand due to the ongoing economic malaise and looming security concerns across major markets in its network,” the airline said. Emirates’ operating costs rose 5% against a capacity increase of 9%. On average, fuel costs during H1 were down 10% year-on-year. Fuel remained the largest component of costs, however, accounting for 24% of the airline’s operating costs compared with 28% in the first six months of last year.<br/>
Wizz Air’s underlying profit after tax was up 12.5% in H1 E231.6m. The Hungarian carrier, which styles itself as the largest low-cost airline in Central and Eastern Europe, said the result was a record for H1. Revenue for the six months to end September was up 10.1% at E921.2m as it carried 12.5m passengers, a 17.4% increase from the prior year period. Unit revenue fell 8.5%, but the airline reduced ASK unit costs by 11% as fuel unit costs dropped by 29.8%. During the quarter Wizz launched 54 new routes and added six Airbus A321s to take its fleet size to 73. Load factor rose 0.4 percentage points to 91.1%. Wizz Air said it remained committed to the UK despite shifting some capacity to other markets after the post-Brexit drop in the pound. Wizz Air CE József Váradi said the airline expects fares to continue falling on the back of low fuel prices, and reconfirmed full year guidance for underlying net profit of between E245 and 255m.<br/>
Daily nonstop flights between Albany and Denver are slated to begin in the spring. The Albany County Airport Authority says Southwest will begin year-round daily nonstops between Albany and Denver on April 25. The airline previously has operated seasonal weekend nonstops between the cities. Southwest's website showed a round-trip fare of $288 on the nonstop Denver flights for the last week of April. The flight to Denver will leave Albany International Airport at 6:10 p.m. Monday through Friday, arriving in Denver at 8:25 p.m. The eastbound flight leaves Denver at 7:25 p.m. and arrives in Albany at 1:05 a.m.<br/>
Chorus Aviation announced net Q3 income of C$20.1m, up from CAD$6.3 million the previous year. Chorus Aviation is the parent of Canadian regional carrier Jazz Aviation. Operating revenue for the quarter was C$331.1m, down 19.7% from C$412.2m last year. Expenses were down 22.1% to C$282.6m. The company said the result was in part because of improved cost competitiveness at Jazz and continuing fleet updates. Chorus CE Joe Randell said Q3 strategy was about “advancing the business diversification strategy, improving Jazz's cost competitiveness, fleet modernisation, and establishing Voyageur's Avparts business." <br/>
For years, JetBlue Airways has mainly ignored Southern California's Long Beach Airport, home to its smallest focus-city operation. JetBlue has eagerly promoted the idea of opening a customs and immigration facility there, so it can start serving international routes. But with international flights off-limits for now, JetBlue has been happy to mark time in Long Beach, operating as few as 22 daily round-trips at the airport. However, since losing out to Alaska Air in the competition to acquire Virgin America earlier this year, JetBlue has turned its focus to organic expansion on the West Coast. Furthermore, JetBlue has had to fend off new competition from Southwest in Long Beach. As a result, it is now adding flights at Long Beach Airport. The rationale for Alaska Air's deal to acquire Virgin America is that it will become a major player in the massive California air-travel market. Indeed, when the acquisition closes, Alaska expects to be the largest airline on the West Coast, slightly edging out Southwest and overtaking all three legacy carriers. This will leave JetBlue as a distant sixth on the West Coast. To avoid becoming an afterthought, JetBlue has embarked on a huge expansion of its Mint premium transcontinental service. By the end of 2017, JetBlue will roughly double its Mint fleet to 31 aircraft, which will operate more than 70 daily flights.<br/>
After announcing that it would relocate to a new office in 2014, budget carrier AirAsia finally moved into its new space in Sepang, Malaysia, on Monday. The office, dubbed RedQuarters, is located on an 18,000-square-meter plot beside Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2. It is reportedly set to house 2,000 AirAsia employees. With features like indoor grass and colorful, stylish furniture, the huge open-plan office breaks away from conventional office stereotypes. AirAsia said that the design was intended to reflect the company’s determination to become Malaysia and the region’s best airline, “while incorporating elements showcasing the professional, fun and friendly attitudes.” The company threw a celebratory opening party at the new headquarters featuring local entertainers SonaOne and Joe Flizzow. <br/>