unaligned

AirAsia is likely to use most of the proceeds from a proposed sale of its aircraft-leasing arm to pay a dividend, its CE said. The airline expects to get binding bids for the unit by March and close the deal by summer, Group CE Tony Fernandes said. The board of the carrier will take the final call on whether to use the proceeds to pare debt or pay a dividend, he said. “Our gearing is very low anyway but I always like to have more cash than less cash,” Fernandes said. “But it’s really up to the board to finally decide what to do with that.” The divestment of Asia Aviation Capital may help bolster the financials of the carrier that has ordered hundreds of jets from Airbus and had a net debt of US$2b at the end of September. <br/>

Just 3 and a half years ago, Norwegian was an upstart discount carrier entering the long-haul market. Now it is the 10th-largest trans-Atlantic airline by percentage of seats offered. The growth of Norwegian is a sign of the competitive threat on trans-Atlantic routes faced by legacy carriers. Norwegian is about to announce details of a plan that is poised to lower fares and expand the cities it serves in the US and Europe. Later this year, Norwegian plans to begin flying out of new American cities to include Newark; Newburgh, N.Y.; and Providence, R.I. On the other side of the ocean, it will begin to operate out of new cities including Barcelona; Belfast, Cork and Shannon in Ireland; and Edinburgh, Scotland. Average fares on the new Irish routes are expected to be US$300 to $350 round trip, tax included. <br/>