A combination of geo-political and macroeconomic factors brought about a sharp reduction in earnings at Emirates Airline in the 2016-17 financial year, the carrier reported May 11. Net profit dropped 82.5% compared to 2015-16, at AED1.25b (US$340m) compared to net profit of AED7.13b last year. Revenue for the period was static at AED85b. Emirates Group chairman & CE Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum said the aviation and travel markets were notoriously vulnerable to social, economic and political events and “for us, this year has been a particularly testing one.” He cited a combination of global terrorist attacks, the attempted coup in Turkey, the UK’s vote to leave the EU and the election of US president Donald Trump. He said the last of these factors, in particular, had affected Emirates. <br/>
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If Alitalia’s bankruptcy spells the end for the airline, Italians may well be able to turn to Ryanair, or possibly some of its rivals, as an alternative. Figures produced by Anna Aero show that Ryanair, along with the likes of Vueling and EasyJet, has mopped up traffic in Italy. Ryanair will have 20% of Italy’s international market this summer, making it by far the biggest player in that end of the business. The next nearest is EasyJet, with 11.5%, while Alitalia comes third with 8.6%. Vueling is fourth with 4.8%. This does not compare well with the performance of other European flag carriers in their home markets. Lufthansa, for instance, will have 27% of international capacity from German airports this summer, while Air France will have 24%. <br/>
Gol’s Q1 net profit dropped almost 70% as it reacted to a weaker domestic environment by cutting capacity. Net income for the quarter to end March fell to BRL232.7m (US$73.5m) from BRL757.1m as Q1 20116 benefited from the return of leased aircraft and the sale and leaseback of planes. Net operating revenue for the quarter was down 2.5% at BRL2.64b, but costs rose 5.3% to BRL2.39b. Gol reduced its aircraft rental costs by just over a quarter and maintenance by 31.2% during the period. Gol carried 8.2m passengers, an 8.3% drop from last year’s quarter, with RPK traffic edging up 0.7%. The carrier reduced the number of seats it sold by 13% and ASM capacity by 2%, resulting in a load factor increase of 2.1 percentage points to 79.6%. <br/>
Spirit Airlines said it has reached an agreement with the Air Line Pilots Association to indefinitely extend a temporary restraining order compelling Spirit’s pilots to cease what the carrier has called “a pervasive illegal work slowdown.” Spirit filed a lawsuit May 8 against ALPA, which represents Spirit’s nearly 1,600 pilots, asking for a “preliminary injunction compelling an immediate end to this illegal work slowdown” that the airline said cost it US$8.5m in the first 8 days of the month. A breakdown in labour contract negotiations in late April was followed, Spirit alleged, by pervasive pilot unavailability leading to about 15% of its flight schedule being canceled in the first week of May. The court issued the temporary restraining order May 9 and ordered a motion for a hearing on a preliminary injunction. <br/>
JetBlue announced new flight schedules from Fort Lauderdale and Orlando, Florida, to Mexico City (MEX), following the news of a transborder joint venture between Delta Air Lines and Aeromexico. Beginning Sept 6, JetBlue will increase Airbus A320 service to 4X-daily between Mexico City and the US—2 on the Fort Lauderdale route and 2 on the Orlando route. In 2015, JetBlue launched 1X-daily services from Florida to Mexico City. However, earlier this year, JetBlue was awarded new flight times and the authority to operate additional service by the US DoT when the agency required other airlines to divest slots at MEX in order to enhance competition in Mexico City. “The original flight times could not accommodate all customers’ schedule needs and did not align well with a portion of connecting traffic,” JetBlue said. <br/>
Scandinavian leisure carrier Primera Air has placed an order for 8 Boeing 737 MAX 9s, has taken purchase rights on 4 more, and will lease another 8 from Air Lease Corp. Boeing valued the firm order at over US$950mat list prices. Primera Air is part of Primera Travel Group, which has travel agencies and tour operating companies in Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. The airline currently operates 9 737-700s and -800s. It will use the 737 MAX 9s, equipped with auxiliary fuel tanks, to launch flights between Europe and the US east coast. “The 737 MAX 9 will allow Primera Air to open up nonstop, long-haul routes from Europe to the US with unmatched economics...this will open up fantastic possibilities for growth,” Primera Air president Andri Ingolfsson said. <br/>