LCC Norwegian has reported a 2017 Q3 net profit of just over NOK1b ($122m), up 4% year-over-year (YOY), on strong international passenger growth and increasingly high load factors. The LCC achieved the result on revenues that jumped 21% YOY, to fractionally over NOK10b, compared to NOK8.3b a year ago. Passenger numbers were up 14% YOY at 9.8m, with figures from Spain and the US showing particularly large improvements. The US figures, up 79% on a year ago, were the result of the increasingly large number of transatlantic routes the carrier has instituted in recent months. During the quarter, Norwegian launched 14 new intercontinental routes, including Denver and Seattle. Load factor was slightly up at 91.7%, compared to the year-ago figure of 91.3%. Capacity growth was up 25% at 20.7b, while RPK kept pace, up 26% at just under 19b. “An increasing number of passengers in the US, Spain and other parts of the world considerably contribute to the growth, which proves that our global strategy is being realized,” Norwegian CEO Bjørn Kjos said. “However, we have had major additional costs related to wet leasing and compensation paid to passengers affected by delays, significantly affecting the quarterly result. But looking ahead, the ticket sales are satisfactory both on established and new routes.”<br/>
unaligned
Spirit Airlines is pulling back on the torrid expansion that helped place them at the center of an industry fare war in recent months, sending the discount carrier’s shares surging the most in four years. Spirit will limit its growth of flights and seats to as little as 10% in 2019, executives said Thursday. As part of the slowdown, the airline is holding off deciding whether to order new Airbus aircraft to fuel future flying, CFO Ted Christie said Thursday. The carrier is also studying whether to extend the leases of some planes in its fleet as it works to keep growth to the “low to mid double-digit” range, he said. Spirit plans to expand by 22 to 25% in 2018. Capacity growth is a critical part of how a low-fare airline like Spirit keeps expenses low, with costs spread across more seats. Christie said Spirit is confident that slowing expansion won’t hurt its cost structure much. “Aircraft growth is not the only knob that the airline has available to it,” he said. The slower expansion, coupled with an apparent easing of low-fare skirmishing among airlines, sent Spirit up as much as 14%, the most since October 2013. Christie said Spirit’s 2017 capacity growth of 16% was “artificially depressed” by about three percentage points because of disruptions from hurricanes and a pilot labor action in the spring, and problems with the Pratt & Whitney engines on its new Airbus A320neo family aircraft that limited their use.<br/>
A British union is asking Ryanair pilots pushing for better working conditions at the Irish budget airline whether they would be willing to take industrial action. Europe's largest airline by passenger numbers has cancelled around 20,000 flights, citing a shortage of standby pilots to ensure the smooth operation of its fleet of 400 planes. The crunch has prompted Ryanair to curb its growth plans for next summer and launch a drive to hire hundreds of new pilots and convince those who remain not to leave. But its retention efforts, including the offer of large pay rises with conditions attached, have so far not been well received by many pilots, who want better working conditions. A majority of pilots at Stansted, Ryanair's largest base, last week rejected an offer of higher pay. Many Ryanair pilots are employed via third-party agencies, though the airline says a majority are direct employees. The BALPA union said Thursday it was asking pilots whether they would support a group legal action to establish employee or worker rights. "The desire amongst pilots to change Ryanair for the better is real," BALPA General Secretary Brian Strutton said. "They tell us they are fed up with the way they are treated and that's why they are saying no to big pay rises that have been offered by Ryanair management," he said. Ryanair, which does not recognise unions, has so far resisted moves by pilots to get the company to take a new approach to industrial relations, saying it already has structures in place for them to negotiate with management.<br/>
Southwest overcame hurricanes, higher fuel prices and slightly lower fares to boost Q3 profit 30%. The airline predicted Thursday that a measure of pricing power will be stronger in the fourth quarter than it was in the third, in line with forecasts from rivals. A key to the quarter was Southwest's ability to hold labor costs in check while benefiting from solid travel demand that is lifting the US airline industry. Southwest said it earned $503mi, up from $388m a year earlier. CEO Gary Kelly and other executives were scheduled to speak with analysts later Thursday. Investors will be looking for reassurance that Southwest won't grow too fast and put down downward pressure on fares. Regular customers will be more interested to hear more about Southwest's recently announced plan to begin flying to Hawaii. The airline hasn't said when those flights will start. Excluding special items such as costs to settle fuel-hedging contracts, the Dallas company said it earned 88 cents per share. Revenue was up 3% to $5.27b, just shy of expectations. Southwest cancelled 5,000 flights and lost $100m in revenue in Q3 due to hurricanes — Harvey shut down its operations in Houston for several days.<br/>
The administrators of failed British airline Monarch are seeking clarification in court about whether or not they have the right to sell Monarch's airport slots, potentially the most valuable remaining part of the business. The status of Monarch's airport slots has been ambiguous since the airline went bust at the start of October. Administrators at KPMG have maintained they have the right to sell the slots, reportedly worth GBP60m, and said Thursday they wanted to establish that right in court. "Given the complexity of the slot exchange process, we are seeking a judicial review on this particular matter," said Blair Nimmo, partner at KPMG and joint administrator. "We believe this to be in the wider public interest, with the intention of resolving this matter quickly and with the greatest chance of maximising the continued use of the slots." Monarch's owner Greybull Capital declined to comment. The CE of BA owner IAG and Norwegian Air Shuttle have both said they are interested in using the slots, even though the process by which they might be acquired was unclear. Monarch went bust at the start of this month, and it was immediately grounded, meaning Britain's Civil Aviation Authority had to repatriate thousands of passengers who were overseas at the time.<br/>
The captain of Ghana’s national soccer team, Asamoah Gyan, has secured a license to open an airline that will be named after his on-field nickname, Baby Jet. Gyan “is working feverishly to establish an airline, called Baby Jet Airlines,” President Nana Akufo-Addo said Wednesday, according to a copy of a speech delivered at an aviation industry show in the capital, Accra. “I want to appeal to other Ghanaians, both home and abroad, to invest in the rapidly growing aviation sector.” Passenger arrivals at Accra’s main international airport grew by almost a quarter to 373,429 in September from the same month a year ago, Akufo-Addo said. The construction of a new terminal will be completed in April, he said. Gyan, 31, is the leading goalscorer for Ghana’s national team with 51 goals and has represented the country at three World Cup tournaments. He is currently playing for Turkish club Kayserispor. Previous sides include Udinese in Italy and English team Sunderland.<br/>
Emirates and flydubai could use the same terminal at Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest for international travellers, after expanding their commercial relationship earlier this year, the head of the airport operator said. Emirates, the Middle East’s largest airline, exclusively uses Terminal 3 with the exception of some Qantas flights, which will end next year. Budget airline flydubai shares Terminal 2, on the other side of the airport, with other carriers. Proposals to improve connections for passengers between the two airlines are under consideration, including whether it’s feasible for them to operate out of Terminal 3. “We need to make a strategic decision about how the traffic distribution will work,” Dubai Airports CE Paul Griffiths said Thursday. “Then we need to move quickly into a design and construction phase to build whatever facilities are necessary for that, or adapt existing facilities around the new business model.” Emirates and flydubai agreed in July to coordinate on network planning, schedules and frequent flyer programmes, and said they would align airport systems and operations, but did not say how that would happen.<br/>
Emirates Airline has announced plans to create an “Aviation X-Lab,” with the aim of rethinking the transportation industry. “The Aviation Experimental (X) Lab is a historic effort to host airlines, manufacturers, ground logistics, regulators, engineers, academics, and startups under a single roof in order to envision a new transportation paradigm and seek solutions that no single organization or program has had the resources to deliver on their own,” Emirates said. The X-Lab, which forms part of the UAE Centennial Plan 2071, will host industry summits at Area 2071 in Dubai. These gathering will work on annual “challenges,” which various stakeholders—including internal teams, engineering companies, academics and startups—will be invited to address. “The first challenge will be announced in November, with teams convening in Dubai in the spring of 2018 to begin their work,” Emirates said. “Finalist teams from around the world will meet in Dubai each April for an annual event where they will pitch their concepts. Winners of the pitch event will relocate to Dubai the following month along with their corporate and government counterparts to begin a rigorous curriculum co-created with the world’s top academic and innovation institutions.” <br/>