Iceland’s Wow Air is aiming to raise $200m-$300m in an IPO of the low-cost, long-haul airline within 18 months, according to its CE and owner. Skuli Mogensen, who founded Wow in 2011, said he would expect to raise that figure by selling less than half of the company, but he did not give a valuation for the whole business. The airline, which offers cheap flights to the US via its Iceland hub, has had a difficult couple of years: it lost $27.5m before tax in 2017 with revenue of $486m and expects to lose $6m this year. Mogensen said he hoped it would return to profit in 2019 with revenue of $830m-$840m. This is in contrast to the rest of the industry, which had record profits in 2017 thanks in part to low jet fuel prices. Mogensen conceded that the airline had not managed to keep down its costs: “Fuel clearly has worked against us, we’re not hedged. We are reconsidering that policy.” At the end of August jet fuel had risen to $92 a barrel, up a quarter compared with a year ago. But he said his focus was on raising ancillary revenues— such as charges for extra legroom to in-flight meals — which stood at $57 a person, up from $42 in January 2017. “The margin on that kind of growth is 95% versus network growth. This is our way of competing efficiently against the largest carriers,” he said. Mogensen added that he wanted to increase the figure to $65 in the next year.<br/>
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Irish LCC Ryanair has formed a cadet-pilot training partnership with Cork-based flying school Atlantic Flight Training Academy (AFTA), which will train up to 450 Ryanair pilots over the coming five years. The Ryanair-mentored pilot programme will create up to 50 new jobs and help support the airline’s European growth plans. Ryanair said the AFTA training lasts 16 months, creating a “structured path” to a pilot’s license, using Ryanair procedures and readying trainees for the airline’s Boeing 737 type-rating program. “This new Ryanair-AFTA program will provide the airline with a steady pipeline of talented and professional pilots from around Europe to meet the needs of our growing network. Ryanair will hire up to 1,000 pilots per annum over the next five years,” Ryanair head of crew training Andy O’Shea said. <br/>
Russian investigators have disclosed that the Utair Boeing 737-800 which overran at Sochi touched down almost halfway along the runway. The aircraft landed around 1,300m from the threshold of runway 06 after arriving from Moscow Vnukovo on 1 September, states federal air transport regulator Rosaviatsia. Sochi’s runway 06 has a length of 2,890m. Rosaviatsia says 166 passengers and six crew members were on board the aircraft. The jet had already executed a missed approach before it conducted a second attempt to land. The second approach took place in poor weather, with rain and winds from the south – suggesting a small tailwind component – and runway visibility of around 6,000m. There was a 3mm coating of water on the runway. Rosaviatsia also indicates moderate windshear below 200m, and windshear warnings were in force for runways 06 and 02. Rosaviatsia says the crew’s actions “could not stop the aircraft within the runway”. It rolled 140m off the end, crashing through a perimeter fence and coming to halt in the Mzymta river, before the left-hand engine ignited. Rosaviatsia states that the aircraft sustained “significant” damage to its undercarriage, engine and wing.<br/>
The AirAsia X Group is wary of true long-haul, low-cost services, with a strong preference for focusing on medium-range regional routes. “Long-haul Europe is just not in our plans,” says co-CE Tony Fernandes. “We are pioneers in the long-haul, low-cost market, but the reality of the model is medium-haul routes of six to eight hours – that is the sweet spot.” He notes that the carrier will have the legs to reach Europe from Southeast Asia from 2019, when it plans to start receiving its re-engined Airbus A330-900. “With the A330neo we’ll have an option to go a little further,” he says. Fernandes sees some potential for long-haul operations with Thai AirAsia X to eastern European countries such as the Czech Republic, or the Nordic countries. Still, he believes there is little point opening services to major cities, such as London or Paris, “where you’re not going to do anything special with your fares. You go to a place where you can really make a difference.” Fernandes questions how many long-haul, point-to-point markets really exist, pointing out that carriers such as SIA, Emirates, and Cathay Pacific carry large numbers of transfer and interline passengers on major city pairs through their respective hubs. Therefore, the model that the AirAsia X group carriers need to follow is what he refers to as “high frequency, country dominance” routes, that are well connected with sister company AirAsia's networks in Southeast Asia.<br/>