Emirates earnings are being squeezed by higher oil prices, a strong dollar, and instability in the global economy, the airline’s chief commercial officer said Tuesday. The warning came ahead of Emirates’ half-year financial results for the period ending September 30, which will be released on Thursday. “The profit will be badly hit by the fuel,” Thierry Antinori said, adding that the airline’s fuel costs had risen by 40%. “It’s difficult to manage.” The airline’s profit more than doubled to 2.8b dirhams (US$762m) last year. But this year concerns about the global economy and political instability are hurting profit, Antinori said. The airline is optimistic despite pressure on margins; passengers numbers rose in the first half and its cargo unit is “excelling”, Antinori said. “We see the glass half-full. There is always opportunity.”<br/>
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VietJet plans to deploy the lion’s share of incoming aircraft to what it describes as "affiliates" from 2019 to 2023. The airline outlines its fleet growth plans for the years 2018-2023 in its results presentation for the first nine months of 2018. At the end of 2018, it expects to have a total of 74 aircraft, with 66 in VietJet and eight at affiliates. The carrier, however, now has just one affiliate, Thai VietJet, which operates seven Airbus A320 family jets from Bangkok's congested Suvarnabhumi International airport. In the five years from 2019 to 2023, it plans to add a net total of 118 aircraft to affiliates, and a net total of just 60 new aircraft to its flagship VietJet operation. Overall, by the end of 2023 it expects to have a total of 242 aircraft, with 116 in affiliates and 126 in VietJet. From 2019 to 2023 it will add 12 aircraft annually to VietJet. Affiliates, however, will get 10 aircraft in 2019, 31 in 2020, 35 in 2021, 23 in 2022, and 19 in 2023. It is not clear if Thai VietJet will remain the carrier's only affiliate, or if VietJet hopes to open franchises in additional countries. <br/>
Flybe Group is said to explore a sale or a merger with a rival, Sky News reported on Tuesday, weeks after it issued a profit warning because of fuel costs, weakening demand and a weaker British pound. Stobart Group Ltd, which has previously bid for Flybe, is likely to be one of the potential suitors, Sky News said here. It said the airline would make an announcement on Wednesday. Flybe declined to comment. Earlier this year, Stobart had abandoned its plans to buy the airline after the bid was rejected.<br/>
Philippines' Cebu Pacific posted a PHP518.4m ($9.6m) loss for the 2018 Q3 as rising costs, a weak peso against the US dollar and fleet expansions took their toll. Cebu, which posted a PHP4.2m net profit for the same period in 2017, saw revenue of PHP16.2b for the quarter ending September 30, but operating costs during the same period were PHP16.8b. The airline also saw a slight 0.5% drop in passengers to 4.75m. For the first nine months in 2018, the carrier still achieved a profit of PHP2.78b, albeit down 36.5% versus 2017. Air cargo saw double digital revenue growth of 24.6%. Cebu said operating costs grew 15.8% from PHP43.1b to PHP49.9b. Fuel costs rose by 28.3% to PHP18.7b. The airline also pointed to the costs associated with an accelerated expansion plan. The airline has acquired five Airbus A321ceos and three ATR72-600s this year and announced that it will lease five A320neos.<br/>
Hawaiian Airlines has joined the crowd, becoming the latest US carrier to hike its fees for checking bags. Effective Tuesday (Nov. 13), the Honolulu-based airline is upping the cost of checking one piece of luggage to $30, an increase of $5. The cost for flyers checking a second bag also is rising by $5, jumping to $40. Hawaiian’s move brings its bag fees in line with what’s now become the industry standard for checked-bag fees. Already this year, American, Delta, United and Alaska Airlines have all increased their fees to $30 for a first bag and $40 for a second. <br/>
A Virgin Australia flight operations engineer who raised safety concerns with his superiors was sacked for alleged misconduct, documents show. Internal records show Brisbane-based Virgin employee Yahya Khattabi raised concerns in mid-September about the training manuals given to the airline’s new Boeing 737 pilots, alleging they failed to comply with federal regulations. Senior management disagreed with his claims, but Khattabi persisted and organised a meeting with his superiors for further discussion on 21 September. The meeting did not take place. On the same day, Khattabi received a letter telling him he was suspended with immediate effect for serious allegations that he had breached Virgin’s code of conduct. The airline wrote to Khattabi again five days later, expanding on its reasons for the suspension. It alleged Khattabi had “sent a series of emails” in the week before his suspension that “included content and/or adopted a tone that was threatening, inappropriate, disrespectful and unprofessional”. It also cited Khattabi’s reaction to being suspended as evidence of his misconduct.<br/>