Norwegian remains willing to "engage in consolidation discussions" after IAG's recent confirmation it will not bid again for the carrier, but says no such talks are currently ongoing. The carrier says that while a planned US$353m share issue will increase its "competitiveness and stand-alone financial strength, its board remains open to discussion that can "develop shareholder value in Norwegian". Following IAG’s acquisition of what was then a 4.6% stake in the airline in April 2018, Norwegian said it received approaches from "several parties" who expressed an interest for "structural transactions", financing the carrier and in various forms of "operational and financial cooperation", It says discussions with such parties have been ongoing on "several levels and with different approaches". <br/>
unaligned
The CE of Wizz Air has blamed Brexit for undermining demand as profits nosedived, with high fuel prices slowing the carrier’s expansion. Pre-tax profits plummeted 90% to E1.8m in the 3 months to December against E14.6m the year before as uncertainty surrounding Brexit hit sales. “We just don’t know how Brexit is going to play out and how it’s going to affect the revenue lines. What we’ve started seeing is a lowering of consumer confidence,” said Wizz Air CE Jozsef Varadi. However, the airline continued to expand, albeit at a slower rate than it had planned. Revenue increased 21% to E512.7m, in line with analysts’ expectations, and revenue per available seat kilometre also rose 5.6%. Varadi reaffirmed the company’s full-year profit guidance of E270m to E300m, but said this depended on Brexit. <br/>
Aircraft delivery delays, increased competition, severe weather and a volcanic eruption helped to push down Hawaiian Holdings' financial results in 2018. Though some of these factors will continue to put pressure on returns in 2019, executives say Hawaiian is responding by cutting costs, trimming capacity and rolling out new "basic" economy fares. Hawaiian CE Peter Ingram described Hawaiian's results as admirable under difficult operating circumstances. "Given the increased competitive capacity we faced entering 2018 and higher fuel prices, I'm not sure many expected us to be able to deliver results like this," he added. The company, which owns operating unit Hawaiian Airlines, earned an operating profit of US$314m in 2018, down 32% year-on-year. <br/>
Hainan Airlines and its subsidiary carriers received CNY667m (US$99m) in govt support in 2018, primarily as subsidies for aviation services. The amount was equivalent to 20% of the airlines’ net profit for the year, the company said in a Jan 29 Shanghai Stock Exchange report. Subsidies for aviation services amounted to CNY563m, the airline said; the remainder likely included such things as rewards from cities for increasing traffic at their airports. The subsidies do not include capital transactions, such as several in which municipal govts have purchased larger stakes in local airlines set up by parent company HNA Group. An aviation support services company in Beijing, also a subsidiary of Hainan Airlines, was another recipient of the funds. <br/>