Ryanair group CE Michael O’Leary has ratcheted up his criticism of the UK govt’s rescue of Flybe, describing the business model of the regional carrier “doomed to fail” and arguing that the deal contravenes state-aid rules. In an open letter to UK chancellor Sajid Javid, O’Leary writes that Flybe was purchased last year “by a group of billionaires” for GBP2m (US$2.6m) “in the full knowledge that Flybe was a loss-making business”. He complains: “Your suggestion that Richard Branson (billionaire), Delta Airlines (a multibillion-dollar airline), Stobart Group and Cyrus Capital (a $4b venture capital fund) need ‘time to pay’ is absurd.” O’Leary is demanding that the govt publish the terms of its deal with Flybe, arguing that doing so is a legal requirement. <br/>
unaligned
Carrying more passengers at higher fares while burning cheaper jet fuel was a winning combination last year for Alaska Air Group, the parent company of Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air. The company announced strong 2019 profits Tuesday and said it plans to hire nearly 2,800 employees in 2020, mostly in the Pacific Northwest. The carrier made US$769m in profit last year, up 76% from $437m in 2018. Alaska said it plans to hire about 400 pilots—divided equally between Alaska and Horizon—as well as more than 300 flight attendants, more than 1,100 passenger service agents, 450 ground service agents, and 90 maintenance technicians, plus various other positions. Alaska CE Brad Tilden said the financial results show the successful integration of Virgin America. <br/>
Kazakh carrier Air Astana has highlighted the uncertain potential impact from the Chinese coronavirus outbreak on its operations, after unveiling a strong rise in full-year net profit. Air Astana says its net profit for 2019 reached just over US$30m, a substantial improvement on the previous figure of $5.3m. It is attributing the increase to “considerably” improved passenger demand, notably on domestic routes and within the charter sector, as well as the launch of its low-cost division FlyArystan. But CE Peter Foster cautions that, although the airline is optimistic over its prospects for 2020, the emerging situation regarding the coronavirus outbreak in China amounts to a “significant unknown”. Air Astana operates to both the Chinese capital, Beijing, and the city of Urumqi. <br/>