United Airlines Holdings tumbled after the company said it expected to record a $2.1b loss in Q1 as the coronavirus outbreak all but erased air-travel demand in March. The pre-tax loss, which will be about $1b on an adjusted basis, came as revenue dropped 17% from a year earlier to $8b, the carrier said Monday. The results are preliminary and subject to change. The airline’s early look at Q1 results is the first for big US carriers and presages a gruesome set of earnings reports after flights were curtailed worldwide. United fell 6.7% at 9:39 am in New York, the biggest drop on a Standard & Poor’s index of major US airlines. The shares had tumbled 67% this year through April 17, also the worst on the industry stock gauge. <br/>
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Almost a week after America’s largest airlines reached a bailout deal with the US Treasury, further details have emerged of the low interest rates the carriers will pay for taxpayer funding aimed at seeing them through the coronavirus pandemic. United Airlines said Monday it would pay a rate of 1% in interest on US$1.5b of funding for the next 5 years, after which the terms will reset to a rate tied to market interest rates. United said the terms for its loans matched what the govt had offered to other carriers receiving funds as part of a $50b aid package. The Treasury has also agreed to give large grants to airlines to help cover payroll costs. The loan portions of the bailout have to be repaid within 10 years and the Treasury will also receive warrants to buy shares in return for the funds. <br/>
ANA’ parent company has revised down its financial results forecast for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2020, as the coronavirus outbreak batters air traffic. ANA Holdings expects operating revenues to come in at Y1.97t (US$18.3b), Y120b lower than the previous forecast disclosed Oct 29, 2019 at the release of its half-year report. The company slashed its outlook for operating income from Y140b to Y60b. Projected net income now stands at Y27b, about a quarter of Y94b at the previous estimate. At the last forecast, the company cut its outlook for operating revenue by Y60m, lowering operating profit and net profit by Y25b and Y14b, respectively. If realised, the latest forecast represents a 4.3% decline in operating revenue year-on-year, with operating income 64% lower and net income down 76%. <br/>
The vast majority of SIA planes will stay grounded next month as it extends the cancellation of its flights - slashed by about 96% in late March - in response to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. This marks a 1-month extension to the wide-ranging flight cuts that were announced late last month, amid a plunge in demand for air travel and sweeping border closures to international flights. SIA said Monday that it will continue to fly to just 15 cities, such as Bangkok, Los Angeles and Frankfurt. It also slightly increased the frequency of flights on a few routes. Most notably, there will be 11 more flights next month to Bangkok. There were only 3 flights to the Thai city this month due to an ongoing ban against international passenger flights from landing there. The ban is expected to last till the end of this month. <br/>