The pandemic is far from over, but some airlines believe the travel business is already on an upswing. On Thursday, Frontier Airlines, a budget carrier that is based in Denver and known for putting images of wild animal on its planes, became the second airline this year to list its shares on a stock exchange. Before trading began, Frontier said it expected to raise $266m by selling 15m shares at $19 each on Nasdaq under the symbol ULCC, a nod to its strategy as an “ultra-low-cost carrier.” Another 15m shares will be sold by Frontier’s existing stockholders. The industry may be struggling through one of the worst crises in its history, but travel is starting to recover and carriers like Frontier and Sun Country Airlines, which finished an initial public offering in mid-March, say they are well positioned for the rebound. Unlike the largest airlines, budget carriers don’t rely on corporate or international travel, which are not expected to bounce back any time soon. Frontier and Sun Country offer domestic flights to passengers visiting family or friends or going on leisure trips, the kind who have been leading the recovery. “The time is now,” said Barry Biffle, the airline’s president and CE. “If you look, the vaccine is unlocking the demand, and you’re seeing it everywhere. You’re seeing it in restaurants, you’re seeing it in hotels.” Many investors seem to agree. Sun Country’s stock price jumped more than 40% when it hit the market a couple of weeks ago. Shares of established airlines have also rallied in recent months. Shares in Frontier, which has a $4b market capitalization, closed down less than 1% on Thursday.<br/>
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Canada’s WestJet has laid off another 415 pilots as the coronavirus crisis continues tearing through that country’s aviation sector. The layoffs, which the Calgary-based airline announced in March, became effective on 1 April. Pilot union Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA) blasted the Canadian government for its ongoing inaction on sector-specific financial support, which it says led to these layoffs, and which continues to create uncertainty for Canada’s airlines. “Canada’s aviation sector is a critical part of Canada’s economy that facilitates both local and international commerce, plays an instrumental role in tourism and ensures the free movement of people and cargo throughout our vast and diverse country and around the world,” ALPA Canada president Tim Perry says on 1 April. “Unfortunately, the government continues in its failure to respond adequately to the effects of the Covid-19 crisis on Canada’s aviation sector. As the government continues to procrastinate, the industry grows more vulnerable with every passing day, and jobs continue to disappear.” <br/>
Italian start-up Ego Airways has launched operations with a single leased Embraer 190, and plans to expand its fleet to include two additional E190s. The Catania-based carrier operated its first flight, to Parma, on 30 March. Other destinations listed on its website include Bari, Brindisi, Cagliari, Florence, Forli, Ibiza, Lamezia Terme, Mykonos and Olbia. The airline says it has two more E190s “on the way”. Cirium Fleets Analyzer data shows that the airline’s initial jet is a 2008 example managed by US-based lessor Azorra Aviation. The aircraft is listed as being sub-leased from German Airways. Four of Azorra’s 12 E190s are on lease to German Airways, in addition to the one it has placed with Ego. Its seven remaining E190s are listed as being in storage.<br/>
As the aviation industry waits to see what the travel restrictions will be in place this summer, easyJet has announced significant expansion at Birmingham. The West Midlands airport, which was hit hard by the collapses of Monarch, Thomas Cook and Flybe, has gained five summer holiday links to southern Europe with Britain’s biggest budget airline. Starting on 29 June easyJet intends to connect Birmingham with the key Iberian holiday airports: Alicante, Malaga and Palma in Spain and Faro in Portugal. Corfu in Greece will also be a new easyJet route. Initial frequencies are low: twice a week to Corfu and Malaga, and thrice weekly to the other destinations. Ali Gayward, easyJet’s UK country manager, said: “We’ve kept our fleet in a flight-ready mode so we are ready and able to ramp up our services quickly and increase our capacity where we see increased demand for the summer.”<br/>
South Korean carrier Air Premia has received its first aircraft, a new Boeing 787-9 from Air Lease. The Rolls-Royce Trent 1000-powered aircraft is on long-term lease to the start-up airline, the lessor says. This is the first of three 787-9s ALC will deliver to the startup carrier this year, from the lessor’s orderbook with Boeing. Cirium fleets data shows that MSNs 66407, 66409, and 66816 are scheduled to deliver in April, May, and December, respectively. ALC’s executive chairman Steven Udvar-Házy states: “As the first aircraft in the Air Premia fleet, this ALC Dreamliner will launch the new airline’s international network and contribute to an excellent debut in the Korea marketplace.” Air Premia secured its business license in March 2019 and originally had two years to complete the process of securing an air operator’s certificate.<br/>