Southwest Thursday posted a smaller-than-expected quarterly adjusted loss and forecast lower cash burn in Q2 as rising vaccination rates and pent-up demand for leisure travel signal an "optimistic summer". US airlines are preparing for a rebound in summer bookings after nearly a year in the doldrums due to the COVID-19 pandemic and accompanying travel restrictions. "Vaccinations are on the rise, and COVID-19 hospitalizations in the United States are down significantly from their peak in January 2021," said CEO Gary Kelly. "As a result, we are experiencing steady weekly improvements in domestic leisure bookings." The company said it was adding flights and expects Q2 capacity to rise about 90% from a year earlier, but about 15% below 2019 levels, when air travel was not hit by the COVID-19 crisis. Q2 average core cash burn is expected to be between $2-4m per day, Southwest said, compared with about $13m per day in the previous three months. Southwest said it expects to achieve break-even average core cash flow or better by June.<br/>
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Alaska Air Group lost $131m in Q1 2021, a significant improvement from the previous quarter thanks largely to pandemic-related US government aid. The Seattle-based company, parent to Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air, generated $797m in Q1 operating revenue, down by roughly half from Q1 2020. Its operating expenses were $958m, also down by half. Expenses would have been nearly $1.4b if not offset by $411m Alaska received from the US government via a payroll-support programme. The US government requires those funds pay airlines’ employee expenses. Alaska’s $131m net Q1 loss compares to a loss of $430m in the previous quarter and a $232m loss in Q1 2020. Alaska carried 4.7m passengers in Q1, about half the passenger carried in the same period of 2020.<br/>
JetBlue is expanding its operations with its first flights to Canada. The New York-based airline says it will launch flights between Vancouver and New York, as well as seasonal service to Boston, starting in the summer of 2022. The move is part of plans to add seven destinations to its route map from New York or Boston starting later this year. It is also adding Honduras. JetBlue says the expansion is part of the next phase of the alliance between JetBlue and American Airlines that was authorized by the US DoT earlier this year. The move comes ahead of what the travel industry hopes will be a surge in travel from pent-up demand as COVID-19 vaccinations expand and the pandemic wanes. Scott Laurence, head of revenue and planning at JetBlue, says customers and crew members have been asking to add flights to the middle of the US and into Canada. “We can't wait to shake up the status quo in these markets currently dominated by high-fare carriers,” he stated.<br/>
Boeing's first 737 MAX delivery to Ryanair remains weeks away, the Irish airline said Thursday, a month after forecasting that it would take delivery of eight of the aircraft before the end of April. Boeing's largest European customer for the jet has been waiting two years for its first delivery owing to the grounding of the aircraft after two fatal crashes. In March it cut its forecast for MAX deliveries in time for the 2021 summer season from 24 to 16, saying it would take eight in April and eight in May and was not planning to take any during the peak summer months from June onwards. But the CE of Ryanair Wednesday indicated that it might not take delivery of any of the jets before the end of April. "We are hoping it's going to be in the next number of weeks. Probably in the next two weeks," Eddie Wilson said.<br/>
Mango Airlines is to be mothballed from May 15 until such time as it receives funding from the South African state, which has been asked to place its low-cost carrier into bankruptcy protection until July 2021. This is according to a leaked internal memo to staff by Mango’s Acting CEO William Ndlovu on April 22, in which he disclosed that the government had been asked to support decisions by both Mango’s Board and the interim Board of mother firm South African Airways to put the cash-stricken carrier into business rescue. Asked for comment, Department of Public Enterprises spokesman Richard Mantu said: “The Department is in discussions with the Board of Mango and (Interim Board of) SAA about the repositioning of the subsidiaries in light of the delayed funding.” DPE has been trying to divert ZAR2.7b ($188m) of an allocation of ZAR10.5b for the implementation of SAA’s business rescue plan to its subsidiaries, which includes Mango. However, a cash injection for Mango was not provided for in SAA’s business rescue plan, which did however state that the carrier by 2020 needed recapitalisation of ZAR1b.<br/>
Emirates will resume four weekly services to Mexico City via Barcelona from July 2, 2021. Emirates flight EK255 will depart Dubai at 03:25 hours, arriving in Barcelona at 08:35 hours before departing again at 10:50 hours and arriving into Mexico City at 16:05 the same day. The return flight EK256 will depart Mexico City at 19:40 hours, arriving in Barcelona at 13:45 hours the next day. EK256 will depart once again from Barcelona the same day at 15:30 hours bound for Dubai where it will arrive at 00:15 hours the next day (all times are local). The BCN-MEX route will be operated with a two-class Emirates Boeing 777-200LR which offers 38 Business Class seats.<br/>