unaligned

Gol is eager to move forward with its deal to acquire Map Transportes Aéreos, a move that CEO Paulo Kakinoff believes will put it at the forefront of consolidation in the airline industry spurred by the Covid-19 pandemic. “I do believe this is [the] kind of trend created by the pandemic,” he told investors during a briefing marking the 17th anniversary of Gol’s listing on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday. Gol “is about to reinforce, re-emphasize its role in promoting regional consolidation” with the Map deal, he added. Kakinoff’s comments were in response to analyst questions on Gol’s view of another possible combination: A merger of Azul and Latam Brasil, which would create a clear domestic leader in Brazil. He declined to speculate on whether a deal could happen — most analysts believe Azul could make a move for the carrier through Latam Airlines Group’s U.S. Chapter 11 bankruptcy restructuring — saying it is one of “several” possible scenarios. However, Kakinoff believed that an Azul-Latam Brasil tie up could pass regulatory muster if it happened. Gol’s 28m reais ($5.7m) deal for Map, while touted as a way to expand its regional reach, is seen as a play for more slots at sought-after São Paulo Congonhas airport. Map has the rights to up to 26 daily flights at Congonhas, which — if the deal is approved — would boost the Gol’s departures to up to 150 a day compared to 118 at Latam Brasil and 21 at Azul. The airline also says the acquisition will expand its presence in Manaus where Gol plans to replace Map’s ATR turboprops with Boeing 737-700 jets on regional routes.<br/>

Czech airline Smartwings filed suit against Boeing in Seattle on Tuesday for the damage to its business from the fatal crashes and subsequent grounding of the 737 MAX. In the suit, moved to King County Superior Court from a court in Boeing’s headquarter city of Chicago, the airline is seeking compensation for the financial losses incurred as well as the return of one airplane and the refund of payments on that jet and advance payments on others, the Seattle Times reported. Boeing declined to comment on the lawsuit. Smartwings ordered eight MAXs directly from Boeing and agreed to lease an additional 31 MAXs. It took its first delivery of a MAX in January 2018 and took six more leased planes from the Renton assembly plant before the jet was grounded after the second crash in March 2019. The complaint alleges that in implementing a software addition to the MAX’s flight controls, “Boeing chose a cheap and hastily implemented bandaid” rather than more expensive aerodynamic changes to the airframe. Smartwings also claims Boeing failed to conduct a full safety evaluation of the failure modes of the software, known as the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, and then “misled the Federal Aviation Administration and other regulators regarding the nature and purpose of MCAS.”<br/>

Investment firm Bain Capital is to take a 16.6% share in Icelandair Group, through the IcKr8.1b ($66m) acquisition of new shares in the company. Bain Capital has entered a binding agreement to subscribe to 5.66b new shares. Its acquisition is conditional upon shareholders agreeing to the transaction and waiving their pre-emptive rights to the new shares. Icelandair Group shareholders will meet on 23 July to vote on the investment proposal. “We are pleased to have a leading global investor with deep industry knowledge recognise our efforts and commitment to secure Icelandair’s bright future,” says chief executive Bogi Nils Bogason. Bain Capital would also place a representative on the board of directors. One of the board members, Ulfar Steindorsson, will step down if the transaction is approved.<br/>

South Korean property developer SJ Co Ltd has acquired budget airline Eastar Jet for 110b won ($97m), Yonhap news agency reported on Thursday. SJ paid a deposit of 11b won and plans to issue new shares to complete the transaction, the report said. Eastar Jet and SJ were not immediately available for comment. During the pandemic last year the airline laid off about 700 of its roughly 1,600 employees and has struggled to find a strategic investor since July, when No.1 budget carrier Jeju Air scrapped a plan to acquire it. In January, Eastar Jet filed for court receivership to consider its options.<br/>

Indian bankruptcy authorities have accepted a rehabilitation plan submitted by sponsors of embattled carrier Jet Airways, opening the door for service to resume by the end of the year. Although the National Company Law Tribunal approved the plan offered by London-based Kalrock Capital and Dubai businessman Murari Lal Jalan, the semi-judicial panel rejected the consortium's request to restore all of Jet Airways' airport slots. Instead, the tribunal told Indian aviation authorities to redetermine the allocation of any airport slots to Jet Airways within a 90-day window. Jet Airways, India's oldest private carrier, succumbed to financial difficulties amid competition from budget airlines and ceased all services in April 2019. The roughly 700 arrival and departure slots held by the company were redistributed to other airlines as a provisional measure.<br/>

Thai AirAsia has expressed confidence in the Thai government’s plan to reopen Phuket in July and expects to up its domestic capacity by 30%. “We remain highly optimistic on the positive developments as a result of the government’s efforts to combat Covid-19 and its harsh effects in the travel and tourism sector,” Thai AirAsia’s CE Santisuk Klongchaiya says in a 23 June statement. “The launch of the ‘Phuket Sandbox Model’ signals more opportunities to stimulate the local economy, and AirAsia will definitely support the reopening of tourist activities.” The low-cost carrier plans to increase domestic flights by 30% in July and up flight frequencies across all routes “to sustain the increasing demand [for travel], especially to Phuket”. From Phuket, it will operate thrice-daily flights from Don Mueang International airport and four times weekly from Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International airport.<br/>

Thai AirAsia X has made further progress with lessors on restructuring lease agreements, after signing its first lease restructuring back in March. “They have actually closed documentation entirely with three lessors, and they have four lessors that they are just at various points in the documentation process,” Ron Brickerd, managing director at Thayaan Aviation Consultants Group, tells Cirium, declining to name the lessors. Brickerd, who has been advising the airline on its restructuring since December, adds that Thai AirAsia X is still in negotiations with two lessors, which he declines to name, but says that negotiations with this pair are “well underway”. For those four lessors in the documentation stage, this could include preparing a brand-new lease, amending an existing lease, and payment deferrals, he says.<br/>