JetBlue Airways is the latest US airline to trim its Q3 financial projections in response to booking “softness” due to still-high rates of coronavirus infections. “Given the recent uptick in Covid-19 case counts, JetBlue has experienced some softness in bookings and an increase in customer cancellations, which has impacted revenue for the third quarter of 2021,” the carrier says in a 9 September regulatory filing. JetBlue now expects its Q3 revenue will be 6-9% less than its revenue in Q3 of pre-pandemic 2019. Previously, JetBlue had pegged the Q3 2021 decline at 4-9%. The carrier now expects to earn $75-125m in Q3, though that figure excludes the financial impact of interest, taxes, depreciation, amortisation and special items. <br/>
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Transat has seen steady customer demand since resuming flights earlier this summer, but the travel company said Thursday it still doesn't expect to return to its pre-pandemic level before 2023. Transat began a gradual resumption of flying on July 30 after grounding its fleet on Jan. 29 when Ottawa requested a suspension of travel to Mexico and the Caribbean as well as the adoption of new quarantine measures and testing requirements. The airline has since ramped up to 50 flights per week for the month of September and will increase to 70 flights per week in October, with 11 aircraft in operation, said CE Annick Guerard. In a conference call with analysts Thursday, Guerard said over 90% of Transat's destinations have been reopened. The airline's overall capacity this winter is still expected to be 35% lower than it was prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, but Guerard said load factors (a measure of an airline's ability to fill its planes) and pricing have been better than anticipated. "We currently see good trends in the bookings, even if they tend to come in closer to the departure date than they used to," Guerard said. "People are still cautious, and they decide at the last minute. But it is very clear that they are eager to travel."<br/>
The owner of troubled Mexican airline Interjet, Alejandro del Valle, was detained by authorities on Thursday on fraud charges at a posh Mexico City business center. Del Valle was detained due to his participation as a co-signer on debt from non-bank lender Credito Real, according to spokesmen for the Mexico City attorney general and Del Valle. Credito Real, which has been hit by concerns about its accounting after the disclosure of some big delinquent loans from its small business portfolio, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Del Valle was booked at a jail in the southern part of the capital, images shared by reporter Carlos Jimenez showed. A relatively little known businessman, Del Valle took a stake of 90% in Interjet last year and committed to inject $150 million into the ailing company, which was already facing serious financial issues before his arrival. Previous Interjet owner Miguel Aleman Magnani fled to France earlier this year to fend off an arrest warrant in Mexico on tax fraud charges. <br/>
EasyJet has rejected a takeover approach from rival Wizz Air, as the Hungarian carrier pursues an aggressive expansion into western Europe to take advantage of the worst crisis in the history of aviation. Luton-based easyJet said on Thursday that it had received an approach in a “low premium and highly conditional” all-share deal, which the board “had no hesitation in rejecting”. The unsolicited approach was from Wizz Air, according to a person briefed on the matter. Despite rejecting the approach, easyJet’s leadership believes consolidation in the airline industry following the pandemic is inevitable, said a different person familiar with the situation. The company refuses to rule out M&A in the future, indicating it might become a target or an acquirer, this person added. The group revealed the approach as it announced a GBP1.2b rights issue to help it through the crisis, which is set to dilute the influence of founder and largest shareholder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou. Haji-Ioannou is unlikely to participate in the equity raise, which means his 25% stake will be diluted, according to a person close to the businessman. With the company’s stock at half its pre-pandemic price, the offer, which was made in the past few weeks, “significantly undervalued” the group, said CE Johan Lundgren. The carrier is no longer considering an offer, he added, stressing his confidence that easyJet can grow as the industry starts to recover from the pandemic.<br/>
Hungary's Wizz Air is in negotiations with European planemaker Airbus over the purchase of at least 100 more narrowbody jets, industry sources said on Thursday. Talks began several months ago and surfaced as Wizz Air emerged as a suitor for rival easyJet and as Europe's largest budget carrier, Ryanair, remained deadlocked with Boeing over a major jet purchase. Analysts say all three major European budget airlines are forecast to expand as the COVID-19 crisis further erodes the finances of national legacy carriers. Talks between Wizz Air and Airbus continued over the summer but the two sides are not yet ready to announce a deal, the sources said. Fleet purchase talks typically take months. Any deal would involve at least 100 aircraft, one of the sources said. Wizz Air, which has already ordered a total of 388 Airbus jets, declined to comment.<br/>
Gulf Air, Bahrain's flag carrier will launch direct flights for the first time with Israel's Tel Aviv on Sept. 30, the carrier said in a Twitter post on Thursday. Israel named its first ambassador to Bahrain earlier this month, after normalising relations with the Gulf Arab state a year ago, an Israeli government Arabic-language Twitter account said on Thursday. Gulf Air said that it will start with two flights a week to its newest destination, adding that the new line to Tel Aviv comes as part of the political, commercial and civil aviation agreements signed with Israel.<br/>
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) has given Nok Air one month to set a timeline to implement its rehabilitation plan. Nok is currently in the process of resolving several creditors’ objections to its rehabilitation plan before a 15 September court hearing in Thailand’s Central Bankruptcy Court to obtain the final approval to implement the plan. In a filing today, the SET has given Nok until 8 October to set its timeline and inform shareholders and investors. SET warned that Nok is subject to possible delisting according to the exchange’s rules, as its financial statements for 2020 show its equity is negative, in the amount of Bt7b ($214m). Nok will be given three years to improve its financials from 9 September, with milestones every year. SET states: “When the deadline is over, if the company is still unable to eliminate the ground for delisting, SET will propose to the SET’s board of governors to consider delisting the company’s securities.”<br/>
Thai AirAsia has launched a crowdfunding bond campaign as part of efforts to beef up its war chest against the pandemic’s impact. The carrier says the crowdfunding effort — approved by Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission — will allow retail investors and the general public to invest in the airline and “support its journey to recovery”. The debenture is available for subscription on Thai investment platform Peer Power. The campaign, known as “Project Lift”, will see Bt80m ($2.44m) in bonds issued, with a bond term of six months. According to the fundraising page, the minimum investment amount stands at Bt50,000, which will “enable retail investors to actively participate in the drive”. Thai AirAsia states that proceeds from the crowdfunding campaign will help it “shore up its short-term stability”. <br/>