Dubai may sell shares in its flagship carrier Emirates, which helped transform the city into a global hub for commerce, just as coronavirus restrictions ease and the outlook for travel brightens. Emirates and its units may be listed on Dubai’s stock exchange, Chairman Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum said. The comments come as the city ratchets up efforts to draw level with Abu Dhabi and Riyadh, which have been the hottest markets for IPOs in the Middle East. Dubai plans to list 10 state-owned companies on its stock market. It kicked things off with its main utility, likely to be its largest IPO ever, and the Salik road toll-collection system -- described by one analyst as a cash machine. Emirates, however, is one of the city’s most well known assets. The airline was hit hard by the pandemic, and a collapse in its main business of long-haul travel led to its first loss in decades. The government plowed in about $3.7b over the past year to keep it going. The outlook is a bit brighter now. The tourism sector in the United Arab Emirates, of which Dubai is part, has been boosted by high vaccination and low infection rates. Unlike major hubs around the world, Dubai has stayed open, attracting thousands of visitors and events including an airshow, which started this week. International travel is picking up again, with the US opening up flights from Europe, along with countries including India, Brazil and China. Emirates President Tim Clark said last month he aims to fully restore its route network by the middle of 2022.<br/>
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Emirates ordered two new Boeing 777 freighters at the Dubai Airshow and plans to convert four of its Boeing 777-300ER passenger aircraft into freighters in a $1b investment amid a surge in air cargo demand globally. The two new Boeing 777-Fs will join the fleet next year, while the aircraft conversions will take place between 2023 and 2024 as the airline seeks to expand its freighter capacity, Emirates said on Monday. "This underscores our commitment to supporting our customers’ requirements, and reflects our confidence in our future growth and status as one of the largest airline cargo carriers in the world," said Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed, chairman and chief executive of Emirates airline and group. Emirates SkyCargo signed a purchase agreement with Boeing for two new Boeing 777-F aircraft, which will be delivered in April and June 2022 respectively.<br/>
Emirates airline chairman Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum said on Monday that the Dubai state-owned airline returned to profitability in October, Al Arabiya TV reported. He added that the carrier's focus remains on increasing passenger numbers through Dubai airports. He also said that there is currently no need for any financial support from the Dubai government and that tapping the sukuk market is an option if needed.<br/>
The CE of Emirati carrier flydubai, which operates a daily flight to Minsk, said on Monday it only allows passengers with valid travel documents to board but acknowledged that some could conceal their true reason for travelling. The European Union is threatening to slap sanctions on airlines found to be transporting migrants who then seek to enter the bloc illegally from Belarus. EU foreign ministers were meeting in Brussels on Monday to agree additional sanctions against Belarus over the crisis, which has seen up to 4,000 people stranded in freezing forests on the Belarusian border with Poland. "Nobody likes to see these things but as for transportation of people to Minsk, every passenger we transport has the right documentation, the right visa," Ghaith Al Ghaith said at the Dubai Airshow. "We have never carried a passenger who was illegal" under the rules in operation on the day of travel, he said. But he also called on governments to work more closely with airlines to identify illegitimate passengers as "you cannot (always) determine what is people's intent". "Without tools in our hand, you know, we cannot identify who is who and if there was people who unfortunately suffered from ... what we do, we are so sorry for that," Al Ghaith said. The airline, owned by the government of Dubai, increased direct services to Minsk in mid-September from several flights a week to a daily service, website flightradar24 shows.<br/>
Air Arabia Group expects to return all its aircraft to service by March 2022 as it looks forward to eventually extending its reach with larger Airbus narrowbodies. CE Adel Ali says the budget operator’s product is strongly matched to the demands of passengers as the travel industry emerges from the Covid-19 crisis. “People want to fly non-stop to their home city and they don’t want to sit for too long on an aeroplane,” he suggests. With Air Arabia’s focus being on “flying to as many destinations as possible” using narrowbody jets, Ali’s attitude towards the airline’s post-Covid strategy is to “do what you have done [pre-Covid], because it’s working”. The near-term plan is to bring all of the airline’s current fleet back into service over the coming months – a milestone Ali says should be reached in March 2022, “subject to Covid not giving us more surprises”. After that, the growth potential will eventually come from incoming aircraft. Air Arabia ordered 120 A320-family jets at 2019’s Dubai air show, comprising 73 A320neos, 27 A321LRs and 20 A321XLRs. Ali says the group is sticking with the pre-Covid plan to start taking deliveries from 2024. Some 40% of those jets are for “fleet replenishment”, Ali says, while the rest will be for growth.<br/>
Nigerian operator Overland Airways has placed a firm order for three Embraer 175 regional jets and taken purchase rights on three more. Under the deal, disclosed by the Brazilian manufacturer during the Dubai show on 15 November, deliveries to Overland will begin in 2023. The aircraft will feature a two-class 88-seat configuration. Overland Airways CE Edward Boyo says: “We are confident that this is the right moment to invest, as regional aviation is on an optimistic post-pandemic recovery.” The airline operates a fleet including ATR 42 and 72 and Beech 1900D turboprops.<br/>
Indian low-cost carrier SpiceJet saw operating losses for the second quarter of its 2021-22 widen to Rs5.6b ($75.3mi) from Rs1.1b a year earlier. Revenues rose 18.4% year on year to Rs15.4b, but expenses jumped 50% to Rs21b, according to the airline’s financial statement for the three months ended 30 September. The airline’s net loss ballooned to Rs5.6b from Rs1.3b a year earlier. “On account of its operational and financial position, and the impact of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the Group has deferred payments to various parties, including lessors and other vendors and its dues to statutory authorities,” says SpiceJet. Cargo is one bright spot. In the second quarter SpiceJet’s cargo revenue doubled year on year to Rs5b. As of 30 September, cash and cash equivalents stood at R411m, compared with Rs296m on 31 March. The airline has yet to reinstate the Boeing 737 Max, and adds that it continues to pursue claims against the manufacturer for the global grounding that followed two fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019 – New Delhi cleared the type to resume operations in August. The airline suggests that it aims to reintroduce the type, but does not give a specific timeframe.<br/>
PAL Holdings narrowed its pre-tax losses in the third quarter to Ps5b ($100m) from Ps7.8b, as it reported stronger revenue. Revenue grew 64.7% to Ps14b in the quarter to 30 September, with both passenger and cargo showing a strong year on year performance, says the parent of Philippine Airlines. Expenses rose 3.2% year on year to Ps15.9b, while net losses narrowed to Ps5b from Ps7.9b. Cash burn from operations remained high, with a quarterly net cash outflow of Ps7.5b, up from Ps1.7b in Q3 2020. As of 30 September, cash and cash equivalents stood at Ps4.4b, compared with Ps1.8b a year earlier. As of 30 September, the PAL fleet stood at 89 aircraft, down from 97 at the end of 2020.<br/>