Southwest on Thursday reported a $68m profit for the final three months of last year as it struggled to shake off setbacks caused by the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, which has delayed the travel recovery and is expected to drag the airline to a loss in the first three months of this year. Now, with cases falling, “the worst appears to be behind us,” said Bob Jordan, Southwest’s executive vice president, who will take over as CEnext week. The company had reported quarterly profits earlier last year, but the fourth quarter was the first in two years in which Southwest achieved a profit without the support of government aid. The airline received $2.7b in federal grants to help pay workers in 2021, helping to lift it to a full-year profit of $977m. Despite the quarterly profit, Omicron dealt Southwest and its peers a blow at the end of last year and into this one, as high rates of workers calling in sick, coupled with bad weather, forced carriers to cancel tens of thousands of flights over the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. Southwest was particularly hard hit, canceling thousands of flights, or about 9 percent of scheduled trips, in the two weeks starting Dec. 25. Only one other US carrier issued more cancellations: SkyWest Airlines, which operates regional flights for several other carriers. The problems continued this month. Southwest said it has canceled more than 5,600 flights in January, taking a $50m toll on operating revenue for the month. Omicron also weighed on ticket sales and led to an increase in customer cancellations. The airline now expects to report a loss for the first three months of 2022.<br/>
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Southwest's CEO is weighing in again on measures to stop the spread of coronavirus -- and this time he’s firmly in the pro-mask camp as carriers struggle to cope with the omicron variant’s impact. CEO Gary Kelly said on the airline’s quarterly conference call Thursday that now would not be the best time to lift a federal requirement for masks to be worn at all times on aircraft and in airports -- unless a person is eating or drinking. The mandate, which covers all transportation networks across the US, is set to expire March 18. “Adding the mask is an added layer of safety, and given the fact that we’re right in the midst of this omicron surge, now’s not really the time to revisit that question, in our opinion,” Kelly said in response to a question from a reporter. “There will come a time when the mask won’t be necessary, and I think we’ll all look forward to that, but now is not the right time.” Kelly’s comment follows his controversial remarks during a US Senate committee hearing in December that masks didn’t add much, “if anything,” to fight the virus on airplanes. Kelly himself came down with Covid-19 days later. About 5,000 Southwest workers fell ill with the omicron variant in the first three weeks of January, contributing to 5,600 flight cancellations. Kelly said Southwest’s surveys have shown a significant number of customers feel safer with masks.<br/>
Booze could be coming back to Southwest Airlines planes this spring. The carrier, which suspended alcohol service in March 2020, scrapped plans to resume sales in May after a spate of passenger disturbances and physical assaults on crewmembers. American Airlines also extended its pause on alcohol sales for its domestic and short-haul international economy cabins at that time. “We’re looking at that here sometime late in the first quarter maybe early in the second quarter,” Southwest’s COO Mike Van de Ven said on the company’s quarterly call Thursday. The airline was planning to bring back onboard service, including alcohol, next month but delayed that plan because of the spread of the omicron Covid variant. Southwest, which doesn’t physically divide its cabin like larger airlines, usually sells alcohol onboard and offers drink tickets to travelers who buy its more expensive “Business Select” fare. Flight attendant unions have cited passenger intoxication as a factor in a surge in unruly behavior during the pandemic. Lyn Montgomery, president of TWU 556, which represents Southwest’s roughly 16,000 flight attendants, has said alcoholic beverages shouldn’t be served while the federal mask mandate is in effect. It is scheduled to expire March 19. About 70% of the 5,981 reports of unruly passenger behavior the FAA received last year involved disputes over compliance with the mask mandate. American Airlines is altering some onboard services under pressure from its flight attendants’ union, which argued this month that it would decrease the amount of time passengers have their masks off. American won’t offer a second round of beverage service on domestic flights longer than 1,500 miles, but additional drinks are available on request.<br/>
“Disciplined” cost management and a “measured approach to bringing back capacity” helped Alaska Air Group grow revenue and turn a small profit during the fourth quarter of 2021, even while contending with a new coronavirus variant, the company reports. Alaska, parent to Alaska Airlines and regional carrier Horizon Air, earned an $18m profit in the final three months of 2021, compared to a $447m loss in the same period of 2020, the company says on 27 January. For the full-year 2021, the airline earned a $478m profit, reversing a $1.3b loss in 2020. Excluding federal payroll support, Alaska would have lost $256m. The busy end-of-year vacation period was “one of the most-challenging holiday travel periods we have ever experienced”, says CE Ben Minicucci. Harsh winter weather – including severe snowstorms and sub-freezing temperatures at the company’s home airport in the Northwest USA – coupled with many staff members sidelined by Covid-19, had an “acute impact” on Alaska’s operation. Those factors bit $70 from Alaska’s Q4 earnings.<br/>
JetBlue Airways significantly reduced its loss for the fourth quarter of 2021 as leisure passengers returned to the air in greater numbers. The New York-based company says on 27 January it would have been profitable but for the Omicron variant of Covid-19, and that 2022 will be “transformational” for the company’s bottom line. Omicron, says CE Robin Hayes, was a “temporary setback”. The company lost $129m in Q4, down from $373 in the final three months of 2020, as the pandemic was still in its first year. For the full year 2021, JetBlue lost $182m, a fraction of its $1.4b loss in 2020. If not for an $833m benefit from the US Cares Act and other special items, the airline would have lost $797m in 2021. Revenue during Q4 almost tripled to $1.8b from $661m in the same quarter in 2020. For the full year 2021, JetBlue’s revenue jumped to $6b, from $2.9b in 2020. Q4 2021 revenue was still 9.7% less than JetBlue logged in the same period in 2019. “While Omicron has temporarily weighed on demand in the very near term, we expect sequential month-on-month improvement through the quarter, ultimately returning to sustained profitability in the spring and beyond,” says Hayes. “Were it not for Omicron, we believe we would have generated higher revenue this quarter than in the first quarter of 2019.” The Omicron surge impacted the Northeast USA – specifically the New York City region, where JetBlue has a massive presence – disproportionately, says COO Joanna Geraghty. In addition to customer cancellations and “bookings softness” during what she calls “the most-significant revenue weeks of the quarter”, the airline suffered crew-related cancellations due to illnesses and quarantines.<br/>
Restructured low-cost carrier Norwegian is to set to operate 54 routes from Stockholm Arlanda this summer after it reopens its base at the Swedish airport for the first time since the pandemic. Norwegian has been through a major retrenchment, axed its long-haul flights and was operating in what it termed “hibernation mode” for a year after the pandemic hit. It is gradually rebuilding its capacity and has previously said it plans to operate 270 routes this summer. Arlanda airport operator Swedavia says Norwegian is planning to operate 54 routes from the Swedish capital this summer. The airline has this month been serving 15 routes from Arlanda, including three domestic services. Cirium schedules data shows Norwegian operated 73 routes from Arlanda in June 2019, including links to five long-haul destinations. During Norwegian’s restructuring, Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair this winter moved to open a base at Arlanda, while Finnair also launched a number of long-haul routes from the Swedish airport. Lufthansa low-cost unit Eurowings, meanwhile, will open a base at Arlanda in March, initially stationing five Airbus A320s. Norwegian in the winter struck letters of intent to lease 13 Boeing 737-800s and for a pair of 737 Max aircraft for the summer – having removed the latter type from its fleet during its restructuring. Norwegian, which flew just under 6.2 million passengers in 2021, has previously said it expects its fleet to be in the range of 67-70 jets by summer 2022. It also flags it has options to switch its incoming 737-800s for either 737 Max or Airbus A320neo aircraft.<br/>
EasyJet has predicted a rapid recovery in time for the summer as travel restrictions are relaxed after warning of a tough winter because of the Omicron coronavirus variant. The low-cost airline reported a “sustained step change improvement” in UK bookings following this month’s relaxation of travel rules, and said it would return to near 2019 pre-pandemic flight capacity by the summer. Johan Lundgren, easyJet’s CE, said he expected “a strong summer ahead”, and that ticket sales from the UK to beach and leisure destinations were particularly strong. The warning of a difficult few months followed by a rapid rebound mirrored the outlook from low-cost rival Wizz Air earlier this week, and came as countries across Europe rolled back travel rules. EasyJet has begun to receive more bookings from UK passengers than from continental Europe for the first time since spring 2020 thanks to loosened travel restrictions, Lundgren said. As France, Switzerland and other European countries also reduce border rules, “we believe that testing for travel across our network should soon become a thing of the past . . . and have many reasons to be optimistic for the year ahead”, he added. EasyJet flew 64% of 2019’s flight schedules in the final three months of last year, lower than the 70% it forecast before Omicron emerged, the group said in a trading statement. Its aircraft were 77% full, again lower than forecast, which the airline pinned on late changes to bookings in December because of last-minute travel restrictions.<br/>
A breach in security at Lagos Airport has resulted in thieves breaking into the cockpit of an Arik Air aircraft, B737-700 EI-ULN, leased from Mongolia’s Eznis Airways, and stealing its flight management system computer, local media reported. According to the ch-aviation fleets advanced module, Eznis Airways operates a fleet of two B737-700s, both of which currently have the Nigerian carrier as an ACMI customer. The owner and manager of EI-ULN, a 17.89-year-old Boeing twinjet, is Carlyle Aviation Partners. Sources at the airport and at Arik Air said that the incident happened overnight between January 19 and 20 at Terminal Two. The thieves also reportedly tampered with the pitot tube cover and other sensitive parts of the aircraft. The incident resulted in a number of the carrier’s flights being cancelled. However, according to Flightradar24 and RadarBox ADS-B data, the aircraft has since returned to service on routes between Lagos and Jos, Port Harcourt Omagwa, and Owerri. An aviation expert told the news agency SaharaReporters that the break-in could only have been performed by individuals with specialist aircraft technical skills.<br/>
Hainan Airlines expects to return to net profit for last year following restructuring and a pickup in domestic travel, the carrier said on Thursday. The airline expects to report a 2021 net profit of between 4.5b yuan and 6.2b yuan ($708m to $975m) after suffering a loss of 64b yuan a year earlier, it said in a stock filing. In early December, the indebted HNA Group transferred management of its core aviation business, including Hainan Airlines, to strategic investor Liangning Fangda Group Industrial, wrapping up a years-long debt crisis at one of China's highest flying conglomerates.<br/>
Malaysia's AirAsia Group Bhd said on Friday it had finalised the name change of its listed holding company to Capital A Bhd as it seeks market recognition of its growing portfolio of businesses beyond the core budget airline. The company's airline business has been hard-hit during the pandemic due to strict travel rules in Asia, leading Malaysia's stock exchange to this month classify the firm as financially distressed though it has been raising funds to bolster its balance sheet. Capital A has been investing heavily in payments business BigPay, logistics arm Teleport and its mobile Super App to gain other sources of revenue, though they remain in growth phases and were loss-making in the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2021. "Over the past two years we have spent the downturn in flying building a solid foundation for a viable and successful future, which is not solely reliant on airfares alone," Capital A CE Tony Fernandes said. The airline business will retain the AirAsia brand, which is well known in Asia, he added.<br/>