Russian airline Pobeda, a low-cost unit of the state airline Aeroflot, is facing requests from a number of leasing companies to return their planes, the Interfax news agency reported. Pobeda cannot immediately replace planes being requested back with other aircraft but does not plan to suspend its operations, Interfax reported citing a Pobeda official.<br/>
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The United Arab Emirates' carrier Air Arabia (AIRA.DU) plans to continue to operate Russia flights as long as they are legal, CEO Adel Ali said on Tuesday. Ali said it was too early to say how sanctions on Russia are going to impact operations there, adding, however, the airline had no plans to operate additional services to the country. "We as an airline operate to whichever airport that’s open for business and (where) people are traveling. Our job is to connect people and as along as it is open we will do that, within the law. The moment legally we can’t fly to somewhere, we stop flying,” the CEO told reporters at a conference in the Ras Al Khaimah emirate of the UAE.<br/>
Frontier Airlines plans to open a crew base in Phoenix later this year as it expands its reach ahead of a planned merger with US ultra-low-cost carrier rival Spirit Airlines. The Denver-based airline says on 1 March that it plans to station up to 180 pilots and 275 flight attendants in Phoenix in the first year, “with additional growth anticipated in the future”. “We are currently the third largest airline [in Phoenix] based on number of destinations served and we anticipate continued growth as our fleet and route network further expand,” says chief executive Barry Biffle. “Phoenix is a highly desirable place to live and our crew have been asking for a base at PHX for some time.” Frontier currently operates 14 non-stop routes from Phoenix, and the city will be the carrier’s eighth US pilot base and its ninth flight attendant base. Frontier last month announced plans to acquire and merge with Florida-based Spirit in a $6.6b deal.<br/>
Philippine Airlines’ (PAL) listed operator PAL Holdings, Inc. said Tuesday that the airline is “in the process of negotiating an additional $100m, three-year term loan from international lenders.” “As at the date of emergence from Chapter 11, PAL had a cash balance of $391 million,” it noted. The listed company’s shareholders had approved last year the increase in capital from P13.5 billion to P30 billion. PAL Holdings said it is preparing for the stock swap to be offered to the new shareholders of the airline. The airline will file an application for equity restructuring with the Securities and Exchange Commission, specifically to partially wipe out its deficit as of Dec. 31 “using the reduction surplus generated upon its decrease of capital in December 2021,” the listed company noted. “Ownership in [the airline] is expected to increase to 100% upon approval of [PAL Holdings’] application for increase in capital to P30 billion where creditors holding 20% of the capital stock of [the airline] shall have exchanged their shares for [PAL Holdings’] shares.”<br/>
The aviation business of Malaysia’s Capital A – formerly the AirAsia Group – saw aviation revenue plummet by two thirds in a brutal 2021 financial year. For the year ended 31 December 2021, the group’s aviation business posted revenues of MYR997m, down 65% from 2020, according to its full-year earnings release. The aviation group’s EBITDA loss narrowed to MYR789m from MYR3.4b a year earlier. The EBITDA improvement during 2021 was due to the halving of staff costs at the aviation unit, as well as a reduction in ‘other operation expenses’ from to MYR238m in 2021, from MR2.3b a year earlier. Passengers carried in 2021 fell 64% to 4.8m, while ASKs dived 70% and RPKs 71%. Reflecting a pick-up in air travel amid a loosening of coronavirus-related travel restrictions, aviation revenue for Q4 2021 more than doubled to MYR463m, while Q4’s EBITDA losses narrowed to MYR330m from MYR2.3b a year earlier. The fourth quarter also saw passengers carried double to 2.7b, ASKs rise 72%, and RPKs rise 109%. Load factors during the quarter were 80%, the highest number since coronavirus pandemic emerged from Wuhan, China in early 2020. “AirAsia Aviation Group’s performance in the last quarter was encouraging, backed by the festive holiday season and easing travel restrictions,” says CE of AirAsia Aviation Group Bo Lingam.<br/>