Spirit Airlines CEO Ted Christie on Thursday laid bare the reasons his company rejected JetBlue Airways’ $3.6b offer to buy the ultra-low-cost carrier, and went so far as to suggest that the bid may have been intended to stop Spirit’s planned merger with Frontier Airlines. “JetBlue shareholders aren’t supportive of this deal, either, based on the company’s stock performance. However, despite clear concern from JetBlue shareholders, JetBlue has continued to pursue disruption to the Spirit-Frontier combination,” Christie said during Spirit’s Q1 earnings call. “I have wondered whether blocking our deal with Frontier is in fact their goal,” Christie added. JetBlue declined to comment on Christie’s claims. In February, Spirit and Frontier announced plans to merge in what would create a massive discount airline, the fifth-largest carrier in the U.S. JetBlue’s unsolicited bid for Spirit initially threw that tie-up into question. But on Monday, Spirit rejected JetBlue’s offer in favor of the Frontier deal, citing concerns that a JetBlue buyout wouldn’t clear regulatory hurdles. JetBlue has a partnership with American Airlines in what’s known as the Northeast Alliance to better compete against the likes of United Airlines and Delta Air Lines at major airports. JetBlue contends that acquiring Spirit would help it further compete. Christie on Thursday emphasized that the Department of Justice is already suing to block the JetBlue-American partnership, while highlighting that “half the expected synergies” of JetBlue absorbing Spirit “would come from reduced capacity and increased fares to consumers.”<br/>
unaligned
Sun Country Airlines has reported a first-quarter profit as customer demand for its scheduled-service segment grew quickly following an Omicron-driven dip early in the year. “We are very happy to report another profitable quarter,” says CE Jude Bricker. He credits “very strong bookings and unit revenue trends combined with solid cost control”. “These results came despite much higher-than-expected fuel prices and Omicron-driven headwinds earlier in the quarter,” he adds. “Since President’s Day we’ve seen some of the strongest demand in our history.” Total revenue during Q1 rose to $227m from $128m in the same period a year ago. Profit came in at $3.6m, from $12.4m during 2021’s Q1. The company flew 30% more block hours during the three months that ended on 31 March than in pre-coronavirus 2019, which it attributes largely to the addition of the cargo segment in 2020. Capacity as measured in available seat miles (ASMs) grew 6%, with scheduled service ASMs up 10% over 2019 levels. “The difference between the levels of capacity demonstrates the variable nature of the business model,” Sun Country says. “The first quarter is traditionally dominated by heavy leisure demand for vacations, which drove growth in scheduled service capacity.”<br/>
Canada’s aviation watchdog says Flair Airlines has responded to concerns raised in a preliminary investigation that found the discount carrier may have violated foreign ownership rules. The Edmonton-based discount carrier was facing a May 3 deadline to respond to the Canadian Transportation Agency’s initial finding that Flair had failed to meet requirements for Canadian ownership of a domestic airline under the Transportation Act. “Flair has submitted a response… The Agency is in the process of reviewing it,” CTA said Wednesday. “The Agency will issue its determination on June 1st, 2022.” A panel assigned to Flair’s case will now review the airline’s submission and determine what the next steps will be for the embattled carrier. If it’s determined that Flair is not Canadian, CTA has said, the company’s licence to operate could be suspended. Under the cloud of regulatory scrutiny, Flair Airlines has rolled out big promotional discounts and messaging aimed at reassuring customers that the company won’t be losing its ability to operate in Canada.<br/>
Ryanair has no plans to tap the bond market to finance its Boeing 737 MAX deliveries but it is ready to move at short notice should attractive opportunities arise, CFO Neil Sorahan said on Thursday. The Irish airline, Europe’s largest low-cost carrier, last May raised E1.2b at a record low rate in a five-year bond sale with a coupon of 0.875%. It is due to take delivery of 150 new Boeing 737 MAX aircraft over the next three years. “We continue to be opportunistic. Lowest costs will really determine what we’re going to do,” Sorahan told the Airfinance Journal conference in Dublin. “Debt markets look like they might be the cheapest (option) for the next while,” he said. But Ryanair will consider offers on secured debt or sale-and-leaseback as alternatives. About 90% of Ryanair’s fleet of about 500 aircraft is debt-free and the airline hopes to increase that proportion further in the coming years, Sorahan said.<br/>
A Virgin Atlantic aircraft turned back to Heathrow after it emerged that the first officer had not completed his final flying test. The Airbus A330 jet was nearly 40 minutes into its journey to New York on Monday when the two pilots on board became aware of the “rostering error”, the airline said. Flight VS3 had reached the skies above Ireland before returning to Heathrow, touching down more than one and a half hours after it took off. A replacement for the first officer was found, and the plane departed again for New York. Virgin Atlantic insists that safety was not compromised. The initial first officer joined the carrier in 2017. He was fully qualified under UK aviation regulations, but had not completed a final assessment flight, which is part of the airline’s internal requirements. Flight VS3 turned back as the captain had not been designated as a trainer. Control of an aircraft is usually shared between a first officer and the captain, but the latter holds ultimate responsibility for what happens on a flight. A Virgin Atlantic spokesperson said: “Due to a rostering error, flight VS3 from London Heathrow to New York-JFK returned to Heathrow on Monday 2 May shortly after take-off. The qualified first officer, who was flying alongside an experienced captain, was replaced with a new pilot to ensure full compliance with Virgin Atlantic’s training protocols, which exceed industry standards. We apologise for any inconvenience caused to our customers, who arrived two hours and 40 minutes later than scheduled as a result of the crew change.”<br/>
India’s Jet Airways is a step closer to an operational restart, following the completion of its first test flight. The carrier - once India’s largest privately-owned carrier before it collapsed in 2019 - will now work with civil aviation regulator’s to schedule proving flights “in the coming days”. The airline is likely to schedule 10 such flights, according to local media reports, citing sources from the regulator. Thereafter, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation will process and issue the carrier’s aircraft operator’s certificate, which allows it to start commercial flights. On 5 May, the airline flew a Boeing 737-800 test flights in Hyderabad, before operating a positioning flight to Delhi. Cirium fleets data show the aircraft to have been originally delivered to Jet Airways in 2007, where it operated for 12 years before the airline’s collapse. It was later delivered to low-cost operator SpiceJet, before being parked in late 2021. A debt-laden Jet Airways suspended operations in April 2019 after running out of cash. A resolution plan from new owners Murari Lal Jalan and Kalrock Capital received court approval in June 2021, paving the way for the airline’s revival. Jet Airways had previously indicated plans to commence operations in Q1 this year, though media reports now state a revised timeline of Q3 of the year.<br/>