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Scandinavian airline SAS kept its bid for survival aloft at the weekend by securing bridge financing through bankruptcy protection proceedings, sending its shares 5% higher on Monday. The airline, whose biggest owners are Sweden and Denmark, said on Sunday it had signed a deal with US private equity firm Apollo Global Management for $700m in financing to fund its reorganisation under US Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection proceedings. SAS filed for the protection in July, a day after most of its pilots launched a crippling two-week strike over collective agreements. SAS said the action could scare off lenders and could threaten its existence. Shares in SAS were up 5.3% at 1358 GMT, taking a one-month rise to 22%. The stock is still down 63% in the past year. "The price of being on the brink of bankruptcy is high, but now the process is getting going, and the hard work of getting billions in debt dropped and also significantly reducing costs can be accelerated," Sydbank analyst Jacob Pedersen said. "The reality remains that existing shareholders' assets are gone and that they are exposed to a big dilution when the capital increase is carried out," Pedersen said in a note to clients, reiterating a "sell" recommendation for SAS shares. Pedersen said the deal with Apollo suggested Apollo could become a major shareholder in SAS by converting the loan to equity at the end of the Chapter 11 process.<br/>

South African Airways has confirmed it has been cautioned by the country's air services regulator of possible legal transgressions but stressed these are administrative and do not impact its current or future operations. In a statement on August 12, SAA confirmed it had received a letter from the country's Air Services Licensing Council (ASLC) citing "a few possible breaches" of the Air Services Licensing Act. The council required certain information from SAA to ascertain its compliance with the legislation. "SAA is currently studying the contents of the letter and will be responding fully to the ASLC within or before the timeframe provided by the council," the airline stated. "SAA assures its customers and the public that the matters raised in the letter are of an administrative nature, relating to the SEP (strategic equity partner) transaction that is currently being negotiated by the Government, as the shareholder, as well as issues relating to SAA's interaction with the ASLC, the submission of financial statements, and internal staff movement. The questions raised in the letter do not impact SAA's current and future operations as well as the quality of the services provided by SAA. To that end, both local and regional services are continuing uninterrupted," SAA said. According to the August 3 letter leaked to Fin24, the ASLC has given SAA 90 days to address four alleged breaches of the Act or risk losing its air service licences.<br/>

South Korea’s Asiana Airlines saw its Q2 operating profit more than double to W211b ($162m) in Q2 of its 2022 financial year. Revenue for the three months ended 30 June was also higher, rising 51% to W1.4t, according to the carrier’s financial results. Operating expenses, however, jumped 42.9% to W1.2t, and foreign exchange losses of W328b contributed to a net loss of KRW92b, compared with a net profit of W63b a year earlier. The carrier said that passenger demand greatly increased in the quarter compared with a year earlier, but indicates that this was offset by higher fuel and maintenance costs. In Q2, domestic ASKs fell 7% year on year, while RPKs grew 5%. Domestic load factors rose 10 percentage points to 89%. On the international front, ASKs jumped 49%, and RPKs grew more than five-fold. International load factors also shot up 22 percentage points to 79%. This is consistent with the gradual lifting of international travel restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic. On the cargo front, international ATKs fell 11% and RTKs were down 16%. The freight load factor also fell five percentage points to 93%. Q2 international freight yields, however, jumped 38% from a year earlier. Asiana attributed the strong cargo performance to continued international supply chain challenges and strong sales prices. As of 30 June, the carrier’s fleet comprised 80 aircraft, comprising 64 passenger aircraft and 16 freighters, compared with 82 aircraft a year earlier. During the year, an Airbus A330F and Boeing 747F were retired, while an A350-900 that had been temporarily configured for cargo services was returned to passenger use.<br/>

Thai Airways narrowed its Q2 loss, as passenger travel demand soared with the reopening of borders. The embattled national carrier, which is undergoing business restructuring, posted an operating loss of Bt1.3b ($36.6m) for the quarter to 30 June, narrowing the Bt4.4b loss in 2021. Revenue for the quarter increased three-fold to Bt21.5b, with passenger revenue registering a 14-time jump year on year. The carrier flew nearly seven times more passengers in the quarter, at just over 2m, with capacity quadrupling year on year. Thai Airways doubled its quarterly expenses, with operational costs increasing with the ramp-up of flights. The Star Alliance carrier adds that an increase in fuel prices is driving its expenses up. Thai Airways swung back to a net loss of Bt3.2 billion for the quarter, compared to the Bt23.3 billion net profit in 2021. It attributes this to losses on foreign currency exchange, as well as one-time asset impairment costs. Some of the losses were offset by one-time revenue, mainly from gains on debt restructuring, as well as gains on sales of investment and assets. On a half-year basis, Thai Airways and its subsidiaries also narrowed its operating loss, from 2021’s Bt11.4b to this year’s Bt4.5b. Revenue, at Bt32.7b, was over three times higher year on year, outpacing a 72% increase in costs to Bt37.1b. In its outlook, the carrier says it will continue to increase frequencies across its international network, as Thailand moves to fully reopen the country on 1 July. On its ongoing rehabilitation plans, the carrier states: “[Thai Airways] has revised its business plan and increased revenue resulting in…better cash flow levels in operations that have changed significantly. Therefore, the requested level for new loans has decreased from the original.” <br/>

Singapore Airlines has reported that it carried more than two million passengers in July, the first time it has reached this level since the Covid-19 pandemic started. This was 7.5% up compared to June, and a whopping 1,280.7% higher than July 2021’s figure of just over 150,000 passengers. Its capacity reached 67% of pre-Covid-19 levels during the month, and passenger capacity (measured in available seat-kilometres) in July was 4.9% higher than the month before and 107.8% higher compared to a year ago. Its passenger load factor reached a new pandemic-high of 87.4%, 1.9% higher than June and a far cry from the 16.3% of July 2021. “This is the second highest monthly PLF in the SIA Group’s history,” the airline says. Separately, cargo operations registered a load factor of 60.5%, or 26.7 percentage points lower year-on-year.<br/>