Five crew members with Toronto-based Pivot Airlines that have been held in the Dominican Republic for seven months are finally free to return home to Canada. The crew — which includes two pilots, two flight attendants, and a mechanic — were “arbitrarily detained” in the Dominican Republic back in April, after reporting suspected contraband on their aircraft — a Bombardier CRJ 100 (C-FWRR). The crew were preparing for a return flight to Toronto, when the mechanic found several suspicious bags in the avionics bay, and reported his findings to the pilots. The pilots made the appropriate call to report the bags, which contained more than 200 kilograms of cocaine, to Dominican authorities. Despite being fully compliant, they were arrested, and have been unable to leave the country ever since.<br/>
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India's SpiceJet Monday reported a bigger quarterly loss as the embattled low-cost carrier wrestled with a surge in fuel costs and a depreciating rupee. Losses widened to 8.38b Indian rupees ($103.25m) for the three months ended Sept. 30, from 5.62b rupees a year earlier, the airline said in an exchange filing. Its aviation turbine fuel costs almost doubled to 12.26b rupees. SpiceJet has had trouble cashing in on a rebound in air travel from pandemic lows, as India's aviation regulator in July halved the airline's approved fleet due to a string of mid-air safety lapses. Last month, Reuters partner ANI reported that the agency had lifted its restrictions on SpiceJet's operations, allowing it to operate at full capacity from Oct. 30. The company is also grappling with stiff competition, losing market share to InterGlobe Aviation-owned IndiGo, new entrant Akasa Air and the Tata Group-backed Vistara. SpiceJet's share of domestic passenger market dropped to 7.7% in the September quarter from 9.7% in the previous three months, according to data from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. At the same time, IndiGo expanded share to 58% from 56.3%. Earlier this month, IndiGo also saw its quarterly losses widen on a threefold jump in fuel costs and foreign exchange losses. SpiceJet's total revenue from operations rose 45.4% to 19.53b rupees.<br/>
Asset manager Kalrock Capital Partners said on Monday that probes into its investor Florian Fritsch have no impact on its acquisition of Indian airline Jet Airways. Fritsch is assisting in investigations by regulatory agencies in Liechtenstein, Switzerland, and Austria. The probes are based on anonymous complaints filed in relation to certain businesses where Fritsch is a financial investor in his personal capacity, UK-based Kalrock said in a statement. Once India's biggest private carrier, Jet had stopped flying in April 2019 after running out of cash, before India's bankruptcy court last year approved a resolution plan submitted by a consortium of Kalrock and UAE-based businessman Murari Lal Jalan. "Florian confirms that neither Kalrock Capital Partners nor Jet Airways have any connection with these ongoing investigations, or the charges made thereunder, and these investigations have no impact on the acquisition of Jet Airways, and Jalan-Kalrock Consortium remains committed towards Jet Airways," Kalrock said, adding that the disputes are commercial in nature. Meanwhile, business newspaper Economic Times reported on Monday that Jet Airways' asset monetisation plan has been delayed due to an impasse between lenders and the Jalan-Kalrock consortium over its resolution plan.<br/>
Two Thai operators posted stark differences in their third-quarter earnings, despite seeing a significant rise in their revenues as travel demand picked up. For the three months to 30 September, Bangkok Airways swung to a Bt75m ($2.1m) operating profit, but posted a net loss. The airline reported a five-fold increase in revenues for the quarter at Bt3.9b. Like other operators in the region, the leisure airline says much of the increase came from passenger revenues with travel restrictions lifted. For the quarter the airline carried around 800,000 passengers, a marked improvement against the 26,000 carried in the same period last year. Meanwhile, costs rose 95% year on year to Bt4.1b, in line with an increase in flights, coupled with a rise in fuel costs. Still, Bangkok Airways posted an attributable net loss of about Bt393m, down from the Bt7b net loss a year ago. On a nine-month basis, the carrier remained in the red, posting an operating loss of around Bt1.2b. It also narrowed its net loss for the period, at Bt2.3b compared to Bt8.4b a year ago. Meanwhile, Asia Aviation, the parent company of low-cost operator Thai AirAsia, widened its quarterly operating losses to Bt5b, compared to a Bt3.7b loss in the year-ago period. Revenues for the quarter grew ten-fold to Bt4.9b, helped a resurgence in passenger travel. The airline says its domestic capacity has recovered to around 62% pre-pandemic levels, with international capacity excluding China at around 43%. Quarterly expenses grew around two-fold to Bt9.9b, due mainly to higher fuel costs, which were up a staggering 54 times year on year and 60% higher quarter on quarter. Asia Aviation also blamed unrealised foreign exchange losses for its higher costs. The company posted a net loss of Bt4b, widening the Bt3.8b loss in the year-ago period. <br/>
PAL Holdings was in the black in its Q3 earnings, retaining its profitable streak amid a three-fold jump in passenger revenue. For the three months to 30 September, the parent company of Philippine Airlines posted a pre-tax profit of Ps4.3b ($103m), reversing the Ps5b loss in the year-ago period. Q3 revenue more than doubled year on year to Ps40.4b, led by a three-fold jump in passenger travel revenue as border restrictions relaxed. Still, the group saw a slight dip in cargo revenue, down about 13% year on year. Costs also doubled year on year to Ps35.2b, with operations-based expenses – which include fuel costs – seeing the largest increase. On a nine-month basis, PAL Holdings posted a pre-tax profit of Ps8.7b, with revenue up two-fold year on year to nearly Ps98b. The company had Ps26.4b in cash and cash equivalents as at 30 September, slightly higher than the Ps24b at the start of the year. PAL president and operating chief Stanley Ng says: “We are thankful for the strong support of our customers, shareholders, partners and personnel that enabled us to achieve this third straight quarter of positive operating results, despite the continuing global economic and geopolitical challenges.” By end-September, PAL had a fleet of 80 aircraft, down from a fleet of 87 aircraft at the start of the year. <br/>