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JetBlue Airways posted a loss for the first three months of the year but joined other carriers in forecasting a profit for the second quarter thanks to strong travel demand. JetBlue estimated per-share earnings of 35 cents to 45 cents for the current quarter, ahead of analyst estimates, with revenue up 4.5% to 8.5% on the year and capacity rising 4.5% to 7.5%. The second quarter coincides with the start of the peak travel season. “For the second quarter, we expect strong revenue growth to continue as demand remains robust and as we see continued momentum from our commercial initiatives,” CEO Robin Hayes said in an earnings release. “We are forecasting a solidly profitable quarter, and we remain confident in our full-year earnings outlook.” Here’s how JetBlue performed in the first quarter compared with Wall Street expectations based on Refinitiv consensus estimates:<br/>Adjusted loss per share: 34 cents vs. 38 cents expected; Revenue: $2.33 billion vs. $2.32 billion expected. In the first three months of the year, JetBlue lost $192m, or 58 cents a share, an improvement from a net loss of $255m, or 79 cents per share, in the same quarter of 2022. Revenue jumped 34% in the first quarter to $2.33b, slightly ahead of estimates. Average fares rose more than 9% in the quarter from a year earlier to $214.07. However, expenses climbed more than 22% to $2.57 billion, with the fuel bill alone up 34% from a year earlier. “We need to continue to find ways to keep our costs in check, which is fundamental to our business model of offering low fares and a great product, so we can have sustained profitability,” CFO Ursula Hurley said in a staff note Tuesday, after the company reported results.<br/>

JetBlue Airways criticized federal officials as the carrier said a shortage of air-traffic controllers would force it to cut 10% of its departures from the New York City area during the busy summer travel season. The pullback will have a “pretty significant financial impact” on JetBlue in the second and possibly third quarters, President Joanna Geraghty said on a conference call Tuesday to discuss earnings results. The company warned last month of possible flight cuts after the US FAA asked airlines to trim flying at some of the nation’s busiest airports. “We’re obviously very concerned about New York City for the summer,” Geraghty said. “The FAA continues to be significantly understaffed. This is a continuing issue and frankly it’s only getting worse this summer.” The reductions take effect in June at John F. Kennedy International and LaGuardia airports in New York, and at Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey, said a spokesman for JetBlue. The airline, which is based in Long Island City, New York, didn’t specify how it could affect earnings, but said the effect on flying capacity and revenue would be less than the 10% cut in departures. The issue threatens to bring a repeat of last summer’s woes, when travelers suffered through flight delays and cancellations as high demand filled aircraft. About 25% of flights by major US carriers were delayed last summer for an average 49 minutes, and another 1.9% were canceled, according to data from FlightAware. <br/>

Hawaiian Holdings, parent company of Hawaiian Airlines, posted a loss of $98 million for the first quarter of 2023, compared with a loss of $133 million last year. The Honolulu-based carrier’s revenue rose 28% to $613 million in the first three months of 2023, compared with last year’s revenue of $477 million, the carrier said during its first-quarter earnings call on 25 April. The cost of aircraft fuel rose 31% year-on-year for Hawaiian, while total expenses rose 17%. Those increases were partially offset by 15% higher capacity year-on-year “as Hawaiian recovered from the effects of the Omicron variant of Covid-19, which impacted results in the first quarter 2022”, the airline notes. Hawaiian flew 2.6 million passengers in the first quarter, up 27% from 2 million passengers during the same period of 2022. Peter Ingram, chief executive of Hawaiian, cited several operational challenges facing the carrier, with five of its 18 Airbus A321neos currently out service and waiting for engines, and ongoing repairs to the primary arrivals runway at Daniel K Inouye International airport in Honolulu. “The project has experienced delays and is currently scheduled to be completed before the end of May, by which time we will have effectively seen seven months of impairment to our capacity,” Ingram says. “Air traffic control protocols to manage the disruptions have had a severe negative impact on our neighbour island operation.” For the past seven months, Hawaiian’s Boeing 717s have been regularly held on the ground “with extensive waits for approval from air traffic control”, Ingram says. “During the most recent period, this has been a daily phenomenon.” Hawaiian currently has 18 717s in service for island-hopping flights, according to Cirium fleets data.<br/>

Canadian airports and airlines logged a large number of flight delays last month, raising questions about their readiness for the summer travel rush. Big airports and carriers had a much weaker on-time record in March than comparable US outfits -- and their own performance in 2019 -- according to figures from aviation data firm OAG. Toronto's Pearson airport saw 61.2% of flights leave on time -- within 15 minutes of their scheduled departure -- versus 73% four years earlier. By comparison, New York's JFK airport and Chicago's O'Hare airport had on-time performances of about 73% and 79%, respectively -- within a couple percentage points of O'Hare's 2019 rate, indicative of American airports' quicker earlier recovery. Air Canada's on-time arrival rate was 57.3% in March versus 69.6% in March 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic upended the air travel industry. The latest number also contrasts to the 77-to-79% range for three of the biggest US carriers, though they generally face smoother weather conditions. WestJet and Porter Airlines managed to land about 63 and 65% of their flights on time in March, respectively, compared with 80 and 82% four years earlier. The higher volume of flight delays could bode poorly for travellers in the coming months and comes after chaotic travel seasons during the summer and winter holidays. The situation reflects systemic issues across the Canadian aviation sector, said former Air Canada COO Duncan Dee. "What is shocking to me from these numbers is that all three major national Canadian airlines face very similar on-time performance challenges," Dee said. "The only conclusion is either Canadian airlines are operationally challenged or that operating in Canada involves common structural issues which all three Canadian carriers face, which makes their on-time performance markedly poorer versus their US peers," he said.<br/>

A bill that will allow the Mexican government to operate its own airline is likely to be approved by congress this week, Senate majority leader Ricardo Monreal said in an interview. The legislation would give President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador a chance to revive defunct carrier Mexicana de Aviacion to, as he has said, lower ticket prices and increase competition in the sector. The bill is the most likely to sail through before congress’s multimonth recess starts in May and also includes a provision that would allow the government to operate airports. That would mean the army could operate both an airline and the airport into which it would fly, creating a conflict of interest and potentially unfair market practices for other airlines. The legislation also modifies the structure of the Mexican aviation authority, AFAC, one of the requirements for the country to recover its air-safety rating from the US FAA. A more controversial mining reform and a “mega” administrative reform that would allow the government to end contracts without compensating companies may have to wait until September, Monreal said. The aerospace legislation could affect existing airport operators Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte, Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacifico and Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, which control the majority of the country’s hubs. But lawmakers will seek to meet with them before drafting the bill’s bylaws to avoid lawsuits and court battles, Monreal, the leader of the Morena ruling party in the Senate, said. Recovering the country’s so-called Category 1 rating is important for Mexican airlines, which haven’t been able to add routes or flights to the US since the downgrade in 2021.<br/>

Mexican airline Volaris expects to operate under the U.S. Category 1 aviation safety rating in the fourth quarter, which would allow the carrier to add global flights as demand grows, CEO Enrique Beltranena said on Tuesday. He expects Mexico to regain the rating in a few months, Beltranena told analysts on a call to discuss first-quarter results. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration downgraded Mexico to Category 2 in May 2021, saying the country fell short of regulating airlines according to international safety standards. The downgrade prohibited new services and routes but did not affect existing U.S. flights. Volaris' losses widened to $71 million from $49 million in the year-ago period. Revenue rose 29% to $731 million.<br/>

Vueling, a low-cost airline based in Spain, was fined more than $30,000 last month for a dress code that local authorities identified as discriminatory. First reported by El Periódico, the Catalan labor department said the airline placed an undue burden on its female flight attendants by requiring them to wear high heels (between 1 and 3 inches) and specifying what kind of makeup they could apply, including "low-key" lipstick shades and prohibiting especially long or fake-looking false eyelashes. In contrast, male flight attendants were only required to have a "clean and neat" appearance, according to local reports. According to El Periódico, it's the first time Spanish authorities have tried to regulate airline employee appearance standards. The fine comes after the flight attendant's union filed a complaint with labor authorities. A spokesperson for Vueling told Aero Time that the airline wants to ensure its crews feel comfortable. "We always consider any concerns that our crew may have and these are factored into decision-making and implementation," the spokesperson said. "The company’s aim with the dress code is to always ensure comfort and safety in all environments. In fact, the style guide was drafted with the cooperation of the crew member representatives."<br/>

Ryanair will likely trim some flights in August due to delivery delays from Boeing but there will be no material impact on customers, senior executive Eddie Wilson said in an interview on Tuesday. Group CE Michael O'Leary last week said he would trim some high-frequency routes in July and Wilson said the same would happen in August but that Ryanair would "absolutely" hit its annual target of 185 million passengers. Wilson said he was hopeful the number of planes affected by manufacturing issues would be in the single digits out of a fleet of over 550, but that Boeing had not yet provided a detailed delivery schedule. "We'll be able to absorb this in terms of frequency reduction," said Wilson, CE of Ryanair DAC, the largest airline in the Ryanair Group. "It won't be material, it won't affect people, because all the bookings aren't in for August," he added. O'Leary described the delays by Boeing as "very disappointing", but Wilson said talks with the US firm about a possible large new order would not be impacted. Wilson was speaking in Berlin where he announced 520 weekly flights in its summer schedule, but said Ryanair was focusing growth elsewhere due to high airport charges.<br/>

The German aviation market has become less competitive in the post-pandemic era, according to Ryanair Holdings Plc, as high airport fees drive up ticket prices and discourage discount specialists from expanding in Europe’s biggest economy. The Irish budget airline will station nine aircraft in Berlin for its summer season serving 50 routes, which Eddie Wilson, chief executive officer of the main Ryanair unit, said is fewer than the airline would like. The muted approach is a reflection of Germany’s slow rebound, where capacity still stands at just 80% of pre-Covid levels, while Europe as a whole has bounced back to 130%, he said at a press conference in Berlin. “It seems to be government policy to jack up prices at major airports, protect the national carrier and snuff out competition,” Wilson said. “Germany will become very opportunistic for carriers, who will become less concerned about long-term connectivity.” Ryanair has already abandoned Frankfurt, Germany’s biggest airport, because of fees that Wilson said can reach €50 ($55.18) per passenger. Discount rival EasyJet Plc pulled out of the popular Frankfurt-Berlin route in 2020, and has scaled back its presence in Berlin to 11 aircraft. Ryanair is focusing on regional airports like Memmingen and Baden-Baden in the south of Germany or Paderborn in the north, though growth at these sites is “minuscule” to the potential of Frankfurt, Wilson said. The airline doesn’t plan to add any aircraft in Berlin because it can earn higher returns elsewhere, Wilson said. As a result of reduced competition, ticket prices will remain high in Germany for the foreseeable future, he said. <br/>

Nepal's civil aviation authority disputed on Tuesday whether a flydubai plane had been hit by a bird strike in Nepali airspace, calling the United Arab Emirates carrier's account of the incident "misleading". The airline had said a flight carrying 167 passengers from the Nepali capital Kathmandu to Dubai experienced a bird strike during take-off late on Monday. The plane continued on its journey after determining that the engine was within normal operation parameters, a spokesperson for flydubai said, and the aircraft landed normally in Dubai just after midnight local time. But the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) said on Twitter on Tuesday that the airline's country manager and airport manager had been barred from entering Kathmandu airport for spreading "misleading" news about a bird strike. Flydubai said it would respond shortly to a request for comment on the tweet. The UAE's General Civil Aviation Authority did not immediately respond to a request for comment. "How did the company say it was a case of bird strike. The pilot has not reported that and there is no evidence of it so far. There is no proof or basis for this," Jagannath Niroula, a CAAN spokesperson, said.<br/>