Gol boosted its first-quarter results as it “continues to act in a disciplined manner in managing supply and demand” in the sometimes still unpredictable post-Covid-19 environment. The Sao Paulo-based airline said on 26 April that revenue for the first three months of the year came in at R$4.92 billion ($970 million), up 53% from R$3.22 billion in the same quarter in 2022. Costs were R$4.12 billion, up from R$3.14 billion in the same three months of 2022, primarily driven by a 47% increase jet fuel expenses. The company posted a profit of R$619.5 million during the period. Gol continues to grow in a “disciplined manner” as corporate travel and cargo revenue rise “During the quarter we delivered another sequential increase in our operating performance,” says chief executive Celso Ferrer. “We continue to add supply and with our disciplined approach to costs further drive higher levels of productivity. In January, we reached operating fleet utilisation levels above 12 hours a day, a level last seen in 2019.” “As the market recovery continues, our objective is to increase annual average utilisation and strengthen our low-cost operating model with our standardised fleet,” he adds. Revenue in its Gollog freight business alone rose to R$384 million from R$209 million, an 83% climb, the company says. A fourth cargo aircraft entered service to bring the sector to a total of six aircraft. Gollog expects to reach R$1 billion in revenue by the end of the year, Ferrer says. Corporate travel also began to look more like it did prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. “Improvement in business travel was led by demand from small and medium-sized businesses, whose bookings increased in [the first quarter] and recovered compared to levels in 2019,” Gol says. <br/>
unaligned
Airline flydubai on Wednesday said initial assessments of a technical problem on a flight at take-off from Kathmandu on Monday suggested a bird strike, but the company would further inspect the engine. Nepal's civil aviation authority on Tuesday disputed whether the 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. "Flight FZ 576 ... landed normally in Dubai International (DXB) after experiencing a technical issue upon take off from Kathmandu, the initial assessment suggested a bird strike" a flydubai spokesperson said on Wednesday. "After following standard operating procedure, the flight crew determined that the engine was within normal operating parameters and continued the onward journey to Dubai. Further inspection of the engine is being carried out," they added. A spokesperson for the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) said one of the plane's engines had caught fire shortly after take-off from Kathmandu, and that CAAN had set up a technical committee to investigate. The UAE's General Civil Aviation Authority did not respond to a request for comment on the incident. Flight 576 on the Boeing 737-800 plane landed normally in Dubai Monday night.<br/>