unaligned

Frontier Airlines reports a loss of $13m in Q1 2023, compared with a $121m loss during the same period last year. The Denver-based ultra-low-cost carrier (ULCC) posted a company-record $848m in revenue during Q1, up from $605m in 2022, Frontier said during its 3 May earnings call. ”The results are reflective of the seasonality of the business, with the seasonally weak first half of the quarter substantially offset by a strong spring break period,” says James Dempsey, Frontier’s CFO. The airline’s expenses were $873m, a 15% increase over last year’s Q1 costs of $758m. Frontier’s load factor for the three months ending 31 March was 82.8%, compared with 74.2% last year. Frontier is tweaking its network strategy to focus more on peak periods for leisure travel and “reducing under-performing flying” during low-demand periods. ”We conducted a full review of profitability over the past several quarters and observed a clear change in consumer demand patterns,” says Daniel Shurz, Frontier’s senior vice-president of commercial. ”While overall leisure travel is increasing, the breadth is disproportionately landing on peak days and in peak travel periods.” The strategy of flying more on days people want to travel – and less on days they do not – is a key principle for US competitors Allegiant Air and Sun Country Airlines, which have traditionally operated more variable schedules than Frontier and Spirit Airlines. Frontier plans to roll out an adjusted peak-trough strategy in time for the busy summer air travel season in the northern hemisphere. ”Having analysed this new customer behaviour – and until the peak and off-peak demand relationship normalises – we are reshaping our capacity beginning in the second quarter to exploit this dynamic, and expect the changes to be fully deployed in the second half of 2023,” says Barry Biffle, Frontier’s CE. <br/>

Ultra low-cost carrier Allegiant Air’s leisure-oriented business is humming along smoothly and shows no sign of slowing. “Demand remained strong throughout the quarter,” John Redmond, CE of Allegiant Travel Company, said during the airline’s quarterly earnings call on 3 May. “We are closely monitoring macro-economic trends, but we have not observed a change in booking behaviour or peak leisure demand.” Allegiant reported a Q1 profit of $56.1mi, compared with a $7.9m loss in 2022. The Las Vegas-based company said during its 3 May earnings call that it generated $649m of revenue during the quarter, a 30% increase over the $500m it reported last year. Average ancillary revenue per passenger – or how much spent on checked luggage, in-flight snacks and other add-ons – was $75.19, “the highest quarterly result in our history”, Allegiant says. The ULCC’s load factor was 85.8%, compared with 78.9% during Q1 2022. Allegiant’s long-in-development Sunseeker Resort in Charlotte Harbor, Florida – which suffered $35m of property damage from Hurricane Ian – is in the final stages of construction and repair and is set to open 16 October 2023. “Although we are still sorting through insurance claims related to Hurricane Ian, we have a better line of sight on completion and final budget,” Redmond says. “Given inflationary pressures and supply chain issues, we expect the final capital expenditure budget to be $695m.” The carrier is also anticipating a 2.5% reduction in capacity for the full year versus its 2022 performance, citing some of the same snags holding back many of Allegiant’s competitors. “The industry continues to experience challenges from supply chain delays to [air traffic control] constraints that present the most stress during peak, high-demand periods,” Allegiant says. Despite the tweaks to capacity, booking data continues to reflect a strong demand environment, particularly during peak summer travel periods.” The carrier introduced three Airbus A320ceos to its fleet during Q1 and will acquire three more mid-life A320s this year. Allegiant is set to end the year with 127 narrowbody Airbus aircraft. <br/>

Struggling carrier Air Moldova is suspending all operations while it seeks court approval for a restructuring programme intended to avert bankruptcy and put the airline in a sustainable position. The airline says the suspension – which commenced on 2 May – could be lifted within three days, depending on the court decision. Air Moldova says the proposed restructuring would use a “variety of instruments” to overcome financial problems and enable external investment in the company. It claims there are investors prepared to put $50m into the carrier, to address the financial situation and support fleet enhancement. The airline – which has been private since 2018 – has not identified the investors to which it refers. But it says such investment cannot proceed without an “accelerated restructuring procedure” to satisfy current creditors. If the court accepts the request for such measures, Air Moldova says it will restore flights and ticket sales. “All the actions undertaken by the Air Moldova management are aimed at saving the national operator from bankruptcy,” it states. Air Moldova attributes its situation partly to a combination of the pandemic and the Ukrainian conflict, adding that it has lost key destinations – particularly in Russia – and had aircraft withdrawn by lessors. It has also made a number of outspoken accusations alleging political interference and blocking of funds.<br/>

Ryanair flew 16m passengers in April, up 13% year-on-year to record its third busiest month for traffic ever, Europe's largest airline by passenger numbers said on Wednesday. The average proportion of empty seats per flight for the period - which included the Easter holidays - fell to 6%. The airline also cancelled more than 650 flights, affecting some 118,000 customers, due to French air traffic control strikes last month. The Irish airline has only twice previously flown more than 16m passengers in a month, last July and August when it carried 16.8m and 16.9m passengers respectively. Ryanair expects to trim some flights in July and August due to delivery delays from Boeing but has said it will still hit its target of growing passenger numbers to 185m this fiscal year from the 169m in the 12 months to end-March.<br/>

An opposition journalist who was arrested after being hauled off a Ryanair plane that was forced to land in Belarus almost two years ago was jailed for eight years on Wednesday, RIA news agency said, after being tried for an array of alleged crimes including conspiracy to seize power. Roman Protasevich, 27, was found guilty by Minsk Regional Court of a series of alleged offences related to his work as an editor at opposition media outlet Nexta.<br/>

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Go Airlines said it was one of the few profitable airlines in a country that is known for its staunchly price-conscious customers, a market where two big players have collapsed in the last 11 years. The company's ultra-low-cost model and near-total reliance on one aircraft type helped it make money, until engine issues that began about five years ago worsened and it reported heavy losses in the last three fiscal years. The cash-strapped carrier, India's third-biggest and best known as Go First, filed for bankruptcy on Tuesday, blaming "faulty" Pratt & Whitney (P&W) engines for the grounding of about half its fleet. It owes financial creditors 65.21b rupees ($798m), and has now "exhausted all financial resources", according to its filing with the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) seeking insolvency proceedings. The move comes as its bigger domestic rival IndiGo is pitting Boeing against Airbus in record jet order talks to meet surging post-COVID demand. Go First's plight is also a blow to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's goal of turning India into a global aviation hub like Dubai or Singapore. IndiGo has also had to ground planes because its P&W engines faced problems, but its bigger fleet with diverse engines, and its deeper pockets, meant it could overcome the troubles better than Go First.<br/>

Indian budget carrier Go Airlines, which filed for bankruptcy on Tuesday, owes financial creditors 65.21b rupees ($798m), its bankruptcy filing showed. The company, which operates the Go First airline, had not defaulted on any of these dues as of April 30, it said in the filing, which was seen by Reuters. "However, considering the present financial situation of the corporate applicant, defaults to financial creditors would be imminent," the filing said. Lenders were not aware of the airline's plans to file for voluntary insolvency and will meet soon to take stock of the situation, said two people familiar with the matter. They spoke on condition of anonymity as they are not allowed to speak to the media.<br/>