North American start-up carrier Canada Jetlines lost C$940,000 ($698,000) during the second quarter as it continues expanding its scheduled and charter operations. The ultra-low-cost carrier (ULCC) lost C$3.6m during the same three months of last year, for comparison. Jetlines said on 14 August that it generated C$8.8m of quarterly revenue, up 73% from last year. “We are very proud of the results overall,” CE Eddy Doyle said during the company’s earnings call. Its revenue was boosted by higher aircraft utilisation and a 65% bump in flight hours over the prior year period. The Toronto-based carrier ended the quarter with C$5.1m in current assets, up from C$2m on 31 December, mainly due to an increase in the company’s cash position. However, the carrier’s liabilities jumped to C$13m, compared with C$8.2m at the end of last year, due to an “increase in accounts payable” and a “C$4m increase in deferred revenue for cash collected in terms of future flying”. Jetlines acknowledges that it “will need to raise additional capital to support its business plan”. “The company is seeking additional capital in the form of debt, convertible debt or equity in order to further invest in the business and facilitate the continued growth of the fleet,” it says. The discounter entered the North American passenger market in September 2022 and currently operates scheduled flights between Toronto, Cancun and Las Vegas. It will increase flight frequencies to both warm-weather destinations and will soon announce additional cities in its burgeoning leisure network, Doyle says, adding that Jetlines will continue operating out of Toronto for the foreseeable future. Jetlines recently took delivery of its third leased Airbus A320, which the carrier hailed as a “significant milestone” in its growth strategy. The ULCC plans to add two more of the Airbus narrowbodies in the second half of the year, and five more in both 2024 and 2025 for a 15-strong jet fleet.<br/>
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Ryanair expects traffic in August to “slightly” surpass the record 18.7m passengers it flew in July, with bookings for September and October so far coming in exactly as expected, a senior executive told Reuters on Monday. The Irish airline, Europe’s largest by passenger numbers, carried a record number of monthly passengers in May, June and July and expects a post-pandemic travel rebound to push traffic for its financial year to March 2024 9% higher year-on-year. “It should be slightly more (than July)... people are still travelling,” said Eddie Wilson, the head of Ryanair DAC, the largest airline in the group. “We don’t see anything unusual in terms of our bookings, the momentum of bookings are indicating to us that the booking curve is going to fill out exactly as we predict,” Wilson added in relation to bookings in September and October. Ryanair cautioned late last month that fares for passengers booking close to their departure dates softened in late June and early July. However, Wilson said those comments were “blown out of proportion” and that the budget carrier’s guidance for a low double-digit percentage rise in fares this quarter was unchanged. Wilson was in Berlin to warn the German government against hiking “already excessive” aviation security fees. He said that Ryanair “would like to grow in Germany” but does not need to do so to reach its overall goal of flying 300m passengers a year by March 2034. Ryanair trimmed its full-year passenger forecast last month to 183.5m passengers from 185m due to the impact of air traffic control strikes and potential further Boeing delivery delays.<br/>
Boeing has emerged as the front-runner to secure an order for around 25 wide-body planes from IndiGo, industry sources told Reuters on Monday, as India's biggest airline deepens its international expansion with new destinations. IndiGo is in talks to buy Boeing's 787 family of twin-aisle aircraft, which has been pitted against Airbus A330neo jets, said the sources who are familiar with the matter. No decision has been finalised, the sources said, requesting anonymity as the negotiations are confidential. IndiGo said it does not comment on speculation. Boeing declined to comment. Airbus said it never comments on discussions it may or may not be having with existing and prospective customers. Reuters first reported in March that IndiGo was in talks with Airbus and Boeing for the wide-body jets. The recent talks come weeks after IndiGo placed a record order for 500 Airbus narrow-body jets, shadowing an earlier record deal by rival Air India for 470 Airbus and Boeing planes. Indian carriers are trying to keep pace with the world's fastest-growing aviation market, where demand for air travel has surged post-COVID, sending industry records tumbling even as plane manufacturers are struggling to meet output goals.<br/>
Indian budget carrier SpiceJet on Monday reported its highest quarterly profit in four years, as a sharp drop in expenses due to fewer flights operated more than offset a fall in revenue – sending shares up 6%. The company's profit for the first quarter ended June 30 came in at 2.05b rupees ($24.7m), from a loss of 7.89b rupees a year ago. The airline also reported a profit of 168.6m rupees for the quarter ended March 31, compared to a loss of 4.58b rupees a year before. SpiceJet is reporting quarterly results for the first time since February, having delayed releasing its March-quarter numbers as a key member of its audit committee was ill. The airline has been scrambling to raise funds and restore operations for about a fourth of its fleet, which has been grounded amid battles with its lessors over payments, as competition heats up fiercely in the sector. Top shareholder Ajay Singh said last month he would infuse 5b rupees into the troubled carrier, as it looks to return to full operations. In February, aircraft lessor Carlyle Aviation Partners acquired a 7.5% stake in the company's cargo unit SpiceXpress. Additionally, top airline IndiGo and new entrant Akasa Air capitalised on troubles at SpiceJet and GoFirst, eating into their market shares. SpiceJet's market share stood at 4.4% at the end of June, latest data from the aviation regulator showed, compared to 9.5% last year.<br/>
India's top court has asked airline SpiceJet's (SPJT.NS) managing director Ajay Singh to appear before the court and respond to a contempt case by Credit Suisse over unpaid dues, a lawyer involved in the case told Reuters. Credit Suisse in March approached the top court seeking to initiate contempt proceedings against Singh and SpiceJet over "a wilful and intentional disobedience" of court orders and failure to pay dues of several million dollars as per a settlement between the two sides, a court filing shows. SpiceJet said the debt was an old one which predated the tenure of its current management. Still, the company will pay $4.4m and any remaining balance as per the applicable schedule, a SpiceJet spokesperson said. As per Indian law, anyone found guilty of civil contempt can be punished with a fine or simple imprisonment of up to six months or both. Credit Suisse and SpiceJet have been engaged in a legal dispute since 2015 over Credit Suisse's claim of unpaid dues of around $24m, which led to the Madras High Court's order that the airline be wound up in 2021. In an appeal against the high court order, the top court suspended the winding-up proceedings, allowing both parties to discuss a settlement. In August 2022, both sides informed the top court that they had agreed to settle the dispute. But subsequently, in March, Credit Suisse filed a contempt case against managing director Ajay Singh, with the company secretary and the airline saying they had failed to pay dues as per the terms of settlement.<br/>
Philippine Airlines is to double down on improving its product offerings, as the carrier improved its quarterly profit on the back of continued demand recovery. Airline chief Stanley Ng says the airline will invest in improved cabins and “enhanced travel experience”, including a new customer relations management system to be launched this year. This is on top of ongoing fleet renewal plans, which saw the airline firm up orders for nine Airbus A350-1000s at the Paris air show in June. Lucio Tan, president of parent company PAL Holdings, says: “PAL is on a recovery track and is now in a position to carry out major product and digital transformation initiatives in order to grow amid a more competitive and challenging aviation industry.” For the three months to 30 June, PAL reported an operating profit of Ps45.6b, up 95% year on year. The airline also posted a net profit of Ps8.1b ($141m), nearly triple the net profit reported in the year-ago period. Quarterly revenue was up 34% year on year to Ps45.2b, outpacing a 23.6% rise in costs to Ps35.1b. In its six-month earnings, the airline reported an operating profit of Ps17.4b, an increase of more than two-fold year on year. Passenger revenue saw the largest increase year on year, but was offset by a 54% decline in cargo revenues, which PAL says was due to the scrapping of cargo charter flights, “to give way to more passenger flights to meet the surge in demand”. <br/>