JetBlue Airways wants to use its acquisition of deep-discount carrier Spirit Airlines to compete with the four major airlines, with plans to rebrand Spirit jets and reduce their seats per plane by 10% to 15%, CEO Robin Hayes testified at an antitrust trial. JetBlue’s primary goal in spending $3.8b to buy Spirit was to go up against the likes of American Airlines Group Inc., Delta Air Lines Inc., United Airlines Holdings Inc. and Southwest Airlines Co., Hayes told a judge in Boston during a trial over the federal government’s bid to block the deal. “It is a very tall order to compete with them,” Hayes said Monday, his second day on the witness stand. The top four airlines account for about 80% of US ticket revenue. “We’ve spent 20 years now carving out 5%” of the market as a value-focused carrier, Hayes said. JetBlue has studied possible acquisitions of smaller airlines for years and determined it was the only way to compete with larger carriers. “You’d never, ever get to the size they are based on organic growth,” Hayes said of the big four companies. “Let’s recall that they didn’t get there through organic growth either — they got there through mergers and acquisitions.” The US Justice Department’s lawsuit challenging the JetBlue-Spirit merger is part of an ongoing effort by antitrust regulators to limit consolidation within the airline industry, after decades of approving deals with little restriction. Government lawyers say the transaction violates antitrust law because it would eliminate JetBlue’s fastest-growing competitor and limit choices for passengers, especially in the market for ultra-low-cost air travel. Hayes defended the deal, saying it was never intended to eliminate a potential rival.<br/>
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Brazilian airline Gol on Monday lowered its outlook for 2023 after reporting a net loss in the third quarter, saying it now forecasts earnings per share to stand at zero this year from a previous estimate of 0.30 real. The carrier, which operates a fleet of Boeing 737 planes, also reduced its operating margin estimates as it faces delayed deliveries of new 737 MAX 8 aircraft from the US-based manufacturer. Shares of Gol slipped more than 3% on the news, making it one of the worst performers of the day on Brazil's benchmark stock index Bovespa, which was trading near flat. The airline said it expects its EBITDA margin to come in at about 24% in 2023, down from a previous forecast of 25%, while investments in aircraft purchases were lowered to 100m reais ($20.44m) from 500m before. Renewing the fleet is important for the airline as it allows it to gain competitiveness by returning less efficient planes to lessors. But Gol said that only one of the 15 new aircraft it was hoping to get from Boeing this year had been delivered so far. CEO Celso Ferrer told analysts that the "best case scenario" would be receiving five of the aircraft by the end of this year and the other 10 in early 2024. "We have calls with them almost everyday to make sure we'll have this capacity," Ferrer said, adding that the issues with aircraft deliveries would likely lead to higher-than-expected ex-fuel costs for at least the next 12 months. Analysts at XP Investimentos called the third quarter result operationally consistent for Gol, with yield increases and cost reductions, but flagged still elevated leverage and the delayed fleet renewal as negatives.<br/>
Ryanair forecast a record annual profit and outlined plans to pay a regular dividend for the first time as the airline cashed in on its busiest-ever summer and a rise in airfares. Europe’s largest airline by passenger numbers on Monday forecast a full-year net profit between E1.85b and E2.05b for its financial year ending in March, which would beat a record set in 2018. The airline became the latest to report booming profits over the summer as the industry rebounded from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic thanks to strong demand for travel and high ticket prices. Rivals including British Airways owner IAG, easyJet and Air France-KLM have all reported record summer earnings in recent weeks. Ryanair underlined its recovery by announcing plans to pay shareholders a regular dividend for the first time, starting with E400m over the next year. It pledged to then return about 25% of the prior-year profit after tax to shareholders. The airline paid out more than €6bn to shareholders between 2008 and 2020, but only through buybacks or special dividends. CFO Neil Sorahan said the switch to regular payouts reflected the “maturity” of Ryanair’s business, following years of high capital spending before the pandemic as it built its dominant position in the European market. As carriers across Europe report record profits, the biggest question facing the industry is how long the boom times can continue, and whether demand for travel will remain strong into next year. Sorahan said Christmas looked “strong” and the airline was “pleased” with early sales for summer 2024. But Ryanair cautioned that its financial guidance was “highly dependent on the absence of any unforeseen adverse events, for example such as Ukraine or Gaza”. The airline said it faced a “significantly” higher fuel bill — up €1.3bn this financial year — meaning it was unlikely to replicate last year’s “bumper” fiscal third quarter. Ryanair added that it also faced higher environmental EU charges from January and delivery delays for new aircraft from Boeing. Ryanair carried 105.4m passengers between April and September, a record for the summer season.<br/>
Virgin Atlantic will fly from London to New York on Nov. 28 using 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), after Britain gave it permission, paving the way for a world first as airlines step up efforts to decarbonise travel. Airlines are pinning their hopes on SAF, which uses waste such as cooking oils to reduce emissions by up to 70% compared to fossil fuels, to decarbonise flying before new electric and hydrogen-powered options expected in the coming decades. SAF is currently used to power jet engines but only as part of a blend with traditional kerosene. Britain's Civil Aviation Authority on Monday granted Virgin Atlantic a permit for a transatlantic flight powered only by SAF to showcase how the fuel can be used to decarbonise flying. The permit was awarded following a number of technical reviews by the UK regulator, including successful ground testing of running the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engine that powers Virgin's 787 aircraft.<br/>Virgin must now seek permission from regulators in the United States, Ireland and Canada for the flight. SAF accounted for only 0.5% of aviation fuel in 2021, but many airlines have a target of 10% by 2030 and the industry's goal of "net zero" emissions by 2050 relies on SAF accounting for 65% of fuel. Virgin said it hoped the flight would highlight the need the challenge to make SAF more readily available. Currently SAF is only made in small volumes and costs between three to five times as much as regular jet fuel.<br/>
The first Emirates airline flights operating with sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) provided by Shell Aviation have taken off from Dubai International Airport (DXB). Emirates’ flight EK 412 bound for Sydney on October 24 was among the first to operate with SAF. Shell has supplied 315,000 gallons of blended SAF for use at the airline’s hub in Dubai. This first supply of SAF to Emirates in Dubai has enabled the airline to power a number of missions over the course of the last few weeks. The blended SAF supplied by Shell into the DXB airport fuelling system comprised a ratio of 40% neat SAF and 60% conventional Jet A-1 fuel. The chemical characteristics at this ratio are identical to conventional jet fuel, and can seamlessly be integrated into the existing airport fuel infrastructure as well as in the engines of the entire Emirates fleet with no modifications required. In its neat form, SAF reduces greenhouse gas emissions by up to 80% over its life cycle when compared with conventional jet fuel. Emirates has also been tracking the delivery, use and environmental benefits of SAF through Avelia, Shell Aviation’s blockchain powered book and claim solution. Sir Tim Clark, President Emirates Airline, said: "We’re pushing ahead with proactive measures to enable more sustainable flying now and in the future, and powering flights from our Dubai hub is just one of the steps we’ve taken to reduce emissions and concretely help our customers minimise their own carbon footprint. We still have a long road ahead, and we hope that our partnership with Shell Aviation inspires more producers to address the supply gaps and make SAF readily available in major hubs like Dubai, as well as other points on our network."<br/>
Emirates is considering an order for Boeing Co. or Airbus SE freighters and may convert more passenger jets to expand its cargo fleet. The carrier, which aims to double freight capacity in the next decade, hasn’t decided between Boeing 777-8 freighters and Airbus 350Fs, and could take another four years to commit to either, Emirates’ cargo chief Nabil Sultan said. The airline’s cargo fleet is currently all Boeing. Some of its more than 100 Boeing 777 passenger planes could be converted for cargo use too. The company “will evaluate, hopefully by 2027, whether we require a different mix to what we have already,” Sultan, divisional senior vice president of Emirates SkyCargo, said in an interview at an industry conference in Singapore. While cargo yields have fallen from their Covid peak, they remain 20% above pre-pandemic levels. Demand is also increasing in the lead up to Christmas. “We’re probably at a much more stable stage now,” Sultan told Bloomberg News. “We’ve passed the bottoming out. We’ve seen consistent growth.” Global air cargo demand grew 1.5% in August from a year earlier, the first increase in 19 months, according to the International Air Transport Association. Middle Eastern carriers saw a 1.4% on-year rise in cargo volume, continuing a three-month upward trend, while capacity was 15.7% higher than August 2022. Emirates SkyCargo has 11 dedicated Boeing freighters and added two wet-leased 747 cargo planes during Covid. It also ordered five new Boeing freighters a year ago and is converting 10 Boeing 777-300ER passenger jets. “We have a lot of opportunities to convert a lot of these aircraft,” Sultan said, adding that the company can get almost another 10 years of service from planes that are switched to the cargo side. <br/>
Riyadh Air is putting the final contours on a large narrowbody aircraft order that will help the new Saudi carrier expand its network and challenge regional incumbents Emirates and Qatar Airways. The airline will announce a “sizable” deal as soon as the Dubai Air Show starting early next week, CEO Tony Douglas said in an interview, while cautioning that it may take a week or so longer to hash out the final details. While he wouldn’t disclose which aircraft Riyadh Air has picked, Douglas said it’s not a split order, suggesting either Airbus or Boeing will walk away with the prize. Boeing has already won a commitment from Riyadh Air for its larger 787 widebody jet, and the US manufacturer is pressing its advantage to also land the single-aisle deal, which could include at least 150 aircraft, people familiar with the talks said back in May. Airbus is practically sold out on its A320 model for the rest of the decade, complicating any sales campaigns. Douglas said he wouldn’t split the order because of the complexity of costs associated with maintenance, training and other factors. All of Riyadh Air’s deliveries, including the as many as 72 Boeing 787s it previously ordered, are inside of 2030, Douglas said. Boeing is currently experiencing manufacturing issues particularly on its 737 model, forcing airlines like Ryanair Holdings Plc to cut back flying schedules. Douglas said it would be “completely and totally unacceptable” if Riyadh Air’s deliveries were postponed.<br/>
Lenders to India's Go First are not in favour of releasing additional funding to the grounded airline, given its legal troubles with lessors and complexities related to changes in the bankruptcy law, two banking sources told Reuters on Monday. Go First's lenders, which include the Central Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, IDBI Bank and Deutsche Bank, had in-principally approved funding of 4.50b rupees ($54.09m) in June to resume operations and restart the airline. "When the funding was approved, there was some visibility about the airline restarting operations," the banker said. "Now the situation is quite different and the future is bleak," said a banker with a state-run bank that has exposure to Go First. None of the sources wished to be identified because they were not authorized to speak to the media. The Committee of Creditors (CoC) of Go First met earlier in the day, the sources said. Go First filed for bankruptcy in May but its lessors were blocked from repossessing planes due to a moratorium imposed by Indian courts. India, however, last month amended its insolvency law, potentially paving the way for lessors to take back their planes. The country's aviation regulator, in a court filing, earlier this month said that the law would be applicable retrospectively, which lenders are looking to contest.<br/>
A 58-year-old man, a co-founder of i-Serve Payment Gateway Sdn Bhd, has been detained in connection with an ongoing investigation involving the company and the beleaguered budget airline . A 57-year-old woman was also detained to assist in the investigation. Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department director Comm Datuk Seri Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf said the man was detained at the Immigration Department office in KLIA2 at about 3.30am yesterday. “Initial investigations revealed that the suspect got to know the low-cost airline founder in 1995 and both of them set up i-Serve in 2019. The suspect was also a director of several subsidiaries under i-Serve,” he said when contacted. Comm Ramli said the arrest of the first suspect led police to a condominium in Sentul at about 4.15am yesterday, where the woman was detained. “We also seized mobile phones and the passports of both suspects as well as a luxury car belonging to the female suspect, who is an employee at an insurance company,” he added. It was reported that after the MYAirline fiasco, its co-founder Datuk Allan Goh was being investigated over the loss of RM81m in an investment scheme. The police opened a new investigation paper on Goh after receiving 67 reports about the i-Serve investment scheme. The case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for fraud. “The reports were lodged by individuals who invested in i-Serve. The losses are estimated to be RM81,609,900 and we urge anyone who is a victim of this investment scheme to come forward and lodge a police report,” Comm Ramli had said earlier.<br/>