unaligned

JetBlue and Spirit Airlines said Friday they will appeal a federal judge’s ruling this week that blocked their plan to combine into a single carrier. The airlines said they filed a notice of appeal with the 1st US Circuit Court of Appeals, following the terms of their agreement. The Justice Department, which sued to block JetBlue’s proposed $3.8b purchase of Spirit, declined to comment. JetBlue and Spirit are the nation’s sixth- and seventh-largest carriers. JetBlue, which outbid Frontier Airlines, said it needed to acquire Spirit to compete more effectively against even bigger airlines. But on Tuesday, a federal judge in Boston ruled that the deal violated antitrust law. The US Justice Department had sued to stop the deal, arguing that consumers would be harmed and forced to pay higher fares if Spirit — the nation’s biggest discount airline — were eliminated. The airlines announced their appeal in a statement that provided no other details.<br/>

JetBlue Airways told staff this week that it will cut some routes and service as it struggles to return to profitability and grapples with the fallout of its blocked plan to buy Spirit Airlines. JetBlue said it will stop flying from New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport to Portland, Oregon, and to San Jose, California, and from Westchester, New York, and Martha’s Vineyard, according to an internal memo, which was reviewed by CNBC. The airline will also suspend service from New York to Ponce, Puerto Rico, and to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in October. “We can’t fly everywhere we’d like, so we need to be highly selective about where we point our aircraft in order to turn a profit, support our overall network strategy, and offer a reliable operation,” wrote Dave Jehn, vice president of network planning and airline partnerships, in a note to staff. The airline is instead focusing on leisure routes, adding service throughout the Caribbean and to Paris, the memo said.<br/>

Spirit Airlines Friday raised its financial forecast for the fourth quarter of 2023 and said it is looking to refinance its debt, sending its shares soaring more than 17%. A rout earlier this week followed a judge’s ruling on Tuesday that blocks JetBlue Airways from buying the budget carrier. Spirit said in a filing that it expects revenue to come in at about $1.3b, at the high end of its earlier forecast, thanks to strong bookings at the close of the year. It estimated adjusted negative margins of 12% to 13%, an improvement from a previous forecast for as much as a 19% negative margin for the last three months of the year. The airline also credited lower fuel costs and other expenses for its improved estimates. Friday’s gains weren’t enough to erase Spirit stock’s losses this week. Shares shed 55% through Friday’s close and lost more than $873 million in market capitalization as the ruling raised questions about the airline’s future while it was on already shaky footing. Some analysts said the carrier could be on track to file for bankruptcy protection, if not liquidate altogether. The two airlines said they disagreed with the decision and were assessing next steps, which could include an appeal.<br/>

A federal judge’s order blocking a $3.8b-dollar deal that would have JetBlue Airways purchase rival Spirit Airlines leaves Spirit with an uncertain future. But the ruling didn’t just leave the airlines with uncertainty; it sent shudders through some of Spirit’s key constituencies. Few places will feel the impact harder than the Arnold Palmer Regional Airport (LBE) if Spirit can’t keep flying. About an hour east of downtown Pittsburgh in the city of Latrobe, Pennsylvania, the airport serves the gritty coal towns east of Pittsburgh but also lures in travelers from a three-state area with free parking, short TSA lines, and low fares from Spirit. The Arnold Palmer Regional Airport has almost all the amenities of any major airport, just on a smaller scale. There’s a baggage claim, car rental counters, and DeNuzio’s Chophouse to feed travelers while waiting for their flight. But all the travelers in the passenger area hold boarding passes for one airline: Spirit. That is because Spirit Airlines is the only commercial carrier to provide service to LBE. “Being that they are the only one, they are really important; it would be devastating if they would go belly up,” said Gabe Monzo, executive director of the airport. Spirit has trimmed its schedule at LBE from several daily flights to one direct flight to Orlando. But Monzo says service will likely resume to Myrtle Beach in the spring. A 2022 study by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation put the regional economic impact of arriving and departing passengers from LBE at $213.9m. Monzo says $100m of that is from Spirit Airlines travelers. LBE won’t be the only one left in the lurch if Spirit can’t find a path forward. Spirit Airlines fills a niche for leisure travelers, college students, missionaries, and others seeking bargain basement, no-frills fares.<br/>

Kazakh carrier Air Astana confirmed its plan to float in London, aiming to raise fresh funds to help fuel its growth, and allowing its investors Kazakhstan's sovereign wealth fund and British defence giant BAE Systems reduce their stakes. Air Astana said in a statement on Friday it expected its initial public offering of new shares and existing stock on the London Stock Exchange and Kazakhstan's AIX market to go ahead in February, in a boost for London's sluggish IPO market. The airline said it would float at least 25% of its share capital. It announced last week it was aiming to raise about $120m from the IPO. Air Astana flies 49 aircraft. It carried 7m passengers and posted operating profit of $149m in 2022. The listing will be a windfall for BAE depending on how much of its 49% stake it sells. BAE, whose main business is making fighter jets and submarines, invested less than $10m in 2001 to help fund Air Astana's launch at a time when it was bidding to sell a radar system to Kazakhstan. A BAE spokesperson said: "Air Astana is a thriving, well-managed business and presents an attractive proposition to the market."<br/>

One of South African regional carrier Airlink’s Embraer ERJ-135s has been involved in a runway excursion in Mozambique. The aircraft had been operating flight 4Z204 from Johannesburg to the northern coastal city of Pemba on 18 January. Airlink says the aircraft – which was transporting 32 passengers and three crew members – was “involved in a wet runway excursion” upon landing, adding that it “aquaplaned off the runway”. Images from the scene circulating on social media suggest it overran the end of runway 17 and slid to the left. They show the aircraft came to rest on rough muddy ground, pointing east, but the extent of any damage is unclear. Airlink says all the aircraft’s occupants disembarked through the forward exit, and there are no reported injuries.<br/>