JetBlue Airways Corp. said revenue this quarter will fall more than analysts expected as excess flying capacity holds down fares in Latin America, a major portion of the carrier’s international network. Q2 revenue will decline as much as 10.5% year over year, the carrier said in a statement Tuesday as it reported first-quarter earnings. Analysts were expecting a drop of 3.8% on average, according to estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Non-fuel unit costs, including expenses from a new pilot contract, will climb as much as 7.5%, more than Wall Street had anticipated. The guidance for the quarter and full year “were not nearly as strong as recently reported results from some of the carrier’s full-service peers,” Stephen Trent, a Citi analyst, said in a note. That could cause JetBlue “to relinquish some of its recent share price gains.” Its shares tumbled 9.5% as of 7:32 a.m. before the start of regular trading in New York, pulling down other airlines. JetBlue’s stock climbed 35% this year through Monday. The carrier joins larger rivals Delta Air Lines Inc. and United Airlines Holdings Inc. in reporting weaker sales in Latin America after carriers overloaded the market with too many flights, particularly to leisure destinations. Delta and United both have said they expect improvement in the region during the second half of this year. “As we look to the full year, significant elevated capacity in our Latin region, which represents a large portion of JetBlue’s network, will likely continue to pressure revenue and we expect a setback in our expectations for the full year,” JetBlue CEO Joanna Geraghty said.<br/>
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Hawaiian Holdings, parent of Hawaiian Airlines, lost $138 million in Q1 of 2024, though the company’s chief executive says incoming Boeing 787s and a new freighter operation are putting Hawaiian on track toward profitability. The $138m loss compares with Hawaiian’s loss of $98m last year during the same period. The Honolulu-based company’s first-quarter revenue rose 5.4% year on year to $646m, while its expenses jumped 8.8% in one year to $794m, it reported on 23 April. Notably, Hawaiian’s maintenance and repair costs surged 41% year on year, and expenses tied to wages and benefits jumped 8.3%. It also logged $9 million in legal fees related to Hawaiian’s anticipated acquisition by Alaska Airlines. The number of passengers who flew Hawaiian remained flat year on year, at 2.6m in Q1. During the period, the carrier introduced new routes from Honolulu to both Salt Lake City and Sacramento, and ramped up its summer schedule with more flights between Honolulu and Austin, Boston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and American Samoa. Looking ahead to the remainder of 2024, Hawaiian chief executive Peter Ingram says recent investments in Starlink in-flight internet services and in an air-freight partnership with Amazon, and the launch of its flagship 787 aircraft, have “begun to come to fruition”.<br/>
New Lufthansa Group operator, Lufthansa City Airlines, will begin ticket sales tomorrow ahead of its operational launch on 26 June. Lufthansa City Airlines will begin services on the Munich-Birmingham route, one of three international destinations it revealed in February. It will also serve Bordeaux and Manchester from Munich, as well as operating several German domestic routes. The carrier was established in 2022 and received its air operator certificate in June 2023. It will operate from Lufthansa’s Frankfurt and Munich hubs, alongside regional unit Lufthansa CityLine. The latter has scope clause restrictions entering force in the coming year which will limit the size of aircraft the regional carrier can operator. Lufthansa City Airlines took delivery of its first aircraft, an Airbus A319, in January, part of a fleet of the variant it is operating before newly ordered aircraft arrive. Lufthansa City Airlines managing director, operations, Jens Fehlinger, says: ”Lufthansa City Airlines is contributing to the future viability of the hubs in Munich and Frankfurt. We are looking forward to new modern Airbus A220 and A320neo deliveries in the coming years.”<br/>
Saudi Arabia's low-cost airline Flynas on Tuesday confirmed plans to list its shares on the Tadawul stock exchange this year, amid the kingdom's ambitions to grow its aviation sector and a boom in initial public offerings in the country. Flynas, which is backed by billionaire businessman Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, recorded a 32% annual increase in revenue to reach 6.3b Saudi riyals ($1.68b) in 2023, its CE Bander Al Mohanna told the Airline Economics conference in Riyadh. The carrier revealed its financial results for the first time ahead of the anticipated IPO. Flynas, which was established in 2007, has recorded profits every year since 2015 with the exception of the Covid-19 pandemic period, Mr Al Mohanna said. The airline has also issued a request for proposals to purchase 30 wide-body aircraft, with the winning offer expected to be announced and signed this year, he added. The all-Airbus operator has a fleet of 64 aircraft, operates 1,500 flights per week and serves more than 70 domestic and international destinations, according to its website.<br/>
Capital A's Tony Fernandes said on Wednesday he has agreed to put aside retirement plans and has signed a new five-year contract to continue as chief executive of the company, the operator of budget airline group AirAsia. Fernandes, who said in January he intended to retire within the next five years, said he made the decision to renew his contract following requests from the company board to stay on. "Retirement plans had to be put on hold to ensure we survive," Fernandes told reporters.<br/>