Frontier expects its Q3 margins to improve compared to its prior forecast as capacity cuts offset the impact of moderating domestic travel demand, the no-frills U.S. carrier said on Wednesday, sending its shares up 11%. The airline hiked its adjusted pre-tax margin to a range of down 2% to flat, compared with a prior view of down 4% to down 6%. It lowered its capacity growth forecast to between 4% and 5% from the earlier forecast of 4% to 6%. Airlines have been pulling back on capacity as they had increased seats in the domestic market in excess of demand following the COVID-19 pandemic, pressuring airfares at the price-sensitive end of the market. Frontier added it is expecting to benefit from the changes to its flight network. CEO Barry Biffle had said in April the company would add flights to "high-fare" markets, where it faces less competition from other carriers and can charge more.<br/>
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EasyJet’s parent company has lost a trademark dispute against a charity shopping website that has “easy” in its name. EasyGroup took legal action against Easyfundraising, its founder, Ian Woodroffe OBE, and investors the Support Group (UK), after claiming it had infringed several trademarks. However, the defendants claimed there was no evidence to suggest a customer would confuse the two brands. In a high court ruling on Wednesday, Mr Justice Fancourt dismissed easyGroup’s claims, saying “it is unlikely that any but a few would make the association and be confused” between the two brands. He added: “Users of Easyfundraising’s advertising services would be least likely to be confused, as they were relatively sophisticated and careful business persons, or professionals, and as such are most unlikely to consider that Easyfundraising or Easysearch is an ‘easy+’ brand or connected in some way with easyGroup.” EasyGroup was set up in 1998 by the Greek Cypriot entrepreneur Stelios Haji-Ioannou, and as of May 2024 listed more than 200 easy+-branded business ventures and websites within its portfolio, including easyJet, easyBus and easyHotel. EasyGroup claimed that in 2005 these trademarks were infringed when Easyfundraising was launched, and that the trademark was again infringed in 2007 by Easyfundraising’s creation of the easysearch brand. EasyGroup also alleged the charity shopping website’s “poor reputation” would have a negative impact on the easy+ brand. However, Fancourt determined in an 81-page ruling that as “there is no identity or similarity of services provided by Easyfundraising and the services specified, the claimant’s claim of infringement as at 2005 and 2007 must fail”.<br/>
Icelandair has shown off its first Airbus aircraft, an A321LR which has been painted in the carrier’s colours at Hamburg. The twinjet is part of a fleet-modernisation programme for the carrier under which it is replacing its Boeing 757s. It will be fitted with Pratt & Whitney PW1100G engines. “We’ll take delivery of the aircraft in November,” the carrier states. Icelandair adds that it expects to have four new Airbus jets in its fleet by summer next year. The aircraft, which is registered TF-IAA, is being leased from SMBC Aviation Capital. Icelandair has been a long-term Boeing customer, and operates a fleet of 737 Max, 757 and 767 models. But it opted for Airbus jets for the first time last year, with an agreement to take the longer-range A321XLR from 2029, and is leasing other A321 variants in the interim.<br/>