American Airlines posted a third-quarter loss but raised its profit forecast for the year as CEO Robert Isom said the company’s sales strategy shift earlier this year is paying off. The carrier said it expects to earn between 25 cents and 50 cents a share on an adjusted basis for the fourth quarter, above the 29 cents analysts polled by LSEG expected. For the full year, the airline expects to earn as much as an adjusted $1.60 a share, ahead of an earlier American forecast for no more than $1.30 a share. American in May fired its CCO after a sales strategy that aimed to drive direct bookings backfired and quickly reverted much of its sales model. “We have taken aggressive action to reset our sales and distribution strategy and reengage the business travel community, which we’re confident will improve our revenue performance over time,” Isom said in an earnings release on Thursday. “We have heard great feedback from travel agencies and corporate customers as we work to rebuild the foundation of our commercial strategy and make it easy for customers to do business with American.” American’s revenue rose 1.2% to a record $13.65b for the three months ended Sept. 30, but posted a net loss of $149m, narrower than the $545m loss it reported a year earlier. Unit revenue fell 2% in the quarter. For the fourth quarter, American said its unit revenue will likely drop between 1% to 3% compared with last year, with capacity up as much as 3% year over year.<br/>
oneworld
Malaysia Airlines and India’s IndiGo airlines are now codeshare partners, following the memorandum of understanding (MoU) that both parties signed earlier in April. The codeshare partnership aims to boost connectivity between the two countries, as well as elevate traveller experience across key hubs in Malaysia and India. What this also means for Malaysians is that passengers will now gain wider access to destinations in India, as the carrier’s “MH” flight code will be added to seven more domestic flights there. These cities include Kolkata, Varanasi, Patna, Tiruchirappalli, Goa, Bhuba-neswar, and Visakhapatnam. Prior to this agreement, Malaysia Airlines had already been servicing 10 direct routes in India: New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kochi, Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Trivandrum and Kolkata.<br/>
Qantas Airways is not opposed to Qatar Airways' proposal to take a 25% stake in Australia's No. 2 carrier Virgin Australia, Qantas' chair and CEO said on Friday, adding its investment plan meant it was well-placed to compete. Qantas had previously lobbied the federal government, which still needs to sign off the Qatari investment, against the Gulf carrier's ultimately unsuccessful bid to offer more flights to Australia. "Qantas is not opposed to foreign airlines owning stakes in Australian airlines," Chair John Mullen said at its annual meeting. "As part of the regulatory examination of the proposed transaction, we would anticipate that the proposed deal will be assessed in the context of Australian jobs and employment, the effectiveness of Australia's air services framework and the appropriateness of wet leasing arrangements," he added. Virgin Australia has asked the government to allow it to start operating flights from Australia to Doha by June next year using Qatar Airways aircraft and crew in an arrangement known as "wet leasing".<br/>A union representing Qantas pilots has criticised this proposal for not creating jobs within Australia. Qantas CEO Vanessa Hudson said her airline welcomed competition and it did not have a specific figure on how the proposed Qatar deal would impact the company.<br/>
Australian flag carrier Qantas Airways on Friday raised its first-half domestic revenue expectations and said it was on track to restart dividend payments from the second half of the financial year, sending shares to a record high. Under the leadership of a new CEO and chair, the iconic Australian brand has been working to rebuild a reputation that was battered over the last 18 months amid legal, regulatory and customer issues. The airline said domestic demand for travel was stronger than expected and also lowered first-half jet fuel costs after a drop in global prices to about A$2.55b ($1.69b), from an earlier estimate of A$2.7b. The firm's shares gained as much as 1.6% on Friday to A$8.04, hitting a record high for the second time in the week. Qantas now expects revenue per available seat kilometre for its domestic businesses to increase by 3% to 5% for the first half ended Dec. 31 compared to a year ago, up from the 2% to 4% range it provided in August. Its international revenue per available seat kilometre was still expected to fall by 7% to 10%, as rivals restore capacity and airfares retreat from post-pandemic highs. Qantas CEO Vanessa Hudson said in a speech at the airline's annual general meeting on Friday that the group was performing in line with expectations in the first half. "Jetstar saw stronger than anticipated demand, while Qantas Domestic load factors and demand for corporate travel continues to improve year on year," she said.<br/>