US hub airports are often host to extraordinary dominance wielded by a single carrier or alliance. In some cases, this concentration far exceeds anything seen in other geographies, even where “national” carriers exist. The US is also the only developed aviation market with a multiple hub system....
The majority of European airline shares were down on Thursday (18-Feb-2010), despite a fourth consecutive day of gains in wider European equity markets, thanks to some positive 4Q2009 earnings results. Airline shares were down as oil prices (+1.1%) continued to edge towards the USD80 mark, ending the...
Sri Lanka’s aviation industry has suffered on several fronts in recent years, with its hub role to India diminished by that country's liberalisation of airline market access with its key trading partners, coupled with a major downturn in international tourism. Major policy and strategic changes in...
ILFC, the world’s second largest leasing company, has been downgraded to junk status by Fitch Ratings, with the ratings agency disconnecting the leasing unit from its rating for parent, AIG. ILFC’s issuer default rating was lowered three levels to 'BB', two notches below investment grade. Fitch...
Shares in Mexico’s Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste (ASUR) dipped 0.7% yesterday, upon the release of the airport operator’s financial and traffic highlights for the three and 12 months ended 31-Dec-2009.
In Europe, shares in easyJet and Ryanair gained yesterday, by 1.7% and 1.6%, respectively, while shares in Air Berlin slipped 0.5% yesterday.
The International Energy Agency has again marginally increases its 2010 forecast for global oil consumption, with demand from emerging economies, particularly a resurgent China, responsible for much of the increase.
Qantas’ shares slumped 8.1% yesterday, after falling as much as 9% in intra-day trading, with disappointed investors wiping AUD540 million from the market capitalisation of the carrier amid a heavy day of trading in Sydney, as the carrier scrapped its interim dividend to conserve cash after posting...
Frequently overlooked in the wider scheme of the Northeast Asian air transport, and with local international airlines that have struggled over the past few years, Taiwan is often overlooked in the region. But since President Ma promised 12 projects to drive the economy forward in his 2008 election manifesto...
Airbus’ Executive Vice President Programmes, Tom Williams, stated he believes 2H2011 will see return to aircraft ordering. Speaking to Reuters, the executive stated that 2010 will be a “low” year for ordering, repeating the experience of 2009. But the manufacturer’s strong order backlog, of...
Royal Jordanian was up at the end of trading on Friday. Over the weekend, President and CEO, Hussein Dabbas, stated the carrier is targeting a 12% year-on-year increase in revenue in 2010 and a 10% year-on-year increase in passenger numbers. For 2009, the carrier reported USD843 million (JOD598 million...
North and South American carriers’ stocks mostly made gains on Friday (19-Feb-2010). The Dow (+0.1%) was up as investors viewed the US Federal Reserve's discount rate increase as an indication banks no longer required assistance, and a recovery from the global financial downturn is strengthening.
European markets ended trading at a three week high on Friday (19-Dec-2010), posting a fifth consecutive day of gains, pushing airline shares higher, after economic data and policy makers eased concerns the US Central Bank may tighten monetary policy.
In Europe, Aeroports de Paris' (AdP) shares jumped 3.7% on Friday, as the airport owner stated it expects roughly stable earnings in 2010. AdP reported a 4.1% increase in EBITDA, to EUR883 million for FY2009, on a 4.2% increase in revenue to EUR2.6 billion. The group also proposed to freeze charges...
easyJet was downgraded by UBS from “buy” to “neutral”, with UBS commenting, "while we still like the business model and see upside to forecasts, we think the shares will take a breather."
Jan-2010’s CANSO Middle East High Level Meeting ended with a declaration regarding the transformation of air traffic management in the Middle East through the members of CANSO’s Middle East office and other aviation stakeholders.
SpiceJet’s shares gained 5.5% on Friday, after the company confirmed it is seeking fresh investments to raise USD50-75 million for its future expansion. According to media reports, the LCC is in talks with media baron, Kalanithi Maran, who is reportedly considering investing close to USD100 million...
International traffic to and from Bangladesh has experienced steady growth in recent years. However, due to the poor performance of domestic airlines, foreign carriers have grown to control 64% of capacity to/from Bangladesh, although the forces of protectionism could dent progress. To slow the further...
Malaysia Airlines (MAS) is entering a rapid fleet and network growth phase, emboldened by fresh funding support under a well-supported rights issue and a return to profitability (albeit slight) in 4Q2009. Investors liked the result, sending MAS’s shares up over 5% yesterday. But a 30% year-on-year...
Royal Jordanian (-1.6%) yesterday lost some of its gains the day prior. Over the weekend, the carrier announced it is targeting a 17% year-on-year increase in cargo volume in 2010. The carrier transported 44,000 tons of cargo in 2009.
The majority of North and South American carriers’ stocks rose slightly on Monday (22-Feb-2010). The AMEX Airline Index (+0.1%) ended trading up, despite another rise in oil prices (+0.4%), to USD80.16.
The majority of European airline shares moved lower with wider markets on Monday (22-Feb-2010), following concerns of strikes across the continent, including Lufthansa’s (-1.7%) pilot strike and British Airways’ (-1.6%) cabin crew strike and continued concerns over euro-zone countries’ debt issues...
Neither large manufacturer expects much in the way of new orders this year, with a barren start of 2010 for Airbus and Boeing. The remarkable ordering boom between 2005 and 2008, when the manufacturers took a combined 8,200 orders (more than in the preceding ten years combined), is now in the distant...
Shares in Spain’s Ferrovial, owner of BAA, dipped 0.4% yesterday, upon the release the airport operator’s financial report for the 12 months ended 31-Dec-2009. BAA reported a 17.1% increase in EBITDA, to GBP885.2 million for 2009, on an 8.3% increase in revenue to GBP1.97 billion, despite a 3.8%...
US Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported that US LCCs employed the same number of workers in Dec-2009 as in Dec-2008, with four LCCs reporting year-on-year full-time equivalent employee (FTE) increases: Allegiant Air (+16.1%), Virgin America (+12.9%), AirTran...
Singapore had a tough time in 2009, and was one of the Asia Pacific region’s weaker performing economies. Singapore Airlines (SIA) was at one stage heading for a full year loss and its situation impacted on Changi Airport, though both SIA’s passenger traffic and cargo volume have since picked up...
In Feb-2010, Ryanair announced plans to open its 40th - and first Central European - base at Kaunas in Lithuania in May-2010 with two based aircraft (B737-800s) and 18 routes, nine of them new, in a USD140 million investment. Ryanair also confirmed that it is in continuous negotiation with four other...
China Southern Airlines confirmed yesterday that it was likely to receive a CNY1.5 billion (USD219 million) capital injection from its state-owned parent company funded by the Chinese Ministry of Finance, to "support the development of the airline's core business”.
Malaysia Airlines (MAS) is entering a rapid fleet and network growth phase, emboldened by fresh funding support under a well-supported rights issue and a return to profitability (albeit slight) in 4Q2009. Investors liked the result, sending MAS’s shares up over 5% yesterday. But a 30% year-on-year...
Virgin Blue delivered a better-than-expected result in the six months to Dec-2009 (1HFY2010), returning to profitability in a challenging operating environment, aided by strict cost control efforts and improved domestic yields. The carrier reported a net profit after tax of AUD62.5 million (USD55.8...
