Architects of a new standard for electronic aircraft records transfers are confident their work will yield the first real-world paperless transactions in 2019—a key milestone in a years-long effort to simplify aircraft-ownership transfers by cutting down on paper and connecting disparate back-end systems.
UAE-based LCC Air Arabia has recorded its first annual deficit for many years, slumping to a 2018 net loss of AED307 million ($83.6 million), reversed from a profit of $180 million in 2017.
Boosted by a sharp increase in passengers, Kuwaiti hybrid airline Jazeera Airways posted a 2018 net profit of KD8.7 million ($28.6 million), up 5.7% compared to a net income of KD8.2 million in 2017.
Qantas reported falling profits in its international operation for the six months through Dec. 31, 2018, but the airline predicts competitive and cost pressure in the international market will ease this year.
Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Airways anticipates a HK$2.3 billion ($293.7 million) net profit for 2018, reversing a HK$1.3 billion loss in the previous year, according to preliminary results.
The Air France-KLM Group reported a 2018 net profit of €409 million ($468 million), more than doubled from €163 million for 2017, on a 2.5% year-over-year (YOY) increase in revenue to €26.5 billion.
South Korean LCC Aero K aims to launch operations later this year if it wins approval during the government’s upcoming selection process for startup airlines.
Lingering booking sluggishness linked to the partial US government shutdown means Southwest Airlines will miss out on an estimated $50-$60 million in first-quarter revenue, much higher than previously estimated, the Dallas-based carrier said Feb. 20.
UK regional Flybe has rejected a rival takeover bid from investors led by Mesa Air Group, which seeks to halt the sale of the airline to Virgin Atlantic- and Stobart Group-led consortium Connect Airways.
Air Mauritius reported a €25.4 million ($28.6 million) net loss for the nine-month period ending Dec. 31, 2018, down from a €10 million net profit for the year-ago period.
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines CEO Pieter Elbers will stay at the helm of the Dutch carrier and assume the additional role of Air France-KLM deputy CEO alongside the French unit’s CEO Anne Rigail.
Most of the 376 employees at flybmi—the UK regional carrier that abruptly suspended operations and filed for bankruptcy protection over the weekend—have been made redundant, and stranded passengers are being offered “rescue fares” by other airlines to help them return home.
Air Canada posted a net loss of C$231 million ($174.3 million) in the fourth quarter, as foreign-exchange losses cost the carrier C$262 million more than in the year-earlier period, when it posted a net profit of C$8 million.
Irish-headquartered lessor AerCap has posted a $1.02 billion net profit for the 2018 financial year, 5.6% down on its $1.08 billion prior-year net profit.
Malaysia Airlines Group (MAG) officially launched a pilgrimage airline, Amal, on Feb. 13, after seeing a large market for Umrah and Hajj pilgrimage flight services in Southeast Asia.
Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker has welcomed a call for a re-evaluation of the regulations that have underpinned the global civil aviation sector since 1944.
