Southwest Airlines has pulled its Boeing 737 MAXs through the end of the year and made several tactical changes—including route cuts and major fleet-plan modifications—to help compensate for the model’s prolonged grounding, the carrier said July 25 when announcing its second-quarter earnings.
Ultra-LCC Spirit Airlines reported second-quarter net income of $114.5 million, a nearly tenfold increase over an $11.3 million net profit in the year-ago period, driven by strong demand and ancillary revenue growth.
Despite the Boeing 737 MAX headaches and operational hiccups that American Airlines management said was triggered by both weather and a higher-than-normal number of out-of-service aircraft beyond the MAXs, the Fort Worth-based carrier posted solid 2019 second-quarter numbers.
Wizz Air made a strong start to its financial year, with a combination of firmer fares and the growing number of new-generation aircraft in its fleet, allowing the Central and Eastern European LCC to turn around its financial figures.
Avolon posted a 26% drop in second-quarter profit to $185 million, but achieved an investment grade corporate credit rating earlier than planned, according to the Irish aircraft lessor.
Latvian carrier airBaltic has placed €200 million ($223 million) in bonds, which will be listed on the Euronext Dublin stock exchange, generating funds for the airline’s general liquidity and fleet expansion.
German leisure airline TUIfly will keep adjusting its fleet schedule as the global grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX continues, TUIfly CEO Oliver Lackmann told ATW in an exclusive interview.
Amsterdam Schiphol warned of ongoing flight disruption on July 25, a day after a fuel-supply fault prevented aircraft from being refuelled, triggering over 400 flight cancelations.
After years of consecutive double-digit growth, Vietnam’s aviation sector is seeing a slowdown in passenger traffic for the first half of 2019, compared to the year-ago period.
Icelandair Group has sold a 75% stake in Icelandair Hotels and related real estate to Berjaya Property Ireland, a subsidiary of Malaysia-based Berjaya Land Berhad.
China Southern Airlines is joining the trend toward provincial and local government investment in Chinese commercial air transportation, accepting capital from authorities in and around its home base, Guangzhou.
Italian infrastructure group Atlantia is set to join the consortium of investors led by railway company Ferrovie dello Stato (FS) to rescue Alitalia, paving the way to relaunch the Italian flag carrier, more than two years after filing for bankruptcy.
