Airlines & Lessors

HNA Group subsidiary Tianjin Airlines has received an additional CNY400 million ($63.3 million) investment from the Tianjin Bonded Zone Investment Co., representing Tianjin’s municipal government, to enhance the carrier’s competitiveness.

UAE LCC Air Arabia posted a net profit of AED662 million ($180 million) for 2017, up 30% on its 2016 figure of AED509 million. It achieved the result on turnover fractionally down at AED3.7 billion.

Singapore Airlines Group (SIA) reported a SG$711.1 million ($531.9 million) net profit for the first nine months of its 2017-2018 fiscal year, up 42.6% over SG$498.7 million over the same period a year ago. SIA cited strong passenger and cargo revenue partially offset by higher fuel expenses for the results.

Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) is taking delivery of the first of four Boeing 777-200ERs in mid-February, a spokesperson in Kiev confirmed to ATW.

Japanese LCC Jetstar Japan intends to ramp up its fleet expansion rate over the next few years, following a period of relatively low growth.

ATW has announced the full list of winners for its 2018 Annual Airline Industry Achievement Awards.

Niki Lauda, who bought former airberlin subsidiary NIKI in January and rebranded it into Laudamotion, plans to team up with Lufthansa LCC Eurowings and German leisure carrier Condor when enough aircraft become available.

Oneworld carrier Finnair has posted a €169 million ($210.9 million) net profit for 2017, driven by rapid growth and buoyant demand, almost doubling the €99 million profit that it recorded for 2016.

Finnair has begun internal evaluations for a 20- to 30-aircraft narrowbody order, which would be used to replace and grow its existing fleet of Airbus A320 family aircraft.

Air Canada posted a C$2 billion net profit ($1.6 billion) for 2017—more than doubling the carrier’s 2016 C$876 million net income—driven by an 11.3% increase in passenger traffic producing a 10.7% rise in revenues.

UK LCC easyJet is proceeding with plans to protect its business from the possible effects of Brexit on the air transport industry, changing rules governing the ownership of its shares and applying for a standalone UK air operator’s certificate (AOC).

A deal to rescue Alitalia is unlikely to be reached before Italian elections in early March, according to a senior government official.

Asiana Airlines plans to continue upgrading its fleet with new Airbus A350 deliveries in 2018, following the carrier’s dramatic financial improvement for 2017.

Sichuan Airlines has ordered 10 Airbus A350-900s, the Chengdu-based airline said Feb. 9; the aircraft will help facilitate a rapid international expansion plan.

Vietnam Airlines has postponed plans to add Berlin, Amsterdam or Rome to its network, as the market situations have changed and Middle East carriers and Turkish Airlines have become the toughest competitors, SVP-commercial Trinh Ngoc Thanh told ATW recently in Hanoi.

Ireland-based ASL Aviation Holdings will end operations at its Madrid-based operation, ASL Airlines Spain.

French leisure airline Aigle Azur plans to present a new strategic plan next month, as it shifts attention beyond traditional short- and medium-haul routes toward long-haul operations.

Kuwaiti hybrid carrier Jazeera Airways is edging closer to a LCC model, as it seeks to cope with continued tight margins in an over-supplied market.

Korean Air reported a KRW479 billion ($440 million) net profit for the fourth quarter of 2017, reversed from a net loss of KRW672 billion in the year-ago period.

Lufthansa Group chairman and CEO Carsten Spohr said the company will focus this year on further developing its premium carriers—Lufthansa, Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) and Austrian Airlines—but he expects strong competition in Germany after airberlin’s insolvency last year.

Fort Lauderdale-based ultra-LCC Spirit Airlines reported a $420.6 million net profit for 2017, a 58.8% increase over a $264.9 million net income in 2016. Spirit cited a one-time, non-cash $199.3 million tax credit courtesy of the late 2017 US tax reform legislation, as part of the reason for the increase.

Swoop, the standalone ultra-LCC subsidiary of Canada’s WestJet scheduled to launch in June, could eventually have a fleet of as many as 40 aircraft, WestJet CEO Gregg Saretsky said.

TUI Group has no immediate plans to sell French leisure airline Corsair International, TUI Group CEO Fritz Joussen told ATW recently in Brussels.

African Star Alliance member Ethiopian Airlines and its regional airline equity partner, Togo-based ASKY Airlines, have formed a strategic partnership with the Guinean government to establish startup carrier Guinea Airlines by June.

Russia’s federal air transport agency Rosaviatsia has placed a limit on leisure carrier Azur Air’s air operator’s certificate (AOC) through March 20, according to a Feb. 2 statement by the agency.