Airlines & Lessors

Air Serbia is ATW Market Leader winner of 2017.

Mexican low-cost carrier Volaris took home ATW's 2017 Value Airline of the Year award.

American Airlines was named the recipient of the 2017 ATW Airline of the Year, taking the top honor of the 43nd annual ATW Airline Industry Achievement Awards, at a gala dinner on March 28 at the J.W. Marriott Essex House in New York.

China Southern Airlines reported a net profit of CNY5.06 billion ($734 million) in 2016, up 30% over a net income of CNY3.9 billion in 2015.

Lufthansa Cargo (LHC) reported an adjusted EBIT loss of €50 million ($52.5 million) for 2016, reversed from a net profit of €74 million in 2015.

Spanish regional airline Binter Canarias will expand its network with Bombardier a CRJ1000 aircraft under a leasing agreement with Valencia, Spain-based regional Air Nostrum.

Alaska Air Group has dramatically boosted the cost and revenue benefits it expects to realize from the integration of Alaska Airlines and Virgin America.

Luxembourg flag carrier Luxair will delay making a decision on new regional aircraft until 2018, a senior official said March 30.

Faroese national carrier Atlantic Airways anticipates a move into the ACMI market as it attempts to offset the effect of new competition on its primary route.

Greek regional airline Sky Express is gearing up for a major expansion in passenger traffic as it moves away from public service obligation (PSO) routes to a normal commercial business model.

China’s Hainan Airlines (HNA) reported a net income of CNY3.1 billion ($45 million) for 2016, up 4.5% over a net profit of CNY3 billion in 2015.

Aircraft/Manufacturer Briefs-March 29, 2017

Aegean Airlines Group hit €1 billion in full-year revenue for the first time in 2016, up 6% over $983 million in revenue for 2015.

Latvia’s national carrier airBaltic saw its net profit for 2016 drop sharply to €1.2 million ($1.3 million) in 2016 from €19.5 million in 2015 as the carrier encountered falling yields.

Winning the 2017 ATW Airline of the Year Award was a “really big deal,” American Airlines chairman and CEO Doug Parker said as he received the trophy at a gala dinner in New York Tuesday.

UK-based regional carrier Flybe anticipates making a small adjusted pre-tax loss for the year ending March 31, as it continues to fight in a highly competitive European market, the company said March 29.

Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines and Seoul-based Korean Air have signed a memorandum of understanding to form an antitrust-immunized transpacific joint venture (JV).

African low-cost carrier fastjet has recruited another two former South African Airways (SAA) group executives as chairman and CFO.

Russian airlines carried 12.7 million passengers in January-February, up 19.3% year-over-year (YOY).

Virgin Atlantic posted £23 million ($28.3 million) in pre-tax profit for 2016, up 2.2% from £22.5 million pre-tax profit in 2015.

UK carrier bmi regional is evaluating several strategies if the UK leaves the European Union (EU), or Brexit, as the carrier said it would most likely no longer have guaranteed access to the European Common Aviation Area (ECAA) beginning in 2019.

American Airlines confirmed it has agreed to make a $200 million equity investment in China Southern Airlines, and the two airlines will enter into a long-term partnership.

Singapore-based lessor BOC Aviation posted a 2016 net profit of $418 million, up 21.9% from the company’s $343 million in net profit for 2015.

China Southern Airlines has confirmed that American Airlines is acquiring a stake in the Guangzhou-based carrier.

Hong Kong-based China Aircraft Leasing Group posted a 2016 net profit of 638.4 million Hong Kong dollars ($82.3 million), up 67.9% from the company’s HK$380.2 million net profit in 2015.