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Wednesday, July 25th, 2018
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LATEST NEWS
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In a bold move, International Airlines Group (IAG), easyJet, Ryanair and Wizz Air have all submitted complaints to the European Commission (EC) in relation to France and the current disruption being caused to flights by the country’s striking air traffic controllers (ATCs).
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Already this year French ATC strikes have risen 300 percent compared to the whole of 2017 and in June the French Senate confirmed that French ATCs were responsible for 33 percent of all flight delays in Europe. Up to June, over 16,000 flights had been delayed owing to French ATC strikes which resulted in more than two million passengers being affected.
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None of the carriers are disputing the ATCs right to strike, but they perceive that France is breaking EU law by making provision for flights to continue to utilize French airspace. This has had a massively disruptive effect on flights to Spain and consequently the country’s economy and tourism industry.
According to an IAG press release: “The complaints state that there is a legal precedent to this case. In 1997, the Spanish complained to the European Commission after they suffered for many years when French farmers prevented their fruit and vegetable exports into the EU. The European Court ruled against France as the French authorities didn’t address the farmers’ actions and failed to ensure the free movement of goods.”
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According to Michael O’Leary, Ryanair CEO: “These disruptions are unacceptable, and we call on Europe’s Governments and the EU Commission to take urgent and decisive action to ensure that ATC providers are fully staffed and that overflights are not affected when national strikes take place, as they repeatedly do in France.”
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Johan Lundgren, easyJet’s chief executive, commented that: “We fully respect the right to strike and have been in constructive dialogue with the EU and the French government to address the issue of ATC strikes. Unfortunately, our passengers have felt little progress so far, which is why we felt it is necessary to take this next step – particularly given the sustained industrial action this year which has totaled 29 days to date.”
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Independent MRO provider Monarch Aircraft Engineering (MAEL), is to open a new Component Maintenance Centre in Northampton in September 2018.
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The new Centre, in which MAEL has invested approximately £2 million, is being located in Northampton as that is mid-way between its Luton and Birmingham base maintenance facilities and on the motorway network within four hours’ drive of all of its UK line maintenance stations.
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20 people will work at the new Component Maintenance Centre, with 10 new jobs being created. The Centre will be led by Lee Burgess, MAEL’s Head of Maintenance.
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Since becoming an independent MRO provider in October 2017, MAEL has announced a wide range of new agreements with airlines which, in addition to Thomas Cook, include Virgin Atlantic Airways, China Airlines, Wizz Air, Icelandair and La Compagnie.
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AVIAÂ, the global purchasing organisation for business aviation, is widening its supplier base with the addition of business aviation flight and cabin crew resource, hullo Aircrew, and its streamlined mobile application.
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AVIAÂ members have access to a dedicated hullo Aircrew client manager, responsive 24/7, to help with crewing issues. They will benefit by having complete control of costs and no expensive agency fees. Both innovative aviation technology companies have offices at London Oxford Airport, where they swiftly became familiar with each other’s technology and became keen to realise synergy.
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AVIAÂ and hullo Aircrew management will also collaborate when future platforms, hullo Heli and hullo Engineer, are added. These are both work-in-progress with planned release in early 2019.
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hullo Aircrew securely holds information on over 1,000 active crew members on its web and app-based platform, with all relevant information available with immediate effect – how much they cost, where they are based, their experience and holding all licence and training documents electronically.
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FLYdocs, the aviation data and records management solution provider and a leader in managing the lease transfer of aircraft and assets, has announced the successful completion of the digital document build and audit of 17 Dash 8 Q400 aircraft on behalf of Nordic Aviation Capital (NAC).
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During 2017, NAC had 17 aircraft on lease to LGW, a German subsidiary of the Air Berlin Group. With rumours circulating in late 2017 of Air Berlin’s closure, NAC had an urgent requirement for a complete fleet digital records build and audit to facilitate the immediate re-marketing and leasing of their aircraft to another Operator, should the unfortunate need arise.
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NAC began working with FLYdocs in September 2017. At the NAC site in Berlin, the FLYdocs technical team scanned and uploaded over 400 boxes of records. In just 17 days, a total of 1,134, 359 pages were scanned – representing a staggering 67,000 pages per day. Equally impressive is what followed – the complete build and audit of 2 aircraft per week.
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JetBlue Airways has reported its results for the second quarter 2018:
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The airline reported diluted loss per share of US$0.38, inclusive of US$319 million pre-tax impairment charge on E190 assets. Excluding this charge, adjusted diluted earnings per share of US$0.38. This compares to JetBlue’s second quarter 2017 diluted earnings per share of US$0.62.
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Pre-tax loss of US$160 million, inclusive of the E190 asset impairment charge. Excluding this charge, adjusted pre-tax income of US$159 million, a decrease of 51.1% from the second quarter of 2017.
Pre-tax margin of (8.3%), inclusive of the E190 asset impairment charge. Excluding this charge, adjusted pre-tax margin of 8.2%, a 9.5 point decrease year over year.
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JetBlue posted a net loss of US$120 million compared to net income of US$207 million in 2017.
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Boeing has released its 2018 Pilot & Technician Outlook, projecting demand for 790,000 pilots over the next 20 years. This represents double the current workforce and the most significant demand in the outlook's nine-year history.
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The demand is being driven by an anticipated doubling of the global commercial airplane fleet — as reported in Boeing's Commercial Market Outlook — as well as record-high air travel demand and a tightening labor supply. This year's outlook also includes data from the business aviation and civil helicopter sectors for the first time.
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"Despite strong global air traffic growth, the aviation industry continues to face a pilot labor supply challenge, raising concern about the existence of a global pilot shortage in the near-term," said Keith Cooper, vice president of Training & Professional Services, Boeing Global Services. "An emphasis on developing the next generation of pilots is key to help mitigate this. With a network of training campuses and relationships with flight schools around the globe, Boeing partners with customers, governments and educational institutions to help ensure the market is ready to meet this significant pilot demand."
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Boeing offers the Pilot Development Program – an accelerated training program that guides future pilots from early stage ab-initio training through type rating as a first officer – to help operators meet their growing pilot needs. Boeing also helps operators improve crew efficiency with tools that optimize resources and minimize disruption.
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Despite the commercial pilot demand forecast holding nearly steady, maintenance technician demand decreased slightly from 648,000 to 622,000, primarily due to longer maintenance intervals for new aircraft. Collectively, the business aviation and civil helicopter sectors will demand an additional 155,000 pilots and 132,000 technicians.
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Demand for commercial cabin crew increased slightly from 839,000 to 858,000, due to changes in fleet mix, regulatory requirements, denser seat configurations and multi-cabin configurations that offer more personalized service. In addition, 32,000 new cabin crew will be required to support business aviation.
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Boeing and Jeju Air celebrated the delivery of the airline's first direct-buy Next-Generation 737-800 airplane on July 24, during a ceremony at the Seattle Delivery Center. With this delivery Jeju Air will become the first low-cost carrier (LCC) in Korea to own and operate a Next-Generation 737-800.
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This delivery marks the first of three Next-Generation 737-800s the airline has on order with Boeing. Based in Jeju Island, South Korea, the all-Boeing carrier currently operates a fleet of 34 Next-Generation 737-800 airplanes.
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Jeju Air currently serves 40 domestic and international routes with approximately 150 daily flights. The carrier is also a founding member of the Value Alliance, the first pan-regional low-cost carrier alliance formed in 2016 comprising of eight airlines based in Asia.
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Ryanair has reported a 20% fall in first quarter profits to €319 million (excl. exceptionals). Strong traffic growth (up 7%), overcapacity in Europe and the earlier timing of Easter, led to a 4% decline in average fares. Higher fuel and staff costs offset strong ancillary revenue growth in the quarter.
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Guidance
Ryanair continues to guide FY19 PAT in a range of €1.25 billion to €1.35 billion. While Q1 fares were marginally stronger than previously expected, the recent weaker fare environment and the expected impact of crew strikes on forward pricing mean that Q2 fares will only rise by approx. 1% (previously guided +4%). With almost zero H2 visibility, our H2 guidance of broadly flat fares remains unchanged at this time. Ancillary revenue continues to perform well but will not offset a €430 million higher fuel bill or a 6% increase in ex-fuel unit costs.
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The guidance is heavily dependent on close-in Q2 fares, crew strikes, continuing ATC staff shortages/strikes, the absence of unforeseen security events and no negative Brexit developments.
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AJW Group has secured a support contract with start-up Bulgarian charter airline, Electra Airways.
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The Pool Access Support contract will see AJW use its expertise to support the growth of Electra Airways. Electra Airways currently operates charter flights with Airbus A320-231 aircraft in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.
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AJW Group and Electra Airways share a commitment to prioritising the needs of customers. This support contract is specifically aligned to the requirements of Electra Airways and will see the delivery of complex logistic solutions to improve supply chain efficiences.
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SkyWorks Holdings has reported transactions and activities performed during the second quarter 2018 for its Asset Management, Investment Banking, & Management Consulting Groups.
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Asset Management Services, provided through SkyWorks Leasing, included transactions for nine aircraft and additional services as follows:
On behalf of a U.S. investment fund, SkyWorks arranged the sale of six E175s on lease to Delta Air Lines.
On behalf of a U.S. investor, SkyWorks managed the lease return of an A320 from Scoot Tigerair. SkyWorks also arranged a back-to-back lease to Orange2Fly, Greece.
On behalf of Modern Logistics, a Brazilian 3PL and air freight operator, SkyWorks arranged a five year sale-lease back for a 1989 built B737-400SF. The aircraft was acquired by AerSale, Inc. SkyWorks also sourced and arranged an operating lease for one additional B737-300SF. The aircraft is scheduled to deliver in July 2018 and will be the fourth B737SF in Modern’s fleet.
On behalf of a U.S. investor, SkyWorks sold two PW4056 engines and a B747-400 airframe to two separate parties.
SkyWorks is also offering two 2006 vintage A330-300 (RR), available for sale or lease in October 2018.
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Investment Banking and Management Consulting Services, provided through SkyWorks Capital, included the following:
SkyWorks was retained by a European flag carrier to provide fleet-related advisory services.
SkyWorks continued to provide fleet- and network-related advisory services to Fiji Airways, including long-term market growth analysis and schedule-driven operational cost reduction and aircraft acquisition advisory services.
SkyWorks continued to provide fleet-related advisory services to Royal Jordanian Airlines, including lease extension/returns and aircraft acquisition advisory services.
SkyWorks continued to provide aircraft sourcing and fleet-related advisory services to a North American low cost carrier.
SkyWorks continued to act as arranger/advisor to Delta Air Lines under a 2018 engagement to arrange sale and leaseback financing for narrowbody aircraft.
SkyWorks continued to act on behalf of Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings in respect of 20 767-300ERFs that it is acquiring to operate for Amazon Fulfillment Services, Inc. As previously announced, in 2017, 12 of these aircraft were funded via a Japanese bank (6 aircraft) and a private placement transaction (6 aircraft).
SkyWorks acted as an arranger/advisor to an operating lessor to arrange debt financings for one 777300ER on lease to Emirates and one 737-800 aircraft on lease to American Airlines that it acquired. The financing for the 777-300ER closed in 1Q 2018 with a consortium of banks, while the financing of the 737-800 aircraft closed in 2Q 2018 with a U.S.-based bank.
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