Tag: holdings (Page 8 of 9)

American Airlines Shares Plunge on Weak Outlook

January 10, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

(Reuters) – American Airlines Group Inc (AAL.O) shares fell as much as 11 percent on Thursday after the biggest U.S. carrier cut its estimate for a closely watched measure of performance, raising concerns that slowing global growth may be weakening travel demand.

The losses in American’s shares also weighed on the broader airline sector. Delta Air Lines Inc (DAL.N) fell 3.4 percent, United Continental Holdings Inc (UAL.N) 2.1 percent and Southwest Airlines Co (LUV.N) 2.6 percent.

American’s announcement comes a week after rival Delta Air Lines Inc (DAL.N) cut its quarterly unit revenue estimate due to lower-than-expected improvement in fares booked last minute.

“The U.S. airlines are set to contend with easing unit revenue trends due to decelerating economic growth, lower fuel, and foreign exchange pressures,” Morgan Stanley analyst Rajeev Lalwani wrote in a note earlier this week.

The company said it now expects unit revenue, which compares sales to flight capacity, to increase about 1.5 percent in the quarter, compared with its earlier estimate of 1.5 percent to 3.5 percent rise. (http://bit.ly/2D1GRZi)

American also lowered full-year earnings per share expectation to a range of $4.40 to $4.60, from $4.50 to $5 earlier.

The airline said it expects its fuel expense to reduce in the fourth quarter to between $2.22 and $2.27 per gallon, compared with $2.30 to $2.35 per gallon earlier.

Investors have been fretting over lower fuel costs and the airlines’ ability to increase ticket prices, as a decline in fuel prices in 2016 and 2017 led U.S. airlines to competitively discount fares, hurting revenue.

Analysts were expecting earnings of $4.62 per share, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

(Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)

Image from http://www.aa.com

Boeing Delivers Record 806 Aircraft in 2018

January 8, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

(Reuters) – Boeing Co (BA.N) delivered a record 806 aircraft in 2018 as it overcame supplier woes, retaining the title of the world’s biggest planemaker for the seventh straight year.

The company’s shares rose as much as 3.9 percent to $340.90 and were the biggest percentage gainer on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI).

European rival Airbus SE (AIR.PA), which will report its numbers on Wednesday and lags behind Boeing due to engine delays, said it achieved its 800-jet target pending final audit.

“Overall, Boeing is taking market share from its main competitor Airbus and is well positioned with strong commercial and military demand,” said CFRA Research analyst Jim Corridore, who upgraded the stock to “strong buy” from “buy”.

Investors and analysts closely watch the number of planes Boeing turns over to airlines and leasing firms for hints on the company’s cashflow and revenue.

The latest numbers indicate that fuselage and engine delays at suppliers in 2018 are largely behind Boeing as it gears up to meet surging demand for airplanes in 2019 amid booming air travel.

“In addition to the ongoing demand for the 737 MAX, we saw strong sales for every one of our twin-aisle airplanes,” said Ihssane Mounir, senior vice president of commercial sales and marketing.

To mitigate supply chain snarls, Boeing helped expand production capacity at suppliers who have hired workers, including retirees this year.

In October, its biggest supplier Spirit AeroSystems Holdings Inc (SPR.N) said it was back on track to meet the surging demand for its aircraft parts.

CFM International, co-owned by France’s Safran (SAF.PA) and General Electric Co (GE.N), also affirmed in the same month its commitment to deliver 1,100 to 1,200 units despite being roughly four weeks behind schedule.

ORDER BOOM

Boeing also looked set to beat Airbus for aircraft orders on a like-for-like basis in 2018 after booking 893 net orders, excluding cancellations in the year.

Meanwhile, Airbus ended November with 380 net orders, to which it has since added confirmed deals for another 220 aircraft.

According to industry sources, it won another 150 from Asian-backed leasing companies that are yet to be announced, with Boeing also getting a lift from Chinese demand.

The Airbus tally, however, included 120 of the former Bombardier CSeries, a Canadian plane programme which it bought last year.

Orders for Boeing and Airbus are seen down compared to 2017 as airlines fret over trade tensions and the slowing global economic growth. But deliveries at both rose on the back of an earlier order boom.

“69 December 737 deliveries suggest (supplier) bottlenecks easing. Solid December book-to-bill closes year at 1.1x and helps mitigate cycle concerns,” Credit Suisse analyst Robert Spingarn said in a client note.

(Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru and Tim Hepher in Paris; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Arun Koyyur)

Image from http://www.boeing.com

Avianca Seeks To Cut Airbus Order In Half

December 11, 2018 / WIL BALDWIN

BOGOTA (Reuters) – Airline Avianca Holdings SA (AVT_p.CN) will begin negotiations with Airbus (AIR.PA) to reduce the 100 planes it had agreed to purchase in a 2015 deal to as few as 50, the chief executive of the Latin American company said.

Avianca was also seeking a strategic alliance with German airline Lufthansa (LHAG.DE), CEO Hernan Rincon said late on Sunday, part of its bid to expand in Europe.

Avianca representatives will travel to France in the coming days for re-negotiations with Airbus, Rincon said. Avianca had agreed to buy 100 A320neo planes to modernize its fleet.

“Of those 100, we’ll probably receive between 50 and 80 planes,” he said. “We don’t have any doubt that we will keep growing, what has changed is the rhythm of the growth.”

Technological advancement is part of the reason for the airline wanting to reduce its purchases, Rincon added.

“The rhythm of technology is changing, it will take a while to get all of the order and we don’t want to have a commitment to planes with today’s technology which will be received by us in 10 or 15 years,” he said.

A reduction in the original order, which was set to cost $10 billion, will also give Avianca some financial breathing room, Rincon added.

At the end of last month Avianca, United Continental Holdings Inc (UAL.O) and Copa Airlines of Panama said they had finalized a three-way joint venture that will allow them to plan routes and fares together and share revenues on those routes.

United, Avianca and Copa are already codeshare partners and Star Alliance members.

“We’ve started conversations with Lufthansa, but its very embryonic,” said Rincon. “We hope to reach an agreement to benefit our passengers in Europe, which is a relevant and growing market.”

The deal with Lufthansa would be similar to the one just agreed with United and Copa, Rincon added.

Under the United and Copa agreement, United said it would provide a $456 million term loan to cash-strapped Avianca’s top shareholder, Synergy Group Corp. Loss-making Avianca has a roughly $4 billion debt pile, of which 40 percent is due within the next two years, according to recent financial statements.

That deal still has to be approved by regulators.

Avianca will also start operating a regional subsidiary in Colombia in 2019, meant to serve medium and small-sized cities with 12 ATR 42 planes. The planes are already part of Avianca’s fleet, Rincon said.

(Reporting by Luis Jaime Acosta; Writing by Julia Symmes Cobb; Editing by Helen Murphy and Marguerita Choy)

Will Brazil’s Azul Join Avianca-United Airlines Alliance?

December 3, 2018 / WIL BALDWIN

SAO PAULO, Dec 3 (Reuters) – Two Brazilian airlines, Azul SA and Avianca Brasil, are targets for expansion in the wide-ranging alliance between United Continental Holdings Inc , Colombia’s Avianca Holdings and Panama’s Copa Airlines on U.S.-Latin America routes, Avianca Holdings’ Chief Financial Officer, Gerardo Grajales, told Reuters on Monday.

There was little reference to Brazil, by far the region’s largest market, when the alliance was announced on Friday, but Grajales said the parties to the agreement already had in mind Azul and Avianca Brasil, which operates independently of Colombia-based Avianca Holdings.

“The two airlines complement each other in the Brazilian market,” Grajales said. “From the beginning we thought that Brazil should be covered by our agreement, however, no partnership would be authorized if it did not have an Open Skies agreement.”

The Open Skies agreement between Brazil and the United States was signed into law in May, when discussions among the three airlines were already advanced, he explained.

The airline agreement mimics a partnership between American Airlines and Chile’s Latam Airlines which has been mired in regulatory scrutiny.

The announcement between the United Airlines parent, Avianca and Copa capped off almost two years of negotiations. United will loan Avianca’s majority shareholder almost $500 million to be spent on ventures outside of the airline.

Depending on how it is repaid, United could end up owning a large chunk of the Colombian carrier. United is making no monetary investment in Copa or its affiliates.

United already owns an 8 percent stake in Azul, and has a codesharing agreement with Avianca Brasil, formerly known as Ocean Air.

Shares in Azul were down almost 5 percent on Monday afternoon in Sao Paulo. The world’s largest asset manager BlackRock disclosed late on Friday that it had sold an almost 10 percent stake in Azul’s preferred shares. Hours earlier, the carrier disclosed in another securities filing that it sought to double in size in the next five years.

Azul did not immediately respond to a request for comment. (Reporting by Marcelo Rochabrun; Editing by David Gregorio)

Image from en.wikipedia.org

Hawaiian Holdings Announces Investor Day Webcast

November 29, 2018 / WIL BALDWIN

HONOLULU, Nov. 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — Hawaiian Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: HA), parent company of Hawaiian Airlines, Inc. (“Hawaiian”), announced today that it will webcast presentations to investors to be given by Hawaiian’s leadership team on December 11, 2018. The webcast will begin at approximately 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time.

The webcast will be open to the public through a live audio webcast accessible in the Investor Relations section of Hawaiian’s website at HawaiianAirlines.com. For those who are not able to listen to the live webcast, the presentations will be archived for 90 days on Hawaiian’s website.

About Hawaiian Airlines
Hawaiian® has led all U.S. carriers in on-time performance for each of the past 14 years (2004-2017) as reported by the U.S. Department of Transportation. Consumer surveys by Condé Nast Traveler, Travel + Leisure and TripAdvisor have placed Hawaiian among the top of all domestic airlines serving Hawai’i.

Now in its 90^th year of continuous service, Hawaiian is Hawai’i’s biggest and longest-serving airline. Hawaiian offers non-stop service to Hawai’i from more U.S. gateway cities (12) than any other airline, along with service from Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, American Samoa and Tahiti. Hawaiian also provides approximately 170 jet flights daily between the Hawaiian Islands, with a total of more than 250 daily flights system-wide.

Hawaiian Airlines, Inc. is a subsidiary of Hawaiian Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: HA). Additional information is available at HawaiianAirlines.com. Follow Hawaiian’s Twitter updates (@HawaiianAir), become a fan on Facebook (Hawaiian Airlines), and follow us on Instagram (hawaiianairlines). For career postings and updates, follow Hawaiian’s LinkedIn page.

For media inquiries, please visit Hawaiian Airlines’ online newsroom.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/hawaiian-holdings-announces-investor-day-presentation-webcast-300756300.html

SOURCE Hawaiian Airlines

Airline Stocks That Look Ready to Rise

November 29, 2018 / WIL BALDWIN

Barron’s says it’s going to be another good day for airlines, as a number of analysts had good things to say about stocks across the sector.

Where we were: Airlines have struggled this year, but Spirit Airlines (SAVE) upbeat fourth-quarter forecast sent shares soaring Tuesday.

Where we’re headed: Higher for most big airlines, according to several firms.

Click the link below for the full story!

Airline stocks that look ready to rise

United Airlines Announces Boeing 787-10 Aircraft Operations

November 14, 2018 / WIL BALDWIN

CHICAGO, Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — United Airlines today announced it will operate its newest Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner on six trans-Atlantic routes from its New York/Newark hub beginning in March 2019. United was the first North American airline to take delivery of the 787-10, and is also the first airline in the world to have the entire family of Boeing’s 787-8, 787-9 and 787-10 Dreamliners in its fleet. United’s 787-10 features 44 United Polaris^® business class seats, 21 United^®Premium Plus seats, 54 Economy Plus seats and 199 standard Economy seats. Tickets will be available for purchase on Dec. 3, for travel beginning March 30.

“United is proud to offer more seats between New York and Europe than any other carrier and our Boeing 787-10 aircraft based in New York/Newark will enable us to connect even more New York City customers to Europe and beyond,” said Patrick Quayle, United’s Vice President of International Network. “We are thrilled to announce six international cities that will be served with this aircraft and we look forward to offering our customers all of the comforts and services of our most advanced aircraft.”

Offering more service than any other U.S. airline from New York to Germany and Israel, United currently offers daily nonstop service to Frankfurt and twice-daily nonstop service to Tel Aviv. United also operates daily service from New York/Newark to Barcelona, Brussels, Dublin and Paris.

Investing in customer-friendly advancements onboard

In addition to United’s signature all aisle access Polaris business class and United Premium Plus seats, United is investing in several customer-friendly advancements onboard. The aircraft features updated lighting patterns that mimic sunrise and sunset and are designed to help customers in each cabin fall asleep and wake up more adjusted to new time zones. A brand new seatback entertainment system is also available at every seat, which includes:

Split screen capabilities allowing customers to watch a movie and view the flight map simultaneously.
A relax mode for customers who want to customize a selection of soothing videos and relaxing audio playlists.
The world’s most extensive suite of accessibility features on a seatback entertainment system, which accommodates any level of vision, as well as provides support for customers with hearing and mobility issues.
Movie and television recommendations based on remaining flight time and previously watched content.

United previously announced its first 787-10 aircraft will begin operating between New York/Newark and Los Angeles and San Francisco in January 2019.

The Boeing 787-10 is 18 feet longer than the 787-9 and can carry more passengers and more cargo. The -10 aircraft can fly up to 6,430 nautical miles, while using 20 percent less fuel than older generation airplanes. United currently operates 25 787-9 and 12 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft. The airline expects to take delivery of 14 787-10 aircraft over the next two years. For more information on United’s 787-10, and other fleet updates visit United’s Fleet Newsroom.

About United

United Airlines and United Express operate approximately 4,700 flights a day to 356 airports across five continents. In 2017, United and United Express operated more than 1.6 million flights carrying more than 148 million customers. United is proud to have the world’s most comprehensive route network, including U.S. mainland hubs in Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Newark/New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. United operates 760 mainline aircraft and the airline’s United Express carriers operate 546 regional aircraft. The airline is a founding member of Star Alliance, which provides service to 193 countries via 28 member airlines. For more information, visit united.com, follow @United on Twitter or connect on Facebook. The common stock of United’s parent, United Continental Holdings, Inc., is traded on the Nasdaq under the symbol “UAL”.

For further information: United Airlines Worldwide Media Relations, +1-872-825-8640, media.relations@united.com

Story and image from www.united.com

Ryanair, CEO Suit Filed In U.S. Court

November 7, 2018 / WIL BALDWIN

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Ryanair Holdings Plc (RYA.I) and longtime Chief Executive Michael O’Leary have been sued in New York by a shareholder that said Europe’s largest airline defrauded investors and inflated its share price by overstating its ability to manage labour relations and keep costs down.

The complaint was filed on Tuesday night in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan by an Alabama pension fund, seeking class-action status and damages for investors in Ryanair’s American depositary shares from May 30, 2017 to Sept. 28, 2018.

Ryanair did not immediately respond on Wednesday to requests for comment.

The complaint said Ryanair misled investors in regulatory filings and conference calls about its labour stability, including “industry leading” contracts with pilots and cabin crews, and its positive impact on operations.

It said the truth came out as labour unrest forced the Dublin-based low-cost carrier last December to recognise unions for the first time, and led this summer to costly strikes that stranded thousands of passengers in several countries.

“Unbeknownst to investors, the company’s historical profit growth was built on an undisclosed and unsustainable foundation of worker exploitation and employee turnover,” the complaint said. “The decline in the price of Ryanair ADSs was the direct result of the nature and extent of defendants’ fraud finally being revealed to investors and the market.”

Ryanair cited labour issues on Oct. 1, when it cut its full-year profit forecast. Its share price closed that day more than one-third below its level in mid-March.

O’Leary, Ryanair’s chief executive since 1994, said last month he hoped to reach labour agreements with all of the carrier’s major unions before Christmas.

ADSs on June 30 accounted for 43.7 percent of Ryanair’s issued ordinary shares, assuming all were converted into ordinary shares, the company has said. Ryanair’s market value is roughly $16 billion, according to Refinitiv data.

The lawsuit was filed by the City of Birmingham Firemen’s and Policemen’s Supplemental Pension System. Its law firm Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd specializes in securities fraud.

It is common for shareholders to sue companies in the United States after what they consider unexpected share price declines.

The case is City of Birmingham Firemen’s and Policemen’s Supplemental Pension System v Ryanair Holdings Plc, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 18-10330.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; editing by Bill Berkrot)

Atlas Air Reports Strong Third-Quarter Earnings Growth

November 1, 2018 / WIL BALDWIN

PURCHASE, N.Y., Nov. 01, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, Inc. (AAWW) today announced strong third-quarter earnings growth and raised its outlook for full-year 2018, driven by ongoing market strength, customer demand and business development.

“We continue to leverage the scale and scope of our enterprise and our leadership in global aviation outsourcing,” said President and Chief Executive Officer William J. Flynn.

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Atlas Air Reports Strong Third-Quarter

Image from http://www.polaraircargo.com/

Electric Airplane Startup Zunum Chooses Safran Engine

October 4, 2018 / WIL BALDWIN

SEATTLE (Reuters) – Aircraft manufacturer Zunum, backed by Boeing Co, will use an engine turbine from France’s Safran SA to power an electric motor for the hybrid regional airplane it aims to bring into service in 2022, the company said on Thursday.

Zunum, based near Seattle, is among several companies seeking to reduce emissions, noise and travel costs with electric planes, underscoring growing investment in lightweight propulsion systems to bring the benefits of electric-cars to the sky.

Siemens AG, Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC, and Airbus SA joined forces last year on a hybrid electric aircraft propulsion system, while Honeywell International Inc has developed a high-capacity generator that could be used for electric flight.

Zunum, which is also funded by JetBlue Airways Corp’s investment arm, will offer its 12-seat, 700-mile aircraft – dubbed the ZA10 – to charter airlines, private companies and regional carriers globally, starting in 2022.

Zunum’s planes will be battery powered, with a jetfuel-powered turbogenerator to extend range. It chose the Safran Helicopter Engines’ Ardiden 3Z turbine over competing turbines from General Electric, Honeywell, Pratt & Whitney, and Rolls Royce.

The ZA10 will cost less than $300 million to develop, compared to the billions of dollars required to bring a traditional regional jet to market, Zunum’s Chief Executive Officer Ashish Kumar told Reuters.

Norway in June tested a two-seater electric plane, built by Pipistrel in Slovenia, and predicted a start to passenger flights by 2025 as the country moves to reach a government goal of making all domestic flights in Norway electric by 2040.

“This is the future,” Kumar said. “This class of aircraft is going to replace conventional airplanes over these (short-haul) distances.”

Siemens’ e-aircraft unit told Reuters earlier this year its system will work like a Toyota Prius: a gas-fueled engine inside the plane will spin a generator, sending electricity to small propulsion motors on the wings.

In Zunum’s plane, those motors are powered by the battery packs and the turbogenerator installed near the rear of the fuselage.

Kumar said the new aircraft will deliver operating costs of 8 cents per available seat mile or $250 per hour, which is 60-80 percent lower than comparable conventional aircraft.

Zunum’s prototype motor is due to be tested in early December, with an improved version flying on a test aircraft in summer 2019, Kumar said. Conversely, the Airbus, Siemens, Rolls-Royce system is scheduled to begin test flights in 2020.

(Reporting by Eric M. Johnson in Seattle)

Image from https://zunum.aero/

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