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Tag: rebound

Qantas Group Announces its Balance Sheet Repair is Underway

A sustained rebound in domestic travel demand, and the performance of its Freight and Loyalty divisions, continues to drive the Qantas Group’s recovery from the impacts of COVID-19.

Based on current trading conditions the Group expects to be statutory free cash flow positive for the second half of FY21. Net debt levels peaked in February at $6.4 billion and are expected to be lower than they were in December ($6.05 billion) by the end of the financial year.

Liquidity levels remain strong with total funds of $4.0 billion, including cash of $2.4 billion and $1.6 billion of undrawn debt facilities as at 30 April 2021.

The total revenue loss for the Group since the start of COVID is now projected to reach $16 billion by the end of FY21 – however the role of domestic travel demand in the Group’s recovery is highlighted by the fact revenue from domestic flying is expected to almost double between the first and second half of this financial year.

Assuming no further lockdowns or significant domestic travel restrictions, the Group expects to be Underlying EBITDA positive in the range of $400 – 450 million for FY21. At a statutory level before tax, the Group is still expecting a loss in excess of $2 billion, which includes the significant costs associated with previously announced redundancies, aircraft write downs and non-cash depreciation charges.

Click the link below to read the full press release!

https://www.qantasnewsroom.com.au/media-releases/7978/

AirAsia Boosts Supply Chain Capabilities With AC2 Group

AirAsia Group, the world’s best low-cost carrier for 11 consecutive years, is proud to announce its partnership with AC2 Group to install Blue Yonder’s warehouse management solution (WMS) to digitally transform its supply chain capabilities and operational agility as the airline continues to boost domestic capacity in line with strong demand.

AirAsia Group Head, Supply Chain, Siva Indran said, “We have achieved another significant milestone today with the successful deployment of a digital supply chain across the Group. The Blue Yonder WMS uses data and advanced analytics to deliver greater efficiencies for the airline and enhanced benefits for our guests, such as providing the right products on specific flights based on passenger preferences. Additionally, efficiencies gained can be translated into more attractive deals onboard or for ordering home deliveries for example. We continue to innovate in order to be well prepared ahead of the expected global rebound in air travel in the near future. 

“As AirAsia’s digital transformation continues to gather momentum, we want to make fintech services inclusive throughout our travel and lifestyle ecosystem. We have always been a digital airline and this is one of many recent technological enhancements put in place over recent times to make booking and flying with AirAsia more seamless than ever. We are pleased that the digital transformation of our supply chain network project has gone live successfully across all of our operational hubs in Asia. I want to thank our IT, operations, supply chain team and our supply chain partner, the AC2 Group, for their assistance to deploy this innovation across the Group so smoothly. The digital optimisation of our supply chain network comes at a great time as we are focused on resuming operations to pre-COVID-19 levels in all of our key markets as soon as possible.” 

Managing Partner of AC2 Group, Aw Yang Uei, said, “A significant amount of effort has been put into architecting the solution to ensure it is robust, scalable and integrable with future technologies such as warehouse robotics. AirAsia has a highly creative vision in their omni channel fulfilment strategies, which requires agility in their supply chain. We are delighted and honored to be part of this digitalization journey, and it is a privilege to be working closely with all the professionals in AirAsia.”

President of Asia Pacific at Blue Yonder, Antonio Boccalandro, said, “Congratulations to AirAsia and AC2 Group on the successful deployment of Blue Yonder’s WMS. Our warehouse management system is one of our flagship solutions helping customers improve flexibility, real-time responsiveness and the ability to easily manage complex warehouse operations.  We are proud to be part of AirAsia’s digital transformation journey, and we look forward to many more success stories from them.”

Boeing Says More Freighters Needed to Support Global Supply Chains

Boeing [NYSE: BA] today released its biennial World Air Cargo Forecast (WACF), reflecting COVID-19 impacts and opportunities as well as substantial long-term demand for freighters over the next two decades.

Enabled by a rebound in global trade and long-term growth, the WACF forecasts demand for 2,430 freighters over the next 20 years, including 930 new production freighters and 1,500 freighters converted from passenger airplanes.

According to the new forecast, world air cargo traffic will grow at 4% per year over the next 20 years. This growth is influenced by trade and growing express shipments to support expanding e-commerce operations. With these developments and the proven need for dedicated freighter capacity to support the world’s transportation system, the global air cargo fleet is expected to grow by more than 60% through 2039.

“Freighter operators have been in a unique position in 2020 to meet market requirements for speed, reliability and security, transporting medical supplies and other goods for people and communities around the world,” said Darren Hulst, vice president of Commercial Marketing. “Looking ahead, dedicated freighters will be even more critical to compete in air cargo markets; they carry more than half of air cargo traffic, and airlines operating them earn nearly 90% of air cargo industry revenue.”

In addition to projecting long-term demand for freighters, the WACF provides insights into air cargo performance during the pandemic, including the following:

– E-commerce, which was growing at double-digit rates prior to the pandemic, has accelerated its impact on the air cargo market as more businesses shifted to online selling platforms. Year to date through September, express carriers increased traffic by 14%

– Passenger belly cargo, which in 2019 accounted for about half of the world air cargo capacity, was significantly reduced when airlines parked thousands of planes. Freighter operators responded by operating above normal utilization levels, and traffic for all-cargo carriers grew 6%

– So far in 2020, approximately 200 airlines used more than 2,000 passenger widebody aircraft for cargo-only operations to generate cash flow and support global supply chains. These passenger freighters have taken up some of the capacity shortfall and, in some cases, generated quarterly profits for carriers despite minimal passenger operations

Qantas Pauses Airplane Deliveries from Airbus and Boeing

Qantas planes are seen at Kingsford Smith International Airport in Sydney, Australia

SYDNEY (Reuters) – Qantas Airways Ltd <QAN.AX> said on Monday it had advised Airbus SE <AIR.PA> and Boeing Co <BA.N> that it did not expect to take delivery of any new planes in the near term as it grapples with a plunge in demand due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The airline had expected to add three Boeing 787-9 jets to its fleet by the end of 2020 and to start taking delivery in August of the first of 18 Airbus A321neos due by 2022.

There is no longer a specific timeline for them to arrive because the market is too uncertain, a Qantas spokesman said, confirming a report on travel website Executive Traveller.

Many carriers around the world have grounded the bulk of their fleets and halted aircraft deliveries in response to the pandemic, leading Airbus and Boeing to cut production rates.

Qantas last week said it had shelved plans to order this year up to 12 A350s capable of the world’s longest commercial flights from Sydney to London. It said it was reviewing its fleet with the expectation that most international travel could take years to rebound.

More than 25,000 of the airline’s staff have been stood down until at least the end of June as the carrier is flying only 5% of its pre-crisis domestic passenger network and 1% of its pre-crisis international network.

An Airbus spokesman said his company did not comment on delivery schedules for airlines. Boeing did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

(Reporting by Jamie Freed; Editing by Himani Sarkar)