Media
LCC Movement in Europe
- Sweden’s Dagens Nyheter cites an internal company document at SAS to report that the carrier intends to start another low-cost unit. That’s not a total surprise following the airline’s latest earnings call in December, in which it hinted at the need for a lower-cost production platform to fly smaller narrowbody jets. It wouldn’t be the first time. SAS, in 2017, launched a lower-cost unit called SAS Ireland, with bases at London Heathrow and Malaga. That move didn’t go over well with unions. And neither, almost certainly, will this latest plan. SAS is looking to order sub-150-seat narrowbodies for shorthaul markets, the prime candidates for which are A220s and E195-E2s.
- Is Ryanair planning to place a big Airbus order? That’s the word from Germany’s Wirtschafts Woche, which writes of discussions for as many as 100 A320 and A321 NEOs for Lauda Air, the carrier’s Austrian subsidiary. Ryanair denied anything was imminent. But it’s clearly frustrated with Boeing’s MAX crisis. And Lauda admits to talking to Airbus about further fleet expansion. Wirtschafts Woche also mentions that the LCC is exploring the market for used A320s. Lauda currently operates 23 A320-family jets and plans to have 38 for the peak summer. Ryanair, keep in mind, owes a good chunk of its success to extraordinarily favorable aircraft deals with Boeing, typically negotiated during downturns. Though Airbus surely wants Ryanair as a customer, its willingness to discount is restrained right now, with NEOs in great demand. Sweden’s Dagens Nyheter cites an internal company document at SAS to report that the carrier intends to start another low-cost unit. That’s not a total surprise following the airline’s latest earnings call in December, in which it hinted at the need for a lower-cost production platform to fly smaller narrowbody jets. It wouldn’t be the first time. SAS, in 2017, launched a lower-cost unit called SAS Ireland, with bases at London Heathrow and Malaga. That move didn’t go over well with unions. And neither, almost certainly, will this latest plan. SAS is looking to order sub-150-seat narrowbodies for shorthaul markets, the prime candidates for which are A220s and E195-E2s.