Around the World
November 16, 2020
A look at the world’s airlines, including end-of-week equity prices.
Around the World: November 16, 2020
| Airline Name | Change From Last Week | Change From Last Year | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| American | 7% | -58% | As good news on vaccines sends airline stocks up, American takes advantage by selling more shares |
| Delta | 16% | -36% | Still working toward offering free inflight Wi-Fi once technology allows for stable, high-speed access |
| United | 12% | -58% | Adding more Thanksgiving period flights to accommodate uptick in later-than-normal bookings |
| Southwest | 10% | -24% | Bloomberg reports it’s in “advanced talks” to take over some MAX orders abandoned by others; would surely get good price |
| Alaska | 17% | -37% | CEO Brad Tilden retiring after Q1, 2021; President Ben Minicucci named as his successor |
| JetBlue | 15% | -28% | Seeing “signs of strong demand in certain markets;” adding more New York capacity to routes with leisure/family visit demand |
| Hawaiian | 34% | -39% | Tells customers it can use their miles to purchase the pre-travel Covid-19 tests they need to enter Hawaii |
| Spirit | 12% | -48% | Expects average daily cash burn this quarter to be about $2m; was $2.3m last quarter |
| Frontier | (not publicly traded) | CEO Barry Biffle, speaking at Aviation Festival Americas event, denies any interest in flying XLRs to Europe (Simple Flying) | |
| Allegiant | 12% | -9% | Latest monthly data is in: Oct. pax volumes down 30% y/y on just 6% less ASM capacity |
| SkyWest | 15% | -43% | 66% of American’s regional jets are flown by wholly owned regional subsidiaries; more like 45% for United and Delta |
| Air Canada | 23% | -61% | Can still only operate just two flights a week to China; would like to do more |
| WestJet | (not publicly traded) | Porter Airlines still grounded; Toronto Bishop-based carrier has no plans to fly until Feb. at the earliest | |
| Aeromexico | 18% | -66% | Unions pushing back on what they call ultra-low-cost airline-type concessions |
| Volaris | 6% | -7% | Mexico approaching 100k Covid deaths; government taking lax approach to public health measures |
| LATAM | 4% | -87% | More than half of all the capacity it flew in October was in the domestic Brazilian market |
| Gol | 11% | -43% | Brazilian currency still a lot weaker versus U.S. dollar now than it was pre-crisis; many other world currencies have gained value |
| Azul | 12% | -42% | Aircastle, a lessor, says 18 of the 25 Embraer E2 jets it ordered have been placed with customers; latest is KLM |
| Copa | 41% | -33% | Plans to resume flights to Venezuela later this month (Reuters) |
| Avianca | -1% | -93% | Says it has enough other parties providing DIP credit that it doesn’t need Colombia’s government to participate |
| Emirates | (not publicly traded) | Fuel accounted for just 11% of operating costs in its fiscal first half that ended in Sept.; was 32% in same period a year earlier | |
| Qatar | (not publicly traded) | Introduces new fare families, six of them in total; designed to offer more flexibility, clarity | |
| Etihad | (not publicly traded) | Announces big corporate restructuring; will become “midsized, full-service” carrier focused on widebodies | |
| Air Arabia | 5% | -19% | New Abu Dhabi venture currently flying eight routes |
| Turkish Airlines | 18% | -16% | By year’s end, it expects to be operating about 40% to 45% of normal capacity |
| Kenya Airways | 0% | 29% | Escalating military conflict within neighboring Ethiopia adds to country’s virus woes |
| South Africa Air. | (not publicly traded) | South Africa opens borders to all foreign tourists with negative Covid test | |
| Ethiopian Airlines | (not publicly traded) | Reportedly still interested in helping to manage South African Airways, without investing money in it | |
| IndiGo | 14% | 10% | Singapore Airlines says Vistara filling about 65% of its seats; fleet up to 43 planes |
| Air India | (not publicly traded) | Air India Express, its usually profitable low-cost unit, appoints new chief | |
| SpiceJet | 8% | -49% | Appoints new finance chief with experience working for Mumbai’s airport |
| Lufthansa | 22% | -48% | Finally, a deal with ground workers represented by the Verdi union; includes wage cuts in exchange for job protections |
| Air France/KLM | 27% | -63% | CEO Ben Smith tells Les Echos that Transavia’s fleet needs are covered for next two years; will need MAXs or NEOs beyond that |
| BA/Iberia (IAG) | 40% | -74% | Iberia trying to encourage shorthaul biz travel with out-and-back schedules, so fliers can return home the same day |
| SAS | 59% | -93% | Demise of Norwegian, if it happens, could open new opportunities in Norway |
| Alitalia | (not publicly traded) | New board of directors met for first time last week; business plan to be presented next month | |
| Finnair | 45% | -91% | Helsinki airport welcomed 22m pax last year; 11m were Finnish nationals and the other 11m foreigners |
| Virgin Atlantic | (not publicly traded) | Expects to be flying about 25% of last year’s capacity by the end of this year (Reuters) | |
| easyJet | 38% | -43% | Spain tightens Covid testing requirements for travelers from high-risk countries |
| Ryanair | 13% | 9% | Eddie Wilson, perhaps Michael O’Leary’s future successor, speaking at aviation forum hosted by Skift and DFW airport this week |
| Norwegian | -22% | -99% | Converted a total of $886m in lease liabilities to equity |
| Wizz Air | 19% | 12% | Introducing new carbon offsetting option for pax willing to pay; money goes to environmental project |
| Aegean | 50% | -50% | Croatia Airlines getting a much-needed capital injection from its government |
| Aeroflot | 12% | -37% | Lots of media speculation about who will succeed Vitaly Savelyev as CEO; Savelyev to become Russia’s transport minister |
| S7 | (not publicly traded) | Configuring two A319s with premium-heavy configuration for routes with high corporate/gov’t demand, i.e. Moscow-Simferopol | |
| Japan Airlines | 0% | -45% | Now charging fees for reserving extra-legroom seats (i.e. in exit rows) on all international flights |
| All Nippon | 7% | -35% | Next year will mark a decade since ANA first debuted the B787 |
| Korean Air | 15% | -11% | Reports about possible tie-up with Asiana becoming more numerous |
| Cathay Pacific | 12% | -37% | Hong Kong and Singapore set Nov. 22 as start date for new travel bubble; pax in either direction can avoid quarantines with Covid test |
| Air China | 13% | -17% | Bloomberg reports on reluctance to take more Airbus deliveries despite domestic traffic recovery |
| China Eastern | 4% | -6% | Boeing still bullish on future China airplane growth |
| China Southern | 4% | -10% | Partner American joins rivals United and Delta in restarting China flights; now back doing Dallas DFW-Shanghai |
| Singapore Airlines | 10% | -59% | Besides Singapore’s new travel bubble with Hong Kong, it unilaterally welcomes visitors from 5 countries (incl. China) sans quarantine |
| Malaysia Airlines | (not publicly traded) | Difficult negotiations with creditors, lessors continue; outcome could determine whether it survives | |
| AirAsia | 19% | -65% | To help airlines, Thailand enacts jet fuel excise tax cut from November through late April |
| Thai Airways | 5% | -59% | Trying to sell off a chunk of its older planes including B747 fleet |
| VietJet | 7% | -21% | Bamboo Airways gets clearance from Washington to operate charter flights to the U.S. |
| Cebu Pacific | 7% | -54% | Indonesia’s Garuda says by December, it will have negotiated about $13m a month in savings from aircraft leasing |
| Qantas | 12% | -25% | Regional carrier REX, jumping into mainline routes, tells CAPA it could fly 30 to 40 mainline planes by end of 2022 (Reuters) |
| Virgin Australia | 0% | -43% | Bain takeover deal now complete; court gives final stamp of approval |
| Air New Zealand | 9% | -43% | New CEO building his management team; hires new finance chief |
| Brent Crude Oil | 9% | -32% | Next OPEC meeting scheduled for Nov. 30; cartel pessimistic about near-term oil demand |
Some stocks traded on multiple exchanges; not intended for trading purposes.