Around the World
December 7, 2020
A look at the world’s airlines, including end-of-week equity prices.
Around the World: December 7, 2020
| Airline Name | Change From Last Week | Change From Last Year | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| American | 9% | -40% | First regularly scheduled MAX flights will take place Dec. 29 between Miami and New York LaGuardia |
| Delta | 3% | -24% | Now offering quarantine-free flights to Amsterdam with KLM, following its offer of similar Rome service with Alitalia |
| United | 9% | -44% | Expects to be first to take a new B737 MAX delivery since its grounding in 2019; scheduled for this week |
| Southwest | 0% | -14% | Has 4 major unions: SWAPA (pilots), TWU (ground workers and flight attendants), AMFA (mechanics), IAM (service agents) |
| Alaska | 3% | -21% | First MAX flight (MAX 9) will occur in March; like Ryanair, it hadn’t yet flown the plane before it was grounded |
| JetBlue | -1% | -18% | Still raising cash: Announces new share sale last week; Hawaiian also selling new batch of shares |
| Hawaiian | -2% | -30% | Estimates its load factor for November was just 43% to 45% |
| Spirit | 10% | -32% | One of its board members is former Hawaiian CEO Mark Dunkerly |
| Frontier | (not publicly traded) | U.S. labor market, improving after the initial Covid shock this spring, now worsening again | |
| Allegiant | 2% | 7% | New startup Breeze partnering with a university in Utah to create flight attendant training program |
| SkyWest | 4% | -27% | Of the 448 planes in its fleet at the end of Q3, 56 were provided by partners; others owned, leased, or mortgaged |
| Air Canada | 11% | -44% | CUPE, the Canadian flight attendant union, expresses disappointment at federal lack of help for airlines |
| WestJet | (not publicly traded) | Selling nine B737 MAX 8s to CDB in leaseback deal | |
| Aeromexico | 41% | -53% | Rival Volaris increased its domestic capacity 2% y/y in November |
| Volaris | 4% | 12% | Carried 6m pax since the Covid crisis began, most within Mexico but some to the U.S. |
| LATAM | 0% | -87% | Thinks it can exit bankruptcy sometime in the second half of 2021 |
| Gol | 18% | -21% | November traffic report shows domestic RPK traffic down 37% y/y, on 39% less ASK capacity |
| Azul | 14% | -21% | Aerolineas Argentinas receives final regulatory clearance to integrate its subsidiary Austral |
| Copa | -1% | -21% | Viva Air, with affiliates in Colombia and Peru, wants to launch a third unit, Routes reports; Ecuador a possibility |
| Avianca | 0% | -91% | Signed new contracts, featuring heavy concessions, with both of its major pilot unions |
| Emirates | (not publicly traded) | Offering free hotel stays for tourists coming to Dubai from nearby markets like Bahrain and Jordan | |
| Qatar | (not publicly traded) | Flights to Nigeria’s capital Abuja began on Nov. 27, operated from Doha via Lagos | |
| Etihad | (not publicly traded) | Bahrain’s Gulf Air the latest to add Israel to its network; will start flights to Tel Aviv next month | |
| Air Arabia | -1% | -17% | UAE celebrated its national day last week; commemorates unification of emirates 49 years ago |
| Turkish Airlines | 2% | -12% | Istanbul SAW airport busier than Istanbul’s main airport IST this fall; 5th busiest airport in Europe (Malaysia Airports) |
| Kenya Airways | 0% | 63% | Bankrupt Air Mauritius asks for further court relief as key markets like Europe impose new travel restrictions |
| South Africa Air. | (not publicly traded) | Government hoping carrier’s London Heathrow slots will help attract private investment; candidates, however, few and far | |
| Ethiopian Airlines | (not publicly traded) | In Africa, only Johannesburg’s airport has more pax handling capacity than Addis Ababa | |
| IndiGo | 15% | 32% | Hopes to get gov’t clearance to fly 100% of its domestic capacity by early next year (LiveMint) |
| Air India | (not publicly traded) | Plans to launch a Chennai-London Heathrow route next month | |
| SpiceJet | 25% | -17% | AirAsia India, in sign of expansion, to take three more A320 NEOs by mid-2021 |
| Lufthansa | 0% | -40% | Rival TUI secures new financing, again with the help of Germany’s federal government |
| Air France/KLM | -3% | -49% | Transavia won’t operate from Paris CDG and won’t operate A220s (anna.aero) |
| BA/Iberia (IAG) | 5% | -69% | Final B747 will be put on permanent display at Dunsfold Aerodrome in Surrey |
| SAS | -13% | -91% | Phasing out at least 20 planes earlier than originally planned (five A340s, 15 B737-NGs, and an A330) |
| Alitalia | (not publicly traded) | Saw a jump in bookings last week as Christmas season nears | |
| Finnair | -8% | -90% | Novel new (if negligible) revenue source: Selling its inflight blueberry juice at local supermarkets |
| Virgin Atlantic | (not publicly traded) | Holding charity ground event celebrating its final B747; aviation nerds can dine in Upper Class, tour the plane, etc. | |
| easyJet | 11% | -32% | New bag policy links bag allowance to the type of fare/seat they book |
| Ryanair | 11% | 22% | Wizz Air makes another move on the U.K. market, announcing a new base in Cardiff |
| Norwegian | -11% | -99% | Wants to pay its executives in shares rather than cash, if bankruptcy court allows |
| Wizz Air | 6% | 23% | Claims its carbon emissions per RPK are lower than any of its competitors |
| Aegean | 5% | -47% | Load factor was 66% in July, 68% in August, and 63% in September |
| Aeroflot | 3% | -27% | Estimates that about 40% of its operating cost base is fixed |
| S7 | (not publicly traded) | Russian carriers flew 22.7m domestic pax in Q3, compared to 23.1 in Q3 last year | |
| Japan Airlines | -1% | -39% | New wave of Covid cases hurting demand; JAL reacts by cutting domestic capacity |
| All Nippon | -2% | -33% | Tells investors it will use part of the proceeds from latest capital hike for more B787-8s and B787-9s |
| Korean Air | 3% | 7% | Favorable court ruling keeps Asiana merger plan on track |
| Cathay Pacific | 6% | -25% | Hong Kong-Singapore travel bubble won’t happen this year after all amid new Covid outbreaks |
| Air China | 5% | -5% | China and Japan relax restrictions on business travel between the two countries |
| China Eastern | 1% | 0% | Online travel agency Trip.com working with tourism boards in various countries to help promote demand when borders reopen |
| China Southern | 2% | -3% | American and United both suspend China flights, citing difficult conditions for crews |
| Singapore Airlines | -2% | -51% | Secures regulatory approval to issue another round of convertible bonds; provides investor with upside if stock prices rises over time |
| Malaysia Airlines | (not publicly traded) | Malaysia Airports expecting domestic load factors to be around 70% in 2021; was 55% in Sept. | |
| AirAsia | 6% | -54% | Rival Thai VietJet continuing to add new domestic Thailand routes; latest is Chaing Mai-Nakhon Si Thammarat |
| Thai Airways | -1% | -57% | Bankrupt Nok Air confident of successfully restructuring (Bangkok Post) |
| VietJet | 0% | -19% | Vietnam removing quarantine requirement for business travelers from South Korea |
| Cebu Pacific | 9% | -44% | Trialing free Covid antigen tests for passengers, administered a few hours before flight |
| Qantas | -5% | -26% | Mainline and Qantas saw jump in bookings after reopening of Queensland border |
| Virgin Australia | (not publicly traded) | Qantas flags Cairns, Hamilton Island, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast as popular destinations in lead-up to summer season | |
| Air New Zealand | 2% | -33% | Samoa Air “technically bankrupt,” it tells local media |
| Brent Crude Oil | 2% | -22% | OPEC, together with Russia, decide to increase oil output; higher supply should mean lower prices, all else equal |
Some stocks traded on multiple exchanges; not intended for trading purposes.