They call it the “Lucky Country.” And for good reason. Australia hasn’t experienced an economic recession in almost three decades. But as the nation’s central bank governor warned last week, the economy has “slowed sharply since the middle of last year.” Already, airlines are feeling it. In May, Virgin Australia, with heavy domestic exposure, warned […]
Tag: Virgin Australia
Qantas continues to romp. In the first half of 2018, the flying kangaroo posted a 9% profit margin—one point better than in the same period last year. And with that, Qantas is working on its fourth consecutive calendar year with double-digit margins. Despite more exposure to rising fuel prices, Air New Zealand still mostly kept […]
Life is good in Australasia—especially if you’re Qantas or Air New Zealand. Both carriers are enjoying a bit of a golden age that stems from good management and some macro tailwinds. Meanwhile, Virgin Australia, seemingly unable to catch those tailwinds, drifted toward a disheartening 2% operating profit margin in 2017. Scandinavia’s SAS, meanwhile, had a […]
Virgins don’t survive on their own. That’s the lesson drawn from Virgin Atlantic’s partial sale to Delta, Virgin America’s all-out sale to Alaska and a much earlier transaction between Belgium’s Virgin Express and what today is Brussels Airlines. The most striking example of all, however, is the case of Virgin Australia. Once independent, strong and […]
Turkish Airlines and its cross-town rival Pegasus were seeing trouble in their business before the attack on Istanbul’s Ataturk International Airport. In this episode we try to assess—or at least speculate—how the attack will further hurt the two airlines’ prospects. Also, could Turkish’s business model, which relies heavily on sixth-freedom traffic, be especially vulnerable here? […]
After hitting the floor in 2013, Qantas, has—like a boomerang—come all the way back and more. In fact, the Australian carrier set an annual profit record in 2015. Despite enjoying the same advantages inherent to the Land of Oz right now, Virgin Australia has not found the same level of fortune. But in terms of […]
The creditors of bankrupt Skymark Airlines chose All Nippon Airways (ANA) as its equity partner going forward. This of course leaves Delta—again!—without a dance partner in Asia. With that news, we take the opportunity to consider the condition of Japan’s long-time duopoly. What does this mean for Japan Airlines (JAL) and Delta’s Asia business? Virgin […]
Few amusement parks can match the thrill of investing in Qantas. This time last year, the airline’s shares were down by nearly a quarter y/y. Then came spring in the southern hemisphere, when they began a sharp ascent after CEO Alan Joyce declared: “We have now come through the worst.” Another encouraging set of financial […]
It was supposed to be the low point before a turnaround. On Aug. 23, 2012, Qantas announced a heavy net loss for its fiscal year that ended in June, no surprise given labor unrest that led to a temporary grounding of the airline. Qantas also blamed the strong Australian dollar, which it said was making […]
In 2005, the government of struggling Samoa decided its taxpayers had more pressing needs than endless subsidies for state-owned Polynesian Airlines. So Samoa accepted an offer from a promising and profitable Australian low-cost carrier called Virgin Blue, which put up the ideas and money to start a new national airline that could sustain itself. The […]