Fly to net zero update.....

As we turned to 2023, in Europe, the NATO pipeline supplying Brussels Airport with kerosene was opened on 1 January for the transport of SAF. Brussels Airlines transported the very first batch of sustainable aviation fuel transported via this route on the same day at Brussels Airport. Teesside International Airport has collaborated with Air France-KLM on the airline’s SAF program, becoming the first UK airport to do so. On the other side of the pond, The US Department of Energy announced over $100m in funding to expand US biofuels production, as the Biden administration works to cut greenhouse gas emissions from transportation and meet climate goals, the department told Reuters. The Department plans to award $118m to 17 projects designed to accelerate the production of biofuels. In the State of Illinois, state lawmakers have approved legislation to create a $1.50/USG SAF tax credit that airlines can use to satisfy all or part of their state use tax liabilities. The legislation will create a tax credit for every gallon of SAF sold to or used by an air carrier in Illinois. Honeywell recently received its first delivery of SAF at its Phoenix Engines campus to support development and production testing of auxiliary power units (APUs) and propulsion engines at the site, along with testing of fielded units from Honeywell's repair and overhaul facility. In the Middle East, Masdar, ADNOC, bp, Tadweer (Abu Dhabi Waste Management Company) and Etihad Airways announced an agreement to conduct a joint feasibility study on production of SAF and other products in the UAE, such as renewable diesel and naphtha, using municipal solid waste (MSW) and renewable hydrogen. Meanwhile, Emirates successfully completed the ground engine testing for one of its GE90 engines on a Boeing 777-300ER using 100% SAF. Newly-established Saudi Arabian lessor AviLease has reached a provisional agreement with the Saudi Investment Recycling Company (SIRC) for production and distribution of sustainable fuel in the country.  In Asia, Asiana Airlines announced entering an agreement with Shell to secure SAF from 2026. Japan's two leading air carriers, All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines, have agreed to source SAF from US producer Raven in deals involving Tokyo-based trading house Itochu. The airlines will buy SAF that Raven aims to produce commercially as early as 2025, using it on international flights.

New route and sales news from Aussie airline Qantas

Qantas has launched a sale with discounted fares to 26 destinations across the airline’s international network and will launch a new route between Melbourne and Jakarta.

QANTAS INTERNATIONAL SALE

More than 170,000 seats are up for grabs, with the sale fares up to 35 per cent below the normal lead-in fares. Discounts vary from route to route and selected travel dates and days apply. Examples of some of the sale fares include:

• Melbourne – Delhi from $999 return
• Melbourne – London from $1,699 return
• Melbourne – Singapore from $759 return
• Melbourne – Dallas/Fort Worth from $1,899 return
• Sydney – Los Angeles from $1,299 return
• Sydney – Santiago from $1,699 return
• Sydney – Bengaluru from $999 return
• Sydney – Seoul from $949 return
• Brisbane – Singapore from $759 return
• Perth – Singapore from $599 return

The sale runs until Tuesday, 7 February 2023, unless sold out prior.*

Air Canada Cargo Continues Investing to Improve Operations, Products and Services

Air Canada Cargo this week unveiled a renewed customer reception area at its London Heathrow facility, marking one of the latest investments in improving its services to customers around the globe. The reception area is the first part of a wider project to modernize many parts of its London facility, which is Air Canada Cargo’s largest European hub.

The revitalized reception area in this self-handled facility provides a new customer area to receive trucked shipments. Incorporating many design elements found in Air Canada’s premium offerings at airports, the London Heathrow cargo customer reception area includes a living wall featuring three types of locally-sourced mosses that help purify the air in the reception area, reflecting Air Canada’s sustainability efforts. The new space also includes improved workstations for Air Canada Cargo customer service agents to better serve clients.

“This improvement to our London Heathrow facility is the first of many investments in both customer-facing areas and our operations. The new space better represents the Air Canada Cargo brand and is a clear sign of the airline’s commitment to London as a hub facility as it continues strategically expanding the business,” said John Lloyd, Senior Director – Europe, Middle East and India for Air Canada Cargo.

Sun Country Airlines reports fourth quarter and full year 2022 results

Q4 2022 GAAP diluted EPS of $0.12 and operating margin of 6.7%

Q4 2022 Adjusted diluted EPS of $0.13(1) and adjusted operating margin of 7.0%(1)

FY 2022 GAAP diluted EPS of $0.29 and operating margin of 6.2%

FY 2022 Adjusted diluted EPS of $0.42(1) and adjusted operating margin of 6.5%(1)

Sun Country Airlines Holdings, Inc. has reported financial results for its fourth quarter and full year ending December 31, 2022.  “Thank you to the entire Sun Country team for a successful 2022,” said Jude Bricker, Chief Executive Officer of Sun Country. “Our unique and diversified business model continued to produce strong results in the face of significant industry challenges, as we grew year-over-year revenue by 43.6% to $894.4 million, a record high for Sun Country. Despite constraints on our growth, the impact of Omicron in Q1 and a 71% increase in fuel prices versus 2021, we produced a GAAP pre-tax margin of 2.7% and an adjusted pre-tax margin of 3.7% for the year while growing scheduled service block hours nearly 18%. Over the important holiday travel season, our operations team produced the industry’s highest completion factor of 99.3%. We are very optimistic about 2023, as we continue to see strong bookings, unit revenues and earnings growth heading into Q1.”

Icelandair: 2022 a turnaround year

The latest results from Icelandair have now been released for 2022 for what has been described as a turnaround year. 

Highlights include: 

Full-year EBIT USD 19 million, improving by USD 136 million

Strong revenue generation resulting in the best fourth quarter performance since 2015

Capacity in Q4 2022 95% of the 2019 capacity

Unit revenue in Q4 up 13% year-on-year

Weather disruptions in December negatively affecting results in Q4 2022

Leasing operation gaining momentum and strong profitability in 2022

A new B767-300 freighter entered operations in December

Seven B737 MAX aircraft added to the fleet in 2022

Strong balance sheet and total liquidity of USD 318 million at end of year

Reduction in CO2 emissions by 17% per OTK compared to 2021

January 2023 record sales month and good outlook in all markets

EBIT ratio expected to be in the 4-6% range for the full year of 2023

Icelandair President and CEO Bogi Nils Bogason made this statement on the airline's performance during 2022, which has been seen by many as a key turnaround year for the financially constrained carrier, “The year 2022 was characterized by a great turnaround of our business. Strong revenue generation with record passenger revenue in the second half of the year and significant EBIT improvement shows that our business model has proven its worth yet again. We are back on track, stronger than ever and ready to operate the largest flight schedule, in terms of frequency and destinations, in the history of Icelandair.

Our strategy and actions throughout the pandemic ensured we were prepared to rapidly increase capacity to meet the steep increase in demand in all our markets. In 2022, we doubled our flight schedule and transported 3.7 million passengers to 51 destinations.

As the aviation industry as a whole, we experienced external operational challenges that affected the summer peak, in addition to severe weather conditions towards the end of the year. We were, however, in a good position to respond to these challenges and reduce the impact on our customers due to our extensive flight schedule, frequency of flights and the resourcefulness of our employees.

Icelandair Cargo has been an integral part in our recovery, ensuring important revenue generation throughout the pandemic and during the ramp-up. We believe that our plans of establishing a cargo hub in Iceland will provide great opportunities for the Company as well as Icelandic businesses. Furthermore, our leasing business emerged strongly from Covid with 2022 being one of the best performing years in the history of Loftleidir-Icelandic.

The successful ramp-up of our operations following the pandemic has been crucial for the recovery of Icelandic tourism and economy. In 2022, we brought around 740 thousand tourists to Iceland and recruited around 1,000 employees. To safeguard the value that aviation and travel create, it is important to ensure a sustainable future of these industries. We have a strong focus on economic, social and environmental sustainability across our operations and are working with our key stakeholders towards our goals in this area.

Our operating environment will remain challenging this year with inflation and increased salary cost. We are, however, confident that people will continue to prioritize travel and there will be great opportunities for Iceland as a destination as we see reflected in our near-term booking flow.

I would like to thank our customers for their trust, our partners for their cooperation and our shareholders for their support during the year. However, first and foremost, I would like to thank our employees for what we have achieved together. With our exceptional team, robust foundations of our business, healthy financial position and of course our extensive and flexible route network that allows us to constantly adapt, we look forward to seizing the opportunities ahead and continuing to bring the spirit of Iceland to the world.”

Consolidated Financial Statements Icelandair Group 

Aer Lingus Regional to start flights to Belfast City Airport from East Midlands Airport

Emerald Airlines, largest operator out of Belfast City Airport and exclusive operator of the Aer Lingus Regional network, today announces a new service from East Midlands Airport (EMA) to Belfast City.

The East Midlands to Belfast City service will start on Sunday 26 March, initially as a daily service, and will increase up to double daily from mid-April. Tickets are on sale now at www.aerlingus.com

Commenting on the announcement, Ciarán Smith, Head of Commercial at Emerald Airlines said: “We are very pleased to be strengthening our schedule out of Belfast City Airport. As the demand for travel options from Belfast only increases, this new route will no doubt be warmly welcomed. Earlier this week we announced that we will be adding 15,000+ seats immediately across our existing network from Belfast City, and we will continue growing these services in the months ahead.”

Steve Griffiths, East Midlands Airport’s Managing Director, said: “We’re delighted that the Aer Lingus Regional service between EMA and Belfast City will begin next month. This news will be well received by the passengers who make use of this popular route which is an important part of our domestic offer. We look forward to working with the airline as they seek further opportunities to grow their operation here.”

Getting Qantas back to its best....... the word according to the airlines CEO Alan Joyce

The boss of Australian airline Qantas has released the following statement on how he thinks the carrier is doing and how it is working hard to get back to its best.

Getting it back to its best.....

As the CEO of Qantas, people are always keen to tell you how they think the airline is doing. Whatever their feedback is, I always see it first and foremost as a reflection of the strong connection Australia has with the national carrier.

To be honest, we know that connection has been tested at times.

Six months ago, a lot of people felt we’d let them down and the figures showed why. Almost half our flights were late, our rate of misplaced bags had more than doubled and we were cancelling up to 7 per cent of our schedule.

Perception wise, it didn’t help that this came after some controversial restructuring decisions to make sure we survived COVID. And it didn’t matter that airlines around the world had the same problems as travel restarted. If your flight to the Gold Coast just got cancelled, it doesn’t make you feel any better if the delays are worse in Amsterdam.

Knowing that we were routinely letting customers down was hugely disappointing for everyone at Qantas. It’s the exact opposite of our culture.

Delta and American Express team up to deliver travel savings with TakeOff 15

Eligible Delta SkyMiles American Express Card Members can take 15% off Award Travel on Delta flights, anytime₁. The new TakeOff 15 benefit is available to Delta SkyMiles Gold, Platinum, and Reserve Consumer and Business American Express Card Members.


Eligible Delta SkyMiles American Express Card Members have another reason to start planning their next trip: beginning February 2, these cardholders can take 15% off Award Travel on Delta flights, anytime1.


The new TakeOff 15 benefit is available to Delta SkyMiles Gold, Platinum, and Reserve Consumer and Business American Express Card Members.

East Midlands Airport welcomes 30,000 visitors to its Aerozone

East Midlands Airport’s education facility, The Aerozone, has been used by 30,000 students since it opened in 2010. 

To mark the occasion, 28 Year 5 and 6 students from Dovecote Primary School in Clifton, Nottingham, attended a celebration event on Thursday 2 February at 10am. 

The Aerozone is East Midlands Airport’s bespoke on-site education facility which runs a programme of events through the year designed to inspire and enthuse young people about the airport, aviation and future careers within the sector. It provides an opportunity to find out first-hand what goes on behind the scenes. 

The facility was established as part of the airport’s wider commitment to supporting the local community. With its versatile classroom, interactive learning resources and proximity to the airport terminal, young people who attend the courses are immersed in a full airport experience. A recent addition includes a portable air traffic control simulator which gives users a virtual experience of what’s involved in being an air traffic controller. 

For the youngest children, there is also the ‘East Minilands’, a fun and interactive role-play area where children can dress up in uniform and have a go at being security officers or check-in staff. The space includes a check-in desk, security search area, café, shop and mock aeroplane cabin, complete with ten aircraft seats. 

Spaceflight names Tiphaine Louradour as new CEO

Spaceflight Inc., a premier launch and in-space transportation services provider, announced this week that industry veteran and global business leader Tiphaine Louradour has joined the company as chief executive officer (CEO). She succeeds Curt Blake, a founding executive in the rideshare business who has served as Spaceflight CEO and president since 2013, establishing it as the leader in smallsat rideshare, navigating the development of a global portfolio of launch vehicles and services, including its ground-breaking Sherpa™ orbital transfer vehicle (OTV) program.

With 25 years as a global business leader, Louradour brings a wealth of strategic leadership, sales, and operational experience with past positions as president at International Launch Services, Inc. (ILS) and as ULA’s president, ULS global commercial sales. In addition, she has held senior leadership roles for multinational consulting firms, national firms and start-up companies in a variety of industries with geographically diverse environments.

“I could not be more excited to accept the position as CEO of this well-established company with its impressively talented team and long history of solving customers’ challenges in getting to, and around, space,” said Louradour. “My goal in leading this organization is to build on its ground-breaking achievements and expand the launch and on-orbit service offerings beyond LEO. I’m very much looking forward to working with the team, as well as its customers and partners, to continue to evolve Spaceflight and especially its Sherpa OTV program, into its next phase of growth.”

SkyWest releases fourth quarter and annual 2022 results

SkyWest Airlines has a fleet of over 500 aircraft connecting passengers to over 230 destinations throughout North America. SkyWest Airlines operates through partnerships with United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines and Alaska Airlines carrying more than 40 million passengers in 2022. Earlier this week the company released fourth quarter and annual 2022 results.

Fourth Quarter and Annual 2022 Summary

Full year 2022 pre-tax income of $93 million, net income of $73 million, or $1.44 per diluted share

Q4 2022 pre-tax loss of $62 million, net loss of $47 million, or $0.93 loss per share

Secured amendments under the majority of SkyWest’s flying contracts to provide increased compensation for SkyWest’s current pilot pay scales

Took delivery of four E175 aircraft for Delta Air Lines (“Delta”) during Q4 2022 under previously announced agreements

SkyWest, Inc. has reported financial and operating results for Q4 2022, including net loss of $47 million, or $0.93 loss per share, compared to a net income of $4 million, or $0.09 per diluted share, for Q4 2021. The Q4 2022 results:

reflect $69 million of deferred revenue related to fixed monthly cash payments received under SkyWest’s newly amended flying contracts;

include a $36 million non-cash impairment charge on ten CRJ700 aircraft that were placed under a held-for-sale arrangement; and

include an $11 million accelerated expense on 21 leased CRJ aircraft that are in the process of being stored prior to the lease expiration.

SkyWest also reported net income of $73 million, or $1.44 per diluted share, for the 2022 year, compared to net income of $112 million, or $2.20 per diluted share, for the 2021 year and adjusted net income of $176 million1, or $3.46 per diluted share, for the 2021 year.

Commenting on the results, Chip Childs, Chief Executive Officer of SkyWest, said, “We continue to experience strong demand for our product, and our teams performed exceptionally well through the busy holiday season to deliver a solid 99.9% adjusted completion rate for the fourth quarter. Also during the quarter, we were pleased to have finalized amendments to the flying contracts with a majority of our partners to reflect our increased pilot scales. I want to thank our people for their dedicated, world-class efforts to deliver a strong, reliable product.”

Financial Results

Boost for aspiring young aviators as government provides funding for outreach programmes

The Reach for the Sky Challenge Fund will help to get young people from all backgrounds into aviation.

The Uk government is today announcing the winners of its Reach for the Sky Challenge Fund, which will help to get young people from all backgrounds into aviation.

Eleven non-profit organisations have been selected, with £700,000 going to fund outreach programmes and events to show the next generation what opportunities the aviation sector can offer.

For those who have previously struggled to get a foothold in this exciting industry, the aim of the fund is to break down barriers – targeting those schemes which provide an entry point for people who are from underprivileged backgrounds or under-represented groups.

It forms part of the new Generation Aviation campaign which recognises that, for the sector to successfully adapt to the challenges of tomorrow, it needs a robust, open, and diverse workforce – with a reliable pool of talent from the full range of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields and other critical roles.

The Transport Secretary will announce the winners today at the very first Aviation Council – one of the first commitments in the government’s 10-year strategy for the sector, Flightpath to the Future.

Transport Secretary Mark Harper said:

"Innovation propels aviation and for it to face up to tomorrow’s challenges it needs an open and diverse workforce that can bring fresh ideas and ways of working.

Our Reach for the Sky Challenge Fund recipients will be key to that, inspiring the next generation into the sector and helping to build an aviation workforce fit for the future.

I was pleased to chair the first ever Aviation Council today and continue our healthy collaboration with industry, supporting it in every way we can, so it can continue to push boundaries."

Among the 11 winning organisations are:

Hyatt completes take over of Dream Hotel Group

The addition of Dream Hotel Group further strengthens Hyatt’s global lifestyle footprint and accelerates asset-light growth

Dream Hollywood (Photo: Business Wire)

Hyatt Hotels Corporation has confirmed the completion of the Dream Hotel Group lifestyle hotel brand and management platform acquisition, bringing a vibrant portfolio of lifestyle hotel brands – including Dream Hotels, The Chatwal and Unscripted Hotels – into the Hyatt portfolio. The asset-light acquisition includes 12 lifestyle hotels (nine managed and three licensed), with another 24 signed long-term management agreements for hotels expected to open in the future.

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Dream Hotel Group properties are known for their progressive design and vibrant dining and nightlife that are the soul of each hotel. They boast unique and authentic hospitality experiences built on inventive activations and design-savvy spaces that inspire creativity and act as social hubs for guests as well as local communities.

The acquisition welcomes more than 600 new colleagues into the Hyatt family, bringing deep expertise in experiential hospitality to Hyatt’s global portfolio of lifestyle offerings and extending Hyatt’s brand footprint in strategic destinations including Nashville, Hollywood, Las Vegas, South Beach, Saint Lucia, Doha and several new locations new in New York City. It will also include new markets such as the Catskills in New York and Valle de Guadalupe in Mexico.

“Hyatt’s acquisition of Dream Hotel Group represents an exciting chapter in our asset-light growth as we expand our lifestyle offerings, providing global travellers with an increased number of elevated experiences – now, and in the future,” said Mark Hoplamazian, president and chief executive officer, Hyatt. “Together, we will carefully preserve the spirit and individual identities of the sought-after Dream Hotel Group hotels while adding the commercial strength of Hyatt’s marketing and sales channels, all united under the World of Hyatt loyalty program.”

Dream Hotel Group founder Sant Singh Chatwal will continue his commitment as an owner of four open and two future hotels that are expected to join the Hyatt portfolio.

Qantas has launched a sale with discounted fares to 26 destinations across the airline’s international network and will launch a new route between Melbourne and Jakarta.

Qantas has launched a sale with discounted fares to 26 destinations across the airline’s international network and will launch a new route between Melbourne and Jakarta.

QANTAS INTERNATIONAL SALE

More than 170,000 seats are up for grabs, with the sale fares up to 35 per cent below the normal lead-in fares. Discounts vary from route to route and selected travel dates and days apply. Examples of some of the sale fares include:

• Melbourne – Delhi from $999 return
• Melbourne – London from $1,699 return
• Melbourne – Singapore from $759 return
• Melbourne – Dallas/Fort Worth from $1,899 return
• Sydney – Los Angeles from $1,299 return
• Sydney – Santiago from $1,699 return
• Sydney – Bengaluru from $999 return
• Sydney – Seoul from $949 return
• Brisbane – Singapore from $759 return
• Perth – Singapore from $599 return

The sale runs until Tuesday, 7 February 2023, unless sold out prior.*

Aviation Capital Group Announces Delivery of One Boeing 737-9 MAX to Copa Airlines

Aviation Capital Group announced the delivery of one new Boeing 737-9 MAX aircraft on long-term lease to Copa Airlines earlier this week.  This Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, powered by CFM International LEAP-1B engines, is the final aircraft to deliver to the airline as part of a multiple-aircraft sale-and-lease back transaction between ACG and Copa Airlines.

Aviation Capital Group was founded in 1989 and is one of the world’s premier full-service aircraft asset managers with approximately 480 owned, managed and committed aircraft as of September 30, 2022, which are leased to approximately 90 airlines in approximately 45 countries. ACG is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tokyo Century Corporation.