WestJet (shares up 1.2%) reported its 19th consecutive quarter of profitability in the three months ended Dec-2009, but unveiled a 52% slump in net profit (to USD19.3 million) and a 7.4% reduction in revenues (to USD545 million).
The weaker result nevertheless prompted CEO, Sean Durfy, to state that the Canadian LCC was “once again one of the top performers in the North American airline industry”. Mr Durfy added that he was “ecstatic and extremely pleased" with the results, noting the LCC's ability to remain profitable during 2009 shows its “business model works even in the darkest times”.
The carrier reported a 7.4% RASM decline in the period (to USD 12.35 cents), less than the expected decline of 11-13%, due to a better-than-anticipated performance in Dec-2009. The carrier’s yields were down 11.0% (to USD 15.74 cents) in the quarter.
Looking forward, Mr Durfy commented that the carrier is expecting continued pressure on fares in 1Q2010 (with RASM tracking for a year-on-year decline of less than 5%), but added that it expected continued profitability in 2010.
AirAsia X has an equal mix of profitable and non-profitable routes: CEO
AirAsia X CEO, Azran Osman-Rani, stated the carrier now has an equal mix of profitable and non-profitable routes, with the carrier’s Taipei service breaking even after six months of operations. Mr Osman-Rani expects the London service will need between 12 to 18 months until it breaks even. Mr Osman-Rani added that plans to launch services to Incheon and Sydney were “critical for our own business, for us to sustain our business model”. Shares in AirAsia X parent, AirAsia, slipped 1.4% yesterday.
Alexander Lebedev denies interest in NIKI shareholding
Meanwhile, Russian billionaire, Alexander Lebedev, denied reports by Die Pressie that he was considering acquiring a stake in NIKI. NIKI is currently in “advanced talks” with existing shareholder, Air Berlin, regarding the German LCC increasing its stake in NIKI.
Selected LCCs daily share price movements (% change): 17-Feb-2010.png)
Source: Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation & Yahoo! Finance
Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation
1 comment:
Most recently, my wife and I were stranded in Abu Dhabi when AirAsiaX announced they were canceling service to/from Abu Dhabi in January this year. They didn’t notify us (their stranded passengers), until Feb 10th. Neither did they offer any accommodation nor answer our emails asking for help. We had to get back to Malaysia on our own. They won’t reimburse our additional expenses either.
They said they would refund the Abu Dhabi/Kuala Lumpur portion of our trip, but it will take them 30-50 days to process the refund. Such an attitude!
Watch out for these guys. If you are considering using AirAsiaX, It might be a good idea to develop a plan B... just in case.
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