Air France-KLM has invested $4.7 million in DG Fuels, a U.S.-producer of sustainable aviation fuel, and agreed to purchase up to an additional 25 million gallons (75,000 tons) of SAF annually over a multi-year period beginning in 2029, the airline company announced Friday. The SAF commitment is in addition to the 600,000 tons of SAF Air France-KLM agreed to buy in October 2022 for delivery between 2027 and 2036.
The $4.7 million investment will be used to support the completion the “development work necessary to reach the final investment decision on DG Fuels’ first sustainable aviation fuel plant, which will be located in Louisiana,” according to the company.
Wheels Up on Thursday reported third-quarter revenue of $320 million, about a $100 million decline from a year prior. It also posted a net loss of $144.8 million, compared with a net loss of $148.8 million in the third quarter of 2022.
It was the company’s first quarterly results after being given a $500 million rescue package in August from Delta Air Lines and investment firms Certares and Knighthead and hiring a new CEO, who started in October.
“My recent customer interactions have reinforced the need for our industry to deliver unique solutions that enable customer choice,” said Wheels Up CEO George Mattson during a Thursday earnings call. “Over the last several weeks, we have worked to integrate our corporate sales teams and marketing initiatives with Delta.”
On Oct. 31, Wheels Up launched a corporate member program, Up for Business, focused on Delta’s 45,000 small and midsized enterprise customers, and was “actively engaged with 150 new prospects within the first six business days after launch,” Mattson said.
Historically, the company flew mostly leisure customers, Mattson said, with much of its flying on weekend and holidays, leaving midweek capacity underutilized. “We expect our collaboration with Delta on new commercial engagements will lead to increased corporate customers that typically engage in more midweek flying,” he said. “A higher mix of corporate flying will further leverage our network density and increase our asset utilization and efficiency, driving down our unit costs.”
During the third quarter, Wheels Up’s active members declined 15 percent year over year to just under 11,000. Active users were down 10 percent to about 12,000. Live flight legs were down 21 percent to about 16,600, “reflecting a slowdown in the industry and the company’s efforts to focus on more profitable flying.” Its revenue per live flight leg was down 2 percent to nearly $13,000.
Domestic air traffic in September “hit a new high” for the month as demand, measured in revenue passenger kilometers, rose 28.3 percent year over year, representing a 5 percent increase over September 2019 levels, according to the International Air Transport Association. Domestic capacity for the month increased 28.2 percent.
International traffic in September increased 31.2 percent from a year prior and reached 93.1 percent of pre-pandemic levels. International capacity increased 29.2 percent. Total demand increased 30.1 percent for the month and reached 97.3 percent of 2019 levels. Total capacity increased 28.8 percent.
“The third quarter of 2023 ended on a high note, with record domestic passenger demand for the month of September and continued strong international traffic, IATA director general Willie Walsh said in a statement.
Despite the positive trends, “slowing domestic demand and ticket sales” could serve as potential headwinds in the industry’s recovery, according to IATA.
[Report continues below chart.]
China led domestic markets with triple-digit increases in both traffic and capacity; however, the numbers were measured against a low base in September 2022, when domestic travel restrictions were reintroduced in some Chinese provinces, according to IATA. Still, the traffic level exceeded September 2019 levels by 8.1 percent.
Japan, despite reporting a year-over-year demand increase of 19.9 percent, was the only domestic market to show a decline compared with 2019 levels, of 9.6 percent. After China, the United States showed the most post-pandemic growth in demand at 6.1 percent.
Internationally, all regions posted double-digit increases in demand as well as capacity for September, with Asia-Pacific again with the highest gains, although it lagged September 2019 levels by 20.3 percent. Nearly all of the reporting regions also still are below pre-pandemic capacity levels, except for the United States, which is up 2.4 percent.
“With the end of 2023 fast approaching, we can look back on a year of strong recovery in demand as passengers took full advantage of their freedom to travel,” Walsh said. “There is every reason to believe that this momentum can be maintained in the New York, despite economic and political uncertainties in parts of the world.”
Beginning Jan. 1, 2024, United Airlines will increase the number of premier qualifying points, the qualification mechanism of its loyalty program, awarded on qualifying purchases with United MileagePlus credit cards issued by Chase, the carrier announced Thursday. The qualifying requirements for elite status will not change.
Under the new requirements, cardmembers will earn 25 premier qualifying points for every $500 in qualifying spending on MileagePlus credit cards. Currently they earn 500 PQP for every $12,000 in card spending, meaning members can earn up to 100 more PQP for the same $12,000 in spend. All card-earned PQP will count toward each status level, including the PQP-only requirement for Premier 1K status.
The carrier also will increase the total PQP amount one can earn with the United Club Infinite card to 10,000 PQP, up from 8,000 in 2023. United also will remove the annual cap of 15,000 PQP that can be earned from qualifying spend across multiple eligible United MileagePlus credit cards issued by Chase.
In addition, on Feb. 1, 2024, current Premier members will receive automatic PQP deposits to get a “head start” in earnings status for the next year, according to United. PQP deposits will total 250 for Premier Silver status, 500 for Premier Gold, 750 for Premier Platinum and 1,250 for Premier 1K.
Alaska Airlines on March 14 will begin daily, year-round service between Portland, Ore., and Nashville, Tenn., the carrier announced Thursday. Service will be operated with Boeing 737 aircraft. The carrier also is set to launch on Nov. 17 nonstop Portland-Miami service.
Bookings in Amadeus’ global distribution system increased 12.7 percent year over year to 112.5 million in the third quarter, a period that saw “progressive strengthening of the travel industry,” according to Amadeus president and CEO Luis Maroto.
Amadeus noted that global air traffic recovery levels in the third quarter were at “a milder pace” compared with earlier quarters this year, and the mix of international air traffic among overall global air traffic. Air distribution revenue increased 16.4 percent year over year to €667.1 million during the quarter, boosted by a 3.3 percent year-over-year increase in revenue per booking.
For the first nine months of 2023, Amadeus reported 348 million total bookings, an increase of 15.7 percent year over year—about 78 percent of the 447 million air bookings reported in the first nine months of 2019. Air distribution revenue was up 25.9 percent to €2 billion during the period.
The Asia/Pacific region has had the sharpest growth for air distribution during the first nine months of the year, up 75.3 percent year over year. The next highest growth region was Western Europe, where are bookings were up 15.7 percent year over year, according to Amadeus.
Amadeus’ total revenue increased 14.5 percent year over year to €1.4 billion during the third quarter, with air IT solutions revenue up 15.1 percent to €506.1 million and hospitality and other solutions revenue up 8 percent to €221.1 million. The company reported a profit of €301.2 million for the quarter, up 48.6 percent year over year.
Southwest Airlines has agreed to purchase up to 680 million gallons of neat sustainable aviation fuel over 20 years from producer USA BioEnergy, the carrier announced Thursday. Purchases from USA BioEnergy’s facility near Bon Wier, Texas, could begin as soon as 2028. The agreement also includes an opportunity to purchase up to another projected 180 million gallons of SAF from future planned production facilities, according to Southwest.
Horizon Air, which provides regional service on behalf of Alaska Airlines, has named Jason Berry president effective immediately, succeeding Joe Sprague, who is retiring, the carrier announced Friday. Berry joined Horizon in February 2023 as SVP of operations. Previously, Berry spent two years as VP of cargo at Air Canada, and he also led Alaska Air Cargo and McGee Air Services, according to Horizon.
Sabre reported a 12 percent increase in total third-quarter bookings year over year, which helped push an 11 percent increase in Travel Solutions revenue to $671.9 million.
The bookings growth included an 11 percent year-over-year increase in air bookings to 76.1 million. In an earnings call, CEO Kurt Ekert said Sabre also grew its share of industry air bookings in the quarter to 34.1 percent, up 0.7 percentage points year over year and up 0.4 percentage points compared with the second quarter.
“We expect signed but not-yet-implemented [global distribution system] deals, a robust pipeline and our strong competitive distribution offering [will] position us well for continued share gains and future growth,” Ekert said.
Non-air travel bookings for Sabre increased 18 percent year over year in the third quarter to 13.4 million.
Ekert said corporate travel bookings remain about 25 percent below pre-pandemic levels, though they are closer to full recovery on a cost basis with higher travel costs. Sabre’s average booking fee for the quarter was $5.87, up 9 percent year over year.
Sabre Hospitality Solutions revenue was up 16 percent year over year to $78.6 million, and total revenue was up 12 percent to $740.5 million in the third quarter.
Ekert called the quarter “an important turning point” for Sabre, as it had an operating income of $52 million, compared with a $57 million operating loss the year prior. That has been driven in part by Sabre’s cost-cutting measures announced earlier this year, including a 15 percent reduction in its workforce, that are on track to provide $200 million in annualized savings by next year, Ekert said.
Sabre reported a net loss of $211.8 million for the quarter, compared with a $140.7 million net loss in the third quarter of 2022. The increased loss stemmed partially from a loss on the extinguishment of a $121 million debt, higher interest expenses and an adjustment in the value of Sabre’s investment in American Express Global Business Travel.
JetBlue in September warned in a complaint to the U.S. Department of Transportation against the Dutch government and European Union that it was at risk of losing its slots at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport by the summer of 2024, and that prediction seems to have come true.
The Schiphol slot coordinator ACNL has said that airlines without historic rights at the airport, including JetBlue, will not be allocated summer 2024 slots, according to Reuters. In addition, airlines with historic rights will receive 3.1 percent fewer slots than before.
“We believe the U.S. and Dutch governments have an obligation under our historic Open Skies Agreement to ensure that JetBlue is granted continued access at Amsterdam’s only viable airport,” the carrier wrote in an email statement. “We look forward to continuing to engage with all stakeholders to ensure that JetBlue can continue to maintain its presence in Amsterdam going forward.”
JetBlue just entered the Amsterdam market in August, with flights from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport and then in September with flights from Boston. It has two historic-eligible slots for the winter 2023-2024 scheduling season.
Schiphol and the Dutch government—which is a majority owner of the airport—has for the past year been in a contentious position with carriers and industry groups, which sued the government as it looked to cut annual movements at the airport to reduce noise pollution. In the most recent ruling, the Dutch court granted permission for the new flight caps to take place. Effective March 31, 2024, movements will be capped at 460,000, down from the current 500,000. As of Oct. 27, 2024, that figure will be reduced to 452,500.
For the summer 2024 season, which runs from March 31 to Oct. 26, Schiphol on Sept. 28 announced a cap of 280,645 flights, about 12,400 fewer than allowed in summer 2023.
In its September complaint, JetBlue also requested that the U.S. government take steps against Dutch carriers, including flag-carrier KLM, “to ensure that they are treated in a similar manner.”
Lufthansa Group on Thursday reported third-quarter revenue of nearly €10.3 billion (US$10.9 billion), an 8 percent increase year over year in what it said was the strongest third quarter in the company’s history in terms of revenue. The company also reported a net profit of nearly $1.2 billion, up 47 percent from a year prior.
The passenger airlines segment revenue was up 14 percent year over year to more than €8.5 billion. Of that, passenger revenue was up 16 percent to €8.1 billion. Third-quarter capacity was up 13 percent versus a year prior and was at 88 percent of Q3 2019 levels. The group’s airlines carried nearly 38.2 million passengers during the quarter, up 14 percent year over year. The company credited its increased quarterly results to strong demand—particularly leisure in the premium segment—higher capacity and ongoing high yields.
The company, however, noted in its risk outlook that with economic development in Germany for the rest of 2023 and 2024 “likely to be weaker than forecast,” issues such as “persistently high inflation,” rising interest rates and volatile energy prices are weighing on private consumption and investing activities.
“The Lufthansa Group is therefore exposed to an increased risk that customers will reduce their travel budgets, especially in the business travel segment,” according to the company. Persistent high inflation also could result in higher cost increases than expected.
Still, Lufthansa Group expects demand to remain strong in the coming months as summer demand has extended into October and the holiday season already is strong. The company projects fourth-quarter capacity to be about 91 percent of 2019 levels. Q4 bookings currently are up by double-digit percentages year over year, according to the carrier.
So far for the first nine months of the year, Lufthansa reported revenue of nearly €12.1 billion, up 29 percent year over year. Swiss was up 28 percent to more than €4.4 billion. Austrian Airlines saw a gain of 32 percent from a year prior to €1.8 billion, and Brussels Airlines was up 33 percent to nearly €1.2 billion.
Delta Air Lines will reduce its corporate staffing, the carrier confirmed in a Thursday statement, but did not specify which or how many roles would be affected. The cuts represent a “small adjustment to corporate/management positions,” according to Delta, which added that no frontline roles—such as pilots and crew—would be affected.
“As Delta plans for 2024 and beyond, we continue evolving our business to better manage costs and set Delta up for success. We heavily invested in our business to manage the rapid return of demand for our product over the past few years,” Delta said in the statement.
“While we’re not yet back to full capacity, now is the time to make adjustments to programs, budgets and organizational structures across Delta to meet our stated goals—one part of this effort includes adjustments to corporate staffing in support of these changes,” Delta continued. “These decisions are never made lightly but always with care and respect for our impacted team members and the Delta family. Delta people who run our operation and serve our customers are the lifeblood of our business. Delta didn’t make any frontline layoffs during the pandemic, and we aren’t making them now.”
On Oct. 12, Delta reported record third-quarter revenue of $15.5 billion, up 11 percent year over year, with net income of $1.1 billion. “Our operational reliability continues to strengthen, thanks to our people, and I’m pleased to recognize their outstanding efforts with over $1 billion accrued year-to-date towards profit sharing,” Delta CEO Ed Bastian said then in a quarterly earnings statement.
In 2022, the carrier hired about 25,000 new employees as it “continued to rebuild the airline,” according to its latest annual report. As of Dec. 31, 2022, Delta had approximately 95,000 full-time employees. As of Dec. 31, 2019, Delta employed about 91,000 full-time people. By Dec. 31, 2020, after the Covid-19 pandemic hit, that number was approximately 74,000, with about 18,000 people taking early retirements and “voluntary separation programs.”
Some airlines have noted on earnings calls that fuel and labor costs have increased in 2023. Through Sept. 30, Delta for 2023 reported a 13 percent year-over-year increase in total operating expenses. Salaries and related costs had increased 23 percent during the period to $10.8 billion. Fuel costs, however, were down 6 percent to $8.1 billion. Delta last month projected fourth-quarter fuel costs to remain steady or increase up to 2 percent year over year.
TravelBank has added Lufthansa Group’s New Distribution Content to its booking platform, the company announced.
The integration allows TravelBank customers to access the group’s content, bypassing its distribution surcharge, and book, cancel and modify flights, according to TravelBank. App users also can buy premium seats.
JetBlue on Tuesday reported a third-quarter net loss as executives cited challenges during the quarter that included weather disruptions, “unprecedented” air traffic control restrictions and higher fuel costs.
“In the third quarter, we had 68 days of significant operational disruption versus 40 days in the third quarter last year,” JetBlue president and COO Joanna Geraghty said during a Tuesday earnings call. “The severity of ATC constraints was also worse than previous summers based on airborne holding, diversions, taxi time and cancellations seen throughout the industry due to ATC.”
JetBlue for the third quarter reported a loss of $153 million, compared with net income of $57 million a year prior.
Another “near-term headwind” is “industry capacity that is outpacing domestic demand,” JetBlue CEO Robin Hayes said. Still, the carrier has seen “an acceleration in corporate booking since Labor Day, an encouraging sign that recovery and business travel is picking back up after notably dropping off through the summer,” Geraghty said.
Corporate segment revenues, however, remain “about 20 percent below” pre-pandemic revenues, JetBlue head of revenue and planning Dave Clark said. “But we are seeing that sequential improvement [in] some areas like media and entertainment, which has seen some softness over the summer with strikes, picked back up in the fall.”
The carrier saw “softer than expected off-peak and close-in leisure demand in September,” Geraghty said, adding that fourth-quarter growth primarily will be driven by international “as we proactively work to manage our capacity and reduce schedules in off-peak periods.”
JetBlue has been “reallocating capacity out of” and seeing “the most acute demand challenges” in some shorter-haul markets and in some business markets, Clark said. “We’ve really focused there to right-size that capacity to the new reality in those markets.”
One of those markets has been New York, where JetBlue is “seeing the most pressure on the short-haul day-trip market,” Clark said. The carrier is “now sort of hourly when it counts at the key times a day, and then every couple of hours the rest of the day.”
The carrier also confirmed it has or is pulling out of two cities: Havana, Cuba—where flights were suspended in September—and Burlington, Vermont. The latter city had twice-daily flights to New York John F. Kennedy International Airport. The last day of service will be Jan. 4, 2024.
JetBlue Q3 Metrics
JetBlue reported third-quarter revenue of nearly $2.4 billion, down about 8.2 percent from a year prior. Passenger revenue was $2.2 billion, down from more than $2.4 billion in Q3 2022. The average fuel price for the quarter was $2.94 per gallon. Capacity grew 7.1 percent year over year.
Fourth-quarter guidance included an increase in capacity of 0.5 percent to 3.5 percent year over year. Revenue is projected to be down 6.5 percent to 10.5 percent compared with Q4 2022. Estimated fourth-quarter fuel costs are $3.05 to $3.20 per gallon.
For full-year 2023, JetBlue updated its outlook for a revenue increase of 3 percent to 5 percent year over year compared with prior guidance of 6 percent to 9 percent. The carrier also narrowed its projected capacity growth to 5 percent to 7 percent year over year compared with a previous projection of 5.5 percent to 8.5 percent. Estimated 2023 fuel costs are $3.02 to $3.07 per gallon.
Virgin Australia has selected Sabre to distribute its New Distribution Capability content for its “future retailing efforts across both direct and indirect channels,” the technology company announced Tuesday. Sabre did not immediately respond to a request to clarify the timeframe. Virgin Australia will use Sabre’s NDC IT product along with its global distribution system for its NDC offers.
Air Canada’s managed corporate segment demand is remaining steady, at about 25 percent to 30 percent below 2019 levels, Air Canada EVP of network planning and revenue management Mark Galardo said during a Monday third-quarter earnings call.
The carrier, however, continued to see “sustained recovery in the SME side, and that gives us some interesting yield prospects going forward,” Galardo said, adding that overall demand continued to track above 2019 levels. “This combined with the capacity constraints at the global industry level have continued to favor the yield environment, especially for our international markets.”
The best third-quarter regional performers for the carrier were Atlantic and Pacific routes, with yield increases of about 13 percent and 11 percent, respectively, year over year, Galardo said. “Most of the new international routes met or exceeded expectations.”
Premium revenue continued to perform strongly and was up 21 percent from a year prior, with demand from both leisure and business markets, Galardo said.
Air Canada Q3 Metrics
Air Canada reported third-quarter revenue of more than C$6.3 billion (US$4.5 billion), a 19.2 percent increase year over year. Passenger revenue was C$5.9 billion, a record for the quarter and nearly 22 percent higher than Q3 2022. International revenue for the quarter increased 32 percent year over year. Domestic and transborder revenue were up 3 percent and 32 percent, respectively. Net income was C$1.25 billion, up from a loss of C$508 million a year prior.
Third-quarter capacity increased 10 percent year over year, and the carrier also plans for a fourth-quarter increase of about 10 percent from a year prior. After some adjustments in 2023 to account for issues including regional pilot availability and supply chain pressures, plus the suspension of Air Canada’s Tel Aviv route, the carrier now expects full-year capacity to be up about 20 percent from 2022, compared with a prior projection of 21 percent.
Air Canada plans to move in the fourth quarter and first quarter of 2024 some capacity out of the North Atlantic and into the Pacific to take advantage of recovery opportunities in the region, Galardo said. The carrier will increase capacity to Japan and South Korea, add frequency to its new route to Bangkok and add an additional red-eye from Vancouver to Hong Kong.
Thousands of people waving the black, green, red and white Palestinian flag and chanting “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” gathered at Pershing Square on Saturday afternoon to protest Israel’s escalating air and ground war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The event began with a series of speakers who decried the deaths of thousands of Palestinian civilians in Israeli bombing attacks since Oct. 7, when Hamas militants launched their bloody incursion into Israel, and called for an end to what they termed an Israeli occupation of the densely populated enclave on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea.
The crowd then began marching slowly down the middle of 6th Street, attracting hundreds more people who had arrived to show their support by joining the event led by groups that included the Palestinian Youth Movement, an independent, grassroots organization of Palestinian and Arab youths.
Demonstrators carry a gigantic black, green, red and white Palestinian flag in showing their support for Palestinians at Pershing Square in downtown L.A. on Saturday.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Among them was Salah Odeh, of Pasadena, who said he was supposed to have joined his University of La Verne teammates in a game on Saturday but decided that the situation in his home country is “bigger than football.”
He said it’s imperative that the people of Gaza be given humanitarian aid and that Palestinian fighters receive military assistance in the face of Israel’s bombing campaign in recent weeks.
“People are offering their prayers, and that’s good — but we need physical help. We need military assistance,” said Odeh, who wore a black-and-white keffiyeh on his head, a Palestinian flag around his neck like a cape, and a pro-Palestine shirt and necklaces.
Gaza, he added, “is an open-air prison where everyone has been given the death penalty simply because they are Palestinian.”
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators march down 6th Street in downtown L.A. on Saturday.
(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
Many of the demonstrators were heartened by the size of Saturday’s protest, which they view as an indication that younger generations are rejecting media narratives that they say unfairly seem to portray all Palestinian people as terrorists.
Negar Mizani, of Los Angeles, was accompanied by her husband and 3-year-old daughter in their third street demonstration since the war erupted on Oct. 7 with an attack on Israel by Hamas militants.
She shared an impassioned plea. “We would like for the Israeli apartheid to end — and a cease-fire,” she said. “It’s about recognition of the humanity of the people of Gaza.”
Nearby, Roy Nashef, of Los Angeles, held up a sign calling on the media to differentiate between Hamas and the residents of Gaza. “I’m just here to grieve with everyone else,” he said.
The war has led protesters on both sides to take to the streets across California and around the world.
A week ago, thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered at Pershing Square in downtown Los Angeles, then began marching down Hill Street chanting and carrying signs denouncing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a “war criminal.”
Thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered two weeks earlier near the Israeli Consulate in West L.A. to condemn the bombardment of Gaza.
The next day, thousands marched to the Simon Wiesenthal Center Museum of Tolerance in solidarity with Israel. Los Angeles is home to the second-largest Jewish community in America, with more than 500,000 members, and while views on the conflict run the gamut, many have found themselves reeling by the events that have unfolded in recent weeks.
The latest bloodshed began Oct. 7 when Hamas launched its incursion into Israel, killing more than 1,400 people — mostly civilians — and taking more than 200 hostages. Since then, Israel has launched a barrage of airstrikes across Gaza that have destroyed neighborhoods as Hamas militants fire rockets into Israel.
On Saturday, Palestinian officials published the names of 6,747 Palestinians killed and pleaded for help in a humanitarian crisis, with more than 1 million people displaced.
Israeli officials said 230 hostages are still being held in Gaza by Hamas. On Saturday night, Netanyahu said that the military had opened a “second stage” in the war by expanding the bombardment and sending ground troops into Gaza.
Times staff writer Louis Sahagun contributed to this report.
Business travel volume at International Airlines Group carriers, including British Airways, Iberia, Vueling and Aer Lingus, in the third quarter collectively reached 64 percent of 2019 levels while business travel revenue reached 74 percent, IAG CEO Luis Gallego said Friday during a quarterly earnings call.
Those figures compare with a collective 60 percent of 2019 business travel volume and 69 percent of revenue that IAG carriers reached in the second quarter, he said.
“Corporate demand continues to recover more slowly, particularly at British Airways,” Gallego said, noting as he did in the prior quarter that business travel recovery correlates with corporate return-to-office strategies.
“There has been a difference in the rate of recovery of different types of business trips and regions,” Gallego said. “For example, long-haul business trips have recovered faster than short-haul.”
Gallego also noted that business travel recovery has been inconsistent among IAG airlines. While British Airways’ third-quarter business travel volume reached 64 percent of 2019 levels and revenue 75 percent, Iberia was at 86 percent and 96 percent, respectively, in Q3. Aer Lingus was at 60 percent business travel volume recovery and 72 percent revenue compared with 2019, he said.
“We are pleased that business volume for BA … has increased 10 points from the level we saw at the end of July,” Gallego said.
IAG Q3 Performance
IAG reported more than €8.6 billion in third-quarter revenue, up about 18 percent year over year. Passenger revenue increased 20.5 percent to €7.7 billion. IAG reported a third-quarter operating profit of about €1.23 billion, up from €853 billion in the second quarter of 2022.
Third-quarter capacity, as measures in available seat kilometers, increased nearly 18 percent year over year and has reached 95.6 percent of 2019 levels, and officials projected full-year capacity would reach 96 percent of its pre-pandemic level.
Fourth-quarter bookings appear “as expected,” according to the company.
Air France-KLM third-quarter revenue increased nearly 9 percent at constant currency to nearly €8.7 billion on “strong summer demand” in a “solid quarter,” CEO Ben Smith said in a statement. Meanwhile, Air France said its winter-season service to North America would increase 20 percent compared with 2019 levels.
In addition to new thrice-weekly service between Raleigh–Durham International Airport and Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport on Boeing 787-9 aircraft beginning Oct. 30, the carrier during the winter season would additional flights or larger planes on service between Paris and each Dallas, Vancouver, Boston and Montreal.
Raleigh-Durham will become the 14th U.S. destination to which the carrier offers direct service. Air France also said it would launch on Oct. 29 direct daily service between Abu Dhabi International Airport and Paris.
Q3 Performance
Air France-KLM reported third-quarter net income of €931 million, up from €460 million one year prior. Passenger revenue increased about 4 percent to just shy of €7.2 billion.
The company projects fourth-quarter capacity at more than 95 percent compared with 2019 and full-year capacity at “circa” 95 percent of pre-pandemic levels.
Virgin Atlantic plans to suspend service between London Heathrow and Austin, Texas, a route launched in May 2022, citing a “persistent softening in corporate demand, specifically the tech sector,” the carrier announced Friday. The carrier’s last service between the cities will operate Jan. 7, 2024.
“We adored flying our customers to Austin and experiencing this wonderful city of music and culture, but demand in the tech sector is not set to improve in the near term, with corporate demand at 70 percent of 2019 levels,” Virgin Atlantic chief commercial officer Juha Jarvinen said in a statement.
The airline will be in contact with affected customers scheduled to fly after Jan. 7 “to provide options, which include offering a full refund,” according to the carrier.
Citing “robust customer demand” for premium leisure travel, Virgin Atlantic also is adding capacity between London Heathrow and Miami to twice daily from 11 flights per week for the summer 2024 season.
