Airbus Updates No.2894

 

JetBlue Defers Airbus Deliveries As Revenues Are Down 76%

US hybrid carrier JetBlue today revealed that it had deferred Airbus deliveries as it presented its Q3 results. The airline also told how its revenues are down by 76% year on year due to the continued global passenger downturn.

JetBlue revealed a pre-tax loss of $578 million for the third quarter. Photo: Vincenzo Pace | JFKJets.com

‘Tis the season. However, rather than being the season of giving, it is the season of results calls. All of the major US airlines are revealing their quarterly results for the period from July to September. Earlier this month, United Airlines announced a $1.8 billion net loss for the quarter. Meanwhile, American Airlines posted a sizeable $2.4 billion loss last week. Now it’s JetBlue’s turn.

Revenue down 76%

All airlines around the world are seeing their results impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The United States airlines are no exception to this rule. JetBlue is currently suffering from a severe lack of passengers. Of course, with fewer passengers traveling, fewer tickets are sold. This, in turn, means that less money is coming into the airline.

Indeed, JetBlue reported that is third-quarter revenue had fallen by 76% year on year. However, things could be worse. The airline had been planning for this reduction to reach 80%. The airline reported a pre-tax loss of $578 million for the quarter. This compares to a pre-tax profit of $254 last year.

JetBlue has grounded many aircraft as a result of the current situation. Photo: Getty Images

Capacity remains down

The airline’s capacity has, understandably, been reduced as a result of the current situation. Indeed, JetBlue operated just 42% of the schedule that it had run in Q3 2019. However, running fewer flights did have one benefit. It means that the airline’s operating expenses were reduced. After all, you don’t need to pay to fuel an aircraft that’s not flying.  In total, operating expenses declined 45% year over year.

The airline has been prompted to reassess its plans to cope with the current situation. It has refinanced a $1bn loan maturing in early 2021 and taken $114 million from the CARES loan facility.

One of the changes made concerns the delivery of Airbus aircraft. The airline reported that it had reached a second agreement with Airbus to delay deliveries of its aircraft. The majority of an aircraft’s cost is paid on delivery, meaning that this can save quite a bit of cash in the short term. The airline has so far reduced its capital expenditure by $2 billion by 2022. Later this year, JetBlue is expected to take delivery of its first Airbus A220.

The airline is expecting its first Airbus A220 delivery by the end of the year. Photo: JetBlue

Commenting on the future, Joanna Geraghty, JetBlue’s President and Chief Operating Officer, said,

“Our planning assumption for the fourth quarter is a revenue decline of approximately 65% year over year. Although there still quite a lot of uncertainty about the evolution of the coronavirus, we are starting to see the booking curve extend slightly into the upcoming Thanksgiving and December holiday travel period…”

Airbus Updates No.2893

 

Qantas Begins Flying The First Airbus A321 Converted For Freight

Australian national flag carrier Qantas has begun flying the first Airbus A321 converted to carry freight rather than passengers. The Airbus A321P2F will be operated by Qantas in partnership with Australia Post and is the first of three A321P2Fs delivered to the oneworld alliance member. Qantas currently uses Boeing 737-300Fs for its domestic freight services, and the addition of the A321P2Fs will offer an additional nine tons of payload per plane.

Qantas will receive three A321s converted For Freight. Photo: Airbus

According to Planespotters.net, the passenger Airbus A321-200 registration VH-ULD first entered service with British Midland Airways Limited (BMI) in 1998. Turkish low-cost carrier Onur Air leased the aircraft in 2011 until it was sold to aircraft asset specialist Vallair in 2018.

Vallair provides services for older aircraft

Vallair is an aviation company headquartered in Luxembourg with facilities in Châteauroux and Montpellier in France. Vallair provides integrated support for older aircraft, engines, and significant components. Vallair has six complementary business units offer the following services:
Capabilities:

• Cargo Conversions
• Teardown & Recycling
• Aerostructures
• MRO
• Leasing & Trading
• Engines
• Component Support

The planes are converted in Germany and Singapore

At the front of the program to convert passenger Airbus aircraft into freighters is Singapore-based aerospace company ST Engineering. ST Engineering partners with European planemaker Airbus and Dresden-based German aerospace manufacturer Elbe Flugzeugwerke (EFW).

The A321s will be converted into A321P2F freighters in Singapore and Germany. Photo: Airbus

The entry of VH-ULD into service as an A321P2F cargo hauler comes after a series of certification efforts with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). In February, the European safety body issued its aircraft certification with the American Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) following suit in July. Once the aircraft certification process was completed, the aircraft was returned to ST Engineering to incorporate operator-specific enhancements before being certified again and delivered to Qantas.

Vallair sees a strong demand

Gregoire Lebigot, President & CEO at Vallair, foresees a growing demand for these types of conversions saying in a company press release the following:

“The A321P2F will be the first aircraft to introduce a containerized lower deck to the market segment of narrowbody freighters, a significant game-changer for any hub and spoke operation. We see a huge potential for this aircraft as a key tool for the cargo industry to achieve the projected growth rate of the air freight market in general, particularly express services and e-commerce. Additionally, the substantial fuel efficiency advantages are well-suited to 1-4 hour flight legs.

“We have invested in a fleet of feed-stock A321 aircraft, and our team continues to work with exceptional dedication to bring this program to fruition. We anticipate that a mature production line for conversion will settle at around four months, and we are already in negotiation with other airlines and operator/lessees, keen to upgrade their freighter fleets.”

The completion of the first A321P2F shows airlines how that can breathe new life into underutilized aircraft while at the same time increasing the plane’s residual value.

ST Engineering recently announced that they were upping their plans to build nine converted A321P2Fs to 25. ST Engineering says that the A321P2F can carry up to 24 tons of cargo in 24 containers, a distance of 2,300 nautical miles.

Airbus Updates No.2892

 

Alaska Airlines ponders future of A320 leases

Alaska Airlines Airbus A320-200© Alaska Airlines

27.10.2020 - 06:27 UTC

Alaska Airlines (AS, Seattle Tacoma Int'l) is evaluating options regarding the dry-leases of around two-thirds of its Airbus aircraft which are due to expire over the next three years, Executive Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer Shane Tackett said during the carrier's quarterly earnings call.

"Over the next three years, we will see the expiration of 42 of our 61 Airbus leases, which represents an opportunity to either extend those leases at far lower rates to what we pay today or possibly replace them with larger, more efficient aircraft," he said.

According to the ch-aviation fleets advanced module, Alaska Airlines currently operates fifty-one A320-200s and ten A321-200Ns. All of these aircraft were inherited from Virgin America (VX, San Francisco, CA), although six A321neo were delivered to Alaska after the merger. The carrier owns ten A320-200s and dry-leases the remaining 51.

Tackett underlined that the expiration of the leases would not necessarily lead to the trimming of the airline's fleet. As Alaska Airlines is "very cognizant" of its lease expenses, it will also consider sourcing cheaper aircraft to replace those that are set to expire.

"We love all of our airplanes, but the [already retired] A319-100s and A320s are uneconomic relative to others. It's a logical time as we're resizing our fleet getting it to best-match demand, to really figure out how do we get the best economic aircraft on the field and with the A320s, you can either shrink that fleet, we can extend leases or we can replace them with something better," Senior Vice-President (Fleet, Finance, and Alliances) Nat Pieper added.

Pieper added that the carrier was talking with Airbus, Boeing, and an ensemble of lessors about its potential fleet changes. He underlined that Alaska Airlines was positive about the recertification of the B737 MAX and would factor this type into its considerations. It has thirty-two B737-9s on firm order from Boeing.

Besides the 61 Airbus aircraft, Alaska Airlines' fleet also comprises eleven B737-700s, sixty-one B737-800s, twelve B737-900s, and seventy-nine B737-900(ER)s, as well as three B737-700(BDSF)s.

Airbus Updates No.2891

 

Airbus Welcomes Its Third Beluga XL Aircraft

Airbus has today introduced its third Beluga XL aircraft to its fleet. The shiny new bulb headed giant flew from Airbus’ plant in Toulouse to Chester Hawarden Airport, home of its Broughton plant, where wings for most of its products are produced. It’s the third of six Beluga XLs that will be introduced to the Airbus fleet by 2023.

XL3, the third new Beluga, has taken its first operational flight today. Photo: Airbus

The XL3 arrives in the UK

Registered F-GXLI, the third Beluga flew from Toulouse to Chester in the North West of England. Taking off at 11:04 this morning, it flew for two hours and 34 minutes before landing at 12:39 local at Chester Hawarden Airport (CEG).

The third Beluga flew to the UK earlier today. Photo: FlightRadar24.com

The XL apparently had some windy conditions to deal with, as it made a couple of low passes before setting off for a bit of a detour around the area for a few minutes. On the third approach, she landed safely, completing the first revenue flight of this third Beluga XL.

Despite being just four miles southwest of the city of Chester, Hawarden Airport is actually in Flintshire, Wales. It is home to Airbus UK’s Broughton site, where Airbus produces wings for all models of aircraft, with the exception of the A220.

It has a long and colorful history in aviation, from being a shadow factory in World War II for Vickers Armstrongs Limited, producing Avro Lancasters and Vickers Wellingtons. After the war, de Havilland build a multitude of aircraft at the site, and in the ‘60s it became part of the Hawker Siddeley Aviation business.

Now, however, it is one of the main plants for Airbus in the UK, employing around 6,000 workers. F-GXLI, the third Beluga XL to join Airbus’ fleet, will be working hard transporting the output from the factory to final assembly lines for many years to come.

Where will it fly?

The Beluga XLs have a very niche routemap. As it is solely for transporting aircraft components between Airbus sites, it flies exclusively between production sites in Europe and its final assembly lines in Toulouse, France; Hamburg, Germany; and Tianjin, China. Recently, Airbus added Getafe in Spain to the network of these planes.

The Beluga XL can carry two A350 wings in one load. Photo: Airbus

The aircraft is based on the A330 freighter. Its predecessor, the BelugaST, was a modified A300. At 63 meters long and 8 meters wide, the Beluga XL has a superior cargo carrying capacity compared with the original BelugaST, and can transport two complete Airbus A350 wings in one go. The ST could only take one at a time.

Airbus Updates No.2890

 

Delta To Take A New Airbus A220 Every Day This Week

There might be a travel downturn, but you wouldn’t know it at Delta Air Lines. The Atlanta-based airline is receiving a steady stream of new A220 planes. This week, new planes are coming in at a rate of one a day. It’s a visible sign of confidence in an otherwise battered airline industry.

Delta Air Lines will receive six new Airbus A220s this week. Photo: Delta Air Lines

This week, factory fresh planes will arrive into Minneapolis-St Paul International between Monday and Friday (on Friday, October 30, two new A220s will arrive in one day). It follows the delivery of five A220s to Delta last week. Last week’s deliveries were notable because they were the first A220s to come out of the Airbus facility in Mobile, Alabama.

Coming in this week are four Airbus A220-100s and two Airbus A220-300s. This week’s flights are originating from Montreal Airport, where the primary North American A220 plant is.

Delta Air Lines presently has 36 Airbus A220s. Of that number, Planespotters.net indicates 12 are parked, and 24 are in service. Double that number of A220s are yet to be delivered, but that tally will fall slightly this week.

“We have big plans for this aircraft,” Chuck Imhof, a Vice President at Delta, has previously said. “It will be an integral part of our future domestic fleet and will deliver an experience our customers will look forward to every time they fly.”

Airbus makes its manufacturing presence in North America felt

Last week’s deliveries from Mobile were a big deal for Airbus and the aviation industry in North America.

“The delivery of the first US-built A220-300 is a historic moment that highlights Airbus’ growing industrial footprint in North America and makes us all extremely proud,” said C. Jeffrey Knittel, Chairman and CEO of Airbus Americas.

The Mobile plant is proof things can happen quickly when the will is there. The 270,000-square-foot facility only opened in May 2019. Production of the first A220s there began in August. Ten months later, the first Mobile-made A220s took to the skies for a series of test flights.

“Handing over the first U.S-assembled aircraft to a U.S.-based customer is a real point of pride for the A220 program,” said Philippe Balducchi, an A220 program leader.

“This delivery is the first of many to come and shows the strong collaborative spirit between the A220 Programme teams globally.” 

Delta will have 40 plus A220s by the end of the week. Photo: Delta Air Lines

New planes keep coming despite Delta having aircraft parked

Delta Air Lines is accepting the new planes despite having around a quarter of its fleet parked. The airline recently announced an adjusted pre-tax loss of $2.6 billion that excluded $4.0 billion of items directly related to the 2020 travel downturn. Despite this, the airline remains relatively upbeat about its future.

“We have been encouraged as more customers travel, and we are seeing a path of progressive improvement in our revenues, financial results, and daily cash burn,” said Ed Bastian, Delta’s Chief Executive Officer earlier this month.

Delta has said there is a steady build in demand. The balance for the airline is to meet the uptick in demand with the rightsized planes. Delta’s executives have emphasized the need for nimbleness. The A220 is the perfect plane to facilitate that. Perhaps that’s why Delta is happy to accept the new A220s while keeping many of their older, larger planes out of the skies.

Airbus Updates No.2889

 

Airbus A321	-251NX	10105		CS-TJR	TAP Air Portugal	for delivery 27oct20 XFW-LIS, retro cs	ex D-AZAO
Airbus A321	-251NX	10150		G-XATW	Titan Airways	delivery 26oct20 XFW-STN, basic TCS World Travel cs	ex D-AZAT
Airbus A330	-323	425		OK-YBA	CSA Czech Airlines	ferried 22oct20 PRG-ICN after lease	ex HL7701
Airbus A330	-343	568		LN-RKN	SAS	ferried 26oct20 CPH-MLA after storage	ex SE-REF
Airbus A330	-202	571		A7-ACP	Qatar Airways	ferried 23oct20 DOH-LETL for onward storage	ex EI-GFX
Airbus A330	-343	855		B-LAF	Cathay Pacific	in svc / ferried 22-23oct20 HKG-MEL-ASP for onward storage	ex F-WWYC
Airbus A330	-343	1296		G-VRAY	Virgin Atlantic Airways	ferried 23oct20 CQM-MAN after storage	ex F-WWKF
Airbus A330	-302	1370		VP-BUP	Nordwind Airlines	at DUB 23oct20, M-reg after paint prior delivery	ex M-ABLW
Airbus A330	-941	1910		9H-SZN	Air Sénégal	ferried 23oct20 STN-LPBJ for onward storage	ex F-WWCM
Airbus A330	-743L	1930		F-GXLI	Airbus Transport International	first in svc 26ct20 TLS-CEG-TLS, Beluga XL "3"	ex F-WWKY
Airbus A340	-313	921		OO-ABD	Air Belgium	ferried 19oct20 CRL-LDE for storage	ex F-WXAI
Airbus A350	-941	403		TC-LGA	Turkish Airlines	delivery 22oct20 TLS-IST (+ 421 TC-LGB 23oct20 ex F-WZGD)	ex F-WZGN
Airbus A380	-861	13		A6-EDB	Emirates	ferried 27oct20 DXB-LDE for onward storage	ex F-WWSJ
Airbus Canada A220	-171	5053		N134DU	Delta Air Lines	delivery 27oct20 YMX-MSP	ex C-FOWQ
Airbus Canada A220	-171	50057		N138DU	Delta Air Lines	delivery 24oct20 YMX-MSP	ex C-FOWY
Airbus Canada A220	-371	55080		N304DU	Delta Air Lines	delivery 26oct20 BFM-ATL	ex C-GPVD

credit : Skyliner Aviation News

Airbus Updates No.2888

 

Airbus A319	-111	763		CS-TTC	TAP Air Portugal	to be ferried 27oct20 LIS-DGX, for part-out & scrap	ex D-AVYS
Airbus A319	-112	1077		D-AKNK	Eurowings	ferried 26oct20 SOF-PGF for onward storage	ex N718UW
Airbus A319	-112	3108		VQ-BWV	Aurora	ferried 14oct20 VVO-OVB-MRV prior return to lessor 15jan21	ex RP-C8603
Airbus A320	-211	150		C-FFWJ	Air Canada	ferried 23oct20 MZJ-MCI for onward storage	ex F-WWDY
Airbus A320	-211	253		C-FTJS	Air Canada	ferried 24oct20 MCI-GWO, for part-out &s scrap	dx F-WWBE
Airbus A320	-214	2191		EI-DEA	Aer Lingus	parked at DUB, for Allegiant Air (+ 2206 EI-DEB)	ex F-WWBX
Airbus A320	-233	2434		4L-	Air Georgia	delivery 19/23oct20 GYR-PSM-KEF-VAR, N-reg	ex N492TA
Airbus A320	-232	2502		OE-IHH	Laudamotion	ferried 20oct20 DUS-STN for storage (+ 3105 OE-IHL, + 3131 OE-LOQ, + 3147 OE-LOA, + 3153 OE-LOS)	ex AP-BMD
Airbus A320	-232	2984		OE-LOM	Laudamotion	ferried 20oct20 DUS-VIE prior storage	ex TC-JPF
Airbus A320	-232	3264		VT-IDZ	IndiGo Airlines	ferried 21oct20 DEL-CGK prior return to lessor	ex CC-BJB
Airbus A320	-232	3270		OE-IHD	Laudamotion	ferried 20oct20 VIE-STN for storage	ex AP-BLN
Airbus A320	-214	3272		9H-LOX	Lauda Europe	re-regd 21oct20 at VIE on transfer (+ 2928 9H-LOB 22oct20 ex OE-LOB)	ex OE-LOX
Airbus A320	-232	3863		VT-INY	IndiGo Airlines	ferried 25oct20 DEL-AMM prior return to lessor	ex F-WWDY
Airbus A320	-232	6223		OE-IRQ	Wilmington Trust SP	regd 21oct20, parked at OSR, all white	ex VT-TTB
Airbus A320	-271N	10021		B-LCS	Hong Kong Express	delivery 24-25oct20 XFW-DWC-HKG	ex D-AVVB
Airbus A321	-231	1356		OE-IAI	Avolon	onward ferry 20-21oct20 HNL-SJC-HDO	ex HL7594
Airbus A321	-231	4277		VP-BVF	Ural Airlines	delivery 25oct20 SGN-KJA-SVX	ex VN-A366
Airbus A321	-211	6114		VP-/VQ-B	S7 Airlines	ferried 26oct20 OSR-LJU, OE-reg after paint prior delivery	ex OE-IOF
Airbus A321	-253N	7694		LZ-HEH	Holiday Europe	re-regd 26oct20 at ISL on transfer (+ 8085 LZ-HEI ex TC-OEE)	ex TC-OED
Airbus A321	-271NXLR	10056		XA-VBH	VivaAerobus	delivery 24oct20 XFW-KEF-BGR-MTY	ex D-AZAS

credit : skyliner aviation news

Airbus Updates No.2887

 

American Airlines retires Airbus A330-200s

American Airlines Airbus A330-300© American Airlines

26.10.2020 - 02:39 UTC

American Airlines (AA, Dallas/Fort Worth) has decided to permanently retire all of its remaining A330-200s, the last of its widebody Airbus aircraft.

"As we have spoken about in the past, our long-held strategy has been to drive efficiencies through the simplification of our fleet. With the permanent retirement of our A330-200 fleet announced this morning, we now have only four aircraft types [families] in our mainline fleet: the B737, the A320, the B787, and the B777," Chief Financial Officer Derek Kerr said during an earnings call.

Before the announcement, American Airlines had fifteen A330-200s in its fleet. The aircraft are 8.9 years old on average and are all owned by the airline. They were all retired from active service between mid-February and April 4, 2020, and have since been stored at Roswell airport. According to Flightradar24 ADS-B data, American's last A330-200 revenue flight was AA1869 from Philadelphia Int'l to Charlotte Int'l, operated on April 4, 2020, with N280AY (msn 1022).

American Airlines recorded a USD709 million non-cash write-down during the third quarter of 2020 as a result of the A330-200s' retirement.

The carrier has previously announced the retirement of all of its B757, B767, E190, A330-300, and CRJ200 aircraft, amounting to more than 150 units phased-out during 2020. According to the ch-aviation fleets advanced module, the carrier's remaining mainline fleet comprises 133 A319-100s, forty-eight A320-200s, 218 A321-200s, twenty-three A321-200NXs, 304 B737-800s, forty-seven B777-200(ER)s, twenty B777-300(ER)s, twenty-three B787-8s, and twenty-two B787-9s.

American Airlines also has twenty-four grounded B737-8s and a further 76 of the type on order from Boeing. It said that the deliveries of the forthcoming units could be deferred.

"We have reached an agreement with Boeing to secure deferral rights on eight of our 2021 MAX deliveries and all 10 of our MAX deliveries in 2022. If the deferral rates are ultimately exercised, these aircraft can be deferred to the second half of 2023 through the first quarter of 2024. To avoid exercising these deferral rates, we would need to see substantial improvement in the demand environment," Kerr said.

The airline still has ten B737 MAX 8s scheduled to deliver in 2021, excluding those subject to potential deferrals.

"We retain inexpensive optionality in our total fleet count as we have 51 aircraft with lease expirations through the end of 2022. In addition, we have more than 200 older owned mainline and regional aircraft that could be efficiently part should demand conditions deteriorate," Kerr added.

American Airlines also said that it had amended its loan agreement with the US Treasury, potentially increasing the amount of borrowing available to it from USD5.5 billion to USD7.5 billion. It underlined that so far, it has only drawn USD550 million under the facility.

Airbus Updates No.2886

 

Delta Air Lines takes delivery of maiden A220-300

Illustration of Delta Air Lines Airbus A220-300© Airbus

26.10.2020 - 01:44 UTC

Delta Air Lines (DL, Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson) took delivery of its first A220-300, N302DU (msn 55070), on October 22, 2020, and plans to commence scheduled flights with the type on November 16, 2020.

The aircraft is also the first A220 built at Airbus Canada's plant at Mobile Downtown airport, from where it was ferried directly to Delta's main base at Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson. The Mobile A220 Final Assembly Line was launched in August 2019.

According to the ch-aviation schedules, Delta Air Lines will initially base its first A220-300 out of Salt Lake City with its first scheduled service, set for November 16, to be to Houston Intc'l. Subsequently, the carrier will also use the type to connect Salt Lake City with Austin Bergstrom Int'l, Sacramento Int'l (both from November 25), and San José, CA (single flight on November 27).

Delta Air Lines is the world's largest customer of the A220 Family aircraft. It has so far taken deliveries of thirty-one A220-100s and has an additional 14 of the type on firm order. Its order book for the -300s totals 50, including the one recently delivered.