Air Transportation

JetBlue’s turbulence gives Carl Icahn an easy ride

13 Feb 2024

The corporate rabble-rouser took a stake in the airline as it struggles with a defunct deal and business turmoil. That resembles Illumina, where Icahn won a 2023 campaign. Quick-fix activism can’t mend a panoply of issues. But striking at a weak moment can help activists anyway.

Capital Calls: TUI decamps

13 Feb 2024

Concise views on global finance: Europe’s largest travel firm is encouraging investors to vote in favour of cancelling its London listing, but the UK need not mourn the loss.

Renk’s IPO bang masks troubled world

7 Feb 2024

Shares in the German tank-gearbox maker soared 23% on the first day of trading. That and the Athens airport operator’s strong market debut suggest calmer IPO waters. Yet Renk’s success stems from heightened geopolitical tensions. That should keep investors on alert.

Boeing’s market value belies weak market position

6 Feb 2024

The troubled plane maker’s $125 bln valuation assumes its duopoly with Airbus will outlast manufacturing problems with its 737 MAX. Yet the European group has more aircraft in the sky and a bigger order book. This leaves Boeing at a long-term structural disadvantage.

Ryanair clear skies contain Boeing-shaped cloud

29 Jan 2024

Despite a weaker-than-expected third quarter, the $23 bln carrier still predicts record full-year net profit. Assuming holiday bookings hold up, that looks doable. But Ryanair is exposed to the uncertainty surrounding key supplier Boeing in a way that its close rivals are not.

Capital Calls: Greek airport IPO

25 Jan 2024

Concise views on global finance: The Athens government is selling 30% of the country’s biggest airport operator, aiming for a market capitalisation of up to 2.4 bln euros.

On close inspection, Boeing misreads quality guide

22 Jan 2024

The embattled 737 maker is opening factories to customers and hiring more pros to scrutinize aircraft. Management guru W. Edwards Deming advised in “Out of the Crisis” to drop such crutches and focus elsewhere instead. In times of trouble, it’s best to revert to first principles.

Spirit deal loss eases anxiety for everyone else

16 Jan 2024

A judge grounded JetBlue’s $4 bln purchase of the ultra-cheap carrier. The defeat avoided a potentially unprecedented intervention by regulators that would have clouded the industry, while affirming antitrust blowback. But Spirit’s shares halved, for good reason.

Capital Calls: Greek airport IPO

16 Jan 2024

Concise views on global finance: State-backed Athens International Airport may be able to fetch a 3 bln euro valuation in a planned February listing.

Boeing loses when it has everything to gain

8 Jan 2024

The $138 bln plane maker's business should be unreplaceable. Two firms dominate the expanding business, both run production at max capacity, and customers can’t easily switch. But repeated issues are undermining more than Boeing's reputation. Its finances are worsening, too.

Capital Calls: Ryanair

18 Dec 2023

Concise views on global finance: The 21 bln euro budget airline’s potential 100 mln euro bonus for its CEO looks all the more awkward given the board’s decision last year to tweak the conditions.

Capital Calls: Ferrovial/Heathrow

29 Nov 2023

Concise views on global finance: The Spanish infrastructure giant has offloaded its final 25% stake to Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund and private equity group Ardian for 2.4 bln pounds, but a chunky premium means the new owners should hope for a smoother ride.

Ryanair’s valuation can climb to a higher altitude

6 Nov 2023

Soaring demand means the 18 bln euro airline’s earnings are above even pre-pandemic levels. Investors’ recession fears have prevented Ryanair’s share price from reflecting the good cheer. Still, history suggests budget vacations are among the last things that consumers cut.

Capital Calls: Finnair

6 Oct 2023

Concise views on global finance: The state-backed airline is planning to raise 600 mln euros through a rights issue – almost as much as its current equity.

Deaths haunt Corporate America via labor strikes

15 Sep 2023

Auto workers, pilots, and truck drivers have had upper hands in labor strikes. That’s despite labor supply healing. One reason may be that men have left the workforce. Opioids and Covid are partly to blame. But it highlights the dangers of demographically concentrated jobs.

Qantas CEO’s exit will barely reduce turbulence

5 Sep 2023

Alan Joyce hopes retiring early from the airline will “accelerate its renewal” after months of scrutiny culminating in a watchdog accusing it of bad conduct. But real change won’t come cheap for his successor. And more sacrifices from the board's long haulers are likely.

Feel-good war on short flights misses the mark

4 Sep 2023

European states like Germany are mulling bans on air travel under a certain distance. Short-haul commercial flights make convenient climate scapegoats. But going after private jets, which can emit 45 times more carbon per passenger, would bring more benefit with less disruption.

Capital Calls: LVMH’s US dip, Rolls-Royce revival

26 Jul 2023

Concise views on global finance: Shares in the 413 bln euro luxury conglomerate fell 4% as investors fretted about weakness in its once booming US business; the UK airplane engine maker raised its profit forecast for 2023 as its new CEO benefits from travel tailwinds.

Capital Calls: Cathay, Telecoms kit makers, Byju’s

14 Jul 2023

Concise views on global finance: The Hong Kong carrier expects to turn a profit; a push into 5G has caught European telecoms gear makers like Nokia and Ericsson short; India’s troubled ed-tech giant appoints a top former banker to a newly formed advisory council.

Global airlines grasp at the 100% recovery

21 Jun 2023

Passengers are slowly taking back to the skies but remain reluctant to travel internationally. Singapore Airlines logged a record net profit but won’t say when it will return to pre-pandemic capacity. Rivals are more committed but whether they can deliver is up in the air.