Air Transportation

Capital Calls: JetBlue antitrust risk haunts Spirit

2 May 2022

Concise views on global finance: The low-cost U.S. airline rejected its midmarket rival's takeover offer. Spirit reckons that even a price 50% higher than its agreed sale to Frontier doesn't compensate for Washington's anti-merger stance.

Stranded jets are least of plane lessors’ problems

14 Apr 2022

Big fleet-owners like AerCap may have to write off $10 bln of planes trapped due to Russian sanctions. Ultimately, though, insurers should cover their losses. A bigger brake on the aircraft-leasing industry’s rapid ascent is the rising cost of debt from jittery lenders.

Antitrust worries can ground JetBlue’s Spirit bid

6 Apr 2022

The U.S. airline’s shock $3.6 bln bid for its ultra-budget rival offers few cost savings and could lead to higher fares. That increases the risk that competition regulators – or Spirit’s board – stop it getting off the ground. For skeptical shareholders, that would be a relief.

Capital Calls: ABB’s car chargers, Airport M&A

10 Feb 2022

Concise views on global finance: The Swiss engineering group’s listing plans come at an unfortunate moment; Britain’s John Menzies takes a risk with rejection of “opportunistic” approach from Kuwaiti air services group NAS.

Capital Calls: Continental, Harley-Davidson

8 Feb 2022

Concise views on global finance: German car-parts maker Continental may spin off its self-driving unit, while the iconic maker of motorbikes has turned supply shortages to its own advantage.

Frontier and Spirit are flying into the wind

7 Feb 2022

The two U.S. budget airlines say their $5 bln deal would help passengers, workers and shareholders by creating cut-price alternatives to pricier carriers. That may be a stretch for merger-averse regulators. And the market’s muted response suggests their logic is running on fumes.

Capital Calls: Wizz investor sides with workers

7 Feb 2022

Concise views on global finance: Denmark’s AkademikerPension picks an odd moment to offload its stake in the $6 bln budget airline over a lack of union representation among its staff.

MSC gives Lufthansa cover for Italian raid

27 Jan 2022

The shipping giant and German carrier want to buy Alitalia successor ITA, a boon for Italian taxpayers. A reported 1.2 bln euro price tag will surprise Berlin, which retains a 14% stake from a 2020 airline bailout. If MSC does the heavy lifting, the swoop is easier to justify.

Flying car SPAC paves pristine highway in the sky

22 Dec 2021

Embraer’s airborne taxi unit Eve is going public by merging with Zanite Acquisition. It ticks every box for a blank-check deal in the red-hot electric vehicle market, including a long list of pre-orders and blue-chip backers. The only problem is that its market doesn’t exist yet.

Airlines’ net-zero pledges fly on fumes

1 Nov 2021

Aviation accounts for only 2.5% of global emissions and technologies to help operators decarbonise appear numerous. Yet batteries, hydrogen, biofuels and e-kerosene all have big practical challenges and are too pricey. The risk for airlines is anxious states clipping their wings.

Cox: Arrivederci Alitalia, you won’t be missed

14 Oct 2021

After 74 years, Italy’s once-glamorous national carrier disappears for good tonight. The airline had become the butt of bad jokes and a dent to Italian pride. Poor management was a factor in its demise. But there are reasons to celebrate Alitalia’s end, and ITA’s new beginning.

Air India sale gives Narendra Modi reform miles

12 Oct 2021

The prime minister’s government will collect only $400 mln from selling the indebted national carrier back to the Tatas. If anyone can restore the company to its globetrotting glory, it’s them. Either way, the deal is a welcome symbol of India’s new embrace of private markets.

Capital Calls: Merck pill, Zoom deal

1 Oct 2021

Concise views on global finance: Investors are being stingy about the pharma firm’s new drug to treat Covid-19; the video-conference company and Five9 are dropping their $15 bln transaction.

Business travel fixes risk grounding recovery

27 Aug 2021

The $1.4 trln industry of selling expensive plane tickets and hotel rooms to itinerant executives faces a bleak future as firms like HSBC slash travel budgets. Making ordinary customers pay more would bolster margins. But raising prices may also dampen an already slow revival.

Capital Calls: Cook defeats Apple crumble risk

24 Aug 2021

Concise views on global finance: The CEO replaced the ailing Steve Jobs exactly 10 years ago. Despite fears at the time, Cook’s must be one of the most lucrative successions of all time for shareholders.

Capital Calls: Oatly, Sonos/Google

16 Aug 2021

Concise views on global finance: The Swedish oat milk producer’s decent results are only good in parts; Sonos gets a boost with a preliminary trade ruling that Google infringed its patents.

U.S. airlines serve investors before passengers

22 Jul 2021

Southwest and American have stopped burning cash. Both carriers turned a profit too, even though revenue is below 2019’s levels, and they have cash in case conditions worsen again. The risk is that customers – who helped fund airline bailouts – have their patience tested.

Great Wall Motor is all thrills, no frills

21 Jul 2021

The $54 bln Chinese automaker’s no-nonsense approach tripled earnings in the first half. Its affordable conventional designs are crowd-pleasers, while smart bets on battery technology are goosing the valuation. Shareholders in flashier rivals like Geely might take note.

European airlines’ CO2 pleas deserve cold shoulder

16 Jul 2021

Trade body IATA is moaning about EU plans to curb emissions by making jet fuel more expensive. Ideas that may add 3% to operating costs over several years aren’t a grounding order. And most of the changes would merely remove existing freebies to align aviation with other sectors.

Wizz Air CEO’s 100 mln pound bonus is aptly remote

6 Jul 2021

Jozsef Varadi’s payday could be even bigger than Michael O’Leary’s at rival Ryanair if his airline’s shares nearly treble. Linking such a big reward to stock performance looks crude but the target implies a fourfold revenue jump. Even Varadi can’t sustain that steep a climb.