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Air Berlin gains on improved equity move, Southwest and Volaris commence ticket-selling agreement

Analysis

Air Berlin was the biggest gainer among the major global LCCs on Friday, with its shares jumping 9.2%.

The carrier, on 20-Aug-09, placed a convertible bond amounting to EUR125 million with institutional investors outside the US, Canada, Australia and Japan. The carrier expects equity to improve from EUR332 million to EUR504 million, resulting in a reduction in net indebtedness of EUR182 million to EUR597 million, including the equity transactions carried out this year.

Also in Europe, Ryanair and easyJet shares gained 3.0% and 4.1%, respectively.

In the US, Southwest's shares gained 2.2%. The carrier, on 21-Aug-09, started selling services to Mexico from Los Angeles and Oakland, through an online link to Mexican LCC Volaris' booking portal. This precedes a codeshare agreement between the two carrier, which is expected in 2H2010. Both carriers are expected to generate additional revenue and traffic from the agreement, although neither airline has quantified the potential impact.

In the Asia Pacific region, AirAsia's shares fell 2.8% while Virgin Blue was down 3.8%.

Selected LCCs daily share price movements (% change): 21-Aug-09

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