Air travel demand continues to grow in India; DoT requests more information on Virgin Blue-Delta JV

Kingfisher handled 877,000 passengers during the month (+7%), Jet Airways handled 1.2 million passengers across its brands that include JetLite and Jet Konnect (+9%) while Air India posted passenger growth of 10% to 977,000. However, the most dramatic growth came from LCCs, including IndiGo (+44% to 775,000) and SpiceJet (+28% to 630,000).

Shares in Kingfisher gained 4.7% yesterday with Jet Airways shares 3.0% stronger while SpiceJet shares declined 1.1%.

Skymark to deploy A380s on Tokyo-London sector

Skymark Airlines shares jumped 4.7% to JPY888 yesterday. Skymark Airlines President and 49% owner Shinichi Nishikubo stated the carrier expects annual sales of around JPY15 billion (USD180 million) for an operating income of around JPY2.2 billion (USD26 million) on the proposed Tokyo-London A380 service. The carrier expects to make a profit on the route in the first 12 months after starting the A380 London services in Nov-2014.

Mr Nishikubo stated the carrier will configure its A380s with 114 business-class seats on the upper deck and 280 premium economy seats on the lower deck. Mr Nishikubo added that the carrier intends to purchase two A380s with cash and will arrange leases for the other two firm orders with EADS.

US DoT requests more information on Virgin Blue/Delta trans-Pacific JV

US Department of Transport (DoT) has reportedly requested more information from Virgin Blue and Delta Air Lines over their proposed trans-Pacific JV to. Requested information includes their latest passenger and fares data to "substantiate their assessment that market conditions have stabilised". DoT made an initial tentative decision to deny the application in Sep-2010. Virgin Blue shares declined 2.2% yesterday.

Asia Pacific selected airlines daily share price movements (% change): 22-Nov-2010

Source: Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, Reuters & Financial Times