Jet Airways says its unit costs are below LCCs; China Southern & Hainan Airlines deny takeover
India's Jet Airways' shares were up by 7.0% yesterday. Separately, Executive Director, Saroj Datta, stated the carrier's unit cost per available seat kilometre (CASK) is USD 1.3 cents lower than CASK of LCCs in the domestic market, with the carrier currently "working to bring it down further".
On the other end of the market spectrum, shares in Kingfisher and SpiceJet slipped, both by 5.9%, as the Indian market continues to be challenging.
China Southern & Hainan Airlines deny takeover speculation
Also gaining strongly yesterday was Hainan Airlines' shares, which gained 3.0%, after increasing by 16% in the past seven days of trading (while the market decreased by 1%), due to speculation, which has since been denied, that China Southern is interested in taking over Hainan Airlines.
According to the reports, China Southern would merge with Hainan Airlines, with the support of SASAC, and with Singapore Airlines taking an ownership position in the merged carrier.
Korean Airlines to raise USD423 million through sale of securities
Also in North Asia, Korean Air's shares price slipped 2.7%, as the carrier announced plans to raise KRW500 billion (USD423 million) through the sale of securities backed by future ticket sales. The South Korean carrier plans to sell the securities this month to raise funds to support continued operations in 2010.
Air New Zealand sees "strong" load factors and passenger volumes on Tasman services, but yields remain under pressure
In the Asia Pacific region, Air New Zealand's shares gained 1.6% yesterday.
Deputy CEO, Norm Thompson, stated that load factors on Tasman services are high and volumes are "really strong", but yields remain under intense pressure as excess capacity continues to negatively effect profitability.
He added, "the market is continuing to grow but it's a matter of price. The yields are very poor. But the Tasman is an important market for us, it's our largest international market, and we'll continue to work hard at it". He continued, stating, "at the moment the market is awash with capacity. There are nine carriers on the route. It is a very tough market".
Asia Pacific selected airlines daily share price movements (% change): 03-Nov-09
Source: Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation & Reuters