Air Berlin eyes full-service rivals; Cimber anticipates profitability by end of 2010/11
Shares in Air Berlin remained neutral on Friday, on reports in the WirtschaftsWoche that the carrier is seeking to transform itself from its low-cost origins into a more direct competitor to full-service rivals, including Lufthansa. As part of the strategy, the carrier is seeking to improve service levels on long-haul sectors.
Meanwhile, shares in Cimber Sterling slipped 2.1% on Friday, the day after the carrier forecast it would witness a 29% year-on-year increase in revenues to DKK2 billion (EUR270 million) in FY2010/2011, with a 42% jump in passenger numbers and a 4% reduction in average yields.
Cimber Sterling CEO, Jacob Krogsgaard, stated the carrier has managed to offset the dramatic events over the past financial year and is confident of meeting the goal of returning to profitability by the end of the 2010/2011 financial year.
Outside the European regions, the notable share price movement of the day among the world's LCCs was that shares in South African LCC, 1time Holdings, slumped 16.3% on Friday (after falling as much as 22% in intra-day trading to ZAR 105 cents per share) as it announced that it expects lower earnings per share when it releases its 2010 interim financial results on 30-Aug-2010.
Selected LCCs daily share price movements (% change): 20-Aug-2010
Source: Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, Yahoo! Finance & Reuters