Air Canada frequent flyer programme reports net profits; Delta and Republic down on traffic results
North and South American carriers' stocks fell on Thursday (04-Mar-2010) on weak traffic results from Republic Airways (-2.6%) and Delta Air Lines (-1.2%). The fall came despite a 0.8% decline in oil prices, to USD80.21.
In the wider market, the Dow (+0.4%) was up, led higher by analyst upgrades of blue chip companies. However, gains were weakened as investors remained cautious ahead of the release of Feb-2010 employment data on Friday (05-Mar-2010).
Republic Airways traffic up following acquisition of Midwest and Republic
Republic Airways (-2.6%) took the day's biggest fall, despite reporting a 5 ppts year-on-year improvement in load factor for Feb-2010. Analysts expected more from the carrier following its acquisition of Midwest Airlines and Frontier Airlines. Passenger numbers rose 51%, to 2.1 million.
Delta Air Lines passenger numbers down, loads up
Delta Air Lines (-1.2%) was also down, after reporting a 4.6% year-on-year drop in passenger numbers, to 10.9 million. However, load factor increased 2.8 ppts, to 77.1%, as traffic (RPMs) fell 2.6%, on a 6.1% reduction in capacity (ASMs).
Cargo traffic (FTMs) meanwhile fell 7.0%.
Air Canada frequent flyer programme reports net profits
Air Canada (+1.3%) was the day's biggest gainer.
Frequent flyer programme, Groupe Aeroplan, reported a net profit of USD19.7 million for the three months ended 31-Dec-2009, compared to a net loss of USD1,033 million in the previous corresponding period. However, operating profit was down 38% year-on-year, to USD62.7 million.
For FY2009, the programme reported a net profit of USD85.9 million, compared to a net loss of USD928.1 million in the previous corresponding period.
Hawaiian Airlines expects performance to improve this year
Hawaiian Airlines (-1.5%) CEO, Mark Dunkerly told MarketWatch during trading he expects the carrier will be able to stay on track with its long term growth plan, stating conditions are likely to continue to improve this year, after a reduction in fares last year resulted in a 10-15% fall in FY2009 yields.
The carrier is also confident of its chances of receiving daily slots for Japan's Tokyo Haneda Airport. The carrier is the only applicant without an existing presence in Japan.
America Airline Daily is your one-stop shop for news, data and analysis from the dynamic North American, Caribbean and Latin American aviation markets. Other stories featured in today's issue include:
- Allegiant Air launches twice weekly Youngstown-Orlando service;
- NTSB to examine safety effects of 'glass cockpits' in small light aircraft;
- XL Airways France to add services to New York and Las Vegas.
North & South America selected airlines daily share price movements (% change): 04-Mar-2010
Source: Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation & Yahoo! Finance