Eurofly rebounds; Norwegian orders additional B737-800s; Aeroflot orders A330s for long-haul network
European airline shares fell on Monday (19-Jul-2010), pushed lower by wider markets. Shares were down on continued concerns of economic recovery after the US reported a greater than expected decline in home-builder sentiment for Jul-2010 to its lowest level in over a year.
- European airline shares fell due to concerns about economic recovery and declining home-builder sentiment in the US.
- Eurofly experienced a significant increase in share value after announcing an increase in paid-up capital.
- Norwegian placed an order for 15 additional B737-800s from Boeing, boosting its unfilled orders to 59 aircraft.
- Aeroflot signed a contract with Airbus to purchase 11 A330-300s for its long-haul network.
- Thomas Cook and Cimber Sterling were the biggest decliners in the European airline market.
- Cimber Sterling's CFO and CCO purchased shares in the company.
In key markets, UK's FTSE (-0.2%), Germany's DAX (-0.5%) and France's CAC (-0.4%) all ended the session lower.
Eurofly rebounds
Eurofly (+39.0%) soared after last week announcing an increase in paid-up capital to EUR13.7 million through the issue of another 714 million ordinary shares.
Norwegian orders additional B737-800s
Norwegian (+1.5%) also gained after confirming an order for 15 additional B737-800s from Boeing. The order is valued at USD1.15 billion at average list prices and increases the airline's unfilled orders to 59 B737NGs. The new aircraft will be delivered between 2014 and 2016. Norwegian already has a pending order of 48 B737-800s from Boeing, with deliveries continuing through to 2014. In 2007, Norwegian ordered 42 B737-800s, subsequently increased to 48 aircraft. So far, four of these aircraft have been delivered.
See related CAPA Profile: Fleets
Aeroflot orders A330s to enhance long-haul network
Aeroflot (-0.2%) meanwhile slipped. It signed a firm contract with Airbus during trading for the purchase of 11 A330-300s. The newly ordered A330-300s will feature a two-class cabin layout seating around 300 passengers. The airline is planning to operate the aircraft on its long-haul network. Aeroflot ordered 24 Trent 700 engines to power the A330s. The order is valued at USD650 million at list prices and includes a long-term service agreement.
Thomas Cook and Cimber Sterling stumble
Elsewhere, Thomas Cook (-2.3%) and Cimber Sterling (-2.1%) were the day's biggest decliners. Cimber Sterling announced during trading that CFO, Henriette Schütze, and CCO, Lars Bording, purchased 10,000 shares each in the carrier on 16-Jul-2010.
Europe selected airlines daily share price movements (% change): 19-Jul-2010
Source: Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, Yahoo! Finance & Reuters