USA: Allegiant Acquires First Airbus A320ceo

American ultra-low-cost carrier Allegiant has taken delivery of its first Alabama-made Airbus A320ceo, joining a fleet of 31 A319s, 40 A320s, and 29 McDonnell-Douglas MD-80s.

The airline is on its way to becoming an all-Airbus carrier, progressively replacing its older MD-80s with brand-new planes.

We are proud to deliver Allegiant their first Airbus aircraft manufactured in Mobile, said Bob Lekites, Executive Vice President of Customers for Airbus Americas.

According to Airbus, this is the 69th aircraft that the Mobile assembly line has delivered since it opened in 2015.

Back in 2016, Allegiant placed an order for 12 Airbus A320ceo planes. The airline took delivery of its first A320 in May 2016, unveiling it at an event at Orlando Sanford International Airport (SFB).

This delivery is also an important step in our transition to an all-Airbus fleet, increasing efficiencies across our entire operation, remarked Maury Gallagher, CEO, and chairman, Allegiant.

According to the CEO, these planes will bring economic advantages in fuel savings and higher seat capacity.

Allegiant’s overall fleet age averages at 17.0 years.

The airline’s A319/A320 fleet averages 12.9 years, as most of these planes come from airlines like easyJet, Vueling, Aer Lingus, and CEBU Pacific Air.

Commercial aircraft company officials gathered in Alabama to celebrate the delivery of the first U.S.-produced Allegiant aircraft.

The Airbus Final Assembly was the 69th jet delivered but the first one built in the country, Al.com reported. The low-fare carrier is based in Las Vegas that has routes connecting to cities including New Orleans, Jacksonville, Savannah, San Diego, Orlando, New York, Washington, D.C., Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Austin.


The company described its newest jet as “the 11th of 13 new A320 aircraft scheduled for purchase directly from Airbus, to be inducted into Allegiant’s fleet this year.”

The new jets had previously been built in Toulouse, France and Hamburg, Germany.

Allegiant has 99 Airbus jets in service or on order and plans to be flying an all-Airbus fleet by the end of the year.

“Today’s delivery is an exciting milestone for Allegiant and our ongoing commitment to providing access to affordable, safe and reliable air travel for many people who wouldn’t otherwise be able to fly,” said Maury Gallagher, CEO and chairman of Allegiant. “This delivery is also an important step in our transition to an all-Airbus fleet, increasing efficiencies across our entire operation, and bringing economic advantages in fuel savings, higher seat capacity and more.”

More than 380 Airbus representatives, executives from Airbus and Allegiant Air, a team of Allegiant employees gathered at the Airbus production facility in Mobile.

Bob Lekites, Executive Vice President of Customers for Airbus Americas, said the relationship between the two companies “has allowed Allegiant to expand their ultra-low cost consumer flight options. “

Lekites added: “We are proud to deliver Allegiant their first Airbus aircraft manufactured in Mobile, and we look forward to providing them more aircraft that exceed customer expectations.”

It has been about a month since the last earnings report for Allegiant Travel Company ALGT . Shares have added about 5% in that time frame.

Will the recent positive trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is ALGT due for a pullback? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at its most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important catalysts.

First-quarter results

Allegiant's first-quarter earnings of $3.42 per share surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.00. Also, the bottom line improved significantly on a year-over-year basis. Results were aided by the strong demand for air travel.

Quarterly revenues increased in double-digits year over year to $425.4 million, marginally above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $425.1 million. Moreover, the top line was boosted primarily by a significant increase (14.1%) in passenger revenues.

Systemwide air traffic (measured in revenue passenger miles) in the reported quarter rose 14.3% and capacity (measured in available seat miles) expanded 10.4% year over year. Load factor (percentage of seats filled by passengers) was 83%, up 280 basis points as capacity expansion was outweighed by traffic growth.

Cost per available seat miles (CASM) excluding fuel, decreased 2%. Total scheduled service revenue per available seat miles (TRASM) also inched up 1.4% to 11.30 cents.

TRASM in the quarter is expected to decrease by two percentage points driven by Easter, falling partly in the first quarter this time. High demand for air travel during Easter generates more passenger revenues and in turn, boosts unit revenues. Additionally, scheduled and system ASMs are anticipated to increase between 10% and 14%.

The company expects fuel cost per gallon of $$2.20 for the full year. The previous forecast for the metric was $2.17 per gallon. Additionally, effective tax rate is now anticipated between 21% and 22%. Earlier, the metric was estimated at 24-25%. This upside is owing to dissolution of foreign subsidiaries leading to adjustment of deferred tax balance. Capital expenditures are now projected at $300 million, higher than the earlier predicted $290 million.

The company continues to expect earnings per share in the band of $10-$12 for the current year. System capacity is likely to increase between 11% and 15%, unchanged from its past guidance.

It turns out, fresh estimates have trended downward during the past month. There have been five revisions lower for the current quarter. Last month, the consensus estimate has shifted downward by 12.2% due to these changes.

At this time, ALGT has a nice Growth Score of B, however its Momentum is doing a bit better with an A. Following the exact same course, the stock was also allocated a grade of A on the value side, putting it in the top 20% for this investment strategy.

Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of A. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.

Based on our scores, the stock is equally suitable for value and momentum investors than growth investors.

Estimates have been broadly trending downward for the stock and the magnitude of these revisions indicates a downward shift. Notably, ALGT has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months.


Tourism Observer

UNITED KINGDOM: IAG Buys New Aircraft For Its Low Cost Long-haul Airline Level

International Airlines Group is converting three Airbus A330-200 long-haul aircraft options into firm orders for Level, its new low cost long-haul airline brand which started operations in early June.

The aircraft will be delivered in summer 2018 and will facilitate Level’s expansion.

Willie Walsh, IAG chief executive, said: “Level has already been incredibly successful and these aircraft will enable it to expand.

“Long-haul flights are now available to many people for the first time and we’re extremely pleased with the customer response in all of Level’s markets.

“It will continue to stimulate demand by providing people with more choice.”

These modern, fuel efficient aircraft will bring both cost efficiencies and environmental benefits to Level.

International Consolidated Airlines Group, S.A., often shortened to IAG, is an Anglo-Spanish multinational airline holding company with its operational headquarters in London, England and its registered office in Madrid, Spain.

It was formed in January 2011 after a merger agreement between British Airways and Iberia, the flag carrier airlines of the United Kingdom and Spain respectively.

As British Airways was the larger company, those holding shares in British Airways at the time of the merger were given 55% of the shares in the new, merged company. British Airways and Iberia ceased to be independent companies and instead became 100% owned subsidiaries of IAG.

It is the sixth-largest airline company in the world, producing €22.567 billion revenue in 2016.The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange and the Madrid Stock Exchange. It is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index and IBEX 35 Index.

British Airways and Iberia signed a preliminary merger agreement in November 2009.In April 2010, British Airways and Iberia signed a full merger agreement, with an intended completion date of late 2010, subject to securing the necessary regulatory approvals.

The merger between British Airways and Iberia was completed on 21 January 2011, and shares in the new holding company IAG and began trading in London and Madrid on 24 January.

In March 2011, IAG agreed to purchase eight Airbus A330-300 aircraft and to take options on eight more, to be used for Iberia's longhaul fleet.

On 6 October 2011, IAG created Iberia Express, a new low-cost airline to operate short and medium-haul routes from IAG's Madrid hub and provide transfer feed onto Iberia's longhaul network.

Iberia Express began operations on 25 March 2012.

On 4 November 2011, IAG agreed in principle to acquire British Midland International (BMI) from Lufthansa for an undisclosed sum, in a deal which would increase IAG's share of slots at Heathrow airport from 45% to 54%.

On 22 December 2011, IAG agreed a binding deal with Lufthansa to acquire BMI for £172.5 million.On 30 March 2012, the purchase of BMI was approved, subject to the condition that the combined group divest itself of 12 daily slots and lease two daily slots at Heathrow airport.

The acquisition was completed on 20 April 2012, and the BMI fleet and routes were integrated into the British Airways schedule throughout 2012.

On 8 November 2012 International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG) made a cash tender offer to buy Vueling, the Spanish low-cost airline based in Barcelona.

The offer, was €7 per ordinary share of Vueling with the total cost of acquiring the shares anticipated to be €113m. It was funded from internal IAG resources.

The reported total assets of Vueling as of 30 September 2012 were €805m and in the nine months to 30 September 2012 it generated profits before tax of €59m.

An increased offer of €9.25 was accepted by the Vueling board on 9 April 2013 and received majority shareholder approval on 23 April 2013. IAG took control of Vueling on 26 April 2013.In December 2012, IAG completed the merger of the cargo operations of British Airways, BMI and Iberia into a single business unit, IAG Cargo.

In April 2013, IAG confirmed the conversion of options to acquire 18 Boeing 787 Dreamliners into firm orders, in a deal worth around US$4.5 billion.

The aircraft are planned to replace some of the British Airways fleet of Boeing 747s between 2017 and 2021. On 16 October 2013, Iberia unveiled a new livery used from the end of November 2013.

At the Farnborough Airshow 2014, IAG converted the options for 20 Airbus A320neo aircraft into firm orders which are currently intended to replace 21 shorthaul British Airways aircraft.

In January 2015, IAG made an bid of £1 billion for Aer Lingus. This was expected to be accepted, after the rejection of two prior bids. In May 2015, the Irish government agreed to sell its stake in Aer Lingus to IAG, as did the Aer Lingus board in late January 2015.The takeover became irreversible on the 18 August 2015.

On 1 March 2015 Stephen Kavanagh was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Aer Lingus, and executive director of the Aer Lingus Board.

In October 2015 Rachel Izzard was appointed chief financial officer of Aer Lingus, and also appointed to the Aer Lingus Board of Directors,prior to joining Aer Lingus, Rachel Izzard was Chief Financial Officer at IAG Cargo.

In November, 2015 Alex Cruz was named Executive Chairman of British Airways. Steve Gunning was appointed chief financial officer of British Airways.

In April 2016, it was announced that Qatar Airways increased its shareholding of IAG from 9.99% to close to 12%.In May 2016, Qatar Airways increased its shareholding to 15.01%.

In March 2017 it was announced that a new low cost longhaul airline named LEVEL was to start operating from Barcelona in June 2017.

IAG's operational headquarters, which controls the management of both its British and Spanish subsidiaries, are at the Waterside building in Harmondsworth, London.

IAG is incorporated in Spain as a Sociedad Anonima, where the company board meetings are held, and is domiciled in Spain for tax purposes.

IAG has a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange and has been a FTSE 100 constituent since 24 January 2011.It has secondary listings on the Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao and Valencia stock exchanges, and has been a constituent of the IBEX 35 index since 1 April 2011.

Qatar Airways is a minority shareholder, and held 20.01% of the shares on 29 July 2016.

Divisions, subsidiaries and franchises

The structure of the main operating companies is:

- Republic of Ireland Aer Lingus

- Republic of Ireland Aer Lingus Regional (franchise)

- United Kingdom British Airways

- United Kingdom BA CityFlyer

- France OpenSkies

- South Africa Comair (18% stake)

- Denmark SUN-AIR (franchise)

- Spain United Kingdom IAG Cargo (merger between Iberia Cargo and British Airways World Cargo)

- Spain Iberia

- Spain Air Nostrum (franchise, trading as Iberia Regional)

- Spain Iberia Express

- Spain LEVEL

- Spain Vueling

- Avios Group (operates the IAG frequent-flyer programme)

By 2012 it was reported that British Airways profits had been wiped out by Iberia losses, placing the Spanish airline in a fight for its survival. IAG workers in Madrid reported they believed Iberia to be the junior partner in IAG citing deep concern for the airline.

By 2013 Iberia had lost a billion euros leaving IAG chief executive, Willie Walsh to defend the British Airways-Iberia merger.

In May of the same year, Iberia had suffered further losses and IAG's balance sheet was now in deep deficit as Iberia fought low-cost competition and a deep recession.

Willie Walsh admitted that perhaps British Airways should have postponed the IAG merger, saying, If I’d known the Spanish economy was going to deteriorate to the scale that it did, we may have delayed the decision but ultimately I believe the merger is the right thing

Iberia, British Airways, Aer Lingus, Vueling and LEVEL operate under their separate brand names.

As of 17 January 2014, IAG had a total of 464 aircraft with 150 aircraft on order and in excess of 110 options.

The most popular type operated is the Airbus A320 series, with a combined fleet of 226 aircraft.

For details of the current aircraft operated by the group, see the fleet details for each of the main operating subsidiaries - Iberia, British Airways, Aer Lingus, and Vueling.

The entire company serves around 200 destinations. For a list of destinations, refer to the respective lists of destinations of different IAG subsidiaries.

IAG operates the Avios frequent-flyer programme, which was known as Air Miles until 16 November 2011. Avios points are the frequent flyer currency of Iberia, British Airways, Aer Lingus, LEVEL and Flybe,and can also be used for travel within the Oneworld alliance.

A restructure in 2015 meant that all of IAG's affiliated loyalty programmes which use Avios, including Avios Travel Reward Programme, Iberia Plus and British Airways Executive Club were transferred to Avios Group, an IAG subsidiary.

FRANCE: How Terror Attacks Will Affect Paris

For the second time in a year, the capital of the world’s leading tourist nation has been the scene of coordinated mass murders. The latest atrocity in Paris has traumatised the city and its people, and has profound implications for travellers. As security on all forms of transport is stepped up, tens of thousands of tourists and business travellers have been leaving the city.

In the longer term, the combined effect of the two massacres in Paris this year could change the face of tourism in the capital and beyond.

Travel to and from France has not stopped. What the president meant was that full border controls would be established on the land frontiers with its neighbours, with passports or ID cards instituted for travel from Schengen countries by road and rail. These checks were actually being temporarily introduced for a month, as part of the security precautions head of the UN Climate Change Conference starting on 30 November. They may now be extended.

Some Metro stations near the massacre locations are closed, and RER (suburban train) and many bus services are disrupted. Security has been stepped up at transport terminals, notably the city’s airports and main train stations, and on trains; in August there was an attempted terrorist attack on an Amsterdam-Paris high-speed train.

Eurostar services through the Channel between Paris Gare du Nord and London St Pancras are operating normally, but passengers are advised to check in an hour before departure, instead of the usual 30 minutes. Random searches of other rail passengers may be instituted.

Eurostar train services and most flights are operating more or less normally, and operators are offering flexibility to passengers keen to leave - switching them to immediate departures when seats are available.

For those booked to travel to Paris this weekend, and in some cases on Monday and Tuesday, operators are allowing passengers to postpone journeys or switch to alternative destinations without penalty.

Air France says flights will operate as normally as possible, but warns: “Departure and arrival delays are to be expected following the reinforcement of controls at the borders by the authorities.” Passengers booked to travel this weekend on Air France are allowed free postponements to 22 November; if you wish to postpone your trip beyond that date, or change your destination, you can get a voucher valid for one year on Air France or KLM. easyJet says: “Our schedule will operate normally.” However, passengers are advised to “allow extra time for security checking due to security measure reinforcement”. Passengers booked to travel on Saturday or Sunday can call easyJet customer service on 0330 365 5000 to rebook flights for alternative dates or cancel for a full refund.

Vueling, the third-largest airline in Paris, has deployed extra staff and is offering flexibility to change flights for next three days.

British Airways says anyone booked to travel to Paris up to 17 November will be able to delay their flight to another day in the next two weeks (up to 28 November), or re-book to an alternative destination.

Flybe says: “Any customer who is travelling today or tomorrow (i.e.14/15 November 2015) and who doesn't wish to now do so may rebook a later date to any alternative destination or obtain a credit note for future travel by the calling Flybe Customer Contact Centre on 0371 700 2000 (from outside the UK +44 1392 683 152).”

Services are running normally. Eurotunnel says: “Currently, border controls have been strengthened.” It is a similar picture at the ports. Increased security and tighter border controls could cause some delays.

The Foreign Office has set up an emergency number, 020 7008 1500, though clearly at this stage information is confused and patchy.

On Saturday many public venues were closed, and for the next few days the capital will be in mourning, along with the rest of France. Many tourists may feel they could be trespassing on the grief of the city in mourning.

Following the atrocities committed in Madrid in 2004 and London in 2005, visitors were swiftly back, and welcomed for their show of solidarity in the face of terrorism. Certainly anyone planning a December break in the city should plan to carry on as normal - though they should be prepared to find a heavy security presence in the city.

Paris will remain one of the most-visited cities in the world. However, the nature of big, open cities means that future attacks cannot be ruled out. Security at national monuments and tourist sites throughout France was already tight following the Charlie Hebdo massacre and will be stepped up still further. The existing rules on identity checks are likely to be more tightly enforced. Visitors may be asked to prove their identity when asked or within four hours at a police station.

In the longer term, France and other Schengen countries are likely to reintroduce permanent passport and ID checks in a bid to have more control over their borders.

The cause of the loss of 224 lives in that tragedy is still not certain, but it could have been an act of terrorism; in the wake of the crash, British airlines are not allowed to fly passengers to Sharm el Sheikh. Yet despite these appalling, high-profile events the risk profile for most travellers is unaffected; a large majority of the British travellers who sadly lose their lives abroad are killed on the roads or are victims of accidents in water

SPAIN: Spanish Baggage Handlers' Strikes

Thousands of British holiday makers could face travel chaos this month as airport baggage handlers go on strike at five of Spain's busiest airports.

Passengers flying to and from Spain face delays after four strikes were announced by Spanish unions with walkouts being staged at Malaga, Alicante, Palma de Mallorca, Barcelona and Madrid's Barajas airports.

EasyJet and Vueling are the two airlines likely to be worst affected by the action. Baggage handlers employed at these airports say they are angry that talks about their pay, which has been in negotiation for a year and a half, have been postponed. The unions are planning to strike on different days at each of the airports.

In Malaga workers will walkout on eight days: on September 5, 12, 19 and 26, between 8am and 12pm, and 6pm to 9pm, then on September 6, 13, 20 and 27 from 8am to 11am, and 8pm to 11pm. Alicante and Palma airports will also see eight days of strike action: September 7, 9, 14, 16, 21, 23, 28 and 30, from 10am to 2pm and 4pm to 8pm.

Unions are also bringing workers out at Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas airport on four days – September 4, 11, 18 and 25 – and from 4.30am to 7.30am and 7.30pm to 9.30pm. And at Barcelona-El Prat, eight days are affected: 6, 7, 13, 14, 20, 21, 27 and 28, between the hours of 10am and 12pm, and 6pm to 8pm.

As a result, travellers are advised to check with their airlines to see if their flights will be affected by the industrial action. Customers are also advised to carry essential items such as medication, baby formula, nappies, books and games to keep children occupied in their hand luggage in case of delays.

Customers should allow extra time to get to the gate in time for their flight, as areas such as bag drop could be busier than usual.

In the first instance you should speak to your airline or tour operator as they will be able to provide information on the strike.

CROATIA: Dubrovnik Airport Expecting 1.6m Passengers In 2015

airBaltic launched flights to Dubrovnik. Initially launched with a weekly service, the airport pair is now served twice-weekly, with the additional departure beginning on 18 June. In S15, airBaltic will be the 21st largest carrier at Dubrovnik, offering 274 seats per week to the Latvian capital.

Dubrovnik Airport is Croatia’s most southern airport, serving the south and coastal areas of the Dalmatia region. It has seen a rise in its tourism recently, helped especially with the city being the back drop to some of the scenes in the television series, Game of Thrones. The city is home to Croatia’s third largest airport, just behind Split and the capital, Zagreb. Looking at OAG Schedules Analyser data for the week commencing 10 August 2015, the airport will be connected to 50 destinations served by 32 airlines at its peak this summer. These destinations are spread across Europe, with the UK and Germany leading the way, as both countries each have 11 airports serving Dubrovnik. To see a further analysis of Croatia’s largest country markets, see anna.aero’s coverage of Croatia’s 2015 growth.

In 2014, Dubrovnik recorded its sixth consecutive year of growth, and in the past 10 years has seen only one year of declining passenger figures, which was in 2009. However the following year, the airport recorded its biggest yearly growth rate (in the last 10 years) of 11.8%, and ever since, passenger numbers have continued to rise steadily. So far in 2015, Dubrovnik has seen an average monthly increase of 3.9% per month, however the growth has been inconsistent, with February recording a decline of -4.9%, while March grew by an impressive 9.0%. With a capacity increase in seats for the week being analysed during S15 of 6.4%, anna.aero expects passenger numbers this year to reach record levels again, and potentially break the 1.6 million passenger barrier.

SVID says ‘Managerial and operational challenges’ for Dubrovnik
Entering Dubrovnik’s monthly passenger data for 2014 into anna.aero’s Seasonal Variation in Demand (SVID) calculator, the airport does not perform that well, generating a score of 88.7 ‒ a ‘Managerial and operational challenges’ rating. The airport ranks 39th out of the 41 airports analysed so far in 2015, lying between fellow ultra-seasonal airports of Ibiza and Menorca in Spain. The airport’s seasonality performance has declined marginally when compared to the result achieved in 2013, when it attained a score of 81.98, and also down from 2012, where it garnered a result of 79.86 ‒ which was still a ‘Managerial and operational challenges’ score. With this being said, 2014 was a still record breaking year in terms of passenger throughput, so although the SVID score has not improved, this may be something that the airport is prepared to face in order to increase traffic.

In order to gain a thorough understanding of Dubrovnik’s seasonality, anna.aero’s data elves also ran a comparison with two other airports in Croatia, Split (100.24 ‒ ‘Why bother opening in the off-peak?’) and Zagreb (6.46 – ‘Good’). From this, we can see that the two airports that lie on the Adriatic Coast (Dubrovnik and Split) show a strong pattern of seasonality, with the latter recording the highest SVID score by any airport so far this year. With both of these airports serving as strong transport hubs for incoming tourists wanting some summer sun, the SVID results are as expected. However, Zagreb is at the other end of the spectrum, having achieved a respectable score of 6.46 in comparison, due to its more year-round appeal as Croatia’s capital city.
32 airlines for S15, with only two serving this coming winter

While the schedules for the peak week in S15 show that 32 airlines will have operations at Dubrovnik, such is the ‘peakiness’ of the airport’s traffic, there will be just two carriers serving the airport in December 2015, unless of course a new carrier is announced or either British Airways and Croatia Airlines also decide to stop winter operations (highlighted in light green). These two carriers also form part of Dubrovnik’s top 12 airlines for the peak of this year’s summer season.

When comparing the August schedules for S15 to those experienced in the same week last year, the airport is anticipating a 6.4% increase in weekly seats. This year however sees the departure of Monarch Airlines and Aeroflot leaving the airport’s top 12 carriers ranking, with the former showing a 57% decrease in seats this summer, while the latter has now stopped operations altogether from Dubrovnik. As a result of this, we now see Thomson Airways and Finnair enter the airport’s top 12 airlines.
UK commands the show in terms of market demand

With 11 routes each, it’s understandable to see both the UK and Germany taking up the top two spots at Dubrovnik for country market demand. The former however has 44% more seats than the latter, meaning that frequency or aircraft density is greater on routes to the UK. The Croatian domestic market is significant, being placed in a respectable fourth spot. The only three destinations available for this coming winter are Zagreb, (Croatia Airlines), London Gatwick (British Airways) and Rome Fiumicino (Croatia Airlines). With 47 destinations being terminated at the end of S15, the extremely seasonality of Dubrovnik is obvious to see.

Gatwick, Zagreb, Barcelona, Rome Fiumicino and Helsinki make up the top five routes from Dubrovnik, with three of them also being the only destinations served this coming winter. What is surprising to note is that even though Germany has the second highest market demand, its first destination in the top 12, Frankfurt, only comes in at sixth place. Overall, the top 12 country markets make-up a substantial 89% of the overall seat capacity available this summer from Dubrovnik. A new addition to airport’s route portfolio this summer will be Milan Linate, with Alitalia scheduled to launch the route on 1 August with a twice-weekly frequency.