Latest News
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Etihad Airways purchases widebody aircraft, returns to pre-war capacity by June
In an interview, CEO Antonoaldo Neves stated that Etihad Airways will be ordering more widebody aircraft to meet its 8% increase in flights over the previous year by June 15. On Saturday, he said that Abu Dhabi's airline is purchasing widebody planes in the "double digits" but declined to provide any further details. Neves stated that Etihad has restored flights following the cuts made in March, as the U.S. and Israeli war against?Iran shifted regionally, increasing fuel prices. Etihad, he said, "doesn't plan to reduce?costs? by cutting flights for the time being." He said, "The largest cost we have is an empty plane." "So I cut costs by not having empty planes."
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Ethiopia Airlines to make decision on regional jets in the next three weeks
Ethiopian Airways will likely decide in the next three months on an order of 25 smaller commercial 'jets' to expand its local network. This was announced by CEO Mesfin TasewBekele late Saturday night during a meeting of airline executives held in Brazil. Africa's largest airline, with 147 aircraft in its fleet, is considering the Airbus A220 and Embraer E-2, as well as the Boeing 737 -MAX 7 which will be certified this year by the U.S. faa. The planes will be used for both domestic routes as well as around neighbouring countries. Bekele stated that there are some issues but a decision would be made in a matter of a few months. Bekele didn't specify what the issues were. The A220 program is still in the red, and it faces stiff competition from Brazilian competitor Embraer. Ethiopian Airlines, like other carriers, has struggled with rising fuel prices because of the "war in Iran". It has also cut Middle East flights due to lower passenger demand. For example, it reduced frequency to Dubai, from three flights per day to two, he explained. The airline is spending 60% more per plane on jet fuel than it did in the past, despite resolving concerns about shortages. "We have resolved the supply problem." He added, "It is fine now" on the sidelines of?the International?Air Transport Association (IATA's) annual summit this weekend in Rio de Janeiro. "But the pricing issue is a very serious issue."
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Boeing executive: China can get aftermarket support for its 200-jet aircraft order.
Boeing's top executive for services?said that Boeing can support China with aftermarket parts to back up a 200-planes order announced by the planemaker in response to a visit made by U.S. President Donald Trump to Beijing this year. Chris Raymond, Chief executive of Boeing Global Services said that China would have no problems obtaining parts for the deal, "if they are parts that we can sell globally." He also added that the planemaker had a warehouse in China. Kelly Ortberg, CEO of Boeing Global Services, said that China's 200-jet deal would be finalized later this year. It is only the "initial tranche" of what could become a much bigger deal. China's commerce ministry said the U.S. would have to give the country supply guarantees on?aircraft engines and components as part of the Boeing deal. Raymond stated that despite the war in Iran, there was still a demand for aircraft modifications in most regions. Raymond added that supply chain issues continue to be a problem for parts such as flight deck windows and engine components distributed by?Boeing. The executive said that his 'division' is looking to'slash costs by using analytics and not through layoffs. (Reporting by Allison Lampert in Rio de Janeiro)
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Alaska Air: Demand and fares may support cash flow in the second half despite fuel price shock
Alaska Air Group hopes to reinstate its financial guidance during its second-quarter earnings conference call, if fuel prices stabilize, said Chief Financial Officer Shane Tackett on Saturday. Volatility in jet fuel costs had forced the carrier's?full year outlook. Alaska is unwilling to restore guidance until they have more confidence about the outlook. Tackett, speaking at the annual meeting of the International Air Transport Association in Rio de Janeiro, said: "We would like to see more stability." Tackett says that the carrier is expecting a more difficult second quarter than they had expected before the recent fuel shock. However, he said that higher fares and resilient customer demand should help to offset the majority of the impact in the second half. He predicted that operating cash burn would fall to zero or even turn positive in the second part of the year. Alaska recently borrowed $1 billion, divided between secured and unsecured debt. But?Tackett stated that the company did not plan to make another liquidity move, or reduce capital spending. He said that corporate bookings for the next 90-day period are up 20-30% from a similar time last year, across most industries and geographies. Tackett stated that Alaska also works with energy companies to obtain more jet fuel from Singapore for the West Coast, as refining margins are high in its core geographies. He stated that the airline has no plans to retire Hawaiian Airlines' Airbus A330s and A321s, and they expect to remain an Airbus operator for "a long time." (Reporting and editing by Manuela Andréoni in Rio de Janeiro)
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Southwest Airlines sticks with Boeing after MAX 7 delays push service back to 2027
Southwest Airlines' Chief Operating Officer Andrew Watterson said on Saturday that the airline expects Boeing's long delayed 737 MAX 7 to enter revenue service by 2027. The company is also focused on adding more aircraft types in order to reduce risks, rather than focusing on another type of aircraft. Watterson responded that Southwest Airlines was not interested in Airbus's A220. Watterson stated in an interview at the International Air Transport Association annual meeting in Rio de Janeiro that diversification does not come from a second type of fleet. "A second fleet type can increase risk." It doesn't make any sense to ignore that," he said. The?MAX 7 still awaits certification by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration. Watterson stated that Southwest will spend about six months on?internal projects after certification. This includes adding the aircraft to their operating specifications and manuals. He said that the clock begins when they certify it. Watterson stated that the MAX 7 delays had not forced Southwest Airlines to delay specific routes but limited its ability better match aircraft sizes with demand. He said the penalty is too many large aircraft and not enough small jets in markets or periods of lower demand. STARLINK ROLLOUT Southwest also?moves ahead with Starlink-powered Wi-Fi. However, Tony Roach said that the carrier hasn't ruled out Amazon’s Leo satellite -network. Southwest Airlines' chief customer and brand officer, Tony Roach, said the airline expects to be able to service an aircraft with Starlink by the end of this month. Executives said that the airline has set a goal of equipping 300 aircraft by the end of the year with Starlink. However, the speed depends on the ability of Starlink to supply the equipment. Watterson said, "Our 'tech ops' can retrofit as quickly as Starlink can supply," Watterson added. Watterson said that activist investor Elliott Investment Management was correct to say Southwest had been slow to change despite the fact that many changes were already underway. Elliott Investment Management was unambiguously?correct in that we were too late," he said. Watterson said that investors underestimated Southwest's customers' willingness and ability to pay for new services, and revenue per available seat-mile would be the "litmus" test for whether or not the changes were working. (Reporting by Rajesh Kumar Singh in Rio de Janeiro)
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Breeze Airways, a US low-cost carrier, sets its sights on the 2027 IPO
?U.S. Breeze Airways, a low-cost domestic carrier, is planning an initial public offering in 2027. Its Chief Executive David Neeleman announced this on Saturday. He said that the carrier had considered an IPO earlier but decided to delay it due to the market 'conditions'. This was revealed during an interview on the eve of the annual summit of the International Air -Transport Association (IATA) in Rio de Janeiro. He said that "to have an IPO the market must cooperate and the industry must cooperate." Neeleman added that the low-cost carrier has steadily built up its financial stability since it launched in '2021. The company does not have to raise capital now and can wait for the right equity market environment before launching publicly. Breeze was founded by Neeleman who, as the founder of JetBlue and Azul before, aimed to connect underserved American cities via a?affordable point-to-point flight service.
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Rio Summit: Airline executives grapple with fuel crisis, fare tests
The Iran War is driving up fuel prices and disrupting airspace, while airlines try to cushion the impact with higher fares. The International Air Transport Association's (IATA) annual meeting, which takes place from June 6-8, coincides with the fuel crisis and another issue that airlines are unable to quickly solve: a lack of new aircraft. Boeing and Airbus delays in delivering jets have forced some carriers to continue using older, less-fuel-efficient aircraft for longer. This has increased maintenance costs and fuel costs, just as oil prices are rising. IATA, the trade association for more than 370 airlines that account for 85% of the global air traffic, predicted a record-breaking $41 billion net profit for the industry this year before the war. Analysts and industry executives expect the outlook to be revised downward at the meeting. Deloitte's survey of 21 airline CEOs in the world published this week revealed that fuel price volatility, inflation and other risks are at the top of their risk agenda. This is driving carriers to place a greater emphasis on financial health and cost control. The survey stated that "together, they have turned what was meant to be a record-breaking year into a 'fight for margins. According to CEO John Rodgerson, the Brazilian airline Azul plans to reduce more flights in order to meet demand because of higher jet fuel prices. Air New Zealand CEO Nikhil Ravishankar said that airlines could only increase ticket prices to a certain extent in order to offset rising fuel costs. In an interview, he stated that the market would respond by reducing demand and lowering ticket prices. Fuel and labor are the two main costs for airlines. Fuel increases are difficult to absorb when tickets are purchased weeks or even months in advance. The longer routes are also more fuel-intensive and less efficient for aircraft and crew. It is a challenge to determine how much of this latest fuel cost can be passed onto travelers before the increased fares begin to dampen demand. FARE POWER Travel demand is holding up well in many large markets. This includes premium and corporate travelers. Carriers have more room to increase fares. According to Raymond James, the domestic fares published in the United States as of 25 May showed a robust demand, and a successful pass-through for higher fuel costs. The fares were up 35.8% on an annual basis, while fares four weeks out were up 39.4%. Alexandre Lefevre is Air Canada's vice-president of global sales and network planning. He said, "the willingness to pay from the premium side over the last few years has been very strong. We see that strength continuing." There are still limits. The higher fares may help the airlines recover some of their fuel costs, but they can also push out those with smaller budgets. This risk is higher in regions with weak currencies, where consumer spending is under stress or where airlines lack the pricing power of major network carriers. Some carriers are still planning growth. Singapore Airlines has been in discussions for at least fifty large wide-body planes. Qantas, meanwhile, is considering an order of about 20 Airbus and Boeing wide-body aircraft. Reporting by Rajesh Kumar Singh in Rio de Janeiro and Allison Lampert. Gabriel Araujo contributed additional reporting from Rio de Janeiro. David Gaffen, Louise Heavens and David Gaffen edited the story.
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Bloomberg News reports that Airbus is closing in on a widebody order by a Scandinavian airline
Bloomberg reported that Airbus was 'closing in' on a large-scale order from Scandinavian Airlines, SAS AB. The order includes a mixture of Airbus A330neos and more advanced A350s, with 15 to 20 aircraft being considered, according to the report. The airline is expected to 'finalise' the deal within the next few weeks, and it will receive the aircraft in the first decade of the new century. According to the report, "people familiar with the matter" were quoted. Airbus and 'SAS AB' did not respond immediately to a comment request. The report could not be verified. Reports said that the carrier was also in talks?with Boeing regarding a large order for widebody jets, but chose to go with the European planemaker instead to maintain "fleet uniformity" and keep costs down. SAS AB, one of the first airlines to reduce flights in March due to the "sharp" and "sudden" increase in fuel prices triggered by U.S. - Israel's war against Iran.
How hot or not is the stock market? Recent high-profile US IPOs: How they have performed
The debut of digital bank Chime is expected to give a boost to a market that has been recovering after a series of blockbuster listings over the past few months.
Analysts say that despite the confidence-boosting performance of recent listings such as Circle, CoreWeave, and eToro, macroeconomic uncertainties and tariff risks may still cause investors to be more selective.
Kat Liu is vice president of IPOX. She said that "Chime" could have a significant ripple effect. Many private companies are closely watching the situation, not only for valuation but also for secondary markets liquidity, investor appetite, and demand depth.
This is how the S&P 500 benchmark has performed against an ETF that tracks major newly-public stocks over the last year.
Here's a look at some of the largest IPOs from recent years:
CIRCLE INTERNET
The stablecoin issuing company
raised
In an upsized IPO in early June, the company raised $1.05 billion. The company debuted with a valuation nearing $18 billion when fully diluted.
Shares
More than doubled
On day one, the stock closed about 168% higher than its IPO price. The stock price is 70% higher than its opening price.
ETORO:
eToro, the Robinhood rival, has been valued at $5.64 billion.
shares surged
In May, Nasdaq stocks rose 34%.
In a larger IPO, the stock and cryptocurrency trading platform raised 620 million dollars. The stock price has fallen 10% since its debut.
COREWEAVE:
Although the AI cloud company's Nasdaq launch was a bit muted, its stock has nearly quadrupled despite opening almost 3% below their offer price.
The Nvidia-backed firm
raised
About $1.5 billion was raised in the IPO, valuing it at about $23 billion if fully diluted.
VENTURE GLOBAL LNG:
In January, the liquefied gas exporter reached a valuation of $1.75 billion. This is less than half what it had originally hoped for.
In a tepid NYSE debut, the company's shares were opened at a price nearly 4% lower than their IPO. Since then, they have fallen by around 30%.
SAILPOINT:
In their Nasdaq debut the shares of identity security company Thoma Bravo, which is backed by Thoma Bravo, traded flat. This valued it at $12.80 billion. Since then, the stock has lost almost 2%.
Austin, Texas based company raised $1.38 Billion in an increased IPO.
ARM HOLDINGS
In September 2023 the chip designer raised $4.87billion in its offering, which valued it at $54.5billion. It sought to be valued at up to $52 billion.
Shares of the company rose by 10% at open. Since then, the stock has more that doubled.
INSTACART:
In its IPO, the San Francisco-based Maplebear company was priced at the upper end of the range. In September 2023, it raised $660m at a valuation of nearly $9.9billion.
It raised its price range proposed and aimed for a valuation up to $10 billion.
Stocks of the grocery delivery app soared 40% at opening and have since gained 5%.
VIKING HOLDINGS
In April of last year, the cruise operator raised $1.54billion in its IPO. This valued it at $10.35billion. The cruise operator had sought to value the company at up to $10.8 billion.
Viking's shares opened at 9% over their initial offer price, and have risen 80% since.
STANDARDAERO:
In October of last year, the aircraft maintenance service provider raised $1.44 billion by pricing its offering over range. The initial target was a valuation up to $7.69billion.
Carlyle's company shares started trading at 29% over the original offer price. Since then, they have lost about 1%.
LINEAGE:
Cold storage real estate trust raised $4.45billion in its listing on July 20, 2024 at a valuation exceeding $18 billion. It had set a target of a valuation up to $19.16 billion.
Stock of the company rose 5% at open on Nasdaq. It has dropped 45% from its opening price.
REDDIT:
Social media giant Facebook raised $748 million at its IPO last March, valuing it at $6.4 Billion -- the upper end of its target range.
Since then, the stock has doubled.
BIRKENSTOCK:
The German sandal manufacturer, which is 250 years old, raised $1.48 Billion and was valued at $ 9.3 Billion in its IPO of October 2023. This was slightly less than its $10 Billion target.
The shares of this company debuted at a price 11% lower than their IPO but have risen by 32% in the past.
Sources: LSEG, filings, reports
(source: Reuters)