Ryanair Increases 737 MAX Order by 75
Never one to turn down a good deal, Ryanair has expanded its Boeing 737 MAX order from 135 to 210 aircraft. This additional order for 75 is significant for Boeing, and the airline likely received an enormous price break that was too good to refuse.
This order was for what the press release called the 737 8-200, which we understand is also the planned name for Elon Musk’s next child. This is the same airplane Ryanair has on order already, and it’s really just the 737 MAX 8 with more exit doors so it can hold 197 passengers in an extremely high-density configuration.
It’s believed that Boeing was so desperate to sell some airplanes that it not only gave Ryanair a huge discount, but Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun also threw in the protective undercoating for free.
Delta Begins Contact Tracing Since Nobody Else Has Bothered
Beginning December 15, Delta will begin a contact-tracing program for all international travelers returning to the United States. Those countries that have handled the COVID pandemic best have long had significant contact-tracing protocols, but, well, the U.S. is not one of those countries.
Delta will ask all international travelers arriving in the U.S. for six pieces of information.
- Full name
- Email address
- Address in the U.S.
- Primary phone
- Secondary phone
- Whether they a) love Biscoff or b) hate America
Delta will then “securely” transmit the data via U.S. Customs and Border Protection to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for use in case of a positive test result.
Qantas Shows Its Optimistic Side in Market Update
Qantas Group released a market update Wednesday that had a surprising amount of optimism for an airline that has been mostly doom and gloom during the pandemic. It says it expects to be cash positive for the second half of 2021, and it has enough liquidity to weather the current storm thanks to the huge popularity of its Qantas-branded koala petting zoos.
Despite international travel being shut down outside of a handful of repatriation and New Zealand flights, Qantas says it will operate 68% of previous capacity in December, rising to 80% for the next quarter. The ending of domestic border restrictions has been a boon for the airline as travel within the country has surged. Qantas has also benefited from the turmoil at Virgin Australia, saying it has seen significant shift in corporate traffic over the last few months.
This optimism, however, is not likely shared by the front line. The perenially-restructuring airline has been working to slash costs and has eliminated more than 5,000 jobs since the pandemic began.
Norwegian Finds Out Its Fate On December 17
Nothing says Merry Christmas like an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders to see if you can keep your company from going out of business. That is Norwegian’s plan when it holds a meeting on December 17 to try to avoid failure.
In November, Norwegian filed for the Irish version of bankruptcy — called examinership — which allowed the airline to avoid having creditors seize assets while it tries to restucture. To remain operational, however, Norwegian still needs more money and fewer expenses. That’s why it will have shareholders vote on this proposal.
The plan is to do a 100:1 reverse stock split and then raise an additional NOK 4 billion (~$450 million) by issuing new shares. It also hopes to convert a chunk of its mountain of debt into equity. To do this, it obviously needs shareholder approval.
In summary, Norwegian is effectively saying “dear shareholders, we are gonna dilute the heck out of you, but hey, isn’t that better than you getting nothing when we fold?” Even if this is approved, Norwegian still has to negotiate with its creditors. Good luck with that.
Southwest Issues WARN Notices for Potential Layoffs
Southwest issued WARN notices to nearly 7,000 front line employees today, providing a more concrete indication that furloughs are coming if wage cuts are not agreed upon.
Southwest has famously never furloughed or laid off an employee, but during the pandemic, it has requested temporary wage cuts of 10% from front line employees. The negotiations have not gone well, and so it has now moved to the next phase by putting out WARN notices. Though these notices do not mean furloughs will definitely happen, they are required to be put before any furlough takes place.
The WARN notices break down as follows:
- 2,551 rampers
- 1,500 flight attendants
- 1,221 pilots
- 1,176 customer service agents
- 370 customer support reps
- 6 flight instructors
- 4 flight simulator techs
- 1 creepy guy named Milton who is still there due to a glitch in the payroll system
Airline Potpourri
- Avatar Airlines continues to pretend it has a viable plan by offering equity to airlines that will turn over their grounded 747s.
- Gulf Air starts Bahrain-Tel Aviv flights on January 7, and now it is entering into a partnership with El Al.
- SAS posted a SEK 9.275 billion loss for its weird fiscal year ending October 2020. It has raised money and is retiring 21 aircraft early as it tries to right the ship.
- South African has a bailout, but it can’t use it due to South African law. This is not a joke.
- United has ended its experiment of having regional presidents. Its last, Janet Lamkin in California, is now SVP of Market and Community Innovation across the system.
- Wizz Air continues its European onslaught the a new base in Cardiff, its fourth in the UK.
Brett’s Moment of Levity
What do you tell yourself when you wake up late for work and realize you have a fever? Self, I so late.