• Airline Credit Profiles
• Transaction Economics (aircraft values, lease rates and transactions)
• ESG and Sustainable Aviation
08/12/2023
In the previous Extra, we highlighted how some of the major US airlines performed during the third quarter of 2023. This week, we do the same for the European airlines. The major European airlines performed significantly better than their US peers in Q3 2023.
04/12/2023
FLEET REFRESHING CONTINUES… In the past weeks we see a significant shift towards fleet modernisation and efficiency. Airlines and leasing companies are increasingly favouring newer, more fuel-efficient aircraft models, such as the Airbus A320neo family aircraft
24/11/2023
KEY TAKEAWAYS… This week we have summarised how the major North American airlines performed in Q3 2023. In what is historically the busiest quarter of the year for most airlines, many airlines struggled and fell into the red.
20/11/2023
DUBAI AIR SHOW HIGHLIGHTS ‘DELIVERY SLOT’ RACE… The extensive ‘orderfest’ that has spilled out of the Dubai Air Show continues the airline-led momentum towards a ‘delivery-slot grab’ – airlines are racing to secure access to new aircraft production slots, and where these are not available, they are turning to lessor orderbooks to fulfil...
10/11/2023
In this week’s Airlines Extra, we review developments in the Australian commercial aviation sector. The market is dominated by Qantas and its subsidiaries, however the flag carrier now finds itself in the midst of a major public relations and governance crisis...
03/11/2023
IT'S ALWAYS DOWN TO SUPPLY AND DEMAND… Lease placements from lessor orderbooks, and sale and leasebacks of aircraft delivered to airlines, are happening at a brisk pace and in a competitive environment, with both lessors and airlines looking to find the right assets or the right homes, at a price that works...
03/11/2023
The eleventh edition of the Ishka View Extra: ESG and Sustainable Aviation examines developments during September and October 2023. The ESG Extra delivers the Ishka View on developments including regulation, sustainable finance, and SAF...
30/10/2023
KEY TAKEAWAYS… Continuing on from recent editions of the Airlines Extra which looked at the performance of China’s Big 3 and some Tier 2 carriers, this week we look at some of the other major Chinese airlines including subsidiaries of the Big 3 such as Air Macau, Shenzhen...
23/10/2023
HIGHS AND LOWS IN PRODUCTIONS AND DELIVERIES… While they are in the process of being addressed, production and delivery issues with new build aircraft continue to dictate market activity. Some airlines are placing orders far in advance to ensure access to...
13/10/2023
KEY TAKEAWAYS…Following on from the previous Ishka View Extra where we reviewed the air travel recovery in China in 2023 and took a closer look at the country’s three major airlines, in this week’s edition we review some of the smaller Tier 2 airlines from the market, Spring Airlines...
06/10/2023
QUEING FOR AIRCRAFT ORDERS… It’s been a good time lately for aircraft orders, with Airbus, Boeing and COMAC on the receiving end of some hefty commitments. Of these, deliveries are as soon as 2024 and stretch into the early 2030s, showing that airlines are positioning to...
03/10/2023
KEY TAKEAWAYS… In this week’s Ishka View Extra, we review how air travel has recovered in China in 2023 so far following the easing of ‘zero-COVID’ earlier in the year and the impact on the three main Chinese airlines. While domestic travel has been quick to recover...
25/09/2023
AIRLINES SHIFT TO LEASING…? Indian airlines like IndiGo and Air India are setting up leasing arms in Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City), indicating that airlines are recognising the value of financial flexibility and asset management in an increasingly competitive...
15/09/2023
KEY TAKEAWAYS… In this week’s Airlines Extra, we review how the major Turkish airlines - flag carrier Turkish Airlines, Pegasus and SunExpress, have performed in 2023 so far. All three carriers reported robust demand in Q2 2023, translating to a profitable second quarter.
08/09/2023
A380 SURPRISE COMEBACK… With the restricted availability of aircraft, a surprise come back of A380 seems to be a theme among flag carriers. Airlines such as Emirates and Lufthansa are showing continued confidence in the aircraft, intending to operate it for longer...
05/09/2023
The tenth edition of the Ishka View Extra: ESG and Sustainable Aviation examines developments during July and August 2023. The ESG Extra delivers the Ishka View on developments including regulation, sustainable finance, and SAF...
01/09/2023
KEY TAKEAWAYS… In this week’s Airlines Extra, we continue our review of the US carriers, turning our attention to the LCCs. While the LCCs have continued to return capacity more aggressively and grow their revenues at a stronger pace than their full-service peers...
30/08/2023
BOEING MAX MIXED FORTUNES… As airlines and lessors develop their fleets and portfolios, Boeing’s B737 MAX is receiving mixed messages. Dubai Aerospace Enterprise's (DAE) acquisition of almost the whole portfolio of B737 MAX aircraft ordered by China Aircraft Leasing Group...
18/08/2023
KEY TAKEAWAYS… In this week’s Airlines Extra, we cover the US aviation market where airlines have reported strong Q2 2023 results. It is not just the robust travel demand that has driven the strong results, all airlines also benefitted from a reduction in fuel costs during the quarter...
16/08/2023
SECONDARY MARKET MOVES UP A GEAR… lessors are selling assets at above book value, a sign of strong demand and an investor landscape that is prepared to pay a premium to build out portfolios. It is an active secondary market, with a shift in transaction volumes compared to the last few years.
04/08/2023
KEY TAKEAWAYS… In this week’s Airlines Extra, we turn our attention to Europe’s three major airline groups, Air France-KLM, IAG and the Lufthansa Group. All three recorded a profit in H1 2023 after reporting strong second quarter results. IAG led the recovery...
31/07/2023
CAN WE BUILT IT? IN TIME….Between them, Airbus and Boeing have a commercial backlog of over 12,700 aircraft orders, and with orders still coming in weekly as airlines secure delivery positions into the late 2020s and beyond, both OEMs are aware of the need to up their production...
24/07/2023
KEY TAKEAWAYS… This week in the Airlines Extra, we turn our attention to the European aviation market. To begin with, the three major LCCs: Ryanair, Wizz Air and easyJet. While Ryanair returned to profitability in FY 2023 (ending March 2023) Wizz Air remained deep in the red...
14/07/2023
PASSENGERS MAY BE BACK BUT CARGO TRAFFIC CONTINUES TO SOFTEN… As passenger air travel numbers approach pre-pandemic levels, air freight traffic seems to be showing a softening trend. Notably, Amazon is curtailing some of its air freight operations after years...
07/07/2023
This week we review the performance of two of the largest regional carriers in the US, SkyWest and Republic Airways. Both airlines have generally performed better, financially, than the mainline US carriers during the pandemic, largely due to their unique business models, which provide...
12/07/2023
The ninth edition of the Ishka View Extra: ESG and Sustainable Aviation examines developments during May and June 2023. The ESG Extra delivers the Ishka View on developments including regulation, sustainable finance, and SAF...
30/06/2023
PARIS AIR SHOW REVEALS… Ishka reports on the aircraft orders announced at the Paris Air Show in this week’s Ishka View Extra: Transactions report. However, we did note the limited extent of ‘net new’ orders – excluding IndiGo, Flynas, Akasa and a handful of other small orders...
23/06/2023
This week we review select airlines from Thailand in the Ishka View Extra. As is now well-reported, Southeast Asian airlines have been severely affected by the pandemic over the past three years. But the situation is improving and air traffic in Thailand has shown positive recovery in the...
19/06/2023
THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME…three major observations from this past week provide an indication of the shape and speed of change in our industry, based on forthcoming technological developments. Firstly, Tecnam have postponed their all-electric P-Volt aircraft...
09/06/2023
In this week’s Ishka View Extra, we take a closer look at the Q1 2023 performance of two of Latin America’s largest operators, LATAM and Avianca. While the former only emerged from Chapter 11 in late 2022, two and a half years after...
05/06/2023
EXPECTATIONS FOR PARIS AIR SHOW ORDERS… are high. As described later in this bulletin, hundreds, perhaps over a thousand orders and commitments could be revealed as airlines position themselves for market growth and fleet replacement in the 2025-2030 timeframe...
26/05/2023
In this week’s Ishka View Extra, we turn our attention to the Latin American market and take a closer look at Mexican carriers, Volaris, Viva Aerobus and Aeroméxico as well as Panama’s Copa Airlines, a major carrier serving the Central America region and operating a hub...
22/05/2023
This is the 100th Edition of the Ishka View Extra: Transaction Economics (TE Extra). Little did we appreciate in those uncertain days when the TE Extra was launched in March/April 2020, that the aviation market would require the kind of re-boot that has happened since mid-2021.
12/05/2023
In this week’s Ishka View Extra, we continue our coverage on the Southeast Asian market and turn our attention to the Philippines. After several years of disruption, Southeast Asia has experienced a robust recovery in air traffic in recent months...
09/05/2023
ATTENTION RETURNS TO ENGINE MANUFACTURERS….the spotlight lately has been shining on the engine manufacturers that are facing challenges in supporting both new aircraft production rates and existing airline operations...
05/05/2023
The eighth edition of the Ishka View Extra: ESG and Sustainable Aviation examines developments during March and April 2023. The ESG Extra delivers the Ishka View on developments including regulation, sustainable finance, and SAF...
27/04/2023
In this week’s Ishka View Extra, we turn our attention to Vietnam. After several years of disruption, the Southeast Asian market has experienced a robust recovery in air traffic in recent months with Vietnam leading the way. But the earlier disruption has resulted in sizeable losses...
21/04/2023
Supply chain constraints are increasingly likely to roll over into 2024 if not beyond, which is evident from the current and forecast aircraft production and delivery profiles for the major OEMs. The current growth in traffic globally, and the market rebound in Asia is therefore...
14/04/2023
In this week’s Ishka View Extra, we turn our attention to airlines in Australia and New Zealand. The Australian and New Zealand aviation market has seen robust recovery since mid-2022 with airlines reporting a robus set of results...
06/04/2023
CHINA IS (ALMOST) BACK… China’s ‘big 3’ airlines are expected to accelerate deliveries while also bringing back the B737 MAX. With more than 100 deliveries expected in 2023-2025 timeframe from each of Airbus and Boeing, the OEMs have more...
31/03/2023
In this week’s Ishka View Extra, we continue with our coverage of the US carriers, turning our attention to Alaska Air Group (AAG), Hawaiian, Southwest and JetBlue. While AAG and Southwest managed to return to profitability in full year 2022...
27/03/2023
THE WET-LEASE IS TRENDING THIS SEASON… With delivery delays compounding a traffic rebound in most parts of the globe, airlines are seeking to ensure capacity is available. With the summer season approaching we see new trends emerging...
20/03/2023
This week in Ishka View Extra, we turn our attention to the US and take a look at the country’s three mainline carriers, Delta, American and United and review their performance for the full year 2022 and Q4 2022. All three airlines returned to...
10/03/2023
FIRST COMMERCIAL 787S TO BE DISMANTLED…Only ten years old but potentially more valuable today as a source of parts. Such is the fate of a couple of B787-8s. Meanwhile, financiers and lawyers confide they are preparing for a busy April and May 2023...
08/03/2023
The seventh edition of the Ishka View Extra: ESG and Sustainable Aviation examines developments during January and February 2023. The ESG Extra delivers the Ishka View on developments including regulation, sustainable finance, and SAF...
03/03/2023
In this week’s Ishka View Extra, we turn our attention to Canada. The domestic market has seen an influx of several new airlines, mostly LCCs, over the past few years. We take a look at how the country’s well-established airlines are positioned...
24/02/2023
THE RECOVERY MEETS CAPACITY CONSTRAINTS… India’s traffic may only just be returning to 2019 capacity levels, but the airlines there have got a very positive outlook judging by the recent orders and commitments made or in discussion.
17/02/2023
In this week’s Ishka View Extra, we continue to analyse developments among the Chinese carriers, concurrently turning our attention to airlines in Japan and their third quarter results. While Chinese airlines are demonstrating a positive recovery momentum...
10/02/2023
PRODUCTION AND DELIVERIES… This week, it’s all about the metal. One OEM, Boeing is spooling up production and making headway by adding a fourth assembly line for the B737 MAX. Having won orders in recent months, the challenge is to deliver on time...
06/02/2023
In this week’s Ishka View Extra, we turn our attention to airlines in China and Hong Kong. With China finally easing its zero-Covid policy, domestic airlines in China have begun building capacity close to pre-Covid levels. However, with travel restricted...
30/01/2023
NEW YEAR EXPECTATIONS HIGH… – A New Year brings with it new developments. One important development announced last week has been the NASA led initiative for Boeing to work on the development and test-flying of a "full-scale Transonic Truss-Braced Wing (TTBW)...
20/01/2023
In this week’s Ishka View Extra, we review the performance of South Korean airlines in 2022. With passenger traffic gradually building recovery momentum, the air cargo market, which was a saving grace for Korean Air and Asiana, seems to have come under pressure...
16/01/2023
NEW YEAR, OLD FRIENDS, NEW FACES – The A380 and B737 MAX are making return appearances this year, with Emirates already scaling up their A380 operational fleet to over 80 aircraft, while China Southern has finally performed passenger flights with the B737 MAX again...
06/01/2023
Wishing a very Happy New Year to all readers! As we end 2022 and begin 2023, the biggest developments are being driven by China. After three years of severely restricted travel regulations, most of the COVID-related travel restrictions in the country...
January 2023
The sixth edition of the Ishka View Extra: ESG and Sustainable Aviation examines developments during November and December 2022. The ESG Extra delivers the Ishka View on developments including regulation, sustainable finance, and SAF...
19/12/2022
FAREWELL TO ONE, HELLO TO ANOTHER – as reported later in this issue, the last B747 to be built has been rolled out of the Boeing factory, a B747-8F freighter, which is expected to deliver early in 2023, marking the end of a successful and ground breaking aircraft programme...
08/12/2022
In this week’s Ishka View Extra, we turn our attention to the major European LCCs - Ryanair, Wizz Air, easyJet and Jet2, and review their performance during the September 2022 quarter. Like their full-service peers, all have reported a solid quarter, despite disruptions...
05/12/2022
END OF YEAR TRADES – a number of portfolio movements are occurring between established players before 2022 comes to an end, with Aergo acquiring Seraph and its portfolio, DAE completing the acquisition of a SKY fund and its portfolio and Macquarie AirFinance...
28/11/2022
In this week’s Ishka View Extra, we review the Chinese Big 3 airline performance this year and how the ongoing losses have impacted their balance sheets and their prospects in the near term. Unlike most other jurisdictions, China continues to adopt a relatively strict approach...
21/11/2022
NEW AIRCRAFT PRODUCTION TRAILS AIR TRAFFIC RECOVERY… While some airlines are bringing mothballed aircraft back into service, and others are retrofitting whole fleets to extend their lives and to keep their cabins relevant for today’s markets, another group of airlines...
14/11/2022
This week we review the performance of the three major European airline groups, Lufthansa Group, Air France-KLM and IAG. All reported healthy profits in Q3 2022 thanks to strong demand. Higher airfares offset higher operating expenses including high fuel prices, as well as...
07/11/2022
AIR CARGO MARKET – SOFTENING?… Air cargo volumes declined 5% year on year (y/o/y) in September and 8% y/o/y in October, making it eight consecutive months of decline, based on weekly market data as reported by Air Cargo News...
November 2022
The fifth edition of the Ishka View Extra: ESG and Sustainable Aviation examines developments during September and October 2022. The ESG Extra delivers the Ishka View on developments including regulation, sustainable finance, and SAF.
28/10/2022
We continue with our coverage on airlines from Southeast Asia in this week’s Ishka View Extra. In the previous issue, we highlighted how the operating environment for airlines in Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam has rebounded positively in 2022 as COVID-related travel restrictions...
24/10/2022
MOMENTUM CONTINUES WITH CARGO AIRCRAFT FLEET GROWTH…The section that writes itself in the TE Extra – Situation report continues to be the ‘Cargo Corner’. Airlines and lessors are continuing to ramp up and position themselves for cargo operations...
17/10/2022
In this week’s Airline Situation Report, we provide an update on certain airlines from Southeast Asia. The operating environment for airlines in Southeast Asia has rebounded positively in 2022 with most countries now free of any travel restrictions for fully vaccinated tourists...
03/10/2022
AND THEN THERE WERE THREE?... After years of Airbus and Boeing competing mainly with each other in the mainstream narrowbody space, COMAC is a step nearer to joining in the game, having achieved CAAC type certification for its narrowbody C919...
26/09/2022
This week we review the FY22 performance of select airlines from Australia and New Zealand. With the two countries maintaining strict border controls for most of the pandemic, international travel to and from the region has been severely curtailed since the COVID-19 pandemic...
19/09/2022
IS THE THREAT OF A GLOBAL RECESSION IMPACTING CARGO DEMAND?... A global recession will eventually dampen passenger demand and have an impact on travel. The cargo market tends to feel it first however, in its metrics, and we are seeing the implications of this...
12/09/2022
KEY TAKEAWAYS… In this week’s airline situation report, we review the H1 2022 performance of select Latin American airlines. Overall, it was a mixed picture - most airlines reported strong topline figures but relatively weak results at operating and net levels, mainly owing to...
05/09/2022
RUSSIA RESHAPING THE GLOBAL FLEET… There has been a hard-hitting observation from Aeroflot, who are committing to a fleet renewal programme using domestically produced aircraft, that Boeing and Airbus aircraft “are unlikely to ever be delivered to Russia again”...
September 2022
This September 2022 issue covers developments during July and August 2022, except for announcements during the 2022 Farnborough Airshow. For those announcements, see the Farnborough Airshow special edition of this series published in early August 2022...
29/08/2022
In this week’s ACP Extra, we examine the recent quarter performance of the US ultra-low-cost carriers - Spirit, Frontier, Allegiant and Sun Country. All four airlines, like the other US carriers, were profitable at an EBITDAR level during the second quarter of 2022, but Allegiant and...
22/08/2022
AIRCRAFT AVAILABILITY TIGHTENING AS TRAFFIC LEVELS GROW… The summer season continues to deliver positive signs, with traffic bouncing back from the worst effects of the pandemic, and with airlines being in a better place regarding revenues and cashflow...
15/08/2022
Following on from our review of the three largest US full-service carriers - Delta, American and United - in July, this week we review the Q2 2022 performance of the country’s other mainline carriers, Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian, along with LCCs Southwest and JetBlue...
08/08/2022
B787 DELIVERIES RESUME... The US FAA has now approved the resumption of deliveries of the B787. After the long production pause, deliveries will help some airlines address their capacity shortage issues. Boeing seems to be making progress, the Farnborough show...
04/08/2022
This is a special edition in Ishka’s ESG Extra supplement series dedicated to 2022 Farnborough Airshow sustainability announcements. It delivers ‘The Ishka View’ on aviation` Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) and other Sustainability developments...
01/08/2022
Recent months have seen increasing flight disruptions across Europe driven by labour shortages across many parts of the industry, including airline cabin crew, security, and ground handling staff at airports. Airlines and airports, having reduced headcount heavily...
25/07/2022
FARNBOROUGH: THE HEAT IS ON… and not just in weather terms. Farnborough delivered a welcome update on developments in the aviation sector. The traditional Airbus v Boeing order battle was relatively muted, we also saw first-hand some of the potential eVTOL and...
18/07/2022
The three major full-service carriers in the US, Delta, United and American, have all generated profits in the second quarter of 2022 despite ongoing operational challenges emanating from labour shortages, airport disruptions and inflation...
11/07/2022
BACK TO THE FUTURE... It’s the Farnborough Air Show, week commencing July 18th, and the first chance in a long while for many of us in the industry to get acquainted again with the latest developments and technologies that will make the travel experience safer, greener...
04/07/2022
This week we review some of the key combination carriers in Asia Pacific. Passenger traffic has been virtually non-existent in many parts of Asia Pacific for most of 2021, however the combination carriers with their large and well-established cargo units have been able to successfully...
27/06/2022
CHINA MAKES ITS MOVE…the country’s major airlines have committee to nearly 300 more A320neo family aircraft in a move that indicates that Chinese markets are preparing for an improvement in the operating environment...
20/06/2022
This week we turn our attention to the Middle East and review two of the region’s largest carriers, Emirates and Qatar Airways, both of whom have seen a meaningful and positive turnaround in their financial positions. We also review Royal Jordanian and its recovery so far and...
13/06/2022
AIRCRAFT INNOVATION IN THE SPOTLIGHT – As we approach the first physical Farnborough Air Show for four years, attention is switching to the metal - the OEMs and their products, and not just to new variants of existing models but to new, innovative and forward looking...
06/06/2022
In continuation of the theme of the previous Situation Report on the Southeast Asian market, this week we take a closer look at Thai Airways and AirAsia Group, both in the process of substantially restructuring their businesses. The extent of disruption in the region...
30/05/2022
WET LEASE MARKET PROVING VERY HOT THIS SUMMER – demand for air traffic has picked up for most holiday destinations this summer as travellers await their escapes. However, many airlines seem to be facing aircraft and staff shortage problems...
23/05/2022
Following on from the previous Airlines Situation Report which covered the Chinese aviation market, this week we turn our attention to the Southeast Asian region. This region’s airlines have been among the worst affected by the pandemic, with limited air travel recovery...
20/05/2022
The reports by the Transport Committee, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS)- backed ATI, and the positive conclusion of the UK SAF mandate consultation foreshadow an active remainder of the year for UK legislation tackling the decarbonisation of aviation...
9/5/2022
This week we turn our attention to airlines in China and Hong Kong. Unlike other regions, airline operations in Asia Pacific and China were more disrupted in 2021 (especially in the second half) than in 2020 and as result losses remained sizeable in 2021...
25/4/2022
Following on from the previous edition of our Airline Situation Report, this week we review the performance of the main airlines serving the southern part of the Latin American region, including the major aviation markets in Brazil and Chile....
17/03/2022
In this week’s Ishka View Extra, we turn our attention to the US and take a look at the country’s three mainline carriers, Delta, American and United and review their performance for the full year 2022...
17/03/2022
In this week’s Ishka View Extra, we turn our attention to the US and take a look at the country’s three mainline carriers, Delta, American and United and review their performance for the full year 2022...
03/07/2022
The decision by the Dutch government will have a big impact on operations to, and from, Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, one of Europe’s largest international hubs. According to IATA, the airport has already handled 280,000 movements in 2022, putting it on track to...
