Middle Eastern MRO provider Joramco has disclosed an extension of its agreement with Ryanair, covering 10 lines of heavy maintenance for the next 10 years. Heavy maintenance will be carried out at Joramco's facility in Jordanian capital Amman as Ryanair grows its fleet to 800 aircraft including its recent order of 300 Boeing 737 Max 10s, says the provider. It notes that the agreement gives Ryanair flexibility around where it places its aircraft for maintenance in upcoming winter seasons. Ryanair operating chief Neal McMahon credits Joramco with having "demonstrated excellent standards in their state-of-the-art facilities," adding: "The enduring strength of this relationship is demonstrated this week as Joramco successfully completes 100 Ryanair aircraft C-checks."

Copa Airlines has reduced from 15 to 11 the number of new 737 Max aircraft it expects Boeing will deliver to it in 2024, while acknowledging that the new estimate itself is at risk. The Panamanian carrier's disclosure in November 2023 of preliminary guidance of 15 expected new Max deliveries in 2024 predates the US Federal Aviation Administration's emergency airworthiness directive issued on 6 January that grounded nearly the entirely of the global fleet of Max 9s. Copa, which operates 29 of the variant, cancelled 1,788 flights between 6 and 29 January, before returning its 21 grounded Max 9s to service. The carrier expects the impact of the FAA's Max 9 directive will have a ripple effect on Boeing's ability to meet its delivery goals, and has adjusted its targets for 2024 accordingly. "We have reduced the number of aircraft from the numbers in our preliminary guidance last year, to 11 deliveries this year," Copa chief executive Pedro Heilbron said on 8 February during an earnings call. "But we still have that risk of even more delays. That's still up in the air, I would say." Copa has reduced its estimated year-on-year capacity growth for 2024 to 10%, down from of its initial expectation of a 12-14% expansion. "We continue to see a healthy demand environment in the region as we again expect to deliver strong financial results in 2024," Heilbron says. In 2023's fourth quarter, the airline made an operating profit of $219 million. In addition to its 29 Max 9s, Copa operates nine 737-700s and 58 737-800s, and has 25 Max jets on order, Cirium fleets data shows. Heilbron notes that "Boeing has been, and continues to be, an important partner for Copa", adding: "Nonetheless, we hold them accountable for the grounding and its impact on our passengers and our financials, for which we expect to be fairly compensated". At 8 February, Copa expects in 2024 to take delivery of three Max 9s and eight Max 8s, with an assumption to end the year with 117 aircraft. "We have already secured JOLCO financing for nine out of these 11 expected deliveries in 2024," says Copa finance chief Jose Montero. Heilbron adds: "We have a few Max 9s we're expecting this month, which we're not sure when we're going to get. And we're also expecting delays on the Max 8s we are receiving this year."

SkyWest Airlines' parent rebounded to an operating profit of $28 million in the fourth quarter, reversing a loss of $35 million in the same period of 2022. The US regional carrier generated $752 million in operating revenue, up 10% year on year, it says in an earnings report. It made a net profit of $18 million, after a net loss of $47 million a year earlier. It attributes the revenue increase to flying-contract rate increases combined with production 2% higher year on year. Additionally, Utah-based SkyWest had $63 million of deferred revenue under its flying contracts, compared with $70 million in 2022's fourth quarter. "Our teams continued to generate an exceptional product this quarter," states executive chief Chip Childs. "With improved pilot attrition and ongoing strong demand for our product, we are well set up for success in 2024 and beyond." Across the full year, SkyWest generated $104 million in operating profit, down from $181 million in 2022. Operating revenue came in at $2.9 billion, slightly lower than 2022's $3 billion. Net profit decreased to $34 million from $73 million. In 2023, SkyWest repurchased 10.6 million shares of its common stock for $289 million. At 31 December, it leased 35 MHIRJ CRJ700s and five CRJ900s to third parties and had 16 CRJ200s ready for service under its charter operations. The carrier ended the period with $835 million in cash and marketable securities, down from $1 billion at 31 December 2022. Total debt was $3 billion, down from $3.4 billion at 31 December 2022. Capital expenditures during the quarter were $86 million, relating to the purchase of two Embraer 175s and other fixed assets. SkyWest plans to operate a total of 258 E175s by 2026. It has acquired a 25% ownership stake in Contour Airlines, with the deal including an asset provisioning agreement under which SkyWest will provide CRJ airframes, engines and rotable parts to Contour.