SkyWest Airlines' parent generated an operating profit of $99.5 million in the fourth quarter, reversing a loss of $4.7 million in the same period of 2023. The US regional carrier generated $804 million in operating revenue, up 16% year on year, it says in an earnings report. It made a net profit of $60.3 million, after a net loss of $22 million a year earlier. The rise in revenue is attributed to the 5% increase of block hour production in the first quarter compared to the previous year. Chief executive officer Chip Childs states: "Our ability to meet our partners' demand for additional production continues to increase as our captain availability has improved. We are also pleased with how our teams performed under challenging winter conditions during the first quarter." During the period, operating expenses were $704 million, up $7 million, or 1%, from $697 million in the previous year. The increase in operating expenses was primarily driven by the 5% increase in block hour production year-over-year, offset by lower aircraft rent expense from early lease buyouts SkyWest executed in 2023, the carrier says. SkyWest had $821 million in cash and marketable securities at 31 March, down from $835 million in the year ago period. The company had $82 million of remaining availability under its current share repurchase program. Total debt was $2.9 billion, down from $3 billion on 31 December 2023. Capital expenditure during the quarter was $38 million for the purchase of spare engines and other fixed assets. As of 31 March, the company leased 35 CRJ700s and five CRJ900s to third parties and had 16 CRJ200s that are ready for service under SkyWest Charter operations. By the end of 2026, SkyWest is scheduled to operate a total of 278 E175 aircraft.

AirAsia X (AAX) will acquire Capital A’s AirAsia Aviation Group and AirAsia Berhad for MYR6.8 billion ($1.42 billion) to form a new company that will house all airlines operating under the AirAsia brand. AirAsia X entered into a sale and purchase agreement on 25 April to acquire AirAsia Aviation Group for consideration of MYR3 billion, and AirAsia Berhad for MYR3.8 billion, says the group. The proposed acquisition of AirAsia Aviation Group will be satisfied entirely through the allotment and issuance of 2.31 billion shares of the new company at an issue price of MYR1.30, while the acquisition of AirAsia Berhad will be done entirely through debt settlement. The newly formed entity will have seven airlines operating under it, namely Malaysia AirAsia, Thai AirAsia, Philippines AirAsia, Indonesia AirAsia, AirAsia Cambodia, AirAsia X and Thai Air Asia X. “This allows the AAX Group to be part of an enlarged aviation group with award-winning airlines with over 22 years of established history and track record instead of being run and managed distinctively as a separate entity from the AAAGL Group and AAB Group,” the company states. “The New Aviation Group will operate and provide a full spectrum of short, medium and long-haul low-cost air transportation services, with domestic flights and international flights from Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia and Cambodia to numerous destination countries.” The newly formed entity also plans to raise MYR1 billion through the private placement of new shares, with third-party investors and issue price to be determined at a later time. Gross proceeds will be used for funding aircraft, engines and other aircraft parts, repayment of AirAsia Berhad’s term loan facilities and general working capital, states AirAsia X. AAX says the airlines to be housed under the new entity collectively have an order of about 400 aircraft from Airbus, mainly secured by AirAsia Berhad, with scheduled delivery commencing from 2024 up until 2035. Capital A is expected to record a gain of MYR10.76 billion from the disposals, it says, and is expected to retain 18.39% of the enlarged issued shares of the newly formed company. “The Proposed Disposals are intended to be undertaken by the Company to streamline the Group’s core business activities to focus on aviation services and digital businesses which are essential and complementary to the passenger airlines business”, states Capital A. AAX entered into a non-binding letter of acceptance with Capital A on 8 January for the proposed acquisition of the two aviation business units.

UK low-cost airline Jet2 has disclosed that pricing for summer flights is showing a “modest increase” against last year, although it has been "more competitive" in recent weeks, particularly for April and May travel. In a trading update that covers the year to end-March 2024 as well as looking ahead to the summer, Jet2 says higher fares are helping to offset an increase in costs amid a generally inflationary environment. The carrier is 90% fuel hedged for the coming season and 80% for the full year, "providing important cost certainty given unfolding events in the Middle East". Meanwhile, summer seat capacity is up 12% on last year to 17.1 million seats, currently 55% sold with load factors a percentage point higher. Package holiday bookings are up 13%, "and we are also seeing healthy demand from flight-only passengers for which bookings are currently up by over 18%", says Jet2. It has narrowed its guidance range for its full-year pre-tax and forex adjusted profit to £515-520 million ($641-647 million), from £510-525 million previously. That would represent a rise of around a third on the year to end-March 2023. In February, the carrier upped its guidance from £480-520 million, citing a strong winter season and well-performing forward bookings. Its full-year results will be announced on 7 July. "We are pleased with the strong financial results for FY24 which underlines the resilience, flexibility and popularity of our product offering, plus the outstanding customer service provided by our colleagues," states chief executive Steve Heapy. Investment firm Goodbody notes that the market consensus for the year to end-March 2025 is a profit before tax of £543 million, "and we do not expect a material change to this number after the update today". The mostly upbeat assessment of the market tallies with the positive sentiment in the European sector as the summer season gets underway. EasyJet said as part of a mid-month trading update that bookings for the summer were continuing to "build well", with higher volumes and pricing compared with last year, underpinned by strong demand across its network.