Indian budget carrier SpiceJet's board of directors has endorsed proposal to seek shareholder approval to raise fresh capital of up to Rs25 billion ($335 million) through the issue of eligible securities to qualified institutional buyers. The authorisation is valid for a year, the carrier says in a 30 June statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange. Chairman and managing director Ajay Singh states: "The intensity with which the second wave of Covid-19 struck and the unimaginable devastation it has caused, both for the already battered travel industry and generally, will take time to heal. To ensure our long term growth and sustainable operation we have decided to raise funds of up to Rs25 billion. These funds will be used to significantly strengthen our balance sheet." The qualified institutions placement (QIP) is a common way for listed Indian companies to raise money by issuing securities. In the statement, the carrier says its income fell 28% year-on-year to Rs22 billion for the fourth quarter ended 31 March. Revenue from operations was at Rs18.2 billion, as compared to Rs28 billion during the same period 2020. Revenue from air transport services fell to nearly Rs15 billion from nearly Rs28 billion, while revenue from cargo operations increased to Rs4.2 billion as compared to Rs678 million. The airline's loss narrowed to Rs2.4 billion from about Rp8 billion. Total expenses declined to about Rs24 billion versus nearly Rs39 billion, the airline says. Income declined to Rs61 billion in the year ended 31 March versus more than Rs132 billon in the previous year. The carrier's annual loss slightly widened to about Rs10 billion, from Rs9.4 billion. Total expenses declined to Rs71.2 billion from Rs141.4 billion. At the end of the financial year, SpiceJet had cash and cash equivalents of Rs296 million versus Rs282 billion, it says. In terms of operational parameters, SpiceJet says it had the best passenger load factor amongst all airlines in the country, with a 77% average domestic load factor for the quarter and 76% for the financial year 2021. SpiceJet's 13 Boeing 737 Max jets continue to be grounded, the airline says. Singh says that the carrier's cargo arm was exceptionally active and has performed extremely well transporting supplies all across the globe. In order to provide greater focus to cargo business and raise additional capital, Singh says the airline will "hive-off" the cargo business to operate as a separate entity. "With vaccination touching record numbers and travel demand slowly picking up, we hope that the worst is behind us but we remain extremely cautious about the future. While there is still much work and recovery to be done we have managed to reduce our net loss in Q4 through re-structuring of our contracts which will have a significant positive impact in the long term," Singh says.

KLM will fly to 11 African destinations during the current summer schedule – the same number the Dutch carrier served in the region prior the pandemic. Additionally, KLM says it will launch flights to Kenyan city Mombasa during the winter 2021/2022 schedule. The airline's website indicates it operates flights to Accra, Cairo, Cape Town, Dar es Salaam, Entebbe, Johannesburg, Kigali, Kilimanjaro, Lagos, Nairobi and Zanzibar. KLM notes that it added Cairo and Zanzibar to its network in 2020, while flights to Luanda and Windhoek had been suspended prior the pandemic due to a decline in customer demand.

Boeing has appointed former United Airlines pilot Stayce Harris to its board, to serve on its aerospace safety and audit committees. Harris retired from United in 2020 after around 30 years at the carrier, having flown Boeing 747's, 757's, 767's and 777's, the airframer says. It notes that Harris is a retired US Air Force reserve lieutenant general. Chairman Larry Kellner states: "General Harris is a highly-accomplished leader who will provide insight and perspective based on her hands-on experience flying Boeing's aircraft and her demonstrated commitment to safety, training and integrity." "She brings nearly four decades of distinguished military service and expertise to Boeing," Kellner adds. Harris says: "As a pilot of Boeing aircraft and through my tenure in the air force, I have worked closely with Boeing's commercial and military aircraft for more than three decades. I am pleased to join the board of Boeing, a company with a rich history in aviation that serves as a vital partner to the US military and is a critical enabler of the global economy."