The world’s first GE Aviation-powered Boeing 777 made what is expected to be its final flight today when it was ferried from London Heathrow into retirement by British Airways. The aircraft (MSN27105, G-ZZZA) was the sixth 777-200 built and the first powered by GE90 engines. It made its first flight on 2 February 1995 registered N77779 and, along with the second GE-powered aircraft (G-ZZZB), participated in the airframe/engine flight-test programme for this version of the 777. BA was launch customer for the GE-powered 777 in August 1991, selecting the US engine over the rival Trent 800 from UK manufacturer Rolls-Royce, and the Pratt & Whitney PW4000. At the time, the selection of GE power was a surprise but was part of a wider deal which included the sale of BA’s engine overhaul plant. After testing, G-ZZZA was delivered to BA on 20 May 1996, six months after the airline received its first 777 (G-ZZZC) the previous November. According to Cirium fleets data, prior to today’s retirement flight, the airframe had accumulated 100,254 flight hours and 20,557 cycles. The positioning flight was to BA’s St Athan storage and maintenance facility in South Wales. It is one of five of the original “A” market 777-200s delivered to BA prior to the introduction of the higher-weight and longer-range 777-200ER series. Like many of BA’s aircraft, G-ZZZA has been in storage at the airline’s Heathrow base since March this year in the wake of the coronavirus crisis. Although Boeing offered a three-way engine choice on the original 777 family, it concluded an exclusive tie-up with GE for the GE90-115B when it launched the -200LR/300ER in February 2000. This arrangement continued on the -200LR-based 777F and exclusivity was extended to the updated 777X, which is powered by the GE9X. Cirium fleets data shows that to date, Boeing has delivered 1,239 GE-powered 777's and holds a firm backlog for over 350 more, including 62 -200LR/300ER/777Fs.

Source: Cirium

LATAM Airlines has disclosed that "substantial doubt" exists about its ability to continue as a going concern. The Chile-based airlines group, which on 26 May filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the USA, states in a 19 August US Securities and Exchange Commission filing that the unknown duration of the coronavirus pandemic makes "uncertain" the satisfaction of the company's liabilities and the funding of ongoing operations. "There is no assurance that the company will be able to emerge successfully from Chapter 11," LATAM states. "If the company is unable to generate additional working capital and or raise additional financing when needed, it may not be able to reinitiate currently suspended operations as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, sell assets or enter into a merger or other combination with a third party." LATAM has, as of 19 August, secured a commitment for $2.2 billion in debtor-in-possession financing – an important step in securing the funds it needs to continue operating. The DIP loan consists of three tranches. Oaktree Capital Management and its subsidiaries have committed to covering the entire A tranche, which seeks to raise up to $1.3 billion. The B tranche, which targets government financing, seeks to raise up to $750 million; so far there have been no commitments. Costa Verde, Qatar Airways and Eblen Group have committed $900 million to C tranche DIP funding, which seeks to raise up to $1.15 billion. As with other airlines in the region, LATAM was hit with significant losses in the second quarter of 2020. Passenger revenue was down 94% year-over-year in the quarter as a result of a 96% decrease in traffic. LATAM had a net loss of $890 million in the second quarter, compared with a $62.8 million net loss in the second quarter of 2019. The airline had an operating loss of $694.8 million in the quarter; in the second quarter of 2019 LATAM had an operating profit of $40.2 million.

Source: Cirium

The Qantas Group says its 2020 fiscal year was the worst in its 100-year history, but still managed to turn an underlying profit before tax of A$124 million ($90 million). The A$124 million figure for the 2020 financial year ended 30 June was 91% lower than a year earlier, with revenue falling 20.6% to A$14.3 billion amid the collapse in demand stemming from the coronavirus pandemic in the first half of 2021, says the airline. “The impact of that is clear,” says chief executive Alan Joyce. “Covid punched a $4 billion hole in our revenue and a $1.2 billion hole in our underlying profit in what would have otherwise been another very strong result.” This was reflected in the airline’s full-year net loss of after tax of $1.94 billion, compared to a net profit after tax of $840 million in 2019. While the airline implemented a number of cost cuts in response to the crisis, operating expenses excluding fuel fell 16% to A$8.9 billion, failing to keep pace with the decline in revenue. ASK's fell 26% for the year, RPK's were down 28%, and the number of passengers carried dropped 28% to 40.5 million. Load factors for the year fell 1.9 percentage points to 82.3%. Owing to fundraisings and credit facilities, the group’s cash and cash equivalents situation improved to A$3.5 billion, compared with A$2.1 billion a year earlier. The main bright spot in the airline’s results was Qantas Loyalty, which generated earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) of A$341 million, down just 9% from a year earlier. As for other individual segments, Qantas Domestic remained profitable with an EBIT of A$173 million, down from A$773 million a year earlier. Qantas international had an EBIT of A$56 million, down from A$323 million. Qantas International enjoyed support from “a record performance in freight due to increased air freight demand while passenger aircraft belly space remained constrained.” Low-cost unit Jetstar, however, suffered an EBIT loss of A$26 million. While Jetstar’s Australian and New Zealand operations were profitable, its Jetstar Asia, Jetstar Pacific, and Jetstar Japan units suffered losses Qantas reiterated that its exit from Jetstar Pacific in Vietnam is “well advanced,” and that Jetstar Asia’s fleet will be reduced to 13 aircraft from 18. Qantas says the recovery plan announced in June is well underway. This will see 100 aircraft grounded for 12 months, including the Airbus A380 fleet, which will be grounded for the foreseeable future. In addition, the airline retired its Boeing 747-400 fleet earlier than planned. At the end of June 2020 the group’s fleet stood at 314 aircraft, unchanged from a year earlier. Joyce adds that after the crisis Qantas will be the only Australian airline that can fly long-haul, and reiterated that the airline still wants to pursue its “Project Sunrise” initiative. This could see direct long-haul flights from Melbourne and Sydney to destinations such as London and New York. “Our message is simply this: the Flying Kangaroo’s wings are clipped for now, but it’s still got plenty of ambition,” says Joyce. “And we plan to deliver on it.”

Source: Cirium