ARC NEWS
Weather, strikes force Qantas to trim capacity growth
June 11, 2025
Qantas has cited a cyclone in Queensland and the impact of strikes by its Finnair pilots operating wet-leased services for a cut in its expected capacity growth over the six months ending 30 June. The carrier is now expecting capacity growth of 6% over the six months, compared to its February guidance of 8%, and from 9% to 8% for the year ending 30 June. Its guidance shows that most of the cuts during the second half of fiscal 2025 are coming from Qantas's domestic operation with its domestic ASKs set to fall 1% instead of the previous forecast of 1% growth, while Jetstar's ASKs are set to fall by a similar amount. "Group Domestic capacity growth for the half is lower than previous guidance, largely due to Cyclone Alfred in March, which impacted flying across large parts of Queensland," the company comments, adding that it will take an A$30 million impact from the cyclone this year. On the international front, the capacity growth projection of Qantas-branded operations has been trimmed four percentage points to 3%, while Jetstar is down one point to 21% for the six months. "Group International capacity for the half is expected to grow by 9 per cent, 3 per cent lower than previously guided due to the impact of industrial action on Qantas’ Finnair wet lease," says the company. Qantas has wet-leased two Finnair A330-300s to operate flights from Sydney to Singapore and Bangkok amid a capacity crunch, but they have been impacted by industrial action from pilots in recent months as the Finnish carrier negotiated a new collective agreement. The revised capacity growth figures were released the same day that Qantas announced it would start to wind down operations at Singapore-based Jetstar Asia, which will operate its last services on 31 July, which are accounted for in the latest guidance. Despite the cuts, Qantas says it "continues to see strong demand across Domestic and International and expects unit revenue and capex to be in line with previous guidance". That guidance shows that it expects net capital expenditure of A$2.8-3.9 billion ($1.82- 2.54 billion) this fiscal year, rising to A$4.1-4.3 billion the year after. On the unit revenue side, it guided that group domestic RASK would be up 3-5% over the second half, while international RASK would be flat.


Gol exits Chapter 11
June 10, 2025
Gol has emerged from Chapter 11, nearly a year and a half after the Brazilian carrier filed with the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. The bankruptcy court on 20 May had confirmed Gol's reorganisation plan. Gol disclosed on 6 June that it has successfully completed its financial restructuring in accordance with Chapter 11 of the US bankruptcy code and has emerged from the process overseen by the court. "With our financial restructuring process now complete, we are ready to continue driving forward on our purpose of 'Being First for All'," states Gol chief executive Celso Ferrer. The carrier notes that it secured $1.9 billion in exit financing during the court-supervised process and has repaid its debtor-in-possession loan maturity in full, adding that it has a "strong" liquidity position of $900 million. Adrian Neuhauser, chief executive of Gol parent Abra Group, confirmed on 2 June in response to a question during a panel discussion at IATA's AGM event in Delhi, that a potential merger of Gol and Brazil-based Azul remains in play, despite Azul's filing for Chapter 11 in the USA on 28 May. "We're happy that Azul is ultimately going through a restructuring, and we hope that that will ultimately enable consolidation," Neuhauser said on 2 June. He also noted in Delhi that he expected Gol "to emerge this week, knock on wood", adding: "And when that's done, we think Gol has fixed itself".


​Finnair agrees collective labour agreement with pilots
June 10, 2025
Finnair has reached a "negotiation result" with the union representing its pilots, which it says could signal an end to a recent wave of industrial action that has led to widespread cancellations. The carrier says discussions were concluded on 8 June to cover a collective labour agreement for three years, with the final year being optional. It gives no further information about the content of the deal, which still needs to be approved by both parties. The labour dispute centres on wages and working practices. "I am very pleased that we have reached a result after lengthy negotiations. Finnair pilots are a group of top professionals vital for our hundred-year history. This agreement is a platform on which we build our future together,” says Kaisa Aalta-Luoto, Finnair's chief people officer. The Helsinki-based airline has cancelled thousands of flights since strikes by the Finnish Aviation Union (IAU) began in December. It warned on 5 June that it could be forced to cancel up to 600 more services on 17 and 19 June because of further industrial action, although it is unclear whether these will now go ahead. In April, Finnair said it would furlough 36 long-haul pilots after ongoing industrial action forced it to cancel wet-lease operations with a partner airline. That dispute was centred on a standby ban for pilots. Strikes by the IAU have sought to target different work shifts and affected functions such as ground handling and aircraft maintenance with four-hour stoppages. Such action cost the company €22 million ($25 million) and shaved €31 million off its revenue in the first quarter of this year.


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