Aviation Industry Updates: Dec 5, 2023

Alaska Air to Acquire Hawaiian Airlines for $1.9B

KEY POINTS:

• Alaska Air Group announced Sunday it has agreed to buy Hawaiian Airlines for $1.9 billion.
• The surprise move would vault Alaska into international expansion with a fleet including long-haul widebody jets flying across the Pacific Ocean to destinations in Japan, Korea, Australia and New Zealand.
• “It’s just making Alaska stronger and better,” Alaska CEO Ben Minicucci said in an interview. “We become a bigger competitor against the big four airlines, United, Delta, American and Southwest.”
• Minicucci said he hopes the deal can get though the government regulatory process and be finalized by the end of next year. It has been approved by the boards of both companies.
• Alaska said it will continue to operate Hawaiian under its separate brand but will combine the two airlines’ frequent flyer programs.

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United Airlines' CEO Says He's Still Confident Despite Early Warning Signs

KEY POINTS:

• United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said on Thursday that he remains fully confident in his business plan for the airline despite some early concerns about the broader market.
• Speaking with reporters after an event at United's hub at Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), Kirby suggested that United's broader two-pronged network plan — growing domestically by using bigger planes in crowded markets and expanding globally to capture international leisure demand — will build a successful path for the airline into the 2030s.
• "I think that demand is normalized," Kirby said. "This is the new normal."
• United is increasing its global presence both by entrenching itself in tried-and-true international markets — such as London and Paris — and adding routes from various hubs, like San Francisco to Rome. The airline has also experimented by adding flights to smaller cities or destinations that might not have a direct flight from the U.S. already, especially on an American carrier.
• Those newer markets are particularly aimed at leisure travelers, including VFR customers. VFR, shorthand in airline business lingo for "visiting friends and relatives," is a subset of leisure that is generally more price-conscious. Recent examples include Christchurch, New Zealand; Amman, Jordan; and Accra, Ghana.
• As countries in Asia have reopened since the peak of the coronavirus pandemic, the airline also plans to resume and expand service across the Pacific. It recently announced or initiated routes to cities including Taipei, Taiwan, and Manila, Philippines, along with Tokyo and Hong Kong.
• However, concerns have recently begun to surface regarding the transatlantic market's outlook for next year. In a research note to investors this week, airline analyst Helane Becker of TD Cowan expressed concern that airlines are adding too much capacity for 2024 after seeing record demand and strong pricing power in summer 2023.

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Teamsters Forms Coalition to Unionize Delta Air Lines Workers

KEY POINTS:

• The Teamsters has formed a coalition aimed at forming a union for more than 45,000 workers at Delta Air Lines (DAL.N), the labor union said on Thursday.
• Apart from the Teamsters, it includes members of the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA) and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM).
• The Teamsters are organizing Delta technicians, while AFA is signing up flight attendants, and IAM is supporting ramp, cargo, and tower workers in forming their union.
• Unions in the United States have taken a tough stance for better contracts across the industrial, auto, entertainment and healthcare industries.
• Recently, the UAW strikes at the Detroit Three automakers resulted in record contracts, marking another major victory for labor unions over big corporations.
• "Our three unions are ... knocking on thousands of doors and talking with workers at Delta," said Teamsters southern region coordinator Wamon Hock.

Reuters

Collings Foundation Ends Aircraft Tours

KEY POINTS:

• FLYING Magazine is reporting that four years after the deadly crash of its B-17 and the damning investigation that followed, the Collings Foundation has announced it will end its popular Wings of Freedom tours and put its aircraft on static display. Nine-O-Nine crashed while the crew tried to coax it back to Bradley International Airport in Hartford, Connecticut, in 2019, after a partial power loss shortly after takeoff. There were seven passengers and three crew onboard and only three people, two passengers and the loadmaster, survived when the plane hit vehicles and a deicing fluid tank about 500 feet short of the runway.
• The NTSB report cited numerous maintenance and safety issues with the touring aircraft, which spent 10 months of the year crossing North America giving rides for hire. In addition to the B-17, the foundation offered rides in a B-25, B-24 and two-seat P-51D. The foundation says the aircraft will now stay at its Hudson, Massachusetts, museum along with dozens of other aircraft, vehicles and ground equipment commemorating U.S. involvement in wars around the world. “We are moving forward on our long-term plans to bring the aircraft from a nationwide flying exhibition to permanent display here in Massachusetts,” the foundation said in its newsletter to members. A 90,000-square-foot expansion to the museum is also planned.

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