There are many metrics used to evaluate the health of an airline, but these days, cash burn is pretty much all that matters. Oh sure, you need to think about debt levels, liquidity, etc, but ultimately this is a game of staying alive as long as possible, and the less … Read the post
Category: Mergers/Finance
There’s a nasty virus going around that seems to be infecting people at a rapid rate. I’m not talking about COVID-19; I’m talking about “airlines-suck-itis.” This latest resurgence of the virus is currently best embodied by the rantings of Tim Wu, a Columbia law professor and New York Times opinion … Read the post
Going bankrupt in the United Kingdom is a whole lot different than in the US. Had Thomas Cook been based here, it would have most likely filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and tried to reorganize while still flying. But Thomas Cook is a UK company, and that means that … Read the post
It’s been a month since Air Canada and Transat announced they were in exclusive merger negotiations. Now the deal has officially been announced. Air Canada will pay C$13 a share — about C$520 million — to buy Transat. Approval from shareholders and the government is far from guaranteed, but … Read the post
Though it may not fit your definition of a blockbuster merger, the announcement that will be coming out in just a few minutes that Southern Airways Express is buying Mokulele (but keeping separate brands) is actually a pretty interesting one. On the surface, this might leave you scratching your head. … Read the post
It’s all rumor at this point, but Bloomberg reported last week that Emirates and Etihad are talking about a merger. This has been the subject of whispers for years, and that’s probably because it makes a great deal of sense. The problem is, there’s ego and politics involved. And … Read the post
Niki is an airline that I thought was dead long ago. In fact, it has a tombstone of its own in my Airlines We Lost 2017 post. But after a number of twists and turns, Niki has found an unlikely savior. It’s not really Niki anymore; it’s a vehicle for … Read the post
There was a big merger announcement last week, though admittedly it’s one you might have missed. Caifornia-based Surf Air came to an agreement to acquire RISE, a similar operation in Texas. There’s a good chance you still have no idea what I’m talking about. These aren’t large companies, and unless … Read the post
The long-awaited branding decision has been made, and as expected, Alaska will be retiring the Virgin America brand in the next couple of years. I had the chance to speak with Alaska’s Chief Commercial Officer and EVP Andrew Harrison as well as VP of Marketing Sangita Woerner yesterday about the … Read the post
For months now, Alaska has been preparing to acquire Virgin America, and yesterday it became official. Alaska now owns the airline, but the two are far from becoming one. The hard work to make that happens starts now. In the meantime, Alaska has shifted marketing direction in exactly how … Read the post
In what can only be considered a most unlikely and incredibly successful exit for Virgin America’s owners, Alaska has agreed to buy the airline for a whopping $2.6 billion in addition to assuming $1.4 billion in debt. I spoke with the folks at Alaska, I’ve done about a half dozen … Read the post
Airlines have been releasing their quarterly earnings reports over the last couple of weeks, and the results have been downright excellent. They’re all making money hand-over-fist, but not everyone is pleased. Wall Street, in fact, is not happy that the airlines are actually trying to compete with each other. That’s … Read the post