Air Berlin : AB : BER

The first Chinese financial leasing company established by a commercial bank - ICBC Financial Leasing Co. Ltd. and Air Berlin PLC signed a package deal for 18 aircraft – covering used and new narrowbody aircraft, all equipped with CFM engines.

The total deal size is approximately USD 700 million.

This benchmark transaction consists of two parts: an outright sale of four Boeing B737-800 and six Airbus A320-200 and sale-and-lease-back of two Airbus A319-100, two A320-200 and four Boeing 737-800 aircraft.

Having closed partially in September 2010, both companies are looking forward to the execution of the majority of these transactions in 2011 and 2012.

DayAfter a écrit:GECAS livre 2 A 320 en sale / Lease back à FlyNiKi

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SHANNON, Ireland, March1, 2011 – GE Capital Aviation Services Limited
(GECAS), the commercial aircraft leasing and financing unit of GE,
announced a purchase and leaseback transaction for two new Airbus
A320-200s with NIKI Luftfahrt GmbH (flyNiki). The aircraft come from
flyNiki’s existing order book with Airbus and were delivered in early
February.

On voit bien l'influence de la finance : 'Tu achètes mes moteurs, et je te finance tes avions, moteurs compris' !

GE Capital Aviation Services and airberlin announced an agreement for
the financing of 12 new aircraft - covering 5* Airbus A320, 3* Airbus
A321 and 4* Boeing 737-800, all equipped with CFM engines. This
sale-and-lease-back transaction is covering deliveries due in the first
three quarters of 2012. The total deal size is approximately USD 1 bn in
list prices.

Jeannot a écrit:Iberia pourrait bien prendre un ancien A330-200 d'Air Berlin et un autre d'Alitalia

Según ha podido saber Fly News,[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] ha finalizado el acuerdo para incorporar dos[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]A330-200 de sugunda mano a su flota el próximo mes de septiembre.
Uno de los aviones es operado hasta ahora por [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], y el otro por [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].
Estos dos[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien][Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]permitirán a Iberia mantener su red de vuelos de largo recorrido, que sigue ampliando poco a poco, por ejemplo ahora con sus nuevos vuelos a Luanda (Angola).
Esta necesidad de aviones de largo recorrido ha obligado por ejemplo a sustituir los A340 que operaban entre Madrid y Canarias por aviones de la familia A320.
Los dos nuevos aviones Airbus A330-200 inicialmente deberán realizar rutas más cortas, como pueden ser las citadas a Canarias, hasta obtener aviones y tripulaciones las certificaciones ETOPS precisas.
Estos dos Airbus A330-200 son adicionales a la carta de intenciones que Iberia firmó con Airbus para la [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]en firme y que incluye otras tantas opciones y que comenzarán a[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]

• acquérir des avions 'a priori' dans un état qui réfléchissent chacun un historique de "bon entretien",
  
• prendre du PUC rapidement, à vil prix,
  
• et poursuivre les opérations dans de bonnes conditions de 'base coûts' / "cost base" réduit, ce qui est favorable pour les DOC , et, donc, la rentabilité !
  

Pas mal, non ?

Air Berlin repousse la livraison de certaines commandes

Air Berlinn a repoussé à 2015 et 2016 la date de livraison d'une vingtaine d'appareils Airbus et Boeing , afin d'étoffer sa trésorerie pour rembourser sa dette.
Cette décision touche 11 Airbus A320 et huit Boeing B737 livrables à l'origine en 2012 et 2013. Elle permettra à Air Berlin de réduire ses besoins d'investissement de 508 millions de dollars en 2012 et de 1,13 milliard en 2013.
Air Berlin, deuxième compagnie aérienne allemande derrière Lufthansa , connaît une année compliquée, marquée notamment par la démission en août de son président du directoire et fondateur Joachim Hunold pour n'avoir pas réussi à la rendre à nouveau rentable.

Air Berlin In Touch With Potential Investors

Air Berlin, Germany’s second largest airline, has approached several airlines to find out whether they would be interested in becoming a strategic investor, several industry sources tell Aviation Week.

Etihad Airways, Hainan Airlines and Emirates are understood to be among the companies that have been contacted. But it seems that the response has been lukewarm so far and it is in no case certain that it will come to a deal. Air Berlin itself has no official comment.

The airline has not made a profit since 2007 and 2011 is turning into another “bad year”, as CEO Hartmut Mehdorn admits. In the first nine months, the airline made an operating loss of €123.7 million and that is almost certain to widen given seasonally weak demand in the fourth quarter. Mehdorn also says he has so little visibility on what 2012 is going to be like in terms of forward bookings that he no longer confirms the company’s previous financial guidance for next year.

Air Berlin had stated that it wanted to return to an operating profit. The company’s equity stood at €368 million at the end of September, compared to €574 million one year earlier.

Mehdorn launched a restructuring program that aimed at improving results by €200 million. While he is confident that the airline will achieve the target that may now no longer be enough to reach profitability. Air Berlin attributes its current problems mainly to Germany’s newly introduced air passenger tax and said it would have made a small operating profit of €2.3 million without it in the first three quarters. But even then the airline would have been far from earning the cost of capital.

Critics say Air Berlin’s business model is too complex, the company has overextended its resources in the phase of its rapid growth to a fleet of 160 aircraft and the airline needs a refocus on what it does best. Mehdorn, however, makes clear that he does not see a need for a strategy change.

Instead, his strategy seems to be to try and sell the airline as it is. Given its €224 million market capitalization, the airline would be cheap initially. But the company carries a huge debt burden.

Foreign ownership restrictions are a limiting factor. Because Turkey-based ESAS Holding (parent of Pegasus Airlines) already owns 16.4% of Air Berlin’s shares, any additional investor would likely have to restrict themselves to not more than around 30% initially in order for Air Berlin to not lose its international traffic rights. The efforts to sell the airline are themselves a sign of how serious the situation is, because from a share price point of view the timing could not be worse. Air Berlin’s shares currently trade at around €2.50, when they were at €20.45 in May 2007.

Air Berlin built up a significant domestic and European network from Germany and that made it attractive as a membership candidate for the Oneworld alliance. The airline is expected to join the group in early 2012. However, it seems highly unlikely that any of its new alliance partners would be interested in investing. Willie Walsh, CEO of British Airways and Iberia parent International Airlines Group (IAG) has ruled out any acquisitions except BMI for the immediate future.

Etihad Airways has looked at buying Air Berlin already once, in 2008, but backed off at the last moment. There are conflicting views on whether Etihad would take it this time. One senior executive says that CEO James Hogan is under so much pressure now to improve Etihad’s own financial performance and finally move it into profitability that Abu Dhabi’s ruling family would not allow him to invest in another airline at this time. Another official claims that Etihad is still pursuing investment opportunities elsewhere. The company itself stated that as a matter of principle it “does not comment on speculation of this kind. We are in regular contact with other airlines and companies worldwide to talk about common opportunities.”

According to another industry source, Air Berlin has also been in touch with Hainan Airlines parent HNA Group. The Chinese travel/tourism conglomerate has been looking at investment opportunities in Europe and is understood to have taken a close look at Malev Hungarian Airlines. HNA is also among the bidders for Hochtief’s airport business, Hochtief Concessions, which is currently up for sale. The unit has shareholdings in six airports, among them Duesseldorf, Hamburg, Sydney, Athens, Tirana and Budapest.

Etihad Airways is to increase its stake in Air Berlin to 29%, making it the largest single shareholder in the German carrier.

Abu Dhabi-based Etihad has an existing 2.99% stake in Air Berlin, which it will boost to 29.21% through a new share issue by Air Berlin.

The shares will be issued at a price of €2.31 ($3).

Under the agreement, Etihad will invest up to $255 million in Air Berlin over five years to support its fleet development and future network growth.

Air Berlin will move its Middle East operation from Dubai to Abu Dhabi and will operate four Airbus A330-200 flights a week between Berlin and Abu Dhabi from 15 January 2012.

The two carriers will begin an extensive codesharing partnership, and the airlines' frequent flyer programmes will be integrated.

They will seek antitrust immunity to enable them to co-ordinate their route networks and sales and marketing
activities.

Through the deal, Etihad will gain two seats on Air Berlin's board.

Air Berlin Likely To Order GE Engines For 787s

In the strongest indication yet that General Electric GEnx engines will power Air Berlin’s Boeing 787s, the German operator’s new investor, Etihad Airways, has confirmed the two airlines will fully integrate their 787 programs.

The integration plan, which will be led by Etihad, envisions the two operators sharing infrastructure, pooling maintenance, developing joint training programs and streamlining purchasing for engines, rotables, avionics and inflight entertainment systems, according to the airlines.

Etihad President and CEO James Hogan also notes, “This program is the first of a range of initiatives that will bring significant cost synergies and savings for both airlines. “It is an ideal solution for reducing the costs associated with the introduction of a new aircraft type, and an excellent example of the value of our partnership, enabling Etihad Airways and Air Berlin to achieve economies of scale and avoid duplication in areas like design and certification.”

Etihad also is keen to point out that the combined 787 fleet numbers 56 firm orders, “which is more Dreamliners than are on order with any other airline,” and that the integration plan will save “millions of dollars for both carriers.”

While there is no explicit mention of engine purchases, Etihad already has chosen GE’s GEnx powerplant for the 41 787-9s listed on Boeing’s online order list. That same list, however, shows no engine choice for the 15 787-8s ordered by Air Berlin in 2007.

An argument could be made that Rolls-Royce’s Trent 1000 engine is still in the running for the European carrier’s -8 variant, however Hogan in his statement said, “It makes both operational and commercial sense to work together on common fleet issues, and we expect the synergies we achieve through this integration to result in significant efficiency benefits for both airlines.”

He adds, “We will also be able to deliver a level of commonality across our 787 fleets in relation to onboard cabin specifications, which will provide passengers with a consistent product experience when they travel across the airlines’ extensive networks.”

Jeannot a écrit:Le rapprochement avec Etihad devrait conduire Air Berlin à choisir le GenX pour ses 787s

Air Berlin Likely To Order GE Engines For 787s

In the strongest indication yet that General Electric GEnx engines will power Air Berlin’s Boeing 787s, the German operator’s new investor, Etihad Airways, has confirmed the two airlines will fully integrate their 787 programs.

The integration plan, which will be led by Etihad, envisions the two operators sharing infrastructure, pooling maintenance, developing joint training programs and streamlining purchasing for engines, rotables, avionics and inflight entertainment systems, according to the airlines.

Etihad President and CEO James Hogan also notes, “This program is the first of a range of initiatives that will bring significant cost synergies and savings for both airlines. “It is an ideal solution for reducing the costs associated with the introduction of a new aircraft type, and an excellent example of the value of our partnership, enabling Etihad Airways and Air Berlin to achieve economies of scale and avoid duplication in areas like design and certification.”

Etihad also is keen to point out that the combined 787 fleet numbers 56 firm orders, “which is more Dreamliners than are on order with any other airline,” and that the integration plan will save “millions of dollars for both carriers.”

While there is no explicit mention of engine purchases, Etihad already has chosen GE’s GEnx powerplant for the 41 787-9s listed on Boeing’s online order list. That same list, however, shows no engine choice for the 15 787-8s ordered by Air Berlin in 2007.

An argument could be made that Rolls-Royce’s Trent 1000 engine is still in the running for the European carrier’s -8 variant, however Hogan in his statement said, “It makes both operational and commercial sense to work together on common fleet issues, and we expect the synergies we achieve through this integration to result in significant efficiency benefits for both airlines.”

He adds, “We will also be able to deliver a level of commonality across our 787 fleets in relation to onboard cabin specifications, which will provide passengers with a consistent product experience when they travel across the airlines’ extensive networks.”

Jeannot a écrit:A vérifier tout de même...

[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] Berlin Likely To Order GE Engines For 787s

Air Berlin (AB) said it has exceeded the first-quarter target set by its cost-cutting Shape & Size program and has increased its full-year target by €25 million ($31.3 million) to €225 million at the EBIT level (ATW Daily News, May 18).

CEO Hartmut Mehdorn said the airline has reduced costs, increased turnover and yield, and achieved the best capacity utilization for the first quarter since the company was listed on the stock exchange. He hopes to bring the company back to profitability in 2013.

The Shape & Size program aims to enhance turnover, improve performance and increase efficiency.

The program includes introducing a new three-tier fare structure, YourFare, integrating Austrian airline FlyNiki, making changes in the revenue management and reservation systems, and scrutinizing its route network and fleet (ATW Daily News, Aug. 22, 2011).

Mehdorn said the collaboration with Etihad Airways has gotten off to a very good start, and he hopes the synergies will achieve turnovers in the tens of millions euro over the next two to three years (ATW Daily News, April 10).

He predicts AB will gain more than 240,000 passengers through its oneworld membership (ATW Daily News, March 21).

Regarding the delayed opening of Berlin Brandenburg International (BER) from June 3 to March 2013, Mehdorn said, “It will be a challenge to operate our expanded flight schedule, which was planned for our new home base at BER, from Tegel Airport” (ATW Daily News, May 16).