Regional Airlines – flying high in an under the weather economic climate



With the impact of the global financial crisis, aviation sector players can no longer count on cheap financing or fuel. Equally challenging – no one can say with any certainty where the next sources of long-term economic growth will be. Even as growth stagnates in mature markets, it’s not obvious which of the emerging markets might be net source of growth.
Airlines have been capital-destructive for their shareholders or so is the word on the street. The perception is not wrong as airlines globally have historically made returns well below the cost of capital to owners and still are generating only a small net-profit margin of approximately 1.8% on a combined turnover of $5 billion. However the landscape and maturity of the regional airline industry appears to be at a cross-roads
Perhaps a relatively less known commodity is the actual aircraft the passengers fly on, which are the work horses of any airline. The Global trend is for investors to look more closely at the aircraft as collateral versus the operator of the equipment. According to Ascend, a highly regarded aviation consultancy, commercial aircraft have over the past twenty years returned on average 6.2 percent on an unlevered basis to aircraft owners with the lowest standard deviation on return volatility compared with airline or other market indices such as shipping or the S&P500; In other words if you had invested $100 in a portfolio of commercial aircraft in 1991, your portfolio would be worth $376 currently, while sleeping well at night.
Jazz Aviation LP, operating as Jazz is a Canadian regional airline based at Halifax Stanfield International Airport in Enfield and Halifax International Airport, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Chorus Aviation It is Canada’s second-largest airline (in terms of fleet size) operating in 79 destinations in Canada and the United Stated, under a Capacity Purchase Agreement, a legal document for transferring transmission capacity for a defined period. Air Canada sets the Jazz route network and light schedule, and purchases all of Jazz’s seat capacity based on predetermined rates. Its main base is Halifax Stanfield International Airport with hubs at Toronto Pearson International Airport and Calgary International Airport. It has approximately 740 departures per weekday to 54 destinations in Canada and 25 destinations in the United States. It also offers charter services under the Jazz brand through two aircraft for sports teams, fishing lodges, oil and gas companies, forestry ministries, musical groups and corporate clients. In addition the company provides passenger and ad hoc services. As of December 31, 2013 it operated a fleet of 127 aircraft, comprising 42 regional jets and 85 turboprop aircraft. Chorus Aviation Inc. (CHR/B: Toronto) stock is traded for C$3.84 which is -3.33% lower than it last month’s average.
Chautauqua Airlines, Inc. is a regional airline and a subsidiary of Republic Airways holdings based in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. Based on 2009 published flight schedules, it operates scheduled passenger services on more than 700 flights daily to 98 airports in 31 states. Republic Airways Holdings, Inc. is a Delaware holding company organized in 1996 that offers scheduled passenger services through the wholly-owned air-carrier subsidiaries: Chautauqua Airlines, Inc., Shuttle America Corp. and Republic Airline Inc. Republic Airways Holdings Inc. shares are traded at NASDAQ for $9.67 up 3.2% percent.
Hawaiian Holdings, Inc. is a holdings company whose primary asset is Hawaiian Airlines Inc. HA is engaged in the scheduled air transportation of passengers and cargo among the Hawaiian Islands and certain cities in the western United States. It is the largest Hawaiian based airline with the number one market share in inter-island flight between the Hawaiian Islands and number one in the market share to/from Hawaii. Ha has had ten consecutive quarters as of Q4 2010 without negative earnings. As of December 31, 2009, Ha’s fleet consists of 15 Boeing 717-200 aircraft for its inter-island routs and 18 Boeing 767 – 300 aircraft for its transpacific flights. HA competes with Alaska Air, Delta Airlines, and Republic Airways. The company has a very conservative capital structure compared to its competitors. Its Debt to Equity ratio has been decreasing for the past three years going from 4.86 to 1.44 to 0.68 (2008-2010). Hawaiian Holdings, Inc. is currently sold at $15.24 per share, that’s up 1.14%. If you are interested more on stocks and other insights about this industry, look no further than Bidnessetc.com where you can find analysis of Airline based companies like American Airline stocks

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