After a third quarter with results they defined as excellent, Air Europa expects to close the second half of 2022 with revenues of more than 1.2 billion euros and an EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization ) of 160 million euros, which allows it to “benefit from solid liquidity” based on its strategy of “optimizing management to develop the activity” and, in addition, to move forward in the modernization of its fleet and the expansion of its capacity, both in the current network and in new destinations .
“The commitment to sustainability, to which the company has been committed for years, materializes in improved consumption and emissions thanks to a unification of the fleet that allows us to move more passengers without the need for ‘operate more flights,’ said Jesús Nuño de la Rosa, CEO of Air Europa.
“The solid results obtained, with which we continue to meet our commitments, have been possible thanks to the involvement and efforts of the entire airline team and the trust of customers, suppliers and public bodies”, he added.
Since July, Air Europa has posted an average occupancy rate of 85%, which is 11 percentage points more than in the second half of 2021 and even one point more than in 2019, before the outbreak of the pandemic. Long-haul routes exceed this mark by already operating at 91% capacity, and in this segment, business class already has an occupancy rate of over 80%.
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The efficiency results can be seen in areas such as, although they will operate 6% fewer flights from their Madrid hub, the number of passengers in the second half will be over five million, compared to 2, 8 million in 2021. and 4.8 million in 2019.
Although they specify that the current market context “calls for caution given the evolution of inflation, the rise in fuel prices, the euro-dollar parity and the conflict in Ukraine”, Air Europa maintains its positive outlook by betting on the long-term “sustainability, efficiency and profitability of operations”.
Regarding the fleet, they will complete the unification plan using only Boeing aircraft by adding new 787 and 737 MAX, the latter to be incorporated from 2024.
See also: Air Europa reinforces its commitment to Boeing: it will integrate more 787s and will be the first Spanish airline to operate 737 MAX aircraft.
New destinations and increased frequencies
After making progress in recovering its pre-pandemic network, the airline plans to increase frequencies to long-haul destinations such as Asunción (Paraguay) and Córdoba (Argentina), Panama and Medellín (Colombia), in the aim to have a daily flight on each route.
Its network in the Americas currently covers Buenos Aires, Montevideo, Asunción, Córdoba (Argentina), Bogotá, Caracas, Cancún, São Paulo, Guayaquil, Havana, New York-JFK, Lima, Medellín, Miami, Panama, Punta Cana, San Pedro Sula, Santo Domingo, Salvador, Quito and Santa Cruz de la Sierra.
In November they will have an offer of 145,166 seats on 459 flights from Madrid to the Americas according to data obtained by Aviacionline through Cirium, figures that represent a recovery of 95% and 93% respectively compared to the same month of 2019 .
But they also pointed out that they were analyzing the opening of new destinations in Chile, Mexico, Costa Rica and Scandinavian countries.
Chile
The company operated in Santiago (SCL) with three weekly flights, in A330-200, with a prior stopover in Salvador (SSA), in Brazil, between 2014 and 2015, within the framework of an agreement with the State of Bahia, but the link did not prosper.
Currently, the market between Madrid (MAD) and Santiago (SCL) is operated by Iberia and LATAM with a daily flight. Between January and September 2022, 306,126 passengers were mobilized, the fifth most important route between South America and Spain, according to AENA Estadísticas.
Costa Rica
It is the most important destination between Central America and Spain in terms of passenger movement. Between January and September 2022, 175,930 passengers were mobilized with flights operated by Iberojet and Iberia in A330-200 and A350-900.
Mexico
Mexico is Madrid’s second most important destination to Latin America and the Caribbean in terms of passenger movement, having welcomed 655,355 passengers in the first nine months of 2022. It is currently operated by Iberia (3 flights daily) and Aeromexico (2 daily flights).
Air Europa operated for six months in 2011 to Mexico City, but in the event of a return, it will have to fly from Santa Lucia International Airport, known as AIFA, given the context of saturation of the Mexico City Metropolitan Airport (MEX/AICM) .
Scandinavia
The company operates in Copenhagen (CPH), Denmark, and Stockholm (ARN), Sweden during the summer season. Air Europa’s intention is to turn these flights into scheduled flights and possibly add Norway to the list. Scandinavian tourists choose Spain for their getaways
So far this year, Scandinavian countries have moved 6,230,782 passengers with Denmark in first place with 2,252,428 travellers.
