12 Aug 2019

North America Newsletter 12 August

Air Canada and Transat announce Increased Purchase Price to $18 per Share for 100% of Transat and Lock-up and Support Agreement with Transat's Largest Shareholder, Letko Brosseau Air Canada and Transat A.T. Inc announced 11^th August that Air Canada has agreed to increase the purchase price for the acquisition of all issued and outstanding shares of Transat, from $13 to $18 per share and have amended the Arrangement Agreement dated June 27, 2019 accordingly. Based on the increased consideration, the value of the all-cash transaction is approximately $720 million. American Airlines Increases International Presence, Makes First Entrance Into Africa When American begins service to Morocco from 4^th June 2020, it will be the airline’s first entrance into the African continent. American will be the only U.S. carrier with nonstop service to Casablanca, which will be operated three times per week on a Boeing 757. Vasu Raja, American’s Vice President of Network and Schedule Planning said “Our customers and team members have been asking when we’re going to start service to Africa, and I couldn’t be more pleased to make this announcement for service beginning in 2020. We look forward to working with Royal Air Maroc when they join oneworld® in January, which will allow for even more connections further into Africa to places like Marrakech, Lagos and Accra. This is only the beginning.” Delta to become largest U.S. carrier serving Tokyo-Haneda in 2020 Under a final decision announced by the U.S. Department of transportation. Delta will become the largest U.S. carrier serving Haneda, with seven daily flights between Haneda and Seattle, Detroit, Atlanta, Honolulu, Minneapolis, Los Angeles and Portland, Ore. With this change, Delta will transfer its full operation of U.S.-Tokyo services from Narita to Haneda, the city’s closest and most convenient airport, beginning in March 2020. Embraer and SkyWest, Inc. Sign Contract for Seven E175 Jets Embraer (ERJ) announced 7^th August that it has signed a contract with SkyWest, Inc. (SKYW) for a firm order of seven E175 jets in a 70-seat configuration. SkyWest will operate the aircraft for Delta. The order has a value of USD 340 million, based on 2019 list prices, and was already included in Embraer's 2019 second-quarter backlog as customer "undisclosed." Deliveries are expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2019. Republic Airways Expands Operations With Delta Air Lines In concert with its 45th anniversary this month, Republic announced it is expanding its partnership with Delta Air Lines. The agreement adds 30 Embraer 175 E-Jet aircraft to the airline’s fleet and further expands Republic’s leadership position as the world’s largest E-Jet operator with over 220 aircraft. The first aircraft will be delivered in October 2019, and deliveries will continue through July 2020. SkyWest, Inc. Announces New Flying Agreements with Delta Air Lines SkyWest today announced an agreement with Delta Air Lines to operate six used E175 aircraft under a multi-year contract scheduled to begin in early 2020. The aircraft are financed by Delta and to be sourced from a regional operator transitioning out of Delta Connection. SkyWest has also agreed to purchase and operate seven new E175 aircraft for Delta instead of SkyWest operating seven new CRJ900 aircraft that were to be financed by Delta and scheduled for delivery in 2020. The seven E175 aircraft have delivery dates scheduled from late 2019 to mid-2020. South African Airways Further Strengthens Service To Accra, Ghana With Daily Nonstop Flights From The U.S. South African Airways (SAA) will increase its frequency on nonstop flights between Washington, D.C.-Dulles International Airport and Accra’s Kotoka International Airport to a daily service effective September 5, 2019. SAA will be the only airline to offer daily nonstop flights between the United States of America and Ghana and will offer travelers convenient connections to and from over 100 cities across the U.S. and Canada through its Star Alliance partner, United Airlines via Washington, D.C.-Dulles. Sunwing introduces direct flight service from Quebec City to Mazatlan, Mexico for the first time The Pacific coast of Mexico will be a little closer to residents of Quebec City and the surrounding region with the introduction of a new weekly direct flight service to Mazatlán. Offering more flight options to Mazatlán than any other tour operator in Canada, Sunwing is launching the first-ever flight service from Quebec City to this varied destination. Flights will depart every Tuesday starting December 17, 2019 until April 14, 2020 inclusive. With the introduction of this new flight service, travellers heading to the sunny south from the provincial capital this winter now have access to 11 of the tour operator’s most popular tropical destinations. Acumen Aviation © 12 August 2019 All Rights Reserved.