Southwest losses, commercial space station, Ghanaian flagship
Southwest expects to post Q4 loss
Southwest Airlines ($LUV) announced this morning that it expects to post a Q4 loss, largely related to its cancellation of more than 16,700 flights between Christmas and New Year's Eve. The company says the cancellations will likely result in pre-tax losses in revenue worth between $725 million and $825 million for the quarter.
Although operations have largely returned to normal scheduling, analysts say the impact of the cancellations will most likely impact the current quarter's earnings as well. In addition to internal investigations of its scheduling software, which was unable to handle mass scheduling changes due to a major winter storm, the carrier is also now receiving scrutiny from the US government, and are also dealing with a new related lawsuit.
Airbus joins commercial space station project
Airbus Defence and Space announced it is joining up with Denver-based Voyager Space on a commercial space station. Airbus will provide "technical design support and expertise" for the space station, known as "Starlab," although further specifics have yet to be released.
The new space station will aim to simplify space operations for European governments following the retirement of the International Space Station, which will likely take place towards the end of the decade. Starlab will feature an inflatable module, docking node and bus, and will be able to host up to four astronauts at a time.
Voyager initially announced its plans to develop the space station in October 2021, collaborating with Lockheed Martin ($LMT), and has since won a NASA Commercial Low Earth Orbit Development award in December 2021 worth $160 million.
Dassault Aviation exceeds 2021 deliveries, but falls short of 2022 production forecast
French aircraft maker Dassault Aviation delivered 32 of its 35 forecast Falcon jets in 2022. Although it fell short of its production forecast for the year, the company delivered two more aircraft than it did in 2021. Dassault also delivered 14 Rafale fighter jets, exceeding its target by one, though this number is down from 2021's 25 Rafale deliveries.
Dassault currently has a backlog of 164 total aircraft, up from 86 at the end of 2021. Full financials and delivery guidance for 2023 will be released on March 9.
Cogent Bank launches business aircraft lending division
Florida-based Cogent Bank has launched a new lending division dedicated to business aviation. The new division will finance business aircraft worth between $3 million and $25 million, ranging from turboprops to ultra-long-range business jets.
New flagship national airline plans for Q3 2023 launch
Ghana Airlines, a new flagship national airline owned by the Ghanaian government is expected to launch in Q3 of 2023. The country has been without a national airline since since 2010, a role previously filled by Ghana International Airlines. The new airline is expected to fly regional routes using DeHallivand Dash 8-400 turboprops, and international routes using the Boeing ($BA) 787-9, which the airline placed three orders for in 2019.