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  #1  
Old 11th June 2020, 02:53 PM
lloyd fox lloyd fox is offline
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Default Alliance expansion and new aircraft

SOURCE:The Australian and other sites today

Brisbane-based airline Alliance Aviation has announced plans to raise more than $120m to buy up to 20 more aircraft as demand for fly-in, fly-out services continues to grow.

The airline currently operates an all-Fokker fleet of 50 aircraft but managing director Scot McMillan said with no good F100s left in the market, the company was interested in buying Embraer E190s and Bombardier CRJ900s.

With the foreign exchange rate improving, and second-hand aircraft at a surplus, Mr McMillan was confident of getting a good deal.
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Old 11th June 2020, 02:54 PM
lloyd fox lloyd fox is offline
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New aircraft means different aircraft but they will 2nd hand of course.
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Old 11th June 2020, 03:22 PM
Greg Hyde Greg Hyde is offline
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Full story from the Aus.

Brisbane-based airline Alliance Aviation has announced plans to raise more than $120m to buy up to 20 more aircraft as demand for fly-in, fly-out services continues to grow.
The airline currently operates an all-Fokker fleet of 50 aircraft but managing director Scot McMillan said with no good F100s left in the market, the company was interested in buying Embraer E190s and Bombardier CRJ900s.

With the foreign exchange rate improving, and second-hand aircraft at a surplus, Mr McMillan was confident of getting a good deal.

Alliance shares were placed in a trading halt on the ASX ahead of the announcement, of a $91.9m equity raising by way of an institutional placement, and a $30m share purchase plan for existing shareholders.

“Alliance’s recent performance has been outstanding and allows us to be uniquely positioned to look to expand through a number of growth initiatives,” Mr McMillan said.
“Importantly this capital raising will give us the ability to invest in these initiatives while maintaining our strong balance sheet.”

The small carrier has weathered the COVID-19 crisis better than most due to its fly-in, fly-out contract work for the resources sector, and recently announced it would reward all eligible staff with $1000 worth of shares in the 2020 financial year.
Alliance was also chosen ahead of larger airlines to operate a four-times a week service subsidised by the Queensland government, between Brisbane and the Whitsundays from June 22.

The airline has been the subject of Australian Competition and Consumer Commission attention, due to Qantas’s purchase of a 19.9 per cent stake in February last year.
At the time, Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce voiced his intention to eventually take over the “well managed” Alliance which raised some red flags for the ACCC.
An enforcement investigation was launched due to the fact Qantas had not sought permission before taking the 19.9 per cent stake, which is ongoing more than 16-months later.

Despite slumping to $1.03 a share at the height of the COVID-19 crisis in mid-March, Alliance shares have been on a steady upward trajectory since then, closing at a near record high of $3.10 in Wednesday’s trade on the ASX. The trading halt was expected to be lifted on Friday.
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Old 11th June 2020, 04:14 PM
Kent Broadhead Kent Broadhead is offline
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If they've got the finance it's sure time to buy, given the extensive retirements overseas.
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  #5  
Old 11th June 2020, 05:12 PM
lloyd fox lloyd fox is offline
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Alliance Aviation readies to buy 20 planes to fill Virgin void
Patrick Hatch Brisbane Times
By Patrick Hatch
June 11, 2020 — 12.06pm


Regional air operator Alliance Aviation will buy 20 to 25 new planes - expanding its fleet by about half - as it aims to grow its share of the charter flight market and fill a void left by Virgin Australia.

The ASX-listed carrier said on Thursday it would raise $122 million in fresh capital to take advantage of opportunities presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Alliance Airlines says it could fill the void left by Virgin Australia.

Alliance Airlines says it could fill the void left by Virgin Australia. Credit:Jason South

The global health and economic crisis has devastated airlines around the world, but Alliance's fortunes have risen thanks to growing demand for mining industry flights.

Executive director Lee Schofield said Alliance would use the fresh capital to buy 20 to 25 second-hand aircraft at discount prices from struggling airlines, adding to its existing fleet of 42 Fokker jets.
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Mr Schofield said Alliance, which has a market value of $395 million, could take a bigger share of the resources market as its major competitor Qantas focused on its mainline operations in the fallout from the pandemic and the insolvent Virgin is likely to wind up its charter business.

"While this is a big transaction, I think we’ve got a very good track record that shows how we’ll go about deploying those assets," he said.

We’ve certainly got an eye on the Virgin process and we’re happy to play a role in the regional space whoever is the successful bidder. Whatever the void is, we’d take a look at it.
Alliance Aviation chief Lee Schofield

Alliance operated regular passenger flights on behalf of Virgin in Queensland, which was suspended when Virgin went into voluntary administration in April. It also flies its own passenger flights - booked through a code share arrangement with Virgin - from Brisbane to Gladstone, Bundaberg and Port Macquarie.

Mr Schofield said Alliance could either resume flying on Virgin's behalf under its new owners or do more regional flying in its own right to fill the gap in the market Virgin leaves behind if, as expected, it drops some regional destinations from its network.

"We’ve certainly got an eye on the Virgin process and we’re happy to play a role in the regional space whoever is the successful bidder," Mr Schofield said.“Whatever the void is, we’d take a look at it.”

Virgin on Thursday said it would start to ramp up its domestic operations as COVID-19 travel restrictions ease and demand lifts. There have been concerns about whether Virgin has enough money to avoid going into liquidation before administrators complete a sale process, and returning planes to the skies and selling tickets will help slow its cash burn.

Virgin is currently operating at about 6 per cent of its pre-pandemic domestic capacity, or 76 return flights a week, and said on Thursday it would gradually increase that to 13 per cent, or 160 return flights a week, by early July. Qantas will be flying at 15 per cent capacity by the end of June and says it could hit 40 per cent by the end of July if states open their borders.

Alliance's shares have risen 18 per cent since the start of February after it reported a "substantial increase" in revenue from charter flying as it enforced social distancing on board its planes, requiring more flights to move the same number of people, and benefited from a shortage of scheduled flights by other airlines.

The $122 million capital raising consists of a $91.9 million fully underwritten institutional placement and a non-underwritten share purchase plan of up to $30 million.

Mr Schofield said Alliance expected the share purchase plan would only raise around $10 million.

Qantas bought a 19.9 per cent stake of Alliance in February 2019 for $60 million, a transaction which the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is currently investigating.
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  #6  
Old 12th June 2020, 02:35 PM
Radi K Radi K is offline
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Old 21st July 2020, 09:47 AM
lloyd fox lloyd fox is offline
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From the Australian newspaper last week a announcement on the aircraft orders may occur this week.

Keep an eye out.
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  #8  
Old 21st July 2020, 07:03 PM
Brenden S Brenden S is offline
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I hope they don't go down the CRJ path. Pretty useless in Australia to be honest. If they were good there would be plenty in the country.
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Old 22nd July 2020, 08:25 AM
Kent Broadhead Kent Broadhead is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Brenden S View Post
I hope they don't go down the CRJ path. Pretty useless in Australia to be honest. If they were good there would be plenty in the country.
But the Alliance model is to buy unloved but servicable aircarft. IIRC, it has only been the Kendell CRJ200 that have operated here, followed by a lot of consolidation in the overall market. If they can get them cheap enough, I can understadn how the CRJ or even E-jet could work for them.
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  #10  
Old 22nd July 2020, 11:09 AM
Max C Max C is offline
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Not to mention that the CRJ700/900/1000 series are a completely different aircraft and far more capable compared to the CRJ200 that Kendall operated.
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