Originally Posted by
43Inches
Yes but operational costs ramp up as you 'operate' so it makes sense the last 6 months was all 9 ships plying the waves, not just the addition of 2. It also depends on when the costs come due and are paid, rather than just a liability. Al things we don't know as are commercial in confidence behind the scenes contracts. When looking at cash movement in large businesses a lot of that cash was spent up to a year or more earlier, the payment just came due during that reporting period.
The scary number is the 42% increase in engineering/maintenance, that is what pushes the cash flow negative, an extra $16mil for a few additional 737.
The last six months was most assuredly not "all 9 ships plying the waves". When you are comparing fleet numbers that are fluctuating, the easiest way to do it is to take the operational fleet size on a month-by-month basis. In the most recent half year, they started the period with seven jets, the eighth aircraft didn't start operations until mid-August, the ninth aircraft didn't start ops until 10 October, the tenth aircraft started ops in mid-December, and they had at least one aircraft up in the Phillipines for two months undergoing heavy maintenance. The difference in the operating jet fleet between the two periods was less than two aircraft.
And we're looking at numbers from the P&L, not the Balance Sheet; they're all current costs, there are no accruals of liabilities. You don't need to know the mechanics of the contracts; standard accounting practices apply.