Icelandair want more of Easyjet
Noted while browsing the net. How much of Easy do you reckon Icelandair may eventually take?.
Icelandair May Increase EasyJet Stake, Chairman Smarason Says
Nov. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Icelandair Hf, Iceland's biggest airline, may raise its 10.1 percent stake in EasyJet Plc, Europe's second-largest low-cost carrier, as the industry consolidates amid mounting competition and record oil prices, Chairman Hannes Smarason said.
``If we want to find ways to grow, we have to look beyond Iceland,'' Smarason said in an interview at his Reykjavik office overlooking the city's airport. ``There will be consolidation in the low-cost sector and EasyJet's fundamentals are strong.''
European airlines, including SN Brussels Airlines and Virgin Express Holdings Plc, have merged to cut costs as competition from new and expanding airlines drives down fares and oil prices boost expenses. Prices for jet fuel have risen 54 percent this year and set a record in early October at $557.25 a metric ton.
EasyJet, Europe's No. 2 low-cost carrier after Ryanair Holdings Plc, cut back its capacity-expansion plans for 2005 to counter increased competition, rising oil prices and falling fares. The carrier's pretax profit for the year ended Sept. 30 was more than 60 million pounds ($111 million), at least a 16 percent increase from the year earlier. It reports net income on Nov. 23.
Icelandair, based in Reykajvik, raised 3.8 billion kronur ($57 million) in a share sale Nov. 10. It had about 10 billion kronur in cash and equivalents on hand at the end of Sept. 30, Guthjon Arngrimsson, a company spokesman, said in an interview.
Easyjet spokesman Toby Nichol last month said he is ``pleased that Icelandair sees the long-term value'' of the company. There are no commercial agreements between the two, he said.