Sunair starting up again

[Arq]

I hear that Sunair is listing in the UK on 1 Sep. It also claims to have a secret investor who will be putting up Rb1.5 in addition to any capital gained from listing.

Routes will be Jnb-Lhr and I imagine they will be leasing 2 B747-400's from SAA.

Maybe the Rbn 1.5 will come from the SAA/Transnet pension fund and maybe the leases on the B747-4's will be subsidised by the SA taxpayer. I wonder who will be getting a handout in SAA/government?

Same old faces!

[Ibhayi]

This sounds like that airline that wanted to operate from Cape Town to London in December a few years ago. Took a ton of bookings then a 'strategic investment partner' pulled out.

[SpootNICK]

Arq,

The airline you are refering too is Civair.....Andy Cluver's feable attempt at an airline. I believe he is at it again, having changed the name to Redair.

Sunair is/was something comletely different.

Lets see what develops from this.

SN

[Arq]

Squinting at the sun

Jul 28 2008 7:03AM
Marc Hasenfuss

A BIG red number '37' flashes on the website of aviation wannabe Sunair Holdings - depicting the countdown of days before the Milnerton-based group lists on a "main board". Exactly which main board on which stock exchange we do not know at this juncture. Significantly, Sunair's website still flags the logo of the London-based Plus Markets, an independent trading platform that was earlier proposed as a possible listing venue.
I note that the Plus Markets has a "secondary" and "primary" board, which may well explain Sunair's reference to a "main board" listing.
But the curt listing notice placed on Sunair's website on Friday certainly got the tongues wagging. If it was Sunair's intention to make a little news go a long way then the company's marketing team certainly succeeded.
While a good deal of excitement has no doubt been stirred in investments circles (especially Sunair's shareholder base), I still tend to cynically ponder developments.
Stepping back from Sunair for a moment, I feel it necessary to refer readers to the poor record on small, fledgling unlisted companies in converting planned listings into actual listings.
So many unlisted ventures dangle a loose worded listing in front of shareholders (especially while fund raising efforts are underway), but never manage to follow through on these plans with too much vigour. Supertow International, APMI Holdings, Wealth 4 U Mining & Exploration and Garek are a few prominent cases in point.
In this regard I do note that Sunair's latest announcement makes reference to a "projected" listing date of September 1 2008 - which seems to suggest there may be some leeway in the actual date of listing.
Mysterious company
The actual listing day is rather important because one presumes that at least 30 days before listing Sunair will need to issue either a prospectus or pre-listing documentation.
Such publications will finally give the public insight into the inner workings of what until now has been a rather mysterious company.
What we do know so far is that the directors behind Sunair include a former rugby coach, a former insurance broker, a former estate agent, a property valuer and a professional soldier. Where the aviation expertise comes from I do not know...
Officially (at least according to Sunair's website) the Sunair Group "will encompass an International Airline Operating Company (Passenger and Cargo), an Aircraft Maintenance Organisation, an Airline Ground Handling Organization, an Aviation Training Academy and an Asset Company."
I have emphasised the word "will" because aviation industry sources are not yet aware of Sunair's presence in the industry.
There's a lot of marketing guff on Sunair's website, and the only tangible transcript I could find was that Sunair concluded a BEE agreement with Molo-Moya, a country-wide group of prominent black South Africans (represented by SA Defence Force Inspector General Mxolisi Petane).
To date Fin24.com has been unable to garner financial statements from Sunair, even though the company was incorporated in 2005 and has been raising funds from the public.
It has also been impossible to establish just how much money has been raised from the public, and how these funds have been mobilised. Last time we looked Sunair had made two rather uninspiring acquisitions of a car rental brokerage firm and a travel agency.
Fundamentally speaking, Sunair could not have chosen a tougher time to attempt to list its shares. The aviation industry worldwide - especially smaller, low cost carriers - are reeling from soaring operating costs courtesy the markedly higher fuel costs.
Lost altitude
The share prices of Comair and 1Time - two locally listed aviation stocks - have lost a good deal of altitude in the last six months. Nationwide was grounded, and liquidators are looking for a buyer for the operating assets.
Local aviation expert Linden Birns told me on the weekend that any new aviation company would need "piles of cash behind them" to operate in the current environment.
Unless Sunair - which as far as I can ascertain is still without an aircraft - is going to raise a huge pile of cash to be able to afford a new aircraft fleet, there will be cost concerns.
Sunair has hinted at buying a new aircraft, noting on its website that "we have had a very open and informative initial meeting with a director of The Boeing Company, Seattle and a director of Boeing International Corporation, South Africa"
But a new Boeing will cost between $50m (R375m) to $200m (R1.5bn), and that is an awfully large amount of capital for a start-up company to raise.
Birns explained to me that the only "second-hand" aircraft currently available for sale are the fleets retired by the US majors. These second generation aircraft were retired because they were rather costly to operate.
No doubt Sunair would be able to get such aircraft at a song, but whether such assets could be profitably sweated on long haul flights between Cape Town and London is another story entirely.
There are so many things to mull at Sunair, which will make the group's strategic vision and financial projections very interesting reading.
Such important detail - which can only be days away - is keenly awaited.
- Fin24.com

[Arq]

BA also looking to do a deal with Iberia, must be a good time to buy airlines at a good price!

BA and Iberia hold merger talks



British Airways and Spain's Iberia are holding talks on a possible merger, the two airlines have said.
The firms said the British Airways and Iberia brands would be retained as part of a combined group under the plans.
BA boss Willie Walsh said the proposed merger would help the airlines in the current economic environment.
The companies said it would take several months to reach an agreement on the terms of the merger. The news boosted BA's share price by 6%.
Mr Walsh said the merger was an attractive proposition for BA, which, like other airlines, is struggling with sky-high fuel costs.
"The aviation landscape is changing and airline consolidation is long overdue," he said.



Iberia will likely concentrate on South America and Africa while BA will focus on the Middle and Far East
Laurie Price, Mott MacDonald

He said that it was too early to say whether the tie-up would result in job losses.
Iberia flies to 109 destinations and its Madrid hub acts as the European gateway to Latin America.
"A merger would be good news for our customers," said Iberia's chairman and chief executive Fernando Conte.
Co-operation
Howard Wheeldon, a city analyst with BGC Partners, told BBC News that the merger would allow BA and Iberia to reduce costs and "compete better in a difficult world".



IBERIA FACTS
Employs 22,000 staff
Carried 32 million passengers last year
Has 198 aircraft
Flies to 109 destinations

"The oil price will have hastened these talks, but it's all about looking forward," he said.
The proposed merger will follow the template set by Air France-KLM and allow both Britain and Spain to say they have a national carrier.
BA's close rival Virgin Atlantic said the merger could lead to less choice for consumers and push up ticket prices.
Virgin also expressed concern that the combined entity would control nearly half of all take off and landing slots at Heathrow airport.
Laurie Price, head of aviation strategy at Mott MacDonald, said that travellers may see fewer flights to certain destinations or larger aircraft used on certain routes.
"They will agree spheres of interest," Mr Price said.
"Iberia will likely concentrate on South America and Africa while BA will focus on the Middle and Far East," he added.
Co-operation
BA is bigger than its Spanish rival in stock market terms, with a market value of £2.9bn. By contrast, Iberia is worth 1.63bn euros (£1.3bn).



BRITISH AIRWAYS FACTS
Employs 42,000 staff
Carried 33 million passengers last year
Has 245 aircraft
Flies to 154 destinations

The two airlines have a 10-year history of co-operation and are both members of the Oneworld alliance.
Last year, BA considered a takeover move for Iberia in tandem with a number of private equity firms, but later pulled out of the plans.
BA acquired a 9% stake in Iberia in 1999 and recently increased its holding to 13.2%. Iberia recently bought a 2.99% stake in BA.
British Airways has been beset by problems in 2008.
In addition to high fuel prices, its pilots have threatened to strike over the launch of a new subsidiary and the opening of Terminal 5 was regarded as a disaster.
Staff at the new terminal were not able to get into work, thousands of bags were mislaid and flights were cancelled.




Story from BBC NEWS:

[LittleMo]

I think I'll believe the Redair/Natiowide revival stoies when I hear them asking for pushback...

[Setron]

Have you ever thought about why it is called REDair?

...

Who has the "redest" aircraft in the country at the mo?

Aaah... !

And who has not yet an international link to Europe of any kind?

Aaah...!

[Arq]

Redair seems very quiet, same with sunair.
Anyone got any news?