newstodate.aero
May 01, 2017 (newstodate): East is East, West is West, and together this makes a perfect match: the strategy to move capacity between Europe and Asia to counterbalance seasonal fluctuations pays well for the Lithuanian leisure carrier Small Planet Airlines.
According to its 2016 Annual Report, the carrier generated as much as one third of its revenues in 2016 during the first and the fourth quarters of the year, attributing the record winter activity to projects in the Asian markets.
-This winter Small Planet Airlines operated seven aircraft in Asia from bases India, Saudi Arabia and Cambodia, and performed around 6,000 flights. Besides positive effect on revenue growth it has also significantly improved our aircraft utilization. Balancing seasonality has been an important challenge as well as a goal for us, and in terms of this 2016 has been a very successful year, says Kristijonas Kaikaris, Small Planet Airlines CEO.
On the other hand, 2016 was not exactly smooth sailing for the carrier.
-Unfortunately, we failed to evaluate risks when obtaining new Airbus A321 aircraft in 2016 and experienced a financial punch in the face. Flight delays disappointed a lot of our clients in Poland and the UK. Yet, we managed to stabilize the situation, we are very positive about the future, and new plans are going full speed ahead, says Mr Kaikaris.
The company maintained revenue growth with the annual revenue reaching 223,1 million EUR up 22,6 percent, y-o-y.
On the other hand, the company's profitability was less satisfying: due to unexpected aircraft maintenance and flight delays , the leisure airline ended up with a loss of 3,8 million EUR, compared to a profit of 19,2 million EUR in 2015.
Poland remains the biggest SPA business market for the upcoming year. 10 aircraft in total will be based in Polish airports, five aircraft will operate from Germany, three from Vilnius, and two from France.
London Gatwick remains the base in the UK with one aircraft assigned, and the carier's 22nd aircraft will operate from Amsterdam and Oslo.
Plans are now to add one more Airbus A320 aircraft to the fleet in 2017.
According to its 2016 Annual Report, the carrier generated as much as one third of its revenues in 2016 during the first and the fourth quarters of the year, attributing the record winter activity to projects in the Asian markets.
-This winter Small Planet Airlines operated seven aircraft in Asia from bases India, Saudi Arabia and Cambodia, and performed around 6,000 flights. Besides positive effect on revenue growth it has also significantly improved our aircraft utilization. Balancing seasonality has been an important challenge as well as a goal for us, and in terms of this 2016 has been a very successful year, says Kristijonas Kaikaris, Small Planet Airlines CEO.
On the other hand, 2016 was not exactly smooth sailing for the carrier.
-Unfortunately, we failed to evaluate risks when obtaining new Airbus A321 aircraft in 2016 and experienced a financial punch in the face. Flight delays disappointed a lot of our clients in Poland and the UK. Yet, we managed to stabilize the situation, we are very positive about the future, and new plans are going full speed ahead, says Mr Kaikaris.
The company maintained revenue growth with the annual revenue reaching 223,1 million EUR up 22,6 percent, y-o-y.
On the other hand, the company's profitability was less satisfying: due to unexpected aircraft maintenance and flight delays , the leisure airline ended up with a loss of 3,8 million EUR, compared to a profit of 19,2 million EUR in 2015.
Poland remains the biggest SPA business market for the upcoming year. 10 aircraft in total will be based in Polish airports, five aircraft will operate from Germany, three from Vilnius, and two from France.
London Gatwick remains the base in the UK with one aircraft assigned, and the carier's 22nd aircraft will operate from Amsterdam and Oslo.
Plans are now to add one more Airbus A320 aircraft to the fleet in 2017.