Using an AIRLINE for T8

@syfar42 – Conclusions and Reference list are mandatory, recommendations and bibliography are optional

@Chandan – 19 slides should be fine. Just choose the most important ratios for your graphs and do not have more than 2 per slide and don’t use too much text -it should mainly be bullet points

@Jahnvi -weaknesses are harder to identify than strengths however you may be able to find some if you see what the comparator is doing really well or something that favours them. Where your main company in comparison is not performing so well or seems to be at a disadvantage it may be because they have a strategic weakness e.g. route network, older aircraft, already highly geared so not so attractive to investors.

@amal3008 – Yes in that it can drive the marker crazy! Some abbreviations are fairly standard e.g. ROCE and EPS but ND/E is not of them. Even if you provide an abbreviation list it often means the reader has to break off, refer to the list and then re-read the passage (and this can be very annoying as well as frustrating).

My marker friend says if this happens to her repeatedly she fails for communication as the reading flow is disrupted and her understanding compromised. Her advice is to stick to conventional abbreviations (EK and CX would be regarded in this category provided you use the full version at least once at the beginning), and if in doubt about whether to use a particular abbreviation or not is –
don’t!

@Jahnvi – I would include both current ratio and EPS if you can squeeze in the words. Perhaps you don’t have to say much about the current ratio a graph and that it is above 1. EPS is related to profit of course. If you prefer use dividends per share which may reflect both profit and retained earnings and subsequent future investment strategies (retained earnings for business expansion plans or new aircraft)

Regarding aircraft utilization you have practicality answered your own question. Aircraft and airlines only make money when the aircraft are in the air. Newer aircraft (like New cars) need less maintenance but have higher depreciation, whereas older aircraft have parts that need replacing, and more regular checks (many of these are mandatory and linked to aircraft age and flight cycles, that is the number of take-offs and landings, as well as number of flying hours) I suspect WestJet is buying and using old jets that have higher scheduled maintenance and need to spend more time on the ground undergoing engineering checks (some of which may be unplanned -as just like older cars they become less reliable)

Focus on the individual company’s trends for these measures as that is what they will be doing and then you can compare percentage increases/ decreases in these KPIs when assessing their performances against each other

(Translating currencies is wrong because the airlines themselves report and mainly operate in their own currencies and although the USD rate and other currencies do impact this would normally be shown through the currency losses or profits separately in the Income statement.)