We have just completed our 3rd quarter, which again emphasizes that 2020 has been a difficult and turbulent year.

Economic downturn and low growth have sent last year's expectations into the history books, with no visible health signs to be seen that things will get better soon. Continued aid packages are a necessity to stabilize and support the global economy as well as minimizing further losses on the global job market, creating an even bigger gap between a global recession and a speedy recovery.

If we look at aviation, this is probably the industry worst affected by the pandemic, with large financial losses as a result of the coronavirus.
Expensive equipment stands dormant on ground with no immediate opportunity for revenue, which has a catastrophic impact on both liquidity and profitability for the airlines and the aviation industry as a whole.

ALAS Group has worked hard on new initiatives with several stakeholders from the industry, in order to solve the crisis that the industry is facing at the moment. Among other things, we have worked closely with politicians, ministries and government advisors from around the world to expose the consequences of the travel restrictions that the airlines and the industry are subject to. Paralyzing the infrastructure has a devastating impact on the global economy, hence the reason to find a solution as soon as possible to minimize further losses and get the industry operational again. Our hard work will continue in Q4, to help find a resolution to the problem, which hopefully will bring back hope to the industry and a more promising 2021.

Looking into our different business areas we are happy to report a slight increase in our activities. Our IRL (Inventory Request Level) has seen yet another increase as expected in Q2. In Q2 we reported a 130 million-dollar IRL, but can now adjust this figure with a 100 million-dollar increase for Q3, which has reached a satisfying 230 million dollars. This is a positive development showing both signs of optimism and an interest to invest in a tough and challenging market.

Especially the African continent has shown a higher activity level, with a few new startup airlines on the horizon.
Also the Middle East has shown signs of optimism with an urgent request for new short-haul routes aligning current market demands with market capacity.

The Asian market remains stable with no unexpected activities, whereas the European and North American markets lay dormant, facing continuous layoffs. We don’t expect to see any sudden rise in activities for Q4, as global restrictions prevent the industry from realizing both growth, and even worse, break-even targets.

In august we signed an MoU with an Asian stakeholder from the renewable energy sector on a 30MW project, with a value around 50 million dollars. We are currently focusing our activities on PPP projects (public private partnership) building a stronger connection between governments and ALAS Group, as an important stakeholder from the private sector. Our goal is to become the frontrunner in the aviation industry, looking at future solid sustainability models and green tech, to support the UN's 17 goals and the industry’s contribution in minimizing carbon emissions.

With the above said, Q3 has shown a few interesting but spontaneous developments. However, we are still very skeptical about what the future holds for the aviation industry. We don’t predict any immediate resolution to the pandemic, but hope to see new technologies together with rational government decision making, preventing a further meltdown of the economy. We need to get the industry operational again and put trust back into the aviation industry. One thing is sure, the longer it takes the bigger the damage.

Chairman of the Group Dustin Paul Wilden