In follow up,
After filtering through earnings, our long-term outlook on the company hasn't changed. Is the dividend safe, according to management, so far as it is cash flow neutral - then the dividend should be fine. In the quarter, the dividend accounted for only 60% of free cash flow. What this looks like next quarter remains to be seen, but overall it was a pretty decent quarter given the headwinds.
In the company's own words from the conference call "We take it very seriously. We know people rely on that dividend. So to the extent that we're confident in our long-term prospects, our liquidity, our ability to pay the dividend. We remain positive about it."
This isn't to say the dividend is 100% safe, you can never fully trust management. Too many cases of saying one thing, only to do another (not specific to EIF but in general). Always let the numbers do the talking. In this case, the key is that FCF is enough to support the dividend and maintenance capex. So far, so good.
Our report will be up shortly but our thesis hasn't changed. This is is still a company that is well positioned to grow and is likely to return to normal faster than larger, commercial airlnes such as Air Canada.
Mat