Airlines worldwide are working to become better environmental stewards through the adoption of a variety of activities, ranging from carbon offsets to reducing cabin waste.
And the biofuel industry has taken off during the past decade, with some airlines investing in biofuel development companies as work continues to bring alternative fuels to the mass market.
For now, North American airlines appear to be staying apart from the 'Flight Shaming' movement that has swept across Europe. There could be several reasons for those operators steering clear of the agitation, and the most obvious is that there is little prospect of high speed rail ever becoming a reality in North America’s largest aviation market – the US.
But there are some signs that the high speed rail debate could be revived in the country during the not too distant future.
Air France-KLM is expanding in India after the Apr-2019 collapse of its former commercial partner Jet Airways. It plans to increase India seat capacity by more than 25% year-on-year in the coming winter schedule.
KLM will drive more of this growth with the launch of Amsterdam-Bangalore, increased Amsterdam-Mumbai frequency and upgauging Amsterdam-Delhi from 787-10 to 747-400, while Air France will increase Paris-Delhi frequency and deploy larger aircraft on Paris to Bangalore and Mumbai.
Virgin Atlantic will double capacity to India this winter when it adds a daily London Heathrow-Mumbai service (last operated in Jan-2015) to its existing Delhi service on 27-Oct-2019.
However, aside from Air France-KLM and Virgin Atlantic, the leading airlines from Europe to India are doing little to fill the gap left by the demise of the former market leader Jet Airways. Total Europe-India capacity is set to fall by 20% this winter.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has strong views on the subject of airport privatisation which have been examined previously by CAPA. At the recent IATA Annual General Meeting a significant period of time was given over to examples on a country-by-country basis, and in the main with a negative consideration.
IATA adopts an open view, neither advocating for, nor against, privatisation but its first concern is the interests of its member airlines, as would be expected.
This short report reviews the airlines' position in the context of a recent airport transaction in Japan involving two airlines which may offer a model for wider use.
Cincinnati Kentucky International airport faced its share of challenges as consolidation took hold in the US marketplace, but the airport has posted impressive growth during the past couple of years and earned the top spot as OAG’s fastest growing mid-size airport in North America during 2018.
Although Cincinnati remains a focus city for Delta and the airline is the dominant carrier at the airport, LCCs and ULCCs are fuelling the surge in growth at Cincinnati. The airport earned a key victory when Southwest Airlines launched services in 2017, and the airline's entry has resulted in lower fares to the Chicago metro area.
Cincinnati also recently marked a milestone when Amazon broke ground on a USD1.5 billion cargo facility on the south side of the airport’s airfield, which will create more jobs at Cincinnati International and ultimately drive economic growth for the region.
On 11-Jun-2019 Ryanair announced an agreement to buy the start-up airline Malta Air and use it to operate its low cost operations in Malta. Ryanair has already transferred its six Malta-based Boeing 737-800s to its new subsidiary's AOC, although they will not be branded under Malta Air until summer 2020.
The deal was done with the support and cooperation of the Maltese government, which wanted to solidify Ryanair's ties to the country.
This has caused some to question the future of the flag carrier Air Malta, which is owned by the Maltese state. Although the legacy airline reported a profit for the year to Mar-2018, it had struggled with profitability over the past decade, in no small part due to competition from Ryanair.
The Maltese government has said that there is room for both airlines, operating different business models and networks.
Gulf Air CEO Kresimir Kucko discusses the airline’s new strategy and boutique airline model. Gulf Air has increased its focus on the premium end of the market, introducing a new business class product and adding capacity to destinations (existing and new) popular with the business and upmarket leisure segments. Fleet renewal began in 2018 as Gulf Air took delivery of the first batch of new A320neos and 787-9s. The 787-9s feature a new lie flat business class product which is equivalent to first class on other airlines. Gulf Air has decided to also include lie flat business class seats on its new fleet of A321neoLRs, which will be delivered from early 2020 and used to improve its product on European routes. Gulf Air is also planning to add to two to three new European destinations in 2020 as its narrowbody fleet expands and intends to grow its long-haul network by three destinations as four more 787-9s are delivered by the end 2020. Gulf Air’s fleet will consist entirely of new generation A320neo family aircraft and 787-9s by the end of 2023.
CAPA’s events attract the highest calibre of thought-leaders in the industry. This includes strong C-Level executive representation from all types of business models – from full service, LCCs and hybrid airlines.
CAPA’s events attract the highest calibre of thought-leaders in the industry. This includes strong C-Level executive representation from all types of business models – from full service, LCCs and hybrid airlines.
Kenya's Government, in its official gazette notice, announced (12-Jul-2019) Kenya Airways was granted permission to operate the following domestic services for three years, effective immediately:
American Airlines CEO Doug Parker, Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian and United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz, in an opinion piece in USA Today, stated the UAE and Qatar breached trade agreements with the US by subsidising government owned airlines Emirates, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways, thus allowing the airlines to operate loss making services (USA Today, 12-Jul-2019). The CEOs claimed Qatar and the UAE are jeopardising more than 1.2 million American jobs by contravening the countries' open skies agreements, adding every long haul international route a US carrier loses to a subsidised Gulf carrier causes the loss of 1500 US jobs. Mr Parker, Mr Bastian and Mr Munoz urged the US to hold Qatar and the UAE accountable by acting decisively.
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced (15-Jul-2019) it reached an agreement with Munich Airport International GmbH (MAI) to operate and maintain Terminal One at New York Newark Liberty International Airport. Terminal One is under construction via a USD2.7 billion development project. The new terminal is scheduled to be fully operational by 2022. [more - original PR]
airBaltic CEO Martin Gauss, speaking on CAPA TV, stated (Jul-2019) the carrier reported record performance in 2018 and expects 20% growth in 2019. Mr Gauss noted growth is mainly driven by new aircraft deliveries, with growth expected to slow to 10% in 2020 to reflect the delivery stream. Mr Gauss added: "So we are not yet at the 20 million to 30 million passengers where 20% growth would be significant, for us it's also a big number but it's mainly driven by capacity which we add by adding new aircraft". [more - CAPA TV]
Azul Linhas Aereas and Alagoas' Government signed (15-Jul-2019) an agreement to reduce aviation fuel taxes from 12% to 5%. Azul is required to increase operations at Maceio Zumbi dos Palmares Airport by 18% compared to 2018. Azul plans to launch Maceio-Salvador service in Sep-2019. As previously reported by CAPA, the carrier plans to operate the route six times weekly with Embraer 195 aircraft. [more - original PR - Portuguese]
Hainan Airlines Group reported (16-Jul-2019) the following traffic highlights*:
*Includes traffic for Hainan Airlines, China Xinhua Airlines, Air Changan, Shanxi Airlines, Lucky Air Company Limited, Fuzhou Airlines, Urumqi Airlines, Tianjin Airlines and Guangxi Beibu Gulf Airlines.