Aircastle terminated (10-Dec-2018) leases and began exercising remedies to repossess 10 A320-200 and one A330-200 aircraft that were on lease to Avianca Brazil in 4Q2018. The A320-200 aircraft have an average age of 3.5 years, while the A330-200 is 4.1 years old. Aircastle had been working through a delinquent receivables issue with Avianca Brazil. Aircastle has been in remarketing discussions with several potential customers. The lease terminations for the 11 aircraft will have an impact on Aircastle's 4Q2018 results, reducing lease rental revenue estimates from between USD187 million and USD191 million to between USD182 million and USD184 million. Maintenance revenue was also revised from between USD14 million and USD18 million to between USD90 million and USD94 million. [more - original PR]
CAPA is pleased to announce the initial speaker line-up for the inaugural CAPA Qatar Aviation Aeropolitical and Regulatory Summit in Doha on 5-6 February 2019.
The two day Summit will bring together aviation regulators, airlines and global suppliers with an interest in aviation market access for high-level discussions as well as a Gala Dinner hosted by Qatar Airways.
San Diego International airport is enjoying record passenger numbers and several new route additions during 2018 are fuelling that growth.
Those rising passenger numbers are forecast to continue for the foreseeable future and the airport is working towards expanding Terminal 1 by 11 gates, as well as adding a new roadway to ease some of the traffic congestion that passengers face in reaching San Diego International.
But some community groups believe more needs to done to ease congestion on travel to the airport, with one local government official proposing the construction of a cable operated tramway. It could take some time to reach consensus on the best remedy for improving transit to the airport but overall, finding ways to accommodate growth is a good problem to face.
Latin American airlines continue to face a level of uncertainty in 2019 as new governments in the region’s two largest markets settle in and navigate trade disputes, geopolitical issues and a potential global economic slowdown.
Currency devaluation in Brazil and Argentina and volatile oil prices are combining to force Latin operators to take a cautious approach to 2019, but domestic demand in each of those markets appears to be stable as customers opt for domestic instead of international travel.
The growth of Latin American ULCCs and low cost airlines continues unabated as new start-ups in Chile and Argentina work to grow their respective market shares domestically; however, yields in those markets are likely to remain under pressure well into 2019.
Although public transport between Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport and the city is adequate, with journey times of 30-40 minutes on the suburban RER rail line that operates directly from the airport, it does not compare well with, say, the forthcoming (2019) Elizabeth line or the Heathrow Express in London, which offers a journey time of only 15 minutes.
With the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris on the horizon, a decision was taken several years ago in favour of the ‘CDG Express’, to have a journey time of around 20 minutes over a distance of 32 km. Now a consortium has been selected to operate it.
There are numerous political overtones to this deal, from the selection of an entirely French partnership to the fact that it has been given the green light, not by the Transport Ministry but by the Environmental one.
The opening of Muscat International Airport’s new international terminal earlier this year, which effectively made it a new airport, throws it in competition with some of its peer airports, not only for hub traffic but as a catalyst to increasing tourism.
Although taking on the big hubs in the region is a huge challenge, the support of the national airline – which has now been bundled with the airport authority as the same organisation – will be crucial, both in doing that and in attracting more visitors to Oman, which has a more diverse tourist offering than the UAE and Qatar.
There is also the prospect of some form of privatisation on the horizon, possibly including an IPO, with foreign investors and perhaps operators also gaining a stake.
Serko CEO Darrin Grafton Talks Technology Trends For 2019
Serko has always been a forward thinking, innovative company with its finger on the pulse. It is for this reason we caught up with Chief Executive Officer, Darrin Grafton to talk technology trends for 2019. From personalisation, to NDC and artificial intelligence, hear from this industry heavyweight about what lies ahead for travel in the year to come.
Upcoming Event
Doha: CAPA Qatar Aviation Aeropolitical and Regulatory Summit
The Qatar Aviation Aeropolitical and Regulatory Summit is a high level forum dedicated to addressing the latest developments in aviation regulation, both within the GCC and around the world.
Upcoming Event
Delhi: CAPA India Aviation Summit
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 Fleet Database reported (11-Dec-2018) the following Boeing fleet reconciliation for Nov-2018:
- New orders:
- BDS Japan International Tanker: One 767-200ER;
- JEJU air: 40 737 MAX;
- Novus Aviation Capital: Three 777-30ER;
- SkyUp: One 737 MAX;
- Turkish Airlines: Three 777F;
- Unidentified customer: Three 737 MAX;
- Previously undisclosed customers:
- Air China: One 737 MAX;
- BOC Aviation: Two 737 MAX;
- China Eastern Airlines: Two 737 MAX and six 737-800;
- Industrial and Commercial Bank of China: One 737 MAX;
- Qatar Airways: One 737 MAX;
- Sberbank Leasing: One 737-800;
- Xiamen Airlines: One 737 MAX;
- Order changes:
- Unidentified customer (previously Icelandair): One 787-8;
- Order cancellations:
- SpiceJet: Three 737 MAX.
Lufthansa Group reported (11-Dec-2018) the following traffic highlights for Nov-2018:
- Passengers: 10.6 million, +6.0% year-on-year;
- Lufthansa German airlines (includes regional airlines): 5.5 million, +2.7%;
- SWISS (includes Edelweiss Air): 1.5 million, +8.0%;
- Austrian Airlines: 1.0 million, +9.7%;
- Eurowings (includes Brussels Airlines): 2.7 million, +10.6%;
- Passenger load factor: 78.1%, +0.3ppt;
- Lufthansa Passenger Airlines: 78.8%, -0.5ppt;
- SWISS: 78.9%, +1.7ppts;
- Austrian Airlines: 76.3%, +3.6ppts
- Eurowings: 75.6%, +0.4ppt. [more - original PR - English/German]
Russia's Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsiya) reported (11-Dec-2018) the following traffic highlights for Russian carriers, according to operational data:
- 11 months ended Nov-2018:
- Passenger numbers: 107.8 million, +10.6% year-on-year;
- Passenger traffic (RPKs): 265.6 billion, +10.6%;
- Load factor: 84.2%, +0.7%;
- Nov-2018:
- Passenger numbers: 8.6 million, +13.9%;
- Passenger traffic (RPKs): 21.7 billion, +14.5%;
- Passenger numbers for individual carriers:
- Aeroflot: 2.9 million, +13.8%;
- S7 Airlines: 830,700, +12.8%;
- Rossiya - Russian Airlines: 647,000, +1.2%;
- Ural Airlines: 616,200, +6.8%. [more - original PR - Russian]
A4A expects 5.2% increase in pax travelling over 18 day holiday period, projects 45.7m pax
Airlines for America (A4A) projected (11-Dec-2018) 45.7 million passengers will travel on US airlines over the 18 day winter holiday travel period from 20-Dec-2018 to 06-Jan-2019, marking a 5.2% increase year-on-year. A4A stated airlines are expected to offer an additional 143,000 seats per day to accommodate the expected average of 2.54 million passengers per day. Daily passenger volumes are projected to range from 2.1 million to 2.9 million. The busiest expected travel days in ranked order 21-Dec-2018, 20-Dec-2018 and 26-Dec-2018. [more - original PR]
Malaysia Airlines rebranded (11-Dec-2018) its first class cabins on A350-900 and A380 aircraft as 'Business Suite', effective 12-Dec-2018. The cabin will be available on London, Osaka and Tokyo services year round and on Seoul and Sydney services during the winter season. The airline said 'Business Suite' is a response to high business traveller traffic and the product will offer "an enhanced business class service at an attractive price point". The product includes a dedicated check in counter, access to the airline's first class lounge, 50kg baggage allowance and a "fine-dining experience" on board. Malaysia Airlines Group CEO Izham Ismail said: "Our target is to enable the frequent flyer, looking for enhanced comfort, to now be able to enjoy a premium experience at competitive prices. We are confident that our new Business Suite will change the way people travel in business class". Details include:
- A350:
- Four seats in a 1-2-1 layout;
- 83in seat pitch, full flat bed length of 83in and width of 23in;
- Capacitive seat control offering personalised lounge position, independent adjustable leg rest, massage and lumbar system;
- 24in high definition touchscreen IFE display;
- A380:
- Eight seats in a 1-2-1 layout on the main deck;
- 89in seat pitch, full flat bed length of 87in and width of 40in;
- 23in widescreen IFE display;
- Personal closet for each seat. [more - original PR]