Air Europa Lineas Aereas

Europe to Latin America: why European airlines are practising their samba, salsa, tango and rumba

TAM will soon defect from Star to join its sister carrier LAN in oneworld. TAP Portugal’s future alliance membership is surrounded by uncertainty until its likely renewed privatisation process is complete. These developments throw the spotlight on the strategic importance of routes from Europe to Latin America to European carriers, who dominate this market, in particular the Big Three, but TAP Portugal, Alitalia and Air Europa also have noticeable positions. The South Atlantic market is only around one fifth of the size of the North Atlantic market by RPKs. So why should Latin America matter to European airlines?

In addition to forecast passenger traffic growth rates that, while not spectacular, are still very respectable and superior to those in Europe and on the North Atlantic, Latin America is a fascinating strategic battleground for Europe’s carriers, both directly and through alliances.

It is a territory of changing alliances and emerging players and, for those that are successful, market share gains can provide significantly higher growth then the underlying market.

Iberia strikes: the challenge to one of Europe’s least productive workforces

Strikes carried out by Iberia employees in protest against the job cuts proposed under the airline’s Transformation Plan again highlight the divide between labour and management. With cumulative losses of EUR862million from the start of 2009 to Sep-2012, management had to act to restore profitability in the face of intense competitive pressure. We have extended our recent analysis of European airline labour productivity and found that Iberia has one of the least productive workforces.

Strike action could be costing Iberia as much as EUR1 million per day in operating profit impact, underlining the need to find a resolution. Coming on top of previous disputes about the establishment of Iberia Express, the gap between executives and employees may now be too great. If it cannot be closed, Iberia’s parent IAG has Vueling waiting in the wings to take on a bigger role.

Meanwhile, Ryanair, easyJet and Air Europa will be enjoying every minute of watching the strikes deliver more passengers to them.

Spain's Air Europa bucks trends and expands short-haul network at Madrid

Air Europa is ignoring the current Spanish headwinds and launching three new short-haul routes from Madrid-Barajas Airport, a strategy which sets it apart from larger and lower-cost competitors such as Ryanair and easyJet which both have announced route cancellations for Madrid as the economy in Spain further deteriorates and as airport charges were raised. The new Air Europa routes are Madrid to Brussels, Valencia and Bilbao. Iberia is the market leader on all three routes and enjoys a monopoly position on Madrid to Valencia, which is operated by its regional affiliate Air Nostrum.

Air Europa, a full service network carrier and a subsidiary of Spain’s largest travel and tourism company Globalia group, is building a hub at Madrid as it most likely sees opportunities in the troubles hitting its main Spanish competitor. Iberia has been paralysed in its efforts to reduce costs by the combative SEPLA pilots union that stubbornly continues to resist the creation of Iberia’s low-cost subsidiary Iberia Express, which launched in Mar-2012.

IAG tells Iberia to prepare for a changing Europe-Latin America competitive setting

Iberia holds a leading market position in the Europe to Latin America market, but other European legacy carriers are adding capacity in this emerging market and are nibbling at Iberia’s share of the pie.

Demand in the Spanish market for Latin American routes is still strong yet weakening owing to the persistent euro debt worries and contraction of the country’s economy while Iberia is struggling to keep unit cost under control and in-flight amenities in the back of the cabin have not kept up with current comfort and configuration standards.

The pressure is mounting on the other side of the route also, with Latin American carriers developing from small regional players with a mediocre service offering into strong cross-border groups and potentially global players investing in new fleets and on board products.

Airlines: surviving in a changing world. CAPA's Hottest Airlines to Watch in 2011

As the international airline industry evolves from a heavily protected, government-run activity into a commercial hybrid, individual airlines are confronted by massive challenges, each of them unique to the company concerned. At the same time, the industry overall remains constantly at risk from any number of external threats.