Grupo Viva Aerobus appointed (24-Jan-2020) Juan Carlos Zuazua as CEO, succeeding Gian Carlo Nucci, effective 01-Feb-2020. Mr Zuazua is currently Viva Aerobus CEO. [more - original PR - Spanish]
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The conversion of the Montijo military airbase close to Lisbon into Portugal’s capital city’s second airport is taking almost as long as ‘Brexit’. Indeed, finding a second Lisbon airport, anywhere, has rumbled on for five decades.
Capacity issues at Lisbon’s Humberto Delgado Airport (LHDA) prompted ANA Airports of Portugal to consider ‘annexing’ the Montijo airbase (reported by CAPA-Centre for Aviation in Feb-2017). TAP Air Portugal advised that in order to maintain a hub structure at LHDA it would not use the Montijo facility and also declined to co-finance the development in any way, leaving that responsibility with ANA.
Alcochete and Montijo sites had been proposed but were consistently postponed as part of national cost-cutting measures, and the emphasis fell back on Portela Airport (LHDA). It was in 2017 that Alcochete and Montijo came back on the government’s radar owing to large increases in passenger numbers in successive years – Portugal’s tourism industry has had eight consecutive years of growth, which has helped the country recover from a severe debt crisis and the economic recession of 2010-13.
The government needs to finish the job quickly, or at least to make a start once the environmental assessment is out of the way. After five decades of prevarication the patience of the people is not guaranteed to last much longer.
Premium Analysis
David Neeleman’s Breeze airline launch: is 2020 feasible?Anything that David Neelemen does in the aviation industry will inevitably attract attention. One of the more interesting developments in US aviation during recent years has been his plans to launch a new airline in the country, focusing on secondary markets. Mr Neeleman’s re-entry into the US domestic market will be very different from when he and his management team launched JetBlue, which made its maiden flight in Feb-2000.
Initially, the new carrier aimed to launch in 2021, but reports surfaced in late 2019 that the airline could accelerate its launch to 2020 with Embraer jets from Azul, of which Mr Neeleman is chairman of the board. So far, the airline has only announced that Salt Lake City will serve as its headquarters, and company executives are keeping specific network plans under wraps.
The new operators may not have a lot of direct competition on their routes but overall, Mr Neeleman and his management team will launch in a much healthier US aviation industry than when JetBlue made its debut nearly 20 years ago.
But the foundations of the strategy are equally important: the revolutionary potential role of the new small narrowbody aircraft now coming into the market, with the capability to provide longer haul and low seat cost (and low emissions) on very small city pairs.
While it is the case that airlines do sometimes build and operate new airport terminals, and very occasionally airports, the suggestion coming out of Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, transcends anything that has gone before it.
It looks as if Ethiopian Airlines’ CEO Tewolde GebreMariam has committed the airline to building a brand new USD5 billion airport at Bishoftu, 40km south of Addis Ababa, to make the city the continent’s leading hub. The 35sqkm airport would have a design capacity for 100 million passengers per annum, which would put it among the five largest airports in the world as things stand, and Mr GebreMariam has claimed that it will be Ethiopian Airlines’ growth that will fill that airport in a few years’ time.
By comparison, the current airport at Bole has a capacity of less than 20 million ppa; Ethiopian Airlines has 93.4% of the seat capacity and 98% of aircraft movements at Bole Airport (week commencing 20-Jan-2020) .
Ethiopia would have to become a major destination for both business and leisure and the primary destination in Africa in the way that the big Middle Eastern airlines capitalise on their hub cities.
Reading between the lines, the project at Bishoftu would be the biggest commitment by an airline to operating an airport, anywhere.
In Australia, it seems "it never rains, but...". The widespread bushfires ravaging much of Australia's south and east coasts follow years of drought, rendering the usual expression incongruous.
For Australia's aviation (and tourism) the damage had already started in 2019, as a slowing economy and reduced competition hobbled air travel growth, both domestically and internationally.
Then the widely publicised fires across many hundreds of thousands of hectares of bushland, right into many popular tourism destinations, caused a sudden and much steeper drop; international tourists stayed away and many domestic travellers changed plans, right at the height of the domestic holiday season.
Now, with memories of 2003's catastrophic SARS impact almost faded from memory, the threat of an animal-originated pandemic rears its head again – just as the massive Chinese New Year holidays begin. China is Australia's largest international inbound tourism market, and as many Chinese now call Australia home, the two way flow has increased the overall volume of traffic.
Headlines
ACI Europe: Industry needs to complement CO2 reduction targets with long-term net-zero ambitions
SAS GM Americas: US market has not 'really seen an impact' from flight shaming
Rolls-Royce CEO: Public believes aviation industry's emissions are 10 times worse than reality
Rolls-Royce CEO warns electrification of aviation is 'not a panacea on its own'
Newcastle International Airport aiming for net zero emissions by 2035
Royal NLR launches EU funded IMOTHEP project
Schiphol Cargo to increase focus on sustainability in 2020
Brussels Charleroi Airport commissions new solar panel system on T2 rooftop
Munich Airport awarded 'A-' climate protection rating from Carbon Disclosure Project
Nice Cote d'Azur Airport advocates for incentive based taxation performance levers
Gdansk Airport performs full 'eco-service' on Wizz Air rotation using all electric equipment
Recorded at CAPA-Aviation Week Network Airline Operations Leaders' Summit & Awards Gala Dinner, 2-3 Dec 2019
Wifi – Onboard And On The Ramp
Keep up with the changes happening in the satellite-based inflight connectivity market. From Ku- and Ka-band, to HTS and XTS, to LEO, GEO and MEO and A2G, the options—both current and future—for airlines to choose from appear almost endless. Why are connectivity alliance forming? What are the connectivity options?
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Winds of change are sweeping through Middle East and African aviation, and so this Summit is a timely opportunity to examine the commercial and operational issues and discuss emerging local markets and growth prospects in the region.
China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism ordered (26-Jan-2020) all travel agencies and tour companies to suspend sales of domestic and international packages as part of an effort to contain the spread of the coronavirus, effective 24-Jan-2020. [more - original PR - Chinese]
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27-Jan-2020 8:28 AM
Turkish Airlines expects more than 78m pax and from USD14bn in consolidated revenue in 2020
Turkish Airlines released (24-Jan-2020) the following guidance regarding consolidated traffic and financial targets for 2020, following board approval:
- Traffic:
- Passengers: 78 million to 80 million;
- Domestic: 31.5 million to 33 million;
- International: 46 million to 47 million;
- Passenger load factor: Between 81% and 82%;
- ASKs: Increase of 8.5% to 10% year-on-year;
- Turkey: +7%;
- Middle East: +7%;
- Europe: +2%;
- Far East: +17%;
- Americas: 16%;
- Africa: 10%;
- Cargo: 1.6 million tonnes to 1.65 million tonnes, increase of 7% to 8%;
- Passengers: 78 million to 80 million;
- Financial:
- Revenue: USD14.5 billion to 14.8 billion;
- Average jet fuel price with fuel hedge: USD690 per ton to USD700 per ton;
- EBITDAR: Between 23% and 25%;
- CASK excluding fuel: Stable. [more - original PR]
Boeing completed (25-Jan-2020) the first 777X test flight on 25-Jan-2020. The test flight was conducted for three hours and 51 minutes between Everett Paine Field Airport and Seattle's Boeing Field. Boeing Test and Evaluation 777/777X chief pilot Van Chaney stated: "The 777X flew beautifully, and today's testing was very productive". The first of four dedicated 777-9 flight test aircraft (WH001) will undergo checks before resuming testing. The test fleet, which commenced ground testing in 2019, will endure a comprehensive series of tests and conditions on the ground and in the air to demonstrate the safety and reliability of the design. Boeing expects to deliver the first 777X in 2021, and has won 340 orders and commitments from airlines. [more - original PR]
Condor Flugdienst and LOT Polish Airlines announced (24-Jan-2020) Polish Aviation Group (PGL), the owner of LOT Polish Airlines, was selected as the preferred bidder for acquisition of the airline. Condor CEO Ralf Teckentrup said the takeover will create "one of the largest aviation groups and the leading leisure airline group in Europe", handling about 20 million passengers p/a. PGL president and LOT CEO Rafał Milczarski commented: "The acquisition of Condor fits perfectly into PGL's strategy. It also secures the future of Condor and offers stability and great opportunities to its employees, customers and business partners". He added the company aims to develop the Condor brand in Germany and also introduce it to other markets in Europe. The transaction is expected to close by Apr-2020 following antitrust approvals and will put an end to protective shield proceedings in place since 2019. PGL's investment will also allow Condor to fully repay the EUR380 million loan received from KfW provided by the German government. [more - original PR - English/German]
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24-Jan-2020 4:16 PM
CAAC asks airport to monitor passenger body temperature to prevent spread of the coronavirus
CAAC issued (22-Jan-2020) notifications to airports regarding containment of the coronavirus, requiring airports, local health and quarantine departments to conduct body temperature checks on passengers. The instruction is a reaction to the outbreak of the coronavirus in China, centred around Wuhan. [more - original PR - Chinese]
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