CAPA’s most viewed profiles for 2023
If you're a CAPA member, you'll know that the CAPA Profiles are an invaluable resource to learn anything you could want about thousands of different entities involved in aviation.
Whether you're interested in the changing finances of an individual airline, news from an aviation regulator, the latest contract wins for a supplier or traffic levels at an airport, the CAPA Profiles are where you'll find it.
- Qatar Airways was the most viewed CAPA profile in 2023, with CEO Akbar Al Baker resigning after 27 years of service.
- Emirates Airline had a record H1FY2023-24 net profit of USD2.7 billion, nearly matching its full year profit for FY2022-23.
- Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) focused on slot allocations and reducing delays in 2023.
- Ryanair aims to carry 183.5 million passengers in FY2023-24 and has 227 aircraft on order.
- Turkish Airlines plans to operate more than 800 aircraft by 2033 and expand its network to over 400 destinations.
- Mexico's AFAC restored its IASA rating to Category 1, allowing for new services and routes to the US.
Here are the top 10 most viewed CAPA profiles for 2023, as well as some interesting insight from each.
1. Qatar Airways
The Qatari national carrier was the most viewed CAPA profile in 2023.
This year saw the airline's outspoken and often controversial CEO Akbar Al Baker resign from the airline in Nov-2023, after 27 years of service.
He was succeeded by Badr Mohammed Al-Meer, who most recently served as COO of Doha Hamad International Airport.
2. Emirates Airline
Emirates is the largest carrier in the Middle East by passenger traffic and the largest international passenger airline (by ASKs) for the first 11 months of 2023 (ahead of Qatar Airways, United Airlines and Turkish Airlines).
Emirates had a H1FY2023-24 net profit of USD2.7 billion, it's best ever half-year performance and nearly matching its full year profit for FY2022-23 (which itself was a record profit for the full year).
3. Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV)
Vietnam is one of the Asia Pacific's most dynamic air travel markets.
CAAV had an unusually busy year in 2023, spending considerable efforts on juggling slot allocations and improving coordination with the Airports Corporation of Vietnam and major local carriers in order to reduce delays and cancellations.
4. Ryanair
Europe's largest airline by passenger traffic, Ryanair has announced a target of carrying 183.5 million passengers for the year to Mar-2024 (up from 168.5 million in FY2022 and 27.4 million in FY2021).
Much depends on the carrier's aircraft supplier Boeing.
According to the Fleets tab on the Ryanair CAPA Profile, the airline has 227 aircraft on order, with 58 due for delivery in the next 12 months.
5. Turkish Airlines
Always a dynamic player, serving a huge domestic market and acting as a major fifth freedom carrier, Turkish Airlines has ambitions to become one of the world's most important airline.
The Turkish Airlines Group expanded its fleet to more than 500 aircraft in 2023, and Turkish Airlines alone plans to operate more than 800 aircraft by 2033, across a network of more than 400 destinations.
6. Agencia Federal de Aviación Civil (AFAC)
Mexico's Federal Civil Aviation Agency has seen aviation booming in the country in the last few years, with traffic now running 16% ahead of pre-pandemic levels.
After seeing the country's International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) rating downgraded to Category 2 by the US FAA during 2021, AFAC has managed to restore its IASA rating to Category 1.
The status enables Mexico to add new services and routes to the US and allows US airlines to resume marketing and selling tickets with their names and designator codes on Mexican-operated flights.
7. Singapore Airlines
After suffering heavily from the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 though 2022, 2023 has seen considerable improvement for Singapore Airlines in terms of traffic and financial performance.
The carrier has also been focusing on its in-flight product - it's new 'Singapore Showcase' in-flight menu includes "soupy and gravy-rich dishes" on select regional routes, while the size of Economy main course portions have been bumped up 25% following customer surveys.
8. IndiGo
India's largest airline by aircraft and passengers, IndiGo made headlines during 2023 with an order for up to 500 A320neo family aircraft - the largest single purchase agreement by any airline in commercial aviation history.
IndiGo now has 950 aircraft on order. To put that into context, India's entire commercial airline fleet only comprises 920 active aircraft.
9. Air India
Fresh from its privatisation to Tata Group in late 2022, Air India is seeking to recapture some of the ground it has ceded to rival carriers over the past decade.
Not to be outdone by IndiGo, Air India firmed up orders with Airbus for 250 aircraft and Boeing for 220 aircraft in the middle of 2023.
The carrier plans to take delivery of one new aircraft every six days for the next 18 months.
10. Lufthansa Group
Europe's largest airline group - comprising 12 airlines, with minority stakes in two others - Lufthansa Group has experienced a largely positive 2023.
Going against trend, Lufthansa announced in early 2023 it will be expanding its first class offering as part of its new 'Allegris' long-haul product.
This will include a new 'Suite Plus' double cabin, with seats that convert into a 1.4m wide double bed, a closable privacy screen and a large table.
Lufthansa is investing EUR2.5 billion in 'Allegris' by 2025.