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We employ a global team of highly-experienced analysts who deliver a wealth of commentary about the aviation and travel industry. Our analysts don’t just report the news, they look at the big picture to help you understand how the latest news, issues and trends will affect your business. CAPA’s commitment to independence and integrity means every report is filled with accurate data and actionable insights to help you stay ahead of the game.
Turkish Airlines (THY): Sydney to be its second Australia destination; nonstops to follow
Turkish Airlines (THY) is to add Sydney as a second destination in Australia, starting on 4-Dec-2024, just over nine months after launching flights to Melbourne.
It will deploy A350-900 aircraft on its four times weekly service to Sydney from its Istanbul hub, via a stopover in Kuala Lumpur.
Melbourne is served three times weekly via Singapore, also with the A350-900.
THY will join British Airways as only the second European airline serving Sydney, but it will have two destinations in Australia to British Airways' one.
THY has also earmarked Sydney to be its first nonstop destination in the future, but without saying exactly when. This will likely only happen after its Airbus A350-1000 deliveries start in 2028, allowing Qantas to be the first nonstop operator between Europe and Australia when it receives the same aircraft in 2026.
After many years of unrealised plans to add Australia to its network, THY is making a considerable impact on the Europe-Australia market in 2024.
The varying fortunes of three UK regional airports post COVID; part three: Teesside + Observations
As the COVID-19 pandemic fades in the memory (it is still very active though), and the post-pandemic 'revenge travel' boom peaks with warnings that it can't be sustained, this report looks at three regional UK airports and the diverse circumstances in which they are currently working.
Teesside Airport has always found the going difficult, sandwiched between other, larger airports, in a post-industrial region that hasn't adapted as well as others to new industries, and abandoned by private sector owners.
But it has just made its first profit in a long time, it has consolidated a business park, and has the infrastructure in place on which airlines can make new route and expansion decisions.
Part one of this three-part report set the scene and explored London City Airport, while part two looked at Leeds Bradford Airport. Here, in part three, we consider Teesside Airport and make some observations.
As the COVID-19 pandemic fades in the memory (it is still very active though), and the post-pandemic 'revenge travel' boom peaks with warnings that it can't be sustained, this report looks at three regional UK airports and the diverse circumstances in which they are currently working.
Leeds Bradford Airport, in the north of England, serves a city that is big in the financial sector but which, living in the shadow of Manchester Airport and with competition on all side, hasn't been able to secure bread and butter European business routes. It has had to rely on the home-based LCC Jet2.com to deliver the goods.
It has just published its 'Vision 2030' document of infrastructure development and big route ambitions, but growth is probably more likely to come from incumbent airlines.
Part one of this three-part report set the scene and explored London City Airport. Here, in part two, we consider Leeds Bradford Airport.
The varying fortunes of three UK regional airports post COVID; part one: Intro + London City
As the COVID-19 pandemic fades in the memory (it is still very active though), and the post-pandemic 'revenge travel' boom peaks with warnings that it can't be sustained, this report looks at three regional UK airports and the diverse circumstances in which they are currently working.
London City Airport filled a niche as a business travel-focused facility that has few peers around the world. It has performed better than expected, and has changed hands twice - on both occasions at a huge profit to the seller.
But latterly it has come under increasing pressure, not only from its traditional enemies (politicians and climate activists), but also from other airports, rail services, and an unholy alliance between them.
Although it has just won a key expansion battle, one senses that (unlike Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games) the odds are not forever in its favour.
Part one of this three-part report sets the scene and explores London City Airport.
LEVEL, the long haul low cost brand of IAG, is progressing its application for its own air operator's certificate (AOC) - more than seven years after its launch in 2017.
During that time Iberia aircraft and crew have operated its routes from Barcelona to the Americas on its behalf. From 2018 to 2020, other IAG subsidiaries also operated LEVEL-branded flights on trans Atlantic routes from Paris Orly, and even on short haul routes from Vienna.
In 1H024 LEVEL was IAG's fastest growing airline brand by ASKs, with an increase of 19.1% (versus group growth of 7.5%). Its 94.8% load factor was also the group's highest.
Over seven years LEVEL has consolidated its position as Barcelona and Spain's leading long haul LCC, and has given IAG more options on the North and South Atlantic.
As it matures with its own AOC, there is scope for it to consider new markets.
Austrian marks 15 years in Lufthansa Group: financial stability, but need for fleet modernisation
Austrian Airlines (AUA) has been part of the Lufthansa Group for 15 years.
The sale by the Austrian government in Sep-2009 was prompted by the 2008 global financial crisis, which exacerbated a period of loss-making by its national airline.
Lufthansa's ownership has given AUA a more financially secure footing, and it reported positive operating profits from 2013 until the COVID-19 crisis.
AUA's fleet has been simplified and its route network has been pruned. It recently started replacing its Boeing 777 and 767 widebody fleet (average age 25 years) with 787-9s - a modernisation programme that is due to last until 2028.
AUA's Airbus A320 family fleet has an average age of 19 years, so new narrowbodies must be next on the shopping list.
However, although the airline returned to profit in 2023, AUA's profitability remains somewhat brittle, and its parent will expect a suitable return on any further investment in new fleet.
Will Gary Kelly's retirement at Southwest fully satisfy Elliott's demand for a management shake-up?
It's a safe bet to assume that (after a 9-Sep-2024 meeting with the activist investor Elliott Management) it wasn't exactly the way Gary Kelly planned to announce his retirement from Southwest Airlines, a company he has served for nearly four decades.
But Executive Chairman Mr Kelly and CEO Robert Jordan have been under pressure since Jun-2024, when Elliott made a nearly USD2 billion investment in the airline and proceeded to demand a shake-up in Southwest's upper management - including the removal of Mr Kelly and Mr Jordan from their roles and an overhaul of its business.
At this point it's not clear whether Elliott will be satisfied with only Mr Kelly's decision to retire in the spring of 2025.
Mr Jordan's fate could remain uncertain, given that six of the company's directors are retiring in Nov-2024, and Southwest plans to consider three candidates previously proposed by Elliott.
It's a major development for a company whose low cost model has been replicated by airlines worldwide, and it signals that Southwest's future is more uncertain than its storied past.
In the run-up to the Global Airport Development (GAD World) conference taking place in Munich in Dec-2024, CAPA - Centre for Aviation will be presenting short, sharp SWOT analyses of some of the larger organisations likely to attend the event.
The focus will be on the leading investors globally in the airport sector; those that are active now and will continue to be in the future, and those that have the greatest number of assets and/or have the ambition to do so.
We begin with VINCI Airports, a behemoth that 10 years ago had a handful of small French airports and a trio in Cambodia. It had just acquired ANA's 10 Portuguese airports, and all that has since grown to a portfolio of 73 in all, with no sign that the organisation is going to ease off in the acquisition stakes.
Although the Qantas Group has experienced robust international capacity growth overall, it is one of multiple Asia Pacific airlines that are channelling more expansion to their low cost units than to the full service legacy brands.
As one of the region's pioneers in the multi-model approach, Qantas has long benefitted from its flexibility to allocate investment and capacity growth among its subsidiaries, depending on prevailing markets and economic conditions.
Other notable examples of Asia Pacific airlines that are placing increasing emphasis on LCC units in the post-pandemic environment include Cathay Pacific and the Japanese majors, All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines.
During its latest earnings presentation, the Qantas Group reported slightly stronger international capacity growth for Jetstar Airways than for Qantas Airways for the six months through 30-Jun-2024 (its fiscal second half).
Data from CAPA - Centre for Aviation and OAG show that this trend has continued, with a more recent snapshot showing Jetstar with significantly higher international growth than Qantas versus both last year 2023 and 2019.
Qantas predicts a larger increase for the LCC in the current fiscal year, with Jetstar international again expanding more quickly than its full service sibling.
Meanwhile, aircraft delivery forecasts reinforce the Jetstar growth trend.
Brazil's aviation market appears to be in a state of flux.
Two of the country's largest airlines are in the throes of financial struggles, and currency headwinds remain an overhang.
Yet at the same time, the government seems poised to finalise some financial assistance for Brazilian operators broadly four years after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
As GOL and Azul work to improve their financial stature, Brazil's dominant airline, LATAM Airlines Brazil, continues to build on its leading position in the domestic market.
LATAM's evolution could possibly entail a pivot to a different aircraft type, which could potentially increase competition on some of the country's domestic routes.