Air Lease Corporation (ALC) stated (06-May-2024) its aircraft delivery schedule could continue to be subject to material changes due to manufacturing delays. Delivery delays are expected to extend beyond 2024. ALC stated it had commitments to purchase 320 aircraft from Airbus and Boeing for delivery through to 2029, with an estimated aggregate commitment of USD20.9 billion, as of 31-Mar-2024. At current production rates, ALC does not expect delivery delays to improve in the near term. ALC added: "Pratt & Whitney GTF engine manufacturing flaws and Boeing's enhancement of their quality control procedures could further impact delivery delays of new A320neo family aircraft and the Boeing 737 MAX, respectively". ALC stated: "We remain in discussions with Airbus and Boeing to determine the extent and duration of delivery delays, but we are not currently able to determine the full impact of these delays". [more - original PR]
European airports struggle to claw back passengers; reductions at 56% of airports in 2023 vs 2019
An intriguing presentation by Airports Council International (ACI) at a recent airport conference in Europe is examined in this report, together with some further research undertaken by CAPA - Centre for Aviation.
It reveals what the airport sector would prefer not to acknowledge in what was supposed to be a post-pandemic recovery year: namely, that more than half of European airports that are members of ACI-Europe experienced a continuing shortfall in passenger traffic in 2023 compared to the benchmark year of 2019.
The CAPA - Centre for Aviation research, which measures the Top 5 European airports by passenger numbers against three smaller airports in each of their countries, suggests that in most cases it is, perhaps surprisingly, the primary gateway/hub airports that are struggling to regain even the pre-pandemic status quo, while small regional and especially low cost airports are (in the main) doing quite well.
There are, at the very least, pointers here as to how the air travel business will continue to develop in Europe in the next few years.
Regional recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic continues to be of concern - especially in the case of Asia Pacific.
But as a CAPA - Centre for Aviation report pointed out right at the start of it, it is small island airports throughout the world that stood to lose the most from the unprecedented event, on account of their exposure to critical supply issues and the loss of tourism revenue.
Malta and Cyprus are two small independent island states in the Mediterranean Sea, with a combined population of less than two million and where tourism was a substantial part of their GDP.
The impact could have been crippling, but both survived, and both tourist numbers and passengers are close to the 2019 level - or have surpassed it.
The question now is where do they go from here? Both have had 'hub' ambitions in the past, and today Cyprus is probably a little better placed to achieve that to any degree.
But for either to have a chance, they really need stronger national airlines - as they previously had.
This is part one of a two-part report.
When an airline already has nearly 1,000 aircraft on order, the addition of another 30 may not sound all that noteworthy. But Indian carrier IndiGo's latest deal is very significant, because it highlights the LCC's ambitions to expand its range into new markets.
IndiGo announced a firm order for 30 Airbus A350-900s on 25-Apr-2024 - a move that had been widely expected for several months.
These will be the first new widebodies operated by the airline. IndiGo currently bases its business model on Airbus narrowbody aircraft, with a few leased Boeing 777s.
Deliveries of the A350s are expected to begin in 2027, and the airline has also secured purchase rights for a further 70 of these aircraft.
IndiGo has long talked of its plans to channel more of its growth into international since the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a sensible strategy, not only because of the massive potential of the Indian travel market, but also because the domestic market is already fiercely competitive.
Norse Atlantic's new London Gatwick-Cape Town link in northern winter will help reduce summer skew
Norse Atlantic is to launch a three times weekly route from London Gatwick to Cape Town at the start of northern winter 2024/2025, deploying Boeing 787-9 aircraft.
The UK-South Africa market, a duopoly between British Airways (BA) and Virgin Atlantic Airways since South African Airways (SAA) withdrew at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, will once more experience three-way competition.
Norse Atlantic's entry provides fresh dynamism in a market whose recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic has been weighed down by SAA's exit and lower capacity offered by BA.
For Norse Atlantic, Gatwick-Cape Town will be only its second route outside its core North Atlantic market. The service will be operated by its Gatwick-based subsidiary Norse Atlantic UK, which is scheduled to fly more seats than the parent airline in 2024.
It will help a little in smoothing out the group's heavy reliance on the summer for its scheduled operations.
With Australian airline Bonza halting flights and considering its survival options, the LCC may never get the chance to prove whether its niche business model could have been successful in the longer term.
After struggling to secure enough aircraft to carry out its plans, and making significant network cutbacks, the airline grounded its fleet on 30-Apr-2024 and entered voluntary administration.
As of now, it is unclear whether Bonza will be able to restructure and continue in some form. It certainly faces some major hurdles if it is to do so.
Bonza said that "discussions are currently underway regarding the ongoing viability of the business". The airline said that it was "working as quickly as possible to determine a way forward that ensures there is ongoing competition in the Australian domestic market".
According to local media reports, some of Bonza's five Boeing 737 MAX aircraft have been repossessed by their lessor.
A major question is whether Bonza's current owner - US-based 777 Partners - had the resources, or the appetite, to adequately fund Bonza through its first years of development.
With any newcomer like Bonza, investors have to take the long view and accept a period of weak financial results while it builds to break-even point.
While it was unclear what that break-even point would be for Bonza, the airline is obviously nowhere near the fleet size that would provide the economies of scale to be profitable.
Bonza faced complications in gaining additional leased aircraft, which caused disruptions to its existing and planned network.
This was a major reason behind its current predicament.
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Ryanair DAC, CEO, Eddie Wilson at the CAPA Airline Leader Summit - Airlines in Transition 2024
Ryanair DAC, CEO, Eddie Wilson spoke to CAPA TV at the CAPA Airline Leader Summit - Airlines in Transition 2024, in Granada, Spain, about latest industry trends and company developments.
CAPA Events are hosted in key markets around the world and attract the highest calibre of thought leaders and decision makers in the aviation and travel industry. Delegates are provided with unprecedented access to the latest data, insights and trends from our global team, in addition to valuable networking opportunities with executives across all sectors of the aviation and travel industry. Review CAPA’s full events calendar here.
Singapore Airlines Group and Neste signed (06-May-2024) an agreement for the purchase of 1000 tons of neat Neste MY sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). Singapore Airlines and Scoot are the first carriers to receive SAF produced at Neste's refinery at Singapore Changi Airport. Neste will blend the SAF with conventional jet fuel according to required safety specifications. It will deliver the blended jet fuel to Changi Airport's fuel hydrant system in two batches in 2Q2024 and 4Q2024. The refinery has the capacity to produce one million tonnes of SAF per year, making it "the world's largest SAF production facility". [more - original PR]
Etihad Airways launched (03-May-2024) reciprocal interline partnerships with JEJU air, Kam Air, Myanmar Airways International, Rex Airlines and SKY express. The interline agreements support connectivity to destinations across the carriers' networks, enabling passengers to book their entire journey on a single ticket and check through baggage to the end destination. Etihad now has 123 interline, codeshare and strategic partnerships with other airlines. [more - original PR]
IATA: German passenger tax increase to weaken economy and hamper decarbonisation
IATA criticised (02-May-2024) the increase in the German Government's passenger tax from 01-May-2024, warning it "will weaken the German economy and damage aviation's ability to decarbonise". The tax increased by 19% to between EUR15.53 and EUR70.83 per passenger, depending on the route. IATA stated the tax will make Germany "less competitive in key economic areas such as exports, tourism, and jobs" and will "further affect Germany's air transport recovery from the pandemic, which is one of the slowest in the EU". IATA noted the German Government coalition agreement originally stated revenues from aviation taxes would directly fund production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), but claimed that this commitment was broken. IATA stated the tax "makes it harder for airlines to invest in SAF, in a more fuel efficient fleet and other decarbonisation efforts". IATA director general Willie Walsh said the German Government "is also in favour of a European jet fuel tax which will make it even more expensive to do business in Germany or for families to go on holiday". Mr Walsh stated: "The government should be prioritising measures to improve Germany's competitive position and encouraging trade and travel. Instead, they have gone for a short term cash-grab which can only damage the economy's long term growth". [more - original PR]
Argentina and Ecuador signed (02-May-2024) an MoU to develop an open skies agreement The meeting included representatives from LATAM Airlines, JetSMART, SKY Airline and Aerolineas Argentinas. [more - original PR - Spanish]
CAPA - Centre for Aviation, in a report entitled: 'European airports struggle to claw back passengers; reductions at 56% of airports in 2023 vs 2019', stated (03-May-2024) the majority of European airports failed to grow passenger traffic in 2023, compared to 2019. Comparing the top five European airports by passenger numbers with three smaller airports in each of their countries suggests the primary gateway/hub airports are struggling to regain the pre-pandemic status quo, while small regional and especially low cost airports are doing quite well. International traffic in Europe is growing much faster than domestic, with low cost carriers gaining ground in passengers flown and future capacity. [more - CAPA Analysis]
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This report aims to benchmark the performance of the world’s major airlines – to understand their relative carbon emission quantity and intensity with respect to passenger and freight transport.