Dubai International expects to grow passenger traffic in 2010 by 13.6% to 46 million. DXB welcomed 40.9 million passengers in 2009, up 9.2% from 2008. That growth rate was the highest in the world, according to Airports Council International figures cited by the airport. Cargo volume rose 5.6% to 1.9 million tonnes.
The most acute problems are on Europe's periphery, where many smaller economies are experiencing crises strongly reminiscent of past crises in Latin America and Asia. Latvia is the new Argentina." Thus wrote Paul Krugman, 2008 Nobel Laureate in economics, in The New York Times in December of that year. The Baltic state's GDP contracted 10.5% in the fourth quarter of 2008, the steepest decline in the EU, and plunged an estimated 18% in 2009. Neighboring Estonia and Lithuania were similarly hard hit.
Winnipeg Airports Authority, which operates Winnipeg Richardson International, reported a C$7.4 million ($6.9 million) profit in the 2009 fourth quarter, up 39.6% from C$5.3 million in the year-ago period. Revenue fell 6.6% to C$19.9 million despite a 5.5% increase in passenger traffic. President and CEO Barry Rempel said airlines cut capacity and that "in response, we were able to implement cost-constraint measures and increase other campus revenue which positively impacted our bottom line."
Dublin Airport, with one of its two principal tenants (Aer Lingus) struggling to survive and the other (Ryanair) cutting capacity in a dispute over charges and taxes, announced a "major new financial incentive scheme" designed to stimulate traffic in 2010. Under the so-called Dublin Airport Growth Incentive Scheme, Dublin Airport Authority will refund airlines for all airport charges for passenger traffic beyond a combined 19.5 million. DUB handled 20.5 million passengers in 2009 and 23.5 million in 2008.
In this most competitive and capricious of industries, and during this most trying of times, staying on top is difficult even for those airlines with entrenched advantages. Simply leveraging a timeless brand, a supportive government, a key hub or sheer size no longer guarantees success, especially when the effort required to innovate increasingly is focused on ensuring survival.
Turkish airports operator TAV Havalimanlari Holding, which operates a combined 10 airports in Turkey, Georgia, Macedonia and Tunisia including Istanbul Ataturk, enjoyed an increase in 2009 EBITDA of some 20% to €160-€170 million ($221.7-$235.6 million) on a 3% lift in revenue to €630-€640 million, CEO Sani Sener told Bloomberg News. "Our profitability. . .has grown bigger than sales because of measures we took to cut our spending, especially in energy. We started producing our own energy," he said. Passenger traffic at the 10 airports rose 2% last year, driven by a 5% increase at IST.
At a time when carriers all over the world are searching urgently for new business models in reaction to the downturn, ATW's Airline of the Year for 2010 has identified and is implementing a multifaceted commercial strategy that is paying dividends today while positioning it for greater success when the recovery arrives. Under CEO Rob Fyfe, it has established itself as a global leader in financial, operational, customer service and environmental performance.
US Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano warned last month that airports must diversify their security regimens in order to keep terrorists off balance, while governments and airports continued to respond to the failed Christmas attack and the role full-body scanners will play in the future.
As the 100th anniversary of the Wright Brothers' first flight was being celebrated in late 2003, it was becoming increasingly clear that aviation's ability to grow and prosper in its second century would depend heavily on mitigating its environmental impact. In particular, the air transport industry was coming under intense scrutiny over its reliance on fossil-based jet fuel, which was seen widely as contributing to global warming. Paradoxically, few foresaw the possibility of developing greener alternative fuels in the near term.
ORD's sometimes-bumpy upgrade project had been going smoothly lately, with the facility's seventh runway becoming operational in November 2008 and plans underway to add four more runways (while decommissioning two older ones) and extending two existing runways by the middle of this decade. CDA, which manages ORD, also wants to add a fifth terminal by 2014.
ANA suffered a ¥9.8 billion ($108.7 million) loss in its fiscal third quarter ended Dec. 31, a 22.2% improvement from the ¥12.6 billion lost in the year-ago period, and maintained its full-fiscal-year forecast of a ¥28 billion deficit.
Southwest Airlines announced the end of the "equipment testing" phase of its Row 44 onboard Wi-Fi product and said it has signed an equipment purchase contract with the provider. The airline will start full fleet installation in the second quarter at a rate of 15 aircraft per month, aiming to increase to 25 as it "ramp[s] up the process." Under that schedule, SWA estimated that its full fleet of more than 540 aircraft will be equipped by early 2012. It will announce pricing for the service in the second quarter.
Japan Airlines could make an announcement regarding a potential partnership with either American Airlines or Delta Air Lines, and its alliance future, as early as Tuesday, ATWOnline understands. New CEO Kazuo Inamori has met with top executives from both AA and DL. Last Friday, Mainichi Shimbun reported that JAL has chosen Delta and SkyTeam. A Nikkei report cited by the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation said the Enterprise Turnaround Initiative Corporation of Japan, which is overseeing JAL's restructuring, would make the final decision after Inamori's input.
Flybe on Friday released select financial figures from its fiscal year ended March 31, 2009, during which it posted a £6.1 million ($9.9 million) operating profit that compared to a £30.8 million surplus in 2007-08. Revenue rose 6.8% year-over-year to £572.4 million on a 4.3% increase in passenger numbers to 7.3 million. Pre-tax profit of £100,000 plunged from the £30.4 million reported the prior year. Excluding special charges, the 2008-09 figure rose to £12.8 million. Flybe currently operates 54 Q400s and 14 E-195s.
Airbus announced a 5.8% increase in the list price of all its aircraft retroactive to Jan. 1. "We have tried to keep prices down for as long as we can. However, even with record aircraft deliveries and impressive orders in recent years, the continuing strength of the euro against the US dollar and the ongoing financial challenges ahead have forced us to take action," COO-Customers John Leahy said. Airbus said it was its first price hike in two years. Increased cost of materials and commodities also factored into the decision.
The Competition Commission of South Africa said it has launched an investigation into collusion on fares and pricing strategies for flights during this summer's World Cup. It named British Airways and its Comair subsidiary, South African Airways, Airlink, SA Express, 1Time and Mango as subjects of the inquiry.
EasyJet appointed EMI Music executive Chris Kennedy as its new finance director, ending the carrier's lengthy search to fill the role following Jeff Carr's May resignation. Wataniya Airways named former Gulf Air VP-Marketing and Sales Lee Shave as CCO.
Wings Air took delivery of its first three ATR 72-500s, part of the order for 15 it placed at last fall's Dubai Airshow ( ATWOnline, Nov. 16, 2009). Aircraft will replace MD-80s. Remaining 12 -500s are scheduled to deliver through 2011. AWAS announced the delivery of the first of three F70s to Carpatair of Romania. Remaining aircraft will be delivered in February and March.
