Aircraft leasing companies have seen rates rise, deals increase and airlines’ confidence in the future grow in the past year. Airbus A320-family rates have particularly strengthened, after a sharp drop. Carriers appear to be up-gauging a bit, seeking bigger jets, perhaps because fuel prices emphasize scale economies in trip costs.
IFE is fast becoming a must-have product for any airline wanting to maintain a competitive edge. What was once an added benefit for only business- and first-class passengers has become an integral part of inflight service in all cabins.
When Air Transport World was launched 50 years ago, the airline industry was just five years into the “Civil Jet Age.” The first issue of ATW in May 1964 excitedly chronicled how the fast-growing business had used jet aircraft to increase worldwide annual revenue by 45% to $7 billion in 1963 compared to $4.8 billion in 1958. In 2013, worldwide airline revenue topped $700 billion—a more than 100 times increase in the 50 years this magazine has been publishing.
Will airliners always look the same as they do today? The answer is taking shape in research centers in Europe and the US, but will depend on when Airbus and Boeing begin designing their next generation of all-new aircraft.
Egyptair, having already suffered a major fall in traffic at the outset of the Arab Spring in 2011 when President Hosni Mubarak was overthrown, found itself staring at a similar drop-off when his successor, Mohammed Morsi, was driven from office during 2013 summer protests backed by Egypt’s armed forces.
CEO Antoine Pussiau is looking to make his mark via a massive growth surge aimed at defending Transavia France’s home base against European low-cost heavy weights easyJet and Vueling.
The US Aerospace Industries Association projected that US civil aircraft sales reached $67 billion last year, which would be an increase of about 8% over 2012. This number reflects the current strength of the world’s commercial aircraft market.
In a show of rare bipartisan solidarity, the US House of Representatives’ transport committee has unanimously passed a bill that would make it illegal for passengers to use their phones for voice calls during US airline flights.
GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS) could be in the market for around 40 Airbus A320neos, along with up to 10 of each of the Boeing 777X and re-engined A330, should the latter program go ahead with GE engines.
Frustrated by the persistent lack of concrete progress on the implementation of Functional Airspace Blocks (FABs), European Transport Commissioner Siim Kallas has raised the specter of imposing a single FAB on the whole of Europe.
Frantz Yvelin, founder of all-business carrier L’Avion, and former Jet Airways COO Peter Luethi have created a French company called Dreamjet as the basis for a new startup airline slated for launch this year.
The much-delayed Berlin Brandenburg Airport, which announced in August 2013 that Germania would be the first airline to operate from the airport, has postponed its plan to start a test run for operating up to six daily flights this summer.
Virgin America confirmed it has gained four new slot pairs at Washington National Airport (DCA) as part of the American Airlines/US Airways divestiture required by the carriers’ settlement with the US Department of Justice (DOJ).
