The global air cargo market produced a strong start to 2018, as traffic increased 8% year-over-year (YOY) in January, up from 5.8% annual growth in December. Per IATA’s January Air Freight Market Analysis, released March 7, global manufacturers continue to report strong demand for their exports, particularly in Asia-Pacific and Europe.
Ryanair has signed a union recognition agreement with Italian pilots union ANPAC, continuing the formalization of the airline’s decision to recognize unions across Europe.
Virgin Atlantic plans to offer hand luggage-only economy fares and remove six seats from its Boeing 787s for an extra-legroom product as a response to increased competition from long-haul LCCs like Norwegian.
Thailand-based LCC NokScoot intends to add its first Boeing 737s this year, which will allow the carrier to downgauge some of its lower-demand widebody routes.
WestJet, Canada’s second largest airline, made a surprise CEO change, announcing March 8 that Gregg Saretsky was stepping down “effective immediately” after eight years leading the company.
São Paulo-based LCC GOL reported a BRL378.2 million ($114 million) net profit for 2017, a 65.7% drop from BRL1.1 billion in 2016 net income, as the company paid BRL547 million in deferred income taxes during the year.
International Airlines Group (IAG) CEO and new Airlines for Europe (A4E) chairman Willie Walsh has said the association will “beat people to death” on the same core issues as the body enters its third year.
Airline CEOs attending the Airlines for Europe (A4E) Aviation Summit believe there is scope for further European consolidation, with Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary predicting that “the next downturn is imminent.”
Irish LCC Ryanair is more optimistic that flights between the UK and the European Union (EU) will not come to a grinding halt when the country leaves the bloc (Brexit) in March 2019.
Sweden-based cargo specialist West Atlantic reduced losses in 2017, ending the year with a net loss of SEK61.6 million ($7.5 million) compared to a deficit of SEK81.8 million for the previous year.
Aeroflot Airline will revoke the premium frequent flyer status of unruly passengers, after nine reported cases of intolerable conduct—including physical assault toward employees, flight attendants and airline staff at the airport—since the beginning of 2018.
Airberlin’s insolvency administrator Lucas Floether is nearing a decision on making claims in excess of €1 billion ($1.25 billion) against former shareholder Etihad Airways as he seeks to satisfy as many creditor demands as possible.
Ryanair and Aer Lingus plan to launch connecting flights this year, a spokeswoman for Ryanair confirmed, after Irish media reports said the two carriers had signed a deal that would help boost passenger numbers through Dublin.
Aeroflot Group carried 3.7 million passengers in January, up 7.7% year-over-year (YOY). Aeroflot Airline carried 2.5 million passengers, a 6.6% YOY increase.
Former American Airlines and Etihad Aviation Group executive David Kerr has taken over as CEO of British all-cargo carrier CargoLogicAir, succeeding the airline’s founder Dmitry Grishin.
Malaysia Airlines Berhad (MAB) increased passenger yields in the fourth quarter of 2017, although the carrier indicated its full-year financial performance did not meet targets.
Aeroflot Group reported a 2017 net income of RUB23 billion ($399 million), down 40.6% from RUB38.8 billion for 2016, which the Russian flag carrier attributed to higher oil prices and foreign exchange losses.
