Airlines & Lessors

Irish LCC Ryanair has postponed plans to cut its regular hand-luggage allowance from two pieces to just one, shifting the change from Nov. 1 this year to Jan. 15, 2018.

Dubai-based Emirates Airline has announced plans to create an “Aviation X-Lab,” with the aim of rethinking the transportation industry.

Passenger revenue and strong yield performance on Air Canada’s Atlantic routes helped to propel record 2017 third-quarter results, as the airline reported C$950 million ($763 million) in adjusted net income, up 15.7% from $821 million in adjusted net income for 3Q 2016.

Alaska Air Group executives acknowledged the company’s network expansion this year—44 routes including 32 in California alone—has been met with intense pricing competition, which, combined with pilot shortages at regional carrier Horizon Air, have impacted the 2017 third-quarter results.

Additional capacity could be created at Europe’s most congested airports by further optimizing separation times.

Industry believes supersonic air travel will not return until technology can mute sonic booms sufficiently to allow high-speed flight over land.

Airlines have a unique advantage over every other retail business: their customers are forced to be in one place—an assigned aircraft seat—for multiple hours.

Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia) wants to expand its religious and pilgrim business as the government continues to issue more visas.

Lufthansa Group delivered a 2017 nine-month net profit of €1.9 billion ($2.2 billion), up 0.1% from the year-ago period.

China Airlines intends to make a choice on a new narrowbody aircraft order by the end of this year, a senior executive said.

Aircraft Briefs-Oct. 24, 2017

IATA revised its annual 20-year air passenger forecast upward by over a half-billion passengers Oct. 24, and indicated China will overtake the US as the world’s largest aviation market “around 2022,” several years faster than previously predicted.

JetBlue Airways, the airline with the largest presence in Puerto Rico, expects the island’s recovery from Hurricane Maria to last through the end of 2018 and will adjust its operations until then, trimming capacity to/from the US territory by about 33%.

Lufthansa Group LCC subsidiary Eurowings CEO Thorsten Dirks said the European aviation industry is undergoing massive changes following the bankruptcies of Germany’s airberlin, Italian flag carrier Alitalia and UK leisure carrier Monarch Airlines.

Delta Air Lines is exploring making Aeromexico a “second-tier” member of the Delta-Air France-KLM-Alitalia transatlantic joint venture (JV), according to Delta CEO Ed Bastian.

North American airlines are facing headwinds in 2017 that are lowering operating margins compared to 2015 and 2016, but air travel demand in the region remains strong and the overall industry outlook remains stable, according to Fitch Ratings.

People-Oct. 20, 2017

Malaysia Airlines Berhad (MAB) has named company veteran Izham Ismail as its next group CEO, accelerating the carrier’s plan to have a Malaysian take over the top job after restructuring.

Hawaiian Holdings, parent of Hawaiian Airlines, posted $74.6 million in net income for the 2017 third quarter, down 27.2% compared to a $102.5 million net profit in 3Q 2016.

Peter Baumgartner describes how Etihad is dealing with the perfect storm of two failed equity partners, a fight over Open Skies and concerns over terrorism.

UAV use is growing quickly and penetrating many commercial markets. Airlines, airports and air traffic managers want a way to share airspace safely.

Chairman and CEO Doug Parker is confident American will continue to produce annual profits averaging $5 billion. But will investors believe it?

During the first half of 2017, carriers posted a 9.4% rise in international traffic, and international volumes South America at a nearly 13% annual rate.

It has been an abnormally bruising period for Middle East carriers, with many facing issues far removed from the usual problems of yields and load factors.

The upgrades provided by Rockwell Collins’ Interior Systems division will be done first on Qatar's Boeing 777 fleet, followed by 787s and Airbus A350s.