"In the next five-to-10 years, China will embrace an explosive growth period for low-cost carriers,” Hainan Airlines’ low-cost subsidiary Hong Kong Express president Ma Zhimin noted earlier this year.
While the alliance game used to be all about scooping up new members and destinations, SkyTeam MD Michael Wisbrun is shifting his focus from the network to the end user. “It has all changed from scale to scope and adding value,” Wisbrun told ATW. The one exception is Garuda Indonesia, which joined SkyTeam in March, adding 40 destinations to the alliance’s network.
On average, nearly 1,000 passengers are boarding flights operated by oneworld member airlines every minute of every day. And where they are boarding is quite important.
You win some, you lose some. For the Star Alliance, this has been a year of losing TAM Airlines and US Airways—the result of industry consolidation—but also seeing London Heathrow’s new Terminal 2 open its doors and become a Star hub.
19 Alliance Ambitions Global alliances adapt to meet member and passenger needs. 20 Star turn Star lost two key partners this year, but gained LHR’s T2. By Karen Walker 22 Oneworld’s Growth Spurt Half-dozen new members join in 18-month period. By Aaron Karp 26 Sky Priorities SkyTeam focuses on adding value. By Victoria Moores
UK carrier Virgin Atlantic has firmed up one of its five Boeing 787-9 options and will decide this year whether to cancel or further defer its Airbus A380 order.
Icelandair has downgraded its EBITDA forecast from $140-$145 million to $138-$143 million for the year following May’s industrial action by its pilots.
Air Mauritius has posted a net profit of €7.3 million ($9.9 million) for the year ended March 31, reversing a loss of €3.6 million in the previous 12 months.
Irish low-cost carrier (LCC) Ryanair is considering participating in an initial public offering (IPO) by Spanish national airport and air navigation services provider AENA.
British Airways (BA) has unveiled new seats and cabin interiors for its short-haul fleet, which operate domestic and European services from London Heathrow and Gatwick airports.
Airbus has contracted DHL to transport A319, A320 and A321 aircraft components and general cargo from an Airbus production site in Hamburg to Mobile, Alabama.
Russia’s UTair Express Airlines has signed a technical support agreement with PowerJet for the SaM146 engines that power its fleet of Sukhoi Superjet 100LRs (SSJ100LRs).
Virgin Atlantic has revealed plans for a wider roll out of Google Glass following its London Heathrow Airport trial, but its partner SITA remains unconvinced after a further road test with Copenhagen Airport.
Virgin America incurred a first-quarter net loss of $22.4 million, narrowed from a net deficit of $46.4 million in the 2013 March quarter, on a 4% rise in revenue to $313.4 million.
FedEx earned net income of $2.08 billion for its fiscal year ended May 31, up 34% over a net profit of $1.56 billion for the previous fiscal year, on a 3% rise in revenue to $45.57 billion.
Finnair has reached a partial agreement with the Finnish Air Line Pilots Association (SLL) which will shave €2 million ($2.7 million) from its cost base.
Chinese carriers have reported a collective net loss of CNY500 million ($81.2 million) in May, narrowed from a net loss of CNY641 million in the same period last year.
