With the EU referendum campaign officially taking off in the UK, the topic of Brexit will certainly dominate conversations as June 23rd draws closer. Will the UK vote to stay or leave the European Union? Despite the uncertainty of the situation, if Brexit succeeds, the aviation industry in the UK will inevitably face tough implications.
As the Eastern European market continues to grow, much of the growth can be attributed to two of the biggest low-cost carriers (LCCs) in the region. Ryanair and Wizz Air dominate much of the market, but despite growing service, only overlap on a handful of routes. Both carriers have announced plenty of new services in the last 12 months, many of which serve Poland – the largest of the Eastern European air transport market with a third of all seats.
The new route has not only gained the attention of the travelling public, but also the wider industry with network planners across Europe and even further afield voting this new service ahead of other routes such as Hainan Airlines’ Beijing – Manchester, Wizz Air’s Kutaisi – Berlin, Norwegian’s Oslo – Las Vegas and British Airways’ London – Tehran for a Routes Case presentation at Routes Europe in an exclusive Routesonline poll.
Alitalia will offer a four times weekly service between Rome and Beijing from July 18, 2016 using a three-class, 250-seat Airbus A330-200. The Rome – Beijing city pair market has grown over the past ten years from around 50,000 O&D passengers to over 130,000 passengers last year.
The island remains one of the most popular summer destinations from the UK and Northern Europe and so basing aircraft there better matches customer demand, which is higher from early spring to late summer. The move is likely to open new network opportunities in the future and will help easyJet connect the island with more airports across Europe not currently served by the airline.
Aviation already supports 6.9 million jobs and more than $80 billion in GDP across Africa, but research now shows that liberalisation will create opportunities for further significant employment growth and economic development to the tune of an extra 155,000 jobs and $1.3 billion in annual GDP.
The Dutch flag carrier is understood to have already held discussions with the Ministry of Roads and Urban Developments in Iran and is closely liaising with sister carrier Air France ahead of its own return to Tehran.
JetBlue confirms it will take delivery of ten additional Airbus A321s in 2017 and nine of these will be configured in its MINT arrangement to be introduced on routes to Las Vegas, San Diego and Seattle from New York; to San Diego and Seattle from Boston and to Los Angeles and San Francisco from Fort Lauderdale.
A report from industry body International Air Transport Association (IATA) shows that average global fares fell by more than ten percent in the 2015 calendar year compared to the year before. It is believed that this will continue as oil prices remain low.
The switch of US airports from John F Kennedy International to Newark Liberty International for the long-haul connection from Addis Ababa via Lomé in Togo, is a logical move and will allow the carrier to take advantage of the significant hub operation of Star Alliance partner, United Airlines at Newark.
The growth from Azul means there are now 18 airlines offering flights between Europe and Brazil, according to OAG data, and TAP Portugal dominates this market with over 900,000 one-way seats available this year, based on published schedules. This is a 23.9 percent share of the total market from Europe to Brazil.
The new year-round service will operate three times a week using Boeing 767-300 equipment with a flight time of around 10 and a half hours in each direction, subject to government and regulatory approvals. Flights are due to commence from December 2016 and full schedules will be confirmed when reservations are opened around mid-year.
Sun-Air Scandinavia, a franchise partner for British Airways, will launch twice weekly links to Humberside from both Aalborg and Billund from April 17, 2016. The flights will operate on Sundays and Fridays and follows discussions with Siemens Wind Power, which has facilities close to both Danish airports at Vejle, Brande and Esbjerg.
The new flights will offer improved connectivity between Malta and the western part of Sicily. Palermo is Sicily’s largest city, a historic melting pot of Western and Arabic cultures and as a developing tourist destination, is becoming a gateway to explore the region, renowned for its rich culture, architecture and gastronomy.
International aviation fuel supplier Air BP is marking 90 years of operations this year which positions the UK-headquartered company as one of the most experienced in the field. With the aviation industry facing an increasing number of challenges Air BP aims to support its customers by providing them with tailored services, which extends beyond just the supply of fuel.
ICAO and the President of Nigeria held talks on topics including projected aviation growth and associated human resource capacity and infrastructure challenges,
Dublin Airport is investing in the region of €320 million in this multi-faceted project which will comprise multiple contracts and packages of works. It received planning permission in August 2007 to build a new runway, but the plans were put on hold due to the economic downturn and subsequent fall in passenger numbers.
Wizz Air is already the leading airline in the Romanian market having overtaken the capacity offering of national carrier TAROM in 2014. It currently offers 114 routes from the country’s airports providing low-fare access between Romania and the 16 countries for both business and leisure travellers. It has 19 aircraft based in Romania, an investment it values at nearly €2 billion and accounts for almost a third of all seats available from Romania’s airports.
Complementing its existing operations from London’s Gatwick and Stansted airports, Thomas Cook Airlines will introduce weekly flights from Luton Airport to Ibiza, Mahon and Palma in Spain and Corfu in Greece during the summer 2017 schedule. These flights will be operated using Airbus A321 equipment which will fly in and out of the airport on a ‘W’ pattern between Fridays and Mondays.
Dutch low-cost carrier Transavia is well known in its home market in the Netherlands and in France, where it has established a Transavia France division, but it is now seeking to grow in other European countries as it aims to establish itself as a pan-European airline brand.
The world’s busiest airport for international traffic will apply a new departure tax to bookings made from April 1, 2016 for travel from June 30, 2016 onwards. The service fee will cost 35 dirham – around $9.50.
The Federal Aviation Administration has announced capacity will be opened up at one of the busiest airports in America. This, along with a review of slots currently unused by United Airlines, could result in more opportunities for other carriers to serve the airport, allowing for further domestic and international flight option.
San Francisco is a key centre for Israeli business travel and one of the most popular US leisure destinations for Israelis. From its San Francisco hub, United operates nearly 280 daily flights to more than 90 destinations in North America, Latin America, Europe and the Asia/Pacific region providing transfer support to the strong point-to-point demand.
Tianjin Airlines was awarded licences by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) last year to introduce flights between Tianjin and both London and Vancouver in conjunction with Chongqing as well as services to Moscow from both Chinese cities. It now appears that with its first two A330s currently under assembly that is making final preparations for its long-haul launch. The first is due for delivery next month.
