Earlier this week the world's aviation technology community gathered in Cannes for the 2009 SITA Air Transport IT Summit, where the theme was IT - a force for change.

Topics at the top of the agenda included the growing use of passenger mobile devices and the need to continue investing in technology, despite the downturn and cost-cutting climate.

During the day we caught up with several of the key speakers, who shared their thoughts with us on the videos below:

 

 

 

For more information on the latest IT trends see the coverage from our July issue online:

2009 Airline IT Trends Survey: Overview

2009 Airline IT Trends Survey: Technology developments

 

Yesterday the world's aviation technology community gathered in Cannes for the 2009 SITA Air Transport IT Summit, where the theme was IT - a force for change.

Topics at the top of the agenda included the growing use of passenger mobile devices and the need to continue investing in technology, despite the downturn and cost-cutting climate.

 

During the day we caught up with four of the key speakers, who shared their thoughts with us on the videos below:

 

For more information on the latest IT trends see the coverage from our July issue online:

2009 Airline IT Trends Survey: Overview

2009 Airline IT Trends Survey: Technology developments

On 1 July Lufthansa chief executive for group airlines and corporate human resources Stefan Lauer took over from Sir Michael Bishop as bmi chairman, moving the colourful story of the Lufthansa-bmi takeover on another chapter. Long-term shareholder and chairman Bishop is leaving the board.

Jorg Hennemann, who is Lufthansa manager for hub development and capacity management, Frankfurt, has also been appointed to the bmi board. Nigel Turner remains bmi chief executive, deputised by Tim Bye.

For our previous coverage of the Lufthansa/bmi takeover saga see:

Lufthansa settles BMI takeover dispute

BMI majority owner launches legal action against Lufthansa

Lufthansa secures European approval for BMI acquisition

UK's BMI turns in £100m loss  

Insight: The future of bmi

 

Wizz Air is heaping more pressure on its embattled central European budget rival SkyEurope by launching flights from Bratislava - home of, you've guessed it, SkyEurope. The latter is currently in the process of restructuring after filing for creditor protection last month, and Wizz has made its move by launching four weekly flights from Bratislava to Rome starting in September.

"Slovakia has always been on our horizon," says Wizz Air executive VP John Stephenson. "We believe that now is the time to step up and benefit from the arising opportunities on the market. This is the first step, many more to follow."

Here's the full story from our premium news service Air Transport Intelligence

 

Wizz entry to Slovakia set to heap pressure on SkyEurope
David Kaminski-Morrow, London (01Jul09, 14:40 GMT, 139 words)

Source: Air Transport Intelligence news

Wizz Air is heaping more pressure on its embattled central European budget rival SkyEurope by launching flights from Bratislava - home of, you've guessed it, SkyEurope. The latter is currently in the process of restructuring after filing for creditor protection last month, and Wizz has made its move by launching four weekly flights from Bratislava to Rome starting in September.

"Slovakia has always been on our horizon," says Wizz Air executive VP John Stephenson. "We believe that now is the time to step up and benefit from the arising opportunities on the market. This is the first step, many more to follow."

Here's the full story from our premium news service Air Transport Intelligence

 

Wizz entry to Slovakia set to heap pressure on SkyEurope
David Kaminski-Morrow, London (01Jul09, 14:40 GMT, 139 words)

Source: Air Transport Intelligence news

I logged on tonight to find the shocking news that Royal Jordanian chief executive Samer Majali has resigned from the carrier.

Flightglobal's David Kaminski has everything we know about the story here.

We'll drop Samer a line to find out why he's decided to call it a day from an airline he has led with great dignity and skill. Samer is one of the industry's good men - a real gentleman.

I doubt this is the last we will hear of Samer. He is a high-profile airline industry CEO and recently chaired the IATA annual meeting in Kuala Lumpur.

Good luck my friend, whatever and wherever you go.

Read our cover interview with Samer last year after he'd successfully steered the carrier through privatisation and into oneworld.

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I'm finally feeling normal again after the Paris air show last week. I had the chance to sit down with International Aero Engines chief executive John Beatty who agreed to give his assessment  of the industry's resilience to survive the downturn. Take a look for yourself.

So which way does the wind blow on air taxes in Europe? Clickair chief executive Alex Cruz, who will head the newly merged Spanish carrier it is forming with Vueling, and Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary were both in London this week talking to the media. Both took the opportunity to hit out at the UK's £10 air passenger duty.

  "We are most concerned about the passenger taxes," said Cruz. The new Vueling will serve London from four Spanish cities and is switching all its London flights to Heathrow. "It puts a huge burden on our pricing. If we had lower taxes on the final purchasing price, I think we would be doing significantly better and we would be adding even more routes." Cruz said.

O'Leary's Ryanair meanwhile has frozen its growth at UK airports this year after slamming the UK's APD. "This year we expect to add 9 million passengers...but all that growth will be delivered in continental Europe," he said. "The UK Government is devestating UK traffic and tourism. We are calling again on the UK Government to scrap to the £10 APD and save the UK tourism industry from further collapses."

But after the Dutch Government earlier this year dropped controversial plans to implement an environment tax on flights, and amid other European schemes aimed boosting tourism, there were differing takes from the two on whether anything is likely to change with the UK APD.

Cruz was far from optimistic "We don't expect them to. Look at the Amsterdam experience, the tax was put in, then taken off. I think its a one-off. I just don't see a whole load of taxes being put in, then taken off. So I think we have to assume it will be there."

 

But O'Leary was altogether more optimistic.

"I think it will have to be scrapped. One of the few industries governments can control is tourism. It is an incredibly price-sensitive industry. Yet the numbers in UK tourism are in freefall. That could be reversed very quickly with a sensible tax cut."

And pointing to examples in Europe, in Spain, Greece and Belgium in addition to the Netherlands, he suggests: "What you see across Europe is Governments reducing taxes.

"I think the governments are beginning to realise that the theory behind a lot of these taxes, that passengers don't mind paying another £10 as it's not a lot, well the answer is yes they do."

 

 

 

 

 

All change at Kuwaiti budget carrier Jazeera Airways, with Stefan Pichler - until recently chief commercial officer at Australia's Virgin Blue - taking the helm as chief executive. He replaces former Sama chief Andrew Cowen in the role, who only joined Jazeera earlier this year.

Here's the story from our premium news service, Air Transport Intellligence

Jazeera chief Cowen leaves just months after joining
Alex Derber, London (24Jun09, 12:13 GMT, 93 words)

Source: Air Transport Intelligence news

And here's a link to a Sun Herald report on Pichler' s move

Ryanair chief Michael O'Leary was in London to talk to the media today, ostensibly to lay into the UK Government for its £10 air passenger duty and the associated impact on tourism - but as ever covering a range of topics. Highlights from this morning include:

 

• On UK air passenger duty - O'Leary called APD "tourism suicide", hit out at the UK and Ireland for both "following the visonary policy of taxing themselves out a recession" and said Ryanair would freeze its growth in the UK as a result. He says that while Ryanair will continue to grow "all of that growth is being directed at continental Europe", noting it would carry only 32 million passengers in the UK this year - down on 34 million the previous year. "Certainly for the rest of the year there will be no more growth in the UK," O'Leary says, adding that if the APD was lifted tomorrow, "we would increase capacity at about six UK airport bases and open one maybe two more UK bases";

 

•  On Stansted groundings - he says without a break in its costs at London Stansted the carrier would again ground aircraft at the London airport this winter;

 

• On check-in bags - says the carrier now has 70% passengers traveling with check-in bags only and predicted the carrier would around next spring be ready to look at 100% carry-on bags, with passengers bringing bags to be put in the hold and collected at the gate. "The strategy we have been on for the last 18 months is to move people away from checked in bags towards carry on bags," he says, noting the next development could come in the spring. "We'll still only let you on with one bag, the other two will be left on the steps and put in the hold. It will be much simpler. What it means is we will have got rid of all the expensive terminals and baggage halls, handlers and lost bags," he says. "People will wonder why they ever had a check-in bag ever before."; 

 

• On fuel hedging - says the airline, already 90% hedged for the first nine months of its current financial year, has not hedged further in the fourth quarter yet as he expects the oil price to drop again in the second half. "I still think the oil price will ease between now and the end of the year. I don't trust the green shoots of recovery";

 

• On the recession - does not see any imminent end to the recession. "I think there is at least a year to go. I think the US will emerge out in the first half of 2010, and European economies a year after, and the UK and Ireland some time after that," he says;

 

• On toilet charges/fat tax - insists the carrier continues to look at a charge for people to use the toilet onboard, but has given up on a mooted fat tax . Asked if he had more such schemes up his sleeve. "I hope so," but adding, "it will be hard to repeat the success of our pee for a pound and fat tax, but we'll do our level best".