Asia-Pacific
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Airline Business
Why IndiGo believes time is right for widebody move with A350 order
IndiGo’s recently announced firm order for 30 Airbus A350-900s and 70 options marks the latest headline-grabbing move from an airline that is keen to make use of its unusually solid foundations in India’s often unforgiving airline market.
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Airline Business
China factor continues to have big impact on airline industry recovery trends
IATA’s latest monthly data on passenger demand continues to show mostly double-digit year-on-year rises in traffic and capacity, reflecting an industry that still spent much of 2023 playing catch-up with pre-Covid levels, particularly in international markets.
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Analysis
IATA global airline traffic leaps above 2019 for first time during longer February
Global airline traffic among the IATA membership in February exceeded pre-Covid levels for the first time since the pandemic, aided by the leap year adding an extra day to the month.
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Analysis
China Eastern frets about geopolitics amid tepid international recovery
China Eastern Airlines was the only operator among China’s ‘Big Three’ – which also includes Air China and China Southern Airlines – to remain loss-making, despite China’s pandemic restrictions having been loosened for a full year.
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Newsletter
Greater Bay Airlines chief executive appointment reflects greater trend
The appointment of a new chief executive at a small carrier in Hong Kong might not have created many headlines this week, but it does offer another concrete example of a growing trend among the world’s airlines.
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Analysis
Airlines accelerate hiring of women to top executive roles from low base
The industry has been employing more women in the C-suite for some time now, but new data hints at the pace of change quickening after years of glacial progress, with positive steps continuing into the first few months of 2024
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Analysis
‘Not just riding the wave’: after financial turnaround, Malaysia Airlines eyes year of ‘credibility’
As Malaysia Airlines’ parent Malaysian Aviation Group (MAG) turns in a glowing financial report, it is keen to prove it is no one-trick pony, but that it has changed for the better.
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Analysis
‘Never seen such a brand before’: AirAsia Cambodia eyes growth despite tax challenges
Armed with the backing from parent AirAsia Aviation, AirAsia Cambodia hopes to make a splash in the country’s fledgling, but fragmented, aviation sector.
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Analysis
Softening yields and staffing crunch temper Cathay profit return celebrations
Cathay Pacific’s turnaround from pandemic-led losses to record profitability is a long time coming, but the airline’s executives are acutely aware the celebratory mood will not be for long.
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Newsletter
Lagging Asia-Pacific leaves global airline traffic just short of 2019 levels
That the global airline industry is able to record a 17% year on year rise in passenger traffic for January 2024 and still be just below 2019 levels is a reminder of how nascent some aspects of its Covid-19 recovery are.
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Analysis
Asia key opportunity as Lufthansa aims to catch-up on capacity
Recovering Asia-Pacific markets will be a key part of Lufthansa Group plans for a 12% in capacity in 2024, even if ongoing supply chain challenges have prompted it to tone down its growth plans for the year.
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Analysis
New product enhancements lead Qantas charm offensive as first half profits slip
While underlying pre-tax profits fell 13% in the first half of its financial year, the more pressing challenges facing Qantas have less to do with its fiscal performance and more with improving its public image.
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Analysis
How Pieter Elbers is making his mark at emboldened IndiGo
As demonstrated by the airline’s fiscal third-quarter earnings announcement, there is increasingly substance to the predictions about India being a growth engine for the global aviation industry
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Analysis
Hawaiian still searching for profits as Japan recovery drags
US airline group Hawaiian Holdings is still searching for the profitability that has mostly eluded it since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic nearly four years ago.
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Analysis
Despite exceptional 2023 figures, airline safety faces scrutiny after wake-up calls
The airline industry’s exceptional performance in 2023 illustrates how much safety has improved over recent decades – but the new year’s opening week delivered a stark wake-up call.
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Newsletter
Why runway incursions were already ‘on the radar’ of airline sector
It is noteworthy that runway incursions had become a topic of interest in the wider airline industry in recent months – particularly in relation to the USA.
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Newsletter
Why airline industry focus is on the margins of profitability
Confirmation from IATA that the airline industry will return to collective profitability this year and that passenger volumes will shortly surpass pre-Covid levels is an indication that the sector has finally normalised.
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Newsletter
Why the airline industry’s net-zero effort is likely to push fares higher
More airline leaders are starting to openly acknowlege that the extra costs associated with the industry’s net-zero transition through to 2050 are almost guaranteed to increase in ticket prices for consumers and impact the pace of the sector’s growth.
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Analysis
Cathay Pacific chair predicts China SAF policy will improve ‘pretty dire’ outlook
The chairman of Cathay Pacific believes China will eventually release a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) policy that will provide a much-needed catalyst for investment in the nascent sector amid a “pretty dire” outlook for availability today.
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Analysis
Once ‘effectively off the map’, Hong Kong charts a different post-pandemic recovery strategy
In its bid to reclaim its status as a world aviation hub, Hong Kong now pursues a different strategy: becoming the main gateway to China’s Greater Bay Area.