Europe
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Airline BusinessHow Abra and Volotea are joining forces as Air Europa ‘remedy takers’ at Madrid
Their joint-venture agreement aims to create a new ‘hub solution’ at the Spanish capital, should they be granted remedies under a European Commission decision
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Airline BusinessRyanair relaxed on near-term fare softness as Europe grapples with capacity caps
Ryanair has been surprised by some softness in fares for bookings in the April-June quarter despite much-discussed capacity constraints in Europe’s short-haul sector, but expects improvements for the summer peak and for the business’s cost advantage over rivals to increase. Those were among the observations from group chief executive Michael ...
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Airline BusinessLufthansa’s delayed Allegris debut shows airlines’ supply chain challenges
Lufthansa’s first aircraft with its new ”Allegris” cabin updates – an Airbus A350-900 – is one of the more-visible examples of the industrial supply chain issues plaguing the post-pandemic airline industry, and are causing big headaches for airlines.
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Airline BusinessIAG enjoys Madrid’s status as ‘new Miami’ as it starts 2024 on front foot
While its two largest competitors were knocked on to the back foot in financial terms during the first quarter of this year, IAG enjoyed a much more straightforward three months.
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Airline BusinessWizz puts its faith in SAF amid scarcity, mandates and increased momentum
While much of the attention of Wizz Air’s eye-catching investment in a UK firm with ambitions to turn human waste into a biofuel was on the unlikely source of the feedstock, more significant perhaps is the low-cost carrier’s increased interest in sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
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Airline BusinessLufthansa takes actions as it counts cost of strikes and new pay deals
While Lufthansa Group put much of the focus on strike disruption for the trebling of first quarter losses and a reduced profit outlook for the year, it is almost mindful of the cost implications related to the new pay deals it took to end the disputes.
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Airline BusinessAir France-KLM looks past tricky first quarter towards ‘promising’ summer
Air France-KLM’s latest earnings release essentially left the group in a holding pattern for the coming year in financial terms, with executives expecting better times in the subsequent nine months after tricky operating conditions and one-off costs dented its early 2024 performance.
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Airline BusinessNorwegian buoyed by Wideroe impact as losses cut in first quarter
Norwegian flagged improved yields and load factors, together with a boost from the less seasonally affected Wideroe business, during a first quarter in which the airline narrowed operating losses to NKr763 million ($70 million).
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Airline BusinessTurkish Airlines sees growth sustaining with long-haul, cargo and AJet
While inflationary, geopolitical and aircraft availability issues continue to cloud the horizon, Turkish Airlines is still aiming to increase passenger capacity by 10% this year.
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Airline BusinessEuropean airlines cite Chinese access to Russian airspace as they seek ‘level playing field’
Europe’s airlines are keen for authorities to address the competitive advantage that Chinese carriers currently experience in being able to fly through Russian airspace, as part of a broader push for what they call a “level playing field” with international competitors.
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Airline BusinessEurope’s airlines heartened by sharp change in perception of industry
Thanks to its founding mission, Airlines for Europe (A4E) might be naturally inclined towards pointing out things that need improving in the policy and regulatory sphere, but the European airline association also used its annual summit on 20 March to highlight a fundamentally positive development for the region’s carriers.
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Airline BusinessFreshly listed Air Astana eyes more growth after profitable 2023
Kazakhstan’s Air Astana Group is eyeing further growth this year after continued expansion of its low-cost subsidiary FlyArystan helped it lift its adjusted EBITDA slightly to $301 million in 2023.
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Airline BusinessLagging 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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Airline BusinessAsia 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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Airline BusinessUpbeat IAG strikes positive note as BA and Iberia head growth in 2024
After delivering one of the highest operating profits in its history, European airline group IAG offered little by way of firm guidance for the year to come but was in positive mood in its commentary.
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Airline BusinessOneworld opens second lounge as alliances enjoy post-Covid profile boost
Oneworld’s opening of a lounge at Amsterdam Schiphol airport last week came as more airlines talk up the positive role that alliances are playing in the post-Covid market.
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Airline BusinessNorwegian ‘very pleased’ about full-year profit and potential Wideroe impact
Scandinavian low-cost carrier Norwegian expects its recently completed acquisition of compatriot Wideroe to begin to have an impact on its earnings in 2024, amid signs that the latter might outperform earlier near-term forecasts
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Airline BusinessFinnair ‘has made it through the crisis’ after capping profit return with strong end to 2023
Finnair’s interim chief executive Jaakko Schildt believes the company has demonstrated that it has made it through the double crisis of the pandemic and impact from the closure Russian airspace after confirming the airline’s first full-year profit since 2019.
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Airline BusinessIceland’s Play looks to bolster equity after seismic disruption to profit plan
Icelandic budget carrier Play aims to strengthen its equity through a move onto Iceland’s main stock market as it seeks to build a financial buffer and fuel future growth after a tough end to 2023 as travel demand to Iceland dipped amid concerns around increased seismic activity.
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Airline BusinessWhy growing Ryanair expects European short-haul capacity to fall this summer
Ryanair believes that European short-haul capacity will be down year on year in the coming summer season, leaving it significantly below pre-Covid levels, in a development that will support higher fares.