View this email in your browser
06 April 2022

Air Serbia and ITA expand codeshare partnership

Air Serbia and Italy’s ITA Airways have further expanded their codeshare partnership, which commenced last November. As part of the enhanced cooperation, Air Serbia will place its JU designator code and flight numbers onto several ITA domestic routes. In return, ITA Airways will place its flight numbers onto a few of Air Serbia’s operations.
 
Commenting on the codeshare, Air Serbia’s General Manager for Commercial and Strategy, Boško Rupić, said, “We look forward to the expansion of our business relationship and further development of cooperation with ITA Airways, which has proven to be very successful so far. With the introduction of new codeshare flights, we will further contribute to the improvement and strengthening of cultural and economic ties between our countries, while providing our passengers a more attractive offer and quicker connections”.
 

British Airways and easyJet cancel flights due to COVID-19 related staff shortages

British travelers faced chaos on Monday morning as airlines cancelled more than 120 flights. EasyJet said the cancellations, which included 62 from the United Kingdom, were a small part of its schedule on Monday, which is around 1,645 flights. "As a result of the current high rates of COVID-19 infections across Europe, like all businesses, easyJet is experiencing higher than usual levels of employee sickness," a spokesman said.
 
About 60 British Airways flights to and from Heathrow airport were cancelled on 4 April. 50 were cancelled in advance last week but ten flights were late notice overnight cancellations, due to COVID-19 sickness among staff.
 
The challenges of recruiting enough staff in time to replace the many who left during the pandemic had already forced British Airways to re-think its Spring schedules. Two weeks ago, the airline took the decision to pro-actively remove some flights until May. It's understood about 20 daily services, primarily on short haul routes, were taken out.
 

Iberia expects to receive its first Airbus A321XLR in 2023

Iberia is heavily investing in renewing its fleet and expects to receive its first Airbus A321XLR units in 2023, allowing it to serve new transatlantic destinations and increase the number of frequencies in key destinations.
 
In 2019, IAG signed an order with Airbus to acquire 14 Airbus A321XLR and had purchase options for an additional 14 units. IAG said eight A321XLRs would go to the Spanish carrier Iberia, and the remaining six would go to Aer Lingus.
 
Both airlines are among the launch customers for these long-range narrowbody aircraft, and deliveries are scheduled for 2023. Iberia said that it expects its first A321XLR to arrive by the end of next year. The A321XLR will be used to expand the long-haul fleets of both Iberia and Aer Lingus. Additionally, the A321XLR will enable Iberia to operate new transatlantic destinations and increase frequencies in key markets.
 

easyJet and Ryanair criticize Single European Sky delays

During the Airlines for Europe 2022 Aviation Summit in Brussels on 31 March, easyJet Chief Executive Officer Johan Lundgren said that increased ticket prices will have little effect on the environmental impact of the aviation sector. He was referring to Dutch government's plans to increase aviation passenger taxes from €7.8 ($8.6) per ticket to €24 ($26.3) per ticket from 1 January 2023 onwards for all flights departing from Dutch airports. Lundgren said it will do nothing for decarbonizing the aviation sector.  
 
The Single European Sky would, on the other hand, result in an immediate 15% fuel saving for easyJet, significantly reducing CO2 emissions for an average flight. "This is one of the biggest things that we can do short-term," he said, pointing out that some of the governments that were pointing fingers at aviation for contributing to CO2 emissions were themselves blocking sustainability progress on the Single European Sky.
 
Other panelists echoed Lundgren's views, including Ryanair Chief Executive Officer Michael O'Leary. "It's the European governments that are holding up the urgent reforms our industry needs," O'Leary said, saying the aviation industry needed to push back more and calling out European transport ministers for not having expedited the Single European Sky.
 

Finnair signs science-based targets initiative agreement amid net-zero mission

Finnair announced on 2 April that it will cut half its total CO2 emissions by 2025 by 2019 levels. They have signed a letter of intent to cooperate with the Science-Based Targets initiative to bring CO2 emissions reduction targets in line with the UN Paris Climate Agreement.
 
Eveliina Huurre, SVP Sustainability at Finnair, stated, "The climate challenges of flying need to be solved, so that the social and economic benefits of aviation can continue. Finnair has ambitious emissions reduction targets: by the end of 2025, we intend to halve the level of net emissions from 2019 and achieve carbon neutrality latest by the end of 2045."
 

ITA Airways to lease ten A320neo

ITA Airways will lease ten incremental A320-200Ns and two A330-900s from AerCap, adding to aircraft from both types previously ordered directly from Airbus. The twelve aircraft will deliver to the Italian state-owned carrier in 2023 and 2024 and are sourced from the lessor's Airbus order book.
 
The Italian carrier ordered eleven A320-200Ns, ten A330-900s and seven A220-300s in December from Airbus. It has also committed to leasing at least six A350-900s, including four from ALAFCO.
ITA Airways' current fleet comprises eighteen A319-100s, thirty A320-200s, and seven A330-200s, all of which were inherited from predecessor Alitalia.
 

Norwegian Air sees loads stabilize in March

Norwegian Air carried 940,000 passengers at a load factor of 80.3% in March, continuing the trend among budget operators in the region of loads stabilizing at higher levels following the dip at the turn of the year caused by the Omicron variant of COVID-19. Norwegian Air’s passenger numbers climbed almost a third over February figures, while its load factor was only slightly below the 81% it recorded in February. Load factor had fallen to 70% in January.
 
The chief executive of Norwegian Air, Geir Karlsen, says: “We are particularly pleased that the load factor has remained above 80% despite the introduction of significantly more capacity in March. Booking figures have improved throughout recent weeks and we are pleased to see this continued upward trend in the market. We are seeing a busy Easter travel period with many travelers and several full flights.”
 
Norwegian Air has only recorded a higher load factor in one month, the 82.7% recorded in October last year, since the pandemic began. The improved traffic performance comes ahead of an expansion this summer under which Norwegian Air, having cut back capacity heavily during the crisis, plans to increase its operational fleet from 48 to 70 aircraft.
 

Ryanair expects full-year loss

Ryanair is expecting a full-year net loss of €350-400 million ($385-440 million). This is towards the higher end of the previously guided loss range of €250-450 million for the airline, whose financial year closed on 31 March.
 
Ryanair says its full-year passenger numbers recovered to more than 97 million but were still far below the pre-pandemic level of 149 million. Its average load factor for the 12 months reached 82% compared with the 71% recorded a year ago.
 
The airline stresses that its balance sheet is “one of the strongest in our sector”. Its net debt fell from €2.3 billion to €1.5 billion by the end of the financial year. The airline adds that about 90% of its group fleet of Boeing 737s are unencumbered. Ryanair, which will disclose its full-year results on 16 May, has raised its fiscal 2022-23 fuel hedging to 80% cover.
 

Belgian trade union CNE/ACV Puls introduces strike notice to Ryanair

An indefinite strike notice was introduced on 1 April by Belgian trade union CNE/ACV Puls to Ryanair management in Dublin on behalf of the Belgium-based cabin crew of the low-cost airline. “Every day, all the time, the staff reports violations to us on the part of Ryanair which does not respect the rules. It exhausts the staff”, says union secretary Didier Lebbe, who ensures that all means of negotiation have been used.
 
If no proposal is forwarded by management, actions will follow, promises the trade unionist. “We will coordinate, during the month of April, with the French who also introduced a strike notice last week. But it is clear that the movement will spread.” He added. In particular, he points to the absence of a human resources director as a major shortcoming.
 
On the pilots’ side, negotiations are underway, but “there is a good chance that social peace will also be broken”, concluded Didier Lebbe.
 

Ryanair takes action on new Belgian Embarkation Tax introduced as of 1 April

After the Belgian Government introduced a new flight tax, the “Belgian Embarkation Tax”, on passengers departing Belgium from 1 April, Ryanair immediately acted by informing its passengers and by charging them retroactively if they booked before 1 April.
 
Just after the introduction, the Belgian Air Transport Association (BATA) issued a statement asking for a starting date of the embarkation tax based on the date of reservation, and not the date of the flight as taxes cannot be charged retroactively to customers who have already booked their flights before 1 April. Furthermore, BATA thinks the decision is legally questionable.
 
Ryanair didn’t want to await the legal procedure and took immediate action by sending an e-mail to its passengers departing from Belgium as from 1 April. The e-mail notified the passenger of the additional fee and offered the option of to cancel their flight and receive a full refund.
 

SmartLynx Airlines to increase fleet to 60

SmartLynx Airlines plans to increase the number of aircraft it operates to 60 this year, almost doubling the size of its fleet, its chief executive Žygimantas Surintas revealed in a statement on 31 March. This will include taking delivery of its first B737-8.
 
Surintas said the carrier was expecting delivery of five aircraft during April, including its first B737-8 MAX, and then a further 22 by the end of the summer season.
 
“We forecast that we will overtake a few big names around the world in terms of fleet size this year, but we will be able to talk about it more specifically when we have received all the aircraft,” Surintas said in the statement. “Along with the fleet expansion, our workforce is also increasing - currently we have 300 at the office in Riga, and we plan to hire about 40 more by the end of the year.”
 

Wizz Air sees a 415% passenger increase in March

Wizz Air has released its performance statistics for March 2022. Wizz Air revealed that it had a strong performance in March 2022, with 2,476,105 passengers booking tickets on its flights. This is an increase of 415.6% compared to March 2021. The airline’s load factor stood at 86.2%, which is less than a percentage point lower than Ryanair’s load factor for March 2022.
 
When looking at the past 12 months, the performance trend is equally positive. In the year up to 31 March 2022, Wizz Air saw 27,079,918 bookings against a scheduled seat capacity of 34,625,404. This gave it a load factor of 78.2%, which is an impressive figure considering that this period includes the tail-end of the winter 2020 and spring 2021 lockdowns imposed while European countries were rolling out vaccinations and the winter slump in demand caused by the discovery of the Omicron variant of COVID-19.
 
The airline has continued to push the environment as part of its brand image in March. It calls itself the most sustainable European airline. Saying its young fleet and a relatively high load factor cause less damage to the environment. For March 2022, Wizz Air estimates it emitted 233,733 tons of CO2. This is a marked increase compared to March 2021, when the airline’s CO2 emissions were 56,366. The increase is as high as 314.7%.
 

Emirates continues Dubai Airport innovations with new terminal check-in ports

Dubai-based carrier, Emirates, has announced the introduction of 25 mobile check-in ports at Dubai International Airport’s Terminal 3 check-in hall. The move comes as part of the airline’s commitment to innovating the customer experience within the airport, moving towards a smarter, smoother contactless journey.
 
Emirates’ Chief Operating Officer, Adel Al Redha, said: "The use of advanced technologies and robots will continue to be introduced in our operational and customer touchpoints. We are committed to continually uplift our services and provide our customers a seamless experience and better journeys.”
 

Emirates offers to help the Nigerian government in setting up Nigeria Air

Emirates has offered to help the Nigerian Federal Government in the establishment of its new national carrier, Nigeria Air. “Emirates’ offer is of course very welcomed. We will discuss how to make use of this supportive offer,” said Tilmann Gabriel, the transaction advisor to the Nigerian Minister of Aviation. As reported the Nigerian government has commenced discussions with Airbus and Boeing to acquire the first three narrow-body aircraft for Nigeria Air.
 
Gabriel confirmed Nigeria Air’s Air Operator’s Certificate and Air Transport License were “well in progress for the launch on 1 July 2022, headed by a team of Nigerian and European experts on-site in Abuja”. He was responding to statements made by Emirates President Tim Clark during the World Government Summit 2022 in Dubai on 28 March. Clark stated that Emirates was happy to assist the Nigerian government with setting up a national airline.
 
Nigeria’s aviation minister, Hadi Sirika, made a case for the national carrier. He gave his assurances that the airline would operate as a private carrier without interference from the government. Bids have also been invited by 10 May 2022, for a 49% strategic equity partner comprising of a private sector consortium including an international airline as a technical partner. Nigerian financial and institutional investors are being asked to bid for 46% shareholding, while the government will retain a 5% stake.
 

Etihad’s A350 will be used for testing sustainable technology

Etihad’s inaugural Airbus A350-1000 will be used as a flying testbed to try out various green solutions, from both the big players in the market and newcomers alike. CEO Tony Douglas explained how it would not be just Etihad that was testing out sustainability solutions. He said that the Airbus A350 would be open to startups, inventors, SMEs, and innovators to road test ideas and products that could pave the way towards a more sustainable future.
 
Although he was clear that surviving COVID-19 has not been easy, he maintained that these temporary issues are easier to get over than the considerable challenge of making aviation a more sustainable industry. It requires a coordinated effort from airlines, manufacturers, governments, and policymakers alike if there’s any chance of reaching it.
 
Etihad invites new products and developments onboard as a means of evaluating effectiveness. As such, passengers on this A350 might, in the future, notice some significant differences in the products or services they receive. Or they might not, as many of the changes will be unnoticeable to the passengers’ eye.
 

Airbus cancels third A350 order made by Qatar Airways

Airbus has revoked the contract for a third A350 ordered by Qatar Airways after the airline rejected delivery in an ongoing dispute over damage to the surface of the long-haul jets. The number of A350s grounded by the airline in the dispute over exposed and damaged lightning protection has reached 23, bringing the value of compensation sought by the carrier to slightly over $1 billion, they said.
 
Airbus, backed by its own regulator, has denied any safety problems and responded to Qatar Airways’ refusal to take any more A350s until the problem is resolved by revoking deals for undelivered A350s, one by one, and canceling a separate contract for A321neos.
 
Qatar will on 7 April ask a United Kingdom judge to extend a temporary order freezing the decision to cancel the A321neo order pending a final hearing on the A350 case, expected later this year.
 

Qantas unveils climate action strategy and urges creation of an Australian SAF industry

Australia’s Qantas Group has unveiled a four-pillar strategy to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, targeting a 25% cut in carbon emissions by 2030, based on 2019 levels. The Qantas Group Climate Action Plan is focused on the use of sustainable aviation fuels, fuel efficiency initiatives, waste reduction and an expanded offsets program concentrated on projects in Australia.
 
Headlining the strategy is a commitment to use a 10% blend of SAF across the group by 2030, ramping to 60% by 2050, in addition to an average annual fuel efficiency target of 1.5% through fleet renewal and operational efficiencies in the air and on the ground. The company has also pledged to eliminate single-use plastics by 2027 and to cease sending general waste to landfill by 2030.
 
Qantas Group Chairman Richard Goyder furthermore advocated the creation of a SAF industry in Australia saying: “Achieving net zero emissions targets will not be easy and it will take sustained and cooperative action by everyone at the Qantas Group, as well as the entire global aviation value chain, governments and investors. Supportive government policy is critical for the aviation industry to transition to low and zero-emissions technologies.” The Qantas Group has already committed an initial $37 million towards the creation of a SAF industry in Australia.