Air France-KLM Plans Increase Promotion Flight to Darwin as Supporting Darwin International Gateway

Tourism Minister Malarndirri McCarthy met with executives from Air France-KLM in Darwin this week to increase the promotion of the Northern Territory in key European markets.

Air France-KLM’s Australia country manager Tom Reeves and NT account manager Steve Jacobsen were provided a detailed briefing on the investment activity and major projects powering the Territory economy.

Minister McCarthy said the majority of the Territory’s international visitors come from Europe.

“Air France-KLM is one of the largest global airline groups in the world, offering full service connections from their super-hubs in Paris and Amsterdam to Darwin via Singapore, Bali, Ho Chi Minh City and Manila with Jetstar,” Minister McCarthy said.

“Air France has now enabled our European visitors to book their flights from Europe to Darwin on the Air France website. Through their interline arrangements with Jetstar, customers enjoy the convenience of seamless baggage transfers, where their baggage is booked through to Darwin on check in.

“The Territory Government is also exploring more ways to promote the NT as the gateway to Australia to Air France and KLM’s significant customer base.”

Minsiter McCarthy said that improving air access and growing Darwin as an international aviation hub is part of the Government’s Territory 2030 strategy.

The meeting with Air France-KLM follows the Minister’s recent discussions with China Southern Airlines in Guangzhou regarding future direct flights from China to Darwin.

“Our strategy is to position Darwin as a significant hub for airline activity in the region. Forging strong relationships with airlines like Air France and KLM is really important for providing connecting traffic onto our direct flights into the Territory,” she said.

“Air France-KLM also has arrangements with China Southern Airlines and we are interested in how we could work with both these airlines to secure those new flights and even more options for travellers to and from the Territory.”

Air France-KLM extended an invitation to Minister McCarthy to visit their European headquarters to continue discussions.

Emirates Airline Launches Daily Nonstop Flight Between Dubai and Geneva

Emirates airlines, the leading UAE airline, launched its inaugural daily non-stop flight between Geneva and Dubai yesterday. Geneva joins Zurich as the airline’s second gateway into Switzerland.

Emirates has commenced flights between Dubai and Geneva and has thus created a link between two of the world’s most renowned international air travel hubs.

The inaugural flight to the Switzerland’s second most populous city took off on Wednesday out of Dubai with passengers from regions such as Australia, Tanzania, India, Kuwait, Iran and Mauritius.

Geneva is Emirates’ second gateway into Switzerland after Zurich. The Dubai to Zurich flight started nearly 20 years ago and the airline now operates double daily flights on the sector.

Emirates, one of the Middle East’s leading airlines, made sure that there was no dearth of fanfare as the first flight prepared itself to take off from the Dubai International Airport. There was a display of traditional Swiss dance performed by a couple in the Emirates’ exclusive Terminal 3. It is reported that the flight was almost full.

A VIP delegation was aboard and comprised the likes of Tim Clark, President Emirates Airline; Ram Menen, Divisional Senior Vice President, Cargo and Salem Obaidalla, Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations, Europe & Russian Federation. The delegation was welcomed in Geneva by Richard Vaughan, Emirates Divisional Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations Worldwide.

Their special guests were His Excellency, Wolfgang Amadeus Bruelhart, Swiss Ambassador to the UAE; Brigadier Obaid Mehayer Bin Suroor, Deputy Director of Dubai Naturalisation & Residency Department and Mr. Omar bin Ghalib, Deputy Director General of the GCAA (UAE General Civil Aviation Authority). An international media faction that included representatives from the UAE, India, Thailand, Indonesia and Germany was also a part of the travel.

“This launch, in particular, has a strong international feel about it – linking Dubai, as a global aviation hub and centre for business and tourism with Geneva, a home to so many international organisations and an important financial and banking centre,” Mr Tim Clark was quoted as stating in the Emirates’ official website.

“On the back of our robust financial results, the airline continues to drive forward – connecting key cities around the world,” Mr Clark further added.

Francois Longchamp, State Councillor of the Canton of Geneva and President of the Board of Geneva Airport, eulogised Emirates’ service and brand image.

“We are very pleased to welcome Emirates in Geneva. The airline is a worldwide reference in terms of reputation and quality of service”, he acknowledged.

A gala dinner that featured around 400 guests was also organised yesterday night at the Geneva’s Espace Hippomene to celebrate the launch.

Dubai-Geneva Flight Schedule

EK 089 will leave Dubai airport each day at 0855hrs and arrive in Geneva at 1345hrs. From Geneva, EK 090 will fly off at 1515hrs, arriving in Dubai at 2330hrs.

The Dubai – Geneva service will be operated by a combination of Boeing 777-200LR and Boeing 777-300ERs. The seats on the aircraft will be arranged in three-class formation. The flights will offer First Class Private Suites for first class passengers and lie-flat seats in Business Class for business class ticket buyers. The aircraft’s economy class cabin has enormous capacity to transport travellers who prefer cheap tickets on flights.

Emirates might not be an airline that is known to dole out cheap flight tickets but the airline is renowned all over the world for its ICE entertainment system as well as its multi-cuisine meals.

Emirates’ each 777 aircraft that will serve the Geneva route will have 15-20 tonnes of cargo capacity – enough space for plenty of luxury watches, high-end fashion goods, relief shipments, pharmaceutical products and electronics.

Emirate Airlines Group Concerned Other International Flight Destination as Increase Passenger Number and Earning

Dubai-based Emirates continues to cause concern for other international airlines as it announces a 14 per cent increase in passenger numbers and a 52 per cent jump in profits. While other carriers are being hammered by rising fuel prices, the Middle Eastern carrier appears to be weathering the storm remarkably well.

Competitors have been accusing Emirates and its neighbouring UAE airlines of effectively being subsidised for some time now and are also worried that fleets of superjumbos based in the Gulf will draw traffic away from their hubs. Emirates currently has an order for 90 additional Airbus A380s with the European manufacturer. Airline experts are warning that once in service this fleet will force a radical restructuring of the industry.

Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed al-Maktoum, the airline’s chairman, admitted that the carrier’s growth was likely to upset the competition. He added that the market was there and that Emirates would continue to grab its share because it had the right product with which to do so. He went on to say that the airline intended to concentrate on Asia and the Americas.

A number of European and North American airlines have already voiced their concerns about Emirates’ rapid expansion. Germany’s Lufthansa has requested that landing slots are denied to the Dubai giant when a new airport opens in Berlin. Last year, Canada refused to grant permission for greater access to Emirates and Etihad.

Tim Clarke, Emirates’ president, has shrugged of complaints from competitors pointing out that if they used the energy they were putting into attacking his airline into running their own companies, they would probably make some money.

Emirates Airlines Reported Full Year Profit Increase 51.2 percent as Premium Travelers Traffic Growth

The parent of Emirates Airline on Tuesday reported a 51.2% rise in full-year profit as the world’s largest international carrier by traffic saw business from premium travellers return to pre-crisis levels.

The Dubai-based airline shrugged off the impact of turmoil in the Middle East and North Africa as traffic through its hometown hub surged, with double-digit gains in both passenger and cargo volume.

Emirates’ rapid expansion and huge order book–at $66 billion it accounts for 10% of outstanding commercial business at Airbus and Boeing Co. (BA)–makes it a key barometer of the global airline industry.

The airline’s operating margin of 9.9% in its fiscal year to Mar. 31 topped almost every other large international airline, and the record earnings saw a four-fold rise in the bonus paid to staff to an equivalent of 12 weeks pay, pushing labor expenses up 20%

“We are fortunate to be based in the Middle East where regional passenger seats grew by 17.8% compared to a global 8.2% growth,” said Sheik Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman of the state-controlled group.

Sheik Ahmed said profit would have been AED1 billion ($272 million) higher had it not been for the increase in oil prices, with fuel expenses last week accounting for a record 43% of operating costs.

Transfer traffic through Dubai accounts for around 60% of the airline’s total business, with passenger numbers up 15% to 31.4 million over the past year, and cargo rising almost 12%.

Emirates and rivals such as Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways have capitalized on their geographical location to use new long-range aircraft to funnel business through their hubs.

Nigel Page, Emirates head of the Americas, said the airline has leveraged changing trade patterns to capture business, with flows to and from Africa now going through the Gulf rather than via European airports.

The Americas was Emirates’ fastest-growing region last year with revenue up 37.9% while sales in its largest geographical area of operations–east Asia and Australiasia–rose by 30.9%.

Business in the Gulf and the Middle East was still up 14.2% despite regional turmoil which saw flights to Tunisia temporarily halted, while Libyan services remain shuttered. Flights to the Ivory Coast resume on May 12.

Page said the regional problems had actually helped Dubai’s financial recovery after its own debt crisis as companies relocated staff to the emirate.

Emirates Group reported net profits of AED5.46 billion in 2010/11 compared with AED3.62 billion a year earlier, with revenue–which includes its airport and travel arms–up 29 at 53.1 billion.

The airline unit’s passenger seat factor, a key measure of capacity utilisation, rose to a record 80%, from 78.1% in the year before, with profit rising to $1.5 billion from $964 million on a 25% rise in revenue. Capacity rose 15.8%.

Emirates expect delivery of six Airbus A380s and 13 Boeing 777 planes this year, while four new routes will be added: Geneva, Copenhagen, Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro. It is the largest operator of both aircraft types.

Last week, Sheik Ahmed said the government-owned airline is in no hurry to sell shares to the public. He said the decision on whether to launch an initial public offering rests with the government, but ruled out any IPO in either 2011 or 2012.

Virgin America Carrier Announce Reported Operation and Profit in 2010

Virgin America enjoyed its first profitable reporting period in the 2010 third quarter but was unable to sustain the momentum in the fourth quarter, posting a $25.1 million net loss, widened from an $18.8 million net deficit in the 2009 December quarter and pushing the company to a $68.7 million full-year net loss.

The 2010 deficit was narrowed from an $80.8 million net loss in 2009. The San Francisco-based carrier, which launched in August 2007, earned a $7.5 million net profit in the 2010 September quarter (ATW Daily News, Nov. 10, 2010). VX pointed to strong revenue growth in 2010 (up 32.2% compared to 2009 to $724 million) as evidence that it is progressing toward profitability, and noted that the year’s results were hurt by high fuel costs and severe winter storms in the US northeast.

“As a young airline still fueling growth, we continue to move in the right direction with our top line progress and revenue results, especially given the backdrop of global recession and an unprecedented run-up in oil prices since our 2007 launch,” President and CEO David Cush said in a statement issued Thursday. “We’re seeing strong revenue performance in 2011 and with industry capacity discipline we remain encouraged by the outlook. Oil prices remain a concern and as a result we plan to tap the brakes slightly on our 2012 growth plans. That said, as a new airline we’re still continuing to grow overall and look forward to expanding our network in major business and leisure travel destinations like Chicago.” It will launch service to Chicago O’Hare from Los Angeles (twice-daily) and San Francisco (thrice-daily) from May 25.

The carrier, which operates 39 Airbus A320 family aircraft, said its fleet will nearly triple to 113 aircraft by 2019. VX earlier this yearplaced a firm order for 60 A320s including 30 A320neos (ATW Daily News, Jan. 19).

Full-year 2010 expenses rose 25.5% to $736.5 million, including a 65.3% leap in fuel costs to $246.7 million. VX’s 2010 fuel expense was more than double any other of the company’s cost categories. It said it has hedged 50% of its 2011 projected fuel requirements. Some 77% of its first-quarter requirements were hedged at an average crude oil price of $82 per barrel.

Operating loss for 2010 was $12.4 million, narrowed from an operating deficit of $39 million in 2009. 2010 traffic increased 15.1% year-over-year to 6.24 billion RPMs on a 16.9% rise in capacity to 7.65 billion ASMs, producing a load factor of 81.5%, down 1.3 points. Yield lifted 16.1% to 10.51 cents as RASM heightened 15.6% to 9.46 cents and CASM grew 9.7% to 9.62 cents. CASM ex-fuel lowered 2.1% to 6.4 cents.

AirAsia X Plans to Bring More Passenger From KL-Tokyo, Targets 80 Per Cent

Malaysia’s low-cost long-haul airline, AirAsia X, aims to achieve a passenger load of over 80 per cent for the new Kuala Lumpur-Tokyo route in its first year of operations.

Its, Chief Executive Officer, Azran Osman-Rani said the airlines was looking forward to bring more passengers from Tokyo and its surrounding regions to Malaysia and South East Asia.

He said AirAsia X hoped it could increased its frequency to daily flights, from its present three flights per week in order to provide convenience and choice to passengers.

In celebration of its maiden flight to Tokyo, AirAsia X is offering a promotional all-in fare for the trip from Kuala Lumpur to Tokyo, which will open for booking tomorrow until next Monday.

The promotional fare starts from RM249 for one-way travel and is for the travel period between Aug 1 and Oct 30, 2011.

Emirates Airlines Considers Ordering 120 Airbus A380 Aircraft

Emirates Airlines is considering ordering 120 Airbus A380 aircraft when it has sufficient space at its home base in Dubai.

Emirates president Tim Clark said the airline, passenger rates of which are growing 20% annually, expects to maintain this level for the next five years and to fulfil all its 90 orders for the A380 super jumbo.

Under the plan, Emirates will order 30 Airbus A380, worth $10bn, according to Reuters.

If the airline goes ahead with its current growth plan it will have an A380 fleet worth over $40bn.

Emirates ordered 32 superjumbos worth $11bn at the Berlin Air Show in June and 30 Boeing 777-300ER wide-body planes, worth $9bn, at Farnborough Air Show in July.

Emirates Airlines to Order More Airbus A380 Aircrafts

The head of Emirates Airlines has said orders for the A380 jet from Airbus might not be enough, considering improving passenger demand in the region.

Emirates president Tim Clark has said the airline’s record A380 jet order of 90 aircraft should have been a lot bigger.

Emirates Airlines is the world’s biggest airline by international traffic and is already the number one customer for Airbus’s 517 seat plane.

Emirates Airlines has 12 Airbus A380’s in its fleet, with another three to be delivered by November.

Deliveries will then restart in September of next year.

Number of Passengers Turkish Airlines Flight Increase by 19.3 percent

The number of passengers Turkish Airlines flight increased by 19.3 per cent, reaching 13.4 million passengers

Turkish Airlines reported a 181 per cent jump in net profits to €134 million (Dh626.117 million) for the first half of the current year, as the airline’s sales revenue increased by 28 per cent, reaching €1.8 billion.

A company statement told how operating profit, on the other hand, reached a total of €55 million, which was a 34 per cent decrease compared to the same period in 2009. It attributed this to a 74 per cent increase in fuel expenses for the airline.

In accordance with the increased sales revenue, the upward growth trend in traffic continued during the first half-year. The number of passengers increased by 19.3 per cent, reaching 13.4 million passengers.

The amounts of cargo and mail carried increased by 49.6 per cent to 152 thousand tonnes. A 19.9 per cent rise in the number of available seat kilometres (ASK), was accompanied by an increasing demand in revenue per kilometre (RPK), which rose by 26.8 percent. The passenger load factor also increased by 4.1 points from the previous year, to 72.1 per cent.

International Air Traffic Demand Rose in July on Middle-East, Asia Flights

The International Air Transport Association, which represents 230 airlines, said international passenger and freight traffic rose in July as flights increased in Asia and the Middle East.

Passenger demand rose 9.2 percent from a year earlier while freight gained 23 percent, Montreal-based IATA said in a statement on its website. The pace of passenger growth slowed from a 12 percent increase reported in June.

IATA Chief Executive Officer Giovanni Bisignani maintained his forecast for the industry to earn $2.5 billion in 2010, after two years of losses, should the global recovery continue. Profitability will be driven by growth in Asia and Latin America as European traffic is crimped by a stalling economy.

“Europe is probably the weakest spot because of currency, because of unemployment,” Bisignani told Bloomberg Television in an interview from Sydney today. “We are still convinced that 2010 will be a great year.”

IATA’s members represent about 93 percent of total international traffic, according to its website.

Asia-Pacific carriers increased traffic 11 percent in July and will be the biggest contributor to industry earnings, with profit of $2.2 billion expected to be reported this year, IATA said.

Airlines from Latin America posted growth of 14 percent although boosts in capacity have led to a lower proportion of seats being filled on planes.

Mergers and Acquisitions

Europe had growth of 6.2 percent in July and North American passenger traffic gained 7.9 percent, it said.

Bisignani called on government and regulators to make it easier for airlines to pursue mergers and acquisitions by cutting national restrictions on ownership.

He cited this month’s agreement for Chile’s Lan Airlines SA to acquire Brazil’s Tam SA in an all-stock transaction valued at $3.7 billion. Other airlines to straddle multiple countries include Air France-KLM Group, which has united the French and Dutch carriers since combining in 2004.

“Trans-national brands are serving customers effectively in many parts of the world,” he said in the statement. “But we remain an industry of over a thousand players with only very limited opportunities to consolidate.”

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