Emirates Expands Premium Economy to New Cities

Hemal Gosai

Sunday, September 04, 2022 at 01:04 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Vanni Gibertini

Emirates Premium Economy (Photo Emirates)

This past week, Emirates announced an expansion of their premium economy offering, making it available across more routes. Premium Economy was initially not a focus for the airline, but over the years its popularity has been growing and airlines have quickly come to see the dollar signs tagged to it.

Emirates dove head first into Premium Economy with an initial debut of the cabin on flights to London, Paris and Sydney. Now, the airline is expanding its Premium Economy offering service to five more cities in its route network starting in December.

The airline will bring its premium economy cabin and service to the United States on December 1 to New York’s JFK airport with its newly retrofitted Airbus A380 aircraft. Additionally, the carrier will start offering the cabin on flights to San Francisco starting next year on February 15.

Flights to Auckland, New Zealand will have the Premium Economy Product offering starting on January 15.

Then Melbourne on EK 406 and EK 407 on February 1, 2023. This would be the second destination in Australia where premium economy is offered after Sydney.

The expansion is rounded off with the addition on Singapore starting on March 1, 2023 and operating as EK 354 and EK 355.

Along with the new premium cabin offerings on the routes mentioned above, there will also be a further expansion to follow.

Sydney: Emirates will offer premium economy on all flights to the city starting on December 15, 2022

London: Heathrow will see its third daily service with premium economy on January 1, 2023 on EK 005 and EK 006.

New York: JFK will have a second A380 offering premium economy on EK 201 and EK 201 starting March 15 2023

Aircraft Retrofit Completion Expected by 2025

This is all part of a massive multi-billion dollar fleet retrofit program that will overhaul a significant portion of the fleet. From November, the airline will start cabin interior upgrades and retrofits of 67 Airbus A380 and 53 Boeing 777 aircraft. The entire retrofit will is expected to be completed by 2025 and will include the installation of nearly 4,000 premium economy seats, upgrades to over 5,000 business class seats, and the refurbishment of 728 first-class suites.

Alongside the cabin upgrades, the airline is also revamping onboard service offerings with the addition of unlimited caviar in first class. New menus across all cabins with a focus on adding vegan options for flyers to sample.

All coming at a time of a revival in demand, Emirates is close to recovering 75 percent of its pre-pandemic A380 network. The airline plans to serve close to a third of its network with A380s with service to cities like Houston, Bengaluru, Perth, Auckland, Hong Kong, and Kuala Lumpur.

The airline is focusing on using the recovery from the pandemic as a time to continue to push boundaries on offerings and grow into new and existing markets.

Hemal Gosai

Hemal took his first flight at four years old and has been an avgeek since then. When he isn't working as an analyst he's frequently found outside watching planes fly overhead or flying in them. His favorite plane is the 747-8i which Lufthansa thankfully flies to EWR allowing for some great spotting. He firmly believes that the best way to fly between JFK and BOS is via DFW and is always willing to go for that extra elite qualifying mile. Hemal's opinions are his own and do not reflect those of his employer.

Allegiant and Viva Aerobus Submit New Joint Venture Proposal to DOT

Benjamin Pham

Saturday, September 03, 2022 at 01:00 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Benjamin Pham

An Allegiant A319 in Las Vegas. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | William Derrickson)

Allegiant and Viva Aerobus have submitted to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) under Docket DOT-OST-2021-0152, a new proposal to expedite the approval of their cross-border Joint Venture.

The two airlines are requesting expedited JV approval by the fall and to begin their partnership by the first half of 2023. Both airlines will start new routes once Mexico is restored to Category I status, thus providing new nonstop and affordable services to the Aztec country.

This partnership of the two low-cost carriers seeks to expand travel options between the United States and beach destinations in Mexico, not to coordinate schedules to connect passengers between North and South America.

Once Antitrust Immunity (ATI) is obtained, both operators seek to expand non-stop routes between both countries, thus offering greater point-to-point travel options, unlike legacy airlines, which offer a large part of their flights for connecting passengers.

The proposed alliance between the two companies will increase seat capacity in the market and increase the passenger load factor between the U.S. and Mexico’s vacation markets, as well as create 900 new jobs during the first two years of the JV’s approval.

The Allegiant and Viva Aerobus partnership will not monopolize the market between the two countries either, the JV between Delta Air Lines and Aeromexico has a large share of the cross-border segment; on the other hand, American and United are the largest air carriers between Mexico and the United States.

Route Proposals

Allegiant proposes to initiate several non-stop services to Mexico from multiple cities in the U.S.: Austin, Baltimore, Chicago, Cincinnati, Fresno, Fresno, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Memphis, Nashville, Newark/New York, Nashville, Rockport, San Antonio, South Bend, St. Louis and Southwest Florida.

The Nevada-based low-cost airline plans to initially share routes with Viva Aerobus being the operator and Allegiant part of Marketing, because the U.S. company will make an estimated investment of $15 million to improve its computer systems and to start its own flights to Mexico in 2025, with the announcement of new routes in 2024.

Viva Aerobus’ initial plans include launching non-stop services to the United States from several Mexican cities: Tampico, Queretaro, Torreon, Merida, Guadalajara, Mexico City, Chihuahua, Veracruz, Monterrey, Bajio and Morelia, thus offering a wide range of cross-border vacation destinations to the U.S. at affordable prices.

The Mexican low-cost airline also responded to the DOT that it has no common shareholder with Colombian carrier VIVA, ruling out any plans to coordinate operations in South America.

If the JV is approved both companies request the relocation of their airport facilities to select airports: Cincinnati (CVG), Chicago (MDW), Las Vegas (LAS), Nashville (BNA), Orlando – Sanford (SFB), Mexico City (MEX), Monterrey (MTY), Cancun (CUN), Puerto Vallarta (PVR) and Los Cabos (SJD).

Effects of Proposals

Both airlines are seeking major benefits from terminal co-location: significant cost savings from sharing terminal facilities, gate and ground handling services, joint purchasing and other efficiencies of scale.

Allegiant, with the implementation of the Joint Venture, seeks to lend expand its operations in the most congested Mexican airports: Mexico City (MEX) and Cancun (CUN) both destinations with strong demand from U.S. leisure passengers, with the partnership with Viva Aerobus it will be able to enter these markets with ease and operate with convenient slots.

The U.S. company ruled out operating in the Felipe Angeles International Airport (NLU) and Toluca (TLC) due to the lack of public transportation and other infrastructure limitations, making its operation not viable. The company mentioned that other U.S. operators offered flights to TLC and withdrew from the market in a short period of time.

Puerto Vallarta (PVR) also has slot limitations on certain days of the week, this restriction limits airlines from making substantial changes to their flight schedules. The partnership will allow Allegiant to take advantage of Viva Aerobus’ slots and coordinate schedules to optimize the use of slots.

The partnership that Allegiant and Viva Aerobus have agreed to is a long-term alliance, the applicants believe that the ATI for 15 years or more is necessary to enable and encourage a necessary investment in new aircraft, digital platforms and maximization of operations that will allow for a favorable expansion in competition on multiple routes between the United States and Mexico.

This article was written by Rainer Nieves Dolande for Aviacionline.

Benjamin Pham

Benjamin has had a love for aviation since a young age, growing up in Tampa with a strong interest in airplane models and playing with them. When he moved to the Washington, D.C. area, Benjamin took part in aviation photography for a couple of years at Gravelly Point and Dulles Airport, before dedicating planespotting to only when he traveled to the other airports. He is an avid, world traveler, having been able to reach 32 countries, yearning to explore and understand more cultures soon. Currently, Benjamin is an Air Transporation Management student at Arizona State University. He hopes to enter the airline industry to improve the passenger experience and loyalty programs while keeping up to how technology is being integrated into airports.

U.S. Department of Transportation Releases Airline Customer Service Commitments Dashboard

John Flett

Friday, September 02, 2022 at 08:00 PM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Benjamin Pham

American's Boeing 737-800 aircraft at Washington Reagan National Airport (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Ryan Ewing)

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) released a new dashboard to advise airline passengers of the policies airlines have in place as a result of flight disruptions from circumstances within the airline’s control. Two weeks ago, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg had written to the chief executives of U.S. airlines and advised of the impending release of the dashboard. Airlines were encouraged to make any amendments to policies prior to the release of the dashboard. Accessibility to the dashboard comes ahead of the U.S. Labor Day holiday that traditionally signals the end of summer.

The airlines featured on the dashboard are Alaska Airlines, Allegiant Air, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Frontier Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines, Spirit Airlines and United Airlines.

Buttigieg stated, “Passengers deserve transparency and clarity on what to expect from an airline when there is a cancelation or disruption. This dashboard collects that information in one place so travelers can easily understand their rights, compare airline practices and make informed decisions. The department will continue to support passengers and to hold airlines responsible for adhering to their customer obligations.”

Aviation has seen widespread disruptions over the northern hemisphere summer period as the industry struggled to restart against pent-up passenger demand after the lifting of travel restrictions. CNN reported Thursdays that data from the flight tracking site FlightAware shows that an estimated 55,000 flights or 2.2 percent of flights will have been canceled in the U.S. this summer with an additional 23 percent delayed. By comparison in the summer of 2019, there were about 50,000 flight cancellations or 1.7 percent of flights and a further 18 percent of flights were delayed.

According to the Department for Transportation, the airlines featured on the dashboard account for ‘approximately 96 percent of the domestic scheduled passenger air traffic.’ Passengers can find out at-a-glance what ten domestic carriers and their regional operating partners will offer in the event of ‘controllable delays’ and ‘controllable cancellations.’

The DOT defines a controllable flight cancellation or delay as “essentially a delay or cancellation caused by the airline.” Examples include maintenance or crew problems, cabin cleaning, baggage loading and fueling.

In addition to providing passengers with the two dashboards, the DOT’s “Airline Customer Service Dashboard” site provides links to the customer service plans of all ten airlines.

Buttigieg said to CNN, “I understand that you’re never going to have zero cancellations. There is always going to be a storm somewhere, a surprise somewhere, an issue somewhere. But we need a stronger system. And we’re expecting airlines that collect revenue by selling tickets to be prepared to service the tickets they sell.”

John Flett

John has always had a passion for aviation and through a career with Air New Zealand has gained a strong understanding of aviation operations and the strategic nature of the industry. During his career with the airline, John held multiple leadership roles and was involved in projects such as the introduction of both the 777-200 and -300 type aircraft and the development of the IFE for the 777-300. He was also part of a small team who created and published the internal communications magazines for Air New Zealand’s pilots, cabin crew and ground staff balancing a mix of corporate and social content. John is educated to postgraduate level achieving a masters degree with Distinction in Airline and Airport Management. John has held the positions of course director of an undergraduate commercial pilot training programme at a leading London university. In addition he is contracted as an external instructor for IATA (International Air Transport Association) and has been a member of the Heathrow Community Fund’s ‘Communities for Tomorrow’ panel.

Regional Express Receives 7th 737 As Australian Industry Turmoil Continues

Mike Mangano

Thursday, September 01, 2022 at 08:57 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Parker Davis

Rex's seventh Boeing 737-800NG after arriving in Brisbane, Australia. (Photo: Regional Express)

Australian regional airline Regional Express has made further headway in its growth by receiving its seventh Boeing 737-800NG. Rex, as the airline is more commonly known, made the announcement Aug. 31, after it took delivery of the aircraft the previous evening.

Rex’s newest Boeing flew into Brisbane, Australia from Montpellier, France after undergoing a scheduled heavy maintenance check before departure. With its new registration VH-MFM, the aircraft is slated to commence service with Rex sometime in early September, and will enable the airline to increase its services on the so-called “Golden Triangle” between Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne.

In a statement, Rex Deputy Chairman John Sharp said their “seventh aircraft allows us to meet the ever-increasing demand for Rex’s services given the shocking reliability of both Qantas and Virgin Australia.” He further added that the demand is so great that “we are urgently looking for another two Bowing 737-800NGs,” with the goal of deploying the aircraft by somewhere between the second and third quarters of this financial year.

Australian Airline Crisis

Australia’s airline industry continues to face a crisis of staff shortages and sick flight crew. Since the nation’s domestic and international borders were opened earlier this year, Australian airline giant Qantas has copped the heaviest criticism, with its CEO Alan Joyce last week apologizing and attempting to redeem the airline by offering its frequent flyers 50 Australian dollar ($34) vouchers for use on its flights.

The latest government statistics paint a picture of poor reliability for Qantas, Jetstar and Virgin Australia, with each reporting cancellation rates of 6.2%, 8.8% and 7.7% respectively. Rex, for its part, reported the lowest cancellation rate of just 2.1%.

The issues faced by Jetstar – a budget subsidiary of Qantas – reveal themselves by a comparison with Rex, which had similar scheduled flights to the former in the month of July 2022. Jetstar, with a total of 7,201 scheduled flights, and Rex, with 6,559, show a difference in cancellations of 6.7%.

Qantas Faces Public Outrage

The Australian public’s view of its flag carrier airline, Qantas, this week took another dive after major news outlets Bloomberg and Australia’s ABC delivered further scathing criticism of the airline. This criticism, adding to that of Rex – which claims Qantas acts unethically – has further fanned the flames of irate customers.

While Qantas was found to have illegally fired it workforce in what appears to be a bid to save costs, despite having received large government bailouts, its passengers have been left with high cancellations and a poor refund system which prevented over $1 billion AUD from being returned to customers.

While other airlines around the world have strong competition between themselves, such as the US and Europe, Australia is mostly dominated by Qantas and its budget subsidiary Jetstar. In essence, the monopoly has allowed Qantas to deliver services to already dry routes only to shut out its competition and then close the route itself later.

ABC’s upcoming “4 Corners” episode, scheduled for Sept. 5, claims to further describe an airline which is facing increasing turbulence from both outside and within.

Mike Mangano

Mike’s love affair with flight and mechanical objects in the sky began at an early age, fascinated by space documentaries and the vintage Flight Simulator ’95. He currently works as an instructor for UAVs and is training to receive his Private Pilot Licence with the goal of working in manned flight instruction. An avid reader of all things aviation and manned space flight, Mike stays close to developments in aerospace while reminiscing and sharing the rich history of flight with others. He loves writing, engineering and science.

Italian Government Chooses Certares, Delta, Air France-KLM to Take Over ITA Airways

Parker Davis

Thursday, September 01, 2022 at 06:00 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Parker Davis

An ITA Airways Airbus A330-200 at Rome Fiumicino Airport. (Photo: ITA Airways)

The future of ITA Airways, the airline created by the Italian state to succeed Alitalia, will finally be in the hands of the consortium formed by private capital firm Certares, Delta Air Lines and Air France-KLM, after it was announced on Aug. 31 that it was chosen by the government to continue with an exclusive negotiation.

This leaves out the MSC-Lufthansa consortium, which until now seemed most likely to take over ITA.

The key issue that tipped the balance in favour of Certares, Delta and Air France-KLM, according to Italian media, was that this group intends to leave 45% of ITA’s shares to the Italian state, while MSC-Lufthansa would not budge from 20%.

With a contribution of 600 million euros, ITA would be divided up in the consortium as follows: Certares with 40.1%, Air France-KLM with 9.9% and Delta with 5%. The Italian state would retain two of the five board members with broad veto powers over strategic decisions and the possibility of appointing the chairman.

A Delta 737-800 in Seattle. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Katie Bailey)

Lufthansa

“We take note of the decision of the Italian government. Our joint offer together with MSC was the better solution for ITA, from our point of view. Apparently, a path is now being chosen that allows for more state influence and does not provide for a complete privatization of ITA,” said Lufthansa in a statement.

“Even without a cooperation with ITA, the Lufthansa Group remains excellently positioned in Italy. With our own Italian airline Air Dolomiti and with all our airline brands we already have a strong position in Italy with around 4 million passengers and over 130 daily departures from 21 destinations. We will continue to expand this position by our own efforts and further develop our market position,” they concluded.

This article was written by Edgardo Gimenez Mazó for Aviacionline.

Parker Davis

Parker joined AirlineGeeks as a writer and photographer in 2016, combining his longtime love for aviation with a newfound passion for journalism. Since then, he’s worked as a Senior Writer before becoming Editor-in-Chief of the site in 2020. Originally from Dallas and an American frequent flyer, he left behind the city’s rich aviation history to attend college in North Carolina, where he’s studying economics.

Lease Rates of A320neo, 737 MAX Rise Due to Aircraft Shortage

Parker Davis

Wednesday, August 31, 2022 at 09:06 PM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Parker Davis

Facing a Vueling A320 on the taxiway. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | William Derrickson)

The shortage of aircraft of the Airbus A320neo and Boeing 737 MAX families, competing models in the short- and medium-range single-aisle market, is driving up the lease price of the airplanes. In this context, many operators are opting to extend existing contracts rather than seek new aircraft in the market.

According to aviation intelligence, information and advisory services company IBA, leasing a new Boeing 737 MAX increased by more than 20% between April 2020 and July 2022, to $316,000 per month.

Meanwhile, leasing an Airbus A320neo can currently require a payment of up to $324,000 per month, up 14% from April 2020. The largest model in the family, the A321neo, could be leased for $375,000 per month in July this year.

According to the Cirium platform, more than 51% of the world’s nearly 23,000 operational commercial passenger aircraft are owned or operated by leasing companies. While many airlines own their aircraft, they very often opt for different fleet schemes comprised of both owned and leased equipment.

A Southwest 737 MAX aircraft in Baltimore. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Ben Suskind)

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the world’s two largest aircraft manufacturers suffered from lack of demand and slowed down their production. In recent months, however, they have begun to receive more firm orders and contracts as a result of the industry’s sustained recovery. Howeverm, supply chain problems and in-house constraints continue to hinder a full recovery in the pace of production.

In addition, sanctions imposed on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine last February led to a shortage in the supply of titanium, a crucial metal for aircraft engine manufacturing. A kind of perfect storm. In between, the beginning of the recovery, not without difficulties.

The rapid acceleration of demand for air travel, encouraged by the general lifting of sanitary restrictions, collided on more than one occasion with the reality of the aviation industry, which was overwhelmed and unable to respond adequately due to a shortage of aircraft, a lack of personnel or a combination of these and other factors.

It is precisely the shortage of available aircraft that has been the main factor behind the recent increase in lease rates. As a result, the major leasing companies, such as Air Lease Corporation, AerCap and Avolon, are making large profits.

This year, airlines are looking for new, more fuel-efficient aircraft in response to the increase in aviation fuel prices. There is a growing demand for newly manufactured aircraft, which are often obtained through leasing companies. On the other hand, rising interest rates are leading to additional increases in rates.

This article was written by Agustín Miguens for Aviacionline.

Parker Davis

How Aeroflot Is Surviving After Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine — Part 2: Narrowbodies

Fangzhong Guo

Wednesday, August 31, 2022 at 09:00 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Parker Davis

Aeroflot narrowboies at Moscow's Sheremetyevo International Airport. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Fangzhong Guo)

Editors note: This is the second article in a series on Aeroflot. Read Part 1 here.

Our last report concluded that most of Aeroflot’s widebody fleet has shifted from international to domestic flights due to international air space restrictions. What is the flag carrier doing with its domestic fleet now that the market has added capacity and reduced demand? Is there any difference in dispatch for short-haul international flights?

The Russian carrier’s single-aisle fleet primarily consists of Airbus A320 family airplanes. Ninety-three out of its 114 active narrowbodies are Airbus aircraft. The rest are Boeing 737-800s and a handful of Sukhoi Superjets. Apart from two planes repossessed overseas at the start of the invasion and one that suffered ground damage in 2020, all are currently in the Russian registry.

Airbus A320neo/A321neo — A short-haul workhorse

Aeroflot operates six Airbus A320neos and three Airbus A321neos, averaging only 1.6 years old. The carrier put its youngest A320neo in storage since the start of the war while using others regularly. Although this is a tiny sub-fleet, it still covered most of the airline’s A320 family routes. The A320neos were even flying to Russia-friendly territories such as Belarus and Kyrgyzstan. Both countries have quietly allowed dual-registered planes in their airspace.

Airbus A321 – Sanction specialists

The Airbus A321ceo sub-fleet is the next largest narrowbody sub-fleet with 32 airframes operating in Aeroflot colors, four of which are in storage as of August 2022. All are sanction related, except for VP-BAX, which has been stored due to damage since 2020. The state-owned company initially parked a single plane in February, then gradually added more in June and July. The change in this fleet appears most probably for spare part scavenging.

In addition to Kyrgyzstan and Belarus, the A321s are in charge of flying to Iran and Armenia. These countries are also under strict sanctions from the west, so they are less likely to assist in sanctions against Russia.

An Aeroflot and Lufthansa aircraft taxi at Munich International Airport. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Fabian Behr)

A320 — Possible ownership transfer

The Moscow-based carrier’s fleet has 52 active A320ceos, the largest sub-fleet under its wings. The type started with one aircraft parked in February and gradually added four more.

However, according to its 2021 annual report, it has 58 of this type in its books at the year’s end. There’s a discrepancy even after subtracting the two repossessed airplanes. Since 98% percent of the carrier’s fleet is on a lease, the planes may be in its accounting book but not active. After further examination, the difference likely comes from those that went into storage for early lease returns in 2021.

This fleet is the most active in international flying. It includes the only narrowbodies flying to Turkey, Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan. While 48 A320s carry passengers in Aeroflot colors, only five have made trips to these countries.

Russia’s State Transport Leasing Company (GTLK) owns all five and only these five airplanes in the Airbus narrowbody fleet. A similar trend also appeared in the company’s 777 fleets, where GTLK-owned planes fly to international destinations such as Istanbul and Delhi.

Since Turkey previously stated it would only allow clean-title aircraft into the country, it’s possible GTLK formally transferred the plane’s ownership to Aeroflot. All aircraft on these routes started international service in the second half of July, which indicates the possibility of an organized effort to restart international service. Restarting international services using GTLK planes likely necessitated swapping one airframe out of storage.

An Aeroflot Boeing 737-800 in flight. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Fangzhong Guo)

Boeing 737NG — Following the rules

On the other side of the aisle, the carrier has 37 Boeing 737-800s. Similar to the other types, it also started with a single frame in storage, and the number gradually increased to five.

This sub-type is one the most-sanctioned narrowbody in the state-owned carrier’s fleet. The US Commerce Department imposed sanctions on most members in this fleet in late March, which caused the airline to shift all Boeing planes to domestic and Belarus-bound flights. Similar to using only clean-title planes for most international long-haul flights, it’s also keeping these planes within its borders, away from trouble.

An Aeroflot Sukhoi Superjet 100 at Dresden Airport in Germany. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Fangzhong Guo)

Sukhoi Superjet 100 — Quietly exiting

These Russian-made machines were already on their way out of Aeroflot’s fleet. The group has been transferring the SSJ100s from the Aeroflot brand to Rossiya.

The latest one will likely be RA-89025, which visited Ulyanovsk, Russia, recently for painting. None of the other three frames are flying passenger services, either.

Conclusion

Despite all the sanctions, the state-owned company has found ways to expand its operations. It may have a chance to rejoin world aviation if it keeps following the rules of countries with connections to the west. However, in the more likely case that it can’t, it’ll have 300 brand new Russian planes to rejuvenile its 100-year history.

Fangzhong Guo

Fangzhong grew up near an OEM airport in northeastern China, where he developed his enthusiasm for aviation. Taking upon his passion, he's now working as an aircraft interior design engineer. Besides working in the aerospace industry, Fangzhong enjoys trying out different types of airplanes and seeing how airplane interiors have evolved. So far, he's flown on over 80 types of aircraft. He also planespots in his spare time. His rarest catches included the 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft and AN-225.

Lufthansa Welcomes Its First Boeing 787 Aircraft

Vanni Gibertini

Tuesday, August 30, 2022 at 03:35 PM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Ryan Ewing

A Lufthansa 787-9. (Photo: Lufthansa)

It has been a difficult few years for the American manufacturer Boeing: the significant issues that led to the grounding of the 737 MAX and, more recently, the delivery delays of the 787, as well as the development delays for the 777-9, have left the Seattle-based company to play catch-up with its European rival Airbus, which has been enjoying the success of its latest products.

For this reason, Boeing has every reason to celebrate the delivery of the first Boeing 787 to German airline Lufthansa. On Monday the aircraft registered D-ABPA left Paine Field Airport (PAE) in the Seattle area and landed at Frankfurt Airport at around 11 a.m. local time on Tuesday.

This is the first of 32 Boeing 787Dreamliners that Lufthansa will receive between now and 2027 when it will completely replace the 17 A340-300 aircraft currently in service for the German carrier. Lufthansa’s 285-aircraft strong fleet almost entirely consists of Airbus aircraft, with the only exceptions being 8 Boeing 747-400 (flagged to be replaced by the 777-9s) and 19 Boeing 747-8i aircraft of which Lufthansa is the largest operator.

“Today’s delivery to the Lufthansa Group is a significant milestone for both companies as we resume European 787 deliveries and Lufthansa receives its first 787. I am delighted to see Lufthansa join a growing set of airlines worldwide operating the industry’s most capable twin-engine airplane,” said Stan Deal, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes in PR Newswire. “With unmatched fuel efficiency and huge passenger appeal, the 787 will play an integral role in the Lufthansa Group’s long-haul network.”

New Business Class Product

This first Boeing 787-9 aircraft is configured with 26 Business Class seats, 21 Premium Economy seats and 247 Economy seats for a total capacity of 294 passengers. Lufthansa has decided to refurbish its business class product on this aircraft, providing aisle access to every seat that can be converted into a 2-meter-long bed. This is a preview of the new top-of-the-line product that Lufthansa will introduce next year in all four classes of service offered across its network: Economy, Premium Economy, Business and First.

“With the Boeing 787, we are introducing another modern aircraft type that is one of the most fuel-efficient long-haul aircraft in our fleet,” said Jens Ritter, the CEO of Lufthansa Airlines in a press release. “This will allow us to significantly further improve the average CO2 balance. This aircraft is sustainable and offers customers a premium flying experience.”

From October, the aircraft will be deployed on domestic routes in Germany to train and certify the crew on this new aircraft type for Lufthansa. Once this phase is completed, the aircraft will become part of the long-haul fleet and its first scheduled destination will be the Canadian city of Toronto.

Vanni Gibertini

Vanni fell in love with commercial aviation during his undergraduate studies in Statistics at the University of Bologna, when he prepared his thesis on the effects of deregulation on the U.S. and European aviation markets. Then he pursued his passion further by obtaining a Master’s Degree in Air Transport Management at Cranfield University in the U.K. followed by holding several management positions at various start-up carriers in Europe (Jet2, SkyEurope, Silverjet). After moving to Canada, he was Business Development Manager for IATA for nine years before turning to his other passion: sports writing.

Kenya Airways Cuts Half-Year Losses to $82.4 Million, Details Restructuring Plans

Victor Shalton

Tuesday, August 30, 2022 at 10:06 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Parker Davis

A Kenya Airways Boeing 787 Dreamliner (Photo: AirlineGeeks | William Derrickson)

As Kenya Airways struggles to shrug off its losing streak, the airline announced it has cut its first-half losses by almost a third as the reopening of travel markets enabled it to more than double passenger revenues.

The airline reported a loss of $82.4 million during the half-year period ending June 2022, according to disclosure in a recent investor briefing.

The improved passenger market drove an overall 76% increase in group revenues to 48.1 billion Kenyan shillings ($398 million) which was mainly driven by an 85% jump in passenger numbers to 1.61 million over the first six months of 2022. This, however, remains 33% lower than the pre-Covid levels.

Cargo revenues also saw an increase, as it came on top of the strong growth in the segment reported for the same period last year. Cargo tonnage increased by 39% compared to the same period in 2021, demonstrating continuous outstanding growth in air freight services.

Kenya Airways chairman Michael Joseph said, ”The opening of borders worldwide has led to quick rebounds in some key markets. Lingering travel restrictions in some markets have limited the recovery.”

The increase in revenues was though in part countered by the sharp rise in fuel costs. It meant the SkyTeam carrier remained in the red for the first half, though it did reduce its operating loss to 5 billion Kenyan shillings from 7.3 billion Kenyan shillings.

”If we adjusted for the fuel price spike, the operating profit for the period would have been 1.5 billion [Kenyan shillings],” Joseph narrates.

“During the first half of 2022, operations were positively impacted by pent-up demand and the removal of travel restrictions, resulting in a strong and sustained recovery in trading performance compared to a similar period in the prior year,” the airline said.

Despite the bounce-back from the pandemic-era travel slump, Kenya Airways is still struggling to recover from its losing streak.

However, the airline’s management is trying to change that. According to CEO Allan Kilavuka, a new phase of restructuring would see the airline cut the fleet and destinations. The CEO is determined that the airline will not only survive but also strengthen its position as a leading airline across the continent.

Already on its part, the airline said it has been able to negotiate a 19% reduction in rental jet costs. It now needs the Kenyan government to step in and help settle the outstanding debts owed to the lessors.

“We will need a financier and the financier at the moment is going to be government, to be able to overall improve the health of the balance sheet,” the CEO said.

He further suggested that extra funding or equity conversion are possible options that Kenya’s National Treasury can consider for settling the debts.

Victor Shalton

Victor Shalton's love for aviation can be traced to when he was 11-years-old. As a seasoned aviation writer, he takes pride in providing the best aviation coverage around the globe and is passionate about advancing his skills in the aviation space. In addition, he loves travelling, writing, arts and while his speaking engagements have taken him around the world, he is proud to call Nairobi home.

AirAsia Resumes Delivery of A321 Aircraft

Pete Ainsley

Monday, August 29, 2022 at 10:46 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Ryan Ewing

AirAsia, the Malaysian low-cost carrier, has announced its plans to resume the delivery of Airbus A321neo aircraft. During the pandemic, the carrier suspended new aircraft delivery. The new aircraft are expected to meet the goal of net zero by 2050.

“We will also be taking delivery of the new Airbus A321neos from 2024, which will further reduce our emission per seat by 20% while driving our business growth.” Tony Fernandes, CEO of Capital A (formerly known as AirAsia) said.

Airbus and AirAsia inked the concrete deal for the new aircraft before the pandemic. In response to the prolonged pandemic, the pair agreed to amend the deal last year, converting the remaining undelivered 13 A320s to A321neos. The latest deal is a total order of 362 A321neo aircraft with deliveries through 2035. According to the airline, four A321neos have been delivered since 2019.

The low-cost carrier is one of Airbus’ regular customers. In 2011, the carrier signed a deal for 200 A320 aircraft at the Paris Air Show.

AirAsia is not the only Malaysian carrier to resume aircraft delivery recently. Malaysia Airlines, the flag carrier in the country, has confirmed a deal of 20 new Airbus A330neos. The new aircraft are scheduled to be delivered in 2024. According to Airbus, Malaysia is Airbus’ third-largest market in the Asia-Pacific region, following China and India.

Return To Normal

Meanwhile, the no-frills carrier posted a net operating loss of RM235 million ($52.3 million) in the second quarter of 2022 (ending June 30). However, the airline has seen a sign of rebounding after the pandemic. Since the reopening of the country’s border and less stringent travel restrictions in other Asian countries, the demand of domestic and international travel were on the rise. The revenue of the second quarter of 2022 was increased by 277% year-over-year.

In response to the higher fuel prices, AirAsia has increased its fares by 10% and implemented a fuel charge. In the second quarter alone, the carrier relaunched 159 international routes. With this end in view, 78% of its furloughed staff have returned to the office, and expect the remaining staff will be returned by the end of the year.

The carrier said that only 65 aircraft were operating by the end of June. Compared to the same time last year when only 15 aircraft were in the skies. In addition, AirAsia has further reviewed that aircraft 108 aircraft returned to the skies as of August, and is expected to increase to 160 by the end of the year. The airline has forecasted full operations by the second quarter of 2023.

Pete Ainsley