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Monday, May 7th, 2018
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LATEST NEWS
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The International Air Transport Association (IATA), which represents some 280 airlines comprising 83% of global air traffic, has released data for global air freight markets revealing that demand, measured in freight tonne kilometers (FTKs), was up 1.7% in March 2018, compared to March 2017. This represents a drop of five percentage points compared to the February result and is also the slowest growth pace for the last 22 months.
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For the first time in 20 months annual capacity rose faster than demand with a year-on-year increase in capacity, measured in available freight tonne kilometers (AFTK), of 4.4% compared to 6.3% in February. This rapid slowdown in growth is predominantly due to the end of the restocking cycle, when businesses rapidly increased their inventory to meet unexpectedly high demand.
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According to Alexandre de Juniac, IATA Director General and CEO: "It's normal that growth slows at the end of a restocking cycle. That clearly has happened. Looking ahead we remain optimistic that air cargo demand will grow by 4-5% this year. But there are obviously some headwinds. Oil prices have risen strongly, and economic growth is patchy. The biggest damage could be political. The implementation of protectionist measures would be an own-goal for all involved—especially the US and China."
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According to IATA, all regions except Latin America reported year-on-year declines in growth in March, with Africa in negative territory.
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United Airlines and Lufthansa Cargo have launched an air cargo joint venture. Effective May 3, the two carriers jointly manage sales and booking of standard and express shipments on routes between Europe and the U.S. using their joint venture framework.
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Starting with selected routings from the U.S., Italy, Great Britain, Ireland and Germany, the carriers will expand the geographical scope in the coming months and plan to include additional products and features in the future.
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“The joint venture was designed to provide enhanced value to our customers,” said Peter Gerber, Chairman and CEO of Lufthansa Cargo. “The combination of the two strong networks offers new routing options. The co-location of our warehouses, in Munich for example, is an additional benefit, with customers needing only one location for export drop-off and import delivery. Aligned processes and quicker transfers between separate warehouses also lead to streamlined transport times,” Gerber continued.
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Low-cost carrier Norwegian has released that its Board has rejected two offers from IAG in relation to an acquisition of 100% of the share capital of NAS, stating they undervalued the carrier.
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Last month IAG had bought a 4.6% stake in Norwegian to initiate bid discussions. According to Bloomberg Norwegian shares fell as much as 12%, cutting its market value to about US$1.5bn.
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EasyJet released April passenger statistics with a 4.7% traffic increase compared to the previous year and a load factor of 93.4%, up 0.5 points compared to April 2017.
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Just Us Air, a recently established private airline based in Romania, has become the latest member of the global OASES user community. Developed by Commsoft, OASES is one of the world’s leading MRO IT systems, designed by engineers for engineers.
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Having recently received its Air Operator Certificate (AOC) from the Romanian civil aviation authority - Autoritatea Aeronautica Civila Romana (AACR) - Just Us Air has now commenced passenger charter flights from its base at Bucharest Baneasa airport. The airline operates an Airbus A319-100 available on a full charter, wet lease or ACMI basis and will shortly be adding a maiden A321-231. Just Us Air is promoting its services to tour operators, air transport brokers and other airlines.
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OASES, which combines a high level of technical sophistication with an intuitive user interface, is structured in a modular format to allow for flexibility and scalability. Just Us Air has opted for the Core, Airworthiness and Planning with options on future access to the Materials and Line Maintenance Control modules.
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OASES has already been rapidly implemented for the A319 by Commsoft’s Bucharest-based implementation specialists working closely with Just Us Air staff, accessing the system through Commsoft’s Private Cloud service, and thus avoiding any need for the airline to install additional hardware.
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Bombardier Commercial Aircraft has signed a firm purchase agreement for six new Q400 aircraft with African Aero Trading on behalf of the consortium forming Air Connection Express, Transportes Aereos S.A, based in Luanda, Republic of Angola.
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The airline will operate the Q400 domestically to connect smaller communities and increase frequencies as a regional feeder airline to TAAG Angola Airlines – flag carrier of the Republic of Angola. Based on the list price of the Q400 aircraft, the firm order is valued at approximately US$198m.
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Invercargill Airport will be the first airport in New Zealand to have its air traffic control tower replaced with a digital system operated from a remote location. Air Navigation Services Provider Airways today issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) seeking a supplier of digital tower technology for Invercargill.
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Airways is looking to the technology as a national alternative to bricks and mortar towers that would provide greater aviation safety, resiliency and the option to provide extended levels of services to New Zealand’s regions. The RFP also signals Airways’ intention to implement a digital tower at Auckland International Airport as a back-up to its existing tower by 2020, and a full replacement in the future.
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Digital tower technology allows air traffic controllers to direct traffic from a remote location watching live footage of the airfield from high-definition video cameras. The vision is enhanced by surveillance sensors, flight data and augmented reality overlays, providing controllers with a panoramic view of the airfield in more detail than is possible with the human eye.
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Expected to go-live in 2020 following operational tests, Invercargill’s digital tower will operate first from a building on the airfield before moving off-site in the future to a centralised hub providing services for a number of regional locations.
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Airways conducted a demonstration of digital tower technology at Auckland Airport earlier in the year. Getting the digital system up and running in Invercargill will allow Airways to work through the regulatory requirements for a wider roll-out, Airways CEO Graeme Sumner says.
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“Invercargill is an ideal location for NZ’s first digital tower. Traffic levels are low enough compared to an international airport to make implementing a totally new system manageable, but busy enough to give a meaningful demonstration of how this technology will work on a larger scale.”
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Digital towers are being trialled worldwide, at airports including Changi and London City. They have also permanently replaced traditional towers at a number of airports throughout Europe. However, Invercargill’s digital tower will be world leading.
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American Airlines brings the Czech Republic and the USA one step closer, by launching direct service between Václav Havel Airport Prague (PRG) and Philadelphia International Airport (PHL). Flights are operated using Boeing 767-300 aircraft, providing more than 2,800 seats per week between the two cities, every day throughout the summer season.
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“Prague is a vibrant new addition to American’s international network and we are pleased to offer Czech travelers more choice and more connections for transatlantic travel,” said Richard Muise, Director for Europe & Canada operations. “If Philadelphia is their final destination, Czechs will be able to explore all of the history, shopping and culture the “City of Brotherly Love” has to offer.”
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Czech Airlines Technics (CSAT), a daughter company of the Czech Aeroholding Group providing aircraft repair and maintenance services, and the Masaryk Institute of Advanced Studies (MIAS School of Business) of the Czech Technical University in Prague (CTU) have signed a Memorandum of Co-operation in the field of Lean Management and other projects.
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The institutions are to share important information vital for both the company’s development and the education process. Thanks to the partnership, students will gain both theoretical and practical knowledge.
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“Czech Airlines Technics has supported all activities connecting business practice with the education process for a long time. We understand that working with students is one of the keys to the company’s development and growth. Therefore, we have confirmed the important co-operation with the Masaryk Institute of Advanced Studies (MIAS) in the area of Lean Management, which will help us to make our internal processes improved and more efficient,” stated Pavel Haleš, Chairman of the Board of Directors at Czech Airlines Technics.
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The joint projects will focus on particular aviation maintenance processes, e.g., the layout and organisation of aircraft stand space, the increase of aircraft maintenance capacity in the existing space and the review of storage facilities and supporting administration processes. The main goal is to map and analyse the current situation and suggest solutions to help better use resources and eliminate negative activities, while the work of the CSAT’s team and MIAS students results in increased efficiency and quality.
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International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG) has posted its Group consolidated results for the three months to March 31, 2018.
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IAG reported first quarter operating profit of €280m before exceptional items (2017 restated €160m), net foreign exchange operating profit impact for the quarter favourable €58m.
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The passenger unit revenue for the quarter was down 0.7%, up 3.5% at constant currency. Non-fuel unit costs before exceptional items for the quarterwas down 5.7%, down 0.9% at constant currency.
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Fuel unit costs for the quarter was up 0.%, up 10.4% at constant currency. Cash of €7,442m at March 31, 2018 was down €53m on March 31, 2017 and adjusted net debt to EBITDAR improved by 0.3 to 1.2 times.
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UPCOMING EVENTS
June 5, 2018 – Jury’s Inn Hotel, Prague
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