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Friday, May 18th, 2018
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LATEST NEWS
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AHS BERLIN Aviation Handling Services GmbH and AeroGround Berlin GmbH, two ground handling companies, have agreed on a long-term strategic cooperation at Berlin Airports in an attempt to create synergies and to strengthen their market position.
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Among independent providers of passenger handling and operations services, AHS leads the market in Germany, operating at Berlin’s Tegel and Schoenefeld airports.
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AeroGround Berlin also holds the licenses for ground handling services at both airports, as well as the new Berlin-Brandenburg airport, focusing on land and airside aircraft and baggage handling.
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Both companies operate in an area where margins are small, and competition is intense from a global perspective.
According to Tays Breckerbohm, Managing Director, AHS: “Our main focus is on cost optimization and joint sales activities. In addition, together with AeroGround we can now cover the entire range of ground handling services.”
Christian Stoschek, Managing Director of AeroGround Berlin, confirmed that: “We are very pleased about the future steps with a successful and professional partner like AHS at our side. The synergy effects will strengthen our two companies in Berlin.”
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Tegel is Berlin’s principal international airport, handling just over 20.5 million passengers in 2017. It is a base for EasyJet and Germania. Schoenefeld is Berlin’s secondary international airport, locates 18km southwest of the city. Originally the major civil airport in East Berlin, in 2017 it accommodated 12.9 million passengers. It is a base for Condor, easyJet and Ryanair.
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easyJet's first half 2018 passenger numbers increased by 3.0 million to 36.8 million, including 0.7 million from easyJet’s new Berlin Tegel operations launched in January. Capacity increased by 7.8% as easyJet grew its existing network by 4.6% and added an additional 1.2 million seats at Tegel. Load factor grew by 0.9 points to 91.1% (91.9% excluding Tegel).
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Total revenue increased by 19.5% to £2,183 million (H1 2017: £1,827 million). Total revenue per seat increased by 10.9% to £54.10 (H1 2017: £48.80), with an increase of 8.3% at constant currency. Ex-Tegel flying revenue per seat increased by 12% to £54.64 and by 9.5% at constant currency, at the upper end of previous guidance easyJet’s business model and strategy are underpinned by sector leading balance sheet strength, with a net cash position at March 31, 2018 of £665m (31 March 2017: £353m).
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Headline Profit before tax excluding Tegel was £8 million, a £220 million improvement on H1 2017 (H1 2017 loss £212m). Total headline loss before tax was £18 million, an improvement of £194 million. Total loss before tax of £68 million for the six months ended 31 March 2018 (H1 2017 loss £236m) principally reflecting non-headline costs associated with the one-off integration of Tegel operations and the sale and leaseback of ten A319 aircraft.
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Fly Leasing, a global leader in aircraft leasing, has announced that all agreements relating to FLY’s acquisition of 55 Airbus narrow-body aircraft and seven CFM engines on operating lease, and the option to purchase an additional 20 Airbus A320neo family aircraft, were approved by the shareholders of AirAsia Group Berhad (“AirAsia”) at their extraordinary general meeting on May 14, 2018.
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“The positive vote by AirAsia’s shareholders was the final approval needed to complete the acquisition,” said Colm Barrington, CEO of FLY. “The addition of these aircraft and engines will grow FLY’s fleet significantly and will drive improved returns for our shareholders. We look forward to completing the transfer of the 34 aircraft and seven engines that comprise the initial part of the transaction by the end of the third quarter.”
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Alaska Air Group has reported April operational results on a consolidated basis for its mainline operations flown by subsidiaries Alaska Airlines and Virgin America and for its regional flying operated by subsidiary Horizon Air and third-party regional carriers SkyWest Airlines and Peninsula Airlines.
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On a combined basis for all operations, Air Group reported a 5.8% increase in traffic on an 8.7% increase in capacity compared to April 2017. Load factor decreased 2.3 points to 84.3%.
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BOC Aviation has delivered its first Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft to its newest customer, Corendon Airlines, based in Turkey. The aircraft is the first delivery of the Company’s 737 MAX family aircraft.
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“This delivery represents a number of significant milestones for us, with the aircraft being the first addition of the Boeing 737 MAX 8 to our fleet, the first Boeing 737 MAX 8 to be delivered into Turkey and our first delivery to Corendon Airlines,” said Steven Townend, Chief Commercial Officer (Europe, Americas, Africa), BOC Aviation.
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Avantto Aircraft Administration, in collaboration with Air BP, has announced a pioneering program in Brazil to offset carbon emissions in the business aviation sector. The carbon emissions related to the use of all of the aviation fuel supplied by Air BP to Avantto for the next 12 months will be offset via BP Target Neutral, in line with the companies’ commitment to a lower carbon future.
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Avantto performs more than 750 take-offs per month, accumulating more than 4,500 flight hours per year, for about 400 users. Concerns about sustainability are at the heart of Avantto's business model. Through shared flights between clients, it is possible to optimize aircraft occupancy by reducing fuel consumption and the number of "empty legs". Also, Avantto operates in one of the world's most modern heliports – HBR Aviation, whose construction respected and prioritized a minimum environmental impact.
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The program will be launched on June 1, 2018, and initially run for one year, with the possibility of being extended into the future. This is Air BP's first carbon offsetting offer for business aviation customers in Brazil and complements its carbon neutral into-plane fueling operations at 250 directly operated locations around the world, including a number of locations in Brazil such as Sao Paulo Guarulhos and Rio de Janeiro Galeao international airports.
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Doric has acquired a new Boeing 787-9 – a Dreamliner – for Shinhan Aviation MSN 62742 Limited in a sale and lease-back transaction. The aircraft is leased to the TUI Group for a term of 12 years.
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The purchase of the aircraft was financed by long-term bank debt and the issuance of notes. Commerzbank, HSBC and Nord/LB provided the long-term loan. In addition, fixed-rate, rated notes and profit participating notes were issued. These were signed by institutional investors in Germany and South Korea.
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Doric has arranged and structured the aircraft investment and will be responsible for the ongoing asset management of the Dreamliner. The lessee – the TUI Group – one of the largest leisure, travel and tourism companies, operating one of the youngest and greenest aircraft fleets in Europe.
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Air France-KLM, Delta Air Lines and Virgin Atlantic Limited have signed definitive agreements paving the way forward for their expanded trans-Atlantic joint venture:
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The Joint Venture Agreement signed between Air France-KLM, Delta and Virgin Atlantic sets out the governance as well as the commercial and operational terms of the expanded trans-Atlantic Joint Venture.
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Upon completion, Air France-KLM will acquire a 31% stake in Virgin Atlantic currently held by Virgin Group for £220 million. Virgin Group will retain a 20% stake and Chairmanship of Virgin Atlantic. Delta will retain its 49% stake.
Air France-KLM, Delta and Virgin Atlantic will now coordinate efforts to secure the appropriate regulatory approvals.
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The signed agreements are all subject to regulatory approvals.
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SAS is launching new high speed WiFi on its short and medium haul routes between Scandinavia and Europe. This means that passengers can now stream their favorite movies, use social media, send images from their seat or answer their emails.
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SAS' WiFi is based on a satellite communication system supplied by Viasat Inc.; a global company from California, USA, that supplies internet services to private and public organizations, the military and airlines, including US government aircraft, Qantas and Jetblue.
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SAS' WiFi has already been installed in 28 aircraft, and by September, around 40 aircraft will have the new high speed WiFi installed. SAS expects the vast majority of its fleet to be WiFi enabled by the first quarter of 2020.
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The UK air traffic management service provider, NATS, has announced it has invested in Aireon, the company pioneering a space-based air traffic surveillance service set to revolutionise the aviation industry.
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Through a network of 66 low earth orbiting Iridium® NEXT satellites, AireonSM will monitor the location of Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) equipped aircraft flying anywhere in the world, transforming the way air traffic control services are provided.
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The service will offer global air traffic surveillance of aircraft. This means that oceans and remote regions like the poles, deserts and mountainous areas will have real-time aircraft surveillance for the first time.
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The forecasted safety and airspace capacity benefits, together with the savings in fuel and carbon emissions, are being hailed as the greatest revolution in air traffic management since the introduction of radar 70 years ago.
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News of the US$69 million investment, worth around 10% equity, was announced at a press conference in Washington DC, near Aireon’s headquarters, at which NATS also confirmed it is currently consulting with its customers about introducing the satellite technology for use over the North Atlantic starting with operational trials from 2019 to deliver the capacity and safety benefits that the airspace requires to keep pace with demand.
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UPCOMING EVENTS
June 5, 2018 – Jury’s Inn Hotel, Prague
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