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Aviation
Strong demand for air travel
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced that
February 2010 international scheduled air traffic showed continued
strengthening of demand.
Compared to February 2009, passenger demand was up 9.5 percent, while
cargo demand grew 26.5 percent.
These are strong gains, but it must be noted that February 2009
marked the bottom of the cycle for passenger traffic during the global
economic recession. Passenger demand must recover by a further 1.4
percent to return to pre-crisis levels. Cargo hit bottom in December
2008, with little improvement realized by February 2009. Cargo traffic,
which plunged much further than passenger demand, has a further three
percent to recover in order to return to pre-crisis levels.
"We are moving in the right direction. In two to three months, the
industry should be back to pre-recession traffic levels. This is still
not a full recovery. The task ahead is to adjust to two years of lost
growth," said IATA Director General and CEO Giovanni Bisignani.
The highlight for February was improved load factors which stood at
75.5 percent. Considering that February is traditionally the weakest
month for travel, and if seasonally adjusted, this translates to an
all-time record February load factor of 79.3 percent.
While demand increased by 9.5 percent, supply was held back to just
1.9 percent. Airlines are maintaining normal aircraft utilization on
short-haul fleets but long-haul utilization is down over eight percent
compared to 2008 levels. The resulting increase in unit costs for
long-haul operations may delay the positive impact of stronger demand to
the bottom line.
Regional demand patterns continue to reflect the asymmetrical nature
of the economic rebound.
l European carriers posted the weakest growth at 4.3 percent. This is
the result of sluggish home economies, rising unemployment and labour
strikes. This region saw a capacity reduction in February (-0.5
percent).
l North American airlines posted weak growth of 4.4 percent. Having
cut capacity deeply during the recession (February 2010 capacity was
three percent below 2009 levels), this is to be expected. Consumers
continue to pay down debt rather than increase spending, keeping demand
for air travel comparatively weak.
l In contrast to Europe and North America, Asia-Pacific carriers
posted strong traffic growth of 13.5 percent, which was partly boosted
by the timing of the Chinese New Year. Compared with the mid-2009 low
there has been a 19 percent rebound.
l Middle Eastern airlines recorded traffic growth of 25.8%-the
strongest of any region. Travel markets continue to develop within the
region creating new demand. Successful competition on long-haul
connections to Asia over Middle Eastern hubs has improved market share
for the region's carriers.
l Latin American carriers posted growth of 8.5 percent on the
strength of the performance of the region's economies.
l African airlines have also benefitted from strong local economies
with a 9.8 percent growth. However, capacity is also coming back fast
(+9.2 percent) so airlines in this region continue to see the weakest
load factors.
IATA's Agenda for Freedom continued to gain support with Kuwait,
Bahrain and Lebanon endorsing its multilateral Statement of Policy
Principles on liberalization last month. Chile, Malaysia, Panama,
Singapore, Switzerland, the US, the United Arab Emirates and the
European Commission were the original signatories in November 2009.
Manchester becomes A380's North Star
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North Star - The Emirates’ A380
carries an advanced mood lighting system, including a
starlit sky, which adjusts throughout the flight to help
combat the effects of jetlag |
Manchester will become the most northerly point on the world's A380
network after Emirates revealed its latest plans for the superjumbo.
A 517-seat version of the giant aircraft will serve Manchester from
1st September - as the airline marks a double decade of service to the
city.
The A380 will replace Boeing 777 aircraft on EK017 from Dubai and
EK018 out of Manchester. At the same time, Manchester will become the
world's first regional airport to have a regular A380 service.
Emirates' Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations, Europe
Russian Federation Salem Obaidalla, said: "Manchester has become one of
the strongest performers in our growing network of regional gateways.
Our customers value our commitment to a regional network at a time when
other airlines are abandoning them. We are delighted to give our
Manchester customers the very best available in the shape of the
Emirates' A380, which, without doubt, has revolutionised flying."
Manchester Airport's Managing Director, Andrew Cornish, said:
"Emirates' decision to operate daily A380 services between Manchester
and Dubai represents an historic moment for this airport and the region
that we serve.
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Business
Class |
From May 1, passengers travelling from Colombo to Singapore will be
able to experience Singapore Airlines' Airbus A330-300 aircraft,
featuring the airline's latest product and service offerings.
Currently operating to and from three Australian cities, Adelaide,
Brisbane and Perth and two Japanese cities, Nagoya and Osaka, the
aircraft will also be progressively deployed over other regional and
medium-haul routes Abu Dhabi, Jeddah, Kuwait, Male, Fukuoka as well as
Taipei between end of March and April, as part of Singapore Airlines'
ongoing product enhancement efforts. The Singapore Airlines A330-300 is
configured in a two-class layout, with 30 new Business Class and 255
Economy Class seats, and will replace the Airline's Boeing 777
operations on the Colombo-Singapore route.
The Business Class cabin is laid out in a 2-2-2 configuration
featuring a new seat that converts to an incline lie-flat bed, specially
designed for regional and medium-haul routes.
With in-flight entertainment on a large 15.4 inch screen, customers
can enjoy enhanced levels of comfort, privacy and functionality. |
