GOL preliminary traffic figures for December 2017

GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes  Brazil's #1 airline, announced today preliminary air traffic figures for the month of December 2017. Comparisons refer to the same period of 2016.

GOL's Highlights

The total volume of GOL departures increased by 3.4% and the number of seats was up 3.5% in December, resulting in an increase in supply of 5.5%. GOL's load factor was 81.0% in December 2017, 2.0 p.p. up over the same period of 2016, due to a growth in demand of 8.2% in the period.

In the domestic market, the volume of departures and number of seats increased by 3.0% and 3.1%, respectively over December 2016. In addition, GOL increased its supply by 4.5% in December over the same period the year before, while demand grew by 7.0%. GOL's Load factor was up 1.9 p.p. in comparison to the same month of the previous year, achieving 81.4%.

In December 2017, GOL's international market supply and demand rose by 14.5% and 19.3%, respectively, increasing load factor by 3.2 p.p. in relation to the same period of 2016.

Boeing, Turkish Airlines Announce Order for Three 777 Freighters

Boeing and Turkish Airlines announced that the carrier ordered three more 777 Freighters in December 2017. The new order came weeks after the carrier took delivery of two of the large cargo jets as part of its plan to further expand its freight business.

"These freighter orders will surely contribute to our significant target for establishing a young and efficient cargo fleet," said M. İlker Aycı, Chairman of the Board and the Executive Committee of Turkish Airlines. "The new aircraft will be delivered this year and will provide us with additional flexibility to serve more destinations while we continue to develop our global freight service."

Ramp up in Airbus China production

European aircraft manufacturing giant, Airbus has announced details of a deal to increase the number of aircraft it makes in China during a state visit by French President Emmanuel Macron.  During his three-day visit, Mr Macron said both France and China must open up to doing business with each other, saying "access to markets which is unbalanced [and] unsatisfying"

Airbus says it plans to produce six of its A320 jets each month by 2020 at the final assembly plant the company has near Beijing.  As part of the agreement, Airbus said it will "enhance its industrial partnership in Tianjin" which is one of four global facilities that assemble the whole family range of A320 craft.

Airbus said it hopes to "strengthen the cooperation with regards to technical innovation, engineering capabilities and supply chain expansion".

The manufacturer currently only produces four aircraft each month in China, this will increase to five by the end of 2019 and then cranking up to six jets by early 2020.

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British Airways to end the recline on short-haul whilst introduce new menu on longer services

British Airways travels further down the 'low-cost'  route by taking away the recline on it's short-haul route network.  Soon passengers will not have that little touch of comfort when the new fleet of aircraft based at Heathrow will be installed with the non-reclining seats.

The 35 Airbus A320neo and A321neo planes that are scheduled to arrive soon will be without the recline button but instead, have a fixed "gentle recline". 

It put British Airways more on an equal footing with other low-cost carriers, such as easyJet and Ryanair who already utilise seats that cannot be adjusted/reclined, which save money in the long run.

As well as the new arrivals having no recline, British Airways will also completely refurbish all its existing Airbus A320 and A321 aircraft, where the reclining seats will be removed. However, the airline will introduce in-seat power points as well as introducing onboard wi-fi, for sky high fees

Two new routes for Spirit

Spirit Airlines will be launching two international destinations to its rapidly expanding network, it has announced this week.  The bright yellow liveried airline will start services to new cities in Ecuador and Haiti. 

The routes will start from Fort Lauderdale this spring, expanding further what is already Spirit’s largest base of operation.

From 22nd March the ultra-low-cost airline, Spirit will begin flying from Fort Lauderdale to Guayaquil, Ecuador. The carrier plans to operate a daily round-trip flight throughout the year. Then on 12th April, they will launch a service to Cap-Haïtien on the north coast of Haiti. The schedule for this route will start off with three flights a week but may increase over time subject to demand. 

Spirit are pleased with their new Guayaquil routes, promoting it as the “Gateway to the Galapagos.” The city will become Spirit’s only destination in Ecuador at this time.  

Cap-Haïtien International Airport is the second busiest airport in Haiti and will add better connectivity to the region, the new service will also compliment Spirits other Haitian route to Port-au-Prince. 

"We are excited to add even more international options to our growing network,” Mark Kopczak, Spirit’s Vice President of Network Planning, said in a statement. 

Once these new routes begin, Spirit will be offering 54 destinations from Fort Lauderdale spread throughout the US, Caribbean and Latin America. 

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United Airlines Announces New Routes Connecting Eight Cities to Hundreds of Domestic and International Destinations

 United Airlines today announced it will begin new service between six of its domestic hubs and eight destinations in California, Ohio, North Dakota, South Dakota, Virginia and Wisconsin.

The new flights, starting June 7, offer customers hundreds of connection opportunities across United's world-class domestic and international route network.

"We are excited to begin the new year by adding eight new flights as we continue our focus on making United the first choice for customers," said Jake Cefolia, United's vice president of Sales.

Hong Kong Airlines ranked most punctual airline in Asia; second globally in 2017

Hong Kong Airlines has been recognised for its excellent On-Time Performance (OTP), having been ranked by UK-based air travel intelligence company OAG as Asia's most punctual airline, and the second globally in 2017.

According to the "OAG Punctuality League 2018" report, which delivers the most updated statistics for airlines based on full-year data in 2017, Hong Kong Airlines achieved an OTP rating of 88.83% -- a significant increase as compared to 74.46% in 2016.

Hong Kong Airlines operates out of one of the world's busiest air hubs. To maintain its operational efficiency and strive towards OTP excellence, Hong Kong Airlines has always been exploring ways to improve overall flight punctuality. The move to the then newly built Midfield Concourse at Hong Kong International Airport in late 2015 presented an opportunity, as the 105,000 square-metre, five-storey facility provided 20 dedicated parking stands that would serve Hong Kong Airlines well. Currently, over 99% of Hong Kong Airlines' flights out of Hong Kong arrive and depart from the Midfield Concourse, which has become a significant contributing factor to the airline's improved OTP.   

Aeromexico Reports December 2017 Traffic Results

Grupo Aeromexico today reported December 2017 operational results.

Grupo Aeromexico transported 1 million 832 thousand passengers in December 2017; a 3.9% year-on-year increase. International passenger numbers increased by 19.5%, while domestic passenger numbers decreased by 4.4%. 

Demand, measured in Revenue Passenger Kilometers (RPKs), increased by 15.2%, year-on-year. Aeromexico's capacity, measured in Available Seat Kilometers (ASKs), increased by 15.5%, year-on-year. 

Aeromexico's December load factor was 80.3%, a decrease of 0.2 p.p. compared to December 2016.

Casa Cupula Honours Mexican LGBT Icon with new suite

As part of the continuing celebration of Puerto Vallarta’s luxury LGBT property’s Quinceanera, Casa Cupula has now opened the doors to its new Frida Suite, which celebrates the life and art of Mexican icon Frida Kahlo. 

Decorated in the style of Frida Kahlo’s paintings and imagery, Casa Cupula’s one bedroom/1.5 ba suite of 860 sq ft (80m2) includes a living area, kitchen, washer and dryer and a terrace with a view of Puerto Vallarta and a hot tub. Guests will enjoy the view of the Bay of Banderas while enjoying the shade of a heritage Papelillo tree and the flora and the fauna of the Sierra Madre, home to iguanas, squirrels, hummingbirds, parrots and other birds.

Kahlo’s work has been celebrated internationally for her incorporation of Mexican national and indigenous traditions and uncompromising depiction of the dark sides of the female experience and form. The artist’s personal life is often a focus of any reading of her life, as she had both male and female lovers, including a reported affair with Josephine Baker in Paris, and is one of the LGBT community’s most beloved icons.

Ground collision at Toronto Pearson causes delays

A major incident occurred at Toronto's Pearson airport where a WestJet Boeing 737-800 that had recently arrived from Cancun was waiting to proceed to its gate when it was struck by a Sunwing aircraft being pushed back. 

This incident took place at approximately 6.30pm local time on Friday evening on the apron around terminal 3.  The WestJet aircraft had been on the ground for around twenty minutes, waiting for a gate to be opened up when it was struck on its wing by the tail of the Sunwing aircraft - which that caught fire. From images shared on social media it appears the fire on the Sunwing aircraft was contained within the APU. 

There were 168 passengers and 6 crew on the WestJet aircraft at the time of the collision and they were evacuated via the emergency slides to the apron. Emergency crews raced to the area at terminal three and put out the fire. 

WestJet issued the following statement 

WestJet has confirmed that WS2425, a Boeing 737-800 with 168 guests and six crew onboard, inbound from Cancun to Toronto Pearson, while waiting to proceed to the gate and stationary, was struck by a Sunwing aircraft pushing back from the gate.    

Due to the position of the aircraft on the laneway, WestJet guests required evacuation via emergency slide. Emergency crews were on hand and responded immediately.  WestJet is in direct contact with the Transportation Safety Board, the GTAA and the various emergency agencies responsible for responding to, and investigating, this incident.  All 168 guests and six crew are accounted for. We can confirm guests are safely in the terminal.  

Some flights departing from and arriving at terminal 3 have been affected, although a spokesperson for the airport advised that other flights were operating as normal.

The Sunwing aircraft was not operating a passenger flight at the time of pushback, the travel company tweeted the following statement "There were no Sunwing crew or passengers onboard at the time of the incident.  We are awaiting further information from Swissport and will provide more details as they become available."

An investigation is currently underway. 

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Azul is the most on-time airline in Brazil and the most on-time Low-cost carrier in the Americas

Azul Brazilian Airlines is the most on-time airline in Brazil and the most on-time low-cost carrier (LCC) in the Americas.  As reported in the official OAG worldwide airline punctuality rankings, 84.14% of Azul flights arrived within 14 minutes and 59 seconds of their scheduled arrival time.  This on-time metric also makes Azul the fifth most on-time LCC in the world. 

OAG worldwide punctuality league 2018 names

 Azul as the most on-time LCC in the Americas

"This industry-leading result is a direct reflection of our constant focus on operational excellence.  Finishing the year as the most on-time LCC in the Americas demonstrates the high standards that we promise and deliver to our customers. This accomplishment is even more impressive considering that we operate almost 800 daily flights and fly to more than 100 destinations, which is approximately twice the number of domestic destinations served by our competitors.  I want to thank our crewmembers for their incredible dedication and focus in delivering the best customer experience in the industry", said David Neeleman, Azul's founder and Chairman. 

Biggest summer schedule at Gatwick for British Airways in a decade

As the back to work blues set in, British Airways is turning up the heat at Gatwick as summer 2018 is set to be the airline’s biggest schedule in almost a decade.

In summer 2017 the airline operated around 1000 flights a week at its peak.  More than 150 additional weekly flights will take to the skies this summer* following the airline’s successful acquisition of Monarch’s take-off and landing slots.

Weekly flights to Malaga will be boosted from 27 to 35, Alicante from 14 to 22 and Faro from 17 to 21, while the airline’s summer flights to Tenerife will increase from six per week to 13, Madeira will be bolstered from six to nine per week and Lanzarote will rise from three to five flights per week at the Sussex based hub.

Norwegian reports record high year-end traffic figures: Carried over 33 million passengers in 2017

Norwegian reported its highest ever passenger figures in a single year with more than 33 million passengers and a load factor of 87.5 percent in 2017. The launch of 54 new routes and a substantial increase of intercontinental traffic contributed considerably to the growth.

Passenger growth, more new aircraft and high load factors characterized 2017. The company carried more than 33.15 million passengers in 2017, 3.8 million more than the previous year. The company took delivery of 32 brand new aircraft and launched 54 new routes, mainly between Europe and the U.S. The Group hired approximately 2,000 new staff members. The 2017 load factor was 87.5 percent, compared to 87.7 percent the previous year.

Norwegian also received several international customer awards in 2017, including two SkyTrax Awards: ‘Europe’s best low-cost carrier’ for the fifth consecutive year and the ‘World's best low-cost long-haul airline’ for the third year in a row.

Norwegian CEO Bjørn Kjos said: “The 2017 traffic figures show that our international footprint grows stronger, in line with the Norwegian Group’s strategy. Our Scandinavian operation is stable and positive, and we see that our long-haul and short-haul networks complement each other, consequently strengthening our competitiveness. Our growing long-haul networks from the UK and Ireland continue to be well-received by passengers, proving the demand for high-quality, affordable travel. Increased tourism creates economic value and new jobs at all the destinations we serve.”

Vietjet Celebrates Delivery of First Airbus A321neo

Vietjet celebrated the airline's first A321neo aircraft delivery at Airbus in Hamburg, Germany.  The aircraft, powered by Pratt & Whitney Geared Turbofan™ (GTF) engines, arrived in Ho Chi Minh City shortly after Vietjet celebrated six years of passenger flights and ten years since the airline was founded.

"We are very happy to take delivery of our first GTF-powered A321neo," said Dinh Viet Phuong, vice president of Vietjet. "We believe that the GTF engine will deliver exceptional fuel efficiency and a superbly quiet passenger experience."

Vietjet placed an order for 63 A320neo family aircraft in February 2016, and ordered an additional 10 aircraft just last month during a signing ceremony in Vietnam's capital, Hanoi. Both contracts included multi-year EngineWise™ Fleet Management Programs.

Chorus Aviation delivers two new Bombardier Q400 aircraft to Ethiopian Airlines

Chorus Aviation announced that a subsidiary of Chorus Aviation Capital completed the delivery of two new Bombardier Q400 aircraft placed on long-term lease to Ethiopian Airlines Group which was previously announced on November 29, 2017.

One year ago, Chorus established a new regional aircraft leasing subsidiary, Chorus Aviation Capital. The objective was to build Chorus Aviation Capital into a global aircraft lessor with a diverse customer base and fleet of regional jet and turboprop aircraft in the 70- to 135-seat range.

"We have built and grown Chorus Aviation Capital into a significant global business with a strong customer base, attractive aircraft assets and long-term contracted leases," commented Steven Ridolfi, President, Chorus Aviation Capital. "We are gaining momentum in this growing and dynamic market, and look forward to the continued success of this new and exciting business," he added.