Fraport Traffic Figures 2019: Frankfurt Airport Serves More than 70.5 Million Passengers

Fraport Traffic Figures 2019: Frankfurt Airport Serves More than 70.5 Million Passengers

New annual record achieved in Frankfurt despite slower growth - Most of Fraport's Group airports worldwide also performed well

Frankfurt Airport (FRA) served more than 70.5 million passengers in 2019 – achieving a new all-time record by exceeding the 70-million mark for the first time in a calendar year. Compared to the previous year, this represents a passenger increase of 1.5 percent. Following a positive trend in the first half of 2019 (up 3.0 percent), passenger volumes largely stagnated in the second half of the year (up 0.2 percent). In the months of November and December 2019, passenger numbers declined for the first time since November 2016. The relatively weaker growth in full-year passenger numbers can be mainly attributed to domestic traffic (down 3.4 percent) and European traffic (up 1.2 percent). In contrast, intercontinental traffic to and from FRA increased by 3.4 percent in 2019.

Jet Edge acquires JetSelect Aviation

Jet Edge International acquires Columbus, Ohio-based JetSelect Aviation to create one of the world’s largest and most diverse fleets of aircraft based throughout the United States. The acquisition will provide more elevated private jet charter options for consumers and corporations across the country as Jet Edge expands both east and west coast as well as midwest and central operations.

Jet Edge acquires JetSelect Aviation, reinforcing Jet Edge’s market position as the premier aircraft management firm of Super-Midsize and Large Cabin business aircraft worldwideThe acquisition of JetSelect Aviation bolsters Jet Edge’s charter offering in the Super-Midsize cabin classThe deal provides Jet Edge immediate diversification in the Bombardier Challenger and Learjet series aircraft while strengthening its existing position as a leader in the Bombardier Global, Gulfstream, and Dassault series aircraftThe acquisition accelerates Jet Edge’s combined fleet offering to 85+ private jets which include aircraft from Gulfstream, Bombardier, Dassault, Embraer, and BoeingJet Edge’s point-to-point charter will now be offered by two complementary aircraft series: Bombardier Challenger and Gulfstream GIV/GV

Delta under investigation after jet dumps fuel over Los Angeles affecting dozens of children

US mega-carrier Delta Air Lines is under investigation

after a Boeing 777-232(ER) registration N860DA operating flight DL89 from Los Angeles to Shanghai had to turn back after developing a problem in an engine and dumped fuel over the city.

Delta said the aircraft landed safely after the normal procedure of dumping fuel, however, the airline is under a full investigation for venting the fuel over the suburban area and not in a designated approved dumping area.  

Shortly after the plane started dumping its load to get down to a safe landing weight people on the ground started to complain about the smell of aviation fuel with a number saying that they had experienced some skin irritation after coming in contact with the fuel.

American Airlines Names Brian Znotins Vice President of Network and Schedule Planning

 American Airlines announced today that Brian Znotins has been named Vice President of Network and Schedule Planning. In this role, Znotins will guide the development and implementation of American’s global network and hub strategy, including all route planning, slot management and long-range planning efforts. Znotins will report to Vasu Raja, American’s Senior Vice President of Network Strategy.

“Brian is one of the leading network planners in the world,” Raja said. “His ability to manage and maximize complex networks at scale as well as motivate his team makes him incredibly well-suited to thrive at American. We look forward to what he and the team will accomplish over the coming years.”

IAG files complaint over UK's 'state aid' to Flybe....

Willie Walsh, the current boss of IAG has filed a complaint to the European Union over the UK's rescue deal for the troubled regional carrier, Flybe. IAG is claiming the deal breaches state aid rules and it is understood that another European carrier has also submitted, or is in the process of filing a complaint. Walsh said it was a "blatant misuse of public cash".

These complaints come as a backlash against the government's plan to defer some of Flybe's air passenger duty tax bill of over £100 million grows. Ryanair the low-fare-high-fee t had called for "more robust and frequent stress tests on financially weak airlines and tour operators so the taxpayer does not have to bail them out". EasyJet chief executive Johan Lundgren said: "Taxpayers should not be used to bail out individual companies, especially when they are backed by well-funded businesses."

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Air Lease Corporation Activity Update for the Fourth Quarter of 2019

One of the premier aircraft leasing specialists, Air Lease Corp announced an update on activity taking place in the fourth quarter of 2019:

As of December 31, 2019, ALC’s fleet was comprised of 292 owned aircraft and 85 managed aircraft with 413 new aircraft on order from Boeing and Airbus through 2026.

Deliveries  - Delivered 11 new aircraft including 2 Airbus A320neos, 7 Airbus A321neos, 1 Airbus A330-900neo, 1 Boeing 787-10 and acquired 1 A330-300 in the secondary market

Aircraft investments in the quarter totalled approximately $825 million

Sales - Sold 19 aircraft including 11 aircraft to Thunderbolt Aircraft Lease Limited III and the remainder to other buyers.  Sales proceeds for the quarter totalled approximately $585 million

Financing - Issued CAD$400 million senior unsecured medium-term notes at a fixed rate of 2.625%

Orders - Pursuant to existing MOUs, entered into agreements with Airbus for 50 A220 aircraft (with purchase options for an additional 25 A220 aircraft), 25 A321neo aircraft and 27 A321neo XLR aircraft, with deliveries of the aircraft scheduled to commence in 2021 and continue through 2026

Thistle Hotel offers................

25% off - Extend Your Weekend at Thistle Kensington Gardens

Save a huge 25% off your booking when you stay with us for 3 nights or more. Let us make your Thistle stay even better with free breakfast every day of your stay and a 2 pm late check-out.

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30% off – Stay Longer For Less at Thistle Trafalgar Square

You can enjoy a 30% discount if you decide to stay with us for more than 6 nights and we’ll even upgrade you to an even better room and throw in a delicious free breakfast every morning. Great for the next time you’re in town and want to hang out a bit longer and catch all those amazing things you’ve been meaning to see.

More details and to book can be found here.



Please note that Air101 may earn a commission if you book any of these special hotel offers from the links on this page with proceeds go to our 'we care charity programme'. 

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Alaska Airlines to launch daily nonstop service between Seattle and Monterey, California

Alaska Airlines to launch daily nonstop service between Seattle and Monterey, California

Alaska Airlines announced today it will begin daily nonstop service between Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and Monterey Regional Airport (MRY) in central California, further solidifying Alaska as the number one airline between the Pacific Northwest and the Bay Area. The new, year-round service is scheduled to begin June 18, and it will be the only nonstop flight offered between the two cities.    

"We're working hard to connect destinations where our guests want to fly along the West Coast," said David Besse, Alaska's manager of network planning. "Our customers throughout the Central Coast won't have to drive several hours to catch a flight from other Bay Area airports. They can stay close to home and fly directly to Seattle, and connect with all the possibilities at our hometown hub."

Alaska remains committed to offering the most nonstop flights from Sea-Tac, with Monterey becoming the 92nd nonstop destination this summer.

Exclusive Hyatt and Headspace Collaboration to Bring Mindfulness and Medication to Employees and Guests Around the World

Hyatt Hotels Corporation and Headspace, a leader in mindfulness and meditation with nearly 60 million users in 190 countries, have announced a new global wellbeing collaboration between Hyatt and Headspace that will bring mindfulness exercises, guided meditations and sleep content to millions of employees, corporate customers and guests. This exclusive collaboration is set to launch at Hyatt-branded hotels around the world in the coming months.

The alliance with Headspace builds on Hyatt’s holistic wellbeing strategy, which focuses on positively impacting how employees, corporate customers and guests feel, fuel and function – Hyatt's three landmarks of wellbeing – at work and in life. This collaboration uniquely positions Hyatt to better care for its employees’ and guests’ wellbeing with a meaningful variety of mindfulness experiences:

Employees will be offered access to a complimentary subscription to Headspace as a means of supporting them on their own mental health and wellbeing journeys. Corporate customers have emphasised the importance of integrating wellness into meetings, and this new collaboration will give planners the option to infuse Headspace content and experiences into meetings packages. Additionally, Headspace content will power Hyatt’s new meditation experience for meeting and conference attendees, which is expected to launch later this year.

US budget carrier Allegiant announces big expansion - 3 new cities & 44 nonstop routes

The US budget carrier Allegiant announced 44 new nonstop routes, including 14 routes to three new cities: Chicago, Boston and Houston, in what it calls the carriers largest-ever expansion programme.  

This major addition to service is driven by Allegiant's goal of connecting leisure travellers in underserved cities to popular destinations around the country. Most of the 44 new routes are non-competitive, with no other airline providing service between those airports.

"There is a lot of leisure demand for cities that are regional destinations, and this route expansion will address some of that need," said Drew Wells, Allegiant vice president of planning and revenue. "Also, this growth is about Allegiant being true to our mission as a company. We're increasing the number of low-cost, affordable travel options for people who may otherwise be priced out of air travel."

Etihad Airways has joined easyJet's worldwide website...............the new interlining partnership!

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, has become the most recent airline to partner with easyJet, it has been confirmed this week. This new and somewhat unlikely partnership means customers can purchase tickets through the easyJet worldwide website connecting the two airlines’ networks and the collaboration comes into effect immediately.

The partnership follows easyJet’s accelerated and successful roll-out programme with world-leading flight comparison search engine, Dohop, which powers the easyJet worldwide website connecting its European network with long-haul flights. For Etihad, this has been achieved using the NDC (New Distribution Capability) platform providing the technical capability for new partnerships previously not possible. The partnership with easyJet and Dohop is the UAE national airline’s first use of this technology and Etihad plans to add more airlines and travel partners to their NDC portfolio in 2020.

Thales and Dassault Aviation win contract for France’s new strategic airborne intelligence programme

The French Armament General Directorate (DGA) has awarded Thales and Dassault Aviation the ARCHANGE[1] programme to strengthen France’s signals intelligence (SIGINT) capabilities.
Thales will work with Dassault Aviation on behalf of the DGA and the armed forces to integrate the CUGE[2] electronic warfare system on board Dassault’s Falcon 8X aircraft.
The ARCHANGE programme will be conducted in accordance with a new government directive on defence programmes (Ministerial Instruction 1618), which places added emphasis on agile, collaborative working methods

On 30 December 2019, the French Armament General Directorate (DGA) awarded Thales and Dassault Aviation the contract to equip the French Army’s future strategic intelligence aircraft with the CUGE universal electronic warfare capability. The contract covers the first two aircraft on the programme. CUGE will ultimately be deployed by three Falcon X aircraft, built by Dassault Aviation, to replace the two Transall C-160 Gabriel aircraft in service with the French Air Force from 2025.

American puts back the reintroduction of the 737 Max to June

American Airlines has postponed again the proposed date for its Boeing 737 Max aircraft to return to schedules from April this year to 4th June! 

The airline says this decision is based on the latest guidance from the authorities and the manufacturer and relies on the aircraft being given its airworthiness certification.  Once the aircraft is certified, American will run flights for American team members and invited guests, before it goes into regular scheduled services. 

American expects to gradually phase in the 737 Max on commercial services and will increase flying on the aircraft throughout the month of June. Since American will gradually phase the jets over the course of a month, it may need to make further schedule changes and any affected customers will be contacted directly.

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Gulf Air partners with Etihad Airways.................

Big news for Gulf Air's Falconflyer members as the Kingdom of Bahrain's national carrier has announced a new partnership with Etihad Airways, that allows Falconflyer members flying on any Etihad Airways flight to earn and redeem Falconflyer miles!

Gulf Air’s Falconflyer loyalty programme has inked a new partnership with Etihad Guest, the award-winning loyalty programme for Etihad Airways, further enhancing benefits for its members.

The partnership expands on the codeshare agreement between the two airlines and provides further cooperation between the frequent flyer programmes, Falconflyer and Etihad Guest. This allows members to earn and redeem miles reciprocally on all flights across both networks. In both cases, the number of miles earned will depend upon the class of travel flown.

Delta Air Lines announces December quarter and full year 2019 profit December quarter 2019 pre-tax income of $1.4 billion, net income of $1.1 billion and earnings per diluted share of $1.71  Full year 2019 pre-tax income of $6.2 billion and earnings per diluted share of $7.30, a nearly 30% increase over prior year Record $1.6 billion profit sharing for Delta's 90,000 employees Full year 2019 operating cash flow of $8.4 billion and $4.2 billion in free cash flow The US mega-carrier Delta Air Lines reported financial results for the December quarter and full year 2019 this week along with its outlook for the March quarter 2020. Highlights of the December quarter and full year 2019 results.   December Quarter Financial Highlights Adjusted earnings per share of $1.70, a 31% increase year over year; above guidance of $1.20 to $1.50 on stronger revenue, lower fuel and a nine-cent net gain related to the unwinding of the GOL relationship Total revenue grew to $11.4 billion, up 7% over prior year when prior year period is adjusted for sale of DAL Global Services (DGS) Total unit revenue (TRASM), adjusted, increased 2.4%, exceeding expectations on strong holiday travel demand Non-fuel operating expense on a unit basis (CASM-Ex) up 4.4% compared to the prior year period, in line with the company's expectations of 4% to 5% Full Year Financial Highlights Adjusted earnings per share of $7.31, a 30% increase year over year Total revenue increased to a record $47 billion, up 7.5% when prior year period is adjusted for third-party refinery sales and the sale of DGS Total expense increased 3.9% with CASM-Ex up 2%, in line with the company's guidance and long-term cost targets Delta's 90,000 employees will share a record $1.6 billion profit sharing payout on Feb. 14 Generated $8.4 billion of operating cash flow and $4.2 billion of free cash flow Returned $3 billion to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases

Canadian budget airline Swoop launches the Loonie seat sale

The Canadian ultra-low-cost airline, independently operated as part of the WestJet Group of companies, Swoop is launching a really special fare, that it promises is not an early April fools joke.....

It is starting The Loonie Seat Sale........which sounds very strange, indeed, to some outside Canada would seem insulting or at the least politically incorrect - but only until you learn that the loonie here is what the Canadians call their one-dollar coin and is not to be confused with looney! Although, looking at the promotional graphics the airlines marketing team are using to promote the fare you could be forgiven for thinking they were mocking the afflicted 

 Yep, the ultra-low-cost-carrier is living up to its mantra, and offering 100,000 seats for a base fare of just a $1 - obviously before taxes and fees.