A modest proposal for the equitable treatment of the taller passenger

Full article on economist.com

This blog often applauds the impact that low-cost carriers have on the travelling habits of everyday consumers. Thanks to a canny mixture of operational efficiency and commercial flexibility, these airlines are opening up the world to vacationers like never before. In Europe, once-obscure destinations far off the beaten tracks of travel agencies have blossomed into popular retreats. User-generated content on websites such as TripAdvisor has further empowered travellers, delivering more or less objective destinations guides. With this in mind, and with a few days booked off work, Gulliver recently boarded a Wizz Air flight to Sibiu in central Romania...

Interview: Woranate Laprabang, Thai Smile CEO

Full article in JPG format: page 18/19, page 20, page 22 & cover

Thailand’s long-running political crisis has had a predictable impact on tourism flows to the country, with holidaymakers understandably feeling nervous about the May 2014 coup d'état that ushered in the current military junta. Visitor numbers fell 10.7% year-on-year to 1.7 million in May, following months of earlier declines fuelled by violent street protests.

Flag carrier Thai Airways International (THAI) has felt the pinch more than most, posting four consecutive quarterly losses and seeing its load factors slip below 60%. Political meddling remains an endemic problem at the airline, which had five executive vice presidents replaced by military appointees in July. That followed the resignation of another five board members in June, severely undermining management’s ability to mount a cohesive strategic turnaround.

But despite the challenging climate, both THAI and its full-service rival Bangkok Airways are confident of recovery. Thailand has experienced 19 coups since its absolute monarchy was abolished in 1932, and each time the tourists returned as security prevailed...

MH17: No more shoot-downs

Full article on nytimes.com

On July 17, Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashed in eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 passengers and crew members. Investigations continue, but it is widely assumed that the aircraft was brought down by a Russian-made surface-to-air missile fired by separatist rebels. While the earlier loss of another Malaysia Airlines plane, Flight 370, which disappeared over the Indian Ocean in March, remains a mystery, the menace to flights over conflict zones is all too apparent. Could this disaster have been avoided?

Ukraine’s chief of counterintelligence, Vitaly Nayda, admitted that as early as July 14, three days before Flight 17 was shot down, he knew that rebels had Buk missile systems capable of striking targets up to 70,000 feet (far beyond the usual 33,000 feet cruising altitude of jetliners). It was also common knowledge that at least seven military aircraft had been shot down in the preceding weeks, including a cargo plane traveling at about 21,000 feet — well beyond the range of less sophisticated shoulder-fired missiles...

Interview: Temel Kotil, Turkish Airlines CEO

Full article in PDF format: page 71-74 & cover

When Turkey’s government lowered its stake in Turkish Airlines (THY) to 49% in May 2006, the national carrier had fewer than 100 aircraft in its fleet and was operating an average of 460 flights per day.

Roughly half of those services were domestic flights, with the airline having enjoyed a monopoly on internal sectors for almost all of its seven-decade-long history.

But, following its transition to private hands, THY’s fleet has ballooned to 235 aircraft; its flight count has reached 1,200 per day; and its home market has been transformed into a vibrant, competitive landscape where the flag-carrier provides barely half of all domestic capacity.

This remarkable growth took less than a decade to achieve, and Kotil said a similar timeframe must now pass before THY even considers slowing down...

Interview: Larry Coyne, Coyne Airways CEO

Full article in PDF format

With the air cargo industry struggling to maintain yields in the face of rampant over-capacity, Coyne Airways presents an intriguing vision of how freighter markets may evolve over time.

The London-headquartered airline does not own or lease any aircraft, and it eschews the hub-to-hub distribution model favoured by most global cargo operators.

Instead, Coyne Airways enlists the services of various partner carriers to build a scheduled network through recurrent Block Space Agreements and interline deals. By reserving part or all of the space on other airlines' freighters, the company has developed specialised hubs in Dubai and Tbilisi that connect Europe, North America and Asia with countries like Iraq, Afghanistan and Kazakhstan...

Interview: Monwabisi Kalawe, South African Airways CEO

Full article in PDF format: page 75-77 & cover

Despite contending with a volatile boardroom and an irreverent local media, Monwabisi Kalawe, the new boss of South African Airways, sees a bright future for the troubled flag-carrier. Martin Rivers finds out why.

When Monwabisi Kalawe took on the role of CEO at South African Airways (SAA) last June – the fifth person to hold the title in as many years – he knew he was in for a rough ride.

South Africa’s heavily loss-making, state-owned flag-carrier has been castigated by local and international press for its apparent inability to stamp out management corruption and operational inefficiency. The announcement of a long-term turnaround strategy last year did not quell the protests, becoming the ninth such programme to be unveiled since the turn of the century...

Interview: Dimitrios Gerogiannis, Aegean Airlines Managing Director

Full article in JPG format: page 18/19, page 20, page 22/23 & cover

With economic confidence growing across Europe, it is easy to forget that just two years ago the continent was mired in a full-blown financial crisis. Unemployment and long-term government bond rates had surged to historic highs, raising the spectre of an imminent Eurozone break-up.

No country was worse affected than Greece, whose bankrupt economy needed a €110 billion ($146 billion) bail-out to stay afloat. As a condition for its support, Brussels forced Athens to implement severe austerity measures that sent Greeks spilling onto the streets in protest. Five people died and hundreds were injured in the ensuing riots – broadcast around the world on 24-hour news channels.

The impact on the country’s aviation sector was devastating. International visitor numbers slumped 5.5% in 2012 to 15.5 million. Those who did come expected heavily discounted airfares, pushing down passenger yields for Greece’s struggling carriers...

Composite repair challenge

Full article in JPG format: page 23, page 24/25 & page 26

When footage of an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 787 on fire at London Heathrow Airport was broadcast around the world in July 2013, the industry braced itself for another potential setback to the Dreamliner programme.

The global 787 fleet had already been grounded for three months following a series of electrical fires caused by on-board lithium-ion batteries.

With the Ethiopian blaze breaking out in the upper aft fuselage of the stationary aircraft – well away from the main and APU batteries – it was clear that Boeing had a new problem on its hands. Britain’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch quickly placed the blame on an incorrectly installed battery within the aircraft’s Emergency Locator Transmitter, allowing the industry to breathe a collective sigh of relief...

Russia's battle for Ukrainian skies

Full article on economist.com

On February 28th an Atlasjet flight from Istanbul to Crimea made a U-turn over the Black Sea and headed back to Turkey. The pilots had been informed that Simferopol Airport, the main gateway to the peninsula, was occupied by unidentified armed men. Few doubted that the assailants were Russian special forces, whose seizure of strategic buildings would mark the beginning of the annexation of Crimea. It did not take foreign airlines long to see the writing on the wall. Atlasjet, Turkish Airlines, Azerbaijan Airlines and Latvia’s Air Baltic all suspended flights to the peninsula. So too, eventually, did Ukraine’s flag-carrier, Ukraine International Airlines...

Interview: Adel Ali, Air Arabia CEO

Full article in PDF format

As the Gulf's other low-cost carriers shift towards a hybrid business model, Air Arabia is standing by its decidedly no-frills approach. Chief executive Adel Ali explains why to Martin Rivers.

Middle Eastern low-cost carriers (LCCs) continued their unstoppable march in 2013, growing seat capacity by another 17.7% during the first half of the year.

But in a region where double-digit growth has become the norm, their expansion amounts to only modest inroads by the still-fledgling sector. LCCs today account for just 13.5% of Middle Eastern traffic, compared with nearly 40% in the more mature European market...

Interview: Abdel Aziz Fadel, Egyptian Civil Aviation Minister

Full article in PDF format: page 15-17 & cover

The decision by Britain's Foreign & Commonwealth Office to relax its travel advice for Egypt could not have come too soon for the North African country, whose leaders are desperate to consign the political upheaval of recent years to history.

Announcing the move on 8 November – two days before Cairo hosted the inaugural Egyptian Development & Strategies of Civil Aviation (EDSCA) conference – Britain said the Red Sea resorts of Sharm El Sheikh and Hurghada were once again safe for holidaymakers. A fortnight later it added Cairo and the Great Pyramid of Giza to the list of approved destinations, easing the stranglehold on a tourism sector that contributes 12% of Egypt's GDP...

Interview: Tewolde Gebremariam, Ethiopian Airlines CEO

Full article in JPG format: page 18/19, page 20 & cover

Having grown its revenue 700% since 2005, you might presume that Ethiopian Airlines will enter a period of consolidation over the coming years. But you would be wrong. The flag carrier is planning to expand another fivefold by 2025, doubling its fleet in the process and establishing a network of hubs across the continent.

“If you divide the history of the airline into two, you can speak of the last seven years and the previous 60 years,” chief executive Tewolde Gebremariam tells Routes News. “Back in 2004/05, we saw that the opportunities for expansion were limitless, based on our geographical location and the high-growth regions we serve … Our mantra and strategy has been fast, profitable and sustainable growth...

Interview: Marwan Boodai, Jazeera Airways Chairman

Full article in PDF format

When Jazeera Airways posted an annual loss of KD8.2 million ($28.4 million) in 2009, the outlook appeared bleak for Kuwait’s fledging private aviation sector.

The emirate’s much-vaunted liberalisation drive had now produced two struggling private carriers – also including Wataniya Airways, which was months away from bankruptcy – and flag carrier Kuwait Airways continued its two-decade-long run of almost uninterrupted annual losses.

For Jazeera chairman Marwan Boodai, however, the finger of blame was pointing squarely outside of Kuwait. He believed that larger regional competitors were dumping capacity in the emirate in order to re-route traffic through their own hubs. The success of Jazeera’s subsequent turnaround plan appears to have validated that judgement...

Interview: Philippe Moreels, Czech Airlines CEO

Full article in PDF format

Late last year, CSA Czech Airlines was among the scores of central and eastern European carriers desperately seeking the lifeline of foreign direct investment. Miroslav Dvorak, chief executive of parent company Czech Aeroholding, told local press there was a 70% chance the airline would fail in its hunt for a strategic investor. Comparisons with Malev, Hungary's collapsed flag carrier, abounded.

But in March, Korean Air made good on an early expression of interest and agreed to purchase 44% of CSA. The loss-making Czech flag carrier has since re-entered the long-haul market with an Airbus A330 leased from its new partner. While growth is not on the agenda for now – CSA halved its fleet over the past three years under a restructuring programme – chief executive Philippe Moreels believes the airline has re-defined its "strategic raison d'être" and secured its long-term future...

Emirates' love affair with London

Full article in JPG format: page 25 & page 26/27

When Emirates Airline, the flag carrier of Dubai, launched its new flight simulator attraction in the British capital this summer, airline president Tim Clark and London Mayor Boris Johnson stood shoulder to shoulder in praising the £4 million ($6.2 million) investment.

Clark said the Emirates Aviation Experience, which includes two Airbus A380 and two Boeing 777 simulators, should go "some way in demonstrating just how dedicated we are to this captivating city". Boris, deploying his trademark patter, called the east London attraction a "veritable Aladdin's cave of technological wizardry and gizmos that will give … a real insight into the wonders of flying".

The two men had every reason to be cordial – Emirates gains brand exposure with the facility, while London gains another world-class attraction – but it was not long before Clark broached more contentious issues. Unlike Boris, he supports expansion of London's capacity-constrained Heathrow Airport, and he was happy to explain his stance to the assembled journalists...

Interview: Olga Pleshakova, Transaero CEO

Full article in PDF format

It should come as no surprise that Transaero's new base at Moscow Vnukovo Airport – which opened just last year – has already given rise to a strategic partnership with the gateway's other home carrier, UTair Aviation. The second and third largest airlines in Russia make a good strategic fit. Transaero's predominantly widebody fleet focusses on long-haul destinations overseas and in the Russian Far East, while UTair's majority narrowbody metal is mainly put to work in the country's vast territories and eastern Europe.

But for Transaero chief executive Olga Pleshakova, who has been at the helm since 2001, there is much work to be done before the true potential of Russia's aviation market can be unlocked...

Interview: Cathal O'Connell, BMI Regional CEO

Full article in JPG format: page 22/23, page 24 & page 26

When International Airlines Group (IAG) acquired rival British carrier BMI in 2012, CEO Willie Walsh was unequivocal that he had no interest in retaining its two loss-making subsidiaries. That meant the end of the road for bmibaby, the airline's troubled low-cost unit. But BMI Regional lived on after a £8 million buyout by Sector Aviation Holdings, an Aberdeen-based consortium funded by aviation entrepreneurs Stephen and Peter Bond.

Alongside chairman Ian Woodley and chief operating officer Graeme Ross – the founders of BMI Regional's precursor, Business Air – CEO Cathal O'Connell is leading the charge to re-define BMI Regional in the absence of its former Star Alliance partners. In doing so he is exploring new paradigms for Europe's beleaguered regional airlines, whose smaller fleets have been hardest hit by the rampant fuel price hikes of the past decade...

Interview: Farhad Parvaresh, Iran Air Chairman

Full article in PDF format: page 18-22 & cover

Although all flag carriers are to some extent entwined with the vagaries and fortunes of their home government, few will have their course through history as profoundly and irrevocably altered as Iran Air.

From its founding as Iranian Airways in 1946 up until its rapid expansion in the 1970s, the airline was considered an early success story for Gulf aviation. It became one of the first carriers to operate the Boeing 747SP – deploying it on daily nonstop flights from Tehran to New York – and had even placed an order for two supersonic Concordes.

But halfway through its history, the 1979 Islamic Revolution completely reconfigured Iran's standing on the international stage. Iran Air came to be seen as a dangerous wing of a hostile government by America, and its route network began contracting in tandem with its list of overseas partners...

Interview: Ahmed Alwani, Yemenia Chairman

Full article in PDF format

The final report into the June 2009 crash of Yemenia Flight 626 off the Comoros Islands surprised no-one when it was completed this summer. Chief investigator Bourhane Ahmed Bourhane said that "inappropriate action by the crew" during "an un-stabilised manoeuvre" resulted in the A310 stalling. Though pilot error was ultimately to blame, the report acknowledged that concurrent alarms within the cockpit had created a "stressful situation" for the crew of the night-time flight.

The joint probe by Comorian, Yemeni and French investigators – dozens of the 152 fatalities were French – brings to an end the darkest chapter in Yemenia's history, which stretches back more than six decades. However, it is unlikely to usher in any sweeping changes at the flag carrier...

SkyTeam and the world of tomorrow

Full article on economist.com

Summer has not been kind to SkyTeam, one of the three big airline alliances, which has suffered two very public snubs by incumbent and prospective members. In late June Craig Kreeger, the CEO of Virgin Atlantic, said that his carrier's much-mooted membership of SkyTeam was unlikely to materialise any time soon. "For now, Virgin Atlantic remains very happy with the partners we have," he said, in reference to Virgin’s recent transatlantic tie-up with US-based Delta Air Lines. Less than a week later Reuters quoted a "source close to [Aeroflot's] board" as saying that the Russian carrier would leave SkyTeam if its management could do so without political interference...