Married to the job

Full article on economist.com

The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), a grouping of trade unions representing 4.5m transport employees around the world, was never going to be Qatar’s biggest fan. Unions are banned in the ultra-rich Gulf state, where expatriates account for 94% of the total work force. Little wonder, then, that one disgruntled cabin-crew member at Qatar Airways chose to share her employment contract with the ITF. The federation duly pounced on the document’s more contentious clauses, and alleged “flagrant abuses” of workers’ rights. It cited one passage that requires employees to “obtain prior permission” from Qatar Airways if they wish to get married. Another clause says the employee can be fired if she becomes pregnant...

Turkish Airlines moves on the Gulf

Full article in PDF format: page 46-51 & cover

Few dispute that Qatar Airways’ expansion rate since launching in 1994 has been exceptional. Its 125-aircraft fleet now serves 130 destinations across the globe, with an average of one new route being launched every month. Orders for another $50 billion worth of aircraft will ensure growth for years to come.

Together with Dubai’s Emirates and Abu Dhabi’s Etihad, Doha’s flag carrier has brought the Middle East to the forefront of global aviation. But the big three Gulf airlines are not the only players seeking to re-align traffic away from legacy hubs in western Europe. Turkish Airlines (THY) is fast becoming a force to be reckoned with, and it is echoing many of the strategies successfully deployed in Qatar and the UAE...

Interview: Tony Tyler, IATA Director General

Full article in JPG format

The European Union's blacklist of foreign carriers lacks transparency and is yet another example of Brussels making up its own rules instead of pursuing international standards, IATA director general Tony Tyler has told African Aerospace.

"What they should be doing – like everybody else in the world – is going with what [the United Nations' aviation agency] ICAO does, which is a global standard," he said. "ICAO does its own inspections of the regulatory authorities and helps them lift their game where necessary. But Europe is going off on its own again, as it seems to love doing in this industry."

IATA has previously criticised the EU for unilaterally imposing its Emissions Trading System (ETS) – a climate change levy that was partly suspended last year amid warnings that it could trigger a global trade war...

Interview: Innocent Mavhunga, Air Zimbabwe Acting CEO

Full article in PDF format

Air Zimbabwe has returned to the skies following a successful IOSA safety audit and the signing of new aircraft leases, but the glory days of Air Rhodesia are unlikely to return soon. Martin Rivers speaks to acting CEO Innocent Mavhunga.

Although Zimbabwe's GDP per capita remains the second lowest in the world, the decision to abandon its local currency in 2009 brought a welcome end to hyperinflation. Economic growth has averaged 7.5% since dollarisation, and amid slow but steady progress the Government is focussing again on its ailing flag-carrier...

A fresh approach in Kuwait

Full article in JPG format: page 43 & page 44/45

The contrasting fortunes of Kuwait’s two airlines could hardly be starker. Jazeera Airways, a privately owned low-cost carrier founded in 2005, has been profitable in all but two years. Kuwait Airways, the state-owned flag carrier, has not posted a profit once in the last decade. In the past five years alone, it racked up losses of KD462 million ($1.6 billion).

Despite this, Jazeera chairman Marwan Boodai believes there are “green shoots” in Kuwait’s inefficient flag carrier. He says liberalisation of the domestic market eight years ago proved that the private sector is best placed to run airlines – and he is willing to put his money where his mouth is...

Caviar-free flying

Full article on economist.com

In many parts of the world, low-cost carriers are synonymous with no-frills flying. The liberalisation of the world's more mature aviation markets has resulted in intense competition on short-haul sectors, prompting cost-conscious airlines to strip out all but the most essential services. In America, the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 paved the way for budget carriers like Southwest to gain market share. In Europe, the phased introduction of open skies during the 1990s allowed a tiny Irish company called Ryanair to become the continent’s most recognisable airline. Other regions, however, have not been so lucky. The Middle East has yet to tear down its aviation regulations, so its new breed of low-cost carriers has developed a less Spartan ethos...

Czech mates

Full article on economist.com

In an industry dogged by tight operating margins and volatile cost structures, "strength in numbers" is the mantra du jour. Large airlines have fortified themselves with a series of grand mergers, strategic partnerships and alliances over the past two decades. But big is not always better. Tasked with finding a European partner to redistribute its connecting passengers, Korean Air has opted for the diminutive charms of Czech CSA Airlines. The South Korean flag-carrier bought 44% of its Czech counterpart in July, lifting frequencies on the Seoul-Prague route and introducing onward codeshares at both ends...

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: Igor Petrov, UTair CFO

Full article in PDF format

Few airlines around the world can claim to have as diverse a fleet and range of operations as UTair Aviation. Even setting aside its numerous rotorcraft divisions – which deploy more than 350 helicopters from bases as far afield as Siberia, South Africa and India – the carrier's fixed-wing businesses encompass a dizzying array of aircraft, comprising Boeing, Airbus, ATR, Bombardier, Tupolev, Antonov, Yakovlev, LET and Gulfstream types.

Alongside the mainline UTair Aviation fleet, the group's operations centre on regional divisions UTair Express and Katekavia; freight specialist UTair Cargo; and UTair Ukraine. Fleet homogeneity will never be a goal for the airline – its subsidiaries contend with a multitude of different airports, climates and operating environments – but chief financial officer Igor Petrov insists that work is under way to streamline the fleet...