Friday 1 November 2013

Jetihad: Family fortunes


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

In October, after six months of wrangling, Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways secured the approval of India’s cabinet to acquire 24% of Mumbai-based Jet Airways. The $379 million deal was made possible by a decision to relax foreign ownership restrictions last year, but the country’s regulatory bodies put up fierce resistance before giving the final go-ahead. India’s second largest carrier now joins the growing family of airlines part-owned – and indisputably part-controlled – by Abu Dhabi’s flag carrier.

The partnership should be exceptionally lucrative for both sides. Once fully consummated, it will see Etihad’s reach in India expand from nine to 26 cities. That will give the Gulf carrier a foothold in one of the world’s fastest growing aviation markets, which already handles 150 million passengers a year...

Interview: Marwan Boodai, Jazeera Airways Chairman


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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: Paul Griffiths, Dubai Airports CEO


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Dubai World Central will be the world’s largest airport when it is completed in the mid-2020s. But Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths tells Martin Rivers that the future aerotropolis is about much more than scale.

When Concourse A opened at Dubai International Airport (DXB) in January 2013, the benefits of travelling through the purpose-built Airbus A380 facility were immediately apparent to passengers. As well as allowing Business and First Class customers to board aircraft direct from their lounges, the 11-floor concourse features two hotels and 11,000 sq m of retail space. It has cemented DXB's status as the world's foremost A380 hub, with the airport handling 7,259 of the double-decker flights last year...

Interview: Thierry Antinori, Emirates CCO


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Few people familiar with the history of Emirates Airline will have been surprised by news that the Dubai flag-carrier plans to more than double its US network over the next five years.

For an airline that receives an average of one Airbus A380 each month – not to mention its growing fleet of Boeing 777-300s – expansion has become the norm. Emirates today serves 135 destinations across 77 countries, with its steady stream of route launches most recently including Angeles in the Philippines, Conakry in Guinea and Sialkot in Pakistan.

But growth of the network only tells part of the story. As Emirates gears up for its widely-expected 777X order at the Dubai Air Show in November, chief commercial officer Thierry Antinori is turning his focus to in-flight enhancements tailored for this new breed of wide-body aircraft...

Interview: Ghaith Al Ghaith, FlyDubai CEO


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FlyDubai took an unexpected turn in June when it unveiled a new Business Class product. Chief executive Ghaith Al Ghaith tells Martin Rivers why the low-cost carrier is going down the premium path.

The first FlyDubai service offering Business Class took off for the Ukrainian capital Kiev on 8 October, sporting 12 premium seats finished in Italian leather and with a generous seat pitch of 42 inches. By the end of 2013, the number of destinations benefiting from the two-cabin configuration will have risen to 27...

Tuesday 22 October 2013

Mr O'Leary takes to Twitter


Full article on economist.com

A lot can change in three months. In mid-July I spoke to Michael O’Leary, the chief executive of Ryanair, Europe’s largest low-cost carrier. He said that Ryanair deliberately “tortures” its passengers when they check in bags; that the airline industry is populated by a bunch of “losers” and “lemmings”; and that Ryanair’s ideal customer is someone with “a pulse and a credit card”. Standard fare, then, for the industry’s most-outspoken boss. But then last month Ryanair issued an unexpected profit warning, and Mr O’Leary grudgingly told shareholders that he will stop “unnecessarily pissing people off”...

Tuesday 15 October 2013

Frequent flyers: Building custom


Full article in JPG format: page 46/47, page 49 & page 50

A recent survey of 2,500 passengers by Deloitte, the financial advisory firm, found that 72 per cent of high-frequency business travellers participate in more than one airline loyalty programme. Few people will be surprised by that statistic. But it underscores how airlines – which already operate the most complex loyalty schemes of any sector – must continue innovating their frequent flyer programmes (FFP) to incentivise repeat custom.

Texas International Airlines launched what is widely regarded as the first modern FFP in 1979. It was followed two years later by the more advanced American Airlines AAdvantage and United Airlines MileagePlus programmes. Both schemes are still operated today, but their breadth and scope has changed profoundly over the past two decades...

Interview: Philippe Moreels, Czech Airlines CEO


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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'ĂȘtre" and secured its long-term future...

Friday 11 October 2013

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...

Tuesday 1 October 2013

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...