Routes News Magazine, Issue 7, 2014 by routesnewsmagazine

routesnews

The world air service development magazine

Ethiopian: Leading the African revolution World Routes: Las Vegas review Interview: Garuda Indonesia Report: State of the leasing market Issue 7 Volume 9 2013 www.routesonline.com

Airports: Munich & Bahrain Tourism: Cruise & aviation links

Foreword

enjamin Franklin famously wrote that “nothing in this world can be said to be certain, except death and taxes”. What we can be certain of is that the entire Irish aviation, travel and tourism industry is celebrating a major win after the government decided to scrap its €3 air travel tax from April 2014. The sector responded at lightning speed: within a week Shannon Airport landed eight new Ryanair routes. As Routes News went to press, more news from other Irish gateways was expected. All eyes will now be on Northern Ireland’s response. There, Air Passenger Duty (APD) has already been removed for long-haul flights from Belfast – which means Continental’s New York service. But APD of £13 is still charged on short-haul flights. Critics argue the tax must now be devolved or holidaymakers could simply opt to fly from neighbouring Irish airports to avoid the charge.

Next stop: Chicago Tax even made it onto the agenda in Las Vegas during the World Routes Strategy Summit, where IATA’s Thomas Windmuller and ACI’s Angela Gittens led the charge on the topic. You can read more about that in our complete event wrap-up on page 29, and also head online to www.routes-news.com for more coverage. World Routes 2013 delivered more delegates, more industry-leading conference sessions and more business opportunities than ever before. The stage is now well and truly set for Chicago 2014.

Editorial

Acting Editor Lucy Siebert +61 432 770 828 lucy.siebert@routes-news.com Deputy Editor Caroline Cook +44 (0)208 831 7560 caroline.cook@routes-news.com Group Editor Joe Bates +44 (0)208 831 7507 joe@aviationmedia.aero

Sales

Group Advertising Director Rebecca Randall +44 (0)208 831 7513 rebecca.randall@routes-news.com

Routes News app Our research shows that more of you are reading Routes News on your tablet or smartphone, so we’ve developed a new apple and android app. Head to www.routes-news.com/app now to download the app, which is sponsored by Vienna Airport.

Production

Design, Layout & Production Andrew Montgomery andrew.montgomery@routes-news.com Elaine Harris elaine.harris@routes-news.com Mark Draper mark@aviationmedia.aero Erica Cooper erica@aviationmedia.aero Website Jose Cuenca jose@aviationmedia.aero

Acting Editor Lucy Siebert GET IN TOUCH lucy.siebert@routes-news.com @LucySiebert and @routesnews www.facebook.com/routesnews

R™ is a registered Trade Mark of UBM Aviation Routes and is used under licence. © Copyright 2013. The content of this publication is the copyright of UBM Aviation Routes Ltd and shall not be copied or stored in digital format without the written permission of the Copyright holder. Content is correct at time of printing. UBM Aviation Routes shall not be liable for any errors or omissions contained herein.

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Publisher

Jonathan Lee +44 (0)208 831 7563 jonathan@aviationmedia.aero Published by Aviation Business Media Ltd Sovereign House, 26-30 London Road Twickenham, TW1 3RW, UK T: +44 (0)208 831 7500 F: +44 (0)208 831 7501 The opinions and views expressed in Routes News are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect any policy or position of UBM Aviation Routes or Aviation Media. Printed in the UK by The Magazine Printing Company using only paper from FSC/PEFC suppliers www.magprint.co.uk

ROUTES NEWS 7, 2013

Contents 15 17

ê CKêWORLD ROUTES 2013

PORT BA êWORLD ROUTES 2013êRE

18 22 3 Foreword

29 18

Connecting the dots

World news

Cargo news

Ethiopian Airlines is pursuing a joint venture, multi-base strategy across Africa. Chief executive, Tewolde Gebremariam, shares his vision with Martin Rivers.

On the move

For lease

Routes News takes a look at the current growth in the aircraft leasing market and the outlook for the sector in the years ahead.

Airline one2one

Tenten Wardhaya, vice president network management, Garuda Indonesia.

Airport one2one

Gudny Maria Johannsdottir, manager business & route development, Keflavik International Airport.

Routes News is tweeting @routesnews, @LucySiebert and @airportscaroline Follow us at www.twitter.com/ routesnews

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29 World Routes report back Your complete event wrap-up: conference highlights, biggest prize winners, exclusive award interview and Chicago 2014 news.

www.routes-news.com All the latest news, views and developments from the global network planning community, plus exclusive airline and airport interviews.

ROUTES NEWS 7, 2013

Contents

45 45

49 Boosting Bavaria

Germany is the star economic performer in Europe and Munich hopes to benefit by attracting new long-haul links to emerging markets, writes Caroline Cook.

Capacity crunch

Passenger traffic growth in the Middle East has prompted Bahrain Airport Company to start a new development plan, CEO, Mohamed Yousif Al-Binfalah, tells Caroline Cook.

USA IN POLL POSITION

POLL

RESUL T

The highest percentage of our readers (18%) believe the USA has made the most progress in reforming its visa regime to attract more Chinese visitors. This is followed by the UK (17%), Australia (16%) and New Zealand and Brazil tied in fourth place with 15% each.

India (8%) Schengen states (11%)

USA (18%)

Being Social

Routes News quizzed Singapore Changiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s senior vice president (corporate & marketing communications), Ivan Tan, on its social strategy.

ROUTE S NEWS

NZ (15%)

UK (17%)

Routes update View from the top

Christine Duffy, president and CEO, Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA).

Brazil (15%)

Australia (16%)

Go to www.routes-news.com to vote in our latest poll.

The HUB, your weekly, central source of information for everything related to Routes and Routesonline, is delivered to your inbox every Friday. It includes event updates, airline and airport profiles and news and analysis. Sign up to receive The HUB at www.routesonline.com/register/

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ROUTES NEWS 7, 2013

World news MORE DIRECT US FLIGHTS FROM MIDDLE EAST The Gulf carriers are progressing their march westward with both Etihad and Qatar revealing new US points – Los Angeles and Miami. New oneworld member Qatar said Miami would become its sixth US city from June. It will operate four weekly flights operating a B777 on the route. Qatar’s CEO, Akbar Al Baker said its new oneworld membership would open up more global travel options for passengers from Miami. “The US is a growing market for us and the addition of Miami as a destination and our membership in the oneworld alliance opens up a multitude of better routes with the Middle East,

East Africa, the Indian Subcontinent, and Western Australia to and from the east coast of the US,” said Al Baker. Meanwhile, Etihad is heading to the City of Angels, Los Angeles from June. The UAE carrier will operate a B777200LR on the daily service from Abu Dhabi. This is Etihad’s fourth US destination and will increase its operations in the US by 33%. The flight originally appeared in the GDS as being operated using a 777300ER, but Etihad later confirmed it will use a 237-seat 777-200LR, configured in a three-cabin configuration. “The expansion of the US network will be of considerable benefit to the

growing commercial and cultural ties between the US and UAE, with trade between the two countries set to increase beyond the current annual level of USD 22.5 billion,” said Etihad CEO James Hogan. According to a study commissioned by the US-UAE Business Council, the UAE is the single largest export market for American goods in the Middle East region and bilateral trade was worth USD 22.57 billion in 2012 Etihad will be going head to head on the route with Emirates, which launched to the city in 2008. Emirates is due to take an A380 onto the service from December.

BRASILIA LANDS NEW AIR FRANCE FLIGHT Air France is introducing a three-times weekly link between its Paris CDG hub and Brasília. Launching in March, the service will be operated by a Boeing 777-200. It is the sixth international route to the Brazilian capital and the second from Europe. Portugal’s TAP has been serving the Brazilian hub from Lisbon since July 2007. The route marks the first major network success since Inframérica began managing the airport last December. The private consortium is investing more than $2.8 billion in modernising and expanding the airport ahead of next year’s FIFA World Cup, and is working with Routes’ consultancy

arm ASM on its investment plan and air services strategy. The Air France service will offer passengers onward flight options from Brasília to more than 20 destinations in Brazil, through a codeshare agreement with low-cost carrier, Gol. Daniel Ketchibachian, commercial director of Inframérica, said: “This new international route is an important step to transform Inframérica Brasília International Airport. As the largest domestic hub in Brazil, the airport has enormous potential to fulfil its function and all the investments we are making will make infrastructure more efficient and attractive to airlines.”

Greece’s Aegean and Olympic Air have completed their merger. Under the agreement, Olympic Air has become a subsidiary of Aegean.

Zealand, by taking the first scheduled Dreamliner flight to Auckland and an A380 service to Sydney.

China Southern has completed its regional expansion in Australia and New

ROUTES NEWS 7, 2013

Brazil is reportedly considering opening its domestic skies to international carriers during the FIFA World Cup. The head of

GAME SET MATCH The newly rebranded Air Serbia showed off its new livery on an A319 aircraft in Belgrade. The aircraft has been named after Serbia’s biggest international sports star – tennis ace, Novak Djokovic.

Brazil’s tourism authority Embratur Flavio Dino, said the option was being considered. EasyJet has introduced 10 new routes from Gatwick, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Newcastle and Belfast from next summer, including a new Paris CDG service from London.

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ONEWORLD Qatar becomes first major Middle Eastern alliance member.

IRELAND Air travel tax axed from April 2014.

FASTJET International flights off the ground after South Africa launch.

DUBAI DOUBLES UP Dubai’s HH Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, president of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and chairman of Dubai Airports, along with CEO, Paul Griffiths, officially opened the new passenger terminal at Al Maktoum International at Dubai World Central (DWC). Joining Wizz Air and Jazeera Airways at the airport will be Gulf Air, Qatar Airways and charter operator, Condor.

US BOOSTS CHARLOTTE’S EUROPE LINKS US Airways revealed a major expansion from its Charlotte hub just weeks before its legal showdown with merger partner American Airlines was due to kick off. The carriers were due to meet the Department of Justice in court during November over their proposed merger The airline and DoJ have agreed to try and reach an agreement through a mediator ahead of the court date. Despite the uncertainty over the proposed merger, US Airways said it would expand from Charlotte in summer 2014, with new seasonal services to Barcelona, Brussels, Lisbon and Manchester. The four new routes will be operated on a daily basis using a mix of singleaisle and widebodied equipment. They

Russia’s Transaero Airlines will launch new scheduled service between Moscow Domodedovo and Havana, Cuba, from December 28. Transaero began services to Cuba in 2005 with the launch of Moscow-Varadero.

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are in addition to the carrier’s existing year-round flights to Frankfurt, London and Paris, and seasonal services to Dublin, Madrid and Rome, from Charlotte. Lufthansa is the only other carrier to offer transatlantic service from Charlotte, with a link to its Bavarian hub in Munich. Andrew Nocella, senior vice president, marketing and planning, US Airways, said: “The flights complement service from our international gateway at Philadelphia and give consumers on both sides of the Atlantic more one-stop access to popular points in Europe, the United States and beyond. Our new flights also help to strengthen the foundation for our pending merger with American Airlines by providing more access to a broader network.”

UAE Dubai World Central Al Maktoum attracting new flights.

TAKE OFF, NOT AIR CANADA Leaked letter reveals fury over new Icelandair flight at Edmonton.

HONG KONG More delays likely over Hong Kong Jetstar launch.

ALITALIA Ongoing financial woes sees €300 million cash call.

US GOVERNMENT $152 million in travel spending lost during shutdown.

Norwegian is ramping up transatlantic competition in the London market after revealing three new US routes from Gatwick from June 2014. The long-haul, low-cost flights will serve New York, Orlando and Los Angeles.

ROUTES NEWS 7, 2013

Cargo news ARGOLUX RECEIVES C NINTH 747-8F Cargolux Airlines has taken delivery of its ninth 747-8 Freighter, bringing its 747 fleet to 19 units. The aircraft, named ‘City of Troisvierges’, carried a full load of 135 tonnes on its first flight to Luxembourg. The 747-8F promises double-digit reduction in fuel consumption and lower carbon emissions.

IATA: “MODEST IMPROVEMENT” New figures from IATA show demand for air freight in August was up 3.6% on the same month in 2012 – “considerably better” than the year-to-date performance of 0.7%. Demand began coming back in April, in line with strengthening business confidence and improving economies in Europe and the US. However, IATA cautioned that Asia-Pacific airlines, which hold 38% of the global air market share, showed a 0.2% decline in August. Director general and CEO, Tony Tyler, cautioned: “There are some signs of improvement in demand, but the air freight business remains very tough. “Freight volumes are only now reaching the levels of 2011 when the cargo business peaked with revenues of $67 billion, he added.” Tyler said the industry would need to move 17% more cargo and deal with a 40% hike in jet fuel in order to achieve the $59 billion revenues that had been forecast this year. Middle Eastern carriers saw the strongest growth with year-on-year freight volumes up 23.8%, although this was exaggerated by the impact of Ramadan. Latin American airlines also fared well with 12.6% growth, while Europe carriers’ freight rose 3.4% in August. African carriers suffered most with a 9.7% decrease; despite the region’s positive start to 2013, this decline has slowed the region’s freight growth to just 0.7% for the year to date.

DHL Express has moved into Edmonton International Airport’s Cargo Village. The cargo operator said it plans to triple its services at the gateway. Etihad Cargo and Singapore Airlines Cargo have agreed a new deal on services operated from Abu Dhabi to Heathrow and Frankfurt. Etihad Cargo will offer capacity to Singapore Airlines Cargo on one of its weekly freighter services from

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Abu Dhabi to Frankfurt, plus access to its cargo network to the Middle East, Africa and Central Asia. In turn, Singapore Airlines Cargo will offer capacity on its freighter services to London Heathrow, which are operated via Abu Dhabi. Delta Cargo has started cargo handling for Virgin Atlantic Cargo at New York’s JFK and Boston Logan, following the signing of a five-year agreement in June.

O PTIMAL OPERATIONS AT HONG KONG The new Cathay Pacific cargo terminal at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) is now fully operational. This follows a phased opening of the $767 million facility, which started in February. Cathay Pacific Services Limited’s CEO, Algernon Yau, commented: “This new air cargo facility is equipped with advanced technology and enhanced workflows, and the Just-in-Time operations will set a new service benchmark.” The terminal is capable of handling 2.6 million tonnes per year, increasing HKIA’s annual capacity by 50% to 7.4 million tonnes. Its launch customers were Cathay Pacific, Dragonair and Air Hong Kong.

Globe Air Cargo has been appointed general sales and service agent for Finnair in Singapore. The news came as the company marked 10 years in the Netherlands. IAG Cargo has opened a new pharmaceutical centre at Heathrow. The Constant Climate Centre includes two temperature-controlled zones and accommodates 28 intact pallet positions.

ROUTES NEWS 7, 2013

ON THE MOVE

Ulrich Johannwille (pictured) will add the newly created position of finance director at Thomas Cook Group Airlines to his responsibilities. This is in addition to his role as managing director at Condor. Meanwhile, Uwe Klenovsky has been appointed chief commercial officer of Thomas Cook Airlines Belgium. He will be focused on developing digital sales within the airline, and will report to Ralf Teckentrup. Stanislav Zeman, previously director of aviation business and marketing at Prague Airport, has joined Czech Airlines as director of sales. Meanwhile, Jozef Sinčák is taking over as vice president of sales and marketing at the airline, replacing Jiří Marek. Lokesh Matta is now interim head – airline marketing & aviation contracts at Bangalore International Airport. He has been promoted from assistant general manager airline marketing – passenger and air cargo network.

Kiran Jain (pictured) has been promoted to head of marketing & route development, GMR Delhi International Airport. Paul Winfield, previously airline relations director at UBM Live Routes, has joined Liverpool John Lennon Airport as air service development manager. Desmond O’Flynn has taken up the position of chief executive at Waterford Airport in Ireland, replacing Graham Doyle. O’Flynn was previously director of Aéroport de Dijon-Bourgogne in France. Peter Hoslin has joined Hong Kong Tourism Board as regional director, Europe and new markets. He makes the move from Oman Airports Management Company. Andrew McEvoy, the managing director of Tourism Australia, is leaving the organisation to take up a new role at Australian media and events group, Fairfax Events.

Ilona Fominykh-Cambron has joined US-based Sixel Consulting Group and will be responsible for international aviation development and marketing. She previously worked for Moscowbased Airports of Regions (AR).

Kevin Howlett, previously senior vice president, employee relations at Air Canada, has been promoted to senior vice president, regional markets.

Melanie Fursich has been appointed director traffic development at Munich Airport, responsible for Asia-Pacific and South East Europe.

Aberdeen International Airport has appointed Carol Benzie as managing director. She was previously commercial director.

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Budapest Airport has promoted Kam Jandu (pictured) to chief commercial officer. He will lead a newly created commercial business unit, which includes aviation marketing and all retail/consumer business activities at the SkyCourt terminal. Southwest has appointed Andrew Watterson as vice president of network planning and performance. Watterson was previously vice president of planning and revenue management at Hawaiian. EuroAtlantic Airways has appointed Rui Correia Dos Santos as commercial deputy director. Patrick Edmond has been appointed group strategy director and managing director of Shannon Airport’s International Aviation Services Centre (IASC). Alex Featherstone has returned to Etihad as vice president of network planning. He previously served as vice president of network planning at Etihad’s partner, airberlin. Todd Hauptli has been elected president and CEO of the American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE). He will take up the position on December 1, following the retirement of Chip Barclay, who has served as staff leader of AAAE for 30 years.

ROUTES NEWS 7, 2013

How has your network developed in recent years? Garuda Indonesia has been focused on its business transformation as laid out in the Quantum Leap 2011-2015 programme. Through this long-term initiative we are expanding our network, not only across the archipelago but also internationally by opening numerous new international routes in Asia, Australia and Europe. We operate 126 aircraft, serving 39 domestic destinations and 20 international destinations across Asia, Middle East, Australia and Europe from our hubs in Indonesia, which include Jakarta, Denpasar, Makassar, Medan and Balikpapan. This year we are expecting 24 new aircraft to support the development of both our national and international networks.

The new route will be the first and only non-stop service between Indonesia and the UK, which will not only make it easier for passengers travelling from the UK to reach Indonesia, but will also connect the rest of the European continent to Indonesia.

What sort of trends are you seeing with inbound tourism and business travel to Indonesia?

NAME:

Tenten Wardhaya

COMPANY: Garuda

Indonesia

JOB TITLE: Vice president

What are your three busiest routes?

network management

Domestically our three busiest routes are Jakarta to Surabaya, Denpasar and Makassar. Internationally it is Jakarta to Singapore, Jeddah and Bangkok, respectively.

HOMETOWN: Jakarta,

What have been your most significant route launches? In the first half of this year, we launched 22 new domestic and international routes, including services between Medan and Batam, Medan and Padang, Balikpapan and Banjarmasin, Denpasar and Brisbane, and Jakarta and Perth. Our most recent launch was the non-stop flight from Jakarta to Ambon.

Indonesia is one of the biggest and fastest-growing markets in Asia – what does this mean for you as the national carrier? Indonesia is the largest economy in South East Asia and demand for air

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Indonesia

travel is growing quickly. In response to this, we are continually trying to offer a wide choice of destinations by adding to our capacity and opening new routes. As the national carrier, we work together with the government to develop the air transport infrastructure by opening new airports around the country, particularly in fast-growing economic regions and tourist destinations.

How important is expansion into Europe? Europe is an important market for Garuda Indonesia and we’re seeing increasing demand from our customers for services. We are extremely excited for the launch of the new route between London and Jakarta in 2014.

Indonesia is home to world-class golf courses and we’re currently experiencing a lot of interest among the golfing community. To cater for this specialist market, we’re now permitting a free sports bag of up to 23kg to be carried, along with the standard hold and carry-on baggage. Our domestic network, along with the launch of the first and only non-stop service between London and Jakarta, will help to make the courses more accessible to travellers. We have also seen significant growth in business travel and our state-of-the-art B777-300ER fleet has been designed with these travellers in mind.

What are your most important airline partners and how is this set to expand? Our recent codeshare with Etihad Airways is already providing good connections to points throughout Indonesia from London and Manchester via Abu Dhabi, and we expect this to expand to other UK airports served by Etihad. As the B777 network brings non-stop services to other European hubs, we hope to expand our existing codeshare agreements with other European airlines to maximise potential. We’re also excited about Garuda Indonesia becoming a SkyTeam member next year.

ROUTES NEWS 7, 2013

What changes has your route network undergone recently?

How have your markets changed in the past five years?

We’ve seen greatly increased capacity and traffic over the past two winters. Icelandair increased its winter capacity by 25% last winter and we will see similar growth this winter. Other airlines like easyJet, Norwegian and WOW Air have also increased capacity during the winter season and opened up new year-round routes. We’ve had a number of new routes this year, including easyJet starting year-round operations from Manchester and Edinburgh, and opening a new year-round route from Bristol in December. Several seasonal services have started, including St Petersburg, Anchorage, Zurich and Newark with Icelandair. WOW Air added seasonal service to Amsterdam, Düsseldorf and Milan, and Vueling started to operate to Iceland this summer with a seasonal route from Barcelona, while Thomas Cook Belgium commenced a Brussels service.

We’ve seen strong growth in scheduled flights by full service carriers led by Icelandair. Charter services have reduced as a share of the total and LCCs are playing a growing role in traffic development.

Icelandair recently announced new year-round flights to Edmonton – is there scope for more transatlantic flights?

NAME: Gudny Maria Johannsdottir JOB TITLE: Manager business & route development, Keflavik International Airport HOMETOWN: Thorshofn – a village of 450 people in Iceland

The year-round routes, because they meet our goals of increasing traffic outside of June, July and August. It was great to have the first easyJet route to Iceland secured as a year-round service.

How has Iceland’s tourism industry transformed since the financial crash in 2008? In 2008, 473,000 foreign visitors came to Iceland through KEF; last year, this had risen to 647,000 visitors – a 37% increase, primarily from the US, UK, Germany, Norway and France. The Eyjafjallajökull volcanic eruption in 2010 played a part, as after that Promote Iceland, together with the tourism industry, launched a marketing campaign called ‘Inspired by

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How has your job role evolved?

Iceland’. Recently, major films have been filmed in Iceland like Oblivion, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and the TV drama, Game of Thrones. There are a number of new events, like Iceland Airways’ Airwaves music festival and Iceland Fashion Week, and in 2011, a new concert hall and conference centre opened in the heart of Reykjavík. Iceland was also voted best destination for 2012 by National Geographic and Lonely Planet.

In 2012, we started an incentive programme for new routes to KEF. This meant that in addition to the new route incentives, we also offer a passenger increase bonus to reward growth on existing routes. Being able to share the risk with airlines has changed the way we work a lot. We now work closely with Promote Iceland and the tourism industry. I also spend much more time working with other airports when there is a new route opening up, or when we are targeting an airline together for a specific route.

What role do LCCs now play at the airport?

What is the best thing about working in aviation?

It is important to have a diversity of airlines because that is what customers want. LCCs have been instrumental in driving a significant part of recent growth and to reducing seasonality.

I love how fast things move in the industry and trying to understand how travel behaviour will change in the future. And of course the people that together create this industry.

RESIDENCE: Keflavik, Iceland

Which of your new routes mean the most to you?

Yes, and Icelandair is doing great things in the transatlantic market. Delta has operated a successful summer JFK service over the past three years. With the opening up of air services between Iceland and Canada, we are likely to see more connections in the near future, as well as to the US.

ROUTES NEWS 7, 2013

Connecting the dots

Ethiopian Airlines is pursuing a joint venture, multi-base strategy across Africa. Chief executive, Tewolde Gebremariam, shares his vision with Martin Rivers.

aving grown its revenue 700% since 2005, you might presume that Ethiopian Airlines would enter a period of consolidation over the coming years. But you would be wrong. The flag carrier and Star Alliance member is planning to expand another fivefold by 2025, doubling its fleet in the process and establishing a network of hubs across the African 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.” Under its Vision 2025 plan, Ethiopian is aiming for annual revenues of $10 billion, with a fleet of more than 120 aircraft. Its route network already comprises 77 international destinations,

ROUTES NEWS 7, 2013

Tewolde Gebremariam.

hub, and to develop long-haul routes to mainland China,” the chief executive says. “We are also studying Tokyo [in Japan], and Manila [in the Philippines].” In the Americas, Ethiopian currently serves Washington DC, Toronto, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Frequencies on its Canadian service have already risen from twice a week to thrice weekly, and Gebremariam is targeting additional frequencies on the bilaterally restricted route. He also singles out Los Angeles and Chicago as potential new US destinations. Further down the road, Australia and Moscow may be considered.

Joint ventures and equity stakes including 46 in Africa, but Gebremariam says future growth could come from Asia and the Americas. The Chinese cities of Shanghai, Chongqing and Chengdu are on the watch list for future expansion, he confirms. Ethiopian already operates daily services to Beijing, Guangzhou, Hangzhou and Hong Kong. “Our priority is to develop our own

Geographically, East Africa is better placed than other corners of the continent for connecting traffic, so strengthening the hub-and-spoke model in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, remains the primary focus. However, the city has little prospect of rivalling mega-hubs in the Gulf or Turkey. As a result, Ethiopian’s growth trajectory

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Ethiopian Airlines

encompasses a multi-faceted approach that leverages regional partnerships and independent business units. In July, it acquired 49% of defunct flag carrier, Air Malawi. The Southern African airline will be resurrected as Malawian Airlines around the New Year, initially operating one Boeing 737 and one Bombardier Q400. Gebremariam estimates that within five years, its fleet could grow to 10 aircraft, potentially including widebodies. Ethiopian also owns a 40% stake in ASKY Airlines, the Togo-based carrier that began operations in 2010. ASKY deploys a fleet of three 737-700s and four Q400s across 22 West African cities, restoring connectivity in a sub-region still suffering from the demise of Air Afrique, Ghana Airways and Nigeria Airways. “ASKY now is solving this problem,” Gebremariam says. “Also ASKY is serving as a second hub in Togo for Ethiopian Airlines. When we started services to Brazil [in July], it was not a direct service from Addis to São Paulo. It was through Lomé.”

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The final piece of the puzzle for Ethiopian’s multi-hubbing strategy will be a central African carrier. Efforts to establish a subsidiary in the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC) region are still in the “initial discussion stage”, with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) seen as the front runner. The chief executive says Congo Brazzaville, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon could also work as bases. “We have one [joint venture] for the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) region, one for the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region, and one very soon for CEMAC,” he notes. “So far, we’ve been serving the continent from one hub in Addis Ababa. Going forward – when you have very strong competition coming from the Gulf, Turkey and Europe – we need to position the carrier as a pan-continental business, like LAN Chile or Grupo TACA in South America.”

Competition from the Gulf Elsewhere on the continent, South African Airways and Kenya Airways have in recent months strengthened their codeshare ties with Etihad. By routing African traffic through Abu Dhabi, the carriers appear to be acknowledging the Gulf’s superior sixth-freedom potential. It is not an approach currently favoured by Gebremariam, although he is careful not to rule out future partnerships. “Our strategy is to grow on our own,” he insists. “Carriers who are doing this [signing agreements with Middle Eastern airlines] are looking for synergies. And yes, whenever we see a potential synergy, why not? But, at the moment, there are no active discussions with any Gulf carriers,” he states.

Safety matters With a broader goal of strengthening African aviation, Ethiopian is tackling misconceptions about the continent’s safety record. Africa’s overall accident rate may be 18 times higher than the global average, but IATA’s 20 subSaharan carriers all perform in line with other regions. Gebremariam explains that a handful of countries – notably including the DRC – tarnish the continent’s reputation. He supports the Abuja Declaration, signed last year, which calls for compulsory IOSA certification among all African airlines by 2015. “The safety issue in Africa is not properly understood. It is taken out of context,” he insists. “In very isolated jurisdictions like the DRC, the oversight of civil aviation is weak, and the institutional arrangements are weak. The rest of the continent is in a better shape – it is safe and has global standards for aviation. It’s factually incorrect to say that the continent is not safe.” Urging greater collaboration between regional bodies such as the African Union, the African Civil Aviation Commission and the African Airlines Association, Gebremariam says Ethiopian will do its bit to export best practices. The carrier’s aviation academy now accommodates 1,000 trainees annually – a figure that it expects to quadruple. ASKY is also one of 10 African carriers signed up to the IOSA implementation programme, with certification expected by the first quarter of 2014. As well as bringing benefits to the wider continent, an expanded aviation academy will further Ethiopian’s goal of diversifying its “profit centres” under Vision 2025. The airline is already the largest freight carrier on the continent, handling 180,000 tonnes of cargo last

ROUTES NEWS 7, 2013

LOMÉ, TOGO ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA

FAST FACTS • FLEET: 60 aircraft including five Dreamliners • ORDERS: 35 aircraft – mostly long-haul types • NETWORK: 77 international destinations, 46 in Africa • BASES: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and Lomé, Togo

Ethiopian Airlines is pursuing equity partnerships with geographically strategic airlines.

LILONGWE, MALAWI

•E QUITY STAKES: Togo’s ASKY Airlines and Malawian Airlines • STRATEGY: Vision 2025 outlines 120 aircraft by 2025

year. Its maintenance, ground services and catering units will also contribute to the $10 billion revenue target. But training remains the top priority, with Ethiopian keen to reverse the brain drain across East Africa by fostering home-grown, self-sufficient expertise. “With all the economic development and foreign direct investment that is coming to Africa, the question is will the continent be ready to take advantage of its potential?” Gebremariam asks. “That is why we must invest in human resources, especially in the aviation sector.”

Political challenges The airline’s past successes and future ambitions would not be possible without government co-operation, and he praises the authorities for treating aviation as a “strategic national priority”. The Ethiopian Airports Enterprise, for example, continues expanding the country’s 18 airports. However, unlike many of its rivals, the state-owned flag carrier enjoys independent corporate governance. “We are an airline that manages its own growth with its own internal finance,”

ROUTES NEWS 7, 2013

Gebremariam stresses. “If the growth is not profitable, we would not continue to be attractive to financiers and creditors.” Political interference may not be an issue in Ethiopia, but across the continent it remains a major bugbear for would-be private enterprises. The 1988 Yamoussoukro Declaration largely failed to open up Africa’s skies, leaving state protectionism as a major obstacle for new market entrants. No one has felt this more so than pan-African low-cost start-up FastJet, and Gebremariam warns the challenges are immense for such ventures. “We know Africa better than anyone,” he says, noting that Ethiopian transported the founding members of the Organization of African Unity, a precursor to the African Union, in the 1960s. “We have worked very hard to bring Africa together, and with this local knowledge I would say that low-cost business models in Africa will be challenging.” Gebremariam explains that most of the “hallmarks” of the low-cost approach are ill-suited to Africa. Although there is undoubtedly pent-up demand for cheaper fares, the lack of secondary airports coupled with the continent’s above-average taxes and fuel prices will inhibit price competitiveness. “You can

remove catering, but what is that in terms of the ratio of overall costs? I believe that it’s going to be difficult,” he says. “It may work within national borders, but there are bilateral issues when crossing borders.” Nonetheless, whatever form expansion takes, the future looks bright for the continent’s aviation sector. The rising tide of foreign direct investment, particularly from emerging nations, points to renewed confidence in Africa. Civil aviation is likely to be both a catalyst for, and a beneficiary of, this newfound economic prowess. Boeing’s estimate that the continent will require 1,100 new aircraft over the next 20 years may only scratch the surface of its potential. “The main drivers of globalisation in the 1990s were the English language, credit cards and the internet,” Gebremariam concludes. “These are the forces behind globalisation, and these things will come to Africa. It’s not as fast as in the western world, but it is already happening. Africa will not be an isolated island from globalisation. It will come.” And when it does, the chief executive hopes no one will be better placed to reap the benefits than Ethiopian Airlines.

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FOR LEASE

Routes News takes a look at the current growth in the aircraft leasing market and the outlook for the sector in the years ahead.

“I

t was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” With these words, Charles Dickens unknowingly summed up the state of the aircraft leasing sector more than 150 years after A Tale of Two Cities was published. It is the best of times because the lessors’ share of the market just keeps rising. Ascend estimates that roughly 35% of the world fleet is on operating lease and, with 6% annual growth on the cards, this proportion could hit 50% by 2020. However, a new set of single aisles are about to make their debut, the mid- to long-haul market is turning over to a new generation of aircraft and the regional sector is filling up with new players. This creates an extra dimension of complexity for lessors, as well as taking its toll on residual values. “We have certainly noticed that Airbus [A320 family] lease rates have continued to weaken [since the neo was

ROUTES NEWS 7, 2013

announced], particularly the A319, but the Boeing 737 is holding up quite strongly,” says Ryanair deputy CEO, Howard Millar. Ryanair is a 737 operator, but neighbouring A320 operator, Aer Lingus, is seeing a similar trend. “That is absolutely right, spot on,” says Aer Lingus CEO, Christoph Mueller. “We have seen the residual values of the A320 going down very fast as an effect of the neo coming onto the market. The 737NG seems to have a higher residual value which is holding up very strongly. This may be because the performance gap between the MAX and the NG is not as big as the A320ceo and neo on paper – that is the only explanation – but everyone is scratching their heads.”

Shortening aircraft lifespans According to Airbus’s 2013-2032 global market forecast, oil prices are set to swell to around $150 per barrel by 2040,

continuing the never-ending quest among airlines to contain operating costs. This is both a blessing and a curse for aircraft lessors. On the one hand, it generates increased demand for the latest, most fuel-efficient aircraft, but on the other it shortens the lifespan of aircraft assets. “I think the idea of buying an airframe and holding on to it for 25 years has gone,” says PwC head of aviation, Michael Burns. “So as long as fuel prices are high, you are going to see the speed of churn increasing. I think that is going to be the main driver. Airbus and Boeing both have new fuel-efficient models coming in, so what you will see is a massive ramping up, and then there will be a quiet period because effectively everybody will have re-equipped.” Airbus predicts that emerging economies will soak up half of all new aircraft deliveries over the next 20 years and Burns believes this geographical

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Leasing report

spread could shorten lease terms as demand takes shape. “I think the tenor of [aircraft lease] deals is potentially going to reduce because of that [need for] flexibility, especially with carriers in emerging markets where you are effectively testing the waters. You don’t know what demand is going to be like,

arrangement. If you look at the aircraft orders, you can see that the major leasing organisations are the ones behind the large orders. I think you are definitely going to see them taking the primary orders because they can take advantage of consolidation, of doing a large order. If you go to Airbus or Boeing

The idea of buying an airframe and holding on to it for 25 years has gone. So as long as fuel prices are high, you are going to see the speed of churn increasing therefore you may need to re-equip because you might be looking at up-gauging aircraft far more quickly than expected. I think this applies less to established markets, where legacy carriers spend a lot of money on forward planning and they can switch fleet types across their network.”

Order flurry The drive to contain operating costs will also play into the lessors’ hands because they can leverage their size to secure large orders at preferential rates. Over recent weeks, there has been another flurry of order announcements among the lessors, with GECAS firming its order for 10 Boeing 787-10s; Air Lease opting for three Boeing 787-9s and 30 787-10s; and BOC Aviation ordering 25 A320s, including 12 neos. “I think increasingly fleet expansion is going to be financed by some sort of leasing

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and buy 100 to 200 aircraft, you are going to get a good deal,” says Burns. This is demonstrated at every major air show, as lessors increasingly scoop up a greater proportion of the big ticket announcements. “The leasing market is becoming more and more important,” agrees Airbus chief operating officer, customers, John Leahy. Lessors now represent around 20% of Airbus’s total backlog, which stood at 5,190 aircraft at the end of August. “That’s direct from us,” says Leahy, “but through both sale and lease-back and speculative orders, they represent about 40% of all the aircraft out there.” Over the next 20 years, Leahy predicts lessors will continue to play a significant role. The absolute number of leased aircraft will scale up as the total world fleet more than doubles from 17,739 aircraft to 36,566 by 2032, but Leahy believes the lessors’ share of the

ROUTES NEWS 7, 2013

Leasing report

ATR aircraft are seeing renewed interest from lessors.

market will stabilise over time. “The proportion [of leased aircraft] will get bigger, but there is probably a natural limit to that of somewhere around 50% because there are other ways to finance aircraft,” he explains. “There will always be a limit on how many airlines in the world will want to do leasing.”

Leasing evolution There has also been a steady evolution in the types of aircraft that lessors go for. Around 20 years ago, Leahy recalls that they were only interested in single aisles, but over the last 10 to 12 years they branched out into widebodies. This has shifted the rules of the market, particularly in emerging economies which used to depend on retired aircraft from western fleets. “They would get a 20-year-old aircraft, but still have trouble financing it so they couldn’t grow,” says Leahy. “Especially over the last 10 to 12 years, lessors have been going into developing markets and offering airlines

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brand new aircraft to fuel their expansion. India and China, in particular, have benefited from the lessor community.” It is inevitable that the leasing market must track wider demand, so single aisles will continue to dominate the leasing market by units, while widebodies will lead by value. Likewise, there has been a steady trend among airlines towards larger aircraft, owing to their lower unit costs. “With the A320 family, out of 42 single aisles that we manufactured a month, about eight would be A321s. Now we are moving up so that 50% of our production is going to be A321s because demand is moving to larger aircraft. Over the last 20 years, average aircraft sizes have increased by about 25%, which has led to shifting within the family. Little single aisles are now less interesting than intermediate single aisles, which are less interesting than bigger single aisles,” says Leahy.

Welcoming regional aircraft However, as noted earlier, the leasing market can be a game of opposites. While it is true that the aircraft size spectrum is shifting ever upward, major lessors have also begun to extend their scope to regional jets and turboprops, which were previously the domain of niche players such as Nordic Aviation Capital (NAC). Now around 25% of the 50- to 70-seat aircraft fleet is leased, with major players such as Air Lease and GECAS jumping into the market. “The trend that everyone is seeing is that more and more regional aircraft are being leased,” says NAC chief operating officer, Jim Murphy. “Over the last four to five years, the percentage has been getting bigger and bigger and in some ways, it is catching up with the narrowbody mainline fleet. I think the trend will continue, if not slightly increase. We haven’t hit the top of the market in terms of the lessors’ share on the turboprop side. It is following the

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Leasing report

narrowbody [leasing trend] and their percentage keeps increasing, so we will probably keep growing as well.” Murphy attributes the surge in turboprop leasing activity to a pick-up in basic demand, which once again was largely triggered by spiralling fuel costs. “If you look at the ATR and Bombardier order books 10 years ago, they weren’t that great, but ATR is now producing 80 aircraft a year and Bombardier is doing slightly fewer. There is now consistent demand from all over the world and one in four aircraft is now being bought by leasing companies.” Murphy believes it is inevitable that more players will move into the regional aircraft leasing market, although not all of them will be able to make a go of it. “Over the last five years, a lot of lessors have looked at this market. They have got close, but they don’t seem to be able to make it work. There are lots of people looking at this and you’ll see more people getting into it over the next few years.”

Production bottlenecks The increased demand for turboprops – and ATRs in particular – means production slots have become more sought after, creating an opportunity for lessors to place large speculative orders. NAC itself has already inked firm orders for 50 ATR 72-600s and 80 options this year. This large order will be a key asset

ROUTES NEWS 7, 2013

A320 lease rates have fallen; despite this, BOC Aviation recently ordered 25, including 12 neos.

as it faces this fresh competition, giving it a strong inventory to offer airlines as they grow and hit their fleet renewal cycles. This is particularly important as airlines tend to plan their regional fleets much later than their narrow and widebodies. “Airlines don’t do this three years in advance; you don’t get as much notice as you would with narrowbody equipment,” says Murphy. “With Airbus, you have no choice but to wait until 2016-18, whereas with ATR, historically you could get an aircraft within six to nine months, so why make the decision? But with ATR, the situation is very different now. You will not get a slot next year, and you will struggle to get one in 2015 as well. This is a really good development for us.” Even NAC is having difficulty meeting demand within the next six to nine months. “We are struggling to get aircraft because ATR doesn’t have any more slots and we don’t have any. People have business that they want to put an aircraft on, but no one has them. You can’t get the slots you want anymore, so we are having to think a bit further out.” While the ATR family has evolved and undergone an avionics overhaul with the -600 family, it has not seen the kind of step change that is currently being seen in the narrowbody market.

This, however, could be about to change if ATR proceeds with its plans to create a new larger turboprop. “People don’t like the fact that these things change because it creates questions over residual values. They like to keep things simple, but when the market demands something different, we have to live with that. I’m not worried [about the new ATR] because this aircraft is likely to be a totally new, larger aircraft. The engines will be different and the ATR product commonality might not be there. It is not a big issue because if people want an aircraft of that size, we are happy to jump on board – and I do think there is a need for it. The market has gone up and up [in aircraft size] and we have told them [ATR] time and time again that we are an interested party if they do it. It will prosper. It’s just a matter of keeping the costs down,” says Murphy. While the flurry of new aircraft activity may make it the worst of times for aircraft lessors, airlines must be peering at their aircraft providers’ bottom lines with envy. Air Lease posted a 31.9% pre-tax margin for the three months ended 30 June; BOC Aviation’s first half net profits were 57% up year-on-year; and NAC has just announced a 51% boost in its full-year operating profit for 2012-13. Roll on the good times.

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êWORLD ROUT

e m i t w Sho the show for Las Vegas put on quite and tourism thousands of aviation World Routes. delegates at this year’s

2,800 Delegates

250 Airport CEOs 20 Airline CEOs 2 Conferences: The Strategy Summit and The World Tourism Summit 16,000 Face-to-Face Meetings 71 Hosted Networking Stands 34,203sqm of Exhibition Floor Space 31 Route Exchange Airline Briefings

CONVENTION CENTERê S GA VE S LA ê 13 20 7, 5– R êOCTOBE

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ROUTES NEWS 7, 2013

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Going global

Las Vegas is aiming to boost its international visitors by 13% over the next decade.

ossi Ralenkotter, president and CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, said boosting international arrivals was a key component in the city’s tourism growth strategy. He said this would see the international market rise from 17% currently to 30% within 10 years. “There are three growth markets for us: special events, conventions and meetings, and international. We have 150,000 rooms now and we will have at least 160,000 in the next 10 years – so we need to be able to take it from the 40 million that we will get this year to 45 million over the next seven or eight years,” he told Routes News.

Las Vegas’ top three international markets are Canada, Mexico and the UK, and Ralenkotter said he aimed to boost arrivals from Asia, including Australia, South America and the BRIC countries. “Las Vegas is such an international brand; there is demand for us all over the world. It is about us getting the message out – showing what Las Vegas has to offer and dispelling some of the misconceptions, particularly that it is not just a gaming destination. We’ve got 10 million square feet of convention space and more entertainment in one day in this city than some cities have in six months. We have to tell that story,” he said.

LAS VEGAS FAST FACTS • 40 million visitors in 2013 • 256,000 people employed in tourism • $25 billion invested in attractions during the recession • $5 billion being invested in new projects now • 150,000 hotel rooms • $2.2 billion investment planned for the Las Vegas Convention Center • Conventions already booked for 2022 onwards

McCarran eyes new Asian service The director of Las Vegas McCarran believes more international carriers will launch service to the airport’s new Terminal 3 following World Routes. Rosemary Vassiliadis, Clark County Department of Aviation’s director, said the event was an opportunity to showcase the new terminal to airline delegates from all over the world. In particular, the airport is targeting new service from Asian cities, with only Korean currently serving the city directly from the region. The airport ran tours of the facility during World Routes, and Vassiliadis said these were aimed at highlighting to airline delegates that they could run an efficient, profitable operation at Las Vegas. “We want to showcase this brand new terminal. It opened last year, it has an expanded port of entry, every bit of the latest technology injected into the operation. If we can show the airlines what a smooth, seamless, efficient 30

operation we have, that is very beneficial to them,” she said. Vassiliadis added the terminal has seven full-time gates and expanded customs and border processing. “Between the two of those, the hold rooms, the types of shopping and food offerings, it puts a very nice package together.” She added Virgin Atlantic was a true success story for the airport, and one the airport can hold up to other international carriers. “The best story is Virgin Atlantic. The convention authority and the airport teamed up and worked on them for 10 years, trying to tell them the demand will be here and that they would be able to fill all parts of

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their aircraft. Both sides were very diligent, but 10 years later we have two flights a day from Virgin and what a success story it is. That also spawns some competition and we have other European carriers because of that,” she said.

el Mayes receives UBM Live Routes’s Nig nic neon history. ico a piece of Las Vegas’

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SPACE RACE to be off the ground with

Virgin Galactic hopes within the next year, its commercial operations phen Attenborough, commercial director, Ste it. During a lively said at the Strategy Summ ring the end of nea are e session, he said: “W e, so that the first flight the test flight programm r.” will take place within a yea

All together now Aviation collaboration and partnership was a key theme during the World Routes Strategy Summit.

INDUSTRY-LEADING LINE-UP

he summit, which ran over three days, featured speakers from across the industry, and repeatedly heard that air travel growth would be led by Asia in the coming years. Better collaboration was highlighted during a number of sessions, with stakeholders coming together more effectively on topics such as the environment, taxation, security and passenger service. A number of sessions heard there had never been a better global dialogue between stakeholders in the aviation industry. The summit took place just days after the ICAO general assembly which sealed an agreement on carbon emissions to move to a market based measure by 2016.

The sessions also highlighted the value of the aviation industry to the global economy, with it carrying three billion passengers, supporting 57 million jobs and creating $2.2 trillion in economic benefit. For the first time it also featured the cruise industry perspective, with the chief executive of Cruise Lines International Association Christine Duffy delivering a keynote address – turn to page 54 for more from her. Despite the industry making good strides on a number of fronts, IATA’s senior vice president – airports, passenger and cargo services, Thomas Windmuller, told Routes News the industry must keep the pressure on when it comes to taxation. “It’s a constant battle: there are a lot of states in the world that really understand the role of aviation and driving their economies – countries like Singapore, Hong Kong, the UAE and Qatar. But there are others that are addicted to taxes – the

STRATEGY SUMMIT SPEAKERS INCLUDED: • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Bob Jordan, Southwest Airlines Giorgio Callegari, Aeroflot Russian Airlines Thomas Windmuller, IATA Angela Gittens, ACI World Dr Sani Sener, TAV Airports Holding John Shepley, Etihad Airways Richard Bodin, Fastjet Tony Davis, Irelandia Aviation Christopher Rodrigues, Visit Britain Roger Dow, US Travel Association David Scowsill, WTTC Khalfan Said AlShueili, Oman Airports Management Company Lee Seow Hiang, Changi Airport Group

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• • • • • • • • • • • • •

UK Air Passenger Duty is the worst one in the world, but even here in the US, aviation is taxed like the sin taxes on alcohol and tobacco. We need to be doing more,” he said. Another key theme during the summit was how to better serve the evergrowing number of passengers worldwide. ACI World director general, Angela Gittens, asserted that initiatives such as ACI’s Passenger Plus are beginning to make an impact.

Jack Kasarda, University of North Carolina Richard Evans, Rolls-Royce Michael Warner, Boeing Commercial Planes Nancy Young, Airlines for America Hélène V Gagnon, Bombardier Aerospace Rajeev Jain, Mumbai International Airport Hiran Perera, Emirates Jochen Schnadt, Latitude Aviation Des Vertannes, IATA Wally Devereaux, Southwest Airlines Cargo Mohammed Elamiri, ICAO Patricia Rojas-Ungar, US Travel Association Fredrick Piccolo, ACI World & Sarasota Bradenton International Airport

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Facebook’s Lee McCabe said travel brands could follow three best-practice pillars to better interact with social media users.

Social life

he rise and rise of digital and social media in destination marketing were key themes at this year’s World Routes Strategy Summit. Facebook’s head of travel Lee McCabe attended the event for the first time and delivered a keynote address on how users interact with travel brands on the social media network. According to McCabe, 70% of Facebook users update their statuses or post photographs on their profiles while they are travelling or on holiday. Meanwhile, in a Tourism Summit session, Tourism Australia’s managing director Andrew McEvoy said his organisation aimed to create the biggest

SQUEEZE

social media team for a single destination in the world. And Visit England’s chief executive James Berresford argued during a panel debate led by TTG managing director Daniel Pearce that consumers want to brag about their holidays on social media via photos and updates. He said destinations needed to ensure their product offering catered to this new trend. The summits also featured a range of airline speakers, and for the first time included the cruise industry with Cruise Lines International Association’s chief executive Christine Duffy leading a panel debate on the links between cruise and aviation.

SOUTHWEST’S SAVINGS

outhwest is on track to achieve $400 million in synergies through its merger with AirTran, its chief operating officer revealed. Bob Jordan participated in a ‘Mega Mergers’ panel debate and also hosted an exclusive event media briefing at World Routes. Jordan said the AirTran merger had been made easier due to it having a similar culture to Southwest’s. He added the merger provides Southwest with access to key cities, as well as international markets. He added that the timing of the Southwest AirTran merger was significant, and that in spring 2010 the deal “made a lot of financial sense”.

Watch more from Southwest’s Bob Jordan: www.routesonline.com/routes-tv

TIGHT

apacity constraints at Mexico City are holding back aviation growth in Mexico and its Latin American neighbours, a panel said during the World Tourism Summit. Volaris CEO, Enrique Beltranena, said the situation at Mexico City had prompted the airline to prioritise developing a point-to-point network in order to continue to grow. Beltranena called for the airport authority to harness new technology in order to boost efficiencies, saying that infrastructure development alone could take more than 10 years to build. “Why can’t we make Mexico City viable? Clearly there is a problem with technology. We can’t just say the airport is saturated – we need to invest in technology and make it viable,” he said. While panellists Ruben Martinez, vice president corporate strategy at Aeromexico, and Fabricio Cojuc, executive vice president and chief planning and commercial officer, Aeromar, agreed with Beltranena’s assessment, the panel believed change at the airport is still possible. “It is important for us to leave this forum with hope – we can still develop tourism and our economies,” said Beltranena.

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BIGGER

& BETTER

ore US airports and destinations are tipped to attend World Routes next year, believes Brand USA’s senior vice president, global partnership development. Alfredo Gonzalez said Brand USA, the private-public organisation that is tasked with marketing the US as a premium travel destination in key markets worldwide, had plans to expand its profile further next year in Chicago. Speaking exclusively to Routes News, Gonzalez said: “This is the first time the US has been represented in this way – and it has been a 100%, total success. It has been an incredible event, extremely well planned – just unbelievable.” He estimated there were about 100 US companies and organisations represented at World Routes 2013, with

From left: Brand USA’s Alfredo Gonzalez with CEO, Christopher Thompson, and UBM Live Routes’ Sallyanne Collins.

more than 16 US destination marketing organisations in attendance. “Our partners like New York, Massachusetts, Florida, Las Vegas – they are all so pleased to have finally found a platform that doesn’t just include the air side but also the tourism side,” he said. Gonzalez has been involved with Routes for a number of years and personally attended key meetings

Keeping it brief

Delegates received in-depth insight into some of the fastest-growing airlines in the world during the World Routes Airline Briefings. The sessions, held over the course of three days, saw 28 airlines from a range of business models outlining their strategy and future plans and attracted more than 1,000 audience members. Topics included, fleet order books, the way the business models work and how airports can engage with the carrier to promote their under- and unserved routes. Representatives from carriers presenting during the Airline Briefings included: • Southwest’s Evan Berg, manager of international planning, and

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•

• • • •

Julian Gelvez, route development consultant Air India’s Surendra Gupte, head – fleet & network planning & international relations Malaysia Airlines’ Liew Chee Khuan, VP network and long-term planning Air Canada Rouge’s Vijay Bathija, vice president Air Asia’s Subashini Silvadas, route & fleet planning analyst FastJet’s Richard Bodin, chief commercial officer Spirit’s Mark Kopczak, senior director – network planning

with US destinations that requested Brand USA’s support. “We were very pleased to see several carriers including Sunwing Airlines from Canada and WOW. We had a great meeting with Norwegian and we also met with Thomas Cook Belgium,” he said. Gonzalez added that Brand USA also attended a number of city pair meetings with some US airport partners.

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What would you like to see changed in your organisation or part of the industry by World Routes 2014? Andrew McEvoy, outgoing managing director, Tourism Australia

“I would love to see the bilateral arrangements between Australia and many countries in the world have improved even further. We want to be doing more business with countries like the Philippines, and seeing growth out of the emerging markets like Latin America, Eastern Europe and Russia.”

Hugh Riley, secretary general, Caribbean Tourism Organization

“I would like to see a larger and more prominent Caribbean presence and one that was organised around the concept of one sea, one voice, one Caribbean. I want to see the CTO being the hub for the Caribbean delegation, which hopefully will be bigger and more meaningful next year.”

Alfredo Gonzalez, senior vice president, global partnership development, Brand USA

“2014 is going to be a defining year in the relationship between Brand USA and Routes. Next year will see much larger participation of smaller communities, smaller airports, that are trying to find out how they can place their product in a global spectrum. I am estimating next year we will see about 30% higher participation from the US products.”

@e_russell

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@AirlinesDotOrg

Thomas Windmuller, senior vice president – airports, passenger and cargo services, IATA

“In a year from now you will see more growth, and that unfortunately means more congestion. There will be more people flying, more goods being transported, and more technology being introduced to make the passenger journey smoother.”

ANDREW MCEVOY

Jiří Pos, chairman & CEO, Prague Airport

“I’d like to be in the position of having more long-haul routes in Prague, mainly to Asia.”

HUGH RILEY

Paul Kehoe, CEO, Birmingham Airport

“I’d like to see the UK economy start profit traction, i.e. recovery. At the moment, we’re seeing green shoots but they’re very small – the seeds have just germinated. I’d like to be standing in Chicago next year, saying, ‘Phew, that was a good year’.”

JIŘÍ POS

Mohamed Yousif Al-Binfalah, CEO, Bahrain Airport Company

“I hope that we will be participating under a wider theme of visiting Bahrain. We would like to develop our stand into something wider to encompass other stakeholders in Bahrain – the tourism authority, the economic development board, ourselves as the airport operator, and other travel industry partners.”

PAUL KEHOE

@TravelDailyNews

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tions RT @ATDW: Congratula the top ing tak for s Au ism our @T award at World Routes!

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h t i w S T S O H the MOST

World Routes exhibitors pulled out all the stops in Las Vegas, offering delegates a range of activities and hospitality on their stands, as well as some unique ‘Visit Me’ prizes. While some sporting delegates took part in a football ‘keepie uppie’ competition, tried their hand at some golf or even got to grips with a crossbow, others opted for cold beers at the end of the day or much-needed coffees and smoothies for those early mornings. Prizewinners walked away with everything from iPad minis to luxury weekend breaks. Left: Las Vegas took over a giant piece of the South Halls, showcasing everything the city has to offer, from delicious Smith & Wollensky fare to live entertainment.

1. Narita International Airport’s VP, corporate strategies and planning, Hideharu Maiyamoto, won a headset by DG from Bahrain. 2. Etihad’s head of network planning, Imed Ben Abdallah, went home with a Lego set, courtesy of Copenhagen Airport. 3. Malaysia Airlines’ senior manager, fleet management NG, Soo Peng, walked away with jewellery from Saskatchewan. 4. Florence Amerigo Vespucci Airport’s head of commercial, Guido Vitali, won a Harley-Davidson leather jacket from Milwaukee/Chicago Mitchell International Airport. 5. US Airways’ senior manager, international network planning, Joel Van Over, will be spending a luxury weekend in Prague, thanks to Prague Airport. 6. Lufthansa’s manager, network planning, Ulrike Steinmann-Schudra, will be heading back to the US for a holiday, courtesy of Reno-Tahoe Airport Authority.

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MORE WINNERS • Dave Doty, Southwest – a weekend for two in Cote les Ancadims (Haiti) from Ministère du Tourisme, Haiti •K jartan Jonsson, Icelandair – a two-night stay in Wales, with a sporting event from Visit Wales •P riya Epitawela, SriLankan Airlines – iPad mini from Sabre Airline Solutions •C hristine Mwakatobe, Kilimanjaro Airport – three nights’ accommodation in Egypt from the Egyptian Airports Company •M artin Bourassa, AirTransat – two nights in Puerto Rico courtesy of Puerto Rico Tourism Company •B o Yang, China Southern Airlines – a bicycle from Amsterdam Schiphol •V ijay Bathija, Air Canada Rouge – vintage whiskey from Dublin

• Scott M Van Horn, Las Vegas McCarran International Airport – a golf putter from Scotland • Romy Liu, China Airlines – a digital camera, courtesy of Narita International Airport • Jane McCurdy, Westjet – an iPad from Atlantic Canada Airports Association • Radwa Mohamed Hosny, Cairo Airport Company – a Nikon camera from Bahrain • Ing Luigi Vallero, Meridiana Fly S.P.A. – a Samsung Tab 2 from Bahrain • Kate Meng, UBM Live ASM Limited – a Samsung Tab 2 from Bahrain • Malcolm Andrews, Adelaide Airport – headset by DG from Bahrain • Robert Huxford, Gatwick Airport – headset by DG from Bahrain

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From left: Nigel Mayes, UBM Live Routes; Tourism Australia’s Jane Whitehead, Leah Fletcher and Andrew McEvoy; and Adrian Newton, UBM Live Routes.

FIRST PLACE

Tourism Australia landed the Routes Marketing Award for 2013 – the first time a tourism authority has ever won the overall award. Routes News caught up with Andrew McEvoy, managing director, Tourism Australia. What does the award mean for Tourism Australia? It is tremendous for Tourism Australia to be acknowledged for its efforts in both marketing Australia to the world as a destination, and for the top award. It is great recognition for Australia overall, for all the work we do with our state tourism organisation and airport partners. Tourism Australia greatly values the role airlines have in providing the air access so visitors can experience what Australia has to offer, and we continue to work with 24 airline partners across the globe to convert the desire for Australia into actual bookings. These awards were particularly special as they are voted by the airline industry, and Routes conferences are one of the most highly regarded aviation conferences in the world.

What has been your core strategy when approaching air service development? Air access is critical for an island nation like Australia. When we set out with our

long-term Tourism 2020 plan, to improve Australian tourism’s competitiveness, air service development was identified as a key element needed to achieve our long-term goal to grow the overnight tourism expenditure to between $115 and $140 billion annually by the end of the decade.

When did you initially start with this strategy? In 2010, we launched our long-term strategic goal for tourism, which has now become our Tourism 2020 strategy. It was around this time that we put more of a focus on nurturing our air services partnerships.

What are the future plans for your team? We are just three years into our 10-year plan, so Tourism Australia’s focus is to continue to work closely with airlines and airport partners to achieve profitable growth for Australian tourism. New route development will continue to focus on Asia and Middle East regions.

HONOURS LIST OVER 50 MILLION PASSENGERS WINNER: Changi Airport Group Highly commended: Amsterdam Schiphol and Dubai International Shortlisted: Soekarno-Hatta and Suvarnabhumi

20–50 MILLION PASSENGERS WINNER: Copenhagen Highly commended: Incheon and Munich Shortlisted: Kunming Wujiaba, Sheremetyevo and Vienna

4–20 MILLION PASSENGERS WINNER: San Diego Highly commended: Auckland and Brussels Shortlisted: Athens, Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen

UNDER 4 MILLION PASSENGERS WINNER: NT Airports Group (Darwin & Alice Springs) Highly commended: Kilimanjaro International and Shannon Shortlisted: Ekaterinburg Koltsovo and Kyiv (Zhulyany)

BEST DESTINATION MARKETING CAMPAIGN WINNER: Tourism Australia Highly commended: Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention and Visitors Bureau and Turismo de Tenerife Shortlisted: Republic of Turkey, Ministry of Culture and Tourism

www.routesonline.com

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ere gs at World Routes, th tin ee m e ac -F -to ce Fa ng With more than 16,000 event, and more followi e th g rin du ts en m ce noun was a flurry of route an ly after. in the weeks immediate

VIENNA LANDS JET2.COM Vienna is set to welcome new service from Manchester with Jet2.com. The airline, which is based in the north of the UK and Scotland, will operate three-times weekly flights from Manchester to the Austrian capital from summer 2014. Vienna Airport’s head of aviation marketing & business development Belina Neumann said the gateway had been targeting the new flight to Manchester for a number of years. “For many years we have believed that Vienna needed a direct connection to the North of England and this service perfectly extends our network. In a market where competition in route development is constantly increasing the Routes events offer an ideal platform for us to connect with airlines and industry players on a regular basis,” said Neumann.

CARDIFF READIES TO HIT THE SLOPES Regional carrier Flybe revealed a rollout of new ski routes from Cardiff Airport in Wales during World Routes. The airline said it was expanding its winter offering to include four new ski 42

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routes to Chambery, Geneva, Grenoble and Lyon from Cardiff. “World Routes is an important part of our programme of getting the attention of airlines. Once again this was achieved. It was all the more pleasing having secured the Flybe business at the event itself,” said Jon Horne CEO of Cardiff Airport. Horne added he was “confident” more route announcements would follow the Flybe news shortly.

ETIHAD: CALIFORNIA DREAMING Etihad revealed during World Routes it will start serving Los Angeles from Abu Dhabi next year. The carrier will start service to its fourth US destination from June 1, subject to regulatory approval. “We are delighted to add Los Angeles, a major US and global destination with a significant metropolitan population and growing economy, to the Etihad Airways’ network in 2014,” Etihad CEO James Hogan said in Los Angeles. The carrier will operate a B777-200LR aircraft on the route. Los Angeles joins Chicago, New York and Washington on the Etihad US network.

NATURAL (AD)VANTAGE Airport operator Vantage Airport Group announced new Air Transat flights between two of its gateways during World Routes. The Canadian operator will link John C Munro International in Hamilton, Ontario and Sangster International in Montego Bay, Jamaica from December this year. The service will operate weekly, with a B737-800 aircraft. “Southern Ontario sun seekers will have the opportunity to escape Canadian winters and enjoy the beaches, resorts and other fun activities available in Jamaica,” said Lee Lipton, director of air service marketing at Vantage Airport Group. “Working with our 11 network airports, we help identify market opportunities and forge strong relationships with our airline partners that translate into win-win situations for our airports, communities and passengers,” he added. Frank Scremin, president and CEO, Hamilton International Airport said: “Partnering with an airport that’s within the Vantage network is unique and ensures we deliver the best possible experience to our passengers.”

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showcase the city and at the same time provide a great venue and environment for the sessions that are taking place,” he added. While Chicago is home to O’Hare and Midway airports, handling 67 and 19.5 million passengers a year respectively, Andolino said developing new air services remained a priority for the city, particularly new flights to Latin America and Asian cities. “We think more air services put us in a better position to attract more business and more tradeshows. We will be able to continue to service the market as new emerging economies continue to evolve. We need to make sure we are serving those destinations with direct services to create an ease of travel,” she said.

American dream Next year will see World Routes marking 20 years of air service development events in one of the world’s most important aviation hubs – Chicago.

osemarie Andolino, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA), told Routes News the city was gearing up to provide delegates with a warm Midwestern welcome during the event that will showcase the city’s diverse tourism offering. “Mayor Rahm Emanuel likes to say that Chicago is the most American of American cities, and the Midwestern hospitality is second to none. We really appreciate having guests come to our city and we are eager to showcase our city to them, and allow them to experience things we love so much about our great city,” Andolino told Routes News. “We are hoping they will enjoy our city and take the time to stay longer – it truly is a world-class city and they

should experience everything from the dining, to the shopping, to the neighbourhoods that make Chicago so unique,” she added. Hosted in partnership with destination marketing organisation, Choose Chicago, the event’s social programme will be designed to showcase the city’s walkability and ease of access. “We are somehow going to showcase our museum campus, and the walkability of the city. We will certainly allow for that with the entertainment options and the venues that we select,” added Don Welsh, president and CEO of Choose Chicago. “During the course of the day, guests will be delighted by the open air architecture of the West Building. Every touch point will be well orchestrated to

WORLD ROUTES 2014 LOCATION: Chicago, Illinois, US DATES: September 20–23, 2014 VENUE: McCormick Place HOSTS: The Chicago Department of Aviation and Choose Chicago MEETINGS: Three full days of pre-scheduled Face-to-Face meetings AIRLINE BRIEFINGS: 40 Route Exchange airline briefings CONFERENCES: Two days of conferences, including Strategy Summit and the Tourism Summit NETWORKING VILLAGE: 150 exhibitors and a Domestic US Airline Hall NETWORKING: Full hospitality

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www.routesonline.com

BOOSTING Bavaria Germany is the star economic performer in Europe and Munich hopes to benefit by attracting new long-haul links to emerging markets, writes Caroline Cook.

unich might be Germany’s second airport, but when that means handling more than 18 million passengers in the first half of this year, it’s a position that many European airports would love to be in. In fact, the airport clocked 18.6 million passengers during the first six months of 2013, and its operator Flughafen München Gmbh (FMG) believes it could be on track to notch up its busiest-ever year – no small achievement at a time when Europe’s economy remains sluggish. “Last year, we ended up with 38.4 million passengers,” says senior vice president, business division aviation, Andreas von Puttkamer. “We are expecting another 600,000 this year, bringing our total to 39 million passengers.” Von Puttkamer adds air traffic movements have dropped in the past three years, due to airlines opting for larger aircraft. This is evident in load factor figures, which reached a record

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74% from January to June this year, despite ATMs dropping to 190,000.

Growing market As Germany’s economic performance continues to steam ahead with 0.9% year-on-year growth in Q2 – Bavaria in particular continues to enjoy economic success. Representing 18% of the country’s GDP, the “high-tech centre of Europe” continues to lead over other parts of Germany. Munich is keen to capitalise on these growth figures and is looking to expand its long-haul network, particularly to emerging markets. Lufthansa is the airport’s largest airline, followed by airberlin, Condor, TUIfly and then easyJet. Lufthansa is currently undergoing a high-profile cost-cutting programme, which inevitably has impacted its key hubs. This winter, Lufthansa opted to axe Singapore from its winter schedule at Munich, but the airport operator points to other network positives. These include the German flag carrier ramping up

Riyadh to four flights a week this winter, up from the three flights a week since it was introduced in 2010. And von Puttkamer hopes this capacity increase is a sign of the potential for other new route launches from Lufthansa in the not-too-distant future. “With Lufthansa as our partner, especially for transfer passengers, we’re expecting many more long-haul destinations when we are through the economic crisis. “Germany is doing very well – way ahead of other European countries – but Lufthansa is undergoing some cost-cutting programmes for the years 2014 and 2015,” says von Puttkamer. “After that, we expect an increase, especially in its long-haul fleet.”

Looking for long-haul This winter, Munich’s network is made up of 15 domestic, 127 medium-range and 47 intercontinental routes, and von Puttkamer is particularly keen to see more long-haul services added to the network.

ROUTES NEWS 7, 2013

Munich

101

242

AIRLINES

COUNTRIES

DESTINATIONS

(100)

(70)

(241)

20 DOMESTIC (20) 165 CONTINENTAL (160) 57 INTERCONTINENTAL (61)

Above: Lufthansa check-in, Munich. Figures show number of airlines, countries and destinations for Munich in 2012 (2011 in brackets).

“We are well covered with our European network,” he explains. “We have more weekly frequencies across Europe than Frankfurt, for example, and we still see good potential into Eastern European countries. However, we are a little bit underserved on the long-haul side.” With around 15% of Munich’s passengers being long-haul travellers, von Puttkamer believes the airport is underserved to South and Central America, as well as Africa. He hopes at least one part of that puzzle will soon fit into place. “We’re currently in very close talks with Ethiopian Airlines. It was already planning to fly to Munich this year, but it couldn’t get the traffic rights. We’re working on that and we’re expecting to have a daily flight to Addis Ababa next year,” he says. Another major win for the airport was Condor’s return to Munich last winter, after a six-year hiatus. The operator now serves the leisure long-haul points of Cancun, Goa, Mauritius, Mombasa, Santa Clara and Punta Cana. There are also hopes Emirates could expand its A380 operation, after the carrier announced a second superjumbo service for the end of October – albeit only temporarily. On the medium- and short-haul front, Royal Air Maroc commenced service to

ROUTES NEWS 7, 2013

Casablanca in October, while Turkish Airlines plans to begin daily flights to Istanbul’s Sabiha-Gökcen at the end of January, to complement its existing Atatürk services. Other short-haul additions to the timetable from October included Norwegian launching Alicante, Malaga, Gran Canaria and Tenerife services, while Air Lituanica introduced three flights a week to Vilnius.

Terminal upgrade With Munich’s air services team hard at work securing new routes, infrastructure plans are also being pushed ahead to ensure the airport is well-placed for future growth. In June this year, the airport celebrated the 10th anniversary of T2 and during September, it commemorated the topping out of the terminal’s new satellite facility. The project started in April 2012 and is due to open in 2015 – increasing T2’s existing 25mppa capacity by an additional 11 million passengers. As with the main terminal itself, the €650 million satellite is designed by Koch + Partner and is the joint responsibility – split 60/40 – of FMG and Lufthansa. Located above the baggage sorting hall on the east apron, the 600m-long pier will provide 52 gates; 27 aircraft

stands (more than doubling T2’s existing amount); 24 transfer desks; and 42 passport control stations. It will also have five Lufthansa lounges and 9,000sqm of food, beverage and retail units. The satellite will be connected to the main terminal via an underground Bombardier personal transportation system, capable of handling up to 9,000 passengers per hour in each direction. Plans for a third runway are also in motion. Although the Upper Bavarian government issued planning permission for the runway in July 2011, von Puttkamer explains FMG is waiting for a court decision following public appeal before beginning construction. He says the go-ahead is expected at the start of 2014, and a new 4,000m by 60m runway could arrive by the end of the decade. The project would give Munich 30 additional ATMs per hour, easing the already-stretched capacity of 90 movements per hour on the airport’s two existing runways. With additional capacity on the horizon for the future and Bavaria’s economy set to continue to grow, FMG is enthusiastic about future success. “We’re working to become even better,” says von Puttkamer. “We’re working to become a five-star airport.”

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Bahrain’s team effort at World Routes.

Passenger traffic growth in the Middle East has prompted Bahrain Airport Company to start a new development plan, CEO, Mohamed Yousif Al-Binfalah, tells Caroline Cook.

hile the mega Middle Eastern hubs attract a lot of attention, Bahrain Airport and its home carrier, Gulf Air, have been quietly undergoing their own transformations. Operated by Bahrain Airport Company (BAC) since 2010, Gulf Air’s main hub has had to respond to the national carrier’s restructuring over the past 12 months, as well as political instability in the country. Now Mohamed Yousif Al-Binfalah, who replaced Gordon Dewar (now heading up Edinburgh Airport) as the CEO of BAC in September 2012, tells Routes News capacity is a major issue at the gateway. “The existing infrastructure dates back to 1994,” he says. “That was when the terminal building was constructed, designed for four million passengers.” Last year, the airport handled nearly 8.5 million passengers, following a peak of around nine million in 2010.

Three-point plan As a result, BAC and its holding company, Bahrain Mumtalakat, have devised a three-step expansion plan.

www.routesonline.com

In the short term, around $18 million will be invested to renovate dated infrastructure. Al-Binfalah explains: “We’ve started a number of tendering projects and we are about to place some of the orders.” He said this project should be completed by 2015. The next phase will see $1 billion invested in expanding the terminal building over the next five years. Al-Binfalah says this will include extra car parking, state-of-the-art airport systems and modern baggage handling systems. In addition, the Bahraini government plans to build a brand new greenfield airport on one of two possible locations.

Filling the gap The airport has had to adapt to a major restructuring of its home carrier, Gulf Air. Inevitably, loss-making routes have also been axed, including Colombo, Dhaka and Kathmandu, but some others have seen capacity increase, including Sana’a, Chennai, Jeddah and – most recently – Pakistan. Currently, BAC has direct flights to more than 35 destinations. In 2012, the airport welcomed new flights from Felix Airways, Safi Airways and

• CORPORATES: Largest oil company in world headquartered at Saudi Aramco • COMMUNITIES: Expatriates from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Philippines • CARGO: Expanding handling facility to treble capacity to one million tonnes per annum Source: Routesonline.com

Mihin Lanka Airways, as well as the introduction of the Boeing 747-8F on British Airways’ and Cargolux’s freight services. Al-Binfalah comments: “We are expecting to add at least three new destinations next year. We are talking to airlines in China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and India. We are also engaged with Gulf Air to explore how they can serve new destinations in Asia.” When asked if BAC sought destinations to the west, Al-Binfalah replies: “It’s very difficult to attract services when the three major carriers – Etihad, Emirates and Qatar Airways – are quite aggressive in serving them. “Nevertheless, we have connectivity to the US through United; to Europe through British Airways, KLM and Lufthansa; and we are still in dialogue with other carriers to explore how we can attract them to Bahrain.” Despite airport capacity constraints and fierce regional competition, Al-Binfalah and his team evidently have high hopes for BAC and the future of Bahrain Airport.

ROUTES NEWS 7, 2013

Being social ONLINE WITH: Singapore Changi has one of the biggest Facebook fan followings of any airport in the world. Routes News quizzed its senior vice president (corporate & marketing communications), Ivan Tan, on its social strategy. What are your main social media channels? Since August 2009, Changi Airport has embraced the use of social media through its ‘Fans of Changi’ platform across Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram. Our Facebook channel engages our fans on a personal level, providing travel tips and running competitions that see air tickets given away. Through its frequent shout-outs, images and updates, our fans see Facebook as the alternative to our official websites for quick information fixes. We engage with our followers on Twitter by sharing travel tips and airline deals, as well as flash travel advisories and the latest developments at Changi. Followers have naturally started seeking help and sharing feedback on Twitter, and we expect that platform to increasingly be a channel for customer service too. On Instagram, we strive to inspire travel through images. Photos of the airport terminals, airlines, travel destinations and food are the simplest and most entertaining way to connect with our followers. Videos on Changi, including behind-the-scenes footage and attractions like our Kinetic Rain sculpture, are on our Fans of Changi YouTube channel.

GET INVOLVED!

What is the fastest-growing media channel? Instagram – we started the account in May 2012 and in just over a year, our following has grown to more than 5,500. We’ve found that a compelling mix of imagery and succinct copywriting appeals to our fans, and on average we generate more than 300 likes per photo.

How many followers do you have across your social media channels? In terms of airports, Changi Airport has the second largest Facebook community in the world, with about 210,000 fans and counting. We have more than 10,000 followers on Twitter and some 5,500 fans on Instagram.

responsibilities across all our social media platforms. We often huddle to discuss digital strategy and plan events and activities, as well as brainstorm content ideas. We even organise offline activities at the airport to thank our most ardent social media supporters.

As a major global hub, how do you address different passenger markets on social media?

How would you like to see your social media team and strategy develop in the future?

Passengers are at the heart of what we do. We follow this principle whenever we engage our fans on social media, with a personal and consistent voice and tone across all our channels. For information that might be relevant only to a particular segment, we would geo-tag the post.

Social media is an opportunity for us to enhance relationships and expand our brand and its promises. We believe in developing an integrated digital strategy: 1) B e authentic We endeavour to communicate the personality, values and passion of our brand to build and enhance our emotional connection with the people who like and follow us. 2) B e focused Social media is crowded with countless tools and tactics. We will continue to make targeted choices based on our brand attributes and audience to make better use of our resources. 3) B e consistent Last but not least, we believe consistent interaction across all our social media platforms will build strong relationships, recognition and a deep affinity with our brand.

Have you used social media for any route launches? We support our airline partners in marketing the launch of new routes, through mainstream as well as social media. When Swiss announced its return to Singapore, operating a daily service from Zurich, we ran a simple Facebook contest to celebrate the new route.

Who manages your social media activity? We have a dedicated in-house team of community managers who share

Are you a social media trailblazer? Then we want to hear from you. Email: lucy.siebert@routes-news.com

www.routesonline.com

ROUTES NEWS 7, 2013

eventsupdate

El Salvador’s

BIG PLANS

ore than 400 delegates will flock to Central America’s smallest and most densely populated country for Routes Americas in El Salvador. Routes Americas is the largest route-planning event for the entire Americas region and is taking place in San Salvador on February 23–25, hosted by El Salvador’s Civil Aviation Authority; El Salvador International Airport; and the Ministry of Tourism. El Salvador’s minister of tourism, Jose Napoleon Duarte Duran, has thrown his weight behind the event. He told Routes News that event delegates have a lot to look forward to, despite the country’s tiny size. “El Salvador is an ideal place for those who want a lot in short distances. The diversity of routes found in El Salvador include historic heritage, archaeological heritage, ecotourism destinations, picturesque villages and beaches that make us one of the top 10 surf destinations in the world,” he said. While the focus of the event is on Face-to-Face meetings, Duran said delegates should also make sure they have time for some leisure activities.

ROUTES NEWS 7, 2013

ROUTES AMERICAS ESSENTIALS • DATE: February 23–25, 2014 • LOCATION: San Salvador, El Salvador • HOSTS: El Salvador’s Civil Aviation Authority; El Salvador International Airport; and the Ministry of Tourism • EVENTS: Routes Americas Strategy Summit and Route Exchange Airline Briefings • DELEGATES: 400 expected Event is open to any attendee interested in this region.

“I suggest delegates visit Suchitoto – a charming city with a strong identity and former capital of El Salvador. There is also Montecristo National Park, which is a cloud forest located in the northwest region of the country and is close to the border of Guatemala and Honduras, and the beaches of La Libertad, which are major surf locations and also offer a variety of fresh seafood, he said.” El Salvador International Airport is currently undergoing a major infrastructure upgrade. In the past three years, three new airlines debuted at the airport – Iberia, Aeromexico and Avianca-TACA. In September, Avianca launched new service to Chicago, which will also host a Routes event next year with World Routes 2014.

www.routes-news.com

Events update

FIFTH TIME LUCKY

upcoming events

for Malaysia

Malaysia is a Routes event veteran and next year Routes Asia will again be heading to the country. This time Kuching, the capital of Sarawak, will play host to the 12th Routes Asia event, which will attract delegates from all over the Asia-Pacific region. The event will be co-hosted by the Ministry of Tourism Sarawak and Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad. The first Routes Asia event, which was also the first ever Routes regional event, took place in Sepang, hosted by Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad. The airport operator went on to host Routes Asia in 2004 and 2005, as well as World Routes 2008 in Kuala Lumpur. Sarawak is served by four major airports: Kuching International Airport, and Sibu, Bintulu and Miri Airports, and its air links ensure it is one of the most accessible cities in Malaysia.

ROUTES ASIA ESSENTIALS • DATE: March 9–11, 2014 • LOCATION: Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia • HOSTS: Ministry of Tourism Sarawak and Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad • EVENTS: Routes Asia Strategy Summit and Route Exchange Airline Briefings • DELEGATES: 700 expected

Flights to Kuching are available from Kuala Lumpur International Airport – which is served by more than 50 carriers – as well as Singapore and Jakarta, among other regional hubs. Once delegates are in Sarawak, they will be spoilt for choice for leisure activities. The region is known as the Land of the Hornbills and is situated on the island of Borneo. It is home to the world’s oldest tropical rainforests and its wildlife includes rare and endangered species such as the orang-utan and the hornbill. The historic capital city of Kuching has a population of around 600,000 and dates back hundreds of years when traders from China and the West would travel there to trade the exotic treasures of the rainforest.

World Routes September 20–23, 2014 Chicago, USA The global meeting place for every airline and airport

Routes Americas February 23–25, 2014 San Salvador, El Salvador Routes Asia March 9–11, 2014 Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia Routes Europe April 6–8, 2014 Marseille, France

Routes Africa June 22–24, 2014 Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

Routes CIS TBC

Event is open to any attendee interested in this region.

www.routesonline.com

ROUTES NEWS 7, 2013

P O T e h t m o r f W E I V FACTFILE

nal Association (CLIA) Cruise Lines Internatio www.cruising.org WEBSITE: e, Florida, USA ERS: Fort Lauderdal

ORGANISATION:

HEADQUART

1976 10,500 travel agencies, 26 cruise lines and ividual travel agents representing 35,000 ind

YEAR FOUNDED: MEMBERSHIP:

NAME:

CHRISTINE DUFFY

JOB TITLE:

PRESIDENT AND CEO

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ROUTES NEWS 7, 2013

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