6 minute read
ANOTHER BLOW for European Airlines…
Singapore's national airline has seen its biggest annual net loss of UK£1.7 billion due to the pandemic. Revenue dropped by over 76% to UK£2.03 billion from nearly UK£8.5 billion.
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It said that the past 12 months were the "toughest year in its history". Cargo revenues helped the drop in passenger business with many vaccine flights across the Asia Pacific region.
WIZZ AIR TO OPERATE 9 NEW ROUTES FROM CARDIFF-WALES
Hungarian low cost airline, Wizz Air, will be opening a base at Cardiff Airport in south Wales and will offer ‘ultra-low fares’ to 9 popular holiday destinations throughout the summer and autumn.
From 17 June flights will operate to Larnaca- Cyprus, Corfu and Crete - Greece, Faro - Portugal, Alicante, Lanzarote, Palma de Mallorca, and Tenerife – Spain. From October flights will begin to Sharm el-Sheikh - Egypt.
Wizz Air is also to operate from Rome’s Fiumicino Airport from July this year with 32 new services to 19 countries.
ANOTHER BLOW FOR EUROPEAN AIRLINES AND AS CARBON ALLOWANCE PRICES RISE
It is not enough that travel has been next to nothing for the past year and a half, but now airlines face a sharp rise in the cost of polluting in Europe.
The EU’s Emissions Trading System (ETS), means airlines which are carbon intensive must buy the tradable credits to cover the amount they pollute under parallel emissions systems in both the UK and the EU.
The UK system ‘nascent’ trades higher than the EU at over £50 a tonne. The schemes only cover emissions on flights in Europe and the UK and so low-cost carriers like Ryanair, easyJet and Wizz Air will have a big bill to pay as they mainly fly in this area.
Annually, airlines get a set amount of free credits, and must then purchase the remainder to cover the rest of their emissions. PreCovid, the airlines receive free credits to cover around half of their emissions.
As governments push for greater zero carbon targets, so the cost of carbon keeps rising. Anticipating this, some airlines are hedging credits, as they do with fuel in a bid to keep their carbon expenses as low as possible.
Both the EU and UK are planning to reduce the total number of allowances and the amount of free credits over the coming years, making the carbon purchase even more expensive.
Eventually, airlines will begin to pass on these costs to passengers, however at the moment they are just trying to get people back in the skies and to do so, offer cheap prices.
Alaska Airlines and Airspace Intelligence have joined forces in a long term contract for the use of Flyways AI™, an industrychanging platform that uses artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to assist dispatchers in making flight operations more efficient and sustainable by enhancing routes and improving the certainty and flow of airline traffic. Alaska is the first airline worldwide to adopt the technology.
"Flyways AI has transformed how Alaska Airlines approaches route planning and optimisation, enabling our highly skilled dispatchers to work even smarter to deliver the safest and most efficient routes to our pilots, saving time and carbon emissions, mitigating congestion and creating a better experience for our guests," said Diana Birkett Rakow, vice president of public affairs and sustainability for Alaska Airlines. "Airspace Intelligence is a true partner in implementing Flyways to deliver results in Alaska's operating environment for innovation, safety and sustainability."
This winter will see the Canadian travel giant Sunwing relaunch flights to vacation destinations in Cuba. Sunwing will operate from Windsor International Airport, Ontario, for the 2021-2022 winter season.
It will offer a weekly service to the popular Cuban destinations of Varadero and Cayo Santa María. Flights will begin in December 2021 and operate until mid-April 2022.
PAKISTAN TO LAUNCH NEW AIRLINE ‘NORTH AIR’ TO BOOST TOURISM
In a bid to promote Pakistan as a global tourism destination, a new private airline ‘North Air’ will soon begin operations initially to and from Islamabad, Skardu, Chitral, Gilgit, and Gwadar - covering major tourist attractions. The new airline hopes to enhance air connectivity to drive tourism and economic growth in the scenic GilgitBaltistan region which attracts approx. 2 million tourists. Locals in the area hope the new flight will bring new revenue to the region.
S7 AIRLINES TRANSPORTED OVER 4.91 PASSENGERS IN 5 MONTHS
S7 Airlines has announced their performance for April 2021. In April the airline transported 1,348,856 passengers, almost matching pre-pandemic figures (1,362,397 in April 2019). Of that, 1,276,195 passengers used domestic flights in Russia, a rise of 25% than for the same period in 2019. Since the start of 2021, S7 Airlines has transported 4,913,651 passengers. Domestic tourism makes up the majority of the flights. The airline is shortly starting its summer flights with new southbound regional flights. The new flights by S7 Airlines include direct flights from Irkutsk to Krasnodar.
This summer, S7 Airlines will operate flights to 130 destinations, with priority to flights to Crimea and Krasnodar Krai, the top destinations for family holidays. For the first time, direct flights to the Black Sea will operate to Simferopol, Anapa and Sochi which will be available from the cities of Lipetsk, Ivanovo, Pskov and Kurgan. Flights from Moscow to Gelendzhik will increase to 3 times a day, and the flights from Irkutsk to Sochi and Simferopol will double operations.
HAWAIIAN AIRLINES & EMPIRE AIRLINES CEASE COOPERATION
Due to the devastating effects of the pandemic, Hawaiian Airlines is stopping its Ohana turboprop operation. Ohana used four ATR 42s for passenger flights between Honolulu and nearby islands, Molokai and Lanai, as well as to Kapalua on the NW coast of Maui.
It also operated four ATR 72s for freight services within the state. The aircraft are owned by Hawaiian but operated on its behalf by Empire Airlines. Hawaiian has lent some ground support equipment to Mokulele Airlines, as it still offers a service between Honolulu and Molokai and Lanai.
ALASKA AIRLINES NEW FLIGHTS TO BELIZE
Alaska Airlines will begin a new route to Belize from mid-November 20201. Operating as a seasonal route, it will run 4 times a week between Los Angeles and Belize City, and twice weekly between Seattle and Belize City.
Increased air services are imperative to the success of Belize's tourism, so the new West Coast connections offer a convenient getaway.
Belize will be the 4th country Alaska flies to from its West Coast hubs, joining Canada, Mexico and Costa Rica. Alaska is a member of the oneworld global alliance.
VIVA AIR RELAUNCHED
Peruvian low-cost airline Viva Air has renewed its brand with a name change to ‘Viva’, with a boomerang logo in yellow. The slogan is ‘Fly more!’ The airlines aim is for ‘all travellers to fly more, paying less; not only to the usual destinations, nationally and internationally, but also to new routes and connections that will be added throughout 2021. The new routes are part of the transformation that will benefit countries such as Peru, Colombia and all Latin America.
