Corporate Travel Analysis Reports For The Americas

Romanian national carrier Tarom is to push ahead with the acquisition of up to three widebodied aircraft to support its long-haul network development. The formal Request for Proposals (RFP) confirms a CAPA - Centre for Aviation exclusive story from the start of June when the airline's CEO, Eugen Davidoiu, told The Blue Swan Daily that the recent arrival of Boeing 737-800s was just the first stage of a fleet renewal plan both to facilitate network growth as well as to replace older generation equipment.

Latin American LCC group Viva is considering the launch of new affiliates after placing an order for 50 A320 family aircraft. The 15 A320ceos and 35 A320neos will be used to expand in Colombia and Peru, as well as to support potential start-ups throughout Latin America.

When you consider short-haul feed within the Air France business model you would obviously consider the airline's vast network into its Charles De Gaulle Airport hub in Paris. However, did you know that the European flag carrier has also been providing short-haul flights in the Caribbean for 70 years?

US major Delta Air Lines is at the centre of a deepening transatlantic airline partnership that will see Sir Richard Branson sell his majority stake in Virgin Atlantic Airways. The airline will pay €375 million to acquire 10% equity and a seat on the Air France-KLM Group Board of Directors and £220 million of that money is being immediately used by the European joint venture to acquire a 31% stake in UK carrier Virgin Atlantic Airways.

Earlier this month, we witnessed yet another example of an airline attempting to cash in on the success of a movie franchise by plastering well known images and characters all over a select aircraft. Jetstar Japan ensured the release of the new Spiderman movie, Spiderman: Homecoming, helped build brand awareness for the airline by not only splashing a giant Spiderman across an aircraft but also inviting guests to dress up as the friendly neighbourhood hero.

The great strength of hub airports is that they connect passengers from one point to another, quickly, effectively and quite often more cheaply than on a direct service from the point of origin. Under sixth freedom traffic rights, airlines such as KLM (at Amsterdam Schiphol) and Singapore Airlines (at Singapore Changi) have built major hubs on such passenger flows.

The introduction last month of a new seasonal Transatlantic connection from Madrid to Boston, Air Europa's third US route and fourth destination in North America is just the latest stage of a network expansion that is seeing it rival Spain's national carrier, Iberia, particularly across the Americas market.

The 2017 Paris Air Show produced an unexpected flurry of orders - Boeing and its new 737 MAX 10 emerging with a clear victory on what has historically been Airbus home turf. Deals were announced covering almost 1200 aircraft at the air show, making Paris the busiest air show since 2013.

Argentina has been a white spot in Australia's international network since Qantas and Aerolineas Argentinas suspended services earlier this decade on the Sydney-Buenos Aires route. Regaining a service to Buenos Aires is an obvious target for Sydney Airport and could potentially be realised early next decade.

Avianca is planning to expand its network in Europe as part of the next phase of its international expansion as it starts to focus more on the international market, while slowing its domestic expansion. The Colombia based airline group plans to resume non-stop flights into Germany, adding to its existing European destinations of Barcelona, Madrid, and London Heathrow.