News for Europe/MEA

flyadeal aims to commence international services by mid 2018, following the planned launch of domestic operations on 23-Sep-2017 (Reuters/Arab News, 24/25-Aug-2017). CEO Con Korfiatis said: "We see enormous opportunity to offer more choice particularly out of another base" and added: "We saw the low fares airline space as a white space for us to grow into. We are primarily looking to come in and stimulate rather than have to survive on taking from anybody else". The airline will target young travellers, with around half of Saudi Arabia's population estimated to be younger than 25. Mr Korfiatis said: "Saudi Arabia and the region have a very young and digitally savvy population that has an increasing thirst for low fare travel domestically and across the region" and commented: "That's the demographic that's the future of this airline".

Global Ghana Airlines, via its official Facebook account, stated (18-Aug-2017) it plans to commence nonstop Chicago O'Hare-Accra service on 01-Nov-2017. According to its official website, the airline was founded in 2016 and intends to operate daily Accra service.

Norwegian Group announced plans to test the feasibility of operating the Boeing 737 MAX on trans Atlantic services between Cork to Stewart once "we learn more about the aircraft's operational capabilities" (Irish Examiner, 24-Aug-2017). As previously reported by CAPA, CEO Bjørn Kjos is concerned a fully loaded 737 MAX might not be able to take off from Cork Airport's 2133m runway, however he is hoping the aircraft will perform better than projections. The carrier is currently operating two 737 MAXs on "selected transatlantic routes from Dublin and Edinburgh" and is awaiting approval to operate the other four 737 MAXs.

India's Ambassador to Portugal Nandini Singla stressed (22-Aug-2017) the need to improve tourism ties between Goa and Portugal. She also informed Goa Tourism that she would be initiating talks with Air India to explore possibilities of direct service from Lisbon to India, subject to commercial viability. [more - original PR]

Qantas Airways Group announced (25-Aug-2017) it is investigating nonstop services from the east coast of Australia to London and New York by 2022. The carrier stated a "challenge has been given to Airbus and Boeing to give their next generation aircraft currently under development - the A350ULR for Airbus and Boeing's 777X - the range to make these nonstop flights possible with a full passenger load". Qantas stated a nonstop service would cut total journey time by up to four hours for Sydney-London and almost three hours for Melbourne-New York. Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce commented that the carrier's planned Perth-London service, due to commence in Mar-2017 "is a huge leap forward" and the airline believes that "advances in technology in the next few years will make Sydney to London direct a possibility and Qantas is well placed to be the airline to do it". Mr Joyce cautioned that "any aircraft purchase would have to meet strict financial thresholds", but believes direct services "would be revolutionary for air travel in Australia." [more - original PR]

Air New Zealand announced (25-Aug-2017) it will launch its first ever global brand campaign 'A Better Way to Fly to New Zealand', in the US. The carrier will then roll out the campaign progressively across the UK, Europe, Asia and South America in the coming months. The campaign follows the success of a similar marketing approach launched in Australia in 2016. [more - original PR]

Alliance Aviation Services signed (24-Aug-2017) an contract with Minerals and Metals Group (MMG) Dugald River covering the provision of air charter services between Townsville and Cloncurry. The initial contract is for two years, with an option for a further two years at MMG discretion.Alliance Aviation Services previously provided previous services for MMG into the Century Mine between 2009 and Apr-2016. [more - original PR]

Nigeria's Ministry of Foreign Affairs Deputy Director Godfrey Odudigbo reportedly said the Government is in negotiations with Ethiopian Airlines on a contract to manage Arik Air, which may be signed in Nov-2017 (AINonline, 23-Aug-2017). Ethiopian Airlines would also provide technical assistance under the proposed agreement. Ethiopian Airlines CEO Tewolde GebreMariam said: "The negotiation is progressing very well". Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria took over Arik Air in Feb-2017.

Deutsche Lufthansa AG plans to remove Germanwings' '4U' IATA code from 25-Mar-2018, as Germanwings further consolidates into Eurowings operations (aeroTELEGRAPH, 23-Aug-2017). The change will enable Germanwings services to operate under the 'EW' code for the summer 2018 season.

Switzerland's Canton of Zurich and the Swiss Federal Office of Civil Aviation (FOCA) approved (23-Aug-2017) adoption of a new infrastructure plan for Zurich Airport, known as 'SIL'. The plans include runway extension provisions, in order to increase the "safety margin" of operations and improve punctuality. Adaptation of the plan had been delayed due to environmental concerns. FOCA waived the originally planned new flight path over the city of Zurich, at the request of the Canton. Adoption of the plan will also require less night flights. [more - original PR - German] [more - original PR - German - II]