Corporate Travel News For Europe/MEA

SAS saved (05-Sep-2017) SEK225 million (EUR23 million) during Q3FY2017, ended 31-Jul-2017, under its efficiency enhancement programme. Improvement measures include:

• Outsourcing of Cimber to CityJet;
• Reduced manning with cabin crew on intercontinental routes and increased use of the resource pool;
• Improved planning with fewer administration days for pilots;
• Continued implementation of Lean in technical maintenance in Copenhagen and Stockholm;
• New agreement covering property related services;
• Improved planning with ground handling operations, whereby individual employees perform more duties;
• Optimisation of engine maintenance.

The carrier expects to save SEK0.7 billion (EUR73 million) in FY2016/17 with the programme, SEK0.9 billion (EUR94 million) in FY2017/18, SEK1 billion (EUR105 million) in FY2018/19 and SEK0.4 billion (EUR42 million) in FY2019/20. [more - original PR]

Qatar's Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics reported (Sep-2017) visitor arrivals from Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC) declined 18.4% to 656,681 in Jul-2017, while visitation from other Arab countries decreased 8.9% to 121,758 visitors year-on-year. Approximately 1,039,114 visitors entered Qatar via air in Jul-2017, compared to 1,048,504 in Jul-2016. [more - original PR]

Wizz Air announced (05-Sep-2017) plans to launch daily Budapest-Berlin Schoenefeld service from 13-Mar-2018. The carrier is adding 17 destinations to its Budapest network from 2017. Wizz Air now offers 74 routes from Budapest and Debrecen with a total of 12 aircraft in the country and two more aircraft will join the Budapest fleet in 2018, increasing capacity on routes from Hungary to 5.5 million seats. [more - original PR]

Thomas Cook Airlines announced (05-Sep-2017) plans to launch weekly Marsa Alam services from Birmingham and London Gatwick, effective 19-Oct-2017. The carrier and tour operator also reported a 113% year-on-year increase in travel to Hurghada for winter 2017/2018. Thomas Cook operates its own branded hotel in Marsa Alam. [more - original PR]

Ryanair opened (05-Sep-2017) its 85th base in Europe and 10th in Germany at Memmingen Allgaeu Airport and announced its summer 2018 schedule from the airport. Highlights include:

• One based aircraft (USD100 million investment);
• Six new routes:
  • Fez: Twice weekly;
  • Oradea: Twice weekly;
  • Seville: Twice weekly;
  • Stockholm: Twice weekly;
  • Thessaloniki: Twice weekly;
  • Warsaw: Three times weekly;
• Increased Alicante frequency;
• 19 routes in total;
• 50 services weekly;
• Up to 860,000 passengers p/a, increase traffic by 26%;
• Supporting up to 645 onsite jobs p/a. [more - original PR] [more - original PR - German]

IATA reported (05-Sep-2017) global FTKs increased 11.4% year-on-year in Jul-2017, the fourth month of double digit growth in the last five months. All regions recorded robust growth and airfreight demand grew faster than air travel demand for the third consecutive month. Growth in Jul-2017 was nearly four times greater than the 10 year average rate of 3.1%. Demand growth continues to significantly outstrip capacity growth, which is positive for airline yields and the industry's financial performance. Growth in demand is consistent with an uptick in global trade, rising export orders and upbeat business confidence indicators, but IATA reported signs that demand growth may be nearing a peak. Seasonally adjusted airfreight volumes were flat in Jun-2017 and decreased in Jul-2017 and the global inventory to sales ratio has stabilised. IATA director general and CEO Alexandre de Juniac commented: "While the outlook for the rest of the year remains positive, there are signs that the cyclical growth period may be nearing a peak". IATA reported the following regional details for Jul-2017:

• Africa: 33.7% growth in volumes in Jul-2017 was the largest of all regions and the second fastest monthly rise in seven years. Demand was boosted by very strong growth on trade lanes to and from Asia, which increased 80% in Jun-2017 and 65% in 1H2017;
• Asia Pacific: Demand growth was robust on all major routes to, from and within the region. Seasonally adjusted international volumes fell slightly in Jul-2017 but remain more than 3% above volumes reached following the 2010 post global financial crisis recovery;
• Europe: Double digit growth in international demand was recorded in nine of the past 11 months, bolstered by strong demand in the Europe-Asia market. Export orders remain strong but recent strengthening of the euro may begin to weigh on exporters;
• Latin America: Seasonally adjusted international volumes grew strongly in Jul-2017, but remained 9% lower than the peak in 2014. The region continues to be impacted by challenging economic and political conditions, particularly in Brazil;
• Middle East: Seasonally adjusted international volumes maintained a solid upward trend. Middle East carriers are not seeing as strong a pickup in seasonally adjusted traffic as other regions' carriers due to strong competition, particularly in the Asia-Europe market;
• North America: Seasonally adjusted international volumes continued a strong upwards trend. The strength of the US dollar boosted the inbound market over the past few years. The US Census Bureau reported a 12.5% increase in air imports to the US in 1H2017. The decline in the US dollar since the start of 2017 is likely to help rebalance trade flows. [more - original PR]

LOT Polish Airlines reportedly plans to wet lease Boeing 777-200 aircraft from Privilege Style, for deployment on Warsaw Chopin-New York JFK service in Sep/Oct-2017 (Pasazer, 02-Sep-2017). The aircraft will be deployed on the route daily until 24-Oct-2017, according to OAG.

Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) chairman Jimi Kariuki and CEO Betty Radier said KTB expects visitor arrivals to Kenya to reach 1.5 million in 2017 (The Nation, 02-Sep-2017). Total visitor numbers are expected to be boosted by growth in international arrivals. Mr Kariuki said: "A number of international airlines have increased flights to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi and Moi International Airport in Mombasa following a surge in tourists visiting the country for holidays" and added: "Hotels in the coastal resort towns are at the moment receiving more international tourists following the return of charter airlines". Ms Radier commented: "Security improvement and positive image building campaigns have paid off as the international markets now have confidence in Kenya" and stated: "We have been aggressively marketing the country in traditional markets of the United Kingdom, US, Germany, Italy and France. Our efforts are paying off". Total arrivals increased 10% year-on-year to 1.3 million in 2016.

WOW air CEO Skuli Mogensen confirmed plans to seek a partner within the next two years to 2019 (Bloomberg/E24, 01-Sep-2017). Mr Mogensen said the ideal partner should invest more than just monetary value: "We need someone who can help us get into new markets, and anyone who can make sure we get good deals on new aircraft, which is our biggest expense at the moment". The carrier reportedly received several expressions of interest from international companies.

China's Ambassador to the UAE Ni Jian met with Etihad Airways CEO Peter Baumgartner on 28-Aug-2017. Mr Baumgartner said the carrier attaches great importance to the Chinese market, adding it will further increase investment in the Chinese market, seeking to expand new routes to China and continuously improve the level of service. Mr Ni said the rapid development of China-UAE relations in recent years has resulted in increasing travel from China to the UAE, adding the cooperation potential between the countries is "huge". [more - original PR - Chinese]