Corporate Travel News For Europe/MEA

Australia's Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Steven Ciobo, via his official Twitter account, announced (27-Apr-2017) the signing of an Australia and Saudi Arabia air services agreement to drive trade, tourism and investment.

Nordic Aviation Capital (NAC) purchased (26-Apr-2017) and immediately leased back one Embraer 190 (MSN 19000202) to Virgin Australia. The aircraft is the first of six to be delivered under a wider agreement signed earlier in 2017. [more - original PR]

Sydney Airport welcomed (26-Apr-2017) Etihad Airways' announcement it will upgauge its second daily Abu Dhabi-Sydney service to the A380 from Oct-2017. Sydney Airport MD and CEO Kerrie Mather stated "We've continued to invest in airport improvements to increase capacity in order to support these larger aircraft, and we're thrilled that Sydney Airport will finish the year as the fourth largest A380 hub in the world". Sydney Airport will be Etihad's third A380-only operation globally and add 123,000 seats per year and see 14 weekly A380 frequencies on the route. [more - original PR]

Australia Federal Member for Leichhardt Warren Entsch believes Cairns Airport should target to attract widebody services to enhance the region's agricultural industry, commenting: "I'm confident we will fill the belly of those aircraft up" (Cairns Post, 26-Apr-2017). Mr Entsch agreed with the airport's decision to postpone terminal expansion plans to focus on developing its business. The Minister hopes to attract airlines like Emirates which operates a majority fleet of widebodies.

Etihad Airways plans to reduce Abu Dhabi-Melbourne capacity in winter 2017/18, effective 29-Oct-2017 (Routes Online, 24-Apr-2017). Both Melbourne frequencies will be downgauged including:

• EY460/461: Boeing 777-300ER replaces A380;
• EY462/463: Boeing two class 787-9 replaces 777-300ER.

The carrier operates daily on the route.

New Zealand's Minister for Economic Development, Transport, Communications & Associate Finance Simon Bridges, via his official Twitter account, stated (23-Apr-2017) the Emirates SkyCargo facility handled 20,000 tonnes of New Zealand export freight in 2016, which has grown by 18% in the past year alone.

Air New Zealand stated CEO Christopher Luxon remains "strongly committed to Air New Zealand", following reports that he had been approached to potentially replace James Hogan as CEO of Etihad Airways Group (The Australian, 25-Apr-2017). Korn Ferry, Etihad's global recruiter, has also reportedly approached some key executives at Qantas Airways. Etihad is also looking to appoint a group CFO to replace James ­Rigney, who like Mr Hogan is Australian.

New Zealand's Civil Aviation Authority is considering additional security checks on Middle East services (Reuters, 23-Apr-2017). New Zealand Transport Minister Simon Bridges said evidence is being reviewed to determine what is appropriate with a decision to be completed by the aviation authority, independent of the government.

New Zealand Government plans to showcase New Zealand at Expo 2020 in Dubai in order to boost trade in the region (NZ Herald, 23-Apr-2017). The expected cost is set to reach NZD53 million (USD37 million). New Zealand Economic Development Minister Simon Bridges said the opportunity was "relatively big play" for the government however the United Arab Emirates had been one of the fastest growing markets of the past decade.

French Polynesia tourism increased 4.7% year-on-year to 192,495 in 2016, according to the Institute of Statistics of French Polynesia (SPTO, 13-Apr-2017). The increase is from all markets except Europe (excluding France), which remains stable. International air traffic increased by 4.2% however, the average length of stay decreased by 2.8% and the average overall stay shortened to 13.8 days.