Corporate Travel News

Finnair announced (03-Oct-2017) plans to launch two new services from Helsinki to Bergen and Tromsø in May-2018, operated by Wideroe under a wet lease agreement. Finnair is responsible for ticket sales and marketing. Helsiki-Bergen route will be offered daily from 15-May-2018, operating with a new 144 seat E190-E2 aircraft (Check-in.dk, 04-Oct-2017). Helsinki-Tromsø route will be operated weekly on Saturdays. Both service schedule enables passengers to further connect onto Finnair's Asian and European network. [more - original PR - Finnair] [more - original PR - Finavia] [more - original PR - Bergen Airport] [more - original PR - Avinor]

Australia's Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE) reported (04-Oct-2017) the following international traffic highlights to/from Australia for Jul-2017:

• Passengers: 3.5 million, +3.9% year-on-year;
• Available seats: 4.5 million, +4.4%;
• Flights: 17,157, +3.1%;
• Cargo: 88,164 tonnes, +8.0%;
• Aircraft movements: 18,091, +7.0%;
• Top 10 international carriers:
  • Share of passengers carried:
    • Qantas: 16.2%, +0.7ppt;
    • Jetstar: 9.1%, +0.1ppt;
    • Emirates: 8.5%, -0.3ppt;
    • Singapore Airlines: 8.3%, -0.1ppt;
    • Air New Zealand: 6.5%, +0.1ppt;
    • Virgin Australia: 6.2%, +0.1ppt;
    • Cathay Pacific Airways: 4.2%, -0.1ppt;
    • AirAsia X: 4.0%, -0.1ppt;
    • China Southern Airlines: 2.6%, +0.2ppt;
    • Etihad Airways: 3.5%, -0.1ppt;
  • Share of cargo carried:
    • Singapore Airlines: 15.6%, -2.0ppts;
    • Qantas: 12.4%, -0.6ppt;
    • Emirates: 8.8%, -1.1ppts;
    • Cathay Pacific Airways: 7.0%, -0.1ppt;
    • Air New Zealand: 6.5%, +0.2ppt;
    • Thai Airways: 4.0%, +0.8ppt;
    • China Southern Airlines: 3.7%, -0.1ppt;
    • Federal Express Corporation: 3.2%, +0.3ppt;
    • Malaysia Airlines: 2.8%, +0.1%;
    • Etihad Airways: 2.6%, stable. [more - original PR]

BITRE also reported LCCs AirAsia X, Cebu Pacific Air, Indonesia AirAsia, Jetstar, Jetstar Asia and Scoot/Scoot Tigerair accounted for 16.7% of total international passenger traffic to/from Australia in Jul-2017. LCC share in Jul-2016 was 19.1%.

France's Le Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses (BEA) assumed (03-Oct-2017) responsibility to investigate Air France's A380 engine incident on 30-Sep-2017. BEA said it was delegated responsibility from authorities in Denmark. BEA stated damage to the aircraft appears to be limited to the fourth engine and its immediate environment. The observation of the reactor shows that the engine fan detached during flight, causing it to lose air intake. [more - original PR - French]

Australia's Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Darren Chester welcomed (03-Oct-2017) the release of two final reports related to the search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.

• Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) published its final report on the Australian-led search for the aircraft. Mr Chester said the ATSB report represents a detailed analysis of the search areas by Australian and global experts;
• CSIRO published its final MH370 research report, providing a detailed analysis of the initial surface search for aircraft debris in key areas in Mar-2014 and Apr-2014. [more - original PR]

Air New Zealand announced (04-Oct-2017) it will use airport supplied power rather than onboard Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) generated electricity to power its aircraft while on airport gates. Aircraft are accessing electrical power at gates at both Auckland International Airport and Christchurch International Airport. The airline has been working closely with both Auckland and Christchurch airports to ensure ground infrastructure is compatible with aircraft systems and processes are aligned. All widebody jet aircraft are now using ground power when on gates in Auckland while domestic jets are currently plugging into electricity in Christchurch. The airline is also currently in talks with Wellington Airport to adopt similar processes. In the first month of trialling this new process in Auckland with the carrier's Boeing 777 and 787-9 long haul fleets, fuel use was reduced by 188,000 litres and CO2 emissions were cut by 475,000kg. According to Air New Zealand, this is more than the volume of fuel required to fly a Boeing 777-300 from Auckland to Los Angeles. [more - original PR]

Queenstown Airport Corporation appointed (03-Oct-2017) two new directors for its board of directors, Prue Flacks to succeed John Gilks as chair and Adrienne Young-Cooper to succeed James Hadley as director. The appointment will last for three years from 27-Nov-2017. [more - original PR]

Air Arabia CEO Adel Ali hinted at the possible inclusion of A321neoLR aircraft as part of a 2016 agreement with Air Lease Corporation involving the lease of six A321neo (Forbes, 30-Sep-2017). The aircraft are due to deliver from Jan-2019. Mr Ali said the A321neo will be used to open up new routes to China, Russia, the Far East, and Africa, but will not be used for the European market. "Certainly this is not being ordered just to plug airplanes into Europe... We see there are too many airplanes already flying into Europe. There's overcapacity on certain routes particularly", he said, adding: "We won't rule out anything. But I think we have not looked into Europe yet because we've got enough on the plate for those airplanes already". Air Arabia Maroc however may use the type to boost its eastern European market reach, he added. "Places such as Moscow and Nepal, where we could do with a bit more capacity, but we don't necessarily need to put more frequencies", he said.

Primera Air forecast (02-Oct-2017) passenger numbers to exceed one million in 2017, having recorded a 23% year-on-year increase in the first eight months of 2017. The carrier also reported an average load factor of 87% during the period. [more - original PR]

Icelandair plans to launch six times weekly Reykjavik Keflavik-Dublin service from 08-May-2018, utilising a Boeing 757-300ER, according to a 02-Oct-2017 GDS display. The carrier will be the only full service operator on the route, offering a three class configuration of 22 business class seats, 63 premium economy and 137 economy seats. According to OAG, WOW air is currently the sole operator on the route operating with a single class A320 aircraft.

Virgin Australia Group announced (03-Oct-2017) a new initiative to use and produce sustainable aviation fuel at Brisbane Airport. The initiative will include US based renewable fuel and chemical producer Gevo Inc supply sustainable aviation fuel, or biojet, to the fuel supply infrastructure at Brisbane Airport. Virgin Australia Group CEO John Borghetti said: "This initiative builds on Virgin Australia's commitment to be a leader in the commercialisation of the sustainable aviation fuel industry in Australia". Brisbane Airport Corporation Acting CEO Stephen Goodwin said the initiative was clearly aligned with the airport's strategy to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions produced as a result of airport operations. [more - original PR]