Monthly Archives: September 2021

Qatar Airways Group reports a yearly net loss of QAR14.9 billion (U.S. $4.1 billion)

Qatar Airways Group has published its Annual Report for 2020/21, covering a challenging year with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic causing extensive loss of traffic and revenues as part of a pattern seen across the global aviation industry. Despite the difficulties, Qatar Airways Group proves that rising to the challenge is nothing new for the airline and its subsidiaries, projecting the Group’s strength, resilience, and commitment.

Qatar Airways Group reported a net loss of QAR14.9 billion (U.S.$4.1 billion), of which QAR8.4 billion (U.S.$2.3 billion) is due to a one-time impairment charge related to the grounding of the airline’s Airbus A380 and A330 fleets. Despite the difficulties posed by the ongoing pandemic, the Group’s operating results demonstrated its resilience during the crisis, with the reported operational loss at QAR1.1 billion (U.S.$288.3 million) 7 per cent less compared to 2019/20. Furthermore, the Group achieved a significant improvement in EBITDA, which stood at QAR6 billion (U.S.$1.6 billion) compared to QAR5 billion (U.S.$1.4 billion) the previous year.

A combination of our Qatar Airways Cargo division and the Group’s commercial adaptability have been at the core of this recovery. The flexibility and ingenuity of the Group’s commercial strategy played a pivotal role in significantly increasing its market share, enabling the business to expand its focus from its mission of ‘getting people home’ at the height of the pandemic, to playing an industry-leading role in rebuilding passenger confidence in the safety of air travel during the most critically-adverse market conditions in the history of commercial aviation. Whilst, the Group’s freight division, Qatar Airways Cargo, maintained its position as the world’s largest cargo carrier and grew its market share during 2020/21. During the pandemic’s peak, Cargo more than tripled its daily services, operating a record 183 flights in one day during the month of May 2020.

Cargo has also overseen a 4.6 per cent rise in freight tonnes handled over the previous fiscal year (2019/20), with 2,727,986 tonnes (chargeable weight) handled in 2020/21. This increase in freight handled, as well as a significant increase in cargo yield, also saw the carrier’s cargo revenues more than double.

Despite enduring one of the most difficult years in the Group’s history, based on strong commercial fundamentals, the airline has rebuilt its network from a low of 33 destinations to more than 140 destinations today. The airline continued to identify new markets, launching nine new destinations – Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire; Abuja, Nigeria; Accra, Ghana; Brisbane, Australia; Harare, Zimbabwe; Luanda, Angola; Lusaka, Zambia; San Francisco and Seattle/Tacoma, U.S.

The carrier was also one of only a few global airlines to continue operating to key cities, including Amsterdam, Dallas-Fort Worth, London, Montréal, São Paulo, Singapore, Johannesburg, Sydney and Tokyo. This is in addition to the expansion of Qatar Airways’ operations beyond pre-pandemic levels in several markets, including Brazil, Canada, Nigeria, and the U.S., ensuring the airline is well-positioned to take advantage of the recovery of international travel.

The Group also made significant progress in its ambition to forge new strategic partnerships with several major airlines, including American Airlines, Air Canada, Alaska Airlines and China Southern Airlines. These new alliances, along with an expanded cooperation with several existing partners, including JetBlue, Iberia, LATAM, Cathay Pacific and Oman Air, further strengthened Qatar Airways’ connectivity, unlocking the value of the airline’s relationships and providing a range of increased travel options for passengers.

Reflecting on what has been the most challenging and extraordinary 12 months in the airline’s history, Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said: “There are three words that I believe best describe Qatar Airways Group’s response in the past year – strength, resilience, and commitment. Strength to not shy away from taking a risk or avoiding difficult decisions, resilience in remaining focused and not allowing events to overcome us, and commitment by never reneging on our promises to customers, partners, and employees.

“Whilst our competitors grounded their aircraft and closed their routes, we adapted our entire commercial operation to respond to ever-evolving travel restrictions and never stopped flying, operating a network our passengers and customers could rely on. With the support of our varied fleet of modern, fuel-efficient aircraft, we were able to ensure that more of our scheduled flights operated than any other carrier and fulfilled our mission of taking stranded passengers home, whilst maintaining global supply chains to transport medical aid and supplies essential to the fight against COVID-19. We also significantly expanded our charter business as a direct response to increased demand in this area, providing vital and reliable services to support our customers during uncertain times, an effort that was publicly appreciated and acknowledged by many governments and organizations around the world. This commercial flexibility further consolidated our leadership position at the forefront of the recovery of global air travel.

“I am extremely proud of our people across the Qatar Airways Group who have remained agile and adapted quickly to this new reality, displaying the tenacity, versatility, and commitment to excellence so often associated with everything we do. “I also wish to take this moment to express our gratitude to our shareholder, the Government of the State of Qatar, for its firm support of the Qatar Airways Group during this challenging period. While our organization did not receive any subsidies in the form of salary support or grants, our shareholders did provide an equity injection of QAR11 billion (U.S.$3 billion) to support the business’s continuity.

“As ever, the strength of our financials has enabled us to continue to concentrate on the long-term, investing in a sustainable, fuel-efficient fleet and innovative digital technologies, establishing and strengthening strategic partnerships with leading airlines around the globe, and also launching new routes. This strategic focus will ensure we emerge stronger from this difficult period and continue to maintain our position as the world’s leading international airline.”

Top Copyright Photo: Qatar Airways Airbus A350-941 A7-AML (msn 257) ZRH (Andi Hiltl). Image: 955290.

Qatar Airways aircraft slide show:

airBaltic launches flights to Dubai

airBaltic yesterday launched direct flights between Riga and Dubai, United Arab Emirates. airBaltic now connects both cities with four weekly flights.

Destination served	Flight frequency	Start date	Price *, GREEN	Price *, GREEN Classic	Price*, Business
Riga–Dubai	4 flights weekly	September 27, 2021	339 EUR	439 EUR	1 389 EUR

Flights between Riga and Dubai are operated by the Airbus A220-300aircraft.

Eurowings and Austrian Airlines optimize connections between Germany and Austria

Eurowings and Austrian Airlines have made this announcement:

Eurowings and Austrian Airlines are flying in a new formation and optimizing their intra group offer between Austria and Germany for passengers. Eurowings has taken over the route from Stuttgart to Graz from its Group sister and now flies the route at least five times a week. Eurowings flies to Linz five times a week from its largest location, Düsseldorf. From the capital of North Rhine-Westphalia, Eurowings will also offer three weekly connections to Graz from 10 January 2022.

From summer 2022, Eurowings will operate even more frequent flights on all three routes and will then fly to Graz and Linz twice daily from Monday to Friday. Passengers will benefit from a large number of attractive connecting flights thanks to the major Eurowings bases in Düsseldorf and Stuttgart.

Austrian Airlines has already taken over the Vienna – Hanover route previously served by Eurowings since the 2021 summer flight schedule. The direct flights are offered with a daily frequency of up to two flights and can be booked as of now. With the permanent start of the rotation to Hanover, Austrian Airlines is strengthening the hub at its home airport of Vienna. The hub connection is ideal for both tourists and business travelers for further connecting flights. Passengers benefit from numerous transfer options, for example to Central and South-Eastern Europe or the Middle East.

Boeing to add 767-300BCF conversion lines at GAMECO to meet strong market demand

Boeing and Guangzhou Aircraft Maintenance Engineering Company Limited (GAMECO) today announced plans to create additional capacity for the 767-300 Boeing Converted Freighter (BCF) to help meet continued strong market demand.

The agreement, revealed by the two companies during a signing ceremony at the China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition in Zhuhai, will expand freighter conversion capacity at GAMECO, opening two new 767-300BCF conversion lines next year.

GAMECO will be the first MRO in China to convert the 767-300BCF and the only MRO converting both the 767-300BCF and the 737-800BCF. Earlier this year, GAMECO announced plans to open a third 737-800BCF conversion line.

Boeing forecasts 1,720 freighter conversions will be needed over the next 20 years. Of those, 520 will be widebody conversions with Asia carriers accounting for more than 40 percent of that demand. The 767-300BCF has more than 95 orders and commitments.

GAMECO, established in October 1989 at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, is a joint venture between China Southern Airlines Co. Ltd. and Hutchison Whampoa (China) Ltd. from Hong Kong that specializes in aircraft and airborne component maintenance, repair and overhaul. GAMECO provides comprehensive, high-quality and highly efficient services to customers, covering line maintenance, base maintenance, component repair and overhaul, aircraft engineering, and training and technical service of ground-support equipment.

Finnair announces the sale and leaseback agreement of four Airbus A350-900 aircraft

Finnair made this announcement:

In conjunction with Finnair’s efforts to emerge from the corona crisis, the company is proceeding with its refinancing plan and has finalized a sale and leaseback arrangement for four of its Airbus A350 aircraft. In the arrangement, Finnair sold these aircraft – delivered between June 2017 and February 2019 – and has leased them back for its own operation. The operating lease period is, on average, 12 years and the counter parties are GE Capital Aviation Services (“GECAS”) and Pacific Investment Management Company LLC (“PIMCO”) as the lessors; GECAS is the lease servicer.

The arrangement will not have a significant impact on Finnair’s operating result for the third quarter of 2021; however, the immediate positive cash effect for Finnair is in excess of 400 million US dollars. Finnair will use the cash to refinance existing debt and retire its undrawn revolving credit facility of 175 million euros.

“This is the biggest single aircraft financing transaction in the history of our company”, says Finnair’s CFO Mika Stirkkinen. “It is a significant part of our refinancing plan, which we have executed diligently during the pandemic, and it helps us to further improve our capital structure.”

Finnair has ordered a total of 19 new A350-900 XWB aircraft from Airbus, of which 16 have been delivered. The remaining three A350 aircraft are expected to be delivered in the second quarter of 2022, the fourth quarter of 2024 and the first quarter of 2025.

Top Copyright Photo: Finnair Airbus A350-941 OH-LWB (msn 019) (Oneworld) LHR (Rolf Wallner). Image: 948295.

Finnair aircraft slide show:

Sky Express to link Thessaloniki with Larnaca

Sky Express made this announcement:

Effective by the end of October, SKY Express will a new international route linking Thessaloniki with Larnaca. The new route will be operated with Airbus A320neo aircraft.

SKY express initiates the first route that connects Thessaloniki, the historic city of Macedonia, with Cyprus! From October 31, the brand-new Airbus A320neo will be executing flights be-tween Thessaloniki International Airport “Macedonia” and Larnaca International Airport four times a week. The route broadens the options of passengers while creating new opportunities for interaction between the two popular destinations.

This is in addition to Thessaloniki’s existing domestic network (Heraklion, Mytilene, Chios, Samos and, of course, the daily flights to Athens).

Photo: British Airways Airbus A320-251N WL G-TTNA (msn 8108) (Better World) PMI (Javier Rodriguez). Image: 955289.

Copyright Photo: British Airways Airbus A320-251N WL G-TTNA (msn 8108) (Better World) PMI (Javier Rodriguez). Image: 955289.

British Airways made this announcement when the special livery was introduced:

Flying is magic – one of humankind’s greatest achievements. It connects us with the rest of our world, brings loved ones closer together and opens our eyes to new experiences and cultures. It drives our economy, creates quality jobs and delivers aid when people need it most. But we recognize that flying comes at a cost to the environment and we need to take urgent action to tackle the impact it has on our planet. At British Airways, we’re on a journey to create a better, more sustainable future. We call it BA Better World.

It means we’re putting sustainability at the heart of our business. From creating a great place for people to work to reducing our emissions and waste and contributing to the communities we serve to build a thriving, resilient, responsible business.

Our actions will help make a more connected world for everyone to live in and we’re excited to bring together our people, our customers and our partners to deliver what we believe will be our greatest achievement.

Below Copyright Photo: British Airways Airbus A320-251N WL G-TTNA (msn 8108) (Better World) LHR (Milan Witham). Image: 955317.

British Airways slide show (Airbus):

Finnair is expanding its coronavirus testing service and introduces PCR testing

Finnair expands its coronavirus testing service and will also offer PCR testing at a price of 99 euros. A negative coronavirus test certificate is a prerequisite for entry in several countries, especially if the passenger has not been fully vaccinated. Finnair has previously introduced rapid antigen testing near Helsinki Airport, which costs 65 euros.

Testing is handled by Finnair Health Services and it’s available by appointment from 28 September onwards at Finnair’s headquarters in Vantaa near the airport at Tietotie 9.

Online booking for rapid antigen COVID-19 test and test certificate for asymptomatic travelers at HOTT Testpoint in the Helsinki Airport area (Tietotie 9). You can find the free time slots from the calendar. Everyone entering the test must have an appointment done with their own data.

You can pay for the test with a debit or credit card at HOTT Testpoint.

Please keep in mind that entry restrictions for different countries can change on a short notice. As a traveller, it’s your responsibility to ensure that you fulfill the requirements of your destination and possible transit country. You can find the latest entry restrictions and see where you can travel here.

ALC announces the delivery of first of 13 new Boeing 7379 MAX 9 aircraft to Alaska Airlines

Air Lease Corporation (ALC) today announced the delivery of one new Boeing 737-9 aircraft on long-term lease to Alaska Airlines.

Featuring CFM International LEAP -1B engines, this is the first of 13 new 737-9 aircraft confirmed to deliver to the airline as announced in November 2020 from ALC’s order book with Boeing.

This new 737-9 from ALC joins six 737-9s currently flying in Alaska Airlines’ fleet.

Top Copyright Photo: Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-9 MAX 9 N918AK (msn 44081) SEA (Michael B. Ing). Image: 953800.

Alaska Airlines aircraft slide show (Boeing):

S7 Group to name its new LCC division as Citrus

S7 Group (S7 Airlines) has decided on a name for its new low-cost subsidiary.

Citrus will be launched in July 2022 with a fleet of Airbus A320neo aircraft in central Russia.

Initially four aircraft will be used to start operations.

Previously S7 Airlines made this announcement:

S7 Group, the largest private aviation holding in Russia, has announced its plans to create a new airline that will operate according to the classic low-cost airline model. The ticket sale will begin in the spring of 2022, and the first flights are scheduled for July 2022.

Photo: S7’s Airbus A320neo cabin.

The airline’s fleet will consist entirely of new comfortable Airbus A320neo aircraft. A preliminary agreement on the delivery of the first four liners has already been signed. In the first three years, the airline plans to increase its fleet by 6-8 aircraft annually. It is estimated that in 2024 the low-cost airline’s fleet will have more than 20 aircraft.

The route network of the new airline will focus primarily on direct cross-regional routes in central Russia.

“The creation of a new airline is a logical and consistent step for us. We see great potential in the cross-regional transportation segment which we cannot cover within the current S7 Airlines business model. But a carrier operating according to the low-cost business model can take this market share. If we look at the international experience, we can see that the route network of the European low-cost airlines is distributed between regions. In the Russian market, low-cost air transportation is available mainly in Moscow and St. Petersburg. The Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation also highlighted the necessity to create another low-cost airline in central Russia in order to improve the accessibility of the regions, ” says Tatyana Fileva, a S7 Group shareholder.

“The Ministry of Transport supports the consistent development of the domestic low-cost transportation system. Creating a new low-cost airline will greatly satisfy the population’s demand for low-cost flights in Russia. This task is implemented according to the instruction by the President of the Russian Federation aimed to increase the population’s mobility, ” noted Vitaly Savelyev, the Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation.

The new low-cost carrier will operate flights on routes that bypass Moscow and Moscow region. This task was set by the President of the Russian Federation in the Decree No. 204 “On National Goals and Strategic Objectives for the Development of the Russian Federation until 2024” dated May 7, 2018. This will allow increasing the volume of regional air transportation as well as help passengers save time and money on flights between the federal subjects of Russia.

At the moment, the new airline’s team is being formed. Among others, it will include professionals from other S7 Group companies who have extensive work experience and will be able to successfully apply it in the new project.

According to current estimates, the passenger flow of the new airline will amount to approximately 1 million passengers in the first year of its operation, and starting from 2024, it is expected to reach 6-7 million passengers.

S7 Airlines aircraft slide show: