Slow growth for aviation in 2019
THE International Air Transport Association (Iata) announced full-year global passenger traffic results for 2019 showing that demand (revenue passenger kilometres or RPKs) rose by 4.2 per cent compared to the full year of 2018.
The 2019 result is a slowdown compared to 2018’s annual growth of 7.3 per cent and marked the first year since the global financial crisis in 2009 with passenger demand below the long-term trend of around 5.5 per cent annual growth. Full-year 2019 capacity climbed 3.4 per cent, and the load factor rose 0.7 percentage point to a record high of 82.6 per cent. The previous high was 81.9 per cent set in 2018.
December 2019 RPKs increased 4.5 per cent against the same month in 2018. That was an improvement over the 3.3 per cent annual growth recorded in November, primarily due to solid demand in North America.
2019 was a difficult year for aviation and 2020 is off to a tragic and challenging beginning.
AnadoluJet goes global
TURKISH Airlines’ AnadoluJet brand goes global on March 29 with its new international flights from Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen Airport. Since its foundation back in 2008, AnadoluJet has been carrying over 100 million passengers between the airports of Turkey and now it is set to expand overseas with its new flight network.
Operating its flights with the 87 years of experience of Turkish Airlines, AnadoluJet will add international flights covering 26 destinations in 16 countries to its routes in Turkey according to the new planning. With its fleet set to reach 57 aircrafts in total, the brand will carry the flight satisfaction provided by Turkish Airlines to its new flights.
With its whole operational processes such as the ground services and technical maintenances covered by the Turkish Airlines assurance, the international flights will also put comfort at the forefront. The onboard catering by Turkish DO&CO will continue free of charge.
Air Astana’s net profit goes up
KAZAKHSTAN’S Air Astana has recorded a net profit (unaudited) for 2019 of $30.03 million, up from $5.3 million in the previous year. The airline carried 5.058 million passengers, an increase of 17 per cent over 2018, with total airline revenue up by 6 per cent to $893 million. Unit cost was lower at 5.5 cents per Available Seat Kilometre.
Commenting on the results, president and CEO Peter Foster stated that “passenger demand improved considerably during the year, driven by a significant increase in charter operations and by increased demand primarily on domestic routes, as a result of the successful launch of our Low-Cost Airline FlyArystan on May 1, 2019. Whilst yields have been affected by increased competition on international routes, reduced average domestic ticket prices and the lower value of the Kazakh Tenge, this was more than offset by increased demand and lower unit cost.”
Swissport to manage hub operation
AIR TANZANIA has commissioned Swissport to handle their entire hub operation at the airports of Dar es Salaam and Kilimanjaro. The new agreement includes a comprehensive service catalogue for Airport Ground Services, Air Cargo Handling and Aviation Security.
Swissport, the global leader in airport ground services and air cargo handling, has been awarded a contract for hub management services for Air Tanzania, the national carrier of the East African country. Starting this month at the airports of Dar es Salaam (DAR) and Kilimanjaro (JRO), Swissport will provide check-in and gate services, baggage handling, moving of aircraft, cargo loading and aviation security services for 21 flights daily. The new partnership further expands the company’s growing presence on the African continent.
Swissport staff will be servicing Boeing 787 Dreamliners, Airbus A220s and Bombardier Q400 aircraft for Air Tanzania, which the carrier operates to ten Tanzanian and six international destinations.