Qatar Airways wants to be the first customer for a freighter version of
the B777X aircraft if it gets built, with a preference for a mid-2020s debut.
Qatar Airways will be the first airline to receive the B777X, in 2020,
as part of the 40 aircraft being delivered to the carrier during the year.
Qatar Airways has been voted the World’s Best Airline for the fifth
time in the Skytrax 2019 Airline Awards.Royal Air Maroc [AT/RAM] [Morocco] CEO Abdelhamid Addou has
appealed to the Moroccan government for a “firm support” to face the
aggressive competition from foreign airlines.
The carrier has opened a base in Laayoune with an ATR-72-600 to
operate to five domestic cities and also to the Canary Islands.
Royal Air Maroc launched a Casablanca – Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen
route from 24Jun19, with B737-800.Ryanair [FR/RYR] [Ireland] chief Michael O’Leary plans to be the first
to buy more B737 MAX aircraft once it has been cleared to return to
service. It has sought and received a compensation deal from Boeing
in the hundreds of millions of dollars for business lost from delays in
delivering the manufacturer’s new B737 MAX, delivery of its first five
having been delayed until the winter 2019-20 season, due to the
global grounding. The carrier is also in advanced negotiations to sell
10 of its oldest B737s for over $170 million before end of March 2020.
Ryanair expects further consolidation and airline failures in winter
2019 and again into 2020 due to over-capacity, weaker fares, and
higher oil prices particularly among those airlines who are significantly
unhedged, or unable to hedge.
Ryanair has reported 2018 full year profit of US$1.13 billion –
excluding Lauda (Austria), which suffered a year one loss of $155
million as Buzz traded profitably in year one. Revenues rose 6% to $8.4
billion. The board has also approved a $781 million share buyback. The
outlook for fiscal 2020 remains cautious on pricing.
Ryanair Holdings has agreed to purchase Malta Air, a Maltese start
up airline, into which Ryanair will move and grow its Malta-based fleet
of six B737s. The fleet will grow to 10 aircraft over next three years.
Ryanair has confirmed that its cabin crew based in Belgium have
voted by a majority of 74% in favor of a three-year pay and rostering
agreement.
Ryanair opened a new base at Bordeaux on 12Jun19 and based
three aircraft there; it will fly 37 routes, including new ones from April
2020 to Agadir & Thessaloniki.S7 Airlines [S7/SBI] [Russia] and GE (US) have announced the
signing of a US$$85 million seven-year TrueChoice Flight Hour service
agreement to cover the airline’s fleet of CF34-8E engines that power
its 17 E170s.Saudia [SV/SVA] [Saudi Arabia] has decided to expand its existing
A320neo Family order from 35 to as many as 100 neo aircraft including
35 options. The additional firm order takes Saudia’s order of A320neo
Family aircraft to 65, of which 15 are A321XLRs.
Saudia will operate four-weekly Riyadh – Alula and tice-weekly
Jeddah – Alula seasonal services.Scoot [TR/SCO] [Singapore] has gradually opened reservations for its
planned new routes to China, as it assumes additional three routes
currently operated by Silk Air. The new routes include the following:- Singapore – Changsha eff 20Jun19: 4 weekly A320 (5 weekly from
17Jul19) - Singapore – Fuzhou eff 05Jul19: 3 weekly A320 (4 weekly from
29Jul19) - Singapore – Kunming eff 25Jun19: 4 weekly A320 (6 weekly from
24Jul19) - Singapore – Wuhan eff 22May19: 3 weekly 787 (7 weekly from
01Jun19; Previously scheduled as daily from 31May19)
Severstal [D2/SSF] [Russia].
13May19 onwards Petrozavodsk PES Simferopol SIP M,Th SU9
14May19 onwards Petrozavodsk PES Adler/Sochi AER Tu SU9
15May19 onwards Petrozavodsk PES Anapa AAQ W SU9
01Jun19-21Sep19 Kirovsk KVK Adler/Sochi AER Sa SU9Sichuan Airlines [3U/CSC] [China] launched services from Xi’an to
Bangkok and Phuket in late May 2019, with A320s.02Jun19-27Sep19 Kazan KZN Antalya AYT M,F (Rtn Th,Su) 738
06Jun19-28Sep19 Moscow VKO Dalaman DLM Tu,Th,Sa 738
06Jun19-29Sep19 Moscow VKO Bodrum BJV M,W,F,Su 738
Pobeda Airlines began offering new seasonal routes from Adler/
Sochi and Anapa from late-May 2019. Boeing 737-800 aircraft serve the
following routes:
- Adler/Sochi – Chelyabinsk 27May19 – 30Sep19: 2 weekly
- Adler/Sochi – Kirov 25May19 – 28Sep19: 2 weekly
- Adler/Sochi – Magnitogorsk 26May19 – 29Sep19: 3 weekly
- Adler/Sochi – Novosibirsk 31May19 – 27Sep19: 5 weekly
- Adler/Sochi – Tyumen 25May19 – 28Sep19 2 weekly
- Adler/Sochi – Uyanovsk 24May19 – 27Sep19 2 weekly
- Anapa – Novosibirsk 05Jun19 – 31Aug19: 2 weekly
- Anapa – St. Petersburg 07Jun19 – 01Sep19: 4 weekly
Qantas [QF/QFA] [Australia] has allocated unrestricted capacity on
the Korea route. Subsidiary Jetstar is permitted to provide codeshare
services with Jeju Air (South Korea), subject to certain conditions.
Qantas has asked manufacturers to present their “best and final offer”
by August 2019 for long-haul aircraft capable of the 21-hour trip between
Sydney to London launching in 2023. A decision is due in late 2019.
Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce is mulling the B737 MAX to
replace his airline’s domestic fleet.
Qantas has been denied its codeshare with Cathay Pacific (Hong
Kong) on flights between the two countries sold as a part of a through
journey to behind and/or beyond destinations. It hopes to ultimately
gain approval from Australian regulators to allow the codesharing.
Qantas is backing the A321XLR with an agreement covering 36
aircraft. This includes the conversion of 26 existing A320neo Family
orders plus a new firm order for 10 A321XLRs. Delivery of the XLR from
fiscal 2024 onwards.
Qantas is seeking an allocation of 528 seats per week on the Fiji
route to be fully utilised by 31Mar20.
Qantas plans to fully take over Alliance Airlines (Australia), pending
an ACCC review of the Alliance’s ownership structure. Qantas holds a
19.9% stake in the carrier.
The carrier plans to introduce the B787-9 on its Sydney – Auckland
route from 01Dec19 to 28Mar20.
Qantas plans to launch services from Brisbane to Chicago and San
Francisco following tentative approval for its joint venture with
American Airlines (US).
Qantas Group has allocated 337 seats per week in each direction of
passenger capacity on the Chile route. The capacity may be used for
the provision of codeshare services with LATAM (Chile) under a blocked
space arrangement.
Qantas is to retire the last B744 by the end of 2020 – they will be
replaced by B789s.
Qantas sold its domestic terminal at Tullamarine, Melbourne for
US$246 million to the airport authorities effective on 01Jul19, and will
retain a 10-year operational lease, giving it exclusive use of the terminal.
Qantas was voted the best airline in Australia in the Skytrax 2019
Airline Awards.
Qatar Airways [QR/QTR] [Qatar] chief executive Akbar al-Baker said
rising tensions in the Middle East were not affecting the airline, adding
that geopolitical strains were nothing it hadn’t seen before.
Qatar Airways has asked the Indian authorities to allow it to
increase the number of seats on its high-volume Indian routes such as
Mumbai, New Delhi and Bangalore. The carrier will “seriously” consider
any proposal for partnership from Indian carriers, as the blockade on
Qatar and withdrawal of 28 weekly flights between Doha and cities of
New Delhi and Mumbai has increased the pressure on available seat
capacity in Qatar-India routes.
The carrier hopes to be a launch customer for the Boeing’s
proposed NMA plane if the manufacturer decides to move forward
with the programme.
Qatar Airways is in talks to buy a 20% stake in Moscow’s Vnukovo
airport, and is looking to close the deal before the end of 2019.
The airline plans to expand its network to Botswana, Ghana,
Cameroon, Zambia, and Congo DR, both in 2019 and 2020.
Qatar Airways is planning to seek compensation from Boeing over
the grounding of three B737 MAXs by Air Italy.
Qatar Airways says its A380s are to be retired early, with phase
from 2024.