Lufthansa’s European Growth from Dusseldorf
German national carrier is expanding its European network from a number of German cities for summer 2012. Alongside the previously reported developments at Munich, we can now report on the airline’s plans to enhance its network from Dusseldorf with new links to Helsinki and Krakow. Lufthansa will offer a new daily flight to the Finnish capital from March 25, 2012 and a twice daily weekday connection (with one weekend rotation) to Krakow. These flights will be operated by a Boeing 737-500 (Helsinki) and a Bombardier CRJ700 (Krakow). An estimated 119,000 O&D passengers travelled between Dusseldorf and Helsinki last year and around 11,000 flew between the German city and Krakow. There is currently no competition to the Polish city, although airberlin does offer a seasonal service on this route, while Lufthansa will compete directly with airberlin and Finnair to Helsinki. The two airlines offer a daily and twice daily service to the Finnish capital and hold a 53 per cent and 40 per cent share of the traffic, respectively.
Wizz Air Announces Growth at Gdansk
Central and Eastern European low-cost specialist Wizz Air is to expand its network from Lech Walesa Airport in the Polish city of Gdansk. The carrier is already the largest operator at the facility currently serving 20 destinations with 72 weekly flights. Its own growth has been a major factor behind the airport’s rise in traffic over the past few years and it handling more than two million passengers for the first time in 2010. From April 2012, Wizz Air will introduce twice weekly flights to the Norwegian destinations of Haugesund and Trondheim, while frequencies to Oslo Sandefjord Torp will be doubled from three to six a week. “With these additions, the total number of Wizz Air routes from Poland will increase to 79 in the coming summer season,” said John Stephenson, Executive Vice President, Wizz Air. “On top of this, Wizz Air becomes the largest carrier between Poland and Norway with 35 weekly flights.”
EU and Russia to Phase out Trans-Siberian Fees
An agreement was reached this week between the EU Council and Russian authorities for EU air carriers to make further use of Trans-Siberian routes, which will improve their competitiveness on routes to destinations in Asia. The arrangement abolishes the obligation for EU carriers to enter into commercial agreements with, and pay fees to, Russian air carriers for the use of those routes as from January 1, 2014 at the latest, settling a long-standing point of contention between the EU and Russia. Any charges to be paid to the Russian authorities will have to be cost-related and transparent and must not lead to discrimination between foreign airlines, according to the Council. The ‘agreed principles’ contract will come into force on the first day of the month following the date on which the decision on the accession of Russia to the World Trade Organisation is taken, which is expected to be in December this year. Once effective, newly operated overflight frequencies will “not require prior conclusion of commercial agreements and corresponding payments,” while payments resulting from existing overflight arrangements “may not exceed the amount paid in 2006,” says the Council. In addition, six months after its introduction, bilateral arrangements between EU member states and Russia are to be modified so as to ensure that no special commercial agreement or payment is needed for code sharing by EU carriers and for their right not to stop in Russian territory on trans-Siberian routes.
Ryanair Adds Capacity at Brussels Charleroi
Irish budget carrier Ryanair is to position another Boeing 737-800 at its Brussels Charleroi Airport base in Belgium during summer 2012, expanding its network from the facility to 79 routes with the addition of four new destinations. The additional jet, the 15th to be stationed at the airport, which is an alternative gateway to Brussels, will arrive in April and the additional capacity will see new links to Chania, Corfu, Memmingen and Rodez introduced. Ryanair is by far the largest operator at Brussels Charleroi Airport. During this month’s schedule it is offering more than 280 weekly flights, an 88.5 per cent share of the capacity. Its closest rival are Wizz Air and Jatairfly, which hold 6.2 per cent and 4.5 per cent shares with less than 30 weekly flights each. According to Ryanair’s Chief Executive Officer, Michael O’Leary, the airline will “deliver 5.5 million passengers and sustain over 5,500 jobs in the Walloon region” next summer.
Norwegian Wins Armed Forces Contract
Budget carrier Norwegian has won a major new contract with the Norwegian Armed Forces for domestic and international travel. The contract will take effect as of January 31, 2012 and is valid for three years with an option for a one year extension. The Armed Forces is Norwegian's single largest customer today and the Defence Contract is the largest contract airlines compete for in Norway with approximately 300,000 trips per annum. The low-cost carrier says it won on all criteria: price, environment and quality of delivery in a direct competition with SAS Scandinavian Airlines. “It means a lot to us that our customers are satisfied with our product,” said Bjørn Kjos, Chief Executive Officer, Norwegian. “We take the new agreement with the Armed Forces as a sign that we have lived up to their expectations… we know that they have reduced their travel costs with a three-digit million figure after they started to fly with us.”
CityJet’s Seasonal French Flights
CityJet has confirmed that it is extending its seasonal operations from London City to Brive and Deauville to operate during the Northern Winter 2011/2012 schedule. The two routes were launched in summer 2010 and due to strong demand during the past year their schedules have been revised and extended. According to the airline, the destinations have consistently been two of its most popular summer routes with load factors in excess of 75 per cent. They will both be served twice weekly between January 6, 2012 and March 23, 2012 although special festive flights will also operate between December 23 and January 2, 2012. “Due to exceptional demand, we’ve taken the decision to extend these routes enabling the many Londoners who visit family in the Dordogne and Normandy region or have a second home there to enjoy a festive break and frequent services into the New Year,” said Christine Ourmières, Chief Executive Officer, CityJet. “We enjoy communicating with our valued customers about their travel demands. We received a mass of requests from our passengers asking for a longer season and so we have put the plans in place to allow us to give our passengers what they want.”
Wizz Air Expands at Budapest
Central and Eastern European low-cost specialist Wizz Air is to open a new route from its Budapest Airport base in Hungary to the German city of Dortmund early next year. The airline will offer a twice weekly link from January 13, 2012, increasing to three times weekly from March 27, 2012. The addition of this route will increase Wizz Air’s network from Budapest Liszt Ferenc International Airport to 22 destinations. The carrier is the second largest at Budapest and has a 13.8 per cent share of the available seat capacity at the facility, offering almost 80 weekly flights and 14,220 seats in each direction. In the past year it carried an estimated 1.2 milliom O&D passengers on its flights from Budapest, with London Luton, Eindhoven and Brussels Charleroi its strongest routes in terms of traffic. “Wizz Air is now offering a truly affordable connection to the German region of Rhine-Westphalia from Budapest,” said John Stephenson, Executive Vice President of Wizz Air. “This is an important development for many travelers who are either visiting or living in Germany, especially as Dortmund is not just an important economical and cultural centre, but also offers convenient ground transportation connections to many other major cities in the region.”
Malta International Airport Appoints New CEO
Malta International Airport has appointed Markus Klaushofer as its new Chief Executive Officer and he is due to take up his position as of January 1, 2012. He is no stranger to the Mediterranean island’s aviation business having previously served on the airport’s Board of Directors between April 2007 and April 2009. Markus, 38, was born in Vienna, Austria and attended the city’s Law School of the University of Vienna. He made a name for himself in the business at Vienna Airport where he worked for seven years, first as Head of Marketing & Sales (including Cargo) and latterly taking over the added role of Business Development. For the past three years Markus has been employed by Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport, initially as Divisional Director for Marketing, Sales & Business Development and more recently as Chief Commercial Officer. In an initial comment following his appointment Markus said it was “an honour” to take up the CEO position at Malta International Airport. “Over recent years, Malta Airport has garnered an impressive set of records and awards and I intend to build on these achievements, keeping in mind the crucial role the airport plays in the tourism industry of the Maltese Islands,” he added.
Danish Air Transport to Serve Albert Picardie Airport
Danish Air Transport (DAT) is to reportedly offer a seasonal air service from the northwest UK city of Blackpool to Albert - Picardie Airport, a facility that serves Albert, a commune of the Somme department in the Picardy (Picardie) region of northern France. The small, mainly general aviation airfield currently has only limited passenger flights and is better known for the arrival of Airbus Beluga transport aircraft collecting components produced at the nearby Méaulte Airbus Factory. DAT will launch services in April and will use a 66-seat ATR 72-200 on the link to Blackpool. UK low-fare carrier Jet2.com had planned to operate twice weekly flights to Albert – Picardie from Leeds Bradford in April 2009 but cancelled the link before it was launched.
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