AIR TRANSPORT: QUARTERLY REPORT NO.19 2Nd QUARTER 2008 (April to June)
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Freight-jumbos in action with a help of Rolls-Royce, Pratt and Whitney and General Electric. AIR TRANSPORT: QUARTERLY REPORT NO.19 2nd QUARTER 2008 (April to June) 1 OVERVIEW..................................................................................................................................2 2. HIGHLIGHTS AND KEY DEVELOPMENTS.........................................................................3 2.1 REGULATORY.........................................................................................................................3 2.2 AIRLINES................................................................................................................................4 2.3 AIRPORTS.............................................................................................................................12 2.4 SAFETY AND SECURITY ........................................................................................................16 2.5 ATM....................................................................................................................................17 2.6 MANUFACTURERS ................................................................................................................18 2.7 THE ENVIRONMENT ..............................................................................................................20 3. AIR CARGO ...............................................................................................................................21 3.1 INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................................................21 3.2 AIR CARGO TRAFFIC .............................................................................................................21 3.3 AIR CARGO OPERATORS........................................................................................................25 3.4 REGULATORY TRENDS..........................................................................................................27 3.5 CARGO FINANCIAL RESULTS.................................................................................................28 3.6 AIRPORTS.............................................................................................................................29 3.7 AIRCRAFT.............................................................................................................................30 Disclaimer and copyright: This report has been carried out for the Directorate-General for Energy and Transport in the European Commission and expresses the opinion of the organisation undertaking the contract TREN/05/MD/S07.52077. These views have not been adopted or in any way approved by the European Commission and should not be relied upon as a statement of the European Commission's or the Transport and Energy DG's views. The European Commission does not guarantee the accuracy of the information given in the report, nor does it accept responsibility for any use made thereof. Copyright in this report is held by the European Communities. Persons wishing to use the contents of this report (in whole or in part) for purposes other than their personal use are invited to submit a written request to the following address: European Commission - DG Energy and Transport - Library (DM28, 0/36) - B-1049 Brussels e-mail (http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/energy_transport/contact/index_en.htm) Cranfield University: Quarterly Report Q2 2008 for DG TREN 1 1 Overview Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, India, Ivory Coast, Mali, Mexico, Niger, Senegal, and Togo were added to the list of states with horizontal air transport agreements with the EU. These agreements remove nationality restrictions in each country’s bilateral air services agreements with EU states. The European network of air services continued to expand, although the rate of expansion slowed from that seen between the second quarters of 2006 and 2007. Over the two years from 2006, the number of cross-border routes served increased by one-quarter, and domestic routes by around 10%. However, between 2007 and 2008 the average weekly frequency of service on both domestic and cross-border routes fell. LCCs have been significant players in the creation of new routes, their reduced cost- base allowing them to enter point-to-point markets which would not be viable for network carriers, or full-service regionals. Ryanair alone was responsible for more than one in every five of the routes new to the international network in 2008. A result of this increased activity in thin markets is the increasing number of routes operated by a single carrier. Of the 727 airport-pairs with new air services in 2008, only nineteen attracted more than one airline. AEA airlines reported total passenger numbers up by 1.6% in the three months to the end of June 2008. Increases in traffic did not match changes in capacity provided by many of the association’s member airlines, resulting in a deterioration in average load factors relative to the previous year’s second quarter. Overall, AEA load-factors were down by 1.8 points, reflecting the 4% increase in capacity against a growth in RPK of 1.6 percent. Growth in terms of passenger numbers was strong between Europe and the Middle East (up 10.9%), but disappointing on the North Atlantic, where a 2.5% increase in capacity was combined with slightly decreasing passenger numbers. Among the largest European carriers, Lufthansa, Air France and British Airways were the top performers in terms of RPK. EU network carrier operating results for the latest quarter were mixed. While both British Airways and Lufthansa improved their results, Air France-KLM, Iberia and SAS Group moved from profit to loss. Alitalia’s operating loss deteriorated by USD73m, and Austrian’s loss also increased. Among LCC, while Ryanair posted positive results, Air Berlin, SkyEurope and Vueling all generated operating losses for the quarter. March 2008 saw ACI’s European airports year-on-year passenger throughput up over five percent, above the 4.2% increase recorded by the association’s world-wide airports. Among the world’s very largest airports, there were some significant falls in traffic, particularly in the USA where recession has hit the domestic market. Among European majors, London Heathrow recorded a very small drop in passenger throughput, driven by weakness in its domestic services. Cranfield University: Quarterly Report Q2 2008 for DG TREN 2 2. Highlights and key developments 2.1 Regulatory In April, the Commission adopted a Communication [COM (2008) 227] on the application of the slot allocation Regulation, clarifying a number of issues with a view to ensuring better implementation of existing rules and improving the use of scarce capacity at congested Community airports. A key change in policy is the acceptance of the “secondary trading” of slots between air carriers. The rules with respect to the independence of slot co-ordinators, new entry and the exchanging of slots are explained, and the need for better cooperation between slot co-ordinators emphasised. In April, the Commission initialled a “horizontal” agreement with India removing nationality restrictions in the bilateral air services agreements with twenty-six EU Member States. In May, the Commission initialled a “horizontal” agreement with the eight Member States of the Economic and Monetary Union of Western Africa (UEMOA: Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo). The agreement brings several provisions in the 47 bilateral air services agreements between EU and UMEOA Member States into conformity with EU law. Also in May, the Commission initialled a “horizontal” agreement with Mexico removing nationality restrictions in the bilateral air services agreements with twelve EU Member States. The agreement with Mexico is the thirty-seventh “horizontal” agreement to have been negotiated by the Commission, resulting in some 750 bilateral air services agreements with third countries now having been brought into conformity with EU law. In June, the Transport Council authorised the Commission to open negotiations with Australia and New Zealand on comprehensive air transport agreements. Both countries have already signed “horizontal” agreements with the EU. In June, following complaints from a competing carrier and an association of airlines, the Commission launched an investigation into public financing received by Frankfurt Hahn airport from the Hessen and Rheinland-Pfalz regional authorities, and from its publicly owned parent company, Fraport AG. The Commission has also decided to scrutinise the airport charges applicable at Frankfurt Hahn, as well as the individual contracts the airport has concluded with Ryanair. In June, the Commission approved assistance of €84 million for the construction of a new airport at Lublin in Poland from local and national government and the European Regional Development Fund. It also gave its approval to public funding of €1.7 million for upgrading aircraft parking stands and taxiways at Gdansk airport. In April, the Commission decided not to raise any objections to the public financing of infrastructure development at Lodz airport. In May, the Commission withdrew its intention to set legal limits across Europe on the size of carry-on cabin baggage (EC Regulation 358/2008). In April, the Commission adopted its seventh update of the blacklist of air carriers banned from EU airspace. Cranfield University: Quarterly Report Q2 2008 for DG TREN 3 2.2 Airlines 2.2.1