Issue 78 - Sep. 2013 Official Monthly Bulletin of AACO Arab world marks a decrease of (4.2%) AVIATION WITHIN THE ARAB WORLD GLOBAL ARAB AVIATION in July 2013 in international passenger numbers - p. 7 GROWTH p: 12 SPREADING OUT p: 28 PARTNER AIRLINES p: 56 - 67 Qatar Airways to host 46th AACO An- ARAB AIRLINES ECONOMICS p: 13 TOURISM p: 36 INDUSTRY PARTNERS p: 68 - 59 nual General Meeting in Doha to be NEW APPOINTMENTS p: 16 AACO & RTC CALENDARS p: 90 - 93 held between November 5 – 7 - p. 8 COLLABORATION p: 39 EXPANSION p: 17 ENVIRONMENT p: 40 AACO MEMBERS & PARTNERS p: 94 - 97 ICAO Council agrees to a compromise LAURELS p: 21 REGULATORY TONE p: 45 solution on the introduction of global MBMs to tackle emissions - p. 40 TECHNOLOGY & E-COMMERCE p: 21 AN AVIATION MARKET IN FOCUS: Oman p: 50 ARAB AIRPORTS p: 22 WORLD NEWS p: 52 ATM p: 24 Daily news on www.aaco.org Issue 78 - Sep. 2013 All eyes are on ICAO 38th Assembly Negotiations and preparations have been going on since the last As- Progress in that will be held from September sembly in an attempt to reach a global agreement for aviation emis- 24 till October 4. The most antici- sions in 2013. The issue witnessed a lot of progress at the level of the Debate pated discussions are those related ICAO since then, which has resulted in the EU stopping the clock on to an ICAO resolution on Climate the inclusion of international aviation in the ETS for one year in No- over Tackling Change. Three years ago, ICAO As- vember 2012, in order to give ICAO time to come up with a global sembly succeeded in reaching a solution in time for the Assembly. Aviation’s resolution on climate change, al- beit with reservations by a num- Twenty days before the Assembly, the ICAO Council agreed to a com- Impact on ber of countries. That resolution promise solution on the introduction of global market based mea- made ICAO the first United Nations sures (MBMs) to tackle aviation emissions. Basically, the Council ac- Climate Agency to try to lead a sector in the cepted the principle of interim regional emissions trading schemes establishment of a globally harmo- until 2020 and agreed to have a single global MBM for aviation to be Change at nized agreement for addressing its implemented from 2020, whereby agreement on that single global CO2 emissions. In a nutshell, in the MBM should be adopted in 2016. Three policy mechanisms are under ICAO 2010 resolution there was a general consideration at ICAO for a possible global MBM: Carbon Offsetting, agreement on short and medium Carbon Offsetting with revenue generating component, and a global term targets and long term aspira- ETS. tional targets. There was an agree- ment to achieve a global annual av- With the ICAO Council’s agreement, the EU announced that they will erage fuel efficiency improvement implement an adapted ‘Stop the Clock’ exemption for foreign airlines of 2% until 2020 and an aspirational until 2020 that will impose ETS on parts of a flight using EU airspace. global fuel efficiency improvement Overflights will not be included. rate of 2% per annum from 2021 to 2050. There was also an agreement A final text of the ICAO resolution still needs to be reached at the As- for states to strive to achieve a col- sembly, with many analysts predicting heated negotiations. lective global aspirational goal of Carbon Neutral Growth from 2020 The crux of the matter is that aviation is a major global element in the at the same level with a number of global economy and plays a key role in promoting sustainable devel- principles to take into account. opment. Nearly 57 million jobs and USD 2.2 trillion in global GDP Daily news on www.aaco.org Issue 78 - Sep. 2013 5 are supported by aviation. Any measures taken to tackle the impact OVERALL TRAFFIC - ARAB WORLD of aviation on climate change should ensure that the benefits brought We estimate international passenger numbers to, from, & within the by aviation are not compromised; noting that in 2012 aviation pro- Arab World to decrease by (4.2%) in July 2013 compared to July 2012, duced around 2% of the global total CO2 emissions. Not reaching a which follows an increase of 11.2% in June 2013 compared to June global agreement will result in a proliferation of unilateral, duplicated, 2012. The estimated decrease is due to cyclicality related to the oc- or overlapping measures by various states, hence certain principles currence of the holy month of Ramadan. need to be agreed on for the interim solution in order to avoid unfair Monthly International Passenger Numbers' Change to, from and within the Arab World Aug 12 to Jul 13* compared to same month in previous year treatment to carriers and possible market distortions. This interim solution should be looked at as a gap filler until 2020 when a global 15% agreement is anticipated to prevail. 10% 5% 0% -5% Effect of Ramadan Effect of Adha Cyclicality YoY Growth 12-Month Average Growth Effect of Ramadan Source: AACO, IATA *Estimated AACO members increased the number of their offered seats to, from, and within the Arab world by 10.7% during July 2013, while other air- lines Increased their number of seats offered by 6.0%, leading to 9.3% year-on-year increase in the total number of seats offered. Daily news on www.aaco.org Issue 78 - Sep. 2013 7 PRESS RELEASE Qatar Airways to host 46th AACO Annual General Meeting in Doha to be held 125 destinations worldwide.” between November 5 – 7: Qatar Airways, the national airline of the State of Qatar, is hosting the 46th Annual General Meeting of the Arab Air Carriers Or- “I am confident that participants of this event will enjoy Qatar Airways’ re- ganization (AACO) in the capital city of Doha. nowned hospitality lead by Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer and the Chairman of AACO 46th AGM, Akbar Al Baker, and his team,” added Mr. Tef- The three-day event will take place between 5 and 7 November at the Shera- faha. ton Doha Resort and Convention Hotel. Qatar Airways has seen rapid growth in just 16 years of operations, currently Established in 1965 by the Arab League of States and headquartered in Beirut, flying a modern fleet of 129 aircraft to 129 key business and leisure destina- AACO is a non-profit organization gathering 30 Arab member airlines and aims tions across Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific and The Americas. to promote cooperation, quality and safety standards among its carriers. AACO The airline has so far launched eight destinations this year – Gassim (Saudi as well works on enhancing human resources working in air transport through Arabia), Najaf (Iraq), Phnom Penh (Cambodia), Chicago (USA), Salalah (Oman), various training courses provided by AACO’s regional training center based in Basra (Iraq), Sulaymaniyah (Iraq) and Chengdu (China). Over the next few Amman, with a branch in Cairo. In addition, AACO manages a number of joint weeks and months, the network will grow further with Addis Ababa, Ethiopia projects gathering its member airlines. (September 18), Clark International Airport, Philippines (October 27) and Phil- adelphia, USA (2 April 2014). The organization continuously cooperates and communicates at various levels with global air transport associations such as IATA (International Air Transport Association) and ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization). Click on the banner to register for attending this year’s AGM This is the second time that Qatar Airways hosts the annual general meeting of AACO. The first AGM was held in Doha in 2001. As an active member of this regional organization, hosting the next AACO AGM is a part of Qatar Airways’ commitment to the advancement of the glob- al aviation industry and the Arab aviation industry in particular. Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer H.E. Mr. Akbar Al Baker, who will chair the proceedings of the 46th AACO AGM said: “We welcome leaders of the glob- al and Arab civil aviation industry to the State of Qatar and are delighted that Qatar Airways is hosting the AACO AGM for the second time. This reflects the pivotal role of the State of Qatar in the global and regional aviation industry and also reinforces Qatar Airways’ commitment in developing and strengthen- ing the Arab aviation sector.” AACO Secretary General Mr. Abdul Wahab Teffaha added: “Qatar Airways is an important Arab organization that has been able over the years to reinforce its presence on the global aviation map. Although launched in 1997, the airline has managed to significantly increase its growth globally and establish itself as a quality airline with its unique and innovative service offering enabling it to earn numerous awards based on passengers’ feedback. Twelve years ago, the AACO AGM was held here in Qatar, and this year we return again to this city that has become a hub for a global airline providing connections to more than Daily news on www.aaco.org Issue 78 - Sep. 2013 9 AVIATION WITHIN THE ARAB WORLD Aviation in the Arab World GROWTH Monthly International Passenger Numbers' Change within the Arab World Aug 12 to Jul 13* compared to same month in previous year PASSENGER TRAFFIC International passenger numbers within the Arab world are estimated to de- 20% crease by (8.5%) in July 2013 compared July 2012 following an increase of 15% 12.7% in June 2013 over June 2012. The estimated decrease is due to cyclical- ity related to the occurrence of the holy month of Ramadan.