Airline Business Daily From NEWS FROM IATA AGM iN SEOUL l SUNDAY 2 JUNE 2019 Walter Cho took the helm in April Ethiopian 2“will be last one” to restore Max Ethiopian Airlines will be the last airline globally to re- sume flights with the Boeing 737 Max once it has been certified to return to service. Ethiopian chief executive Tewolde Gebremariam told reporters during the AGM that the African carrier will only restart flights with the type “after the regulators decide and when we see air- lines start flying it”, adding: “We will be the last one”. Three months after the 10 March accident involving flight ET302, Gebremariam says it is too early to make a judgement on the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) investigation into the BillyPix cause of the crash as it is still a work in progress. “Let’s see how they [the FAA] are going to handle it. KOREA CHANGE Let’s see the complete solu- Airline chief Walter Cho puts partnerships at the heart of SkyTeam carrier’s strategy tion and also the certifica- tion. Let’s also see if they can Korean Air chairman and chief of this year’s AGM coincides with ­opportunities and challenges convince the other regula- executive Walter Cho believes the 50th anniversary of when that the ­industry is facing. tors - then we can only make that IATA remains as relevant as Cho’s grandfather, Cho Choong “This year we are looking at an opinion,” he says. ever, especially when it comes to Hoon, purchased ­struggling car- the future of the industry, and the Gebremariam says Ethio- how airlines work together. rier Korean National Airlines threats we face coming in the fu- pian has been a “long-time, “If it wasn’t for IATA there from the government in 1969. ture,” he says, adding that global Boeing-only customer” in would be no standards between At that stage, the near-bank- standards, capacity and regula- the past, and while he would airlines – it would be chaos. It rupt carrier had only eight air- tion will be particularly hot topics. like to maintain that relation- would be very expensive to just craft and a limited network – a Cho says that regulatory issues ship, the “very tragic” Max do a codeshare,” he told Flight- far cry from the global span of are a key concern in the Korean crash will have “its own Global in an interview ahead of the airline today, and its fleet of context, where the transport min- i­mpact” on it. the association touching down in 168 aircraft. istry can be quite restrictive, and He adds it has not yet cal- Seoul for this year’s annual gener- As it has in past years, Cho has been known to fine carriers culated the financial impact al meeting. ­expects that the meeting will for some safety infractions. that the grounding has had The SkyTeam carrier’s hosting focus on some of the broad Continued on page 10 ❯❯ on its operations. GLOBAL INDUSTRY IN NUMBERS 69% 36% 4% Brought to you by Mainline operators’ Portion of passenger Planned airline capacity share of passenger traffic traffic last year accounted growth will run at 4-5% in 2018, while low-cost for by the 10 biggest over the peak summer carriers account for 22% global airline groups months of 2019 THERE IS NO COMPARISON. NO EQUAL. THERE IS ONLY ONE. THE COMMERCIAL JET ENGINE IN A LEAGUE OF ITS OWN. Powered by an industry-fi rst geared architecture — and more than 40 other groundbreaking innovations — the Pratt & Whitney GTF is unlike any engine that’s come before it. EXPLORE THE FUTURE OF FLIGHT AT PW.UTC.COM NEWS Panagiotoulias: Joint venture key to Hawaiian getting big in Japan JAL tie-up making a Hawaiian Airlines expects to secure anti-trust the only carrier flying on the route, ceased ­difference immunity approval for its proposed joint ven- flights in May. “We didn’t have a partnership ture with Japan Airlines towards the end of the with JAL, that’s a very important difference,” third quarter, positioning the Honolulu-based says Panagiotoulias, adding that Delta’s exit carrier to expand in its key market of Japan. also helped drive Hawaiian’s return. “We feel pretty good about it,” says Hawai- Drawing closer to JAL has led to “significant ian senior vice-president for global sales and improvement” on Hawaiian’s route to Sapporo, alliances Theo Panagiotoulias. He anticipates and the airline hopes to see a likewise effect on that the joint venture could be up and running the Fukuoka flights. in early 2020. The two carriers filed for anti-trust Elsewhere in Asia, Hawaiian sees “en- immunity in mid-2018, for a joint venture be- couraging” results from seasonal service tween Japan and Hawaii, on domestic routes, it operated earlier this year to Seoul that as well as on some onward connections from could “solidify further expansion”. Japan to elsewhere in Asia. The carrier exited China in 2018, Having the pact in place will position Hawai- with Panagiotoulias saying that the air- ian to expand more strategically into Asia. For line had entered the market at the example, Hawaiian will resume service between wrong time. “Potential for growth from Honolulu and Fukuoka later this year, after exit- China is inevitable, it’s just making sure ing the route in 2014. Delta Air Lines, which was we get it at the right time,” he adds. BillyPix JetBlue A321neos finally inbound New York carrier due to take first of Airbus’s largest re-engined single-aisle this month after customisation delays etBlue Airways is expecting in plans to launch transatlantic Geraghty is eying its first Airbus A321neo in services to London in 2021. J new Latin American late June, following manufac- The carrier converted 13 points for A321neo turer delays that have held up A321neos to A321LRs to start deliveries of the aircraft. flights across the Atlantic. JetBlue The New York-based airline is in talks with four London air- plans to initially operate the air- ports: Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton craft on flights between its focus and Stansted – all of which the cities where it has maintenance airline considers “absolutely bases such as Boston, New York appropriate”, says Geraghty. JFK and Orlando, to first gain In the longer term, the carrier familiarity with the aircraft, says is studying additional European JetBlue president and chief oper- cities such as Amsterdam, Dublin ating officer Joanna Geraghty. and Paris. “Where JetBlue tends Guayaquil will be the first new to succeed is where fares are high destination the airline will oper- and customer experience isn’t ate to with the A321neo. It plans where it needs to be,” says to launch service to the Ecuado- ­Geraghty, pointing to the airline’s rian city in December. success with its premium prod- In addition to Guayaquil, the uct Mint, which helped drive the A321neo is expected to open up carrier’s decision to launch new destinations in Latin Amer- ­European services. ica and the Caribbean from JFK, She declines to specify when says Geraghty. JetBlue could serve a second JetBlue’s A321neo deliveries European city after London. “We for the rest of 2019 remain in are really focused on getting flux, owing to customisation ­London right,” she says. “We’ve complexity around the Airbus got a lot of work to do with the Cabin Flex concept on the air- product, making sure that it’s craft that has delayed A321neo ­fantastic. We want to be able to output. The airline previously redefine that experience as we said it is expecting six A321neos did with Mint.” ■ minimum for 2019. See p33 for more on JetBlue’s Separately, JetBlue is progressing BillyPix ­London airport options flightglobal.com/airlines 2 June 2019 | Airline Business | 3 RECEPTION Life and Seoul of the party IATA delegates enjoyed an evening of traditional South Korean hospitality among friends and rivals alike at last night’s Welcome Reception, before the business of this year’s annual general meeting began in earnest today All pictures by BillyPix All pictures 4 | Airline Business | 2 June 2019 flightglobal.com/airlines Proud IATA Strategic Parter & Sponsor of AGM How far will you go for itinerary-level data? You shouldn’t have to search far and wide for information that helps you do your job. Our corporate travel payment programs provide itinerary-level data for greater accuracy and detail. And our reporting tools help you keep costs in line. Better travel management starts with UATP. Learn more at UATP.com. NEWS Indian jet Spicy market gets hotter repossessions ‘Frantic’ expansion at run smoother Singh sees few glitches SpiceJet as it rushes to fill despite rapid aircraft influx SMBC Aviation Capital has void left by rival’s grounding been pleased with how In- dia’s authorities have han- ndian low-cost carrier SpiceJet dled the repossession pro- Ihas been working at a frenetic cess for the aircraft it had pace to fill the gap left in the leased to grounded carrier market by the collapse of Jet Air- Jet Airways. ways on 17 April. The lessor’s chief market- Chairman and managing direc- ing officer Brian Harvey says tor Ajay Singh tells FlightGlobal that it had exposure to four that the airline has been adding aircraft that it has since re- aircraft to its fleet at an average of possessed and moved to one a day over the last 25 days – other carriers. mostly Boeing 737NGs that were The process was relatively previously operated by Jet. painless, taking around 45 “The last two months or so has days from when it issued re- been all about trying to get as many quests to have its jets of their planes as possible, trying to grounded to taking posses- get as many of Jet’s people to help sion of them.