ETHIOPIA: Ethiopian Airlines Wants Nigeria Air

Passenger numbers have exceeded ten million at Ethiopian Airlines for the first time in its history during a year when the carrier added eight new international destinations to its network.

The figures come as the airline is thought to be the front runner to manage start-up Nigeria Air.

Ethiopian Airlines has reported a 21 percent spike in passenger numbers to 10.6 million during its 2017/18 fiscal year, the first time the carrier has broken the ten million milestone.

The airline opened eight new international destinations during the period to Geneva (Switzerland), Chicago (US), Bahrain, Kaduna (Nigeria), Buenos Aires (Argentina), Kisangani and Mbuji-Mayi (Democratic Republic of Congo) and Nosy-Be (Madagascar).

Operating revenue rose 43 percent year-on-year to ET98.1 billion ($3.22bn) in the 12 months to 8 July 2018 and net profit stood at ETB6.8 billion ($250m).

Ethiopian also added 14 new aircraft during the year, becoming the first African carrier to have a fleet of more than 100 aircraft.

This performance is all the more exceptional given the very tough operating and competitive environment in Africa, where jet fuel price, our main cost driver, has soared during the year and is on average 30 percent more expensive in Africa, our home market, than in the rest of the world.

This has put the continent’s carriers at a severe competitive disadvantage, said Tewolde GebreMariam, chief executive of Ethiopian Airlines.

This remarkable result was also achieved in the backdrop of aggressive foreign carriers’ penetration into the African market with the African airline industry collectively forecast to lose money.

Speaking at a press conference, GebreMariam said Ethiopian is the frontrunner in the bidding process for the management of Nigeria Air.

Nigeria Air will begin operations in December 2018, the government’s aviation minister Hadi Sirika revealed during a ceremony at the Farnborough International Airshow in July.

The planned launch comes 15 years after long-standing flag carrier Nigeria Airways ceased operations and almost six years since Air Nigeria took to the skies for the final time.

Sirika said Nigeria has unfortunately not been a serious player in aviation for a long time. We used to be a dominant player, through Nigeria Airways, but sadly not anymore.

He explained that the Nigerian government would not own more than 5 percent of the new carrier or have a say in how it is run.

In addition, Ethiopian Airlines is in the process of helping to revive Zambia’s national carrier, while it plans to acquire a 49 per cent stake in the new Chadian Airlines that is to be launched in October. The carrier is also backing start-up carrier Guinea Airlines.


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USA: Why Airbus A330neo Is Not Selling

The Airbus A330neo is Europe's answer to the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Instead of creating brand a new aircraft from scratch as Boeing did with the Dreamliner, Airbus decided to optimize the existing Airbus A330ceo or current engine option jet that has been around since the mid-1990s.

Airbus launched the updated A330neo or new engine option at the Farnborough Airshow in 2014. Since then, the A330neo has netted 224 orders from airlines around the world with Malaysian low-cost carrier AirAsia X as its largest customers with 66 on order.

The A330neo's only US airline customer is Delta with 25 orders on the books.

While 224 orders in four years are nothing to scoff at, the A330neo has lagged behind the rival Dreamliner in the sales department.

The Boeing jet has taken more than 400 orders in the same period and has sold nearly 1,400 units since 2004.

According to Airbus America's new CEO Jeff Knittel, the A330neo's lack of sales can be attributed to a soft widebody jet market and the replacement cycle of existing airliners.

The widebody market, in general, has been slower over the past year or two and some of that can be attributed to the replacement cycle, Knittel said at the 2018 Farnborough International Airshow.

The current generation Airbus A330ceo is still on sale and is one of the most popular widebody airliners in the world. As result, Knittel said, the A330 is still a relatively young aircraft in many operators' fleets and have not hit their replacement cycle yet.

When you have airplanes that are older, the analysis to flip them out and put in new airplanes is much easier and in most cases fairly obvious, the former chief of executive of airplane leasing firm C2 Aviation Capital said.

But the A330ceo is a good airplane with good range and has been improved a lot over the past 10 years.

This has led many potential buyers to hang on to their current fleet of very capable planes a little longer.

As the replacement cycles come and as the A330neo enters peoples' fleets, I think you will see sales accelerate on that airplane because they will see that the neo is a fundamentally improved aircraft over what was already a very good aircraft, to begin with,Knittel said.

The A330neo features updated aerodynamics, fuel-efficient Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 engines, and the big brother A350's AirSpace interior design.


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Boeing And ANA Celebrate Delivery Of 787 Dreamliner

Boeing and ANA celebrated the delivery of the airline’s 50th 787 Dreamliner during a ceremony today at Boeing’s Everett Delivery Center.

The milestone marks yet another record for ANA as it becomes the world’s first airline to operate 50 787 Dreamliners.

“The 787 Dreamliner has played a significant role in opening up new routes into new markets, while also forming the backbone of our long-haul fleet,” said Osamu Shinobe, president and CEO, ANA. “As the launch customer of the 787 Dreamliner family, we are proud to welcome the 50th 787 Dreamliner into our fleet, where it will continue to serve our passengers with the most innovative and memorable flying experience.”

As part of efforts to expand its global network, ANA also announced plans to launch new routes from Tokyo, Narita to Phnom Penh, Cambodia in September this year and Mexico City, Mexico in February next year using 787 Dreamliners.

ANA became the launch customer of the 787 when it purchased 50 in 2004, and was the first to bring the airplane into service in 2011. The airline operates more than 11 percent of all 787s around the world today and has flown an estimated 125,000 flights with the Dreamliner.

“As the launch customer of the 787 and our largest 787 customer, we are honored to celebrate this important milestone with ANA,” said Boeing Commercial Airplanes President and CEO Ray Conner.

“ANA is a valued Boeing customer and has been a vital partner on this program. Today’s event demonstrates the strength of our enduring relationship and we look forward to introducing the 787-10 to ANA in the coming years to complete the entire family of 787 Dreamliners in their fleet.”

Already the world’s largest Dreamliner operator, ANA has an additional 33 787s on order, including the longest and newest member of the family, the 787-10. The airline also has 20 777-9 airplanes on order.

ANA recently showcased its 50th 787 Dreamliner at the Farnborough International Airshow, performing high-performance demonstration flights for thousands in attendance and wowing millions of fans around the world on the internet.

Smaller Planes Trending In Aviation

Large jetliners appear to be going out of fashion, according to the world’s two largest aircraft makers.

At the annual Farnborough International Airshow this week, the two manufacturing giants both logged huge orders from Asian airlines for smaller planes.

They included a knockout US$12.6 billion order for 100 Airbus single-aisle A321neos from budget carrier AirAsia, and a US$7.7 billion order for 72 A320neos from Indian low-cost carrier, GoAir.

Boeing, which also announced a series of accords with Chinese customers including Xiamen Airlines and Ruili Airlines at the show, raising its annual 20-year global aircraft demand outlook by 4.1 per cent this week.

It predicts the world will need 39,620 new airplanes worth US$5.9 trillion in the next two decades, but it continues to revise down forecast demand for large jets with more than 400 seats such as its B747-8. Compared with its forecast last year, it also lowered the number for medium large jets with 300-400 seats from 3,520 to 3,470.

“The single-aisle market will be especially strong, with low-cost carriers and emerging markets driving growth,” Boeing said, which forecast 28,140 new airplanes worth US$3 trillion will be needed in this segment, an increase of more than 5 per cent over last year.

Airbus, which makes the world’s biggest commercial airliner, the A380 double-decker, said it would build just 12 of the giant planes a year starting from 2018, down from 27 in 2015, within its own predictions which forecast “a trend towards higher capacity aircraft”.

It also lowered its forecast demand for the very large passenger and freighter aircraft combined, by nearly 5 per cent from 1,550 to 1,480.

Thomas Kaplan, an analyst with consultancy Flightglobal Ascend, said: “The Boeing and Airbus forecasts have traditionally diverged in their opinions for the largest passenger widebodies, with Airbus much more optimistic. This is unsurprising, given they have the only Very Large Aircraft – the A380 — in production.”

The A380, seating up to 600, is “a lot of seats to fill and has a high capital cost”, he said, lending itself mostly for use on the busy trunk routes such as those between Asia and Europe.

“The customer base is limited, as is always the case the larger an aircraft gets,” Kaplan said.

The core of future aircraft demand is for smaller widebodies, typically around 300-350 seats, according to Ascend. “These have the flexibility to operate on many routes and offer frequent service on trunk routes including intra Asia, transatlantic and transpacific,” he said.

Boeing expects the world will need 5,100 such planes in the next 20 years, up from 4,770 in its 2015 forecast.

Mark Lapidus, chief executive of Amedeo, which specialises in leasing widebody planes, disagrees that larger aircraft have diminishing appeal. He pointed out that Boeing’s upcoming B777-9x and a possible -10x model under study are getting bigger and bigger compared with their predecessors.

“The A380 is an aircraft some people make a lot of money with, some have struggled, and some are afraid to order or lease. It in particular is a brand-defining aircraft which keeps customers happy. That will bode well for the A380,” he said.