NETHERLANDS: Netherlands’ Airports Switching 100% To Wind Energy

On January the 1st of 2017, Dutch National Railway company NS made a monumental step towards a world in which we no longer compromise the wellbeing of future generations for the sake of our own livelihood.

NS is switching to wind energy from newly erected wind farms for transporting all of its 600,000 daily passengers, which is leading to the company cutting carbon emissions equivalent to the electricity consumption of the entire population of Amsterdam — 1.2 billion kWh a year.

This bold move worked out great for the company’s public image, as it was featured in news outlets around the globe. NS found itself being widely lauded as exemplary for how companies can contribute to reducing a country’s carbon footprint.

Exactly one year later, on January the 1st of 2018, all major Dutch airports will significantly improve sustainability of their operations by completely shifting to wind power for the supply of their electricity.

All airports part of Royal Schiphol Group are participating, including not just the main port, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, but also Rotterdam The Hague Airport, Eindhoven Airport, and Lelystad Airport.

Together, these handle almost all civil aviation flights arriving or departing in the Netherlands, transporting 70 million passengers and almost 1.7 million tonnes of cargo in 2016.

The electricity will be supplied by energy company Eneco, which is also serving the Dutch Railways. In terms of energy units, this deal is much smaller — 200 million kWh a year — but that still equates to the electricity consumption of about 60,000 Dutch households.

Part of the deal between Royal Schiphol Group and Eneco is that all electricity should come from newly built wind farms on Dutch dominions. That means that at first the majority of renewable energy will still come from older sources, but that as new wind farms come online, the share of already existing capacity will steadily diminish.

By 2020, the airports will be operating purely on electricity coming from wind farms that haven’t come online yet at the time of writing.
The rationale behind this is that to have real impact, it is not enough to merely consume more renewable electricity. Rather, boosting renewable electricity generation is what matters.

This is because the supply of “green” electricity exceeds demand in numerous European countries, meaning that Dutch electricity companies can easily greenwash their own unsustainably generated electricity by buying certificates of origin pertaining to hydropower from Norway or Sweden.

By the stipulation that new wind farms should be erected, the supplier can’t make use of the certificates-of-origin greenwash scheme, making this a genuine move towards a more sustainable future.


Tourism Observer

NETHERLANDS: Transavia Adds New Routes To Marrakech, Seville And Tel Aviv

Transavia has added four brand-new routes and another twelve are offered as winter routes for the first time. With these sixteen new winter routes, Transavia now offers 8% more flights than last winter from its home base in the Netherlands.

Transavia is expanding its network from Eindhoven Airport with three new routes to Marrakech, Seville and Tel Aviv. These popular destinations are also offered from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol.

This brings the number of destinations from Eindhoven Airport to 21. Starting in February, the airline is adding Lisbon to its flights from Rotterdam The Hague Airport, bringing the number of destinations served this winter from this airport to 18.

No fewer than twelve destinations flown to this summer for the first time will be included in the winter schedule. This enables Transavia to strengthen its network from the Dutch home market. With four new destinations in Eastern and Central Europe, Transavia offers passengers a low-cost connection to Amsterdam. Belgrade, Ljubljana, Sofia and Katowice are all flown to three times a week from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol.

Helsinki, Zurich and Munich can also be booked three, four and six times a week, respectively, from Amsterdam. In addition, Transavia has added the Italian city of Olbia on Sardinia to its winter network from Amsterdam.

Bergerac, Venice and Valencia are also being flown to this winter from Rotterdam The Hague Airport and, in April, the winter route to Stockholm will be launched, with three flights a week.

With nearly 70 flights a week from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, Eindhoven Airport and Rotterdam The Hague Airport during the winter sports season, Transavia is also the best choice for winter sports enthusiasts. Convenient flight schedules with a regular choice of three flights per day allow passengers to tailor their trip to their needs – from a short weekend trip to a long ski holiday.

The winter schedule starts on 1 November 2017 and ends on 2 April 2018. Winter flights can be booked to and from the Netherlands as of today, 19 April 2016.

WestJet Goes Ultra-low-cost

WestJet has announced its intention to launch a new, ultra-low-cost carrier (ULCC) in Canada subject to agreement with its pilots and any required regulatory approvals. Service is expected to start in late 2017 with an initial fleet of 10 high-density Boeing 737-800s designed by the airline that first brought low-cost air travel to Canada in 1996. The ULCC will provide Canadians with no-frills, lower-cost travel options.

“We have built WestJet from its low-cost, regional roots into a renowned, international airline with service to 21 countries and today it’s all about disrupting at the price-sensitive end of the market,” said Clive Beddoe, co-founder of WestJet and Chair of the Board of the Directors. “Launching a ULCC will broaden WestJet’s growth opportunities and open new market segments by offering more choice to those Canadians looking for lower fares.”

“The worldview on low-cost airlines has changed since the launch of WestJet in 1996 and we are responding,” commented Gregg Saretsky, WestJet President and CEO. “The complete unbundling of services and products in order to lower fares for the price-sensitive traveller has created the ULCC category and our new airline will provide Canadians a pro-competitive, cheap and cheerful flying experience from a company with a proven track record.”

Certain information set forth in this news release is “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Such forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, information respecting: WestJet’s intention to launch a new ULCC; the in-service date of the ULCC; and the impact of the ULCC, including that the ULCC will broaden WestJet’s growth opportunities, open new market segments and provide a pro-competitive, cheap and cheerful flying experience.

The forward-looking information contained in this news release is based on certain material factors and assumptions, including without limitation: WestJet’s current forecasts and strategy; the current and expected demand environment and general economic and industry conditions; the utilization of WestJet’s fleet and contraction arrangements in respect thereof; expectations respecting fleet maintenance; the forward-curve for jet fuel prices; and the expected exchange rate of the Canadian dollar to the U.S. dollar.

By its nature, forward-looking information is subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond WestJet’s control. WestJet may be required to alter its current business strategy with respect to the ULCC and/or the timing and manner of implementation thereof and there can be no guarantee as to the nature or impact of such alterations. Further, the launch of the ULCC may not have the impact currently anticipated by WestJet.

The risks and uncertainties that may impact WestJet and the launch and success of the ULCC, include but are not limited to: changes in guest demand; changes in fuel prices; delays in aircraft delivery; significant maintenance events; changes in general economic and industry conditions; changes in the competitive environment; challenges to WestJet’s ability to effectively implement and maintain its critical systems; and other factors and risks described in WestJet’s public reports and filings.

Readers are urged to consult the risks set forth in WestJet’s annual information form and management’s discussion and analysis for the year ended December 31, 2016, which are each available under WestJet’s profile at sedar.com, for important additional information.

Readers are cautioned that undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking information as actual results may vary materially from the forward-looking information provided. WestJet does not undertake to update, correct or revise any forward-looking information as a result of any new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by applicable law