AIRLINE BRIEFS
NEWS FROM AROUND THE AIRLINE INDUSTRY
AIRPORT VOICE, FEBRUARY 2019 13
Aer Lingus branding
Aer Lingus is shaking up
its image, and marketing.
The airline has changed
its visual identity, is
promoting its heritage to
travelers and formally
applied to join a transatlantic
joint venture (JV) operated
by its parent, IAG, and
American Airlines.
The joint motion from Aer
Lingus, American Airlines,
British Airways, Iberia,
and Finnair indicates
a number of potential
benefits arising from the
Irish airline joining the
venture including lower
fares and more connectivity
options for travellers due to
increased codesharing; all
part of the new emphasis
that the airline is putting
on the old established
European airline brand.
Airbus nixes Brexit
Airbus boss Tom Enders
has launched a Brexit
blast, stating that the UK’s
aerospace sector “now
stands at the precipice” and
warned that the planemaker
could move its UK factories
abroad.
He said, “If there is
a no-deal Brexit, we at
Airbus will have to make
potentially very harmful
decisions for the UK.” He
added: “Please don’t listen
to the Brexiteers.
It is not possible to pick
up and move our large UK
factories to other parts of
the world immediately. We
could be forced to re-direct
future investments. Make
no mistake there are plenty
of countries out there who
would love to build the
wings for Airbus aircraft.”
New head for Indigo
Indigo Air has chosen
Ronojoy Dutta, former
United Airlines President
1999-2002, as CEO at IndiGo,
the Indian low-cost carrier.
He was initially
appointed in early December
as principal consultant to
spearhead a new five-year
business plan.
Dutta returns to his
roots having graduated
from the Indian Institute
of Technology, Kharagpur,
and received an MBA from
Harvard Business School.
THE NEW AER LINGUS SHAMROCK BRANDED LIVERY AIRPLANE ARRIVES AT JFK AIRPORT ON ITS MAIDEN TRANSATLANTIC VOYAGE AND
WATCHED BY MANY INTERESTED ONLOOKERS AS IT TAXIS TO THE GATE AT TERMINAL 5. MONTAGE BY JEFF YAPALATER
Turbulance studied
The International Air
Transport Association
(IATA) has launched a data
tool that will help airlines
collaborate in real-time
during flights to avoid
turbulence.
Turbulence Aware will
instead collect data from
multiple contributing
airlines—under rigorous
quality control—before
consolidating the
information into a single,
anonymized, objective
source database which is
accessible to participants.
“Turbulence Aware is a
great example of the potential
for digital transformation
in the airline industry,”
said Alexandre de Juniac,
IATA’s Director General and
CEO. “The airline industry
has always cooperated on
safety—its number one
priority. Big data is now
turbocharging what we can
achieve. Delta Air Lines,
United Airlines and Aer
Lingus Southwest Airlines
and Swiss International Air
Lines already signed up.
Norwegian trims
Norwegian Airlines
has been in the news with
questions ablout its future.
This has been put to
rest as it was announced
by the airline that moves
are being made to reduce
expenditures with the
postponement of aircraft
deliveries, optimization of
the base structure and route
network and strengthening
its balance sheet through
fully underwritten rights
issue securing $3 billion
($353 million dollars)
Norwegian kroner.
“Norwegian has
been through a period
of significant growth.
Going forward, we will
see an increased focus on
cost savings and CAPEX
reductions. We will now
get in place a strengthened
balance sheet that supports
the further development of
the company”,
said CEO Bjørn Kjos of
Norwegian.
Singapore adds to
fleet
Singapore Airlines
new fleet of aircraft will
be equipped with Thales’s
AVANT IFE system,
featuring an innovative
and personalized user
experience uniquely
designed for Singapore
Airlines. Singapore Airlines
and Thales are celebrating
the entry into service of the
airline’s new medium-haul
A350-900 aircraft.
Singapore Airlines
announced Adelaide as
the launch point of its
new aircraft commencing
operations on December
17, 2018. Thales recently
assisted JFKIAT at JFK
with its Airport Operations
Center.
Ethiopian new routes
Ethiopian Airlines, the
largest Aviation Group
in Africa and SKYTRAX
certified 4-Star global
airline, is pleased to
announce that it will
restructure its U.S. network,
adding frequencies and
shifting gateways as of the
summer of 2019.
From the planned daily
f lights from the New York
area to Addis Ababa, four
will be served via Lomé
from Newark and three will
be via Abidjan from JFK
Airport.
Regarding the route
restructuring, Group CEO
of Ethiopian Airlines, a
spokesman remarked,
“The U.S. is among our
most important markets
owing to the presence of a
large African community
and growing business and
tourism ties with Africa.”