Number of flights and destinations in summer timetable 2010 virtually unchanged – Fleet renewal marginally increases seat capacities

In the coming summer flight schedules, Lufthansa is serving an almost unchanged number of destinations with virtually the same number of flights as in the previous year. Seating capacity will be slightly higher. On average, Lufthansa will be operating 12,853 flights weekly in the summer schedules compared with 12,860 last time round. Despite a smaller fleet, available seating capacity is higher than the year-earlier level following successive fleet renewal and the replacement of older aircraft by larger types. This effect is evident in both the continental and intercontinental fleet. Capacity overall (available seat-kilometres) is up year-on-year by 3.6 per cent. Included in the calculation are the planned services with the Airbus A380 , which is to begin scheduled flights with Lufthansa from June this year. “More seats with roughly the same number of flights – we are achieving that and better productivity with larger, more modern aircraft. Simultaneously, we are moving a step nearer our goal of improving our results sustainably by one billion Euros by the end of 2011,“ said Lufthansa Executive Vice President Marketing and Sales Thierry Antinori. The summer timetable is valid from Sunday, 28 March, to Saturday, 30 October 2010.

Lufthansa is serving 204 destinations in 81 countries in the summer timetable (prior year: 206 destinations in 78 countries). Six newcomers in the flight schedules are Rostock-Laage, Bari, Palermo, Zadar, Chisinau and Tashkent. Services in Europe have been marginally reduced to 11,445 flights weekly to German and European destinations (previous year: 11,519 flights). In contrast, flights in the long-haul, intercontinental network have been increased to a weekly 1,408 flights (previous year: 1,341 flights weekly).

“With more than 200 destinations this summer, including six newcomers, we are offering passengers an attractive timetable of outstanding quality in respect of flight connections,“ said Thierry Antinori. “We have adapted flight schedules to demand, notably on European routes. However, customers affected by the cuts can in most cases fall back on alternative connections, which we offer with partners. We are also laying on more than a dozen new connections in Europe enabling our passengers to profit from more non-stop flights.“

Tashkent new long-haul destination
Lufthansa has included a new destination in a virtually unchanged timetable of flights in the long-haul network. Starting on 28 March, the airline will be operating thrice-weekly flights with its PrivatAir partner ex Munich to Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan. Furthermore, thrice-weekly flights with an Airbus A330 are to be resumed ex Munich to Miami in addition to the existing connections from Frankfurt and Dusseldorf. Non-stop flights from Munich to Riyadh in Saudi Arabia will be increased from two to three weekly, alongside the daily flight from Frankfurt. Lufthansa is also considering several new flight connections to Iraq (Baghdad, Erbil). More details on flight times and fares together with the start of bookings for the new connections will be disclosed at a later date.

One of the highlights in the summer flight schedules are Lufthansa’s inaugural services with the Airbus A380. According to current planning, the world’s biggest passenger aircraft will commence scheduled flights in the airline’s intercontinental route network from June 2010. The first A380 destinations will be named at the beginning of April. Bookings can then commence for the first flights with the new Lufthansa flagship.

15 new connections in Europe
Lufthansa has optimised its timetable in Germany and Europe with four new destinations and 15 additional connections. Daily flights from the Munich hub to Chisinau, the capital of Moldowa in south-eastern Europe, will be available from 22 April. Also new in the timetable are Rostock/Mecklenburg-Vorpommern as well as Zadar/Croatia and Bari/Italy on the Adriatic. These destinations will be served non-stop from Munich – Bari with daily flights, Zadar with flights on Saturdays, Rostock with flights on Saturdays and Sundays.

Some European destinations will be served in summer with flights from further German airports in addition to the existing connections. Tallinn, capital of Estonia, for example, will be served for the first time non-stop from Munich. The number of non-stop connections ex Dusseldorf has been raised by a further six: Athens/Greece, Edinburgh/Great Britain, Gdansk/Poland, Dubrovnik/Croatia, Lisbon/Portugal and Naples/Italy. In the summer timetable, passengers can fly non-stop from Stuttgart to Athens and Manchester/UK. Daily flights are also available between Dresden and Milan/Malpensa in northern Italy. Naples, Italy’s third largest city, will be served daily from Frankfurt alongside connections from Dusseldorf, Munich and Milan.

Lufthansa Italia is expanding its route network out of Milan-Malpensa with flights in summer to Warsaw and Stockholm as well as the Italian destinations of Palermo (new in the timetable) and Olbia. All in all, the Milan-based carrier will then be offering 172 flights weekly to 13 destinations in Italy and Europe. .

For economic reasons, Lufthansa has in recent months discontinued connections to Balaton/Hungary, Berne/Switzerland (henceforth as code-share destination), Hof-Plauen (henceforth as code-share destination), Rønne/Denmark as well as the intra-Asian tag-flight from Seoul to Shenyang/China.

The Lufthansa Group airlines – Austrian Airlines, bmi, Brussels Airlines and SWISS – will also be commencing their summer flight schedules on 28 March. Together with Lufthansa, all five airlines will be serving 274 destinations in 104 countries on four continents from their hubs at Brussels, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, London-Heathrow, Munich and Zurich with their own as well as numerous code-share flights.

New destinations in Lufthansa summer timetable 2010

Munich – Tashkent: 3x /weekly (Tu, Th, Su)
Munich – Chisinau: daily
Munich – Rostock/Laage: 2x /weekly (Sa, So)
Munich – Zadar: 1x /weekly (Sa)
Munich – Bari: daily
Milan/Malpensa – Palermo: daily


Deutsche Lufthansa AG Corporate Communications press release 11.03.10

Strong Start to 2010

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) halved its loss forecast for 2010 to US$2.8 billion (compared to the US$5.6 billion loss forecast in December 2009). The improvement is largely driven by a much stronger recovery in demand seen by year-end gains that continued into the first months of 2010. Relatively flat capacity translated into some yield improvement and stronger revenues.

IATA also lowered its 2009 loss estimate to US$9.4 billion from the previously forecast US$11.0 billion loss.

Improvements are driven by economic recovery in the emerging markets of Asia-Pacific and Latin America whose carriers posted international passenger demand gains of 6.5% and 11.0% respectively in January. North America and Europe are lagging with international passenger demand gains of 2.1% and 3.1% respectively for the same month.

“We are seeing a definite two-speed industry. Asia and Latin America are driving the recovery. The weakest international markets are North Atlantic and intra-Europe which have continuously contracted since mid-2008,” said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s Director General and CEO.

Forecast highlights include:

• Improving Demand: Passenger demand (which fell by 2.9% in 2009) is expected to grow by 5.6% in 2010. This is an improvement on the previous forecast in December of 4.5% growth. Cargo demand (which fell by 11.1% in 2009) is expected to grow by 12.0% in 2010. This is significantly better than the previously forecast 7.0% growth.
  
• Load Factors: Airlines kept capacity relatively in line with demand throughout 2009. A strong year-end recovery pushed load factors to record levels when adjusted for seasonality. By January the international passenger load factor was 75.9% while cargo utilization was at 49.6%.
  
• Yields: Tighter supply and demand conditions are expected to see yields improve—2.0% for passenger and 3.1% for cargo. This is a considerable improvement from the precipitous 14% fall experienced by both in 2009.
  
• Premium Travel: Premium travel, while slower to recover than economy travel, now appears to be following a cyclical recovery in volume terms. But it is still 17% below the early 2008 peak. Premium yields, which are 20% below peak, may be suffering a structural shift.
  
• Fuel: With improved economic conditions, the price of fuel is rising. IATA raised its expected average oil price to US$79 per barrel from the previously forecast US$75. That is an increase of US$17 per barrel on the US$62 average price for 2009. The combined impact of increased capacity and a higher fuel price will add US$19 billion to the industry fuel bill bringing it to an expected US$132 billion in 2010. As a percentage of operating costs, this represents 26%, up from 24% in 2009.
  
• Revenues: Revenues will rise to US$522 billion. That is US$44 billion more than previously forecast and a US$43 billion improvement on 2009.

“Revenues are half-way to recovery—US$42 billion below the 2008 peak and US$43 billion above the 2009 trough. Important fundamentals are moving in the right direction. Demand is improving. The industry has been wise in managing capacity. Prices are beginning to align with the costs—premium travel aside. We can be optimistic but with due caution. Important risks remain. Oil is a wild-card, over-capacity is still a danger, and costs must be kept under control—throughout the value chain and with labor,” said Bisignani.

Regional differences in airlines prospects are sharp:

[list[*]]Asia-Pacific carriers will see the US$2.7 billion 2009 loss turn to US$900 million in profits on the back of a rapid economic recovery being driven by China. Cargo markets are particularly strong with long-haul cargo capacity for shipments originating in Asia experiencing a capacity shortage. Demand is expected to grow by 12% in 2010.

[*]Latin American carriers will post an US$800 million profit for the second consecutive year. The region’s economies are less debt-burdened than the US or Europe. Economic ties to Asia helped isolate the region from the worst of the financial crisis. Carriers in parts of the region have benefitted from liberalized markets which have facilitated some cross-border consolidation, giving greater flexibility to deal with changing economic conditions. Demand is expected to grow by 12.2% in 2010.

[*]European carriers will post a US$2.2 billion loss—the largest among the regions. This reflects the slow pace of economic recovery and faltering consumer confidence. Demand is expected to grow by 4.2% in 2010. Intra-European premium travel is expected to recover more slowly. In December it remained 9.7% below previous year levels.

[*]North American carriers will post the second largest losses at US$1.8 billion. The jobless economic recovery continues to burden consumer confidence. Demand is expected to improve by 6.2% in 2010. But with intra-North America premium travel still down 13.3% as of December, the region remains in the red.

[*]Middle East carriers are expected to experience demand growth of 15.2% in 2010, but will see losses of US$400 million. Low yields in long-haul markets connected over Middle East hubs is a burden on profitability.

[*]African carriers are likely to post a US$100 million loss for 2010, halving 2009 losses. Demand is expected to improve by 7.4%. But this will not be sufficient for profitability as they continue to face strong competition for market share.[/list]

Structural Adjustments

“The stark contrast between profitability among Asian and Latin American carriers while losses continue to plague the rest of the industry clearly demonstrates the fact that airlines have not been able to develop into global businesses. The restrictions of the bilateral system prevent the kind of cross border consolidation that we have seen in industries such as pharmaceuticals or telecoms. Airlines are battling the challenges of the financial crisis without the benefit of this important tool. It’s time for change,” said Bisignani.

In November 2009, IATA’s Agenda for Freedom initiative facilitated the signing of a multi-lateral statement of policy principles focused on liberalizing market access, pricing and ownership. Seven governments (Chile, Malaysia, Panama, Singapore, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates and the United States) and the European Commission signed the document. Kuwait joined the group by endorsing the principles in March.

“The second stage talks between the US and Europe are the big opportunity for 2010. The slow recovery in both regions should be an invitation for change. Liberalizing ownership would boost both markets. Even more importantly, as these markets combined represent about 60% of global aviation it would send a strong signal for global change. Brands, not flags, must guide the industry to sustainable profitability. That cannot happen until governments throw away the outdated restrictions of the bilateral system,” said Bisignani.

View Giovanni Bisignani's speech
Full financial forecast

IATA press release No. 8, Geneva, 11 March 2010

At the end of November 2009, Air France filed a complaint with the European Commission against Ryanair with respect to the financial aid it receives from French regional and local airports.

Ryanair's agreement to serve these airports is conditional on the airport authorities' granting aid to it. Such measures, taking the form of reduced airport taxes, preferential ground handling rates at certain airports or marketing aid, have been implemented by at least 25 French regional airports.

In addition to the fact that they were never officially announced before they were implemented, these measures are contrary to European regulations. They are neither temporary or decrease over time. On the contrary, they are considered to be permanent.

Moreover, the subsidies granted Ryanair are often financed by the airport taxes paid by other airlines at these airports.

Air France press release, Thursday 11 March 2010

Boeing 747-8 Freighter Achieves Initial Airworthiness Milestone

Boeing has completed initial airworthiness testing on the 747-8 Freighter. This milestone enables test engineers to be on board during future flights and allows the remaining two 747-8 Freighter test airplanes to begin flight test.



"The airplane is performing as expected in the initial stages of flight test," said Mo Yahyavi, vice president and general manager of the 747 program, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. "That's a tribute to the men and women who helped design and build this airplane."

Since the first flight in early February, the program has conducted 13 flights, achieving several key accomplishments. Pilots have taken the airplane to an altitude of 30,000 feet (9,144 m) and a speed of Mach .65. The program has completed approximately 33 hours of flying. Initial stall tests and other dynamic maneuvers have been run, as well as an extensive checkout of the airplane's systems. Five different pilots have flown the newest Boeing freighter.

"This is a critical milestone in our test and certification plan," said Andy Hammer, test program manager for the 747-8, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. "With the addition of the other two airplanes in the near future, the test program will ramp up significantly. We will expand the flight envelope and demonstrate the airplane's capabilities."

In the weeks ahead, the 747-8 Freighter will reach an altitude of more than 43,000 feet (13,106 m) and a speed of Mach .97. Subsequent testing will push the airplane beyond expected operational conditions.

Flight testing will continue in the months ahead. All told, the 747-8 Freighter test program calls for approximately 3,700 hours of testing using three test airplanes. First delivery is planned for the fourth quarter of this year.

Boeing has secured 108 orders for the 747-8, 76 of which are orders for the new freighter. Cargolux, Nippon Cargo Airlines, AirBridgeCargo Airlines, Atlas Air, Cathay Pacific, Dubai Aerospace Enterprise, Emirates SkyCargo, Guggenheim and Korean Air all have placed orders for 747-8 Freighters.

News Release Issued: MOSES LAKE, Wash., March 11, 2010 8:00 AM EST/PRNewswire-FirstCall

Airline becomes 33rd customer for newest Airbus model

United has formalized a commitment originally announced in December 2009, signing a firm order for 25 A350-900 XWB aircraft, the newest twin-engine widebody from Airbus. The aircraft will be powered by Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines. Deliveries of the aircraft will begin in 2016 and run through 2019.

"This is the latest chapter in a very strong relationship that has spanned two decades," said John Leahy, Airbus Chief Operating Officer - Customers. "From the delivery of the first United A320 in November 1993 to today, Airbus and United have worked together successfully to weather challenging market periods. It's a true testament to what the A350 XWB has to offer that one of the largest airlines in the world has selected it to be an instrumental part of their future."

"With this order we are investing in United's future, gaining a widebody aircraft that will help us reduce operating costs while still providing state-of-the-art comfort to our customers," said John Tague, President of United Airlines. "The A350 XWB will also help us reduce fuel burn and our overall environmental footprint in comparison to older technology aircraft."

Mark King, President - Civil Aerospace, Rolls-Royce, added: "This represents a significant endorsement of our Trent XWB technology and its operational advantage. We are delighted that United Airlines has put its trust in the long-term performance advantages of Trent technology and TotalCare®."

The A350 XWB is a new family of mid-size widebody airliners. The highly efficient aircraft brings together the latest in aerodynamics, design and advanced technologies to provide a 25-percent step-change in fuel efficiency compared to current aircraft in the same size category. The A350 XWB airframe will have 53 percent composite materials, lightening the weight thereby maximizing fuel economy. Featuring an entirely new, very quiet, cabin with extra space and comfort, passengers will enjoy more headroom, wide panoramic windows and more overhead storage area.

The three passenger versions have true long-range capability and flexibility. The A350-800 will fly 270 passengers in a three-class configuration 8300 nautical miles. The 314-seat A350-900 and 350-seat A350-1000 will offer similar long-range performance.

The order book for the aircraft type now stands at 530 aircraft. Final assembly of the first aircraft is anticipated in 2011, with the first delivery (of an A350-900) scheduled for 2013.

Airbus press release 10 March 2010

The new hold baggage rules on Air France and KLM flights: 1, 2, 3 or 4 bags carried free of charge on the entire network

Starting on 28 March 2010, Air France and KLM will be extending their hold baggage transport rules that already apply for passengers travelling between Europe and the United States and Canada to the rest of the network. The policy is in line with industry standards.

Before, two different rules existed depending on the destination (piece concept or weight concept). From now on, only the piece concept will be used for all tickets issued as from 28 March 2010.

These new measures, more beneficial for customers than before, will enable Air France and KLM passengers to check in up to 3 bags free of charge weighing up to 23kg each depending on the cabin class.

Flying Blue members as from Silver status will be able to check in an additional bag of up to 23kg, whatever their travel class. Up to now, they benefited from an additional baggage allowance only on routes on which the weight concept applied (Silver 5kg, Gold 10kg and Platinum 20kg).

Air France and KLM are thus confirming their intent to maintain the essential free services and to simplify travel procedures with services which are easier to use and understand for everyone.

• One basic rule which is easier to understand and more beneficial to the customers

Weight of each bag maximum 23kg – size: 158 cm (sum of the three 3 dimensions)

Click to view details

Air France press release, Wednesday 10 March 2010

2010 total deliveries to match previous year's record level

Airbus will increase the monthly production rate for its single-aisle A320 Family from the current rate of 34 to 36, starting December 2010. The production rate for the long-range A330/A340 Family will be maintained at the current level of eight per month.

Airbus' decision to raise its single-aisle production rate is driven by the continuing demand for its eco-efficient aircraft and a record backlog in excess of some 2,300 A320 Family aircraft.

"Leading economic indices and business confidence indicators are showing an upward trend again. We see this reflected in the continuing solid demand for our eco-efficient products and our robust backlog. Thanks to our proactive order book management we have been able to keep production stable during the year of the downturn, but now it is definitely time to think ahead," said Tom Williams, Executive Vice President, Programmes. "Aviation is a long-term growth industry. With our prudent decision we will be ready when the market recovers."

Airbus delivered a total of 498 aircraft in 2009, including 402 A320 Family aircraft, both new company records for a single year. The company target for deliveries in 2010 is to remain at a similar level to 2009.

The A320 Family, which includes the A318, A319, A320 and A321, is recognised as the benchmark single-aisle aircraft family. More than 6,500 Airbus A320 Family aircraft have been sold and nearly 4200 delivered to more than 300 customers and operators worldwide, making it the world's best selling commercial jetliner ever

Airbus press release 9 March 2010

Adds eco-efficiency to the fleet

Hawaiian Airlines, which becomes a new Airbus operator this spring, has placed a firm order for an additional A330-200 aircraft. The purchase joins an existing Hawaiian order for six A330-200s and six A350 XWB-800s from Airbus, as well as three leased A330s that will be operated by the airline.

The newly ordered aircraft will be delivered in 2011 and will transport 294 passengers in a comfortable two-class configuration. All of the A330 aircraft operated by the airline will be powered by Rolls-Royce Trent engines.

"We are delighted by the additional vote of confidence from Hawaiian, which has chosen Airbus aircraft for its long-range fleet expansion," said John Leahy, Airbus' Chief Operating Officer - Customers. "The A330 offers unrivaled fuel efficiency as well as passenger comfort, while also producing very low emissions and noise. I'm confident that Hawaiian's passengers and employees will come to love this aircraft."

With a true wide-body fuselage creating very high comfort standards, the A330-200 is able to accommodate seat and class configurations to suit diverse customer requirements. Its large under-floor cargo holds can also carry standard pallets and containers side-by-side. It also has the excellent operational flexibility necessary to serve a wide range of route structures, providing operators with very low operating cost per seat.

The twin engine A330 is one of the most widely used wide body aircraft in service today. To date, Airbus has won more than 1,000 orders for the various versions of the aircraft. More than 600 A330s have already been delivered and the aircraft is currently flying with over 80 airlines worldwide.

Airbus press release 9 March 2010

Wizz Air, the largest low fare – low cost airline in Central and Eastern Europe, introduces another great product.

Purchasing WIZZ Flex will allow passengers to change the date, time and routing of the flight, online and any number of times, up to 3 hours prior to the scheduled departure time. The change fee will not be charged however any fare difference must be paid.

WIZZ Flex can be purchased during the booking process in one easy click for 10 EUR per flight and per passenger.

Wizz Air press release 9/03/2010

Munich Airport's new summer timetable features flights to a total of 213 destinations in 68 countries around the world, including 44 long-haul routes, 149 continental destinations and 20 connections within Germany. For the new timetable period – from March 28 to October 30 – the airlines operating at Bavaria's international hub have booked slots for a total of 247,000 take-offs and landings.

Five exciting new long-haul destinations will be launched this summer. With this development, the Star Alliance partner airlines in particular are underscoring the excellence of Munich Airport and its importance for Bavaria's economic competitiveness. Lufthansa, a Star Alliance partner and the largest airline at Munich Airport, will be operating three weekly flights to both Miami and Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, in this year's summer period.

A major debut at Munich Airport is the arrival of Singapore Airlines. This renowned carrier will be serving the route Manchester-Munich-Singapore five times a week with a Boeing 777. From its home airport the airline has a tightly-woven network of connecting flights to destinations in the Asian-Pacific region. This new service doubles the capacity available to take business travelers and tourists to Singapore. Along with Lufthansa's flights, there will now be 10 weekly departures from Munich to Singapore.

All Nippon Airways will also be flying a Boeing 777 on its daily flights to Tokyo. Continental Airlines will be departing every day from Munich to Newark, near New York, with a Boeing 767. Lufthansa will continue to serve both of these destinations as well. According to current scheduling, the number of intercontinental flights will increase by about 7 percent to approximately 260 connections per week.

Lufthansa is introducing adding some new European destinations as well this summer, for example with seven weekly flights to Bari in Southern Italy, one flight to Faro, Portugal, seven flights to Tallinn, Estonia and two flights to Rostock, Germany. Lufthansa will also be offering more frequent services to Dubrovnik and Split in Croatia and Larnaca in Cyprus during the summer timetable period. Norwegian will depart three times a week to the Swedish capital, Stockholm.

Munich Airport will be welcoming another new airline this summer: Kuban Airlines will be flying twice a week from July until early September to Sochi on the Black Sea. Royal Air Maroc will serve the route Munich-Marakesh twice a week until mid-June and then again as of mid-September. Air Lingus will stop operating its flights to London-Gatwick and Belfast this summer, however.

The foreign destination served most frequently from Munich Airport is London, with a total of about 4,100 departures in the coming summer season. Among German destinations, Berlin is number one with more than 4,700 flights, followed by Düsseldorf, with nearly 4,400 departures.

Munich Airport press release 9/02/2010