Routesonline looks back at an eventful second half of 2017 which included the 23rd World Routes taking place in Barcelona, the failures of Monarch and Air Berlin, and Airbus' A380 celebrating a decade of commercial flight.
Routesonline's latest analysis of the European aviation industry, examining the top routes, airlines, airports and aircraft that are leading the market.
This week: Air France returns to the Nairobi market; the first service by a Chinese carrier from Qingdao to Western Europe; and Interjet’s first Canadian services from the famous Mexican leisure destination Cancun.
CEO Jean-Marc Janaillac has launched an initiative to tackle the airline's issues head-on, mainly cutting costs and growing long-haul operations. Air France-KLM returned to net profit for the first time in six financial years last year, turning a net loss of €225 million in 2014 to a positive net result of €118 million.
The Dutch flag carrier is understood to have already held discussions with the Ministry of Roads and Urban Developments in Iran and is closely liaising with sister carrier Air France ahead of its own return to Tehran.
Air France's two locally domiciled Airbus A320s fly between Pointe à Pitre, Fort de France, Cayenne, Port au Prince and Miami, operating more than 30 weekly flights between these regional economic centers.
Krakow’s John Paul II International Airport is an excellent example of the changes that have occurred in the Polish aviation market over the last couple of decades. These have provided network connectivity today that is unrecognisable to when the country joined the European Union in 2004 as point-to-point connectivity has helped put the country’s developing regional cities on the network map.
Air France’s decision to introduce services from Glasgow Airport is in response to a strong business case put forward by the airport and the decision to strengthen its links in the UK market as well as position Air France as a key intercontinental airline for Scotland. The research showed significant support for business and leisure sectors for the commencement of the route as well as a growing demand for connectivity due to Glasgow’s diverse economy across a variety of sectors.
The French national carrier will introduce the A380 to Mexico City from January 2016 on an initial three times weekly basis, substituting a Boeing 747-400 that presently serves the route. From March 2016 the A380 will operate on a daily basis, significantly boosting available capacity with a four class product offering - La Première, Business, Premium Economy and Economy.
Airline ancillary revenue has continued to grow for the eighth consecutive year, according to IdeaWorksCompany, who tracked 63 airlines and researched financial filings made by 130 airlines all over the world.
Among the early customers for the 747, Air France was one of the largest operators of the type in the world flying four major variants of the aircraft and more than 70 aircraft over five decades of scheduled service. It has now reduced its fleet to just five 747-400s having replaced the type with more efficient 777 and larger A380 equipment.
The CEOs of Europe’s five largest airline groups hosted a press briefing in Brussels earlier today (June 17) to outline their shared vision for a new EU Aviation Strategy.
Alitalia SAI has announced that it will not renew its partnership agreement and ancillary joint ventures agreements with Air France-KLM when they come up for renewal in 2017.
Air France began serving Havana in 1998, and has since become the leading airline between Cuba and Europe, supporting tourism development on the island.
Air France has announced the resumption of its service to Freetown in Sierra Leone, following a period of cancellation after the airline took a recommendation from the French government over concern about the outbreak of Ebola in the country.
Every month Routesonline provides an update on the current schedules of five latest aircraft programmes, highlighting the routes the types are being deployed upon.
