News from above: Air Austral, Level, Hop, Delta Air Lines, Ryanair, Turkish Airlines, Twin Jet, etc.

The unions described the decision by Ryanair to close two bases and reduce its capacity this winter as a « declaration of war » and said that the trend had to be reversed to move forward. In a statement, the Irish company vehemently rejected the accusation that the closures were against trade unions, claiming that it had been forced to act because of rising oil prices and lower air fares, «  which have also contributed to the closure of other carriers’ bases in recent months« .

On 12 October 2017, already a year ago, Air Austral made its comeback at Marseille Provence airport by launching a direct Marseille connection ><La Réunion proposed at the rate of 2 flights per week. Today, the company is recording excellent results on this line. The reopening of this destination completes the company’s offer between Metropolitan France and Reunion Island. It is part of the diversification strategy that Air Austral has been deploying for several years now, which seeks to develop traffic complementary to the Paris-Reunion route. As a reminder, this link is operated by Boeing 777-300ER offering 3 classes of travel on board: Club Austral (Business), Comfort (Eco Premium) and Leisure (Economy).

Delta Air Lines has published last Friday its financial results for the September 2018 quarter. Adjusted pre-tax income for the September 2018 quarter was $1.6 billion, and adjusted earnings per share was $1.80, at the guidance end. Adjusted earnings per share increased by 16 per cent compared to the previous year’s quarter, driven by strong revenues, the benefits of tax reform and a number of shares below four per cent. The results reflect a negative impact of $30 million from Hurricane Florence.

During the first nine months of 2018, the company’s capacity, expressed in seat-kilometres offered (SKO), increased by 4% on the entire network and traffic, expressed in passenger-kilometres carried (PKT), by 5.3%.

HOP ! adjusts its flight schedule to Strasbourg from Lyon, Marseille, Nantes, Nice, Rennes, Toulouse and Pau (new), allowing its customers to (re)discover the famous Christmas market. The company is increasing its capacity and frequencies with additional flights on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 23 November to 23 December 2018.

By opting for the project of the future Charles de Gaulle passenger terminal – known as the Space Invader – which will accommodate 35 million passengers by 2034, the ADP Group does not seem to want to take into account the reservations or even objections expressed by the majority of air operators during the sessions to present the two proposed terminal models. BAR France, through its president Jean Pierre Sauvage, questions the reasons for such a decision when the elements necessary for a consensus are not met, in particular those related to the capital investment plan and the profitability of the project allowing the best quality/price ratio for users.

Oman Air celebrated the delivery of its fifth of the 30 Boeing 737 MAX 8s on order. This comes at a time when the airline is continuing its trajectory of rapid growth and expansion. In the meantime, the national carrier of the Sultanate of Oman is expected to receive a total of an additional MAX 9,737 8 next year. By the end of the year, Oman Air will receive two more Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft, one of which will be equipped with the new First Class product, which will include 8 private suites, 24 business seats and 232 economy seats. These advanced aircraft will help Oman Air meet its commitment to further improve its operational efficiency by piloting a young, modern and safe fleet.

Since October 1 and the operational launch of its Paris – Fort-de-France, Level line, the group’s long-haul low-cost airline IAG, has been operating to its four overseas destinations as announced at the launch.
Frequencies for the winter season:
– Montreal, with 3 flights per week until November 3,
– Pointe-à-Pitre with up to 5 frequencies per week,
– Fort-de-France, with up to 5 frequencies per week,
– New York (Newark) with up to 4 frequencies per week.
These 4 destinations are served by the two Airbus A330-200s based in Paris-Orly. A third aircraft will join the Level Paris fleet in 2019.

Air Canada increases flights to Vancouver from Zurich: From June 6 to October 13, 2019, the frequency will increase from three to five weekly flights. Flights will be operated by Boeing 787 Dreamliner on Mondays and Saturdays in addition to Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.

Turkish Airlines has just announced the results of passenger activities in September, with a record high load factor of 83.4%.

Le Figaro confirmed in its survey of 02 August 2018 the ranking of Twin Jet as the most regular airline in France and on these international destinations: Zürich – First in regularity, Milan – First in regularity, Stuttgart – First in regularity and Friedrichshafen – First in regularity.