Venice Marco Polo Airport

Italy's S.A.V.E. airport operator invests and prospers

While most of the attention that is directed towards airport operators in Italy is focused on Rome and Milan, the two biggest cities, the Venice-based S.A.V.E., which operates both the Marco Polo and Treviso airports in addition to others in Italy and beyond, quietly gets on with the job of turning its small- to medium-sized airports into success stories.

European LCC start-up Volotea looks to stimulate demand in regional markets, starting with Venice

Volotea, Europe’s newest low-cost carrier, is preparing to launch operations in April with a base at Venice Marco Polo Airport in Italy. The carrier is headquartered in Barcelona, which was the main hub for now defunct carrier Spanair, but has decided to base its initial fleet of Boeing 717s in Venice. Volotea will initially serve several destinations in Italy, France and Spain but has no immediate plans to serve Barcelona.

Volotea was founded last year by Carlos Muñoz and Lázaro Ros, who founded Spanish budget carrier Vueling in 2004. Mr Muñoz, who is Volotea’s CEO, says the airline’s goal “is to forge new and efficient air connections between Europe's small and mid-sized cities currently not well served by direct flights”. By selecting the 717, which is smaller and significantly cheaper to acquire than 737NGs or A320s, Volotea is able to enter routes which are generally too thin for other LCCs.

Middle Eastern LCCs driving growth into Eastern Europe, Russia and CIS

Russia, the CIS nations and Central and Eastern Europe have been receiving a great deal of attention from Middle East-based carriers in recent months. Full service and low-cost carriers have announced or added a flurry of routes into Eastern European destinations over the past few weeks. Airlines in the Middle East are looking to tap into the underserved region, which is still showing strong economic growth despite troubles in several European markets and strong growth in business and tourism traffic.

Homegrown LCCs Air Arabia and flydubai are leading a push into the regions, but so too is Qatar Airways. Additionally, Oman Air plans to launch services to Moscow. While Middle Eastern carriers have long dominated traffic into western Europe, they now comprise the majority of traffic between the Middle East and central Europe, eastern Europe, Russia and CIS.

Air Malta troubles worsen as unions flex muscle and LCCs grow

Air Malta’s troubles have become more acute as the struggling carrier’s unions increase their opposition to large-scale redundancies. Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi has stated the present situation is increasingly worrying, particularly in light of the EUR77 million the government has poured into the airline since Jun-2011.

Ryanair in the dock

Ryanair may have to repay millions of euros as Germany’s highest court ruled fees it has received to operate from airports may amount to subsidies in breach of EU competition rules. Lufthansa and airberlin have been awarded the right to pursue legal action accordingly. Together with the other difficulties the Irish airline faces in Germany could this be the beginning of the end for its operations there? Or might there be even more significant outcomes?