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Analysis Reports
We employ a global team of highly-experienced analysts who deliver a wealth of commentary about the aviation and travel industry. Our analysts don’t just report the news, they look at the big picture to help you understand how the latest news, issues and trends will affect your business. CAPA’s commitment to independence and integrity means every report is filled with accurate data and actionable insights to help you stay ahead of the game.
BRA - Braathens Regional Airlines completed a restructuring in Mar-2024, securing its financial viability for a more sustainable future.
In the week of 8-Apr-2024 its network comprised 15 routes, of which 13 are domestic and only two are international (Stockholm Bromma to Aarhus and Gothenburg to Lyon-St Exupéry). This compares with 19 routes in the equivalent week of 2019.
As a regional airline focusing strongly on the Swedish domestic market, its recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic was held back by the slow recovery of this core market.
However, the successful completion of the restructuring now gives BRA a stable platform on which to grow again in domestic Sweden, and to develop its other two business areas - namely charter operations and wet leasing.
New scheme submitted for third Dublin Airport terminal – realistic or flight of fancy? Part two
There are few examples around the world where a publicly operated airport allows a private operator to build and manage a terminal onsite - and especially one sat between two runways. Airlines operate terminals in the US, but that is usually under concession and not the same thing.
Where it does happen, the track record is not high on successful implementation and cooperation.
But that is a conceptual proposal from an Irish company which is founded by part-owners of the land on which such an edifice would be built at Dublin Airport, a 30 million + passenger airport for the Irish capital and a gateway to Europe from the west, which is operated by a state company.
There are numerous complicating factors here, as this CAPA - Centre for Aviation report spells out.
Paramount among them are capacity caps; state and airport ambitions and whether they are up to delivering them; the real motives and desire of the putative private sector developer; the influence of the local authority; the public's abhorrence of interminable queues; where the money is coming from; and the attitude of the principal airlines.
If all the various schemes, public and private, come to fruition then they would transform Dublin into an airport to rival any in Europe.
Or - it could all be just a complete 'nothingburger'.
This is part two of a two-part report.
Although demand for higher-end, premium products gained significant traction during the COVID-19 pandemic, the reality is that numerous airlines have been making investments in those offerings for quite some time.
Delta Air Lines is one of those airlines, and continues to reap the benefits of its strategy to attract premium customers by leveraging its brand - which is one of the most recognisable in the US, not just within the country's aviation sector.
The Atlanta-based airline remains bullish about the opportunities remaining for its premium offerings, and plans to reveal more about its strategy in that aspect of its business later in 2024.
New scheme submitted for third Dublin Airport terminal – realistic or flight of fancy? Part one
There are few examples around the world where a publicly operated airport allows a private operator to build and manage a terminal onsite - and especially one sat between two runways. Airlines operate terminals in the US, but that is usually under concession and not the same thing.
Where it does happen, the track record is not high on successful implementation and cooperation.
But that is a conceptual proposal from an Irish company which is founded by part-owners of the land on which such an edifice would be built at Dublin Airport, a 30 million + passenger airport for the Irish capital and a gateway to Europe from the west, which is operated by a state company.
There are numerous complicating factors here, as this CAPA - Centre for Aviation report spells out.
Paramount among them are capacity caps; state and airport ambitions and whether they are up to delivering them; the real motives and desire of the putative private sector developer; the influence of the local authority; the public's abhorrence of interminable queues; where the money is coming from; and the attitude of the principal airlines.
If all the various schemes, public and private, come to fruition then they would transform Dublin into an airport to rival any in Europe.
Or - it could all be just a complete 'nothingburger'.
This is part one of a two-part report.
While LCCs have built up a massive narrowbody order backlog in the Asia-Pacific region, this year has seen a noticeable uptick in widebody orders as airlines look to restock their long haul fleets.
This resurgence is partly due to the fact that international markets are booming again after the COVID-19 pandemic recovery, and many airlines are finding themselves short of capacity after retiring many older widebodies.
But these widebody orders are generally aimed at the longer term, as airlines restart widebody fleet modernisation programmes that have been shelved over the past four years.
There have been several significant widebody orders either announced or placed in the first quarter of 2024, and there are also more pending as airlines negotiate with manufacturers. Their choices are closely tied to their network and market strategy for the next decade or more.
CAPA ANALYST PERSPECTIVE - a series where CAPA - Centre for Aviation's analyst team provide their personal views on a hot topic facing aviation around the world.
Commercial air travel is, by its nature, a fast-moving business. Those making decisions in and around the industry need to keeping track of what's going - and that can be a daunting, difficult, or time-consuming task.
Whether its news, routes, schedules, traffic, fleets, financing, partnerships, mergers, consolidations and thousands of other topics, CAPA - Centre for Aviation covers it.
As one of the world's most trusted sources of market intelligence for the aviation and travel industry, CAPA produces, tracks and curates a huge range of news, analysis and data.
Simon Elsegood, Head of Research at CAPA - Centre for Aviation takes us on a personal journey on the platform's latest evolution.
Will Canada's 'big 3' cultivate a rational playing field in the transborder and Caribbean markets?
Now that one of Canada's ULCC start-ups Lynx Air has ceased operations, questions are arising about the status of the US transborder market and the competitive landscape on routes from Canada to sun destinations and markets in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Lynx made a transborder push in late 2023, taking on Canada's incumbent airlines in those markets.
Now, as the country's three major airlines Air Canada, WestJet and Porter continue to execute their respective transborder strategies - will a sense of rationality prevail?
North Mariana Islands fight for tourists as global strategic powers grapple for regional influence
Island airports probably suffered even more during the COVID-19 pandemic than did those on the mainland of larger countries. Some are still struggling to recapture lost business, and especially so in the Asia Pacific region, which overall has been slower to recover.
The Northern Mariana Islands, something of a largely undiscovered tourist haven outside their region, are a case in point.
Air travel and tourist numbers were high (although in decline) before 2019, but at least they have been on an upward trajectory in the last two years. The problem is that up to 40% of tourists, and a fair slug of trade there, emerged out of China.
But the Marianas are a US territory, and the governor is a patriot. He doesn't want to perpetuate the Chinese alliance while tensions between the two countries escalate, even if the business sector on the islands does.
This report looks at the many factors involved here in what is a decision-making process fraught with both known and unknown eventualities.
New Malaysia Airlines-IndiGo partnership plan highlights both airlines' international strategies
A proposed codeshare partnership between Malaysia Airlines and the Indian LCC IndiGo is an interesting move that should help the two airlines pursue some of their main international network goals.
While important details are yet to be revealed, it appears the prospective deal would broaden Malaysia Airlines' reach into India, which is one of its stated strategic priorities. And for IndiGo, it will help expand its international network scope - which is the airline's major focus.
It is true that such a codeshare will not shift competitive dynamics too much in the Asia-Pacific region. But it is another example of how the right codeshares can be force multipliers, particularly for airlines like Malaysia Airlines that are not growing their own capacity rapidly.
Just over two years ago British Airways (BA) launched BA Euroflyer to re-establish its short/medium haul point-to-point operations at London Gatwick. The service has operated under its own AOC since Dec-2022, but flies British Airways livery and the BA code.
BA ceased all operations at Gatwick at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and, for a while, it seemed that it might not return to an airport that was increasingly dominated by low cost airlines.
BA Euroflyer gave it a more cost-efficient platform, particularly concerning labour costs, on which to rebuild its leisure network to destinations in Europe (and North Africa) while retaining a full service model, and also relaunching its mainline long haul operations at the airport.
BA Euroflyer is now responsible for the majority of British Airways' capacity at Gatwick. Nevertheless, the BA brand is scheduled to operate only around 79% of its summer 2019 capacity at the airport in summer 2024, and has lost seat share to easyJet.
Without BA Euroflyer, British Airways may not have returned to Gatwick, but more time is needed before the subsidiary can be meaningfully judged.