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Ethiopian Airlines’ 4-Pillar growth strategy

Ethiopian Airlines was forced to heavily adapt during the peak months of the pandemic. The flag carrier of Ethiopia took it upon itself to redeploy its aircraft to meet urgent cargo demand while conducting over 470 critical repatriation flights.

Now, recovery is underway, and the airline is once again evolving. Simple Flying recently spoke with Ethiopian Airlines USA Regional Director Samson Arega, about his airline’s growth strategy in this new era.

The refocusing on air cargo helped Ethiopian Airlines end 2021 in a profitable state thanks to a boom in freight demand. Overall, the airline handled the pandemic with its own finances without bailouts while operating close to 70% capacity as the new year arrived.

To handle the challenging conditions of the global health crisis and enter recovery in a strong position, Ethiopian developed a four-pillar growth strategy. The focus areas are:

Following the rise of the pandemic, the company capitalized on these pillars and used its agile workforce and technology to cope with the crisis. Samson highlights that the flexibility of its management has been critical in devising new strategies to come through the crisis, including the reconfiguration of passenger aircraft into cargo and redeployment of staff to its least affected business units while applying cost leadership strategies.

Keeping the momentum going
In this next chapter, these pillars will remain integral. Samson told Simple Flying the following about his airline’s recovery plans:

“Passenger business is recovering. Complete recovery is dependent on the confidence of travelers and airlines’ safety measures. For us, safety has been at the heart of our operation, and we stepped up precautionary actions to help gain passenger confidence in travel and expedite recovery. Digitization has also been a priority to bring about a contactless passenger experience from booking all the way to boarding. At the airport, customers’ experience is contactless, easy, and convenient with the newly designed terminal equipped with the latest aviation infrastructure. We digitized most airport activities.”

Samson adds that passengers can seamlessly book, check-in or change travel dates from home. Moreover, most customer flight requirements can be handled by the carrier’s app. As a result, the majority of passenger queries are addressed online with the additional help of chatbots and social media channels.

There have been significant changes already this year. Notably, long-time CEO Tewolde GebreMariam stepped down due to health issues and was quickly replaced by new CEO Mesfin Tasew Bekele in March.

Ethiopian didn’t waste time following this shift, with the carrier announcing a thrice-weekly service on an Addis Ababa-Lomé-Washington route that will begin on June 1st using Boeing 787-8 aircraft. The airline’s leadership is keen to optimize opportunities on North American routes, looking to cater to demand from growing business segments.
Ethiopian Airlines concludes that it is determined to recover in the passenger space with the effective practice of safety measures to boost customer confidence.

All in all, the airline’s ability to adapt and show resilience is due to its 75-year journey that has allowed it due evolve with the times. This factor is significant at this time when countries are starting to ease restrictions and airlines need to transition themselves to new challenges to restore business. Therefore, the carrier is working closely with other airlines, airport operators, and aviation regulatory bodies to make the most of this crucial period

Patoma Admin by — April 24, 2022 in Aviation 0
Russia resumes flights to 52 ‘friendly’ nations

By admin

 

Russian news agency TASS reported that restrictions on flights from Russia to 52 countries would be canceled from April 9. These restrictions were put in place to slow the spread of COVID and are being lifted on the advice of the operational headquarters for combatting coronavirus.

Russia Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin announced the move, which he says applies to “friendly states”,

“Starting from April 9 we are lifting restrictions set for combatting coronavirus pandemic, which applied to our regular and charter flights between Russia and a number of other countries. Now we are resuming flights with 52 countries, including Argentina, India, South Africa and other friendly states.”

Mishustin added that earlier, it was possible to fly to 15 countries without restrictions, including some states of the EAEU (the Eurasian Economic Union), Qatar, Mexico, and others.

The EAEU is an economic union of Russia and its ‘near neighbors’, formed after the demise of the Soviet Union to foster trade and development. It’s often seen as a foil to the European Union’s influence, and key member states are Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan.

The TASS statement lists all 52 states where flights can be resumed, which can be loosely grouped as being in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and South and Central America.

Some of the countries that can fly to and from Russia from April 9 include Brazil, China, Turkey, Israel, India, Pakistan, South Africa, North Korea, Seychelles and Saudi Arabia.

While part of Russia’s retaliation to economic sanctions was to close its airspace to airlines from 36 countries, international flights are already arriving and departing from Russia on a daily basis.
A quick scan of today’s flight boards at Moscow’s two airports, Sheremetyevo (SVO) and Domodedovo (DME), show carriers including Emirates Airlines, Air Arabia, Etihad Airways, SriLankan Airlines, Qatar Airways, Air China, and Air Serbia operating international flights.

Flightradar24.com data shows a popular track of flights from Dubai crossing Iran, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, and through Russia to Moscow, such as Emirates Airlines EK133 and Aeroflot SU527. This is a simple corridor from Russia to the Middle East, where connections can be made to all of those ‘friendly countries’ the Russian prime minister talks so fondly of.

While Russia is now the world’s most sanctioned country, ahead of Iran, Syria, and North Korea, it is not facing sanctions from countries in Central and South America, Africa, the Commonwealth of Independent States, and Asia, apart from Japan.

With all of those regions open to them, Russian airlines have a large and safe playing field in which to operate. Presumably, the lack of sanctions means refueling the aircraft or fixing any MRO niggles will not be an issue.

Going in the other direction, large markets like China, India, Africa, and South America will be able to connect with Russia for trade, tourism, and general travel.

Perhaps even the oligarchs will get their Gulfstreams and Globals out again and head out for some summer sun, well beyond the reach of the authorities who would confiscate their aircraft and leave them stranded.

Patoma Admin by — April 5, 2022 in Aviation 0
China confirms the identities of 132 crash victims via DNA

Chinese authorities have revealed that all 132 victims of the China Eastern Airlines Flight MU5735 crash have been identified through DNA testing. The Boeing 737-800 crashed into a hillside in Wuzhou en route to Guangzhou on Monday last week.

DNA testing identifies all 132 crash victims
After the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) confirmed that none of the 132 passengers and crew from China Eastern Airlines Flight MU5735 survived, Chinese authorities have identified all victims via DNA testing.

Liu Kaihui, from the Ministry of Public Security’s forensic evidence department, said DNA samples from relatives and other biometric measures confirmed the identities of all victims
During an official news conference on Monday, Kaihui also revealed that public security authorities across 20 regions were mobilized to collect DNA samples from relatives of those onboard.

Twenty DNA experts carried out analyses and had identified 120 of the victims (114 passengers and six crew) by Saturday. The identity of the final victim was confirmed on Monday. Kaihui added,
Zhu Tao, CAAC aviation safety director, said,

“We are collecting as much debris as possible, as well as eyewitness footage, because black boxes alone may not be enough to reveal what really happened. We’ll release key findings to the public in a timely manner.”

However, search operations at the hilly and forested crash site near Wuzhou have been hampered by ongoing rainfall. The search has involved more than 15,600 firefighters and armed police, with over 36,000 pieces of debris recovered so far.

Additionally, a Guangxi official confirmed that no key compounds from explosives had been detected at the crash site.

Patoma Admin by — March 31, 2022 in Aviation 0
China Eastern Boeing 737 crashed with 132 passengers on board

By admin

 

A China Eastern Boeing 737-800 has crashed flying from Kunming (KMG) to Guangzhou (CAN). MU 5735, a domestic flight operated by a 737 with tail number B-1791, had 132 people on board when it appears to have rapidly descended into a mountainous region of China. The Civil Aviation Administration of China has confirmed that the aircraft did indeed crash.

FlightRadar24.com appears to have been tracking the aircraft at the time of its crash, with the service picking up the rapid descent of the Boeing 737-800. The flight-tracking service suggests that the aircraft was cruising at 29,100 feet when the event started.

The approximate location of the crash. Photo: FlightRadar24.com
The service took the last reading at 29,100 feet at 06:19:59 UTC. The following reading picked up by the service from the China Eastern plane was at 06:22:16. According to the plane’s transponder, the aircraft lost around 20,000 feet of altitude in 77 seconds.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has confirmed that the aircraft has crashed. According to the CAAC, there were 132 people on board the aircraft. This comprised 123 passengers and nine crew members. The administration commented,

“On March 21, 2022, a Boeing 737 of China Eastern Airlines lost contact over Wuzhou during the Kunming-Guangzhou flight… The Civil Aviation Administration has activated the emergency mechanism and dispatched a working group to the scene.”

A video circulating on Twitter appears to show a large area of mountainous forest engulfed in flames.

Patoma Admin by — March 21, 2022 in Aviation 0
MMA terminal for commissioning tomorrow

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

All is now set for the commissioning of the newly built international terminal of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos on Tuesday, March 22, 2022.

The brand new, world-class international terminal is one of five, being built in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Kano and Enugu, in a bilateral arrangement between the Federal Government of Nigeria, and the People’s Republic of China. The ones in Abuja and Port Harcourt have been completed and commissioned already, while that of Kano has been completed and will soon be commissioned.

FAAN  in a statement released by Mrs Faithful A. Hope-Ivbaze, Ag General manager, Corporate Affairs, the new Lagos International terminal, which will be commissioned by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari (GCFR), has the capacity to process 14million passengers per annum. It is built on a land mass of approximately 56,000 square metres, and it has 66 check-in counters.

Other facilities in the terminal include 5 baggage collection carousels, 16 Immigration desks at arrival, 28 Immigration desks at departure, 8 security screening points, 6 passenger boarding bridges (out of which 2 has already been installed), 2 food courts, 4 premium lounges, 22 guest rooms and spa, 16 airline ticketing offices, visa on arrival and port health facility, as well as praying area, more than 3,000 square metres of duty free space, approximately 5,000 square metres of lettable utility space, amongst others.

The new terminal to be commissioned is expected to generate about three thousand direct and indirect employment for Nigerians, as well as enhance passenger facilitation and comfort at the Lagos airport.

The Authority will also sign a memorandum of understanding with the Lagos State Government on the 9km Airport-Shasha-Alimosho link Road to be constructed by the State Government.

Patoma Admin by — March 21, 2022 in Aviation 0
Fuel Rate Spike: Air France-KLM to raise ticket prices from March 25

By admin

 

As of 25 March, KLM and Air France will be adding a surcharge to long-haul ticket prices as fuel prices soar.

KLM has stated the cost of the surcharge varies on destination and travel class, such as a return flight between Amsterdam and New York will be €40 for economy or €100 for business class. The surcharge only applies to new bookings.

Backtracking from Air France?

Air France’s decision comes as a surprise, with the airline stating in Le Monde just four days ago that it has avoided raising prices thanks to hedged fuel costs. A spokesperson for the airline said:
Air France-KLM has hedged 72% of its oil consumption for the first quarter and 63% for the second quarter at $90 a barrel, confirmed back in February. The decision is likely a pre-emptive move against a prolonged Russo-Ukrainian war, with current oil prices at levels not seen since 2008.
Increasing cost

Following last week’s warning by experts that airfares are likely to skyrocket if oil prices do not decrease, several other airlines have expressed concerns over the uncertainty of the fuel market.

KLM-partner airline, Delta, has stated that ticket prices could increase by at least 5% this summer. Speaking at the JP Morgan Industrials Conference on Tuesday, airline President Glen Hauenstein noted that the airline needed to recapture around $15-$20 each way on a ticket, feeling confident that Delta could meet that in the second quarter.

However, several airlines consider the move too hasty, especially considering a drastically recovering market. American Airlines has suggested that stronger summer bookings could offset rising fuel prices. The carrier does not hedge its fuel consumption, with CEO Doug Parker adding that the industry will continue to make money regardless.

In 2010, oil prices were around US$80 per barrel; the airline industry made US$4.8 billion, which was a record in earnings for the industry. Next year, oil prices went up to US$111.26 per barrel. Earnings fell. It takes a while to react. The reaction to higher oil prices is less capacity and higher prices. So when it runs up quickly like it just did, it takes a while to respond, but we respond, and indeed, in 2012, we got back nearly to 2010 revenue levels. We can make money with oil prices of US$100 or higher, and we will. That’s not a long-term impact on the industry’s ability to make money.”
Chief credit analyst for Standard and Poor’s, Phillip Baggaley, differs, noting pricing will still put pressure on the bottom line.

“Even with this strong traffic, the airlines can’t recapture all the higher fuel cost, particularly if they go up quickly.”
What about other airlines?
Malaysia Airlines will be adding fuel surcharges from 23 March to mitigate the costs of unprofitable routes. Emirates, JAL, and ANA have added surcharges onto their domestic routes.

Speaking to Aviation24.be at a recent press conference, Lufthansa CEO Peter Gerber has stated that the Lufthansa Group has hedged fuel contracts and will closely follow the market. Lufthansa is 63% hedged throughout 2022 at $74 a barrel.

Europe’s most outspoken CEO, Michael O’Leary, has already addressed concerns, claiming Ryanair will not introduce any fuel charges this summer. The low-cost carrier is 80% hedged on fuel until March 2023.

Patoma Admin by — March 20, 2022 in Aviation 0
Azman Air to evacuate Nigerians from Ukraine

By admin

 

Azman Air held a rescue operation onboard an Airbus A340-600 airlifting hundreds of stranded Nigerian students, taking them away from Ukraine as Russia’s invasion continues. 

Earlier today, an Azman Air’s Airbus A340-600 departed from Budapest International Airport, carrying hundreds of Nigerian citizens fleeing the war in Ukraine. The aircraft landed at the international wing of Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport in Abuja at precisely 8:41 pm, local time, according to the airline. This was the fifth humanitarian flight held by Nigerian airlines. Previously Air Peace and Max Air operated three and one services, respectively.

Over 1,000 Nigerian citizens have fled Ukraine in the last few days as Russia invades its neighbor. Many of the stranded Nigerians ended in Poland and Hungary and quickly started looking for a way to fly back home.

Since then, the Federal Government of Nigeria has begun several humanitarian flights evacuating up to 1,076 Nigerians, according to reports by local media outlets. One of those flights was operated by Azman Air, a Nigerian carrier based in Kano.

Azman Air employed its Airbus A340-600, registration 5N-AAM, to operate the humanitarian services. In a statement posted on social media, the airline said,

Patoma Admin by — March 13, 2022 in Aviation 0
Air Peace to airlift first batch of 364  stranded Nigerians from Ukraine on Thursday

By Favour Nnabugwu
Air Peace is to airlift first batch of 364 stranded Nigerians from Ukraine back to Nigeria on Thursday, March 3, 2021
The airline and Max Air have been contracted by the federal government to bring back about 2090 stranded Nigerians who have fled from war torn Ukraine to neighbouring countries back to Nigeria.
According to the Chief Operating Officer, COO, Air Peace, Mrs Toyin Olajide, the first batch of 364 Nigerians will be brought into Nigeria from Poland on Thursday, March 3, 202.
 Confirming the contractual agreement yesterday , the Ministry of Foreign  Affairs Permanent Secretary said about 2090 Nigerians is expected to be airlifted from Hungry, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia.
The Permanent  Secretary said :
“Furtherance to our efforts to evacuate Nigerians from the neighbouring countries surrounding Ukraine, we can confirm that chattered flights will depart on Wednesday, March 2, 2022 to pick up Nigerian evacuees back home.”
“So far, we have the following records of evacuees received by Nigerian embassies at Hungry (650 person), Poland (350 persons), Roman (940 persons) and Slovakia (150 persons).”
“The First batch of evacuees are expected to arrive Nigeria on Thursday, March 3, 2022.
“Once again, we assure Nigerians that we are working round the clock to see that our citizens are brought back home safely”
Recall since the outbreak of war between Ukraine and Russia, Nigerians, mostly students , had called on the government to evacuate them from the country.
Patoma Admin by — March 2, 2022 in Aviation 0
Ukraine International Airlines pauses flights until March 23

By admin

 

Airspace closures and fierce battles on the ground in Ukraine have seen Ukraine International Airlines extend their flight suspensions until March 23

Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) has confirmed it will extend the suspension of scheduled and charter services until 23:59 March 23, 2022, Kyiv time. The Kyiv-based airline had temporarily begun pausing flights last week after the Ukrainian Government closed the country’s airspace to civilian aircraft.

Closed airspace grounds UIA’s flights
In a statement published on February 27, UIA confirmed the ongoing suspension of flights was due to the extension of the closure of Ukrainian airspace. “This decision is according to the official NOTAM of the State Aviation Service,” the airline said. “The airline draws attention to the possibility of forced delays and difficulties in feedback on service channels of communication with passengers and counts on understanding.”

UIA adds reimbursement for canceled flights will not occur until after March 26. They attribute this to “the technical nuances of the martial law in Ukraine” and ask for understanding from out-of-pocket passengers.

Ukraine International Airlines had stopped flying on February 24 following the Russian invasion that targeted airport infrastructure. The invasion prompted the Ukrainian Government to declare martial law and close the airspace.

Before the formal closure of the airspace, aircraft insurers and reinsurers had also expressed concern about Ukrainian carriers operating their aircraft in Ukrainian airspace, effectively grounding many flight

Ukrainian carriers temporarily shut down
The unfolding situation in Ukraine is causing chaos for airlines that fly into the country or use its airspace. Airlines are also moving to avoid neighboring Russian airspace, and the EU is set to ban Russian airlines from their airspace. While most of Europe’s airlines have a degree of wriggle room and the ability to re-route flights, Ukrainian carriers are not so lucky.

The biggest airport in Ukraine is Kyiv’s Boryspil International (KBP). According to ch-aviation.com, 12 airlines are based there, including five scheduled carriers, three passenger charters, two cargo, and two government-operated airlines. In addition to UIA, Windrose Airlines, SkyUp Airlines, Bravo Airways, and Azur Air Ukraine are the scheduled passenger airlines based at KBP.

“Due to the imposition of martial law in the country, Windrose Airlines will suspend flights indefinitely, but we will be in touch. All relevant information will be posted on the official website and social networks,” Windrose advises.

“We inform you that sales on all flights are closed until March 9, 2022,” says SkyUp. “Almost the entire SkyUp fleet is located abroad: three aircraft are in Egypt, one is in Moldova, one more is in Kyiv, three are in Romania, four are in Estonia, and one more each is in Serbia and Bulgaria.”

Meanwhile, Boryspil Airport is closed. In addition to local airlines, multiple international airlines, including Qatar Airways, Ryanair, flydubai, KLM, Turkish Airlines, and Air France are temporarily out of Ukraine. Late last week, explosions were occurring around the airport.

CNN was reporting on the weekend the airport remained largely undamaged, but vehicles have blocked the airport’s two runways and taxiways to prevent Russian aircraft from flying in. Seizing control of Ukraine’s airports, including Boryspil, is key to Russia’s takeover strategy.

Meanwhile, there are mixed reports about the fate of the AN-225 Mriya based at contested Gostomel Airport outside Kyiv. On Saturday, Antonov Airlines said the plane was intact. However, the well-regarded site, AirlineRatings.com, is reporting satellite evidence indicating the plane is destroyed. The site also adds the Ukrainian Government has confirmed the plane’s demise online.

Patoma Admin by — March 1, 2022 in Aviation 0
FCT, Taraba, Ondo, Delta, 13 other States to experience 40°C temperature – NiMet

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

The Nigerian Meteorological Agency ( NiMet) has alerted the public on a possible rise in temperature especially in most part of northern Nigeria.

The Agency made this known in a statement released this Sunday.

According to the release, areas that will experience temperature greater than 40°C include parts of Kebbi, Sokoto, Zamfara, Niger, Kwara, FCT, Kogi, Nasarawa, Benue, Plateau, Taraba, Adamawa, Ondo, Edo, Delta, Rivers and Anambra.

Other parts of the country will predominantly experience temperatures within 35°C to 40°C.

 

Patoma Admin by — February 28, 2022 in Aviation 0