November 13, 2023

More articles from the category

November 13, 2023

Sanctions: BOC Aviation reaches agreement with Aeroflot

Actually, not a single leased aircraft leased to Russian airlines should fly any more. The sanctions originally stipulated that all transactions must be terminated. Returns have only occurred in exceptional cases, however, because the Russian government has passed laws that make it difficult for lessors to get their property. An enormous number of aircraft have also been transferred to the Russian Federation's aviation register without the consent of the leasing companies. This step is considered extremely controversial, because there have been no formal deregistrations in Ireland or the Bermuda Islands. However, the authorities have suspended the registrations. Some states that are not participating in the sanctions are refusing to allow aircraft that they consider to be "double" registered to use their airspace. Due to the sanctions affecting payment transactions with Russia, some carriers can no longer pay the leasing installments. The Russian government has also thought of this, in order to at least keep up appearances. The funds end up in so-called C accounts, which the lessors can access at any time - at least in theory. In practice, however, this does not work because it would be a violation of the sanctions and, what is more, the money cannot be taken out of Russia. Western lessors can do little or nothing with Russian rubles. The EU sanctions provide for the possibility of legalizing the de facto theft of the aircraft. In concrete terms, this means that a financial compensation for the aircraft can be agreed. Some lessors rely on lawsuits, which sometimes also go against the insurance companies, others on negotiations and still others on

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Fuel: SAF demand will double by 2030

The aviation industry is heading towards a substantial supply gap with green kerosene and is therefore in danger of missing its climate targets. This is the result of the study "From Feedstock to Flight: How to unlock the potential of SAF" by Strategy&, PwC's global strategy consultancy. As early as 2030, the industry could need around 46 million tonnes of so-called Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) worldwide in order to meet regulatory requirements and its own goals on the way to Net Zero. At the current pace of expansion of the necessary infrastructure and refineries, however, according to calculations by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), a maximum of 2030 million tonnes of SAF can be produced in 24, which corresponds to a gap of 22 million tonnes of SAF - almost 50% of demand. In order to close this gap and still achieve its climate targets, the industry would have to invest at least 2030 billion euros by 100, according to the Strategy& study. By 2035, the investment requirement will rise to 215 billion euros, and by 2050 it will be more than 1.000 billion euros. The aviation industry is heading for a huge supply gap in Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAFs) SAF is indispensable for green aviation Aviation currently contributes around 2,5% to global CO2 emissions. However, the industry wants to operate CO2050-neutrally by 2. In order to achieve this goal despite increasing air traffic, many airlines are relying on SAFs - a collective term for biological and synthetic fuels that can also be used to fuel conventional aircraft and save 66-94% of CO2 emissions. A distinction is made between several types of SAF, with two types being examined in more detail in the study.

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Turkish Airlines leases 21 more aircraft

Star Alliance member Turkish Airlines is continuing its expansion course, having signed leasing contracts for 21 more aircraft. However, the Turkish carrier has not yet communicated the exact composition. According to the investor announcement, this involves a wide-body jet, which is to be delivered in the second quarter of next year, and 20 narrowbodies, which Turkish Airlines will add to its fleet between the fourth quarter of 2024 and Q1/2025. The agreements were concluded as follows: four medium-haul jets are being leased from Jackson Square, ten from DAE Capital and six from CDB Aviation. The single long-haul aircraft also comes from the latter company. Turkish Airlines recently announced that it plans to double its fleet to around 800 aircraft within ten years. It is still unclear whether the aircraft required for the project will be purchased directly from the manufacturers or obtained through lessors. There were repeated rumors that a large order of around 600 aircraft was imminent, but Turkish Airlines itself has now confirmed that it is in no hurry to make a decision. The group will be reorganizing itself in the near future, as activities in the cargo and low-cost flight sectors have so far been carried out uniformly under the Turkish Airlines AOC. Both cargo and low-cost will be spun off into subsidiaries that have their own certificates. If everything goes according to plan, these should be in the air independently next year.

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Air Baltic with record winter flight schedule

The airline air Baltic is offering a total of 2023 new routes from its bases in Tampere, Vilnius, Tallinn and Riga in the 24/13 winter schedule. "We are pleased to announce the largest number of new routes in a winter season ever at air Baltic. As we prepare for the coming season, we are carefully assessing passenger demand and analyzing the market situation. Our commitment to the Baltic States and Tampere remains strong, and we are committed to improving connectivity within the region. In addition, we are pleased to expand our offering by adding new routes and increasing flight frequencies on our existing leisure and city break routes," said company CEO Martin Gauss. The new routes at a glance: Destination served Flight frequency Start date Riga - Agadir 1 flight weekly November 4, 2023 Riga - Alicante 2 flights weekly February 27, 2024 Tallinn - Tampere - Amsterdam 7 flights weekly October 29, 2023 Tallinn - Tenerife 2 flights weekly October 30, 2023 Tallinn - Gran Canaria 1 flight weekly 30 November, , 2023 linn - Geneva 1 flight weekly December, 30, 2023 Vilnius - Tenerife 2 flights weekly October 31, 2023 Vilnius - Dubai 2 flights weekly November 1, 2023 Vilnius - Gran Canaria 1 flight weekly December 2, 2023 Vilnius - Turin 1 flight weekly December 23, 2023 Tampere - Tenerife 2 flights weekly November 1, 2023 Tampere – Gran Canaria 1 flight weekly December 5, 2023 Tampere – Kittila 2 flights weekly December 22, 2023

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Denmark wants to promote the decarbonization of aviation with a new ticket tax

Since the beginning of the 2000s, the governments of several European countries have begun to tax airline tickets. Under various names, they want to make airlines pay in order to boost the state coffers. Depending on the provider, these are added to the price of the flight or are borne by the airline, which is formally liable for the tax. The latter is the case when the ticket price paid is lower than the tax levied by the state. There are many different approaches within those EU countries that make a little money. For example, Austria taxes short-haul flights absurdly high, while long-haul connections are comparatively cheap. Transfer passengers are largely exempt. It has long been known that airlines are completely against such taxes. But the tactic has now changed, with only a few providers calling for the general abolition of ticket taxes. The aim is much more to ensure that the revenue is earmarked for the further development of aviation. For example, some industry players want this to be used to provide subsidies for electric aircraft and/or research into alternative propulsion systems. In countries like Germany and Austria, this ideal is very far from being realized, because the influence of the Greens has apparently led to the fact that it is no longer a secret that the revenue from ticket taxes is intended to cross-subsidize rail transport. Passengers have not benefited from this so far, because ticket prices have not fallen to date, but have been gradually increased by Deutsche Bahn and Austrian Federal Railways. The VAT reduction on train tickets that was hyped in Germany has also - as was to be expected - completely fizzled out after initially minimal price reductions. In general, very little has been done.

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Pratt & Whitney Canada places major order with FACC AG

The Upper Austrian aviation supplier was able to conclude a contract with the engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney Canada for the maintenance, repair and overhaul of fan cases. The new agreement covers the repair and overhaul of fan cases for the PW800 turbo fan engine family from P&WC. For FACC, this new agreement with P&WC represents an important milestone, as the company is now developing into a full-service component supplier in addition to producing engine components. The contract, which runs for several years, is of great importance to FACC. "P&WC is a global leader in the manufacture and servicing of aircraft engines. We are very pleased to take our cooperation with this very important customer to a new level and to establish ourselves as a provider in the MRO sector," says FACC CEO Robert Machtlinger, underlining the importance of the agreement. The overhaul of the engine components takes place at the FACC sites in Upper Austria, which have a high level of expertise in the production and maintenance of high-tech components in composite construction. The repair of the engine components began this September.

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Engine problems ruin Wizz Air Group's financial figures

The Wizz Air Group is severely affected by the problems surrounding the Pratt & Whitney engines used in the Airbus A320neo and A321neo aircraft. The fact that some aircraft cannot be used due to necessary inspections also has financial implications. The group had to significantly lower its profit forecast. While it was initially assumed that it would have a surplus of between 350 and 450 million euros in the current financial year, it is now talking about 350 to 400 million euros. At the same time, it is hoping for compensation figures from Pratt & Whitney parent company RTX. Wizz Air's financial year ends on March 31, 2024. But the problems surrounding the engines are not the only factor that worries CEO Jozsef Varadi. For example, operating conditions in the areas of safety and infrastructure are currently difficult. In general, the "macroeconomic environment" is currently complicated. Before the attack by the Russian Federation army, the Wizz Air Group had a strong presence in Ukraine. At one point, it even had a branch with its own AOC. All routes cannot be operated for security reasons. In addition, the connections to Eilat and Tel Aviv have been suspended until further notice. It is to be expected that after the war ends, it will take some time for demand to return to the level it was before the Hamas attack. Another complicated factor is that there is hardly any demand for lucrative flights to countries neighboring Israel. These were considered quite interesting for low-cost airlines due to some subsidies. In the first six months of the current financial year, there was

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Budapest Airport has had 11 million travelers so far

With almost 11 million passengers handled at Budapest Airport in the first three quarters of 2023 – a 90% increase compared to 2019 – Hungary's gateway will also see healthy growth in the winter season, which will mark another phase of expansion. With 36 airlines flying to 107 destinations, numerous new destinations will be added to the airport's network this winter. On Sunday 29 October, Ryanair launched new flights to Alicante (three times weekly), Birmingham (twice weekly) and Tenerife (three times weekly). With the addition of the new routes, the low-cost carrier now connects Budapest with 46 destinations during the winter season, offering 1.172 departures. The airport's home airline Wizz Air has also launched numerous new connections, including to Cairo (three times weekly), Copenhagen (daily), Glasgow (twice weekly) and Sharm El Sheikh (three times weekly). With the new flights, the ultra-low-cost carrier will offer almost 1,3 million one-way seats to 48 destinations this winter. The Budapest winter is set to see considerable occupancy, as a number of routes have been confirmed for the entire season. In particular, SunExpress' twice-weekly connection to Antalya, which has no direct competition, will be offered in the W23/24 season. Together with the SunExpress connection to Izmir and the airport's existing connections to Istanbul and Sabiha Gökçen, Budapest will offer more than 200 flights to the transcontinental country this winter. The daily Iberia connection to Madrid will also remain on the airport's route schedule. Due to the high frequency, the Spanish

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That's why hydrogen is not an option for modern airships

The heyday of airships, marked by majestic giants such as the LZ-129 "Hindenburg" and the LZ-127 "Graf Zeppelin", was closely linked to the use of hydrogen as a filling gas. But why was hydrogen chosen instead of the safer helium? This question takes a look at the technology and political circumstances of the time. Some startups see the future of short-haul flights in the use of airships. With one exception, which aims to put a freighter in the air, all modern concepts rely on helium as a filling gas. There is a good reason for this, because a look into the past shows that hydrogen is playing with fire. The D-LZ129 "Hindenburg" is still the most famous airship of all time, not only because of its enormous size, but also because of the Lakehurst tragedy. This would have been avoidable in any case if the noble gas helium had been used instead of flammable hydrogen. This was also the plan, as the Hindenburg was designed accordingly by Luftschiffbau Zeppelin. However, the coveted helium, which was only available to the USA in the required quantities at the time, was not available. So hydrogen was used again, and since it is lighter than helium, the capacity could also be increased. It is by no means the case that the Deutsche Zeppelin Reederei, a joint venture of the German Reich, Lufthansa and Luftschiffbau Zeppelin, did not know that hydrogen as a lifting gas is dangerous. The now largely forgotten accident of the British airship R101 on October 4, 1930 was the reason for Hugo Eckener, managing director of Luftschiffbau Zeppelin, to

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Austria: New tourism flagship projects

At the beginning of June 2023, this year's call for lighthouse projects on the topic of "Innovative concepts for climate change adaptation and resilience in tourism" was announced by the Federal Ministry of Labor and Economics, which was open for project submissions until August 16, 2023. The aim of this funding campaign was to sensitize the domestic tourism industry to the topic of climate change adaptation and resilience in order to develop innovative concepts that take into account the medium and long-term consequences of climate change for tourism. At the end of October, an expert jury selected eight winning projects in a two-stage selection process that best described the planned valorization of tourism through innovative project ideas. "In order to be one of the most sustainable destinations in the world, in accordance with the requirements of the Tourism Master Plan, it is essential that we in tourism continue to deal intensively with climate change and its effects. I am therefore particularly pleased that eight submissions to this funding call are rethinking the nature-based offering in active tourism accordingly. All projects address the challenges and consequences of climate change and focus on seasonal change through to year-round tourism, as well as on the climate-friendly orientation of the regional offer," emphasizes State Secretary for Tourism Susanne Kraus-Winkler. The implementation of these eight lighthouse projects is supported by federal tourism funding and funds from the 2014-2020 rural development program. This year's support for the eight projects amounts to around 0,87 million euros. "Since 2015, the lighthouse funding campaign has approved 54 funding applications and awarded funding totaling around 8,3 million euros to regional tourism projects," says Kraus-Winkler. The lighthouse projects 2023

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