NEWSWEEK WORLDNEWS


LEBANESE flag-carrier Middle East Airlines (MEA) has firmed up an order for 10 A320 aircraft follow- ing a memorandum of understanding signed in July. The carrier will announce its engine of choice at a later date. MEA operates one of the most modern fleets in the region — comprised of four A330-220s, four A321s and 10 A320s — according to a press statement released by Airbus. Airbus will be releas- ing their A320neo (new engine option) in 2015, which offers up to 15 percent fuel savings.


BOEING completed 2012 with a record-setting performance, according to the company’s latest figures. Unfilled orders set a new company record at 4,373, while it recorded its second strongest result for net commercial orders at 1,203; the company also delivered 601 aircraft, the most since 1999. However, it was plagued by delivery delays and the 787 Dreamliner continues to suffer a string of tech- nical problems (see front cover).


Shoppers bring boost T


SIA confirms new order with Airbus


SINGAPORE Airlines (SIA) confirmed its order for 25 more aircraft from Airbus, following an agreement reached by the two parties in October. The order is comprised of five A380s and 20 A350-900s. This is SIA’s third consecutive order for the A380 model upping its fleet to 19, making it the sec- ond-largest customer of what SIA claims to be the “world’s most efficient, high-capacity aircraft”. The carrier’s fleet of the mid-size A350 has been doubled by this order. John Leahy, chief operating officer at Airbus, said: “This second repeat order from one of the largest A380 operators today is a great endorsement. We are also delighted that Singapore Airlines is demon- strating equal confidence in the A350. “With both these aircraft, [SIA] will have the most modern, efficient fleet the market can offer.”


Lufthansa sees 8.5 percent drop in 2012


he online shopping revolution helped to boost November airfreight volume, said the International Air Transport As- sociation (IATA) in its latest


traffic report. Airfreight volumes edged up 1.6 per- cent over the same period after declining 2.6 percent in October, year on year, said the industry organisation. It explained: “November brought some positive signs for air transport demand — particularly for air cargo.” Although some of this increase is due to a rebound after the Thai floods in 2011, it is seen as a positive sign. IATA says that while it would be prema- ture to talk of a turning point for air cargo markets, when coupled with positive eco- nomic developments in the US and an improvement in business confidence in


recent months, the conditions are align- ing to see a return to growth in 2013, of 1.4 percent. IATA’s director general and CEO, Tony


Tyler said that seasonally-adjusted air- freight volumes have now risen back to the levels of mid-2012, after declines in the third quarter. Asia-Pacific airlines were responsible for almost half the rise in total volumes, with the 2.4 percent rise in month-on- month volumes for the region contrasting with the 1.5 percent decline from Novem- ber 2011 levels. Freight capacity fell 2.8 percent over the period. North American carriers increased freight traffic by 1.7 percent and cut capacity by 0.6 percent, compared with November 2011. Euro- pean airlines’ year-on-year freight traffic was flat and their capacity grew just 0.3 percent.


Middle East carriers’ showed the stron- gest year-on-year growth of any region, up 16 percent, with capacity rising by only 6.1 percent. Load factor surged to 46.7 percent, up 4 percent. Latin American airlines’ freight grew 4.2 percent year-on-year, but capacity grew at more than twice the rate, up 8.5 percent. African carriers grew their freight vol- umes by 4.4 percent compared with November 2011. Although their capacity increase was only 3.6 percent, their 26.2 percent load factor was still the weakest of all regions by a wide margin.


LUFTHANSA Cargo saw tonnage drop by 8.5 percent, down to 1.7 million tonnes, last year as it battled through rough economic climes and the resulting fall in demand for airfreight services.


Karl Ulrich Garnadt, chairman and CEO Lufthansa Cargo, said: “We had to contend with an extremely difficult environment in 2012, so we focused firmly on capacity utilisation and the profitability of our freighter routes.


“Despite the necessary capacity cuts, we further developed our customer services and brought new destinations, such as Detroit, US, Montevideo and Tel Aviv into our route network.”


This autumn will see Lufthansa Cargo take deliv-


ery of the first two of five new Boeing 777 freighters, which the carrier claims are integral to its “Lufthansa Cargo 2020” strategy.


ACW 21 JANUARY 2013 3


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