Airbus has ousted Boeing as aerospace’s biggest business after a year in which the 737 Max crisis led to the US manufacturer’s revenues plunging by a quarter. FlightGlobal’s latest Top 100, based on 2019/20 financial year figures, before the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, show Boeing’s annual sales at $76 billion, down from $101 billion the previous year. Airbus’s turnover rose from $75.1 billion in 2018 to $78.9 billion, allowing the European company to take top spot in the annual ranking for the first time in over a decade. Boeing also slid deeply into the red, with operating losses of almost $2 billion, compared with profits of around $12 billion in 2018. Airbus’s operating profits also fell from around $6 billion in 2018 to $1.5 billion in the latest financial year. Even though the vast majority of Top 100 companies had a positive bottom line, the squeeze felt by the big two meant profit growth as a whole was in negative territory, down 11.1% compared with a rise of 20.6% the previous year. Average operating margins dropped from 11.3% to 9.4%. With Top 100 revenues up 3.5% against 8.2% in 2018, it suggests that the industry was heading into a slower growth phase even before the pandemic hit. That said, the biggest aerospace companies continued to grow faster than the world economy – global GDP increased by 2.9% in 2019 – as they have for many years. Consolidation has brought other changes to the Top 100 with the merged United Technologies and Rockwell Collins ranked fourth in terms of size. The further coming together of United Technologies’ aerospace businesses and Raytheon, completed earlier this year, should see the combined business overtake third-placed Lockheed Martin in next year’s survey. Meanwhile, the new L3Harris – created from L-3 and Harris – broke into the top 10 at number nine.

Source: Cirium

Italy’s civil aviation authority is meeting with Ryanair on 16 September to discuss allegations of non-compliance with the country’s coronavirus-related health measures. ENAC notes that despite speaking to the airline about similar issues in early August, it is still receiving “reports regarding Ryanair’s incomplete compliance with the provisions planned in Italy to limit the health risk derived from coronavirus on board the aircraft departing and arriving at national airports”. The previous allegations – denied by the Irish carrier – included claims from ENAC that social-distancing requirements were not being met, and came with a threat that Ryanair’s Italian services could be suspended. This time, the authority will also “verify compliance” by Ryanair with the requirement that all passengers complete Covid-19 self-declaration forms, noting that the lack of adherence contributes to the lengthening of the checking process at airports. It cites Milan Bergamo airport – Ryanair’s largest Italian base – where passengers have been waiting for excessive periods inside the facility in recent days, ENAC claims, “as evidenced by videos”. Ryanair parked a number of aircraft at Milan Bergamo during the grounding of services earlier this year Before they travel to Italy, passengers are required to download and complete a self-declaration form supplied by the Ministry of Interior, which is meant to be collected by the airline and may be requested by border police. By signing the form, passengers agree to measures including the wearing of face masks on board aircraft and in airports. Ryanair has been contacted for comment.

Source: Cirium

Air New Zealand is considering making hundreds of cabin crew redundant as a "last resort" measure in response to a reduction in long-haul demand. The flag carrier says it has reduced its Los Angeles passenger service from a daily frequency to three return flights per week, and converted all San Francisco flights to cargo-only services. It will continue to operate eight cargo-only flights on the Auckland-Los Angeles route. "We recognise that a reduced schedule will require a smaller number of cabin crew going forward and we are working through what this means for the team. Any decision we make will be made in consultation with our people and the unions, with redundancies as the last resort," the airline says. "We appreciate that our cabin crew have already made significant sacrifices throughout Covid-19, but sadly our international schedule remains largely limited by border restrictions and unfortunately there is not enough flying to provide sustainable rosters for the number of crew we have." The airline, which posted its first loss in 18 years for the financial year ended 30 June, says that in the "foreseeable future" it has "around 385 more widebody cabin crew in the business than we have work for". Amid the turmoil of the Covid-19 pandemic, 4,000 staff have already left Air New Zealand. The airline has scaled back its executive team by a third, from nine members to six. Back in June, the airline painted a stark picture of the next two years, saying that it expected to be just 70% of its former size in 2022, with long-haul travel a distant prospect for 2021.

Source: Cirium