Finnair is aiming to increase its fleet to more than 100 aircraft under a six-year development plan which will focus on achieving a sustainable, profitable growth path. It is aiming to increase its short-haul fleet from 61 aircraft – comprising 37 Airbus single-aisle jets and 24 regional aircraft – to around 70 by 2025. Finnair will also expand its long-haul fleet from 22 aircraft to about 30. It operates eight Airbus A330-300s and 14 A350-900s. Chief executive Topi Manner, during a 12 November briefing, said the carrier was embarking on a new phase of development, amounting to a "notable shift" from its previous accelerated growth. "We've been delivering on growth and the balance sheet," he says. "We still have an opportunity to improve our profitability." Manner says the airline is to "double down" on its strategy of serving European-Asian routes via Helsinki, by focusing on increasing frequencies to major high-yield Asian cities rather than adding new destinations. Chief commercial officer Ole Orver says the airline needs both additional long-haul and short-haul aircraft to ensure sufficient connectivity, particularly given that the carrier is building up a fourth connection bank to increase flexibility at Helsinki. He says the airline will have some 20 additional aircraft by 2025. It will concentrate initially on renewing the older single-aisle fleet, but will need more widebodies as well. "I have a plan where to allocate each and every one of those [extra] aircraft," says Orver. "I have a backup plan for each widebody as well. We think our plan's solid."

Source: FlightGlobal

Qantas has become the second major carrier group to announce a target of "net zero" carbon emissions by 2050 as part of "a major expansion of the airline's commitment to a more sustainable aviation industry". In adopting that CO2 goal, the Australian operator joins pan-European group IAG, which unveiled its "Flightpath net zero" plan in October. Towards its "net zero" aim, Qantas announced on 11 November that it will offset all growth in domestic and international CO2 emissions from 2020. That will put the operator's policy in line with the first, voluntary stage of ICAO's global carbon offset scheme, CORSIA, which is due to begin a year later in 2021 but only applies to international flights. Qantas will also immediately double the number of flights where carbon emissions are offset, by "matching every dollar spent by customers" through the optional offsetting scheme available to passengers when they book tickets. It hopes that in doing so, more passengers will be encouraged to offset their flights, beyond the current level of around 10%. Qantas will meanwhile invest A$50 million ($34 million) over the next 10 years to "help develop a sustainable aviation fuel industry", progress on which is currently stymied by high costs at the point of purchase for airlines, it suggests. Qantas claims that "sustainable fuels" could cut CO2 emissions by 80% versus traditional jet fuel. Much debate exists, however, around the appropriate way to measure the environmental benefits of such initiatives. The group also highlights the introduction of more fuel-efficient aircraft, such as Qantas's Boeing 787s and Jetstar's Airbus A321neos, as important steps towards emissions reduction. "We recognise that airlines have a responsibility to cut emissions and combat climate change," states Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce. "We've already made some good progress, especially by investing in newer aircraft that have a much smaller carbon footprint.


Source: FlightGlobal

South African Airways is poised to cut close to 20% of its workforce as part of an effort to restructure the heavily loss-making carrier. The airline employs nearly 5,150 personnel but says it has started a consultation process after embarking on an overhaul which "may lead to job losses". SAA puts the number of positions potentially affected at 944. "We urgently need to address the ongoing loss-making position that has subsisted over the past years," says acting chief Zuks Ramasia. She says the restructuring is intended to smooth the implementation of an accelerated turnaround strategy. SAA has been long mired in financial difficulties, with debt and liquidity problems, and insufficient revenue generation. "[Our] balance sheet has historically been weak and remains so despite recent substantial capital injections from the government," says Ramasia. "Our continued losses and reliance on government guarantees to borrow money from lenders, have increased the interest costs which impacts the operating cost of the business." The restructuring will cover all internal SAA divisions but will not include the Mango Airlines subsidiary or the maintenance arm SAA Technical. SAA says the consultation process could last until 11 January. It says it will aim to "minimise" the number of retrenchments and mitigate their effects. "These hard decisions were necessary to put SAA on a more sustainable footing while ensuring we continue to offer customers the best service," says Ramasia.

Source: FlightGlobal