December 1st 2022

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There were two notable aviation appointments this month, both involved airlines in India. Read More »

Long-time Singapore Airlines (SIA) top executive, Campbell Wilson, was unveiled as the new CEO of Air India, ending a 26-year career with SIA. The airline group said Lesley Thng has succeeded Wilson as CEO of its LCC Scoot.

The second appointment was former KLM Royal Dutch Airlines boss, Pieter Elbers, as successor to CEO Ronojoy Dutta at IndiGo.

Still in India, the country’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) re-issued an air operator certificate to Jet Airways in the month, opening the way for the carrier to resume commercial operations. Jet Airways last flew in 2019, the year it shut down after financial collapse.

Airlines reporting financial results this month included Bangkok Air, IndiGo, Japan Airlines, Korean Air (KAL), SIA and Thai Airways International.

The standout performance was KAL’s 543.9 billion won (US$449.2 million) net profit for the March quarter. Not only was it a return to profitability at KAL after a loss in the same months in 2021, it was the largest quarterly profit recorded by the company, eclipsing the 707.7 billion won net profit the carrier booked in the fourth quarter of 2021.

SIA, which reported a smaller net loss for the three months to March 31, 2022, compared with the same quarter in 2021, said eased travel restrictions in key markets worldwide were supporting a strong recovery in travel demand across all cabin classes.

Similarly JAL forecasts it will return to profit in fiscal 2023, to March 31, 2023, after a “tough” 2021 of reporting a second consecutive annual loss.

Aircraft maker ATR announced the short take-off and landing (STOL) variant of its turboprop line-up, the 42-600S, completed its maiden flight in the month and was on track for certification in 2023.

Hong Kong relaxed some of its entry rules allowing non-residents to enter the Special Administrative Region, albeit with the same boarding, quarantine and testing arrangements as residents. Non-residents had been banned from travelling to Hong Kong since the start of the pandemic. It also eased rules on suspending flights that had more than five passengers test COVID-19 positive on arrival.

Virgin Australia (VA) unveiled a new alliance with Doha-based Qatar Airways including code-sharing on each other’s flights and reciprocal frequent flyer benefits. Regulators also approved VA’s partnership with United Airlines.