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Business Times
20 hours ago
- Business
- Business Times
Global carriers pile on India capacity as US-Europe traffic drops
[LONDON] The skies above India are about to get a lot busier as international carriers add more routes to the world's most-populated nation to make up for tepid transatlantic demand that's come under pressure from global economic uncertainties. Foreign airlines and the biggest Indian operators announced a range of plans at the International Air Transport Association (Iata) annual general meeting in New Delhi this week to start or increase services to and from the South Asian nation. Delta Air Lines plans to begin non-stop services from its hub in Atlanta to New Delhi, and the airline also announced a code-sharing pact with low-cost specialist IndiGo, alongside partners Air France-KLM and Virgin Atlantic Airways. Now under private ownership, Air India as well as market leader IndiGo are planning their own major international pushes. Air India has placed orders for 570 planes from Airbus and Boeing since 2023 and IndiGo has an order book for more than 900 Airbus planes, including a recently expanded purchase of 60 A350 widebody aircraft. India is already the world's third-largest domestic aviation market and the country's rising middle class makes the nation of more than 1.4 billion people a crucial driver of future growth. The upbeat outlook contrasts with caution about global travel demand as US President Donald Trump's tariff uncertainties prompt households to rein in their spending. 'It's hard to find a more exciting market right now than India,' Shai Weiss, the chief executive officer of Virgin Atlantic, said in an interview in New Delhi. 'It's going to be a tough market in the beginning, it's going to be well competed, but we are betting on the next 30 years.' With the focus on the Indian market intensifying, some in the industry have expressed concerns about a possible race to the bottom as airlines undercut each other to fill seats. That risks resulting in excess capacity and ever thinner margins for carriers. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up Still, those fears may be overblown as any market asymmetry typically works itself out, according to British Airways CEO Sean Doyle. In addition to the large Indian diaspora in the UK, the airline is looking to tap the huge number of travellers from India to the US, he said. 'Sometimes you may get an imbalance, where capacity comes ahead of growth,' said Doyle, whose airline operates 56 flights a week to India. 'But then demand catches up because you'll never get an even correlation. There's a lot of opportunities for direct services.' IndiGo has emerged as a major winner of the push by foreign firms into the market, inking partnerships with some of the global industry's biggest names. At an event in New Delhi on Sunday (Jun 1), Delta Air, along with its partners Virgin Atlantic and Air France-KLM, announced plans to increase code shares with India's biggest airline. IndiGo, which hosted this year's Iata AGM, also has codeshares with Qantas Airways, British Airways and Japan Airlines. When asked about whether IndiGo will do more work exclusively with Delta, Virgin and Air France, CEO Pieter Elbers said: 'We have passed the stage of dating, but we are not at the stage of marriage.' Still, India's tightly regulated aviation sector presents a major hurdle for foreign airlines wanting to expand. Flight rights to the country are based on so-called bilateral agreements that determine the number of seats carriers can operate on a reciprocal basis. The policies risk hindering India's aspirations to become a global player and should be revised, according to Emirates, which is restricted from adding to capacity into India. 'Hopefully that will change when they perhaps realise that the significance, the criticality, of their transport as a wealth multiplier for their own economy,' said President Tim Clark. 'It's quite clear that not to do that will only shoot yourself in the foot in the end. But it's up to the Indian government to decide what they want to do on that.' BLOOMBERG
Straits Times
a day ago
- Business
- Straits Times
Global airline association seeks to address growing problem of in-flight theft
There has been a growing number of theft cases reported on board flights to a number of cities in Asia. PHOTO: ST FILE – The theft of personal belongings on board planes is a growing problem in some parts of the world, and the global trade body for airlines plans to hold discussions on how to deal with this in the coming weeks. Mr Nick Careen, senior vice-president for operations, safety and security at the International Air Transport Association (Iata), said feedback from its members indicate that in-flight theft has become more of an issue on certain routes in the past 12 to 18 months. This is in line with the recovery in international air travel post-pandemic. 'Our security advisory group is planning to meet in the next week or two to discuss what we could potentially do to better manage this – out of China mostly, where it seems to be very organised,' he told the media on June 3. Speaking at Iata's annual general meeting in New Delhi, India, Mr Careen also delved into other aviation safety issues, including turbulence, gaps in accident reporting, and GPS jamming and spoofing near conflict areas. He said: 'We're still the safest mode of transportation... However, we never rest on our laurels in aviation. There are headwinds. There are things that we need to keep an eye on.' On in-flight theft, Mr Careen said he did not want to point fingers, but the concern is the degree of organisation in recent cases. 'How we deal with that, whether it's security on board or cooperation from local governments in terms of the appropriate penalties... those are the types of things that we will see come out of this,' he added. There has been a growing number of theft cases reported on board flights to a number of cities in Asia. In the first 10 months of 2024, Hong Kong recorded 169 such cases, involving HK$4.32 million (S$709,300) worth of valuables – 75 per cent higher than for the same period in 2023. Tokyo's Narita International Airport also reported a recent spike in in-flight thefts. In Singapore, four people were charged over in-flight theft between January 2023 and September 2024, CNA reported in January. Most recently, Chinese national Zhang Kun, 51, pleaded guilty in May to stealing a credit card and more than $200 in cash from a fellow passenger on an overnight Scoot flight from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore in March. Another issue Mr Careen addressed at the Iata meeting was the recent changes made by some airlines to the rules on the use of power banks on flights. This was in the wake of a number of aircraft fires, most notably the blaze in January that destroyed an Air Busan plane in South Korea. In April, Singapore Airlines (SIA) and Scoot banned the use and charging of power banks on their flights, as did carriers in South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia and Hong Kong. In May, Southwest Airlines in the US also tightened its rules on portable battery use. Mr Careen said there is nothing wrong with airlines adjusting their procedures based on their own safety risk assessments. But Iata has not seen a rampant increase in fires on board planes, and he warned against knee-jerk reactions. Airline procedures should ultimately be standardised, Mr Careen added, and any changes should be made via a regulatory review by the International Civil Aviation Organisation, which is discussing the issue. Mr Careen also addressed concerns over turbulence, which he said is the leading cause of accidents on board aircraft. This is one area where Iata is using data to improve safety, he noted. Today, 28 airlines, including SIA and Scoot, exchange real-time turbulence information using Iata's Turbulence Aware platform, sharing reports from more than 2,700 aircraft. This is up from 25 carriers six months ago, and Taiwanese carrier Eva Air on June 2 said that it will be joining the platform as well. Asked if the data-sharing has led to more flights avoiding choppy air, Mr Careen said Iata has not been tracking this. While the association should do so, this would also be hard to measure, he noted. Mr Careen said there has been a rise in turbulence incidents, but this has primarily been due to increased reporting. Referencing SIA's Flight SQ321, which hit severe turbulence in May 2024 that led to a passenger dying of a suspected heart attack, he said such sensational incidents have exacerbated the focus on this topic. It is too early to draw conclusions about the impact of climate change on turbulence incidents, he added. Mr Careen on June 3 also called on governments to improve their accident reporting. 'The standards are clear. Thirty days after, you're required to provide a preliminary report. And 12 months later, you should have the report completed. That does not happen consistently,' he said. Mr Careen said there are still 107 investigations from the period between 2018 and 2023 that remain incomplete, noting that 234 lives were lost in these accidents. Calling this a 'dereliction of duty', Mr Careen added: 'You can't prevent the next (accident) from happening without understanding what happened in the first place.' The politicisation of investigations is an issue, as are labour and technical snags. 'We're willing to accept the good reasons. When we don't get a reason, that's when there's a problem,' he said. According to Iata, there were 1.13 accidents per million flights in 2024 – lower than the five-year average of 1.25. The number of on-board deaths rose sharply to 244 from 72 in 2023, but the fatality risk in 2024 of 0.06 was still lower than the five-year average of 0.1. Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
a day ago
- Business
- Straits Times
S'pore's investment in Changi Airport Terminal 5 coming at the right time, says Iata chief
Expected to cost billions to build, T5 is designed to handle about 50 million passengers a year when it opens in the mid-2030s. PHOTO: CHANGI AIRPORT GROUP S'pore's investment in Changi Airport Terminal 5 coming at the right time, says Iata chief – Singapore is making the investment to construct Changi Airport Terminal 5 (T5) at the right time, as South-east Asia is set to be among the fastest growing aviation markets in the world, said the head of the global trade body for airlines. 'It's a very sensible development,' International Air Transport Association (Iata) director-general Willie Walsh told reporters on June 3, during a roundtable for Asian media at the association's annual meeting in New Delhi. 'It will be important to ensure that the capacity is available ahead of the demand, especially for an airport like Singapore, which prides itself in terms of the standard of service that it provides to airline customers and to airlines themselves,' Mr Walsh said. 'South-east Asia is the part of the world where we'll probably see the strongest growth, going forward,' he added, noting the rapid pace of growth in India and China as well. Expected to cost billions to build, T5 is designed to handle about 50 million passengers a year when it opens in the mid-2030s. This will allow Changi Airport to handle 140 million passengers yearly, up from 90 million today. Mr Walsh, an industry veteran who was chief executive of British Airways, said Iata supports the development of the new mega terminal in Singapore, noting that the association has been in close dialogue with the airport operator and the Government about it. He lamented the fact that many other airports around the world do not fully understand the needs of airlines, which leads to developments that are not appropriate or more expensive than needed. Responding to a question about taxation in India, he said airlines will always have an issue with airport charges. 'The view of airlines is we want efficient airport operations at a cost-effective price, and that means we want to see airports make sensible long-term investments that can be afforded by the industry,' Mr Walsh said. 'It clearly requires more dialogue between airlines and airports, and where we see airlines and airports working together, it's incredibly effective,' he added. Asked about Singapore's plans to consolidate the operations of national carrier Singapore Airlines and its budget arm Scoot at T5, and whether there is a need to ensure fairness for other carriers, Mr Walsh said this happens at any other major air hub. 'For a hub airport to be successful, it requires the hub airport infrastructure, but also the hub airline... If you've got the major hub operator, you've got to have facilities that work for them,' he added. Given the growth that is expected in the wider Asian region, Mr Walsh said there is also sufficient demand to support the emergence of new regional hubs, in addition to the existing ones. 'The critical issue is you have to have the network,' he said, in response to a question about Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport's aspirations to be a hub in East Asia. 'What you often get with these airports is you get a lot of services, but not necessarily connected,' Mr Walsh added. At an earlier press conference on June 3, Indigo chief executive Pieter Elbers pointed to increased connectivity between India and South-east Asia as a driver of new traffic and opportunities. He said India is functioning, to some extent, as a growth engine for South-east Asia, and Indigo, a low cost-carrier and India's largest airline, has added a lot of new flights to the region, to 'enormous response' from both markets. 'We see a lot of new traffic developing between India and South-east Asia – to Thailand to Malaysia to Singapore,' said Mr Elbers. 'So the growth in India is not only domestic growth, it is also regional growth.' Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
Straits Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Straits Times
In-flight theft a growing problem that global airline association seeks to address
There has been a growing number of theft cases reported on board flights to a number of cities in Asia. PHOTO: ST FILE – The theft of personal belongings on board planes is a growing problem in some parts of the world, and the global trade body for airlines plans to hold discussions on how to deal with this in the coming weeks. Mr Nick Careen, senior vice-president for operations, safety and security at the International Air Transport Association (Iata), said feedback from its members indicate that in-flight theft has become more of an issue on certain routes in the past 12 to 18 months. This is in line with the recovery in international air travel post-pandemic. 'Our security advisory group are planning to meet in the next week or two to discuss what we could potentially do to better manage this – out of China mostly, where it seems to be very organised,' he told reporters on June 3. Speaking at Iata's annual general meeting in New Delhi, Mr Careen also delved into other aviation safety issues, including turbulence, gaps in accident reporting, and GPS jamming and spoofing near conflict areas. He said: 'We're still the safest mode of transportation... However, we never rest on our laurels in aviation. There are headwinds. There are things that we need to keep an eye on.' On in-flight theft, Mr Careen said he did not want to point fingers, but the concern is the degree of organisation in recent cases. 'How we deal with that, whether it's security on board or cooperation from local governments in terms of the appropriate penalties... those are the types of things that we will see come out of this,' he added. There has been a growing number of theft cases reported on board flights to a number of cities in Asia. In the first 10 months of 2024, Hong Kong recorded 169 such cases involving HK$4.32 million (S$708,775) worth of valuables – 75 per cent higher than the same period in 2023. Tokyo's Narita International Airport also reported a recent spike in in-flight thefts. In Singapore, four people were charged for in-flight theft between January 2023 and September 2024, CNA reported in January. Most recently, Chinese national Zhang Kun, 51, pleaded guilty in May to stealing a credit card and more than $200 in cash from a fellow passenger on an overnight Scoot flight from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore in March. Another issue Mr Careen addressed at the Iata meeting was the recent changes made by some airlines to the rules on the use of power banks on flights. This was in the wake of a number of aircraft fires, most notably the blaze in January that destroyed an Air Busan plane in South Korea. In April, Singapore Airlines (SIA) and Scoot banned the use and charging of power banks on their flights, as have carriers in South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia and Hong Kong. In May, Southwest Airlines in the US also tightened its rules on portable battery use. Mr Careen said there is nothing wrong with airlines adjusting their procedures based on their own safety risk assessments. But Iata has not seen a rampant increase of fires on board planes, and he warned against making knee-jerk reactions. Airline procedures should be ultimately be standardised, he added, and any changes should be made via a regulatory review by the International Civil Aviation Organisation, which is in discussion about the issue. Mr Careen also addressed concerns over turbulence, which he said is the leading cause of accidents on board aircraft. This is one area where Iata is using data to improve safety, he added. Today, 28 airlines, including SIA and Scoot, exchange real-time turbulence information using Iata's Turbulence Aware platform, sharing reports from more than 2,700 aircraft. This is up from 25 carriers six months ago, and Taiwanese carrier Eva Air said on June 2 that it will be joining the platform too. Asked if the data-sharing has led to more flights avoiding choppy air, Mr Careen said Iata has not been tracking this. While it should do so, this would also be hard to measure, he noted. Mr Careen said there has been a rise in turbulence incidents, but this has primarily been due to increased reporting. Referencing SIA's Flight SQ321, which hit severe turbulence in May 2024 that led to a passenger dying of a suspected heart attack, he said such sensational incidents have exacerbated the focus on this topic. It is also too early to draw conclusions about the impact of climate change on turbulence incidents, he added. Mr Careen on June 3 also called on governments to improve their accident reporting. 'The standards are clear. Thirty days after, you're required to provide a preliminary report. And 12 months later, you should have the report completed. That does not happen consistently,' he added. Mr Careen said there are still 107 investigations from the period between 2018 and 2023 that remain incomplete, noting that 234 lives were lost in these accidents. Calling this a 'dereliction of duty', Mr Careen added: 'You can't prevent the next (accident) from happening without understanding what will happen in the first place.' The politicisation of investigations is an issue, as are labour and technical snags. 'We're willing to accept the good reasons. When we don't get a reason, that's when there's a problem,' he said. According to Iata, there were 1.13 accidents per million flights in 2024 – lower than the five-year average of 1.25. The number of on-board deaths rose sharply to 244 from 72 in 2023, but the fatality risk in 2024 of 0.06 was still lower than the five-year average of 0.10. Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
Business Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Business Times
HK Express airfares dragged down by rising competition out of Hong Kong, CEO says
[NEW DELHI] An accelerating fall in the price of air tickets from recent high levels is the biggest challenge at Cathay Pacific's budget arm HK Express, its CEO said, as competition rises after a third runway opened at Hong Kong's airport. Many airlines, including HK Express and its low-cost rivals, are capitalising on the third runway that opened in November to add more flights, CEO Jeanette Mao told reporters on the sidelines of the Iata annual meeting in New Delhi. HK Express was the world's fastest-growing airline last year, with flight frequencies up 46 per cent from 2023 according to aviation data firm OAG, and it expects to grow by more than 30 per cent this year, according to Mao. 'But of course, such aggressive growth in the supply also added pressure on the yield side,' she said. HK Express annual yield, a proxy for airfares, fell 23 per cent year on year in 2024, mainly due to intense price competition on regional routes pushing airfares down. Yields at Cathay Pacific's full-service airline were down 12 per cent. Airfares in Asia are coming down from post-pandemic record highs as the region's airlines continue to restore seat capacity. Asia's air travel recovery has lagged behind the rest of the world due to China and Hong Kong being slower to return to international flying after Covid-19. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up Last year, capacity between Hong Kong and short-haul destinations surged by almost 40 per cent, so fares from Hong Kong to South-east and Northeast Asia are under pressure, Mao said. Some Asian rivals with lower-cost home bases are using 'fifth-freedom' rights, which have been allowed for many years in Hong Kong, to fly routes from the city to destinations outside the foreign airline's home country, directly competing with HK Express routes, she said. For example, Thai AirAsia in June launched a Bangkok-Hong Kong-Okinawa route. Another drag on HK Express has been the grounding of Airbus 320neo planes due to industry-wide issues with their Pratt & Whitney engines, she added. Half of the 10 A320neos in its fleet are still grounded, the CEO said, adding there was not a definite timeline of when the issue can be resolved. The situation is improving but the airline needs more clarity from the engine manufacturer 'to regain the confidence for our recovery aircraft reactivation', she said. Pratt, owned by RTX, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. REUTERS
