ICAO, 3.2bn passengers used air transport in 2014

Some 3.2 billion passengers used air transport for their business and tourism needs in 2014, according to preliminary figures on scheduled services released today by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The annual total passengers was up approximately 5 per cent compared to 2013 and is expected to reach over 6.4 billion by 2030, based on current projections.

Aircraft departures reached 33 million globally during 2014, establishing a new record and surpassing the 2013 figure by roughly one million flights. Solid global economic growth and improving world trade helped world scheduledpassenger traffic grow at a rate of 5.9 per cent in 2014 (expressed in terms of revenue passenger-kilometres or RPKs), compared to 5.5 per cent in 2013.

The Asia/Pacific region was the world’s largest air travel market in 2014, with a 31 per cent share in terms of world RPKs. The second and third largest air travel markets were Europe and North America, representing 27 per cent and 25 per cent, respectively. The Middle East Region, accounting for 9 per cent of world RPKs, recorded the fastest growth rate at 12.8 per cent. The Latin America and Caribbean Region increased by a solid 5.9 per cent while African growth registered in at 1.5 per cent.

International scheduled passenger traffic grew by 6.3 per cent in 2014, up from the 5.7 per cent recorded in 2013. With recovery in the Eurozone economy, European traffic increased by 5.7 per cent and accounted for the largest share of international RPKs with 38 per cent. Asia/Pacific had the second largest share with 27 per cent, growing by 5.8 per cent. North America was also up by 3.1 per cent, in line with its improving economic conditions.

With its combined economic strength and airline network expansion, the Middle East recorded the highest international passenger traffic growth at 13.4 per cent compared to 2013. The Latin America/Caribbean meanwhile grew by a solid 6.2 per cent despite weakness in some of its economies, and carriers in Africa experienced the slowest growth rate of 1.7 per cent.

Scheduled domestic passenger traffic increased by 5.1 per cent compared to 2013, with North America and the Asia/Pacific accounting for a combined 82 per cent of worldwide domestic traffic (44 per cent for North America, 38 per cent for Asia/Pacific). The Asia/Pacific domestic market experienced the fastest growth, 7.9 per cent compared to 2013, driven mainly by Chinese airlines which accounted for approximately 60 per cent of the region’s total domestic traffic.

Overall air transport capacity, expressed in available seat-kilometres (ASKs), increased globally by 5.7 per cent in 2014. The overall passenger load factor was relatively stable compared to 2013 at 79.5 per cent. Carriers in North America achieved the highest passenger load factor in 2014, 83.5 per cent, followed by European carriers at 80.4 per cent.

Source and image: ICAO

Air China signs deal to purchase 60 Boeing B737 aircraft

The largest carrier in China, Air China, said Monday that it has signed an agreement with American jet maker Boeing for 60 B737 planes for a total price of nearly $6 billion. The Chinese flag carrier in a statement to Hong Kong stock exchange said that the aircraft are to be delivered between 2016 and 2020 as per the agreement. Boeing also confirmed the latest deal with an air carrier from an emerging economy.

The deal will include "next generation" 737 and 737 MAX airplanes, which are known for their fuel efficiency, Boeing said.

"Our long-standing and productive partnership with Air China dates back to the airline's beginning and we are proud the 737 has been part of their success," said Ihssane Mounir, Boeing's vice president of sales and marketing for Northeast Asia. Boeing officials have highlighted strong commercial growth as a key offset to weakness in its government business in light of defence budget cuts.

Source and image: Boeing 

Air disasters timeline

A chronology of major air disasters since 1998:

2014

28 December: AirAsia QZ8501 flying from Surabaya in Indonesia to Singapore goes missing over the Java sea. The pilot radioed for permission to divert around bad weather but no mayday alert was issued. There were 162 passengers and crew on board.

24 July: Air Algerie AH5017 disappears over Mali amid poor weather near the border with Burkina Faso. The McDonnell Douglas MD-83 was operated by Spain's Swiftair, and was heading from Ouagadougou to Algiers carrying 116 passengers - 51 of them French. All are thought to have died.

23 July: Forty-eight people die when a Tawainese ATR-72 plane crashes into stormy seas during a short flight. TransAsia Airways GE222 was carrying 54 passengers and four crew to the island of Penghu. It made an abortive attempt to land before crashing on a second attempt.

17 July: Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 crashes near Grabove in eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 people on board, 193 of them Dutch. Pro-Russian rebels are widely accused of shooting the plane down using a surface-to-air missile - they deny responsibility.

8 March: The disappearance of Malaysia Airlines MH370 during a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing leads to the largest and most expensive search in aviation history. Despite vast effort, notably in the hostile South Indian Ocean, to date no debris of any kind has been found from the flight.

11 February: A military transport plane - a Hercules C-130 - carrying 78 people crashes in a mountainous part of north-eastern Algeria. Reports suggest there is one survivor from among the military personnel, family members and crew.

2013

17 November: Tatarstan Airlines Boeing 737 crashes on landing in Kazan, Russia, killing all 50 people on board.

16 October: Forty-nine people, including foreigners from some 10 countries as well as Laotian nationals, die when a Lao Airlines ATR 72-600 plunges into the Mekong River as it came in to land.

2012

3 June: A Dana Air passenger plane with about 150 people on board crashes in a densely populated area of Nigeria's largest city, Lagos.

20 April: A Bhoja Air Boeing 737 crashes on its approach to the main airport in the Pakistani capital Islamabad, killing all 121 passengers and six crew.

2011

26 July: Some 78 people are killed when a Moroccan military C-130 Hercules crashes into a mountain near Guelmim in Morocco. Officials blamed bad weather.

8 July: A Hewa Bora Airways plane crash-lands in bad weather in Democratic Republic of Congo, killing 74 of the 118 people on board.

9 January: An IranAir Boeing 727 breaks into pieces near the city of Orumiyeh, killing 77 of the 100 people on board. The pilots had reported a technical failure before trying to land.

2010

5 November: An Aerocaribbean passenger turboprop crashes in mountains in central Cuba, killing all 68 people on board.

28 July: A Pakistani plane on an Airblue domestic flight from Karachi crashes into a hillside while trying to land at Islamabad airport, killing all 152 people on board.

22 May: An Air India Express Boeing 737 overshot a hilltop airport in Mangalore, southern India, and crashed into a valley, bursting into flames and killing 158.

12 May: An Afriqiyah Airways Airbus 330 crashes while trying to land near Tripoli airport in Libya, killing more than 100 people.

10 April: A Tupolev 154 plane carrying Polish President Lech Kaczynski crashes near the Russian airport of Smolensk, killing more than 90 people on board.

More than 100 people died when this Afriqiyah Airways plane crashed during landing at Tripoli airport in Libya in May 2010

25 January: Ethiopian Airlines passenger jet crashes into the sea with 89 people on board shortly after take-off from Beirut.

2009

15 July: A Caspian Airlines Tupolev plane crashes in the north of Iran en route to Armenia. All 168 passengers and crew are reported dead.

30 June: A Yemeni passenger plane, an Airbus 310, crashes in the Indian Ocean near the Comoros archipelago. Only one of the 153 people on board survives.

1 June: An Air France Airbus 330 travelling from Rio de Janeiro to Paris crashes into the Atlantic with 228 people on board. Search teams later recover some 50 bodies in the ocean.

20 May: An Indonesian army C-130 Hercules transport plane crashes into a village on eastern Java, killing at least 97 people.

12 February: A passenger plane crashes into a house in Buffalo, New York, killing all 49 people on board and one person on the ground.

2008

14 September: A Boeing-737 crashes on landing near the central Russian city of Perm, killing all 88 passengers and crew members on board.

24 August: A passenger plane crashes shortly after take-off from Kyrgyzstan's capital, Bishkek, killing 68 people.

20 August: A Spanair plane veers off the runway on take-off at Madrid's Barajas airport, killing 154 people and injuring 18.

2007

30 November: All 56 people on board an Atlasjet flight are killed when it crashes near the town of Keciborlu in the mountainous Isparta province, about 12km (7.5 miles) from Isparta airport.

16 September: At least 87 people are killed after a One-Two-Go plane crashed on landing in bad weather at the Thai resort of Phuket.

17 July: A TAM Airlines jet crashes on landing at Congonhas airport in Sao Paulo, in Brazil's worst-ever air disaster. A total of 199 people are killed - all 186 on board and 13 on the ground.

5 May: A Kenya Airways Boeing 737-800 crashes in swampland in southern Cameroon, killing all 114 on board. The official inquiry is yet to report on the cause of the disaster.

1 January: An Adam Air Boeing 737-400 carrying 102 passengers and crew comes down in mountains on Sulawesi Island on a domestic Indonesian flight. All on board are presumed dead.

The tail of a Spanair jet that crashed on take off at Madrid airport on 20 August 2008

2006

29 September: A Boeing 737 carrying 154 passengers and crew crashed into the Amazon rainforest in Brazil, killing all on board, after colliding with a private jet in mid-air.

22 August: A Russian Tupolev-154 passenger plane with 170 people on board crashes north of Donetsk, in eastern Ukraine.

9 July: A Russian S7 Airbus A-310 skids off the runway during landing at Irkutsk airport in Siberia. A total of 124 people on board die, but more than 50 survive the crash.

3 May: An Armavia Airbus A-320 crashes into the Black Sea near Sochi, killing all 113 people on board.

2005

10 December: A Sosoliso Airlines DC-9 crashes in the southern Nigerian city of Port Harcourt, killing 103 people on board.

6 December: A C-130 military transport plane crashes on the outskirts of the Iranian capital Tehran, killing 110 people, including some on the ground.

22 October: A Bellview airlines Boeing 737 carrying 117 people on board crashes soon after take-off from the Nigerian city of Lagos, killing everyone on board.

5 September: A Mandala Airlines plane with 112 passengers and five crew on board crashes after take-off in the Indonesian city of Medan, killing almost all on board and dozens on the ground.

16 August: A Colombian plane operated by West Caribbean Airways crashes in a remote region of Venezuela, killing all 160 people on board. The airliner, heading from Panama to Martinique, was packed with residents of the Caribbean island.

14 August: A Helios Airways flight from Cyprus to Athens with 121 people on board crashes north of the Greek capital Athens, apparently after a drop in cabin pressure.

16 July: An Equatair plane crashes soon after take-off from Equatorial Guinea's island capital, Malabo, west of the mainland, killing all 60 people on board.

3 February: The wreckage of Kam Air Boeing 737 flight is located in high mountains near the Afghan capital Kabul, two days after the plane vanished from radar screens in heavy snowstorms. All 104 people on board are feared dead.

The remains of the Helios Airways passenger plane which crashed north of Athens in August 2005

2004

21 November: A passenger plane crashes into a frozen lake near the city of Baotou in the Inner Mongolia region of northern China, killing all 53 on board and two on the ground, officials say.

3 January: An Egyptian charter plane belonging to Flash Airlines crashes into the Red Sea, killing all 141 people on board. Most of the passengers are thought to be French tourists.

2003

25 December: A Boeing 727 crashes soon after take-off from the West African state of Benin, killing at least 135 people en route to Lebanon.

8 July: A Boeing 737 crashes in Sudan shortly after take-off, killing 115 people on board. Only one passenger, a small child survived.

26 May: A Ukrainian Yak-42 crashes near the Black Sea resort of Trabzon in north-west Turkey, killing all 74 people on board - most of them Spanish peacekeepers returning home from Afghanistan.

8 May: As many as 170 people are reported dead in DR Congo after the rear ramp of an old Soviet plane, an Ilyushin 76 cargo plane, apparently falls off, sucking them out.

6 March: An Algerian Boeing 737 crashes after taking off from the remote Tamanrasset airport, leaving up to 102 people dead.

19 February: An Iranian military transport aircraft carrying 276 people crashes in the south of the country, killing all on board.

8 January: A Turkish Airlines plane with 76 passengers and crew on board crashes while coming in to land at Diyarbakir.

2002

23 December: An Antonov 140 commuter plane carrying aerospace experts crashes in central Iran, killing all 46 people aboard. The delegation had been due to review an Iranian version of the same plane built under licence.

27 July: A fighter jet crashes into a crowd of spectators in the west Ukrainian town of Lviv, killing 77 people, in what is the world's worst air show disaster.

1 July: Seventy-one people, many of them children die when a Russian Tupolev 154 aircraft on a school trip to Spain collides with a Boeing 757 transport plane over southern Germany.

25 May: A Boeing 747 belonging to Taiwan's national carrier - China Airlines - crashes into the sea near the Taiwanese island of Penghu, with 225 passengers and crew on board.

7 May: China Northern Airlines plane carrying 112 people crashes into the sea near Dalian in north-east China.

7 May: On the same day, an EgyptAir Boeing 735 crash lands near Tunis with 55 passengers and up to 10 crew on board. Most people survive.

4 May: A BAC1-11-500 plane operated by EAS Airlines crashes in the Nigerian city of Kano, killing 148 people - half of them on the ground.

15 April: Air China flight 129 crashes on its approach to Pusan, South Korea, with over 160 passengers and crew on board.

12 February: A Tupolev 154 operated by Iran Air crashes in mountains in the west of Iran, killing all 117 on board.

29 January: A Boeing 727 from the Ecuadorean TAME airline crashes in mountains in Colombia, killing 92 people.

2001

12 November: An American Airlines A-300 bound for the Dominican Republic crashes after takeoff in a residential area of the borough of Queens, New York, killing all 260 people on board and at least five people on the ground.

8 October: A Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) airliner collides with a small plane in heavy fog on the runway at Milan's Linate airport, killing 118 people.

4 October: A Russian Sibir Airlines Tupolev 154,en route from Tel Aviv to Novosibirsk in Siberia, explodes in mid-air and crashes into the Black Sea, killing 78 passengers and crew.

3 July: A Russian Tupolev 154,en route from Yekaterinburg in the Ural mountains to the Russian port of Vladivostok, crashes near the Siberian city of Irkutsk, killing 133 passengers and 10 crew.

2000

30 October: A Singapore Airlines Boeing 747 bound for Los Angeles crashes after take-off from Taipei airport in Taiwan, killing 78 of the 179 people on board.

23 August: A Gulf Air Airbus crashes into the sea as it comes in to land in Bahrain, killing all 143 people on board.

25 July: Air France Concorde en route for New York crashes into a hotel outside Paris shortly after takeoff, killing 113 people, including four on the ground.

17 July: Alliance Air Boeing 737-200 crashes into houses attempting to land at Patna, India, killing 51 people on board and four on the ground.

19 April: Air Philippines Boeing 737-200 from Manila to Davao crashes on approach to landing, killing all 131 people on board.

31 January: Alaska Airlines MD-83 from Mexico to San Francisco plunges into ocean off southern California, killing all 88 people on board.

30 January: Kenya Airways A-310 crashes into Atlantic Ocean shortly after takeoff from Abidjan, Ivory Coast, en route for Lagos, Nigeria. All but 10 of the 179 people on board die.

1999

31 October: EgyptAir Boeing 767 crashes into Atlantic Ocean after taking off from John F. Kennedy Airport in New York on flight to Cairo, Egypt, killing all 217 on board.

24 February: China Southwest Airlines plane crashes in a field in China's coastal Zhejiang province after a mid-air explosion. All 61 people on board the Russian-built TU-154 flying from Chongqing to the south-eastern city of Wenzhou are killed.

1998

11 December: Thai Airways International A-310 crashes on a domestic flight during its third attempt to land at Surat Thani, Thailand, killing 101 people.

2 September: Swissair MD-11 from New York to Geneva crashes in the Atlantic Ocean off Canada killing all 229 people on board.

16 February: Airbus A-300 owned by Taiwan's China Airlines crashes near Taipei's Chiang Kai-shek airport while trying to land in fog and rain after a flight from Bali, Indonesia. All 196 on board and seven people on ground are killed.

2 February: Cebu Pacific Air DC-9 crashes into mountain in southern Philippines, killing all 104 people aboard.

What we know: A time line for missing AirAsia Flight QZ8501

The search for missing AirAsia Flight QZ8501 continues with few clues to go on. Searchers are focusing efforts on an area near the last known coordinates of the plane.

Here is a time line of the events leading up the plane's disappearance, according to Djoko Murdjatmojo, the acting director general for Air Transportation Affairs in Indonesia:

Sunday (Local time in Indonesia)

5:36 a.m. -- AirAsia Flight 8501 takes off from Surabaya International Airport in Indonesia.

6:12 a.m. -- Pilot asks air traffic control permission to avoid clouds by turning left and ascending to 38,000 feet.

6:16 a.m. -- Flight 8501 is still visible on radar.

6:18 a.m. -- The plane disappears from air traffic control's radar. (AirAsia reports a slightly different time, 6:24 a.m., for when contact with air traffic control was lost).

7:30 a.m. (8:30 a.m. Singapore time) -- This is when Flight 8501 was scheduled to land in Singapore.

7:55 a.m. (8:55 a.m. Singapore time) -- Flight 8501 is officially announced as "missing." Its last known position is in the Java Sea, between Belitung and Borneo.

Air India soars ahead with Star Alliance

Air India played host to the first-ever Star Alliance Chief Executive Board (CEB) meeting held in India. This follows the national carrier’s joining the world’s longest serving and most comprehensive airline alliance in July this year.

Speaking to both local and foreign media in New Delhi today, Mr Rohit Nandan, CMD Air India, thanked all CEOs for travelling to India and for a productive two-day meeting. He stressed upon the fact that for Air India has been vastly improving its performance parameters in all the areas by constantly upgrading its service standards in every area of its operation. Air India becoming a member of the prestigious Star Alliance is a key pillar of the airline’s turnaround strategy, along with the fleet renewal, network optimisation and an initiative to improve quality of service.

Mr Nandan added that the cooperation with the Star Alliance member airlines is of mutual interest and will grow from strength to strength. "We are looking at closer interaction with member airlines and have signed a code share agreement with Air Canada besides signing MOUs with Avianca and EVA Air recently. By March we aim at having code share agreements with most Star Alliance member airlines”. Speaking on Air India’s restructuring Mr Nandan reiterated that Air India is moving in the right direction and the benchmark set for Air India in the turn-around plan have been achieved and we hope to be cash positive by 2018.

Air India has witnessed an increase of 33% in the number of passengers transferring between Air India and other Star Alliance member carriers, mainly through Delhi or Mumbai but also at other airports such as London or Newark. Frequent Flyers are also taking advantage of the Alliance benefits, with over 80,000 having earned miles while flying on Air India since July and more than 20,000 Air India Flying Returns FFP members having miles credited for flights on other Star Alliance member carriers. With its 99-strong fleet, a mix of B787 Dreamliners, B777s, A330s and the A320 family, it is one of the youngest in the world. A key boost to the brand comes from the comfort that these aircraft offer.

Flight attendant: aviation’s most wanted

With the aviation industry growing at an unprecedented pace, according to Bloomberg Businessweek flight attendant applications are currently far outpacing the positions available. For instance, Emirates has been reported to receive over 15 000 cabin crew job applications per month. At the same time, however, Air India has recently cancelled or temporarily withdrawn as many as 12 flights from its network due to shortage of cabin crew. Moreover, as over the next 20 years China alone is estimated to need an additional 2 000 cabin crew per year, may the optimism over cabin crew supply be exaggerated?

Since the demand for cabin crew depends highly on the demand for air travel, currently domestic and international carriers all over the world are stepping up their recruitment to cater to the expected growth. Partly this has to do with airlines adding more capacity and switching to larger aircraft. After all, it takes from 3 to 10 cabin crews to fully serve one aircraft, while such giants as A380 require up to 24 flight attendants per flight. Moreover, the demand is expected to accelerate even further due to the need of replacements for current specialists who retire or transfer to other jobs.

“Thanks to rapid growth of the aviation industry the need for cabin crew will only strengthen over the next years. Moreover, as much of this growth is coming from emerging economies in Asia and South America, an increasing number of job opportunities is appearing abroad, especially for those with the right language skills,” shares Skaiste Knyzaite, the CEO of AviationCV.com. “Nevertheless, even though airlines do receive quite a large amount of applications, most of those candidates don't end up being hired, since the standards within the industry are exceptionally high, and finding the right person for the job can often get especially tricky. Thankfully, given a set of perks and an opportunity to earn more than $50 000 annually, cabin crew probably always remain an occupation that is desirable and exciting, as long as one is aware of the related challenges.”

Undoubtedly, one of the most influential aspects is the huge amount of stress that cabin crew face during their duty time. After all, the primary responsibility of a flight attendant is the safety and security of passengers. Their in-air responsibilities include passenger check-in and orientation, stowing luggage, serving food and beverages, answering passenger questions, administering first aid and coordinating evacuation if necessary. However, while every job has its downsides, few can compete with the benefits of being a flight attendant on the right airline.

A flight attendant’s scheduled on-duty time is usually limited to 12 a day, which makes from around 65 to 90 hours a month plus an additional 50 hours on the ground preparing and waiting for flights. As a result, while beginning attendants earn about $20 000 a year, veteran pay scales can top $77 000, depending on the carrier. Plus, the job has a number of benefits, including hotel accommodations and allowance for meals while on duty away from home. Other bonuses can include medical, dental and life insurance as well as paid holidays and vacations, retirement and investment plans.

“Becoming a flight attendant is more than just a job for many people. It's a dream they have harboured for a long time. And while it may bring about some challenges, it certainly is very glamorous and exciting, as it offers life experiences that you will never forget. After all, in the job market the way it is right now, who wouldn’t want to get paid to travel?” smiles Skaiste Knyzaite, the CEO of AviationCV.com

Tickets go on sale today for Fastjet's launch flights

Fastjet, Africa's first pan-African low cost airline, launched ticket sales today in Tanzania, ahead of the airline's first commercial flight at the end of this month.

The ticket launch marks a significant milestone in the company’s drive to open up air travel to countless Tanzanians who previously could not afford to fly. With air fares starting from as little as 32,000Tsh (USD$20) before government taxes, air travel is now an affordable alternative for more people than ever before.

Fastjet, which has taken over Fly540, has chosen Dar es Salaam as its first operating base in Africa, with flights from Julius Nyerere International Airport set to commence on 29 November. As of today, tickets are on sale for flights between Dar es Salaam and Kilimanjaro, as well as Dar es Salaam and Mwanza. Further routes will be added in the coming weeks, both domestically and to other East African destinations.

Commenting on the launch of ticket sales, fastjet Chief Executive Ed Winter said:

“This is a historical moment for aviation in Tanzania, and indeed in Africa. Air travel is no longer an exclusive option for a small minority in Tanzania. fastjet will make flying an affordable option for more Tanzanians than ever before, bringing new opportunities for trade, leisure trips, and family visits. We are grateful to our partners in Tanzania for their support to date, and we look forward to a long and rewarding relationship with the people of Tanzania.”

Tickets can be purchased through travel agents and fastjet’s own sales desk, call centre and offices. fastjet’s new web site www.fastjet.com will launch next week providing information on routes and fare schedules. The site will also soon allow tickets to be bought using credit/debit cards, as well as by mobile phone.

Fastjet has also unveiled its new brand ahead of the launch of commercial flights. The company’s brand features the ‘kasuku’ or African Grey Parrot, selected for its renowned intelligence, friendliness, and personification of fastjet’s motto: smart travel.  This week will also see the launch of fastjet’s social media platforms through Facebook and Twitter, providing forums for customers and stakeholders to engage, interact, and share views with the company online.

Richard Bodin, fastjet’s Chief Commercial Officer, said: “One of fastjet’s key characteristics is our openness. We want to bridge the gap between the consumer and the airline by making sure that wherever possible we are engaging in two-way conversations and listening to the consumer’s needs and priorities. Social media is a great way to achieve this – platforms like Twitter and Facebook allow us to interact directly with consumers, helping us to understand each other better, and for fastjet to keep in touch with the our most important stakeholder’s evolving needs and preferences.”

The airline now has three Airbus A319s as part of its fleet. All three aircraft are in the process of being painted with the fastjet livery before being dispatched to Tanzania ready for the launch of commercial flights later this month.