The Middle East aviation industry should brace for further turbulence this year, with the region¡¯s airlines poised to rack up combined losses of $200 million this year ¨C twice the amount they lost in 2008, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA). IATA warned that growth in regional passenger and air cargo traffic in 2009 would ¡°slow to a crawl¡± of only about 1.2 per cent due to the global recession. At the same time, IATA forecasts that capacity for Middle … [Read more...] about ME carriers to see losses double in ¡¯09
Carriers
Maximus Air Cargo doubles its turnover
Heavy-lift specialist, Maximus Air Cargo appears to be immune from the global economic crisis with a more than doubling of its turnover for the 2008 over the previous year. Maximus chaulked up total sales revenue of US$110.8 million up 134 per cent from the US$47.3 million a year earlier, driven by what it said was an expansion in fleet capacity and consistent dispatch reliability. Freight-tonne kilometres flown during the year grew to 347,785 ¨C up 156 per cent from 135,996 in 2007. Hours … [Read more...] about Maximus Air Cargo doubles its turnover
SkyCargo grows cargo capacity by 17%
Fueled by existing orders for new aircraft, Dubai's Emirates SkyCargo will grow the number of flights across its network by 14 per cent this year and increase cargo capacity by 17 per cent. Weekly cargo capacity will increase by approximately four per cent to Australia, 10 per cent to Europe, 17 per cent to the Middle East, 15 per cent to Africa. The additional capacity will see more than 700 tonnes of cargo capacity added to the Emirates SkyCargo fleet. Capacity to the US will grow eight per … [Read more...] about SkyCargo grows cargo capacity by 17%
Five die in Aerolift AN-12 crash
Five people - four Belarusians and a Ukrainian have died after a South Africa-based Aerolift company's Antonov An-12 plane crashed in Egypt on flight from Uganda to Ukraine, the Ukrainian Transportation Ministry said. … [Read more...] about Five die in Aerolift AN-12 crash
Thai aircargo plummets 50% in Jan
Air cargo volumes in Thailand slumped by almost 50 per cent in January as the global financial crisis continued to hurt exports. Total outbound cargo in the final three months of 2008 fell to 107,249 tonnes, compared with 140,074 tonnes a year earlier, Dow Jones reported. "The January figures were worse than what we expected with outbound volume falling by almost 50 per cent from a year earlier," said Kasem Jaliyawatwong, president of the Thai Airfreight Forwarders Association. Thailand's air … [Read more...] about Thai aircargo plummets 50% in Jan
Thai Airways foresees tumbling revenue and profit
Thai Airways International foresees revenue falling 18 per cent this year, from Bt220 billion (US$6.2 billion) to Bt180 billion, due to the economic turmoil. Board chairman Surachai Tansitpong said the airline planned to reduce annual operating costs 5-10 per cent, with an immediate 3 per cent cut which will save about Bt6 billion alone. The company waived annual commission payments and froze salary adjustments in last year¡¯s budget. THAI is expected to post a net loss of more than Bt10 … [Read more...] about Thai Airways foresees tumbling revenue and profit