The CE of Lufthansa said he expects the company to take part in more consolidation in the industry that will eventually leave 3 global carriers in Europe. "There are way too many players in Europe," Carsten Spohr told a meeting of the Centre for Aviation Tuesday, noting that 6 airlines had gone bankrupt in the last few months. "It is obvious that consolidation will act further and we as Lufthansa want to be part of that," he said. Lufthansa has been a key player in hectic M&A activity in the industry, snapping up Brussels Airlines and parts of Air Berlin last year to expand in the budget market. Spohr said there were 3 major global airlines in the Chinese, American and Middle East markets and he expected a similar shake-out in Europe. He said consolidation seemed to be happening mostly via bankruptcy rather than airlines buying rivals. <br/>
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SAA’s suppliers are slashing payment periods to reduce the risk of losing out from a collapse of the troubled carrier, which is struggling to pay lenders ZAR5b (US$361m) due by the end of this month. Companies with contracts with SAA are cutting settlement terms to 7 days from 21 days as the creditor deadline looms, interim CFO Deon Fredericks said. The National Treasury is working to facilitate the payment, with the process “well under way,” he said. “The problem with turning SAA around is that the board has to continuously focus on the funding issues rather than getting on with the operational plan,” said Fredericks. If the ZAR5b payment is made, SAA will then have to find ZAR9.2b of short-term loans due by the end of March. “The banks are not as friendly as they used to be,” Public Enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan said. <br/>
South African Airways flew the flag for a proud young democracy after the country’s emergence from the apartheid era. But by 2015 it was heavily indebted and plotting a move that reflected its chronic mismanagement — opening a money-burning route to Khartoum as a favour by then-president Jacob Zuma to his Sudanese counterpart. One civil servant scribbled across a report to the finance minister: “I cannot understand why this entity can contemplate another lossmaking route!” The plan was ultimately defeated by the Treasury. Yet many other financially destructive ideas were put into practice. The fate of SAA, which has not turned a profit for 6 years and required about US$2b of govt bailouts over the past half-decade, has become a big test for Zuma’s successor, Cyril Ramaphosa. <br/>
Sumeth Damrongchaitham, president of THAI, said he expects the Cabinet to approve the airline’s proposal to purchase new aircraft by next month. He also revealed that the carrier wants to buy additional aircraft in the next 5 years, with the long-term aim to bring the airline’s fleet numbers up from 100 to 125. “It is necessary to increase the number of aircraft if we want to keep up with the growing market,” he said Monday, adding that the commercial aviation market was growing by 3% yearly. “If we fail to boost our fleet, we stand to lose 10% of the market share in the next 3 to 5 years,” he cautioned. The proposal to acquire new aircraft, however, will not necessarily boost the airline’s fleet, he said, because old craft will need to be replaced. <br/>
Even as United Airlines appears determined to move ahead with cutting staffing in the carrier’s premium Polaris international business class cabin staring Feb 1, the airline also is moving to test new ‘satellite’ flight attendant bases. In a letter distributed to more than 24,000 United flight attendants who are members of the AFA, United senior VP of Inflight Services John Slater said there are plans to open satellite flight attendant bases in markets that are not United hubs, but locations where significant numbers of United FAs live, including San Diego, Phoenix and Orlando. The letter from Slater went out just before AFA last week announced that United flight attendants would hold a system-wide day of protest Dec 13 over staffing cuts and other matters. <br/>
ANA has revealed new details of its plans for its initial Airbus A380s, which will replace other aircraft types on existing Honolulu routes in stages from May 2019. The airline has 3 A380s on order, which will be used on flights to Honolulu. The first aircraft is scheduled to debut on the route between Tokyo Narita and Honolulu May 24, the airline said. The second A380 is expected to enter service on the same route July 1. ANA currently operates 2 daily flights on the Tokyo Narita-Honolulu route, using Boeing 787-9s. The first A380 will take over 3 roundtrips per week, and when the second aircraft arrives the A380s will fly 10 roundtrips per week. ANA’s third A380 is estimated to be delivered and in operation during the fiscal year beginning April 1, 2020. It will fly to Honolulu, although the route is still under consideration. <br/>