unaligned

Ryanair has for the first time published monthly figures for its carbon dioxide emissions, in the face of growing pressure on the industry to reduce its environmental impact. Ryanair’s figures show it emitted 1.2m tonnes of carbon dioxide in May, roughly the same amount that New York City produces in a week. The figures, which represent the first time a European airline has published monthly CO2 data, come as Ryanair faces mounting pressure from consumers and environmental groups over its emissions. Recent data from the European emissions trading scheme revealed it as one of the scheme’s top 10 carbon emitters in Europe. Aviation is the fastest-growing source of emissions in Europe. If we leave it unchecked, it will undo a lot of the progress that we are making in other sectors Ryanair said that despite the large headline figure, its emission were lower on a per person, per kilometre basis than most other airlines. Ryanair flights are almost always full, and have no business or first class, making them more carbon efficient than some rivals. Ryanair’s CMO Kenny Jacobs said that the airline wanted to be Europe’s “greenest” and planned to invest more $20bn in a new fleet of Boeing 737s that will be more efficient.<br/>

Norwegian Air’s income per passenger grew in line with expectations in May while the overall growth in traffic continued to ease, the carrier’s monthly traffic report showed on Thursday. Norwegian’s May yield, a measure of revenue per passenger carried and kilometres flown, rose to 0.38 Norwegian crown from 0.36 crown a year ago, as expected in a Reuters poll of analysts. Capacity growth stood at 4% year-on-year, while analysts had expected growth of 7.7%. The airline’s load factor, showing how many seats are sold on each flight, stood at 86.1% for the month, lagging a forecast of 86.4% and down from 86.5% a year earlier.<br/>

Alaska Airlines will connect Paine Field with Palm Springs this November, building on its network from the Seattle-area airport within a year of reopening it to commercial service. The Seattle-based carrier will offer a daily flight between Paine Field in Everrett, Washington, and Palm Springs with a 76-seat Embraer 175 from 5 November, it says. It will also add a second daily flight to Phoenix from Paine Field from 26 August. “After three months of flying at Everett, we thought this was a good time to make adjustments to improve the flying experiences for our guests," says Noelle Fredrickson, general manager of network planning and strategy for Alaska. Fredrickson hinted at the new route saying it was time to make some "adjustments" to its Paine Field network that it launched in March. Alaska will reduce its frequency to both Los Angeles and Portland, Oregon, to thrice daily from four-times at Paine Field to accommodate the schedule changes. The airport's passenger terminal is capped at 24 daily flights with Alaska operating 18 and United Airlines six.<br/>

Russia's Interstate Aviation Committee has managed to reconstruct the entire ill-fated flight of the Aeroflot Sukhoi Superjet 100 destroyed in a fatal fire at Moscow Sheremetyevo, as it prepares to release a preliminary analysis of the accident. One month after the 5 May event the committee states that it has studied the wreckage, analysed flight recorders, decoded airborne and ground-based monitoring information, and examined images captured by surveillance video cameras. It says a "complete flight reconstruction" has been presented to the Russian ministry of transport following synchronisation of cockpit-voice recordings and air-ground communications with Moscow air traffic services. The committee stresses that the preliminary analysis – running to more than 100 pages, and set to be published after final proofing – will not include a conclusion on the causes of the accident, which resulted in 41 fatalities. But it says that technical commission for the inquiry has agreed that recommendations made so far are sufficient. The technical commission includes Interstate Aviation Committee specialists as well as representatives from Aeroflot, Sukhoi Civil Aircraft, and federal regulator Rosaviatsia.<br/>

Two directors embroiled in a boardroom battle at troubled Hong Kong Airlines are demanding HK$95m (US$12.2mi) in damages if a court rules in their favour over an injunction order sought by a rival to stop them from interfering with the company. Lawyers for Sun Jianfeng and Hou Wei made the demand on Wednesday at the High Court, in the latest episode of infighting between the pair and self-claimed controlling director Zhong Guosong. The boardroom power struggle – and subsequent court fight – pitted Zhong against Hou, who was backed by Chinese aviation conglomerate HNA, a shareholder of the airline. But the hefty damages demand was unlikely to hurt Zhong’s pocket because of the way the case was structured. Instead, the airline would be expected to pick up the bill. The injunction lawsuit was filed under the name of Hong Kong Airlines Limited, although a source said it was a move by Zhong to come out on top. He has control of the airline because a temporary court injunction has barred Sun, Hou and fellow director Wang Liya from making any decisions beyond normal business operations.<br/>

Nearly five years after it launched all-business class service between Paris and the New York area, French niche carrier La Compagnie is providing 25% of the business class capacity between the two cities and preparing to introduce its first Airbus A321neo on June 6. La Compagnie EVP-sales & marketing Jean Charles Perino said the airline expects to turn a profit when it starts operating the A321neos, which offer a 30% advantage in fuel burn over the Boeing 757s that it now operates. “We’ve been improving from year to year. 2019 is very important,” he said. Perino said last month, “We’ve been hurt, like any airline, by the fuel prices. It’s been increasing a little bit earlier this year. The introduction of the neo will help with the fuel prices.” The first A321neo service will operate from Paris Orly International Airport on June 6 to Newark Liberty International Airport. La Compagnie plans to introduce the second of its two A321neos in September. Perino says La Compagnie is “selling 57% of its tickets from New York, which is not bad for a French airline.”<br/>