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The Copa Airlines network will reach 85 destinations in 32 countries in the Americas, expecting to move 17.5m passengers during 2024. These figures were provided today by Pedro Heilbron, CEO of the airline, during a conference that took place in Panama, where growth and investment plans for the year were shared, as well as the impact on the economy of the Central American country. In this regard, Heilbron detailed that Copa Airlines will add more than 630 new employees in 2024, reaching 7,750 in Panama, generating more than US$1.6b “among payments to the treasury, government institutions, payroll, and local suppliers, among others”. “The international connectivity offered by Copa Airlines, greater than that offered from other hubs in the region, is a competitive advantage for Panama that highlights the impact and strategic relevance of the Hub of the Americas® on the country’s economy,” said Heilbron. “This unique connectivity is also an attraction for airlines from other regions of the world that complement their flights in our country. A better-connected country translates into opportunities for everyone, which is why we invest in new aircraft for the expansion of routes and frequencies that generate more jobs, more economic development, and more growth in tourism,” he continued.<br/>

Irish-based regional carrier CityJet is to supply five Bombardier CRJ1000s to Lufthansa under a wet-lease agreement. The 100-seat aircraft will be based at Frankfurt from the end of March and operate European services for the German flag-carrier. CityJet says the agreement, covering the summer season, will run to October. Last year it operated services for Lufthansa and group sister carrier Brussels Airlines, deploying a pair of aircraft to each. CityJet says the agreement brings to 17 the number of aircraft it has under contract with Lufthansa Group and Scandinavian operator SAS.<br/>

The CEO of LOT Airlines, Michał Fijoł, announced last week that by mid-, the Polish airline would acquire new narrow-body Boeing 737-8 jets, of which it already has 11. According to the CEO, the first deliveries will comprise three aircraft, scheduled to arrive between the start of the summer season, from the end of March to mid-2024. The remaining eight will be delivered by June 2025, and they will be in a slightly different configuration with new colors and seats. The Boeing aircraft will be acquired through operating leases from leasing companies such as Aviation Capital Group (ACG), Air Lease Corporation (ALC), and McGuire. After the delivery of the new aircraft, LOT Airlines will have a fleet of 86 jets, provided that all currently operated aircraft continue to fly for the Polish carrier. Overall, the number of available seats on LO will increase by over 2,000, reaching 13,500.<br/>

All Nippon Airways (ANA) continues to see strong passenger travel demand to and from Europe, overriding the impact that the ongoing Russian airspace closure has on its operations. Airline president Shinichi Inoue, speaking with FlightGlobal in Tokyo, says business travel demand from Japan to Europe “has been significant”, and Japan remains a popular travel destination for European travellers. The Russian airspace closure – a result of the war between Russia and Ukraine – has had a “significant impact” on ANA’s operations, says Inoue. As a result of having to reroute European flights to avoid the airspace, operational costs are up between 10 and 15%, with the airline having to adjust crew resources as a result. Inoue says while European flights usually require three crew in the flight deck, the airline now has to allocate one more crew member because of longer flying hours. Still, strong travel demand to Japan has led ANA to focus on its European operations this year. The Star Alliance operator will be launching operations to Milan, Stockholm and Istanbul during the 2024 winter schedule - which begins in November. The Tokyo-based carrier is also increasing frequencies on flights from Tokyo’s Haneda airport to Munich and Paris, and is resuming flights to Vienna, which it had suspended during the pandemic. Inoue says Istanbul will offer the airline a “gateway to Africa”, while Stockholm “will boost our access into Scandinavia”. The airline shelved plans to launch operations to these cities amid the pandemic, amid cutbacks on its European network. <br/>

Cathay Pacific Airways rose 3% yesterday on a report that Air China might increase its stake in Hong Kong's flagship carrier. Cathay responded that it would not comment on the report. Last week, Bloomberg reported that Air China has been sounding out advisers in recent months on the possible merits of raising its nearly 30% stake in Cathay, citing people familiar with the matter. While it has flirted with the possibility in the past, including before Covid, state-run Air China's need to boost profitability has added fresh momentum, some of the people said, though nothing is likely to happen imminently. Meanwhile, Cathay Pacific is expected to have over 3,000 pilots by the year end and the company is "not short of pilots at all to operate" with its current nearly 2,600 pilots, said its director of flight operations Chris Kempis. Kempis was speaking after the Hong Kong Aircrew Officers Association's statement issued yesterday which said that the airline is facing a shortfall of 1,300 pilots compared to 2019, and three more years are needed to restore its capacity to pre-pandemic level. Kempis said the airline has sufficient pilots to meet the size of its network as it has been restructured, which included shutting down all overseas pilot bases in 2021. "We've achieved 70% of our capacity by the end of last year," he added. "By the second quarter of this year, we will achieve 80%."<br/>

The closure of Russian airspace and softened demand between the US and China have benefitted travelers between New Zealand and the United States, with the South Pacific country seeing record numbers of flights and Americans arriving to explore more of New Zealand. Air New Zealand's CEO, Greg Foran, recently sat down with 1News' Q+A and spoke of the airline's weakened domestic and international demand, hitting its yearly profits and record competition on flights to and from New Zealand to North America. New Zealand now welcomes more international services from the US 'Big Three' than ever before, which has seen economy class ticket prices plummet, encouraging budget-conscious travelers to snap up a bargain. Foran reiterated that the closure of Russian airspace to many international carriers has seen particular routes become unprofitable as they are diverted around Russia, so carriers are now looking elsewhere. Additionally, China has been relatively slow at reissuing new passports to its citizens, and demand is weak between two of the largest economies in the world. Historically, up to 700 flights a week would connect the US and China; this is currently sitting at 48. What this means for carriers is that they have available aircraft, and planes don't make money sitting on the ground. With this, airlines are looking at new and alternative markets for revenue. For the Southern Hemisphere summer, this saw a flurry of extra capacity to Aotearoa (NZ), with United Airlines launching its seasonal direct route from San Francisco to Christchurch, a first for the South Island, alongside Delta's and United's launch from Los Angeles, and American Airlines from both Dallas and Los Angeles, both direct to Auckland (both currently seasonal). As Foran noted, the Angeles to Auckland market is now saturated with up to 28 weekly flights, which historically had around 14-16 services.<br/>