ch-aviation weekly news roundup

Hi everyone,

The sun is indeed setting on Europe's once proud tour operator-owned charter carriers as more are forced to withdraw from the passenger market in the face of increased competition from both regional European and now longhaul LCCs.

For the most part, it began in early 2015 when TUI AG attempted to sell off its Corsair International unit to French conglomerate, Groupe Dubreuil. A final deal had been reached only to collapse when no agreement on a labour contract could be found with unions. Then it all went quiet until late 2016 when TUI confirmed persistent rumours that it would be contributing its TUI fly (Germany) unit to a new leisure carrier centred around Air Berlin's Niki unit. TUI, Air Berlin, and Etihad (which was to have acquired Air Berlin's stake in Niki and then added that to the new carrier), had aimed to have the project all said and done by the start of the IATA 2017 Summer Season (i.e. March 26) but so far the deal has been held up by European and German regulatory concerns. A new consolidation date of Winter 2017/18 has now been touted but not yet confirmed.

Back in December 2015, Jens Boyd, the Head of the Thomas Cook Group's Long Haul operations, was quoted by Bloomberg as saying the UK-based leisure giant would consider partnering Lufthansa's LCC initiative, Eurowings, should the project prove successful. This week, we finally got to know TCG's thoughts on that when it agreed to hive off its Thomas Cook Airlines Belgium (TCAB) carrier to Eurowings operator, Brussels Airlines.

With TCAB set to be wound down by year-end, Thomas Cook will switch to using Brussels Airlines as its capacity provider. The announcement came just days after CEO Peter Fankhauser reaffirmed Thomas Cook Group's commitment to its Condor unit despite recent hefty losses. With a restructuring plan now in full swing, the Group blamed Condor's former parent, Lufthansa, and its Eurowings unit for increased revenue pressure in key markets where they compete. It is interesting to note that Lufthansa Group reportedly approached Condor last year about it returning to the fold albeit as a member of, you guessed it, Eurowings.

And how can we talk about charter carriers and not mention the venerable Monarch Airlines? Having focussed on the UK leisure charter niche for much of its lifespan, its takeover by UK-based investment firm, Greybull Capital LLP in 2014 heralded a shift towards becoming a "premium budget carrier focusing on scheduled short-haul European leisure routes". Greybull evidently saw the writing on the wall and, at one point, is said to have considered selling off Monarch, or a part of it at least, to investors such as China's HNA Group and even easyJet.

If you're involved in the European market (or even the global one for that matter), then ch-aviation PRO's Schedule and Capacity analysis modules are just what you need to keep an eye on your competitors' schedule changes and operational details. As always, if you haven't yet signed up for PRO, feel free to grab a trial run here.

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Have a great week ahead as always,

Max Oldorf

Chief Commercial Officer