Germans faced more travel upheaval after train drivers announced Sunday a new 24-hour stoppage, hot on the heels of a strike announcement by Lufthansa cabin crew. The walkout will be the union's sixth since November and comes less than a week after a 35-hour stoppage by its train drivers caused travel misery for thousands of rail passengers.
The airline said operating results this year would be on par with 2023, but Chief Financial Officer Remco Steenbergen said there was "no hard commitment" to meet a target for operating margins to hit 8 per cent for the year. They were 7.6 per cent in 2023. Steenbergen said the company would try to get "as close as possible" to the 8 per cent target, and would broadly keep the target even if Lufthansa doesn't achieve it this year.
Aena's passenger numbers are recovering more rapidly than those of other airport operators in Europe, and it expects to manage around 1 million per day by 2026. The group, however, said that last year's passenger traffic at Spain's two biggest airports, Madrid and Barcelona, did not surpass pre-pandemic numbers recorded in 2019.
According to the report, total demand, measured in revenue passenger kilometers (RPKs), surged by 16.6 per cent, marking a significant uptick. Concurrently, total capacity, measured in available seat kilometers (ASK), witnessed a commendable increase of 14.1 per cent. The load factor, a crucial indicator of operational efficiency, stood at 79.9 per cent, reflecting a notable rise of 1.7 percentage points.
The train drivers' union GDL has staged a series of strikes aimed at reducing its workers' weekly hours at full pay to help offset lofty inflation and staff shortages in Europe's largest economy. The latest rail strikes, due to start on Thursday, will coincide with industrial action by Lufthansa airline's ground staff on Thursday and Friday, which will likely disrupt travel plans for thousands of passengers.
The European Parliament approved new data-sharing rules Thursday that clamp down on illegal short-term rentals to protect the residents of European cities -- many of whom face shortages of affordable housing. Better data sharing will enable "the removal of illegal listings, and will contribute to fighting the housing crisis by tackling speculation and safeguarding access to affordable housing," she said during a parliamentary debate.
Spanish airport operator Aena said on Wednesday its net profit rose 81% in 2023 to a record 1.63 billion euros ($1.76 billion) as passenger traffic surpassed pre-pandemic levels, showing a faster recovery than elsewhere in Europe. Analysts polled by LSEG expected a 62% increase in net profit.
Data available with the Union tourism ministry reveals that India recorded Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) from across the world at 92.3 lakh in CY2023, a growth by 43.4 percent over the corresponding year CY2022. While the number of travellers in group tours has thinned, neighbouring countries are offering competitive deals to woo Europeans, who are eager to explore southeast Asia.
The World Travel & Tourism Council issued a ‘Call to Action’, urging EU stakeholders to support a sector that employs over 22 million people and contributes €1.4 trillion to the European Union’s economy. The Call to Action highlights three key areas of focus to modernise and enhance the sector which would see it reach its potential of a €1.9 trillion contribution to the EU economy by 2033.
"The damage continues to increase and the needs for the sector's recovery continue to grow," Krista Pikkat, director of culture and emergencies at UNESCO, told reporters, adding that the lost revenue to the capital Kyiv alone was USD 10 billion.
Europe's airlines are entering 2024 with robust outlooks as travel demand is expected to surpass pre-pandemic levels despite economic uncertainty, delays in plane deliveries from manufacturers and rising jet fuel prices. TUI's first-quarter beat is a positive signal for the airline sector as a whole, an investor in other airlines, who did not wish to be named, said.
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