AVB JULY-AUGUST 2022

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW AIRBUS PRESIDENT-MEA MIKAIL HOUARI Aviation is taking oﬀ after the biggest crisis in modern history, but crosswinds threaten to delay its recovery RECOVERY AN ITP MEDIA GROUP PUBLICATION VOLUME 21 ISSUE 04 | JULY - AUGUST 2022AVIATION Connect with us @BoseAviation © 2022 BoseCorporation. All rights reserved. The FAA TSO and EASA E/TSO-C139acertiﬁed ProFlight Series 2 pairs the technology Bose is knownfor with the comfort pilots demand.We engineered the ProFlight Series 2 to be our lightest, most compact headset ever without sacriﬁcing any of the vital audio features Bose aviationheadsets are knownfor, like noise cancellation or clarity. For pilots, that means communication and comfort are nevercompromised,even on the longest ﬂights. Proven Bose technology in our mostcompact headset. Getyoursat boseaviation-EMEA.aero/shops BOSE-16061PrintadvertsPFS2AD1DE205x275+5mmRZindd108112111:36CONTENTS 3 www.aviationbusinessme.com JULY - AUGUST 2022·AVIATION BUSINESS July - August 2022 Volume 21 Issue 04 26 EMERGING STRONGER Airbus’ President for Africa and the Middle East, Mikail Houari discusses aviation recovery, business growth and the aerospace giant’s latest ventures, as well as the trade’s sizzling hot topic, the rambling feud with Qatar Airways. 0816 INTERVIEW GROWING BEYOND THE ADVERSITY ﬂ ydubai gears up for a busy summer, as it sheds oﬀ the burden of the pandemic and its repercussions. CEO, Ghaith Al Ghaith taps into aviation recovery and the airline’s strong rebound. INTERVIEW SUPPORTING INNOVATION, ENABLING THE FUTURE Jason McClain discusses Boeing’s latest ventures, investments in technology, and contribution to making the future of aerospace more sustainable, more accessible, and more diverse.CONTENTS JULY - AUGUST 2022·AVIATION BUSINESS 4 www.aviationbusinessme.com POST-PANDEMIC CROSSWINDS As the global aviation sector continues to recover, it is met with brand new challenges, requiring further resilience and enhanced adaptability. THE FLIGHT PATH TO RECOVERY Aviation recovery is on full thrust, but headwinds are slowing its pace. Industry primes reﬂ ect on the market’s recovery and how it can be further accelerated. 12 20 OPINION MAKING FLIGHTS SAFER, GREENER, AND MORE EFFICIENT Thales’ Executive VP of Avionics, Yannick Assouad explains how technologically advanced ﬂ ight management systems can revolutionise the future of aviation. 40 20 06 1236 MARKET OUTLOOK TRAVEL RECOVERY STANDS STRONG DESPITE HURDLES FCM Travel’s Managing Director - MEA, Ciarán Kelly shares notable insights on the travel sector’s rebound and projections for the months ahead. July - August 2022 Volume 21 Issue 045 www.aviationbusinessme.com JULY-AUGUST 2022 · AVIATION BUSINESS EDITOR’S LETTER @AVB_ME facebook.com/AviationBusinessMiddleEast linkedin.com/company/aviation-business-me After nearly three years of turmoil, aviation has finally taken flight towards full recovery and a possible return to profitability by as early as 2023, surpassing earlier estimates by a full year, with airlines restoring their pre-pandemic networks and capacity, and countries lifting all the remaining travel restrictions. However, the industry is met with a brand new set of challenges, threatening to undermine its long-awaited rebound, from soaring fuel surcharges to pinching staff shortages, among others. In this issue, we tap into the industry’s strong recovery, the emerging challenges and how they can be adequately addressed to mitigate further disruptions, with exclusive interviews featuring industry leads, well-rounded reports, and insightful commentaries from aviation experts. Our cover story features Airbus’ President for Africa and the Middle East, Mikail Houari to highlight the aerospace giant’s business growth and latest ventures, as well as its sprawling legal dispute with Qatar Airways. Despite immense challenges, flydubai was able to restore its full network and operational capacity in 2021 and report record financial results in Q1 2022. We met with the airline’s CEO, Ghaith Al Ghaith to discuss the company’s remarkable performance and expansion plans over the upcoming months. The growth of business aviation strongly resonated across the MRO segment, with service providers gearing up to meet the surging demand for corporate travel and business jets. ExecuJet MRO’s Nick Weber sheds light on the sector’s performance and the company’s expansion in DWC. Enjoy the read! Karim Tolba Editor Aviation Business Middle East “Remember that the aeroplane takes off against the wind, not with it.” Henry Ford PO Box 500024, Dubai, UAE Tel: + 971 4 444 3000 Web: www.itp.com Offices in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, London & Mumbai ITP MEDIA GROUP CEO Ali Akawi Managing Director Alex Reeve EDITORIAL Group Editor Carla Sertin Editor Karim Tolba email: karim.tolba@itp.com ART Art Director Amjad Ayche Designer Tofiq Memon ADVERTISING Commercial Manager Egle Maconkaite Tel: +971 4 444 3841 email: egle.maconkaite@itp.com ITP LIVE General Manager Ahmad Bashour Tel: +971 4 444 3549, email: ahmad.bashour@itp.com PHOTOGRAPHY Senior Photographers Efraim Evidor, Adel Rashid, Videographer Ajith Narendra PRODUCTION & DISTRIBUTION Group Production & Distribution Director Kyle Smith Production Manager Denny Kollannoor Production Coordinator Manoj Mahadevan Senior Image Editor Emmalyn Robles CIRCULATION Circulation Executive Rajesh Pillai Distribution Coordinator Avinash Pereira MARKETING Director of Awards & Marketing Daniel Fewtrell ITP GROUP CEO Ali Akawi CFO Toby Jay Spencer-Davies Subscribe online at www.itp.com/subscriptions The publishers regret that they cannot accept liability for error or omissions contained in this publication, however caused. The opinions and views contained in this publication are not necessarily those of the publishers. Readers are advised to seek specialist advice before acting on information contained in this publication which is provided for general use and may not be appropriate for the reader’s particular circumstances. The ownership of trademarks is acknowledged. No part of this publication or any part of the contents thereof may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form without the permission of the publishers in writing. An exemption is hereby granted for extracts used for the purpose of fair review. Published by and © 2022 ITP MEDIA GROUP FZ-LLCJULY - AUGUST 2022 ·AVIATION BUSINESS 6 www.aviationbusinessme.com N early four months have passed since the conﬂ ict broke out between Ukraine and Russia in late February, and while it delayed the recovery of air travel in some regions, others do not seem to have experienced the same impact. By far, March 2022 has been the busiest month for many in the travel industry since the sudden onset of the global pandemic in 2019. As countries across the world continue to lift border restrictions, we are starting to see the long-anticipated surge in bookings as travellers seek to make up for two years of missed travel opportunities. Meanwhile, with governments making U-turns and policy changes, market uncertainty was present until the last minute, leaving little time to restart an industry that was largely dormant for two years. Thus, it is unsurprising to see operational delays in key markets across Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). Despite the market ﬂ ux, fuelled by the lockdowns in China, the conﬂ ict in Ukraine, and the ensuing record increase in fuel prices, the demand for air travel does not seem to be slowing down. On an industry level, travel typically slows down during the school summer break and other seasonal holidays. However, “revenge travel” made a strong comeback, with an upward trend from corporate customers travelling again, at nearly 78% of pre-pandemic levels. On the other hand, China’s zero-COVID strategy will continue to impact the air travel and tourism sectors for as long as it remains in force. Over recent months, the UAE took centre stage as the destination of choice for corporate events, after business staﬀ were separated due to worldwide border closures and travel restrictions. The number of business travellers ﬂ ying in premium cabins in and out of the region boasted a 3% upsurge in 2022 compared to 2019, bringing the number of passengers at the front of the aircraft well above pre-pandemic levels, with more than a third of all bookings ﬂ ying in premium class cabins. By Ciarán Kelly, Managing Director for the Middle East and Africa, FCM TRAVEL RECOVERY STANDS STRONG DESPITE HURDLES7 www.aviationbusinessme.com MARKET OUTLOOK JULY - AUGUST 2022 · AVIATION BUSINESS Therefore, it is safe to say that the launch of Emirates’ Premium Class cabin on selected routes was perfectly timed. Business travel is bouncing back much faster than we ever imagined. With the pressing need for face-to- face meetings, corporates are not waiting around to restart their travel programmes at home or abroad. On the local level, the UAE’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) reported a 300% increase in the number of visitors arriving in Dubai during the first four months of 2022 to 5.1 million, driving a parallel increase in the emirate’s hotel occupancy rate to 76% over the reported period. Correspondingly, Oman emerged as Dubai’s biggest source market, with 590,000 visitors in 2022, a record growth not only from the 30,000 visitors in the pandemic-dented 2021 but also from 2019 when the bordering sultanate ranked ﬁ fth with 356,000 visitors. Meanwhile, big markets including India, the UK, Saudi Arabia, and Russia remained on top of the list for 2022. With airlines gradually restoring their Ciarán Kelly, Managing Director-MEA, FCM pre-pandemic passenger capacity, seat availability became limited on some routes, driving an increase in airfares due to the basic economics of supply and demand, especially with the FIFA World Cup 2022 set to put further pressure on the recovering industry. While the hikes in fuel prices impacted certain routes, transatlantic routes seem to remain unaffected. For example, the demand for Europe-UAE and UAE-Singapore routes saw a strong recovery despite the soaring surcharges, with nearly 24% of the total return airfare added to leading UAE carriers’ ticket prices. Over and above, Dubai Airports raised its annual passenger traffic forecast for 2022 to 58.3 million, surpassing an earlier projection of 57 million, and signalling growth in demand despite the added surcharges. With many travellers frustrated with virtual meetings, we did not see a negative impact on the industry, but rather the opposite, especially with many players in the market ramping up their recruitment eﬀ orts to meet the surge in demand. Long may it last! JULY - AUGUST 2022 · AVIATION BUSINESS 8 www.aviationbusinessme.com W ith the global aviation sector strongly rebounding from the global pandemic and its crippling consequences, Dubai continues to uphold a resolute focus on accelerating the return of trade ﬂ ows, air travel, and tourism. Despite market ﬂ uctuations and the surfacing challenges over recent months, the emirate’s first low-cost airline, ﬂ ydubai reported record results in the ﬁ rst quarter of 2022, with new routes added to its global network and new aircraft joining its ﬂ eet. We sat down with ﬂ ydubai’s chief executive officer, Ghaith Al Ghaith to discuss the sector’s recovery, the airline’s remarkable performance, growing network, and ﬂ eet expansion plans as well as how it navigated the global pandemic and later challenges. Exceptional performance In the ﬁ rst quarter of 2022, ﬂ ydubai grew its network to more than 100 destinations and expanded its fleet with new aircraft deliveries. “We operated 19,000 ﬂ ights between 1 January and 31 March 2022 carrying 2.35 million passengers. This represents a 114% increase in the number of passengers carried compared to 2021,” Al Ghaith says, adding that the airline has seen an upsurge in demand for connecting traﬃ c with 43% of passengers connecting to destinations across its network, compared to 28% for the same period in 2021. Correspondingly, the demand for Business Class travel continued to grow in 2022 across the carrier’s network, reaching up to 51% in Europe compared to 39% in 2021, according to Al Ghaith. Building upon its strong performance over the ﬁ rst months of 2022, ﬂ ydubai is gearing up for an “exceptionally busy summer,” with more than three million passengers projected between July and September, at an average of 8,500 scheduled departures per month across the airline’s network. Navigating the storm The past two years have been particularly challenging for the aviation industry, with the global pandemic and a consequential series of black swan events forcing the GROWING BEYOND THE ADVERSITY FLYDUBAI GEARS UP FOR A BUSY SUMMER, AS IT SHEDS OFF THE BURDEN OF THE PANDEMIC AND ITS REPERCUSSIONS 9 www.aviationbusinessme.com INTERVIEW JULY - AUGUST 2022 · AVIATION BUSINESS entire sector into a no-win situation. Nevertheless, flydubai was quick to realise the new reality and adjust its operations to meet the rapidly evolving market requirements and minimise the inevitable ﬁ nancial losses. “When travel restrictions went into eﬀ ect in 2020, we collaborated with our key stakeholders including embassies and government authorities and focused our eﬀ orts on cargo operations and repatriation flights, enabling passengers to return to their home countries and transporting essential goods across our network and beyond,” Al Ghaith reveals, noting that as travel restrictions started to gradually ease from July 2020, the airline was aware of the role it played in “re-establishing Ghaith Al Ghaith, CEO, flydubai The decisions made early on in the pandemic enabled us to ramp up our operations to cater to the pent-up demand in record time.” confidence among passengers at every step of their journey.” Al Ghaith points out that the decisions made early on in the pandemic enabled ﬂ ydubai to ramp up operations and cater to the pent-up demand in “record time,” stressing that the hard work of the company’s workforce, the collaborative approach of the key stakeholders in its UAE network, and the confidence of passengers in its operations were essential to realising its accelerated recovery. A redesigned experience The pandemic-induced shift in customers’ behaviour and priorities has prompted airlines and other industry stakeholders to rethink their operating models and adjust their oﬀ erings to meet the evolving market requirements. “There is no doubt that the pandemic has changed the way we travel, and while it often seems more complicated, it is possible again,” Al Ghaith says, highlighting that ﬂ ydubai has redesigned its passenger experience to enable a safe travel environment, with minimalNext >