Latest ACI World air travel demand forecast

Airports Council International (ACI) World last week releases the annual World Airport Traffic Forecasts (WATF) 2023–2052 dataset, showing the Top 20 markets for air travel demand among other key air traffic findings. The latest WATF extends its horizon by an impressive 10 years, offering a comprehensive 30-year perspective on airport traffic forecasts at global, regional, and country levels. The flagship resource covers data sourced from 141 countries. ACI World Director General Luis Felipe de Oliveira said: “The projections indicate that global passenger traffic is set to reach 9.7 billion by the end of 2024, surpassing pre-pandemic levels, and suggest a doubling by 2042 and a 2.5-fold increase by 2052. In the long-term, the global passenger market dynamic is expected to transition from advanced economies towards emerging and developing ones as they experience significant urbanization and population increases, often combined with rapid economic growth favourably impacting their disposable income and willingness to travel. Investing responsibly in current and new infrastructure remains key to ensuring that we can sustainably meet capacity growth to maximize the social and economic benefits of aviation.” www.airportscouncil.org

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Pratt & Whitney to expand GTF MRO capacity in Singapore

Pratt & Whitney, an RTX business, this week announced the official opening of a 48,000 square-foot expansion of its Singapore based engine center, Eagle Services Asia (ESA). The facility will grow its GTF capacity by two-thirds this year. Pratt & Whitney last year has announced a recall of 1,200 engines due to microscopic cracks, causing operational disruptions for airlines worldwide. The engine issue has significant impacts on airlines, with carriers being forced to ground fleets and source spare parts to avoid disruptions during peak summer travel demand.

The expansion of Pratt & Whitney’s Singapore-based engine center Eagle Services Asia will grow its GTF capacity by two thirds in 2024, the engine-maker says. ESA, a joint venture between Pratt and SIA Engineering Company, has already completed over 500 GTF engine overhauls since introducing GTF MRO capability in 2019. There are currently 15 active GTF MRO engine centers around the world, a number Pratt & Whitney expects to grow to 19 by 2025. www.prattwhitney.com

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US airports secure government-boost for infrastructure

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is awarding $970 million from President Biden’s Bipartisan Investing in America agenda to 114 airports across the country, spanning 44 states and three territories, the Biden administration stated on February 15. Part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal of 2021, the awards add to more than $2 billion of previously announced airport terminal improvement projects, according to the US Department of Transportation (DOT). The infrastructure law dedicates more than $25 billion to modernising the country’s airport infrastructure, including $1 billion annually for terminal projects over a five-year period. Several of the projects involve building new terminal buildings or expanding existing ones, such as a $35 million for a new 14-gate terminal at Virginia’s Washington Dulles International airport and $20 million for a 16-gate expansion at Salt Lake City airport.  www.transportation.gov

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People: CFO Markus Binkert to leave SWISS after 19 years

Chief Financial Officer Markus Binkert is to leave Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) after more than 19 years. He will take on new duties as CEO of the SV Group, which is active in various areas of the gastronomy and hotel management fields. Binkert will leave SWISS at the end of May. The search for his successor is under way.

After serving in the strategic consultancy sector, Markus Binkert joined SWISS as Head of Global Key Accounts & Business Sales Switzerland in 2005. He went on to hold further positions in Product, Marketing and Distribution before being appointed to the SWISS Management Board as Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) in 2013. In his CCO capacity Binkert had a strong and lasting impact on the entire SWISS look: his signature can still be seen today in the company’s aircraft interiors, its airport lounges and its inflight culinary offerings.

In 2016 Markus Binkert took on additional overall responsibility for Pricing, Revenue Management and Distribution for the entire Lufthansa Group. And from 2019 to 2020 he served with Lufthansa Airline as Chief Commercial Officer for Hub Munich with simultaneous Lufthansa Group-wide responsibility for Marketing, a capacity in which he continued to act as a vital link between SWISS and the Lufthansa Group. He returned to SWISS to become CFO and rejoin the Management Board in March 2020. In this position he is in overall charge not only of the company’s finances but also of human resources, legal affairs, IT and the Swiss WorldCargo division. In the course of his CFO tenure Markus Binkert was also responsible for negotiating, concluding and utilizing the bridging loan backed by the Swiss Confederation during the COVID-19 pandemic. www.swiss.com