Short Takes
July 27th 2015
AIRLINES: Austrian Airlines said it would cease its Vienna-Dubai operations from September as “overcapacity, built up in recent years, resulted in fierce price competition as up to 800 seats per day were on offer” which ultimately made the route unsustainable for the carrier. Hawaiian Airlines has signed for an additional A330-200 from Air Lease Corporation’s order book for delivery in second-quarter 2016, and said it would acquire three ATR72 freighters to expand its interisland shipping services starting next year. Hanoi-based Vietnam Airlines has rolled out a new corporate identity to coincide with the launch of a major fleet upgrade which will see the national carrier take delivery of 14 A350-900s and 19 B787-9s by 2020. Read More »
CODESHARES: China Airlines (CAL) has placed its ‘CI’ code on seven additional WestJet Canada domestic routes. Philippine Airlines (PAL) has added its ‘PL’ designator to Turkish Airlines’ daily Manila-Istanbul service, while the latter placed its ‘TK’ code on PAL’s Manila-Cebu and Manila-Davao rotations.
MANUFACTURERS: Airbus’ Runway Overrun Prevention System (ROPS) has gained EASA certification to be used on the A330 family, with Korean Air named the first user. Boeing said it remained confident it would not have to cut its B777 production rate as part of the transition to the B777X and maintains that overall demand for its commercial aircraft line continues to be rock-solid, dismissing unevenness that saw first-half 2015 orders lag behind deliveries. CFM International has delivered the first LEAP-1C engine to the Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China (COMAC) for installation on the first C919 slated to roll out “later this year”. Dubai-based lessor International AirFinance Corporation (IAFC) has selected Rolls-Royce’s (RR’s) Trent 700 to power the 20-on-order A330-300 Regionals to be leased to Saudia, which in turn signed a long-term agreement with RR to provide maintenance and servicing for the engines.
MRO: Thai Airways International (THAI) will implement Satair Group’s Airbus Managed Inventory (AMI) service, which optimizes inventory management by ensuring that high-usage and non-repairable parts are automatically replenished at THAI’s facilities. This happens while guaranteeing part availability and decreasing inventory stock levels, leading to improved base maintenance services for the carrier. MTU Aero Engines has reported first-half 2015 earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of €73.5 million ($80.8 million), up 53% year-on-year.
ROUTES: AirAsia will resume its thrice-weekly Kuala Lumpur-Male A320 service beginning October 22. AirAsia X will cease daily Kuala-Lumpur-Narita A330-300 operations from August 19. Air Do will launch a daily Hakodate-Nagoya, a daily Sapporo-Hiroshima, and a thrice-daily Sapporo-Nagoya service, all from October 25 using B737-500/-700 aircraft. British Airways will replace the B777-200ER with its new B787-9 on the daily Kuala Lumpur-Heathrow route starting December 21. Cathay Pacific Airways will cancel its thrice-weekly Hong Kong-Bangkok-Colombo service from October 25 and instead serve Colombo daily nonstop with the two-class A330-300. China Airlines will add a second daily Taipei-Sapporo B747-400 rotation between January 25 and March 30. Emirates Airline will launch a four-weekly Dubai-Bamako A340-300 rotation starting October 25. Jeju Air has increased Incheon-Osaka B737-800 frequency from daily to eleven-weekly. Korean Air will deploy the A380 on one of its four daily Incheon-Bangkok services from December 18. Oman Air will resume four-weekly Muscat-Dhaka operations starting October 25, using A330-200/-300 aircraft. Philippine Airlines (PAL) will increase Manila-Sydney frequency from five-weekly to daily starting October 25, and simultaneously replace the A330-300 with the A340-300. Qantas Airways will reduce frequency on the Melbourne-Los Angeles A380/B747 route from ten- to nine-weekly from January 27. Thai AirAsia will launch twice-daily Don Mueang-Ningbo and daily Don Mueang-Wenzhou A320 operations, both from October 25. Tianjin Airlines will launch a four-weekly Tianjin-Haneda A321 service from August 15. United Airlines will cancel twice-weekly Guam-Cairns and daily Guam-Incheon B737 operations effective September 26 and 30, respectively. Japanese LCC Vanilla Air will boost frequency on the Narita-Taipei A320 route as it adds a fourth-daily service beginning October 25.
