Short Takes
August 3rd 2015
TRAINING: Boeing and Vietnam Airlines have struck a five-year exclusive pilot-training agreement to support the flag carrier’s B787 operations. Under the agreement, Boeing Flight Services will provide flight training for the airline’s new B787 Dreamliner fleet at Boeing’s Singapore training campus. Read More » The companies expect nearly 90 Vietnam Airlines pilots to undergo training this year.
AIRLINES: Air Vanuatu has signed for a B737-800 from Air Lease Corporation’s order book to join its fleet from January. A Cathay Pacific Airways B777-300ER performing flight CX884 from Hong Kong to L.A. last week made an emergency landing at Shemya Eareckson Air Station on Alaska’s Aleutian Islands “due to smoke detected in the aircraft”. Emirates Airline has retired its last B777-200, A6-EMF, which had been in service with the UAE carrier since 1996. PAL Express has applied to the U.S. Department of Transportation for a U.S. Foreign Air Carrier's Permit and route exemption ahead of its planned return to the international market later this year when it plans to launch twice-weekly Manila-Saipan A320 flights. Sichuan Airlines has received its 102nd aircraft, a new A321. LCC VietJet Air has taken delivery of its first 230-seat A321neo.
ALLIANCES: Star Alliance has expanded its Round-the-World fare to include travel in premium economy class offered in three mileage bands: 29,000, 34,000 or 39,000 miles.
AVIONICS: Rockwell Collins has reported a 12.7% year-on-year rise in quarterly net profit to $178 million, or $1.33 per share, as surging aircraft production boosted demand for the company's aviation electronic systems.
CODESHARES: Air France has placed its ‘AF’ code on Korean Air’s Fukuoka, Hanoi, Nagoya, Niigata, Okayama, Osaka, Phnom Penh, Sapporo and Narita services originating in Incheon. Etihad Airways and Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) have started reciprocal codeshares on all Abu Dhabi-Pakistan routes. In addition, PIA has added its ‘PK’ designator to Etihad’s Amsterdam, Chicago, Dallas, L.A., Madrid, Nairobi, Rome, San Francisco and Washington services.
MANUFACTURERS: Airbus Group has posted a first-half net income of 1.52 million Euros ($1.69 million), up 34% from a net income of 1.14 billion Euros a year earlier. Boeing has reported a second-quarter net income of $1.11 billion, down 32.7% from a net profit of $1.65 billion in the 2014 quarter ended June 30. Bombardier has posted a second-quarter net income of $125 million, down 19.4% from a net profit of $155 million in the year-ago period, on a 5.5% drop in revenue to $4.62 billion. Embraer has reported a second-quarter net income of $131.1 million, down 10.6% from a net profit of $146.7 million in the corresponding 2014 period, on a 14.2% year-over-year drop in revenue to $1.51 billion.
MRO: Rolls-Royce has signed a $580 million TotalCare engine support contract with Vietnam Airlines for the carrier’s 14 Trent XWB-powered A350s.
ROUTES: All Nippon Airways (ANA) will replace the B787-8 with the larger -9 variant on the daily Haneda-Hanoi route starting September 1. American Airlines has confirmed December 17 as the launch date for its daily L.A.-Sydney B777-300ER operations. Cathay Pacific Airways will reduce frequency on the Hong Kong-Riyadh A330-300 route from five- to four-weekly starting October 25. China Airlines will replace the A330-300 with the A340-300 on the twice-weekly Taipei-Honolulu route from October 25. China Eastern Airlines will launch a four-weekly Shanghai-Colombo A330-200 service from September 22. China Southern Airlines will increase frequency on the Guangzhou-Nha Trang B737-800 route from thrice-weekly to daily commencing October 27. Emirates Airline will increase frequency on the Dubai-Lisbon B777-300ER route from daily to double daily from January 1. Etihad Airways will increase capacity on the Abu Dhabi-Tehran A320 route from daily to ten-weekly starting October 1. EVA Air will increase frequency on the Taipei-Houston B777-300ER route from four- to six-weekly beginning February 4. Hong Kong Airlines has confirmed January 8 as the launch date for its thrice-weekly Hong Kong-Gold Coast-Cairns A330 service. Beginning December 1, Korean Air will add a third daily A330-300 frequency to the Incheon-Ho Chi Minh route. SilkAir will replace the A320 with the B737-800 on the four-weekly Singapore-Coimbatore rotation starting October 25. VietJet Air will launch a five-weekly Ho Chi Minh-Yangon A320 service from October 2. Virgin Atlantic Airways has replaced the A340-600 with the B787-9 on the daily Hong Kong-Heathrow service.
