Short Takes
August 17th 2015
CARGO: Qatar Airways Cargo has taken delivery of its first B747-400BCF and is deploying it on flights to Hong Kong and Beijing from this month. Read More »
AIRLINES: Japanese regional carrier Amakusa Airlines has taken delivery of a 48-seat ATR 42-600, the first of the type to start operations in Japan.
CODESHARES: Alitalia will place its ‘AZ’ designator on Etihad Airways’ services from Abu Dhabi to Dammam, Jeddah and Riyadh starting August 23. Qatar Airways will add its ‘QR’ designator to 13 Royal Air Maroc domestic services from August 20, as the Moroccan carrier will place its ‘AT’ code on Qatar Airways’ Doha-Casablanca route. Virgin Atlantic Airways has added its ‘VS’ designator to four ex-Delhi and four ex-Mumbai Jet Airways domestic services.
MANUFACTURERS: Boeing booked firm orders in July from three customers for 101 commercial aircraft, valued at $15.6 billion at current list prices. Airbus logged firm orders from two customers for 26 commercial aircraft, valued at $3.1 billion. Year-to-date, Boeing has booked 423 commercial orders and Airbus 405. UMW M&E and its wholly-owned subsidiary, UMW Aerospace, have signed a 25-year agreement with Rolls-Royce to manufacture and assemble fan cases for Rolls-Royce’s Trent 1000 engines at their Malaysian aerospace complex.
MRO: Boeing has signed a 12-year component support contract with British Airways for the carrier’s eight current, plus 34-on-order, B787s. Rolls-Royce has won a $580-million TotalCare long-term contract with Vietnam Airlines for the carrier’s 14 Trent XWB-powered A350s. Separately, Rolls-Royce has appointed HAECO Group as its first authorized on-wing services provider in the Asia-Pacific region.
ROUTES: Air China will add a thrice-weekly Beijing-Islamabad-Karachi A330-200 service from October 26, replacing its twice-weekly Beijing-Chengdu-Karachi A320 flights. Air France will reduce A380 frequency on the Hong Kong-CDG route from five- to twice-weekly from January 12 to March 26. China Southern Airlines will launch double daily Guangzhou-Haneda services on October 25, using a mix of A330 and B737 aircraft. EVA Air will resume twice-weekly Taipei-Asahikawa A321 operations from October 25 to March 26. HK Express will add a twice-weekly Hong Kong-Hiroshima A320 service from October 27. Myanmar National Airlines will increase frequency on the Yangon-Singapore B737-800 route from six-weekly to daily from October 25. Oman Air will increase frequency on the Muscat-Zurich A330 route from four- to five-weekly commencing October 25. Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) will add a third weekly frequency on the Beijing-Islamabad A310 route from August 18. Philippine Airlines (PAL) will launch a thrice-weekly Cebu-Los Angeles A340-300 rotation beginning March 15. Turkish Airlines will increase frequency on the Kuala Lumpur-Istanbul A330-300 route from daily to ten-weekly commencing October 26. Virgin Australia will terminate its five-weekly Perth-Phuket B737 service starting February 1.
