Short Takes
October 9th 2015
AIRLINES: A TransAsia Airways A320’s vertical tail clipped the ceiling of a maintenance hangar at Taipei’s Songshan last week due to "miscalculation”. The airframe has been out of service since. Read More »
CODESHARES: Coinciding with its November 30 Narita-Dallas launch, Japan Airlines (JAL) will add its ‘JL’ designator to 16 ex-Dallas American Airlines domestic services. Air New Zealand will launch operations to Buenos Aires from December 1 and place its ‘NZ’ code on Aerolineas Argentinas’ services to Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo from the same date.
IT: Finnair has selected Flatirons’ enEnabled Software Management (eESM) solution for its new A350 fleet. Honeywell Aerospace has announced the acquisition of aviation software firm Aviaso.
LESSORS: AerCap has placed three additional A321neos and an A320neo with Air Astana, with undisclosed delivery date. BOC Aviation has placed two A330-300s on long-term lease with EVA Air, both scheduled for delivery in 2017, and selected GE Aviation’s CF6 engines to power them. GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS) has completed a sale-leaseback deal with Thai low-cost carrier Nok Air for two new Bombardier Q400s.
MANUFACTURERS: Rolls-Royce has confirmed it would invest $600 million into modernising its manufacturing and assembly facilities in Indianapolis.
MRO: UK-based end-of-life specialist AerFin has acquired an A320 and an A340 to be disassembled for spare parts recovery to support its customer base “with a cost-effective and consistent supply” of components for Airbus A320 and A330/A340 platforms. ST Aerospace Systems has acquired the remaining 50% stake in Singapore Precision Repair and Overhaul (S-PRO) from Messier-Bugatti-Dowty for $8.1 million.
ROUTES: Air Busan will launch a thrice-weekly Busan-Sapporo A320 service from December 3. Cambodia Angkor Air will launch a thrice-weekly Ho Chi Minh-Phnom Penh-Vientiane-Hanoi A321 service from October 25, and it plans to open a four-weekly Siem Reap-Shanghai A321 flight from October 26, subject to regulatory approvals. Capital Airlines will launch a thrice-weekly Zhanjiang-Bangkok A319 rotation beginning October 26. EVA Air will add a fourth weekly rotation to the Taipei-Surabaya A321 route from December 6. Finnair will add a four-weekly Helsinki-Guangzhou and a thrice-weekly Helsinki-Fukuoka service from May 6 and May 7, respectively, both using an A330-300. Gulf Air will launch four-weekly Bahrain-Multan and thrice-weekly Bahrain-Faisalabad A320 operations from December 14 and 22, respectively. Australia’s Jetstar Airways will add a thrice-weekly Auckland-Cook Islands A320 operation commencing March 22. Kuwait Airways will replace the A340-300 with the A330-200 on the six-weekly Kuwait-Bangkok-Manila service starting October 30. KLM will terminate its twice-weekly Amsterdam-Fukuoka B777-200ER service from January 4. Malindo Air has confirmed November 19 as the launch date for daily Kuala Lumpur-Perth B737-900ER services, to be upgauged to eleven-weekly from December 3. Spring Airlines will add a four-weekly Chengdu-Surat Thani, thrice-weekly Chengdu-Chiang Mai and thrice-weekly Fuzhou-Bangkok service from October 26, all operated by the A320. South Korea’s T’Way Air will launch a five-weekly Incheon-Macau rotation starting November 27. Taiwanese budget carrier V Air will increase frequency on the Taipei-Busan A321 route from twice- to four-weekly starting October 26.
