Short Takes
November 13th 2015
AIRLINES: Air China and China Eastern Airlines have received the "Flight Safety Diamond Award" from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) for their good track records. Read More » Emirates Airline has started a review of security measures at airports throughout the Middle East, Western Asia and Africa as a consequence of the Metrojet crash in Egypt.
CARGO: China's SF Group, one of the Mainland’s largest delivery and logistics firms, said it was planning a major international expansion into Southeast Asia and Europe that would see a rapid build-up in its fleet.
CODESHARES: Qantas Airways has placed its ‘QF’ designator on nine additional China Eastern Airlines ex-Pudong domestic services.
LESSORS: BOC Aviation has added its first two B787-8s to its fleet. Both frames have been placed on long-term leases to Kenya Airways, following a sale-leaseback transaction.
MANUFACTURERS: Airbus has signed a ten-year Flight Hour Services - Tailored Support Package contract with Singapore’s Tigerair to provide full component support, and fleet technical management services for the carrier’s A320 Family fleet. Boeing and Tata Advanced Systems have announced a joint venture that will manufacture aero structures for aircraft and collaborate on integrated systems development opportunities in India. GE Aviation and Emirates Airline have celebrated the accumulation of one million cycles with its GE90 engine fleet. The Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ), which will put Japan back into manufacturing of a complete commercial aircraft after 41 years, had its maiden flight on Wednesday. First delivery is due in second-quarter 2017, nine years after the program was launched and 3.5 years later than first scheduled.
ROUTES: Air India has split its triangular Delhi-Bahrain-Abu Dhabi route; it now serves both destinations non-stop with four- and thrice-weekly services, respectively, using the A319. American Airlines will launch a daily Auckland-Los Angeles B787-8 service from June 1. Taiwan’s China Airlines will increase frequency on the Taoyuan-Frankfurt B777-300ER route from five-weekly to daily from June 1. China Eastern Airlines has opened reservations for a thrice-weekly Pudong-Brisbane A330-200 service starting January 16. Emirates Airline will start a daily Dubai-Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen A330-200 service beginning December 15. Fiji Airways will launch a twice-weekly Nadi-Singapore A330-200 service from April 5. Hainan Airlines will launch a twice-weekly Xian-Rome A330-200 service starting December 9, as well as a twice-weekly Xian-Sydney A330-200 rotation from December 23. Meanwhile, it will reduce frequency on the Beijing-Prague B767 route from thrice- to twice-weekly beginning December 1. Malindo Air has applied for daily Kuala Lumpur-Ho Chi Minh B737-800 traffic rights from December 16. Qatar Airways has closed reservations on the Doha-Osaka A330-200 route for travel beyond April 1. Meanwhile, it will increase frequency on the Doha-Algiers route from daily to ten-weekly starting February 2, using a mix of A340-600 and A330-200 aircraft. Rotanajet will double frequency on the Abu Dhabi-Muscat E145 route from thrice- to six-weekly starting November 25. Shandong Airlines has launched two new routes to India, with twice-weekly Qingdao-Kunming-Delhi and Jinan-Kunming-Delhi B737-800 rotations, respectively. Shenzhen Airlines will launch a twice-weekly Nantong-Kansai A320 service from December 10, and it will increase frequency on the Wuxi-Kansai route from twice- to five-weekly from January 2. India’s SpiceJet will add a six-weekly Chennai-Bangkok B737-800 route starting December 10. Spring Airlines will launch a thrice-weekly Ningbo-Nagoya A320 service December 21. Tigerair Taiwan will launch a four-weekly Taoyuan-Haneda A320 rotation commencing December 19.
