News
Qantas evaluates the B777X; Air NZ to fly to Ho Chin Minh City
November 27th 2015
Qantas Airways group CEO, Alan Joyce, told a media lunch last week the carrier was studying the B777-8X to potentially launch non-stop ultra-long-haul routes to the U.S. East Coast, the Sydney Morning Herald reported. Read More »
According to Joyce, who cited Boeing data, the -8X’s range would allow direct Sydney-New York flights, which the carrier currently operates as a one-stop via Los Angeles. "We’re looking at the 777-8X that would potentially have the range to do it, but that doesn’t come until the 2020s,” he said. In June, Qantas International chief, Gareth Evans, alluded to using the B777X as a potential replacement for its fleet of twelve A380s once they reach the end of their service lives in the 2020s.
The Australian carrier also is considering direct Perth-London and Melbourne -Dallas/Fort Worth services using its incoming fleet of eight B787-9s from 2017, replacing Qantas’ remaining eleven B747-400s.
Across the Tasman, Air New Zealand (Air NZ) has announced the addition of thrice-weekly seasonal Auckland-Ho Chi Minh City services with its fleet of five B767-300ERs from June through to October next year. The route could go year round if the demand was there, the carrier said.
“Vietnam is an increasingly popular leisure destination with the number of Kiwis visiting the country up about 20% in the past year,” said Air NZ chief, Christopher Luxon.
The highly-profitable carrier also is considering a direct service to the Philippines, said Air NZ strategy and networks chief, Stephen Jones, who described the Philippines as a “market of interest” for expansion. Air NZ is on a network expansion trajectory, with new services to Buenos Aires and Houston starting next month.
Virgin Australia subsidiary, Tigerair Australia, has added its maiden B737-800 to its fleet as part of a trio of the airplanes the budget carrier has sourced from parent Virgin. They will be sued for new services from Perth, Melbourne, and Adelaide to Denpasar, from March. They are the airline’s first international services as Virgin is withdrawing from the routes.
