Short Takes
December 18th 2015
LESSORS: AWAS this week announced it will provide a financing solution for the long-term lease of two A320s to VietJet Air as part of the LCC’s expansion strategy, making it the fourth and latest transaction between the two parties for a total of eight new A320 Family frames. Read More » AerCap has announced it secured $1.3 billion in new credit facilities, including an $800 million facility for the financing of 13 aircraft over a nine-year term and an additional $500 million for the purchase of nine aircraft over a five-year period.
AIRLINES: Nanchang-based Jiangxi Airlines, currently awaiting regulatory approvals from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), on Monday took delivery of its first-of-five B737-800s sourced from parent Xiamen Airlines to launch domestic operations to Beijing, Xi'an, Pudong, Shenzhen, Xiamen, and Urumqi early next year. Shenyang-based Northeast Airlines has set June 6 as its launch date for domestic services to Beijing and Shanghai. Backed by 1 billion yuan ($154.2 million) in initial capital, the start-up intends to operate a fleet of 60 A320s by 2020 and 120 by 2025. Malaysia Airlines Berhad (MAB) has been criticized by the Malaysian government for breach of immigration protocol, following a December 12 incident where international passengers were allowed undocumented entry into Kuala Lumpur following a flight delay and subsequent diversion of a flight that originated in Yangon.
CARGO: China Postal Airlines has placed an order for 10 B737BCF cargo aircraft, joining Hangzhou’s YTO Airlines as the launch customer for the programme.
COMMUNICATIONS: Rockwell Collins has successfully implemented an air-to-ground aviation communications network for Korea Airports Corporation (KAC). KAC is the service provider for airline and civil aviation communications in South Korea.
MANUFACTURERS: The Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ) programme is likely to face another delay after Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp. and parent company, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, this week released a statement saying that while flight tests are “currently continuing,” the two companies “are now reviewing the entire [programme] schedule from testing to first delivery”, with results due later this month. Rolls-Royce will manufacture the Trent 7000, the sole powerplant for the newly launched Airbus A330neo, at its Singapore Seletar facility, with expected first delivery in fourth-quarter 2017. Moreover, the OEM has signed a deal with Cathay Pacific Airways for its new Efficiency Service Solution to reduce the carrier’s fuel consumption. Under the five-year agreement, Rolls-Royce will analyse flight data of all 189 Cathay and Dragonair aircraft by deploying its fuel management tool, VisiumFUEL, which uses visualisation and advanced analytics to deliver operational efficiency improvements at the fleet, route and individual flight stage, complementing its existing TotalCare service agreements with Cathay.
ROUTES: Air China will reduce frequency on the Beijing-Auckland A330-200 route from daily to four-weekly from March 27. Air Macau will launch a four-weekly Macau-Fukuoka A321 service beginning March 28. All Nippon Airways (ANA) will replace the B767-300ER with the B787-8 on the Haneda-Honolulu route starting April 28, and it will replace the B787-8 with the larger -9 variant on the Haneda-Vancouver route from the same date. Hainan Airlines will launch a twice-weekly Changsha-Los Angeles B787-8 service beginning January 21, and it will launch a thrice-weekly Beijing-Haneda B737-800 flight from December 24. Japan Airlines (JAL) will temporarily cancel its daily Narita-CDG B787-8 service from January 12 through to February 29. Subject to regulatory approvals, Jetstar Airways will launch a thrice-weekly Avalon-Adelaide and four-weekly Avalon-Hobart A320 service from March 27 and March 28, respectively. Vietnam’s Jetstar Pacific plans to launch a twice-weekly Macau-Okinawa A320 service commencing February 6. Tigerair Taiwan will launch a five-weekly Taoyuan-Fukuoka A320 rotation from January 28, followed by a daily Taoyuan-Nagoya service the following day. Yangtze River Express has launched operations December 15 with daily B737-800 services connecting Pudong with Guiyang, Sanya and Zhuhai, respectively.
