Short Takes
November 11th 2016
Routes: AeroMexico will increase frequency on the Mexico City-Narita B787-8 route from five-weekly to daily starting March 2. Read More » AirAsia will launch a thrice-weekly Johor Bahru-Jakarta service from January 10, and it will resume thrice-weekly Kuala Lumpur-Solo A320 operations from January 17. Air India Express will start a thrice-weekly Kochi-Dammam service on December 1, followed by a four-weekly Kozhikode-Riyadh route launching the next day, and from March 1 it plans add a thrice-weekly Delhi-Tehran route. All Nippon Airways (ANA) will increase frequency on the Haneda-Hong Kong B787-9/B767 route from ten-weekly to double daily commencing December 21. It also serves Hong Kong twice a day from Narita. China Eastern Airlines will launch a thrice-weekly Kunming-Nanjing-Vancouver A330-200 flight on December 20. EVA Air plans to increase frequency on the Taipei-San Francisco B777-300ER route from double daily to 17-weekly flights from October 31, 2017. Finnair will offer a twice-weekly seasonal Helsinki-Astana A319 service from June 19 through to August 11. Jeju Air will launch a four-weekly Busan-Saipan B737-800 route starting December 15, as well as a twice-weekly Busan-Phuket and a daily Busan-Narita flight launching the following day. Lufthansa will suspend its thrice-weekly Frankfurt-Narita A340-300 service from January 9 through to March 25. Thai Lion Air will increase frequency on the Hat Yai-Udon Thani B737-800 route from thrice- to six-weekly beginning November 17. Tigerair Taiwan plans to launch a twice-weekly Kaohsiung-Okinawa A320 service from March 4. Vietnam Airlines will add a thrice-weekly Phu Quoc-Pudong A321 route starting January 18.
Airlines: Asiana Airlines has reported a third-quarter net profit of 153 billion won ($133 million), reversing a 62 billion won year-ago loss. Iran’s Qeshm Air plans to add Hamburg, Brussels, Paris, Cologne Amsterdam and Stockholm to its network once it receives the relevant permits. The carrier also said it would like to add used widebodies “like the A330” to its ageing fleet comprising three A320s and five A300s. Tianjin Airlines plans to launch a Gatwick-Xian route, a Tianjin-Paris and a Chongqing-Auckland route next year. It already serves Gatwick twice a week from its Tianjin base on board two-class A330-200s.
MRO: CFM International will offer LEAP-1C line maintenance training at its Aero Engine Maintenance and Training Center (AEMTEC) in Guanghan City in 2017. Separately, the engine maker this week celebrated the first ever 100,000 flight hour threshold of a CFM56-5C engine. The power plant has been flying Lufthansa A340s since 1993 and has undergone four full overhauls over the course of its 23-year career. MTU Maintenance Zhuhai, a joint venture between MTU Aero Engines and China Southern Air, has completed its 2,000 engine shop visit (on a China Southern Airlines V2500-A5).
