Short Takes
Shorttakes
January 20th 2017
Airlines: Air China carried 7.9 million passengers in December, 10.5% more year-on-year, while capacity grew 6.4% over the same period. Finnair has denied media reports saying it was looking to convert its remaining A350-900 orders into commitments for the larger -1000. Read More » JC Cambodia International Airlines, a subsidiary of Yunnan Jingcheng Group which owns Ruili Airlines, is expected to take delivery of its maiden aircraft, an ex-airberlin A320, next week. Industry analysts have dismissed media reports Etihad Airways was looking to acquire a 30-40% stake in Deutsche Lufthansa AG. Instead, it has been suggested, the two parties are looking to deepen their codeshare agreements and cooperate more closely on procurement. The German flag carrier said it would not comment on speculation. Iran Air has taken delivery of its first new aircraft, an A321ceo, from a historic 100-aircraft-strong Airbus order comprising 46 A320s, 38 A330s and 16 A350s finalized on December 22.
GDS: Emirates Airline this week signed a comprehensive global distribution and merchandising technology (branded fares, ancillaries et al) deal with Sabre Corp., making all of the airline’s fares and products available to more than 425,000 travel agencies worldwide.
Manufacturers: Embraer delivered 108 commercial aircraft in 2016, up 6.9% over 101 commercial aircraft delivered in 2015. It received a total of 78 new orders during the year.
MRO: GA Telesis Engine Services (GATES) has received certification from the Civil Aviation Administration of China Aviation (CAAC) for the overhaul of CFM56-5B/7B and CF6-80C2B engines.
Routes: China Southern Airlines will replace the B787-8 with the B777-300ER on the daily Guangzhou-Vancouver rotation starting March 26. Etihad Airways has reversed its decision to terminate flights to Minsk and will continue to offer thrice-weekly A319 service throughout the summer schedule. Japan Airlines (JAL) will replace the B787-8 with the larger -9 on its daily Narita-Helsinki route from April 2. Philippine Airlines (PAL) has launched a four-weekly Kalibo-Chengdu A320 route and a thrice-weekly Cebu-Chengdu A320 route. It also plans a return to Malaysia this summer with a daily Manila-Kuala Lumpur A321 rotation from June 25. Qatar Airways will downgrade its daily Doha-Pisa flights from the A320 to the A319 from February 1. SAUDIA will replace the B777-200ER with the B787-9 on the four-weekly Jeddah-Madrid route commencing March 2. Spring Airlines Japan will launch thrice-weekly Narita-Tianjin B737-800 flights from January 28. Tigerair Taiwan will add a daily Taichung-Macau route beginning March 29. Vietnam Airlines has postponed the launch of five-weekly A321 flights between Phu Quoc and Shanghai’s Pudong by five months to June 21. It will launch a thrice-weekly Hanoi-Sydney B787-9 route on March 28 and it also plans to replace the A321 with the A350-900 on its daily Ho Chi Minh-Guangzhou service from October 1.
