Short Takes
September 8th 2017
Airlines: Shareholders at Air France-KLM have approved plans for fellow SkyTeam members China Eastern Airlines and Delta Air Lines to each acquire 10% of the Franco-Dutch group. All Nippon Airways (ANA) has taken delivery of its first of 30 on-order A320neo Family aircraft. Read More » Singapore Airlines will unveil its next-generation premium seats on November 2.
OEMs: Boeing projects demand for 7,240 new aircraft in China over the next 20 years valued at nearly US$1.1 trillion, an increase of 6.3% over last year’s forecast. Singapore-based Boeing Training and Professional Services has commissioned a B737 MAX 8 full-flight simulator (FFS), joining two B787-8, two B737NG and a B777-300 FFS already at the facility. In November, it will also add a B787-9 FFS. Rolls-Royce has secured EASA flight certification for the Trent XWB-97 powering Airbus’ A350-1000.
Routes: Air China will launch a daily Pudong-Suvarnabhumi A321 route on October 29. Asiana Airlines will gradually replace the B777-200ER with the A350-900 on the daily Incheon-Heathrow route from October 29. Delta Air Lines will resume daily Atlanta-Shanghai B777-200LR flights from July 20. Donghai Airlines will launch a thrice-weekly Shenzhen-Utapao B737-800 route on September 16. Hainan Airlines will add a twice-weekly Shenzhen-Cairns A330-300 service on December 19. Hebei Airlines will launch a thrice-weekly Shijiazhuang-Taipei B737-800 route on September 23. Jetstar Asia will launch a daily Singapore-Hat Yai A320 flight on November 3. Korean Air will reduce frequency on the Seoul-Amsterdam A330-200 route from five- to four-weekly beginning October 29 and it will replace the B777-200ER with the B787-9 on the four-weekly Barcelona route starting the same date. Lion Air will start B737 MAX flights between Bandar Lampung/Palembang-Jeddah from October 21 and October 23, respectively; the airline will also start flying between Pekanbaru/Padang-Madinah from October 22 and October 26, respectively. There will be a technical stop in Thiruvananthapuram on each of the four new routes. Peach Aviation will terminate its thrice-weekly Okinawa-Hong Kong A320 route on October 29. Qatar Airways has added a fourth daily Doha-Kathmandu A320 rotation. Spring Airlines Japan will terminate its daily Narita-Kansai B737-800 route on October 29. Thai Lion Air will add a thrice-weekly Chiang Mai-Chengdu B737-800 route on September 23. Ukraine International will launch a four-weekly Kiev-Delhi B767 route in June 2018. United Airlines will launch a daily Houston-Sydney B787-9 route on January 18. Xiamen Airlines will start a twice-weekly Hangzhou-Melbourne B787 service on December 17.
