Short Takes
September 22nd 2017
Airlines: Qatar Airways will roll out its QSuite product on the Doha-Paris route from September 25, followed by JFK from “the end of this year”. The new business class product already features on the Doha-London route. Read More » Turkish Airlines has opened a new flight training centre at its Istanbul Atatürk Airport base, increasing its training capabilities by 48%. United Airlines has scheduled its final B747-400 flight for November 7, operating San Francisco-Honolulu.
MRO: Following a MoU signed in March, China Airlines and Nordam Aerospace Maintenance Group this week signed a joint venture term sheet to establish and operate an MRO facility in Taoyuan to service thrust reversers and other composite parts. Finnair has appointed Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Co. (HAECO) to perform the carrier's first C-check on its A350-900 fleet. HAECO also services Finnair’s A330/A340 fleets.
Routes: Air Busan will launch five-weekly Busan-Vientiane A321 flights on October 30. Air Canada will replace the B787-9 with the B777-300ER on the daily Vancouver-Pudong service commencing March 25. Air France will replace the B777-200ER with the B787-9 on the daily CDG-Osaka route beginning May 7. Beijing Capital Airlines has closed reservations for its Qingdao-Madrid A330 service, originally scheduled to launch on October 31. Taiwan’s China Airlines will replace the B777-300ER with the A350-900 on the daily Taipei-Frankfurt route from March 25. China Southern Airlines will increase frequency on the Shenzhen-Denpasar A320 route from thrice-weekly to daily starting October 29. Delta Air Lines will terminate its eleven-weekly Narita-Guam B757-200 route from January 8. Jetstar Japan will launch a Narita-Miyazaki A320 route on December 21. Korean Air will terminate its thrice-weekly Incheon-Houston B777-200ER route on October 10. Cambodia’s Lanmei Airlines has applied for thrice-weekly A319 traffic rights between Macau and Palau starting September 29. Lucky Air has launched a twice-weekly Nanchang-Hanoi A320 flight on September 17. Philippine Airlines plans to launch a thrice-weekly Cebu-Bangkok A321 rotation from December 2. Qantas Airways will convert its thrice-weekly Sydney-Osaka A330-300 seasonal route to a year-round service. Qatar Airways will maintain daily B777-300ER operations on the Doha-Berlin route from November 1 and it will replace the B787-8 with the A319LR on the five-weekly Doha-Nice service from October 29.
