Short Takes
May 25th 2018
Airlines: AirAsia X has reported a first-quarter group net profit of RM41.5 million (US$10 million), up from a profit of RM10.3 million a year earlier. Read More » China Southern Airlines has retired its final B777-200ER, following nearly 23 years in service. Etihad Airways will introduce Jeppesen Crew Pairing, Rostering and Fatigue Risk Management solutions powered by Boeing AnalytX and designed to support the planning and operation of the airline's 7,500 crewmembers. China’s Ruili Airlines has signed leasing deals with AVIC International Leasing Co., Huaxia Financial Leasing Co., China Development Bank Leasing and SMBC Aviation Capital for 15 B737 MAX 8s, with deliveries starting in 2019.
OEMs: Airbus has made changes to reimbursable launch investment loans to comply with World Trade Organization (WTO) rules after the WTO ruled the OEM had received improper A350 and A380 launch aid. The exact details of the changes are confidential, but Airbus is understood to have agreed to fast-track repayment of a UK government-backed loan this year and decline certain aid initially granted for the A350 programme.
Routes: Ethiopian Airlines will launch a thrice-weekly Addis Ababa-Bangkok-Jakarta B787-8 triangular route on July 17. Etihad Airways continues reducing capacity; from September 30, Abu Dhabi-Thiruvananthapuram A320/A321 flights will go from twice-daily to daily; Abu Dhabi-Colombo will go from double daily A321 operations to daily from October 1; and Abu Dhabi-Kathmandu will also be reduced from double daily A320 operations to daily flights from December 1. Cathay Pacific Airways plans to deploy the A350-1000 on flights from Hong Kong to Madrid (from October 28), Tel Aviv (from October 3) and Manchester (from December 1). THAI will reduce Suvarnabhumi-Phnom Penh A330-300 flights from double daily to daily starting June 1 as Thai Smile continues serving the route with A320s eleven times a week. Indonesia’s Wings Air will launch a daily Kota Kinabalu-Balikpapan ATR72 route on May 25.
