Short Takes
September 20th 2019
CABIN INTERIORS: UK-headquartered Acro Aircraft Seating, which has equipped aircraft in the fleets of Asia-Pacific carriers, Air New Zealand and Hawaiian Airlines, has launched its Series 6LC Economy class seat with North American LCC and long-standing Acro customer, Spirit Airlines. Read More »
CODE-SHARES: Qatar Airways and China Southern Airlines (CSA) will commence their code-share agreement between Doha and Guangzhou and Beijing in January. The Gulf carrier purchased five per cent of CSA in December last year.
IFE & COMMUNICATIONS: Bluebox Aviation Systems and Indian carrier, Vistara, have marked the first anniversary of the inception of Vistara World’s Bluebox Wow content streaming solution by going app-free. Inmarsat’s GX Aviation inflight broadband system has entered commercial service with AirAsia, initially going live on eight aircraft and planned to be installed on the LCC’s A320s and A330s over the next year. Free trials of the system are being offered on designated flights until September 30.
LEASING: Aercap Holdings has signed long-term lease agreements with Air Macau for three new A321neo with deliveries scheduled from November 2020 to October 2021.
OEMs: The Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China (COMAC) has said it will commence building its narrow-body C919 passenger jet by year-end and that it planned to deliver the aircraft to China Eastern Airlines in two to three years. The first four C919 aircraft are being tested in airfields across China.
ROUTES: China Eastern Airlines has expanded Hangzhou – Osaka to daily from September 19. Indian LCC, IndiGo, will commence daily Kolkata -Guangzhou flights from October 17. Qatar Airways will resume five times a week Doha-Osaka flights on April 6 increasing to daily on June 23. It is the Gulf’s carrier’s third destination into Japan after Doha to Tokyo Narita (2010) and Doha-Tokyo Haneda (2014). Shenzhen Airlines will fly daily from Nanchang to Osaka from October 27 and daily Wuxi-Nagoya from November 1. Vietnam Airlines will operate Da Nang-Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City to Denpasar and Phuket from October 27.
TRAINING: Hong Kong Airlines has delayed the opening of its US$229 million training centre, adjacent to Hong Kong International Airport, from September 25 because of continuing civil unrest in Hong Kong. Global aviation distance learning provider, CPat Global, has developed an A220 aircraft systems course that will be available on iPad, Android, PC and IOS devices in the first quarter of next year.
