by ORIENT AVIATION 

February 1st 2014

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AIRLINES: The Civil Aviation Administration of China has approved the establishment of Hainan Airlines-controlled, Fuzhou Airlines, the first airline to be launched in Fuzhou province. Read More »

AIRPORTS: Guangdong Airport Authority is looking for a site for a second airport for its capital, Guangdong, despite the construction of both a second terminal and a third runway at aiyun International airport.

Garuda Indonesia: 20th SkyTeam member

ALLIANCES: Garuda Indonesia will become the 20th member of the SkyTeam alliance next month, the second Southeast Asian carrier to join the alliance. US Airways will become part of oneworld on March 31. Completing its merger with the alliance’s founder, American Airlines.

ENGINES: The Federal Aviation Administration has certified the GE Honda Aero Engine HF120 turbofan engine, which allows the engine to move forward to production. Indonesia’s Lion Air has chosen CFM International’s 56-5B engine for its firm order of 60 A320ceo (current engine option) aircraft.

REGIONAL AVIATION: ATR, a 50/50 joint venture between the Airbus Group and Italy’s Alenia Aermacchi, increased its turnover to US$1.63 billion (up 13%) in 2013, maintain its lead in the global regional aviation market.

ENVIRONMENT: An Etihad Airways’ B777 completed a 45 minute flight in January with one engine running on a 10% blend of biofuel produced from cane and conventional aviation jet fuel. The Total oil company and Abu Dhabi producer, Takreer, were partners in the project. Boeing, Etihad, Takreer, Total and Abu Dhabi’s Masdar Institute of Science and Technology have established BIOjet Abu Dhabi: Flight Path to Sustainability to develop a framework for a bio fuel supply chain. Airbus has signed an Memorandum of Understanding with Honeywell and Safran to produce an electric taxiing solution for the A320 family that could reduce emissions by up to four per cent and cut taxiing related carbon and MOX emissions by more than 50%.

FLEETS: Airbus has removed five A350s and five A380s destined for failed Indian carrier, Kingfisher Airlines, but said the airline still had an active order for some single aisle airliners.

 LEASING: Dutch aircraft lessor, AerCap, has bought AIG’s International Lease Finance Corp. (ILFC) for US$5.4 billion, following the collapse of a deal between ILFC and a Chinese consortium in 2013. Air Lease Corporation has leased two new A321s to Sichuan Airlines, with deliveries scheduled for May and October this year. Singapore-based, Avation PLC, has added to its order of ATR 72-600s with the purchase of five more of the turboprop, with five options. AWAS has leased an A320 to new customer, Chinese domestic carrier, Lucky Air, a Kunming-based subsidiary of the Hainan Airlines group. AWAS also has delivered a third new A320 to ANA Holdings for use on its new LCC, Vanilla Air. Minsheng Financial Commercial Aviation has set up in Hong Kong, under the leadership of Johnny Lau Ho-yin.

Air China: most profitable Mainland carrier

ROUTES: Air China launched a three times a week non-stop scheduled services between Beijing and Hawaii last month. Air China will also introduce scheduled Beijing-Vienna- Barcelona and Shanghai-Munich flights to its network before mid-year. Dragonair, a subsidiary of the Cathay Pacific group, will take up the Hong Kong-Penang services, with a 10 times a week schedule from next month. Cathay Pacific Airways will maintain its four times a day daily schedule between Hong Kong to Kuala Lumpur. Australian low-cost carrier, Jetstar Airways, has commenced twice a week direct flights between Melbourne and Phuket, with plans to add a third service each week from April. Direct Sydney-Phuket services will commence this month with the airline’s new B787 aircraft.

TRAINING: Star Alliance member, All Nippon Airways (ANA), will begin training its Multi-crew Pilot License training into its pilot program from later this year, with the training outsourced to Lufthansa Flight Training, a subsidiary of Lufthansa, which also belongs to the Star Alliance. Global simulator manufacturer and training company, CAE, has sold a B787 full flight simulator to its joint venture training school, Zhuhai Flight Training Centre, southern China, with delivery scheduled for early 2015.