Short Takes
May 1st 2012
AIRPORTS: Narita Airport Authority will build a dedicated low-cost carrier terminal, adjacent to Terminal Two, with completion planned for 2014. Read More »
ALLIANCES: Star Alliance has accepted an application from Taiwan’s EVA Air to join the global 26 member alliance. Shenzhen Airlines will become a full member in November. South American carriers Avianca-TACA and Copa Airlines have also applied to join Star.
CARGO: Cathay Pacific Airways will add Zhengzhou to its Mainland China network, employing a B747 from Hong Kong to Zhengzhou via Shanghai.
CODE-SHARES: Japan Airlines (JAL) and U.S. carrier, JetBlue Airways, have established a code-share agreement that will offer JAL passengers connections from Boston to several U.S. cities, including New York.
ENGINES: Qantas Airways has ordered the CFM International LEAP-1A engines for the 78 A320neos it has on order, at a reported price of US$2 billion, including spare engines.
LEASING: AWAS has delivered two A320s to India’s low-cost carrier, IndiGo Airlines.
MRO: Lufthansa Technik Philippines has contracted to complete C Checks on the fleet of Indian LCC, IndiGo.
OEMS: Bombardier Aerospace has formally opened its engineering service office in Bangalore, India, which was set up last December.
PEOPLE: Jetsar Asia has appointed Barathan Pasupathi to succeed Chong Phit Lian as CEO of the Singapore-based low-cost carrier. After Ms. Chong resigned in December, Paul Daff took over as interim CEO and will remain in the role until Barathan takes over in July. Frederic Dupont is the new head of global sales at the Mubadala Aerospace MRO Network.
ROUTES: AirAsia X has commenced a daily service between Kuala Lumpur and Sydney, its fourth Australian destination after the successful development of Gold Coast in Queensland, Melbourne and Perth routes. Air New Zealand is considering cancellation of some more long-haul routes as the escalating cost of fuel erodes profit. Earlier this year the carrier suspended its Auckland -Beijing service. All Nippon Airways (ANA) will resume flights to Yangon in Myanmar from Tokyo as soon as possible, ANA said in April. Scoot, Singapore Airlines’ new low-cost subsidiary, will be launched with two routes to Australia, Sydney and the Queensland’s Gold Coast in the first half of June. Taiwan’s TransAsia Airways has launched a cross straits service between Hualien in Taiwan and Hangzhou in China.
TRAINING: FlightSafety International has delivered its first A320 simulator to Mainland Chinese client Wisesoft Corporation, in Chengdu, where it will be used to train Air China pilots. Oxford Aviation Academy has become the first non-Singaporean based training company to have its type rating training organisation approved by the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore. Low-cost carrier, Tiger Airways, has awarded a five-year training programme to ST Aerospace Academy (STAA) to conduct ab initio and advance pilot training for more than 100 Tiger Airways pilots. STAA also has signed a contract with Chinese airline group subsidiary, Hainan Aviation Academy, to train 50 cadets at HNAA’s training school in Hubei, followed by flying training at STAA at Seletar in Singapore. The Civil Aviation University of China and the Xinjiang Aviation College have ordered three Beechcraft King Air turboprops.
