by ORIENT AVIATION 

June 1st 2014

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AIRLINES: Ruili Airlines, owned by the Yunnan Jingcheng Group and operating an all-Boeing fleet, formally inaugurated airline operations last month with a flight from Kunming to Mangshi, a provincial airport in Yunnan. Kunming is the province’s largest city. Read More »

CARGO: All Nippon Airways Cargo has commenced a six times a week Okinawa-Singapore-Tokyo service flying B767-300F aircraft. China’s HNA Group is reported to be in negotiations to buy a share of 13-year old Kenyan cargo airline, Astral Airlines. The Nairobi-based freight airline operates scheduled and cargo charter across Africa.

ENVIRONMENT: SkyNRG, which supplies 20 airlines worldwide with sustainable aviation kerosene, will supply sustainable jet fuel for KLM flights from Amsterdam to Aruba and Bonaire in the Caribbean. The flights, which will be conducted for six months using an A330-200, will be under taken in conjunction with a European biofuel initiative, ITAKA (Initiative Towards Sustainable Kerosene for Aviation).

FLEETS: Low-cost carrier and Juneyao Airlines subsidiary, 9 Air, have reached an agreement with Boeing Commercial Airplanes to buy 50 Next Generation B737s and B737 MAXs. Thai regional low-cost carrier, Nok Air, has finalized an order, announced at the Singapore Air Show in February, for eight B737-800s and seven B737MAX 8s. Nok Air said one of the B737-800s will be converted into a B737 MAX at a later date.

INFLIGHT: Singapore Airlines (SIA) will spend US$325 million to upgrade its cabins and IFE services on 19 B777-300ERs it has been operating for several years. The refit, which will begin next year, will elevate the cabin appointment levels of the older aircraft to match SIA’s newest eight B777-300ERs that began arriving at SIA in mid-2013.

LEASING: Air Lease Corporation has signed a long-term lease agreement with Sri Lankan carrier, Mihin Lanka, for two winglet fitted B737-800s.

MRO: Lufthansa Technik Shenzhen (LTS) has added 16,000 square metres of warehouses, workshops, offices and training facilities to its 11,000 square metre complex at Bao”An International Airport in Shenzhen, southern China. The joint venture company is expanding its presence in component supply, logistic services and Airline Support Solutions (ATS) for engine services across China and the region.

OEMs: Mitsubishi Aircraft said last month that static strength tests on its MRJ regional jet will commence during the North Atlantic summer in the presence of Japan Civil Aviation Bureau inspectors.

PEOPLE: Cathay Pacific Airways and Dragonair have announced senior management changes that will take effect in the northern hemisphere summer. At Cathay Pacific, Dane Cheng, who is currently General Manager China will be succeed Rupert Hogg as Director Sales & Marketing. Hogg is now the Chief Operating Officer at the airline. James Ginn, the General Manager Inflight Services, will become Director of Service Delivery. He will succeed Philippe de Gentile-Williams, who will move to senior management in the parent company’s property arm, Swire Properties. James Tong, who also was CEO of Dragonair earlier in the decade is the new Director Corporate Affairs.

Well respected Dragonair CEO, Patrick Yeung, who is to take charge of Taiwan and Korea for Cathay and Dragonair, will be succeeded by Algeron Yau. Yau has been CEO of Cathay Pacific Services Ltd since 2011. His remit included the new Cathay Pacific Cargo Terminal at Hong Kong International Airport.

Tiger Airways Holdings paid tribute to Koay Peng Yen when he stepped down as CEO of the Singapore- headquartered budget carrier last month as a leader who had overcome many external operational challenges during his three year tenure, including start to successfully rebuild the re-structured low-cost airline carrier after the market hit by over-capacity sagged. The new CEO of the airline company is Lee Lik Hsin.

ROUTES: Cathay Pacific Airways will begin flying daily between its home base, Hong Kong, and Switzerland’s Zurich from March 2015, pending Hong Kong government approval. Budget carrier, HK Express, will expand its flights to Korea from its twice daily Hong Kong- Seoul service to include a five times a week Hong Kong-Busan flights from August.

TRAINING: Etihad Airways will own its own cadet flight training school, Etihad Flight College, after it completes the purchase of the Horizon International Flight Academy’s fixed-wing facility. Middle East-based Horizon has trained Etihad pilots since 2007 and has been a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Development Co. Scoot has announced a five-year training agreement that will see Boeing Flight Services train the budget carrier’s cockpit crew for their transition to flying B787 airliners at the training company’s Singapore campus.