Short Takes
November 11th 2014
Airports: Singapore’s Changi International Airport reported a drop of 0.5% in passenger numbers for September as traffic continues to decrease year-over-year. The airport saw 4.25 million passengers and just over 27,020 aircraft movements—down from 4.65 million passengers and 28,360 movements in August 2014; the latter also registering a significant 5% decline compared to the same month last year. Read More »
Cargo: From November 23, Cathay Pacific Cargo will add a twice-weekly B747-8 Hong Kong – Singapore – Penang – Phnom Penh – Hong Kong freighter service. China Airlines Cargo has launched a six-weekly B747-400 freighter service between Taipei – Anchorage – Atlanta – Dallas – Anchorage – Taipei.
Codeshares: Subject to regulatory approval, Japan Airlines (JAL) and TAM Airlines plan to commence codesharing on three routes from December 12. JAL intends to add its ‘JL’ code to TAM’s services from New York (JFK) to Rio and Sao Paulo, while TAM wants to place its ‘JJ’ code on JAL’s JFK – Narita service. Starting October 27, Qatar Airways and American Airlines (AA) expanded their codeshare agreement that saw Qatar Airways add its ‘QR’ code to a further 13 U.S. domestic AA routes out of Dallas, Miami and Philadelphia.
Manufacturers: AVIC Aircraft Corp. reported a 29% year-on-year decline in net profit to 46.5 million yuan ($7.61 million) for the first three quarters ended September 30. Mitsubishi has unveiled its first 92-seat MRJ flight-test aircraft and will undergo about six months of ground evaluations before taking to the air in the second quarter of 2015.
Routes: Air China will operate its new B747-8 daily on the Beijing – Chengdu route from November 9 to December 31, but has shelved plans to deploy the type on the Beijing – Frankfurt route from January 2. Asiana Airlines will temporarily decrease frequency on the B777-200ER Seoul – Heathrow service from daily to five-weekly from November 11 to November 27. China Eastern Airlines will replace the A330-200 on the daily Shanghai – Los Angeles service with its new B777-300ER from February 1, introducing first class to the route. From June 1, China Airlines will replace the A340-300 with the B747-400 on its thrice-weekly Taipei – Vienna rotation, resulting in a 113-seat capacity increase. Emirates will add a third daily Dubai – New York (JFK) A380 service from March 8. Ethiopian Airlines will open a new thrice-weekly B737-800 service connecting Addis Ababa with Doha (via Dammam) from December 2. From January 19 to March 28, Etihad will further reduce frequency from daily to five-weekly on the Abu Dhabi – Istanbul route operated by A340-500 aircraft. It will increase frequency to Mumbai to thrice-daily from February 15 and Delhi from May 1, both using A320 aircraft. From November 7, Iraqi Airways is adding capacity on its weekly Baghdad – Kuala Lumpur service by replacing the incumbent B767 with a B747. Jeju Air will offer a new twice-weekly B737-800 Busan – Guam service from January 8. Kenya Airways will deploy the B787-8 on three of its ten-weekly Mumbai – Nairobi rotations from December 1. Korean Air has extended its service suspension on the A330-200 Seoul – Nairobi route until July 17. From July 1 to September 30, Lufthansa’s B737-800 Pune – Frankfurt service (operated by Privatair) will stop in Bucharest in both directions to refuel. Qatar Airways will deploy the B787-8 on two of its three weekly Doha – Addis Ababa rotations from January 2. Singapore Airlines will replace the B777-200ER with the A330-300 on all four daily Singapore – Denpasar services from December 12. Tigerair has added a twice-weekly A320 Singapore – Nanning service and will start weekly A320 operations to Guilin from November 15. Taiwan’s UNI Air will reduce frequency on the Taipei – Wenzhou A321 route from twice-weekly to weekly starting November 23. Xiamen Airlines has increased frequency from seven to ten-weekly on the Xiamen – Bangkok B737-800 route and plans to operate double-daily rotations from December 1.
