Short Takes
November 18th 2014
Airports: Singapore’s Changi International Airport has rolled out a PR and marketing initiative transforming the airport into an “enchanting winter wonderland with a sprinkle of snow and a dazzle of Disney Magic” from November 14 through to January 5. Read More » After lying idle for nearly eight months and 240 million ringgit ($72 million) spent to upgrade facilities and lengthen the runway, Malacca International Airport has found its first commercial airline to use it. Malindo Air will offer services to Kota Bharu, Pekan Baru (Indonesia) and Penang from November 21. In September, three of the five fastest-growing airports (year-on-year) were located in India. Bengaluru International Airport (+54.4%) achieved the region’s strongest traffic growth, while Goa International Airport (+34.3%) and Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (+34.0%) also surged. Also in the top five were Bangkok’s Don Mueang (+35.6%) and Indonesia’s Palembang Airport (+34.3%).
Codeshares: On November 10, Etihad started a new codeshare agreement with Spain’s Air Europa by adding its ‘EY’ code to six of the carrier’s domestic routes from Madrid. 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.
Fleets: Indonesia’s Lion Group has taken delivery of its first three Airbus A320 aircraft from a March 2013 order for 234 A320 family aircraft. The initial batch will join the fleet of full-service subsidiary Batik Air in a two-class configuration later this month.
Lessors: Japan’s SMBC Aviation Capital has placed an order for 80 Boeing 737 MAX 8s, valued at more than $8.5 billion at list prices, making this the largest single order for 737 MAXs from a leasing company.
Manufacturers: Airbus has received FAA type certification for the A350-900. The certified aircraft is powered by Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines. This follows the A350-900 type certification awarded by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) on September 30. Boeing has awarded a contract to Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) to produce composite empennage tips of the 777 programme starting in 2017. Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Co. has been granted a Supplemental Type Certificate for its Sukhoi Superjet 100 (SSJ100) to perform reduced thrust take-off.
Routes: Air Astana will launch a new thrice-weekly Astana – Paris (CDG) service using B757-200 from March 29. China Eastern Airlines will start a new twice-weekly Changzhou – Seoul A320 service on November 20. From December 4, China Southern Airlines will add a third weekly B737-700 service on the Urumqi – Osh route. Indonesia’s Citilink started a new Palembang – Padang A320 service on November 7, and increased frequency on the Jakarta (Halim) – Surabaya route from three to five-daily, also operated by A320 aircraft. Effective March 22, EVA Air will replace the A321 with the A330-200 on the Taipei – Osaka route, and from April 16 on all services to Komatsu and Okinawa. From January 15, Garuda Indonesia will start a new thrice-weekly Denpasar – Beijing service using A330-200 aircraft. From July 1, Hainan Airlines will increase A330 operations on the Beijing – Berlin and Beijing – Brussels routes from five-weekly to daily. The carrier will also offer three-weekly frequencies on the Beijing – Xi’An – Paris rotation, up from twice-weekly, from July 7. Starting December 1, Hong Kong Airlines will increase service on the Hong Kong – Haikou route from daily to 11-weekly using A320 aircraft. From December 15, IndiGo will add a new Bangalore – Dubai service on board A320 aircraft. KLM will replace the B747-400 Combi with the B777-300ER on three of its seven-weekly Tokyo (Narita) – Amsterdam rotations from October 25. Korean Air has extended its service suspension on the A330-200 Seoul – Nairobi route until July 17. Qatar Airways will add capacity on the Doha – Colombo route by replacing the A320 with the A330 on one of its three daily frequencies from January 2. The other two rotations are operated by A321 and B777-300ER aircraft. It will increase frequency on the Doha – Edinburgh B787 route from five-weekly to daily starting May 5. From July 13 to 27, Singapore Airlines will increase frequency on the B777-200ER Singapore – Rome route from three to five-weekly. THAI will once again replace the A330-300 with the B787-8 on the five-weekly Bangkok – Perth route from January 16. From the same day, it will start double daily A380 operations on the Bangkok – Tokyo (Narita) route, bringing the total to three daily frequencies, with the remaining service operated by the B787-8.
Strategic Decisions: AirAsia and Qatar Airways have become the first and second airlines, respectively, to sign up for Interpol’s I-Checkit system. The system allows airlines and other select partners in the travel, hotel and banking industries to screen the passports of its passengers against Interpol’s Stolen and Lost Travel Documents (SLTD) database. From November 19, Emirates Airline and Starwood Hotels and Resorts are teaming up to let their elite frequent fliers and guests earn reciprocal benefits on the ground and in the air. China’s Zhejiang Loong Airlines has signed an agreement with CFM International to purchase LEAP-1A engines to power its nine Airbus A320neos, including spare engines, in a deal valued at $260 at current list prices.
