Overview
It has been a fast developing week in Asia-Pacific aviation. Until yesterday, the market was still digesting the Mainland’s HNA Group buy-in at Virgin Australia, but earlier today there was even more to analyse with the news that another Chinese investor, the Nanshan Group, intended to purchase 19.98% of Air New Zealand’s 25.9% equity in the Australian carrier. Elsewhere, Sichuan Airlines agreed to another A320 order, Shenzhen Airlines told Orient Aviation it would fly soon with the A330 and the Toulouse manufacturer informed Thai Airways International and China Airlines that their first A350 deliveries would be postponed because of cabin supplier issues. Star Alliance has appointed its first Asian CEO, Jeffrey Goh, and told us a new membership tier was under discussion.
HNA and Nanshan to invest in Virgin Australia Read More »
News
Sichuan Airlines orders 15 A320s, Shenzhen Airlines to receive A330s
Chengdu-based Sichuan Airlines last week signed a firm order for 15 additional A320 Family aircraft worth $1.46 billion at list prices. Sichuan Airlines operates an all-Airbus fleet of 23 A319s, 48 A320s, 28 A321s, four A330-200s and four A330-300s. Read More »
News
HNA Group eyes stake in Avianca and will take two A350s from Azul
Apart from its confirmed commitment in Australia, the HNA Group is looking to acquire equity in Avianca Holdings and Avianca Brasil, Reuters has reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Read More »
News
Cathay Pacific Airways “interested” in long-range A350 variant
Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Airways is talking to Airbus and Rolls-Royce about a stretched A350 variant (dubbed -2000, or -8000) that would allow it to serve destinations such as Mexico City and Miami nonstop from its home base, according to Cathay chief executive, Ivan Chu. Read More »
News
Ethiopian eyes Bangkok as regional hub
Addis Ababa-based Ethiopian Airlines is planning to develop Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport into its regional hub, according to reports by the Ethiopian State News Agency and the carrier’s regional manager for Thailand and southeast Asia, Meaza Taye. Read More »
News
MAB to replace A380s with A350s in 2018
Malaysia Airlines Berhad (MAB) will replace its six A380s with six leased A350-900s from Air Lease Corporation (ALC) from June 2018, the carrier’s outgoing CEO, Christoph Mueller, told ATW. Read More »
News
Supplier problems delay THAI and CAL A350 deliveries
“We have 40 [A350] aircraft in the final assembly line, so ideally we still plan to deliver 40 this year. But is it easy? Definitely no. Can we do it without big cabin improvements from some suppliers? Read More »
News
Emirates defeated on A380neo, mulls premium economy
“I can’t force Toulouse to do anything,” Sir Tim Clark, president of Dubai’s Emirates Airline told media at last week’s International Air Transport Association (IATA) annual general meeting in Dublin, answering questions about the carrier’s urging of Airbus to produce a re-engined A380. Read More »
News
Star Alliance eyes new tier, Goh appointed CEO
“We’ve been looking at it for several years and we’ve just had a discussion about it this morning with the [Star] CEOs. They’ve given us guidelines and we’re going that way to refine and sharpen the focus of what we’re talking about. Read More »
People
Retiring IATA boss to join BOC Aviation as an independent non-executive director
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) director general and CEO, Tony Tyler, will join the board of BOC Aviation as an independent non-executive director, the aircraft lessor’s CEO, Robert Martin, confirmed with Orient Aviation last week. Read More »
Short Takes
Airlines
China Eastern Airlines has applied to the U.S. Department of Transportation for thrice-weekly Kunming-Qingdao-San Francisco A330-200 traffic rights from September. Read More »
