Orient Aviation's Week in the Asia-Pacific
By Dominic Lalk
It’s been a nostalgic week in Asia-Pacific aviation as Cathay Pacific Airways became the latest carrier to say goodbye to the B747, the classic ‘Jumbo Jet’. In Colombo, SriLankan Airlines cancelled its contract with AerCap for four A350s and announced it would merge with its low-cost offshoot, Mihin Lanka. Arguably the biggest news of the week is not expected until tonight when Qatar Airways should announce a major Boeing wide body order in Washington. Emirates Airline this week confirmed a seat reservation fee for economy class passengers while rival, Etihad Airways, is forming a leisure carrier with Germany’s TUI Group. In Montreal, almost 200 delegates at the International Civil Aviation Organisation’s (ICAO) triennial conference ratified aviation’s first international climate agreement, aimed at reducing emissions in the industry.
Cathay Pacific bids farewell to B747; 204 jumbo jets remain in service worldwide Read More »
News
Mihin Lanka to merge with parent airline SriLankan
Sri Lanka’s national budget carrier, Mihin Lanka, will cease operations on October 30 and merge with its parent, oneworld member, SriLankan Airlines. Read More »
News
IndiGo creates ‘child free’ zone and Air India looks to boost A320 backlog
IndiGo Airlines this week made the headlines after becoming India’s first carrier to adopt a “quiet zone” policy for premium seats, a euphemistic way of banning all children under 12 from certain parts of the plane. Read More »
News
Government instructs Garuda to build China-Indonesia market to 50%
Indonesian minister for state owned enterprises, Rini Sumarno, has asked flag carrier Garuda Indonesia to accelerate its expansion drive and said Jakarta expected the carrier to dominate the domestic market and hold at least a 50% share of markets into Indonesia from China and the Middle East, Garuda CEO, Arif Wibowo, said this week. Read More »
News
Qatar Airways to announce major wide body order
Doha-headquartered Qatar Airways is expected to announce an order for at least 30 Boeing wide body aircraft after the airline and the manufacturer sent out invitations for a press event in Washington, D.C., this Friday. Read More »
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Emirates confirms economy passenger fare hit
Dubai’s Emirates Airline this week confirmed it will add certain ancillary fees to its fares from October 3, to capture more revenue at the initial booking stages and counteract an overall yield decline. Read More »
News
Etihad to form leisure airline, codeshares with Kulula
The UAE’s Etihad Aviation Group and German leisure travel conglomerate, TUI Group, are in discussions to create a European leisure airline group, which is expected to operate up to 58 aircraft on point-to-point services from Germany, Austria and Switzerland to key tourist markets. Read More »
News
ICAO ratifies global aviation emissions agreement
On Thursday the International Civil Aviation Organisation’s (ICAO) 191 member states ratified the Carbon Offset and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) at the organisation’s 39th Assembly in Montreal, three years after member states were asked to devise a scheme to reduce emissions from aviation. Read More »
News
Air rage on the rise says IATA
The number of in-flight air rage incidents is increasing, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Read More »
News
Chinese lessor acquires CIT Group leasing
International aircraft lessor, Avolon, a wholly owned subsidiary of China’s Bohai Capital Holding Co. Ltd, has signed an agreement to acquire the CIT Group’s aircraft leasing business. Read More »
Short Takes
Lessors: Singapore’s BOC Aviation has inked a purchase and leaseback deal with Air China for five aircraft, comprising three 777-300ERs and two A330-300s. Deliveries will commence in November. Read More »
