Orient Aviation’s Week in the Asia-Pacific
By Dominic Lalk
News from Mainland China once again dominated this week’s Asia-Pacific aviation headlines. In Guangzhou, China Southern Airlines announced it would lease an additional eight B787-9s after placing a direct order with Boeing for twelve of the aircraft last week. Also in Guangzhou, China Eastern Airlines said it would open a Guangdong branch in the city, while back in Sichuan, Lucky Air said it would invest 2 billion yuan in a new base at Chengdu’s under-construction Tianfu International Airport. Meanwhile, British Airways has said it would terminate its flights to Chengdu because the route is not “commercially viable”. In Bangkok, THAI is now looking to fly its A350s to Europe after Australia continues barring the airline’s latest aircraft type from its skies. Over in Auckland, Air New Zealand sold its remaining stake in Virgin Australia, and in Hanoi, Vietnam Airlines inked an agreement with ALC for another 12 A321neos.
China Southern to lease another 8 B787s on top of last week’s direct order Read More »
News
THAI inks significant transpacific codeshares with EVA as A350 troubles mount
Thai Airways International (THAI) on Monday signed a wide-reaching codeshare partnership with fellow Star Alliance member, Taiwan’s EVA Airways, to cover all of both carriers’ services between Bangkok and Taipei, and more importantly, all of EVA’s transpacific routes, including Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Toronto, Vancouver and Chicago. Read More »
News
Brégier: Airbus to surpass Boeing output by 2020
Fabrice Brégier, CEO of Airbus’ commercial aircraft unit, said the European plane maker will overtake Boeing in aircraft deliveries by 2020.
“In 2020, we will again be delivering more aircraft than Boeing. We took 19 years to build the first 1000 aircraft. The last 1000 we have made within 19 months”, he said. Read More »
News
PAL boosts turboprop fleet with up to 12 Q400s
Philippine Airlines (PAL) has signed a letter of intent to purchase “up to 12” Bombardier Q400 turboprops in the manufacturer’s new two-class high-density 86-seat configuration, including ten “premium service” seats. Read More »
News
PIA seeks leases for eight long-haul jets and BIMAN ends A310 operations
Pakistani flag carrier, PIA - Pakistan International Airlines, this week requested proposals from all interested parties for eight widebody aircraft on wet- and dry-leases. Read More »
News
SIA takes delivery of 10,000th Airbus aircraft and promises new products on incoming A380s
Singapore Airlines (SIA) last Friday took delivery of its sixth A350-900, the 10,000th aircraft delivered by manufacturer Airbus. Read More »
News
Air New Zealand closes Virgin Australia chapter
Air New Zealand (Air NZ) has made due on earlier suggestions it was looking to fully dispose of its remaining shareholding in financially-unstable Virgin Australia. Read More »
News
Beijing relaunches state-run aviation supplier
China has established a new body to oversee the aviation supply sector, state media said on Tuesday, part of the government's ongoing reform of the state-owned enterprise (SOEs) sector. Read More »
News
Vietnam Airlines plans Los Angeles flights and signs for 12 A321neos from ALC
Vietnamese flag carrier, Hanoi-headquartered Vietnam Airlines, plans to launch nonstop Ho Chi Minh-Los Angeles flights from 2018 with its quickly expanding fleet of A350-900s. Read More »
News
Hawaiian posts strong third quarter results
Honolulu-headquartered Hawaiian Airlines on Tuesday announced a net profit of $102.5 million for the third quarter, up 46% from a net profit of $70 million in the corresponding year-ago period. Read More »
People
Boeing promotes Mounir to global VP sales and marketing
Chicago-headquartered manufacturer Boeing this week announced that former vice-president for Northeast Asia sales, Ihssane Mounir, will be promoted to vice-president of global sales and marketing for Boeing Commercial Airplanes in early 2017, following the retirement of John Wojick. Read More »
Short Takes
Airlines: Cambodia Angkor Air will lease two A320ceos from BOC Aviation, with deliveries from the end of the year. It currently operates two A321s and two ATR 72-500s. Read More »
