A trusted source of Asia-Pacific commercial aviation news and analysis


APRIL 2017

Orient Aviation April 2017

A STEADY HAND
Astute CEO Ken Choi keeps Jeju Air top of the LCC league despite North Asia’s politics

• Qantas Group CEO, Alan Joyce, receives the Orient Aviation 2016 Person of the Year award

• Sleeping LCC giant awakens in Japan

• Is tracking on track as ICAO deadline draws closer?

• Industry insight: Wifi onboard determines the airline choice of passengers

 

Cover Story

A steady hand

When the U.S. government last month reacted to recent missile tests in North Korea by preparing for deployment of a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery in South Korea, it was a body blow to the north Asian nation’s travel industry. Read More »


 

Person of the Year Awards Dinner

Alan Joyce honored as Orient Aviation’s 2016 Person of the Year

More than 120 guests from the aviation industry, media and tourism gathered at Hong Kong’s China Club on March 16 to honor Qantas Group CEO, Alan Joyce, as Orient Aviation’s 2016 Person of the Year. Read More »


 

Main Story

Is tracking on track?

Asia-Pacific airlines and air navigation service providers are among the earliest adopters of the technology necessary to conform to the International Civil Aviation Organisation’s (ICAO) upgraded aircraft tracking regulations. Read More »


 

Industry Insight Special Report

Onboard WiFi determines airline customer loyalty

The global inflight WiFi market is becoming crowded with new players and the reason is easy to explain. According to one research firm, Global Industry Analysts (GIA), the business is worth US$$1.85 billion. Read More »


 

Low-Cost Carriers

Sleeping LCC giant awakens

Japan has been a sleeping giant when it comes to no-frills air travel. Conservative Japanese airline passengers would never take up budget travel, said any number of analysts. Read More »


 

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News Backgrounder

Trump’s domino effect in Gulf

The British and U.S. governments astonished the world in late March when they declared passengers departing or transiting through Abu Dhabi, Doha, Dubai, Kuwait City, Casablanca, Cairo, Amman, Istanbul, Riyadh and Jeddah would be forbidden from carrying electronic devices larger than smartphones on flights to the U.S. and the UK until October 14. Read More »


 

News Backgrounder

Unfair and unreasonable?

Five airlines, including Singapore Airlines (SIA), have been accused by the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) of failing to pay compensation to passengers who missed their connecting services because of flight delays. Read More »


 

News Backgrounder

North Asia conflicts hurt region’s carriers

Escalating tensions between China and South Korea over the deployment of a U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defence system in South Korea are taking their toll on the region’s airlines. Read More »


 

News Backgrounder

United’s premium class rollout curtailed by troubled Zodiac

United Airlines’ (UA) entry-into-service of its Polaris business class cabin proved more challenging than the Chicago-headquartered airline thought, said the airline’s CEO, Oscar Munoz. Read More »


 

News Backgrounder

Inviting the digital shopper into the airline cabin

Two Asia-Pacific airlines are among the four launch carriers for a new merchandising content platform that was unveiled at ITB Berlin in March. Read More »


 

Addendum

Back to the drawing board at THAI

Thai Airways International’s (THAI) continues to flounder. The flag carrier’s board was scheduled to debate the structure of the new THAI Group – THAI itself and part-owned subsidiaries, Nok Air and THAI Smile - at its March board meeting, but the plan fell of the agenda because “several parties” did not fully understand the issue, the airline said. Read More »


 

Industry Addendum

Embraer lands in Silicon Valley

Brazilian-headquartered commercial and business aviation manufacturer, Embraer, is to establish innovation teams in Silicon Valley and Boston to explore opportunities in air transportation. Read More »


 

Comment

Asia is early adopter of tracking rules

Global aviation learnt harsh lessons from the tragic loss of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 three years ago. The still unsolved disappearance of the aircraft and its 239 passengers and crew is a stark reminder that airlines and the systems that allow them to fly across the world needed an regulatory overhaul. Read More »