Orient Aviation’s Week in the Asia-Pacific
By Dominic Lalk
The action was back in Asia-Pacific aviation this week. In Vietnam, VietJet Air – which now accounts for 50% of the country’s domestic traffic – has asked the government to ease restrictions on foreign ownership in airlines as it seeks a more diversified investor portfolio and greater liquidity.
Airbus secured a landmark order for 20 A350-900s from Asia’s largest carrier, China Southern Airlines, raising the Mainland A350 order tally to 50 aircraft.
In South Korea, Asiana Airlines took delivery of its first of 30 on-order A350s this week, ready to deploy the XWB to San Francisco and London.
In Taiwan, defunct TransAsia Airways has found a buyer for its A330 and A321 fleets, while in Shanghai, Juneyao Airlines posted robust first-quarter figures as it prepares to officially become Star Alliance’s first ‘connecting partner’ in May.
VietJet advocates FDI cap increase, posts 44% revenue growth in Q1 Read More »
News
China Southern orders 20 A350-900s
Guangzhou-based China Southern Airlines this week ordered 20 A350-900s from Airbus, becoming the third Mainland customer for the XWB following Air China and China Eastern Airlines. Read More »
News
Airbus, Boeing post Q1 results
Chicago-headquartered aircraft manufacturer Boeing this week reported a first quarter net profit of US$1.5 billion, a 19% improvement on last year’s first quarter despite 7.3% fewer revenues to US$21 billion. Read More »
News
Asiana takes delivery of first of 30 A350s
South Korea’s second largest carrier, Asiana Airlines, this week took delivery of its first A350-900, becoming the 12th carrier to operate Airbus’ latest XWB airliner. Read More »
News
Cathay Dragon to make re-fleeting decision “this summer”
Hong Kong’s Cathay Dragon, the regional subsidiary of Cathay Pacific Airways, is looking to buy up to 32 new regional jets, the South China Morning Post has reported. An order will be placed “this summer”, the carrier said. Read More »
News
Hong Kong plays a “crucial role” in Lufthansa Group Asia-Pacific growth
“Hong Kong always has and will continue to play a crucial role in Lufthansa Group’s Asia-Pacific growth,” Lufthansa Group’s newly-appointed senior sales director for Greater China, Veli Polat, told Orient Aviation. Read More »
News
Taiwan’s defunct TransAsia Airways has sold the two A330-300s and the two A321ceo it owned to an undisclosed buyer for US$364 million, Taiwan’s CNA has reported, citing a statement from the airline. Read More »
News
Sriwijaya adds 3 new China routes
Indonesia’s Sriwijaya Air will launch three new routes in June: Jakarta-Nanning, Denpasar-Nanning and Jakarta-Haikou, Sriwijaya commercial director, Toto Nursatyo, told Xinhua. Read More »
News
Hawaiian reports US$37 million Q1 profit, expects A321neo in October
Honolulu-headquartered Hawaiian Airlines’ first quarter net profit slipped 28% year-on-year to US$37 million amid higher fuel and staff costs. Read More »
News
Juneyao posts US$180 million 2016 net profit, becomes first Star CPM
Shanghai-headquartered Juneyao Airlines has posted a net profit of 1.25 billion yuan (US$180 million) for 2016, a 19% improvement on 2015, as operating revenues for the year through to March 31 grew 22% to 9.9 billion yuan, while operating expenses increased 28% to 7.7 billion yuan. Read More »
People
Etihad names new airline partners CEO
Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Aviation Group on Monday announced the appointment of Robin Kamark as CEO of its Airline Equity Partners alliance, effective October. Read More »
Short Takes
Routes: AirAsia will increase A320 frequency from Kuala Lumpur to Pontianak and Semarang from four-weekly to daily from May 18, respectively. Beijing Capital Airlines will launch a thrice-weekly Qingdao-Moscow A330-200 flight on May 31. Read More »
