Orient Aviation’s Week in the Asia-Pacific
By Dominic Lalk
The week in Asia-Pacific kicked off with the news that the AirAsia Group is looking to establish yet another joint venture, this time in Myanmar. Combined with AirAsia’s present and planned subsidiaries, the project would give the group access to 95% of the population in the ASEAN region.
In Tokyo, Japan’s ANA HOLDINGS INC. announced on Thursday that two of its subsidiaries, low-cost carriers, Peach Aviation and Vanilla Air, would merge under the Peach brand from the end of fiscal 2019.
Further south, the cash starved HNA Group sold another US$2.2 billion in assets this week, but its main airline, Hainan Airlines, reported a 2017 profit of US$525 million. Hainan opened routes to Mexico, Madrid and Brussels this week and announced flights to Edinburgh and Dublin from June, ten days after Cathay Pacific Airways commences flying to the Irish capital.
In Brisbane, Vietnam’s VietJet Air announced its first intercontinental route to Australia, Air Canada said it was close to finalising a trans-Pacific joint venture with Air China, Thai Lion Air became the launch airline for the B737 MAX 9, Xiamen Air ordered 30 MAXs and the Japanese government approved a third runway at Greater Tokyo’s Narita Airport.
AirAsia Myanmar to join low-cost carrier empire Read More »
News
Hainan Airlines reports US$525 million 2017 profit as intercontinental network expands
No week goes by without major news from Hainan Airlines and its parent, China’s HNA Group. Read More »
News
Peach Aviation and Vanilla Air to merge
Japan’s ANA HOLDINGS (ANA HD), representing Japan’s biggest airline group, announced on Thursday that its majority owned low-cost subsidiaries, Peach Aviation and Vanilla Air, would be integrated over the next two years to create a stronger single carrier to facilitate expansion and contend with increasing competition across Asia. Read More »
News
Narita receives approval for third runway and extended operating hours
Narita International Airport Corp. (NAIC) has concluded an agreement with Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Chiba Prefecture and local municipalities to build a third runway by 2030 and also to extend the airport’s operating hours, effective this year, to avoid a pending capacity crunch at the airport and also at downtown Tokyo’s Haneda Airport. Read More »
News
VietJet goes intercontinental to Brisbane
Hanoi-headquartered low-cost carrier, VietJet Air, and Brisbane Airport Corp. (BAC) this week agreed to launch flights between Ho Chi Minh City and Brisbane, the gateway to North Queensland, from 2019. Read More »
News
Air China and Air Canada to seal trans-Pacific partnership?
Star Alliance partners, Air China and Air Canada, could be entering a trans-Pacific joint venture this year, Air Canada CFO, Michael Rousseau, said at the JP Morgan Global Aviation and Transportation Conference. Read More »
News
Ruili Airlines launches maiden international routes
China’s Ruili Airlines will launch its maiden international flights this week. Read More »
News
Thai Lion Air is B737 MAX 9 launch airline
Thai Lion Air this week became the first airline to take delivery of Boeing’s B737 MAX 9. Read More »
News
Xiamen Air orders 30 B737 MAX 8s
Xiamen Airlines will add 20 B737 MAX 8s and ten B737 MAX 10s to its fleet from 2019-2022, parent China Southern Airlines said in a stock exchange filing this week. Read More »
News
ST Engineering partners local firms in overseas airport development
Singapore Technologies Engineering Ltd (ST Engineering) this week joined forces with Surbana Jurong Pte Ltd (Surbana Jurong) and Changi Airport Planners and Engineers Pte Ltd (CAPE) to form a consortium of Singapore-based companies to participate in overseas airport development projects and meet fast-growing aviation infrastructure requirements. Read More »
People
Fang Liu to serve second term as ICAO Secretary General
The Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) this week reappointed Dr. Fang Liu of China as Secretary General for a second three-year term, beginning on August 1. Read More »
Short Takes
Routes: Air Seoul will terminate its daily Incheon-Macau A321 flights starting March 24. Read More »
