It is difficult to believe there was a time when some leading industry experts predicted the low-cost carrier (LCC) model would not work in the Asia-Pacific. Read More »

Jetstar Hong Kong was planned to be in the air by now. Instead, it is facing regulatory issues and opposition lobbying from rivals such as Cathay Pacific Airways, who question the carrier’s status as a local airline under the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region’s Basic Law.Read More »

Philippine Airlines (PAL) may have denied reports last month that it was abandoning its domestic market in favour of offshore expansion, but there is little doubt its decision to expand code-share arrangements with low-cost subsidiary, PAL Express, will see a huge increase in domestic passengers flying on no-frills aircraft.Read More »

Etihad Airways chief executive, James Hogan, spent months in complex negotiations with Jet Airways head, Naresh Goyal, before the pair agreed in April to the Gulf carrier taking a 24% stake in one of India’s leading airlines. Since then the two carriers have been awaiting snail-paced clearance decisions by the Indian government.Read More »

Garuda Indonesia’s fleet will be using a biofuel mixture by 2015, according to the carrier’s director of operations, Capt. Novianto Herupratomo. Read More »

Struggling Indonesian domestic operator, Merpati Nusantara Airlines, is up for sale, but even its government owners think there is little interest in the debt-mired airline.Read More »

It’s déjà-vu all over again as All Nippon Airways Holdings (ANA) launched Vanilla Air, their third low-cost carrier (LCC) in two years, last month.Read More »

All eyes are on Cathay Pacific Airways and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Dragonair, as they move towards operating Asia’s first fully e-Enabled fleets, according to Michael DiGeorge, managing director at ARINC Asia Pacific Division.Read More »

It hardly represents a bonanza, but airline spending on information technology (IT) is picking up after several years of flat performance following the global economic crisis of 2008. Read More »

GuestLogix, the leading global provider of onboard retail and payment technology solutions to airlines, and the Mainland’s largest carrier, China Southern Airlines (CSA), have claimed a world first with a platform that allows a carrier to sell seat upgrades inflight. Read More »

Don’t look now, but pieces of that B787 Dreamliner that just landed didn’t come off the traditional production line of some parts supplier. They were printed using one of the fastest developing new technologies currently grabbing headlines, the 3D printer. Read More »

After years of pressure from its airlines India has finally decided to create an independent Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to oversee its aviation industry. Read More »

Singapore’s Changi Airport Group (CAG) has announced plans to build a lavish destination complex with expansive indoor gardens and a “breathtaking waterfall” on 3.5 hectares opposite Terminal 1. Read More »

China has pushed back the first flight of its homegrown midsize commuter jet, the C919, from 2014 to year end 2015. The head of the C919 advisory group, Zhang Yanzhong, said the C919’s manufacturer, Comac, had to deal with inexperience in jet manufacturing and shortfalls in technical knowledge in developing the jet, which is intended to compete with Airbus and Boeing.  Read More »

Mainland television personality, Meng Fei, who has an estimated following of 32 million readers, has called for the resignation of the head of the Civil Aviation Administration of China, Li Xiaxiang. Read More »

Japan’s major international carriers, All Nippon Airways (ANA) and Japan Airlines (JAL), have announced their mid-term strategic plans. ANA announced the launch of its third low-cost carrier in two years, Vanilla Air, which will effectively replace failed joint venture AirAsia Japan. Read More »

Etihad Airways CEO, James Hogan, said at the recent Australia Pacific Aviation Summit his investments in airberlin, Air Seychelles, Jet Airways and Air Serbia will allow these airlines, as well as Etihad, to use the same cabin configuration once the fleets are co-ordinated. Read More »

Qantas Group CEO, Alan Joyce, has announced changes at its international arm following final   government approval of the airline’s partnership with Emirates Airline. Read More »

Cathay Pacific Airways has reported a first half profit of HK$24 million (US$3.09 million) compared with a loss of HK$929 million for the same six months in 2012.Read More »

The chief executive of Jetstar Hong Kong, Edward Lau, said he is confident the proposed low-cost carrier will receive the go-ahead from the Hong Kong government to launch flights. He disputed claims by rival airlines based in Hong Kong that it was not a Hong Kong-based carrier under the terms of Hong Kong’s Basic Law.Read More »

Ivan Chu kwok-leung (51), the chief operating officer of Cathay Pacific Airways and chairman of Air Hong Kong Ltd, will succeed John Slosar as the airline’s chief executive next March. Slosar, 57, will move up to group chairman of Swire, with responsibility for John Swire & Sons (H.K.) Ltd, Swire Pacific Ltd, Swire Properties and Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Co. Ltd, following the retirement of current group chairman, Christopher Pratt. Read More »

CARGO: Cathay Pacific Airways will start its first Latin American route by year end, with a twice weekly B747-8F cargo service to Guadalajara, Mexico’s second largest city.Read More »

Asia-Pacific airlines carried 17.3 million international passengers in May, up 3.8%. The trend was broadly in line with a regional slowdown in trade activities on the back of a moderation in China’s economy. Read More »