The key message that Jos Delbeke, the European Commission’s (EC) director general of the Directorate General Climate Change brought to Orient Aviation’s 5th Greener Skies conference on aviation and the environment last month was that Brussels has more flexibility than thought on the thorny issue of re-starting the clock on its controversial emissions trading scheme (ETS). Read More »

Fifty-eight-year-old Sorajak Kasemsuvan is THAI’s sixth president in the last 12 years (see separate story). He is a very different character to his predecessor, Piyasvasti Amranand, who was ousted for “communication issues” with the board. Read More »

The European Commission (EC) may have ‘stopped the clock’ on its controversial emissions trading scheme for aviation, but another timepiece is rapidly ticking towards the deadline for the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to find a global solution for aviation’s environmental impacts. Read More »

China will not accept the European Commission’s emissions trading scheme (ETS) under any circumstances, the secretary general of the China Air Transport Association (CATA), Wei Zhenzhong, told the Greener Skies conference. Read More »

When 160 delegates from the Asia-Pacific, North and South America and Europe met in Hong Kong for Orient Aviation’s 5th Greener Skies aviation and environment conference last month the spotlight shone on efforts to pin down a global emissions trading scheme for the industry. Read More »

More than 160 delegates from across the world attended Greener Skies 2013 in Hong Kong. Read More »

When AirAsia group chief executive, Tony Fernandes, announced plans to buy into Indonesian budget operator, Batavia Air, in mid-2012, industry observers saw it as a move to expand his southeast Asian empire following the Malaysian low-cost leader’s move to Jakarta. By October, the US$80 million deal was off. Read More »

A new study commissioned by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) says airlines have “morphed into retailers - true merchants of the skies”, but existing global distribution systems (GDS) are failing to meet their needs because they don’t cater for the wide diversity of products offered by individual airlines. Read More »

Air New Zealand (Air NZ) chief executive, Christopher Luxon, says that when it comes to the use of social media networks some airlines still don’t get it. What is more, if they fail to grasp the importance of, say, Facebook or Twitter, they will miss out in a big way, he added. Read More »

When majority Thai Airways International-owned budget operator, Nok Air, launched a promotion to attract customers on its Facebook page in January, chief executive, Patee Sarasin, received an unexpected reaction. Read More »

A study released by IT provider Amadeus, in January, showed it is critical for airlines to keep up with the march of mobile technology. Read More »

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China’s only privately-owned carrier, Spring Airlines, has put expansion plans in Japan on hold and is considering cancelling existing operations as a long-running territorial dispute between the two countries has decimated passenger load factors. Read More »

At press time there were no signs of the B787 being back in service anytime soon, although the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it was reviewing a fix proposed by Boeing. Read More »

The launch of budget carrier, Jetstar Hong Kong, has moved a step closer with the appointment of a chief executive in the city. But it still has significant hurdles to overcome. Read More »

Beijing Capital Airport was the busiest airport in the Asia-Pacific last year, according to figures from Airports Council International. In 2012, airports in the region recorded strong 7.1% growth in passenger numbers compared with the previous year. Read More »

AirAsia founder, Tony Fernandes, has confirmed India will be the last piece of its joint venture jigsaw with the launch, regulatory approval allowing, of a new Chennai-based, low-cost carrier by the end of the year. Read More »

Goodbye British Airways and hello Emirates Airlines. That’s the strong message from Qantas Airways (QF) chief executive, Alan Joyce, as he began to disclose last month some early windfalls in passenger bookings to Europe as a result of the carrier’s tie-up with the Gulf operator. Read More »

Budget operator, VietJet Air, became the first privately-owned Vietnamese airline to operate on international routes last month with the launch of a service from Ho Chi Minh City to Bangkok. Until now, overseas flying had been confined to government-owned Vietnam Airlines. Read More »

Malaysia Airlines (MAS) has firmed up the purchase of 20 ATR72-600s, with options on 16 more of the model. Deliveries will start later this year. Read More »

Price wars and competition from high speed trains contributed to Chinese carriers posting losses for three consecutive months at the turn of the year. Read More »

There is growing concern that the proposed partnership between Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways and India’s Jet Airways could pose a significant threat to the survival of troubled government-owned Air India. Read More »

The Singapore Airlines (SIA) Group recorded a third quarter net profit of S$143 million (US$115.4 million), up 6% year-on-year. However, an operating profit of S$131 million was 17% lower for the quarter ending December 31. Read More »

The Qantas Group’s after-tax, half-year profit to December 31, was up 164% to A$111 million (US$107.7 million). But, most significantly, the losses of under pressure Qantas International, which in the year ended June 30, 2012 had ballooned to more than $400 million after tax, were reduced to $91 million, a 65% improvement on the comparable six months a year earlier. Read More »

* Cathay Pacific Airways will launch a fifth daily return flight between Hong Kong and London Heathrow from June 27 increasing the number of weekly flights to 35. Read More »

Provisional statistics for 2012 show Asia-Pacific airlines carried a total of 207 million international passengers to December 31, 7% more than in the previous year. The performance was underpinned by an improvement in business markets and sustained leisure travel demand. Read More »