WHEN SINGAPORE AIRLINES launched the world's first A380 service with a flight from Singapore to Sydney on Oct. 25, it was more than the first commercial flight of the world's largest passenger airplane: It was an undeniable sign that there has been a seismic shift in the aviation world's center of influence in the 60 years since SIA took to the air as Malaya Airways Ltd. with three destinations. SIA no longer is just a major player in the Asia/Pacific region and a "great way to fly" but a global force that influences the direction and style of air travel everywhere it goes.

PERHAPS EASYJET GOT TIRED OF ITS moniker: Europe's second-largest low-cost carrier. Or perhaps CEO Andrew Harrison decided he had better move before someone else did. In either case, the LCC's purchase of GB Airways in late October for £103.5 million ($212.1 million) in cash has altered the competitive landscape by making easyJet the leading short-haul carrier at London Gatwick while further cementing the lead over Ryanair in terms of revenues that it gained when it acquired Go Fly, British Airways' low-fare airline subsidiary, in May 2002.

Qantas is facing a bumpy ride, with industrial upheaval looming over Christmas and a potential class action suit related to the airline's cargo price-fixing plea (ATWOnline, Nov. 28).

Grand China Air, created by HNA Group to be the country's fourth-largest commercial carrier, today will operate its first flight from Beijing to Dalian, although it postponed the ceremony to mark its launch to next month.

TAM CEO Marco Antonio Bologna resigned Wednesday to join TAM Empreendimentos e Participacoes, which the airline described as "a company pertaining to the Company's controlling block." He will be succeeded by VP-Operations David Barioni Neto, who in turn will be succeeded by Fernando Sporleder Jr.

Rolls-Royce yesterday said the engines selected by Hawaiian Airlines on Wednesday are worth $460 million at list prices. HA placed an order for six Trent XWB-powered A350 XWB-800s and six Trent 700-powered A330-200s (ATWOnline, Nov. 29).

Airbus's hopes to make some quick sales of the A380 to ANA and Cathay Pacific Airways appear to have faded, with the former playing down speculation that it is on the verge of ordering the aircraft. A spokesperson told ATWOnline yesterday that ANA is "continuously in talks with the manufacturers and will watch the introduction of the A380 with interest and examine it and the 747-8I when the time is right." At last month's handover of the first A380 to Singapore Airlines (ATWOnline, Oct.

Air China plans to order 40 Airbus aircraft in the next five years to support its European expansion, President Li Jiaxiang revealed yesterday at the EU-China Business Summit in Beijing.