ANA to Fly to Frankfurt with 787
All Nippon Airways (ANA) has confirmed that Frankfurt will be the first international destination outside of Asia to welcome its Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The Japanese carrier has revealed that it will inaugurate a three times weekly service between Tokyo Heneda and Frankfurt from January 21, 2012, increasing to a daily service from February 1, 2012. This will be the first route to be flown under its new joint venture operations with fellow Star Alliance member Lufthansa. ANA already serves Frankfurt from Tokyo Narita, as well as the Bavarian capital Munich, but like many operators is seeing the merits of offering complementary services from Tokyo Haneda, since better access has been provided at the airport. It will configure its aircraft in a modified 158-seat layout with 46 lay-flat Business Class and 112 Economy seats (its regional 787s will seat 264 passengers in a two-class arrangement with just 12 Business Class and 252 Economy class offering). An estimated 905,000 O&D passengers travelled between Germany and Japan in the past year with around 300,000 flying between Tokyo and Frankfurt. ANA currently holds a 15 per cent share of this O&D market with its daily flights, while Japan Airlines (JAL) has a 35 per cent share and Lufthansa 38 per cent; the latter utilising an Airbus A380 on its daily schedule. ANA will initially place the 787 into service on the Tokyo Haneda – Okayama and Tokyo Haneda – Hiroshima domestic routes from November 1, and has already confirmed that China will be the first international market for the type when it is introduced on ANA’s Tokyo Haneda – Beijing service sometime in December. “This aircraft will enable us to offer new standards of service and comfort to our passengers and will play an important role in our international expansion strategy as we seek to become Asia’s number one airline,” said Shinichiro Ito, President and Chief Executive Officer, ANA Group following the recent delivery of its first aircraft.
Kenya Airways Adds 777-300ERs to Boost Long-Haul Flying
Kenya Airways signed an agreement with lessor GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS) to add two Boeing 777-300ERs to its fleet on 12-year operating leases. The aircraft are scheduled for delivery in October 2013 and May 2014 and will be used to boost its long-haul network, adding frequencies on existing routes and potentially opening new markets. The East African flag carrier currently operates four 777-200ER and the larger variant will provide both passenger and cargo benefits, explained Dr Titus Naikuni, Chief Executive Officer and Group Managing Director, Kenya Airways. “With the increased passenger and cargo capacity that the Boeing 777-300ER offers, we are pleased with this development as it will see Kenya Airways significantly increase tonnage and passenger capacity while enhancing our premium service offering to Europe and the Far East,” he said. Kenya Airways currently uses its 777-200ERs on flights from Nairobi to Bangkok, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Lagos and London Heathrow but has been studying a number of new markets, including destinations in South America. The new 777-300ERs will offer an additional 78 passengers versus the smaller variant and 12 tonnes of extra freight capacity.
Cebu Pacific Launches New Flights Following A320 Delivery
Filipino carrier Cebu Pacific Airways took delivery of an additional Airbus A320 on October 8 has confirmed it will use the additional capacity to introduce increase flights to Cagayan de Oro, Davao and Cebu from October 14. From the same date the carrier will add a daily A319 service from Zamboanga to Tawi-Tawi and a thrice weekly A319 service from Cagayan de Oro to Iloilo. The airline is now the largest domestic carrier in the Philippines offering more than 1,660 weekly flights to 34 destinations. It has a 44.4 per cent share of the total available seat capacity, offering almost 230,000 seats per week this winter. The expansion will continue during the final three months of the year as two further A320s join the carrier’s fleet in late October and December.
Korean Air to Upgrade San Francisco Link With 777-300ER
Korean Air is to increase capacity on the Seoul Incheon – San Francisco link next summer, replacing the Boeing 777-200ER that currently serves the route with a larger 777-300ER. In the latest update to its GDS inventory, the airline plans to switch aircraft from July 1, 2012 but this obviously remains subject to change. Korean Air is one of four airlines to provide daily service on this route: Asiana Airlines and Singapore Airlines both use a 777 on the route, while United Airlines flies a 747-400. An estimated 366,000 O&D passengers travelled on this route in the past year, up 15.4 per cent on the previous 12 months. Singapore Airlines holds the largest share of the traffic but has seen this share fall from 36 to 30 per cent in the past year. Korean Air has seen the largest rise in traffic, up 24.2 per cent in the past year to an estimated 80,000 O&D passengers, increasing its share of the market from 20 to 22 per cent. Its yield has also strengthened as its average one-way fares have risen 10.0 per cent to $722 against the market average of $642, up 8.1 per cent.
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