News From The Americas

Richard Maslen April 14, 2011

LANCHILE TO DROP PARIS CDG CONNECTION

LANChile is to suspend flights to Paris CDG from its Santiago base this summer and will instead consolidate its European activities on the Madrid market. The national carrier currently has nine flights per week from Santiago to Madrid, three of which continue on to Paris, but from July 16 it will end the connection. Air France currently dominates the route with six non-stop flights per week and it has been difficult for the Chilean carrier to compete. LANChile carried just under 2,000 O&D passengers on the route in the past year and it makes logical sense for the carrier to focus on the Madrid market, where it holds a 42 per cent share of the traffic, carrying just over 18,000 O&D passengers in the last 12 months.

VIRGIN AMERICA OPENS ‘NEW’ SAN FRANCISCO HOME

Virgin America has formally opened its new home at the renovated Terminal 2 (T2) at San Francisco International Airport, a facility that according to the carrier offers a “unique design that echoes the airline’s own focus” on reinventing the typical domestic flying experience. “As a new airline we’ve been able to use the latest in technology, design and sustainable practices to enhance the traveller experience, and we hope elevate the journey beyond just getting from Point A to Point B,” said David Cush, President and Chief Executive Officer, Virgin America. “We’re proud to unveil a new home that similarly reinvents the travel experience for the modern flyer – and that also reflects the innovative, forward-looking spirit of our San Francisco home.” Virgin America is the only California-based airline and its decision to headquarter in the Bay Area has helped make San Francisco International one of the nation’s few growing airports. As of April 14, Virgin America will occupy seven gates at the new T2; American Airlines will occupy six; and there will be one common-use gate. To celebrate the opening of the new facility, Virgin America operated a special charter flight into San Francisco International last week, with the appropriately christened Airbus A320 ‘My other Ride is a Spaceship’ flying in formation with Virgin Galactic’s WhiteKnightTwo and SpaceShipTwo. Guests onboard the aircraft included Virgin Group founder and Chairman Sir Richard Branson and space pioneer Buzz Aldrin. The two aircraft met up over the California coast before proceeding to touch down on parallel runways at San Francisco International.

LANPERU TO OFFER DAILY LINK BETWEEN QUITO AND MEDELLIN

LANPeru has revealed plans to increase frequencies between Quito and Medellin having seen its share of the market decline in the past year. The airline carried around 9,000 O&D passengers on the route in the past year, down from 20,000 the previous 12 month period. The route is an extension of its existing Lima – Quito service which is operated twice daily. It is currently flown four times per week but will be operated daily from January 1, 2012, according to the carrier’s latest timetable display. The route is now dominated by TACA, which carried 67 per cent of the 38,000 O&D passengers on the route last year. Meanwhile, LANPeru is to suspend flights to the Colombian northern coastal city of Cartagena later this month. The airline currently offers two flights per week from the Peruvian capital Lima but these will be stopped from April 28. It will continue to offer flights to the capital of the Bolívar Department and popular tourist destination via the services of local carrier Aires, which it acquired in November last year. The Colombian airline has four daily flights from Cartagena to Bogota, a destination served eleven times weekly by LANPeru from Lima.

SINGAPORE AIRLINES CUTS FREQUENCIES TO LOS ANGELES

Singapore Airlines has confirmed that it will reduce capacity between Singapore Changi and Los Angeles for a three month period this summer, but could actually extend the frequency reduction. The airline currently offers a daily non-stop link between the two airports, but between May 3 and July 27 will reduce its schedule to just five flights per week. This reduction is due to lower demand on the route and the carrier will complete a review at a later date to decide if the capacity reduction will be extended. This non-stop route, flown by a long-range Airbus A340-500, operates alongside a daily service that flies via Tokyo Narita. This will be upgraded from a Boeing 747-400 to the Airbus A380 from July 1. Approximately 42,000 O&D passengers travelled between Singapore and Los Angeles in the past year, up from 35,000 in the previous 12 month period.

CONVIASA FLIES TO THE COLOMBIAN CAPITAL

Venezuelan carrier Conviasa is to introduce a Caracas – Bogota service from the end of this month, providing competition to Avianca on the route. The airline is to offer a twice daily rotation from April 30, adding to the thrice daily operation of Avianca. Approximately 81,000 passengers travelled between the two capital cities in the past year, with Avianca holding an 89 per cent share; the rest travelled on the indirect services of COPA Airlines via Cartagena, Medellin and Panama City.

DELTA AIR LINES TO STOP AMMAN FLIGHT

US carrier Delta Air Lines is to close its New York JFK – Amman route from June 1. The four times weekly service is one of a number of underperforming routes that will be axed by the carrier due to rising fuel costs and declining demand. In fact it expects its transatlantic capacity to decline by around four per cent this year as a result. “With continued weak demand and fuel prices steadily increasing, Delta anticipates it will spend $3 billion more this year on jet fuel. Therefore we're adjusting our schedule where necessary to reduce underperforming flights,” it said in a statement. Delta launched the New York – Amman route in June 2008 and carried approximately 10,000 O&D passengers between the two cities in the past year, a 49.1 per cent increase on the previous 12 month period. This has given it a 26.9 per cent share of the O&D market between New York and Amman and 25.5 per cent of the total traffic between Jordan and the United States. The airline has also delayed the proposed relaunch of flights to Egypt. It suspended its New York JFK – Cairo link in February due to political instability in the country and had proposed a May restart date, but it now says this has been “suspended indefinitely”. Delta says it will continue to offer links to both Amman and Cairo via Paris and Amsterdam on flights operated by joint venture partners Air France and KLM

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