CHINA EASTERN STUDIES SRI LANKAN MARKET
China Eastern Airlines is set to expand its presence in the Indian sub-continent by launching additional flights to Sri Lanka. The Chinese carrier offers a three-times weekly service to Colombo from Kunming but has this month opened a sales office in the Sri Lankan capital, outlining plans at the inauguration to offer flights from both Beijing and Shanghai in the future. China Eastern has just a 2% share of the China – Sri Lankan market, according to IATA BSP data for the year ending November 2010, with SriLankan Airlines dominating traffic between the two countries. During this period almost 14,000 passengers flew to Colombo from Shanghai and almost 20,000 from Beijing, with strong one-stop traffic from foreign operators adding to SriLankan’s own data.
ASIAN WINGS TAKES FLIGHT IN MYANAMAR
Independent start-up carrier Asian Wings has taken delivery of two ATR 72-500 turboprops and was due to launch operations this week. The venture plans to offer a mix of scheduled and charter services competing with Myanmar Airways and the privately-owned carriers Air Bagan and Air Mandalay. According to local sources, Asian Wings will initially provide domestic links from Yangon to Heho, Mandalay, Nyaung Oo, Sittwe and Thandwe but is also considering flights to Homalin, Lashio, Myitkyina and Tachileik, as well as Dawei, Kawthoung and Myeik in the south of the country. Another airline is expected to enter the already busy domestic market later this year when Air Kanbawza, owned by Kanbawza Bank, inaugurates flights.
SKYWEST TO FLY FOR VIRGIN BLUE
Skywest Airlines is to operate up to 18 regional turboprops on behalf of fellow Australian carrier Virgin Blue Airlines. The latter is currently in discussions with ATR and Bombardier Aerospace to acquire the aircraft, the first four of which will be delivered before the end of this year. The ten-year partnership will come into effect in the middle of 2011 and will cover existing and new destinations in the country, with Skywest and Virgin Blue offering codeshare connections across their domestic networks. Skywest is also planning to use a new fleet of the same aircraft type on coastal networks in Western Australia, having been recently preferred by the Western Australian Government for a five-year exclusive licence on flights from certain coastal ports to Perth.
THAI START-UP HAS BOLD GROWTH PLANS
New Thai carrier Crystal Thai Airlines plans to inaugurate operations on February 3, initially providing twice-weekly flights on the Bangkok - Seoul Incheon and Bangkok - Muan routes. The start-up company, a joint venture between Thai and South Korean interests, has leased a single Airbus A320 and plans to add a second example later in the year, as well as a larger A330-200 to expand its network. Crystal Thai's website suggests plans to serve markets in Bhutan, India (Cochin and Mumbai) , Philippines (Clark), Sri Lanka (Colombo) and the United Arab Emirates (Dubai).
MYANMAR INTRODUCES FLIGHTS INTO CHINA
Myanmar Airways International is to launch its first route to China from March 3 with a twice-weekly Yangon – Guangzhou service. The airline will use a leased Airbus A320 on the route. In the year ending November 2010, almost 115,000 O+D passengers travelled between Myanmar and China, with China Eastern Airlines’ Mandalay – Kunming link the most popular routing, with over a quarter of the traffic.
AEROPELICAN FLIES INTO ADDITIONAL MARKETS
Australian regional carrier Aeropelican Air Services is to open a regional base at Mudgee and is dedicating an aircraft and crew to operate flights from Narrabri as it expands its activities in New South Wales. The opening of the Mudgee base will enable it to offer better connections to both domestic and international services at Sydney, which will strengthen both inbound and outbound demand. Meanwhile, at Narrabri, in addition to its existing twice-daily Sydney service, the airline will introduce weekday flights to Brisbane and a weekly Newcastle rotation, arriving on Monday mornings and departing on Friday afternoons. The expansion is directly in response to a growth in activities in the Resources sector with Brisbane being the corporate hub for the industry and Newcastle being one of the largest coal exporting ports in the world.
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