News From Asia 亚洲新闻

Richard Maslen March 31, 2011

BATAVIA AIR ADDS SINGAPORE LINK FROM MEDAN

Indonesian carrier Batavia Air has this week launched flights from Medan Polonia International to Singapore Changi International, its first international flight from the capital of the North Sumatra province and fourth largest city in the country. There are already 21 weekly flights on the route, an O&D market of 176,000 passengers in the year ending January 2011, with SilkAir and Valuair providing the existing services. The new daily connection, operated by an Airbus A320, was launched on March 27 at the start of the Northern Summer schedules. Batavia Air already offers domestic flights from Medan to Batum, Banda Aceh and its main base at Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta International.

SICHUAN AIRLINES OPENS MIANYANG BASE

Chinese carrier Sichuan Airlines is to establish a small base in Mianyang, initially with two Embraer ERJ 145s but growing to a third aircraft in April. Mianyang is the second largest prefecture-level city in Sichuan Province in western China and is noted for its beautiful scenery, long history, and deep cultural roots. Sichuan Airlines plans to base up to ten aircraft there from 2015. It will serve ten destinations this summer and has already launched flights to Changsha and Chongqing; from next week it will add Guiyang, Jinjinang, Lanzhou, Nanning, Shenyang, Shijiazhuang, Taiyuan and Wuhan to its network. Air China, Shanghai Airlines and Spring Airlines already serve Mianyang; Air China has a twice daily link to Beijing, Shanghai Airlines has daily services to Shanghai Pu Dong and Sanya, while low-cost carrier Spring Airlines offers a daily rotation to Shanghai Hongqiao.

AEROFLOT PLANS NEW WINTER FLIGHTS TO CHINA

Russian national carrier Aeroflot Russian Airlines is planning to add flights to Guangzhou and Sanya in China this winter, according to the first draft of its Northern Winter schedules. Its latest timetable display shows a proposed three times weekly Moscow Sheremetyevo – Guangzhou flight operated by a Boeing 767-300ER and a twice weekly Moscow Sheremetyevo – Sanya service by Airbus A330-200, although neither route is currently available for booking. There are currently no scheduled flights on these two routes. Other notable changes to Aeroflot’s schedule include a growth in capacity to Brussels and Zurich, with double daily services from Moscow Sheremetyevo, increasing from eight times weekly and a daily rotation, respectively.

AEROSVIT LANDS IN SRI LANKA

Ukrainian operator Aerosvit Airlines is to inaugurate flights between Kiev and Colombo this coming winter. The Kiev-based venture is in the process of introducing a number of former Royal Brunei Airlines’ Boeing 767-300ERs into its fleet for network expansion, and will use one of these widebodied aircraft to offer a twice weekly connection to the island’s capital Colombo from October 22. Around 5,000 O&D passengers travelled between Kiev Borispol and Colombo Bandaranayake International in the year ending January 2011, the majority connecting in either Abu Dhabi or Dubai for onward connections from Etihad Airways and SriLankan Airlines.

DELTA AND CHINA EASTERN APPLY FOR CODESHARE

US carrier Delta Air Lines and China Eastern Airlines have made a formal application to the US Department of Transportation for a codeshare partnership on flights to Shanghai Pu Dong from Los Angeles and New York John F Kennedy. The application also covers onward links within the United States and China, as well as to Canada, and is due to take immediate effect, once granted.

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