Thai Airways to Fly Phuket – Seoul Route
Thai Airways International is to introduce a non-stop service between Phuket and Seoul Incheon next month, becoming the fourth operator to offer flights between the two destinations. The carrier will inaugurate a three times weekly link from November 1 using an Airbus A330-300. The route is already served by Korean Air (daily), Asiana Airlines (six times weekly), with the sole Thai operator being Business Air, which this winter will offer three flights per week. An estimated 340,000 O&D passengers travelled on the route in the past year and Thai Airways already accounts for around nine per cent of these passengers with its one-stop service via Bangkok, although this fell from a 14 per cent share the previous 12 months, due in part to Business Air’s arrival on the route. Asiana Airlines is currently the largest operator on the route with a 39 per cent share of the market, just ahead of its local rival Korean Air, which has a 38 per cent share. In the past year O&D passenger traffic has decreased by around 5.1 per cent and worryingly yields have fallen as average one-way fares have declined by 4.5 per cent to $298.
Cathay’s Adds Cargo Service to Chengdu
Cathay Pacific Airways is to launch a new scheduled freighter service to the fast-developing Chinese city of Chengdu, which is emerging a key passenger and freight market in Western China, and which will be the host of next year’s Routes Asia forum. The new flight will operate twice weekly and will return to Hong Kong via Shanghai. The Asian carrier currently operates 16 flights per week to Shanghai, but the addition of Chengdu to its network from this week, will enable it to grow its presence in the west of the country as it grows in importance as a high-end manufacturing centre. The airline is also serving Chongqing in the region, inaugurating a twice-weekly freighter service in August. “A gradual shift in manufacturing towards Central and Western China has been evident with key players in the consumer electronics field recently setting up in Chongqing and Chengdu. It is estimated that by the end of 2011, one out of five of the world’s computers will be made in Chengdu,” said Nick Rhodes, Director Cargo, Cathay Pacific Airways. “While the global airfreight market has seen a slowdown in recent months, Cathay Pacific is still looking for opportunities to expand and diversify its network and develop the Hong Kong hub by serving important new markets,” he added. Alongside the growth in China, Cathay Pacific will boost cargo frequencies to Miami from five a week to a daily basis from the end of October, while capacity across its network will be further expanded when it takes delivery before the end of this year of the first three of ten Boeing 747-8Fs it has on order.
Royal Brunei Continues Network Reductions
Royal Brunei Airlines is to reduce frequencies on some of its South East Asian routes from the first quarter of next year as the rationalisation of its route structure continues. The carrier is already in the process of reducing its network by around a quarter cancelling flights to Auckland, Brisbane, Ho Chi Minh City, Kuching and Perth ahead of the Northern Winter schedule launch at the end of this month. Royal Brunei, under its former management, had a focus on the Australasian market providing feed from within Asia, the Middle East and the UK via its Brunei International Airport in Bandar Seri Begawan. However, it is reducing its long-haul fleet and concentrating on just two main routes: Melbourne, launched in April this year and London, operated via Dubai. Its main focus will now be on the Asian market, but even here there will be capacity cuts, according to the airline’s latest schedule update, with reductions in services to Bangkok, Jakarta, Manila and Surabaya from February 2012. The Thai and Indonesian capitals Bangkok and Jakarta are presently served daily but will be linked just five times per week from February 5; Manila will be served six times weekly rather than daily, while Surabayaflights will be reduced from five to three a week. However, one market will see an increase in flights with Royal Brunei adding an additional two rotations between Bandar Seri Begawan and Kota Kinabalu bringing total weekly frequencies to 16 from February 1, 2012. The airline is currently the sole operator on the route and carried an estimated 108,000 O&D passengers during the past year.
Biman Confirms Manchester Plan
Biman Bangladesh Airlines has confirmed it will relaunch flights to Manchester this winter, as first reported by The HUB last month (see ‘Biman Bangladesh On-Track for Manchester Route Resumption and Milan Expansion’). Following the arrival of the first of four Boeing 777-300ERs it has on order, the carrier will reintroduce Manchester to its network from November 2, initially on a twice weekly basis. Biman had previous served the northwest UK city as an intermediate stop for its Dhaka – New York flights in April 2006, but these were suspended later the same month. The carrier will use the 777-300ER on two of its five weekly services from Dhaka to London Heathrow, eliminating a stopover in Dubai with the aircraft continuing on to Manchester before returning to Dhaka and Sylhet. According to Mohammed Salahuddin, Regional Manager for Northern UK, Biman Bangladesh Airlines the new service is a “dream come true for both Biman and the large Bangladeshi community” residing in the northern part of the UK. “I hope Biman will fulfil the expectations of the British Bangladeshi community in the North by providing a quality product, with its new generation of modern aircraft and an improved ground and in-flight service. By adding Manchester into its network, Biman has put itself firmly in the competition in the North, which has long been favoured by other airlines,” he added. Biman’s 777-300ERs will be configured in a two class, 419-seat arrangement (35 Business Class and 384 and Economy seats).
AirAsiaX and Christchurch Report Strong Six Months
Christchurch International Airport and AirAsia X have reported strong passenger traffic during the first six month’s of the airline’s scheduled service from Kuala Lumpur, suggesting it is a great example of what can be achieved when an airline, airport and tourism bodies work together. According to official statistics the Kuala Lumpur-Christchurch route has stimulated the inbound Malaysia market by 4,034 per cent since the service commenced on April 1 and AirAsia X has been consistently reporting loads of more than 75 per cent, exceeding its own our expectations for the route. “Malaysia is now New Zealand’s second largest inbound market from Asia, up from 7th prior to the arrival of AirAsia X, proving when you introduce direct capacity on a route, demand will follow,” said Matthew Findlay, General Manager Aeronautical Development, Christchurch International Airport. According to Azran Osman-Rani, Chief Executive Officer, AirAsia X, a number of airline records have now been broken on the route. “We sold more than 30,000 tickets in the first three days after launching the route,” he said, and the success is pushing AirAsia X to consider boosting the frequency of the service. “The service has helped more New Zealand tourists get to Malaysia. That number grew by more than 72%, which shows more New Zealanders are travelling and more of them chose to visit Malaysia. In fact, Malaysia had the largest single increase in any market for travel by New Zealanders in the June quarter,” added Osman-Rani.
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