China Eastern Airlines, the second-largest airline in China by passenger numbers, is preparing to significantly expand its fleet over the next five years.
Honk Kong-based regional carrier Cathay Dragon is poised to expand its operations in the region after signing an agreement for 32 Airbus A321neo aircraft.
Hong Kong flag carrier Cathay Pacific is to expand its route network and increase its fleet of Airbus A350-900 aircraft as it grapples with "intense competition", particularly on international routes to and from China.
Sitting at the crossroads of East and West, Kazakhstan's potential to become a central aviation hub is set to be boosted by infrastructure developments at the country's second-busiest airport
AirAsia X has spent a decade finding its feet – only to discover a new wave of low-cost rivals stepping into similar markets. Yet CEO Benyamin Ismail is confident for the future.
The airline, a subsidiary of Japan Airlines, is currently undertaking an important fleet modernisation process which will see it receive a total of nine ATR turboprops over the next three years for operation both on main routes and connections from and to smaller islands and communities across the country.
Long-haul arrivals in Western Europe are on the increase – showing its resilience in the face of last year’s terror attacks. It has taken over a year to recover, but long-haul arrivals are starting to surge again, reaching visitor numbers higher than those seen before the Paris attack in November 2015, reports ForwardKeys.
European long-haul, low-cost operator Norwegian is known to be exploring markets in Asia to expand its business formula to the East. It previously only served Bangkok out of Scandinavia, but has now confirmed a London Gatwick - Singapore link, and more routes are set to follow as additional Boeing 787s join the fleet.
In one of the most significant brand expansion in the history of luxury travel and hospitality, Crystal Cruises is not only introducing new ships to its fleet effectively establishing three brand new classes of cruising, but also inducting two commercial airliners to launch Crystal Luxury Air in 2017.
Emirates has announced that it will introduce a second daily service to the island of Bali in Indonesia from July 2, 2017. The new service will be added to meet the growing demand for travel to and from Bali, offering travellers more convenience and connectivity options.
February international passenger demand rose 5.8 per cent compared to February 2016, which was down compared to the 9.1 per cent yearly increase recorded in January. Adjusting for the leap year, however, growth actually accelerated slightly compared to January. Total capacity climbed 3.4 per cent, and load factor rose 1.8 percentage points to 78.4 per cent.
In the international market IndiGo is currently ranked as India’s sixth largest carrier behind local operators Jet Airways, Air India, low-cost carrier Air India Express and Gulf giants Emirates Airline and Etihad Airways. It will this year hold a 4.1 per cent share of international capacity from India, based on published schedules, up from 3.2 per cent in 2016.
Both Japanese and Australian air travellers are flying in greater numbers again when compared with last year, according to the latest data from ForwardKeys which analyses 16 million booking transactions a day. The figures show that from January to mid-March this year total Japanese outbound travel was up 4.1 per cent when compared to 2016 – an encouraging sign for the rest of 2017.
