Emirates has confirmed it will introduce a four times weekly link between its Dubai International Airport hub and Yinchuan’s Hedong International Airport from May 3, 2016, with an additional onward leg to Zhengzhou’s Xinzheng International Airport. The flight will be operated by a 266-seat Boeing 777-200LR and will bring its offering mainland China to five points, adding to existing flights to Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai.
The new services will increase capacity between the two cities by almost 2,500 seats per week enabling Etihad to better serve the market in the UAE and the Philippines for point-to-point travel as well as supporting behind and beyond demand via its Abu Dhabi International Airport hub.
According to information released by aviation regulator, Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), China’s national carrier, Air China has requested rights to introduce a daily service from Chengdu to Sydney from June 2016. The route, subject to final approval, will be operated using Airbus A330 equipment.
The revised Amsterdam operation and agreement with KLM will enable Jet Airways to increase its coverage of the European market, albeit on a codeshare basis. Alongside its existing Brussels services the carrier currently only serves two other European points: London Heathrow (daily from Delhi and twice daily from Mumbai) and Paris Charles De Gaulle (daily from Mumbai).
South African low-cost carrier Mango will help launch a new Connecting Partner Model from global airline grouping Star Alliance as it seeks to further expand its network reach. The South African Airways (SAA) subsidiary will be the first ‘low-cost’ or ‘hybrid’ carrier to introduce its network into that of the wider grouping.
Cathay Pacific is already the largest operator in the Hong Kong – London market by capacity, according to data from schedules provider, OAG. The airline has a 58.7 per cent share of the available non-stop capacity in this market ahead of British Airways (29.9 per cent share) and Virgin Atlantic Airways (11.4 per cent share).
Under development for 12 years, the first production 90-seat ARJ21 airliner has now been officially delivered to launch customer, Chengdu Airlines, arriving at the carrier’s Shuangliu International Airport base on November 29, 2015 following a 2 hour 48 minute delivery flight from the COMAC facility in Shanghai.
Although this will not immediately impact international air services from Thailand as Thai Airways International recently closed its flight between Bangkok and
IATA projects that passenger numbers are expected to reach seven billion by 2034 with a 3.8 per cent average annual growth in demand (2014 baseline year). That is more than double the 3.3 billion who flew in 2014 and exactly twice as many as the 3.5 billion expected in 2015.
The airline first introduced non-stop flights into Japan in November 2010 when it launched its daily link between Honolulu International Airport and Tokyo Haneda and it also currently provides links into Osaka in July 2011 and Sapporo in October 2012. The new daily Tokyo Narita service will commence from July 22, 2016 and will be flown using a 294 seat Airbus A330-200 with 18 Business Class, 40 Extra Comfort and 236 Economy seats.
The Japanese flag carrier previously served Dallas up until late 2001 when it ended its previous operation from Tokyo. This was flown using a McDonnell Douglas MD-11 trijet, but the current link is being flown by a more efficient twin-engined Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, which is understood to have played a key role in the resurrection of this link.
MIDT data from Sabre shows an estimated market of around 135,000 O&D passengers a year between Manchester and China, although the real market size will be notably higher when you include ground leakage to London for the existing non-stop flights to the Chinese cities of Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou and Shanghai. When you add the obvious stimulation a new direct flight can add then you could realistically see a market of around 200,000 passengers, which will grow year-on-year.
This expansion will see Cebu Pacific Air offering its trademark low fares to the sizeable Filipino community in Guam, which currently comprises about 26 per cent of the island's population, according to the US Central Intelligence Agency World Fact Book.
Based on the analyst modelling, the economic study, commissioned by the Qantas Group suggests the estimated total economic contribution of the Qantas Group to Australia in 2014/15 is $11.4 billion ($5.9 billion direct and $5.4 billion indirect) while facilitating an additional $9.5 billion of tourism expenditure across Australia.
Under its revised schedule, Oman Air will introduce second daily rotations between Muscat and Bangalore and Kochi; will boost weekly frequencies between Muscat and Lucknow from seven to eleven; will increase flights between Muscat and Jaipur to ten weekly from the current daily offering; and will add one additional weekly flight on the Muscat – Goa route to offer a daily schedule.
Under the terms of the revised agreement, designated Australian and UAE airlines will be able to operate an extra 14 weekly frequencies between the two countries from October 2016, up from the seven offered as part of a previous deal. Alongside the fast-expanding UAE national entities, this will permit Qantas and Virgin Australia to also boost its flights to Abu Dhabi and Dubai, markets its currently serves in partnership with the two Gulf carriers.
Subject to final approval and the green light from North Korean authorities, Spring Airlines will be one of only a handful of carriers to provide international flights into the North Korean market. This market has been mainly served by national carrier Air Koryo, although the likes of Air China, China Southern Airlines have offered scheduled programmes into the country with Air China currently linking Pyongyang to Beijing.
Garuda’s plans to introduce non-stop flights to Europe have been restricted by limited runway capacity at Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, with the pavement classification number (PCN) of the runways and apron at Soekarno-Hatta Airport not meeting the required level of strength that is typically needed for the operation of a full capacity, heavy duty commercial airliner such as the Boeing 777-300ER.
The return of the second weekly frequency, which was previously operated between April 2010 and August 2011, will be partly facilitated by funding support from the national government to the tune of K5 million ($1.7 million), which will go a long way to assist the airline in implementing the second Japan service, according to Air Niugini’s Chief Executive Officer, Simon Foo.
China is Sydney Airport’s fastest growing inbound visitor market and this new link will bring even more Chinese visitors to Sydney and NSW, with associated tourism and economic benefits. Hainan Airlines will be the sixth Chinese mainland airline serving destinations across mainland China, making Sydney Airport the world’s leading airport for long-haul Chinese airlines.
The new flight will be an eleven hour sector and will be operated using a Boeing 767-300ER. The Vietnamese market will initially be served on a seasonal schedule with flights planned between June and October 2016, but the carrier said there is the potential to expand the season in subsequent years.
The flight will be operated as part of American's joint business with Qantas, which remains subject to regulatory approvals. Through their enhanced relationship, American and Qantas intend to provide increased connectivity to markets beyond their key gateways.
The new flight will be the first direct offering between Singapore and the South Pacific Islands and will be operated using a 273-seat Airbus A330 configured with a two-class arrangement. The flight time of ten hours will save travellers at least three hours compared to current flight options which require a transfer stop in Australia or New Zealand.
Jet Airways currently offers a mini hub operation at Brussels Airport with daily flights from Delhi and Mumbai in India connecting in the Belgian capital to daily continuation flights to Newark, USA and Toronto, Canada, but changes to its business strategy after United Arab Emirates (UAE) national carrier, Etihad Airways became an equity partner mean this demand is not being more efficiently handled via Abu Dhabi International Airport.
The first new Pharma Express route commenced on November 10, 2015 and operates from Mumbai via Ahmedabad to Doha on Tuesdays and Fridays. The second new Pharma Express route commenced on November 11, 2015 and operates from Hyderabad to Doha on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Both flights will offer connectivity across Qatar Airways’ extensive global network.
