Lufthansa has officially announced that it has placed a mega order for 48 new airplanes from Airbus and Embraer for itself and its subsidiaries i.e. SWISS and Germanwings. The break up of the order is as follows:
LH - 3 new A 333s + 20 A 320s + 8 E 195s
LX - 5 new A 333s + 2 A 321s + 2 A 320s
Germanwings - 8 new A 319s
In addition, LH has announced that it will be increasing capacity to KWI-Kuwait from the on set of the Summer 2011 season. For W10, it operates a daily A 333 seating 221 seats in a 3 class configuration, however for SU 11 it shall be 4 weekly A 343s + 3 weekly A 333s.
Jet Airways has officially announced that it shall be expanding its route network from November 2010 by launching new daily nonstop flights to MXP-Milan and CMB-Colombo from Delhi and Mumbai respectively. The main highlights are as follows:
DEL / MXP - new daily nonstop flights using an A 332 to be launched from Dec 5th 2010. The flights will cater to the massive O&D demand that exists between these 2 cities which is 90,000 passengers per year + the flight schedule allows excellent connections in both directions via DEL to DAC, domestic India, CMB and BKK.
DEL / CMB - new daily nonstop flights using a B 738 to be flown from Nov 5th 2010. This flight will connect to London and Milan in both directions.
BOM / CMB - new daily nonstop flights using a B 738 to be flown from Nov 5th 2010. This flight will connect in both directions to BRU/USA/YYZ/LON.
BOM / JNB - frequencies reduced from daily A 332s to 5 weekly nonstop flights using the same aircraft type.
Indian media too has reported that options 9W holds for 5 A 332s are going to be changed to 3 A 333s + 2 A 332s.
British Airways has officially announced that it will be increasing its presence on 2 key long haul markets in its network from Summer 2011. New 5 weekly nonstop services to Tokyo's Haneda airport shall be flown using a Boeing 777-200ER. In addition, its current flights to EZE-Buenos Aires operated via GRU-Sao Paulo shall be de-linked and EZE will once again be flown nonstop on a daily basis using a B 777-200ER as well.
Cathay Pacific has officially confirmed that it has firmed up an earlier LOI with Airbus and Boeing for 30 Airbus A 359s and 6 Boeing 773ERs. The A 359s will be used to replace the A 333s and B 772As initially with more expected to be ordered in the long run as this aircraft will be the backbone of the fleet in the next decade. The B 773ERs will be used for further long haul expansion in due course.
Egypt Air has officially announced that it shall be increasing its capacity to Dubai from Cairo from January 1st 2011. Currently it operates a daily B 773ER + 4 weekly A 333 + 3 weekly B 738 on this sector which shall be increased to a double daily B 773ER operation.
BMI-British Midland has officially announced that it shall be launching new nonstop flights to TIP-Tripoli, Libya from Dec 1st 2010. BD will be using an A 319 for this new route and its flight schedule is as follows: BD 469 Dep LHR 0855 Arr TIP 1430 BD 470 Dep TIP 1515 Arr LHR 1645
South African Airways has officially announced that it shall be increasing capacity to Mumbai, India from the on set of the Summer 2011 timetable when it phases out its entire Airbus A 340-200 fleet. JNB-BOM flights would then be operated using the larger A 340-300 four times per week.
Air France has officially announced that it shall be launching new nonstop flights from Paris to Lima in South America from June 21st 2011. AF will operate this route 5 times per week nonstop using a Boeing 777-200ER. In addition, AF too confirmed that it is adjusting capacity to Saudi Arabia from Nov 29th 2010 onwards in the following manner:
RUH - capacity increased by 75% from daily A 319s to 3 weekly A 332s + 4 weekly A 319s.
JED - frequencies reduced from 5 weekly A 319s to 3 weekly A 332s.
Lastly, AF confirmed that it will be inaugurating new nonstop services to MCO-Orlando, USA from its CDG hub effective June 7th 2011. Flights will be operated 3 times per week using a high density 2 class configured B 773ER seating 472 passengers i.e. 14 business class + 458 economy class.
Air Berlin of Germany has officially announced that it shall be greatly increasing its presence at New York's JFK airport from the on set of the Summer 2011 season. JFK is seen as a crucial long haul gateway for AB as its a major hub of fellow One World alliance partner i.e. American Airlines. AB confirmed that new 4 weekly Berlin-JFK flights using an A 332 shall be launched alongside increasing Dusseldorf-JFK to a daily A 332 service as well.
Qatar Airways is in the final stages of officially confirming a deal to dry lease out its entire fleet of 4 A 340-600s to Aerolineas Argentina for an undisclosed period of time. These jets are expected to leave the QR fleet from Summer 2011 and shall be replaced by more B 77Ws and B 787s that are being delivered to the airline next year.
US Airways has officially announced that it shall be launching 2 new trans-atlantic routes from May 2011 from its CLT-Charlotte hub. The destinations that get new flights are Dublin and Madrid with daily nonstop services. CLT-DUB will be operated with a B 757 where as CLT-MAD gets a B 767-200ER.
