Qatar Airways

Qatar Airways will be shortly officially announcing the launch of new nonstop flights to South America namely São Paulo and Buenos Aires. The flight will be launched on 30th May and shall be operated daily using a Boeing 777-200LR with the routing being DOH-GRU-EZE. QR will also enjoy 5th freedom traffic rights on the GRU-EZE-GRU sector. The flight schedule is as follows:

Days of operation: DAILY

QR921 DOH 0800 Arr GRU 1700 /// QR 921 Dep GRU 1840 Arr EZE 2130

QR 922 Dep EZE 0035 Arr GRU 0325 /// QR 922 Dep GRU 0440 Arr DOH 0040+1

Qatar Airways has officially confirmed that it will be increasing its flights to Dhaka, Bangladesh from March 28th onwards. Currently, it operats a daily service using a mixture of A 333s and A 332s, however this shall be increased to 11 times per week using a 2 class configured A 332 for all of the flights. The additional 4 weekly flights allow for the first time Dhaka to be connected via DOH to all USA and European destinations in both directions which shall definitely help increase loads to JFK and IAH in particular.

Comments:

Its quite evident that QR want to get into EZE before EK does which is good. However realistically speaking, does anyone really think that QR has even a remote chance of making money flying this route or let alone break even? The answer to that question is no! These 2 B 777-200LRs would be better served flying daily DOH-ORD-DOH rather than to Latin America just because of the logic that EK flies there hence QR must follow suit! Apart from this, the focus should also be to get ADD online due to the huge O&D market that exists between DOH and ADD along with the 6th freedom traffic potential bound to IAD, UK, ATH, India, China and BKK in particular. A daily A 320 between DOH and ADD would be ideal to serve the needs of this market segment initially.

As one can make out from the flight schedule, the main target market is Far East Asia passengers via DOH and a little bit of GCC bound traffic as well. From Brazil to Far East, QR will face stiff competition from EK/AC/LH/AF/TK/SAA/BA/KL which will further dilute yields and market share of every one. FYI, QR's B 77Ls seat 259 in a 2 class (J/Y) configuration i.e. 42J + 217Y.

Turkish Airlines

Turkish Airlines has officially announced that they have placed a mega order with Boeing this week for the purchase of 35 new Boeing 737NGs. The order split consists of 10 Boeing 737-900ERs plus 10 Boeing 737-800s plus 15 options for either aircraft type. This is on top of another order placed by the airline last month for 6 A 319s + 14 A 321s!

Comments:

Just like when they ordered the A 319s and A 321s a month ago, I am once again stating my opinion which is that this massive fleet expansion by undertaken by TK is unreasonable and they are biting off more than what they can chew! What is the point of ordering B 739ERs when you already have A 321s in the fleet which can easily fly to all the high density short/medium haul destinations with the same payload !

Etihad Airways

Etihad Airways has revealed major changes in the GDS for the Summer 2010 IATA season in terms of capacity increases mainly across its medium haul network. The main highlights are as follows:

LHE - capacity increased from March 30th by 40% to 3 weekly B 773ERs + 4 weekly A 346s. Effective June 13th, capacity will be further increased with a 4th weekly flight operated by a B 773ER on Mondays!

MAN - capacity increased from June 7th from daily A 332 to daily nonstop flights using a B 773ER.

FRA - capacity increase effective May 14th from double daily A 332s to 2 weekly A 346s + 12 weekly A 332s.

DUB - frequencies increased from daily to 10 weekly nonstop flights using an A 332.

KHI - capacity increased from daily A 320 to 5 weekly A 320 + weekly A 332 + weekly A 346.

Comments:

The B 773ERs from LHE will be a 3 weekly same plane service via AUH to YYZ-Toronto where as the A 346s will be a same plane service to JFK. Both moves are meant to severely impact PIA and EK's market share on these sectors with which the right marketing and sales tools can reap high rewards for EY.

FYI, the majority of Pakistanis (65%) residing in NYC and YYZ hail from the Punjab region of Pakistan of which LHE airport is their main gateway point. It is also worth mentioning that fares to LHE are usually 15% higher versus KHI as well hence higher yielding too for carriers!

British Airways

British Airways has officially revealed major changes to its long haul network for the Summer 2010 IATA season in terms of frequencies and capacity. The main highlights are as follows:

DXB - frequencies reduced from triple daily to double daily flights i.e. 10 weekly B 772ERs + 4 weekly B 744s.

PEK - capacity reduced from daily B 744 to daily B 772ER.

IAH - capacity increased from double daily B 772ERs to daily B 744 + daily B 772ER.

Thai Airways

Thai Airways has officially revealed that it will be suspending all of its flights to KWI-Kuwait City from March 28th after just launching nonstop services on this sector a year prior. No reason has been cited for the move. TG also confirmed that it will be launching new 4 weekly nonstop flights to JNB-Jo'Burg from May 17th from its BKK hub using a Boeing 777-200ER. The flight schedule is as follows:

Days of operation: MON/WED/FRI/SAT

TG 703 Dep BKK 0115 Arr JNB 0730
TG 704 Dep JNB 1340 Arr BKK 0555+1

Thai Airways has officially announced that they will be increasing capacity to Islamabad, Colombo and Chennai from the on set of the IATA Summer 2010 season. All flights to these 3 destinations are currently being flown with an Airbus A 300-600R, however from March 28th, these cities will see flights operated by the larger and more modern Airbus A 330-300. In addition, TG has also announced that it has set aside a budget of US$ 1.1 billion to purchase 15 wide bodied aircraft this year of which it said 8 will be 350 seater aircraft where as the remaining 7 will be 300 seaters. The eight 350 seater aircraft will be exclusively deployed on long haul routes where as the 300 seater aircraft will be used on regional flights within Asia.

Analysis:

For the 350 seater aircraft order, TG should be ordering the Boeing 777-300ER only because it is the ideal aircraft to use on long haul flights to Europe, JNB and Australia versus the Airbus A 340-600. TG has both the B 777s and A 346s in its current fleet but only B 772s. The operating cost of a B 77W versus an A 346 are in favor of the B 77W by nearly 20%.With regards to the cabin configuration, one hopes that TG does not install a first class cabin on board the 350 seater aircraft because it is not needed one bit. It must realize that it is based out of BKK which is primarily a leisure oriented city and not SIN which is a financial hub hence witnessing more premium class travel ! If the B 77W is indeed ordered by TG, the best configuration for it to have on board is 36 business class + 315 in economy class. As far as the 300 seater aircraft is concerned, it would be best to stick to ordering the A 333 of which it already has 15 of in the fleet. These aircraft are needed to gradually fully replace the14 A 300-600Rs being used on domestic and regional Asian routes.

Another thing that TG need to seriously look at is the current configuration of their fleet of 6 A 346s which seats 267 pax with the break up being 8 in first + 60 in business + 199 in economy. Everybody knows that such a configuration for a large aircraft such as the A 346 and for an airline like TG is totally ludicrous because the high volume premium demand isn't that great for the routes that it deploys them on. For it to use the A 346s in a more cost efficient manner on long haul routes, all aircraft should be sent for a cabin re-fit with the configuration being 8 in first class + 36 in business class + 264 in economy class with the total count thus increased from 267 to 308 which is better as it will help bring down operating cost per seat kilometer on long haul routes. There is no need what so ever for TG to have any aircraft in its fleet containing 60 J class seats as the demand isnt there especially in this current economic climate.

Malaysia Airlines

Malaysia Airlines has officially announced that it will be increasing frequencies to Melbourne, Australia from the on set of the IATA Summer 2010 season i.e. March 28th. Flights will be increased from the current 11 weekly nonstop services using a Boeing 777-200ER to double daily nonstop using the same aircraft type.

In addition, MH has too confirmed that its flights to HYD-Hyderabad, India will too see an increase from 4 to 5 weekly nonstop flights using a Boeing 737-800.

Air Canada

Air Canada has officially revealed on the GDS major changes to its South America schedule for the IATA Summer 2010 season with increase in frequencies to 3 key destinations. The main highlights are as follows:

BOG - frequencies increased from 3 to 4 weekly nonstop flights using a B 767-300ER effective May 31st.

CCS - frequencies increased from 4 weekly to daily nonstop flights using an A 319 effective June 22nd.

LIM - frequencies increased from 3 to 4 weekly nonstop flights using a B 767-300ER effective June 3rd.

Hainan Airlines China

Hainan Airlines of China has revealed few changes to its long haul network for the upcoming IATA Summer 2010 season. The main highlights are as follows:

PEK/DXB - frequencies increased from 3 to 5 weekly nonstop flights using a B 763ER.

PVG/BRU - new 3 weekly nonstop flights to be launched using an A 332 effective May 28th.

Embraer E195 analysis

Embraer of Brazil has officially announced that they are seriously studying the probability of launching a larger E195 version called thus far the E195X which would seat 130 passengers in a single economy class configuration. The aircraft would likely have a flying range of 2800KM and is targeted towards airline wishing to replace old MD80s, classic Boeing 737-300s and older A 319s on short haul routes. A final decision will be taken by Summer 2011 by the company to decide whether or not this venture is worth pursuing.

Analysis:

The E-Jets family line of aircraft has proven to be a big hit with airlines due to its lower purchase and operating trip costs on short haul flights up to 3 hours of flying length versus B 717s and A 318s in particular. If Embraer do indeed go ahead with this launch, its main competitors would not only be Boeing and Airbus but Bombardier as well due to the latter having recently launched their C-130 product.

This new E195X model is an excellent replacement aircraft for airlines to seriously consider purchasing versus A 319s especially if they already operate a size able fleet of E 170s and E 190s. Airlines that should be initially targeted by sales people at Embraer are as follows:

a) JETBLUE - an airline like B6 can find this aircraft very useful as it can easily seat 125 passengers in an all economy class layout and be used on many of its domestic U.S. routes where current demand on flights operated by its 100 seater E 190 jets is very high. Rather than upgrading capacity on these flights from an E 190 to an A 320, it would be cheaper to do so from an E190 to an E195X due to the smaller capital costs involved in particular.

b) AIR CANADA - The Canadian national carrier can find this aircraft useful to fly on trans-border and domestic Canada routes under 3 hours of length rather than spend extra cash at having an A 319 do it.

c) QATAR AIRWAYS - QR has been on the look out to purchase regional jets for a while now and this aircraft along with the E 190 can be an ideal fit into their fleet. In its luxurious 2 class configuration, QR can seat 85 pax on the E190 and 105-100 on the E195X and be used to fly on low density regional flights within the GCC region + Iran + Iraq and Central Asia.

d) KUWAIT AIRWAYS - ideal plane for it to use on low density GCC regional flights rather than the higher density A 320 which sees low load factors on flights to AUH/MCT/DOH/DMM/BAH etc. It can also be used in the future to launch services to BGW/NJF/Basra etc.

e) PARAMOUNT AIRWAYS INDIA - ideal plane to give it a capacity uplift versus ordering the E190. Currently, the airline has many E170s and E175s in its fleet.

f) LOT POLAND - this is the plane to replace their aging fleet of 6 Boeing 737-500s from both a capacity and flying range point of view! They already have a fleet of 10 E70s and 10 E75s so this aircraft would be a perfect fit due to fleet/cockpit commonality issues.

Oman Air

Oman Air has officially revealed further expansion plans of its medium haul route network for the Summer 2010 IATA season. The four new destinations are Lahore, Kuala Lumpur, Islamabad and Dar Es Salaam. The main highlights are as follows:

LHE - new 4 weekly nonstop flights to be launched using a B 738 effective May 10th.

ISB - new 3 weekly nonstop flights to be launched using a B 738 effective May 16th.

KUL - new 4 weekly nonstop flights to be launched using an A 332 effective May 1st.

DAR - new 4 weekly nonstop flights to be launched using a B 738 effective June 1st.

Comments:

Finally LHE and ISB have been launched by the carrier. Both routes shall prove to be high yielding for the airline due to the huge O&D + 6th freedom traffic that shall easily help fill up the flight in both directions on a year round basis. For those who dont know, DAR is another destination that may not make money but the state of Tanzania has a huge Omani population residing especially in Zanzibar.

Emirates

Emirates has officially revealed major changes to its Summer and Winter 2010 schedule especially with regards to realigning capacity on various routes across its medium haul and long haul network. The main highlights are as follows:

PER - capacity increased to double daily nonstop flights using a B 772LR effective Nov 1st.

DXB / KUL / MEL - capacity increased from daily A 345 to daily B 773ER effective July 1st.

MUC - capacity reduced from daily B 773ER + daily A 332 to daily A 345 + daily A 332 effective July 1st.

CMN - in flight product upgraded from daily A 343 to daily A 345 effective Aug 1st.

MEL - capacity increased to triple daily flights all using a B 773ER instead of 2 daily B 773ERs + daily A 345 effective Aug 1st.

LOS - in flight product upgraded with the 2nd daily flight being flight being operated by an A 345 along side the B 773ER which operates the other daily flight.

Biman Bangladesh

Biman Bangladesh has officially taken delivery of its newly leased Boeing 777-200ERs which are ex Singapore Airlines air frames and will be utilizing these aircraft to replace the A 310-300s and DC 10-30s on its most popular routes in the following manner:

LHR - to be finally flown nonstop 4 times per week using a B 772ER hence eliminating the DXB stopover en-route.

RUH - capacity increased to 6 weekly nonstop flights using a B 772ER with 3 of those flights being extended to DMM.

SIN - out of 4 weekly flights, 3 will be flown using a B 772ER with the remaining one with a DC 10.

FCO - to be flown once a week nonstop rather than via DXB using a B 772ER.

Comments:

Excellent moves by BG. Hopefully this shall gradually lead to a massive turn around for this ailing carrier that has suffered massive amounts of bureaucratic mismanagement and corruption for over 30 years. By flying nonstop to London Heathrow from DAC, the market share of all the Arab carriers on the LON-DAC-LON route will definitely fall as a result of this move. With newer Boeing 777-300ERs on their way to be delivered directly from Boeing, things are looking up for the carrier. It will be nostalgic to see its DC 10s finally leave the fleet from a photographer's point of view but this aircraft has done its time and served the carrier to its fullest possible limit.

Continental Airlines

Continental Airlines has officially revealed that it will be becoming a major force at London Heathrow to contend with from March 2010 onwards with a huge increase in capacity and frequency which gets further increased in the IATA Winter 2010 schedule. CO will be adding a new 4th daily nonstop flight to LHR from its EWR hub from March 28th using a B 752ER and from Oct 31st, another 5th daily nonstop flight will be added using the same aircraft type. Four flights will be operated by a B 757-200ER where as one shall be flown using a B 772ER.

Thus from Oct 31st, its EWR-LHR-EWR schedule will look like this:

Dep EWR at 0900/1825/1915/2120/2210 /// Arr LHR at 0625/0725/0925/1015/2120
Dep LHR at 0840/1030/1115/1235/1800 /// Arr EWR at 1205/1330/1445/1605/2130

Air India

Air India has officially revealed that it will be increasing capacity to Riyadh in a major manner from Feb 1st 2010 onwards in the following manner:

BOM/RUH - capacity increased to 6 weekly nonstop flights using B 744s.

DEL/RUH - capacity increased to 2 weekly nonstop flights using B 744s.

CCJ/RUH - capacity increased to 2 weekly nonstop flights using a B 744.

Comments:

Excellent move by AI which shall definitely him put even more pressure on its main competitors i.e. 9W and SV on these sectors with the extra passenger and cargo capacity on offer.

Air Asia Malaysia

Air Asia of Malaysia has announced its massive expansion plan for India from its Kuala Lumpur hub base which shall come into effect from May 2010. The main highlights are as follows:

BOM - new 4 weekly nonstop flights using an A 333.

DEL - new daily nonstop flights using an A 333.

MAA - new daily nonstop flights using an A 320.

BLR - new daily nonstop flights using an A 320.

HYD - new daily nonstop flights using an A 320.

China Airlines Taiwan

China Airlines of Taiwan has officially revealed major changes for its long haul route network for the IATA Summer 2010 season. The main highlights are as follows:

DEL - additional 4th weekly nonstop terminator flight to be flown using an A 333. The remaining 3 weekly flights continue onwards to Rome.

KIX - capacity increased from daily A 333 to daily nonstop flights using a B 744.

JFK - additional 4th weekly flight to be flown from June 13th onwards via ANC.

SYD - frequencies reduced from daily to 5 weekly nonstop flights.

ICN - capacity increased from daily A 343 to daily A 333.

DPS - frequencies reduced from double daily to 11 weekly nonstop flights using an A 333 daily + 4 weekly B 738.

Vietnam Airlines

Vietnam Airlines has officially announced few changes on the GDS for its medium and long haul network for the IATA Summer 2010 season. The main highlights are as follows:

SYD - frequencies increased from 4 to 5 weekly nonstop flights but with using the A 332 rather than the B 772ER.

FRA - frequencies increased from 3 to 4 weekly nonstop flights using a B 772ER.

SIN - new second daily nonstop flight to be launched using an A 321. The current daily flight is also flown using the same aircraft type.

MEL - capacity reduced from 4 weekly B 772ERs to 4 weekly A 332s effective June 15th.

Cathay Pacific

Cathay Pacific has officially announced that it will be increasing its flights to ICN-Seoul, South Korea from May 2nd from 4 to 5 daily flights. CX will operate a mixture of A 333s and B 777s on this new flight where as with regards to terminated BOM-DXB flight, it has decided to have a daily terminator flight to the Indian financial capital city with the following flight schedule:

CX684 Dep BOM 0240 Arr HKG 1110
CX685 Dep HKG 2150 Arr BOM 0130

Aircraft to be operated for the above mentioned flight schedule is an A 333.

ANA

ANA of Japan has officially announced that it will be launching new nonstop daily services to MUC-Munich, Germany from July 1st onwards. NH will be using a Boeing 777-300ER on this route from its Tokyo NRT hub which is likely to also be code shared with Lufthansa. The latter (LH) already fly this route on a daily basis nonstop using an A 346.

Air France

Air France has been cited by the French media that due to the recent downturn in cargo freight business worldwide, it is planning to sell 2 of its new Boeing 777-200LR Freighters to Fedex of USA. No time line has been given as to when the aircraft will get delivered to the U.S. cargo carrier though.