KLM increases LAX and Muscat flights

KLM has officially announced that it will be increasing its presence in Muscat and Los Angeles from the on set of the IATA S16 season as the carrier looks to take advantage of available opportunities in the long haul market segment. 

MCT - frequencies will be increased from 4 weekly to daily flights using a B789 operated via AUH

LAX - frequencies increased from 12 weekly to double daily nonstop using a B744 Combi

China Airlines increases JFK and FRA

China Airlines (Taiwan) has officially announced that it will be increasing its services to New York JFK and Frankfurt, Germany from the on set of the IATA W16 season i.e. 30OCT

Currently, JFK is operated 3 times per week nonstop using a B777-300ER (77W). These flights will be increased to 5 times per week using the same aircraft type. As far as FRA is concerned, the route will also be increased from 5 weekly to daily nonstop using a B77W as well. FRA is one of CI's top performing long haul routes in terms of cargo revenue.

Qatar Airways increases Maputo capacity

Qatar Airways officially announced today that it will be increasing capacity on its services to MPO-Maputo, Mozambique effective 29MAR16. Currently, all 3 weekly flights are flown via JNB using a B77W however from the on set of the IATA S16 season, it will make MPO a nonstop terminator destination (DOH-MPO-DOH) using a 254 seater B787-8. 

The schedule is as follows:

Days - 2/4/7

QR 1361 Dep DOH 0630 Arr MPM 1340
QR 1362 Dep MPM 1505 Arr DOH 0010+1

China Eastern announces 3 new long haul routes

China Eastern Airlines, the largest carrier based out of Shanghai airport has officially announced that it will be launching three new long haul destinations in 2016. All the routes will be operated out of its primary PVG (Shanghai) hub base and they are to Brisbane (BNE), Prague (PRG) and Chicago (ORD) respectively.

The operational highlights are as follows:

BNE - to be launched effective 16JAN three times per week using an A332

ORD - to be launched effective 18MAR using a B77W on a daily basis nonstop

PRG - to be launched effective 02APR using an A332 on a three weekly basis

Philippine Airlines chooses Airbus A359 and announces Paris-Manila

PAL (Philippine Airlines) SVP Commercial Mr Lim today revealed to the local media of two important developments concerning the airline's future operational plans. They are as follows:

1. PAL has chosen to purchase the A350-900 over the B787-9 and will be using the normal version of the aircraft which its Ops department has confirmed shall be able to operate its longest route i.e. MNL-JFK nonstop without a payload penalty. A total of 6 units initially are ordered.
2. A new long haul EU destination will be launched in Summer 2016 i.e. Paris served from Manila via Dubai with 5th freedom traffic rights

Source: http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/pal-to-fly-to-the-city-of-light/

Comments:

PAL should not look at flying to CDG via DXB but rather via KWI instead. DXB-CDG already has 4 daily nonstop flights being operated i.e. daily AF + triple daily EK therefore there is no chance for PAL to be remotely competitive. Instead, KWI-CDG no airline flies nonstop as KU currently operate their service via FCO-Rome four times per week hence un-competitive versus a nonstop product. In addition, yields on KWI-CDG are much higher than DXB-CDG !

JAL looking at USA expansion

Japan Airlines CEO has announced that the carrier is looking to launch at least two new USA routes in 2016 during a press conference inaugurating the new nonstop Tokyo-Dallas nonstop service. 

The one route that was mentioned as a possible reinstatement was Las Vegas which JAL previously operated for many years. JAL is very happy with the performance economics of the plane and should seriously consider being the first Asian airline to fly nonstop to Miami which is a major hub of its fellow One World partner i.e. American Airlines. NRT-MIA traffic demand in 2014 was 24,000 passengers + via AA support it can access easily Latin/Central America + Caribbean islands providing passengers with one stop access. NRT-MIA can be sustained 4 times per week using a B789 with the flying time of the route being 14 hours 30 minutes hence easily do able from an aircraft flying range perspective.

TAP Portugal orders 14 A339s + 39 A320/321NEOs

TAP Portugal has officially announced that it has signed a deal with Airbus for the procurement of 53 new aircraft that will see the airline commercially through the entire 2020-30 decade. The breakdown of the order is 14 A330-900s + 15 A320NEOs + 24 A321NEOs. Previously it had ordered 12 A350-900s which were in turn exchanged for 14 A339s as TAP's internal studies revealed it was cheaper for them overall to operate the A339 versus the A359 whose extra flying range was not required for any destination in its current and future network plan.

The A321NEO order will be split between the normal NEO version and the LR version which TAP has stated will be used to fly on medium demand trans-atlantic routes from Lisbon to U.S. East Coast and Northeast Brazil. The cities identified for this purpose include Boston, Toronto, Montreal, Washington DC, Bayeux, Parnaiba and Aracaju. The configuration of these A321NEOLRs will see 16 flat bed seats in business class plus 159 in economy totaling 175.

Malaysia Airlines suspends Paris and Amsterdam

Malaysia Airlines has officially announced that it will be suspending all flights to both Paris and Amsterdam effective 25JAN16 as the carrier enters into its last phase of route network restructuring designed to save the airline large amounts of operating cash. As a result of this, London Heathrow will be MH's sole EU destination where it shall continue to operate double daily flights using the Airbus A380 exclusively in code share with fellow One World partner British Airways. 

MH also revealed on the sidelines that it has concluded signing a broad based code share agreement with Emirates that will see the former place its code on EK's operated flights from DXB to EU and selected MENA destinations. In return, EK will do the same on MH's operated flights to the Austral-Asia region. This arrangement is very similar to the EK-QF venture initiated few years ago.

Emirates reduces DAR and increases MNL

Emirates has officially confirmed that due to network demand requirements, it will be implementing the below mentioned changes:

DAR - frequencies reduced from double daily B773s to a daily nonstop service only effective 15DEC

MNL - frequencies increased from double daily to 18 weekly with all flights exclusively being operated by the B777-300ER (B77W) effective 29MAR

It is highly surprising that a route such as Addis Ababa with its massive labor market demand to GCC has yet to warrant double daily A332 operated service by EK where as ET currently operate 18 weekly flights DXB-ADD !

Turkish orders 20 more A321NEOs

Turkish Airlines has officially confirmed that it has ordered 20 additional Airbus A321-200NEOs catered for additional planned growth in the 2020-30 decade. 

In total as a result of this order, 72 A321NEOs have been ordered by the carrier which has the capability to fly up to 7 hours nonstop from Istanbul with a full payload of passengers plus cargo. 

Source: http://www.eturbonews.com/66479/turkish-airlines-firms-order-20-additional-a321neo-aircraft

Cathay Pacific reveals Airbus A350 strategy

Cathay Pacific has officially revealed details on how it is configuring its upcoming Airbus A350-900s as well as on what routes it will be operating to and lastly what purpose it brings to the airline in terms of long haul expansion. 

To begin with, the cabin configuration will be in a 3 class layout seating 280 pax in total i.e. 38 business + 28 premium economy + 214 economy. CX has on order a total of 22 A359s + 26 A351s. 

The A359 will be used to boost its presence in mainland Europe through frequency increases to Milan, Manchester, Zurich, Madrid, Dusseldorf and Amsterdam as well as launch potential new markets such as Barcelona, Copenhagen and Geneva (these 3 destinations are of my opinion only which have sufficient demand to warrant a CX flight 4 times per week). 

In addition to cater for growth, the A359 will be used to gradually replace CX's oldest B777-200As and A330-300s whilst the larger A350-1000s are geared to increase the carrier's footprint in Australia + North America along side replacing its entire A343 + B773A fleet (used on ASEAN routes). 

RAM announces Rio De Janerio and Washington DC

Royal Air Maroc (RAM) has officially announced that it will be launching 2 new long haul destinations from the Summer 2016 season onwards as the carrier looks to position its CMN-Casablanca hub as the gateway to North Africa and Southwestern Europe. 

The new routes are Washington DC and Rio De Janerio. The former will be flown 3 times per week nonstop using a B787-800 effective 08SEP. The latter will be operated in conjunction with GRU (Sao Paulo) as a triangular service 3 times per week using a Boeing 767-300ER effective 02MAY.

Air India considering Washington DC

Air India has been cited by the Indian media to be seriously studying the prospect of launching a new nonstop service to IAD-Washington DC from its primary Delhi hub base. The carrier's new SFO-DEL nonstop service has received a very strong response from the traveling public as a result of it is looking at new opportunities in USA where Star Alliance partner United has a strong presence. 

Source: http://www.thehindu.com/business/now-air-india-plans-direct-flight-to-washington/article7927525.ece

If launched, it will be maximum a three weekly service operated using the same schedule as DEL-JFK-DEL and the aircraft shall be a B777-300ER only as AI's B788s would struggle to operate the route with a full payload nonstop.

Air Canada plans out aggressive long haul expansion next summer

Air Canada has officially announced a major round of aggressive capacity upgrades and additional frequencies to its European and Asian network as the carrier looks to ward off any potential threat from Air Transat, Westjet as well as capitalize on its strong following versus Air France-Alitalia on certain key market segments. 

The main highlights are as follows:

YYZ/AMS - capacity increased from daily B763ER to daily A333

YYZ/MXP - capacity increased from daily B763ER to daily A333

YVR/PVG - capacity increased from daily B788 to daily B77W

YYC/NRT - capacity increased from daily B763ER to daily B788 

YUL/CDG - capacity upgraded to double daily B77Ws (high density)

YYZ/FCO - capacity upgraded from daily A333 to daily B77W

YYZ/MAD - capacity increased from daily B763ER to daily B788

YYZ/ZRH - capacity increased from daily B788 to daily B789

YYZ/TLV - capacity increased from daily B788 to daily B789 

YUL/FCO - capacity upgraded from daily B763ER to daily A333

YVR/DUB - new 3 weekly nonstop flights using a B763ER effective 10JUN

YVR/LHR - frequencies increased to double daily i.e. daily B77W + daily B789 

YYZ/IST - capacity increased from daily B763ER to daily B789

Turkish increases Kuala Lumpur

Turkish Airlines has officially announced that it will be significantly increasing its presence in the Kuala Lumpur marketplace effective 01JUN16 as the carrier looks to take full advantage of Malaysia Airlines heavily weakened position in Europe. 

Frequencies shall be upgraded from 10 weekly to double daily nonstop operated by the Airbus A330-300 exclusively.

Austrian announces Isfahan (Iran)

Austrian Airlines has officially announced that it will be launching a new service to one of Iran's largest cities i.e. Isfahan 

OS will operate 4 times per week nonstop from its Vienna hub using an Airbus A319 with the below mentioned schedule:

OS 875 Dep VIE 2045 Arr IFN 0355+1
OS 876 Dep IFN 0550 Arr VIE 0815

This flight will be largely catering towards a niche market in Europe i.e. Iranian emigrants who reside in Western Europe since the 1979 revolution and want a direct flight into IFN rather than transiting via Tehran (IKA) airport !

Source: http://www.austrianairlines.ag/Press/PressReleases/Press/2015/11/092.aspx?sc_lang=en&mode={30999B4B-42D0-45A6-B671-FE5E3CB68ED8}

Oman Air expands India operations

The state of Oman and India have agreed on an expanded bilateral that allows Oman Air to significantly increase its operations effective December 2015 in the below mentioned manner:

BLR - frequencies increased from daily to double daily

COK - frequencies increased from daily to double daily

LKO - frequencies increased from daily to 11 weekly

JAI - frequencies increased from daily to 10 weekly
 
GOI - frequencies increased from 6 weekly to daily effective 01DEC

Australia-UAE bilateral further liberalized

The Australian Government has officially announced that it has signed an enhanced bilateral accord with UAE further facilitating growth for airlines based out of each others territories.

The UAE based airlines i.e. Etihad + Emirates can operate an additional 14 flights per week to SYD/BNE/PER/MEL and in return Qantas + Virgin Australia can do the same for DXB/AUH. 

Source: http://www.arabianbusiness.com/new-bilateral-deal-sees-etihad-emirates-get-more-flights-australia-613063.html

Eva Air announces expansion strategy

Eva Air's CEO officially unveiled the carrier's 5 year expansion strategy that focused on long haul growth and fleet rationalization. The main highlights of the plan are as follows:

• 24 B787-100s + 2 B777-300ERs ordered
• Frequencies to North America to be boosted i.e. SFO increased from double to triple daily, JFK increased from daily to double daily
• New long haul services to Chicago and Washington DC to be launched in 2016 with B777-300ERs
• Two new European destinations likely to be launched in 2016 i.e. Milan and Bareclona

Comments:

MXP-TPE demand in 2014 was 27,000 pax versus FCO-TPE being 36,000 (CI operates this route via DEL three times per week using an A333). Maximum required is a 3 weekly nonstop service on a B789 sized aircraft. BCN-TPE on the other hand was 15,000 pax and the same held true for MAD-TPE last year. I dont see the viability of Spain being added to BR's network. MXP has a bit of merit as it can also provide useful onward feed to SE Asia.

Instead of BCN, I would strongly suggest BR consider ZRH-TPE which had 28,000 pax point to point in 2014 with much higher yields good cargo potential major Star hub hence can provide incremental S/F with support from LX !

For USA-TPE 2014, demand was as follows:

NYC - 150K
LAX - 379K
SFO - 268K
IAH - 22K
SEA - 51K
ORD - 25K
IAD - 21K
YYZ - 35K
YVR - 91K

Lufthansa suspends Munich-Dubai flights

Lufthansa has officially announced that due to heavy losses, it will be suspending its daily service between Munich and Dubai effective 09APR16. Currently, the route is operated by an A340-600 with a night time departure out of MUC airport. 

This announcement comes on the heels of Emirates confirming that it will be significantly increasing its own MUC services from 01FEB by adding a new 3rd daily service as well as upgrading its current double daily service to A380s. In 2014, 315,000 passengers flew MUC-DXB-MUC (point to point only) !