Singapore Airlines

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

KHI & LHE - all flights suspended from Feb 17th 2010 citing commercial reasons.

MUC - new 5 weekly nonstop flights to be launched using a B 773ER. SQ will have full 5th freedom traffic rights on the MAN-MUC-MAN sector.

MAN - frequencies increased from 3 to 5 weekly flights all flown via MUC using a B 773ER.

BOM - frequencies increased from 11 weekly to double daily using B 773s.

DEL - frequencies increased from 11 weekly to double daily using B 773s.

CMB - frequencies increased from 5 weekly to daily nonstop flights using a B 772.

DAC - frequencies increased from 5 weekly to daily nonstop flights using a B 772.

EWR - frequencies increased on this nonstop SIN-EWR flight from 5 to 7 times per week using an A 345.

ICN - frequencies increased from double daily to 18 times per week.

SGN - frequencies reduced from 18 weekly to double daily nonstop flights.

Emirates Summer 2010

Emirates will be shortly announcing major details of its capacity and frequency increases for its medium and long haul route network for the Summer 2010 IATA season. The main highlights are as follows:

GRU - capacity to be increased from daily B 77L to daily B 773ER.

PEK - capacity to be increased to daily B 773ER + daily A 345.

NBO - capacity to be increased to daily B 772ER + daily A 343.

CMB/SIN - frequencies to be increased from 5 weekly to daily flights using a B 773ER.

MEL/AKL - capacity to be increased from daily A 345 to daily B 773ER.

JNB - capacity to be increased to triple daily flights using a B 773ER for all services.

SEZ - frequencies to be increased from 5 weekly to daily nonstop flights.

DME - capacity to be increased to daily A 345 + daily B 773A.

ACC/ABJ - in-flight product to be upgraded from daily A 343 to daily A 345.

ATH - capacity to be reduced from daily B 773A + daily A 332 to daily A 345 + daily A 332.

KRT - capacity to be increased from daily A 332 to daily A 345.

VCE - capacity to be increased from daily A 332 to daily A 343.

Egypt Air

Egypt Air has officially confirmed that it will be reducing capacity to Bangkok and Guangzhou from March 28th. With regards to CAN, all 4 weekly flights currently flown via BKK using a B 772ER will be replaced by an A 332. On the other hand, BKK bound flights too see a capacity reduction from daily nonstop B 772ERs to daily A 332s.

PIA

PIA has revealed on the GDS that it will be increasing capacity on its flights to BCN-Barcelona, Spain from January 18th onwards. Currently, it operates a twice weekly service from Pakistan (once a week each from LHE and ISB respectively) nonstop to BCN using an A 310-300 which will then change to the larger Boeing 777-200ER.

Air France Abu Dhabi

Air France has officially announced that it will be launching new 5 weekly nonstop flights to AUH-Abu Dhabi, UAE from May 3rd 2010 and at the same time reducing its flights to DXB-Dubai, UAE. It will be using an A 330-200 to operate to AUH nonstop from its CDG hub base.

With regards to DXB, frequencies will be reduced from 12 weekly to daily nonstop flights which will be flown using a B 777-300ER instead of a B 777-200ER.

EVA Air

EVA Air of Taiwan has officially announced that it will be reducing capacity to Seattle and San Francisco for the IATA Summer 2010 season in the following manner:

SFO - capacity reduced from 12 weekly B 773ERs to 10 weekly B 773ERs + 2 weekly B 744 Combis.

SEA - capacity reduced from 5 weekly B 744s to 5 weekly B 773ERs.

Ethiopian Airlines

Ethiopian Airlines has officially confirmed as a result of its entry into Star Alliance, all of its Frankfurt bound flights will be flown nonstop from its ADD hub henceforth and none will be so via FCO-Rome. In addition, it has decided to increase its ADD-FRA flights from 4 to 5 weekly nonstop using a Boeing 767-300ER for all flights with a revised schedule effective June 1st 2010 which is as follows:

ET 706 Dep ADD 1005 Arr FRA 1635
ET 707 Dep FRA 2315 Arr ADD 0725+1

British Airways

British Airways has officially announced that they are increasing flights to TIP-Tripoli from Feb 13th 2010 onwards. Currently, daily nonstop flights are being flown using an A 320, however this route will now see double daily nonstop service largely catering to the "oil sector" originating from USA and UK that have now significant financial interests in Libya's oil sector development. Both flights will be operated using an A 320.

In addition to TIP, BA have also confirmed that it will be further reducing capacity to YYZ-Toronto for the entire Summer 2010 IATA season from a double daily B 772ER operation to a daily B 772ER + daily B 763ER service.

Etihad Airways

Etihad Airways has officially announced that it will be increasing flights to KTM-Kathmandu, Nepal from January 1st 2010 onwards from the current 4 weekly to daily nonstop flights. All services will be operated by a 2 class configured Airbus A 330-200.

Etihad Airways has officially confirmed that it will be increasing frequencies to DUB-Dublin, Ireland from March 28th onwards. Currently, daily nonstop flights are flown using a 2 class A 332, however these shall be increased to 10 weekly nonstop flights using a 2 class A 332 as well.

Alitalia

Alitalia has officially revealed that it will be launching new 5 weekly nonstop flights to LAX-Los Angeles, USA from June 5th 2010. AZ will be deploying a Boeing 777-200ER to operate this flight which will be flown on MON/WED/THU/SAT/SUN only. The flight schedule is as follows:

AZ 620 Dep FCO 0925 Arr LAX 1325
AZ 621 Dep LAX 1525 Arr FCO 1215+1


Alitalia has officially announced that it will be increasing its flights to NRT-Tokyo, Japan from June 5th 2010 from 10 weekly to 12 weekly nonstop flights from Italy. It will be doing so in the following manner:

FCO/NRT - frequencies increased from daily to 9 weekly nonstop flights using a B 772ER.

MXP/NRT - frequencies remain as they are at 3 weekly nonstop flights using a B 772ER.

United Airlines

United Airlines has officially announced that it will be launching new daily nonstop flights to FCO-Rome from its ORD-Chicago hub effective May 1st 2010. It will operate as a summer seasonal flight till Aug 31st only. The flight schedule is as follows:

Days of service: DAILY
Aircraft: Boeing 767-300ER

UA 904 Dep ORD 1825 Arr FCO 1040+1
UA 905 Dep FCO 1230 Arr ORD 1605

United Airlines has officially confirmed that it will be increasing capacity on one of its flagship trans-atlantic routes i.e. San Francisco-Frankfurt for the peak summer season i.e. from May 1st till Aug 30th only. Currently, the route is being flown nonstop using a B 772ER but this shall change to a larger Boeing 747-400.

Emirates Tokyo

Emirates has officially announced that it will be launching new flights to NRT-Tokyo Narita from its Dubai hub from March 28th 2010. EK will operate the route 5 times per week nonstop using a 3 class configured Boeing 777-300ER which will have its new "Sky Suites" first class product. Its Tokyo flights connect beautifully in both directions to Brazil and all African + European destinations via Dubai.

The flight schedule is as follows:

Days of operation: MON/THU/FRI/SAT/SUN

EK 318 Dep DXB 0250 Arr NRT 1755
EK 319 Dep NRT 2140 Arr DXB 0435+1

Emirates Amsterdam

Emirates has officially announced that it will be launching new daily nonstop flights to AMS-Amsterdam, Holland from May 1st 2010. EK will operate the route using a mixture of 3 class configured Boeing 777-300ERs and Boeing 777-200LRs.

The flight schedule is as follows:

EK 145 Dep DXB 0825 Arr AMS 1330
EK 146 Dep AMS 1530 Arr DXB 2359

These flights connect very well in both directions to all of EK's flights to Southeast Asia, Australia and East/Southern Africa via their DXB hub. EK will compete with KLM on this sector on which the latter i.e. KLM flies 10 weekly B 772ERs nonstop.

Cathay Pacific

Cathay Pacific has revealed that it will be launching new 4 weekly nonstop flights to MXP-Milan, Italy from March 28th 2010. CX will operate a 3 class configured Boeing 777-300ER on this long haul flight which is expected to see a lot of premium traffic and high yielding cargo. It will be taking away a lot of market share from EK/QR/EY/LH/LX from MXP that is bound to Japan, HKG, China and South Korea. The flight schedule is as follows:

Days of operation: MON/WED/FRI/SUN
CX 235 Dep HKG 0005 Arr MXP 0735

CX 216 Dep MXP 1325 Arr HKG 0700+1

Other news from CX is that for the Summer 2010 IATA season, they are increasing capacity to Toronto and Los Angeles in the following manner:

YYZ - frequencies increased from daily to 10 weekly nonstop flights using a B 773ER for all of the flights.

LAX - frequencies increased from double daily to 17 weekly nonstop flights i.e. daily B 744 + 10 weekly B 773ERs.

Comments:

Excellent moves by CX. I would personally recommend them to seriously contemplate launching new flights to BRU flown via DXB with full 5th freedom traffic flights. The ideal aircraft for such a sector would be a 2 class configured A 333 which has their new J class product. They will get a lot of high yielding premium and cargo traffic to/from BRU due to it being both a political and financial capital of the EU.

Air France

Air France has officially revealed major capacity and frequency changes to its North America and Asia network for the Summer 2010 season. The main highlights are as follows:

YYZ - capacity reduced by 38% i.e. from daily B 744 to daily A 343.

BLR - frequencies reduced from daily to 6 weekly flights using an A 332.

SFO - frequencies increased from daily to 10 weekly nonstop flights from June 22nd i.e. 3 weekly A 343s + daily B 773ER.

KIX - capacity reduced from daily B 773ER to 4 weekly B 773ER + 3 weekly B 772ER.

YUL - frequencies reduced from 4 to 3 daily flights i.e. daily B 773ER + daily B 744 + daily B 772ER.

DTW - eff June 21st, capacity increased from daily A 332 to daily B 772ER.

ATL - eff June 21st, capacity increased from daily B 772ER to daily B 744.

SEA - capacity increased from daily A 332 to 3 weekly A 343s + 4 weekly A 332s.

JFK - frequencies increased from 5 to 6 daily nonstop flights.

ICN - capacity reduced from daily B 773ERs to 3 weekly B 773ERs + 4 weekly B 772ERs.

SWISS

SWISS has officially announced details of a major expansion plan for its long haul network for the IATA Summer 2010 season. The main highlights are as follows:

SFO - new 6 weekly nonstop flights to be launched using an A 343 effective June 2nd. The flight schedule doesnt allow SFO to be connected to India and Middle East flights which is strange. Their flight schedule is as follows:

LX 038 Dep ZRH 1315 Arr SFO 1630
LX 039 Dep SFO 1925 Arr ZRH 1540+1

NBO/DAR - capacity increased from 5 weekly A 332s to 5 weekly A 333s.

BOM - frequencies increased to 6 weekly nonstop flights using its new A 333s.

DEL - capacity increased to 5 weekly flights using its new A 333s.

DXB/MCT - capacity increased to daily A 333s.

KLM

KLM has officially announced that it will be increasing capacity on its new route to DPS-Bali, Indonesia from January 21st 2010 by adding a 4th weekly flight to the city which will be flown via Singapore. This extra frequency will be maintained throughout the year and all flights will be flown using a Boeing 777-300ER.

Gulf Air

Gulf Air has officially announced that it will be reducing flights to BKK-Bangkok from the on set of the IATA Summer 2010 season. Currently, 10 weekly nonstop flights are flown which will be reduced a daily service only using an A 332 six times per week and an A 343 once a week. The schedule is also varied as 5 flights arrive back into BAH at 1315 where as the remaining 2 arrive into BAH at 2320 local time.

Thai Airways

Thai Airways has officially announced that it will be increasing its flights to ATH-Athens, Greece from March 28th 2010. TG will launch an additional 4th weekly flight flown nonstop from its Bangkok hub using an Airbus A 340-500. The remaining 3 weekly flights are also operated by an A 340-500.

Thai Airways has officially confirmed that it will be increasing its flights to BNE-Brisbane from January 16th 2010 from the current 5 weekly to 10 weekly flights operated in a varied manner. Daily flights will be flown via SYD using an A 340-600 which will see BNE getting first class service for the first time and the remaining 3 weekly flights will be operated nonstop from BKK using a B 772A.

Thai Airways management has revealed to the media that they are going to be re launching nonstop flights from Bangkok to New York City in the near future but this time to EWR-Newark airport and not JFK as the former is a Star Alliance hub with Continental Airlines being the dominant home based airline. It will be re launching New York services because it is unable to find any airline or leasing company willing to buy its fleet of A 340-500s hence!

TG also said that for this route it will be removing its Premium Economy cabin product from this aircraft which will result in a 25% increase in capacity as currently TG's A 345s seat 215 pax but will in the future accommodate 260 in a 2 class configuration of J and Y.

South African Airways

South African Airways has been confirmed to have signed a leasing deal with Aircastle aircraft leasing company for the procurement of 6 brand new Airbus A 330-200s which shall be delivered from 2011 onwards. SAA will be using these aircraft to gradually replace its entire fleet of 6 A 340-200s to Europe and South America.

On vacation

Dear Readers,

Sorry I was on vacation hence couldn't update this website for a month.

I shall do so on Dec 23rd.

Rgds
Behramjee

Qatar Airways

Qatar Airways has officially revealed major expansion plans for its long haul and medium haul route network which will come into effect from the on set of the IATA Summer 2010 season i.e. March 28th. The main highlights are as follows:

ISB - capacity increased from 4 weekly A 330s to 3 weekly B 77Ws + weekly A 333. The flights operated by the B 77W will be a same plane service to IAD via DOH.

ATQ - frequencies increased from 4 weekly to daily flights using an A 320.

HKG - capacity increased from daily A 332 to daily B 77W from May 1st.

KHI - capacity increased from daily A 320 to 6 weekly A 321 + weekly A 333.

CMB - frequencies increased from double to triple daily nonstop flights using an A 320 which will connect to USA in both directions conveniently via DOH.

KTM - frequencies increased from double to triple daily nonstop flights using an A 320. However, none of the triple daily DOH-KTM-DOH flights connect to USA!

LHE - capacity increased to 3 weekly A 333s + weekly A 321.

MAA - capacity increased from daily A 321 to 3 weekly A 333s + weekly A 332 + 3 weekly A 321.

BLR - new daily flights using an A 320 to be announced shortly.

FCO - frequencies increased from 4 weekly to daily flights using an A 332.
CAI - capacity increased from daily A 333 to 5 weekly B 77Ws + 2 weekly A 333s.

CEB - capacity increased from 3 weekly A 333s to 3 weekly B 77Ws.

DEL - capacity increased from daily B 77L to 6 weekly A 332s + weekly A 333.

BOM - capacity reduced from daily B 77W to weekly A 346 + weekly A 332 + 5 weekly A 333s.

JNB - capacity increased from daily A 332 to daily B 77W.

LOS - capacity increased from daily A 332s to daily A 346s.

MNL - capacity increased to daily A 333 + daily B 77W from daily B 77L + daily B 77W.

CPT - capacity increased from 4 weekly A 332 to 4 weekly B 77Ws all flown via JNB.

Egypt Air

Egypt Air has officially confirmed on the GDS that it will be suspending its summer seasonal flights to YUL-Montreal as they will be not be renewed for the Summer 2010 season. Usually, it operates 3 weekly Boeing 767-300ERs on the CAI-YUL-CAI route.

On the other hand, MS has officially announced that it will be increasing its flights to NRT-Tokyo in a major manner from May 31st 2010 onwards. Currently, it operates 3 weekly nonstop flights using an aging A 340-200, however from May 31st 2010 onwards, frequencies will be increased two fold to 6 weekly nonstop flights using its brand new Boeing 777-300ERs.

Singapore Airlines

Singapore Airlines has officially announced that it will be launching new double daily nonstop flights to HND-Tokyo Haneda from October 2010 onwards. SQ too confirmed that it is seriously examining the possibility of using the A 380 for one of its new double daily services on the SIN-HND route. If the route does end up materializing, SQ will be flying 4 daily services from SIN to Tokyo i.e. double daily each to NRT and HND respectively.

EVA Air

EVA AIR of Taiwan has officially announced that it will be increasing frequencies on its popular London Heathrow route that is flown via Bangkok from Taipei with full 5th freedom rights available to the carrier on the BKK-LHR-BKK sector. Flights will be increased from 6 weekly to daily services effective Jan 25th 2010 using a Boeing 777-300ER.

Air India

Air India's management has officially confirmed that due to cost cutting measures being implemented, it will be suspending all of its flights to NBO-Nairobi, Kenya from January 20th 2010. Currently, the flights are flown nonstop from BOM to NBO using an old Airbus A 310-300. In addition, management has confirmed to the media that one of its flagship routes i.e. Mumbai-New York JFK nonstop is also going to be suspended.

United Airlines

United Airlines has officially announced major plans concerning its long haul expansion which will come into effect from the start of the Summer 2010 IATA season. The main highlights are as follows:

ORD/BRU - new daily nonstop flights to be launched using a B 763ER effective March 28th.

IAD/ACC/LOS - new daily flights to be launched using a B 763ER.

IAD/KWI/BAH - new daily flights to BAH will be launched as an extension of the KWI flight using a B 772ER effective April 18th.

Vietnam Airlines

Vietnam Airlines has officially confirmed that it has placed an order for 4 Airbus A 380s with the French based aircraft manufacturing company. VN will be using these A 380s for its daily Paris and newly planned nonstop flights to San Francisco.

Jet Airways India

Jet Airways of India has officially confirmed that it will be increasing capacity on its popular EWR-Newark route between Nov 20th 2009 and Jan 16th 2010. Current daily services operated via BRU using an A 332 will be replaced by the same daily flights but with using the larger 3 class configured Boeing 777-300ER to cater for higher peak season travel demand to/from India in Dec-Jan. In addition, 9W too has confirmed that it will be launching new 6 weekly nonstop flights from Mumbai to Kathmandu, Nepal using a Boeing 737-800 effective Dec 2nd 2009. The flight schedule is as follows:

9W 266 Dep BOM 0830 Arr KTM 1115

9W 265 Dep KTM 1245 Arr BOM 1530

Emirates

Emirates has officially confirmed that it will be increasing flights to CGK-Jakarta from the current 10 weekly nonstop flights to double daily nonstop from March 1st 2010. EK will be using a 2 class configured Boeing 777-300ER for this route. In addition, EK has backtracked on its plan to use the A 380 to FCO-Rome from the on set of the IATA Summer 10 timetable. It will stick to its original use of a daily B 773ER + a daily A 332 from March 28th 2010 onwards.

Saudia Airlines

Saudi Arabian Airlines has officially announced that it will be reducing capacity on all of its European bound flights from January 1st 2010 onwards as the carrier looks to adjust capacity with forecasted demand for its flights. Currently, all of its flights to Milan, Paris, Rome, Madrid, Geneva and Frankfurt are operated with Boeing 777-200s. However, all these destinations will see capacity reduced two fold as SV will be henceforth utilizing an Airbus A 320 to operate to all of these mainland EU cities. The only route in Europe that will continue to see its B 777s being used on is London Heathrow.

Thai Airways

Thai Airways will be reducing capacity to Dubai from Dec 1st 2009 onwards from a daily A 333 to a daily A 346. This means a reduction of 32 seats per day on the DXB BKK DXB route. FYI, TG's 2 class A 333s seat 299 pax in a 2 class configuration (J and Y) where as TG 's 3 class A 346s seat 267 pax. However, their in flight product on this route will get a big face lift as their A 346 fleet has a first class cabin (which their A 333s dont) in addition to TG's new Y and J class cabin product.

TG too confirmed that it will be increasing its flights to Singapore from Dec 15th 2009 with the addition of a 4th daily nonstop flight. TG will be using an A 333 for this additional daily flight where as its other 3 daily flights are operated by a mixture of A 333s and B 772As.

Thai Airways has officially confirmed that it will be reducing frequencies to BOM-Mumbai from December 2009. Currently, operations were listed as being 13 weekly using B 744s for all flights, however these will be reduced to 11 weekly services using an A 333 four times per week + a B 772A on a daily basis.

Etihad Airways

Etihad Airways has officially announced that it will be launching flights to Nagoya and Tokyo Narita from Feb 1st 2010 onwards. Flights to NGO will be flown via Beijing four times a week using a 2 class configured A 332 where as the fifth weekly flight will be flown as AUH-NGO-NRT-AUH using a 3 class configured A 332. With regards to its NRT bound flights, they will be flown 5 times a week from AUH (4 nonstop + 1 via NGO) using a 3 class configured A 332.

EY has too confirmed that for the entire IATA Summer 2010 season, it will be reducing capacity to CDG-Paris. Currently, it operated to CDG 10 times per week nonstop using an A 332 seven times per week + an A 346 three times per week. However from March 28th 2010, all 10 weekly flights will be flown using a 3 class configured A 332 seating 216 passengers.

Etihad Airways has officially announced on the GDS that it will be increasing its frequencies to FRA-Frankfurt in a gradual manner from Dec 10th 2009 onwards. Currently, EY operates 10 weekly nonstop flights to FRA, however from Dec 10th, these will be increased to 13 weekly nonstop using a three class configured A 332. Thereafter, a further increase will take place from 13 weekly to double daily effective March 28th 2010 also using 3 class configured A 332s. EY too announced that in leiu of high demand, it will be further increasing its flights to HYD-Hyderabad, India from Jan 1st 2010 onwards from 4 weekly to daily nonstop flights using an A 320.

Korean Air

Korean Air has officially confirmed that it will be reducing capacity on its Seoul-Frankfurt flights from Aug 1st 2010 onwards. Currently, it flies this route nonstop on a daily basis using a B 747-400. However, that will change as the carrier begins to use the more modern Boeing 777-300ER on this route which will have installed its new in flight cabin product.

Korean Air has officially revealed details of its planned expansion of frequencies and capacity across its long haul network for the IATA Summer 2010 season. The main highlights are as follows:

DXB - frequencies increased from 4 to 5 weekly nonstop flights using a B 772ER.

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

SFO - frequencies increased from 4 weekly B 772ERs to 5 weekly nonstop flights using a B 744.

ATL - frequencies increased from daily to 10 weekly nonstop flights i.e. daily B 744 + 3 weekly B 772ER.

DFW - capacity increased from 3 weekly B 772ERs to 3 weekly B 744s.

HNL - frequencies increased from daily to 10 weekly nonstop flights i.e. daily B 744 + 3 weekly B 772ER.

Delta Airlines

Delta Airlines has officially announced that it will be increasing its flights to SVO-Moscow for the IATA Summer 2010 season. Currently, DL flies 5 weekly flights from JFK to SVO using a B 763ER, however these will be increased to daily nonstop flights using the same aircraft type from next year.


Delta Airlines has officially announced further major changes to its long haul route network for the IATA Summer 2010 season. The main highlights are as follows:

NRT/SGN - all flights suspended.

JFK/IST - frequencies reduced from daily nonstop flights using a B 763ER to 5 weekly nonstop flights using a B 764ER.

ATL/ARN - all flights suspended.

JFK/NCE - capacity increased from daily B 763ER to daily B 764ER.

JFK/LYN - all flights suspended.

Hainan Airlines

Hainan Airlines of China has officially announced that it will be launching 2 new weekly nonstop flights to KRT-Khartoum, Sudan from Nov 20th 2009 onwards. HU will be operating its flight from its PEK-Beijing hub using its flagship Airbus A 340-600 aircraft on TUE and FRI. The flight schedule is as follows:

HU 7915 Dep PEK 0150 Arr KRT 0940

HU 7916 Dep KRT 1350 Arr PEK 0500+1

These flights are expected to negatively impact the market share of EK, EY, ET, QR, MS and GF on the China-KRT sector where there is considerable amount of travel done due to the huge Chinese foreign investment in the Sudanese economy.

Turkish Airlines

Turkish Airlines has officially confirmed that it will be increasing its flights to New York JFK for the IATA Summer 2010 season from daily to 9 weekly nonstop flights. TK will be using a B 773ER daily + an A 332 twice a week to operate this flights next summer.

A 330-200HGW idea

During the weekend whilst doing some research, I came across an interesting aircraft called the Airbus A 330-200HGW (High Gross Weight) and its performance capabilities. It has already gotten its first launch customer i.e. Korean Air that has ordered 6 of the type in Feb 2009. Airbus has projected that this aircraft will be a direct competitor to the Boeing 787-800 and is targeting orders from airlines that have been severely effected by its delivery delays. A key component to Airbus's advantage with this aircraft is that any airline that orders it will take delivery of it within 18 months time which is highly attractive.

According to stats available, the A 332HGW can fly nonstop with a full payload of passengers + cargo up to a range of 7000NM (12,800KM). This means that the aircraft can easily fly from the GCC nonstop to PER/ORD, from DEL to SYD/MEL, from ICN to IAH/ORD and from EZE to FRA/MXP/CDG. Hence the purpose of this part of the newsletter is meant to suggest to few airlines why they should seriously consider the A 332HGW for quick delivery within 18 months time and on what routes they would be best served to be utilized on.

For all airlines, the configuration should be 248 seats max in a 2 class configuration i.e. 24 J (2-2-2) + 224 Y (2-4-2). The airlines that should seriously consider ordering the A 332HGW are as follows:

Kuwait Airways; it can replace its entire A 343, AB6 and A 310 fleet and be used also for:

KWI-MNL nonstop which would replace current service flown via BKK
launch KWI-IAD nonstop
launch KWI-YYZ nonstop (for which KU has authority to do so twice a week only though according to 2007 bilateral).
launch KWI-PEK nonstop

Egypt Air; A 332HGWs can be used to:

launch CAI-ORD nonstop.
launch CAI-IAH nonstop.
replace A 342s on NRT sector.
replace B 777 to YUL in the summer.

Royal Jordanian:

A 332HGWs can easily replace entire A 342 fleet and be used to operate all current USA-AMMAN nonstop flights along with YUL and upcoming AMM-HKG nonstop. FYI, A 332HGW pax capacity is same as A 342.

Air India:

launch DEL-SYD/MEL nonstop
launch BOM-JNB-DUR-BOM
replace A 310 on BOM-NBO sector.
replace the B 77L on CDG and NRT routes.
launch HYD-FRA-IAD 3 weekly
launch DEL-ATQ-BHX 4 weekly
launch MAA-FRA-IAH 4 weekly

Ethiopian Airlines:

launch ADD-PEK nonstop
launch ADD-BKK nonstop
*both these routes were ear marked for the B 787


Sri Lankan Airlines:

Can be used to fully replace its entire A 343 and A 332 fleet as the A 332HGW can fly to LHR easily nonstop from CMB which is UL's flagship route. It can also be used to launch new nonstop flights from CMB to Australia and replace older aircraft to NRT.


South African Airways:

Replace all routes currently operated by the inefficient A 342 and replace the A 343 on all Latin American and European bound flights.


Gulf Air:

Out of the newly placed order for 20 A 333s, 8 should be converted to A 332HGWs to fly to MNL (2), Japan (NRT only-2) and USA (ORD/EWR-4) in the future.


Etihad Airways; the routes suited for it in the future are as follows:

AUH-PER
AUH-IAD

British Airways

British Airways has officially confirmed that it will be reducing capacity to India for the Summer 2010 IATA season i.e. from March 29th 2010. The main highlights are as follows:

BLR - capacity reduced from a daily B 744 to daily B 772ER.

HYD - capacity reduced from 5 weekly B 772ERs to 5 weekly B 763ERs.

BOM - capacity reduced from daily B 744 + daily B 772ERs to double daily B 772ERs only.

Etihad Airways

Etihad Airways has officially announced that it will restarting flights to CMB-Colombo from January 1st 2010. EY will be using an A 320 to fly this route nonstop from AUH four times per week. It has timed its flight to perfectly connect with LHR/JFK/ORD/YYZ via AUH in both directions thus giving a big boost to the load factors of these long haul flights.

Days of operation: MON/WED/FRI/SUN

EY 266 Dep AUH 2155 Arr CMB 0345+1

EY 267 Dep CMB 0445 Arr AUH 0800

Comments:

Etihad will now be the fastest airline to fly from JFK/ORD and YYZ to CMB and vice versa. With a lower pricing structure in place and better connections via AUH in both directions (2 hour transit only both ways versus EK's 8 hours o/b and 3 hours i/b), they will be poaching a lot of EK's market share out of Toronto especially.

Lufthansa

Lufthansa has revealed major capacity and frequency changes for its Summer 2010 long haul network. The changes come into effect from March 29th 2010 and the main highlights are as follows:

KWI - capacity increased from daily A 333 to daily A 346 from April 15th due to higher demand for its premium cabin seats.

YYZ - capacity reduced from daily A 346 to 6 weekly A 343 + weekly A 346.

CAI - frequencies increased to double daily nonstop flights using an A 343.

ADD - frequencies increased from 4 to 5 flights per week using an A 343.

MCO - frequencies increased from 5 weekly A 333s to daily nonstop flights using an A 333.

Air India

Air India has officially revealed details of its new flight to IAD-Washington DC which will be flown from Delhi via JFK. Flights will be launched from Dec 1st 09 and is operated on a daily basis using a Boeing 777-200LR and its flight schedule is as follows:

AI 101 Dep DEL 2310 Arr JFK 0425+1 /// AI 101 Dep JFK 0655+1 Arr IAD 0810+1

AI 102 Dep IAD 1210 Arr JFK 1325 /// AI 102 Dep JFK1600 Arr DEL 1645+1

Total flying time with transit at JFK for the DEL JFK IAD flight is 19 hours 30 mins. Total flying time with transit at JFK for the IAD JFK DEL flight is 18 hours.

**FYI, it is faster to fly British Airways from IAD to DEL via LHR which including the transit at LHR is 16 hours 40 minutes!!!

Kuwait Airways

Kuwait Airways has officially revealed on the GDS that it will be adjusting capacity to New York JFK for the IATA Winter 09-10 season by deploying the Boeing 777-200ER on all of its 6 weekly flights i.e. 3 flown nonstop from KWI and 3 via LHR with full 5th freedom traffic flights. Originally, the 3 weekly flights flown via LHR were to be operated with an A 340-300.

It is worth mentioning that KU's B 772ERs have a far superior in-flight product in terms of cabin comfort and quality of in-flight entertainment versus their A 343 fleet.

Turkish Airlines

Turkish Airlines has officially confirmed that it will be increasing frequencies to KIX-Osaka, Japan from the on set of the IATA Summer 2010 season i.e. from March 29th 2010. Currently, flights are flown 3 times per week nonstop using an A 332, however it will be increased with an additional 4th weekly flight using the same aircraft type.

Gulf Air

Gulf Air has revealed on the GDS that it will be reducing its frequencies to LHR-London Heathrow, UK from the onset of the IATA Summer 2010 timetable i.e. March 29th 2010. Currently, flights are flown on a triple daily basis nonstop using a mixture of A 343s and A 332s however, these will be reduced to double daily frequencies only from next year. The flight which is terminated is GF 003 and GF 005 which depart BAH at 1005 and LHR at 2025 respectively.

Garuda Indonesia

Garuda Indonesia has officially announced that it will be launching new daily flights to Amsterdam, Holland from June 1st 2010. GA will be operating daily flights from its JKT hub via Dubai to AMS using an A 330-200. GA will have full fifth freedom rights on the DXB-AMS-DXB sector where it will compete with KLM for market share. The flight schedule is as follows:

GA 088 Dep CGK 2110 Arr DXB 0200+1 /// Dep DXB 0315+1 Arr AMS 0800+1 GA 089 Dep AMS 1000 Arr DXB 1830 /// Dep DXB 1945 Arr CGK 0710+1

GA too announced that it will be increasing flights to PVG-Shanghai from Oct 25th 2009 with the addition of a 3rd weekly flight flown nonstop from its JKT hub. An A 330-200 will be used for the all CGK-PVG-CGK flights.

Malaysia Airlines

Malaysia Airlines has officially confirmed that it will be re-adjusting capacity to IST-Istanbul, Turkey from its KUL hub from 27th Oct 2009 by flying the route nonstop 3 times per week rather than via Dubai with 5th freedom traffic rights. MH will deploy the Boeing 777-200ER for this nonstop flight and the aircraft will be stationed at IST airport for 9 hours before heading back to KUL.

MH's strategy for this flight is aggressively targeting the large market segment between IST and Australia (MEL in particular) where it has struggled to effectively compete versus Emirates and Singapore Airlines. The flight schedule is as follows:

Days of operation: MON/WED/SAT

MH 030 Dep KUL 0030 Arr IST 0600
MH 031 Dep IST 1500 Arr KUL 0705+1

Lastly, MH has confirmed that the first 3 destinations that will be getting its A 380s are Amsterdam, London Heathrow and Sydney. The carrier has ordered a total of 6 A 380s and it seems that all 6 will be only used for these 3 cities only.

Emirates

Emirates CEO has officially confirmed that the airline has totally written off ordering the passenger version of the Boeing 747-800 and instead wants to focus on building its A 380 passenger fleet as the exclusive VLA in its fleet. In addition, EK is pressing Boeing to improve the payload range of its Boeing 777-300ER to allow the aircraft to fly to LAX nonstop from its DXB hub base with a full payload of passengers + cargo. Lastly, EK has announced that it will be increasing its flights to MNL-Manila from Dec 1st 09 onwards from the current 12 weekly to double daily nonstop using a 2 class Boeing 777-300ER for both of the double daily flights.

Analysis:

According to available data, the Airbus A 350-1000X will be able to perform DXB-LAX with a full payload matching the B 773ER. EK has already ordered 20 A 351s which is an ideal aircraft from all aspects to fully replace any airline's B 773ER fleet. It is therefore advisable to Boeing that in order to remain competitive with a modern product, it should now focus on the B 787 and abandon making any further improvements to its B 777 product line which is now 17 years old and had a good life span. The direct competitor from a technological stand point to the A 350 is the B 787 and not the B 777.

If Boeing ignore this, then what Airbus did to them in the 1990s by getting airlines to order the A 330s in large number versus the outdated B 767-300ER/400ER will happen once again. Boeing needs to focus its efforts on two products for the next 10 years i.e. the B 787 family and a more advanced B 737 replacement. There needs to be a stretched Boeing 787 called the -400 which should be a direct replacement for the B 773ER but with the range of the B 772LR. This aircraft would be a world beater and can be a big success as airlines in 7-8 years time would definitely order it to replace their fleet of B 773ERs in time for a 2019-21 delivery period. Airlines that would potentially order this aircraft in bulk would be EK/CX/JL/ANA/SQ/AF/BA/KL/TK/EY/QR/VA/AC/KE/OZ/TG.

Austrian Airlines

Austrian Airlines has officially revealed major changes to its medium haul and long haul route network for the Summer 2010 IATA season. The main highlights are as follows:

NRT - frequencies increased from 6 weekly to daily nonstop flights using a B 772ER.

EBL - frequencies increased from 5 weekly to daily flights.

TLV - capacity increased from double daily A 321s to double daily B 763ERs.

DAM - frequencies increased from daily to 10 times per week using an A 320.

CAI - capacity increased from daily A 319 to daily A 321.

AMM - frequencies increased from 3 to 6 times per week using an A 320.

TSE - frequencies increased from 3 to 4 times per week using an A 320.

YYZ - will maintain daily nonstop flights using a B 763ER.

Delta Airlines

Delta Airlines has revealed on the GDS that it will be reducing flights on its flagship trans-atlantic route i.e. Atlanta-Paris for the Summer 2010 IATA season. Currently, DL operates triple daily nonstop flights on the ATL-CDG sector using a B 77L daily + double daily B 763ERs. However, for next summer, only double daily nonstop flights will be operated using a Boeing 767-300ER.

KLM

KLM has officially confirmed that for the entire IATA Winter 09-10 season, it will be reducing its flights to GRU-Sao Paulo, Brazil. Currently, it flies the route on a daily basis nonstop using a B 777-200ER however that will be reduced to 6 times per week nonstop using a B 773ER three times per week + a B 772ER three times per week each respectively.

It has also officially revealed major capacity and frequency changes for its Summer 2010 long haul network. The changes come into effect from March 29th 2010 and the main highlights are as follows:

THR - frequencies increased from 5 to 6 weekly nonstop flights using a MD11.

DXB - frequencies reduced from 12 to 10 weekly nonstop flights using a B 772ER.

SIN - capacity increased from daily B 772ERs to 3 weekly B 773ERs + 4 weekly B 772ERs.

SFO - capacity reduced from daily B 744s to 4 weekly B 773ERs + 3 weekly B 772ERs.