09MAR edition

British Airways has officially announced that the first 2 long haul routes that it will be operating using its newly delivered fleet of Airbus A380s shall be Los Angeles and Hong Kong. Both routes will receive one daily A380 operated service each from 15OCT (LAX) and 15NOV (HKG) each respectively. BA's A380s seat a total of 469 passengers in a 3 class configuration with the premium cabin having 14 first class + 97 business class seats. In addition, BA too confirmed that due to on going high demand especially in the front end, it will be increasing its services to PVG-Shanghai, China effective 31MAR from 6 weekly to daily nonstop flights using a mixture of Boeing 777-300ERs (5 weekly) and Boeing 777-200ERs (twice a week).


Philippine Airlines has officially announced that it shall be making its return to the Middle East with a big bang effective October 2013 as the carrier looks to take back its share of the high volume labor traffic demand that currently all the GCC carriers (except Oman Air) reap benefits of on their Manila bound services. PAL confirmed that its first new Middle East route shall be Abu Dhabi operated nonstop on a daily basis from Manila effective 01OCT13 with the below mentioned schedule:

Days: Daily A333

PR 656 Dep MNL 1625 Arr AUH 2145
PR 657 Dep AUH 2315 Arr MNL 1320

Its second Middle East route which was announced by the Philippine's Ambassador to Qatar last week, shall be Manila-Doha nonstop using an A333 as well but operated 6 times per week only nonstop effective Oct 2013.

PAL's President Mr Ramon also confirmed saying that now that Manila airport as passed the ICAO audit and is going to get back its Category 1 status, planned services to ORD and JFK as well as upgrading its product on LAX from B744 to its new B773ERs shall be taking place once all the paper work is cleared.

Analysis:

PAL's entry into AUH will hurt the most CX's performance on this route which is already operating at a reduced frequency of 3 times per week as the carrier is heavily dependent on the feed it generates to MNL on its AUH bound flights. Their market share will suffer the most followed by QR and GF. With regards to market size potential, the AUH-MNL segment in 2012 saw 95,000 passengers being transported where as in comparison, DXB-MNL had 580,000!

PAL needs to get into the KWI market as soon as possible as direct competition on this route is far less versus the other GCC cities. KWI-MNL market size is approximately 130,000 passengers annually and no one currently offers nonstop flights as KU operates 6 times per week to MNL via BKK using an A343 hence the capacity of the airplane is split in half to support both routes.


Emirates has officially revealed that it will be increasing capacity on its popular Dubai-Sydney route by making both its double daily nonstop flights operate with a 517 seater Airbus A380 effective 01JUN13. Currently, EK operates a double daily B773ER service to SYD (one nonstop and one via BKK) + one daily A380. The flight receiving the upgrade is EK 414/415 which departs DXB at 0225 and departs SYD at 0600 respectively.


Air China has officially announced that it has placed a size able order with Boeing of which the break down is as follows:

8 Boeing 777-200LR Freighters
1 Boeing 777-300ER
2 additional Boeing 747-800s (passenger version...total order now stands at 7 for this type)
20 Boeing 737-800s

In exchange for this order, CA sold back to Boeing seven of its B744 converted freighters and also enforced in its purchase deal the option of converting 4 B737-800s for 1 Boeing 777-300ER in the future if the need arises.


Austrian Airlines has officially announced few changes to its long haul route network for the upcoming IATA S13
season of which the main highlights are as follows:
DXB - frequencies reduced from daily to 5 weekly

YYZ - frequencies reduced from daily to 6 weekly

DEL - frequencies reduced from 6 to 5 weekly

PEK - frequencies reduced from daily to 5 weekly


The state of Qatar has officially announced that it has signed with Pakistan a new bilateral giving it access to 24 more weekly flights to the country from the current 17 that it operates. In total, 41 weekly services can be operated by Qatar Airways to PAK from the on set of the IATA Summer 2013 season in the following manner:

KHI - can be increased from daily to double daily

LHE and ISB - can be increased from 4 weekly to daily each respectively

PEW - can be increased from 2 to 4 weekly

SKT and MUX - two new cities can be flown up to a maximum of 9 times per week combined

In addition, QR has announced major frequency cut backs across its entire long haul network which are published till end May but are likely to drag on till mid June at least due to the currently grounding of its Boeing 787 fleet. The main highlights are as follows:

ORD - frequencies reduced from daily to 3 weekly

SIN - frequencies reduced from double daily to daily

HKG - frequencies reduced from double daily to daily

KUL - frequencies reduced from triple daily to double daily

LHR - frequencies reduced from 5 to 4 daily

Comments:

The additional North Pakistan flights of QR are expected to be the same as per current schedule however for the double daily KHI service if launched, the additional flight should depart DOH at 1700-1730 so that the carrier can diversify its passenger portfolio on its KHI route by also focusing on carrying KSA bound traffic which it doesnt do so currently. By having a 1700-1730 departure out of DOH and an arrival back by 2330, it would connect beautifully in both directions to all of QR's KSA destinations plus also be a popular departure time for high yielding premium passengers originating from KHI bound to Europe (0200-0300 hub wave) who currently like the EK 603 timings (2230 dep KHI)


China Eastern Airlines based out of PVG-Shanghai has officially announced that it will be further increasing capacity on its popular YVR-Vancouver bound services from July 2013 onwards. In Summer 2012, MU operated 11 times per week nonstop using an A332, however from 20JUL13 onwards, these shall be further increased to double daily nonstop using the same aircraft type (A332).


United Airlines has officially announced that due to it moving its entire Boeing 747-400 operations and maintenance base to SFO airport, its services from ORD-Chicago to Hong Kong currently operated nonstop daily using a B744 shall be downgraded from the on set of the IATA S13 season to daily Boeing 777-200ER. This represents a total of 216 seats on the ORD-HKG sector for UA on a daily round trip basis as its B744s seat 374 pax where as its B772ERs seat 266 in a 3 class layout.

21FEB edition

The Turkish Government has officially announced that the Indian DGCA has awarded Turkish Airlines the bilateral right to increase its services to the country by 100% by upgrading its current daily Mumbai and Delhi flights each respectively to a double daily service using A330s. Currently, both routes are flown daily using a 289 seater A330-300. TK has also shown great interest in serving HYD, BLR and MAA if given the authority to operate there.
TK too revealed that it will be increasing its services to KIX-Osaka, Japan from the on set of the IATA W13 season. Current 5 weekly nonstop flights shall be increased to daily using an A330-200.
Analysis:

Due to a current shortage of wide bodied aircraft in its fleet, one would forecast that the earliest time that TK would increase its DEL and BOM bound flights is effective IATA W13 season. This is also because the Winter season is the peak season for travel to/from India hence it would be far easier filling up the flights from the on set of W13 versus S13.

The new daily flights are expected to depart IST between 0030-0130 and would arrive back by 1700 therefore nicely feeding TK's 1900-2100 EU departure hub wave bank as well as its 1820 IST-JFK bound service. This would mean a 1200-1230pm departure timing from India which VFR pax would definitely prefer versus an ungodly 4-5am flight!

Double daily A330s DEL is easily do able and fill able with TK's vast USA and EU network. The market size from DEL to EU/USA is far larger than BOM. Plus remember TK also carries a lot of pax to North Africa from India especially to Libya, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco etc. Double daily DEL may also result in 1-2 EU carriers suspending their own DEL services or forcing some to reduce which in turn will help TK and in the future EK too when they expand.

BOM too can survive with two A330 flights daily but it would struggle versus DEL unless TK gets ultra aggressive with its pricing strategy. Cargo though for both flights (DEL/BOM) would be FULL with double daily flights regardless! Now if TK wants to get a bit creative and really operate double daily BOM flights, I would suggest that their BOM flight be extended to KTM-Kathmandu as the KTM-EU market size is big, higher yielding than EU-India + no EU carrier operates to KTM. IST-BOM-KTM is suggested because KTM on its own cannot support a daily A330 service but if operated via India, it can! The flight schedule proposed for IST-BOM-KTM-BOM-IST would look like this:

Dep IST 0135 Arr BOM 1030+1...will connect 2200-2300 inbound arrival hub wave bank from Europe
Dep BOM 1200 Arr KTM 1450
Dep KTM 2155 Arr BOM 0020+1
Dep BOM 0145 Arr IST 0605

In this way KTM-BOM-IST is connected very well to both TK's 0730-0830 EU/North Africa departure hub wave bank + the all important 0725am IST-JFK service where as the current BOM-IST flight is connected very well to the 1200-1300 departure hub wave bank which is already an established service. TK's current BOM flights are witnessing high S/F so this will help relieve the burden a little bit as well as provide very useful feed to the A333/B77W operated JFK services.

Boeing has officially released details of its new 787 model i.e. the Boeing 787-1000X aircraft which will be the largest of the B787 family. The main characteristics of the B781 are as follows:

• Seats 323 passengers in a standard 3 class configuration
• To be sold as an A343 and B772 replacement aircraft
• Flying range will be 7800 miles nonstop or 12,500 KM

Etihad Airways has officially announced that it will be increasing its flights to LOS-Lagos, Nigeria effective March 31st 2013 as the carrier looks to capture more of the booming Nigeria-SE Asia/India traffic movement. Services currently operated 5 times per week nonstop will be increased to daily nonstop using an Airbus A 330-200. 


PIA has officially announced that it shall be reinstating its flights to ORD-Chicago, USA effective 05JUN 2013 as the carrier looks to once again try its luck in this market segment where it has suspended service a total of 4 times over the past decade. The routing will be as follows:

Days of service: WED/SAT
WED flight is routed KHI-LHE-BCN-ORD-BCN-ISB
SAT flight is routed ISB-KHI-BCN-ORD-BCN-LHE

Comments:
Once again PIA is biting off more than it can chew. The routing itself is mind boggling and they will not be able to compete effectively with QR launching ORD daily nonstop from April 2013 + having EY/TK already established there. Note that from ORD and BCN there is no connection to KHI on the return unless you clear customs/immigration in North Pakistan and change terminals from international to domestic. This is poor planning on behalf of PIA since KHI-ORD is the biggest market segment in terms of annual passenger demand! Expect the route to be once again suspended within 8 months of it being re-launched.

PIA's strategy in USA should solely be focused on JFK (the largest PAK-USA market segment) and then via JFK code sharing with either AA or DL to beyond points (preferably with AA). With JFK flights in S13 being routed via SNN which would allow PAK citizens to clear immigration/customs at SNN airport itself, this provides PIA a good opportunity to experiment with the following:

*All flights to operated with B777-200ER/LRs
3 weekly LHE-SNN-JFK
2 weekly KHI-SNN-JFK
2 weekly ISB-KHI-SNN-JFK
By operating in the above mentioned manner, they have the potential of really hurting EY/TK/QR/EK's PAK-NYC market share in both directions!


Emirates has officially announced that it shall be launching new nonstop flights to Manila's secondary airport i.e. Clark International which is located 80km north of the city. EK will be inaugurating the service from 01OCT13 onwards using a Boeing 777-300ER (434 seater) on a daily basis with flights departing DXB at 0400 and arriving back by 2300 DXB time. In other EK related news, it has officially filed with MXP airport authorities for slots to operate to New York's JFK airport via Milan on a daily basis using a Boeing 777-300ER effective October 2013. The flight schedule filed is as follows:

Days: Daily B77W
EK 205 Dep DXB 0910 Arr MXP 1350 /// Dep MXP 1600 Arr JFK 1810
EK 206 Dep JFK 2215 Arr MXP 1215+1 /// Dep MXP 1400 Arr DXB 2205


Egypt Air has officially announced few capacity changes for its medium haul network for the upcoming IATA S13 season of which the main highlights are as follows:
DOH - frequencies increased from 10 weekly to double daily nonstop i.e. 10 weekly B738s + 4 weekly B77Ws
BGW - frequencies increased from 3 to 4 weekly nonstop flights
BRU - frequencies increased from 6 weekly to daily
FRA - capacity increased from daily B738 to daily A332
TUN - capacity increased from daily A320 to daily A321


Lufthansa has officially announced that for the year ended 2012, it has posted a record net profit of US$ 1.32 billion driven largely by sales of its equity investments. As a result of this impressive performance, it has officially requested a tender to supply it with brand new 100 narrow bodied plus 8 wide bodied aircraft for delivery effective 2015 onwards. It is expected that the order will be split as 8 Boeing 747-800s + 100 Airbus A320NEO family aircraft.


Fly Dubai has officially announced that it has posted its first net profit since its launch in 2009 amounting to US$ 41 million as the carrier looks to consolidate its presence in the MENA region and continue to offer nonstop service to under served niche markets within a 6 hour flying radius of its Dubai hub. Alongside these impressive results, FZ too revealed that it will be launching new 4 weekly nonstop flights to Juba, South Sudan effective April 2013 using a 189 seater Boeing 737-800. Flights shall depart DXB at 10am and arrive back by 9pm DXB time and will be interlined with Emirates. As a result, it will offer convenient connections via DXB in both directions to India, SE Asia, JFK and Europe.

13FEB edition

Air Canada has officially announced that it will be reconfiguring 5 of its soon to be delivered new Boeing 777-300ERs into a high density configuration allowing it to serve specific volumetric demand markets from Canada that witness more economy class travel than premium and also enable it to compete more effectively against its main low cost trans-atlantic rival i.e. Air Transat on certain key European routes. Currently, AC's B773ERs seat 349 passengers in a 2 class configuration, however from 11JUL13 onwards, the first reconfigured high density B773ER will have 458 seats on board with the introduction of a premium economy class cabin as well. The new layout will be 36 business class (flat beds) + 24 premium economy + 398 economy class and its first route will be Montreal-Paris.

Analysis:

This is how you can make good money on long haul VFR (ethnic) routes operated with B777-300ERs by having a ultra high density configuration perfectly suited to the market demographic hence reducing your operating cost per seat unit. A pioneer of this successful concept was Emirates since the mid 1990s using 434 seater B773As on high density routes from DXB to PAK, India, MNL and DAC. With this layout, Air Canada thus becomes the airline with the second highest seat count for a legacy carrier operating long haul flights using a B77W as # 1 is Air France (Caribbean/BKK flights layout) which has 478 seats on board its B77Ws.
Since 5 B77Ws are being reconfigured and already one aircraft going to be dedicated for YUL-CDG, the other 4, I would suggest should be used as follows:

YVR-HKG for which 2.5 aircraft would be required
YUL-FRA for which 1 aircraft would be required

However, if this concept works out and I really hope so it does as it has all the necessary tools to succeed, I think AC can easily do with 11 B77Ws configured in this layout to be operated in the following manner:

2.5 for daily YVR-HKG
1 for daily YVR-LHR

1 for daily YUL-CDG
1 for daily YUL-FRA

1 for daily YYZ-LHR
2.5 for daily YYZ-PEK

New Routes:

• 1 for 4 weekly YVR-MNL (90,000 pax O&D market size alone and for rest of Canada its an additional 230,000 pax). Via YVR, AC can also get some transfer traffic bound to U.S. West Coast especially SEA, ORD, Texas and LAS markets where PAL is offline. Some might say that YYZ-DEL is also a feasible option, but after doing some rough calculations, it is not especially since DEL-YYZ sector on a 458 seater will be severely payload restricted. Note that when AI operated DEL-YYZ nonstop with a 340 seater B77W it could not carry any cargo so expect AC's B77W too have a payload penalty of 100 pax at least on DEL-YYZ flight portion. In comparison, Canada-MNL market size is more or less the same as Canada-DEL but the average fare is 30% higher to MNL versus DEL and its a shorter flying distance. Plus unlike Canada-DEL which actually has major seasonal demand i.e. majority of travel is between OCT-FEB, Canada-MNL is year round. Last but not least, Canada-MNL has way less in-direct one stop competition versus Canada-DEL hence more easier for AC to fill up the plane.

• 0.5 for 3 weekly YUL-CMN (94,000 pax O&D market size alone) ...to be replaced by B789 when it gets delivered and increased to 4 weekly by that time.

YVR-HKG and YYZ-PEK, are required as these are long haul routes where the operating costs of flying B77Ws shall remain the same but the extra potential revenue that 109 seats brings to the table on these 2 very high volumetric routes shall definitely come in handy. There are 36J class seats on board which would translate into a 86% S/F on the current 42J B77W which is adequate as well. Some people might argue that YVR-MNL/HKG and YYZ-PEK would not be possible to operate using a 458 seater B773ER, for which my counter argument is that Air France uses a 478 seater on BKK-CDG which is a 12 hour 20 minute flight without any payload issues and Etihad Airways uses a 412 seater Boeing 777-300ER on AUH-ORD which is a 14 hour 45 minute flight i.e. longer than YYZ-PEK by nearly 2 hours plus EY offers 2 pieces baggage allowance compared to AC's 1 piece!

Etihad Airways has officially announced few capacity increases for its medium haul route network for the IATA S13 season of which the main highlights are as follows:

ISB - frequencies increased from daily to 11 weekly nonstop flights i.e. 3 weekly B773ERs + 8 weekly A320s

KRT - frequencies increased from 5 weekly to daily nonstop flights using an A320

IST - capacity increased from daily A320 to daily A332


Turkish Airlines has officially announced that it has placed another order with Airbus for 5 additional wide bodied aircraft. TK confirmed that these are for 5 A330-300s of which 2 are firm and 3 are held as options. Deliveries are expected in 2014-15 and as IST airport gets congested, TK will be upgrading a lot of its high density European routes from B738s to A333s especially where there is a lot of cargo demand such as MUC, MXP, FRA, AMS and CDG.

In addition, TK revealed grand expansion plans for its secondary hub at SAW-Sabiha airport in Istanbul for the upcoming IATA S13 season of which the main highlights are as follows:
*All flights to be operated using a B737-800

SAW/KWI - new daily flights to be launched
SAW/AMS - new daily flights to be launched
SAW/LGW - new daily flights to be launched
SAW/VIE - new daily flights to be launched
SAW/MXP - new daily flights to be launched
SAW-CDG - new daily flights to be launched
SAW/GYD - new daily flights to be launched
SAW/TBS - new daily flights to be launched


Cathay Pacific has officially announced that it will be increasing capacity to LHR-London Heathrow in a significant manner effective 27JUN13 onwards. Currently, CX operates 4 times daily on the HKG-LHR sector however from 27JUN, this shall be increased to 5 times daily using a B773ER four times a day + a B744 once daily. The new flight is CX 239/238 which departs HKG at 1025 and arrives back the next day at 1715 HKG time.


Oman Air has officially announced that it will be increasing its services to HYD-Hyderabad, India effective immediately as the carrier looks to take full advantage of the new bilaterals being awarded to by the Indian Govt. Frequencies on the MCT-HYD route shall therefore be increased from daily to double daily using a Boeing 737-800 with flights departing MCT at 0120 and 1000 local time respectively


China Southern Airlines has revealed many capacity changes for its medium and long haul route network for the upcoming IATA S13 season of which the main highlights are as follows:

*All flights mentioned below are operated from its primary CAN-Guangzhou hub base

DME - new 3 weekly nonstop service to be launched using an A332 eff 19JUN

MEL - frequencies increased from daily to 10 weekly nonstop using an A332

YVR - frequencies increased from 3 weekly to daily nonstop using a B772ER

DEL - frequencies increased from 10 weekly to double daily i.e. daily B757 and A332 each respectively

Fly Dubai has officially announced that it has been granted bilateral permission by the Pakistani Government to launch 2 new routes to the country i.e. Sialkot and Multan effective immediately. As a result, FZ confirmed that it will be doing so with pleasure effective 13MAR when it inaugurates 3 new weekly flights each respectively to both cities using a 189 seater Boeing 737-800. The schedule for both these new routes have the flights departing DXB at 2200 and arriving back by 0715 DXB time. The main markets for FZ from here are JED, KWI, DMM, DOH, RUH and O&D to DXB along with interline traffic bound to UK, FRA and USA.


Bahrain Air has officially announced that it has filed for bankruptcy and shall be suspending all of its flights effective immediately as the carrier struggles with a financial crisis, large payments owed to Bahrain Airport Company and a host of other issues of which a detailed statement is available to read on their website http://www.bahrainair.net

There has been no comment from Gulf Air on whether it plans to increase its own services on any of the commonly flown routes. The main interest for GF would obviously revolve around BN's India frequencies bound to Calicut and Trivandrum as these are high volume routes with huge O&D demand to BAH along with KWI, Saudi Arabia and DOH.


LOT of Poland has officially announced that due to high demand in summer for its USA bound services, it shall be increasing capacity by 40% on each of its flagship Chicago ORD and New York JFK services effective 01JUN 2013 till 30SEP. Both routes shall witness an increase in frequency from daily to 11 weekly nonstop flights each using its new Boeing 787-800s. The new flights arrive and depart USA late evening i.e. ORD 1940/2150 (arr/dep) and JFK 2100/2255
(arr/dep)


KLM has officially revealed few changes to its medium/long haul route network for the upcoming IATA S13 season of which the main highlights are as follows:

BAH - frequencies increased from 5 weekly to daily using an A332

NRT - frequencies increased from 10 to 11 weekly using a mixture of B777s and B747-400 Combis

ALA - frequencies increased from 4 to 5 weekly using an A332

LIM - capacity increase from daily B772ER to 4 weekly B773ER + 3 weekly B772ER
AUH - frequencies increased from 5 weekly to daily using an A332


TAAG of Angola has officially announced that it has struck a deal with Boeing to purchase 3 additional new Boeing 777-300ER aircraft from the manufacturer to be delivered from 2016 onwards. Currently, TAAGs long haul fleet consists of 3 B772ERs and 2 B773ERs of which the latter seats 293 pax in a 3 class layout i.e. 12F/56J and 225Y. It is worth noting that LAD is the highest yielding long haul African route of all European airlines that operate there due to the country's vast oil wealth and its status as Africa's largest oil exporter. There is also massive demand to China from Angola with large investments being made by Chinese companies in various sectors of the Angolan economy. The total market size between Angola and China is approximately 75,000 passengers annually out of which 90% is bound to Beijing itself alone!

05FEB edition

Ethiopian Airlines has officially revealed that it shall be embarking on a massive expansion of its Southeast Asian route network from 01JUN13 as the carrier looks to further consolidate its presence and brand as being the carrier of choice for traders flying between Africa and the Orient.

The main highlights are as follows:

MNL - new 3 weekly flights operated via HKG using a B763ER

ICN - new 4 weekly flights operated via HKG using a B763ER

SGN - new 3 weekly flights operated via BKK using a B763ER

KUL - frequencies increased from 3 to 4 weekly flights operated via BKK using a B763ER


Garuda Indonesia has officially announced that it will be launching a new European long haul route effective Oct 1st 2013 which is LGW-London Gatwick. GA shall be operating this new service 6 times per week nonstop from its CGK hub base using its brand new Boeing 777-300ERs. As of this moment, the airline has not released a firm flight schedule but its expected to be similar to its current AMS flights. The main target markets for GA on the LGW sector include O&D to Indonesia, holiday traffic bound to Bali and transfer traffic via CGK bound to Australia, SIN, KUL, MNL and AKL.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2013/02/04/garuda-spread-its-wings-london-s-gatwick-q4.html


Cathay Pacific's new CEO has officially revealed that the airline is once again seriously evaluating the need of ordering VLA jets i.e. B747-800 and Airbus A380 as it deals with future slot constraints at its main HKG airport hub as well as those in USA and LHR in particular.

Comments:

Keeping in mind that CXs current B744s seat 359 pax in a 4 class premium configuration, the B748 if ordered by CX would seat in the same layout a maximum of 410 seats aka 14% capacity increase which isnt much. However an A380 in 4 classes can easily accommodate 480 passengers (Qantas like) which provides a 30% capacity increase versus CX's B744s and this is what they are after I reckon especially since it will enable more F/J class seats being fitted in resulting in higher yields en-route. CX's B744s currently have 9F and 46J and on the A380 it can easily be 12F + 66J if required.

The only area where the B748i holds an advantage over the A380 is the amount of cargo it can carry in its belly, but with such a large dedicated freighter fleet along with numerous B77Ws/A330s and A350s on order, if an A380 order does happen, the balance freight can easily be accommodated elsewhere on other flights operated by a different aircraft.

Etihad Airways has finally revealed more info of its intended launch of previously announced new services to SGN- Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. EY disclosed that the new long haul route shall be operated daily nonstop from its AUH hub base effective 01OCT13 and using a 2 class configured Airbus A330-200. The flight schedule is as follows:

 

Days: Daily

 

EY 441 Dep AUH 0830 Arr SGN 1900

EY 440 Dep SGN 2030 Arr AUH 0045+1

 

Lufthansa has officially revealed that it shall be reducing capacity significantly to IKA-Tehran, Iran for the entire IATA S13 season in spite of it being the only mainland European airline operating nonstop to Iran. Previously as per norm, LH operates a daily 306 seater A 340-600 on the IKA-FRA route but in S13, this shall be reduced to a daily A340-300 seating 241 passengers only i.e. 21% drop in capacity


Alitalia has officially announced that due to high losses and low yields, it shall be suspending its long haul serves to PEK-Beijing, China effective 06MAR 2013. The carrier is once again in severe financial state which has prompted this move to take place. AZ currently operates 4 times per week from its Rome base to Beijing on a nonstop basis using an A330-200.


American Airlines has officially announced that it has exercised an option to purchase 5 additional Boeing 777-300ERs from the U.S. airplane company as the carrier embarks on a rapid expansion of its long haul network as well as replacing high demand B772ER operated flights with B773ERs in order to boost revenues.

Comments:

If AA has planned for its future a fleet of around 40 B773ERs, it might want to consider having 10 of these aircraft configured in a high density 2 class configuration which would seat 40 business and 334 in economy class. This aircraft it can use profitably year round on routes that witness consistent high volume and no first class demand as well as on long haul flights to SE Asia where the flexibility of having an additional 120 seats in economy class will come in handy big time and improve the overall economics of the route. A high density 374 seater B773ER would also be ideal for AA if it ever considered resuming nonstop services to DEL from its ORD hub as well as peak summer flying from USA to Europe.

Air France has officially announced that it will be significantly increasing capacity on one of its popular SE Asian routes i.e. SGN-Ho Chi Minh City from the on set of the IATA S13 season. Currently, AF operates 5 times per week to SGN using a B772ER but the flight gets tagged on towards PNH-Phnom Penh, Cambodia. However effective 31MAR, all AF flights to SGN shall end up being nonstop terminator services operated 4 times per week but using a high density larger Boeing 777-300ER aircraft.


SN Brussels Airlines has officially announced that it shall be launching a new U.S route from its BRU hub base effective 15JUN 2013. New 5 weekly nonstop services shall be launched to IAD-Washington DC using an A330-200 with the below mentioned timings:
SN 515 Dep BRU 1730 Arr IAD 2015
SN 516 Dep IAD 2235 Arr BRU 1210

Above mentioned flight compliments the existing daily UAL IAD-BRU service which is operated with a B767-400ER which departs BRU at noon.

Comments:
Arrival into IAD is fine as it connects very well to UA's domestic 2150-2230 departure hub wave bank. BRU-IAD will have a lot of O&D traffic with people wanting to work a full or half day in BRU itself before heading out to DC.


ALC (Aircraft Leasing Company) has officially announced placing a multi billion order order with Airbus for a mixture of A350 and A320NEO family aircraft. The order breakdown is as follows:

14 A 321NEOs + 20 A350-900s + 5 A350-1000Xs


Qantas of Australia has officially announced a major restructuring of its Asian route network as the carrier looks to better serve markets after its recently struck alliance with Emirates. The main highlights are as follows:

PER/HKG - all flights suspended

ADL/SIN - all flights suspended

PER/SIN - frequencies reduced to daily

BNE/HKG - frequencies increased from 4 weekly to daily

SYD/SIN - frequencies increased from 11 weekly to double daily

MEL/KUL - code share with daily Emirates operated service

29JAN13 edition

Emirates has officially announced that it shall be launching a new long haul route to Tokyo's Haneda (HND) airport operated nonstop from Dubai as the carrier aggressively targets expansion in high yielding SE Asian markets that have good premium class demand in particular. EK will be operating a daily nonstop service on the DXB-HND sector using a B777-200LR effective 03JUN13 with the below mentioned timings:

EK 312 Dep DXB 0940 Arr HND 0005+1
EK 313 Dep HND 0130 Arr DXB 0705
The above mentioned service compliments its currently exisiting daily A380 nonstop service to Tokyo's Narita airport.


Swiss Airline's CEO has officially revealed in an interview to Bloomberg that the airline is actively looking out for a plane that can offer larger capacity than its current Airbus A340-300s as it finds the latter a bit too small for many of its long haul routes that can fill the additional seats offered by a bigger aircraft. LX is evaluating the B747-800, B777-300ER and the A350 family for a potential future order but has ruled out the Boeing 787.

Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-01-22/swiss-mulling-747-8-for-fleet-upgrade-following-parent-lufthansa.html

Analysis:
1. One does not believe that the B748i should even be looked by LX management nor even by LH for LX because of the following:

a) Currently, LX 's A343s seat 219 pax in a 3 class configuration i.e. 8F/47J/164Y where as LH 's B748s in 3 classes seat 358 i.e. 8F/92J/262Y. For any airline to have their largest plane capacity size increase from 219 to 362 aka by 65% and have a chance at selling it consistently year long is a tall task to undertake. You can increase by 30-40% maximum if you have all the right mechanisms in place which LX does, but not by 65% all of a sudden !

b) The B748 is way too big for any LX route to operate on a "year round basis" which is the main point here as its not a carrier that lives on seasonal demand. LX is a premium focused airline that relies more on offering frequencies versus excess capacity on any given route as that is the main demand of corporate high yielding passengers i.e. choice of schedule flexibility when making their travel plans.

Now as far as which plane is ideal for LX in the long run as the perfect A343 replacement, my thoughts are as follows:

a) To begin with, this order I reckon Boeing lost from the get go by still not being clear on their B787-1000X program. Due to this uncertainty on their part, this is another order which they could have gotten a new customer but instead are likely to lose it due to this aircraft type still not being offered for sale in the market place. Just like the A350 family has 3 different types catering to different market size segments, the B787 program too needs a 3rd larger unit complementing the B788 and B789 as neither one of these 2 models can adequately replace the A343 nor the B772ER in the long run.

b) However, since the A343 is more or less the same size as an A359 and with LX 's desire to have a bigger plane operate on some of its routes year round, the only plane in today's current environment meeting LX 's requirement is the A340-600 which in LH 's 3 class layout seats 306 pax i.e. 70 more than LX 's A333s aka 30% more. For the time being, this is ideal as it would allow LX the perfect schedule flexibility of having the A333 operate on the under 11 hours routes across its network with a 236 seater A333 and have the A346 operate on the ultra long haul nonstop flights to Latin America, U.S. West Coast and SE Asia where the revenue derived from selling the extra seats on board the A346 (especially the higher yielding F/J class ones) shall come in handy big time.

c) But in order to structure a deal that benefits LX the most in the long run, the order should go to Airbus with the following conditions attached:

i. As a "stop gap capacity measure" in exchange for a size able A350 order, Airbus must supply LX with at least 8-10 A346s until the A350s get delivered. Currently, there are 3 airlines in particular that are very keen on selling their A346 fleet and they are TG, QR and VS respectively.

ii. The A350 versions (if it lives up to its expectations) which are ideal for LX 's future are both the A359 and the largest member i.e. the A351. The A359 is the perfect replacement candidate aircraft for LX 's A333 fleet by 2020-21 as it offers about 10-15% more capacity which is perfect as the airline expects its passenger demand scale to grow by a similar margin if not more within a decade on currently operated A333 routes. A 3 class configured A359 would easily be able to accommodate approximately 260 passengers in a comfortable layout to replace the 236 seater A333s. In addition, due to its much longer range, the A359 can operate all of LX 's current long haul routes nonstop without any payload restrictions what so ever so an excellent value for money aircraft for the airline to consider purchasing. Currently, LX operates 14 A333s so if one factors in modest growth for the next 8 years, an order for 18 A359s seems adequate for the airline to order.

iii. In addition to the A359, the larger A351 is the perfect high density long haul premium aircraft for LX to revolve its fleet around during the 2020-30 decade. In a luxurious 3 class configuration, it would easily be able to accommodate 340 passengers and fly up to 13-14 hours nonstop without any payload restrictions. This means having approximately 12% more capacity than today's A346 in LH 's 3 class configuration and operated with an aircraft that is destined to have at least 15-20% better operating costs on long haul flights. Currently, LX has 15 A343s operating in its fleet, so once again if you factor in modest growth over the next decade, an order for easily 20 A351s should do justice.

iv. One last very interesting point in LX 's favor is that with all the bad publicity surrounding the A351 since Summer 2012, Airbus will bend backwards in offering ultra lucrative deals to blue chip airlines such as LX in order for a large reputable A350-1000X order being placed as they did with CX recently. This in turn can result in LX getting financially attractive large discounts on the purchase price as well as other forms of incentives from the airplane manufacturer in exchange for this order for 20 A351s + 18 A359s which at list prices would be worth over US$ 7 billion.

v. Since LH now tends to order airplanes in bulk for its group subsidiaries as well, it has a fleet of 24 A343s + 18 A333s + 24 A346s that need replacing within a decade as well. Hence for the LH /LX group to really arm twist Airbus into giving a deal that they cannot say no to (in terms of volumetric discounts for a large scale order being placed), the prospective potential order size could very well end up being for 65 A350-900s (for LH /LX combined) + 50 A350-1000X totaling over US$ 20 billion at list prices! And for the latter program, Airbus wins too by getting 2 world famous airline brands such as LH and LX ordering and endorsing the A351 program along side QR /CX which will end up getting more airlines to order this variant in the future.
Thai Airways has revealed that it will be considerably increasing its presence in the Dhaka market place by adding a second daily nonstop service from the on set of the IATA S13 season i.e. April. All double daily flights shall be operated by a 2 class configured Boeing 777-200A and the flight schedule of the two services will be as follows:

Dep BKK @ 1035 and 2330 Arr DAC 1210 and 0105
Dep DAC @ 0230 and 1335 Arr BKK 0555 and 1700

The new flight is the one that departs BKK at 2330 and arrives back by 0555. In addition to the above, TG has also revealed many other capacity changes to its medium and long haul route network for the upcoming IATA S13 season of which the main highlights are as follows:

LHE - frequencies increased from 5 weekly to daily nonstop flights using an A333

ARN - capacity reduced from daily B744 to daily B773ER

CGK - frequencies increased from daily to double daily

LHR - capacity increased from double daily A346 to double daily B744

CPH - capacity reduced from daily B744 to daily B773ER

DME - frequencies increased from 3 to 4 weekly nonstop flights using a B773A

BLR - capacity increased from daily A333 to daily B772A


Saudia Airlines has officially announced many changes to its overall route network for the upcoming IATA S13 season from both its Riyadh and Jeddah hubs respectively of which the main highlights are as follows:

JED / SAH - frequencies increased from 4 weekly to daily nonstop using an A320

JED / CDG - capacity increased from daily A320 to 3 weekly B772ERs + 4 weekly A320s

JED / CCJ - frequencies increased from 1 to 3 weekly nonstop using a B772A

JED / IAD - frequencies increased from 3 to 4 weekly nonstop using a B772ER

JED / IST - frequencies increased from 5 to 6 weekly nonstop using an A333

JED / ADD - frequencies increased from 6 weekly to daily nonstop using an A320

JED / GVA - frequencies increased from 2 to 4 weekly nonstop using an A320

JED / MXP - frequencies increased from 3 to 4 times per week nonstop using an A320

RUH / JFK - frequencies increased from 2 to 3 weekly nonstop using a B772ER

RUH / CDG - capacity increased from daily A320 to 4 weekly B772ERs + 3 weekly A320s

RUH / ADD - frequencies increased from 5 to 6 weekly nonstop using an A320

RUH / FCO - frequencies increased from 3 to 4 weekly nonstop using an A320

RUH / CMB - capacity reduced from 3 weekly B744s to 3 weekly B772As


Turkish Airlines has officially announced that it will be launching new services to KUL-Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia effective 25APR 2013 as the carrier looks to expand its long haul network aggressively particularly where high volume feeder traffic can be obtained to help adequately feed its ever expanding European network. TK will be flying nonstop from its IST base to KUL four times per week using an A340-300 with the below mentioned timings:

Days - 1/3/4/6

TK 60 Dep IST 0115 Arr KUL 1650
TK 61 Dep KUL 2315 Arr IST 0535+1

In addition, TK too confirmed that due to increasing demand for its DAC-Dhaka bound flights, it will be further increasing its presence on this sector by operating daily nonstop flights using an A330-200 versus its current 5 weekly service. This comes into effect from 05JUN13. TK's main DAC traffic originates from Italy, ATH, JFK, UK, Libya and Germany.


British Airways has revealed many changes to its long haul route network for the upcoming IATA S13 season of which the main highlights are as follows:

DAR - all 3 weekly flights suspended effective 31MAR (this is going to help KL/TK/QR a lot in particular)

JED - frequencies increased from 5 weekly to daily nonstop using a B763ER

EBB - frequencies reduced from 5 to 3 weekly nonstop flights using a B763ER

TBS - all 3 weekly flights using an A321 suspended

AMM - frequencies increased from daily to 11 weekly


Air Asia X of Malaysia has officially confirmed that it shall be launching a new long haul service to JED-Jeddah, Saudi Arabia effective 16FEB 2013 as the carrier wants to take part in the mass volumetric Umrah and Hajj religious demand on this route along with catering to Saudi holiday traffic bound to Malaysia year round. D7 will be operating the service nonstop 4 times per week using an A330-300.


Hainan Airlines based out of Beijing, China has officially announced that it will be launching new nonstop flights to ORD-Chicago, USA effective 03SEP 2013 as the carrier looks to further consolidate its position in the U.S. market place with its partner American Airlines. HU shall be operating 4 times per week nonstop service on this route using a Boeing 787. Currently, its scheduled as an A332 operated service but that is temporarily only due to the on going B787 technical grounding worldwide. The flight schedule is as follows:

Days: 2/4/6/7

HU 497 Dep PEK 1320 Arr ORD 1330
HU 498 Dep ORD 1530 Arr PEK 1840+1


Air China has officially announced that due to increasing demand for its Milan (MXP) bound services out of its secondary PVG-Shanghai hub, it will be up gauging the number of weekly frequencies it currently offers to meet the demand. Currently, CA operates 5 weekly nonstop flights between MXP and PVG using a 2 class configured A330-200. These will be increased to daily nonstop flights using the same aircraft type effective 01APR13.

In addition, CA too revealed that it will be launching new nonstop services to GVA-Geneva from its primary Beijing hub effective 07MAY 2013. It will be operate 4 times per week using an A330-200 and will be code sharing with its STAR partner SWISS on this new route that is expected to attract good loads upfront in business class especially along with cargo.

Jan 15th edition

American Airlines has officially announced that it has changed the structure of its highly publicized Boeing 787 order with Boeing which originally was exclusively for 42 Boeing 787-900s. The main highlights of the amended deal are as follows:

• 42 B789s exchanged for 20 B787-800s + 22 B787-900s
• Options on 58 additional aircraft remain unchanged
• Requested delivery from Boeing in 2014-15 in order to realize operational cost savings benefit with a modern aircraft operating long haul routes versus aging B767s

Comments:
This is a very smart move by AA to have divided their B787 order from the original one as it provides their route network with the fleet capacity flexibility catering to markets that do have demand for a B788 year round but not for a larger B789. In addition, the prime objective of ordering the B787s were to replace their aging B763ER fleet on medium and long haul routes; this could have only been done effectively if the B788s were ordered initially as this particular variant was designed and sold by Boeing to be the B763ER/A310 replacement aircraft and not the B789 as the latter (789) would seat approximately 80-90 more passengers i.e. 30-35% more on board capacity versus a B788 would seat approximately 10-15% more than a B763ER which is an ideal requirement for most airlines taking into account market size growth worldwide. Other airlines that too are gradually replacing their B763ER/A310 fleet with B788s include Kenya Airways, LAN Chile, Ethiopian Airlines, JAL, ANA, British Airways, Air India and Royal Jordanian.  

Air China has officially announced that it will be launching new nonstop flights to IAH-Houston, USA effective 11JUL 2013 onwards. CA will be operating the service 4 times per week initially using a Boeing 777-300ER before considering expanding it to a daily flight using its yet to be delivered Boeing 787-900s. As a member of Star Alliance, it will be code sharing with United Airlines on this sector, who in turn will hope to feed it with traffic originating from Central/Latin America and Southeast USA via its IAH hub. CA's B773ERs seat 313 pax in a 3 class configuration i.e. 8F/42J/263Y.

Etihad Airways has officially announced that it shall be launching a new nonstop services to Amsterdam, Holland effective 15MAY 2013. EY will be operating the service in code share with KLM on a daily basis using a 2 class configured A330-200 with the below mentioned timings:

EY 077 Dep AUH 0930 Arr AMS 1440
EY 078 Dep AMS 2200 Arr AUH 0635+1

As a result it will be indirectly offering a double daily service as it currently also code shares with Garuda's 6 weekly AUH-AMS + KLM 5 weekly AUH-AMS services respectively. The flights of KLM arrive into AUH at 1950 thus catering to EY's late night 2100-2230 departure hub wave bank.

Other changes announced by EY for the upcoming IATA S13 season are as follows:

JED - frequencies increased from double daily to 16 weekly with the additional 2 flights operated with an A320

DAC - capacity increased from daily A332 to daily B773ER

CMN - frequencies increased from 5 weekly to daily nonstop using an A332

DUB - capacity increased from 10 weekly A332s to 6 weekly B773ERs + 4 weekly A332s

NRT - frequencies increased from 5 weekly to daily nonstop using an A332

Hawaiian Airlines has officially announced that it has placed a significant order with Airbus for 16 brand new Airbus A321NEOs as the carrier looks to realign its future fleet meeting the mainland USA-Hawaii market dynamics. HA's A321s will seat 190 passengers in a 2 class configuration and can operate nonstop from HNL up to Las Vegas. It has said that the main routes to be served by its A321 fleet shall be nonstop HNL-U.S. West Coast services.

Comments:

This is a brilliantly thought out order by Hawaiian because it allows the airline to grow its flagship trans-pacific U.S. West Coast business at the lowest risk cost. Currently, HA's fleet comprises of B717s which can only operate domestic island routes and for its other longer range flights it has a 260 seater B763ER and a 290 seater A332. The latter two are wide bodies hence expensive aircraft to operate especially on routes that do not see year round 85% S/F. Between HAs B717 and B767/A330 fleet, there is no in between aircraft plane type that can offer a 170-210 seating capacity along with being able to fly 6 hours nonstop without a payload issue. The A321NEO perfectly fits in this gap by being the best middle sized aircraft type being able to handle the requirements of HA. For example, HA's current double daily A332 HNL-LAS service can be in the future grown to triple daily by using A321NEOs for the same cost of operating 2 daily A332s and in turn the same capacity as well i.e. 570 seats on 3 A321s versus 588 seats on double daily A332s! This allows HA to grow its market presence and share with the extra daily frequency in a risk free manner.

Other routes that A321NEO can be useful for is SFO where currently HA's daily A332 service can be expanded to a double daily A321NEO along with Seattle again a current daily B763ER service can be expanded to 11 weekly A321s. A new route that can be looked into is HNL-YVR (Vancouver) with an A321 year round as its a 6 hour flight only hence easily within flying range of an A321NEO.

Philippine Airlines has officially announced that it will be launching 2 new long haul routes during the IATA Summer 2013 season as the carrier looks to aggressively embark on a long haul expansion. PAL disclosed that it will be operating 3 new weekly nonstop flights to Istanbul, Turkey effective 05AUG 2013 using either an A340-300 or a Boeing 777-300ER in code share with Turkish Airlines. The second long haul route that it will be launching is a daily nonstop service to KWI-Kuwait effective 01JUN 2013 using either an A333 or B773ER. The KWI-MNL market size is approximately 130,000 passengers per year and does not see nonstop service on offer currently, as Kuwait Airways operates its services to MNL 6 times per week with an A343 routed via BKK.

Thai Airways has officially revealed major capacity and frequency changes to its medium and long haul route network for the upcoming IATA S13 season of which the main highlights are as follows:

FCO - frequencies increased from 4 to 5 weekly nonstop flights using an A346

JNB - frequencies increased from 3 to 4 weekly nonstop flights using a B772ER

MAD - frequencies increased from 3 to 4 weekly nonstop flights using a B772ER

MXP - frequencies increased from 3 to 4 weekly nonstop flights using an A346

MNL - frequencies increased from 10 to 11 weekly nonstop using an A333

NGO - frequencies increased from 11 to 12 weekly nonstop flights

KIX - frequencies increased from 17 to 18 weekly nonstop flights

KLM and Austrian Airlines have officially announced that due to the increasing volatile state of the Iranian economy as well as the difficulty in remitting foreign exchange out of the country, it has no choice but to suspend its services to Tehran respectively in Q1 2013. KLM will suspend its current 5 weekly MD11 service by end March 2013 where as Austrian will suspend its own effective 29JAN. This leaves Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines as the 2 only remaining EU carriers offering nonstop services out of IKA airport. Lufthansa though will take the lions share of the high yielding premium traffic due to its favored branding position amongst affluent Iranians in Iran and abroad. In other KLM related news, the airline too announced that due to on going cost cutting initiatives, it shall be also suspending its current services to both Addis Ababa and Khartoum effective 31MAR 2013. Currently, KL operates a 3 weekly service on the AMS-KRT-ADD route using an A332. 

Saudia Airlines and KSA Civil Aviation have officially announced that the Saudi flag carrier will be launching 2 new long haul routes from June 2013 onwards in North America along with increasing capacity to Europe. The main highlights are as follows:

LAX - new 3 weekly flights to be launched from June 2013 with a B777 operated from JED

YYZ - new 3 weekly flights to be launched from Sept 2013 with a B777 operated from JED

CDG - frequencies to be increased to 11 weekly nonstop flights from KSA using B772ERs in code share with Air France

IAD and JFK - to be each served daily from KSA (RUH/JED) effective April 2013 using B777s

Source: http://www.tradearabia.com/news/TTN_228214.html

Comments:

As far as YYZ (Toronto) is concerned, the option to operate from JED via RUH should not be considered as it will spoil the economics of the route as well as the passenger acceptance of it as the majority of passengers on board shall be 6th freedom transfer passengers rather than O&D. Though operating nonstop from JED to YYZ with a B773ER might sound the most attractive option from a saleability aspect, it is also fraught with high risk as the O&D market size between KSA and YYZ is not large enough to warrant a year round B773ER operated service and nor is SV a favored transit carrier like its neighbors EK/QR/EY/MS are with Arab/Indian Subcontinent passengers.

Therefore in order to lower its risk and at the same time being able to kill 2 birds with one stone, SV should seriously consider flying to Toronto via Manchester with 5th freedom traffic rights. The reason being that the MAN-JED market size is big year round i.e. approximately 50,000 passengers as it caters to not only MAN based passengers but also the surrounding areas of Leeds, Birmingham and Bradford. No airline currently serves JED nonstop from the UK North and there is demand for such a service using a medium sized aircraft. A lot of these passengers are religious pilgrims who after performing Umrah/Hajj in KSA want to extend their journey to their hometown in India/Pakistan/DAC/UAE/CAI/NBO etc which SV ideally caters for. By operating to YYZ via MAN, it lowers the risk for SV as if YYZ cant fill the flight it can fall back on MAN to do the needful instead which it can easily provide.

Turkish Airlines has officially announced that it will be launching new services to CMB-Colombo, Sri Lanka effective 01FEB 2013 by extending its current Male bound service to the Sri Lankan capital. TK will be operating 5 times per week to CMB via MLE using an A330-300 and in turn will be targeting primarily the large Tamil community residing in Italy, UK, France and Scandinavia for its new CMB flights as well as European holiday makers who have flocked in their 1000s to the tropical island since the end of the brutal 25 year old civil war. In addition, the airline has finalized a deal to dry lease an additional seven Boeing 777-300ERs as a capacity bridge solution until its own aircraft get delivered gradually from Boeing itself. The source of these additional B773ERs is believed to be India's Jet Airways.

Emirates has officially announced that it will be implementing many capacity and frequency increases across its route network for the upcoming IATA S13 season of which the main highlights are as follows:

DAC - frequencies increased from 17 weekly to triple daily

KUL - frequencies increased from 24 weekly to 4 times daily

BKK - frequencies increased from 4 to 5 times daily

CDG - frequencies increased from 19 weekly to triple daily

LED - capacity reduced from daily B773 to daily A332

PEW - frequencies increased from 3 to 5 times per week

Malaysia Airlines has revealed few changes to its route network for the upcoming IATA S13 season of which the main highlights are as follows:

JED - frequencies increased from 4 weekly to daily nonstop using a B772ER

CMB - frequencies increased from daily to 10 weekly using a B738

HKG - frequencies increased from double daily to triple daily

MNL - frequencies increased from 25 weekly to 4 times

Egypt Air has officially announced that it shall be launching 3 new destinations across its network effective June 2013 onwards of which the main highlights are as follows:

MAN - new 5 weekly nonstop flights using a B738

YYZ - new 4 weekly nonstop flights using a B773ER

HRE - new 4 weekly service using a B738 operated via DAR

IST - frequencies increased from double daily to 17 weekly using a B738

FCO - frequencies increased from 11 weekly to double daily

Qatar Airways has officially announced that it shall be significantly increasing capacity on three of its medium haul routes for the upcoming IATA S13 season of which the main highlights are as follows:

BKK - frequencies increased from triple daily to 4 times daily with all flights operated by a B773ER

WAW - frequencies increased from 4 weekly to daily nonstop using an A320

MUC - frequencies increased from 11 weekly to double daily using a B788 and an A332 each respectively