07JAN edition

Website: http://airline-news.blogspot.com

Turkish Airlines has officially announced that it will be launching two new long haul destinations from 30MAR15 as the carrier looks to further expand its reach targeting popular routes with EU pax. The new routes are Manila and Taipei and they will be operated as follows:

MNL - new 3 weekly flights flown nonstop using an A343

TPE - new daily nonstop flights operated with an A343 which will be further upgraded to a daily B77W effective 25OCT15

Other capacity changes announced by the carrier for the upcoming IATA S15 season are as follows:

BKK - frequencies increased from 11 weekly to double daily nonstop using an A332

CPT - capacity increased to daily nonstop terminator services using an A332

DOH - frequencies increased to double daily nonstop using an A321

DMM - frequencies increased from daily to 10 weekly

ATH - capacity increased to daily B77W + double daily A321

BAH - capacity increased to daily terminator nonstop service using an A321

ABV - new 5 weekly nonstop flights to be launched using a B739ER

MCT - capacity increased to daily terminator nonstop service using a B738

In addition to the above, TK also confirmed that it has placed an order for 12 A321NEO aircraft which will be used to replace the B739ER on medium haul flights to Africa and Indian subcontinent.

Air China has announced that it will be embarking on a major long haul expansion process in 2015 as the carrier looks to rapidly expand its Beijing (PEK) hub operations and target destinations with significant Chinese financial and human resource investments. The main highlights are as follows:

PEK/YUL/HAV - new 3 weekly flights effective 20SEP using a B77W with 5th freedom traffic rights existing between YUL-HAV. AC will be code sharing with CA on this sector.

PEK/MEL - new 4 weekly flights effective 01JUN using an A332

PEK/JNB - new 3 weekly flights effective 19JUN using a B77W

PEK/ADD - new 3 weekly flights effective 25OCT using an A332

PEK/BOM - new 4 weekly flights effective 25OCT using an A332

PEK/AKL - new daily flights effective 25OCT using an A332

Emirates has officially announced many capacity changes to its long haul route network for the IATA S15 season of which the main highlights are as follows:

MAN - capacity increased to double daily A380s + daily B77W

BHX - frequencies increased from double daily to triple daily nonstop with all flights operated by a B77W

PER - capacity increased to daily A380 + daily B77L + daily B77W

BCN - frequencies increased to double daily nonstop i.e. daily A380 + daily B77L

JFK - frequencies increased to four times daily with a new daily nonstop A380 flight departing DXB at 1435.

MNL - frequencies reduced from triple daily to double daily (as a result of bilateral issues)

MLE - frequencies increased to triple daily nonstop using a B77W for all services

Air Canada has officially announced that it will be launching two new long haul destinations from 01NOV15 from its primary YYZ-Toronto hub as the carrier looks to expand into strategically important markets using aircraft that offer the right operational economics for risky long haul markets. The two new routes are as follows:

DXB - new 3 weekly nonstop flights to be operated using a B789

DEL - new 4 weekly nonstop flights to be operated using a B789.

AC's B789s seat 298 pax in a three class layout i.e. 30J + 21W + 247Y.

Comments:

The next long haul destination for AC that should be seriously considered and has the potential to do well is CMN-Casablanca out of YUL-Montreal. Over 90,000 O&D pax flew this route (mainly on RAM) over the past year and the distance is similar to a typical trans-atlantic flight i.e. 7 hours hence easily do able on a B763ER or even a B788. It does not need to be operated daily but a maximum of 4 times per week year round.

Air India has officially announced that due to increasing demand, it has increased its Delhi-Birmingham service from 4 weekly to daily nonstop flights since 21DEC14. All flights are to be operated using a 254 seater B 787-800. In addition due to high demand, it has also expanded capacity on BOM-BKK + DEL-BKK with each route getting a daily B788 operated service along side a daily A321. In addition, the carrier is looking at converting its last six B788s on order to the larger B787-900 variant so that it can be used to operate ultra long haul flights to ORD and EWR/JFK replacing the more expensive B777s. If finalized, AI's B789s will be seating 294 pax in a dual class configuration.

Comments:

This is a well thought of move by AI's board and it should be expanded further in order to realize greater cost saving synergies. To operate daily DEL-JFK + daily BOM-EWR + daily DEL-ORD, you need 9 aircraft at least hence getting 5 B789s won’t be sufficient. Currently out of its order of 27 B788s, 18 have been delivered. All the remaining 9 should be converted to the -900 variant. In addition, once this is completed AI can raise cash by selling of 12 B77Ws which would easily find buyers in the current marketplace due to the immense popularity of this airplane type. In this manner, AI's future fleet would only revolve around two aircraft family types i.e.

B787 family i.e. -800 & -900 for wide body ops and A320 family i.e. 319s/320s/321s for narrow body ops. In turn would make the carrier realize significant cost savings across the board.

Qatar Airways has revealed a massive expansion plan of its route network from the onset of the IATA S15 season of which the main highlights are as follows:

AMS - new daily nonstop flights using a B788 effective 16JUN

LHR - capacity increased to double daily A380 + triple daily A333s/B77Ws combination

CPH - frequencies increased from daily to 11 weekly all operated with B788s

ARN - frequencies increased from daily to 10 weekly i.e. daily B788 + 3 weekly A332

MAD - frequencies increased from 10 weekly to double daily i.e. 10 weekly B77W + 4 weekly B788

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

MXP - capacity increased to double daily A332s

VCE - capacity increased from daily A320 to daily A332

EDI - frequencies increased from 5 weekly to daily nonstop using a B788

CMB - capacity increased to daily B77W + daily A332 + daily A321

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

FCO - capacity increased to daily B788 + daily A332

MIA - frequencies increased from 5 weekly to daily nonstop effective 01NOV

Delta Airlines has officially announced that it has placed a US$ 14 billion dollar order with Airbus to fully replace its aging B747-400 and B767-300ER aircraft from 2017 onwards. The breakdown of the order is as follows:

25 A350-900s to replace the B744s as the carrier looks to grow frequency wise into key markets rather than operate VLAs.

25 A330-900s replacing B763ERs on trans-pacific and trans-atlantic services out of its SEA, JFK and ATL hubs.

In addition, DL has confirmed that due to poor performance, it shall be suspending its only India bound service to Mumbai effective 27MAR15. It will however be from the summer season onwards, code sharing with Air France via CDG to all of its India bound destinations. DL currently operates a daily B763ER to BOM from JFK via AMS.

Royal Air Maroc has revealed details of its Boeing 787-800 cabin as the airline took delivery of its first unit which was originally ordered in 2005 to replace its aging B744 and B763ER fleet. RAM’s B788s will be the most dense cabin amongst airlines worldwide seating 274 pax in a dual class layout i.e. 18J + 256Y. In total, the airline has ordered 5 B788s and they will be used on JFK, CDG, GRU and YUL. Lastly, RAM confirmed that it will be increasing its flights to JFK effective 14JUN onwards from daily to 12 weekly nonstop flights exclusively operated by a B788. 

Houston Airport has officially announced that it will be welcoming two new airlines operating long haul flights into the city in 2015. The main highlights are as follows:

IAH/TPE – new 4 weekly nonstop flights using a B77W to be operated effective 19JUN by EVA AIR.

IAH/NRT – new daily nonstop flights to be operated by ANA using a B77W effective 12JUN.

Finnair has disclosed that it has placed an additional order with Airbus for 8 A350-900s which the airline previously held as options since 2006. This brings the total number of A359s ordered by AY to 19 units. As part of this deal, Airbus agreed to buy back AY’s entire fleet of 7 A343s for firming up these options. These A359s will seat 297 pax in a three class layout i.e. 46J + 43W + 208Y. The first three routes that the airline will be operating the A359s on in 2015 are BKK, PEK and PVG respectively.

Alitalia has officially announced that it will be significantly expanding its long haul network in the IATA S15 season of which the main highlights are as follows:

MXP/NRT – frequencies increased from 5 weekly to daily nonstop using a B772ER

FCO/ORD - frequencies increased from 5 weekly to daily nonstop using an A332

MXP/AUH – new daily flights to be launched using a B772ER effective 29MAR

VCE/AUH - new daily flights to be launched using an A332 effective 29MAR

FCO/KIX – current 5 weekly nonstop flights with an A332 are to be suspended effective 29MAR

19OCT edition

Thai Airways has announced significant capacity changes to its route network for the IATA W14 season of which the main highlights are as follows:

KHI – frequencies increased from 5 to 6 weekly effective 01NOV14 using A333s

JNB – all flights suspended effective 15JAN; currently operated 3 times per week nonstop using a B772ER

CCU – frequencies increased from daily to 10 weekly nonstop using A333s exclusively

HYD – frequencies increased from 5 to 6 weekly using an A320

Oman Air has announced a major expansion of long haul network during the upcoming IATA W14 season with 2 new destinations, frequency increases across Europe as well as a standardization of its Bangkok flight schedule which was most required.  The main highlights are as follows:

New A332 high density configuration announced for labor market routes i.e. 289 seats (24J + 265Y)

MNL – new 3 weekly nonstop flights to be launched effective 02DEC14 using an A332

CGK – new 4 weekly nonstop flights to be launched effective 12DEC14 using an A332

BKK – schedule standardized with departures out of BKK daily at 0855 and 2030 local time each respectively

ZRH – frequencies increased from 4 weekly to daily nonstop using an A332

MLE – frequencies increased from 5 to 10 weekly using a B738 exclusively

FRA – frequencies increased to daily using an A333

MUC – frequencies increased from 5 weekly to daily nonstop using an A332

KHI – frequencies increased from daily to 10 weekly using a B738

MXP – frequencies increased from 4 to 6 weekly nonstop using an A333

Kenya Airways has been cited that it over estimated the usefulness of the Boeing 777-300ER in its fleet as the aircraft has proven to be way too big (from a capacity stand point) to be deployed on any of its long haul routes such as Amsterdam, Guangzhou, London and Mumbai. The carrier is keen to dispose of these assets as soon as possible as it’s a big financial drain on its balance sheet.

Comments:

KQ's current 3 B77W frames seat 400 pax i.e. 28J + 372Y where as their B772ERs seat 322 pax i.e. 28J + 294Y. On the other hand, their B788s seat 234 pax i.e. 30J + 234Y.

In order to standardize and reduce costs, they should seriously consider phasing out both their B772ER + B77W fleet and standardizing the wide body around the B788 and B789 only. The latter would seat 291 pax in KQ's two class configuration with 30J + 261Y which is fine for any of its currently served high demand routes.

According to this article http://atwonline.com/airports-routes/kenya-airways-adds-787-routes and KQ's current fleet order backlog, it has options on 4 B787s which I feel should be converted to the larger -900 version so that the various fleet types in their fleet get reduced by 2016-17 to three types only i.e.  B787 + B737NG and E90 !

KLM has officially announced that it will be launching new flights to YEG-Edmonton, Canada as the carrier looks to operate to under served niche long haul markets where minimal competition currently exists. It will fly 4 times per week nonstop from its AMS hub using an A332 effective 03MAY15 with below mentioned schedule:

Days – 2/4/5/7

KL 675 Dep AMS 1435 Arr YEG 1535

KL 676 Dep YEG 1810 Arr AMS 1045+1

Other capacity changes revealed by the Dutch carrier for IATA S15 season are as follows:

YVR – capacity increased from daily A332 to daily A333

ACC – capacity increased from daily A332 to daily B772ER

GIG – frequencies increased from 5 to 6 weekly nonstop using a B772ER

YYC – capacity increased from daily A332 to 4 weekly B772ER + 3 weekly A332

EZE/SCL – frequencies increased from 3 to 4 weekly using a B772ER

JFK – frequencies reduced from 19 weekly to double daily

IAH – frequencies reduced from 10 to 9 weekly

Emirates has disclosed many frequency + capacity upgrades to its long haul network for the upcoming W14 season of which the main highlights are as follows:

MXP – new A380 destination with one of 3 daily flights i.e. EK 91/92 upgraded from a B773ER

DAR – frequencies increased from daily to double daily effective 01JAN15 i.e. daily B773ER + daily A345

FCO – frequencies increased from double daily to triple daily i.e. daily B773 + double daily A380.

Qatar Airways has revealed expansion plans for its route network for the upcoming IATA W14 season of which the main highlights are as follows:

MIA – frequencies increased from 4 to 5 weekly nonstop flights using a B772LR

ADD – capacity increased from 3 weekly A320s to 2 weekly A333s + weekly A320

ASM – new destination launched with twice weekly frequencies using an A320 effective 04DEC

CPT – capacity increased as flights are to be operated as nonstop terminator services using a B788 5 times per week with a 0125am departure out of DOH and returning back by 1130pm local time. As a result of which CPT will lose two way connectivity with India, China, Tokyo, Pakistan and Seoul.

SAW – frequencies increased from 4 weekly to daily using an A320

LHR – capacity being increased with 2 out of 5 daily flights being upgraded to an A380 which depart

MED – frequencies increased from daily to double daily using an A320

OTP/SOF – frequencies increased from 5 weekly to daily

DXB – frequencies increased to 14 daily + nearby DWC airport flights also increased to 4 daily thus making the carrier serve the Dubai city market a total of 18 times daily

HKT – capacity increased as flights are to be operated as nonstop terminator services using an A332 on a daily basis

Ethiopia and Philippines have concluded signing a new bilateral accord paving the way for ET to launch expected new flights to Manila. The agreement allows 7 weekly flights between the two countries that can be operated either nonstop or via Bangkok or Singapore with 5^th freedom traffic rights. ET is expected to launch MNL via SIN from April 2015 using a B787-800. In other ET related news, the carrier has announced many capacity changes for its long haul route network of which the main highlights are as follows:

DUB/LAX – new 3 weekly flights to be launched effective 03JUN15 using a B788

SIN – new 3 weekly nonstop flights to be launched effective 31MAR15 using a B788. This flight is on the ground in SIN for 12 hours and is expected to continue onwards to Manila (another new route).

JED – capacity increased from daily B738 to daily B763ER effective 27OCT14

TLV – frequencies increased from daily to double daily nonstop using a B738 effective 27OCT14

VIE/ARN – capacity increased to 4 weekly flights using a B763ER

As far as fleet news is concerned, ET has officially finalized a deal to replace their current B737-700 + B737-800 fleet with 20 B738MAXs + an option of 10 more units.

Virgin Atlantic has unveiled a massive restructuring of its long haul route network as the carrier looks to focus on its core trans-atlantic services and alliance with share holder Delta Airlines to boost revenues. The main highlights are as follows:

BOM – all flights suspended effective 01FEB15

CPT – all flights suspended effective 27APR15

YVR – all flights suspended effective immediately

NRT – all flights suspended effective 01FEB15. Service to Tokyo will be to HND airport only!

DTW – new daily nonstop flights to be operated using an A333 effective 29MAR15

SFO – frequencies increased from daily to 12 weekly i.e. daily B744 + 5 weekly A346 effective 29MAR15

DEL – capacity adjusted from daily A333 to daily B789 effective 29MAR15

ATL – frequencies increased from daily to double daily effective 29MAR15

LAX - frequencies increased from daily to double daily i.e. daily B744 + daily A346 effective 29MAR15

JFK – frequencies increased from 4 to 5 daily flights effective 29MAR15

In addition, the carrier is in the finalization process of converting 5 B789s into firm orders which will bring the total VS fleet of B789s to number 21 units.

Etihad Airways has revealed few capacity changes across its route network for the IATA W14 and S15 seasons of which the main highlights are as follows:

LHR – all three daily flights to be operated by the A380 effective 01MAY15

SYD – capacity increased to daily A380 + 3 weekly B773ER effective 01JUN15

DEL – capacity increased to daily B773ER + daily B772LR effective 18NOV14

KHI – frequencies increased from daily to double daily A320s effective W14 season

KWI – frequencies increased from 4 to 5 daily flights effective W14 season

British Airways has outlined significant capacity changes across its long haul route network for the IATA S15 season of which the main highlights are as follows:

KUL – new daily nonstop flights to be launched using a B772ER effective 27MAY15

ACC – frequencies reduced from 10 weekly to daily using a B744 only

SFO – capacity increased from double daily B744 to daily A380 + daily B744

CPT – frequencies reduced from 10 to 9 weekly nonstop flights

TLV – frequencies increased from double daily to 17 weekly i.e. daily B772ER + 10 weekly A321s

DEN – capacity increased from daily B772ER to daily B744

YUL – capacity reduced from daily B772ER to daily B788

EZE – frequencies reduced from daily to 5 weekly nonstop using a B772ER

ICN - capacity reduced from daily B772ER to daily B788

Air Canada has outlined significant expansion for its long haul route network for the IATA S15 season of which the main highlights are as follows:

YYZ/CDG – frequencies increased from daily to double daily

YYZ/AMS – new 6 weekly nonstop flights to be operated using a B763ER

YYZ/NRT – capacity reduced from daily B773ER to daily B788

YYZ/ZRH – capacity adjusted from daily A333 to daily B788

YYZ/VCE – frequencies increased from 3 to 4 weekly

YYZ/ATH – frequencies increased from 5 weekly to daily

YYZ/BCN – frequencies increased from 5 weekly to daily

YUL/CDG - frequencies increased from daily to double daily

YUL/ATH – frequencies increased from 2 to 4 weekly

YUL/BCN – frequencies increased from 2 to 3 weekly

YUL/VCE – new 2 weekly nonstop service announced

YVR/KIX – new 5 weekly nonstop flights to be operated

14AUG edition

Finnair has officially revealed details of its Airbus A350-900 configuration and initial routes that it plans to deploy the aircraft on upon delivery in summer 2015. AY has ordered 11 units of the A350-900 along with 9 options. The main highlights are as follows:

i.                     Will seat 297 passengers with 46 in business class + 43 in premium economy + 208 economy class

ii.                   First three routes for the aircraft are BKK, PVG and PEK followed by HKG and SIN in 2016

Alitalia has officially announced that it has secured an investment of US$ 751 million from Etihad Airways for a 49% stake in the airline. The main highlights of the massive investment are as follows:

·         Focus to be on developing long haul routes and trimming the short haul EU network

·         Seven new wide body jets will be added to the AZ fleet along with 10 new long haul destinations by 2017

·         Short haul fleet to be scaled down by 13 units

·         AZ will operate additional new flights to AUH from Venice and Bologna

·         AZ will increase its current FCO-AUH flight from W14 season to a daily A332 operated service

·         Both MXP and FCO will be core focus long haul hubs

·         1600 jobs to be cut from AZ’s payroll

·         Revival of AZ’s dedicated cargo freighter business with airframe units added and the base to be MXP airport for this division

·         $150 million investment to be made by EY to purchase 75% of AZ’s frequent flier program

·         $70 million paid for 5 pair of London Heathrow slots by EY which would then be leased back to AZ

·         Long haul focus is primarily revolving around Italy-SE Asia + Italy-North America

Comments:

One new route that EY and AZ can coordinate their current schedules around is for AZ to extend its daily FCO-AUH service to CAN-Guangzhou, China which can be scheduled as follows:

AZ 852 Dep FCO 2245 Arr AUH 0635+1

AZ 852 Dep AUH 0830 Arr CAN 2030

AZ 853 Dep CAN 0200 Arr AUH 0615

AZ  853 Dep AUH 0815 Arr FCO 1245

The above mentioned schedule of AUH-CAN-AUH connects very well with EY’s entire GCC + EU + MENA + certain African markets which would in turn see an increase in S/F with the addition of CAN to the EY route network. CAN has also overtaken PVG as the #2 Chinese market for the GCC region. This schedule also allows AZ in turn to more or less maintain its current timings on FCO-AUH-FCO. CAN is also a fellow Sky Team hub of China Southern so the latter would also in turn be code sharing on the route thus offering additional feeder opportunities.  

With regards to its long haul fleet, I would suggest that in order to offer cost savings and to better streamline various efficiencies, AZ should try to gradually sell off its entire A332 (12 units) + B772ER (10 units) fleet of aircraft and revolve its future wide body aircraft around the Boeing 787-900 only. AZ still has 6 purchase options  for the B777s so these should in turn be converted to the B789 as this aircraft type can operate nonstop to any long haul destination from Italy without payload problems. It can seat 292 passengers in a 2 class configuration of 30J (flat beds 2-2-2) + 262Y (3-3-3 layout) thus offering the same capacity as their current B772ER aircraft but at an operating cost at least 15% lower ! For its freighter fleet though, with AZ already having captains trained on the B772s, it can either purchase new B772LRFs or convince Boeing (along with other airlines) to launch the B777 Pax to freighter conversion program so that it can save on capital acquisition costs by converting its current 10 B777s into freighters. For Asia, the cargo flights should be routed via AUH so that it can also be fed by EY in turn generating increasing revenue feeding opportunities.

Azerbaijan Airlines based out of Baku has disclosed that it will be launching a new nonstop flight to JFK-New York effective 24SEP14. J2 will be operating the service twice a week nonstop using a 237 seater A340-500 with the ex-Kingfisher Airlines configuration i.e. 36J + 201Y. The schedule is as follows:

Days – WED/SAT

J2 101 Dep GYD 0600 Arr JFK 0930

J2 102 Dep JFK 1130 Arr GYD 0800+1

Etihad Airways has unveiled a massive expansion plan of its medium and long haul route network in 2015 with many new destinations + capacity increases announced across the board. The main highlights are as follows:

MAD – new daily nonstop services effective 29MAR using an A332

HKG – new 4 weekly nonstop services effective 15JUN using an A332

ALG – new 3 weekly nonstop services effective 17JUN using an A333

CCU – new daily nonstop A320 services effective 15FEB using an A320 with a 11am departure out of AUH

EBB - new daily nonstop A320 services effective 01MAY using an A320

EDI - new daily nonstop services effective 08JUN using an A332

BNE – capacity increased with daily nonstop flights to be operated using a B789 effective 01JUN

DME – capacity increased to daily B789 + daily A320 effective 01JUN

CDG – capacity increased to daily B773ER + daily A346 effective 01MAR

SFO – new daily nonstop flights to be launched using a B773ER effective 18NOV14 with below mentioned schedule:

EY 183 Dep AUH 0215 Arr SFO 0630

EY 184 Dep SFO 0830 Arr AUH 1240+1

ALA – frequencies increased to 5 weekly using an A320 effective 05SEP14 using an A320

LHR – capacity increased with second daily A380 service effective 01MAR15 on EY 17/18.

Comments:

It shall be interesting to see how ALG survives without two way connections via AUH to China + how the local SFO market responds to an 0830am departure as that would be the earliest departure which means no connecting passengers flying into SFO from other U.S. West Coast cities can connect + the locals who live in the SFO area would have to reach the airport by 6am latest. It would be better if the SFO departure was at 1430 i.e. 6 hours later so that it would arrive into AUH at 1840 which is almost the same time as all the other USA-AUH EY flight arrivals.  

With regards to EY 17 being upgraded to the A380, the flight from AUH-LHR will be very light in the low season as it lacks immediate connections from Indian Subcontinent in particular as those pax prefer flying to LHR on EY 19 due to the shorter transit time in AUH. The return sector though i.e. EY 18 can support an A380 as it connects everywhere via AUH conveniently.

The 2014 Farnborough Air Show concluded a month ago with many companies placing significant orders for airplane units of which the main highlights were as follows:

i.                     Airbus launched the A330NEO which is the A338 (replacing the A332 as its NEO version) and A339 (replacing the A333 as its NEO version)

ii.                   Air Asia X ordered 50 A339s

iii.                  AerCap ordered 50 A320NEOs

iv.                 ALC ordered 25 A339s + 61 A321NEOs + 6 B773ERs + 20 B738MAXs

v.                   Air Mauritius ordered 6 A359s

vi.                 Avolon Leasing ordered 15 A339s + 5 B739MAXs + 6 B789s

vii.                 Qatar Airways ordered 50 B779s

viii.              Monarch UK ordered 30 B738MAXs

ix.                 Intrepid Aviation ordered 6 B773ERs

x.                   BOC Aviation ordered 43 A320s

xi.                 CIT Aerospace Leasing ordered 15 A338s + 5 A321s (current version) + 10 B789s

xii.                Transaero of Russia ordered 20 A338s

xiii.              Hainan Airlines ordered 50 B738MAXs

xiv.               An un-named African customer of Bombarider ordered 5 CS 300s

xv.               An “existing” Bombardier customer ordered 13 CS 300s

Emirates has announced that it will be launching a new nonstop flight to BUD-Budapest, Hungary effective 28OCT14. Services will be operated on a daily basis using an A332 with an 0820am departure from DXB with an arrival back at 2330 local time. Other capacity increases revealed by EK are as follows:

CMN – frequencies increased from daily to double daily i.e. daily B773ER + daily A345 effective 01SEP

FCO – capacity increased to double daily A380s effective 29AUG

Qatar Airways has announced many capacity increases to its medium haul network from SEP onwards of which the main highlights are as follows:

ISB – frequencies increased from daily to 9 weekly

MAD – frequencies increased from daily to 10 weekly nonstop flights; all operated with a B773ER

VIE – capacity increased from daily A320 to daily B787

MCT – frequencies increased from 4 to 5 times daily

IKA – frequencies increased from double daily to 18 weekly with the new 4 weekly flights offering direct connections from IAD/DFW/IAH/ORD to the Iranian capital.

NBO – frequencies increased to 19 times weekly effective 20NOV. This is expected to be further increased to triple daily from IATA S15 season onwards.

DPS – capacity reduced from daily A333 to daily B787

Turkish Airlines has officially announced that it shall be launching new daily nonstop flights to SFO-San Francisco, USA effective 13APR15. TK will be deploying a 349 seater Boeing 777-300ER on this new service offering good connections via IST in both directions to GCC, Central Asia, Africa, Indian Subcontinent and the MENA region. Other major capacity changes revealed by TK for the IATA S15 season are as follows:

ORD – capacity increased from a daily A332 to a daily B773ER

ICN – capacity increased from double daily A332 to daily B773ER + daily A333

SIN - capacity adjusted with daily nonstop terminator flights using an A332

CGK – capacity adjusted with daily nonstop terminator flights using an A343

Air France has announced many capacity changes for the upcoming IATA W14 season of which the main highlights are as follows:

SGN – frequencies reduced from 4 to 3 weekly nonstop flights using a B773ER

BLR – capacity increased from 6 weekly A332s to daily B772ERs

MIA – frequencies and capacity increased from 6 weekly B773ER to daily A380 effective 01DEC

PNR – frequencies increased from 5 to 6 weekly nonstop flights using an A332

BKK – frequencies increased from 5 weekly to daily nonstop using a B772ER

PTY – frequencies increased from 3 to 5 weekly nonstop flights using a B772ER

CAN – frequencies reduced from 5 to 4 weekly nonstop using a B772ER

ANA (All Nippon Airways) of Japan has placed a major order with Boeing for $13 billion worth of wide bodied aircraft consisting of 20 B779s + 14 B789s + 6 B773ERs. In addition, the carrier revealed the configuration of its B789s in both a domestic and long haul configuration which is as follows:

B789D – 395 seats i.e. 18J + 377Y

B789L – 215 seats i.e. 48J + 21Y+ + 146Y

The B789Ds will be replacing NH’s B772As on the domestic Japan routes.

Gulf Air has officially announced that it will be launching new flights to DME-Moscow, Russia effective 28OCT14 on a nonstop basis. Services will be flown 4 times per week using an A320ER with flat beds in business class. The schedule is as follows:

Days: MON/TUE/FRI/SAT

GF 14 Dep BAH 0905 Arr DME 1405

GF 15 Dep DME 1450 Arr BAH 1930

The above mentioned schedule offers good connections to GCC and India in both directions via BAH but not to BKK which is the biggest Asian market out of Moscow followed by Dubai. GF’s main competition from DME hails from EY triple daily + EK double daily A380s/B773s + QR double daily + TK six times daily.