Alitalia announces Beijing nonstop

Alitalia has officially announced that it will be launching new nonstop services to PEK-Beijing, China effective 18JUL16. 

The flights will be operated nonstop from its primary hub base i.e. FCO-Rome airport using an Airbus A330-200 four times per week. The schedule is as follows:

Days: 1/3/5/6

AZ 790 Dep FCO 1420 Arr PEK 0620+1
AZ 791 Dep PEK 0915 Arr FCO 1425

It marks a return for AZ into PEK after a 4 year gap. The 2015 P2P demand between PEK and Italy was as follows:

FCO/PEK - 136,000 pax
MXP/PEK - 102,000 pax

Turkish increases Male

Turkish Airlines has officially announced that due to peak season demand to Male, Maldives that originates from Europe during the winter season, it shall in turn significantly boost its capacity in line with market demand. 

Currently, TK operates daily A332 operated service to MLE that extends onwards to Colombo. However from the on set of the IATA W16 season i.e. 29OCT, these shall be raised to 10 weekly IST-MLE with the new 3 weekly flights being nonstop terminators. All 10 weekly services will be exclusively flown using the A330-200.

Air France new A330 configuration revealed

Air France has officially disclosed a new cabin configuration for its entire Airbus A330-200 fleet as the carrier seeks to modernize the interior in line with passenger expectations on long + medium haul flights.

AF confirmed that the business class seats will all be full flat bed seats by 2018 summer where as the new layout is as follows:

30 business class - flat beds
21 premium economy
175 economy class

Total - 226 seats in a 3 class layout
Fleet size - 15 units AF has of the A332

Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-04-05/air-france-to-upgrade-a330s-with-zodiac-lie-flat-business-seats

Etihad increases Johannesburg

Etihad Airways has officially announced that as a result of its failed partnership accord with South African Airways plus the need to boost its Johannesburg presence versus the increasing threat to its market share from Emirates, Turkish Airlines, Ethiopian and Qatar Airways in particular, it will be boosting its services into JNB effective 01JUL16.

Currently, EY operates a daily nonstop AUH-JNB-AUH service using an A330-200 however from 01JUL, this shall be raised to 10 weekly nonstop using the same aircraft type. The 3 new flights are scheduled as follows:

Days: 2/4/6

EY 602 Dep AUH 0145 Arr JNB 0825
EY 601 Dep JNB 0945 Arr LOS 2015

This new increased schedule allows key feeder markets such as PEK, PVG, ICN and NRT to be finally connected with JNB in both directions!

Thai increases Mumbai flights

Thai Airways has officially announced that due to surging demand for its Mumbai bound flights as well as the need to remain competitive versus Air India and Jet Airways on the BOM-BKK route, it will be boosting its services effective 02JUN16.

Currently, TG operates a daily B744 nonstop between BKK and BOM. However from June onwards, these shall be raised to 10 weekly nonstop with the 3 new weekly frequencies operated by the B777-200ER. 

Traffic demand in 2015 between BKK and BOM stood at 296,000 passengers P2P.

Austrian suspends Tokyo

Austrian Airlines has officially announced that due to declining yields and profitability, it shall be suspending all its services to NRT-Tokyo Narita airport effective 03SEP16.

OS currently operates a daily nonstop service using a B772ER from its Vienna hub into Tokyo but has felt the increasing pressure of EK, QR and TK into its market share on this route. 

In 2015, the P2P demand between VIE and Tokyo (HND + NRT) stood at 97,000 passengers hence a windfall for LH/LX/EK/QR/TK to tap into.

Air Canada increases Delhi frequencies

Air Canada has officially confirmed that it will be increasing frequencies to DEL-Delhi, India effective 30OCT. Currently, it operates 4 times per week using a B789 nonstop and from the W16 season, these will be raised to daily using the same aircraft type. 

AC has been witnessing good loads on this recently launched service and with oil prices being low + using a fuel efficient aircraft to operate a low yielding route like this one, its sustainability is viable. 

Air India increases Milan

Air India has officially announced that due to increasing demand for its Milan bound flights versus Rome, it shall be adjusting capacity accordingly for its Italy bound services from the on set of the IATA S16 season.

MXP/DEL - frequencies shall be increased from 3 to 4 weekly nonstop using a B788

FCO/DEL - frequencies shall be reduced from 4 to 3 weekly nonstop using a B788

The point to point demand between India to MXP/FCO in 2015 was as follows:

MXP-DEL...100,000
MXP-BOM...31,000
MXP-MAA...11,000
MXP-BLR...11,000
MXP-ATQ...23,000

FCO-DEL...75,000
FCO-BOM...34,000
FCO-ATQ...17,000
FCO-MAA...9,000
FCO-BLR...12,000

Emirates upgrades Vienna to A380

Emirates has officially announced that it will be increasing capacity on its popular Vienna service effective 01JUL16 as the carrier looks to take full advantage of the increasing point to point demand being now monopolized by them after the suspension of Austrian Airlines from this route. 

The rotation that has been increased in capacity from a daily B77W to A380 is EK 127/128 which departs DXB at 0855 and VIE at 1505 each respectively. The point to point demand between VIE and DXB in 2015 was 158,000 passengers which is quite impressive.

British Airways reduces Lagos capacity

In a clear sign of the downward trend that the Nigerian economy (along with all other oil based countries) is experiencing, British Airways has officially announced that it has reduced capacity on one of its most popular routes i.e. Lagos-London effective immediately which has been carried forward into the IATA S16 season. 

BA used to operate a daily B744 seating 347 pax where as its current B772ERs seat 226 which translates into a capacity drop of 35% !

Oman Air looking to Airbus A350s

Oman Air is considering placing an order for up to 13 Airbus A 350-900s as part of a deal to replace its Airbus A330-200/300 fleet from 2020 onwards. Currently, WY operates 6 A333s + 4 A332s + 4 B788s + 6 B789s.

Source: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oman-air-eyes-airbus-a350-plane-purchase-2016-03-10

Comments:

One does not see no justification for this as WY already will be having nearly 10 B787s (788s and 789s) by the time the A359s would get delivered. They dont have such a large fleet to warrant diversification. It is best to stick to one airplane family to meet their needs because if they required the larger capacity A359 to service any route, then they can instead easily order the B787-10 (781). 

In this way, their 2020-30 wide body fleet is revolving totally around the B787 family rather than A359 + B787. A standardized fleet in turn will result in synergies that translate into cost savings and better efficiency operationally.

American announces Los Angeles-Hong Kong daily

American Airlines has officially announced that it will be launching new daily nonstop flights from its secondary Los Angeles-LAX hub to HKG-Hong Kong effective 07SEP16.

Flights will be flown using AA's flagship Boeing 777-300ERs using the below mentioned schedule:

AA XXX Dep LAX 0155 Arr HKG 0810
AA XXX Dep HKG 2020 Arr LAX 1840

AA's main competitor on this route is their fellow One World member i.e. Cathay Pacific who operate LAX-HKG 4 times daily using a B77W.

Austrian announces Hong Kong

Austrian Airlines has officially announced that it will be launching new nonstop flights to HKG-Hong Kong from its primary Vienna hub effective 05SEP16.

Services shall be flown 5 times per week using a B777-200ER scheduled as follows:

Days: 1/2/3/5/6

OS 067 Dep VIE 1300 Arr HKG 0625+1
OS 068 Dep HKG 0940 Arr VIE 1610

In 2015, point to point traffic demand between VIE and HKG was 34,000 pax. 

Qatar Airways announces 14 new destinations

Qatar Airways has officially announced 14 new destinations that will be added into its rapidly expanding route network in 2016-17. The expansion is wide spread to Africa, Asia and Europe in order to generate the maximum network feed via Doha in both directions.

The new routes are as follows:

WDH (Windoek) - 4 weekly B788s effective 28SEP

KBV (Krabi) - 4 weekly A332s effective 06DEC

AKL (Auckland) - daily nonstop B77Ls effective 03DEC

HEL (Helsinki) - daily nonstop using an A320

SEZ (Seychelles) - daily nonstop using an A320NEO

SJJ (Sarajevo) - 3 weekly nonstop using an A320

DLA (Douala) - operated with a B788 but schedule not released

LBV (Libreville) - operated with a B788 but schedule not released

LUN (Lusaka) - operated with a B788 but schedule not released

CNX (Chiang Mai) - info not yet released
 
PSA (Pisa) - daily A320s

SKP (Skopje) - 3 weekly A320s 

RAK (Makkarech) - info not yet released

NCE (Nice) - info not yet released

Malaysia Airlines looking at large Airbus A350-900 order

Malaysia Airlines has officially announced that the airline has been very impressed with its financial performance over the past two quarter periods and is now considering a serious proposal to place a large order for additional Airbus A350-900s in order to replace its aging A330-300 fleet from 2019 onwards.

Currently MH has 15 A333s in service with an additional 2 A339s on order (dry lease). As far as the A359s are concerned, it has opted to dry lease 6 units (including 2 options) to be exclusively used on double daily KUL-LHR nonstop services.  

If the order proposal comes through, MH's future fleet would solely consist of 2 aircraft types only i.e. 36 B738s + 17 A359s which in turn would make the airline realize a lot of cost saving and operational synergies.  

Oman Air announces Mashad

Oman Air has officially announced that it will be growing its presence in Iran with a new nonstop service to MHD-Mashad, Iran effective 01JUN16 using a Boeing 737-700.

The schedule is a split daily operation ensuring it connects to key Asian and EU markets via MCT in both directions at least 3 times per week.

Days - 2/3/7

WY 453 Dep MCT 0125 Arr MHD 0440
WY 454 Dep MHD 0530 Arr MCT 0735

Days - 1/4/5/6

WY 451 Dep MCT 1400 Arr MHD 1715
WY 452 Dep MHD 2145 Arr MCT 2350

With Saudia and Gulf Air forcibly suspending MHD due to political reasons, the airline is looking to obtain vital feeder traffic support from its own BAH + DMM flights to help sustain the route in its early stages. 

Air China outlines Boeing 787 configuration and routes

Air China has officially announced details of its Boeing 787-9 cabin configuration as well as its initial long haul operational routes that it intends to deploy the aircraft on. 

Their B789s will accommodate 293 passengers in total in a 3 class layout i.e. 30 business (flat beds) + 34 premium economy + 229 economy class. 

The initial long haul routes that it will be operated on (replacing the A330-200) are nonstop flights from Beijing to Rome and Frankfurt.

Ethiopian increases Toronto

Ethiopian Airlines has officially announced that it will be increasing its presence in the Toronto marketplace by adding a new 4th weekly service from its Addis Ababa hub effective 01JUL16. 

All flight will be operated via DUB to YYZ but nonstop on the return leg from YYZ to ADD using a B787-8. The flight schedule is as follows:

Days: 1/3/5/6

ET 502 Dep ADD 2240 Arr DUB 0450+1
ET 502 Dep DUB 0635+1 Arr YYZ  0830+1
ET 503 Dep YYZ 1120 Arr ADD 0725+1

USA carriers desire for Cuba

USA carriers have formally put forward their wish list to be granted for the upcoming Cuba flight rights which is summarized as below:

American Airlines

*All flights using B738s

• 10 daily Miami-Havana 
• Daily each respectively from Charlotte + Dallas 
• Once a week from Los Angeles + Chicago
• Double daily from Miami to Santa Clara, Holguin and Varadero each respectively

Alaskan Airlines

• Double daily Los Angeles-Havana using B739ERs

Delta Airlines

• Daily JFK-Havana using a B757
• Daily Atlanta-Havana using a B757
• Daily Miami-Havana using a B738
• Daily Orlando-Havana using a B738

Jetblue 

• Four daily Fort Lauderdale-Havana using a mixture of A321s and A320s
• Double daily JFK-Havana using an A321
• Double daily Orlando-Havana using a mixture of A321s and A320s
• Double daily Tampa-Havana using an A320
• Daily from Newark and Boston to Havana using an A320
• Daily A320s from Fort Lauderdale to Camagüey, Holguiìn and Santa Clara 

Southwest Airlines

•  Daily Fort Lauderdale-Havana
• Daily Orlando-Havana
• Daily Tampa-Havana
• Daily Fort Lauderdale to Varadero and Santa Clara 

United Airlines

•  Daily Newark-Havana using a B738
• Three weekly Chicago-Havana using a B738

Air China orders 12 Airbus A330-300s

Air China has officially announced that it has placed a confirmed order with Airbus for 12 additional Airbus A 330-300IGWs. All 12 aircraft will be delivered between 2017-18 and shall be used initially for incremental growth followed by gradually replacing its oldest A330-200s on long haul European routes. 

CA currently has in its fleet 30 A332s + 23 A333s. With this incremental order, it totals 65 A330s.