News in March 2012

Fly Dubai has officially announced major expansion plans for its route network for the IATA S12 season of which the main highlights are as follows:

*All flights are operated with a 189 seater B737-800s

BGW - frequencies increased from 4 weekly to daily nonstop flights

JED - frequencies increased from daily to 18 weekly nonstop flights

RUH - frequencies increased from daily to double daily nonstop flights

CGP - frequencies increased from 6 to 10 weekly nonstop flights

SAH - flights to be launched with 4 instead of 3 weekly nonstop flights

TBS - frequencies increased from 2 to 3 weekly nonstop flights

ASB - frequencies increased from 4 to 5 weekly nonstop flights

KTM - frequencies reduced from double daily to daily nonstop flights

Emirates has officially announced that it will be launching new nonstop flights to IAD-Washington DC effective 12SEP 2012. Frequencies will be daily from the on set using a 3 class 354 seater Boeing 777-300ER with the below mentioned schedule:

EK 231 Dep DXB 0220 Arr IAD 0850
EK 232 Dep IAD 1055 Arr DXB 0800+1

The above mentioned schedule offers excellent connections in both directions to India, KHI, DAC, CMB, ADD, NBO, JNB, BKK, SIN, KUL and the GCC region.

In addition, EK too confirmed that it will be launching an additional 5th daily nonstop flight to KHI-Karachi, Pakistan effective 01AUG 2012 with a 2 class Boeing 777-300ER (434 seater). The new flight will depart DXB at 1455 and arrive back into DXB by 2050. This new flight has been added to ensure seamless connectivity out of LAX/DFW/BAH/DOH/KWI to KHI with only a 2 hour in DXB versus the 6 hours presently endured by pax arriving from USA in particular.

Comments:

This announcement by Emirates in terms of flight launch date in particular is purposely done due to a major mistake by Etihad as one does not announce a new long haul route such as AUH-IAD a year in advance thus giving your direct competition such as EK/TK/QR to plan what actions are required to counter the EY entry into the market in terms of frequency/capacity increase. With EK launching IAD a full 6 months before Etihad, it provides them ample lead time to get corporate/consolidator contracts in place and take away a good chunk of the market from EY!

Where EK will succeed in IAD is getting Africa and India bound traffic versus EY who cannot capture this type of traffic because their flights do not connect via AUH to NBO/JNB + they use A320s to India so huge capacity bottleneck situation arises. IAD-Africa (especially JNB ADD NBO) is huge volume i.e. IAD-ADD alone is bigger than IAD-PAK + IAD-CMB + IAD-DAC combined together. Plus also note that with the SPA deal with Fly Dubai, EK will capture a lot of traffic bound to Central Asia, Iraq and Kabul on board its flights.


Kenya Airways has officially announced that it shall be launching new nonstop flights to DEL-Delhi, India effective 15MAY 2012 as the carrier looks to take advantage of the massive increase of traffic between Northern India and Africa. KQ will operate a Boeing 767-300ER on this new route 4 times per week nonstop from its Nairobi hub. It is forecasted that if the route performs well, it shall be increased to a daily frequency within 6 months of the launch with a possible extension to Seoul with 5th freedom traffic rights. The schedule of the new DEL flight is as follows:

KQ 220 Dep NBO 1400 Arr DEL 2330
KQ 221 Dep DEL 0100 Arr NBO 0530

In addition, KQ too confirmed that it is increasing its services to JED-Jeddah, Saudi Arabia effective 03JUL 2012 as the carrier looks to exploit the ever increasing labor market segment between KSA and Kenya along with the Umrah/Hajj market segment. Frequencies shall be increased from the present 2 to 3 weekly nonstop flights using a Boeing 737-700.

Virgin Atlantic has officially announced that it shall be reinstating services to BOM-Mumbai, India effective 28OCT 2012. Frequencies shall be daily operated nonstop from London Heathrow airport using its new Airbus A 330-300s (266 seater). The schedule however of this new BOM service is different from its old one as it allows perfect connections via LHR in both directions to its entire U.S. network. The schedule is as follows:

Daily A333 (33J / 48Y+ / 185Y)

VS 354 Dep LHR 1015 Arr BOM 0055+1
VS 355 Dep BOM 0310 Arr LHR 0755

Etihad Airways has officially announced that it has secured bilateral approval from the Egyptian Govt to further increase its services to CAI-Cairo, Egypt effective June 2012. Currently, Etihad operates double daily nonstop flights from AUH to CAI with A320s exclusively. These shall be increased to 18 times per week effective June 2012 as well resulting in a significant increase of capacity which the main highlights are as follows:

14 weekly A320s increased to 18 weekly i.e. daily A330 + 11 weekly A320

Days 1/2/4/6 (new flight schedule)

EY 651 Dep AUH 0055 Arr CAI 0245
EY 650 Dep CAI 0330 Arr AUH 0910

Gulf Air has officially announced major changes to its IATA S12 schedule to Europe and Medina of which the main highlights are as follows:

FRA – frequencies increased from daily to 11 weekly effective July 3rd

CPH – frequencies increased from 5 weekly to daily effective June 1^st

CDG – frequencies increased from daily to 10 weekly effective July 4th

MED – frequencies increased from 5 to 6 weekly effective May 19th

Singapore Airlines's new long haul low cost subsidiary called Scoot Airlines has officially announced its launch plan that will come into effect from 26JUN 2012. OQ revealed that its first 2 routes shall be Sydney and Gold Coast in Australia. SYD shall be operated on a daily basis nonstop where as OOL shall be flown 5 times per week. All routes are to be operated using an all economy class configured Boeing 777-200ER.

Lufthansa has officially announced that it is very keen on purchasing the largest version of the Boeing 787 family i.e. the Boeing 787-100X which is expected to seat 323 passengers in a 3 class configuration and can operate nonstop flights up to a range of Manila-Los Angeles without any payload restrictions. LH is reviewing this aircraft type as a long term replacement for its fleet of aging Airbus A340-300s in particular.

Comments:

Currently out of a fleet of 279 aircraft, 84 are Boeing manufactured and from this figure 28 are wide bodied Boeing 747-400s. Airbus dominates the fleet mix of LH and it is highly unlikely that they will just sit by and let Boeing have a field day. They will definitely offer Lufthansa an unbeatable offer for their Airbus A350-900s which is the main direct competitor to the B781X which should include a purchase/exchange swap for LH’s A343s for a sizeable A359 order.

Emirates has officially announced that it shall be increasing its services to FCO-Rome effective 01OCT 2012 as the carrier looks to further increase its market share on the high volume Rome-Asia and Rome-GCC market segments respectively. Frequencies shall be raised from double to triple daily nonstop flights using an A332 daily + A380 daily + B773ER daily. The schedule of the new daily frequency is a departure from DXB at 0300 with an arrival back at 1900 using an 3 class configured 237 seater A332. The top markets that feed currently EK’s FCO bound flights are DXB, Australia, JKT, MLE, Japan, ICN, BKK and BOM.

Malaysia Airlines has officially revealed the configuration of its new Airbus A380s which shall be arriving during the upcoming summer season to the airline. It will be seating 494 passengers in a 3 class configuration i.e. 8 first class + 64 business class + 422 economy class. Its first two routes shall be London Heathrow and Sydney.

Qatar Airways has officially revealed the configuration of its upcoming Boeing 787-800s that shall be used to replace A332s on medium haul sectors as well as boost capacity on existing routes where demand exists. QR takes delivery of 5 B788s this year and the seat layout states 254 passengers i.e. 22 business + 232 economy class. The first route it shall be deployed on is the flagship DOH-LHR sector . QR also revealed a new business class product for its B787 that sees the seat pitch being 80 inches and the seat width 22 inches.

In addition, QR too officially announced that it shall be majorly expanding its route network with the addition of 5 new destinations effective May 2012:

EBL – new 4 weekly frequencies using an A320

BGW – new 4 weekly frequencies using an A320

JRO – new daily flights using an A320 via NBO

BEG – new 4 weekly frequencies using an A320 via ESB

RGN – new 3 weekly nonstop flights using an A319LR

Iberia Airlines of Spain has officially announced that it shall be suspending all services to JNB-Johannesburg, South Africa effective 01MAY 2012. Currently, IB operates a 3 weekly nonstop service using an Airbus A340-300 out of its Madrid hub base. IB cites high operating costs and lower than average yields for the suspension.

Hainan Airlines of China has officially announced that it shall be increasing its presence in Europe from its Beijing hub base effective July 2012 in the following manner:

PEK/TXL (Berlin) – frequencies increased from 4 to 5 weekly nonstop flights using an A332

PEK/BRU – frequencies increased from 6 weekly to daily nonstop flights using an A332

Comments:

Hainan should seriously consider deploying its A346s to launch Manchester-Beijing nonstop as the potential is massive considering there is no nonstop link between MAN and the Far East much to the delight of KLM, LH, EK, QR and EY who are reaping the benefits of this. PEK-MAN alone has a O&D market size of over 60,000 passengers per year where as demand to Hong Kong is double of that. MAN is the main gateway airport to the Northern UK as well as a big market for cargo which is always of keen interest to the Asian carriers. Initially, a four weekly MAN-PEK nonstop service operated with an A346 (since an A332 would struggle with payload limitations) + a SPA with Flybe for feeder traffic to/from MAN + transfer traffic bound to MNL/PVG/CAN/ICN/Japan/TPE/HKG shall in all prove to be very useful in the long run.

As part of its on-going efforts to downsize operations to keep a skeleton schedule operational whilst it resolves its cash crunch situation, Kingfisher Airlines has officially announced radical cut backs to its international route network of which the main highlights are as follows:

DEL/LHR – daily nonstop flights operated by an A332 suspended effective 10APR

BOM/LHR - daily nonstop flights operated by an A332 suspended effective 16APR

DEL/BKK – daily nonstop flights operated by an A320 suspended

DEL/KTM - daily nonstop flights operated by an A320 suspended

BOM/BKK - daily nonstop flights operated by an A320 suspended

CCU/BKK - daily nonstop flights operated by an A320 suspended

Etihad Airways has officially announced yesterday evening that they will be further increasing their services to both Kuwait and Dammam effective 01APR 2012 of which the main highlights are as follows:

DMM - bilateral approval obtained to increase from the current 13 to 16 weekly frequencies using A320s for all flights. The additional flights depart AUH at 0200 and return back by 0655am AUH time respectively which is similar to our newly introduced GF 119/120 service launched since 30OCT and doing well.

KWI - frequencies increased from 21 to 25 flights per week using an A320. The additional flights depart AUH at 2045 and arrive back by 0100 AUH time respectively.

Austrian Airlines has officially announced that it shall be reducing its service to PEK-Beijing, China effective 25MAR 2012 as the carrier looks to cut costs wherever possible due to a grave concern with increasing fuel prices. OS currently operates a daily B767-300ER nonstop from VIE to PEK, but these shall be reduced to 5 weekly services using the same aircraft type from end March.

Fly Dubai has officially announced that it shall be launching new nonstop services to SAH-Sanaa, Yemen effective 22APR 2012. FZ shall be operating the route four times per week using a 189 seater B737-800 with its primary target markets being O&D to DXB and transfer traffic to nearby GCC destinations.

Boeing has officially announced that it shall be launching 2 new Boeing 777 models + 1 new Boeing 787 model from November 2012 of which the main highlights are as follows:

B 777-800X (778) - range is 14,800KM seating 353 pax in a 3 class configuration

B 777-900X (779) - range will be the same i.e. 14,800KM but will seat 407 pax in a 3 class configuration; this will be a replacement of the B773ER and can fly DXB-LAX/SFO/SYD/GRU nonstop without any payload issues.

Boeing 787-100X - range will be 14,000KM and will seat 323 pax in a 3 class configuration; this will be the direct replacement of the B772ER

Comments:

One does not think that the B778 will be a popular choice for airlines as it brings nothing special to the table. However, the B779 shall definitely be as it would be seating 57 more pax versus the A350-1000X and only offering a flying range capability of 800KM less. Emirates has been a key driver of this program and one can definitely expect it to order many of the type as its primary requirement was to have an aircraft the size of a B773ER or slightly larger that could operate with a full load of pax + cargo from DXB to the U.S. West Coast and South America which the B779 is slated to. In turn, one can now also expect QR's CEO to follow suit and order many as well which in turn will result in the carrier dumping the A351 if Airbus does not listen to his demands as the A351 program is heading down the same road as the A346HGW!

One more appetizing feature of the B779 is that according to its specifications, it shall also be able to fly nonstop with a full payload from both BOM and DEL to ORD-Chicago which can prove to be a really attractive proposition for 9W/UA/AI/AA to ponder over their long term fleet requirments!


Saudia Airlines has officially announced that it shall be dramatically increasing its presence in ADD-Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from the on set of the IATA S12 season i.e. 25MAR 2012 in the following manner:

JED/ADD - all 4 weekly nonstop flights currently operated with A320s shall be upgraded to 4 weekly A333s (298 seater)

RUH/ADD - new 3 weekly nonstop flights to be launched using an A320 effective 27MAR with the following schedule:

Days: 2/4/7

SV 425 Dep RUH 0905 Arr ADD 1220
SV 424 Dep ADD 1400 Arr RUH 1710

This will result in SV offering an additional 2080 r/t seats per week on the KSA-ADD route effective end March !


Air India has officially announced major changes to its entire Middle East operation that are to take effect from 25MAR 2012 onwards. The main highlights are as follows:

DEL/BAH - new daily nonstop flights launched with an A319

DEL/RUH - frequencies increased from 2 to 3 weekly nonstop flights using a B777

DEL/DXB - frequencies increased from daily B777 to double daily i.e. daily A321 + daily A319

DEL/DMM - frequencies increased from 2 weekly B777s to daily A319s

DEL/MCT - capacity reduced from daily A320 to daily A319

DEL/JED - capacity increased from 3 weekly A332s to 3 weekly B777s

BOM/DXB - frequencies increased from daily to double daily i.e. daily A321 + daily A332

BOM/JED - capacity increased from 4 weekly A332s to 4 weekly B777s

COK/RUH - capacity increased from 2 weekly B777 to 2 weekly B744

TRV/RUH - capacity increased from 2 weekly B777 to 2 weekly B744

CCJ/DXB - capacity increased from daily A320 to daily A321

HYD/DMM - all 4 weekly flights canceled

BOM/DMM - all 3 weekly flights canceled

Lastly, the airline has been cited by the Indian media, that it intends to launch new nonstop flights to MEL-Melbourne, Australia out of its Delhi hub from the on set of the IATA W12 season i.e. 26OCT 2012. AI would be utilizing its brand new Boeing 787-800s on this sector which seat 256 passengers in a 2 class configuration i.e. 18J + 238Y. Service is expected to initially be operated 4 times per week with connections via DEL available to LHR, DAC and KTM along with domestic India.


China Southern Airlines based out of Guangzhou, China has officially announced that it has placed a new order for 10 Boeing 777-300ERs earlier on this week as the carrier looks to replace its aging B772ER fleet along with older Airbus A330-200 models operated on long haul routes with fuel efficient aircraft offering the best performance economics. Deliveries of these B773ERs will begin from Winter 2013 and shall last till 2016. The routes it intends to deploy these aircraft on are Paris, Los Angeles, London Heathrow and Vancouver.


Cathay Pacific has officially announced that it shall be reducing its services to the Middle East region from the on set of the IATA S12 season in the following manner:

BAH - frequencies reduced from daily to 4 weekly flights

AUH - frequencies reduced from 4 to 3 weekly flights


Etihad Airways has officially announced that they shall be launching new nonstop services to BSR-Basra, Iraq effective 15APR 2012.Flights shall be operated 4 times per week using an A320 with a 0945 departure from AUH and arrival back by 1445 thus enabling excellent connections into BSR from all over Europe/ISC/GCC and Far East. Out of BSR though the transit time is ok for Asia/GCC but 10 hours for all European flights!


Emirates has officially announced that they shall be increasing their services to both Doha and Kuwait effective 01AUG 2012 onwards in the following manner:

DOH – frequencies increased from 35 to 42 flights per week i.e. triple daily B777-300s (354 seater) + triple daily A332s (278 seater)

KWI – frequencies increased from 28 to 35 flights per week i.e. 24 weekly B777-300s (354 seater) + 11 weekly A332s (278 seater)

The new flights depart DXB at 10am and arrive back by 2pm in order to feed their late afternoon European departure hub wave bank which is between 330-430pm DXB time. EK too confirmed that it has in sights a plan to launch new daily nonstop flights to IAD-Washington DC in the short term future using a 3 class configured Boeing 777-300ER. If finalized, it is expected to be launched few months before Etihad's launch in March 2013.


Jet Airways of India has officially announced that it shall be significantly increasing its presence at DMM-Dammam airport effective 17MAR 2012. Currently, 9W operates a daily nonstop service from both TRV and BOM into DMM using a B737-800. However from 17MAR 2012, 9W will be launching new 4 weekly nonstop flights from DEL to DMM using the same aircraft type. This seems to be a direct response to Air India who only yesterday announced that they are increasing DEL-DMM from 2 weekly B777s to a daily A319 service.


Hainan Airlines of China has officially announced that it shall be increasing its services to YYZ-Toronto effective 20JUL 2012 by adding a new 4th weekly nonstop service out of its primary PEK-Beijing hub base. HU shall be using an Airbus A340-600 for all PEK-YYZ flights which seat 288 passengers in a 3 class configuration i.e. 8F/60J/220Y (ex Cathay aircraft).


British Airways has officially announced that the initial routes it intends on operating its Airbus A380s are New York JFK, Beijing, Hong Kong and Singapore as the carrier looks to deploy the aircraft on its highest yielding premium long haul markets from the on set. JFK will be served with a twice a daily frequency where as PEK, HKG and SIN would be daily initially until more aircraft get delivered.


Japan Airlines has officially announced that it shall be launching 2 new long haul routes out of its NRT-Tokyo Narita hub from the on set of the IATA Winter 2012 season of which the main highlights are as follows:

HEL - new 4 weekly nonstop flights using a B787-800 effective 01MAR 2013

SAN (San Diego) - new 4 weekly nonstop flights using a B787-800 effective 01DEC 2012

News till 12FEB

Turkish Airlines has officially announced that it will be launching an additional 3rd daily nonstop flight to New York's JFK airport effective 28MAY 2012. The new service will be operated with an Airbus A 330-300 where as the remaining two are with a Boeing 777-300ER. The schedule of the 3 daily TK operated flights are as follows:

Dep IST 0725/1100/1715 Arr JFK 1120/1445/2100
Dep JFK 1250/1645/2300 Arr IST 0540/0925/1540

The 3rd daily frequency is the one that departs IST at 0725 and arrives back into IST at 0540 the next day. In addition, TK also confirmed that it shall be increasing capacity on its Istanbul-Seoul service effective 11MAY onwards from daily A343 service to 2 weekly B773ER + 5 weekly A343s.


PIA of Pakistan has officially revealed on the GDS system that they will be suspending all services to ORD-Chicago O Hare Airport effective 24MAR 2012. PK currently operates twice weekly services from Karachi via Lahore and Barcelona to ORD using a B 777-200ER. With Emirates launching new daily B777 services to BCN along with QR in turn further increasing BCN from daily to 10 weekly A330s, the writing is on the wall for PIA in Spain!


Gulf Air has officially announced that it has been awarded additional frequencies to Jeddah and Riyadh effective 01MAR 2012. The main highlights are as follows:

JED - frequencies increased from 10 to 14 weekly i.e. 10 weekly A332s + 4 weekly A320s

RUH - frequencies increased from 14 to 21 weekly i.e. 7 weekly A320s + 14 weekly A332s.


Etihad Airways and Air Berlin have officially announced a massive increase in services to UAE, Thailand and Germany from the on set of the IATA S12 season as the two carriers look to take maximum advantage of both market segments after EY purchased a 29% stake in AB. The main highlights are as follows:

AUH/BKK - frequencies increased by EY from double to triple daily flights using a B777-300ER for all services. EY's B777s seat 412 pax in a 2 class configuration

TXL (Berlin)/AUH/HKT (Phuket) - AB will launch new daily flights to Phuket from Berlin via Abu Dhabi with full 5th freedom rights using an A332. As a result TXL-AUH will be increased from the current 4 weekly to daily flights.

AUH/DUS - new daily nonstop frequencies operated by AB using an A332.

AUH/DUS - EY increases frequencies from 4 to daily flights using an A333. As a result, DUS-AUH is operated double daily by EY/AB !

In addition, EY too confirmed that it will be launching new 6 weekly nonstop flights to LOS-Lagos, Nigeria effective 01JUL 2012. An Airbus A 330-200 shall be used to operate this new service with a split schedule i.e. three flights departing AUH at 0200 and three at 0900.

Qatar Airways today has officially revealed another set of major capacity and frequency increases for the IATA S12 season of which the main highlights are as follows:

KUL – frequencies increased from 13 to 16 times per week nonstop operating with B773ERs.

JKT – frequencies increased from daily to 10 weekly nonstop flights using an A333.

MAD – capacity increased from daily A332 to daily B773ER.

ALG – frequencies increased from daily to 11 weekly nonstop operating with A332s.

LOS – capacity increased from daily A332 to daily A333.

CAI – frequencies increased from 9 to 12 weekly nonstop flights i.e. daily B773ER + 5 weekly A320.

GVA – capacity reduced from daily A332 to 4 weekly A319s + 3 weekly A332s.

DAR – capacity increased to double daily nonstop services using an A320 versus current flights routed 1 daily nonstop + 1 daily via NBO.

Emirates has officially announced that it will be operating a new 3^rd daily nonstop flight to MXP-Milan effective 01JUN 2012. The new 3^rd daily flight shall be operated with an A330-200 where as the other two are operated with B777-300s. The other 2 flights depart DXB at 0855 and 1550 respectively. It is expected that services to FCO-Rome will be increased from double to triple daily effective Sept 2012.

The flight scheduled for the new 3^rd daily frequency is as follows:

EK 101 Dep DXB 0340 Arr MXP 0825
EK 102 Dep MXP 1110 Arr DXB 1920

Safi Airways of Afghanistan has officially announced that it shall be increasing its flights on its most popular route i.e. Kabul-Dubai from the on set of the IATA S12 season i.e. 26MAR 2012. Currently 4Q operates double daily nonstop flights on this sector using Airbus A320s, these shall now be increased to 18 weekly flights using the same aircraft type.


Jet Airways of India has officially announced that it shall be reducing services to the Middle East region from March 2012 onwards as the carrier redeploys capacity on more profitable services. The main highlights are as follows:

DEL/AUH - frequencies reduced from daily to 5 weekly using B737s.

DEL/DOH - frequencies reduced from daily to 5 weekly using B737s.

Biman Bangladesh has officially announced that it shall be increasing its services to HKG-Hong Kong, China from its Dhaka hub base effective 26MAR 2012. Currently, BG operates 2 weekly nonstop flights on the DAC-HKG route using a DC10, however these shall be increased to 3 weekly flights using the same aircraft type.


Korean Air has officially announced that it will be resuming flights to CAI-Cairo effective 24SEP 2012. KE will operating the service this time nonstop from its ICN-Seoul base using an Airbus A 330-200IGW on a twice weekly basis only. This service by an A332 will be one of the longest A332 operated flights worldwide along side its CZ's CAN-LHR, HX's HKG-LGW, KE's ICN-NBO and KE's LAS-ICN.

Cebu Pacific, a low cost airline based in the Philippines has officially announced that it will be launching a new long haul low cost services from Manila to the Middle East, Europe, Asia and North America with a fleet of 8 new all economy class configured Airbus A 330-300s. These all Y class A333s will be seating 387 passengers and can fly nonstop from Manila to UAE westwards and Hawaii eastwards. It claims that it will be offering fares 35% lower than the scheduled carriers on the high volume Middle east routes in particular and shall be operating to Europe with 5th freedom rights via the Middle East.


The state of Venezuela has officially announced that it has signed a deal to purchase 4 Airbus A 340-500 planes from UAE's Etihad Airways to be used by its own state owned airline i.e. Conviasa. These 4 jets were bought for US$60 million along with a side order being placed for 20 Embraer E90 to enhance its regional operations in Central America.


Air Astana of Kazakhstan has officially announced that it has placed an order with Boeing, Airbus and Embraer this week for a variety of jets to fully revitalize its fleet for the upcoming decade. The breakdown of the order is 3 Boeing 767-300ERs + 3 Boeing 787-800s + 2 Embraer E190s + 4 Airbus A 320-200s.

Norwegian Airlines has officially announced that it has placed on record Europe's largest ever order earlier on this week by announcing a deal to purchase 372 aircraft both from Boeing and Airbus. The breakdown of the order is as follows:

22 firm Boeing 737-800s + 100 firm Boeing 737-800MAX along with another 100 options
100 firm Airbus A320NEOs + 50 options

The airline's primary hub is at Oslo airport but also has large operations at Copenhagen and Stockholm airports respectively. It also has 6 Boeing 787-800s on order with Boeing of which the first is expected to be delivered in Q3 2012 and shall be configured in a 2 class configuration seating 291 passengers i.e. 36 premium economy and 255 economy. These aircraft will be used on new long haul services to New York, Bangkok and Beijing.

Comments:

Just like the rest of the world, I too was quite shocked when I had initially read of this order placed on Wednesday as it made no commercial sense. To be frank, I personally do not think that this order placed by the airline is for itself to be deployed all across its network. One feels that this order has been placed more like an investment where by Norwegian Airlines by buying these jets in massive bulk has obviously managed to obtain a huge discount and hence will use that to its advantage in the future to either sell or lease out the aircraft upon delivery and make a good profit by doing so since the value of the MAX and NEO by the time they get delivered in 2017-18 would have appreciated considerably.

There is no way that an airline with Norway as a primary home market can even support 100 aircraft as part of its fleet, let alone have a huge network unless it has multiple hubs across Europe but that too the intense competition will not allow it to make healthy profits. It is also worth mentioning that no pure low cost carrier maintains two different types of narrow body aircraft as part of its fleet mix. Hence my earlier point stating that I feel this is more of an investment and we could see the airline creating a strong subsidiary leasing company that would handle lease/sale agreements of a majority of these aircraft upon delivery.


Emirates has officially announced that it will be embarking on a major expansion of its Spanish bound services as the carrier confirmed that it shall be launching new nonstop flights to BCN-Barcelona effective 03JUL 2012. EK will be launching the route aggressively with a daily service using a 354 seater Boeing 777-300ER. In addition, it shall also be increasing capacity to MAD-Madrid, Spain by adding a second daily nonstop service to the city with both flights being operated with a B 773ER as well. EK's aggressiveness in Spain is viewed by many to be directly aimed at Qatar Airways as well as to further irritate Lufthansa and its Star Alliance partners in Europe who shall see their market share from Spain to Far East Asia and Indian sub-continent further evaporate.


Thai Airways has officially announced that it shall be increasing frequencies to ARN-Stockholm, Sweden effective 28OCT 2012 i.e. on set of the IATA Winter 2012 season as the carrier looks to capitalize on the ever increasing popularity of Thailand as an affordable destination for Swedish nationals. Frequencies are to be increased from the current daily services using a B747-400 to 9 times per week with the same aircraft type. The additional two frequencies will be tagged on to HKT-Phuket. In addition, TG also announced that as a result of ARN being increased, its services to CPH-Copenhagen will decrease in turn from 10 to 9 weekly flights from BKK using a B747-400 as well.


Asiana Airlines of South Korea has officially announced that it will be significantly increasing its presence in the U.S. market from July 2012 as the carrier looks to further consolidate its presence in this key market segment as it gets more new A330s and B777s delivered. The main highlights are as follows:

ORD - frequencies increased from 4 weekly to daily nonstop flights using a B772ER.

SEA - frequencies increased from 5 to 6 weekly nonstop flights using an A333.

HNL - frequencies increased from 2 weekly to daily nonstop flights using an A333.


In a further sign of its growing concern of the intense competitive state of the Indian market, Air France has officially announced that it shall be reducing services to all 3 of its Indian gateway points for the entire IATA Summer 2012 season in the following manner:

DEL - frequencies reduced from daily to 6 weekly flights using an A343.

BOM - frequencies and capacity reduced from daily to 6 weekly flights using an A332.

BLR - frequencies reduced from daily to 6 weekly flights using an A332.


Biman Bangladesh has officially announced that it will be implementing major capacity adjustments across its medium and long haul network for the IATA Summer 2012 season of which the main highlights are as follows:

KWI – frequencies increased from 3 to 4 weekly flights using an A310.

MCT – frequencies increased from 3 to 4 weekly flights using a DC10.

LHR – frequencies reduced from 5 to 3 weekly nonstop flights using a B773ER.

KHI – frequencies increased from 2 to 3 weekly nonstop flights using a B738.

CCU – frequencies increased from daily to 10 weekly flights.

DXB – frequencies reduced from 10 to 6 weekly flights using a mixture of A310s/DC10s.

DEL – frequencies increased from 2 to 4 weekly nonstop flights using a B738.

Aeroflot has officially announced that it shall be increasing frequencies to Beijing, New York, Los Angeles and Havana from June 2012 onwards in the following manner:

PEK – frequencies increased from double daily to 16 weekly flights using a B763ER 9 weekly and an A333 daily.

LAX – frequencies increased from 4 to 5 times per week nonstop using an A332.

JFK – frequencies increased from daily to double daily flights using an A333.

HAV – frequencies increased from 4 to 5 times per week nonstop using an A332.

Qatar Airways has officially announced that it will be reconfiguring few of its Boeing 777-300ERs in a high density 2 class configuration used exclusively all volume metric routes to Asia where there is minimal demand for business class travel. Currently, QR’s B773ERs seat 335 pax i.e. 42J + 293Y however the new configuration will see 24 business class and 356 economy class with the total seat count increasing to 380 passengers. The routes that these B77Ws will operate to are Manila, Bangkok, Hanoi and later on Jeddah + Islamabad. This is an extremely smart move by QR as it will help reduce its operating cost per seat unit down on these high demand sectors where price competitiveness is key to gaining volume.

RAK Airways of Ras Al Khaimeah, UAE has officially announced that it will be launching 2 new destinations shortly as the carrier continues to grow its medium haul network with its small fleet of Boeing 737-800s. The main highlights are as follows:

BKK – new 4 weekly nonstop flights to be launched using a B738 effective 01JUN.

KTM – new 3 weekly nonstop flights to be launched using a B738 effective 15FEB.

Virgin Atlantic has officially announced that it will be returning back to Airbus 4 out of its fleet of 19 Airbus A340-600s effective October 2012 as the carrier takes delivery of more Airbus A330-300s which shall be used to replace the A346s on trans-atlantic missions in particular. These 4 A346s are early models of the variant i.e. manufactured in 2002 and seat 309 passengers in a 3 class configuration i.e. 46J + 38P + 225Y. It will be interesting to see which airline decides to snap them up though I would place a bet being Aerolineas Argentina as they desperately need to replace their ageing fleet of 3 B747-400s asap.

News between 15JAN-21JAN

Cathay Pacific has officially announced that it has signed an order confirmation with Airbus for 6 more Airbus A350-900s as the carrier looks to fast track the phase out of its aging A343 and B744 fleet by 2016-17. The aircraft shall be used on medium density long haul routes to Europe and Australia. With the signing of this order, the total number of A359s ordered by CX increases to 36.


China Airlines of Taiwan has officially announced that due to heavy losses and below par loads, it shall be suspending all its services to LHR-London Heathrow effective 25MAR 2012. CI launched the route from 28MAR 2010 operated with a 3 weekly nonstop frequency using an Airbus A340-300. Currently, the airline operates 2 weekly services in order to cut the heavy loss burden.


Emirates has officially announced that it will be further increasing its services to the Northern Pakistan cities of Lahore and Islamabad from February 2012 as the carrier was awarded more bilateral access into this high volume, high yielding market segment. Services to Islamabad shall be increased to 8 times per week with all flights being operated with a two class configured 442 seater Boeing 777-300ER where as operations to Lahore will also in turn be increased to 8 times per week but with a standardized schedule using a B773ER five times per week + an A332 three times per week. The schedule for LHE has been changed as the carrier looks to capitalize heavily on the high volume LHE-JED and LHE-North America market segments. In addition, EK too revealed many other capacity changes for its IATA Summer 2012 schedule of which the main highlights are as follows:

BGW - frequencies increased from 4 weekly to daily nonstop flights using an A332.

DAC - frequencies increased from 17 to 19 times per week using a B773ER.

DUR - capacity increased from daily A332 to daily B773ER.

DUS - capacity increased to double daily B773s from daily A343 + daily B773.


Jet Airways of India has officially announced that it has signed a deal with Boeing to acquire 12 Boeing 737-800s as part of an order swap by exchanging 2 yet to be produced Boeing 777-300ERs for 7 B 738s + 5 options. 9W's B738s form the backbone of its fleet used extensively on domestic and medium haul international routes to the Middle East and Far East regions. For future growth potential, the airline should seriously consider evaluating the Boeing 737-900ER which is a direct competitor to the A321 as within two years a lot of 9W's international services operated currently with a B738 will be requiring a capacity increase hence it would be a cost worthy proposition upgrading from a B738 to a B739ER versus an A332. This aircraft type has already won large orders from Delta (100) and Lion Air (166) as its an ideal plane for high density medium haul routes within a 6 hour flying radius of India.


Etihad Airways has officially announced that it will be significantly increasing capacity to LHE-Lahore, Pakistan as the carrier looks to re-deploy its B773ER capacity on higher volume profitable routes during the IATA S12 season. Currently, LHE is operated on a daily basis using an A332 six times per week + an A320 once a week. However from 26MAR 2012, EY shall be flying to LHE with a 412 seater B773ER on a daily basis thus representing a weekly r/t capacity increase of 2100 seats aka +57%. EY's main focus in LHE in 2012 is also aimed at targeting the high volume LHE-Saudia market along with North America and Europe. In addition, EY too confirmed that it will also be increasing capacity to JED-Jeddah from 26MAR by adding an incremental amount of 1372 r/t seats on its weekly schedule in the following manner:

- Current capacity is 13 weekly flights spread across 6 weekly A320s + 1 weekly A332 + 6 weekly B 773ERs offering 7196 weekly r/t seats. From 26MAR 2012 onwards, it becomes 9 weekly B773ERs + 4 weekly A320s offering 8568 weekly r/t seats i.e. +19% capacity increase.


Privatair of Switzerland has officially announced that it has become the latest and most interesting customer of the upcoming Bombardier C Series jets of which it has placed an order for 10 CS100 aircraft. The breakdown is 5 firm + 5 options. The reason why it is an interesting order is due to the airline being the first to configure these jets into an all business class layout which would accommodate approximately 35 passengers. The flying range capability is 7.5 hours nonstop thus making GCC-London City/EU and LCY-trans-atlantic services possible.


KLM has officially revealed many capacity changes for its long haul network for the IATA Summer 2012 season of which the main highlights are as follows:

DXB - frequencies reduced from double daily to daily nonstop flights using a B744.

BKK - capacity increased with daily nonstop terminator flights using a B773ER four times a week and a B772ER three times per week. The tag on sector to Taipei is dropped.

TIP - frequencies increased from 3 to 4 times per week using a B737.

BAH - frequencies reduced from daily to 5 weekly A332s tagged on to AUH.

DMM - frequencies increased from 5 weekly to daily tagged on with KWI.

IAH - frequencies reduced from 10 weekly to daily nonstop flights only using a B744 Combi.

MNL - nonstop flights dropped and instead it will be operated via TPE on a daily basis using a B772ER. This will result in KLM being the only airline to offer nonstop services to TPE from mainland Europe.

DEL - capacity reduced from daily MD11 to daily A332.


Air France which is in a serious mode of restructuring its operations in order to reduce losses and cut highly unprofitable routes has disclosed a series of changes for its IATA Summer 2012 schedule of which the main highlights are as follows:

AUH - all flights suspended effective 05MAR; currently AF operates 5 weekly A332s on this sector.

MCO (Orlando) - all flights suspended effective 03Sept.

HKG - frequencies reduced from double daily to 12 weekly i.e. daily B773ER + 5 weekly B772ER.

HAV - frequencies reduced from daily to 5 weekly using a B773ER.


Bahrain Air's CEO has officially revealed at the on going Bahrain Air Show that it is keen to add three regional jets into its fleet by 2014 as the carrier looks to deploy smaller planes on its GCC routes where demand for a larger A320 is not consistent year round. It has shown great interest in the new Russian made Sukhoi Superjet 100 which can seat approximately 85 passengers in a 2 class configuration and fly nonstop with a full payload up to 3500KM.


Transaero of Russia has officially announced that it shall be increasing its presence in the popular New York-Moscow market segment effective 29MAY 2012 as the carrier looks to take full advantage of the peak summer season travel demand. Frequencies shall be increased from the current 4 weekly to daily nonstop services using a Boeing 777-300 for all flights. Note that the B773s operated by Transaero are ex Singapore Airlines owned.

News between 01JAN-14JAN

Qatar Airways has officially revealed many changes to its long haul route network for the IATA Summer 2012 season of which the main highlights are as follows:

YUL – capacity increased from 3 weekly B772LRs to 3 weekly B 773ERs i.e. an additional 456 r/t weekly seats on offer.

MXP – frequencies increased from 11 weekly to double daily i.e. daily A333 + daily A320.

MAN – frequencies reduced from double daily to 10 weekly A330s.

American Airlines has officially announced that due to rising costs and losses, it shall be suspending its services to DEL-Delhi, India effective 01MAR 2012. AA currently operates a daily nonstop product from ORD-Chicago to DEL using a B772ER but suffers a payload restriction on the DEL-ORD sector. Its main competitor on this sector is AI-Air India who also offers a daily nonstop product and is bound to be beaming with joy at this announcement by AA.

Turkish Airlines has officially announced that it will be increasing frequencies to LAX-Los Angeles from the on-set of the IATA S12 season i.e. 26MAR. Currently, TK operates 3 weekly nonstop flights from its IST hub base using a Boeing 777-300ER, however from end March, these shall be increased to daily nonstop flights using the same aircraft type.

Emirates has officially announced major details of its planned long haul expansion for the IATA Summer 2012 of which the main highlights are as follows:

SGN (Ho Chi Minh City) – new daily nonstop flights to be launched with an A332 effective 01JUN and then upgraded to a daily B773ER effective 29OCT 2012.

GLA – frequencies increased from daily to double daily flights i.e. daily B773ER + daily A343.

ADD – nonstop terminator flights to be operated with an A332.

EBB - nonstop terminator flights to be operated with an A332 instead of daily A345 via ADD.

Etihad Airways has officially announced that it will be increasing capacity to KUL-Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in a major manner effective 26MAR 2012. Currently, EY operates a daily A332 product on this sector seating 262 pax on board. However from 26MAR, all daily flights shall be upgraded to a daily B777-300ER which seats 412 passengers, therefore offering additional capacity of 2100 r/t weekly seats on the KUL route!

Alitalia has officially announced that it shall be launching new services to RUH-Riyadh effective 01JUN 2012 as part of its efforts to further expand medium haul services especially to SKY TEAM member hub airports.

AZ revealed that flights will be operated from Rome 4 times per week nonstop to Riyadh using an A320 with the following schedule:

Days: 2/5/6/7

AZ 878 Dep FCO 2030 Arr RUH 0240+1

AZ 879 Dep RUH 0335 Arr FCO 0810

Malaysia Airlines has officially announced that it shall be increasing frequencies to LAX-Los Angeles as well as re-route its current service to the city. Presently, MAS operates 3 times per week from KUL via TPE-Taipei using a B772ER, however from 26MAR, these shall be increased to 4 times per week using the same aircraft type but via NRT-Tokyo with 5^th freedom traffic rights.

Air Asia X, the long haul subsidiary of Air Asia (Malaysia) has officially announced that it shall be suspending all of its long haul services to Europe and India effective March 2012 as the carrier looks to re-organize its strategic plan and cost base. It also blamed the high EU carbon tax for the suspension of European services. The 4 routes canceled are BOM, LGW, ORY (Paris Orly) and DEL.

Fly Dubai has officially announced that it shall be launching 2 new routes from Feb 2012 as it looks further into tapping high yielding niche markets in the Middle East region. FZ confirmed that these 2 new routes are Taif in Saudi Arabia which shall be operated 3 times per week and Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan which shall be operated twice a week respectively. All services to be flown using a 189 seater Boeing 737-800.

News between 24-30OCT

Transaero Airlines of Russia has officially announced that it has signed a deal with Airbus to purchase 4 Airbus A 380s to initially replace its fleet of Boeing 747-400s within the next 2 years as the carrier has an ambitious long haul growth plan set in stone. These A380s will be configured with the highest density i.e. 700 seats in a 3 class configuration containing a small business class, premium economy cabin and a dense economy class cabin. Its initial route will be on Moscow-Bangkok where the carrier has a strong following.


Air France has officially announced that it will be placing the Airbus A 380 on its popular LAX-Los Angeles route from 28MAY 2012 onwards as the carrier looks to further increase its premium brand awareness in the local market place. AF will be operating the A380 on a daily basis on the CDG-LAX sector however in turn to cater for the capacity increase, the route's total frequencies will drop from 20 weekly B777s to 15 weekly flights i.e. 8 weekly B 772ERs + a daily A 380. AF too confirmed for the IATA S12, its capacity to YYZ-Toronto shall also fall as the carrier will no longer be operating a daily B 747-400 on this route, instead a daily B 772ER will be used which will come as a sigh of relief for its business class passengers in particular due to the better on board seat product features.


Air Berlin of Germany has officially announced that it will be expanding its long haul network to USA out of its Berlin hub as the carrier looks to strengthen One World's presence in the German market with the cooperation of American Airlines. As a result, it will be launching new 3 weekly nonstop flights to LAX-Los Angeles effective 11MAY 2012 using an Airbus A 330-200. AB too revealed that it shall be implementing further capacity increases which are as follows:

TXL/JFK - frequencies increased from 4 weekly to daily flights using an A332.

DUS/MIA - frequencies increased from 4 to 5 weekly flights using an A332.

DUS/JFK - frequencies increased from 5 weekly to daily flights using an A332.

DUS/YVR - frequencies reduced from 3 to 2 weekly nonstop flights using an A332.

DUS/LAX - frequencies reduced from 4 to 3 weekly nonstop flights using an A332.


Ethiopian Airlines has officially announced major capacity changes to its IATA W11 schedule of which the main highlights are as follows: BAH - all flights suspended effective 30OCT

DXB - frequencies reduced from triple daily to 15 weekly flights using a B 777

DEL - frequencies increased from 5 weekly to daily nonstop flights

KWI - capacity increased from daily nonstop B 737-700s to daily nonstop B 737-800 terminator flights with no extension to BAH.


Air Pacific of the Fiji Islands has officially announced that it has canceled its entire order of eight Boeing 787-900s as it could not accept further delays to the delivery of these aircraft by Boeing. In turn, FJ has placed an order for 3 Airbus A 330-200s which shall be used to replace its entire long haul fleet of 2 B 744s and 1 B 763ER. FJ has confirmed that these A332s will be used to operate to HKG, SYD, LAX and HNL.


Qatar Airways has officially announced that it will be increasing capacity to Kuala Lumpur and Phuket effective 25MAR 2012. The main highlights are as follows:

KUL - capacity increased from 13 weekly A 332s to 13 weekly B 773ERs i.e. an increase of approximately 2000 r/t seats per week.

HKT - capacity increased from daily A332 via KUL to daily B 773ER.


United Airlines has officially announced many capacity changes to its long haul network for the IATA W11 season of which the main highlights are as follows:

SFO/LHR - capacity increased from daily B772ER to daily B744.

SFO/KIX - frequencies reduced from daily to 5 weekly B772ERs.

SFO/PVG - capacity reduced from daily B744 to daily B772ER.

IAD/GVA - frequencies reduced from daily to 5 weekly B763ERs.

IAD/FCO - frequencies reduced from daily to 5 weekly B763ERs.

IAH/FRA - capacity increased from daily B762ER to daily B764ER.

IAH/CDG - capacity reduced from daily B764ER to daily B762ER.

EWR/CPH - frequencies reduced from daily to 5 weekly B757s.

EWR/DUB - frequencies reduced from double daily to daily B757s.

EWR/FRA - frequencies increased from daily to double daily.

EWR/ARN - frequencies reduced from daily to 5 weekly.

EWR/GRU - capacity increased from daily B762ER to daily B764ER.

News between 23-30JUL

Singapore Airlines has officially revealed changes to its Middle East flying schedule for the IATA W11 season which sees major capacity adjustments across the board. The main highlights are as follows:

AUH - frequencies increased from daily to 9 times per week.

KWI - all flights suspended.

CAI - frequencies reduced from 4 to 3 times per week via Dubai

DXB - frequencies reduced from double daily to 11 weekly.

RUH - capacity reduced from 4 weekly B 773 to 4 weekly A 333s.


Swiss has officially announced that it shall be launching new nonstop flights to PEK-Beijing, China effective 11FEB 2012 to capitalize on the growing business and tourism traffic that is being witnessed out of Western and Central Europe bound to/from China. LX shall be using an Airbus A 340-300 to operate this service on a daily basis. LX also confirmed that it will be increasing capacity on its ZRH-EWR (Newark) route from the on set of the IATA S12 season by replacing its daily nonstop service operated a B 737BBJ with a larger Airbus A 340-300.


Thai Airways and China Southern Airlines have officially revealed the cabin configuration of their soon to be delivered Airbus A 380s. The main highlights are as follows:

TG - total of 507 seats in a 3 class configuration i.e. 12F/60J/435Y.

CZ - total of 506 seats in a 3 class configuration i.e. 8F/70J/428Y.


Turkish Airlines has officially announced that it shall be launching new nonstop flights to DMM-Dammam, Saudi Arabia effective 12SEP 2011. TK will be operating the new service 3 times per week using an Airbus A 319. It will be targeting the high volume KSA-IST market along with oil/gas traffic bound to Central Asia, Western Europe, Russia and USA. TK's President also officially announced that his airline plans on launching a new African route in Summer 2012 i.e. Kigali, Rwanda which would be operated 4 times per week using a Boeing 737-800. Flight schedules will be revealed at a later date. Lastly, TK too revealed initial capacity changes for its long haul route network for the IATA S12 season which are as follows:

GRU - frequencies to be increased from 4 to 5 weekly nonstop flights using a B 773ER.

HKG - frequencies to be increased from 6 weekly to daily nonstop flights using a B 773ER.

CAN - frequencies to be increased from 3 to 4 weekly nonstop flights using a B 773ER.


Emirates has officially announced that it will be implementing capacity + frequency increases across its network during the course of the IATA W11 season. The main highlights are as follows:

KUL - capacity increased from triple daily B 773s to daily A 380 + double daily B 773s.

CAI - frequencies increased from 12 to 13 times per week using B 777s.

MXP - capacity increased from daily A343 + daily B773 to double daily flights using a 3 class configured B 773 only.

TUN - frequencies increased from 5 to 6 times per week.

FCO - capacity increased from daily A 332 + daily B 773 to daily A 380 + daily B 773.

KRT - frequencies increased from 4 to 6 times per wee using A332s only.


Air France has officially announced that it shall be reducing its frequencies to MIA-Miami, USA for the IATA W11 season. Currently, AF operates a daily nonstop flight out of its CDG-Paris hub using a Boeing 747-400, however this shall be reduced to 6 times per week using the same aircraft type for the entire W11 season.


Oman Air has officially announced that it will be majorly increasing its presence in Bahrain and Doha from the on set of the IATA W11 season. Frequencies to BAH shall be increased from triple daily to 31 weekly with flights being operated using E75s. DOH on the other hand also gets a frequency increase from triple daily to 5 times daily with flights being flown using a mixture of E75s and B 738s.


Jetblue has officially announced that it has struck a deal to sell 11 of its yet to be delivered factory fresh Embraer E190 aircraft in 2013. B6 ordered 46 E90s few years ago and took delivery of 35 of them. With the carrier recently also ordering many more A320NEOs and converting existing A320 orders to A321s, the carrier does not seem to require additional E90s for its long term growth.


Egypt Air has officially announced that it shall be increasing frequencies to CAN-Guangzhou, China effective 01OCT 2011. Frequencies shall be raised from the current 4 to 5 times per week nonstop using a Boeing 777-300ER for all the flights.


Air Canada has officially announced numerous capacity changes to its long haul route network for the IATA W11 season of which the main highlights are as follows:

YOW/FRA - frequencies increased to 6 times per week using a B 763ER.

YYZ/CPH - frequencies reduced from 4 to 3 times per week using a B 763ER.

YYZ/PVG - capacity reduced from daily B 773ER to daily B 772LR.

YYZ/TLV - frequencies reduced from 4 to 3 times per week using a B 763ER.

YYZ/NRT - capacity increased from daily B 772LR to daily B 773ER.

YUL/BRU - frequencies increased from 4 to 5 times per week using a B 763ER.

YUL/FRA - capacity reduced from daily B 773ER to daily A 333.

YUL/GVA - frequencies increased from 4 to 5 times per week using a B 763ER.