20OCT edition

Korean Air has announced that it will be launching new nonstop flights to Saudi Arabia effective 09NOV 2012. Three weekly triangular routed flights shall be flown using an Airbus A330-200 as Seoul-Riyadh-Jeddah and is designed to link the two Sky Team hub airports with each other to enhance network connection options. In addition, due to the massive influx of Korean construction and engineering personnel flying back and forth between South Korea and Saudi Arabia. Over the past one year, passenger movement combined between RUH + JED to/from ICN was 37,000 passengers.


Turkish Airlines has officially revealed that it has signed a contract with Airbus to purchase 15 additional Airbus A330-300s that shall be delivered from 2014 onwards. These aircraft will be the A333IGW version which is capable of operating nonstop to Toronto, China, Hong Kong and Seoul from its Istanbul hub base. TK too is expected to announce another order for a dozen more Boeing 777-300ERs to further fuel its long haul expansion. With this additional order, TKs A330 fleet stands at 27 A 333s + 7 A332s.


Airblue of Pakistan has officially announced the launch date of the next phase of its growth strategy involving its newly acquired fleet of 2 A 340-300s obtained from Turkish Airlines. These aircraft have been reconfigured into an all economy class cabin seating about 330 passengers and its launch flight will be on 27NOV to Manchester operated nonstop from Islamabad. Airblue will be flying ISB-MAN four times per week effective 27NOV with the below mentioned schedule:

Days of Operations: TUE/WED/FRI/SUN

PA 220 Dep ISB 1400 Arr MAN 1900
PA 221 Dep MAN 2100 Arr ISB 1110+1


Emirates has officially disclosed that it will be significantly adding more capacity to its popular routes in Far East Asia from this winter onwards to cater for increasing demand arising from Europe and GCC region. The main highlights are as follows:

MNL - frequencies increased from double daily to triple daily nonstop with all flights being operated by a 2 class B773ER

CGK - frequencies increased from double daily to triple daily nonstop with all flights being operated by a 2 class B773ER

KUL - frequencies increased from triple daily to 26 weekly i.e. daily A380 + double daily B773ER + 5 weekly A332s


Aeromexico has officially announced that it will be launching new nonstop flights to London Heathrow airport effective 14DEC 2012 from its Mexico City hub airport. AM will be operating the route 3 times per week nonstop using its flag ship Boeing 767 aircraft. The flight schedule is as follows:

Days: WED/FRI/SUN

AM 007 Dep MEX 2225 Arr LHR 1500+1
AM 008 Dep LHR 1725 Arr MEX 0035+1


ONE WORLD has officially announced at its head quarters in New York City, that it has invited Qatar Airways to join the alliance which the mega Gulf carrier has willingly accepted. With this move, QR becomes the first amongst the Big 3 GCC carriers to join a major alliance. QR currently serves a majority of the key One World hub airports with a minimum daily frequency such as JFK (daily), LHR (5 daily), HKG (double daily), AMM (daily), CMB (triple daily), MEL (daily), NRT (daily) and soon ORD daily. 

Analysis:

One World needs a solid Africa presence as well and unfortunately for them all the viable carriers are part of an alliance now from that continent. India too is a market that needs to be looked at again with Air India as a partner as they will gain massive political leverage in India if this comes through positively. In addition, they shall benefit as AI flies into all the major OW hubs such as HKG, LHR, JFK, ORD, NRT, DOH, CMB and soon SYD so a no brainer there.

AI-AA can code share on DEL-ORD and JFK-DEL/BOM.

AI-QF can code share on AI's soon to be launched B787 nonstop service to SYD/MEL and in turn AI can code share on QF via Australia to AKL/CHC + domestic Australia services to PER/ADL/BNE etc.

CX-AI can code share on all HKG-India flights + AI can code share on CX's trans-pacific services to LAX/SFO/YVR + via HKG to TPE/MNL

BA-AI can code share on UK-India + domestically within each country + AI can code share on trans-atlantic services via LHR to USA operated by AA/BA.

JL-AI can code share on all Japan-India flights + domestically within their own respective countries + AI can code share on trans-pacific routes via NRT on JAL.

With regards to QR-AI, QR can code share on domestic India where as the main benefit for AI with QR is to code share on DOH-Africa and DOH-Levant/Iraq/Iran services.

Sri Lankan Airlines has revealed that it will be reducing its services to Bangkok, Shanghai and Beijing for the IATA W12 season as the carrier looks to re-engage its resources in a more profitable manner. The main highlights are as follows:

BKK - frequencies reduced from triple daily to 17 weekly

PVG - frequencies reduced from daily to 5 weekly

PEK - frequencies reduced from daily to 5 weekly


Alaskan Airlines has officially announced that it has placed its largest ever single aircraft order with Boeing earlier on this week for 50 Boeing 737s which shall in turn gradually replace its entire current fleet of B737-300/400 Classics as well its oldest B737NG models. The breakdown of the order was for 13 Boeing 737-900ERs + 20 Boeing 737-800Max's + 17 Boeing 737-900Max's.


Air India has officially announced that due to lack of bids from airlines desiring to dry and wet lease its fleet of 5 Boeing 777-200LRs, it will be putting up these aircraft for sale effective November 2012 as the carrier now has no use for them. Out of its fleet of 8 B77Ls, it will keep only 3 to be used exclusively on its popular BOM-EWR nonstop services. Airlines that currently operate the B77L today are EK, AC, DL, PK and QR only. 

Analysis:

With regards to which airlines would be interested, one has to first look into the configuration of these airlines operating a fleet of B77Ls versus AI. The latter operates a 3 class B77L which out of the current operators only EK does whilst QR/AC/DL all operate 2 class versions. Now in an ideal world, due to its rapid growth strategy, QR would be the hands on favorite to purchase these 5 birds however knowing what a tough bargainer Mr Baker is, he would only purchase it if AI pays for the cabin reconfiguration as well as per his current B77L 2 class product standards. It would be very difficult for AI to sell these birds as a 3 class aircraft unless it reduces the price further to take into account the other airline's re-configuration cost !

Two other airlines which could be a dark horse contender and that too would probably take it in the current AI configuration are Saudia Airlines and Kuwait Airways. With regards to SV, they have officially announced that they are in 2013/14 going to be embarking on a major long haul expansion program hence these 5 B77Ls would be ideal to launch 3 weekly Toronto + increase JFK to a daily service and IAD to at least 4 times per week from JED/RUH. 

As far as KU is concerned, one does not need to look any further to realize that this airline's fleet (except for the A320s) needs a total makeover due to the unfortunate mechanical aging state that it is in. KU can use the B77Ls to operate to JFK on a daily basis nonstop versus the current 3 weekly nonstop + 3 weekly via LHR combination which would take up 2.5 aircraft + use 1 dedicated for KWI-LHR daily + the other two on its FRA/CDG/FCO services replacing the AB6s! KU not only needs a fleet make over but also a major on board product face lift which as a stop gap measure these AI B77Ls will help provide. 


Lufthansa has disclosed few significant capacity changes for its long haul route network for the IATA S13 season of which the main highlights are as follows:

ORD - capacity increased from daily A343 + daily B744 to double daily B744

PVG - capacity increased from daily A343 + daily B744 to daily B744 + daily A346

JFK - capacity reduced with no A380 operating; instead double daily B744 exclusively

RUH - capacity reduced from daily A346 to daily A333

DTW - capacity increased from daily A333 to daily A346


Garuda Indonesia and Etihad Airways have officially announced a major code sharing joint venture that will see the airlines feeding each other's hubs with connecting traffic marketed by both carriers alike. It will be valid effective 02DEC when GA transfers its existing 4 weekly CGK-DXB-AMS service to operate via AUH using an A330-200. In turn, EY will code share on GA's AUH-AMS service + GA will code share via AUH to all of EY's European, GCC, North America and MENA destinations. GA is part of Sky Team and with the recent EY-AF-KL 3 way deal being announced plus last month AZ-EY plus EY wanting Air Berlin to be aligned with Air France, one can easily make out the new focus of EY's alliance strategy.


Etihad Airways has disclosed on the GDS system that it will be increasing capacity on its AUH-SYD services as the carrier shuffles around its newly delivered 3 class configured Boeing 777-300ERs between its two flagship routes of London and Sydney respectively. Effective 31JAN, out of its current 11 weekly flights to SYD all operated with an A346, a total of 7 shall be flown using a B773ER (seats 38 pax more versus A346) and in turn, LHR capacity gets reduced from triple daily B773ER to double daily B773ER + daily A346.

05OCT edition

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has officially announced that it has signed a new more liberalized bilateral accord with both Kuwait and Philippines allowing more flights to be operated between the two countries.

With regards to the Philippines, the main highlights of the new bilateral is as follows:

i. Flights between MNL and JED/RUH combined can be increased from the current 10 to 21 weekly
ii. Open skies between Dammam Airport and the entire Philippines valid only for Saudi and Philippine national carriers
iii. Open skies between Clarke Airport and Jeddah/Riyadh valid only for Saudi and Philippine national carriers

As far as Saudia and Kuwait are concerned, the main highlights of the new bilateral are as follows:

i. Flights increased from the current 29 times per week to 77 times per week
ii. 77 flights per week can be spread across with no limits across all 4 major KSA points i.e. DMM JED RUH MED as well as Tier II cities

Jet Airways of India has revealed a major Middle East expansion plan set to take place this upcoming IATA Winter season from its Mumbai and Delhi hubs as the carrier looks to take full advantage of the void created by Kingfisher and Air India in this all too important market segment during the peak season for travel to/from the country. The main highlights are as follows:

BOM / KWI - frequencies increased from 11 weekly to double daily

BOM / AUH - frequencies increased from daily to 11 weekly

BOM / DOH - frequencies increased from daily to 13 weekly

DEL / AUH - frequencies increased from 5 weekly to daily

DEL / DOH - frequencies increased from 5 weekly to daily

DEL / DMM - frequencies increased from 4 weekly to daily

COK / KWI - new 4 weekly nonstop flights to be launched

*All above mentioned flights to be operated with a mixture of B738s and B739s. As far as 9W's B777-300ERs are concerned, they have also been reconfigured to boost the capacity in the economy class cabin in particular with a 4th seat added in the middle row similar to EK/KL/EY. The new cabin layout thus will have 34 more seats in economy class (total 308) and the total on board capacity will as a result increase from 312 to 346 (8F/30J/308Y).

In addition, to the above mentioned expansion, 9W too has disclosed that due to heavy losses it shall be suspending its Chennai-Brussels nonstop daily service effective 15NOV 2012. This flight was operated with an Airbus A330-200 and its replacement which has been revealed on Munich's airport website portal is a new daily Bangalore-Munich operation flown daily using the same aircraft type with the below mentioned schedule from March 2013:

Days: Daily

9W 154 Dep BLR 0405 Arr MUC 0835
9W 153 Dep MUC 1200 Arr BLR 0240+1


Emirates has officially announced that it will be expanding both its Jakarta and Manila bound services during the IATA W12 season by adding a 3rd nonstop daily flight on both routes. The main highlights are as follows:

MNL - frequencies increased from 2 to 3 times daily effective 01JAN13 using a 2 class 430 seater B773ER for all flights

JKT - frequencies increased from 2 to 3 times daily effective 01MAR13 using a 2 class 430 seater B773ER for all flights

The new daily flights for both CGK and MNL will be departing DXB between 1830-1900 and arriving back by 1300 UAE time.


Etihad Airways has announced that due to increasing demand for its Istanbul bound services, it shall be increasing frequencies on the route effective 30DEC 2012 onwards. Currently, EY operates 5 times per week between AUH and IST using an A320, these shall be increased to a daily nonstop flight using a standardized schedule with the same aircraft type. 


SWISS has officially revealed that it shall be reinstating its services to Singapore after a 4 year long hiatus as the carrier looks to further tap into Austral-Asia markets via its STAR partner Singapore Airlines. New daily nonstop flights shall recommence effective 01MAY 2013 using an A340-300. The flight schedule is as follows:

LX 178 Dep ZRH 2245 Arr SIN 1710+1
LX 179 Dep SIN 2305 Arr ZRH 0610+1


SAS has disclosed that after an operating period of 63 long years, it has reached a critical stage where it sadly announces that it shall be suspending all of its flights to BKK-Bangkok, Thailand effective 07APR 2012. SAS currently operates a daily nonstop service from Copenhagen to Bangkok using an Airbus A 340-300. It has been effected with the growth of Gulf Air, Qatar Airways, Turkish and Emirates eating into its market share on the CPH-BKK sector. SK will however continue to code share on this sector with Thai Airways who are increasing its own CPH services from daily to 9 times per week effective 28OCT12.


Air India has revealed on the GDS that it will be reinstating its flights to YYZ-Toronto effective 10MAR 2013. These flights will return to its original schedule of operating a daily nonstop service using a Boeing 777-300ER. Flights are timed to arrive into YYZ at 0815 and depart at 1550 daily respectively.

Comments:

Air India should not return to YYZ with a daily nonstop service as its low season for travel to India between March and October and too risky from both a cost and profitability perspective. There are two other options for AI to seriously consider:

i. Return nonstop to YYZ but with a 4 weekly nonstop service only between 01MAR and 15OCT. Increase to daily from 15OCT 2013 onwards only when the peak season for travel to/from India begins on this route.

ii. If there is a need to return to YYZ on a daily basis using a B773ER, then it should be a one stop service operated via Manchester for the simple reason that DEL-MAN has a O&D market size of 52,000 pax per year with no nonstop service and the same applies to MAN-YYZ which has a O&D market size of 20,000 with no scheduled carrier operating it nonstop. The MAN-India market size is much larger than BHX-India and also higher yielding. The BHX-India market size in 2011 was 157,000 passengers versus MAN-India which was 226,000 i.e. 44% higher ! In addition, via DEL, AI can carry passengers to DAC, BKK, CMB, KTM, Australia and SE Asia which also MAN has a bigger market size demand versus BHX! Operating a DEL-MAN-YYZ is a safe year round option which is guaranteed to see 80-85% S/F along with high cargo loads.


ANA of Japan has made a major fleet order announcement for its long haul network by announcing a deal with Boeing for 11 additional Boeing 787-900s. These B789s are the long term replacement for its B772ER and B763ER fleet. One of its new routes i.e. Tokyo-San Jose nonstop shall be operated with the B787 from January 2013 onwards. In total, 30 B789s have now been ordered by ANA.


Air France has revealed some minor capacity changes for its long haul route network for the IATA Summer 2013 season of which the main highlights are as follows:

CAN - frequencies increased from 5 weekly to daily nonstop flights using a B772ER

BKK - frequencies increased from 3 to 4 weekly nonstop flights using a 2 class B773ER

SFO - capacity reduced from daily B744 to a daily B773ER


Philippine Airlines has announced that it has placed another major order with Airbus to further boost its long haul ambitions especially in light of the recently liberalized bilateral accord with UAE and Saudi Arabia. A total of 10 additional A330-300IGWs have been ordered by PAL in addition to the original 10 that it had placed two weeks ago. This brings a total of 20 A333IGWs ordered by PAL of which it has officially disclosed that a size able number shall be used to relaunch nonstop flights from its Manila hub to the Middle East region.


Qatar Airways has officially announced that it will be launching a new 4 weekly nonstop service to NJF-Najaf, Iraq effective 23JAN 2013. All flights shall be operated with an Airbus A320 departing DOH twice a week at 0915 and 1315 each respectively thus allowing all of its markets to be connected via DOH conveniently at least twice a week. QR's main target markets to NJF are DMM, BAH, BOM, KHI, MCT, KWI, LHE, DXB and DOH respectively.


Malaysia Airlines has disclosed on the GDS system that it will be massively increasing capacity on its European bound services to London and Paris respectively from 24NOV respectively. Flights to LHR shall receive a capacity boost with double daily A380s being deployed versus a daily B744 + daily A380. As far as CDG is concerned, capacity shall be increased from a daily B772ER to a daily A380 effective 02MAR 2013 respectively.


Air Arabia of Sharjah has officially announced that it will be launching new nonstop flights to EBL-Erbil, Iraq effective 14OCT 2012 onwards. G9 will fly to EBL four times per week from its SHJ hub using a 180 seater Airbus A320. G9's main target market for EBL is the GCC region and India. The flight schedule is as follows:

Days: MON/TUE/THU/SAT

G9 375 Dep SHJ 1310 Arr EBL 1500
G9 376 Dep EBL 1540 Arr SHJ 1915


Delta Airlines has announced that it will be boosting its operations at both Paris and Amsterdam in Europe from the on set of the IATA S13 season in the following manner:

EWR / CDG - daily nonstop flights to be re-launched

ATL / CDG - frequencies increased from daily to double daily

JFK / AMS - frequencies increased from daily to double daily

DTW / CDG - capacity increased from daily B763ER to daily A333

14SEP edition

A new landmark bilateral deal has been signed this week between the UAE and Philippines further opening up both markets to be exploited especially by the 2 dominant UAE carriers. The main highlights of this new agreement is as follows:

• Open skies accord signed between UAE and Philippines for all points except Manila.
• With regards to Manila, a total of 56 flights between the two countries can be operated per week.
• Both Emirates and Etihad Airways are allowed to increase their current double daily B777 operated services to MNL to 4 times daily each respectively maximum.

Both PAL and Cebu Pacific are the designated carriers from the Philippines and have already officially confirmed their intentions to launch nonstop MNL-UAE flights from W13 using their newly ordered A333IGWs.


Thai Airways has officially revealed many capacity changes for its medium and long haul route network for the upcoming IATA W12 season of which the main highlights are as follows:

ISB - frequencies increased from 3 to 4 weekly flights

KHI - frequencies increased from 4 to 5 weekly flights

BRU - frequencies increased from 3 to 4 weekly flights using a B773ER effective 13FEB

CDG - frequencies reduced from 10 weekly B773ERs to a daily A380

MUC - capacity reduced from daily B744 to daily B773ER

FRA - frequencies reduced from double daily to 12 weekly i.e. daily A380 + 5 weekly B773ER

MAD - capacity reduced from 3 weekly B744 to 3 weekly B772ER

MXP - capacity increased from 3 weekly A346 to 3 weekly B744

BNE - frequencies increased from 5 weekly to daily


Emirates has officially announced that it shall be launching new nonstop flights to ALG-Algiers, Algeria effective 01MAR 2013 as the carrier looks to further increase its presence in the high yielding African markets and connect Chinese, Japanese and Korean traders in particular with convenient one stop flight options via its Dubai hub to all corners of the largely un-tapped continent. EK will be operating a daily Airbus A 330-200 on the DXB-ALH sector departing DXB at 0845 and arriving back by 0055 the next day. The top markets on the ALG route relevant for EK are DOH, DXB, PEK, JED, MED, AMM, BEY, MCT, MNL and CGK respectively. In addition, EK also announced the following capacity increases for its IATA W12 schedule:

JED - frequencies increased from 18 weekly to triple daily effective 28OCT i.e. daily A332 + double daily A380

SEZ - frequencies increased from 11 to 13 weekly

AMM - frequencies increased to double daily flights using a B777

MRU - frequencies increased from 11 weekly to double daily


Qantas Airways has officially announced that it has signed a landmark 10 year commercial alliance agreement with its former arch-rival i.e. Emirates that will come into effect 31MAR 2013 i.e. on set of the IATA S13 season.

The main highlights of this alliance are as follows:

• Current QF-BA joint venture on the Kangaroo route i.e. LHR-Australia is terminated and the new route via DXB shall be called "The Falcon Route" (naming it after the UAE's national bird)
  
• QF will suspend its double daily SIN-LHR A380 service and re-route all of its LHR bound flights via DXB using an A380
• QF will operate new daily nonstop A380 service between SYD and MEL to DXB each respectively and onwards to LHR with 5th freedom traffic rights on the DXB-LHR sector
• The two QF DXB-LHR flights will depart DXB at 0110/0200 and arrive into LHR at 0540/0630 respectively where as the return flights will depart LHR at 2130/2230 arriving into DXB at 0730/0830 local time
• QF will suspend its current daily service to FRA and instead shall code share on all of EK's operated flights to Europe via DXB
  
• QF will suspend code sharing with AF out of SIN as well as with CX out of HKG to Europe respectively
• Both EK and QF to code share on all UAE-Australia-UAE flights + DXB-LHR-DXB

Philippine Airlines CEO officially announced last week plans for its Toronto bound flights as well as a reallocation of its Vancouver capacity from the upcoming IATA W12 season onwards. The main highlights were as follows:

MNL/YYZ - new 3 weekly nonstop flights to be launched effective 28NOV 2012 using a B77W

MNL/YVR - reduced to 4 weekly flights operated as nonstop terminator service with no extension to LAS

In addition, PAL placed its largest ever order on record for 54 Airbus aircraft that will be the cornerstone of its short and medium haul fleet for the next 15 years. The breakdown of this US$ 7 billion order was as follows:

10 A 330-300IGWs (capable of operating MNL-RUH-MNL nonstop in both directions) + 44 Airbus A 321NEOs


Cathay Pacific has officially announced that it shall be launching new nonstop flights to HYD-Hyderabad, India effective 01DEC 2012. CX will be operating 4 weekly flights using an Airbus A 330-300 and shall be targeting traffic bound to China, Japan, LAX, SYD, MEL, SFO, ICN and TPE primarily. The flight schedule is as follows:

Days of operations: WED FRI SAT SUN

CX 649 Dep HKG 2235 Arr HYD 0205
CX 648 Dep HYD 0335 Arr HKG 1100

 
Qatar Airways has officially announced that it will be launching new nonstop flights to ORD-Chicago effective 10APR 2012. Daily services will be launched from the get go using a Boeing 777-300ER. The flight schedule is as follows:

QR 991 Dep DOH 0915 Arr ORD 1550
QR 992 Dep ORD 2130 Arr DOH 1900+1

In addition, QR further revealed more changes to its IATA W12 schedule of which the main highlights are as follows:

ICN - capacity increased from daily B772LR to daily B773ER

WAW - new 4 weekly nonstop flights to be launched effective 05DEC using an A320

PER - capacity increased from 01DEC onwards from daily B772LR to daily B773ER


Egypt Air has officially announced that it shall be re-launching services to KIX-Osaka, Japan effective 01DEC 2012 as the carrier looks to regain its presence in markets it had suspended in 2011 due to the political unrest in the country. MS will operate twice weekly nonstop flights from its CAI hub using an Airbus A340-200. The flight schedule is as follows:

Days: THU/SAT

MS 962 Dep CAI 2330 Arr KIX 1745+1
MS 963 Dep KIX 2315 Arr CAI 0600+1


Qantas of Australia has officially announced that due to its heavy losses incurred in 2011 on its international routes solely totaling US$ 450 million it has canceled a previously confirmed order for 35 new Boeing 787-900s with the American manufacturer. Boeing and Qantas have a long business relationship and both sides agreed to help each other out during a time of crisis as Boeing too requires B789 slots being freed for current clients due to the aircraft sales popularity versus the -800 version.

12AUG edition

China Southern Airlines based out of Guangzhou has officially announced that its first international route operated by its Airbus A380s will be LAX-Los Angeles, USA effective 12OCT 2012. Capacity will be increased on this sector from a daily B772ER offering 282 seats to a daily A380 offering 506 seats in a 3 class configuration seating 8F + 70J + 428Y class passengers. According to world famous airplane photographer and traveller, Mr Sam Chui, CZ’s on board chinese cuisine on its international flights are the best in the world to sample! CZ’s CEO has also announced that its second A380 route shall be to London Heathrow from Summer 2013 as the carrier looks to penetrate the Australia-LON market segment in particular with this aircraft type.  

Oman Air has officially revealed a major expansion of its route network for the IATA W12 season of which the main highlights are as follows:

RUH  - frequencies increased from daily to double daily

DXB - frequencies increased from 6 to 7 daily flights

DMM - frequencies increased from daily to 10 weekly

JED - frequencies increased from 10 to double daily

AMM - frequencies increased from 4 weekly to daily

BKK - frequencies increased from 12 weekly to double daily

KWI - frequencies increased from 10 weekly to double daily

Following in the footsteps of Gulf Air and British Airways, American Airlines has now officially announced that they will be the 3^rd airline in the world to be installing a flat bed business class product on their new Airbus A321 fleet. AA’s A321s will have two configurations i.e. one exclusively for trans-continental nonstop flights from its JFK hub to SFO and LAX and others in a regional configuration. The premium A321 configuration will have a total of 102 seats on board with 30 flat bed seats (10 first class + 20 business class) along with 72 in economy class. All seats in F and J class cabins will be flat beds + have personal tv screens installed. In total, AA’s premium configured A321s will be operating 10 daily JFK-LAX + 5 daily JFK-SFO nonstop services.

Qatar Airways has officially announced that it shall be significantly increasing capacity to ICN-Seoul, South Korea from the on set of the IATA W12 season. Currently, QR operates a daily nonstop service from its DOH hub into ICN using a 2 class configured Airbus A330-200 seating 257 passengers. Effective 28OCT 2012, all flights shall be upgraded to the 335 seater Boeing 777-300ER thus representing a capacity increase of 30% as well enabling the carrier to carry an extra 6 tons of cargo per flight.

Shaheen Air of Pakistan has officially announced that it will be embarking on a major route network expansion with a modern fleet of both wide body and narrow body aircraft which shall enable it to launch more new routes rapidly. The airline confirmed signing a deal to lease 3 Airbus A330-300s seating 327 passengers + 12 Boeing 737-400s seating 164 passengers. It has already taken delivery of its first A333 and has announced its new routes which are Riyadh, Medina, Bangkok and Dhaka which shall be launched from IATA W12 season onwards. The A333s will be solely used on services to Saudi Arabia from KHI, LHE and ISB operated nonstop.

Hong Kong Airlines has officially announced that it shall be suspending its flagship all business class service to LGW-London Gatwick operated nonstop from Hong Kong. The airline was the first to operate an A332 with an all J class configuration on this sector but failed to attract a healthy load of passengers on its daily service. The route was launched on 07MAR 2012 and shall be suspended effective 03SEP 2012.

Emirates has officially announced further major changes to its route network for the upcoming IATA W12 season of which the main highlights are as follows:

HKT (Phuket) – new daily nonstop flights to be launched effective 10DEC using an A332

TIP – services to restart with 4 weekly nonstop A332 operated flights effective 29OCT

BEY – frequencies increased from double daily to triple daily effective 31DEC using a mixture of A332s and A345s

IAD – capacity reduced from daily B773ER to daily B772LR

CPT – capacity reduced from daily B773ER + daily A345 to double daily A343

DAR – capacity increased from daily A345 to daily B773ER effective 01FEB13

LIS - capacity increased from daily B772ER to daily B773ER effective 01FEB13

CPH – capacity increased from daily B772ER to daily B773ER

Finnair has officially announced that due to high demand for its services to DXB-Dubai, it shall be increasing frequencies on the HEL-DXB sector effective 13DEC 2012 onwards. Weekly flights shall be raised from 3 to 4 per week with 3 weekly B757s + 1 weekly A343s being used to operate the route.

Malaysia Airlines has officially announced that it shall be increasing capacity on its popular MEL-Melbourne, Australia bound services effective 01MAR 2013. The route shall be its third Airbus A 380 operated service after London Heathrow as the carrier looks to capitalize on its One World alliance membership. Currently, MH operates a double daily A333 service on the MEL-KUL service, this will be increased to a daily A380 + daily A333 from 01MAR13 onwards.

Turkish Airlines has officially announced that it will be implementing many changes to its medium haul route network for the IATA W12 season of which the main highlights are as follows:

MLE (Male, Maldives) – new 5 weekly nonstop flights to be launched using an A332 effective 24NOV

SSH (Sharm El Shaikh) – new 4 weekly nonstop flights to be launched using a B737 effective 09OCT

DAR – frequencies reduced from daily to 5 weekly

VCE – frequencies increased from double daily to 17 weekly

FIH – frequencies increased from 4 to 5 weekly

FCO – frequencies increased from 18 weekly to triple daily

BHX – frequencies increased from daily to 10 weekly

DUB - frequencies increased from daily to 10 weekly

ANA of Japan has officially announced that it will be increasing its flights on its popular Tokyo-New York JFK service effective 28OCT 2012. Currently, the airline operates a daily B773ER on this route nonstop, however from 28OCT onwards it will increase to double daily nonstop using the same aircraft type. Flights will arrive into JFK at 0930/1515 and depart at 1115/1655 respectively.

China Eastern Airlines based out of PVG-Shanghai has officially announced major capacity changes for its medium haul route network for the upcoming IATA W12 season of which the main highlights are as follows:

BKK – capacity increased to daily A320 + daily A346

SIN – capacity increased to double daily B763ER + daily A332 + daily A346

DEL – frequencies increased from 4 weekly A332s to a daily nonstop flight using a larger A333

SYD – frequencies increased from daily A332 to 9 weekly flights using a larger A333

Singapore Airlines has officially announced few capacity changes for its route network for the upcoming IATA W12 season of which the main highlights are as follows:

NRT – capacity increased to double daily A380 + double daily B773s

JFK – capacity reduced from daily A380 to daily B773ER effective 27DEC

SFO – capacity increased from daily B773ER to daily A380 effective 28DEC

BOM – frequencies increased from 19 weekly to triple daily

According to an official tender document, PIA of Pakistan will be embarking on a major fleet and network expansion overhaul as the carrier looks to be taken seriously in the international marketplace where currently its reputation has been maligned with constant delays due to maintenance related issues and union disputes with pilots. To begin with, PIA will be leasing in 4 Boeing 737-800s along with two used Boeing 777-200ERs. A couple of months ago, PIA also signed an official order for 5 additional brand new Boeing 777-300ERs with Boeing. These aircraft are slated to replace PIA’s ageing fleet of B737-300s (built in 1985) and also its last two operational B747s.

South African Airways has officially announced that it will be increasing its frequencies to both Mumbai and Sao Paulo as it looks to further take advantage of its monopoly holding in both these key long haul market segments. To begin with, frequencies to BOM shall be increased from the current 5 weekly to daily nonstop flights using an A332 where as services to GRU shall also be increased from 10 to 11 weekly nonstop flights using an A332 daily and an A343 four times per week respectively.

SWISS has officially announced that it will be significantly increasing its presence in the Miami marketplace during the upcoming IATA W12 season as the carrier looks to take full advantage of the massive demand to Florida out of Europe during the winter season. The Zurich based carrier will be raising the number of frequencies it operates from a daily A333 to 11 times per week nonstop with the four additional flights being flown using an A343.

21JUL edition

The 2012 Farnborough Air Show was held last week in the UK. Unlike its previous editions as well as its counterpart the Paris Air Show (which alternates with Farnborough each summer), this one failed to live up to the hype as no significant orders were placed especially for wide bodied aircraft.

The main highlights of the show were as follows:

• United Airlines ordered 100 B 739Max's to fully replace its B757-200 fleet 
• Cathay Pacific ordered 10 A350-1000s and will convert 16 A350-900 orders to the -1000 model; all of which are destined to replace their regional B773A fleet
• MEA (Middle East Airlines of Lebanon) ordered 5 A320NEOs + 5 A321NEOs
  
• Air Lease Corporation placed an order for 75 B737MAX series i.e. 60 B738Max's + 15 B739Max's
• ALAFCO ordered 20 B738Max's
• Arkia of Israel ordered 4 A321NEOs
• CIT Leasing ordered 5 A330-300ERs
• AVOLON ordered 10 B738Max + 5 B739Max + 10 B738s + 15 A320NEOs
• GECAS ordered 75 B738Max + 25 B738s
• UT Air of Russia ordered 21 A321s
• Air Baltic ordered 20 Bombardier CS300 series aircraft i.e. 10 firm + 10 options
• An undisclosed customer placed an order for five Bombardier CS100 + 10 CS300 series aircraft

Qatar Airways has officially announced a major expansion plan across its network from the on set of the upcoming IATA W12 season of which the main highlights are as follows:

OSL - frequencies increased from 5 to 9 times per week using an A332 
BRU - frequencies increased from 5 weekly to daily flights using an A332
BCN - frequencies increased from daily to 10 weekly using an A332
SAH - frequencies increased from 4 weekly to daily flights using an A320
In addition, QR's CEO has also officially announced that the carrier will be launching new daily nonstop flights to BHX-Birmingham, UK using its new Boeing 787s in 2013. These new flights are going to be extremely popular with passengers bound to ATQ and ISB in particular.


Korean Air has officially announced that it has placed an additional order for 2 new Boeing 777-300ERs which would bring its total to 16 of this type of aircraft in its fleet. KE's B77Ws are mainly used on long haul trans-pacific flights to USA and Europe respectively. Its B77Ws are configured to seat 291 pax in a 3 class layout i.e. 8F + 56J + 227Y.


British Airways has officially announced that it will be significantly reducing its international operations in the Middle East region as part of the next phase of its route restructuring due to its purchase of BMI-British Midland.

The main highlights are as follows:

DMM - all flights suspended effective 16SEP. Currently, BD operates 3 weekly flights to DMM using an A332.

KRT - all flights suspended effective 01OCT.

RUH - frequencies reduced from 13 weekly overall (BA+BD) to daily nonstop flights using a B747-400.

JED - frequencies reduced from 8 (BA+BD) to 5 weekly overall using a B767-300ER.

IKA - frequencies reduced from daily to 4 weekly flights using an A321.


Jet Airways of India has officially announced a major increase of capacity to the Far East and 
Middle East region for the upcoming IATA W12 season. The main highlights are as follows:

DEL/DMM - frequencies increased from 4 weekly to daily nonstop flights
DEL/AUH - frequencies increased from 5 weekly to daily nonstop flights
DEL/DOH - frequencies increased from 5 weekly to daily nonstop flights
DEL/BKK - capacity increased from daily B738 to daily B739ER
DEL/SIN - frequencies increased from daily to double daily i.e. daily A332 + daily B738
BOM/BKK - frequencies reduced from triple daily to double daily
CCU/BKK - frequencies increased from daily to double daily


Emirates has officially announced it will be implementing few more capacity changes across its route network during the course of the IATA W12 season. The main highlights are as follows:

NCE - capacity increased from daily A345 to daily B773A
ATH - capacity reduced from daily B773A to daily A345
LHR - capacity increased with all 5 daily flights being operated with an A380 effective 01FEB 13
JED - capacity increased with the 4 new A332 operated flights being upgraded to a B773ER hence overall double daily A380 + 4 weekly B77W


Singapore Airlines has officially announced that it will be reducing capacity to both Milan and Barcelona for the upcoming IATA W12 season as the carrier looks to realign its Boeing 777 aircraft fleet to high demand winter routes as well as to engage in cost cutting where ever possible. Services to both BCN and MXP will be reduced from daily to 5 weekly each using a Boeing 777-300ER.


ANA of Japan has officially announced that it will be launching new services to Delhi, India effective 28OCT 2012. Flights shall be operated on a daily basis nonstop using a Boeing 767-300ER and the schedule is timed to connect conveniently in both directions via its Tokyo hub to Seattle, Los Angeles and San Francisco in particular. This new service will be a joint venture with United Airlines. The schedule is as follows:

Frequency: Daily

NH 917 Dep NRT 1720 Arr DEL 0020+1
NH 918 Dep DEL 0125 Arr NRT 1250


Lufthansa has officially announced that it shall be suspending all flights to CGK-Jakarta, Indonesia effective 28OCT 2012. LH currently operate a daily service to CGK via SIN from its secondary Munich hub using an Airbus A 340-300. With the increasing competition to/from CGK on offer by the Middle East carriers in particular, LH feels that it is better off code sharing via SIN or BKK to CGK rather than operate its own service.


Oman Air's Board is in advanced stages of studying a proposal to add much needed capacity to its network. WY revealed that it has put forward a proposal to purchase 3 additional Airbus A 330-300s + 3 Boeing 737-800s. With 3 A333s on the drawing board, it seems very evident that further long haul expansion is on the horizon with nonstop flights to Manila in particular a firm realization in the making!. 

Etihad Airways has officially announced that it will be increasing capacity to both London Heathrow and Seoul from 01FEB 2013 onwards in the following manner:

LHR - all three daily flights to be upgraded to a B773ER (new cabin product seating 330 pax in 3 classes)
ICN - capacity increased from daily A333 to daily A345




Spicejet of India has officially announced that it will be the first privately owned Indian carrier as well as the first low cost one to operate new international flights from India to Kabul effective 14AUG 2012. From this date onwards, it will be launching new 3 weekly nonstop flights from Delhi to Kabul using a 180 seater Boeing 737-800.

Air Berlin of Germany (29% owned by Etihad) has officially announced that it shall be launching new nonstop flights from its Berlin hub to ORD-Chicago, USA effective 23MAR 2013. AB will be operating the route in code share with AA and EY five times per week using an Airbus A 330-200. The schedule is as follows:
Days of service: 1/3/4/6/7
AB 7420 Dep BER 1000 Arr ORD 1210
AB 7421 Dep ORD 1525 Arr BER 0700+1

09JUL edition

Emirates has officially announced that it will be launching 3 new destinations gradually from 01NOV 2012 onwards as well as increasing capacity on existing routes as the carrier looks to align capacity matching demand during the upcoming IATA W12 season. The main highlights are as follows:

WAW – new daily nonstop service using an A332 effective 06FEB 2013

ADL – new 4 weekly nonstop service using a B773ER effective 01NOV 2012; these shall be increased to daily from 01FEB 2013 onwards

LYS – new 5 weekly nonstop service using an A345 effective 05DEC 2012

RUH – frequencies increased from 17 weekly to triple daily

JED – capacity increased to double daily A380s + 4 weekly B773ERs effective 01JAN 2013

BEY – frequencies increased from double daily to 18 weekly effective 28OCT

DMM – frequencies increased from 7 to 10 weekly effective 28OCT

PER – frequencies increased from double daily to triple daily effective 01MAR 2013 using a B773ER double daily + daily B772LR

LHR – capacity increased with all 5 daily flights to be operated with an A380 effective 01FEB 2013

CDG – capacity increased to double daily A380s + 5 weekly B773ERs effective 01DEC 2012

DME – capacity increased to daily A380 + daily A345 effective 01DEC 2012

JFK – capacity increased to double daily A380 effective 01JAN 2013 

FCO – frequencies reduced from triple daily to double daily

SAS has officially announced that it will be launching new nonstop services to SFO-San Francisco, USA effective 06APR 2013 onwards. SK will be operating the route 6 times per week from its primary Copenhagen hub using an Airbus A340-300 with the below mentioned schedule:

Days: 1/3/4/5/6/7

SK 935 Dep CPH 1225 Arr SFO 1445

SK 936 Dep SFO 1735 Arr CPH 1315+1

Oman Air has officially announced that it will be increasing capacity to both Colombo and Male from the on set of the IATA W12 season of which the main highlights are as follows:

MLE – frequencies increased from 4 to 5 weekly nonstop services using a B738.

CMB – capacity increased from daily B738 to 2 weekly A333s + 5 weekly B738s.

Malaysia Airlines has officially announced that it will be increasing capacity on 4 of its Indian subcontinent routes from September 2012 onwards in the following manner:

KTM – new 3 weekly nonstop flights to be launched using a B738

BOM – frequencies increased from daily to 10 weekly i.e. daily B772ER + 3 weekly B738

MAA – frequencies increased from daily to 11 weekly i.e. daily A332 + 4 weekly B738

BLR – frequencies increased from daily to 10 weekly with all flights operated with a B738

All of the above new flights depart KUL between 0900-1000 and arrive back into KUL between 1900-2000 respectively!  In addition, MAS has also revealed that it is very interested to purchase a longer range A330 variant capable of operating nonstop from KUL to Western Europe with a full payload as it finds its Boeing 777-200ERs a bit too large for some of the routes.

Comments:

MAS need not look further than the A332IGW of which Korean Air is a launch customer for. This aircraft operates long haul flights for KE such as ICN-NBO (15 hours block time) and SEA-ICN (13 hours block time) hence for MH it can easily operate KUL-FRA and KUL-FCO nonstop which have a block time of 12 hours 45 minutes each respectively. With MH part of One World, it might be worth looking into operating KUL-DUS nonstop so that via DUS it can code share with Air Berlin to all over Central, Eastern and Western Europe. KUL-DUS block time would be approximately 13 hours 10 minutes hence operationally possible on the A332IGW.

Fed Ex has officially announced that it has placed an order for 19 new Boeing 767-300ER freighters as the carrier looks to rapidly phase out its aging fleet of DC10Fs and A310Fs as they are more costlier to operate. Deliveries are expected to run between 2015-19 and it also includes converting 4 B772LR freighters previously ordered into B763ERFs !

Delta Airlines has officially announced that it will be making major capacity changes across its long haul network for the upcoming IATA W12 season of which the main highlights are as follows:

DTW/CDG - frequencies reduced from daily to 5 weekly flights using an A332

ATL/AMS - frequencies increased from daily to 12 weekly i.e. daily A333 + 5 weekly B763ER

JFK/AMS - capacity increased from daily A332 to daily A333

JFK/CDG - capacity increased from daily B763ER to daily A332

JFK/VCE - frequencies increased from 4 to 5 weekly flights using a B763ER

ATL/CDG - frequencies reduced from double daily to daily flights using a B763ER

ORD/CDG - frequencies reduced from 5 to 4 weekly flights using a B763ER

MSP/CDG - capacity increased from daily B763ER to daily A332

Fly Dubai has officially announced that it will be launching new flights to BSR-Basra, Iraq effective 08AUG 2012. FZ will be operating the service 4 times per week nonstop using its 189 seater Boeing 737-800. The schedule is as follows:

FZ 229 Dep DXB 0845 Arr BSR 0940
FZ 230 Dep BSR 1040 Arr DXB 1325

News till 30JUN

Emirates has officially announced that it shall be increasing capacity on three of its long haul routes effective Winter 2012 onwards. The main highlights are as follows:

JFK - capacity increased to double daily A380s effective 01JAN 2013

LUN/HRE - frequencies increased from 5 weekly to daily flights using an A332 effective 01OCT 2012

 

In addition, EK too revealed that it shall be launching new nonstop flights to EBL-Erbil, Iraq effective 12AUG 2012. EBL will be started initially with 4 weekly flights using an A343 but from 01SEP onwards shall be increased to daily flights using an A332. Lastly, building on the success of its new BSR-Basra route, EK will be further increasing frequencies here as well from 4 weekly to daily flights using an A332 from 01AUG.

Thai Airways has officially announced its first batch of initial capacity changes for the IATA Summer 2013 season of which the main highlights are as follows:

CPH – capacity reduced from a daily B744 to a daily B773ER which will have the new business class product. TG’s B77W configuration is 42J and 306Y

DME – frequencies increased from 3 to 4 times per week using a B773

LAX via ICN – capacity increased from 4 weekly B772ER to 4 weekly B744

ANA of Japan has officially announced that it has converted an order it held with Boeing for 4 Boeing 787-800s to the larger -900 version as the carrier identifies a need to replace more faster its fleet of regional Boeing 777-200As of which the B789 is the direct replacement aircraft. NH's total B787 order book numbers 55 aircraft of which 19 are B789s and 36 B788s.

Turkish Airlines has officially announced that it shall be launching new nonstop flights to IAH-Houston, USA effective 01APR 2013. Services will be operated 4 times per week using their new B777-300ER aircraft and the schedule is as follows:

Days: 1/2/5/6

TK 033 Dep IST 1305 Arr IAH 1805
TK 034 Dep IAH 1950 Arr IST 1555+1

The above mentioned schedule enables perfect connections in both directions via IST to the key oil markets in Central Asia, Saudi Arabia, GCC, North Africa as well as the VFR markets of KHI, BOM and DEL.

Hong Kong Airlines has officially revealed on the GDS system that it will be reducing its flagship all business class service on the Hong Kong-London Gatwick route effective 01SEP 2012. Currently, HX operates a daily flight on this route nonstop and has been unfortunately been well received by the traveling public as their seat load factor is low. From 01SEP, frequencies will be reduced from daily to 3 weekly which indirectly means an uncompetitive product as no business passenger would fly an airline offering 3 weekly HKG-LON services when CX/BA have double/triple daily flights!

Oman Air has officially announced that they are increasing both capacity and frequency to JED-Jeddah, Saudi Arabia effective 01JUL 2012. Frequencies are increased from 9 weekly B738s to 10 weekly flights using bigger aircraft i.e. 3 weekly A332s + daily B738. The new schedule is specifically targeting JED bound traffic from Pakistan and Kuala Lumpur as the connections are now as follows:

KHI-JED-KHI…4 weekly i/b and o/b

LHE-JED-LHE…2 weekly o/b and 4 weekly i/b

ISB-JED-ISB…3 weekly i/b and o/b

KUL-JED-KUL…4 weekly o/b and 5 weekly i/b

Overall, this represents an increase of 608 seats by WY on a r/t basis per week on the JED route.

Nasair of KSA has officially announced that they shall be launching new nonstop flights to PEW-Peshawar, Pakistan from its Riyadh hub base effective 01JUL 2012.It will be operating the route 4 times per week using a 180 seater Airbus A320. The flight schedule is as follows:

Days: MON/TUE/FRI/SUN

XY 740 Dep RUH 0725 Arr PEW 1320

XY 741 Dep PEW 1435 Arr RUH 1635

Qatar Airways has officially announced that they shall be significantly increasing services to DAC-Dhaka, Bangladesh from the on set of the IATA W12 season i.e. 27OCT 2012. Currently, QR operates to DAC 11 times per week nonstop using a mixture of A332s and A333s, however from 27OCT, frequencies shall be increased from 11 weekly to DOUBLE DAILY with all flights being operated with the A330s i.e. 10 weekly A333s (305 seater) + 4 weekly A332s (259 seater). In addition, QR too confirmed that it will be launching new nonstop flights to Maputo, Mozambique effective 31OCT 2012. These services shall be operated via Johannesburg three times per week using a B777-300ER.

Lion Air of Indonesia has officially announced that it is forming a new long haul subsidiary airline called Batik Air which was launched in grand style by placing an initial order for 5 Boeing 787-900. These aircraft will be configured in a 2 class layout i.e. business and economy and are destined to operate from Jakarta to Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Australia, Japan and China only.

Air China has officially announced that it will be reducing frequencies on two if its European routes for the upcoming IATA W12 season of which the main highlights are as follows:

PVG/MXP - frequencies reduced from daily to 5 weekly nonstop flights using an A332.

PEK/ARN (Stockholm) - frequencies reduced from 6 to 5 weekly nonstop flights using an A332.

Uzbekistan Airways has officially announced that it will launching new nonstop flights to ISB-Islamabad, Pakistan effective 28OCT 2012. HY will be operating the new flight twice a week nonstop from its Tashkent base using an Airbus A320. The main target market for HY to/from ISB is the price conscious PAK-Europe ethnic markets. Other highlights of its W12 schedule is as follows:

LHE - frequencies increased from 3 to 4 times per week nonstop
 

FCO - frequencies increased from 1 to 2 weekly nonstop

LHR - capacity increased from 2 weekly B757s to 2 weekly B763ERs with the new J/Y product

DXB - frequencies increased from 2 to 3 weekly nonstop flights

Cebu Pacific has officially announced that the first new route it is seeking to operate for its new low cost long haul venture using all economy class A333s (387 seater) is to Muscat, Oman. The airline has submitted an application to operate MNL-MCT nonstop using an A 333 six times per week from Summer 2013 onwards. If successful, it will be the first airline offering a full low cost service between MNL and the GCC. FYI, due to payload limitations an A333 with 387 seats cannot operate nonstop in both directions from MNL to KWI/DMM/RUH/BAH/DOH.

Japan has signed new bilateral accords with both UAE and Qatar giving them significant increase in flying allotments to their country in particular Tokyo from the on set of the IATA S13 season onwards of which the main highlights are as follows:

QR - allowed to increase NRT-DOH to double daily as well as operate daily flights from DOH to HND

EK and EY - both allowed to increase their respective NRT bound services to double daily as well as operate daily each to HND airport

It is expected that out of the 3 carriers, Emirates will be the first to take up this offer and increase its Tokyo bound flights to double daily by April 2013 with the below mentioned schedule using a B777:

EK XXX Dep DXB 2130 Arr NRT 1215+1
EK XXX Dep NRT 1710 Arr DXB 2300


Oman Air has officially announced that it shall be launching new nonstop service to IKA-Tehran effective 01SEP 2012. WY will be operating the route on a daily basis from its Muscat base using a 72 seater Embraer E175 for all flights. The schedule is a split one with four flights departing MCT at 0930 and three flights at 0200 respectively as the schedule largely is catering towards passengers bound to Germany, London, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur.


Qatar Airways has officially announced that it shall be increasing services to both Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur from the on set of the IATA W12 season of which the main highlights are as follows:

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

KUL - frequencies increased from 17 weekly to triple daily nonstop using an A332


Etihad Airways has officially announced that it shall be launching a new long haul route from June 2013 onwards i.e. GRU-Sao Paulo in Brazil which marks the debut of the airline into South America and in turn allows it to market itself as operating to all continents of the globe nonstop from its Abu Dhabi base. Services to GRU shall be flown on a daily nonstop basis using an Airbus A340-600. The schedule is as follows:

EY 171 Dep AUH 0945 Arr GRU 1755
EY 170 Dep GRU 0035 Arr AUH 2020

The above mentioned schedule mainly caters to traffic bound to Far East, India and Beirut.


Emirates has officially announced that it shall be reducing its operations at LAX-Los Angeles effective 01AUG as the carrier looks to redeploy aircraft to replace some of its A380 flying due to the wings crack issue. Frequencies on the LAX route shall be dropped from double daily to daily with the 0230 dep DXB flight being scrapped. Along with this, flights to Cape Town as well are being reduced from 01SEP onwards from double daily to daily.


Garuda Indonesia has officially announced that it will be shortly placing an order with Airbus for 3 A330-200 Freighters as the carrier forecasts strong growth in the Indonesian air cargo market segment and hence wants to take full advantage of it in the least risky manner. It says that it chose the A332F and not the B772:RF because it already has a bunch of passenger version A332s in its fleet where as with the B777, it only operates the B777-300ER hence it did not want to add another aircraft type into its overall fleet mix. The A332F can carry 64 tons of cargo on board and can fly up to 8 hours nonstop with a full payload.


Cathay Pacific has officially announced that due to seasonal demand patterns as well as cost cutting initiatives, it shall be reducing its services to FCO-Rome for the IATA W12 season. Currently, CX operates a daily nonstop flight from HKG to FCO using A343, however from 27OCT, these will be reduced to 5 times per week using the same aircraft type.


Singapore Airlines has officially announced that it will be increasing flights to London Heathrow effective 09SEP 2012 as the carrier looks to take further advantage of the high yield and leisure market bound to SE Asia and Australia via its strategically located hub of Singapore. Out of the 4 daily services, 3 shall be flown with an A380 and one with a B773ER. Flights depart SIN at 0905/1245/2330/2345 and arrive back into SIN at 0720/1420/1550/1755 respectively.


Air France has officially announced that due to cost cutting measures as well as to further share commonly flown routes by its fellow Sky Team members, it will be suspending all flights to JED-Jeddah, Saudi Arabia effective 01SEP 2012. Currently, AF operates 3 times per week to JED nonstop from CDG using an A332 and in turn, Saudia Airlines will be filing in the gap by increasing its own JED-CDG operated services from 4 weekly to daily nonstop using an Airbus A320. AF too announced that it shall further increase its flights to RUH-Riyadh from the current 4 weekly to daily nonstop using an A330-200.


American Airlines has officially announced the on board configuration of its soon to be delivered Boeing 777-300ERs that it placed on order two years ago. Their B77Ws will be in a 3 class configuration seating 310 passengers of which the breakdown is 8 first class, 52 business class and 250 economy class respectively. AA's initial routes flown by this aircraft type include both Sao Paulo and London Heathrow from its Dallas and JFK airport hubs.


Kenya Airways has officially announced that it will be suspending all of its flights to FCO-Rome, Italy effective immediately as the route has failed to meet its minimum required targets. KQ operated 3 times per week between NBO and FCO using a B767-300ER and catered largely to O&D + transfer traffic bound to ADD, DAR, JNB and EBB.


South African Airways has officially announced that it shall be increasing its long haul capacity from 01AUG 2012 onwards to three key routes as it looks to advantage of the pull out of many carriers from its home market. The main highlights are as follows:

JNB/BOM - frequencies increased from 4 to 6 weekly nonstop flights using an A332

JNB/ACC - frequencies increased from 5 to 6 weekly nonstop flights using an A332

JNB/PER - frequencies increased from 6 weekly to daily nonstop flights using an A343

CPT/LHR - all flights suspended; currently operated on a daily basis with an A332