Japan Airlines (JAL) received its first two 787s last month out of its total order of 45 Dreamliners. They plan to use the planes to increase international services by 25 percent by 2017. On Sunday 22nd April, JAL flew the first scheduled 787 Dreamliner passenger service into the USA, with its new Tokyo to Boston service, the first time ever these two cities have been linked by direct AIR service. JAL will fly the 14 hour hop four times a week: From Boston: Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. This shows the potential of then plane combining its capacity…
Airline News (Friday)
Category Archives for Airline News (Friday).
Check in on Qantas New Strategy
I am not a complete fan of Qantas survival strategy outlined by CEO Joyce in 2011. The strategy involved the following key elements: Paring back Qantas International to key points such as Hong Kong, Bangkok, Los Angeles, Santiago and Dallas, handing passengers over to One World partners at those points Creating a Premium airline in Asia in conjunction with an Asian partner called RedQ, RedQ Executive Flyer, OneAsia or RedSky, all names Qantas trademarked in Jun-2011 This carrer would operate an initial fleet of eight A320s, growing to 11 in the medium-term, focused on service to key medium-haul Asian destinations like China and India…
Armavia Ailing or Aspiring?
Few will have heard of Amravia but this week they sounded like they were about to join the list if bankrupt airlines for 2012. Armavia is the national airline of Armenia, a small landlocked mountainous country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia. It was part of the USSR. Armavia was established in 1996, with commercial flights to Russia and Turkey starting in 2001. It had a strategic alliance with Russian S7 Airlines who owned 68% of Armavia for a while. The carrier took over flights from Armenian airlines which went bankrupt in 2003 and then it…
Air India and the 787 revisited
On July 18, 2011, I declared that it was unlikely we would see a promised Air India 787 flying non stop between Melbourne and Delhi by October of that year. I was right. More recently, the Premier (Leader) of the state of Victoria, Australia (capital Melbourne) led a delegation to India where discussion about this proposed service occurred with India’s civil aviation minister. It is now believed a direct Melbourne- New Delhi service will start in 2013. The airline expects to get their first 787 in May 2012 with seven delivered by March, 2013. It is believed Boeing has agreed to compensate the airline about…
Direct Air Directionless
To the list of defunct airlines in 2012: Air Australia, Air Zimbabwe, Spanair and Malev, we can add the latest collapse of an airline: Directair. After suspending all of its scheduled flights in the middle of the spring break travel season last week, there probably was not much left to do. White knights are few and far between in this economy. Initially they promised a resumption of service on March 15. This resumption was delayed until May 15. Now that option has gone. Court documents show the company has at least $10 million in debt and just $500,000 to…
Kingfisher highlights Indian air woes
The Indian air market is estimated to be the ninth largest in the world but with the population size the country has, the Indian government believes it will become the world’s third largest market by 202o. 87 foreign and five Indian airlines fly to and from India to 40 countries. Approximately five million Indians fly every month domestically. Domestic traffic more than doubled between Jul-2006 and July 2011, with growth of 101%. One reason for the growth was the deregulation of Indian domestic aviation in 2003- 2004 followed by international deregulation in 2007-2008 Today, India’s airlines have some of the youngest fleets in the world…
United and Continental – Married at last!
Once upon a time there was a USA airline that I really liked. Texas based Continental Airlines flew to 140 cities with an attitude to service I really liked. Between 1991 and 2001, I flew Continental the equivalent of two trips around the world. I ranked them consistently the best US “legacy” airline for a while In the same story was Continental’s beau- United airlines. I have long had a love hate relationship with them. Flew United a lot but don’t ever feel I really bonded – especially when they served me up some of the worst flights I have been on. I have travelled 103,586…
Farewell BA Bangkok – Sydney Trip Report
This is the fourth time I have flown British Airways on this sector- and my last. BA will cease flying this route from this Friday March 3rd. Qantas will terminate its Bangkok to London services on March 26th and its planes will turn around in Bangkok. Instead both airlines will “swap” passengers at Bangkok. The same thing is happening with their Hong Kong flights. Both airlines will maintain their services via Singapore (the “Kangaroo Route”). This shorter “hop” will be where all through Australia-London passengers will be fed. Passengers going via Hong K and Bangkok will be choosing to stop. I have some disquiet about how…
Reflections on Gulf Air
This week I fly from the Middle East to Paris where I will be competing in the Paris Half Marathon. Then I have a quick train trip to see friends in Amsterdam! See map below. Last week, I landed at my 195th airport in my life: Bahrain in the emptiest plane I have ever been on. It was an Etihad 777 from Abu Dhabi that I swear was 10 to 15% full. Crew said the large plane was used because it was transporting freight. Arrival at Bahrain was frustrating because of the “security situation” (petrol bombs, tear gas, rubber bullets…
Etihad Internet access
I was initially excited that Etihad are offering wifi on board but it is only on three planes. Slim chance I will see it tomorrow when I fly to Abu Dhabi!
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