Gulf Air has officially announced that it will be reinstating services into DAC-Dhaka, Bangladesh, effective 30MAY16 after a 3 year hiatus that was initiated due to Bahrain Govt directive to curtail losses by any means necessary. Routes such as DAC, KTM and CMB were part of that drive in 2013 and now it is being relaunched with 5 weekly nonstop flights using a split schedule which is as follows:Aircraft: A320 for all 5 weekly flightsDays: 1/3GF 248 Dep BAH 0100 Arr DAC 0930GF 249 Dep DAC 1030 Arr DAC 1325Days: 2/4/6
GF 250 Dep BAH 2010 Arr DAC 0440+1GF 251 Dep DAC 0540 Arr BAH 0835
Comments:
This is a good move by GF as it is relaunching DAC in a low risk manner by operating 5 times per week using an A320 which will provide good network support as well as decent O&D yield bound to BAH and DMM in particular. However, the above mentioned split schedule is ok for the summer season but cannot be operated in Winter due to the dense fog in DAC + the A320 will face major payload restrictions out of DAC to BAH between NOV-MAR.
For the IATA W16 season, it is best to operate it as follows:
Days: 1/2/3/4/6GF 250 Dep BAH 1030 Arr DAC 1900GF 251 Dep DAC 2000 Arr BAH 2255
In this way, the flight operations will not be effected one bit due to fog which will be beneficial to the overall OTP performance of the carrier + it enables GF to operate a standardized schedule which in itself is a sales generating tool and also more comforting for travel agents and passengers to comprehend. Another important aspect with the above proposal is that it helps connect with GF 006 LHR-BAH which has historically struggled due to the lack of Indian subcontinent destinations it has good connections with which provide volume traffic in turn. The above mentioned schedule proposal also connects all of the prime GCC markets conveniently in both directions thus providing more network benefit potential.
Thai Airways has officially announced that due to high demand for its Delhi bound flights out of Bangkok from both a P2P + 6th freedom transfer traffic perspective, it shall be increasing frequencies on the route.The current double daily frequencies are being increased to 19 weekly nonstop i.e. daily B788 + daily B773A + daily B772ER
In 2015, the point to point market demand between DEL & BKK was 422,000 passengers.
Garuda Indonesia has officially confirmed that it has placed an order with Airbus for 14 new Airbus A330-900s (aka NEOs) as part of a deal that saw the airline cancel its existing order for 7 A330-300s.
GA ordered 7 incremental aircraft in order for this NEO version type to fully replace its existing A333 fleet which numbers 15 units of which many are nearing 20 years of service.
The A339 has the capability of flying to Western Europe nonstop from Jakarta with a full payload.
Asiana Airlines, the second largest carrier out of South Korea has disclosed that it will be significantly increasing capacity on its popular Seoul-Los Angeles nonstop route that is currently being operated twice daily. The current flights are operated using a B777-200ER daily + a daily A380. However, effective 31OCT16, all double daily flights shall be exclusively operated by the A380. The ICN-LAX route is one of the biggest trans-pacific P2P market segments with 595,000 passengers flying it in 2015 versus 323,000 for ICN-SFO!
Alitalia has officially announced that it will be launching new nonstop services to PEK-Beijing, China effective 18JUL16. The flights will be operated nonstop from its primary hub base i.e. FCO-Rome airport using an Airbus A330-200 four times per week. The schedule is as follows:
Days: 1/3/5/6
AZ 790 Dep FCO 1420 Arr PEK 0620+1
AZ 791 Dep PEK 0915 Arr FCO 1425It marks a return for AZ into PEK after a 4 year gap. The 2015 P2P demand between PEK and Italy was as follows:FCO/PEK - 136,000 paxMXP/PEK - 102,000 pax
Turkish Airlines has officially announced that due to peak season demand to Male, Maldives that originates from Europe during the winter season, it shall in turn significantly boost its capacity in line with market demand.
Currently, TK operates daily A332 operated service to MLE that extends onwards to Colombo. However from the on set of the IATA W16 season i.e. 29OCT, these shall be raised to 10 weekly IST-MLE with the new 3 weekly flights being nonstop terminators. All 10 weekly services will be exclusively flown using the A330-200.
Air France has officially disclosed a new cabin configuration for its entire Airbus A330-200 fleet as the carrier seeks to modernize the interior in line with passenger expectations on long + medium haul flights.
AF confirmed that the business class seats will all be full flat bed seats by 2018 summer where as the new layout is as follows:
30 business class - flat beds21 premium economy175 economy class
Total - 226 seats in a 3 class layoutFleet size - 15 units AF has of the A332 Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-04-05/air-france-to-upgrade-a330s-with-zodiac-lie-flat-business-seats
Etihad Airways has officially announced that as a result of its failed partnership accord with South African Airways plus the need to boost its Johannesburg presence versus the increasing threat to its market share from Emirates, Turkish Airlines, Ethiopian and Qatar Airways in particular, it will be boosting its services into JNB effective 01JUL16.Currently, EY operates a daily nonstop AUH-JNB-AUH service using an A330-200 however from 01JUL, this shall be raised to 10 weekly nonstop using the same aircraft type. The 3 new flights are scheduled as follows:Days: 2/4/6EY 602 Dep AUH 0145 Arr JNB 0825EY 601 Dep JNB 0945 Arr LOS 2015
This new increased schedule allows key feeder markets such as PEK, PVG, ICN and NRT to be finally connected with JNB in both directions!
Thai Airways has officially announced that due to surging demand for its Mumbai bound flights as well as the need to remain competitive versus Air India and Jet Airways on the BOM-BKK route, it will be boosting its services effective 02JUN16.
Currently, TG operates a daily B744 nonstop between BKK and BOM. However from June onwards, these shall be raised to 10 weekly nonstop with the 3 new weekly frequencies operated by the B777-200ER.
Traffic demand in 2015 between BKK and BOM stood at 296,000 passengers P2P.
Austrian Airlines has officially announced that due to declining yields and profitability, it shall be suspending all its services to NRT-Tokyo Narita airport effective 03SEP16.
OS currently operates a daily nonstop service using a B772ER from its Vienna hub into Tokyo but has felt the increasing pressure of EK, QR and TK into its market share on this route.
In 2015, the P2P demand between VIE and Tokyo (HND + NRT) stood at 97,000 passengers hence a windfall for LH/LX/EK/QR/TK to tap into.
Air Canada has officially confirmed that it will be increasing frequencies to DEL-Delhi, India effective 30OCT. Currently, it operates 4 times per week using a B789 nonstop and from the W16 season, these will be raised to daily using the same aircraft type. AC has been witnessing good loads on this recently launched service and with oil prices being low + using a fuel efficient aircraft to operate a low yielding route like this one, its sustainability is viable.
Air India has officially announced that due to increasing demand for its Milan bound flights versus Rome, it shall be adjusting capacity accordingly for its Italy bound services from the on set of the IATA S16 season.
MXP/DEL - frequencies shall be increased from 3 to 4 weekly nonstop using a B788
FCO/DEL - frequencies shall be reduced from 4 to 3 weekly nonstop using a B788
The point to point demand between India to MXP/FCO in 2015 was as follows:
MXP-DEL...100,000MXP-BOM...31,000MXP-MAA...11,000MXP-BLR...11,000MXP-ATQ...23,000
FCO-DEL...75,000FCO-BOM...34,000FCO-ATQ...17,000FCO-MAA...9,000FCO-BLR...12,000
Emirates has officially announced that it will be increasing capacity on its popular Vienna service effective 01JUL16 as the carrier looks to take full advantage of the increasing point to point demand being now monopolized by them after the suspension of Austrian Airlines from this route.
The rotation that has been increased in capacity from a daily B77W to A380 is EK 127/128 which departs DXB at 0855 and VIE at 1505 each respectively. The point to point demand between VIE and DXB in 2015 was 158,000 passengers which is quite impressive.
In a clear sign of the downward trend that the Nigerian economy (along with all other oil based countries) is experiencing, British Airways has officially announced that it has reduced capacity on one of its most popular routes i.e. Lagos-London effective immediately which has been carried forward into the IATA S16 season. BA used to operate a daily B744 seating 347 pax where as its current B772ERs seat 226 which translates into a capacity drop of 35% !
Oman Air is considering placing an order for up to 13 Airbus A 350-900s as part of a deal to replace its Airbus A330-200/300 fleet from 2020 onwards. Currently, WY operates 6 A333s + 4 A332s + 4 B788s + 6 B789s. Source: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oman-air-eyes-airbus-a350-plane-purchase-2016-03-10
Comments:One does not see no justification for this as WY already will be having nearly 10 B787s (788s and 789s) by the time the A359s would get delivered. They dont have such a large fleet to warrant diversification. It is best to stick to one airplane family to meet their needs because if they required the larger capacity A359 to service any route, then they can instead easily order the B787-10 (781). In this way, their 2020-30 wide body fleet is revolving totally around the B787 family rather than A359 + B787. A standardized fleet in turn will result in synergies that translate into cost savings and better efficiency operationally.
American Airlines has officially announced that it will be launching new daily nonstop flights from its secondary Los Angeles-LAX hub to HKG-Hong Kong effective 07SEP16.
Flights will be flown using AA's flagship Boeing 777-300ERs using the below mentioned schedule:
AA XXX Dep LAX 0155 Arr HKG 0810AA XXX Dep HKG 2020 Arr LAX 1840AA's main competitor on this route is their fellow One World member i.e. Cathay Pacific who operate LAX-HKG 4 times daily using a B77W.
Austrian Airlines has officially announced that it will be launching new nonstop flights to HKG-Hong Kong from its primary Vienna hub effective 05SEP16.
Services shall be flown 5 times per week using a B777-200ER scheduled as follows:
Days: 1/2/3/5/6
OS 067 Dep VIE 1300 Arr HKG 0625+1
OS 068 Dep HKG 0940 Arr VIE 1610In 2015, point to point traffic demand between VIE and HKG was 34,000 pax.
Qatar Airways has officially announced 14 new destinations that will be added into its rapidly expanding route network in 2016-17. The expansion is wide spread to Africa, Asia and Europe in order to generate the maximum network feed via Doha in both directions.The new routes are as follows:WDH (Windoek) - 4 weekly B788s effective 28SEPKBV (Krabi) - 4 weekly A332s effective 06DECAKL (Auckland) - daily nonstop B77Ls effective 03DECHEL (Helsinki) - daily nonstop using an A320SEZ (Seychelles) - daily nonstop using an A320NEOSJJ (Sarajevo) - 3 weekly nonstop using an A320DLA (Douala) - operated with a B788 but schedule not released
LBV (Libreville) - operated with a B788 but schedule not releasedLUN (Lusaka) - operated with a B788 but schedule not releasedCNX (Chiang Mai) - info not yet released PSA (Pisa) - daily A320sSKP (Skopje) - 3 weekly A320s RAK (Makkarech) - info not yet releasedNCE (Nice) - info not yet released
Malaysia Airlines has officially announced that the airline has been very impressed with its financial performance over the past two quarter periods and is now considering a serious proposal to place a large order for additional Airbus A350-900s in order to replace its aging A330-300 fleet from 2019 onwards.Currently MH has 15 A333s in service with an additional 2 A339s on order (dry lease). As far as the A359s are concerned, it has opted to dry lease 6 units (including 2 options) to be exclusively used on double daily KUL-LHR nonstop services. If the order proposal comes through, MH's future fleet would solely consist of 2 aircraft types only i.e. 36 B738s + 17 A359s which in turn would make the airline realize a lot of cost saving and operational synergies.
Oman Air has officially announced that it will be growing its presence in Iran with a new nonstop service to MHD-Mashad, Iran effective 01JUN16 using a Boeing 737-700.
The schedule is a split daily operation ensuring it connects to key Asian and EU markets via MCT in both directions at least 3 times per week.
Days - 2/3/7
WY 453 Dep MCT 0125 Arr MHD 0440 WY 454 Dep MHD 0530 Arr MCT 0735
Days - 1/4/5/6
WY 451 Dep MCT 1400 Arr MHD 1715WY 452 Dep MHD 2145 Arr MCT 2350With Saudia and Gulf Air forcibly suspending MHD due to political reasons, the airline is looking to obtain vital feeder traffic support from its own BAH + DMM flights to help sustain the route in its early stages.
