Jet Airways to lease three A330-200s to Turkish Airlines

by Devesh Agarwal and Vinay Bhaskara

In a December 12th filing with the Borsa Istanbul stock exchange (BIST), national carrier Turkish Airlines has said it will lease three Airbus A330-200 aircraft from India's Jet Airways for a period of six years. The financial details of the proposed lease were not made available. The middle-eastern giant will lease another five A330s from Dutch lessor AerCap for a period of eight years.

Bulk of Jet's A330s sitting on the ground. Photo copyright 2012 Devesh Agarwal.

Turkish Airlines (THY) has been leasing aircraft from Jet Airways since 2008 and once again in 2013, as the Indian carrier found it difficult to fill most of its international wide-body fleet. At one point 70% of Jet's Boeing 777-300ER fleet was leased out, with four aircraft leased to Turkish Airlines and three to Thai Airways. Jet even sold one of its Boeing 777s, strangely a money spinner for most of the world's airlines, but not for Jet.

Till recently, much of Jet's A330-200 fleet was grounded at Indian airports thanks to aggressive route rationalisation by the airline. In the second quarter of this fiscal year, Jet lost a whopping Rs.123 crores, just on the costs of keeping its aircraft on the ground.

Five of the ten grounded A330-200 aircraft have been leased by Jet, though on a short term basis, to 24% stake-holder, Abu Dhabi based Etihad Airways PJSC. The deal with Turkish was expected, after a deal to sell the remaining five A330s to Kuwait Airways fell through last month.

Repeated requests to Jet Airways for comments on this story were not answered.

It is an economically sensible deal for Jet Airways. In one stroke it is addressing a major cash drain, and ensuring long term dollar denominated revenue for itself. While a sale which would have brought in one-time income which would have reduced long-term lower cost debt, a lease will give Jet a long term hedge against potential rupee devaluations and the ability to pay off its $400 million high interest rate debt. Jet is reeling under a total debt load of about $1.9 billion.

As Jet Airways continues to turn over its long haul operations to Etihad and Abu Dhabi via the Jetihad partnership, look for the carrier to continue to seek out incremental opportunities to earn rent on its under-utilised assets.

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Pakistan routes news and analysis: Gulf Air, Pakistan International Airlines, and Turkish Airlines

by Vinay Bhaskara

Several pieces of routes news from Pakistan emerged over the past week, and Bangalore Aviation has prepared a summary of these changes

Gulf Air increases frequency to Pakistan

• Bahrain based  Gulf Air has added 7 new weekly frequencies on its offering to Pakistan, from mid-December 2013, bringing its total Pakistani operation to 21 flights per week to four destinations. A summary of the changes is shown below
• Bahrain - Islamabad increases from 2x weekly to 3x weekly Airbus A330-200
• Bahrain - Karachi increases from daily to 10x weekly Airbus A320
• Bahrain - Lahore increases from 3x weekly to 4x weekly A330-200
• Bahrain - Peshawar increases from 2x weekly to 4x weekly, split as 2x weekly Airbus A321, 1x weekly A330-200, and 1x weekly A320

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) increases service to Manchester/Toronto from November 2013

• Total frequency to Toronto increases to 4x weekly with addition of second weekly Karachi - Lahore - Toronto flights using Boeing 777-200LR equipment
• Total frequency to Manchester increases to 6x weekly with addition of third weekly Islamabad - Manchester on Boeing 777-200ER equipment
• Pakistan International Airlines continues to persist in operating a potpourri of routings for its intercontinental flights, by having low frequencies from each of Karachi, Islamabad, Lahore, and even Peshawar. This is certainly not unprecedented; Saudia has a similar setup out of Riyadh, Jeddah, and Dammam. But it would likely be more efficient for PIA to choose just one airport to serve as its gateway for long haul flights; either Karachi, which has the highest yielding traffic, or Islamabad, which has the highest volume of passengers. 

Turkish Airlines switches to 737-900ER

• Istanbul based Turkish Airlines is planning on switching aircraft for some of its flights to Pakistan, replacing the Boeing 737-800 with the Boeing 737-900ER
• Interestingly, the decision to replace the 737-800 with the 737-900ER actually represents a downgrade in capacity, as the 737-800s are configured with 165 seats (12Y+ / 153Y), while the 737-900ERs are configured for 151 seats (16C / 135Y) including a true regional business class product. This is an indication that Turkish Airlines is seeing strong premium demand on its Pakistani routes, but volumes are a bit soft (understandable given the residual weakness in the Pakistani economy)
• The routes affected are:
• All 4x weekly flights to Karachi, Pakistan's business capital
• One of 3x weekly flights to Islamabad, Pakistan's political capital

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Turkish Airlines increases Algiers frequencies

Middle Eastern full service carrier Turkish Airlines has announced an increase in frequencies to Algiers from seven flights per week to 11, beginning 13th September, 2013. Find the details below.

Flight No.	Start	End	Days	Departure		Arrival
TK 651	31 March 2013	26 October 2013	Everyday	Istanbul	12:40	Algiers	14:15
TK 652	31 March 2013	26 October 2013	Everyday	Algiers	15:55	Istanbul	21:05
TK 653	13 September 2013	25 October 2013	Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday	Istanbul	08:30	Algiers	10:05
TK 654	13 September 2013	25 October 2013	Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday	Algiers	11:40	Istanbul	16:50

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Turkish Airlines increases frequency in Valencia

Middle Eastern carrier Turkish Airlines has announced that it is increasing frequency to Valencia, Spain from five flights per week to seven per week on 27th October 2013. Flight schedules are as shown below.

TK 1301 Istanbul-Valencia 1010-1305 Daily
TK 1302 Valencia-Istanbul 1405-1850 Daily

The aircraft will have a one hour turnaround in Valencia, and Turkish Airlines will offer the quickest connection between India and Valencia, as it does for most of Spain. 

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Analysis: Emboldened by Etihad deal, Turkish Airlines seeks additional flying rights to India

by Vinay Bhaskara

Late last week, The Times of India reported Turkish Airlines, one of the world’s fastest growing airlines in the world, wanted to more than quintuple its Indian footprint, requesting an increase in weekly seat allocation from 4,000 to 20,000 seats per week, and gain access to Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Amritsar, and Ahmedabad.

Turkish is also requesting an increase in its weekly frequency allocation from 14 weekly flights (one daily each to Mumbai and Delhi), to 70 flights per week.

Reportedly, Turkish Airlines’ Indian general manager Adnan Aykac made the following statements with regards to his carrier’s requests:

We currently fly 14 flights a week — a daily from Delhi and Mumbai each to Istanbul. This is very limited capacity. We have asked the government for more destinations as we want to fly to all the six metros [Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mumbai], Amritsar and Ahmedabad. We want to have 70 weekly flights from eight cities in India. We are ready to mount the flights that we seek to and from the new cities as early as possible. Delhi and Mumbai are among the most expensive airports in the world, with Delhi being costlier than Mumbai. But these are the two gateways to India and generate almost 70% of all international traffic to and from India. Indian carriers can start flights to Turkey whenever they want. This will be a commercial decision. There are many places whose airlines fly to India without an Indian carrier going there like Amsterdam, from where KLM flies without any Indian carrier going to Holland. 

Turkish Airlines may have some weight behind its request thanks to the timing. As a condition of the recent purchase of a 24% stake in full service carrier Jet Airways by Etihad Airways (with the Abu Dhabi government behind it), Etihad asked for and received a massive increase in seat allocation through the bilateral air service agreement (ASA). Etihad now controls more than 92,000 seats per week between India and Abu Dhabi, while other Middle Eastern rivals like Emirates (54,000) and Qatar Airways (24,292) control more than the 20,000 seats requested by Turkish Airlines. However, Turkish Airlines lacks the political clout of Jet Airways head Naresh Goyal, which might affect its chances of getting an expanded bilateral. And the so-called Jetihad deal is under further review by concerned parties in the Indian government.

Regardless of the outcome of its request, Turkish Airlines already has a strong presence in the Indian market. As with much of its route network, the success is predicated on connectivity across its global hub at Istanbul. Currently, Turkish operate daily services to both Delhi and Mumbai, and each destination is primarily utilized for connecting Indian passengers westbound to Europe, Africa, North America, and (now) Latin America. In 2012, only 24% of Turkish Airlines passengers at Mumbai (where it had a seat factor of 82%) were origin and destination (O&D) passengers from Istanbul, while the figure was 23% at Delhi (on seat factors of 75%).

The five largest origin points for Turkish Airlines service to Mumbai in 2012 were Tel Aviv (despite nonstop service from Israeli national carrier), Stockholm Arlanda, London Heathrow, Washington Dulles, and Chicago O’hare. Arlanda, Dulles and O’hare all lack nonstop service from Mumbai. The market between Washington DC and Mumbai was sized at 38,232 passengers in 2011, while Chicago – Mumbai had nearly 62,367 annual passengers. The five largest origin points for the Delhi flights were Tel Aviv, Barcelona, Washington Dulles (an annual market size of nearly 61,235 passengers), Berlin Tegel, and Copenhagen. Mumbai and Delhi were of course the two largest inbound feeder markets for Turkish Airlines’ services to Washington Dulles, and both airports were amongst the top 5 feeders for Turkish Airlines service to Tel Aviv and Berlin. Delhi was a top 5 feeder market for Turkish Airlines flights to Sao Paulo, Barcelona, Bremen, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Madrid, Nuremberg, Milan and Venice, while Mumbai was a top 5 feeder market for Chicago, Los Angeles, London Heathrow, and Rome. It is interesting to note that Turkish Airlines has won a large share of traffic between Germany and Delhi, despite the presence of German national carrier Lufthansa in Delhi with the largest aircraft available; the Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental. Perhaps this lost traffic is behind Lufthansa’s long standing request to operate the Airbus A380 to Delhi?

The services to Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Amritsar, and Ahmedabad will likely follow much of the same pattern. While Bangalore and Chennai are reasonably well served to Europe, the remaining destinations all lack connectivity. Africa and Latin America are un-served, as is the United States, to which these destinations had more than 1.7 million passengers worth of annual demand in 2011 (436,881 – Bangalore, 481,748 – Hyderabad, 398,941 – Chennai, 244,185 – Ahmedabad, 108,581 – Kolkata, and 100,000 – Amritsar).

Turkish Airlines currently serves 235 destinations worldwide on a fleet of 218 passenger aircraft (carrying 39 million passengers in 2012), including 38 in Africa, seven in North America, two in Latin America, and 87 in Europe (with several more in each region announced). Its hub at Istanbul’s Ataturk International is one of the fastest growing airports in the world, with traffic having more than quadrupled to nearly 45 million passengers in 2012 from 11.3 million in 2002.

However, space is constrained at Ataturk, and the airport is now heavily congested, with airline on-time performance in June of 2013 at Istanbul Ataturk registering at an abysmal 38.02%. Turkish has already begun to develop Istanbul’s second airport, Sahiba Gokcen, as a secondary hub. Traffic there hit 14.5 million annual passengers in 2012, but these growth pressures should be resolved by the end of the decade, as Turkey has broken ground on the world’s largest airport in Istanbul.

Analyst's views are individual and may not necessarily reflect the views of Bangalore Aviation.

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Trip Report: India and Europe Summer 2013 - Introduction

Introduction
United Club Newark
United Economy Class Newark to Hamburg
Lufthansa Senator Lounge Hamburg
Turkish Airlines Economy Class Hamburg to Istanbul
Turkish Airlines CIP Lounge Istanbul
Turkish Airlines Economy Class Istanbul to Mumbai 
Lufthansa Senator Lounge Mumbai
Thai Airways Business Class Mumbai-Bangkok
Thai Airways First Class Lounge and Spa Bangkok
Thai Airways First Class Bangkok to Frankfurt
Lufthansa Senator Lounge Frankfurt
Lufthansa Business Class Frankfurt to Zurich
*tentative*
Swiss Business Lounge Zurich
Air Canada Executive First Zurich to Toronto
Air Canada Maple Leaf Club Toronto
Air Canada Business Class Toronto to Philadelphia
*tentative*
_________________________________________________________________________________

This post is meant to serve as an introduction to a trip I will be taking later this summer. The trip report will be updated as I actually do the flying.

So the genesis of this trip is that I am taking a trip to India in August of this year, and on the return I will be stopping over in Europe to visit with family.

Now within the parameters of a standard United Airlines award ticket, I booked the itinerary you see above, Economy Class going to India, and First Class on the return. My first step was finding award inventory in the India-US direction, which is incredibly difficult to do in the summer time, as this is a peak period for US origin travel to India. I eventually managed to find a one-stop from Newark via Munich to Mumbai on August 7th, but instead I opted for a more circuitous Newark-Hamburg-Istanbul-Mumbai routing. This routing would allow me to visit two new airports (Hamburg and Istanbul), and fly a new aircraft type (the Airbus A321 --  most of my short haul flying has been on United and American, neither of whom currently have A321s) in the spirit of a true aviation connoisseur.

The advantages of this routing are that I have a comfortable 4 hour layover in Hamburg (allowing me to shower in the lounge) as opposed to the hour long sprint I'd have to endure in Munich, as well as 4 hours to review the Turkish Airlines CIP lounge in Istanbul, considered by many to be the best business class lounge in the world. It also allows me to provide a review of Turkish Airlines' service offering in economy class on flights between India and the West. And the Istanbul-Mumbai sector is currently scheduled on a Boeing 777-300ER leased from Jet Airways.

Turkish Airlines Business Class (CIP) Lounge - Istanbul
Image Credit - One Mile at a Time

The return flights from Mumbai are also notable. On a first class award, I will have a business class flight overnight from Bangkok to Mumbai, and then I will be able to experience Thai Airways famed first class services in Bangkok- including a golf cart ride to the lounge, hour long complementary Thai massages, and a full service restaurant. Then I will be on to the highlight of my trip; First Class on the Thai Airways A380 between Bangkok and Frankfurt, my first time in international first class and my first time flying an A380. Then its a couple of hours of layover in Frankfurt and off to Zurich,.

Thai Airways Royal First Class on A380
Image Credit - Australian Business Traveler

Now its the flights home to the US that I am still unsure about. The only flight home I could find at the time of booking was the Air Canada itinerary displayed. However, what I am banking on is that Lufthansa tends to release its first class award inventory to United 14 days before departure; Lufthansa First Class and the First Class Terminal at Frankfurt would be  a perfect way to end this trip. Either way, I am excited for my journey!

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Turkish Airlines finalises order for 50 737 MAXs and 20 Next-Generation 737s

Turkish Airlines has finalized a firm order on US airframer Boeing for 40 737 MAX 8s, 10 737 MAX 9s and 20 Next-Generation 737-800 jets, valued at $6.9 billion at list prices. The order, originally announced as a commitment last month, also includes options for an additional 25 737 MAX 8s and is the largest Boeing order in Turkish Airlines' history.

Today's announcement brings the total number of 737 MAXs ordered to date to 1,285 and Boeing currently has more than 3,100 unfilled orders for 737s.

With today's announcement, Turkish Airlines has 100 Boeing airplanes on order including Next-Generation 737s, 737 MAXs and 777-300ERs.

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Jumbo orders from Turkish Airlines and Lion Air further consolidate A320neo lead

On the eve of the 25th anniversary of its first delivery, the European Airbus A320 narrow body, is ratcheting up the pressure on competitor the American Boeing 737 booking two high profile orders during this month.

The first order cames from national Turkish Airlines (THY), which signed a contract, the biggest ever by a Turkish carrier, for up to 117 A320 Family aircraft (25 A321ceo, four A320neo, 53 A321neo and options for 35 additional A321neo aircraft). Turkish Airlines already operates 75 A320 Family aircraft. (ceo=classic engine option, neo=new engine option).

The coup, though, was a 234 A320 Family aircraft order, comprising 109 A320neo, 65 A321neo and 60 A320ceo, from Indonesian carrier Lion Air, until now a Boeing only operator, which had placed Boeing's largest commercial airplane order, at the time. The carrier currently operates a fleet of Boeing 737s dominated by 737-900ERs in an all economy 213 seat configuration. Lion Air will configure its A320 family in an all economy layout, with its A320's seating 180 passengers and its A321's seating 236.

Incorporating new engines and large Sharklet wing tip devices, the A320neo will enter into service from late 2015, followed by the A319neo and A321neo in 2016.

Below is a video of the thank you extended by Airbus employees to Lion Air.

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Jet Airways to lease three Boeing 777-300ERs to Turkish Airlines

by Devesh Agarwal

Sources within Mumbai based Jet Airways indicate the airline has entered into an agreement with Turkish Airlines to dry-lease three of its Boeing 777-300ER (77W) aircraft for one year. The Indian carrier has a total of ten 77Ws in its fleet.

Since 2008, the carrier has found it difficult to effectively utilise these highly popular aircraft. It has been leasing up to 70% of its 777 fleet to various carriers like Gulf Air, Turkish THY Airlines, and Thai Airways. Boeing India chief Dr. Dinesh Keskar attributes this to Jet's small network in comparison to its competition. (Read Dr. Keskar's exclusive interview with Bangalore Aviation.)

At present the airline has five 77W's on lease with Thai Airways. Three of these aircraft will return by June and July 2013 and will be leased to Turkish Airlnes for a one year period. The other two are expected back from Thai in the fourth calendar quarter of this year. At present indications are that Jet plans to use these aircraft on its own network.

It appears the carrier is bullish on its deepening partnership with Abu Dhabi based Etihad and may want to deploy the high capacity 77Ws on select routes. Jet has been negotiating a 24% stake-sale to Etihad. It recently sold its landing slots at London Heathrow airport to the UAE carrier, a sale many consider as selling the family jewels.

There are reports that Jet plans to extend its code-share agreement with Etihad to include the Mumbai-Brussels-Newark route, and the winter season is the peak demand for the year.

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Timeline and Fleet Matrix of Turkish Airlines expansion

by Vinay Bhaskara

Istanbul-based Turkish Airlines has been pursuing a strategy of rapid fleet and destination growth over the past few years. Already, they are the airline which serves the most countries in the world, and  they have already announced plans to start 41 new destinations over the next two years.

The following table details Turkish Airlines' expansion plans over the next two years. Of the 41 destinations, 26 have definite start dates spread across the end of 2012 through June 2013 while the rest have more nebulous timelines. Geographically, there are 16 new destinations in Africa, 11 in Europe, 7 in the Americas, 6 in the Middle East and Central Asia, and 3 in Asia proper. These new flights would add a grand total of 147 new weekly frequencies to Turkish Airlines' already massive hub in Istanbul.

Meanwhile, Bangalore Aviation can also release the fleet matrix for Turkish Airlines' growth plans. Currently, the plan calls for Turkish Airlines to grow from a fleet of 192 aircraft today (37 widebody, 155 narrowbody) to a fleet of 220 aircraft (69 widebody, 151 narrowbody) by the end of 2017. With a current orderbook of 67 aircraft, this means that Turkish Airlines will be retiring more than 39 aircraft from the fleet (3 widbodies and 36 narrowbodies). The widebody fleet plans seem relatively definite, as the next generation Boeing 787 and A350 are sold out till past 2017. However, the fleet growth plans may change slightly, given that Turkish Airlines has expressed interest in ordering between 6-12 large widebodies (Boeing 747-8 intercontinental or Airbus A380). On the narrowbody side, Turkish Airlines will likely order both the 737 MAX and the Airbus A320neo reengined products, but the majority of such deliveries would take place after 2017 anyhow given the current respective orderbooks. Turkish Airlines could also add a smaller type such as the Embraer E190 or the Bombardier C-Series and those would be available more quickly, changing the dynamic of the fleet plan considerably. In fact, Bangalore Aviation thinks that it is likely that Turkish Airlines will order a smaller narrowbody (probably the C-Series given its longer range) as it vanquishes current expansion paths and adds even-thinner new routes.

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Video: Leo Messi joins Kobe Bryant as global brand ambassador for Turkish Airlines

By Devesh Agarwal and Vinay Bhaskara

Flag carrier Turkish Airlines has signed international soccer superstar Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi, of La Liga club, FC Barcelona FC Barcelona as a Global Brand Ambassador. Messi joins NBA superstar Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers basketball team, and professional tennis player Caroline Wozniacki, who have been brand ambassadors for the airline since 2011 and 2010 respectively.

In September, Messi shot a "Fly With The Best" TV commercial for the airline with Kobe Bryant in which the duo competes to win the attention of a young boy.


Recently Turkish Airlines added the 200th aircraft to its fleet, and now flies to 92 countries, more than any other airline in the world.

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Turkish Airlines in discussions to acquire LOT Polish, what about India?

Over the weekend, it broke that Middle Eastern behemoth Turkish Airlines was in negotiations to acquire a controlling stake in Poland's national carrier, LOT Polish Airlines.

Hamdi Topcu, Turkish chairman, said: "We are starting negotiations to buy LOT. It should be a win-win situation for both sides."

LOT operates a fleet of 56 aircraft to 92 destinations around the globe, losing $17.2 million in 2010. They have had their recent struggles, and the Polish government is now looking to offload its 68% stake. LOT's largest hub is in Warsaw, and they have positioned themselves as a low-end transit hub with moderate success.

Meanwhile, Turkish Airlines' name has come up as a suitor for numerous troubled European carriers in the past year and a half or so, most notably Barcelona based Spanair.

Turkish has been actively seeking a reliever for their central hub in Istanbul, which is congested and rapidly approaching its max carrying capacity with no apparent expansion possible. However, Warsaw is not a great airport to relieve Istanbul with, so there's probably something else behind this deal.

According to Topucu, Turkish's continued growth and profitability [$189.3 million in 2010] had led to "13 or 14 airlines" approaching it for investment.

"We have worked on [acquisitions] for more than a year and have chosen LOT."

With India's government moving towards allowing 49% foreign direct investment in India's airlines, would Turkish Airlines be interested in purchasing a large stake in an Indian carrier?

There are certainly opportunities to be had in one of the world's fastest growing markets and the steady hand of Turkish Airlines would be beneficial to India's struggling airline management.

The question then arises, which airline would THY look to invest in and why? Share your thoughts via a comment.

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Turkish Airlines orders ten Airbus A321s passenger and three A330-200F freighters

Turkish Airlines (THY) has signed a firm order with European airframer Airbus S.A.S. for the purchase of ten A321-200s narrow body passenger aircraft and three A330-200F freighter aircraft for delivery from 2012 onwards.

The airline has an existing backlog of 27 aircraft on order with Airbus from earlier contracts placed in 2009 and 2010.

The ten A321 ordered today are essentially a firming up of options that were not reflected in earlier order books.

Turkish Airlines operates an existing Airbus fleet of 75 aircraft, including 50 A320 Family aircraft, 11 A330s, nine A340s, one A330-200F freighter and four A310 freighters.

Turkish Airlines has also been buying diverted Kingfisher Airlines A321-200s as the latter was unable to take delivery due to its financial troubles in 2009 and 2010.

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World's top 25 airlines by capacity as of March 2011

Delta Air Lines continues to be the world's largest airline measured by available seat-kilometre (ASK) capacity, offering a whopping 28.3 billion seat-kilometres per month. They are followed by American Airlines and in a change, Emirates airline has overtaken United Airlines for the third spot.


United is one of only two airlines that is offering a reduced seat capacity in March 2011 when compared to March 2010, the other is Japan Airlines (JAL) which essentially imploded last year, reducing capacity by more than 22% and sliding from 16th to 25 rank.

The two new entrants to the top 25 list are also the airlines with the largest capacity growth in the "Top 25" group. Qatar Airways with a 20.3% growth comes in at 22nd position, and Turkish Airlines (THY) led the growth story to rank at 24th position.

In comparison the India's largest airline, Jet Airways, offers a capacity less than half the size of lowest ranked Japan Airlines. Just under 3 billion ASKs for March 2011. Co-incidentally Jet leased out most of its luxurious Boeing 777-300ER fleet to 21st rank Thai Airways and to Turkish Airlines who successfully used the aircraft to rapidly ramp-up capacity, build their brand image resulting in a capture of significant traffic.

Makes one ponder if the lack of growth of Indian carriers is primary due to government regulations, taxation, and over-control? Or due to a lack of vision and execution by the Indian airlines? Or do foreign carriers have that something extra (vision, risk appetite, desire, service execution, etc.)?

What is your view? Post a comment.

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Turkish Airlines takes delivery of its first new Boeing 777-300ERs, prepares to return leased planes to Jet

Turkish Airlines THY took delivery of its first directly purchased 777-300ER from airframe manufacturer Boeing, registration TC-JJE.

It is the first of 12 777-300ERs the airline ordered in 2009. Currently the airline operates four 777-300ERs which it leased from India's Jet Airways in late 2008.

Boeing is scheduled to deliver four additional 777-300ERs to Turkish Airlines by the end of 2010, which will enable the carrier to commence returning the leased aircraft to Jet Airways from July 2011 onwards. The last leased 777-300ER is due to be returned to Jet in November 2011.

The airplane is powered by General Electric GE90-115BLs, the world's largest and most powerful commercial jet engines.

The new aircraft also features the economy plus cabin announced by Turkish Airlines called Comfort Class, but the premium passengers of Turkish Airlines are sure to miss the ultra luxurious first class suites and herringbone lie flat business class on the four aircraft leased from Jet.

It is not sure what Jet Airways will do with the four aircraft once they are returned. Bulk of the airline's Boeing 777-300ER fleet is leased out to other carriers including Thai Airways.

Related articles

• Turkish Airlines eyes 747-8, A380 (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Boeing, Emirates Announce Order for 30 Boeing 777-300ERs. (planenews.com)
• UPDATE 1-Boeing takes orders for 30 planes in latest week (reuters.com)

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Jet Airways to lease three Boeing 777-300ER to Thai Airways, sells one to Abu Dhabi

Jet Airways has beaten out Air India and will dry lease three of its Boeing 777-300ERs (B77Ws) to Thai Airways for a period of three years. The deal is estimated at $36 million per year or about $1 million per aircraft per month.

Under financial pressure, Jet has been looking to lease these three aircraft after Gulf Air cut short its lease and returned them last year.

Bangalore Aviation had reported in January that Jet Airways was close to an agreement with Royal Brunei Airlines for the same three aircraft, however this deal fell through when the two airlines were unable to reach a commercial agreement.

With the Thai lease agreement, Jet Airways will be left with only three of its ten B77W fleet from its original order. It has four of its uber-luxurious Boeing 777-300ER aircraft on lease with Turkish THY Airlines. (See aircraft interiors here.)

The last aircraft VT-JEL MSN36563 made its first flight in July 2009 and was promptly parked in the desert in October. It appears Jet never took delivery of the aircraft since the registration reverted back to Boeing as N834BA. In early January, it was sold to Abu Dhabi Amiri, a VIP flight operator, and registered as A6-SIL (since the call sign of the operator is "Sultan").

VT-JEA, VT-JEB, and VT-JEJ will be transferred to Thai Airways and will be re-registered in Thailand under the HS-xxx registration which is typical in a long term dry-lease agreement.

The four aircraft leased to Turkish THY Airlines VT-JEC, VT-JED, VT-JEE, and VT-JEF have already been re-registered in Turkish registration TC-JJA, TC-JJB, TC-JJC, and TC-JJD. Now Jet will operate only VT-JEG, VT-JEH, and VT-JEK, most likely one flight each on the Mumbai and Delhi to London Heathrow route.

While not as bad as the saga of the Airbus A340-500s of Kingfisher which were ultimately diverted to Arik Air and other VIP operators, it is still a sad commentary on the international plans of India's two major private carriers, formed in the boom years prior to 2008, that their well appointed luxurious aircraft are being used by other airlines and operators to deliver profits.

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Video: Jet Airways latest Boeing 777-300ER VT-JEL destined for Turkish Airlines THY

Caught at Boeing Paine field are two videos of Jet Airways latest Boeing 777-300ER. MSN 36563 is registered VT-JEL. Due to the slowdown in air traffic, this aircraft is most likely destined as the fourth aircraft leased by Jet to Turkish Airlines THY.

Powered by General Electric GE90-115B1L engines this aircraft features the uber-luxurious Jet Airways cabin with 8 private suites in First Class, 30 lie flat seats in a herringbone configuration in Business, and 274 seats in Economy. Compare this to Air India's Boeing 777-300ER with a 4/35/303 configuration.

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Turkish Airlines THY orders seven more Boeing 777-300ERs taking tally to 12

Turkish Airlines has an extensive fleet-renewal programme including up to 35 long-haul jets and it appears that Boeing is benefiting from Turkish THY Airline's leasing experience with India's Jet Airways.

Turkish Airlines has finalised an order for an additional seven Boeing 777-300ER (Extended Range) airplanes valued at $1.9 billion at current list prices. This order is in addition to the five 777-300ERs that Turkish Airlines ordered in April 2009, bringing their total 777-300ER orders to 12. The aircraft will be powered by General Electric GE90 engines.

However, these aircraft will not be as luxurious as the ones leased from Jet Airways.

This order will be posted to the Boeing Orders and Deliveries Web site when it is refreshed on July 30.

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FFP partnerships: American with GOL; Jet with Turkish THY; Jet denies oneworld talks

American Airlines has entered into a frequent flyer agreement with GOL Airlines that will provide benefits to members of both American's AAdvantage(R) and GOL's Smiles programs. Additionally, the two airlines intend to enter into a codeshare agreement in the near future.

Beginning Aug. 1, 2009, AAdvantage and Smiles members will be able to earn miles on all eligible GOL and American flights. Beginning in the Fall of 2009, AAdvantage and Smiles members will be able to redeem their miles for travel on GOL and American flights worldwide.

To celebrate this agreement, AAdvantage members will be able to earn double miles when flying on eligible GOL flights between Aug. 1 and Oct. 31, 2009. For complete details, visit www.aa.com/offers.

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Effective July 1, 2009, Jet Airways, has entered into a frequent flyer partnership with Turkish Airlines THY.

Members of Jet Airways’ JetPrivilege, may earn and redeem JPMiles on all flights marketed and operated by Turkish Airlines. Similarly, members of Miles & Smiles, Turkish Airline’s frequent flyer programme, may earn and redeem their miles on all flights marketed and operated by Jet Airways.

On a related note, a Jet Airways spokesperson denied that Jet Airways was exploring any discussions with the oneworld alliance as reported earlier. Quoting the spokesperson

"Jet Airways believes in bilateral cooperation between airlines and will continue to expand bilateral partnerships. It has no plans to join any of the alliances now"

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American held for carrying gun at airport, Jet to cancel Boeing 777 order, Vijay Mallya's debt troubles

US national arrested for carrying loaded handgun on board a flight

The Times of India is reporting A US citizen was arrested earlier this morning at the Chennai airport for carrying a loaded revolver. Central Industrial and Security Force (CISF) personnel who secure airports across India, found the weapon while scanning the baggage of Mr. Semilar, 58 years old, when he was about to board a Mumbai-bound flight. Read the full story here.

What was this guy thinking ?


Jet Airways in negotiation with Boeing to cancel its one remaining 777-300ER order

The Business Standard citing the Press Trust of India is reporting that Jet Airways is negotiating with aircraft manufacturer Boeing to cancel its one remaining 777-300ER on order. The aircraft order estimated to be worth Rs 725 crore ($145 million), is scheduled for delivery in August.

"The management is in talks with Boeing over canceling/finding another buyer for the Boeing 777 (Capex at $145 million) that was due for delivery in August 2009," brokerage firm IDFC-SSKI said in a report on Jet Airways after a management interaction.

Through much of the last year, Jet Airways has been busy leasing out its Boeing 777-300ER fleet to Turkish Airlines THY and Gulf Air. However, recently Gulf Air decided not to proceed with its four aircraft wet-lease beyond the initial six months. These returned aircraft too will add cost burdens to Jet.

Read the full story here.


Dr. Vijay Mallya's debt troubles mounting courtesy Kingfisher Airlines, White and Mackay

Forbes India has written an excellent article about the mounting debt crises for Dr. Vijay Mallya.

Mallya has been leading a double life. He has spent the past few months negotiating for the survival of his empire. His debts have zoomed. So have his losses. The economic slowdown has made his daring bets of the boom period look like risky gambles. He must stem the losses, or even the healthier parts of his business will fall prey.

Mallya has accumulated about Rs. 14,000 crore [$2.8 billion] worth of debt spread across his liquor and airline businesses through costly acquisitions of global liquor companies like Whyte and Mackay and a bleeding balance sheet courtesy Kingfisher Airlines.

At the core of this battle is Kingfisher Airlines, losing cash at an alarming rate in the middle of the decade’s biggest fall in passenger turnout. The debt on the airline’s books is over Rs. 5,000 crore, much of it guaranteed by United Breweries Holding Ltd., the group’s holding entity. As the airline’s monthly losses have crossed Rs. 200 crore, Mallya has no option but to push for more corporate guarantees from his other companies. Already, UB Holding is seeking shareholder approval for doubling the limit of its corporate guarantees to Rs. 12,000 crore.

However, I fully agree with the article's conclusion - Dr. Mallya is a seasoned and passionate corporate warrior. It is a matter of time before he pulls off deals and recovers. The stemming of losses at Kingfisher is another story for another time.

Read the article here.

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