Etihad Airways and Korean Air expand codeshare agreement

By BA Staff

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, has expanded its codeshare agreement with Korean Air, South Korea’s largest airline, to include six new destinations.

In the second phase of cooperation, Etihad Airways will place its EY code on Korean Air services from Seoul Incheon to Honolulu, Vancouver and Hong Kong. Korean Air will place its KE code on Etihad Airways’ flights from Abu Dhabi to Johannesburg, Muscat and, subject to government approval, Khartoum.

The new arrangements augment the airlines’ existing codeshare services between Abu Dhabi and Seoul Incheon.

Etihad Airways’ President and Chief Executive Officer James Hogan said the expanded codeshare with Korean Air would enable both airlines to grow their networks in a mutually beneficial way and broaden their appeal to world travellers:

“The three new codeshare destinations enhance Etihad Airways’ business and leisure travel offering to the Asia Pacific and North America. The flights to Honolulu and Vancouver, in particular, will provide convenient one-stop access from Abu Dhabi to these two popular North American destinations. This is a natural development of the codeshare agreement with Korean Air which we signed in July this year, and we look forward to broadening the scope of cooperation even further in the future.” 

Mr Hogan noted that Etihad Airways’ strategy of partnerships with airlines such as Korean Air was helping grow tourism from around the world to its Abu Dhabi home and hub:

 “The introduction of new codeshare routes enables us to rapidly expand our network and drive more leisure and business traffic to and through our Abu Dhabi hub. Last year alone, Etihad Airways carried 10.2 million passengers through Abu Dhabi. Increasing international visitors to Abu Dhabi is key to enabling economic growth in the Emirate and helping realise the Government’s visionary Abu Dhabi 2030 plan. We forecast this trend will continue with the opening of new routes from Asia and North America.”

Etihad Airways and Korean Air have had a successful commercial partnership since August 2009 when the airlines signed a special pro rata agreement and interline partnership. The airlines commenced codeshare operations between Abu Dhabi and Seoul Incheon on July 22, 2013.

Members of Etihad Airways’ Etihad Guest and Korean Air’s SKYPASS loyalty programs enjoy reciprocal benefits. These include lounge access, priority check-in and excess baggage allowances for top tier program members and the ability to earn and burn frequent flyer points on Etihad Airways and Korean Air flights.
 

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Japan Airlines to launch Sky Suite on Tokyo Narita Vancouver route

by BA Staff

Japan Airlines will launch its upgraded cabin JAL Sky Suite II business class product on its revamped 767-300ER service between Tokyo (Narita) and Vancouver, from December 9, 2013.

The airline will also offer its Sky Wider improved economy class product on the same flight.

The Sky Suite II is a 24 seat business in a 1-2-1 configuration to offer direct aisle access to every passenger. The seat opens in to a full flat bed with a length of 200 cm and width of 52 cm. The TV screen is 15.4 inches, and each seat is equipped with a USB port and a universal AC power outlet.

The new Sky Wider economy class seats were initially tested in the airline's Boeing 777-300ERs. On the 767-300ERs 175 seats will be in a 2-3-2 abreast configuration. The new slim line seat offers increased pitch of 5 cm (2 inches) to 84 cm., a 10.6 inch touch sensitive TV screen, and each seat is equipped with a USB port and a universal AC power outlet.

The airline has also specially designated its 767s fitted with the Sky Suite product as SS6 in the time table.

After Vancouver, Kuala Lumpur will be the next destination, from January 2014, service by the revamped aircraft type. The airline also plans to expand this new service onto other long distance routes in South-east Asia and to Honolulu, Hawaii, USA.

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Japan Airlines revises its flights and fleet plans for financial year 2013~14

Japan Airlines Group (JAL) today announced revisions made to its flight frequency and fleet plans for the remaining of fiscal year 2013(ending March 31, 2014).

In regards to the airline's domestic network, flight frequencies on select routes will be adjusted to better meet demand as well as the changes in customer travel patterns including seasonal travel patterns in order to further maximize revenue. JAL will also strive to further improve customer convenience by expanding its domestic network.

In regards to the airline's international network, new Boeing 787-8 aircraft will be deployed onto flights between Tokyo (Narita) and Sydney as well as between Tokyo (Narita) and Bangkok to improve cost efficiency as well as to provide customers with updated products and services. In addition, the fully revamped Boeing 777-300ERs (JAL SKY SUITE 777) including the JAL SKY SUITE (named "Best Business Class Airline Seat" at SKYTRAX's 2013 World Airline Awards) will be introduced between Tokyo (Narita) and Los Angeles from November 2013 as well as between Tokyo (Narita) and Chicago from January 2014.

JAL will introduce completely revamped Boeing 767-300ERs (JAL SKY SUITE 767) between Tokyo (Narita) and Vancouver from December 2013 as well as between Tokyo (Narita) and Kuala Lumpur from January 2014.

*The following schedules are subject to government approval.

Domestic Network

Flight Frequency Changes

Route	Details	Date Effective
Haneda = Osaka (Itami)	Increase from 15 to 16 daily round-trip flights	Oct. 27, 2013 ~ Mar. 29, 2014
Haneda = Sapporo	Increase from 16 to 17 daily round-trip flights	Oct. 27, 2013 ~ Mar. 29, 2014
Haneda = Izumo	Increase from 5 to 6 daily round-trip flights	Oct. 27, 2013 ~ Mar. 29, 2014
Fukuoka = Matsuyama	Increase from 7 to 8 daily round-trip flights	Jan. 7, 2014 ~
Okinawa (Naha) = Ishigaki	Increase from 9 to 10 daily round-trip flights	Sep. 1, 2013 ~ Jan. 6, 2014 Feb. 3, 2014 ~ Mar. 29, 2014
Okinawa (Naha) = Okayama	Increase from 1 to 2 daily round-trip flights	Oct. 1, 2013 ~ Mar. 29, 2014(*)
Osaka (Itami) = Fukuoka	Decrease from 5 to 4 daily round-trip flights	Oct. 27, 2013 ~
Sapporo = Hanamaki	Decrease from 4 to 3 daily round-trip flights	Oct. 27, 2013 ~ Mar. 29, 2014
Kagoshima = Matsuyama	Decrease from 2 to 1 daily round-trip flights	Jan. 7, 2014 ~

(*) Flight frequency will be back to 1 daily round-trip flight during the following period:

Oct. 15,20,21,27,28,30; Nov. 8~10,26,28; Dec. 1,3,5,7,8,10 ~12; Jan. 17~25,27~31; Feb. 1,2,4

International Network

Boeing 787-8 will be introduced onto the following routes

Boeing 787-8 configured with the JAL SHELL FLAT NEO in Business Class will be introduced between Tokyo (Narita) and Sydney as well as between Tokyo (Narita) and Bangkok.

Route	Aircraft Type	Date Effective	Remarks
Narita = Sydney	787-8	Dec. 1, 2013 ~	JL771/JL772(JL772 from Dec. 2, 2013)
Narita = Bangkok		Dec. 2, 2013 ~	JL707/JL718, 4 among 7 weekly round-trip flights (JL718 from Dec.3, 2013)

*The type of aircraft might be changed due to the delivery schedule of Boeing 787-8.

Other aircraft type changes

JAL also aims to further improve the quality of its products and services offered on other routes, on all 3 daily round-trip flights operated between Tokyo (Haneda/Narita) and Bangkok, an improved JAL Business Class will be offered including the JAL SHELL FLAT SEAT installed on Boeing 777-200ERs, and JAL SHELL FLAT NEO installed on Boeing 787-8s.

Route	Aircraft Type/Date Effective	In-flight Service	Remarks
Haneda = Bangkok	From 767-300ER to 777-200ER /Dec. 1, 2013 ~	Business Class: JAL SHELL FLAT SEAT	JL33/JL34*1
Narita = Bangkok*2	From 767-300ER to777-200ER,787-8*3 /Dec. 1, 2013~	Business Class: JAL SHELL FLAT SEAT(777-200ER) JAL SHELL FLAT NEO(787-8)	From Narita to Bangkok: JL717/Daily/777-200ER JL707/Mo,Tu,Th,Sa/787-8 JL707/We,Fr,Su/777-200ER From Bangkok to Narita: JL718/Mo,Th,Sa/777-200ER JL718/Tu,We,Fr,Su/787-8 JL708/Daily/777-200ER

*1 Premium Economy service will be provided on JL33/JL34 from Dec. 1, 2013.

*2 Among 14 weekly round-trip flights, 10 round-trip flights will be operated with Boeing 777-200ER, 4 round-trip flights will be operated with Boeing 787-8. Premium Economy service will be provided on flights with Boeing 777-200ER.

*3 The type of aircraft might be changed due to the delivery schedule of Boeing 787-8.

Flight frequency changes

Flight frequency will temporarily decrease in response to the passenger demand

Route	Details	Date Effective	Remarks
Narita = Beijing	Decrease from 14 to 7 weekly round-trip flights	Nov. 25 ~ Dec. 8, 2013	JL863/JL864 decreased

Improving the quality of products and services on Europe, North America and Southern Asia routes

JAL is now gradually introducing fully revamped cabin which are both spacious and functional on its Boeing 777-300ERs (JAL SKY SUITE 777) on Europe and North America routes. Additionally, the airline will introduce fully revamped Boeing 767-300ERs (JAL SKY SUITE 767) on middle and long-haul routes.  

                       

1.       Expansion of
JAL SKY SUITE 777                         

JAL SKY SUITE 777 is now available daily between Tokyo (Narita) and New York, London as well as Paris. Moreover, the new configuration will be introduced on routes between Tokyo (Narita) and Los Angeles as well as between Tokyo (Narita) and Chicago.

Route	Aircraft Type	In-flight Service	Date Effective	Remarks
Narita = Los Angeles	777-300ER	JAL SKY SUITE 777 (*1) First Class: NEW JAL SUITE Business Class: JAL SKY SUITE Premium Economy: JAL SKY PREMIUM Economy: JAL SKY WIDER	Nov. 2013 ~	(*2)
Narita = Chicago			Jan. 2014 ~

(*1) For more details on JAL SKY SUITE 777, please visit http://www.jal.co.jp/en/newsky/ss7/

(*2) The actual operating date will be introduced on JAL homepage when it has been decided. 

2.       Introduction of JAL SKY SUITE 767                       

JAL SKY WIDER, which is now being installed onto all Boeing 777-300ERs will also be installed on Boeing 767-300ERs. Highlights of the JAL Economy Class seat include increased pitch and a slim style seatback design resulting in approximately 10 cm (Max.) more legroom than the present seat pitch. In JAL Business Class, a new 180-degree fully reclining JAL SKY SUITE II seat will be installed, which was designed specifically for this aircraft type. In addition, each seat in the 1-2-1 configuration provides unobstructed aisle access for an undisturbed flight allowing maximum personal enjoyment and a soothing rest.

Route	Aircraft Type	In-flight Service	Date Effective	Remarks
Narita = Vancouver	767-300ER	JAL SKY SUITE 767 (*1) Business Class: JAL SKY SUITE II Economy: JAL SKY WIDER	Dec. 2013 ~	(*2)
Narita = Kuala Lumpur			Jan. 2014 ~

(*1)  For more details on JAL SKY SUITE 767, please visit http://www.jal.co.jp/en/newsky/ss6/

(*2)  The actual operating date will be introduced on JAL homepage when it has been decided.

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Singapore Airlines to park 17 aircraft, announces massive global capacity cuts, India services hit hard

Singapore Airlines (SIA) on the most profitable airlines in the world, announced today further route adjustments as part of the 11 per cent reduction of capacity from April 2009 to March 2010.

While Bangalore remains unaffected, for now, most other gateways of New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, and Ahmedabad have already been or are being affected by this latest announcement.

I cannot help but compare the withdrawal of services by most international carriers to the massive ramp-up by Emirates and other middle-east airlines in India.

When I visited the airport yesterday, during discussions with various friends, I was informed that the two of the three Emirates flights were going full, and the third was also respectable.

A number of changes have already been announced and some effected, including the withdrawal of service to Amritsar (from Feb 09) and Vancouver (from Apr 09), lower frequency of flights to India, as well as a cutback on the non-stop flights between Singapore and the USA.

A whopping 17 aircraft will be decommissioned from the operating fleet, up from an earlier forecast of four aircraft to be phased out.

The new changes shown below will be in effect from March 29 to October 24, unless specified otherwise:

Europe

For the London route, one of the three daily flights will be replaced with a B777-300ER plane from end-March.

The change in aircraft from the B747-400 will result in a seat count reduction of 97, a minus 7.5 per cent difference a day.

Flights to Manchester will be at three times weekly from May, down from the present five times weekly.

Australia

The frequency of service to Sydney will be reduced from four to three times daily till July.

North Asia

Services to Seoul will be reduced to twice-daily, from its already-reduced schedule of 17 times weekly. One flight will continue on to San Francisco.

Japan, the Singapore-Bangkok-Tokyo service will reduce from six to five flights per week.

China, flights to Beijing will decrease from 21 to 17 weekly. Guangzhou and Nanjing services will reduce to five and two per week respectively.

Flights to Hong Kong will be reduced from a weekly 42 to 35.

West Asia

Aside from already announced changes affecting Indian gateways (see details below), Colombo and Male will each be served by five flights per week, down from seven.

Southeast Asia

In the region, the Jakarta route will see a reduction from 56 to 49 a week, while Bangkok flights will be cut from 41 to 33 per week.

Other routes, such as Brisbane, Perth, Fukuoka, Nagoya and Rome will now be operated with variable frequencies depending on the season.

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Flights to India

Hyderabad-Singapore services, SQ439 and SQ438, will be reduced from four to three times weekly, with the suspension of the Saturday service from February 21.

SQ405 and SQ406, between New Delhi and Singapore, will be reduced from a six times weekly service, to five times weekly service. Changes will apply from March 10 to 24, as flights on Tuesdays during that period will be suspended.

For Mumbai and Singapore, services SQ421 and SQ422 will be progressively reduced from five to four times weekly services, starting February 27. Flights on Fridays will be suspended.

Morning flights to Chennai will be cut.

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