British Airways to commence 787 service to Hyderbad in March 2014

by Devesh Agarwal

Image courtesy British Airways

Flag carrier British Airways will bring its latest aircraft, the 787-8 Dreamliner to India in the summer 2014 schedule which starts on March 30th. The aircraft has 214 seats in a three-class cabin layout with 35 business class seats, 25 economy plus, and 154 economy class seats. The aircraft features the latest cabin product of British Airways, though the economy class is the bone crunching nine-abreast seating.

Hyderabad will be the first destination in India, as the airline currently flies a daily 767-300 to the city with 189 seats in a three-class cabin layout with 24 business, 24 economy plus and 141 economy class seats.

The most rational explanation for the airline to operate the 787 to Hyderabad appears to be the similarity in size.

British Airways is also expanding routes using its new aircraft. Their A380 will begin flying between London Heathrow and Washington Dulles from September 1, 2014. The aircraft is already flying between London Heathrow and Los Angeles and Hong Kong direct, and will start services between London and Johannesburg in February 2014.

The airline's Boeing 787s will fly nonstop between London and Austin, Texas from March 3, 2014, Philadelphia, USA, from June 5 and Calgary, Canada from July 5, 2014. In addition to Hyderabad, the 787 will commence Chengdu, China as another Asian destination from May 5, 2014.

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DragonAir takes advantage of expanded Bangalore airport terminal capacity to improve flight schedules

by Devesh Agarwal

The new expanded terminal at the Bengaluru International Airport (BIA) will be inaugurated this Saturday, December 14th. At the same time the airport will be re-named in honour of the founder of Bangalore, as Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru (KIAB).

Aerial view of the expanded terminal at Bangalore airport. Photo copyright Devesh Agarwal. All rights reserved.

With the addition of four international gates on the east pier (in the picture above, only the first gate is visible on pier on the left of the photo), airlines have improved access during the prime desired time from 11pm to 1am.

Cathay Pacific's subsidiary DragonAir, which operates a daily A330 service between the city and Hong Kong is one of the first airlines that will take advantage of the expanded capacity of the new terminal.

Its existing poor time slot departs Bangalore at 02:40 and arrives in Hong Kong around 11:00 causing many passengers to miss the morning connections to many onward destinations.

From the Summer 2014 schedule DragonAir will pull forward its schedule. As per Rakesh Raicar, Sales and Marketing Manager - South Asia for the airline group,

“We have already revised our timings from Bengaluru and effective 30 March 2014, Dragonair will depart at 0130 from Bengaluru to Hong Kong. This decision to revise the timings was taken to offer our passengers an early arrival into Hong Kong and greater access to our extensive network. With a departure time of 0130, we will be able to offer better connections to the various cities we operate to, in China, Japan, Korea, North America and Australia.“

With this departure, arrival will be at 10:00. Better than the current 11:00, but still not ideal. In our opinion, DragonAir should try to advance their departure another hour, depart by 00:30 and arrive into Hong Kong by 09:00. To achieve this, the airline will have to advance their Hong Kong departure from the current very late 22:40 to around 20:30, which is still a very good time for both business and trade passengers.

Which other airlines, if any, do you feel should change their schedule at Bangalore? Share your thoughts via a comment.

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Cathay Pacific unveils third "Spirit of Hong" special livery Boeing 777-300ER

Cathay Pacific Airways unveiled the third edition of the airline’s “Spirit of Hong Kong” livery painted on one its Boeing 777-300ER B-KPB.

Time lapse video at the end of the article.

The livery design carries the silhouettes of the 110 “The Spirit of Hong Kong” campaign winners.
“The Spirit of Hong Kong” campaign called for entries that best represented the spirit of Hong Kong in terms of the relevance of the message, the ability to inspire, creativity and presentation quality. 200 weekly winners were selected by public voting, then a judging panel selected 100 Top Winners and 10 Champions.

Cathay Pacific began highlighting the spirit of its home city in 1997, when the airline created a special livery for one of its aircraft that showcased the Hong Kong skyline in celebration of the transfer of sovereignty. In 2000, the airline unveiled its second “Spirit of Hong Kong” aircraft, created through a livery design competition, that highlighted the resilience of Hong Kong and urged people to come together to overcome the challenges the city faced.

Time lapse video on the painting of the livery

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Pictures: Cathay Pacific's new lounge at Hong Kong - The Bridge

by Devesh Agarwal

Cathay Pacific Airways has opened a new lounge called The Bridge, the airline’s sixth passenger lounge at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA).

Video at the end of the article

The lounge is 2,567 square metres and located near Gate 35, on level 5 of the West Concourse and is open for first and business class passengers, Silver or above Marco Polo Club members, and Sapphire or above oneworld members who departing or transiting in Hong Kong. Opening hours are from 5:30am until the last departure.

Architectural firm Foster + Partners have developed The Bridge with a more residential design intent, offering a more “at home” feel.

The Bridge consists of North and South wings, each extending from the central Reception area.

The luminous reception wall, made of Venetian glass tiles by Fabbian of Italy.

The North Wing features The Bakery, which offers freshly baked bread and pizzas, as well as sandwiches, pastries, Asian and Western soups, and fresh salads. The North Wing also features the airline’s iconic Long Bar together with a television lounge and general seating area.

The Bakery

The South Wing features The Bistro, a self-service area where passengers can enjoy a variety of high-quality Asian and Western hot dishes and cold food selections, including delicious desserts and light leafy salads. At the Coffee Loft, passengers are treated to freshly brewed coffee and specialty tea, accompanied by freshly baked muffins, pastries and cookies.

Cathay's iconic Long Bar

The nine Shower Suites located in the South Wing are furnished with natural Travertine stone, complemented by oak slat walls with a full a spacious shower, providing a calm, relaxing and private sanctuary in which passengers can freshen up before their journey.

The opening of The Bridge means that Cathay Pacific now has six lounges at its Hong Kong hub, offering passengers an unrivalled selection of lounges, each with its own individual identity.

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British Airways celebrates launching its A380 service to Hong Kong

By BA Staff

The exclusive event, billed as a ‘Gig on a Wing’ showcased the very best of British Airways, to an audience that included Keith Williams, British Airways’ Chief Executive and special guests from Hong Kong’s aviation, travel, business, entertainment and hospitality industry.

Keith Williams, British Airways’ chief executive, said:

“Today marks another milestone in our long and proud tradition of connecting Hong Kong and London – two truly global hubs. For over three quarters of a century, this city has been an important part of British Airways’ worldwide network, so we are extremely delighted to be operating the state-of-the-art A380 onthe route, and to also be the first to fly it non-stop between Hong Kong and Europe.”

British Airways’ ‘Gig on a Wing’ event launched with a fashion show by British designer Alice Temperley MBE. Models descended the steps of the A380 aircraft onto British Airways’ specially created “runway” catwalk. Alice Temperley who has designed dresses for stars including Keira Knightly, Rihanna, Beyonce and The Duchess of Cambridge said:

“I was thrilled to be asked by British Airways to showcase my new Spring/Summer 2014 collection in Hong Kong and at such a unique and glamorous event. The people here really appreciate cutting edge design, fine tailoring and effortless style, very similar to that of British Airways new A380”.

This was followed by a live performance from multi-platinum selling artist and former X-Factor winner Leona Lewis. Lewis performed tracks on a specially created stage, flush with the A380’s 261-foot twin-engine wing. Leona’s set included a cover of Lenny Kravitz’s “Fly Away”, her number 1 selling track “Bleeding Love” and "Come Alive".

Supermodel Georgia May Jagger, daughter of Rolling Stones legend Mick Jagger took to the stage with Keith Williams to close the evening with a prize draw, which consisted of two British Airways Club World tickets to London on the new A380 and a stay at The Langham London.

Georgia May Jagger said:

“I'm so happy British Airways invited me to Hong Kong on their first A380 flight. The service, food and flat beds on the long haul flights are second to none and I always arrive feeling well rested. I love Hong Kong too and look forward to returning and spending more time in this great city”.

British Airways operates two daily non-stop flights between Hong Kong and London Heathrow. The A380 will serve flight BA25 from London to Hong Kong, and BA26 from Hong Kong to London.

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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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American Airlines to commence Dallas-Fort Worth to Hong Kong and to Shanghai daily services

By BA Staff

American Airlines Boeing 777-300ER.

American Airlines will launch new international services from Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) to Hong Kong (HKG) and to Shanghai Pudong (PVG) in the summer of 2014, the first flights between the cities.

American will operate its Boeing 777-300ER (B77W) aircraft on the Hong Kong route and a Boeing 777-200ER on the Shanghai route, both with a daily frequency.

The service will be American's first-ever service into Hong Kong, and will connect two of the busiest and largest hubs of two of the original oneworld® alliance members American and Cathay Pacific.

Robert Hsueh, Chair, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport Board of Directors explained:

"American's new flights to Hong Kong and Shanghai will begin an exciting era for DFW and are among the most significant air service development announcements in DFW Airport's history. These direct routes connect DFW to major destinations in Asia and will play a key role in further strengthening ties between our region and Asia."

Tom Horton, Chairman and CEO of American Airlines, said:

"Today's news underscores our commitment to strengthen American's global network in the most important markets around the world. This is just another example of how we're taking a fresh look at everything we do to provide what our customers value most -- from new planes, products and services, to new destinations around the world. Simply put, we're building an even stronger foundation to succeed in our pending merger with US Airways."

The new American flights to Hong Kong and Shanghai extend the most prolific period of international air service expansion in DFW Airport history.  DFW has now added 17 new international destinations to its flight portfolio over the past three years, giving the airport a total of 204 destinations, including 56 international markets and 148 domestic airports.

Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price mentioned:

 "We've been working hard on building our international relationships, and our work continues to pay off for North Texas. Today's news is great for the Metroplex and a landmark development for the state of Texas, whose residents will have direct access to Hong Kong and Shanghai for the first time in our history. The Asian market is ripe for Texas business and tourists alike."

Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings said:

"DFW Airport, Mayor Price and I have been advocating for more direct access to the Asian market because it's critical for businesses here and across the state. These new routes will represent more than $360 million in annual economic impact for our region and launch Dallas and Fort Worth into a new dimension of international business and cultural engagement."

Image courtesy American Airlines

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Analysis: Air India sells Boeing 777-200LRs to Etihad. Aircraft ill-suited for its operations.

by Devesh Agarwal

Air India Boeing 777-200LR.

Two days ago, when gulf major, Etihad Airways, announced its intention to fly between Abu Dhabi and Los Angeles, we at Bangalore Aviation were the first to indicate that Etihad's announcement was a pre-cursor to its purchase of Boeing 777-200LRs from Air India.

Yesterday, it was confirmed that Air India will indeed sell five of its eight Boeing 777-200LRs to the gulf carrier.

As per an Etihad statement

the aircraft will be delivered to Etihad Airways from the beginning of 2014 and each will be re-fitted in a three class cabin configuration consistent with similar aircraft in the Etihad Airways fleet. It is expected the first aircraft will enter service in April 2014.

Etihad currently does not have any 777-200LRs in its fleet. On its 777-300ERs, Eithad follows the lead of its fellow UAE carrier Emirates and has a bone crunching ten abreast 17 inch wide economy class seating. For the LR, Etihad has announced a configuration of eight first class suites, 40 business class flat beds, and 189 economy class seats. This is similar to Air India's current configuration of 8/35/195 which features a more comfortable nine abreast 18.5 inch wide economy class seating. Emirates which has the narrow ten abreast seating even in its LRs has 42 business class and 216 economy class seats. So it appears that Etihad will continue with the nine abreast seating.

Etihad is expected to pay an estimated sum of $500 million. For aircraft that are about six years old, while this is a reasonable price, for Air India it is a distress sale. We should thank a former civil aviation minister, for whose failed flights of fancy, we tax-payers, are ultimately paying for.Despite the haircut, this is a beneficial development for Air India as it will help the carrier reduce about $60 million a year in expenses, but this is a drop in the veritable ocean of losses for the mismanaged carrier whose debt now tops a whopping $6.7 billion, well ahead of the entire health department's budget of the nation for this year.

Etihad Airways Boeing 777-300ER

For reasons best known only to it, Air India will still retain three 777-200LR aircraft. One is hard pressed to understand why, since Air India had these five LRs on the tender list for a long long time.

Most likely, to operate Newark, which is essentially the only long haul flight in Air India's system that is profitable. Air India also operates LRs to Tokyo, Osaka, Seoul, and Hong Kong, which is akin to taking our money and setting it on fire.

The 777-200LR is a niche aircraft, called WorldLiner because of its ultra long haul (ULH) mission profile. It can fly close to 20 hours non-stop. However, to fly so long, the LR needs to carry a lot of fuel which takes up the weight of fare carrying passengers. The Air India LRs have the same engines, GE90-115B, as bigger brother, the 777-300ER, and hence similar fuel burn characteristics, yet the LR is about one-thirds smaller than its bigger brother. Additionally, the LR sacrifices weight and cargo space for the additional fuel tanks required to carry that additional fuel. The LR carries only around 235 passengers which is only 58% i.e. almost half, of the 400 carried in the ER. All these factors force an airline to earn more per passenger-kilometre flown.

To achieve this income, the plane has to be virtually filled to capacity with high fare paying passengers. Part of the higher fare comes from the "front of the bus" i.e. premium class passengers. Unfortunately with years of sloth, indifferent service, and unreliable schedules, Air India has completely lost the trust of the corporate flyer who pay for these premium seats.

For the shorter missions like Delhi Hong Kong Japan or Korea, the additional fuel tanks, become dead-weight, further burdening the carrier, which requires the airline to fill to at least 95% of the seats just to break-even. An impossibility for an inefficient state carrier like Air India. So one should ask why is the carrier burning money operating these routes? and what are the solutions?

As to why the carrier operating these routes with a clearly mismatched aircraft. From within Air India the answer is likely to be, "We need to operate this route and we do not have any other wide body medium capacity aircraft". So why not lease an A330 or a Boeing 777-200 which will provide better economics? Here the ugly head of corruption rears itself. The carrier's record is poor to say the least.

Another solution could be with Jet Airways, India's other wide body carrier. Jet has its fleet of A330s parked and under-utilised. Some are due to be leased to Etihad. Air India can outsource these routes to Jet on a wet lease? May be Jet, with its Etihad partnership, is not too keen at this moment, but more likely, Jet knows that such a proposal will not be able to overcome the farce of sympathy that will be created by the politicians?

Then of course is the much hyped Boeing 787 Dreamliner. However, as Boeing boss Dinesh Keskar told us "the 787 is not the airplane to go to Dubai and back", the 787 delivers fuel savings only when flying medium to long distances. Not short regional routes like New Delhi Dubai or New Delhi Hong Kong or onwards from Hong Kong to Korea or Japan.

What are your thoughts on the 200LR situation? Share them with a comment.

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AirAsia is Business Traveller’s ‘Best Low-Cost Airline’ for two years in a row

By BA Staff

AirAsia was once again distinguished as the best in its class, when the airline was awarded with the ‘Best Low-Cost Airline’ award at the 2013 Business Traveller Asia-Pacific’s Awards ceremony, held at the Conrad Hotel in Hong Kong recently.

AirAsia, 'Best Low-Cost Airline' Award 2013

This is the second successive win for AirAsia, a nod to the airline’s growing power and its stature as the market leader in the low cost carrier segment. AirAsia first won the ‘Best Low-Cost Airline’ award category last year, when it was first introduced by Business Traveller Asia Pacific in recognition to the growing force of budget carriers in the region.

AirAsia Group CEO, Tony Fernandes said:

 “This second ‘Best Low-Cost Carrier’ award win represents the unwavering support and belief from our guests towards our services and products. We thank them for choosing AirAsia as the airline of choice for their travels. We will continue to work hard to maintain our leadership spot and uphold our pledge to present our guests with unbeatable low fares and exceptional products and services. This win is also due to the collective contributions of our ‘AirAsia Allstars, whose hard work, passion, dedication and creativity made this recognition possible."

AirAsia was chosen as the inaugural award winner through votes by Business Traveller readers, recognizing the airline as a service provider which has maintained impeccable standards and making journeys seamless and productive. This comprehensive survey was conducted annually among Business Traveller subscribers, and the 2013 results are based on data collected between April and June this year.

AirAsia is a household name which has flown over 200 million guests since it was established nearly twelve years ago with a mission to democratize air travel in the region and has been operationally profitable from day one of its launch as a low-cost carrier. The airline now has operations based in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines, servicing the most extensive network with 85 destinations.

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Cebu Air Pacific grows Visayas hub passengers by up to 33%

By BA Staff

The Philippines’ leading low-cost carrier, Cebu Pacific Air (PSE:CEB) increased operations from its Visayas hubs, in line with its continued push for more tourism and trade in the destinations it flies to. From January to August 2013, the number of passengers through the airline’s Iloilo hub went up by 33%, while guests to and from its Cebu hub increased by 15%. Cebu remains the airline’s second largest hub, with over 2.3 million CEB passengers passing through the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) in the first 8 months of the year.

Late last year, CEB doubled the routes it offered to and from the Iloilo International Airport. It provided direct connectivity to Tacloban, Puerto Princesa and General Santos, and pioneered the first international flights out of Iloilo to Hong Kong and Singapore. Previously, CEB only flew from Iloilo to Manila, Cebu, Davao and Cagayan de Oro.

CEB VP for Marketing and Distribution Candice Iyog had this to say about the upgrades:

“We hope that our direct air linkages empower everyone to travel in the fastest way possible, and discover tourism and trade opportunities all over the Philippines. Cebu Pacific will always explore how else it can assist in the country’s tourism agenda, with the delivery of more brand-new aircraft until 2021,”

CEB currently operates more than 2,200 weekly flights to over 90 routes or city pairs. The airline flies to 34 domestic and 22 international destinations. Its newest international routes include Manila-Phuket, launched last August 16, 2013, and Manila-Dubai, to be launched on October 7, 2013.
CEB currently operates 10 Airbus A319, 27 Airbus A320, 2 Airbus A330 and 8 ATR-72 500 aircraft. Its fleet of 47 aircraft is one of the most modern aircraft fleets in the world. Between 2013 and 2021, Cebu Pacific will take delivery of 15 more Airbus A320, 30 Airbus A321neo, and 4 Airbus A330 aircraft.  

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Scoot to Launch Low Cost Flights Between Singapore and Hong Kong

By BA Staff

Scoot, the high density, low cost wing of Singapore Airlines, announced the launch of flights, subject to regulatory approval, from Singapore to Hong Kong, making Hong Kong the fast-growing airline’s 12th destination. Starting 15th November 2013 you’ll be able to fly Scoot to Hong Kong and tickets will go on sale from 30 September 2013 at 0900 hrs. Services will start five times weekly and ramp up to daily in December.


Campbell Wilson, CEO of Scoot, said:

Scoot is thrilled to fly between Singapore and Hong Kong, linking these two exciting and vibrant cities. Singapore travelers love Hong Kong for its distinctive cuisine and unique shopping experience. With Scoot’s low fares, you’ll have plenty of cash left in your wallet to indulge in Hong Kong’s dim sum delights. And once you’re fuelled up, you can exercise away those extra calories with a day of unbeatable shopping options. For the budget-conscious traveler, flying with Scoot is an easy choice to make. Whatever your travel plans are in Hong Kong, Scoot is delighted to be a part of it. Soak up the Scootitude flying experience the moment you step onto our aircraft and find out why flying Scoot is such a unique travel adventure. It’s time to start Scootin’ outta here to Hong Kong!

The flight schedule is below:

Singapore to Hong Kong
Singapore Changi Airport Terminal 2	Depart 0130 hrs
Hong Kong International Airport	Arrive 0525 hrs

Hong Kong to Singapore
Hong Kong International Airport	Depart 0650 hrs
Singapore Changi Airport Terminal 2	Arrive 1035 hrs

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Delta to add Seattle - Hong Kong and Seattle - Seoul

Yesterday, Atlanta-based full service carrier Delta Air Lines announced that it would be adding new daily nonstop services from its Asian gateway at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to Hong Kong International Airport and Seoul-Incheon International Airport. The flights will begin June 2nd, and June 16th, 2014 respectively, and come soon after the carrier ended services between Seattle and Osaka - Kansai Find more details below.

21st August 2013

SEATTLE, Aug. 21, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) will add new daily nonstop service from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to Seoul-Incheon International Airport and Hong Kong International Airport (both subject to government approval) beginning June 2 and June 16, 2014, respectively. Tickets will be available for purchase Aug. 24, 2013.

(Logo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20090202/DELTALOGO )

"By offering new service from Seattle to Seoul and Hong Kong, Delta will now offer customers service to the top five destinations in Asia," said Mike Medeiros, Delta's vice president – Seattle. "Our expanding Seattle network, combined with investments in our aircraft, the airport and the community shows our commitment to become Seattle's premier international carrier."

Medeiros was recently tapped to lead Delta's overall Seattle strategy, which encompasses expanding airport operations, alliance partnerships, corporate customers and government and community involvement.

Delta is able to offer new service to Seoul and Hong Kong due to strong support of from its local Seattle and Pacific Northwest customers as well as its strategic partnership with Alaska Airlines. The new service will complement existing service to Shanghai, Beijing and Tokyo. All five destinations are the leading commercial centers in the region, a benefit for corporate customers traveling between the U.S. and Asia.

With these additions, Delta will serve 17 destinations in the Asia-Pacific region primarily via its U.S. gateways of Detroit, Seattle and Los Angeles, and via its hub in Narita. Since 2009, Delta's Pacific capacity has increased over 20 percent, driven in large part by the development of Detroit and Seattle into core Asia gateways.

Like all of Delta's trans-Pacific flights, the new Seoul and Hong Kong services feature full-flat bed seats in BusinessElite – each with direct aisle access – as well as Economy Comfort seating and in-flight entertainment in every seat throughout the aircraft. Delta's BusinessElite service includes a five-course gourmet meal, paired with a wine menu curated by Master Sommelier Andrea Robinson. The in-flight experience is completed with Westin Heavenly In-Flight bedding, which includes exclusively designed pillows and comforters, as well as Tumi amenity kits with products from Malin+Goetz.  Every seat throughout the aircraft offers a personal on-demand entertainment system featuring an extensive library of movies, TV shows, music and games.

The Seoul flight will operate using a 210-seat Boeing 767-300ER aircraft with 35 full-flat bed seats in BusinessElite, 32 seats in Economy Comfort and 143 Economy class seats.

Hong Kong service will operate using a 234-seat Airbus 330-200 aircraft with 34 full-flat bed seats in BusinessElite, 32 seats in Economy Comfort and 168 Economy class seats.

Seattle is one of Delta's fastest-growing international gateways and last month the airline announced new nonstop service to London-Heathrow Airport beginning in March 2014. Since May, Delta service in Seattle has expanded from 33 peak-day departures to 13 destinations to its current schedule of 44 peak-day departures to 18 destinations, including six international markets. Delta has also invested $14 million in its facilities at Sea-Tac, including its recently completed lobby renovations, new Delta Sky Club, Sky Priority services, new gate area power recharging stations and expanded ticket counters.

Flight details for Seattle-Seoul service

Delta 199

D: SEA at noon A: ICN at 3:30 p.m. (following day)

Begins June 2, 2014

Delta 198 D: ICN at 5:20 p.m. A: SEA at 12:05 p.m. (same day)

Begins June 3, 2014

Flight details for Seattle-Hong Kong service

Delta 139 D: SEA at 1:30 p.m. A: HKG at 6:45 p.m. (following day)

Begins June 16, 2014

Delta 138 D: HKG at 10:00 a.m. A:SEA at 7:55 a.m. (same day)

Begins June 18, 2014

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Cathay Pacific July 2013 traffic results

Hong Kong based full service carrier Cathay Pacific Airways posted its consolidated (including regional arm Dragonair) traffic results for July 2013, showing an increase in passenger traffic offset by a decrease in cargo tonnage. Find the details below.

20th August 2013

Cathay Pacific Airways today released combined Cathay Pacific and Dragonair traffic figures for July 2013 that show a year-on-year rise in the number of passengers carried. Cargo and mail tonnage fell compared to the same month in 2012.

Cathay Pacific and Dragonair carried a total of 2,679,193 passengers in July – an increase of 6.9% compared to the same month last year. The passenger load factor was up 3.9 percentage points to 85.0%, while capacity, measured in available seat kilometres (ASKs), rose by 0.1%. For the year to date, the number of passengers carried has increased by 2.1% while capacity has fallen by 4.1%.

The two airlines carried 122,920 tonnes of cargo and mail last month, a drop of 1.9% compared to July 2012. The cargo and mail load factor fell by 4.4 percentage points to 60.3%. Capacity, measured in available cargo/mail tonne kilometres, rose by 6.6% while cargo and mail revenue tonne kilometres were down by 0.7%. For the year to date, tonnage has fallen by 1.8% compared to a 0.6% capacity decline.

Cathay Pacific General Manager Revenue Management James Tong said: “We enjoyed a strong start to the summer peak period, with good loads on major long-haul routes and also to the key holiday destinations within the region. However, the comparison with last year is distorted by the effect of Severe Typhoon Vicente, which had a major impact on our operations in July 2012. The Economy cabins were particularly busy last month; demand in the premium cabins was generally weaker, but in line with our expectations for the summer peak.”

Cathay Pacific General Manager Cargo Sales & Marketing Mark Sutch said: “Demand was soft out of many of the major airfreight markets last month and once again we saw tonnage and load factor dropping compared to 2012, when business was already weak. The bright spots in our network were the transpacific lanes and demand on intra-Asia routes, particular out of Hanoi and Dhaka. Europe and Japan remain two of the weaker markets at the moment."

CATHAY PACIFIC / DRAGONAIR COMBINED TRAFFIC	JUL 2013	% Change VS JUL 12	Cumulative JUL 2013	% Change YTD
RPK (000)
- Mainland China	775,166	9.5%	4,763,356	4.1%
- North East Asia	1,206,578	12.9%	7,539,802	7.2%
- South East Asia	1,279,559	6.0%	8,437,035	3.9%
- India, Middle East, Pakistan & Sri Lanka	666,415	-0.4%	4,711,537	-5.8%
- South West Pacific & South Africa	1,182,343	6.4%	8,073,930	-2.1%
- North America	2,378,062	-4.2%	15,551,810	-11.3%
- Europe	1,886,418	11.6%	10,840,134	0.6%
RPK Total (000)	9,374,541	4.9%	59,917,604	-2.2%
Passengers carried	2,679,193	6.9%	17,176,225	2.1%
Cargo and mail revenue tonne km (000)	715,127	-0.7%	4,839,502	-4.1%
Cargo and mail carried (000kg)	122,920	-1.9%	863,472	-1.8%
Number of flights	6,175	6.2%	41,197	5.2%

CATHAY PACIFIC / DRAGONAIR COMBINED CAPACITY	JUL 2013	% Change VS JUL 12	Cumulative JUL 2013	% Change YTD
ASK (000)
- Mainland China	995,472	6.8%	6,654,262	6.0%
- North East Asia	1,511,165	3.2%	9,825,641	0.9%
- South East Asia	1,561,896	0.8%	10,562,289	3.9%
- India, Middle East, Pakistan & Sri Lanka	872,564	-0.3%	6,228,611	-3.9%
- South West Pacific & South Africa	1,440,550	-1.3%	10,223,144	-6.6%
- North America	2,635,993	-6.5%	17,394,262	-13.2%
- Europe	2,008,263	4.9%	12,324,486	-3.2%
ASK Total (000)	11,025,903	0.1%	73,212,695	-4.1%
Passenger load factor	85.0%	3.9pt	81.8%	1.5pt
Available cargo/mail tonne km (000)	1,185,840	6.6%	7,792,496	-0.6%
Cargo and mail load factor	60.3%	-4.4pt	62.1%	-2.2pt
ATK (000)	2,234,229	3.4%	14,754,455	-2.3%

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Malaysia Airlines to upgrade Hong Kong route to Airbus A380

Superjumbo replaces existing Boeing 737 service

by Devesh Agarwal

National carrier Malaysia Airlines will upgrade its twice daily Boeing 737-800 operated Kuala Lumpur Hong Kong route to an Airbus A380 effective May 1, 2013. Hong Kong will be the third A380 destination for the carrier after London and Paris. The new schedule is:

MH72 departs Kuala Lumpur 09:15 arrives Hong Kong 13:05
MH73 departs Hong Kong 14:45 arrives Kuala Lumpur at 18:25

The 494 seater A380 will increase by about 50% the existing capacity of twice daily Boeing 737s, and will also introduce a first class cabin on this premium route offering eight seats. Malaysia's A380 has 420 economy class seats. 350 seats on the main (lower) deck and 70 on the upper deck, and 66 business class seats. All seats are equipped with the usual modern amenities - individual in-flight entertainment with audio video on demand, in-seat power supply, USB ports for BYOD entertainment, etc.

The airline is offering attractive introductory offers on this route for travel till November 30, 2013.

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PHOTOS: British Airways rolls out first painted A380

by Vinay Bhaskara

The first fully painted Airbus A380 for British Airways was rolled out of Airbus' paint shop in Hamburg this past weekend. The first of 12 A380s for British Airways is scheduled to be delivered in July, and is outfitted with 469 seats. British Airways will introduce the aircraft on shorter training flights before introducing it on long haul services to Hong Kong and Los Angeles in October & November.

images courtesy of British Airways and Flightglobal

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Analysis: Qantas restructures Asian operations, looking at Indian service from 2016 onwards

by Vinay Bhaskara

Qantas A380 - Image courtesy QANTAS

Earlier today, Australian national carrier Qantas announced a restructuring of its Asian network. After launching an in-depth partnership with Middle Eastern carrier Emirates and switching its Kangaroo Route services to operate via Dubai instead of Asia, Qantas announced a renewed focus on strengthening its Asian operation. The key features of the news are as follow:

• Increased capacity and better frequency/timings for services to Singapore and Hong Kong
• Improvements to the cabin, in-flight experience, and lounges – dedicated capacity increase of 10% to Hong Kong and 40% to Singapore
• Earlier arrival times into Hong Kong, Bangkok, and Singapore to increase onward connectivity
• New code share service on Melbourne-Kuala Lampur, Melbourne/Brisbane-Singapore, and Sydney-Bangkok through Emirates 5th Freedom services
• Brisbane-Hong Kong increased to daily service from 4 weekly
• Melbourne/Sydney – Hong Kong re-timed for earlier arrival, Sydney – Hong Kong loses 4 weekly frequencies, Brisbane-Hong Kong increased from 4 weekly to daily, and re-timed, Perth – Hong Kong cancelled
• Perth  - Singapore reduced to daily from double daily and re-timed, Brisbane-Singapore re-timed, Sydney-Singapore gets daily service as does Melbourne-Singapore, Adelaide-Singapore is cancelled
• Sydney – Bangkok re-timed for earlier arrival. 
• A new Qantas lounge in Singapore (scheduled to open 31st March), and a new First Class lounge in Hong Kong– Combined investment in these lounges was $9 million
• An expanded Asian code share network through OneWorld partners Japan Airlines, Cathay Pacific, and Malaysia Airlines
• Investigating increased destinations in Asia including Beijing, Seoul, Mumbai, Delhi, and Tokyo-Haneda using 787-9 aircraft from 2016 onwards. 
• Potential refresh of the international Airbus A330 fleet with lie-flat seats in business class

The shit to focus on Asia for Qantas is a necessary change, especially as demand for both business and leisure travel has grown by leaps and bounds between rapidly developing East Asian nations and Australia. The better timings for onward connectivity also will buoy Qantas’ operations as they will allow for better integration with OneWorld partners. It should even be possible for Qantas passengers to connect through Asia onto British Airways for the Kangaroo route, though the timings are far from optimal.

But the decision to wait until 2016 for further Asian expansion is too far down the line; Beijing, Seoul, and Haneda are all viable destinations today. By 2016, Asian carriers will have had the opportunity to expand services on these routes even further, removing Qantas’ potential for expansion. Bangalore Aviation instead suggests that Qantas utilize its existing fleet of Airbus A330s to increase service to Asia, or at the very least use its fleet of 787-8s once the issues surrounding the 787s batteries are resolved.

In terms of serving Delhi and Mumbai, it would be wise to allow the market to develop and mature. None of the Indian carriers beyond the basket case national carrier Air India have any plans to serve Australia within the next 3-4 years, and Qantas can easily dominate Air India on the route. The Boeing 787-9 is the perfect aircraft for the route with enough range to make the route year round and strong unit costs to improve profitability. In terms of routes, the only city pair with enough volume to sustain nonstop service is Melbourne-Delhi, and even there the demand is primarily of the visiting family and relatives (VFR) variety, which is typically low yielding. So the profitability of Qantas services to India, even after 2016, is questionable at best.

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Air India has a one week low air fares sale to international destinations

Following in the footsteps of most international airlines, offering special fares ex-India, national carrier Air India, today announced, it is offering low fares for the lean season which commences from the middle of January.

The scheme is valid for immediate out-bound travel to the Far East and Near East, and from 21 January 2013 onwards for the USA, UK, Europe and UAE sectors.

The sale is open for one week from December 10 through 16, 2012.

Some of the fares under the scheme are:

• USA - New York JFK, Newark, and Chicago : Rs 51,999
• UK - London Heathrow : Rs 40,999
• Europe - Frankfurt and Paris CDG : Rs 35,999
• UAE - Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah : Rs 15,999
• Far East Seoul Incheon, Osaka Kansai and Tokyo Narita : 34,999
• Near East Hong Kong, Shanghai Pudong and Singapore : 17,999

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Night photos from Delhi Indira Gandhi international airport - the Cathay Pacific Boeing 747-400 Freighter twins

Bangalore Aviation photographer Vedant took this photograph of a pair of Boeing 747 freighters of Hong Kong based, Cathay Pacific Cargo at New Delhi's Indira Gandhi international airport. Click on the image for a high resolution view.

One of the 747s is an original 747 Freighter, while the other is a 747-400 BCF (Boeing Converted Freighter). Can you identify which one is which? Left is which one and right is which one. Answer via a comment.

Also do take the time to leave a comment on JetPhotos as encouragement.

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Cathay Pacific upgrades Delhi Hong Kong route to new Business, Premium Economy and Economy class cabins

Cathay Pacific Airways is upgrading its daily Delhi Hong Kong service with the introduction of the airline’s new Business Class cabin and its new Premium Economy Class cabin from October 29.

Cathay Pacific will operate this route with an Airbus A330-300 aircraft featuring a three-class configuration - new Business Class, Premium Economy Class and the new long-haul Economy Class seats.

The airline’s new Business Class cabin features private, lie-flat seats with direct aisle access. Cathay Pacific was voted “World’s Best Business Class” in the 2012 Skytrax World Airline Awards™.

Cathay Pacific’s new Premium Economy Class features a quieter, more spacious cabin than the traditional Economy Class with between 26 and 34 seats per aircraft. The seat pitch is 38 inches and the seat itself is wider and has a bigger recline. It has a large meal table, cocktail table, footrest, a 10.6-inch personal television, an in-seat power outlet, a multi-port connector for personal devices and extra personal stowage space.

For more details on the new premium economy cabin, read this story. For images of premium economy and economy cabins, read this story.

The new long-haul Economy Class seat features a cradle mechanism to enhance the level of comfort in the recline position. Each seat comes with the latest high-resolution touch-screen personal television, a USB outlet and an iPod/iPhone outlet to allow passengers to connect their own mobile devices to view content through their personal television. The seat also offers improved living space and more personal storage space.

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