AirAsia X to commence flights to Nagoya

By BA Staff

AirAsia X Berhad, the long haul affiliate of the AirAsia Group, announced the launch of its third destination in Japan; Nagoya.

AirAsia X will commence its first flight into Chubu Centrair International Airport from Kuala Lumpur beginning 17 March, 2014.

AirAsia X will commence four weekly flights into Nagoya, Japan. The airline currently operates daily flights to Tokyo (Haneda) and four weekly flights to Osaka (Kansai) from Kuala Lumpur.

Azran Osman-Rani, CEO of AirAsia X said:

"We are excited to announce our latest route to Nagoya, marking our 3rd destination into Japan. This marks another milestone for AirAsia X and reiterates our expansion commitment in the key markets we operate in with the Asia Pacific Region. With the addition of Nagoya, guests will have more travel options to explore Japan, and we believe Nagoya being a scenic and historical destination will be a popular tourist destination. We have carried over half a million passengers to and from Japan. Japan contributed over 14% of our total revenue in the first half of 2013. Nagoya is strategically located just 50 minutes from Osaka and 1 hour 40 minutes from Tokyo via train. Guests may soon fly direct to Nagoya, and take a train to the metropolitan and capital city of Japan; Tokyo or visit the commercial centre of Japan, Osaka in the Kansai region and return from any of the ports we serve in Japan. Nagoya has much to offer, be it for families or even the back packers, the choices of attractions are endless.”

 He concluded:

“Japanese guest also will be able to fly to a host of destinations from Kuala Lumpur using AirAsia’s Fly-Thru service, which allows guests to easily connect between two different flights via the Kuala Lumpur Low Cost Carrier Terminal without having to worry about checking in twice.”

Fly-Thru routes available from Nagoya are: Adelaide, Gold Coast, Melbourne, Perth, and Sydney in Australia; Kochi in India; Bali, Bandung, Jakarta, Medan and Surabaya in Indonesia; Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, Langkawi andPenang in Malaysia; Singapore; Taipei in Taiwan; Bangkok and Phuket in Thailand; and Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam.

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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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Maps: Potential United Boeing 787 operations for 2014

by Vinay Bhaskara

Image Credit: United Airlines

With the announcement of thrice weekly San Francisco - Chengdu to commence in June 2014, Chicago-based full service carrier United Airlines has the planned the following long haul routes for its fleet of Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners in 2014.

San Francisco - Chengdu --> 3x weekly
San Francisco - Osaka Kansai --> Daily
Seattle - Tokyo Narita --> Daily
Denver - Tokyo Narita --> Daily
Los Angeles - Tokyo Narita --> Daily
Los Angeles - Shanghai Pudong --> Daily
Houston - Lagos --> 5x weekly

Now in order to properly rotate aircraft from the 787-8's current base at Houston, it would also make sense for United to operate daily Houston-Denver and Houston-San Francisco flights domestically using the 787. Such an operation would fully utilize United's planned fleet of 11 Boeing 787-8s with frame utilization as follows:

1 frame - San Francisco - Chengdu
1 frame - Seattle - Tokyo Narita
1 frame - San Francisco - Osaka Kansai
3 frames - Los Angeles - Tokyo Narita and Los Angeles - Shanghai Pudong (a Houston flight can be added here as well to improve utilization)
2 frames - Houston - Denver and Denver - Tokyo Narita
2 frames - Houston - San Francisco and Houston Lagos
1 frame - Spare

The 787 will be primarily used as a trans-Pacific aircraft in 2014, with six of seven long haul routes focused on Trans-Pacific flights; all from the Western United States. The maps below outline the planned (and proposed domestic) 787 routes for United in 2014. It appears that the 787 has already begun to fulfill its promised role of expanding US-Asia air links as the 767 did on trans-Atlantic flights.

Trans-Pacific

Other

Maps generated by the Great Circle Mapper - copyright © Karl L. Swartz.

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Japan Airlines to introduce new menus and services on Japan Honolulu flights

by Devesh Agarwal

BEDD for Resort salmon with ginger-fried pork

Japan Airlines (JAL) will offer new restaurant inspired in-flight meal services on its new service from Japan to Honolulu, Hawaii, USA which starts this autumn.

In business class JAL will introduce "BEDD for Resort", a special menu crafted by Star chef Chikara Yamada.

The Japanese menu is seasonal autumn salmon with ginger-fried pork and the western menu is steak of Japanese beef fillet with special sauce périgueux.

JAL will provide menu of "Ore-no Kinaishoku for Resort" on Honolulu routes in collaboration with Ore-no French and Ore-no Italian which are popular restaurants in Japan.

Japanese beef fillet with special sauce périgueux by Chef Chikara Yamada

In economy class, the airline is working with Kazuhide Nose, Chef of Ore-no French and Toshihiro Yamaura, Chef of Ore-no Italian for a new in-flight meal service, "Ore-no Kinaishoku for Resort". The main dish is Ore-no Beef Stroganoff, designed by Chef Nose with side dishes and dessert are Ore-no Zensai, Ore-no Salad with truffle oil dressing as well as Ore-no Sweets - Tiramisu, by Chef Yamaura, will be served between September and November 2013.

Economy class meal. Ore-no Kinaishoku for Resort beef Stroganoff

Between December and February 2013, the airline will switch, offering an Italian main dish designed by Chef Yamaura, and French side dishes and dessert designed by Chef Nose

The new menus will be served in both classes on flight to Honolulu from Tokyo (Narita), Nagoya (Chubu) and Osaka (Kansai), starting from September 1, 2013.

Kua 'Aina Hawaiian Hamburger Sandwich

On the Tokyo Haneda to Honolulu, Hawaii service JAL is offering a new breakfast menu in collaboration with KUA ‘AINA, a famous restaurant chain in Hawaii and Japan, which as been serving its famous burgers and succulent char-grilled sandwiches since 1975.

The airline is also re-timing its meal service, from after take-off to before landing for the flight departing from Tokyo (Haneda) at 23:40 from October 1, 2013, to ensure passengers have adequate time for rest.

For ladies, from October 1 onwards, the airline is providing a "womens' only" area comprising of four seats in the rear of the economy class which will be set up for make-up and nursing babies.

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Japan 'bans' Air India's Dreamliners

Japanese government irritated by Air India's inefficiency

by Devesh Agarwal

About three weeks ago I wrote debunking the myth being created by the Air India management and their political bosses about the fuel efficient Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft being the saviour of the beleaguered national carrier. Read the Op-Ed piece here.

In June no less than the Indian civil aviation minister, Ajit Singh, announced that Air India would soon operate the Dreamliner to Japan. Very logical. The Japanese are the largest operators of the 787 Dreamliner in the world with both their major airlines, All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines being the launch and second customer of this aircraft. Japan Airlines was the first airline to bring the Dreamliner to India on regular commercial service.

And yet, Air India is unable to fly its Dreamliners to either of its Japanese destinations of Tokyo or Osaka.

Why? you ask. Simple. The wonderfully efficient Air India has failed to provide the Japanese civil aviation authorities with information they required about the modifications carried out on its Dreamliners post the battery fiasco that grounded all Dreamliners globally. Failing to receive a response to their numerous reminders, the Japanese are refusing to give Air India permission to operate the Dreamliner till they receive the information.

Sources inside the airline have told media, so irritated are the Japanese with Air India's sloth and unresponsive attitude, they have stopped interacting with the airline and are instead routing their communications through India's civil aviation regulator, the DGCA, another bastion of speedy operations.

Quite obviously the airline has no comment.

But your comments are always welcome.

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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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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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Delta ending Seattle-Osaka

by Vinay Bhaskara

A Delta Air Lines Boeing 767-300ER - Image Credit: Delta Air Lines

As per Airline Route, Atlanta-based full service carrier Delta Air Lines is cancelling its 4 weekly services between Seattle-Tacoma and Osaka-Kansai. The flight, which was scheduled to operate throughout the IATA Winter 2013/14 season with a Boeing 767-300ER, was started in 2010 and will now end November 4th. Over the past three years, the flight has operated using a mix of Boeing 767-300ER and Airbus A330-300 aircraft. The route was served by pre-merger Northwest Airlines using a Douglas DC 10-30. But that flight was canceled in 2001.

Since its merger with Northwest Airlines in 2009, Delta has steadily grown its long haul presence in Seattle (with help from domestic code share partner Alaska Airlines). The carrier now serves six long haul destinations excluding Osaka, and will begin its seventh on 29th March 2014 with new nonstop services to London Heathrow in conjunction with equity partner Virgin Atlantic. At the time of the Northwest merger, Delta only had intercontinental service to Amsterdam, and Tokyo-Narita.

The cancellation of Seattle services marks another stage in the slow decline of long haul services from Osaka-Kansai. Today, Osaka-Kansai is down to 13 flights per week to the mainland - a daily Boeing 787 Dreamliner from San Francisco on United, thrice weekly Boeing 777-300ER to Los Angeles on Thai Airways, and thrice weekly Boeing 747-400 to New York JFK on China Airlines. Osaka-Kansai once had services from Los Angeles on United, Detroit on Northwest, and Dallas-Fort Worth on American (twice). But high airport operating costs thanks to the high construction costs at Kansai rendered much of the service unprofitable. Operating costs are no longer the main challenge. Kansai has reduced its costs sharply since opening (5% in the last year alone), and the airport has even become a favored base for Japanese low cost carriers (LCCs). However, the Kansai area as a whole has stagnated economically in the past few years, and this reduced demand has curtailed possible long haul flights. 

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Japan Airlines and Jetstar Japan start codeshare and mileage tie-up

by Devesh Agarwal

Japan Airlines (JAL) will start code-share and mileage program partnership with Jetstar Japan (airline flight code: GK) - a joint-investment with the Qantas Group, Mitsubishi Corporation and Century Tokyo Leasing Corporation.

JAL, which started code-sharing with Jetstar (the Australian LCC) in 2007, on routes between Japan and Australia, will now be codesharing with Jetstar Japan on all its domestic flights for customers connecting to and from JAL's international services at Tokyo (Narita) and Osaka (Kansai) and Nagoya (Chube). JAL will not be selling segments on flights operated by Jetstar Japan that are without connections to JAL's international services.

Customers will be able to create a single itinerary with international and domestic flights with the "JL" code, operated respectively by JAL and Jetstar Japan. This provides a network with a wider choice of flights and timings, as well as faster transfers for customers.

Reservations, sales and JAL mileage redemption of flights operated by Jetstar Japan will begin from February 27, 2013, for flights commencing from March 6, 2013.

JAL Mileage Bank (JMB) members can utilise their accrued mileage to redeem tickets on Jetstar Japan flights. Jetstar Japan will be the 17th airline that JAL has similar arrangements. Other airlines with which JAL has mileage tie-ups are all the oneworld alliance members and their subsidiaries, Air Berlin, American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Dragonair, Finnair, Iberia, LAN, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas Airways, Royal Jordanian, S7, and Air France, Emirates, China Eastern, Hokkaido Air Commuter, Bangkok Airways beyond the alliance.

For more details on eligible Jetstar Japan routes and required mileage for redemption, visit the dedicated page on JAL's website.

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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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Northwest Airlines Detroit international operations in 2000

Here at Bangalore Aviation, we sometimes like to take trips down memory lane, and explore the history of airlines.

Today we take a look at Northwest Airline's international operation in their Detroit "World Gateway" in 2000. Northwest Airlines was a US carrier who served Mumbai and Delhi for many years via partner KLM's hub in Amsterdam. In 2008 they merged with Delta Air Lines to form (then) the world's largest carrier.

During the 1990s and early 2000s, Northwest Airlines had its largest international operation at its hub in Detroit. To give readers a better picture of their operations in that year, Bangalore Aviation has reviewed US Department of Transportation data (amongst other sources)and gleaned the following details.

*Please note that all figures are for outbound flights ONLY; multiplying all figures by two would provide a rough estimation of total market size

Characteristic	Figure
Passengers Carried	1,460,003
Scheduled Destinations Served	20
Flights Operated	8109
Average Load Factor	75.97%
Destinations Served (Scheduled)	Amsterdam, Beijing, Cancun*, Frankfurt, Grand Cayman*, Ixtapa*, London-Gatwick, Mexico City, Montreal, Nagoya, Tokyo-Narita, Osaka-Kansai, Paris- Charles de Gaulle, Puerto Vallarta, Rome, Saint Maarten*, Shanghai-Pudong, Toronto, Vancouver*
Most Common Aircraft Type	Douglas DC-10

Today, of the 20 destinations from 2000, 16 are served by Delta Air Lines' hub in Detroit, with Paris- Charles de Gaulle service forthcoming in summer 2012

The following maps give a better picture of international service from Detroit; the first map covers regional international routes, the second: long haul ones.

Maps generated by the Great Circle Mapper - copyright © Karl L. Swartz.

Additionally, the following destinations had the most traffic out of Detroit:

Destination	Traffic
Amsterdam	320,956
Tokyo-Narita	165,045
Toronto	134,213
Osaka-Kansai	128,995
London-Gatwick	106,448

On that list, by far the most surprising destination for most people is Osaka-Kansai. Back in the 1990s, Osaka was considered a global city on the level of Rome or Paris; Northwest ran daily Boeing 747-400s on the route. But today, Osaka is mostly an afterthought for the US carriers; much of the traffic to Osaka now connects in Seoul on Korean Air and Asiana.

Also noteworthy is the relative dominance of Amsterdam as a destination. By this point, the Northwest-KLM joint venture was reaching its peak, and the two carriers were funneling passengers back and forth across the Atlantic like crazy. Still, Amsterdam is the largest trans-Atlantic destination served from Detroit today; perhaps all those years of cooperation fostered additional business links?

The following chart notes the seat load factor of all Northwest Airlines international flights from Detroit in 2000:

75.9% is certainly not out of line for seat factors on international flights, but as a comparison, Delta averages around 85% on their operations today.

Meanwhile, it is also interesting to note the breakdown of international flights out of Detroit by aircraft type.

Aircraft	Flights
Douglas DC 10-30	2177
Boeing 747-400	1752
Douglas DC 9-50	1184
Airbus A320	782
Airbus A319	663
Douglas DC 9-30	553
Boeing 727-200	488
Douglas DC 9-40	168
Douglas DC 10-40	160
Boeing 757-200	122
Boeing 747-200	52
Douglas DC 9-10	8

Most of these aircraft have been elminated completely from global airline fleets and even in 2000 were on their last leg. Still, its easy to remember a time when tri-jets (such as the DC-10 and the 727 were the norm). Of those aircraft, the 757s, A320 family aircraft, and the 747-400s remain in Delta's fleet. The 747 classics and DC-9s were mostly retired while the DC-10s were replaced by Airbus A330s.

Northwest Airlines was the first carrier I ever flew (DTW-AMS in the early 90s incidentally), and also featured my favorite livery of all time, the "Bowling Shoe" (pictured below). May they rest in peace.

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Singapore Airlines to induct Airbus A330-300

Airbus A330-343E, F-WWKZ, CN 978, pictured here in the cold grey skies of Toulouse, France, will soon be heading to the lush tropical city-state of Singapore, as 9V-STA, and joining the fleet of Singapore Airlines, who will become the newest operator of the Airbus A330 aircraft.

Singapore Airlines will introduce its new Airbus A330-300, powered by Rolls Royce Trent 700 engines, in a mid-range regional aircraft, positioning, replacing the existing Boeing B777's, on routes to Australian and Japanese cities, progressively from end March 2009.

SQ A330 Seat Map
The aircraft will be configured with 285 seats in a two class configuration. 30 Raffles Class (Business Class) in a 2-2-2 abreast layout, and 255 in a 2-4-2 layout. The new cabin features will be revealed in January, but the aircraft does feature a new Business Class seat, specially designed for regional and medium-haul flights. All seats will feature the new KrisWorld, Singapore Airlines award-winning in-flight entertainment system.

The first of 19 new A330-300s will be delivered to Singapore Airlines by Airbus in mid-January. Initially, the aircraft will be used to complete pilot conversion, and thereafter, operate some short sectors between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, and Singapore and Jakarta, during late February and March, to fine tune the crews and operations, but these cities will not continue with the A330's.

Singapore Airlines will use the A330's initially to select Australian cities (Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide) and then add Japan (Nagoya and Osaka).

Singapore Airlines will induct the A330's into commercial service on March 30, 2009, with an inaugural service to Brisbane, which marks the 25th anniversary of the commencement of Singapore Airlines services between Singapore and Brisbane.

The planned deployment of the A330-300 is:

End March 2009
Brisbane, SQ245/246, SQ235/236, daily
Brisbane, SQ255/256, 5 flights per week

April 2009
Perth, SQ224/225, 5 fights per week

May 2009
Perth, SQ223/226, SQ215/216, daily

June 2009
Adelaide, SQ268/269, daily
Nagoya, SQ671/672, daily

Then a long break till March 2010
Osaka, SQ617/618, daily

For more information visit the Singapore Airlines website.

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