Kingfisher fights for air

NEW DELHI, 22 February 2012: India’s Kingfisher Airlines was struggling to avoid closure on Tuesday as regulators ordered it to prove its operational viability after mass cancellations of flights.

Scores of national and international flights have been scrapped over the past three days, leaving passengers stranded at airports and airline bosses fighting to save the debt-laden company.

International flights to Bangkok, Singapore, Kathmandu and Dhaka have been among those affected, and scores more flights were again cancelled on Tuesday.

The airline cancelled all flights to Bangkok 20 February according to the Airports of Thailand. It serves Bangkok with three daily flights from Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata.   According to the airline’s notice to local travel agencies flights have been suspended until 28 February.

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Vietnam Airlines raises stakes in Jetstar

SYDNEY, 22 February 2012: Australian carrier Qantas said Wednesday that Vietnam Airlines will take a majority share in its Jetstar Pacific offshoot from the Vietnamese State Capital Investment Corporation.

Under the arrangement, the Vietnamese airline will hold 69.93% of the low-cost airline, with Qantas owning 30%.

“This partnership brings together the proven low-cost model of Jetstar with the unique local knowledge and existing networks of national carrier Vietnam Airlines,” said Qantas chief Alan Joyce.

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PG teams up with Silkair

BANGKOK, 21 February 2012: Bangkok Airways announced, last week, a code-share agreement with Silk Air on certain flights between Singapore, Samui Island, Phuket and Chiang Mai, effective 15 February.

Bangkok Airways president Capt.Puttipong Prasarttong-Osoth, commented: “This agreement allows passengers of both airlines to benefit from greater connectivity and flexibility when making their travel plans. From a business perspective, the agreement enables both SilkAir and Bangkok Airways to expand their respective networks and grow both inbound and outbound passenger flows.” Read more

Strike cripples Frankfurt airport

FRANKFURT, 22 February 2012: Nearly 200 flights were cancelled at Frankfurt airport, Europe’s third busiest, on Tuesday as tarmac workers downed tools for the fourth day and said the strike would be extended until Friday.

Fraport, the company which owns and operates Germany’s biggest airport, said that 187 flights out of 1,200 would be cancelled, fewer than the 240 on Monday.

The aim, as on previous strike days, was to ensure that all intercontinental take-offs and landings went ahead, Fraport said.

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Bangkok Airways outlines expansion

BANGKOK, 15 February 2012: Bangkok Airways will continue to increase frequency on existing routes, while expanding its network through code-share opportunities.

The airline will attend ITB to promote its network and additional service due to start with the summer timetable in late March.

The airline continues to grow its network. Last year it added three destinations in South Asia — Mumbai, Bangalore and Dhaka. Meanwhile, this year, it will start a Samui-Kuala Lumpur route and a nonstop Bangkok-Lampang service. Apart from this, it will increase flights on trunk routes and work on code-shares with new partners to feed traffic to its domestic network. Read more

Sunny Airways shines at charters

BANGKOK, 14 February 2012: Sunny Airways, Thailand’s newest airline, says it will concentrate on offering  charters flights in North Asia to draw more tourists to Thailand.

Sunny Airways commenced charter operations, 18 January, with a weekly flight between Bangkok and Changchun, the largest city in China’s Jilin province with a population of 8 million.

The carrier has obtained a single B767-200ER leased from KMW Leasing in the United States. A second aircraft is expected to arrive in March. It plans to acquire a smaller B737 or a B757 to serve South China and Southeast Asian markets in the second half of the year. Read more

Strike cripples Iberia

MADRID, 14 February 2012: Spain’s Iberia said it cancelled 121 of the 323 scheduled flights Monday as pilots and other ground and air staff struck over the creation of low-cost offshoot Iberia Express.

Some 10,000 passengers were either placed on other flights or reimbursed, said an Iberia spokeswoman.

It was the eighth in a series of one-day Iberia pilots’ strikes, which began in December, leaving four more stoppages planned for this month: 17, 20, 24 and 29 February. Read more

Trade conflict looms over carbon tax

SINGAPORE, 14 February 2012: World aviation bosses warned Monday of a potential trade war over a carbon tax imposed by the European Union, which expressed readiness to compromise while insisting on its environmental agenda.

In a conference on the eve of the Singapore Air Show, one of Asia’s largest aviation trade fairs, representatives of the airline and plane manufacturing sectors expressed concern over a potential political and economic standoff.

“I have to say I’m really worried, also as a manufacturer, about the consequences,” said Airbus Chief Executive Thomas Enders. Read more

Demand for planes explodes

SINGAPORE, 14 February 2012: Global airlines will need 33,500 new planes valued at US$4.0 trillion in less than two decades, with Asia accounting for about 35% of the total, US aircraft maker Boeing said Monday.

Asia-Pacific carriers will require 11,450 new aircraft, worth US$1.5 trillion, by 2030, Boeing’s vice president for commercial planes Randy Tinseth said at a news conference on the eve of the Singapore Air Show.

“This is the largest market in the world for single-aisle airplanes… for twin-aisle airplanes… for big airplanes. Any way you look at it, this is a big, big market, and this is a growth market,” he said. Read more

TG rethinks Euro services

BANGKOK, 13 February 2012: Thai Airways International will be advising travel planners attending the ITB this year about cuts to European flights.

Due to the Eurozone crisis and the loss of spending power across the EU, the airline has reduces frequencies and  there are also some changes in aircraft type. It is a response to a steady decline in spending power and fiscal failure across a region that was once a major source of income for the Thai national airline.

Other airlines are in a bind too and it is expected that some major players will further reduce flights on  Europe-Bangkok routes.

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