All articles by Alfred Chua – Page 110
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Airline BusinessEarly retirements in crises: a new normal?
Across the world, airlines are considering bringing forward the retirement of older aircraft types. When the coronavirus outbreak finally abates, the question will remain if these accelerated retirements represent an anomaly, or a “new normal”.
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NewsCAAC warns that air traffic return will be slow
While some capacity has been restored for Mainland China flights, it is likely to remain low for the foreseeable future. In its monthly update, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) states that “the volume of flights…may continue to to operate at low levels in the future”, as the ...
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NewsVietJet mounts freighter flights with passenger jets
Vietnamese low-cost carrier VietJet Air has begun flying passenger freighter flights, as it gradually begins resuming domestic passenger service. The airline states in an update that it is operating about 10 cargo flights daily, with services to points within Vietnam and to Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asia. ...
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NewsChina Southern beefs up Beijing Daxing capacity
China Southern Airlines aims to move its entire Beijing operations to the capital city’s new Daxing International airport by March 2021. In an update, China Southern states that from 12 April to 2 May, it will move an additional 50% of its flights from Beijing Capital to Beijing Daxing. ...
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NewsWhat’s in a name? Taiwan mulls renaming China Airlines
Taiwan is open to renaming national carrier China Airlines, but stressed that it was up to the airline — and the flying public — to ultimately decide.
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NewsWuhan airport reopens after months-long lockdown
Wuhan’s airport has reopened for operations, ending more than two months’ of inactivity due to the coronavirus outbreak. On 8 April , the Wuhan Tianhe International Airport reopened to a reduced schedule of domestic flights, as Chinese carriers gradually resumed flying to the epicentre of the outbreak. It ...
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NewsTaiwan rolls out second round of relief for aviation sector
About a month after it first extended a financial lifeline to its aviation sector, Taiwan has unveiled a second round of relief measures to cope with the impact of the coronavirus outbreak. It will provide the sector with credit guarantees and other subsidies. The package is expected to cost the ...
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NewsEtihad doubles down on airframe, cabin maintenance of parked fleet
As it parks about 80% of its fleet amid the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, Etihad Airways has doubled down on aircraft and cabin maintenance work. In a video released on 10 April, the Abu Dhabi-based carrier states it has to date replaced more than 10,000 seat and backrest covers in ...
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NewsUS reapproves licence for Leap engine sales to China
The US government has reapproved GE Aviation’s application to supply engines for Comac’s C919 narrowbody programme, months after it mulled blocking engine sales. The enginemaker states the licence to supply CFM International Leap-1C engines will last for a term of four years. It did not indicate when the application ...
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NewsHigher expenses drag GMF profit down 47%
GMF AeroAsia saw its full-year operating profit for 2019 slump, on the back of ballooning expenses. The Garuda Indonesia subsidiary posted an operating profit of $15 million, down 47.1% year-on-year. This was partly attributed to a higher increase in expenses — the MRO saw expenses rise 14.2% to ...
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NewsEtihad to test contactless medical screening at airport
Etihad Airways will trial new contactless technology that will help it identify passengers with medical conditions, potentially even those with early stages of the coronavirus. The carrier is partnering with Australian technology firm Elenium Automation to test the new concept later this month at its Abu Dhabi hub. ...
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Airline BusinessSlowly but surely, China domestic capacity creeps back up
While airlines around the world hunker down amid the coronavirus crisis, the Chinese domestic market is telling a different story.
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NewsFebruary travel demand slump worst since 9/11: IATA
Collapsing domestic travel in Mainland China — the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak — coupled with falling travel demand to and from the Asia-Pacific region, led to the sharpest drop in demand in almost two decades. Releasing its global passenger traffic data for February, IATA says RPKs for the ...
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NewsLack of alertness, improper operation behind China Airlines freighter undershoot
The pilot of a China Airlines Boeing 747-400 freighter that undershot a runway at Taipei Taoyuan International Airport had inadequate rest — thanks to a crying baby at home — which affected his alertness. Releasing its final report into the 2018 incident, the Taiwan Transportation Safety Board (TTSB) also ...
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NewsAir China warns of 'short term' loss from outbreak
Air China has joined a growing list of airlines in warning of an operating loss “in the short term”, as the coronavirus outbreak continues to wreak havoc. Discussing the outlook for 2020 in its full-year results, the Air China group noted the impact that the outbreak — which originated ...
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NewsAir China 2019 profit inches up 2.1%
Lower expenses, coupled with more passengers carried, helped push Air China’s 2019 operating profit slightly higher. It posted a full-year profit of CNY14.6 billion ($2.06 billion) for 2019, an increase of 2.1% compared to the previous year. Group revenue for the year fell marginally — at about 0.4% ...
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Airline BusinessQantas tests limits of ultra-long-haul service
Project Sunrise could see flights of 19h-plus from New York and London to Sydney - if the aircraft, passengers and crew can take the strain
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NewsLoosened tie bolt assemblies behind Virgin Australia 737 wheel failure
Virgin Australia has implemented new landing gear wheel inspection guidelines, following the failure of a main landing gear wheel on a Boeing 737-800. Releasing its final report into the 2017 incident, investigators from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) found that the number one main wheel ruptured because of loosened ...
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AnalysisOutbreak brings mixed fortunes for Asia MROs
While much has been said about how the coronavirus outbreak has affected the airline industry, what is less-known is its effect on MROs. Are MROs in Asia seeing the silver lining of the crisis, or is it also a picture of gloom for many of them?
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NewsCathay reduces flying to ‘bare skeleton’ network of 15 points
Cathay Pacific has extended its deep capacity cuts for another month, reducing capacity by 96% for April and May, operating a “bare skeleton” passenger flight schedule of just 15 cities. With the latest cuts, Cathay will fly three-times-weekly to 12 points in its network to cities such as Singapore, London ...