All articles by Alfred Chua – Page 89
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NewsSIA seals Airbus deferrals, Boeing negotiations reach ‘advanced stage’
Singapore Airlines Group has confirmed that its outstanding Airbus aircraft on order have been deferred and that it is close to concluding similar talks with Boeing. In today disclosing record half year losses amid the coronavirus crisis, SIA Group states that it has “concluded negotiations with Airbus on a revised ...
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NewsSteep impairment costs drag SIA to record S$3.5 billion net loss for half year
Singapore Airlines Group took on a hefty impairment charge of S$1.33 billion ($987 million) from the early retirement of 26 older aircraft — including seven Airbus A380s — which led to a record net loss in its half-yearly earnings. The group says that the 26 aircraft were “deemed surplus to ...
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Airline BusinessOnce prolific operators, Japanese majors bid sayonara to venerable 777 ‘Classics’
Once profilic operators of the Boeing 777, Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways have recently announced that they will cut their 777 fleets by significant numbers. While not entirely a surprise given the state of the aviation industry, this marks the passing of an era for Japanese carriers, which have been intimately entwined with programme from its infancy decades ago.
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NewsJAL to raise Y168 billion in foreign and domestic share placements
Japan Airlines is looking to raise nearly Y168 billion ($1.6 billion) in share placements, part of which will go toward fleet development, as well as to its newly-formed low-cost unit Zipair Tokyo. The Oneworld carrier will issue more than 90 million shares, with nearly two-thirds to be offered in domestic ...
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NewsGMF AeroAsia falls to steep nine-month loss
GMF AeroAsia continued its loss-making streak for the year, reporting an operating loss of $178 million for the nine months ended 30 September. This was in contrast to the $24.5 million operating profit it made during the same period last year, and a significant jump from its six-month loss of ...
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NewsRex takes its first 737-800
Australia’s Regional Express (Rex) has taken delivery of its first of six Boeing 737-800 aircraft, as it mulls taking up to 10 examples by the end of 2021. The aircraft, stripped of its previous livery save for a ring of red round the engine nacelles, arrived in Sydney on 5 ...
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NewsThai puts 34 aircraft on sale, including entire 747 fleet
Embattled Thai Airways has put up its entire Boeing 747 and its 777-200/300 fleet up for sale, as it aims to raise cash amid a long-drawn business rehabilitation process. The Star Alliance carrier disclosed on its aircraft trading website that 34 aircraft from its fleet will be put up for ...
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NewsTigerair Taiwan gets capital boost from parent China Airlines
China Airlines plans to inject more capital into low-cost unit Tigerair Taiwan, as part of a move to “optimise the capital structure” of the LCC. The SkyTeam carrier discloses that it will pump about NT$657 million ($23 million) into Tigerair Taiwan, bringing its total shareholding to nearly 76%. ...
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NewsGA Telesis to remarket China Airlines 747-400s
China Airlines has picked GA Telesis’ aircraft asset management unit to remarket and sell its four remaining Boeing 747-400 aircraft, with deliveries expected as early as the first quarter of 2021. The four 747s (MSNs 33734, 33735, 33736 and 33737) are currently in storage, Cirium fleets data indicates. China ...
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NewsCollapse in MRO work pushes SIA Engineering into red for half-year
Plummeting MRO volumes on the back of coronavirus-driven fleet groundings pushed SIA Engineering (SIAEC) into the red at an operating level in the first-half of its financial year.
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NewsChina Southern to form 777F cargo unit
China Southern Airlines has applied to the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) for approval to establish a cargo subsidiary. To be based in Guangzhou, the new carrier, known as China Southern Airlines Cargo, will be wholly-owned by China Southern. Neither the CAAC nor China Southern gave any indication of ...
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NewsIndonesia plans to merge Garuda Indonesia with tourism companies
The Indonesian government has outlined plans to merge nine state-owned tourism companies, including flag carrier Garuda Indonesia, in a move to maximise operational efficiencies. The country’s state-owned enterprises ministry states that the nine entities will be merged under a single holding company. Source: Airbus Indonesia has outlined plans ...
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NewsChina Southern first among ‘Big Three’ to return to profitability since pandemic began
China Southern Airlines became the first of China’s three largest carriers to report a quarterly operating profit since the coronavirus outbreak began, breaking its loss-making streak in the first half of the year. Its compatriots Air China and China Eastern Airlines, while still in the red for the three ...
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NewsJAL to reduce 777 fleet amid swing to steep first-half loss
Japan Airlines will retire up to 24 of its Boeing 777 aircraft over the next three years, as it battles the coronavirus crisis that saw it rack up significant losses for its half-yearly results. Elaborating on its future fleet plans, the Oneworld carrier states that 11 777-200ERs used in its ...
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NewsMitsubishi imposes ‘temporary pause’ on SpaceJet; certification work continues
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) will further trim the budget of its troubled SpaceJet programme and “temporarily pause” most related activities, as it mulls a “possible programme restart”. Releasing its medium-term business plan for its 2021-23 fiscal years, MHI adds that it will, however, still carry on with type certification documentation ...
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NewsAirbus delivers 500th China-built A320 to China Southern
Airbus has delivered the 500th Airbus A320 family aircraft built in its Tianjin plant in China, more than a decade after the Chinese final assembly line began operations. The aircraft, an A320neo registered B-30FX, went to China Southern Airlines. It is equipped with CFM International Leap-1A engines and is configured ...
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NewsAAPA calls on governments to do more for air travel
While there have been “positive” steps taken to establish travel bubbles and essential travel ‘green lanes’ in the Asia-Pacific region, more can be done to better coordinate an air travel recovery amid the coronavirus crisis. Releasing its traffic data for September, the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) doubled ...
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NewsSIA Engineering flags ‘material impact’ on first-half earnings
SIA Engineering will recognise a non-cash impairment provision against its base maintenance assets in its upcoming financial results for the six months ended 30 September, where it expects a “material impact” from the coronavirus crisis. Releasing its profit guidance for the period, SIAEC adds that it was working on ...
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NewsFirst A321P2F enters service with Qantas
The first Airbus A321P2F converted freighter has entered service with launch customer Qantas, which will operate it under a partnership with Australia Post. Qantas will take up to three A321P2Fs, which it notes offers an additional 9t payload over the Boeing 737-300Fs it uses on domestic freight services. ...
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NewsANA swings to big first-half operating loss amid pandemic havoc
All Nippon Airways’ parent company ANA Holdings ended its first half of fiscal 2020 deep in the red, as it forecast a record full-year net loss of Y510 billion ($4.7 billion), citing a “significant decline” in passenger travel demand. The group also expects to book significant impairment losses – ...