Four new carriers launched at the beginning of August, namely Fly Asian Xpress in Malaysia, ANA&JP Express in Japan, IndiGo in India and Jade Cargo International in China.
Fly Asian Xpress was the first to start operating, with an inaugural flight on 1 August between the east Malaysian destinations of Sibu and Miri. It was established by some of the key shareholders in low-cost carrier AirAsia to take over the turboprop operations of loss-making Malaysia Airlines (MAS), which is slashing the size of its network as part of a sweeping restructuring.
|
|---|
| IndiGo launched with one A320 and has another 99 on order |
AirAsia has taken over more than 90 of MAS's domestic routes, some of which it has subcontracted to Fly Asian Xpress, which is now operating seven Fokker 50s and five de Havilland Canada Twin Otters to more than 20 destinations within east Malaysia.
A day after Fly Asian Xpress started services, a joint-venture cargo airline in Japan was launched by All Nippon Airways. ANA&JP Express took flight on 2 August using a Boeing 767-300 freighter serving points in China.
The carrier is due to add more freighters in the coming months and later this year intends to launch long-haul services to Chicago. In the meantime it will primarily serve China and South Korea. The new airline is 51.67%-owned by ANA and one-third owned by Japan Post, with two other shareholders holding the remaining 15%.
Meanwhile on 4 August, IndiGo became India's latest low-fare carrier, using an Airbus A320 flying between Delhi and Imphal via Guwahati.
The new carrier had been in the planning stages for some time and made a name for itself last year when it placed firm orders with Airbus for 100 A320s. Chief executive Bruce Ashby says a steady expansion is planned for IndiGo, which will take delivery of one new aircraft every month.
Finally, on 5 August another joint-venture freight carrier launched services in China, with flights from its Shenzhen base to Seoul and Amsterdam.
The new carrier, Jade Cargo International, is a joint venture between Shenzhen Airlines, Lufthansa Cargo and a German bank. It launched with a new-build Boeing 747-400ERF and it has five more on firm order with the manufacturer. Jade says it is now considering acquiring another six freighters and may opt for a second type. ■
Source: Airline Business
