Skyteam news

[Mike P 0]

...and MH is not getting any closer to joining a global alliance... <_>

 

MH is has had its own alliance called interline SPA. According to MH, it would be too late to come out a deal to join SkyTeam, so MH took action and form its own alliance to build up the global network.

[BC Tam 2]

An alliance of three I suppose

MH

FY

MasWings

[Josh T 0]

An alliance of three I suppose

MH

FY

MasWings

Good one!

[Raymund Yeoh 1]

An alliance of three I suppose

MH

FY

MasWings

 

Shiok sendiri.....

[Pieter C. 5]

KLM recently had a "tile & inspire" game on Facebook, whereby members/supporters of the KLM page could upload their picture and/or text...

 

Today, PH-BQP was rolled out of the hangar showing 4000 lucky ones as tiles on the aircraft...

 

Although most KUL flights are by 77W now, hopefully BQP will grace the Malaysian- and/or Singaporean skies soon before the 'tiles' will be removed again...

 

By the way, hope to arrive at KUL on 20jun at 1500 hrs by PH-BVD (Skyteam): anyone willing to take a landing-shot ?

[alberttky 0]

Schiphol Group and KLM were awarded the 2001 Best Baggage Initiative Award at the Future Travel Experience 2011 Congress held in Vancouver.

 

The award was presented for the self-service baggage drop-off units at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, developed by Schiphol, KLM and BagDrop systems BV.

 

"The big advantage of a self-service drop-off unit is that it is always available," explained Roel Hellemons, director operations, Schiphol Group. "This means that more capacity is available, resulting in higher efficiency for passengers, the airline and the airport. In addition, passengers are in control of their own process and can check-in their baggage in very little time. Innovations like this help us to meet key passenger needs and live up to our ambition to be and remain Europe's preferred airport."

 

Adriaan den Heijer, vice president of hub operations KLM at Schiphol, said, "KLM is extremely pleased with this award. The self-service baggage drop-off units are a logical step towards expanding the use of self-service facilities within KLM and the airport. This enables us to meet the needs of our passengers, who are increasingly keen on controlling their own travel process. This award confirms their appreciation for our efforts."

 

http://www.passengerterminaltoday.com/viewnews.php?NewsID=33126

 

Wonder if AirAsia will do this for KLIA2...

[alberttky 0]

The SkyTeam alliance has taken another step forward in cementing its place in the fast-growing North Asian aviation market by adding China Airlines, Taiwan’s largest carrier and the world's seventh largest cargo carrier (by international scheduled FTKs - or eighth largest by total system FTKs), to the fold on 28-Sep-2011. China Airlines' entry comes just three months after China Eastern Airlines and Shanghai Airlines joined the grouping in Jun-2011. China Airlines will be the first Taiwanese carrier to join a global alliance, with rival EVA Air remaining unaligned.

 

China Airlines will become the 15th member of the SkyTeam airline alliance (see Appendix for full list of alliance groupings). By joining SkyTeam, the Taiwanese carrier will expand its international coverage nine-fold via codesharing to 926 destinations in 173 countries across 14,000 services from the current 1010 destinations in 29 countries.

 

Some institutional investors have estimated alliance membership will increase the carrier's revenue in 2011 by around TWD6 billion (USD197 million), or around 5% of the total, as reported by Focus Taiwan News Channel, although the carrier has not provided estimates.

 

The Taipei-based carrier stated it has taken 11 years to gain approval from each of the current SkyTeam members to enter the alliance. "The membership will elevate our global presence, especially in the China region," said Jessica Pan, the airline's public relations manager. Commenting on the alliance membership, China Airlines Chairman Chia-Juch Chang stated that joining SkyTeam is "an integral part of our strategy for increased international growth and profitability".

 

China Airlines brings a surge in connectivity but just three new destinations to the SkyTeam network: Okinawa and Miyazaki in Japan and Surabaya in Indonesia. From its hub in Taipei, one of Asia’s strongest economies, China Airlines operates a diverse passenger and cargo network throughout the wider Asia pacific region, North America and Europe, with a total of 224 daily departures to 80 destinations worldwide, SkyTeam noted.

 

SkyTeam increases presence in Taiwanese market by over five-fold

 

By joining the SkyTeam alliance, China Airlines has increased by over five-fold the grouping's share of total weekly seat capacity to/from/within in Taiwan from 6.1% to 31.8%. The next biggest alliance in Taiwan is oneworld (12.2%), as oneworld member Cathay Pacific is the third largest carrier operating in the Taiwanese market with some 89,000 weekly seats.

 

Around 45.8% of total weekly seats in Taiwan remains unaligned to a global grouping, as Taiwan’s second largest carrier, EVA Air, is not a member of an alliance.

 

SkyTeam has gained a major boost at Taipei Taoyuan, Taiwan’s largest airport handling 80.5% of the nation’s international seats and 59.5% of total system seats. SkyTeam’s share of total weekly seats has soared from just 1.5% to 40.6%, with oneworld trailing with a 16.3% share and Star Alliance having only a 1.5% share at the airport. China Airlines is the largest operator at Taipei Taoyuan, with over 206,000 weekly seats at present based on Innovata data, or a third of the total.

 

SkyTeam's position at Taiwan’s second largest international airport, Kaohsiung, has also increased strongly, from 3.2% to 20.3%. China Airlines is the third largest carrier at Kaohsiung, after TransAsia and Hong Kong-based Dragonair (a Cathay Pacific subsidiary).

 

At Taipei’s second airport, Taipei Songshan, SkyTeam’s presence has increased from 1.8% to 11.0%. Songshan is the nation’s third largest airport, with 7.4% capacity (seats) share and the nation’s second largest airport by system capacity (seats) handling 12.7% of total system capacity. China Airlines is the fourth largest airline at Taipei Sonshan, after UNI Airways (a regional subsidiary of EVA Air), TransAsia and Mandarin Airlines, China Airlines’ regional and domestic subsidiary, but ahead of EVA Air.

SkyTeam the dominant alliance in China, North Asia and Asia Pacific

 

The impact is not just confined to Taiwan. In China, where SkyTeam was already strong and China Airlines has an enlarged presence thanks to progressive cross-Strait liberalisation, its share has increased slightly from 38.2% to 38.5%. China Airlines complements the network of existing members, China Southern and China Eastern, and offers an extensive cross-Strait network to 20 major destinations in Mainland China. Star Alliance member Air France has previously stated that with the arrival of China Airlines, Shanghai Airlines and China Eastern into the alliance in 2011, a total of 135 destinations will be offered by SkyTeam in Greater China alone.

 

In the crucial North Asian region, SkyTeam has slightly extended its dominance, with its capacity share in the region increasing from 28.3% to 29.9%, ahead of Star Alliance (26.2%) and significantly to oneworld (9.5%).

 

In the wider Asia Pacific market, SkyTeam now commands 19.1% of total capacity (seats), up 1 percentage point and now trails Star by less than one percentage point.

The alliances battle for Asia heats up

 

China Airlines becomes the 15th airline to join SkyTeam, which is expected to grow to 19 members by 2012, with the addition of Garuda Indonesia, as well as Aerolineas Argentinas, Saudi Arabian Airlines and Middle East Airlines. Xiamen Airlines has also formally submitted an application to SkyTeam Alliance. The carrier, a subsidiary of China Southern Airlines, has received unanimous approval from the SkyTeam Alliance Council, with the alliance to now form a project team to work with the Chinese carrier over the next 12 months to ensure the carrier satisfies all requirements prior to joining. Xiamen Airlines is expected to formally join the alliance in late 2012 to mid-2013.

 

A fascinating battle between the two alliance heavyweights, Star and SkyTeam is set to unfold in coming years, though oneworld is fighting back with its own list of future members, including Kingfisher and Malaysia Airlines.

 

http://www.centreforaviation.com/analysis/china-airlines-taiwans-largest-carrier-joins-skyteam-big-impact-in-crucial-north-asian-markets-59650

[Kris Kim 0]

It took China Airlines 11 years to join SkyTeam! And at the end they were successful! Congratulations China Airlines and welcome to SkyTeam!

 

It justs proves if you really want to join SkyTeam, you don't stop trying!

[Raymund Yeoh 1]

 

SkyTeam welcomes China Airlines

[/url]1 17 hours ago

 

SkyTeam has welcomed China Airlines as its 15th member.

 

The airline, also one of the world’s leading cargo carriers, becomes the first Taiwanese airline to join SkyTeam.

 

From its hub in Taipei China Airlines operates a diverse passenger and cargo network throughout the wider Asia pacific region, North America and Europe, with a total of 224 daily departures to 80 destinations worldwide.

 

The new member brings three new destinations to the SkyTeam network: Okinawa and Miyazaki, Japan; and Surabaya, Indonesia.

 

“Joining SkyTeam is an integral part of our strategy for increased international growth and profitability,” said China Airlines’ chairman, Chia-Juch Chang.

 

“This is a momentous occasion in our history and we look forward to a future of cooperation and collaboration with our SkyTeam partners, bringing greater benefits to our distinguished passengers.”

 

China Airlines customers can now earn and redeem miles on all services operated by SkyTeam member airlines.

 

Members of other SkyTeam airlines’ frequent flyer programs can also earn and redeem miles when flying on any China Airlines operated flight. China Airlines will also be included in all SkyTeam global deals, particularly benefiting corporate clients with business interests in Taiwan.

===================================================================================================================================================

 

Wonder what will EVA do now ??

 

 

[Isaac 0]

Wonder what will EVA do now ??

They plan to join Star Alliance and has already applied for it.

[YOD1 0]

Garuda's entry into SkyTeam delayed on IT issues

 

SIVA GOVINDASAMY TAIPEI 09:45 28 Sep 2011

 

 

Garuda Indonesia's entry into the SkyTeam Alliance has been delayed by several months as the airline is settling the issues with its IT systems.

 

Indonesia's flag carrier was due to join the alliance by the end of 2011, but this will be delayed by up to six months, an official from the airline said.

 

"Garuda is working with SkyTeam to iron out the problems. It will join SkyTeam, just slightly later than expected," the official added.

 

As a pre-requisite for joining the SkyTeam alliance, airlines are required to integrate their IT systems with other alliance members.

 

The airline has been trying to resolve its IT issues, including problems with its reservation systems.

 

Garuda's reservation system broke down in November last year, the day before the airline signed an agreement to join SkyTeam.

 

The incident resulted in massive flight delays and cancellations.

 

flightglobal

[KK Lee 5]

Garuda's entry into SkyTeam delayed on IT issues

 

 

Given number of bugs in MH website, won’t be surprise this will occur closer to home.

[alberttky 0]

The world's airlines may be feeling the chill winds of economic downturn, but they continue to grow capacity at a rapid clip. Total capacity measured by available seat kilometres (ASKs) will grow by 7.1% this month, according to Innovata. The world's LCCs are, again, growing ahead of the global average, by 8.5%, while SkyTeam Alliance capacity is growing by 18.3%, thanks to the enlargement of the grouping and expansion by its members.

 

SkyTeam now accounts for 17.8% of worldwide capacity (up 1.7 ppts year-on-year). It still trails Star Alliance's 25.3% share (-1 ppt) but is closing the gap. oneworld has a 13.8% share of ASKs (down 0.1 ppt), while the world's LCCs and un-aligned airlines account for 17% and 26.2% of global aviation, respectively.

 

The total number of flights is growing by just 3.5% this month, according to Innovata, suggesting airlines are flying longer sectors and/or with denser seating configurations or higher load factors. Anecdotal evidence suggests however that load factors are falling. See related report: Tough times ahead as air traffic weakens; declines in freight markets accelerate in Aug-2011: IATA

 

Worldwide seat numbers are rising 5.3%.

 

Air Berlin dropping down the LCC rankings

 

Southwest remains the world's biggest LCC, followed by Ryanair and easyJet. Air Berlin has been overtaken by JetBlue and Brazil's Gol, as the German carrier slashes capacity by over 15%. See related report: Air Berlin to restructure after disappointing result; CEO resigns

 

The big upward movers in the LCC list air Indonesia's Lion Air, India's Indigo and Virgin America.

 

Top 25 movers

 

The global top 25 airlines list is largely unchanged from last October, with Delta heading the list from American Airlines and United Airlines. Fast-growing Emirates and Lufthansa may surpass United in coming months, though combined with Continental, the US carrier moves to the top of the list.

 

The fastest growing carrier in the top flight is Turkish Airlines with another 30%+ year-on-year expansion this month.

 

http://www.centreforaviation.com/analysis/lccs-and-skyteam-member-airlines-continue-to-grow-their-share-of-global-aviation-60007

[BC Tam 2]

The bit about LCC's is perhaps an eye opener

Despite all the fanfare and hoo-hah, Air Asia doesn't even get a mention

[Raymund Yeoh 1]

Suprised to see AK drop from 23th to 14th placing in LCC capacity year on year....even Jetstar and Lion is ahead of AK.....

[Mike P 0]

Probably it just mentioned solely AK, non of its sister airlines involved.

[BC Tam 2]

Nah, it's because AK's growth has been severely stunted due to lack of capacity at KUL's LCCT

[Mike P 0]

Nah, it's because AK's growth has been severely stunted due to lack of capacity at KUL's LCCT

 

That's why I think it mentioned only KUL LCCT.

[alberttky 0]

It appears the French flag-carrier is expanding into mainland China at the expense of SE Asia.

 

A few days after its flights to Bangkok are cut back (see online news October 24), Air France will inaugurate this new service between Paris CDG and Wuhan in central China’s Hubei province. Wuhan will be Air France’s fifth Chinese destination.

 

Air France will inaugurate flights on April 11, 2012 with a three times a week service from Paris CDG. It will utilise a 309-seater B777-200ER (the plane type which is deployed on Paris-Bangkok until the end of March) fitted with 35 business, 24 premium economy and 250 economy class seats.

 

Wuhan is a bustling commercial city with a population of 9 million, located roughly equidistant from Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. The vast majority of flights serving its busy airport are domestic. At present there is no long-haul international air service.

 

It means that overseas visitors bound for Wuhan are obliged to route via another hub, normally Shanghai or Beijing.

 

Air France’s non-stop flight from Paris will result in considerable time savings for passengers heading from or, destined for, Europe.

 

Flight AF132 will depart from Paris CDG every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 1620 to arrive into Wuhan at 0855 the next day. Return flight AF139 leaves Wuhan at 1130 to reach Paris CDG the same day at 1700.

 

These timings provide good connections for passengers using the carrier’s CDG hub.

 

But why Wuhan? Well, the big European carriers must continually search out new opportunities in growing markets like mainland China so as to keep one step ahead of their Gulf rivals like Emirates, Qatar and Etihad.

 

All told the Air France/KLM Group is the largest single provider of flights between Europe and mainland China (including Hong Kong). It currently operates between Amsterdam and Paris CDG to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Hong Kong, Hangzhou and Xiamen.

 

The combined Air France/KLM network leaves the UK in the shade. Currently, besides Hong Kong, there is direct air service to only two mainland Chinese cities: Beijing and Shanghai.

 

Perhaps matters will change now that British Airways is tipped to acquire more Heathrow slots from Bmi.

 

http://www.businesstraveller.com/news/air-france-to-serve-wuhan

[alberttky 0]

Dutch airline KLM is poised to join the flat bed club. Starting in May 2013 it will begin installing proper flat bed seats across its long-haul fleet which will replace the current angled lie-flat versions.

 

According to respected Dutch travel website zakenreis.nl the development has been confirmed by KLM's managing director Erik Varwijk. It will take 2.5 years to retrofit KLM's fleet with the new seating.

 

KLM's B747s will be the first to have them fitted followed by its B777s and, finally, the Airbuses. Details of the various configurations are not yet available. The new seats will be fitted with traditional IFE screens.

 

But interestingly, KLM's Erik Varwijk reckons that the future for IFE lies in portable tablets. Zakenreis.nl quotes him as saying, "Tablets not only offer better quality and more opportunties [for IFE] but they are less likely to crash than the current IFE systems. Moreover, tablets are lighter which saves on fuel costs."

 

It is believed that KLM has selected the Diamond seat from BEAerospace. These are similar to the new product being installed by Continental Airlines.

 

KLM's joint partner Air France, which currently offers angled seating in business class, has yet to announce what version, if any, it will adopt in the future.

 

The news will be wecomed by the tens of thousands of UK-based business people who patronise KLM for their long-haul flights via Amsterdam both from London and a large number of regional airports.

 

http://www.businesstraveller.com/news/klm-to-adopt-fully-flat-beds-in-business-class

[flee 5]

Alexandre de Juniac, a civil servant in the French finance ministry and former Thales executive has been installed as chairman and chief executive of Air France. He will begin his new role immediately following approval from the governing board of Air France on 16 November. He fills the role temporarily filled by Jean-Cyril Spinetta, chairman and chief executive of the Air France-KLM group which he held temporarily from 17 October.

 

Previously de Juniac was private secretary to International Monetary Fund managing director Christine Lagarde when she was French minister for the economy, industry and employment. He was also in charge of the aviation systems division at Thales before becoming the company's general manager for Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America.

 

De Juniac's principal tasks at Air France will be to initiate further cost savings to restore the airline's competitiveness, restructure its short- and medium-haul operations and reduce its debt.

 

Source

[Kris Kim 0]

AF will be re-routing it's Phnom Penh flights via SkyTeam HUB SGN, seems like back tracking and with no local traffic rights, looks like Cambodia might be gone soon, it would be easier for AF to transfer pax onto VN, they are already doing JV on France-Vietnam, why not Indochina too?

[alberttky 0]

Xiamen Airlines to join SkyTeam in 2012, strengthening the alliance’s presence in China

 

The SkyTeam alliance has taken another step forward in cementing its place in the fast-growing North Asian aviation market with Xiamen Airlines, China’s fourth largest carrier and Asia’s ninth largest carrier by seats, being formally accepted into the SkyTeam alliance on 17-Nov-2011. Xiamen Airlines will commence the joining process leading to full entry into SkyTeam by the end of 2012.

 

While few in the aviation industry would name Xiamen Airlines in the list of leading Asia Pacific airlines, it has grown to become a key name to watch in the market. The chiefly domestic Chinese airline is also one of the world's most consistently profitable, notching 24 consecutive years in the black – an amazing achievement given the volatility in the industry over this period. Further healthy growth by Xiamen Airlines is expected amid strong domestic and regional expansion. The carrier plans to significantly increase its scale over the next five years, targeting CNY30 billion (USD4.5 billion) in annual revenue, more than 30 million passengers and over 300,000 tonnes of cargo by 2015, the end of the 12th five-year plan (2011 to 2015). This will involve an average capacity growth rate of 14.9% p/a over the next five years. The carrier will also benefit from the development of a new airport in Xiamen as it grows its presence.

 

China’s fourth largest carrier and Asia’s ninth largest carrier

 

Xiamen Airlines is now the 17th largest carrier by domestic capacity (seats) according to Innovata data for the week ended 20-Nov-2011, and the fourth largest Chinese airline in terms of domestic and system seats, behind only China Southern, China Eastern and Air China and ahead of Hainan Airlines. It is also the ninth largest carrier in the Asia Pacific region in terms of systemwide seats. The carrier has a 6.2% capacity share (seats) of total system China traffic and a 7.4% domestic capacity (seats) share, according to Innovata. It, however, ranks only 11th in international capacity from China, with a small 1.8% capacity share.

Xiamen Airlines looking to expand international presence

 

The integration of Xiamen Airlines into SkyTeam will be fully supported by major shareholder China Southern, the first Chinese airline that joined SkyTeam in 2007.

 

Based in Xiamen, a coastal city in East China's Fujian province, Xiamen has a network covering more than 150 routes from its main hubs of Xiamen, Fuzhou and Hangzhou. The carrier network covers most major and medium-sized cities in Greater China, including Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, as well as main cities in Southeast and Northeast Asia. Fujian is one of the more prosperous provinces in China with diverse industries such as clothing, tea production and electronics. Tourism has seen very strong growth and is one of the highlights in the region’s economy.

 

Xiamen Airlines, established in Jul-1984, operates a fleet of 78 aircraft, with plans to increase its fleet size to 136 by 2015, including the addition of six B787s. While currently over 93% of the network is domestic, Xiamen Airlines’ goal is to boost its international traffic by expanding the network to serve major long-haul destinations in Australia, Europe and North America, starting in 2014.

 

Joining China Southern and China Eastern in SkyTeam will support the carrier's international aspirations. Xiamen Airlines deputy general manager Zhao Dong in Sep-2011 speaking to China Daily stated the carrier is joining SkyTeam alliance as "part of our efforts to further advance international ambitions". "Membership will help us transform from a regional airline into a global player," he said, adding: "We will launch more cooperation and share more flights with other airlines after becoming a member of SkyTeam”. Upon the formal announcement of the carrier's planned entry into the alliance, Xiamen Airlines president Che Shanglun similarly commented: “With the accelerated globalisation of the world economy and China’s rapid economic development, Xiamen Airlines will further enhance its competitive edge in the coming years by becoming a first-class airline in the Asia-Pacific region. Membership in SkyTeam will enable us to expand our intercontinental network offering, in cooperation with our partners in the alliance".

 

Joining SkyTeam will help generate expected annual revenue for Xiamen Airlines of CNY30 billion (USD4 billion) over the next five years for the carrier, Mr Zhao said. However, he said that joining the alliance "will mean we may suffer some losses due to global economic fluctuations. But we have measures planned to avoid such a loss," Mr Zhao said, without providing details. The carrier expects to handle over 30 million passengers p/a by 2015.

 

China – a hotbed for alliance activity

 

China has been a hotbed for alliance movement in the past 12 months. China Eastern Airlines and subsidiary Shanghai Airlines, a former Star Alliance member, joined the SkyTeam alliance in 21-Jun-2011, joining China Southern in the alliance.

 

Also in the region, Taiwan’s China Airlines joined SkyTeam as its 15th member on 28-Sep-2011. The flag carrier of Taiwan becomes the first Taiwanese airline to join SkyTeam. Mandarin Airlines general manager He Hanye this month stated the carrier would join SkyTeam alliance in the near future following its parent company, China Airlines, joining the global alliance at the end of Sep-2011.

 

Meanwhile, Star Alliance Chief Executive Board in Jul-2011 also unanimously approved the application of Shenzhen Airlines, majority owned by Air China, to join the alliance. The carrier is expected to join the alliance by the end of 2012 and will add five new destinations to the Star Alliance network in China: Juzhou (Zhejiang Province), Linyi, Qinhuangdao, Shijiazhuang and Zhoushan. Air China has been part of the alliance since 2007. Shanghai Airlines, a previous Star Alliance member, moved to SkyTeam in Jun-2011 following its merger with China Eastern Airlines.

SkyTeam to increase its already large presence in China with Xiamen Airlines addition

 

SkyTeam has the largest presence in China, with a 38% system-wide capacity share, 39.3% domestic capacity share and 33.0% international capacity share, due to China Southern Airlines’ membership (the carrier joined the alliance in Nov-2007) and China Eastern Airlines’ membership from Jun-2011 along with subsidiary Shanghai Airlines. Its presence will be further boosted when Xiamen Airlines joins next year, with Xiamen Airlines’ presence to increase the alliance China capacity share to over 44%, based on current capacity conditions and its domestic capacity share to close to 47%.

 

Star Alliance, meanwhile, has a 19.9% system capacity share, due to Air China’s membership, with a 17.3% domestic capacity share and a 29.6% international capacity share. oneworld has a very small presence (1.6% capacity share, with no presence in the domestic market and a 4.8% capacity share to/from China) in the mainland market, but has a strong presence in Hong Kong due to Cathay Pacific’s membership. Cathay subsidiary Dragonair is only considered a oneworld affiliate member.

 

Hainan Airlines remains unaligned

 

China’s fifth largest airline and fourth largest international airline, Hainan Airlines, in Aug-2011 stated it has decided to remain outside the global alliances fold for now, with Hainan Airlines and HNA Aviation Group chairman Wang Yingming commenting that Hainan Airlines is "still single because we don't want to marry early". Instead, the profitable carrier plans to accelerate international network expansion organically – a higher risk option. Hainan Airlines will receive 10 aircraft this calendar year, increasing its seat capacity by 11%, with the majority of the planned capacity to be introduced in 2H2011.

 

Hainan Airlines is the biggest unaligned carrier in China. Its rising product standards, young fleet, strong domestic network from hubs that include Beijing and Haikou and continued profitability make it a compelling partner. Hainan has long flirted with the idea of alliances. In Jun-2010, the carrier said it planned to commence negotiations to join an alliance, stating it has been "considering joining one alliance for a long time”. The carrier's manager of public relations, Lu Feng, commented at the time that "joining the alliance is a double-edged sword, but the opportunities in an alliance outweigh the challenges", adding, "it is just like joining the WTO, we enjoy rights and obligations at the same time".

 

With China Eastern recently joining China Southern in SkyTeam and Air China anchored in Star, Hainan Airlines on the surface would seem a natural fit for oneworld. But Hainan's parentage, the HNA Group, has been aggressively expanding in oneworld stalwart Cathay Pacific's home market in Hong Kong via its units Hong Kong Airlines and Hong Kong Express. Hainan Airlines would need a sponsor, but Cathay is likely to object to the airline's inclusion given Hong Kong Airlines entering an aggressive expansion phase.

 

Organic network expansion appears the likely medium-term course for Hainan Airlines and its relatives in the Hong Kong market. This is a costly strategy, especially going up against established carriers, which will make bilateral partnerships increasingly important. Already Hainan Airlines partners with airberlin (oneworld from 2012), Malév (oneworld), Brussels Airlines (Star), Rossiya (unaligned) and Aerosvit (unaligned) to provide feed to its European and Russian services, in addition to Hong Kong Airlines and Hong Kong Express.

 

http://www.centreforaviation.com/analysis/xiamen-airlines-to-join-skyteam-in-2012-strengthening-the-alliances-presence-in-the-region-63102

[alberttky 0]

An Airbus A340 belonging to Air France was grounded in Boston after a mechanic noticed that 30 screws were missing.

 

Daily newspaper Le Monde reported that an internal memo seen by AFP said the aircraft "was missing a third of its screws on part of the aircraft's body."

 

The A340 had just undergone a routine maintenance check in China at Taeco-Taikoo Aircraft Engineering Co., which it left on November 10th.

 

The aircraft spent three days at Paris' Roissy airport but the missing screws were not noticed until several days later in Boston.

 

The area concerned was a protective panel between the fuselage and the wing which serves to reduce drag by smoothing out the edges.

 

The newspaper reported that a spokesperson for the airline confirmed the incident and that an internal inquiry had been launched.

 

The same spokesperson insisted that "at no point was the security of the flight" in question. He added that the aircraft was only grounded "for a few hours."

 

The internal memo seen by AFP joked that the A340's check-up in China had "as always, exceeded our expectations!"

 

Taeco is a world leader in aircraft maintenance and works for airlines including Lufthansa, British Airways and American Airlines.

 

http://www.thelocal.fr/1869/20111125/#

[alberttky 0]

Taiwan-based China Airlines (CI) wants to increase its share of transfer business at Taiwan Taoyuan International (TPE) as part of its strategy for international growth and profitability.

 

CI president Huang-Hsiang Sun told ATW during a visit to the carrier’s head office that CI’s share in transit passengers in TPE is “relatively small” and it would like to be viewed “as a network carrier and [for] TPE to become a strong hub.”

 

Sun believes that offering a 40-50 min. transit time through TPE will be an advantage compared to other big airports in the region such as Seoul Incheon.

 

TPE’s Terminal 1 is undergoing renovation, expected to be completed within the year, to increase capacity. The runways and taxiways are set to be expanded to accommodate larger aircraft by 2020. A third terminal is planned and should be open from 2018.

 

Sun said that current construction work is “inconvenient for our passengers, but from 2012 on the quality will improve.” TPE handles 25 million passengers; by 2020 that number is expected to rise to 48 million.

 

CI joined SkyTeam, which Sun noted has a strong presence in mainland China, in September. CI is targeting passengers from the carrier’s 24 Chinese destinations transferring via TPE to its global network, he said.

 

Taiwanese carriers have been able to offer scheduled flights to mainland China since 2009 (ATW Daily News, April 28, 2009). In this short period, Sun said that mainland China has become part of the carrier’s main business, accounting for about a 20% share, or about 106 weekly flights.

 

“In general, airlines from mainland China and Taiwan are able to operate 558 weekly flights,” he said, noting that CI offers 154 weekly frequencies between Taiwan and Hong Kong. “So far the cake is big enough,” he said.

 

Looking ahead to 2012, Sun said that CI is eyeing growth in other Asian markets, such as Japan, where the carrier is considering adding two or three new destinations and increasing frequencies to existing destinations.

 

“We will see growth opportunities, thanks to new liberalized air services agreements, which [will] open up countries such as [south] Korea and the Philippines,” said Sun, who expects CI's ASKs to increase 5%-10% year-over-year in 2012.

 

http://atwonline.com/airports-routes/news/china-airlines-eyes-taipei-hub-growth-1206