Tag Archives: A330-243

Hawaiian to drop the Fukuoka, Japan route

Hawaiian Airlines (Honolulu) has announced it will suspend its daily service to Fukuoka this summer. Hawaiian Airlines flight HA 453 will make its final trip from Honolulu to Fukuoka on June 29, 2014, and HA 454 will make its final return from Fukuoka to Honolulu on June 30, 2014.

Passengers with reservations to fly after June 30 will be re-accommodated. The airline’s reservations department will be contacting affected passengers in the next several weeks. The airline will continue to accept reservations for travel between Honolulu and Fukuoka prior to June 30, 2014.

The Fukuoka daily service was launched on April 16, 2012. Hawaiian Airlines also provides daily service to Tokyo and Osaka, and thrice-weekly service to Sendai and Sapporo.

Fukuoka was the third destination in Japan, following Tokyo (November 2010) and Osaka (July 2011).

Hawaiian Airlines:

South African to switch to the newer Airbus A330-200s on the London Heathrow route, switches to Virgin Australia

South African Airways (Johannesburg) starting on March 28, will be operating a newer aircraft, the Airbus A330-200 on scheduled flights between London Heathrow and Johannesburg.

The newer aircraft replaces the current A340-600 used on the route and will operate on flight SA 235, the first of SAA’s two daily departures at 1900 and selected SA 237 flights, which departs at 2100.

In other news, South African has announced that it has accepted QANTAS Airways’ (Sydney) decision to conclude their long standing code share agreement effective May 31, 2014.

SAA has been flying to Sydney for more than 27 years before the code share with QANTAS was put in place in October 2000 following the strategic decision for SAA to stop operating between Johannesburg and Sydney with its own aircraft and to begin code sharing with QANTAS.

As a result, South African has announced a new code share agreement with Virgin Australia Brisbane).

SAA flies daily between Johannesburg and Perth and this new partnership offers SAA customers expanded access across Australia to domestic destinations such as Melbourne, Brisbane, and Adelaide. The new code share is now available for travel starting on February 11.

Virgin Australia has been an interline partner of SAA since July 2010 where the two airlines had a commercial agreement to handle those customers travelling on both airlines. SAA is now expanding this relationship into a code share agreement.

The flag carrier is celebrating its 80th anniversary this month. South African Airways dates back to February 1, 1934, when the South African government took over the assets and liabilities of Union Airways. The airline was renamed South African Airways (SAA), and fell under the control of the South African Railways and Harbour administration.

On November 1, 1934, SAA introduced the Junkers Ju 52/3m, the first multi-engine aircraft, which was used on domestic flights. During the 1930s, the airline steadily acquired more planes, including the first 10-seater Junkers Ju 86s, Douglas DC-3s, Lockheed 749A Constellations, Lockheed Lodestars, Douglas DC-7Bs, Vickers Viscounts and the Boeing 707.

Copyright Photo: Paul Denton/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A330-243 ZS-SXX (msn 1223) approaches the runway at the O.R. Tambo International Airport base near Johannesburg.

South African:

Aeroflot passenger is fined over $19,500 for drunken fight on an airplane

Aeroflot Russian Airlines (Moscow) has issued this statement concerning a drunken passenger which caused the flight to make an unscheduled landing in Novosibirsk:

On February 18, 2014 Gagarin District Court ruled in favor of Aeroflot in its suit against Andrei Krivoruchko, the passenger whose actions on board led to an emergency landing. The defendant will have to pay 704,199.70 rubles (over $19,500) in total, including compensation for the losses borne by Aeroflot.

The incident happened on April 22, 2013 during an SU 206 flight from Moscow to Shanghai. As stated by the court, intoxicated Mr Krivoruchko behaved inappropriately and expressed an obvious disrespect for other passengers and the crew. He also threatened them with violence, physically resisted the crew members and did not comply with a written warning of the aircraft commander to stop violating the rules of onboard behavior.

As a result, the captain was forced to opt for an emergency landing at Novosibirsk airport. The unruly passenger was handed over to local authorities. Aeroflot filed a lawsuit on this issue in October 2013 and won the case.

However satisfactory for Aeroflot this adjudication is, it still cannot be considered too stringent by the standards of many other countries in Europe, Asia and America, where airborne drunken brawls are criminalized and a refusal to obey calls to order, acts of violence or attacks on members of the crew are punished with imprisonment from a few months up to 20 years. In some cases, jail term can be given even for smoking on board.

Since the beginning of 2013, Aeroflot sees a positive trend of hardening position of the Russian courts against airborne rowdies, including the area of financial responsibility for detrimental actions against the airline and other passengers. Nevertheless, the need of even more drastic measures against disruptive passengers is evident. Aeroflot stands firm on this issue and confirms its resolution not to leave violating the rules of onboard behavior without serious consequences.

Aeroflot:

Hawaiian Airlines is the most prompt U.S. airline for 10 years in a row

Hawaiian Airlines (Honolulu) continued its on-time performance streak in 2013, leading all U.S. carriers in punctuality for the 10th consecutive year as reported today by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT).

Hawai’i’s largest and longest-serving airline averaged a 93.3 percent on-time performance ranking for the full year 2013, earning the top ranking in 11 of the 12 months and exceeding the industry average for the year by 15 percentage points. For the month of December, Hawaiian Airlines recorded a 92.4 percent on-time performance to lead the industry.

In December, Hawaiian Airlines also ranked #1 for fewest cancellations, with 11 out of 6,032 total flights — or 0.2 percent.

Hawaiian Airlines provides daily nonstop service to Hawai’i from 11 gateway cities in North America – more cities than any other carrier – using Airbus A330-200 and Boeing 767-300 aircraft, making it the only carrier to offer wide-body, twin-aisle aircraft for all transpacific flights. The airline is also the leading provider of air service between the islands of Hawai’i.

Hawaiian Airlines:

Jet Airways posts a third quarter net loss of $43 million

Jet Airways Group (Jet Airways) (Mumbai) has reported a net loss of $43 million in the third quarter. The group issued this financial statement:

Jet Group reports lower Loss before Tax of INR 2,839 Million for Q3 FY14 as against INR 9,984 Million in Q2 FY 14

Highlights for quarter ended December 31, 2013 vs. December 31, 2012 (Jet Group)

Operational

4% growth in number of passengers.
5% growth in Available Seat Kilometers.
4% growth in number of departures.

Financial

6% increase in operating revenue, Q3 FY14 operating revenues are INR 49,901 Mio vs. Q3 FY13 was INR 47,223 Mio.
1% increase in passenger yields to Rs. 8,056 from Rs. 7,974

Domestic Yields have improved by 20% in Q3 vs the previous quarter whereas Market Share continues to remain strong at 24.6%.

International Operations achieved 81.6% seat load factor vs 78.0% in the same quarter last year.

However, Rupee depreciation, high fuel prices and increase in airport charges continued to impact costs in the current quarter.

Instances of aircraft on ground impacted the quarter by INR 1,057 million. During the quarter 2 A330’s were sold and the balance access capacity is expected to be sold/leased out in coming quarter.

Fuel rates increased by approximately 10.6% vs the same quarter last year.

Etihad invested 2,057 crores in November 2013 for a 24% stake in Jet Airways.

Competition Commission of India has approved an investment of 50.1% stake in Jets customer loyalty program on February 5.

Mr. Ravishankar Gopalakrishnan, Chief Financial Officer, Jet Airways (I) Ltd said,

“Jet Airways reports a reduced loss of INR 2,839 Million in Q3 owing to improved passenger yields and sustained market share.

Post the equity infusion by Etihad, Jet reduces its debt from INR 124,947 Million as of September’13 to INR 108,952 Million in December’13. This will help lower Jet’s interest costs going forward.”

Outlook

Network expansion plans for additional fights to Gulf and Europe.

Q4 is expected to be muted on account of both yields and seat factors.

Rupee depreciation versus dollar continues to be a cause of concern.

High cost debt will be replaced with cheaper debt resulting in reduced Interest costs.

The surplus aircraft in the system will be either leased out or sold in coming quarter.

Focus on various avenues of ancillary revenues should help to boost revenues in the quarters to come.

Synergies in terms of network and costs will start to impact numbers positively in the next few quarters.

Copyright Photo: TMK Photography/AirlinersGallery.com. Jet Airways is reducing its Airbus A330 fleet. Airbus A330-243 VT-JWE (msn 807) taxies at Toronto (Pearson).

Jet Airways:

Avianca to resume Bogota-London flights, grounds its Fokker 50s

Avianca (Colombia) (Bogota) has announced it will resume regular service between Bogota and London (Heathrow) in July. Airbus A330s (above) are expected to be operated on the restored route.

In other news, the company has also announced its has temporarily grounded its remaining Fokker 50s. The company issued this statement:

“In line with the fleet renovation and modernization plan, Avianca S.A. is in the process of renewing its regional fleet by replacing the Fokker 50s with ATR 72-600 aircraft. The company currently operates a combined turbo prop fleet, consisting of four F okker 50s and four brand new ATR 72s.

In spite of the high technical standards and strict preventive maintenance processes, the company has in place, on January 28, a malfunction on one of the engines of a Fokker 50 operating on the Cali-Tumaco route before take-off. After performing all the proper inspections and going through all the safety procedures, Avianca S.A. has taken the preventive decision to temporarily ground its Fokker 50 fleet.

This preemptive security measure will allow Avianca S.A. and the engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney to establish the causes of the event, and implement the necessary corrective measures that will guaranty the aircraft ́s operational reliability.”

Copyright Photo: Bruce Drum/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A330-243 N948AC (msn 948) rotates off the runway at Miami International Airport (MIA).

Avianca (Colombia):

Virgin Australia celebrates 10 years of international flying, announces new codeshares

Virgin Australia Airlines (Brisbane) today celebrated 10 years of international flights, announcing eight new international codeshare services.

The airline’s first international flight, DJ 007 departed from Christchurch, New Zealand at 11 am on January 29, 2004 for Brisbane, Australia.

Since then, the airline has grown from offering one international destination to offering over 400 destinations worldwide. Virgin Australia operates to 16 destinations internationally and through its strategic alliance partners, offers 386 codeshare and interline destinations across the world.

The eight new international codeshare services include Seattle/Tacoma and Boston with Delta Air Lines, Zurich, Minsk, Medina and Rome with Etihad Airways and Athens and Brunei with Singapore Airlines.

Copyright Photo: John Adlard/AirlinersGallery.com (all others by Virgin Australia). Airbus A330-243 VH-XFB (msn 372) departs the runway at Sydney.

Virgin Australia:

Jet Airways to launch Mumbai-Paris flights on May 14

Jet Airways has announced new daily nonstop service from Mumbai to Paris (CDG) with effect from May 14, 2014. This new flight from India’s financial capital of Mumbai to Paris will be operated by wide-body Airbus A330 aircraft.

Jet Airways (Mumbai) flight 9W 124 will depart from Mumbai’s brand new Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, T2 at 1200 and arrive at Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport at 1750. The return flight 9W 123 will depart Paris at 2110 (LT) and arrive Mumbai at 0945 the following day thus providing a seamless connection to the airline’s entire network within India. Moreover, the return Jet Airways flight from Paris to Mumbai will make it the only evening departure from continental Europe to Mumbai.

Paris will be the airline’s twenty first international destination, and will provide a key gateway point for travel to several destinations across Europe with Jet Airways’ code share and interline partners.

Jet Airways will deploy an Airbus A330-200 aircraft on this route, with 18 Premiere seats that open up as flatbeds and 236 ergonomic Economy seats.

In other news, the airline is expected to place an additional order for narrow body aircraft in the near future.

Jet Airways:

Air China arrives in Hawaii

Air China (Beijing) yesterday (January 20) celebrated the start of its Beijing – Hawaii service with a ceremony held at T3 of Beijing Capital International Airport. In attendance were the invitees from U.S. Embassy in China, Beijing Capital International Airport Customs, Beijing General Station of Entry-Exit Frontier Inspection, Beijing Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau and Beijing Capital International Airport Co. Ltd. as well as Air China’s executives. At the ceremony, dancers from Hawaii treated the audience to the distinctive Hula dance, which is a showcase of Hawaii’sindigenous culture, and presented garlands to the invited guests on stage, giving the occasion a rich tropical feel.

The new service, CA 837/8, is the first nonstop air link between Beijing and Hawaii. It’s operated three times a week on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday with wide body Airbus A330-200 aircraft. The outbound flight departs from Beijing at 1330 Beijing time and arrives in Honolulu at 1630 local time. The return flight takes off from Honolulu at 2200 local time and arrives in Beijing at 0520 Beijing time on the next day.

Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A330-243 B-6070 (msn 750) arrives back to the Beijing hub and base.

Air China:

Fiji Airways announces its Five Year Master Plan

Fiji Airways (2nd) (Nadi, Fiji) has announced details from its five-year strategic plan approved by the airline’s board in mid-December 2013.

Developed through input from customers, employers, and stakeholders, the plan includes three focus areas: (1) growing the number of aircrafts and available seats, (2) increasing operating profits and passenger numbers, and (3) expanding the airline’s route network through key airline partnerships.

(1) The airline will increase its fleet size by 25% with new Airbus A330-200, Boeing 737-800s and ATR 72-600s aircraft. The additional aircraft will support plans to increase the number of available seats and passengers across all markets by 35% and 39%, respectively.

(2) The airline will activate an aggressive financial performance strategy to increase operating profits above $100m (FJD), a goal calculated using current fuel prices and exchange rates.

Stefan Pichler, Fiji Airways’ Managing Director and CEO, states “Our aim is to be a world-class airline matched by an ambitious but solid financial plan that expands on current successes and takes our airline to a new level.”

In addition to increasing financial stability, building and maintaining a strong and loyal workforce also remain imperative. “We plan to increase total staff numbers by 28.5%. Part of our vision for 2017 is to be the Fijians’ employer of choice,” says Pichler.

(3) In terms of network expansion, Fiji Airways will focus on the deliberate selection of new routes and airline partnerships through detailed scheduling studies and interlining and code-sharing opportunities. Recent amendments resulting from the plan include new direct Sydney-Suva and Apia-Suva services and changes to some Auckland-Nadi departure times.

Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A330-243 DQ-FJT (msn 1394) prepares to touch down in Los Angeles.

Fiji Airways: