Tag Archives: Singapore

Biman Bangladesh Airlines to retire its last McDonnell Douglas DC-10 on January 30, ending an era

Biman Bangladesh Airlines (Dhaka) is currently now planning to operate the last passenger McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 revenue flight on January 30 on a regular flight between Kuwait City and Dhaka as a stand-by aircraft. This retirement is always subject to change due to operational requirements. Biman currently has two DC-10-30s which are also the last passenger DC-10s operating in the world. The airline is offering a ferry flight to Birmingham and possible scenic flights in the UK in which it will sell seats.

Previously CEO Kevin Steele issued this statement on November 10, 2013:

There has been a lot of interest lately from press, aviation enthusiasts and the general public, on what will be happening with Biman’s last DC-10s, which will be phased out in the coming months with the arrival of new aircraft. These are the last flying passenger DC-10-30 aircraft in the whole world. So I thought I would take this opportunity to brief you with the latest news, which will be updated when further firm news becomes available.

Biman currently has 2 DC-10-30s flying. As their fuel consumption is higher than other aircraft in our fleet, they are used sparingly. One of those DC-10s will come to the end of its economic life on November 10, 2013 and will be scrapped locally. The last DC-10 will continue normal flying until December 7, 2013, the start of the revised schedule for the fog period here in Dhaka. Thereafter, it will only be used as a standby aircraft, in case another aircraft in our fleet become unserviceable for any reason. We will not be scheduling it on any route though.

This last DC-10 will continue as a standby aircraft until sometime in February 2014. The exact date is not known yet, as it is being coordinated with the arrival of our brand new Boeing 777-300 ER aircraft from Boeing. We expect to know the exact date in early January 2014.

The last DC-10 is being donated to a museum in the USA, a fitting end for an aircraft that has served Biman loyally and well over many years. Accordingly, we will then offer for sale, as a last opportunity to travel on a passenger DC-10, anywhere in the world:

a. Seats on a last flight Dhaka to Birmingham (UK). Note this will need a technical stop
somewhere.

b. 2 (or more if demand requires it) one hour ‘scenic tours’ to/from Birmingham

c. We are unsure if the US authorities will give us traffic rights on the Birmingham to USA
sector. If they do, this will also be offered for sale.

d. We are also discussing with the UK Post Office, about the carriage of ‘Last day Covers’
on the last sector Birmingham-USA, for sale at a later date.

Tickets will only be sold via our website, hopefully from early January, so do not buy tickets elsewhere, we want these tickets to go to genuine aviation enthusiasts. If there is a demand for more ‘scenic tour’ flights at Birmingham, we can consider these too.

We hope you will join with us in celebrating the farewell of a loyal, beautiful aircraft, but also to recognize that the time has now come for Biman to equip itself with the very latest in new aircraft and technology.

Copyright Photo: Michael Ing/AirlinersGallery.com. McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 S2-ACQ (msn 47817) prepares to land in Singapore.

Biman Bangladesh Airlines:

Singapore Airlines ends nonstop Singapore-Newark flights

Singapore Airlines (Singapore) last night (November 23) ended the world’s longest nonstop air route (9,506 miles, 19 hours) when it ended nonstop Singapore-Newark service. Previously the airline ended Los Angeles-Singapore nonstop service on October 22.

Singapore was the first to operate the world’s longest nonstop commercial flight between Singapore and Los Angeles in February 2004 on the Airbus A340-500, and then surpassing the record (in terms of distance) later that year with the nonstop service to Newark in June 2004.

Singapore Airlines is retiring its long range Airbus A340-500s. Five were operated on the two long-range routes to both Los Angeles and Newark.

Read the full report from the Star-Ledger via nj.com: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: Ton Jochems/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A340-541 9V-SGE (msn 563) exits the runway at Los Angeles International Airport.

Singapore Airlines:

Nasair rebrands as Flynas with a new color scheme

Nasair (subsidiary of National Air Services) (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia) has repainted this Airbus A320-200 with Sharklets in a new livery in Singapore. The new look rebrands the carrier as “Flynas” which trades on its website flynas.com URL address. The change was announced on November 13.

Copyright Photo: Kok Chwee K.C. Sim/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A320-214 VP-CXJ (msn 5716) appears in Singapore after emerging from the paint shop.

Flynas (Nasair):

Route Map:

Video (in Arabic):

Centurion Cargo gets ready to add its first Boeing 747 freighter

Centurion Cargo (formerly Centurion Air Cargo) (Miami) is getting ready to take delivery of this former Cargolux International Boeing 747-400F freighter. The cargo airline currently operates McDonnell Douglas MD-11 freighters.

Copyright Photo: Kok Chwee (K.C.) Sim/AirlinersGallery.com. Pictured today at Singapore, this Boeing 747-4R7F still wears the LX-KCV (msn 25868) registration.

Centurion Cargo:

Tianjin Airlines promotes the 6th East Asian Games with a new Airbus A320 logojet

Tianjin Airlines (Tianjin) is promoting the upcoming 6th East Asian Games with this new Airbus A320 logojet.

The East Asian Games is a multi-sport event organized and promoted by the East Asian Games Association (EAGA). The games are held every four years with athletes from East Asian countries and territories of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), as well as the Pacific island of Guam.

The 2013 Games will be held in Tianjin, China from October 6-15, 2013.

Tianjin Airlines is a sponsor of the 2013 Games. The pictured Airbus A320 was dedicated and unveiled at Tianjin Binhai International Airport on the morning of July 15, 2013.

Tianjin Airlines is a joint venture of the Tianjin Municipal Government and the HNA Group.

Copyright Photo: Kok Chwee (K. C.) Sim/AirlinersGallery.com. Formerly operated by defunct Bahrain Air as A9C-BAO, this Airbus A320-214 was leased from GECAS on June 21, 2013 as OE-ICD. The airliner will become B-9963. OE-ICD is pictured taxing at Steletar Airport in Singapore.

Singapore Airlines unveils its next generation cabin product and KrisWorld

Singapore Airlines (Singapore) has unveiled its next generation First, Business and Economy Class seats, together with the next generation KrisWorld, according to the airline “the world’s most advanced in-flight entertainment system”. The airline issued this statement:

Customers will soon be able to experience the next generation KrisWorld, the world’s most advanced in-flight entertainment system to date, on new Boeing 777-300 ERs entering Singapore Airlines’ fleet in the coming months.

The new KrisWorld, based on a Panasonic Avionics hardware platform, will initially be available on eight new Boeing 777-300 ERs that will begin to enter service from September 2013. It will also be introduced on new Airbus A350s scheduled for delivery in the coming years, in line with the terms of an agreement valued at nearly $400 million that was signed with Panasonic Avionics in 2012. Existing KrisWorld systems on other aircraft already in service may also be retrofitted with the new system.

Singapore Airlines agreed last year to be the launch customer for Panasonic Avionics’ next-generation eX3 system for the Airbus A350s, as well as the first to offer the eX3 experience on the Boeing 777-300ERs. The airline will also be the first to offer Panasonic’s Global Communications Suite on the A350s, with the capability to provide broadband Internet services to passenger devices and the seat-back, as well as mobile phone services.

The new KrisWorld features larger LCD screens and video touch-screen handsets across all classes. LCD screens will increase from 23 to 24 inches in First Class, 15.4 to 18 inches in Business Class and 10.6 to 11.1 inches in Economy Class. Economy Class customers will also be able to browse through the more than 1,000 on-demand entertainment options by swiping or scrolling through the touch-screen monitor.

Working with renowned design company Massive Interactive, Singapore Airlines has seamlessly integrated the functionality of the video touch-screen handset into the core design of a new, innovative KrisWorld user interface to ensure that navigating through menus and programmes is intuitive and user-friendly. Customers will be able to multi-task among the varied entertainment options available. For example, they may watch a movie, while at the same time use the handset to keep up to date with the latest news headlines or track the aircraft’s flight path. Alternatively, customers may use the handset as a touchscreen trackpad to navigate KrisWorld. New features such as “Quick Search”, where a flick of the handset pulls up a playlist of entertainment choices, are also being introduced.

Leveraging on technology, a number of thoughtful features are being incorporated into KrisWorld with customers’ convenience in mind. For example, the Notification Centre on the KrisWorld dashboard contains information relevant to the flight, reducing the number of onboard announcements, thereby allowing customers to watch movies uninterrupted.

Customers will also experience greater personalisation, with KrisWorld providing content recommendations based on passengers’ preferences. They may also rate movies and see how others have rated these.

Twenty-one aircraft have been equipped to date and the service will be rolled out to the rest of the Airline’s Airbus A380-800 and Boeing 777-300 ER aircraft by the end of next year. Inflight connectivity service on the 21 aircraft is provided by OnAir. For the new 777-300 ERs entering the fleet over the next two years, the service will be provided by Panasonic Avionics.

Key Features	First Class	Business Class	Economy Class
IFE screen size	61 centimetres 24 inches	46 centimetres 18 inches	28 centimetres 11.1 inches
Touch-screen handset	Available across all three classes
Ports	HDMI, USB & eXPort	HDMI, USB & eXPort	USB & eXPort
In-seat power supply	Available across all three classes
Headphones	Bose Quiet Comfort QC15noise-cancellation headphones	Phitek Supra Auranoise-cancellation headphones	Standard headphones
Entertainment – movies, TV, music, radio channels	More than 230 movies, over 340 TV programmes, 22 hosted radio programmes and more than 790 CDs.
Games	In addition to more than 80 interactive games including high performance 3D games, popular touch-screen games are now available.
Applications	New to KrisWorld: Travel Forum: Introducing a social networking element to KrisWorld, customers can now share their travel experiences, tips and recommendations with fellow passengers. DK Travel Guides: comprehensive guides to major cities in the world. Live News: Customers can stay connected to the happenings on the ground with news from Channel NewsAsia Flight Path iXplor 2: Improved flight path information allowing customers to view key points of interests, for example, the Taj Mahal, when they are flying over it.

Copyright Photos: Singapore Airlines. The airline has launched its next generation First, Business and Economy Class seats, together with the next generation KrisWorld, the world’s most advanced in-flight entertainment system. They will be available on new Boeing 777-300 ERs over the next two years. Customers travelling on select flights between Singapore and London will be the first to experience the new products from September 2013.

Singapore Airlines:

Bottom Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 777-312 ER 9V-SWJ 9msn 34575) arrives back at the SIN hub.

Video:

Bankruptcy trustees: Batavia Air owes over $123 million

Batavia Air (Jakarta) ceased operations on January 31 and went into bankruptcy protection. The trustees appointed to oversee the bankruptcy estimate the bankrupt carrier owes over $123 million to its creditors including its lessors, employees, passengers and other businesses according to this report by the Jakarta Post.

Read the full report: CLICK HERE

Top Copyright Photo: Kenneth Wong. Airbus A319-132 PK-YVC (msn 2660) prepares to land at Singapore.

The cabin of the Airbus A330-202 (Batavia Air):

Copyright Photos: Batavia Air. Batavia Air also operated two Airbus A330-202s (PK-YVI and PK-YVJ), Airbus A319s, A320s and an A321 and a large Boeing 737-300/400 Classic fleet.

Batavia Air:

QANTAS Airways announces new improvements to its international route network as a result of the Emirates relation

QANTAS Airways (Sydney) today announced a series of improvements to its international network, as part of a phased approach aimed at delivering the best offering of any airline flying between Australia and Asia.

The improvements – the first of which take effect from March 31, 2013 – will be rolled out in four phases and go towards the QANTAS Group strategy of ‘growing with Asia’. The planned phases are:

– Stronger links to the key hubs of Singapore and Hong Kong (better frequency and timings as well as increased dedicated capacity)
– Enhanced customer experience (improvements to cabin, in-flight entertainment, lounges)
– Expanded network within Asia through local partners (such as Japan Airlines, China Eastern, Jet Airways, Cathay Pacific and Malaysia Airlines)
– Investigating an increase in destinations to Asia using the QANTAS Group’s Boeing 787-9 options from 2016, coinciding with the turnaround of QANTAS International (direct destinations under consideration include Beijing, Seoul, Mumbai, Delhi and Tokyo-Haneda).

The new QANTAS lounge in Singapore will open on March 31 and the new Hong Kong First lounge is scheduled to open this September. A total of $9 million has been invested in the upgrades.

QANTAS is also examining a refresh of its international A330 fleet to include a lie-flat bed in Business Class.

Chief Executive Officer of QANTAS International, Simon Hickey, said Asia remained a key pillar of the goal to be the best for global travellers.

“Through a combination of QANTAS, Jetstar and our partners we aim to provide the best travel options between Australia and Asia, all linked to one of the world’s leading frequent flyer programs,” said Mr Hickey.

“Our first step has been to restructure existing services to Asia now that they are no longer tied to onward links to Europe. The number of dedicated seats on QANTAS services to Hong Kong and Singapore is increasing significantly, because capacity previously set aside for customers going to Europe via these hubs can be freed up.

“The joint QANTAS-Emirates network into Asia gives our customers a fresh set of options, including double daily services to Singapore from Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. The maturing Jetstar network gives travellers another set of alternatives once they land in Asia,” Mr Hickey added.

Key among the changes in the first phase of improving the Asia network, which will apply from today for travel after March 31, are:

– Better access to the key Asian hubs of Hong Kong and Singapore, with a dedicated capacity increase of around 10 per cent and 40 per cent respectively on the Qantas network plus extended capacity on the QANTAS-Emirates network
– Earlier arrival times into Hong Kong, Bangkok and Singapore, with flights brought forward by up to three hours to increase the number of onward connections
– A new destination – Kuala Lumpur – available to QANTAS customers via the combined QANTAS-Emirates network.

The QANTAS-Emirates partnership remains subject to government and regulatory approval.

As part of schedule changes made today, QANTAS is reducing its Perth-Singapore services to one per day and ceasing its Adelaide-Singapore and Perth-Hong Kong services. However, QANTAS will increase its Brisbane-Hong Kong service from four per week to seven and add four additional Sydney-Singapore services per week (increasing to daily from June).

Qantas has also brought forward the end date for its loss-making Frankfurt services by six months to April 15, 2013.

Passengers impacted by schedule changes will be contacted by the airline and offered alternative services.

ROUTE	CHANGE	STARTS	Old dept/ arrival times (24hrs)	New dept/ arrival times (24hrs)
QANTAS SERVICES
Melbourne–Hong Kong	QF29 Melbourne-Hong Kong retimed to better connect to onward flights within Asia.	31 March 2013	1330 / 2100	0935 / 1710
Sydney–Hong Kong	QF127 Sydney-Hong Kong retimed. Services reduce from 11 per week to 7 per week (removal of QF87/88 Sydney-Hong Kong).	31 March 2013	1040 / 1745	0955 / 1725
Brisbane–Hong Kong	QF97/98 Brisbane-Hong Kong increased from four flights per week to five in May and to daily in June. All services retimed from 31 March 2013 to better connect to onward flights within Asia.	6 May 2013; 24 June 2013	1100 / 1755	1020 / 1725
Perth–Hong Kong	QF67/68 Perth-Hong Kong ceases to operate.	31 March 2013
Perth–Singapore	QF77/78 Perth-Singapore services move from double daily to daily. QF77 retimed to better connect to onward flights in Asia, and the return of QF78 arriving back in Perth on the same day at 2320.	15 April 2013	1155 / 1725	0950 / 1520
Brisbane–Singapore	QF51 Brisbane-Singapore retimed to better connect with onward flights.	15 April 2013	1340 / 1925	1020 / 1605
Sydney–Bangkok	QF23 Sydney-Bangkok retimed to better connect to onward flights within Asia.	31 March 2013	1215 / 1850	0940 / 1635
Sydney–Singapore*	Four new services per week, timed to better connect to onward flights within Asia, increasing to daily from June.	31 March 2013; 24 June 2013		0940 / 1600
Melbourne–Singapore*	Dedicated Singapore service QF35, seven times a week. Timed to connect better to onward flights within Asia.	15 April 2013	1340 / 1920	1000 / 1555
Adelaide-Singapore	QF81/82 Adelaide-Singapore ceases to operate.	14 April 2013	–	–
JOINT QANTAS-EMIRATES SERVICES**				Dept/ Arrival time
Melbourne–Singapore	Qantas codeshare on EK405 daily service from Melbourne to Singapore			1800 / 2350
Brisbane–Singapore	Qantas codeshare on EK433 daily service from Brisbane to Singapore			0230 / 0815
Sydney–Bangkok	Qantas codeshare on EK419 daily service from Sydney to Bangkok			1845 / 0110
Melbourne–Kuala Lumpur	Qantas codeshare on EK409 daily service from Melbourne to Kuala Lumpur			0240 / 0845

*As announced on 4 October 2012
** Subject to regulatory approval

QANTAS Airways:

Air Bagan Fokker 100 crash lands on a road, 2 killed and 8 injured

Air Bagan‘s (Yangon) flight W9 011 from Mandalay to Heho, Myanmar (formerly Burma) was being operated yesterday (December 25) with the pictured Fokker F.28 Mk. 0100 (Fokker 100) XY-AGC (msn 11420). The jetliner was operating with 65 passengers and six crew members. According to local reports, the flight was on approach to Heho in fog, when the Fokker 100 made an emergency landing on a road near the airport and came to a stop in a rice field in pieces and caught on fire.

One passenger and one motorcyclist was killed in the accident and eight were injured.

The airline issued the following statement:

Air Bagan Accident

Read the full account from The Independent: CLICK HERE

According to the airline, “Heho is the gateway to beautiful Inle Lake with its unique lifestyle, and the ancient pagoda complexes of Kekku, Indain and Taungto. There is also the Shwe Umin Cave Pagoda of Pindaya, a lovely little town with a lake in its centre ad a flourishing craft industry of hand made paper and paper umbrellas

Gateway to the Inle Lake which is known as the Venice of the East, picturesque Inle Lake is definitely one of the magical sights in South East Asia. The lake is not only a beautiful sight to enjoy, but also the practical home of the native Intha (sons of the lake), who live on the lake in stilt houses with neatly cultivated floating farms and nurseries. The presence of many ethnic groups in the area, still wearing their national dress, especially on market day makes it a captivating place of much cultural interest.”

Copyright Photo: K.C. Sim. Fokker F.28 Mk. 0100 (Fokker 100) XY-AGC (msn 11327) is pictured departing from Singapore before the accident.

Domestic Route Map:

Please click on the map to expand.

Air Bagan:

Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines expanded relationship could impact the fast growing Gulf carriers

Lufthansa (Frankfurt) and Turkish Airlines (Istanbul), two Star Alliance airlines, are in discussions about increasing their relationship and cooperation according to this report by the Financial Times. Turkish Airlines is a fast growing carrier and serves many destinations not served by the German carrier. Lufthansa appears to favor this approach rather than striking up a new relationship with any of the fast growing Gulf carriers. Lufthansa has been critical of the Gulf carriers which pose a threat to many European long-haul carriers. Competitor Airberlin (Berlin) now has a strong and growing relationship with Etihad Airways (Abu Dhabi) and fast growing Qatar Airways (Doha) will join the Oneworld alliance in August 2013 as previously reported.

Read the full report from the Financial Times: CLICK HERE

Read another report by Arabian Business: CLICK HERE

Top Copyright Photo: Christian Volpati. Airbus A380-841 D-AIMJ (msn 073) approach Singapore for landing.

Lufthansa:

Turkish Airlines:

Bottom Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing. Boeing 777-3F2 ER TC-JJP (msn 40797) completes its final approach into Los Angeles International Airport dressed in the updated 2010 color scheme.