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AVIATION
SriLankan wet-lease Airbus to Mihin Lanka
SriLankan Airlines is to wet-lease an Airbus A320 aircraft to Mihin
Lanka on commercial terms.
The lease for this twin-engined aircraft will be in effect from April
8, and will run until December this year. The wet-lease includes the
services of SriLankan’s pilots. SriLankan CEO Manoj Gunawardena said,
“The agreement is on normal wet-lease conditions. The terms are strictly
commercial and the transaction is done at commercial rates for which we
have received funds upfront.
SriLankan at present has excess aircraft capacity due to our ongoing
re-fleeting program, having acquired two A320s in the last four months,
with a third due shortly.” Mihin Lanka’s CEO Kapila Chandrasena said,
“The leasing of an aircraft from SriLankan assures long-term
stability and continuity in Mihin Lanka’s operations. Up to now we have
been at a disadvantage in leasing aircraft on short term contracts.
Mihin will have the advantage of leasing an aircraft which is already in
Sri Lanka, which will assist us to achieve our low cost carrier model.”
Emirates announced the increased services to three of its key
regional gateways Dammam, Beirut and Tehran to strengthen the airlines
commitment to the Middle East.
Starting from the May 1, Emirates has introduced two additional
weekly flights to Dammam, three additional weekly flights to Beirut and
an extra two weekly flights to Tehran, further reinforcing the airline’s
extensive operations across the Middle East.
 “The
Middle East is one of the most active aviation markets in the world and
an integral part of Emirates operations,” Emirates’ Senior Vice
President Commercial Operations - Gulf Middle East & Iran Ahmed Khoory
said.
The addition of these flights has been implemented in recognition of
the increased demand for services across the Middle East and will
provide much needed capacity on these perpetually busy routes.
The enhanced capacity will offer excellent connections to Emirates
extensive global network as well as provide extra flights for the
thousands of expatriate residents who live and work in Dubai but whose
family is still based in their home country.
Recent statistics released by the International Air Transport
Association (IATA) show that demand for services across the Middle East
grew 3.1 per cent in January 2009 despite the global economic downturn,
with Emirates well placed to capitalize on this growth.
The additional flights to Beirut, Dammam and Tehran marks the second
significant increase in flights across the Middle East for Emirates in
February. Emirates added capacity to Amman, Riyadh and Jeddah - bringing
its weekly operation to, seven flights to Dammam, 17 flights to Beirut
and 21 flights to Tehran.
The airline has an extensive Middle East network covering 14 cities
with 180 flights per week. With the additional flights to Dammam, Beirut
and Tehran starting May 2009, Emirates will serve the region with 187
flights per week.
Airbus A330-200 - Emirates is increasing services to three of its key
regional gateways including; Dammam, Beirut and Tehran.
Qatar Airways to offer onboard internet
Qatar Airways is to offer Mobile OnAir inflight passenger
communications services on board the airline’s entire single-aisle
fleet. The agreement with OnAir will see the airline install the
technology on all its 22 Airbus A319, A320 and A321 aircraft and several
new aircraft on order. The aircraft currently operate routes across the
Middle East, India, Sri Lanka and across Europe.
Passengers will be able to stay connected in-flight using their own
mobile phones or BlackBerry-type devices to send and receive text
messages and emails, and access the Internet. They will also be able to
access the Internet using their own laptops fitted with GSM data cards.
Airlines equipped with OnAir services can choose to provide voice and
data or data services only, depending on time of day and passenger
preferences.
CEO Qatar Airways Akbar Al Baker said that while the airline is
stopping short of providing voice calls to passengers, it remains
dedicated to providing passengers with the highest quality of service
available in the air.
“Our commitment is to provide travellers with the very highest levels
of comfort and service in the air. The latest technology provided by
Mobile OnAir is absolutely in line with Qatar Airways’ 5-Star ranking
for service and excellence,” he said.
“Qatar Airways is at the forefront of technology in aviation and this
move reflects our desire to remain one of the industry’s most innovative
airlines. In this fast-moving world, the travelling public are demanding
to be connected wherever they are.
“Introducing internet, email and sms services to our single aisle
fleet recognizes this demand and is an additional service that I’m sure
all airlines will adopt over time,” Al Baker added.
CEO OnAir Benoit Debains said the deal with Qatar Airways is a great
achievement and proves the quality of its in-flight products.
“OnAir is proud to have been selected after a thorough evaluation by
one of the most demanding airlines in terms of passenger service and
comfort.
Mobile OnAir provides global coverage, a full range of service and
the highest levels of performance.”
Mobile OnAir uses the industry’s most advanced and extensive
infrastructure for mobile communications, along with Inmarsat
SwiftBroadband, high capacity services from Inmarsat 4th generation
satellites. This gives passengers and airlines the best reach and
performance available today.
Passengers can use Mobile OnAir to stay in touch as they fly on over
6000 flights each month, to over 160 cities in over 34 countries across
Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.
AviationRecord.com
Etihad bags business class honours
Six year old Etihad Airways has won the award for having the best
business class in the world following a global poll by 16 million air
travellers.
The national airline of the UAE also won the world’s best business
class catering award.
The annual World Airline Awards, run by UK-based consultancy Skytrax,
was
conducted during a 10-month period among 97 different nationalities
from around the world. The public poll took into account all aspects of
the air travel experience - on the ground, at the airport and on-board -
as well as the quality of customer service delivered by each airline’s
staff.
Etihad’s business class was placed fifth in the 2008 Skytrax survey
and tenth in 2007.
AviationRecord.com
Singapore Airlines cargo to operate freighter service to Dhaka
Singapore Airlines Cargo mounted a weekly westbound B744 freighter
service to the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka from Friday. The routing for
the new service is Singapore-Dhaka-Sharjah-Brussels, departing Singapore
on Friday.
This new capacity to Dhaka is in addition to the bellyhold capacity
available on Singapore Airlines’ existing passenger service. The Airline
commenced passenger services to Dhaka in October 1986.
“This service will play an important role in opening Bangladesh’s
trade links with direct access to its export markets in Europe and the
USA, and enter new emerging markets in South America via Brussels. The
greater accessibility to Dhaka will certainly help to promote the city
as a major gateway for the freight industry in Bangladesh,” said Senior
Vice President, Sales and Marketing Tan Tiow Kor.
Dhaka is a bustling city with a population of about ten million
people.
It is the country’s major gateway for imports and exports. It is also
the industrial, commercial, cultural, educational and political centre
for Bangladesh.
The main export item from Dhaka is readymade garments; other major
exports include finished leather and leather products, fresh fruits,
vegetables, medicines, jute and jute products, textile fabrics,
handicrafts, ceramics and tea.
The major imports into Bangladesh include raw materials for garments,
electronic goods, pharmaceutical raw materials, electronics and computer
parts, telecommunications equipment and mobile phone accessories.
Cathay Pacific Airline of the year
Cathay Pacific Airways has been named Airline of the Year 2009 in the
World Airline Awards run by the London-based Skytrax research
organization. It’s the third time it has taken the honour in the past 10
years. The airline was also named Best Airline Asia in 2009.
The awards were presented to Cathay Pacific at the Aircraft Interiors
Expo in Hamburg, Germany, where Skytrax was celebrating the 10th
anniversary of the World Airline Awards. The 2009 awards were based on
the annual World Airline Survey run by Skytrax, which was conducted
between August 2008 and March 2009.
CEO Skytrax Edward Plaisted said that in a global study that proved
to be “our largest-ever passenger survey”, it was truly a great
achievement for Cathay Pacific to have secured the world’s best airline
title in 2009.
“With over 16.2 million completed interviews, drawn from more than 97
nationalities around the world, we pay credit to the fact that Cathay
Pacific is clearly delivering a quality of product and service that its
customers really appreciate.”
Cathay Pacific has been a consistent winner in the World Airline
Awards, taking the Airline of the Year honour in 2003 and 2005 and
winning plaudits for its Hong Kong lounges and inflight products.
In the 2008 awards the airline took the Best First Class title
following the introduction of its groundbreaking new cabins.
AviationRecord.com
Negative year end for Quantas
Qantas passenger numbers for the financial year to February are down
1.6 percent for the financial year to date and 8.4 percent for the month
of February.
The number of paying passengers multiplied by the number of
kilometres flown have fallen 2.4 percent points for the financial year
so far, and 2.2 percent for February. BusinessSpectator.com.au reports
that total domestic yield excluding exchange for the financial year was
3.2 percent lower, while total international yield excluding exchange
increased by 2.5 percent.
Qantas said its domestic yield was adversely affected last month by
the removal of the remaining domestic fuel levies. The airline’s
preliminary monthly traffic and capacity statistics show Qantas Domestic
10 percent fewer passengers in February this year, and 4.9 percent fewer
for the financial year to date.
Jetstar Domestic carried 3.3 percent fewer passengers in February
this year, compared with last year, and 9.4 percent for the financial
year to date. Qantas International, meanwhile, carried 16.8 percent
fewer customers in February this year, compared with last year, and 9.4
percent for the financial year to date.
Jetstar International carried 24.5 percent more passengers in
February this year, compared with last year, and 26.6 percent for the
financial year to date.
The airline said it had hedged 97 per cent of its expected fuel
requirement in 2008/09 at a worst-case crude oil price of $US100 a
barrel including option premium.
AviationRecord.com |
