The Networker: September 2011 Archives

Hawaiian and V Australia Seek Approval to Code-share

By

Miyuru Sandaruwan

on September 30, 2011 6:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Hawaiian Airlines has applied to the Department of Transportation (DoT) to enter into a code-share deal with V Australia.

Once approved, the following routes operated by Hawaiian will carry the V Australia designator code.

Honolulu - Hilo

Honolulu - Kahului

Honolulu - Kona

Honolulu - Lihue

Honolulu - Sydney

Hawaiian Airlines already has an inter-line agreement in place with V Australia and is a partner of V Australia's Velocity Rewards loyalty programme.

Qantas to Santiago, Chile from 2012

By

Miyuru Sandaruwan

on September 29, 2011 10:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Qantas is shifting the focus of its South American operations with the closure of its route to Buenos Aires in Argentina and the launch of a new route to Santiago in Chile. The new route will be flown thrice a week on board Boeing 747-400 aircraft. This has been expected for some time, with Qantas' announcement of the end of Buenos Aires flights. The new route begins on 26th March 2012.

Schedule:
QF027 SYD 1045 - 0955 SCL 744 136
QF028 SCL1335 - 1755+1SYD 744 136

SriLankan Airlines Changes to Zurich Route

By

Miyuru Sandaruwan

on September 29, 2011 2:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

SriLankan Airlines has revised its planned Colombo - Zurich operation, due to begin from 23rd December. The airline will now no longer operate the Zurich - London - Zurich sector of the planned Colombo - Zurich - London - Zurich - Colombo flight and will instead terminate at Zurich.

The new schedule will provide three terminator flights to Zurich while London will be reduced by one, to 12 weekly flights.

Colombo - Zurich

UL543 CMB 1000 - MLE - 1835 ZRH 332 1 13h 05mins

UL549 CMB 1200 - 1725 ZRH 343 3 9h 55mins

UL541 CMB 1200 - 1725 ZRH 332 5 9h 55mins

UL544 ZRH 1935 - 1025+1 CMB 332 1 10h 20mins

UL550 ZRH 1845 - 0925+1 CMB 343 3 10h 10mins

UL542 ZRH 1845 - MLE - 1145+1 CMB 332 5 12h 30mins

The competition to this route will come from Edelweiss' two weekly flights on the route, including once a week flights operated via Male on each direction. Edelweiss will be operating Airbus A330-300 aircraft on the route.

Emirates Announces Dallas and Seattle

By

Miyuru Sandaruwan

on September 29, 2011 2:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Emirates Airline has announced that it will be launching flights to Dallas and Seattle from early 2012 onwards. Dallas flights will be launched from 2nd February and be flown daily on board a Boeing 777-200LR. Seattle flights will be launched from 1st March and be flown daily on board Boeing 777-300ER aircraft.

Schedules below

Dubai - Dallas

EK221 DXB DFW 0245 0905 77L D 16hrs 20mins

EK222 DFW DXB 1150 1220+1 77L D 14hrs 30mins

From 10th March onwards (beginning of DST), Dallas arrival and departure would be one hour later. Dubai arrival and departure remains the same.

Dubai - Seattle

EK229 DXB SEA 0950 1310 77W D 15hrs 20mins

EK230 SEA DXB 1710 1940+1 77W D 14hrs 30mins

From 10th March onwards (beginning of DST), Seattle arrival and departure would be one hour later. Dubai arrival and departure remains the same.

BA's retro 757 to fly one more time

By

Miyuru Sandaruwan

on September 27, 2011 12:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Back in September 2010, British Airways introduced a retro livery on one of its Boeing 757-200 aircraft to commemorate the retirement of the type from BA's fleet. The particular aircraft, G-CPET, wearing the so-called 'Negus scheme' operated its last scheduled service on 30th October 2010, as flight BA1463 from Edinburgh to London Heathrow. The final flight of the aircraft took place a week later, on 6th November, when it flew for a flight around London Heathrow with BA crew and families on board.

Ever since then, G-CPET has been in storage at London Heathrow due to be converted into a freighter for FedEx. The Networker learns from reliable sources that while the plan was for G-CPET to be stripped of her retro livery and be ferried for conversion, this has now changed. Instead, she will now be flown in the full retro livery, from London Heathrow to London Gatwick for the removal of the livery and to be sold.

So, if you missed her last flight last year, or want to see the very last Boeing 757 flight to be operated in British Airways' colours, here is your chance.

According to the present plans, G-CPET will take off from London Heathrow as BA9252P at 1540L, and arrive at London Gatwick at 1625L, tomorrow, on 28th.

G-CPET in the retro colour scheme having pushed back for a flight to Glasgow in her final day of service. Photo and flight info by MANfan.

Barring any unforeseen technical circumstances that will delay the flight, this will be the last time that a Boeing 757 will be flown in British Airways' colours - so be sure to stay there to catch the action and make sure that you share the photos with us!

CSA launches Abu Dhabi flights

By

Miyuru Sandaruwan

on September 27, 2011 2:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

CSA Czech Airlines, on 21st September, launched flights to Abu Dhabi, from Prague. The airline will be flying the new route four times a week on board Airbus A320 family aircraft with the following schedule.

OK352 PRG 1215 - 2010 AUH 32S 37 5:55h // Code-shared by Etihad as EY7851

OK350 PRG 2335 - 0730+1 AUH 32S 14 5:55h // Code-shared by Etihad as EY7849

OK353 AUH 0135 - 0600 PRG 32S 14 6:25h // Code-shared by Etihad as EY7852

OK351 AUH 0950 - 1415 PRG 32S 25 6:25h // Code-shared by Etihad as EY7850

The flight was met with a load of celebrations at Abu Dhabi. The following pictures are courtesy of the official ADAC Blog.

All You Need to Know About Baltia Air Lines

By

Miyuru Sandaruwan

on September 26, 2011 7:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

US based start-up, Baltia Airlines, has painted its second acquired aircraft - a Boeing 747-200. The airline acquired the ex- Northwest aircraft, N706BL, from Kalitta Air in December, 2010. With this recent purchase, Baltia's fleet now comprises of two Boeing 747-200s.

Who is Baltia?

Looking like one of the odd airline start-ups, Baltia has been in the start-up mode since 1989. It states that its primary goal "is to become the leading U.S. airline in the Trans-Atlantic market between the major U.S. cities and capital cities of Eastern Europe, including Russia, Latvia, Ukraine, and Belarus."

Baltia is headed by Igor Dmitrowsky, who acts as the Prseident and CEO of the company. A Latvian national born in 1956, Igor started his first US based company in 1979 - as American Kefir Distribution, a diary distribution company. He completed American Kefir's public offering in 1986, and retired from it in 1987. Since 1989, Igor has been building Baltia.

Trading in the stock market (NASDAQ) as Baltia Air Lines Inc. (BLTA), Baltia's stock data shows that today it employs 20 people with assets of 3.43m. The airline's ICAO code is BTL.

The Routes

Based at New York JFK, Baltia has long maintained that its first route would be to St. Petersburg, Russia, from JFK. With two aircraft in its fleet now, Baltia believes that it is inching closer to the first flight on this un-served route.

The Fleet

Baltia acquired its first aircraft in 2009, when it took delivery of N705BL, an ex-PIA aircraft from Logistics Air. Baltia paid USD475,000 for the aircraft sans engines, and took the engines under a Power-by-the-Hour deal from Logistics Air.

Given below is a detailed set of data about the two aircraft in Baltia's fleet.

Aircraft # 1

Aircraft Model: Boeing 747-282B

CN: 21035/256

First flight: 27FEB1975

Date of acquisition: 15NOV2009

Current registration: N705BL

Previous registrations: CS-TJD (TAP, 1975), AP-AYW (PIA, 1976), N559EV (Evergreen, 2005)

Status: Unknown. Not seen in Baltia colours. Last seen in Malaysia, for maintenance.

N705BL, after acquisition by Baltia with engines hung. March, 2010. By okimlost_again.

Interior of N705BL. By okimlost_again.

Cockpit of N705BL. By okimlost_again.

Aircraft #2

Aircraft Model: Boeing 747-251B

First flight: 11MAY1979

Date of acquisition: DEC2010

Current registration: N706BL

Previous registrations: N623US (Northwest, 1979 and Kalitta, 2010)

Status: Painted into Baltia colours and the first aircraft in fleet to do so. Is presently undergoing maintenance and testing.

The following images of N706BL are courtesy of the airline. Click through to see in full size.

After painting. September, 2011.

A classic in new clothes.

The Baltia logo, painted on the tail-fin.

Economy class interior of N706BL.

Upgraded cockpit with older style gauges being replaced with monitors.

The following video shows N706BL during its test flight following the paint job.

The Story So Far

Although Baltia has been set up in 1989, it actually began preparations to receive an Air Operator's Certificate (AOC) only in 2008. It was on 8th February 2009 when Baltia formally began the FAA certification process. On 20th March, 2009, DoT awarded Baltia its initial frequencies for flights from JFK to St. Petersburg. On 4th June, 2010, Baltia applied from the DoT for JFK - Moscow Sheremetyevo service. In August of the same year, N705BL, went into Kuala Lumpur for maintenance with Malaysia Airlines. And on 10th September of 2011, N706BL finished receiving its fresh coat of paint and flew back to Oscoda, MI. As of now, Baltia is conducting FAA Air Carrier Certification process under Part 121.

Baltia has already made arrangements with Evergreen for the line maintenance of its fleet at JFK and has appointed SOVEX as its fuel supplier. It has also signed agreements for office space at Pulkovo Airport in St. Petersburg and has already arranged the gate, check-in and customs clearance facilities.

The airline will be able to take into the skies once it has received the necessary approvals, made some proving flights, completed an evacuation test and finally received its Air Carrier Certificate from the FAA.

Will Baltia be able to finally take to the skies this time? Only the time will tell - but it surely would be an interesting airline take off to watch.

Biman's 777-300ER gets a fresh livery

By

Miyuru Sandaruwan

on September 24, 2011 2:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Biman Bangladesh Airlines has applied a revised new livery to its eagerly expected new Boeing 777-300ER. The new livery might not be one to win awards for, but it surely is much better than its previous one.

Author unknown

The new aircraft will bring a number of changes to Biman's long-haul network and will enable it to launch flights to Manchester ( via London ) and Milan ( via Rome ) and will finally enable Biman to fly nonstop to London Heathrow. Expect an analysis on this new aircraft's operation, next week.

British Airways to increase Moscow capacity

By

Miyuru Sandaruwan

on September 23, 2011 5:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

British Airways, from 25th March 2012, is increasing capacity on its London Heathrow - Moscow service.
The 0855 London departure ( 1720 from DME ) switches from Airbus A320 to Boeing 747-400. Flight number changes from BA872/3 to BA233/4.
The other two daily flights will operate with Boeing 767 equipment.

SpiceJet Adds Another Q400, Operation Analysed

By

Miyuru Sandaruwan

on September 22, 2011 10:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

SpiceJet is planning to bring another Dash 8 Q400 aircraft to its fleet operation by 6th October, and will be launching a range of new flights using the aircraft. Having placed an order with Bombardier for 15 Dash 8 - Q400s in November 2010, the airline has already taken delivery of five of the type. This particular aircraft is likely to be VT-SUF, cn 4381, and will be the sixth of the type to join the fleet.

Photo by Malcom Bezzina

The planned weekly rotation plan for this aircraft, per The Networker's estimate is as following.

1: SG1011 HYD 0635 - 0905 TRV D

2: SG1261 TRV 0925 - 1100 MAA D

3. SG3221 MAA 1120 - 1245 COK x26

3.b. SG1261 MAA 1120 - 1245 HYD 26

4. SG3222 COK 1310 - 1440 MAA x26

5. SG1261 MAA 1500 - 1625 HYD x26

6. SG1262 HYD 1655 - 1820 MAA D

7. SG1262 MAA 1845 - 2020 TRV D

8. SG1012 TRV 2045 - 2315 HYD D

(Please note that aircraft interchanges are possible)

On an average day, the aircraft will be operating up to eight sectors, while on Tuesdays and Saturdays it will be operating six sectors per day.

The new routes to be launched, effective 6th Oct, is as follow.

Hyderabad - Thiruvananthapuram - Hyderabad : Daily

Chennai - Hyderabad: Five times per week

Thiruvananthapuram - Chennai - Hyderabad : Twice per week

Hyderabad - Chennai - Thiruvananthapuram : Daily

Chennai - Kochi - Chennai : Five times per week

Mihin Lanka to Add Extra Dhaka Flight From Winter

By

Miyuru Sandaruwan

on September 22, 2011 8:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Mihin Lanka, effective 31st October, is adding an additional weekly flight to Dhaka. The new flight will initially operate on a different timing on Monday, and will switch to the route's regular schedule effective 25th December.

Photo by Goose

MJ501/2 CMB 0730 - 1125 DAC 1225 - 1505 EQV 247

MJ501/2 CMB 1105 - 1450 DAC 1550 - 1835 320 1 310CT-18DEC

MJ501/2 CMB 0730 - 1125 DAC 1225 - 1505 EQV 1247 25DEC-

SriLankan Airlines code-shares on this route as UL2951/2

Slovakia gets a new flag carrier - Slovakian Airlines

By

Miyuru Sandaruwan

on September 21, 2011 11:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

After the fall of Air Slovakia, Slovak Air and SkyEurope ( and the brief CSA stunt ), Slovakia has now got a new flag carrier in the form of newly founded Slovakian Airlines. The airline has already leased a Boeing 737-500 from Armenian flag carrier Armavia (pictured below).

(Click to vie in full size) Boeing 737-500, cn, in Slovakian Airlines colours. The aircraft presently bears the Armenian registration of EK-73771 but will soon bear the matching registration of OM-BTS. Photo copyright Keith Newsome/FlyingAnts.

The airline hopes to receive its AOC before the end of October and plans to launch services to UK, Italy, Spain and Russia. The airline expects to have three Boeing 737-500s in operation by the end of 2011.

Interestingly, this particular aircraft operated for Czech Airlines, prior to joining Armavia.

Emirates Continues African Expansion with Lusaka and Harare to be Added from 2012

By

Miyuru Sandaruwan

on September 21, 2011 10:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Emirates Airline from 1st February 2012, will be launching new service to Lusaka in Zambia and Harare in Zimbabwe. The new flight, which will operate on the routing Dubai - Lusaka - Harare - Lusaka - Dubai, will be flown five times a week on board Airbus A330-200 aircraft.

The schedule:

EK713 DXB 0925 - 1450 LUN 1620 - 172O HRE 332 x46

EK714 HRE 1920 - 2020 LUN 2150 - 0710+1 DXB 332 x46

There is a steady flow of traffic from the U.K as well as India to these countries, and it seems that Emirates is planning to tap into connecting these markets.

Why Schedule Simplicity Is Important

By

Miyuru Sandaruwan

on September 20, 2011 12:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

While the world is moving towards a trend of simplicity - we still see some airlines who prefer to have complex fight schedules. Apart from being easy for the customers and to attract more of frequent passengers on the route, there is a host of benefits that can come by keeping your schedule simple. Have a look at these very simple, yet highly renowned things for example.

Light bulb
Pencil
Frisbee
Paper
Brick
Paper clip
iPhone

Simplicity is not just an advantage, but it is a feature. Obviously, you will often come up with situations where it is necessary to have two different flights that cater for two different hub patterns- this is alright. But if you come up with a situation where you are flying three weekly flights at three different schedules, re-consider it. If you're doing so because you believe that "we do not have enough aircraft" or "this market has no business traffic" - you are nopt achieving the route's full potential.

Flydubai to launch Belgrade and Tbilisi flights

By

Miyuru Sandaruwan

on September 19, 2011 5:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

flydubai in winter 2011 season is launching flights to Belgrade, Serbia and Tbilisi, Georgia. Services to Belgrade will operate four times weekly and service to Tbilisi twice weekly. Both flights operate on board Boeing 737-800 aircraft, which is the sole aircraft type operated by the carrier.

Dubai - Belgrade

Service launch on 10th November

FZ741 DXB 0910 - 1155 BEG 73H 1467 5h45min

FZ742 BEG 1240 - 2045 DXB 73H 1467 5h05min

From 17t January, 2012, the service will be operating on day 2467.

Jat Airways will also be competing on the route thrice week, on board Boeing 737-300 aircraft.

Dubai - Tbilisi

Service launches on 31st October

FZ713 DXB 2315 - 0315 TBS 73H 15 3h30min

FZ714 TBS 0400 - 0720 DXB 73H 26 3h20min

No other carrier operates this route.

American to cancel Chicago - Brussels

By

Miyuru Sandaruwan

on September 19, 2011 2:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

American Airlines from 6th November is cancelling service on the Chicago - Brussels route. The availability is now zeroed out from this day.
This route has been believed to be one of American's strongest trans-Atlantic routes and was expected to get a challenge from United's new service on the same route - however no industry analyst expected it to be this soon.
American presently flies the route daily, with a Boeing 767-300ER and the flight is code-shared with Etihad Airways, British Airways and Iberia. United presently flies the route with a Boeing 767-300ER too, six times a week, and is code-shared with Continental and SN Brussels Airlines.
However, the key to the route's success has been United's code-share agreement with fellow Star Alliance member SN Brussels Airlines on this Star hub - Star hub route. The extensive African network of SN Brussels must be a key driver of connecting traffic for United. At the time of SN Brussels' Star Alliance entry, American - which at the time had been a code-share partner of SN - did not seem too happy and wanted to extend the code-share agreement till the last possible day.
And, there goes another route from American.

Air France and KLM to add the A350 and 787 : an analysis

By

Miyuru Sandaruwan

on September 16, 2011 1:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Air France and KLM today announced that they will be adding both the Airbus A350 and Boeing 787 to their fleet. Which aircraft would these replace, and where could they fly to? We're going to find out.

The order composition

While the exact order composition is yet to be announced, Air France has confirmed that out of the 60 A350s ordered, at least 25 will be A350-900s. The carriers further confirmed that through 2024, the two carriers will operate at least 43 A350-900s and 30 787-9s. This is an indication that at least a sizeable portion of this order will be split between the A350-900 and the 787-9.

With the A350-1000 presently in apparent limbo, it is unlikely that the two airlines will commit to the larger variant anytime soon. The fate of A350-1000 with KLM is further uncertain owing to the fact that the airline tends to utilize its Boeing 777-300ERs, a type which the A350-1000 is supposed to replace, largely as a people mover on low-yielding high density routes. To achieve a lower unit cost on these routes, KLM must use a 10 abreast seating configuration on the 777's Economy class - something that is impossible on the A350-1000 owing to its slightly smaller fuselage width. However, a Boeing 787-10 as the proposed A330-300 replacement will highly appeal to KLM which already operates the A330-300.

Replacements

The airlines have stated that they will use the new types for replacing the 200-350 seater aircraft presently in its fleet. What could they replace?

The Air France's present fleet falling into this category is as follows.

Type - Number in fleet

Airbus A330-200 : 14

Airbus A340-300 : 16

Boeing 777-200ER: 25

Boeing 777-300ER ( Some versions only ) : 34 + 8 on order

The present KLM fleet that fall under this category are

Airbus A330-200 : 11

Airbus A330-300 : On order

Boeing 777-200ER : 15

Fleet data from Innovata

All of these aircraft are candidates for replacement and by 2024, the likely fleet for the two airlines ( barring any future wide-body orders ) would be as below.

Air France

Airbus A320 family
Airbus A350 family
Boeing 787 family
Airbus A380

KLM

Boeing 737 family
Boeing 787 family
Airbus A350 family
Boeing 777

Routes

It is too early to predict on which kind of routes will the two aircraft models fly, but one thing for sure is that they'll fly worldwide, throughout the network for both carriers. So here's a map with the maximum range of both aircraft types taken into consideration with A350-900 and the Boeing 787-9 as the base models. ( Range figures quoted from official Airbus and Boeing specifications ) Shown in blue colour is the range out of Amsterdam for KLM and in red is the range out of Paris Charles De Gaulle for Air France. Major cities are marked for reference.

The A350-900

The Boeing 787-9

It must be however be noted that this map shows the maximum design range and that it is not guaranteed if any of the types will actually achieve this range. Even if they do, operating at this range would be impossible for any airline due to a number of practical reasons ranging from payload issues to hot and high runways. Hence the following map illustrates the actual coverage area which would be possible for both aircraft, taking 7250nm as the average maximum operational range.

Mihin Lanka to Bangkok, Manila and Sharjah

By

Miyuru Sandaruwan

on September 15, 2011 9:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

In an interview with a local newspaper, Mr. Kapila Chandrasena, the [joint] CEO of Mihin Lanka [ and SriLankan Airlines] has stated that the Sri Lanka based low cost carrier expects to launch flights to Bangkok, Manila and Sharjah soon.

He has stated that the carrier will launch flights to Manila via Bangkok, a route for which it has fifth freedom rights. Mihin will likely operate three weekly flights on the route.

As SriLankan's new Moscow flights will operate via Dubai, Mihin is planning to cut three of its weekly flights to Dubai and transfer two of these frequencies to launch flights to Sharjah, he further stated.

He also said that the airline is also examining the possibility of launching flights to Calicut, as this will complement SriLankan's strategy into India. SriLankan was operating flights to Calicut until 2008, when it cut the route due to the global economic crisis. Mihin is now looking forward to acquiring a second Airbus A321 aircraft to its fleet, added the CEO.

Mihin Lanka and SriLankan Airlines both are now owned by the Government of Sri Lanka and have a common CEO and a common Chairman. There are at present no flights between Sri Lanka and the Philippines. Mihin's present fleet includes one Airbus A320 and one A321 while SriLankan operates a fleet of 19 aircraft including six Airbus A340s. Both airlines have been on an expansion drive since the beginning of 2011 in a bid to make Colombo a key hub in South Asia.

Google Flights Launches

By

Miyuru Sandaruwan

on September 14, 2011 4:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Google has recently launched Google Flights, the outcome of its acquisition of ITA.

( This post includes a number of images. Please click through to view the images in full size.)

Upon launching Google Flights, Gogle displays flight options out of a city ( presumably by your current location. I have received SFO probably because I am out of the presently supported region ) with average fares, on a map.

Presently Google Flights provides you with the ability to search U.S domestic flights only, however international flights can be expected soon.

Once you perform a search for a particular route, it provides you with a listing of flights sorted by the time of departure.

When you select one of the flights, you are then asked to select the return flight (given that you book a round-trip)

And then for booking the flight, Google automatically opens your itinerary on the selected airline's official website very conveniently.

Upon further inspection this appeared to be that Google will only open automatic booking for airlines that it partners with ( in this case American ). This is what I received for a flight with a carrier that is not partnering ( means - not advertising with Google Flights ). Or another possibility is that the selected airlines do not interline with each other. It however still lists links to the relevant airline websites.

I am not sure what is the reservation technology used by Google to cooperate with the selected airline's IBE ( please leave a comment if you do ) or about the exact revenue model Google has in mind ( is that via ads displayed for booking the flights ? ). But nevertheless, it surely will make travellers life more easier and should help airlines to lower their distribution costs too.

Hawaiian Adds Third Japanese Destination - Fukuoka, Follows Delta

By

Miyuru Sandaruwan

on September 14, 2011 2:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Hawaiian Airlines is continuing its expansion in Japan, with the addition of Fukuoka as its third Japanese destination. The new service will launch on 16th April 2012, and will operate daily on board Boeing 767-300ER aircraft. Hawaiian's 763 is configured for 262 seats.

Photo by Dylan Ashe

The schedule for the new route is below

HA453 HNL 1320 - 1840+1 FUK 763 D

HA454 FUK 2100 - 1000 HNL 763 D

Delta Airlines too announced plans for its own route from Honolulu to Fukuoka earlier this month. The new service will launch on 28th December and will operate on board 209 seater Boeing 767-300ER aircraft. Delta's service will however only operate during the Winter season. The operational days per week varies.

DL599 HNL 1030 - 1705+1 FUK 763

DL598 FUK 2030 - 0905+1 HNL 763

"Demand for our services in Japan from Tokyo and Osaka has been extremely strong, and we are responding to similar demand for Hawaii from the travel community in Fukuoka," Hawaiian CEO Mark Dunkerley said.

Hawaiian already serves Tokyo and Osaka from Honolulu, with both services operating daily.

Icelandair to launch Denver from May

By

Miyuru Sandaruwan

on September 13, 2011 7:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Icelandair, from 10 May 2012 is launching service to Denver - its 8th destination in the US. The route was hinted by the Denver mayor a few days ago. The new flights are now open for reservation. Icelandair is likely to get a considerable feed out of Denver for its services onwards to Europe. The carrier's friendly services on board has become quite popular with US travellers, specially with families, as Icelandair offers a free 72 hour stopover at Reykjavik.

The schedule for new flights is below.

FI671 KEF 1640 - 1845 DEN 75W 2467

FI670 DEN 1715 - 0635+1 KEF 75W 1357

The airline is also expected to increase its Seattle flights to daily by Summer 2012.

The Angolan Expedition

By

Miyuru Sandaruwan

on September 12, 2011 3:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Angola, situated in central Africa has recently seen a significant air travel expansion from many carriers. What makes Angola so lucrative? Join the journey with The Networker to find out.

Angola's location pin-pointed on a globe. Image credit: Wikipedia

Angola's capital, and the main international airport is at Luanda, the nation's capital. 2011 has seen a lot of growth to this once unpopular African city.

A Roundup

While Angola still remains a developing nation and has a population of which the majority is unlikely to afford air travel - Angola has recently seen a lot of investment from the BRIC nations which is driving a considerable traffic of workers into the country. The investments, mainly driven by China, have made Luanda an attractive destination to many countries - despite the fact that the city was ranked in March as the most expensive city for expatriates to live in.

The national carrier of Angola is TAAG Angola Airlines, which serves a network of destinations spanning from Havana to Beijing. The airline operates a modern fleet which includes Boeing 737-700 and Boeing 777-200ERs and Boeing 777-300ERs ( while its maintenance procedures have had some much publicized issues, which seem to be solved by now. ).

Among other leading carriers into Luanda are, Aeroflot, Air France, British Airways, Brussels Airlines, Emirates, Ethiopian, Hainan Airlines, Kenya Airways, Luftansa, South African Airways and TAP Portugal.

Angola is home to many beautiful beaches. Image credit jilrsousa.

New routes

The latest route announcements to Angola are from KLM and Royal Air Maroc. Both carriers will launch two weekly flights each into Luanda, on board Boeing 777-200ER and Boeing 737-800 aircraft respectively. Also starting a route into Luanda is Iberia, which will offer two weekly services on board Airbus A340-300 aircraft. The schedules are given below.

Iberia

Madrid - Luanda, effective 25th October 2011 ( Winter timetable listed )

IB6321 MAD 0105 - 0835 LAD 343 15

IB6322 LAD 2340 - 0725+1 MAD 343 15

KLM

Amsterdam - Luanda, effective 14th November 2011

KL581 AMS 1320 - 2155 LAD 772 1 ( Day 5 operates as KL583 )

KL582 LAD 2355 - 0830+1 AMS 772 1

KL584 LAD 0115 - 0945 AMS 772 6

Royal Air Maroc

Casablanca - Libreville - Luanda, effective 1st December 2011

AT291 CMN 1630 - 2310 LBV 0001+1 - 0145+1 LAD 738 47

AT290 LAD 0240 - 0425 LBV 0520 - 10000 CMN 738 15

With a new international airport under construction, also from Chinese investments, Angolan aviation scene will remain to be an interesting one to watch out for!

Emirates to Dublin from January

By

Miyuru Sandaruwan

on September 9, 2011 5:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Just like The Networker reported back in July, Emirates Airline has now announced that it will be launching flights to Dublin, Ireland from 9th January 2012. The new flights will operate daily on board an Airbus A330-200 in three class configuration. The flights will operate out of Terminal 2 in Dublin.

Schedule below.

EK161 DXB 0700 - 1130 DUB 332 D

EK162 DUB 1255 - 0025+1 DXB 332 D

BA Gives a Sneak Peek at its New Advertising Campaign

By

Miyuru Sandaruwan

on September 9, 2011 1:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

British Airways on 21st September launches its new advertising campaign, believed to be one of the airline's most expansive to date. The campaign features an illustrative history of the airline, since the days of BOAC, and is aimed at rebuilding the airline's image. BA has now released a trailer of the campaign on YouTube. View it below ( you might need to click through to this page if you are reading this on a feed reader).

What do you think about it?

Cathay Mulls Africa, South America Flights

By

Miyuru Sandaruwan

on September 8, 2011 7:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Cathay Pacific has been growing steadily and profitably for the past couple of years. However two regions that had seen minimal activity from the carrier were Africa and South America. And now it seems that the airline is ready to change that trend.

In an interview, Cathay's new CEO John Slosar has been quoted as saying the airline is "looking actively" at the opportunities in Africa and Latin America. Presently, Cathay's presence in Africa is limited to Johannesburg in South Africa while it presently has no online destinations in South America.

Two African destinations which could work well for Cathay are Lagos in Nigeria and Luanda in Angola. Both of these cities have growing ties with China and a healthy flow of employee traffic as well as a good amount of cargo. In terms of South America, the carrier could be interested in fast growing Brazil, but also tourism booming Mexico.

Cathay at present has over 90 wide-body aircraft on order, and the carrier's future expansion would surely be interesting to watch.

Where do you think Cathay will fly? Let The Networker know by commenting below.

SriLankan Airlines Network-wide Changes from Winter

By

Miyuru Sandaruwan

on September 7, 2011 7:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

SriLankan Airlines from Winter 2011 onwards is making a number of changes to its network. All changes are going into effect from the week of 23 December 2011.

This article is constantly being updated please check back for the latest information.

Chennai

Flights increased from 15 to 27 weekly.

UL125 CMB 0030 - 0150 MAA 320 x4

UL121 CMB 0730 - 0850 MAA 330 x46

UL121 CMB 0730 - 0850 MAA 343 4

UL121 CMB 0710 - 0830 MAA 330 6

UL127 CMB 1200 - 1320 MAA 320 x3

UL127 CMB 1410 - 1530 MAA 320 3

UL123 CMB 1835 - 1955 MAA 320 x3

UL123 CMB 1835 - 1955 MAA 330 3

UL126 MAA 0250 - 0410 CMB 320 x4

UL122 MAA 0950 - 1110 CMB 330 x46

UL122 MAA 0950 - 1110 CMB 343 4

UL122 MAA 0930 - 1050 CMB 330 6

UL128 MAA 1410 - 1530 CMB 320 x3

UL128 MAA 1620 - 1740 CMB 320 3

UL124 MAA 1955 - 2215 CMB 320 x3

UL124 MAA 1955 - 2215 CMB 320 3

China

A weekly flight each has been added to all mainland China destinations

Beijing - Increases from 3 to 4 times weekly

UL888 CMB 0125 - BKK - 1310 PEK 343 2357

UL889 PEK 1430 - BKK - 2125 CMB 343 2357

Guangzhou - Increases from 3 to 4 times weekly

UL882 CMB 0701 - BKK - 1650 CAN EQV 2357

UL883 CAN 1810 - BKK - 2255 CMB EQV 2357

Shanghai - Increases from 4 to 5 times weekly

UL886 CMB 0125 - BKK - 1235 PVG 343 x37

UL887 PVG 1405 - BKK - 2045 CMB 343 x37

The airline has confirmed this change, with the overlapping flights to continue till Summer 2012.

Abu Dhabi

Increased to ten times weekly.

Doha

Flights increased to daily. 6 times weekly A320 and weekly A340.

Male

Flights increased to 35 times weekly.

Kuala Lumpur

Service increased from 10 to 14 times weekly with a new daytime daily Airbus A320 terminator flight. UL316 operates with a mix of Airbus A330 and A340 equipment.

UL314 CMB 0725 - 1335 KUL 320 x3

UL314 CMB 0900 - 1510 KUL 320 3

UL316 CMB 2340 - 0605+1 SIN 0705+1 - 0800+1 KUL EQV D

UL316 KUL 0900 - 1000 CMB EQV D

UL315 KUL 1435 - 1525 CMB 320 x3

UL315 KUL 1640 - 1730 CMB 320 3

Singapore

Increases from 10 weekly to 14 times weekly. New daytime daily A320 terminator flight.

UL302 CMB 0720 - 1345 SIN 320 x3

UL302 CMB 0835 - 1500 SIN 320 3

UL316 CMB 2340 - 0605+1 SIN EQV D

UL316 SIN 0705 - 0800 KUL 0900 - 1000 CMB EQV D

UL303 SIN 1450 - 1600 CMB 320 x3

UL303 SIN 1625 - 1735 CMB 320 3

Tiruchirapally

Increased to twice daily.

UL131 CMB 0735 - 0835 TRZ 320 D

UL133 CMB 1135 - 1235 TRZ 320 x6

UL133 CMB 1045 - 1145 TRZ 320 6

UL132 TRZ 0925 - 1025 CMB 320 D

UL134 TRZ 1315 - 1415 CMB 320 x6

UL134 TRZ 1235 - 1335 CMB 320 6

Tokyo

Flights to increase from 3 to 4 weekly effective 24th December.

SriLankan to Increase Tokyo Flights

By

Miyuru Sandaruwan

on September 7, 2011 2:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

SriLankan Airlines (IATA:UL) from 24th December is increasing Tokyo flights from 3 to 4 flights a week. The airline received rights for the fourth frequency recently. With this SriLankan becomes one of the handful of airlines to increase flights to Japan following last March's tsunami. The new flight operates on Saturday from Colombo.

Schedule
UL460 CMB 2340 - 1150 NRT 343 37
UL454 CMB 2340 - 1150 NRT 332 5
UL454 CMB 2340 - 1150 NRT 343 6 NEW

UL461 NRT 1310 - 1925 MLE 2025 - 2220 CMB 343 14
UL455 NRT 1320 - 1945 CMB 332 6
UL455 NRT 1320 - 1945 CMB 343 7 NEW

AA to Manaus from June 2012

By

Miyuru Sandaruwan

on September 6, 2011 5:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

American Airlines from 14th June 2012 is launching service to Manaus, Brazil. The service will operate out of Miami four times a week. The schedule is given below.

AA229 MIA 1700 - 2220 MAO 738 x234
AA230 MAO 2340 - 0500+1 MAO 738 x234

Bookings for this flight are open now.

Market Analysis : India - China

By

Miyuru Sandaruwan

on September 5, 2011 3:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

India and China are fast becoming two world leaders, and are already home to two of the world's fastest growing aviation markets. What do they have in common? We are going to find out.

Passenger services

For two of the world's biggest aviation markets, the traffic between India and mainland China are still quite lacklustre. Only five Indian airports have flights to China and just one Indian airline flies between the two countries. China on the other side however has connectivity from six airports and three airlines. On the passenger side, the equation is deeply in China's side. Let's have a look at the numbers.

Air China

From Bangalore - Chengdu and Shangahi. Thrice weekly A319.

From Delhi - Beijing. Thrice weekly 763.

Air India

From Mumbai and Delhi - Shanghai. Four times weekly 777-200LR.

China Eastern Airlines

From Kolkata - Kunming. Daily 737.

From Delhi - Shanghai and Beijing. Four times weekly 343.

China Southern Airlines

From Delhi - Guangzhou. Five times weekly 757.

Ethiopian Airlines

From Delhi (service originates in Addis Ababa) - Hangzhou. Five times weekly 763.

Too little than you expected? Here's how they compare seat-mile wise.

Airline	Weekly Frequencies	Seat Miles
Air China	6	2781132
Air India	4	2997848
China Eastern	11	3968098
China Southern	5	2227540
Ethiopian	5	3037375

Frequencies listed are weekly one-way. Seat miles are quoted for the longest leg of a through flight (eg: If a flight flies DEL-PVG-PEK, only the total DEL-PVG sector is counted)

And here's how they look on a map..

Black - Air China, Red- Air India, Blue - China Eastern, Orange - China Southern, Green - Ethiopian

(Note: Air India also flies the DEL-PEK sector. Invisible on this map due to the overlapping of Air China's DEL-PEK route.)

Freighter services

But what about the freighter services? As with the passenger services, the freighter sector too is dominated by the Chinese carriers. However there is more diversity in this arena with a number of overseas carriers plying the market.

Routes from India to China

Etihad Airways

From Kolkata - Guangzhou. Twice weekly A300-600 freighter.

Jade Cargo

From Mumbai - Shenzhen. Thrice weekly Boeing 747-400 freighter.

Lufthansa

From Delhi - Guangzhou. Thrice weekly MD-11 freighter.

From Kolkata - Shenzhen. Twice weekly MD-11 freighter.

(There is a lot more competition in the sector from China to India. We will examine more about it closely, in another article in near future.)

And this is how those services appear on a map.

Black - Etihad, Green - Jade Cargo, Yellow - Lufthansa

With India and China both growing faster than ever before, there is a lot of potential to be realised in this market and it is quite likely that we will soon see some expansion in this market. And it must be said that there is a great market for LCCs of both countries to tap with a fast growing middle class in both countries. What do you think about this market? Let us know in the comments section.

Mihin Lanka additional Dhaka flight on 8th Sep.

By

Miyuru Sandaruwan

on September 5, 2011 8:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Mihin Lanka, on 8th September operates an extra flight on the Colombo - Dhaka route. The flight operates with Airbus A320 aircraft and the schedule is below.

MJ503 CMB 2325 - 0315+1 DAC 320 8SEP
MJ504 DAC 0415 - 0700 CMB 320 9SEP

The carrier usually operates three weekly flights on the route. The airline's Chairman has also stated that the airline is considering launching flights to Manila, Philippines.

IndiGo launches first international service

By

Miyuru Sandaruwan

on September 2, 2011 2:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

IndiGo Airlines yesterday launched international operations with its first international flight from India. Flight 6E from Delhi to Dubai carried 162 passengers on board and departed 8 minutes ahead of time, and arrived in Dubai 9 minutes earlier than scheduled.

IndiGo is the fifth airline to operate on the busy Delhi - Dubai route and will offer the ninth frequency overall of all airlines. The present competition on the route is as follows

Emirates - 28 weekly flights

Air India - daily flights, 1636236 seat miles

Kingfisher - daily flights, 1522080 seat miles

Jet Airways - 5 weekly flights, 978480 seat miles

On 8th September, IndiGo will launch operations on the even busier Delhi - Bangkok route becoming the eighth carrier on the route.

IndiGo's international expansion plans and flight schedules could be found here.

Gulf Air to launch Rome and Entebbe flights

By

Miyuru Sandaruwan

on September 1, 2011 2:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Gulf Air will be launching a new four times weekly service to Rome, Italy effective 30th November. The new flights will operate on board Airbus A320 aircraft. GF will face no competition on the route.

Schedule:

GF29 BAH 0200 - FCO 0600 320 1347 6hoom

GF30 FCO 1115 - BAH 1815 320 1347 5ho5m

In addition, the airline will be launching 4 times weekly flights to Entebbe effective 5th December.Services will operate on board Airbus A320 series aircraft.

Schedule:

GF719 BAH 1020 - EBB 1545 32S 16 5h25m

GF717 BAH 2055 - EBB 0220+1 32S 24 5h25m

GF718 EBB 0320 - BAH 0820 32S 35 5h00m

GF719 EBB 1645 - BAH 2145 32S 16 5h00m

The airline will also be launching new 3 weekly flights to Juba, South Sudan from 7th February 2012, as already reported on The Networker.

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Hawaiian and V Australia Seek Approval to Code-share

Qantas to Santiago, Chile from 2012

SriLankan Airlines Changes to Zurich Route

Emirates Announces Dallas and Seattle

BA's retro 757 to fly one more time

CSA launches Abu Dhabi flights

All You Need to Know About Baltia Air Lines

Biman's 777-300ER gets a fresh livery

British Airways to increase Moscow capacity

SpiceJet Adds Another Q400, Operation Analysed

Mihin Lanka to Add Extra Dhaka Flight From Winter

Slovakia gets a new flag carrier - Slovakian Airlines

Emirates Continues African Expansion with Lusaka and Harare to be Added from 2012

Why Schedule Simplicity Is Important

Flydubai to launch Belgrade and Tbilisi flights

American to cancel Chicago - Brussels

Air France and KLM to add the A350 and 787 : an analysis

Mihin Lanka to Bangkok, Manila and Sharjah

Google Flights Launches

Hawaiian Adds Third Japanese Destination - Fukuoka, Follows Delta

Icelandair to launch Denver from May

The Angolan Expedition

Emirates to Dublin from January

BA Gives a Sneak Peek at its New Advertising Campaign

Cathay Mulls Africa, South America Flights

SriLankan Airlines Network-wide Changes from Winter

SriLankan to Increase Tokyo Flights

AA to Manaus from June 2012

Market Analysis : India - China

Mihin Lanka additional Dhaka flight on 8th Sep.

IndiGo launches first international service

Gulf Air to launch Rome and Entebbe flights

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