Alfred Chua
Alfred Chua is the Asia Air Transport Editor for FlightGlobal, where he covers airlines and air transport topics in Asia-Pacific. Chua joined FlightGlobal in 2019 and is based in Singapore, where he previously worked as a news reporter at a local news agency. He has produced several Asia-Pacific CEO interviews for the Airline Business magazine, including with the CEOs of Malaysia Airlines, China Airlines and ANA.
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- Interview
How ANA president Shinichi Inoue is hitting a home run, and then some
ANA president and chief executive Shinichi Inoue is overseeing the airline’s next stage of growth, with a new medium-haul sister unit, European expansion on the cards and promising financial results.
- News
AirAsia Cambodia to launch in May, with international flights following in third quarter
AirAsia’s Cambodian unit will commence operations on 2 May, as the low-cost operator looks to drive tourism demand into the country.
- News
AirAsia Malaysia makes Australia debut; Taiwanese operators ramp up network
AirAsia Malaysia begins direct flights to Perth, while Taiwanese carriers China Airlines and EVA Air ramp up their North American and regional networks, respectively.
- News
Korean Air breaks ground for new engine MRO facility
Korean Air has begun construction for a new engine MRO facility in Unbuk, near Seoul’s Incheon airport, with operations expected to commence in 2027.
- Analysis
Softening yields and staffing crunch temper Cathay profit return celebrations
Cathay Pacific’s turnaround from pandemic-led losses to record profitability is a long time coming, but the airline’s executives are acutely aware the celebratory mood will not be for long.
- News
Cathay begins mid-sized widebody renewal campaign with orders to come in next few years
Cathay Pacific’s ongoing campaign for new mid-sized widebody jets is “still in its early days” with the airline expecting to place an order only in the next few years.
- News
Cathay reports record annual profit as full recovery pushed back to 2025
Cathay Pacific Group swung to a full-year net profit in 2023 – for the first time in four years – as it pushes back its full recovery forecast and flags a normalisation of yields and “ongoing” manpower and supply chain headwinds.
- News
Jet Airways revival back on track after top tribunal green-lights ownership transfer
Jet Airways has cleared a significant hurdle in its long-running revival plan, after an appellate tribunal approved the transfer of ownership to the Jalan-Kalrock Consortium, which must be completed within 90 days.
- News
SpiceJet sees senior management exodus amid ‘strategic’ restructuring
SpiceJet has confirmed the exit of its chief commercial officer, amid a “strategic restructuring” that also sees other members of the operating and commercial teams leaving the beleaguered airline.
- News
Trent reliability issues add to Air NZ’s operational woes as it cuts Chicago service
Air New Zealand has flagged “ongoing challenges” with the reliability and availability of Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines powering its Boeing 787 fleet, adding to existing engine issues it is already facing on its narrowbody fleet.
- News
Virgin Australia regional unit seeks Fokker replacements
Virgin Australia’s regional unit has disclosed its intention to acquire “at least four new generation aircraft” to replace its aging fleet of Fokker 100s.
- News
Indonesian regulator puts Batik Air on notice following in-flight sleeping incident
Indonesia’s civil aviation regulators will carry out “special investigations” into Batik Air Indonesia following a safety incident involving two pilots who slept simultaneously for a time while operating a service to Jakarta.
- News
Batik Air A320 pilots slept for 28min on flight to Jakarta
Indonesian investigators have called for “detailed guidance and procedure” to identify flightcrew fatigue, following an incident involving two Batik Air Indonesia pilots who slept simultaneously for a time while operating a service to Jakarta.
- News
Singapore low-cost operators expand Southeast Asia networks
Two Singapore-based low-cost carriers – Scoot and Jetstar Asia – have announced expansions on their Southeast Asian networks.
- News
Vietnamese carriers urged to ‘proactively’ plan for back-up amid ongoing operational snags
The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) has requested the country’s airlines to “proactively plan” to boost operational resilience – including drafting back-up plans – following a spate of challenges that has led to fleet ”fluctuations”.
- News
Scoot’s initial E2 network to include new points Samui and Sibu
Scoot has disclosed the initial operating network for its fleet of Embraer E190-E2s, as it prepares to take delivery of its first two jets in April.
- News
Kawasaki nets order for single BK117
Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) has received an order for a single BK117 D3 helicopter from Kyushu Asahi Broadcasting.
- News
AirAsia eyes new Southeast Asia unit, as Cambodia launch pushed to mid-2024
AirAsia’s Cambodia unit is expected to commence operations in the middle of the year, half a year later than originally planned, as the airline group mulls launching another carrier in the region.
- News
South Korean LCCs swing to first post-pandemic profit
South Korean low-cost operators Jeju Air and T’way Air swung to their first annual profit since the Covid-19 pandemic, helped by strong demand on Japan and Southeast Asia operations.
- News
Qantas’s first A220s enter commercial service
Qantas’s first pair of Airbus A220-300s have begun commercial flights, kicking off the narrowbody fleet replacement process as the airline looks to take seven more examples by the middle of the year.