News from Asia 亚洲新闻

AIR MACAU BOOSTS TOKYO FLYING

Air Macau has boosted its scheduled services with the announcement that it will add a fourth weekly service to Tokyo Narita. Air Macau already has a 54% share of current O+D market.


FIREFLY ADDS NEW DOMESTIC ROUTES

Malaysia Airlines subsidiary Firefly will launch new scheduled routes from Kuala Lumpur to both Kota Kinabalu and Kuching. The new routes will be operated with B737-800 jets set to enter the Firefly route in the new year. Kuching will be operated four-times daily and Kota Kinabalu thrice-daily effective January 15th. Both routes are currently operated by both AirAsia and Malaysia Airlines.


VIETNAM AIRLINES ADDS NEW BEIJING LINK

SkyTeam member Vietnam Airlines has revealed that it will start new non-stop services from Ho Chi Minh City to Beijing, with a thrice-weekly service operated with narrowbody equipment (A320). The route will begin mid-December and will be the only non-stop link between the city pairs on a route that according to IATA BSP data has seen over 35,000 O+D passengers fly between July 2009 and July 2010.


MALAYSIA AIRLINES RAMPS UP CAMBODIA SERVICE

Malaysia Airlines has commenced scheduled increase on its existing Kuala Lumpur to Phnom Penh service. It will now serve the city pairs on a nine-times weekly basis an increase of two scheduled weekly flights. IATA BSP data shows that over 160,000 O+D passengers have flown this route between July 2009 and July 2010, with AirAsia having a 62% share of the market.


JUNEYAO AIRLINES SET FOR FIRST INTERNATIONAL ROUTE

Chinese low-cost carrier Juneyao Airlines has applied to the CAAC for traffic rights to commence its first international route. The fledgling carrier hopes to commence a daily service from Shanghai (PVG) to Sapporo, Japan in early January, 2011. The route is currently operated four-times weekly by China Eastern.

Richard Maslen

Richard Maslen has travelled across the globe to report on developments in the aviation sector as airlines and airports have continued to evolve and…