SINGAPORE AIRLINES TO DROP KUWAIT CITY FLIGHTS
Singapore Airlines (SIA) is to suspend its flights to Kuwait City this winter as well as its direct service to Athens, but will add frequencies on a number of its current routes to destinations in Southeast Asia, North Asia and the Indian subcontinent. The Asian flag carrier currently serves Kuwait City three times per week as an extension of one of its daily Singapore – Abu Dhabi flights, while Athens is served three times weekly directly from Changi International Airport. The Kuwait City extension will be terminated from October 30, according to the latest update to its winter schedule, while Athens will continue to be served at the same frequency but as an extension of an enhanced service to the Turkish city of Istanbul. From the same date, service increases will be adopted to Bangkok (up from four to five a day), Guangzhou (daily to double daily), Mumbai (from 14 to 17 a week), Ahmedabad (two to three per week), Cape Town (three to four a week, via Johannesburg) and Istanbul (four to six a week), although the latter remains subject to regulatory approval. As demand recovers in the Japanese market services between Singapore and Tokyo Haneda will return to twice-daily from their current daily schedules, according to SIA, while frequencies on the Singapore-Osaka route will increase to eleven flights per week from ten. Ahead of the new Northern Winter schedule the carrier will also introduce an eighth daily flight between Singapore and Jakarta from September 15. The additional service will be operated by a 288-seat Boeing 777-200 in a three-class configuration and will bring SIA’s total weekly flights to Indonesia to 77, with subsidiary SilkAir offering a further 53 services to eight points in the country.
MIAT PLANS BEIJING UPGRADE
MIAT Mongolian Airlines is planning to increase capacity on its Ulaan Baatar – Beijing route by half this winter, according to the first update of its Northern Winter 2011/2012 flight schedule. Last year the carrier offered eight flights per week on the route, but it is planning to maintain the current 12 times weekly service it operates through the summer for the full year. The airline currently competes with Air China on the route; the latter offering nine flights per week. The route has witnessed significant growth in the past 12 months with traffic up to record levels. An estimated 169,000 O&D passengers travelled on the route in the last year, up 22.3 per cent on the previous year, although numbers had been decline for the past 24 months after reaching 142,000 in the year ending May 2008. Over this period MIAT has strengthened its position in the market by boosting its share of the traffic from 52 per cent to 61 per cent as demand has grown by more than a third. The airline has also seen yields strengthen in the past 12 months with average fares peaking at $275 each way. During the two previous periods the loss in traffic was mirrored by a loss in yields with average fares declining to $226 each way in the year ending May 2009 and $210 in the 12 months to May 2010.
HONG KONG EXPRESS BRINGS FORWARD CHENGDU LAUNCH
Hong Kong Express Airlines is bringing forward the launch of its daily Hong Kong – Chengdu service by a month from September 1 to August 1 after a modification of its schedules provided the capacity for its network expansion. The carrier will be the fourth to offer flights on the route, with Air China and Dragonair offering twice daily services and Sichuan Airlines two flights per week. In the past year an estimated 200,000 O&D passengers travelled between Hong Kong and Chengdu, a market that has grown 6.5 per cent in the last 12 months. Air China currently dominates the traffic (49 per cent), followed by Dragonair (38 per cent) but both have seen their share of the market decline as Sichuan Airlines has entered the market. The latter’s growth has not impacted yields too heavily and although its own average fares have fallen marginally, both Air China and Dragonair have seen increases over the 12 month period. The expansion of the network of Hong Kong Express is part of a wider strategy of its sister carrier Hong Kong Airlines to offer greater links within Asia and to generate further feed for an expanded long-haul offering that is expected to be announced shortly. This is reported to include new connections to Paris and Sydney and the launch of an all-premium service to London from 2012.
CHINA AIRLINES BOOSTS TAIPEI – SYDNEY SCHEDULE
Taiwanese carrier China Airlines is to introduce a fifth weekly rotation between Taipei and Sydney, although it is currently unclear when exactly the additional flight will be introduced. The new Monday service from the Taiwanese capital is loaded in the GDS from the beginning of the Northern Winter schedules on October 30 but bookings are only being accepted after November 28. China Airlines is the sole operator on the Taipei Taoyuan – Sydney route and carried an estimated 50,000 O&D passengers in the past year, 64 per cent of the total 77,000 passenger market. There is a large slippage via Hong Kong and the flights of Cathay Pacific Airways and Qantas Airways and China Airlines will hope the additional weekly rotation will go some way to boosting its share. The airline uses an Airbus A330-300 on its flights to Sydney, a type it also uses on its other route to Australia, a three times weekly connection to Brisbane. It competes directly with fellow Taiwanese carrier EVA Air on this route, holding a 45 per cent share of the estimated 68,000 O&D passengers that travelled on the route. In the past year more than 230,000 O&D passengers travelled between Taiwan and Australia, a market that has declined by 3.9 per cent over the last 12 months, although yields have strengthened during the same period with average fares rising 1.1 per cent to $950 each way. China Airlines is the dominant carrier between the two countries with a 40.3 per cent share of the traffic but its share has slipped by 1.4 per cent in the past year, mainly due to the growth of Cathay Pacific Airways which has increased its market share by 2.8 per cent to 23.4 per cent.
MELBOURNE AIRPORT WITNESSES STRONG TRAFFIC GROWTH
Australia’s Melbourne Airport has reported a notable 7.7 per cent rise in traffic during the 2010/2011 financial year, carrying over 28 million passengers during the 12 month period. This development was supported by the addition of a number of new airline services and increased capacity on some of its existing flights. These included new connections from Royal Brunei Airlines and Strategic Airlines; additional flights to Singapore, Auckland and Queenstown from Jetstar Airways; further frequencies from Virgin Australia, China Southern Airlines, China Eastern Airlines and Vietnam Airlines to domestic and international destinations, and the use of larger aircraft from Qantas on links to London and Los Angeles and Emirates Airline to Dubai. “Melbourne Airport and the state of Victoria have a lot to offer to passengers and our continued growth shows that people agree. With curfew free operations, a single terminal precinct high service levels and low airline fees, we provide flexibility and convenience,” said Kirby Clark, Acting Chief Executive Officer, Melbourne Airport. “I’d like to thank all of our airlines customers for their continued support of the Melbourne market and we look forward to continuing to work with them to expand their Melbourne operations.” International passengers for the 2010/11 financial year grew by 13.5 per cent or an additional 748,794 passengers compared to last financial year, taking total international traffic to 6,287,710. The key driver of this growth was Asia with passport holders from China growing by 26.2 per cent, Singapore by 16.0 per cent, Malaysia by 15.8 per cent, Japan by 15.2 per cent, South Korea by 14.4, Indonesia by 10.7 per cent and India by 7.6 per cent. Traditional markets also showed solid growth with New Zealand passport holders growing by 12.4 per cent, the United Kingdom by 7.2 per cent and the US by 4.9 per cent. Australian passport holders also grew in 2010/2011 with a 14.7 per cent increase or an additional 400,016 Australian passport holders travelling compared to last financial year.
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