Air China to Fly to Saipan
Air China is planning to launch flights between Beijing and Saipan, the largest island of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), a chain of 15 tropical islands belonging to the Marianas archipelago in the western Pacific Ocean. The Chinese flag carrier is looking to introduce a twice weekly rotation from December 22 using a Boeing 777-200, although reservations for this flights has not yet been opened and the proposed start could slip to a later date.
Air New Zealand to Add Flights to Mount Cook
Air New Zealand (Air NZ) is planning to launch services to Mount Cook from Christchurch and Queenstown on a six week trial from December next year. The airline will offer the flights on the Christchurch – Mount Cook – Queenstown routing between December 23, 2012 and January 27, 2013 to meet high-season demand from offshore markets, particularly tourists coming in from Japan. “The decision to launch this seasonal service comes after a lot of combined effort from Christchurch Airport CEO Jim Boult, Hermitage Chairman John Davies and Air NZ to make the route feasible,” explained Bruce Parton, General Manager Australasia, Air New Zealand Group. “This new route is a credit to the drive and perseverance of both Jim and John. They have had the vision and belief in this regional development and we have been proud to listen and support them with this.” The new link will make it easier for groups to stay overnight at Mount Cook and also make day trips possible to the region, something that is expected to be particularly popular with cruise ship traffic arriving in the area over the Southern summer months as well as fast links to Queenstown enabling travellers to visit several of the South Island’s key tourism regions.” The 40-minute service between Christchurch and Mount Cook will operate three times a week, timed to connect with the arrival into Christchurch of the direct service from Tokyo and other morning services into Christchurch from domestic airports such as Auckland, Rotorua and Wellington. The service will be operated by Air NZ subsidiary airline Mount Cook Airline using a 68-seat ATR 72 turboprop. “We’re thrilled with the opportunity presented by the reintroduction of scheduled flights into Mount Cook. The Japanese market has certainly been supportive of this initiative and we are hoping the service will grow to include the full Japanese touring season of December through to March. Add to this, the increasing numbers of passengers from other Asian countries into Christchurch and we see this venture as a win-win for everyone involved,” said John Davies, Chairman of The Hermitage Hotel. There is currently no other operator on the route and a successful trial could lead to the route being established on a longer seasonal basis to support the potential demand mentioned above. “We do see a gap there that we hope this new service will fill,” said Bruce Parton. The airline last operated services between Christchurch and Mount Cook a decade ago, with the last service in February 2002. Meanwhile, Air NZ has also revealed that it will increase capacity on its flights to Rotorua during the Northern Winter 2012/2013 schedules by using mainline jet aircraft on some of its flights. The carrier currently offers three daily ATR turboprop flights per day between Rotorua and Queenstown, via Christchurch, but six flights a week will be flown using a Boeing 737 between November 2012 and March 2013. This will mean increasing capacity between Rotorua and Christchurch by 27 per cent and between Christchurch and Queenstown by 14 per cent with available seat capacity each week between Rotorua and Queenstown growing from 1,428 to 1,818. The expansion is a response to feedback from inbound tour operators that there was a demand for groups to fly to Queenstown directly from Rotorua, and vice versa, rather than travelling by road via Auckland, according to Bruce Paton. It seems early to be revealing details of the Winter 2012/2013 schedules given that we have only just started the 2011/2012 period, although Bruce Paton confirmed the reasoning for this. “Whilst it’s some months away, we wanted to announce this initiative now to inform the industry and allow inbound tour operators to build the new service into their itineraries, which often have long lead-times,” he said. The return of the Air NZ jets to Rotorua will follow four and a half years after they were removed from the airline’s flights to the destination, the last scheduled flight taking place in April 2008. An estimated 26,000 O&D passengers travelled between Queenstown and Rotorua last year, up 11.8 per cent on the previous 12 month period.
Jetstar Pacific Drops Domestic Vietnamese Routes
Jetstar Pacific, the Vietnamese-based operation of budget carrier Jetstar Airways, has announced the closure of two domestic routes for the Northern Winter. The airline will suspend flights on the Hanoi – Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City – Hue routes from November 15 due, apparently, to aircraft availability issues. The airline’s fleet is undergoing routine maintenance through the winter and cuts have had to be made to support its wider nertwork. Both routes are expected to resume in summer 2012.
Korean Air Boosts Paris Schedule
Korean Air is to boost its summer schedule on the Seoul Incheon – Paris CDG route with the introduction of two additional rotations every week. The carrier plans to increase weekly frequencies from seven to nine from March 25, 2012 and could add further seasonal flights as last year it offered ten weekly services for a limited period between July and September. Korean Air will use a Boeing 777-200ER on the current daily service and a Boeing 747-400 on the two additional flights, which will operate on Mondays and Saturdays.
Skywest Airlines Signs Charter Contract for Western Australia Links
Skywest has signed a scheduled charter contract with BHP Billiton Iron Ore to operate air charter services from Perth to Area C and Yandi in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. The flights for production workers is for a 12 month period with an option for BHP to extend for a further 12 months from September 2012 and will be operated a minimum of four times each week using a 100-seat Fokker 100. “We are delighted to have secured this first contract with BHP Billiton Iron Ore, which is a major new and important client of us. Additionally, this is also the first opportunity for the airline to fly into Area C and Yandi; and therefore, is a very important project for the Company,” said Jeff Chatfield, Chairman, Skywest Airlines. The carrier says revenues of the contract will be billed at market rates but will vary depending upon the precise number of services flown over the term. The contract also includes provision for price adjustments to reflect increases in fuel prices.
Asiana Boosts Frequencies to Okinawa
Asiana Airlines is to boost its flights between Seoul Incheon and Okinawa to a daily schedule from December 3. The carrier already offers five flights per week on the route, but will now add new Monday and Thursday rotations to increase to a daily schedule. The South Korean airline is the sole operator on the route and handled an estimated 67,000 O&D passengers in the past year. The flights will be operated using an Airbus A321.
Jet Airways Adds Domestic Links to Ahmedabad
The JetLite budget subsidiary of Indian carrier Jet Airways is to inaugurate new flights to Ahmedabad this month. The airline will offer direct services from Bangalore and New Delhi and connecting flights from Coimbatore, Kolkata and Lucknow from November 15. According to Sudheer Raghavan, Chief Commercial Officer, Jet Airways, the additional flights are to meet increased traffic demand to and from the city. "With the increased flow of tourist and business traffic to and from Ahmedabad, along with the growing demand for connectivity with metros and cities, we are pleased to provide direct connections," he said.
Cathay Pacific Adds Zaragoza Freight Link
Cathay Pacific Airways confirmed this week that it will launch a new market in Europe with a new scheduled twice weekly freighter service to Zaragoza, Spain from November 15. The new destination will be operated as an extension of one of the airline’s existing freighter services flying from Hong Kong to Delhi, then onward to Amsterdam and Zaragoza, returning to Hong Kong via Dubai. With this new service, Cathay Pacific will be the first and only airline operating a freighter service linking India and Spain, bringing to five the number of European destinations that shippers in India can choose from, including Amsterdam, Frankfurt, London and Paris. “We are pleased and proud to be able to expand our operation into Spain, a fast-growing market as a result of the recent growth of the garment industry. The market has great potential, with Spanish companies looking to expand further their business in Asia,” said Nick Rhodes, Director Cargo, Cathay Pacific Airways. “In addition to serving Zaragoza, we will also develop other major Spanish destinations by providing a trucking service from the city to Barcelona, Madrid and other key commercial centres.” Cathay Pacific says it is committed to expanding its freighter network and has recently added new services to Bengalore in India and Chongqing and Chengdu in Western China. The airline has recently taken delivery of its first Boeing 747-8F freighter aircraft, with three more to be delivered before the end of the year.
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