Thai AirAsia Follows Partner Carrier Out of Delhi
Less than a month after low-cost, long-haul carrier AirAsia X announced it would suspend its flights into India from Kuala Lumpur, the airline’s sister venture, Bangkok-based Thai AirAsia, has revealed it too will stop serving Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi. The airline currently offers up to five rotations per week but will reduce to four weekly flights ahead of the closure of the route in March 2012.Thai AirAsia says structural issues in the Indian aviation market have made it difficult to operate economically viable flights. These relate primarily to general airport and handling costs, particularly with the recent approval of a 280 per cent increase in fees from April this year but also the high taxation on aviation fuel in the country.The budget carrier had an eight per cent share of the estimated 521,000 O&D passengers that travelled on the Bangkok – New Delhi route during the past year, one of the most competitive markets in the world. There are currently eight airlines providing flights between the two cities, seven on an at least daily basis. A number of leading global carriers have suggested that they too could end operations to New Delhi due to the high costs and Air France-KLM, British Airways and Lufthansa have all publicly stated their opposition to the increased fees. At a recent meeting with India’s Airport Economic Regulatory Authority all three carriers suggested they could reconsider their network plans in India and could reallocate capacity into alternate areas.
Virgin Australia Boosts Domestic Capacity
Virgin Australia has revealed an expanded schedule of as part of its accelerated capacity growth plan for major corporate, resources sector and leisure routes. The airline confirms it will introduce additional services on major routes between Melbourne and Adelaide, Brisbane and Sydney as well as on regional links between Brisbane and Cairns, Gladstone, Rockhampton and Whitsunday Coast (Proserpine). The additional flights will be introduced from the week commencing February 13, 2012. “We are adding extra services across a range of routes to meet increased demand from corporate and leisure travellers,” said Merren McArthur,” Group Executive of Alliances, Network and Yield, Virgin Australia. “We will be able to offer travellers the increased convenience of more flights, more often, across the country’s busiest capital city trunk routes, as well as on growing resources sector and leisure routes in Queensland.” The new flights comprise an additional weekday rotation between Adelaide and Melbourne, taking the total number of flights offered between the two cities up to 10 per day or 130 per week; a 13th daily service between Brisbane and Melbourne (up to 174 flights a week) and one additional daily rotation between Melbourne and Sydney, increasing its schedule to 31 flights a day or 392 a week. From Brisbane an additional weekday flight will be offered to Rockhampton (up to 78 a week) and Whitsunday Coast (up to 24 a week), six more weekly services will be added to the Brisbane – Cairns route increasing the schedule to 80 a week, while a new Sunday service, operated using an ATR 72 turboprop, will be added between Brisbane and Gladstone and will bring weekly links between the two cities to 34. Virgin Australia is currently the second largest carrier in the domestic Australian market and this month is offering 2,790 weekly flights providing 363,368 seats. This is a 27.2 per cent share of the total weekly capacity of more than 1.3 million seats. Australia’s national carrier Qantas dominates its home market with over 4,279 weekly flights proving 571,392 seats, a 42.7 per cent share of the capacity.
Japan Airlines Expands Singapore Operation with 787
Japan Airlines (JAL) will be the second carrier to inaugurate passenger operations with the Boeing 787 Dreamliner when it finally takes delivery of its first aircraft this year. The carrier has already revealed that it will utilise the type to launch a new link between Tokyo Narita and Boston from April 22, 2012 as well as on flights from the Japanese capital to New Delhi and Moscow, replacing larger 777-200ERs on four and three flights per week, respectively. It now appears that the Dreamliner will also be used on daily flights between Tokyo Narita and Beijing and to support an increased schedule to Singapore, a destination the airline serves from both Tokyo Haneda and Tokyo Narita airports. JAL is expected to introduce the 787 on the daily flights to Singapore Changi from September 2012 and has revealed plans to add a second daily flight on the Tokyo Narita service from October 28, 2012. There are currently four daily flights to Singapore from Tokyo Haneda, a market of an estimated 307,000 O&D passengers this past year and a route that was not served the previous 12 months. Alongside JAL, fellow Japanese carrier All Nippon Airways (ANA) has a daily service and Singapore Airlines provides a double daily option. JAL holds an approximate 27 per cent share of this market. Meanwhile, there are currently seven daily flights to Singapore from Tokyo Narita, a market of an estimated 756,000 O&D passengers this past year, down 12.0 per cent on the previous 12 months due to the opening of the new Haneda routes. Alongside JAL, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines have daily flights, while ANA and Singapore Airlines provide a double daily frequency, the latter using an Airbus A380 on one of its daily rotations. JAL holds an approximate 26 per cent share of this market.
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