Auckland-New York direct, laptop ban relief, Virgin's codeshare limits

Auckland-New York on the horizon
A non-stop Auckland-New York service is a possibility from Air New Zealand in the near future as it considers the next planes for its long-haul flights. The government is pushing for the route, too, and would entertain airlines such as Emirates and Qantas using their “fifth freedom” rights to fly from New Zealand to the US.

The Centre for Aviation (Capa) says Boeing’s new 777X and extended range versions of the A350 are ideal for these routes when Air New Zealand considers replacements for its 777-200ERs.

Capa says Air New Zealand wants to fly further in North America and South America than Houston and Buenos Aires. The North American market is bigger than Asia and New York is the obvious candidate for the next route. In South America, Air New Zealand needs to find a new partner before new destinations are considered. The airline's situation is unlike that of Qantas, as a nonstop flight to London is not on the cards, Capa says.

Extended laptop ban avoided
Airlines flying to and from the US are relieved new government security measures for all international arrivals fall short of an extended “laptop ban.” Instead, travellers will face enhanced screening of personal electronic devices and for explosives. The move will affect the approximately 2000 commercial flights arriving daily in the US from 280 airports in 105 countries. The 10 Middle Eastern airports already under the laptop ban can get off the list if they meet the new security requirements. The airlines have 21 days to introduce increased explosive screening and 120 days to comply with other security measures.

Eid boosts Hamad traffic
Qatar Airways and Hamad International Airport say traffic during the Eid-Al Fitr holiday has been “exceptionally high” despite regional travel restrictions imposed by neighbouring Arab countries. Total passengers in the past week have exceeded 580,000 on 3300 flights. Some 19 million travellers passed through Hamad in the first six months of this year, a rise of 8% over the previous corresponding period. Qatar is going ahead with new route launches on July 4 to Nice, France, and July 17 to Skopje, Macedonia.

Virgin-Hainan codeshare limits
Virgin Australia says conditions on its proposed alliance with HNA Group relating to codeshares and interlinks with other carriers are unnecessary and may have unintended consequences. The airline has pushed back on the ACCC’s draft determination published in early June, which approved the tie-up on the condition that the two parties did not “enter into or give effect to any contract, arrangement or understanding which has the effect of preventing or restricting any of the alliance airlines from entering into interline and/or codeshare agreements with any other airline." 

Virgin and HNA Group carriers Hong Kong Airlines, Hainan Airlines, Beijing Capital Airlines and Tianjin Airlines would codeshare on each other’s services between Australia and mainland China and Hong Kong, including flights via New Zealand and on routes within HNA Group airlines’ domestic networks.

Hainan adds Brisbane
Virgin Australia alliance partner Hainan Airlines is expanding its presence in Australia with new Brisbane-Shenzhen nonstop flights launching on September 21. The Chinese carrier plans to serve the route twice a week with Airbus A330 aircraft. Brisbane will be its third Australian destination. Hainan already flies to Melbourne and Sydney from Changsha and Xian.

Aeroflot doubles A350 order
Russian airline Aeroflot is doubling a long-standing Airbus A350-900 order that will now deliver 28 aircraft worth $US8.7 billion at list prices.  The deal ends a 10-year saga that began in 2007 with an order for 22 A350s and the same number of  Boeing 787 Dreamliners. Aeroflot later scrapped the 787 deal and began re-evaluating the Airbus purchase as planes became available from failed rival Transaero Airlines. Aeroflot is now adding capacity at a rate of 8-12% annually, spurred by a more stable economy and a stronger ruble, which has encouraged Russians to travel.

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