Carry on: Singapore's new A350s, Qatar adds Adelaide, airline shares surge

Singapore announces first A350 flights
From January, Singapore Airlines (SIA) will start temporarily operating its new Airbus A350XWB fleet on select commercial flights to Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur to train its crew. Amsterdam would be the first official destination for the new fleet, starting with flights in April.

Singapore Airlines, which covers 283 destinations, has 63 A350-900s on firm order, with the first due for delivery in January. From 2018, these will include an “ultra long range” version (pictured).

The A350 is the competitor to Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner, which is already operated in this country by Air New Zealand, Qantas/Jetstar, LAN and (from next July) United Airlines. SIA will be among the first to operate A350s in Asia along with Cathay Pacific, which has indicated it will use them on the Hong Kong-Auckland route (see also Qatar item below).

“Our investment in the A350s is in line with Singapore Airlines’ longstanding commitment to operate a young and modern fleet,’’ says Lee Wen Fen, Singapore Airlines senior vice-president, marketing. “The highly efficient new aircraft will offer us the potential to open new routes, enhancing our network and further strengthening the Singapore hub.”

Adelaide to get first A350
In May next year Qatar Airways will launch its fourth destination in Australia from the Doha hub. The daily service, from May 2, will be a first for the new Airbus A350-900XWB aircraft, of which Qatar is the global launch customer. As a result, Qatar Airways’ Australian capacity will rise to 28 flights a week. Existing flights are to Melbourne, Perth and Sydney. The posted arrival and departure times do not open the possibility of a fly-on to New Zealand. The aircraft arrive and leave late afternoon-early evening at Adelaide. They will arrive in Doha at 4.50am and depart at 8.55pm.

Airlines’ share prices surge
Air New Zealand’s share price has rocketed since its bullish annual meeting last week. At $2.85 on Friday, they are up 35c or 14% October 6. Internationally, airlines’ share prices were up 2% in September compared with August, Iata reports in its latest financial monitor. Airline shares outperformed the broader market, which fell 4% over the month.

The financial performance of the airline industry has been mostly solid up to the middle of the year, with second quarter results showing large profit improvements in the US and Asia Pacific but down in Latin America. Fuel prices have helped a lot. Crude stayed below $US50 a barrel in September, kept down by expectations of supply increases from Iran and the US as well as a softer demand outlook.

Passenger loads reached a record high in August (80.6%, seasonally adjusted) as demand outstripped capacity expansion but air freight load factors fell further to levels not seen since mid-2009.


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