Cathay's $US4 billion order, Air NZ's long-haul plans and more

Cathay Dragon places $US4 billion order
Cathay Pacific is making its biggest investment in subsidiary Cathay Dragon with a $US4 billion upgrade and expansion of its fleet. Chief executive Rupert Hogg says the order for 32 Airbus A321neos “will allow us to add new destinations, increase frequency on some of our most popular routes and expand our network.”

The aircraft are scheduled to be delivered between 2020 and 2023. Cathay says the order will also mark the debut of an all-new regional business class seat – although this is expected to be a more conventional recliner than a lie-flat bed. The new aircraft will replace Cathay Dragon’s 15 A320s and eight A321s. The airline also operates 24 wide-body A330s, serving 56 destinations in Asia from Hong Kong.

Air NZ confirms new long-haul aircraft, routes
Air New Zealand has confirmed it is planning a new order for long-haul Airbus A350s or the yet-to-be-built Boeing 777X aircraft. "There is a set of options from both Airbus and Boeing that we would be interested in,” chief executive Christopher Luxon says, adding that they will be able to fly directly from Auckland to the east coasts of North and South America, such as New York and Brazil.

Mr Luxon expects Airbus and Boeing to respond to a request for information by the end of this year before the airline issues a formal request for a proposal next year.

Air New Zealand is already committed to spending about $1.5 billion on new aircraft over the next four years, including A320neos, B787-9 Dreamliners and ATR72 turboprops used within New Zealand. This does not include a potential new order for long-haul aircraft to be delivered from 2021.

Qatar boosts Colombo, Dhaka
Qatar Airways is continuing its breakneck growth in response to the months-long blockade by neighbouring Arab states. Denied access to its regional network to Saudi Arabia and Egypt, Qatar has redeployed its single-aisled aircraft on routes to eastern Europe and elsewhere in the Middle East. Now it is focusing on medium-haul flights to Asia. From September 1 it is boosting its Colombo, Sri Lanka, service from four to five flights a day. Its Dhaka (pictured), Banglasdesh, service will increase from two to three flights a day from the same date. The routers will use A320s and will add more than 1000 seats a week to both destinations.

Air Arabia flies high …
The Arab world’s first low-cost carrier, Sharjah-based Air Arabia, has reported a 21% increase in second quarter net profit and carried more than two million passengers for the first time. The listed airline was launched 14 years ago and has been profitable since it started operations in October 2003. Chief executive Adel Ali, a Bahraini and former British Airways veteran, sees a big future for low-cost international travel, citing such airlines as Norwegian in Europe, IAG’s new Level based in Barcelona, Singapore Airlines’ Scoot and Air Asia. Air Arabia has recently added destinations that include Bosnia and China.

… and Flyadeal takes off
Flyadeal, a newly established low fare airline in Saudi Arabia, has taken delivery of its first aircraft and the first of eight Airbus A320ceo. The airline launches on September 23, serving domestic markets initially before expanding into regional markets.

US bans four countries
The Trump administration has triggered visa sanctions against four countries that have refused to take back citizens the US.is trying to deport – Cambodia, Eritrea, Guinea and Sierra Leone. The sanctions fulfill a campaign promise by President Trump, who had chided the Obama administration for not doing more to force countries to take back their deportees.

Route news of the week
Jetstar has announced new direct flights from Zhengzhou, capital of Henan province in central China, to Melbourne. The twice-weekly flights using Boeing 787 aircraft are expected to bring an additional 35,000 Chinese tourists to Australia each year. China Eastern has announced details of its summer peak schedule to three Australian destinations. Boeing 777-300ERs will ply the Shanghai Pu Dong-Melbourne route from December 8 to March 9 with up to four flights a week in addition to the daily service. Shanghai PuDong-Sydney will get the 777s from December 9 to March 10, also four times a week. A Shanghai Pu Dong-Cairns service will operate from February 2-24, 2018, using an Airbus A330-200 three times a week.

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