Fleets

Air Mauritius to consolidate European destinations while expanding regionally and to Asia

Air Mauritius joins fellow Vanilla Islands carriers that are restructuring their operations largely as a result of decreased demand from mainstay European markets undergoing economic turmoil. The Vanilla Islands – comprising La Reunion, Madagascar, Mauritius and the Seychelles – have already seen restructures from Air Austral in La Reunion, Air Madagascar and Air Seychelles. Air Mauritius’ plan, the last outstanding expected restructure, will see its European presence consolidated while efforts are renewed to expand to the potentially stronger but still nascent Asian market.

A380 operators finding configuration sweet spot as value halo persists

When the latest A380 delivery to China Southern occurs at the beginning of March, there will be 70 Airbus A380s criss-crossing the globe. With close to 30 more expected to be delivered over the year, the in-service fleet will approach 100 by the end of 2012.

This year, two new operators – Thai Airways and Malaysian Airlines – will join the existing seven airlines family of A380 operators. Airlines are still finding the sweet spot in terms of A380 seating but more and more configurations are edging above 500 seats, after much experimentation.

Ethiopian selects initial 787 routes; confirms Guangzhou as first long-haul 787 destination

Ethiopian Airlines has decided on its first set of routes for its new Boeing 787 fleet, which will be placed into service in June. The carrier will initially deploy its first 787 on short/medium-haul flights to Dubai and Johannesburg from June before using the type on its first long-haul route, to Guangzhou, from August. Ethiopian, which will be the first airline to operate 787s in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region, also plans to use its first batch of four 787s to serve Harare in Zimbabwe and Lusaka in Zambia.

CAPA initially reported in June that Ethiopian intended to make Guangzhou one of its first 787 destinations. In December, CAPA reported that Guangzhou remained high on its list of potential 787 routes but Ethiopian was also considering using 787s to serve Hong Kong and to open potential new destinations in Asia including Chongqing in China, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.

Japan Airlines plans for future: more regional & long-haul flights as LCCs swallow short-haul market

Japan Airlines (JAL) emerged from bankruptcy last year with a new lease on life, realising – although it was never in danger of absolute collapse – little is sacred and that the status quo cannot always continue, a radical change of thought in entrenched corporate Japan. This new thinking is evident in the carrier’s medium-term business plan from 2012 though 2016 which seeks to address the significant structural change that will start to occur later this year as low-cost carriers rapidly increase in the domestic market and expand on regional services.

While passengers and Japan as a whole will benefit from lower cost travel, that growth will be at the expense of Japan’s incumbent full-service carriers. JAL is smartly preparing to de-emphasise its mainline domestic market, which will be most exposed to LCCs, and concentrate on two areas LCCs will not reach in full force in the medium term: domestic regional flights and long-haul markets. In 2016 JAL plans to operate 13% more available seat kilometres (ASKs) than in 2011, with all growth in international markets; JAL’s domestic network will shrink.

Qatar Airways increasing focus on London

Qatar Airways opened a premium lounge at London Heathrow at the end of Jan-2012, the carrier’s first premium lounge facility outside of its home hub at Doha. Qatar Airways CEO, Akbar Al Baker, said that London Heathrow was the “obvious choice” for the new premium lounge, as the London Heathrow service is one of the carrier’s best performing routes.

The new lounge reinforces London’s position as one of the airline’s most important destinations. Qatar Airways operates four daily services to London Heathrow, offering more than 11,000 seats per week with a mix of A330-200/300, A340-600 and Boeing 777-300ER equipment. The carrier also codeshares with bmi and United Airlines on the Doha-London Heathrow service.

Iberia increases African presence with services to Accra and Nouakchott

Iberia’s planned service to Accra and Nouakchott will give Spain its first routes to the West African nations of Ghana and Mauritania. The services, to be operated with A319 and A321 equipment, respectively, will provide links for business travellers into the economic centres of each country. Iberia’s presence in Africa is strongest in the north and west, so the new services continue that strategy as the African market grows.