27 May 2019

China Aviation Industry Newsletter 27 May

Air Lease Corporation Announces Delivery of New Airbus A350-900 Aircraft to Sichuan Airlines Air Lease Corporation announced 21^st May the delivery of one new Airbus A350-900 aircraft on long-term lease to Sichuan Airlines. Featuring Trent XWB-84 engines, this A350-900 is the first ALC A350-900 to deliver to an airline in China. The aircraft is from ALC’s order book with Airbus. Azur Air focuses on inbound China tourism to Russia Azur Air has launched regular weekly Boeing 767-300 flights from Moscow’s Vnukovo to Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, China, with the new flight programme targeting Chinese tourists visiting Russia. A simplified visa regime for Chinese citizens is having a positive effect on the People’s Republic of China-Russia tourist flow. According to the intergovernmental agreement, 30-day visa-free entry to the Russian Federation is permitted for organised tourist groups. Beijing Daxing International Airport Starts Oil Transport Beijing Daxing International Airport officially started oil transport, and in the meantime the airport fuel depot was supplied with fuel storage, marking that the aviation fuel project of Beijing Daxing International Airport has been successfully accepted and the "energy veins" of the airport has been officially connected. BOC Aviation Places Three Boeing 737-800 NG Aircraft With SpiceJet BOC Aviation announced 24th May the placement of three Boeing B737-800 NG aircraft with Indian carrier SpiceJet, all of which have been delivered in May 2019. The aircraft are powered by CFM56 engines. “We are pleased to extend our relationship with our long-standing customer, SpiceJet, and to support its expansion in the vibrant Indian market,” said Robert Martin, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of BOC Aviation. “India has been one of the most rapidly growing major airline markets in the world and SpiceJet is well-placed to capitalize on this trend.” CAAC and COMAC Hold High-level Conference on Safety CAAC and Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) held High-level Conference on Safety in Shanghai. Since 2017, by the Cooperation Program on Safety Support between CAAC and COMAC, the two sides have held high-level conferences on safety on annual basis to constantly enhance communication and collaboration, jointly promote homemade aircraft projects and ensure airworthiness and operation safety of aircraft manufactured in China. The conference this year focused on the mounting production and delivery tasks for ARJ21 aircraft and development and certification of C919. China's Hainan Airlines Opens Beijing-Oslo Direct Flight Service China's Hainan Airlines began a direct flight service between Beijing and Norway's capital city Oslo, which is the first non-stop service between China and the Nordic country. The route between Beijing and Oslo will be operated by an Airbus A330-300 three times weekly. CAAC Issues Statistical Bulletin of Civil Aviation Industry Development in 2018 According to the Statistical Bulletin, the civil aviation industry in China registered a total traffic of 120.635 billion ton-km, passenger throughput, 1071.232 billion person-km and cargo and mail turnover, 26.25 billion ton-km, up by 11.4%, 12.6% and 7.8% respectively over last year. Passenger traffic reached 611.73 million, 10.9% higher than last year and the amount of cargo and mail handled stood at 7.38 million tons, 4.6% higher over a year ago. Transport airlines in the industry completed 11.53 million hours of transport flight and 4.69 million transport movements in total, representing an increase of 8.9% and 7.6% respectively compared with the previous year. By the end of 2018, there were in total 60 transport airlines, 3639 transport aircraft and 4945 scheduled routes connecting 230 domestic destinations (excluding Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan) and 165 international destinations in 65 countries. Finnair and China Southern launch codeshare cooperation that brings five new destinations for Finnair customers in China Finnair and China Southern have agreed on new codeshare partnership commencing 1^st June. The cooperation includes the Finnair route between Guangzhou and Helsinki, and selected China Southern destinations in China. The new codeshare partnership adds five new destinations to Finnair´s network in China, and customers will be able to connect with China Southern from Guangzhou to Changsha (CSX), Chongqing (CKG), Hangzhou (HGH), Nanjing (NKG), Sanya (SYX), Wenzhou (WNZ), Xiamen (XMN) and Xi´an (XIY). In addition, China Southern code CZ will be added to Finnair flights from Helsinki to several popular destinations in Europe: Amsterdam (AMS), Billund (BLL), Copenhagen (CPH), Goteborg (GOT), London (LHR), Paris (CDG), Riga (RIX) and Stockholm (ARN). JAL to Start Codeshare Cooperation with Cathay Dragon Japan Airlines (JAL), a member of the oneworld® alliance, has agreed with Cathay Dragon (KA), an affiliate of oneworld alliance member Cathay Pacific Airways (CX), to enter into a new codeshare cooperation. The new codeshare agreement includes three routes between Japan and Hong Kong, and five routes between Hong Kong and Asia on flights operated by Cathay Dragon. Japan Airlines Announces Codeshare Agreement with Xiamen Airlines Japan Airlines (JAL) 25^th May announced a codeshare arrangement with Xiamen Airlines that makes travel between Japan and China much more convenient for travelers. The codeshare arrangement will add flights between Tokyo Narita and Xiamen, as well as flights between Osaka Kansai and Xiamen, Fuzhou and Hangzhou airport. These flights will be operated by Xiamen Airlines and will be available to book from 31^st May. KLM expands network in China KLM Royal Dutch Airlines will extend the number of code-sharing destinations it offers in partnership with China Eastern. The number of destinations will increase from 14 to 63, including Yinchuan, Xining, Shantao, Zhangjiang and Zuhai. China Eastern will, in turn, offer code-sharing services to 24 new European destinations via the KLM network through Amsterdam, connecting with China Eastern flights between Shanghai and Amsterdam. China Eastern will offer 39 destinations in Europe, including Turin, Warsaw and Basel. Lijiang Airport Handles Passenger Throughput of 2.34 Million Lijiang Sanyi International Airport received a total of 2.34 million passengers, according to a Lijiang air travel market promotional activity that was held in Lijiang, Southwest China's Yunnan province on 15^th May. In 2019, the airport has newly opened seven routes from Lijiang to Quanzhou, Huizhou, and Zhangjiajie, as well as resumed routes from Lijiang to Tengchong, Wenzhou, Hangzhou, and Nanjing. To date, there have been 34 airlines operating in Lijiang, connecting it to 74 cities. Acumen Aviation © 27 May 2019 All Rights Reserved.