Emirates has announced plans to increase capacity to two of its key Asian destinations - Bangkok and Hong Kong. The Dubai-based carrier will launch a second daily Airbus A380 service to Bangkok from 27 October 2013, with the new morning superjumbo flight departing Dubai at 0940. The return flight will leave ...

Asia Pacific, May 16, 2013

Cathay Pacific experienced a decline in passenger traffic in April 2013. Partially due to the impact of Easter falling in March this year, rather than April, Cathay's passenger traffic fell 7.0% year-on-year. This was greater that the airline's 4.8% reduction of seat capacity, causing average cabin load factors to decline 1.9 ...

Asia Pacific, May 16, 2013

Qantas has announced plans to revamp the cabins of five Boeing 717 aircraft it uses on regional flights. The aircraft, which are operated by QantasLink, now include a business class cabin and in-flight entertainment for all passengers. “QantasLink will introduce a full business experience on these aircraft, including market-leading seats, premium food ...

Asia Pacific, May 16, 2013

Japan's two biggest airlines are reported to be in talks with Airbus over possible orders for its new A350 aircraft. Citing three people said to be familiar with the discussions, Bloomberg reported today (15 May 2013) that Japan Airlines (JAL) and All Nippon Airways (ANA) are both considering the new A350-1000 ...

Asia Pacific, May 15, 2013

Qantas and Emirates will now be able to include trans-Tasman flights in their global partnership, after New Zealand’s government agreed to approve the joint venture. The country's Ministry of Transport has authorised the partnership for an initial period of five years, meaning that Qantas' New Zealand flights can now be operated ...

Asia Pacific, May 15, 2013

Garuda Indonesia has expanded its 'Immigration on Board' service to the Shanghai–Jakarta route. Effective this month, the new service will enable Chinese passengers on flights from Shanghai's Pudong International Airport to complete visa-on-arrival processes prior to arrival at Jakarta's Soekharno-Hatta International Airport. Immigration officers will be placed onboard the Garuda flights ...

Asia Pacific, May 14, 2013

United Airlines has revealed that it will resume trans-Pacific flights to Tokyo using its Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft next month. The US-carrier confirmed this week that its Denver-Tokyo Narita service would get underway on 10 June 2013. Domestic flights are due to restart on 20 May, on routes from Houston. "Our customers ...

Asia Pacific, May 14, 2013

MIAT Mongolian Airlines has taken delivery of a new Boeing 767-300ER aircraft - the first ever to be purchased directly by the airline. The new wide-body aircraft touched down at Ulaanbaatar's Chinggis Khaan International Airport for the first time this week, joining MIAT's existing fleet of four B767 and B737 aircraft. ...

Asia Pacific, May 14, 2013