AirlinesAirAsia X restarts flights to India Malaysian long-haul, low-cost carrier AirAsia X (AAX) plans to restart Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA)-Indira Gandhi International (DEL) service from Feb. 3. It will fly a 4X-weekly service using Airbus A330-300 aircraft. The carrier cut its previous KLIA-DEL service in March 2012, just two years after launching the route, citing high operational costs for the pull-out.
LinkAmerican adds flight between DFW, Ill. airportAmerican Airlines is adding an additional daily flight between Bloomington, Ill., and Dallas. The third daily flight from the Central Illinois Regional Airport to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport will begin March 3.
LinkChina Eastern to open 13 international routes in 1HChina Eastern Airlines plans to open 13 international routes in the first half of this year as it speeds up its international expansion pace. The routes are Hangzhou-Osaka, Hangzhou-Shizuoka, Shanghai-Brisbane, Beijing-Bangkok, Chengdu-Langkawi, Ningbo-Phuket, Wenzhou-Rome, Wenzhou-Bangkok, Guangzhou-Laoag, Jinan-Seoul, Shanghai-Chicago, Shanghai-Prague and Shanghai-Amsterdam.
LinkDelta seeks to squash tentative Haneda dealDelta Air Lines is mounting an impressive campaign against a tentative agreement that would create five new slots for US carriers at Tokyo Haneda International airport. The proposal, which was reached by Japanese and US officials in December 2015, would allow for 10 “daytime” slots – five for each country – for service between Haneda and the USA, says Ben Hirst, chief legal officer at the Atlanta-based carrier, in a presentation to the Metropolitan Airports Commission in Minneapolis today.
LinkUnknown object strikes Colombian A320 in cruiseColombian investigators are trying to ascertain the nature of an object which struck an Airbus A320 at cruise altitude in the country’s airspace. The LAN Colombia aircraft (CC-BAR) had been operating flight 4C3509, a service to Bogota from Cancun, on 10 January.
LinkLufthansa takes delivery of first A320neo; service to start Jan. 24Lufthansa Group has taken delivery of the first Airbus A320neo following a delay from the re-engined narrowbody’s planned end-of-2015 delivery schedule. The handover to Lufthansa, which became the launch operator after a late switch with Qatar Airways, occurred without prior announcement or the carefully planned ceremonies typically associated with a new aircraft first delivery. Lufthansa plans to place the aircraft into service on the Frankfurt-Hamburg route Jan. 24. Airbus president and CEO Fabrice Brégier said earlier this month at a media briefing in Paris that the delivery slip was related to documentation.
LinkNorwegian Eyeing Partnerships With Low-Cost RivalsNorwegian Air is interested in partnering with other European low-cost carriers such as Ryanair and easyJet to extend its short-haul network. Norwegian, which is Europe's third-biggest budget airline by passenger numbers after Ryanair and easyJet, has launched flights to the Middle East, southeast Asia and the United States, targeting a growing share of the long-haul market.
LinkRyanair Non-Fuel Costs To Continue To FallRyanair's costs per passenger will continue to decline over the next two years, even if fuel prices stop falling, due to cheap financing and fixed costs spread over more seats, a senior executive said. A drop in fuel prices is providing a boon for airlines, but industry observers have warned that other costs often drift upwards as savings on oil boost profitability and reduce the pressure for unpopular cuts.
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