Corporate Travel News For Asia

Jetstar Group and Hawaiian Airlines launched (18-Jan-2018) a new interline partnership offering passengers enhanced connections in New Zealand and Japan for flight connections to Hawaii and the US mainland. The move enhances Hawaiian Airlines' network of flights between Japan and Hawaii and underscores the carrier's increasing commitment to New Zealand by expanding its reach beyond Auckland to eight additional cities. Details include:

• New Zealand: Jetstar New Zealand domestic flights from Wellington, Christchurch, New Plymouth, Dunedin, Palmerston North, Napier, Nelson and Queenstown will connect in Auckland with Hawaiian Airlines services to Honolulu;
• Japan: Jetstar Japan domestic flights from Fukuoka, Kagoshima, Takamatsu, Okinawa and Kumamoto will connect on Hawaiian's non-stop flights to Hawaii from Tokyo, Sapporo or Osaka. [more - original PR]

Philippine Airlines, Air New Zealand and China Airlines agreed to settle a price fixing case related to trans Pacific services to the US for a total of USD29.4 million (Law360, 10-Jan-2018). China Airlines will pay USD19.75 million, including notice costs, as a part of the settlement. Philippine Airlines has agreed to pay USD9 million, while Air New Zealand will pay USD650,000 including notice costs. In 2015, a settlement for USD39.5 million was reached with eight other airlines involved in the alleged price fixing including Air France, Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas, Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways International and Vietnam Airlines. All Nippon Airways and EVA Air continue to challenge the case. The class action suit was officially filed in 2007 and relates to alleged price fixing on services between the US and Australia, New Zealand, and some of the Pacific islands.

QantasLink will reportedly add two A320 aircraft to its fleet, transferred from Jetstar Australia in Mar-2018 (Travel Daily Australia, 16-Jan-2018). In future, A320 aircraft will reportedly be sourced from the Jetstar Asia order. A320 aircraft will be operated and maintained by Network Aviation, which already operates QantasLink branded Fokker F100 aircraft.

Virgin Australia applied (16-Jan-2018) to Australia's International Air Services Commission (IASC) for a variation to Determinations [2007] IASC 118 and [2017] IASC 113 New Zealand route. As part of a codeshare arrangement between Virgin Australia and Hainan Airlines, it is proposed that Hainan Airlines will offer codeshare on service operated by Virgin Australia on the New Zealand route. [more - original PR]

China Southern Airlines and American Airlines jointly announced (16-Jan-2018) a codeshare partnership effective 18-Jan-2018. From 18-Jan-2018, passengers of China Southern may book seats on connecting American services from Los Angeles to Houston, Chicago, Philadelphia, Charlotte, Phoenix, and from San Francisco to Dallas and Phoenix. Also part of the agreement, passengers of American may connect by China Southern services to Guangzhou, Shenyang, Changsha, Dalian, Shenzhen, Harbin, Changchun, Chongqing and Nanning through Beijing. [more - original PR]

Ethiopian Airlines Group CEO Tewolde GebreMariam said the airline plans to commence service to Chicago or Houston in Jun-2018 (The Reporter, 13-Jan-2018). He said: "We are still comparing Houston and Chicago they are almost comparable in terms of giving us connectivity to the rest of North America". The carrier also intends to commence Barcelona, Buenos Aires, Geneva, Jakarta, Kisangani, Mauritius and Toamasina services. Regarding Australia, the only continent the airline does not currently serve, Mr GebreMariam said: "Give us few years and we will reach there".

Congo Airways reportedly plans to commence Johannesburg service in 2018, followed by Abidjan, Addis Ababa, Bangui, Bujumbura, Cape Town, Cotonou, Dar Es Salaam, Douala, Harare, Luanda, Lusaka, Nairobi and Pointe Noire services by the end of 2019 (Jeune Afrique, 15-Jan-2018). The carrier intends to commence intercontinental services in 2020, potentially to Dubai, Guangzhou or Paris. Network expansion will be supported by leasing four A320s and two Boeing 787s.

Auckland Airport reported (16-Jan-2018) the following operational highlights for Nov-2017:

• Samoa Airways launched six times weekly (since increased to daily) Apia-Auckland service operating with Boeing 737-800 equipment, replacing Virgin Pacific's 737-800 service on the same route;
• Thai Airways increased Bangkok-Auckland frequency from five times weekly to a daily;
  • 75% increase in frequency on the route over the last two years;
  • Thai Airways also introduced its newest 787-9 aircraft to the Auckland route;
• Seasonal relaunch of United Airlines' San Francisco and American Airlines' Los Angeles services. [more - original PR]

CAAC ordered all foreign airlines operating to China to check their respective websites and apps to ensure the correct reference to Chinese claimed territories (Radio Australia, 15-Jan-2018). As part of this, Qantas admitted an "oversight" in listing some Chinese territories, including Taiwan and Hong Kong, as countries on parts of its website, adding it would be "correcting the error". Qantas is the latest international company to admit error in this regard, with 24 foreign airlines reportedly found to be making a similar oversight.

Avianca reportedly plans to incorporate two A330-300 aircraft (tail B-22101, serial 1357; tail B22102, serial 1378) in 1H2018, from TransAsia Airways (Transponder1200, 11-Jan-2018). Avianca will operate the aircraft with tails N805AV and N810AV, respectively. The deal will include two A321ceo. The aircraft will replace high density routes operated by Boeing 787.