2017 Commercial Aviation Trends

The good news may be in the past, and now is the time for airlines to digitize and reassess their competitive positions.

What a difference a couple of years can make. In 2013, Warren Buffett called the commercial aviation industry a “death trap for investors.” In 2016, the legendary value investor spent more than US$1.3 billion buying the stock of four major U.S. commercial carriers: American Airlines, Delta, United Continental, and Southwest Airlines — and he has recently upped his stake to more than $8 billion.

Australia looks to increase direct flights from India

Chennai: Enthused by increasing number of tourists from India, Tourism Australia has intensified its marketing campaign in metro cities. It is planning to increase direct flights to the country from major Indian cities.

Now, travelers fly via Singapore, Kuala Lumpur or Hong Kong. In spite of the lengthy journey, number of tourists from Chennai and other major cities has increased. Tamil Nadu comes fourth, when it comes to Australia-bound tourists. The first three states are Delhi, Maharashtra and Karnataka.

Tourism Australia managing director John O'Sullivan said, "Australia will lobby for more flights connecting India. The promotion with regard to India will be focused on three points - lobbying for more flights, designing tourism products that will give more value for the tourists and to integrate content of promotion by adding local flavor."

Flying to Australia is expensive and cumbersome because there are no direct flights from Chennai. Scoot Airlines, which offers competitive fares and quick connection from Singapore, has eased the travel woes a bit. This has also increased the volume of tourists in recent months. However, there is very little scope to increase flights via Singapore, because Singapore Airlines has almost exhausted their quota of flights into India.
29/08/16 Times of India

5 Trends for the Global Airlines Industry -- A WNS Perspective

Key Points

Trend 1: It's a new passenger out there; airlines will need to build 'social' pace to create brand equity
Trend 2: The customer's world is online and offline – maneuvering between both holds the key to success
Trend 3: Analytics – an 'altimeter' for the airline business
Trend 4: Changing the course in revenue generation
Trend 5: Increased focus on the regulatory and standardization route

The trajectory of the global airline industry is pretty much like that of an aircraft. At times it takes off for the high skies and at times, it dips to ground levels. In between these highs and lows, lies the story of the industry – of its survival, of the new and emerging trends that fuel its growth. What are the 5 trends that are driving and will continue to drive the airlines story in the future?

Trend 1: It's a New Passenger Out There; Airlines will need to build 'Social' Pace to Create Brand Equity
A number of leading global airlines have taken off on their 'social' flight and some are indulging in novel ways to engage with customers to build lasting relationships with them. Yes, it does mean stepping out of the corporate comfort zone and engaging real-time with the customer, but that's a feat airlines will have to achieve if they want to enhance brand equity and get a mind share of today's customer.

While some airlines have taken a lead in engaging with customers on social media and social media management, others are still wetting their feet. Among the recent innovative airline social media campaigns and initiatives are Virgin Atlantic's (VA) 'Looking for Linda', an interactive contest that got customers hooked with its unique concept; KLM's 'Meet & Seat' service where fliers can select seats alongside fellow passengers based on mutual interests in their social media profiles; and British Airways' Facebook application called 'Perfect Days' that encourages travelers to share a travel wish list and itinerary via a Facebook.

As social media takes precedence in the overall customer relationship management pie, airlines will need to look at building a large and robust resource pool that can respond to customer queries, complaints, posts and tweets round the clock.

Emirates adds augmented reality touch to its Economy Class amenity kits

By Raymond Kollau, airlinetrends.com

In an effort to have passengers take their amenity kit with them after their flight as a branded souvenir, airlines increasingly come up with innovative designs. Think amenity kits that can be re-used as a branded tablet case, while for example SWISS offers passengers in Business a ‘winter edition’ of its amenity kit that includes a beanie hat and a neck warmer.

Sign of the timesWell timed to coincide with the current Pokémon Go craze, Emirates has launched the world’s first interactive amenity kit in Economy Class that utilizes augmented reality (AR) technology to unlock content on mobile devices.

The kit bags come in six designs inspired by the colors and patterns of six regions in Emirates’ global network – Australasia, Latin America, Middle East, Africa, Europe and the Far East.

BlipparBy downloading the Blippar AR mobile phone app (iOS, Android), and using it to scan the patterns on the bags, passengers can unlock content including activities and health tips for a more comfortable and relaxing travel experience. The content will be refreshed every six months.

The Blippar app is a ‘visual browser’ which enables customers to discover more about the world around them. Customers can point at thousands of objects already recognised by Blippar (ranging from laptops to clothing and food to pets) to get additional information on those items. The content explains the object, the context and other useful and interesting facts – and is sourced from Blippar’s knowledge graph called Blipparsphere.

The amenity kits will be distributed in Economy Class on selected Emirates long-haul routes and on all ultra-long haul services starting from August.

The kits contain an eye mask, earplugs, toothbrush and toothpaste, and socks – each tailored to the style of the kit bag. The multipurpose pouches are made of Neoprene material – a water resistant fabric – and are designed to be reused after the flight to store anything from devices to cosmetics or stationery.

SWISS’s new Bombardier CS100 aircraft brings passenger-friendly cabin to regional jets

By Marisa Garcia, FlightChic

20 August 2016 | Aircraft manufacturers are creating new passenger-friendly cabin environments by re-thinking the fuselage structure and introducing more spacious cabins with larger windows and improved cabin pressurisation, among other innovations.

Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner and Airbus’ A350 cabins, as well as Airbus’ new AirSpace cabin exemplify this new design thinking for widebody aircraft. On narrowbody aircraft, Boeing’s SkyInterior cabin delivers cabin improvements, as does Zodiac Aerospace’s ISIS (Innovative Space Interior System) cabin featured on Delta’s A320-family aircraft.

Now these cabin improvements found on Boeing and Airbus aircraft are coming to regional aircraft with Bombardier’s new CSeries regional jet.

SWISS CSeries 100In mid-July, the first CSeries 100 aircraft entered service with SWISS, and won the hearts of passengers and industry watchers alike.

As Aviation Week put it nicely: “Aerospace is driven by innovation” is a timeworn slogan used by industry executives and enthusiasts. Yet there hasn’t been a clean-sheet aircraft in the single-aisle segment for 28 years. To an outsider, this would seem odd—particularly as single-aisles comprise 70 percent of mainline jetliner production. Bombardier corrected that anomaly this month when the C-Series entered service with Swiss. After flying in the C Series and digging deeper into its design and systems, I’ve come to the conclusion that it is bringing significant value-creating technology into the market.”

Larger windows, wider middle seat, mood lighting

Qatar Airways to launch Business Class-only service to London Heathrow

By Jonny Clark, TheDesignAir

24 February 2014 | Qatar Airways has announced the launch of a new daily all-premium Business Class service from its hub in Doha to London Heathrow. Mirroring the Business-only product currently run by British Airways from London City Airport to New York JFK, the new service will be the first of its kind in the Middle East and will commence on 15 May 2014.

Qatar Airways will fit an A319 aircraft with an all Business Class, single aisle, 2–2 seating configuration offering 40 seats – slightly larger than the 32 seats on BA’s A318 that operates the LCY – JFK route.

Full-flat bed, big-screen IFE, connectivity

Delta raises the bar in Business Class with new enclosed ‘Delta One Suites’

This article first appeared on TheDesignAir

26 August 2016 | When airlines such as Qatar Airways have announced recently they are working on brand new Business Class seats and Emirates is working on new First Class suites, it was a surprising twist to see Delta, a US carrier, to leap-frog the Gulf-based competition with an adapted Thomson Aero Seating product by UK-based design agency Factorydesign.

Business Class ‘Suite’
The new Delta One Suite is the first Business Class cabin in the world to feature a sliding door for each suite – a feature normally saved for First Class passengers. The doors are a key part of Delta and Factorydesign’s collaborative efforts to improve customer comfort and privacy. The industrial design consultancy worked in close partnership with Delta and seat manufacturer Thompson Aero Seating throughout the design, development and engineering process to achieve this.

The word “cabin” is important in this announcement, as JetBlue’s Mint product offers 4 mini-suites on their aircraft featuring sliding doors, however, the rest of the seats don’t offer this level of privacy.

The seat may look familiar, and follows the traditional 1 x 2 x 1 staggered forward facing design that Delta has already adopted in many of its long-haul aircraft. In fact the product has more in common with SAS’ new Thomson Vantage XL seats that the London based design firm also worked on.

Privacy
The ability to add doors was driven by the A350’s extra width, explains Factory design’s senior designer Ryan Graham. “The high degree of customization possible with Thompson’s seating platform enabled us to

Cathay cuts A340s as A350s roll in

17 AUGUST, 2016
BY: MAVIS TOH
SINGAPORE

Cathay Pacific is moving to retire all its Airbus A340-300s by the end of 2017, as it prepares to take A350-900s in quick succession over the next two years.

In the release of its first-half results, the Hong Kong carrier says it has retired two A340s so far this year, and will retire another in the second half of the year. The four remaining A340s will be retired in 2017.

The airline has meanwhile been busy adding A350s, having already taken delivery of three of the widebodies since May, and with nine more due for the rest of the year. Ten more of the type are scheduled to be delivered in 2017.

“The A350-900XWBs are fuel efficient and have the right range, capacity and operating economics for our requirements,” it adds.

The Oneworld airline will retire its last three 747-400 passenger aircraft by October. It has also delivered two 747 freighters to Boeing this year, and will hand over the final two in August and September. These aircraft were sold to Boeing as part of an order for three 747-8Fs, which have already been delivered to Cathay.

As of 30 June, Cathay operated a fleet of 145 aircraft, about half of which are owned, comprising of A330s, A340s, A350s, 747s and 777s. It has firm orders for 12 aircraft in 2016, with no leases due this year.

The Cathay Pacific Group's operating profit for the first half of the year plunged 71.9% to HK$664 million ($85.6 million), impacted by intense competition and downward pressure on yields, as well as a hefty loss on fuel hedging. Attributable net profit also fell 82% to HK$353 million.

Crashing, Burning Planes Don’t Stop Passengers From Grabbing Their Luggage

Ever considered taking your bags in an emergency despite those instructions to leave them behind? You’re not the only one.

If your flight has an emergency and you’re told to evacuate, be certain that at least two things will happen. You’ll experience the adrenaline rush of a lifetime, for one. But you’ll also hear the urgent commands of flight attendants telling you to leave your bags behind. Yes, all of them. Laptops and purses, too.

Maybe the adrenaline is causing temporary deafness. Materialism has been winning out over self-preservation as air travelers often ignore the order to drop everything, a fact illustrated in recent years by laden passengers fleeing a burning 777 in San Francisco or a Delta Air Lines Inc. jet that skidded off a snowy New York runway. The latest example came on Wednesday, when an Emirates Airline flight crashed on landing in Dubai, followed by a severe fire that consumed much of the Boeing 777-300. Video showed some travelers collecting luggage before they escaped. All 282 passengers and 18 crew survived, but an airport firefighter died while battling the blaze.

Pilot tells crew he ‘didn’t want a death on his flight’

A FURIOUS mum claims Emirates Airlines kicked her six-year-old son off a plane for having a life-threatening nut allergy because the pilot “didn’t want a death on his flight”.

Nicola O’Shea, a 43-year-old nurse from England, was flying from Gatwick Airport to Dubai for a week-long holiday with her three daughters Taylor, 24, Megan, 20, Logan, 13, Taylor’s partner Ricky, 27, and her youngest son Chester.

Despite claiming she told the airline about his allergy on countless occasions, she says the stewardess kicked the family off the plane.

“I was absolutely furious — I couldn’t believe they were kicking us off the plane because Chester has a nut allergy. It’s not his fault,” she told The Sun.

“To add insult to injury they were so insensitive. It was embarrassing having everyone on the plane watching us walk off.”

Air India To Recruit 500 Pilots, 1,500 Cabin Crew

Air India may recruit about 500 pilots and over 1,500 cabin crew in next two to three years to meet the requirement as the fleet size is expected to increase considerably, a senior official has said.

"We are planning to have 700 more pilots in the next two to three years keeping in view the fleet expansion. From last August till now, we have already recruited 250 pilots. So about 500 more pilots we are going to recruit. Advertisement for 400 pilots has already been floated," AI's General Manager (Operations) N Sivaramakirshnan told PTI.

Last year, Air India had sought to recruit 200 trainee pilots (senior trainee pilot license holders who come with A320 endorsement). However, it could select only 78. Now all those pilots are flying on various routes, he said.

Nearly 150 pilots are expected to complete their training by December this year. According to him, the present strength of pilots is 858 and the beleaguered airlines lost about 100 pilots during the last two years.

"We have plans to have cabin crew of 3,000 personnel. Besides the existing number, we are planning to take 1,500 more in the next two to three years," he said.

The official said Air India envisaged fleet expansion of another 100 aircraft in the next four years' time.

On training facilities for pilots, the official said currently they have three simulators in Hyderabad and four in Mumbai. The simulators in Hyderabad belong to A320 while the four in Mumbai belong to Boeing family.

"We are planning to order one more simulator for training on ATR aircraft in Hyderabad. RFI (Request for Information) has already been floated. By January next year we hope that it would be operational," he said, adding that the cost of the simulator would be about Rs 65 crore and an additional Rs 6 crore is needed for construction of building and other facilities for the ATR simulator.

Though Air India does not have any ATRs in its fleet, services will be provided to its wholly-owned subsidiary 'Alliance Air'.

Alaska Airlines adds new routes to New York Newark

Alaska Airlines announced today a significant expansion to the New York City area with multiple new routes to Newark Liberty International Airport.

The new service comes as the Federal Aviation Administration approved Alaska Airlines’ request to operate four additional daily flights to Newark. New service from Newark, New Jersey to Portland, Oregon and San Diego, California will start in November 2016, with new service to San Jose, California beginning in March 2017. A third daily departure from Seattle, Washington to Newark, New Jersey will be added in May 2017.

“We thank the Federal Aviation Administration, and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey for their efforts to increase competition in the New York metro area,” said John Kirby, Alaska Airlines’ vice president of capacity planning.

“Since 2015, Alaska has launched 28 new routes from our West Coast hubs and focus cities. With our new expanded service to Newark, we continue to grow our West Coast footprint by offering our valued customers more nonstop flights to popular business and leisure destinations.”

Alaska’s new Portland-Newark service continues the airline’s expansion of its Portland hub which includes other recently added destinations such as Minneapolis; Kansas City, Missouri; Orlando; Omaha, Nebraska; and Atlanta. The newly added Newark service will be the only daytime nonstop from Portland to the Garden State.

The new San Diego-Newark service is the third East Coast destination from the airline’s Southern California focus city, which will give San Diego travelers access to one of the largest business markets in the world.


The new San Jose-Newark service marks the first nonstop flight between the two cities and provides Silicon Valley customers a convenient new option for travel to the New York City area.

In the spring, the airline will also add a third flight between Seattle and Newark, complementing the two existing daily nonstop flights from the Emerald City.

Vistara appoints new Chief Information Officer

Vistara, India’s fastest-growing full service airline, announced the appointment of Mr. Ravinder Pal Singh as its Chief Information Officer.

Ravinder Pal Singh (Ravi), in his new role, will lead Vistara’s IT and Innovation functions. He will consolidate, identify, acquire, evaluate and incubate the right technology to support the airline’s IT and digital platforms. He will also be responsible to induce innovation as core to Vistara’s culture thereby creating communities and co-creation projects to realize ideas as true business differentiators.

Ravi has been instrumental in establishing various IT organizations and creating their future technology avatars. He brings in profound global experience, with expertise in IT-based strategic planning and execution in almost 5 continents. His background includes leadership positions in top global technology and management consulting firms, where he focused on driving their Fortune500 customers and government institutions towards transformation. For his contribution in the field of information and technology, Ravi has received many accolades such as CIO 100 Winner 2015, Digital Transformational Leader 2015, 2015 Cloud Computing Innovation Award, India and CeBIT Digital Transformational Leadership Award 2015. He was also recognized as one of the most dynamic CIOs who leveraged the word transformation in all forms.

Prior to joining Vistara, Ravi served as the Global Chief Information and Technology Officer at one of India’s leading providers of aviation maintenance repair and overhaul, Air Works. Previously, he has been associated with corporates such as Microsoft, Accenture and Wipro, and is a holder of several technology patents.

“I am excited to be a part of Vistara, a company that is the amalgamation of two iconic brands, TATA and Singapore airlines and is at the forefront in the product & service innovation space. I am looking forward to transforming its IT platforms and making it a technology disruptor in this sector. This will help in accelerating the business growth and reveal the hidden potential in the organisation,” said Ravinder Pal Singh.

Welcoming Ravi on board, Phee Teik Yeoh, CEO, Vistara said:

“I am happy to welcome Ravi to the Vistara family. Ravi is a seasoned technology expert and we are keen to leverage his extensive technology leadership experience to enhance the level of operational excellence at Vistara and delivering greater value to our customers.”

Emirates to Operate One-Off A380 Flight to Chicago

For the first time in the airport’s history, on July 19 2016 Emirates will fly one of its flagship A380 aircraft into Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport.

Emirates has been invited by O’Hare International Airport, the Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA) and the City of Chicago to test the gate, operations and significant infrastructure improvements that have been implemented to accommodate A380 service.

Emirates is the world’s largest operator of A380 aircraft, the world’s largest commercial jet, with 81 of this aircraft type flying customers in comfort across the globe – including to 4 cities in the USA.

“Chicago has welcomed us from the day Emirates commenced daily flights from Dubai in 2014, and we are honored to work alongside the City, airport, and department of aviation, to bring the A380 for a test flight to this exciting and progressive city,” said Rob Gurney, Emirates’ Senior Vice President of The Americas.

“Over the last two years, Emirates flights have carried over 160,000 passengers from Chicago to Dubai and beyond for both business and leisure travel and have carried more than 60,000 tons of cargo, supporting tourism, business and exporters. Many of our customers from Chicago and surrounding areas have already experienced the Emirates A380 seamless and convenient connections from our hub in Dubai to more than 40 destinations across our network, including the Middle East, South Asia, and the Far East.”

“The arrival of Emirates’ A380 plane to O’Hare International Airport is exciting for the city of Chicago,” said CDA Commissioner Ginger S. Evans.

“The improvement we’ve made at O’Hare to accommodate the A380 is one of many projects underway that will make Chicago more competitive and attractive for passengers and businesses. I want to thank Emirates for its commitment to Chicago.”

Emirates’ existing Boeing 777 service to Chicago provides USD $383 million in annual economic benefit, contributes over USD $153 million in annual spending by visitors, and helps to support over 3000 U.S jobs, according to Campbell-Hill Aviation Group.

Airbus and Boeing are bailing Iran out of a huge problem

Iran’s beleaguered national airline is finally getting some relief.

On Wednesday, news emerged from Tehran, the Iran Air has reportedly reached an agreement with Boeing for 100 airliners.

Should the rumored Boeing deal reach completion, it would be Iran Air’s second multibillion airplane acquisition this year.

In January, Iran Air and Airbusagreed to a historic deal for 118 airliners with a list value topping $25 billion.

On Thursday, Iran Air got even more good news.

The European Commission announced that it will allow the airline to once again fly into European airspace.

“Following my visit to Iran in April, a technical assessment was successfully carried out in May,” EU transport commissioner Violeta Bulc said in a statement.

“Based on this I am happy to announce that we are now also able to allow most aircraft from Iran Air back into European skies.”

Since the Revolution of 1979, the country has suffered through decades of severe economic sanctions that have had a devastating effect on the country’s commercial aviation industry and its national airline.

Iran Air, once one of the region’s most respected airlines, has fallen on hard times.

For much of the past 30 years, trade sanctions have prevented the airline from acquiring new planes directly from western airplane makers.

As a result, Iran Air have been forced to make do with an aging fleet of early generation Airbus aircraft and pre-revolution Boeing jumbo jets. According to Airfleets.net, Iran Air’s fleet of 46 jets have an average age of 27 years with its fleet of Boeing 747s pushing 40 years of service.

And what planes they do have, the airline often struggles to find adequate spare parts to keep them running properly.

Accidents resulting for mechanical failures became increasingly common, leading the EU to ban most of Iran Air’s planes in 2010.

NORTH AMERICA UPS, Pilots Reach Tentative Agreement On New Labor Contract

The Independent Pilots Association (IPA) and UPS Airlines today announced a tentative agreement on a new five-year labor contract.

The comprehensive agreement provides for improvements across all sections of the contract. Specific details of the agreement will not be disclosed before the IPA presents the proposed contract to all UPS pilots.

The contract must be ratified by a majority of UPS’s 2,600 pilots. The vote by the pilots will be completed on Aug. 31. If ratified, the new contract will become effective on Sep. 1, 2016, and become amendable on Sep. 1, 2021.

“This tentative agreement has been unanimously approved and endorsed by both the IPA Executive Board and our Negotiating Committee. Over the next month we will present it to our members with an unqualified recommendation for ratification,” said IPA President Captain Robert Travis.

“This is an excellent offer and we are pleased to have reached this agreement,” said Brendan Canavan, UPS Airlines president. “This contract rewards our crewmembers for their outstanding contributions and contains provisions that protect UPS’s ability to deliver competitive service to our global customers.”

The tentative agreement was signed yesterday by the IPA and UPS in the presence of Nicholas Geale, Chairman of the National Mediation Board (NMB). The parties entered mediation in March 2014. Both Travis and Canavan said they “commend the NMB for its guidance and resources over the last 27 months and thank our mediator, Gerry McGuckin, for his oversight and efforts.”

The IPA is the collective bargaining unit representing the more than 2,600 professional pilots who fly for United Parcel Service, the world’s largest transportation company. The IPA is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky.

Delta plane with 130 passengers lands at the wrong airport

The National Transport Safety Board is investigating the landing of a Delta A320 at Ellsworth AFB instead of its intended destination of Rapid City, 7 miles away.

Delta Air Lines confirmed that the flight crew of Delta Flight 2845 on the evening of July 7 conducted a safe landing at Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota mistakenly rather than the flight’s intended destination of Rapid City.

The Airbus A320 aircraft, registered N333NW, had 130 passengers on board and was in-bound from Minneapolis/St. Paul. The flight re-departed for Rapid City Thursday night after coordinating with officials.



“Delta has contacted the customers of this flight and offered a gesture of apology for the inconvenience”, the airline said in a statement.

The crew has been taken off-duty while an investigation commences by the National Transportation Safety Board.

“Delta will fully cooperate with that investigation and has already begun an internal review of its own”, the airline added.

Ellsworth Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force base located approximately 10 miles (16 km) northeast of Rapid City, South Dakota. The host unit at Ellsworth is the 28th Bomb Wing (28 BW) assigned to the Global Strike Command’s Eighth Air Force.

Ellsworth Air Force Base has one runway available:
Runway 13/31 (concrete): 13,497 feet/4.114 meters

Rapid City Airport has two runways available:
Runway 14/32 (concrete): 8,701 feet/2.652 meters
Runway 05/23 (asphalt): 3,601 feet/1.098 meters

Boeing Said Near $4 Billion Deal With Russian Firm to Save 747

Boeing Co. is nearing a $4 billion deal with Russia’s largest air-freight company that would help extend the life of the iconic, hump-nosed 747 jumbo jet amid waning demand for four-engine aircraft, people close to the transaction said.

The U.S. planemaker is in advanced talks with AirBridgeCargo Airlines and its Moscow-based parent, Volga-Dnepr Group, to convert a year-old commitment into more than 10 firm orders for 747-8 freighters, two of the people said. The agreement could be announced as soon as the Farnborough Airshow next month in England, according to four people briefed on the deal, who asked not to be identified because the talks are confidential.

The deal would provide a crucial lifeline for the “Queen of the Skies” as Boeing tries to preserve production until the air-cargo market revives or shipping companies start to replace aging wide-body fleets. The 747 freighter, prized for a hinged nose that allows large cargo to be loaded at the front, is Boeing’s second-most expensive commercial jet, with a list price of $379.1 million. Buyers typically negotiate discounts.
Converting commitments to firm orders starts the process of allocating manufacturing resources and production slots to build the planes.

Tibet Airlines receives its first A330

Lhasa based Tibet Airlines has received its first widebody aircraft, an A330-200 with increased 242 tonne maximum take-off-weight (MTOW), following a handover in Toulouse, France.

The increased MTOW, the first A330-200 in China, allows airlines to operate from the most demanding high altitude airports where take off performance, additional range and improved operating costs are key.

The aircraft is configured in a three-class cabin layout (12 business, 32 premium economy, 235 economy) and deployed to open up new international routes.

Bai Weisan, President of Tibet Airlines said: “We are extremely excited to receive our first widebody airliner – an enhanced A330 from Airbus and are very confident at its high-altitude performance. The A330 Family will become our core widebody to be deployed on our new international routes thanks to its flexibility, comfort and efficiency. With the A330, we are looking forward more passengers from all over the world to flying with Tibet Airlines and visiting Tibet.”

Eric Chen, President of Airbus China said: “We congratulate Tibet Airlines on receiving its first A330 and we express our gratitude for the confidence demonstrated in our leading A330. With an operating base at high altitude Lhasa Airport and routes covering all of Tibet’s civil airports, the airline already benefits from the unrivalled performance of Airbus single-aisle aircraft. We are proud the A330 is Tibet Airline’s backbone for international route expansion.”

Tibet Airlines currently operates an all-Airbus fleet comprising of 14 A319s and 2 A320s. The airline is famous for its high-altitude operations with its operating base at Lhasa Airport which is at over 3,500 metres altitude. With the proven performance of Airbus narrow body, especially the A319 in high-altitude airports, Tibet Airlines has been successfully connecting Tibet with more domestic cities like Beijing and Shanghai. The A330 is the first widebody equipped with the Required Navigation Performance with Authorisation Required (RNP-AR) and the only widebody airliner today flying over Tibet’s sky. It will exceed the airlines’ expectation on high-altitude performance also offer unrivalled efficiency, also greater comfort to the passengers.

Emirates to deploy flagship A380 aircraft on Moscow route

Emirates has announced that it will be upgrading one of the two daily flights servicing its Dubai-Moscow route to an A380-800, commencing 1st December 2016.

Since Emirates started flying from its Dubai hub to Moscow in 2003, the airline has carried almost 3.5 million passengers on the route. Over the past 12 months, demand has increased, with some 400,000 passengers having travelled on the route. The increased level of passenger support and demand has led to Emirates’ decision to bring its iconic A380 to the Russian capital.

From the beginning of December, on flight EK131/132, the three-class A380-800 will offer 14 Private Suites in First Class and 76 fully flat-bed mini-pods in Business Class on the upper deck. It will also provide Onboard Shower Spas for First Class passengers and the iconic Emirates Onboard Lounge, where First Class and Business Class passengers can socialise at 40,000 feet, both products being unique to the Russian market. An additional 426 seats in Economy, gives a total of 516 seats on the aircraft, increasing the number of seats on the route by 23%.