New nonstop flight from China lands at JFK

When China Southern Airlines' first non-stop flight from Guangzhou arrives at John F. Kennedy International Airport on Wednesday morning it will bring the airlines top executives and some 300 tourists to the Big Apple—as well as the promise of tens of thousands more visitors throughout the year.

The largest carrier in Asia is commencing service here from Guangzhou, one of the largest cities in China, at a time when the city and state is gearing up to capture a greater share of the booming Chinese tourism market. The Chinese are already the fastest growing overseas segment in the city, jumping 19% in the past year alone. Gov. Andrew Cuomo recently launched an 'I Love NY' advertising campaign in China to attract both business and leisure travelers.

"Now our fourth largest overseas market, China remains a tremendously important source of travel for New York City's five boroughs," said Fred Dixon, chief executive of NYC & Company, in a statement.

The inaugural flight from Guangzhou is expected to arrive at 6:15 a.m. The airline, which already offers non-stop service to Los Angeles, will begin here by offering four flights a week. The implications are enormous, say industry experts.

"If China Southern increases to daily service it could bring as much as 160,000 passengers to New York annually," said airline consultant Craig Jenks, adding "it's certain that this flight will stimulate substantial incremental tourism."

Previously, travelers could only fly between Guangzhou and New York on other Chinese carriers, with a stopover in another city, adding on average three hours to an already long flight, Mr. Jenks said. There is no U.S. carrier that flies to Guangzhou, so the new service essentially opens up a new market to New York.

In July, Mr. Cuomo announced a series of marketing initiatives aimed at the Chinese market, including "Becoming China Ready" workshops upstate to help tourism regions promote their attractions. The majority of Chinese visitors to New York stay here from seven to 13 nights, according to the governor's office.

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Private Jets list popular destinations

In a recent survey conducted among private jet operators, Nice was listed as the most popular destination for UAE private jets (PJ) users, with five trips per year, followed by Paris in second place with four trips and London in third place with two trips. These findings were revealed by Private Jet Charter (PJC).

“These high net worth individuals tend to travel before Ramadan, return home for Ramadan and then travel again after Ramadan. Other popular Mediterranean destinations are Malaga and Olbia in Sardinia,” says Ross Kelly, managing director for Middle East, PJC.

Kelly further adds: “Paris and London came second and third respectively as favourite destinations, with most PJ users going to Paris for shopping and London for business. Geneva also gets very popular in the winter for ski holidays.”

UAE PJ users prefer a private charter to commercial flights as they look for luxury and a hassle free environment.

Kelly added: “As the industry grows, there will be a need for specialised private jet airports to ensure that superior service granted to travellers on board is maintained after the flight all the way through departure or prior to flying on the jet. There is also a need for these exclusive airports for more effective servicing of private jets on landing and taking off at different times of the day.”

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Free Wi-Fi at Atlanta Airport

Travelers, after years of complaints, will have access to a free wireless Internet network at the world's busiest airport.

Officials say the network at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport cost more than $5.2 million to install.

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and the airport's general manager on Wednesday announced the launch of the free Wi-Fi in the 6.8 million square-foot terminal complex. Officials say workers spent less than 30 days assembling the network. It's expected to accommodate up to 15,000 simultaneous users.

Southwell says the airport's lack of a free Wi-Fi network put the facility at a competitive disadvantage, and was the No. 1 customer complaint. Customers previously had to pay $4.95 to get online.

Airport officials say the airport serves more than 94 million passengers annually.

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Hawaiian's Dunkerley says airline committed to Airbus A350-800 acquisitions

Hawaiian Airlines President CEO Mark Dunkerley said the airline is committed to acquiring six Airbus A350-800s, saying the long-range aircraft are ideal for flights between Honolulu and Asian cities such as Bangkok, Thailand, and Singapore.

Bloomberg reports Dunkerley, in an interview watt the annual general meeting of the International Air Travel Association in Doha, Qatar, said the A350, which has fallen out of favor in recent years with other airlines that prefer larger models, said the A350 serves Hawaiian well because it is long trance, it is larger than the airline's A330-200 aircraft and it is fuel efficient.

Bloomberg reports Dunkerley said he still expects to start taking deliver of the A350 aircraft, which seat 276 passengers in two classes and have a range of 8,250 nautical miles, in 2017.

Bloomberg reports Airbus has only 34 contracts left for the A350-800, compared to 600 for the larger A350-900, with Hawaiian and three other customers, Russian airline Aeroflot, Awas Aviation Capital Ltd. and Asiana Airlines, based in South Korea.

Hawaiian, a subsidiary of Hawaiian Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: HA), also plans to acquire 16 new Airbus A321neo long-range aircraft between 2017 and 2020 and has rights to purchase an additional nine aircraft.

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Turkish Airlines eyes daily flight to Malta

Turkish Airlines, the world's fastest growing carrier, is planning to operate daily flights to Malta - just a year after it launched its service to Malta from Istanbul's main airport. The airline currently operates five flights a week between Malta and Istanbul but CEO Temel Kotil told Maltese journalists last week he wants that extended to a daily flight. His comment drew a quick 'no problem' from the Turkish Airlines representative in Malta, Soner Aydin, who explained that the airline has been seeing a passenger load factor in excess of 75% in winter.

Turkish prides itself with the hub service is provides from Istanbul, strategically located between Europe and Asia. It currently operates to 250 international destinations - from Los Angeles to Tokyo and from Cape Town to Oslo. It has a fast-growing fleet of Boeing and Airbus aircraft including the Boeing 777 but does not plan on getting the Airbus A380 superjumbo because, Dr Kotil said, the airline prefers flight frequency. For example, it currently operates three flights daily to New York's JFK. Turkish has been growing by 17% per year and currently operates 1,500 flights per day, a number it aims to raise to 2,000 within months. Its biggest growth has been to Asia/Southwest Pacific and Europe, underlining its hub attraction.

Growth in the future will be accompanied by the building of a new airport in Istanbul (the city's third). The airline also prides itself with competitive fares, a superior in-flight catering service - even in economy class - and comfortable facilities for transit passengers at Istanbul Ataturk airport. Malta was the 100th destination operated by Turkish. About half of passengers from Malta go to Istanbul on transit - mostly to the Far East, the Middle East and Eastern Europe. But many are among the 11million tourists who visit the ancient city of Istanbul annually.

The Maltese can get a Turkish visa electronically without charge - in contrast to visitors from Turkey who need to pay for their Malta/Schengen visa. The airline has also been drawing traffic to Malta. Dr Kotil was quick to point out that he had been told that Malta was 'the best' for the teaching of English to foreigners, something the airline intends to build on.

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To combat Gulf carriers, Lufthansa may fly A380 to India from October

German carrier Lufthansa plans to start services of its high-capacity twin-deck Airbus A380 to India starting October-November this year. Lufthansa's A380 super jumbo with 526 seats will both expand capacity and lower operating costs, helping it combat the rising challenge of Gulf-based carriers like Emirates and Etihad, who have cornered a large chunk of India's 45 million inbound and outbound annual (2013) international traffic.

Two civil aviation ministry officials told FE that officials from Lufthansa recently moved an application seeking the start of A380 services from the winter 2014 schedule. The move will require a ‘minor change’ in the Air Services Agreement (ASA) with Germany, with the current system of flights per week likely being changed to seats per week and allowing A380 operations. Lufthansa currently utilises 46 of the 69 flights per week allowed under the India-Germany ASA.

“Lufthansa recently gave an application to start A380 services. A minor change is required in the ASA, which we are discussing with the external affairs ministry. There will be no change in weekly seat entitlements to Germany, so we expect this to be done by June,” the official said.

When asked for details over email, a Lufthansa statement said, “We change aircraft size according to demand in our long-haul markets and as we already operate all types of long-haul aircraft except the A380 to India, we are also looking forward to operate the A380 to India in the future. We do not have decided yet when and where we will operate the aircraft to. We always aim to be able to offer our Indian customers our top products and we aim to be able to use the variety of all aircraft in our fleet in our long haul markets.” Lufthansa currently operates aircraft like the A330, A340-300, A340-600, A380, besides the Boeing 747-400 and B747-8.

Amber Dubey, partner and India head of aerospace and defence at global consultancy KPMG, added the introduction of A380 on European routes will bring fares down, and lead to higher travel by middle-class Indians for tourism. “The introduction of A380 by Lufthansa will help bring airfares down and expand the tourist base. It may also help Lufthansa win back some business passengers that they may have lost to Gulf carriers.

An interesting battle is in the offing this winter”.

Lufthansa will be the third and likely the last airline to start A380 services to India this year, after Singapore Airlines (SIA) starts daily flights to Mumbai and Delhi from May 30 and Emirates begins its A380 services to Mumbai from July. The addition of A380s have come about after the central government lifted the ban on the high-capacity aircraft in late January this year.

While SIA will focus on the Asian markets, Lufthansa and Emirates will be the only two airlines to offer connections from Indian metros to Europe and the US on the A380, an aircraft that offers more luxury features and space than anything else in its class today. At present, only four airports in the country — Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bangalore — have the infrastructure to handle the super jumbo.

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Scandinavian Airlines announce new Edinburgh/Norway flights

Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) is to launch two new service from Edinburgh to Norway this summer. A new service connecting Edinburgh with Norwegian Capital, Oslo has now launched, with a further direct flight service between Edinburgh and Stavanger due to start on April 24. Both routes will be twice weekly services, operating on Thursdays and Sundays until October 5. Gordon Dewar, Chief Executive at Edinburgh Airport, said “We’re delighted to welcome the first of two routes to Norway launching this month.

“Norway is an important tourism and business link for Scotland and we’re pleased to be working with SAS in developing our good relationship.

“These services to Oslo and Stavanger will give Scots the chance to visit this beautiful country and allow Norwegian passengers the opportunity to experience all that Edinburgh and Scotland have to offer in 2014”.

Hans Dyhrfort, SAS’ regional general manager for Western Europe, added: “We are pleased to offer new summer services direct to both Oslo and Stavanger and provide direct flights to Norway, the fjords and Scandinavia.

“We expect the new routes to appeal to both leisure and business travellers, with the flights well timed for long weekend breaks to Oslo, famed for its vibrant bar and café culture, world class museums and lively nightlife, situated between Norway’s stunning fjords and forest.

“For the business traveller, we offer the convenience of direct flights to Oslo and Stavanger, as well as the option to connect with onward flights to many other Scandinavian destinations.”

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