China Southern Airlines is Set to Receive the Airbus A380 Superjumbo
Delivery of the China Southern Airlines A380 had been due to arrive just before the 2008 Beijing Olympics but was deferred- now it looks like the first of its five A380s will be delivered next year.
Airbus mounted the vertical tail on China Airlines’ first A380 superjumbo on Tuesday at the A380 assembly line in Toulouse. It takes about eight hours to install the tail, which is almost equivalent to the size of an A320 wing and when joined to the fuselage its tip stands 24 metres from the ground.
China Southern is the only mainland carrier to order the A380, with rival Air China insisting it has no plans to acquire the aircraft because it prefers the rival Boeing B747. It expects to receive its first A380 plane in 2011.
Asia-Pacific carriers who have ordered the A380 superjumbo include Singapore Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas, Korean Airlines, Kingfisher Airlines, and THAI Airways.
Business class travellers will be intereted to know that the carrier has announced a new premium economy class on flights to Australia. It has started rolling out Premium Economy Class service on its service between Guangzhou and Sydney using the all-new Airbus A330-300 aircraft.
China Southern Premium Economy travellers enjoy superior seating and cabin service from standard economy with special advance round trip fares.
From October 31st the carrier will offer the Premium Economy service on services from Guangzhou to Brisbane and Melbourne. The re-designed A3380-300 cabin offers 47 Premium Economy seats separated by curtains, and portable doors to guarantee travellers a discreet private space.
International Premium Economy Class on China Southern Airlines offers a premium travel experience and includes 40% additional space. The seat pitch has been extended from Economy pitch of 32 to 37 inches for expanded legroom. Special personal touches include newspapers, double-thick wool blanket and pillows; fresh seasonal fruits, noise-reduction headphones, private washing kit and savoury red and white Australian wines. At the airport there is an exclusive Premium Economy check-in counter where travellers can enjoy the special privilege of a private Premium Economy check-in counter and an extra luggage allowance of 15kg. They also benefit from priority baggage delivery upon arrival, boarding at passengers’ convenience and priority class upgrade (if Premium Economy cabin is overbooked). Sky Pearl Club members travelling in Premium Economy Class will earn 110% FFP mileage and through to December 30th, will receive an additional 3,000 bonus FFP miles.
China Southern has also 13 Boeing B787s on order.
Airlines Express Seats : American Airlines Adds New Fees for Express Seats Option
American Airlines issued a policy for passengers who want a seat at the Express Seats will be subject to additional costs of approximately $19 to $39. Express airplane seats located on the first two or three rows in coach class.
Customers who buy the Express Seats option also will be assigned to AA’s “Group 1″ queue for general boarding. That means they’ll be among the first passengers on the plane, giving them better odds for snagging increasingly coveted space in the overhead storage bins.
The Chicago Tribune writes “seats beyond the first few rows in coach will continue to (be) free, with the exception of exit rows. Elite frequent fliers and customers (paying) full fares will not be subject to the new seat charges, the airline said.”
In a press release announcing the program, AA says “Express Seats are available to all American Airlines customers and can be purchased exclusively via airport Self-Service Check-In machines anytime from 24 hours to 50 minutes prior to scheduled flight departure for travel wholly within the United States, including Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.”
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram notes “Express Seats is the third initiative American has launched this summer under its new Your Choice program, and the latest program airlines have launched to try and generate extra revenue.”
The Dallas Morning News details one of the latest offerings, writing that AA “in June rolled out a fee that allowed purchasers to board a flight in the first boarding group, pay $75 to change a flight rather than $150 and stand by for an earlier flight without the usual fee.” That fee ranges $9 to $19 each way, depending on the length of the flight.
In its other recent fee initiative, AA began charging $10 each way for customers to get guaranteed access to Group 1 in the boarding queue.
AA spokesman Tim Smith tells the Star-Telegram the carrier could tie more perks to fees in the future, but says that depends on how well the current options are received by customers. Smith says that will be determined by “people voting with their wallets.”
Southwest Airlines Chose Boeing to Develop a Modern Air Transportation System
Boeing has been selected by Southwest Airlines as the lead integrator for the airline’s 737-300/-700 flight deck upgrade to incorporate advanced performance-based navigation capabilities. Boeing’s role will include design, installation and integration of new hardware and software from multiple suppliers, as well as flight testing and certification.
Under this large-scale integration program, the 737-300 airplanes will be modified with new and enhanced avionics supplied by GE Aviation, Honeywell and Rockwell Collins. The Classic 737s will be equipped with GE’s large area displays which use the latest in LCD technology and more closely align the 737-300 and 737-700 flight decks, creating commonality, and allowing the 737-300 to operate in the same preferred airspace as the newer 737-700s.
The 737-300 enhancements will also position Southwest for additional features — currently under development — that will support future airspace requirements.
Southwest Airlines, an industry leader in airline efficiency, also is making a fleet-wide commitment to Required Navigation Performance (RNP) operations, a navigation technology that enables an aircraft to operate within a tight corridor of airspace with Global Positioning System guidance. These RNP enhancements will help the airline reduce fuel consumption, enhance safety and situational awareness, and minimize aircraft emissions and noise resulting in improved efficiency and reduced costs.
“Southwest is a great airline and partner and we’re proud to support in their initiatives toward more efficient operations,” said Kevin Schemm, vice president, North America Sales, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. “Boeing is committed to working with our customers to introduce environmentally progressive lifecycle solutions.”
“This upgrade program will enhance safety, situational awareness, and fuel efficiency, and it will allow greater training flexibility due to flight deck commonality,” said Chuck Magill, vice president of Flight Operations at Southwest Airlines. “But the bottom line is that our customers will benefit from better performance and continued low fares.”
As the original equipment manufacturer, Boeing is uniquely qualified to provide the lowest risk solution through its intellectual property, engineering and technical resources, world-class testing and certification capabilities and long term supplier relationships.
EDS and Continental Airlines Ink Deal
EDS, an HP company and a technology services provider, announced an agreement with Continental Airlines to enhance its EDS Flight Planning Services in order to reduce flight operating expenses and create efficiencies for Continental by automating some aspects of flight planning.
As part of the agreement with Continental, EDS will develop, implement and deliver enhanced EDS Flight Planning Services. This will be delivered as a software-as-a-service (SaaS) model based on the EDS Airline SOA (service-oriented architecture) platform.
“The EDS Flight Planning Services will allow us to take full advantage of our modern fleet capabilities, achieve significant fuel savings and increase our operational flexibility,” said Mark Moran, executive vice president of Operations at Continental Airlines. “Our strong working relationship and successful track record together made EDS the right choice to deliver industry-leading flight planning technologies, which will seamlessly integrate with all our flight operations services.”
EDS Flight Planning is the fourth component in EDS’ flight operations suite being deployed to help transform Continental’s flight operations functions. As announced in March 2008, EDS is developing EDS Air-to-Ground Messaging Services, EDS Load Planning Services and EDS Aircraft Movement Services for Continental.
“Effective flight planning will enable Continental to reduce costs and increase operational efficiencies,” said Eric Harte, vice president and leader of the Consumer Travel Industry Group at EDS, an HP company. “The EDS team will combine deep expertise in the airline industry and applications development to transform Continental’s flight operations environment to optimize its cost per available seat mile.”
Airlines Charging More for Flights Out of The Gulf
Airlines operating in the Middle East routinely charge more for return flights out of the region than those into the Gulf, a study by Arabian Business has found.
A review of flights over the Eid holiday period shows that return flights from the UAE to various destinations around the world are, in general, priced much higher than return flights into the UAE.
While a Dubai-London return flight booked over the Eid holiday period with British Airways cost AED2,645, a London-Dubai return flight on the same carrier over the same time period is priced eight percent cheaper.
Similarly, Emirates Airlines charges 13 percent more for Dubai-London return than London-Dubai return over Eid. The same can be seen in hubs across the world and, in most cases, it is more expensive to fly out of the Middle East than it is to fly into it.
Etihad Airways charges 31 percent more for customers to fly return from Abu Dhabi to London than it does for British passengers to fly return to the UAE capital. French national carrier Air France demands 37 percent more for return from Dubai to Paris, then return to Dubai from the French capital.
This trend was confirmed by Mark Reed, general manager of Arabian Pacific Travel and Tourism LLC who said “flight cost is always done from origin and based on many factors. It is true that on many routes flight prices starting in Dubai tend to be higher than say the reverse.”
A comparison of Emirates Airlines fares shows that the prices vary and New York is 25 percent more expensive to fly to, as are Paris (nine percent), LA (10.5 percent) and Johannesburg (53 percent). There are however some exceptions and return fares to Singapore and Sydney are actually both cheaper coming from Dubai.
When asked about the difference in return fares in favour of passengers flying into Dubai when the airports, air space, costs and dates are the same, an Emirates Airline Spokesperson said: “Eid is a traditionally busy period for travel from the UAE with large numbers of residents flying out of the country. Like every commercially-oriented business, Emirates regularly reviews its fares to reflect market dynamics including, seasonality and demand.”
Reed added that the reason Emirates charges more for flights out of Dubai is because the Dubai carrier has the largest network from the emirate and has “a captive audience if people want direct services to many worldwide destinations.
Sunil D’souza, regional travel manager for the UAE and Oman at Kanoo Travel, the largest travel management company in the Middle East, said the reason was down to basic aviation economics. Flights into Dubai usually have more excess capacity than those going out of Dubai, therefore aviation prices of supply and demand means that flights from the emirate are priced higher to cater to the higher demand.
However, it is not just the regular carriers who charge more; the low cost carriers are also in on the game. A return flight with flydubai to Beirut costs AED1,800, while return from Beirut to Dubai on the same airline and on the same dates costs only AED984.
A flydubai spokesperson said: “All flydubai’s flights are priced in the same way regardless of the direction in which the passenger is travelling. We have a certain number of seats on every flight available at the cheapest price, but once they are sold, the price increases to the next level, when the next level is sold fares increase again. If there is a price differential it is because there is a greater demand for that particular flight.
“If a customer tries to book a seat on a very popular flight at short notice, it will be more expensive. This is a standard way that most low cost airlines operate. flydubai aims to offer the cheapest prices on the routes we fly. The secret is to book early before all the lowest fares are sold.”
