Aerospace Diary

AIN AIR TRANSPORT PERSPECTIVE  »  NOVEMBER 18, 2013 by    NEELAM MATHEWS Lion Air faces increasing competition from new low-fare startups in the Asia-Pacific region. (Photo: Boeing) November 18, 2013, 9:45 AM Economic growth, aviation deregulation, a growing middle class and aggressive tourism marketing continue to drive business in the regional markets of Asia-Pacific, where well entrenched budget carriers such as Malaysia’s AirAsia and Indonesia’s Lion Air face increasing competition from new low-cost startups. In neighboring India, three of every four airline seats now belong to budget carriers. According to Sydney-based consultancy Center for Asia Pacific Aviation ( CAPA ), Southeast Asia’s international market has seen a 20-percent capacity increase in the last 18 months, from 4.7 million weekly seats in April last year to 5.6 million weekly seats last month. The fastest growing markets, Thailand and Malaysia, added 23...

Posted by- Neelam Mathews July 2, 2011 Member of the SkyTeam alliance, Vietnam Airlines is planning to increase its fleet to 115 aircraft by 2015. The carrier has sought government approval to invest $8.38 billion to expand its fleet from the present 68. It operates 300 daily flights to 20 domestic and 26 international destinations. The fleet is expected to have Airbus A350-900s, Boeing 787-9s, A380s and narrow-body A320s and A321s plus ATR-72s and Bombardier CSeries by 2020. The airline will soon buy jet fuel produced by Dung Quat oil refinery, the country's only such facility, which will meet up to a third of the national carrier's annual fuel demand. The carrier plans to start flights to London starting in December, its first air link to the country. It did not say how many flights would operate to London's Gatwick airport, or whether they would originate from Hanoi's Noi Bai airport or Ho Chi Minh City's Tan Son Nhat.