Jetstar, the discount carrier of Qantas Airways, has announced plans to commence long-haul flights from its major Asian hub in Singapore to Australia, north Asia and possibly European destinations by the end of this year. The airline said in a statement that it will operate two wide-bodied Airbus A330-200 aircraft at Changi Airport and hopes to soon launch pre-flight sales once arrangements with several destination airports are finalised. The discount carrier already flies A330 aircraft to six … [Read more...] about AUSTRALIA & NZ: Jetstar plans to fly long-haul from Singapore

Air New Zealand and Japan Airlines are the latest to be targeted by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) in the long running investigation into price fixing in the air cargo market. This most recent action makes Air NZ and JAL the 14th and 15th airlines to be linked to the allegations, which have involved court action by authorities in the United States, Britain and in Europe. Blasting the charges against it, Air New Zealand (ANZ) general counsel John Blair said the … [Read more...] about AUSTRALIA & NZ: Air NZ, JAL latest in price-fixing charges

More confirmation of the sustained recovery in the global air cargo market came today courtesy of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) with statistics showing that both air cargo and passenger markets continued to show further improvement in April despite a week of disruptions to traffic in and out of Europe as a result of the Icelandic volcanic eruption. Air cargo demand remained strong, maintaining the positive trend of recent months, with 32.1 per cent growth in freight tonne … [Read more...] about MALAYSIA: Asia-Pac sees continued cargo growth

Malaysia Airlines has ridden the economic updraft and returned to profitability in the first quarter, with increased cargo volumes and passengers, along with compensation from Airbus over delivery delays of its A380 superjumbos. The carrier announced its January- March net profit of RM310 million (US$97 million), an improvement of more than RM1 billion from a loss a year earlier. Revenue surged 21 per cent to RM3.3 billion, including some RM329 million in compensation it received from … [Read more...] about SINGAPORE: MASkargo sees 16% improvement in yield

Southern Air and Malaysia Airlines Cargo (MASkargo) have announced that they have entered into a multi-year, multi-aircraft wet lease agreement. Southern Air initially will provide MASkargo with three Boeing 747 Freighters along with crew, maintenance and insurance. MASkargo also has an option to lease up to five aircraft, which will provide it additional flexibility to meet its customers’ growing demand for additional lift capacity and to develop the ability to service new … [Read more...] about MALAYSIA: MASkargo in lease deal for 3 B747Fs

Singapore Airlines (SIA) has said its fourth quarter net profit soared more than six-fold as the global economic rebound boosted travel and cargo demand. Net profit in the three months to March was S$278 million (US$197.5 million), up from $42 million in the same quarter the year before, the company said in a statement. Together with the $404 million net profit in the third quarter, the fourth quarter earnings reversed $466 million in losses recorded in the financial first half. The … [Read more...] about SINGAPORE: Singapore Airlines’ Q4 net profit up six-fold