Singapore Airlines said it plans to restore some of its scheduled flights in the first quarter adding that it will also suspend flights to Pakistan and to Nanjing, China, as part of an overhaul of its network. “Positive signs of a recovery in demand continue to be seen, but operating conditions remain challenging and yields in particular remain under pressure,” SIA said in a statement. The additional belly capacity of the restored passenger flights will return some of SIA … [Read more...] about SINGAPORE: SIA to restore some pax flights

Asia’s small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) face both new challenges and opportunities as they emerge from the financial crisis according to a new research report by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), commissioned by FedEx Express. The study shows that while cost controls remain crucial to survival, SME exporters may benefit from both new sources of consumer demand within Asia and from the rising volume of trade within the region. The benefits are even greater if more … [Read more...] about CHINA: New trade landscape emerging for Asia’s SMEs

The Chinese government has approved a RMB1.5 billion capital injection into Air China, which will give a push to the air cargo joint venture with Cathay Pacific Airways. The Beijing-based carrier – China’s largest international carrier – will receive the funds from its controlling shareholder China National Aviation Holding Co. Air China will use the capital to acquire a minority interest in its cargo unit, Air China Cargo, the airline said in a … [Read more...] about CHINA: Air China gets government cash infusion

Shanghai Airlines has signed an agreement with Wenzhou Yongqiang Airport Air Freight Co Ltd, to provide bellyhold cargo capacity from Wenzhou to northwestern city of Xian. The new route will be the first air cargo service between Wenzhou and Xian and will have a capacity of five tonnes per flight. Wenzhou airport handles an average of 80 tonnes of outbound cargo each day, reaching 100 tonnes or more during the peak season. About 20 tonnes of this cargo goes to southwestern cities of … [Read more...] about CHINA: Shanghai Air begins service to inland Chinese cities

While much of the world’s air carriers suffered severely over the past year, Chinese airlines made significant headway in earning a collective profit of CNY7.4 billion (US$1.08 billion) in 2009 with total operating revenue coming in at CNY212 billion. A year earlier the Chinese carriers turned in a CNY31.8 billion net loss. Industry analysts credit the turn-around on the recovery of the domestic economy, government subsidies, hedging gains from rising fuel prices and the revival of … [Read more...] about CHINA: Chinese carriers return to profit

With air cargo figures down 11 per cent for the full-year 2009 and passenger numbers down 5.7 per cent, the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) has welcomed recent signs of a recovery in traffic, but warned that the recovery depends on what it says “still appears to be a rather fragile global economic recovery”. AAPA added that the 17-member carriers made corresponding cuts in capacity resulting in an average cargo load factor of 66.1 per cent, almost unchanged from the … [Read more...] about MALAYSIA: AAPA optimistic but warns of fragility