AirAsia is expanding its service to Shenzhen, China with the addition of two flights from Malaysia on October 2nd. The low-cost carrier will add a second flight from Kuala Lumpur and start a direct flight from Kota Kinabalu in East Malaysia. Both flights will operate from the Low Cost Carrier Terminal in each or the Malaysian airports. Air Asia Thailand also serves Shenzhen with a daily flight from Bangkok. [Read more…]
VRG Adds Sao Paulo-Paris-Rome Service
The Brazilian budget airline VRG has added a second European route, a daily flight from Guarulhos International Airport to Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport, which then continues on to Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport. The Sao Paulo-Paris-Rome route uses a new Boeing 767-300ER aircraft. The airline’s first European route offers a twice-daily service to Frankfurt, Germany. Other international destinations are Bogota, Colombia, Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Caracas, Venezuela. [Read more…]
TAM to Add New Daily Sao Paulo-Frankfurt Flight
On November 30, TAM will inaugurate a new daily service between Sao Paulo, Brazil and Frankfurt, Germany. The return Frankfurt-Sao Paulo flight will begin on December 1. The route will use the new Airbus A340-500, configured with 267 total seats in Business and Economy class. The plane is scheduled for delivery to TAM in October. [Read more…]
Virgin America Adds MedAire Medical Services
Virgin America has signed a three-year contract with MedAire Inc. for MedAire’s 24/7 MedLink Global Response Service and on-board medical kits for its Airbus 320-family planes. Each of the low-cost airline’s aircraft will carry specialized medical kits designed for on-board needs. [Read more…]
United to Begin Daily Los Angeles-Frankfurt Service
United Airlines will inaugurate its eighth daily flight between the US and Frankfurt December 15th when it begins passenger and cargo service to Frankfurt from Los Angeles using Boeing-777 equipment. The carrier currently has seven flights to Frankfurt from its other international hubs, with three daily flights from Washington DC, two daily flights from San Francisco, and two daily flights to Chicago. The first Frankfurt to Los Angeles flight will be December 16th. [Read more…]
Singapore Airlines Charity Auction Successful
The Singapore Airlines Airbus A380 First Flight Charity Auction has raised nearly Sin$2 million (US$1.35 million) for the event’s four charities with all but 24 seats sold. The remaining 24 seats were reserved for last chance bids. Both legs of the roundtrip flight have seats in Business and Economy classes, and the Sydney-Singapore leg has seats in Suites Class.The first commercial flight of the Airbus 380 worldwide will depart Singapore for Sydney, Australia on October 25th, with a return flight on October 26th. The charities will receive the donations in conjunction with these flights.. Both Médecins Sans Frontières , and the Community Chest of Singapore will receive one third of the funds, with the remaining third being split between Sydney Children’s Hospital, Randwick, and The Children’s Hospital at Westmead. [Read more…]
OnAir Adds Kingfisher and Shenzhen Airlines to In-Flight Communications Customers
India’s Kingfisher Airlines and China’s Shenzhen Airlines have both agreed to install OnAir’s in-flight communications systems for phone and data. Two other Asian carriers, AirAsia and AirAsia X, also plan to offer OnAir services, bringing the number of Asian customers to four.
Demonstration systems will be installed on three Shenzhen Airlines planes by August of next year, at the time of the Beijing Olympics. By the middle of 2009, the OnAir will be available on all the carrier‘s aircraft. The airline will be the first in China with facilities for passengers to use their own communication devices while in the air. [Read more…]
Air Bagan Begins Yangon-Singapore Service
Air Bagan recently launched daily roundtrip service between Singapore and Yangon, the capital of Myanmar. The flight, which uses an Airbus A310-200 aircraft, is the third scheduled carrier to fly the route. Adding Air Bagan’s 14 weekly scheduled flights to SilkAir’s 28 and Jetstar Asia’s six brings the weekly flight total between the two cities to 48.
The Yangon-Singapore leg leaves Yangon at 11:00 a.m., arriving at Singapore’s Changi International Airport at 3 p.m. The return flight depart Changi at 4:10 p.m. and reaches Yangon at 5:20. All times are local. [Read more…]
Aer Lingus Dublin-Washington DC Route First Under Open Skies
Aer Lingus’ new Dublin-Washington DC flight on August 6th was the first to operate under the new Open Skies agreement that facilitates granting of new routes between the EU and the United States. Although the pact will not be fully implemented until March of 2008, Aer Lingus has been granted rights for three new routes before the end of this year. Flights to Orlando and San Francisco will be launched in October, bringing the number of US destinations served by the airline to seven. The new flights will provide for 6,200 additional passengers each week on Ireland – US routes. The Irish government obtained the new air rights in advance of other EU airlines. [Read more…]
Hong Kong Express Adds Bangkok and Phuket Routes
Hong Kong Express Airways will open two new routes to Thailand this year, starting in early September with Bangkok. The four-times-weekly flight to Bangkok will be on its B737-800 aircraft. The airline started flying to Thailand in June of 2006 with service to Chiang Mai, and will add Phuket to its Thai destinations later this year. In addition to Phuket, Hong Kong Express will add four more regional routes in 2007. [Read more…]
