Thai Airways conducts biofuel test flight

Thai Airways International's Asia's first passenger biofuels flight confirms the airline's commitment toward green travelling and the Thai authorities' effort to reduce greenhouse gas emission.

THAI President Piyasvasti Amranand said that the experimental flight echoes the airline’s CSR policy. Under "travel green" concept, this flight is aimed at creating awareness among all parties on biofuels, particularly regional airlines which needs to reduce fossil fuel consumption.

"THAI wants to push forward jet biofuels development to ensure sustainable use in Thailand and the region. This needs cooperation from all parties, like oil companies, research institutes, educational institutes, and related public and private organisations," he said.

Today, the airline launched Flight TG 8421, the first biofuels flight that welcomed the media, representatives from related organisations including Rolls Royce and Boeing. The first passenger biofuels flight, TG 104, will follow tomorrow. All proceeds will go to alternative energy promotion organisations.To promote awareness in greenhouse gases and climate change, 98 students will also join the flight.

PTT executive Saran Rangkasiri said the company was in charge of supplying 8 tonnes of biofuels for the flights, worth about US$2.5 million. It was imported from Sky NRG in the Netherlands which supplied the fuel to KLM and Finnair.

To Airports of Thailand, the flights are in line with the Green Airport policy. Aside from the green flight, AOT is turning it’s buildings into Green Building and using clean and renewable energy for all vehicles operating in the airport.

Turkish Airlines adds third Libyan destination

Turkish Airlines is seizing the opportunity to establish a major presence in the Libyan market with the launch of a new route from Istanbul Atatürk (IST) to Misrata (MRA), the third largest city in the country after Tripoli and Benghazi, both of which are already served by the airline. Initially, there will be four flights per week (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday) using 737-800s, but this will increase to daily from 5 January. This is believed to be the first international scheduled service at the airport to be operated by a non-Libyan airline. According to anna.aero’s database, this is Turkish Airlines’ 20th new route from Istanbul’s main airport this year, with at least one more (to London Gatwick) due to start before the end of the year.

Turkish Airlines launches Gatwick flights

Gatwick has welcomed a new carrier, with the launch of Turkish Airlines' daily flights to Istanbul.

The route is operated using an Airbus A321-200, with capacity for 195 passengers in a two-class (economy and business) layout.

The flight leaves Istanbul at 10.50, arriving into Gatwick's North Terminal at 12.50.

From Gatwick, the flight leaves at 13.55 and arrives into Istanbul's Ataturk airport at 19.45.

Turkish Airlines has joined a growing list of carriers launching out of Gatwick, including Air Asia X, Vietnam Airlines, Hong Kong Airlines and Air China.

Guy Stephenson, Gatwick’s chief commercial officer, said: “We are competing with other airports in London and the South East in order to give passengers the greatest choice of destinations to fly to.

“We already offer a choice of over 200 destinations, which is more than any other airport in the UK.”

The Turkish national carrier is the only airline to fly between Gatwick and Istanbul Ataturk Airport.

Easyjet currently operates flights from Gatwick to the Turkish city, but it flies into Istanbul’s Sabiha Gokcen Airport.

Sabiha Gokcen is on the Asian side of Istanbul, 35 km from the city centre, while Ataturk is on the European side and is only 24 km from the city centre.

Emirates starts flights to Melbourne and Tokyo

Emirates said, it has welcomed its 20th Airbus A380 to its rapidly expanding fleet by announcing Melbourne and Tokyo as two new destinations for its flagship aircraft in 2012.

Melbourne joined the Emirates network in 1996 and the airline now operates three daily flights from Dubai, one non-stop, one via Singapore and the other via Kuala Lumpur. The A380 will operate as EK406, the non-stop flight from Dubai to Melbourne and on to Auckland from 1st October 2012.

Melbourne's A380 service will be Emirates' second A380 operation in Australia and New Zealand, following the introduction of the aircraft on the Dubai-Sydney-Auckland route in 2009.

In 2012, Emirates will be celebrating its tenth year of services between Dubai and Japan, and its third year of operating to Narita International Airport. Demand on the Dubai-Tokyo route has continued to grow, prompting the need for the daily service to be operated by an A380 from 1st July 2012.

Emirates' A380 service to Tokyo will operate as EK318 departing Dubai at 0250hrs and arriving at Narita International Airport at 5:35pm the same day. The return flight of EK 319 departs Narita at 2200hrs and touches down in Dubai at 0415hrs the following day.

"This announcement demonstrates our commitment to the Far East and Australasian region, as Emirates takes delivery of its 20th Airbus A380 aircraft," said Richard Jewsbury, Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations, Far East and Australasia.

"Emirates not only offers a world-class in-flight experience but a superior global network. The announcement of enhanced services into Melbourne and Tokyo comes as we introduce flights from Dubai to Dublin, our 29th European destination and Dubai to Buenos Aires, via Rio de Janeiro, our latest South American destinations," added Jewsbury.

Emirates took delivery of its first A380 in July 2008 and since that date the number of A380 destinations on the Emirates network has grown and will reach 17 on 1st January 2012 with the addition of Kuala Lumpur.

Set in a three-class configuration (14 First, 76 Business and 399 Economy Class seats), the Emirates A380 offers a level of comfort and space never seen before on a commercial airliner. Spread over two levels, the entire upper deck is dedicated to Premium Class passengers.

Emirates' A380 currently operate services from Dubai to London Heathrow (double-daily, triple daily from 24th January 2012 and four times a day from 25th March 2012), Manchester, Paris Charles de Gaulle, Rome, Munich, Toronto, Seoul, Bangkok, Beijing, Shanghai, Jeddah, New York, Hong Kong, Sydney, Johannesburg and Auckland. From 1st January 2012, the A380 will be deployed on the Kuala Lumpur route.

Ethiopian Airlines helps Star Alliance grow African network

Star Alliance's stated intention of "bringing Africa to the world and the world to Africa" has been boosted by the entry of Ethiopian Airlines into its fold. The carrier formally joined the alliance in December, becoming its third African member.

The addition of Ethiopian expands Star's network in East, central and West Africa and brings with it 23 new destinations to its network. These include Chad, Djibouti and Niger. The carrier joins Star's existing partners in the region, EgyptAir and South African Airways.

"We have taken a large step forward in completing our African strategy," says Star Alliance outgoing chief executive Jan Albrecht. He says as a result of Ethiopian joining, Star now offers its passengers "the widest choice of flights connecting to, from and within Africa" out of the three global alliances. Star's African coverage now extends to 750 daily flights to more than 110 destinations in 48 countries.

Star Allliance partner Air China is looking to use these hubs to expand into what it sees as a promising market between Asia and Africa. Chairman Kong Dong says he expects his airline to launch direct routes to the continent in the next year or two.

Ethiopian is similarly effusive about the potential of this fledgling market and intends to develop further routes between Africa and Asia. Ethiopian's chief executive Teowolde Gebremariam says developing routes and frequencies between the two continents was the airline's principal growth objective.

He adds the Ethiopian flag carrier is studying possible routes to Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Seoul and will use its soon-to-be delivered Boeing 787s to open these routes and existing destinations in Asia. Ethiopian will take delivery of the first of ten 787s, which marked its debut appearance in Africa at the accession ceremony, in 2012.

Emirates boosts A380 flights from London to Dubai

UK travellers planning to catch flights to Dubai next year will have more opportunities to travel on the Airbus A380 with Emirates.

Shortly after announcing that it will deploy the world's largest passenger plane on a third daily service from London Heathrow to Dubai from 24 January 2012, the carrier has confirmed that a fourth A380 connection will be available on the route from 25 March.

In both cases, the Airbus plane will replace the Boeing 777 in order to carry more passengers from the UK airport, where airline expansion is limited by capacity constraints.

The move will make Emirates the largest operator of the A380 at Heathrow.

Salem Obaidalla, the Middle Eastern carrier's senior vice president of commercial operations in Europe, said: 'This demonstrates the beauty of the A380 - its ability to increase our service to our passengers in style and without adding traffic to London Heathrow's busy schedule.'

Emirates will also be expanding its presence in Dublin next year with the launch of a new daily service to Dubai from the city on 9 January.

Etihad and Air Berlin Form an Alliance

Etihad Airways of Abu Dhabi and Air Berlin, Germany’s second-largest airline, announced a strategic partnership Monday that will see Etihad become Air Berlin’s largest shareholder and gain access to new European routes as it seeks to keep pace with its larger Gulf-based rival, Emirates.

Under the terms of the agreement, Etihad will increase an existing 3 percent stake in Air Berlin to just over 29 percent through the purchase €73 million, or $95 million, in new shares while providing up to $255 million in loans to finance new jet purchases.

The deal also includes a code share agreement giving Etihad access to Air Berlin’s European short-distance network, and to the German capital of Berlin — a destination that Emirates in particular has long coveted in the face of fierce opposition from the German flag carrier, Lufthansa.

The purchase of such a sizeable stake in Air Berlin appeared to be the clearest signal yet of Etihad’s intention to continue its push into the European market at a time when the region’s major players, including Lufthansa and Air France, are struggling to hold down costs and maintain market share against what they claim is unfair competition from subsidized Middle Eastern rivals.

“Overnight, we have gone from having a minimal presence in Europe to a major one,” said James Hogan, Etihad’s chief executive, adding that Etihad was eager to exploit the new access that the Air Berlin deal will give to 33 million new passengers — most of them in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, which have robust leisure and business travel markets.

Etihad, the third-largest Gulf carrier after Emirates and Qatar Airways, has made no secret of its desire to raise its European profile. Industry executives have said the airline is also eyeing the Irish government’s 25 percent stake in Aer Lingus and that it had considered joining Virgin Atlantic’s bid for BMI, Lufthansa’s unprofitable British unit.

Mr. Hogan said Etihad had no immediate plans for further acquisitions in Europe, but he did not rule out future investments. Nor did he envision any further increase in the Air Berlin stake for at least two years.

“This will directly threaten the likes of Lufthansa, who are also worried about the challenging nature of the European airline scene,” said Saj Ahmad, chief analyst at StrategicAero Research in London. “It cements not just Etihad’s desire to expand in Europe, but also to draw in customers through its Abu Dhabi hub to connect to onward destinations like Asia and Australasia.”

Etihad is the second Gulf airline to make a major equity investment in Europe this year. In September, Qatar Airways bought a 35 percent stake in Cargolux, Europe’s largest freight carrier, which is based in Luxembourg.

Air Berlin, which has not recorded an annual profit in four years, had been seeking a strategic partner for some time and had reportedly approached a number of carriers in the Middle East and Asia about a deal in recent months following the resignation of its founder and chief executive, Joachim Hunold, in August.

The German discount airline’s net debt has risen to around €640 million in November from €489 million at the end of 2010, putting pressure on it to cut costs. To that end, Air Berlin plans to reduce the size of its fleet by 10 percent and has postponed the delivery of 19 new Airbus and Boeing jets that had been scheduled for delivery in 2012 and 2013.