In Aviation News this week
* Airbus in China
Airbus has announced a series of investments and deals in China, as the row over ETS that had seen Beijing refuse to sign off on orders finally cools down.
Key elements of the agreement include:
• Tianjin Final Assembly Line for A320 to be extended for another 10 years
• Cooperation to enhance Chinese airspace capacity
• Several initiatives to boost aviation’s sustainability in China focused on Wide-body fleet development
• Commitment for 70 Airbus aircraft including 27 A330 long range aircraft
* Asian Airports record strong growth
Asian airports record a good start to the year
The Asia-Pacific and Middle East region has had a good start to 2014, recording +10.7% year-on-year growth in passenger traffic in January.
Almost all airports registered a positive result compared to January 2013 except for Bangkok Suvarnabhumi (BKK) which saw a drop in international passenger traffic by -4.1% due to the declaration of State of Emergency in Bangkok and surrounding provinces on 22 January 2014.
More than 50% of the airports in the Asian region recorded double-digit growth in Jan 2014. The airport with the highest growth is Hangzhou (HGH) with +34.3% increase year-on-year. Kaohsiung (KHH), Chengdu (CTU), Kuala Lumpur (KUL), Chiang Mai (CNX) and Bangkok Don Mueang (DMK) all recorded more than 20% growth.
* Air Asia delayed in India
Air travellers in India might have to continue waiting for AirAsia to start its operations in the country as the Malaysian low-cost carrier’s efforts to start its service during this summer have not been successful thus far.
AirAsia, which announced its entry into the Indian market in February 2013, has not received the air operator’s permit despite the expiry of two deadlines.
The airline was initially looking at end of 2013 for a start to their operations in India.
Chief Executive of Air Asia Tony Fernandes expressed his disappointment in an interview saying “the entire industry is trying to block the entry of AirAsia India. In any country that we have gone, we have never experienced an industry that has ganged up against us”
More Aviation News soon