Taiwan's Green Army- EVA Air

EVA Air, Taiwan’s second largest carrier, carries the color of green as its background color. The airline was founded in 1989 by the airlines’ parent company-Evergreen Group. But it was until 1991 when the airline launches its first flight. Apart from passenger service, EVA Air has entered into air cargo business, aircraft maintenance service and airline catering service. The airline is based at Taiwan’s largest airport-Taipei Taoyuan Airport, together with its rival Taiwan’s flag carrier-China Airlines. The airline operates from Taoyuan Airport’s Terminal 2. Besides, the carrier has some of its operations at Kaohsiung International Airport, Taiwan’s second largest airport. While Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport serves a transit point for most of its European service.

On March 28 2012, Star Alliance announced that EVA Air will officially be a new number of the world’s largest alliance. Joining the alliance allows EVA Air to further expands its network and offer more destinations to its passengers. Since the announcement, EVA Air has signed a couple codeshare agreements with Star Alliance. The latest agreement is with United Airlines, placing EVA Air’s code on United Airlines’ domestic services from Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle.

At the beginning of the year, EVA Air signed an extra order of 3 Boeing 777-300ER, while leasing another additional 4 Boeing 777-300ER to replace the 7 older Boeing 747-400s aircraft. The less-competitive Boeing 747s has to be replaced due to safety and fuel consumption issues. These older aircraft which has joined the fleet since 1998 will be retired or converted to a freighter aircraft. 15 Airbus 321 aircraft which was ordered last year aims to replace the older MD-90 aircraft and expands its Asia network especially to mainland China after regular scheduled operations are allowed. The newest members of the airlines’ fleet are the 3 Airbus 330-300, which has just joined the airline last year. These 3 aircrafts are the aircrafts with the famous Hello Kitty livery on the aircraft’s fuselage. The carrier’s other aircrafts include the Airbus 330-200s aircrafts which has joined the airline since 2003 and also the Boeing 777-300ERs aircrafts has joined since 2005.

EVA Air has collaborated with Sanrio to decorate a fleet of three Airbus 330-300 aircrafts with Hello Kitty livery. “Magic Jet” makes a landing at Taipei Taoyuan Airport.

EVA Air’s Fleet:

Aircraft:	In Service:	Orders:	Seats:
			Laurel	Elite	Economy	Total:
Airbus 321-200	---	15	---	---	---	---
Airbus 330-200	11	---	24	---	228	252
Airbus 330-300	3	---	30	---	279	309
Boeing 747-400	3	---	36	56	280	372
Boeing 747-400M	4	---	28	86	162	276
Boeing 777-300ER	15	7	38 36 24	63 71 108	211 211 211	312 (1) 318 (11) 338 (3)
McDonnell Douglas MD-90	6	---	12	---	140	152
Total:	42	7

EVA Air Cargo’s Fleet:

Aircraft:	In Service:
Boeing 747-400F	9
McDonnell Douglas MD-11	7
Total:	16

The carrier has its own regional and domestic subsidiary named Uni Air. The carrier which is the largest domestic flights carrier in Taiwan operates a fleet of Bombardier Dash Q300 aircrafts and McDonnell Douglas MD-90 aircrafts. The airline focuses mainly on domestic operations mainly between Taiwan’s main island and the islands of Kinmen, Makung and Matsu Islands. In this few years, the airline has started flights to regional destinations in China, Korea and Japan. There are plans by EVA Air to turn Uni Air into a low-cost carrier as Taiwan is a few countries in Asia that does not have a low-cost carrier. Well, the idea of turning it into a low-cost carrier is certainly an interesting one, as foreign low-cost carrier has find the Taiwan market a profitable one.

EVA Air’s subsidiary-UNI Air recently just introduced a new livery. 

EVA Air serves 60 international destinations together with its subsidiary Uni Air. The carrier operates quite a high frequency to long-haul destinations. EVA Air operates up to 45 weekly flights to 6 North American destinations and operates up to 17 weekly flights to 4 European destinations. Interestingly, Seattle and Paris is the only North America and Europe destination without any competition by either China Airlines or any other airline. While in Asia, EVA Air competes with China Airlines and other international airlines in almost all of its destinations served.

International Destinations:

North America	Toronto, Vancouver, Seattle, Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York
Europe	London, Paris, Amsterdam, Vienna
Oceania	Brisbane, Guam
South Asia	Jakarta, Denpasar-Bali, Surabaya, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Phnom Penh, Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Manila
Japan	Tokyo-Narita, Tokyo-Haneda, Osaka-Kansai, Nagoya, Sendai, Sapporo, Komatsu, Fukuoka
South Korea & Hong Kong	Seoul-Incheon, Seoul-Gimpo, Hong Kong
China*	Harbin, Shenyang, Dalian, Beijing, Tianjin, Qingdao, Jinan, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Shanghai-Pudong, Shanghai-Hongqiao, Yancheng, Ningbo, Huangshan, Wuhan, Zhengzhou, Xian, Chengdu, Chongqing, Kunming, Guilin, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Macao, Xiamen, Fuzhou, Haikou

*Include destinations served by Uni Air    

EVA Air’s Boeing 777-300ER aircraft with the “Green Waves” livery take off from Taipei Taoyuan Airport. 

The airlines’ cargo division is one of the top 10 largest cargo companies in the world. With a fleet of 16 aircraft, EVA Air Cargo operates up to 111 weekly cargo flights to cargo destinations like Anchorage, Brussels, Frankfurt, Chicago, Dallas and Atlanta. The airline is considered as one of the safest airline in the world as the airline does not suffer any fatalities in its operational history.

Despite having lots of difficulties the airline faces, it’s fair to say the airline weathered the storm well. The airline faces natural disasters like Typhoon and earthquake which hits Taiwan annually, uncertain political status of Taiwan which limits the airlines expansion plans and the sudden spread of disease like SARS and H5N1 virus, but still the carrier stands firmly and continues to fly passengers from different countries around the world with new aircrafts replacing old and aging aircrafts. In future, cross-strait flights to China will definitely be one of the main focuses for EVA Air as regulators allows more passenger services between the two countries.

By,
rafanited39
(The Editor)
sunnaero@gmail.com
29/08/2012

Malaysia Airlines' Boeing 777

Malaysia Airlines’ Boeing 777-200ER aircraft, 9M-MRD with the “Freedom of Sky” blue livery. 

Being rated as one of the five star carriers in the world, the Boeing 777s is certainly the aircraft that is influential to Malaysia Airlines in gaining that status. Malaysia Airlines currently operates a total of 17 Boeing 777-200ER aircrafts which was delivered from April 1997 to December 2004. At the moment, Malaysia Airlines has no plans to retire or add any Boeing 777 family aircrafts to the airline’s fleet. The Boeing 777s is currently not involved in Malaysia Airlines latest fleet renewal program. The carrier has now received new Airbus 380-800, Airbus 330-300 and Boeing 737-800 aircrafts which intends to replace the older and aging Boeing 747-400 and Boeing 737-400 aircrafts. In 1997, the carrier’s Boeing 777-200ER aircraft once hold the record for the world's longest non-commercial non-stop flight, flying from Boeing Field in Seattle to Kuala Lumpur, flying eastward and pass over the European and African continents.

Malaysia Airlines’ Boeing 777-200ER, 9M-MRK joined the fleet in July 1999. Here’s a picture of the aircraft at Gate C25 at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL). 

List of Malaysia Airlines’ Boeing 777 aircraft:

Type:	Variant:	Reg. Number	C/n	Delivery Date	Notes:
Boeing 777	-2H6(ER)	9M-MRA	28408	April 1997
		9M-MRB	28409	May 1997	Lsf Gecas
		9M-MRC	28410	June 1997
		9M-MRD	28411	July 1997
		9M-MRE	28412	January 1998
		9M-MRF	28413	March 1998
		9M-MRG	28414	May 1998	Lsf aircastle
		9M-MRH	28415	July 1998
		9M-MRI	28416	October 1998	Lsf ALAFCO
		9M-MRJ	28417	June 1999
		9M-MRK	28418	July 1999
		9M-MRN	28419	April 2002
		9M-MRO	28420	May 2002
		9M-MRP	28421	November 2004
		9M-MRQ	28422	December 2004
		9M-MRL	29065	March 2001	Lsf Sale
		9M-MRM	29066	April 2001	Lsf Sale

The carrier’s Boeing 777-200ER has a total seating of 282 seats. This includes 35 in Business Class and 247 Economy Class seats. The Business Class seats offers on the aircraft are lie-flat seats and are configured into a 2-3-2 seating position. Seats pitch of 62.0’ and a width of 18.5’. Features and facilities in the aircraft’s Business Class include a light preset 10 minutes massage, an in-seat power outlet for PC and other personal electronic devices, a 10.4-inch touch screen TV, satellite telephone and LED reading light. On the other hand, the aircraft’s Economy Class seats are configured into a 2-5-2 seating which is different from most major airlines. These seats offer adjustable reclining positions, footrest, lumbar support, headrest and retractable armrest. A 6.5-inch in-seat personal TV, individual overhead reading light and a coat hook is available at each seat. 34.0’pitch and 17.0’ wide is one of the widest Economy Class among all international airlines.

Photos of Malaysia Airlines’ Business Class and Economy Class seats.  (Source: Malaysia Airlines)

Malaysia Airlines’ Boeing 777-200ER Seating Plan

Malaysia Airlines’ Boeing 777-200 is powered by two Rolls Royce Trent 892 engines. The aircraft has a wing span of 60.93m, height of 18,76m and a length of 63.73m. It is able to fly up to 12,779km with a speed of up to 897km/h. Malaysia Airlines’ 777 aircrafts are the slightly older version of the 777 family. Most major airlines across the world use the highly-advanced Boeing 777-300ER, which is the best-selling jet among the Boeing 777 family.

9M-MRQ joins the airline in December 2004. A picture of the aircraft departs from Istanbul-Ataturk Airport (IST) on a flight back to Kuala Lumpur (KUL). 

The carrier’s Boeing 777 aircrafts are performing medium and long-haul flights for the airline. The longest route being flown by a MH’s Boeing 777-200ER aircraft is the Kuala Lumpur-Los Angeles via Tokyo (Narita) route. The airlines’ Boeing 777 is visible in most major airports across the world like Hong Kong, Frankfurt, Beijing, Tokyo-Narita and Paris.

Destinations served by Malaysia Airlines’ Boeing 777-200:
London (25 Nov 2012), Paris, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Istanbul, New Dehli, Mumbai, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Tokyo-Narita, Beijing, Shanghai-Pudong, Auckland, Denpasar-Bali (28 October 2012)

9M-MRA, the oldest Boeing 777-200ER in Malaysia Airlines’ Boeing 777 fleet. The aircraft arrived at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) after a long transpacific flight. 

 

By,

rafanited39

(The Editor)

sunnaero@gmail.com

18/08/2012

More Asian Connections

On August 9, AirAsia X, the long-haul arm of Asia’s biggest discount carrier of AirAsia announced an additional lease deal of another 6 Airbus 330-300 aircraft from International Lease Finance Corp. This brings the total order of Airbus 330-300 to 31 aircraft. AirAsia X will lease the six aircraft on a 10-year lease term. The new lease deal will further complement the AirAsia Group’s long-term vision of developing its presence in key markets in Asia.

AirAsia X’s Fleet:

Aircraft:	In Service:	Orders (Options):	Seats:
			Premium	Economy	Total:
Airbus 330-300	9*	23	12	365	377
Airbus 330-200	---	3	---	---	---
Airbus 350-900 XWB	---	10 (5)	---	---	---

*Include one-leased aircraft, 9M-XAA

Since dropping the Paris and London route at the beginning of the year, AirAsia X has focus on serving destinations across the Asia-Pacific region. Together with Paris and London, flights to Christchurch were also cancelled by AirAsia X back in April. Flights to New Dehli and Mumbai in India also suffer the cut during the beginning of the year. High operating cost in India forces AirAsia X to cancel their service to India.

AirAsia X operates 9 Airbus 330-300 aircraft to 13 destinations across Asia-Pacific region. 

AirAsia X hopes to serve destinations that can be served by a 4-8 hours flight from their home based at Kuala Lumpur. This is a change of strategy as AirAsia X incurs heavy losses for their flights to Europe. AirAsia X is losing RM20 million (USD$ 6.25 million) a year alone on their London route which is due to high operating cost of their Airbus 340-300 aircraft which operate the route. The new strategy is able to have a better turnaround time so that the airline’s new Airbus 330-300 aircraft is fully utilized. Operating flights around Asia-Pacific allows the airline to increase the efficiency of its new Airbus 330-300.

AirAsia X’s Current Destinations: (All flights operated by Airbus 330-300)

Destinations:	Country:	Frequency:
Gold Coast	Australia	5 Weekly
Melbourne	Australia	Daily
Sydney	Australia	Daily
Perth	Australia	9 Weekly
Kathmandu	Nepal	2 Weekly
Seoul	South Korea	Daily
Osaka-Kansai	Japan	4 Weekly
Tokyo-Haneda	Japan	4 Weekly
Hangzhou	China	Daily
Chengdu	China	4 Weekly
Beijing	China	Daily
Taipei	Taiwan	11 Weekly
Tehran	Iran	4 Weekly

Flights to London, Paris, Mumbai, New Dehli and Christchurch which was discontinued at the beginning of the year is unlikely to resume any time soon. The airline will continue its strategy of focusing on flights in the Asia-Pacific region. This means that more Asia connections from Kuala Lumpur are expected. Flights to Europe will be considered by the airline after the arrival of the new Airbus 350-900 XWB (not before 2016) which guaranteed lower cost of operating compare to the Airbus 340-300 aircraft. Here is a list of future destinations to be served by AirAsia X.

AirAsia X’s Likely Future Points:

Destinations:	Country:	Notes:
Adelaide	Australia	Adelaide is the last remaining major city in Australia that is missing from AirAsia X’s network. Emirates Airline has recently announced new daily flights to the city. While in Asia, Malaysia Airline, Singapore Airline and Cathay Pacific all served daily flights to the city.
Jeddah	Saudi Arabia	There is a large number of Muslims from Malaysia and South East Asia going to Jeddah, the principal gateway to Mecca, Islam’s holiest city to take part in the rituals. An even high passenger volume is expected during the annual Hajj.
Nagoya/ Fukuoka	Japan	A new Japan destination is possible to be served soon especially with the new establishment of AirAsia Japan, a JV with All Nippon Airways (ANA). There’s no direct flight to either 2 cities from Malaysia since Malaysia Airline drop these 2 routes a few years back.
Xian/Wuhan/ Chongqing	China	A new Chinese destination is definitely on the cards. These 3 cities are situated around the center part of China which are a new region airlines across the world is exploring. Both these three cities have big domestic traffic at their respective airports. Xian ranked 8th, Chongqing ranked 9th, while Wuhan ranked 14th in terms of total passengers volume in China.

AirAsia X’s Airbus 330-300 (9M-XXF) carrying the livery of “Malaysia, Truly Asia” departing for a flight back to Kuala Lumpur. 

Middle East destinations like Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha is highly unlikely to be served by AirAsia X due the enormous presence of the “Middle East Big 3” at their respective hub. Air Asia X cancelled their service to Abu Dhabi a few months after commencing a few years back. Flights to India will be considered by the airline if the cost of operating at India is low. Not only foreign carriers facing this problem, 5 out of the 6 major airlines in India suffered heavy losses last year.

There is a possibility that AirAsia X might return to New Zealand. Possibly operating flights to the largest city in New Zealand-Auckland rather than flying to Christchurch. Auckland is served by almost every major carrier in Asia including SIA, MAS, Thai, Cathay Pacific, Korean Air and Emirates. In future, China, Korea, Japan and Australia will still be AirAsia X’s core market in the future.

By,

rafanited39

(The Editor)

sunnaero@gmail.com

11/08/2012