DECEMBER 2017 AUSTRALIAN AVIATION 13For the latest news visit australianaviation.com.au
China Airlines prepares to join Kangaroo Route
C
hina Airlines says its
upcoming move to offer
double daily services between
Sydney and its Taipei hub is
part of efforts to support new
services to London Gatwick.
The Skyteam alliance member
will join the plethora of carriers
on the so-called Kangaroo Route
linking Australia and the United
Kingdom when its new four times
weekly Taipei-London Gatwick
flights kick off on December 1 with
Airbus A350-900s featuring the
airline’s latest cabin products.
On the same day, China Airlines
is increasing its Taipei-Sydney
schedule from four times a week
with Airbus A330s currently to
twice daily. The route will also be
operated by the A350-900, offering
passengers a consistent product all
the way from Sydney to London
Gatwick.
China Airlines’ A350-900s
are configured with 306 seats
comprising 32 in business with
direct aisle access for every
passenger, 31 in premium economy
in a 2-3-2 layout and 243 in
economy at nine-abreast.By contrast, the A330-300s
currently used to Sydney have
either 307 or 313 seats in a two-
class format, with business class an
angled-lie flat seat in a 2-2-2 layout
that does not offer direct aisle
access for every passenger.
China Airlines general manager,
strategic planning department,
corporate development office James
Chung said the Taiwanese flag
carrier had been heavily promoting
its wider Asian and Australian
market in the UK ahead of the
London Gatwick service kicking
off.
“From December we will also
have the new London route, so yes,China Airlines from this December
we are joining the Kangaroo
competition,” Chung told reporters
at the Association of Asia Pacific
Airlines (AAPA) Assembly of
Presidents in Taipei on October 25.
“We know there is much
competition. But at China Airlines
we believe we can try to target
some niche markets.”
The schedule change for Sydney
will be the latest in a series of
recent tweaks to its Oceania route
network, with China Airlines
recently ending its Sydney-
Auckland and Sydney-Christchurch
tag flights.
On a more positive note, Chungconfirmed China Airlines would
boost its Taipei-Brisbane-Auckland
service from five times a week
currently to daily by the start of
December with the A350-900,
replacing A330-300 equipment on
the route.
And as more A350-900s get
delivered, the A330-300s used
on Melbourne-Taipei were also
expected to be replaced with the
next generation Airbus widebody.
“In the next year we have
another four A350s that will be
coming, so gradually we will be
changing A330 services for this
route to the A350,” Chung said.
Qantas codeshares on China
Airlines’ Australia-Taiwan services.
Australia and Taiwan have an open
skies air services agreement.
Asked about the prospects
of bringing in more feed for the
London flight by offering a nonstop
flight to Auckland, compared with
the one-stop options via Australia
being offered now, Chung said New
Zealand was challenging from an
aircraft utilisation perspective.
“It’s not easy to handle even a daily
fight to Auckland,” Chung said.Boeingforecasts930newaircraftforOceania
Boeing has downgraded
its forecasts for new orders
in Oceania over the next two
decades, with the bulk of the
reduction coming in the single-
aisle segment featuring aircraft
such as its own 737 and Airbus’s
A320.
The manufacturer’s outlook
is for airlines in the region –
Australia, New Zealand and the
nations of the South Pacific – to
order 930 new aircraft worth
$US140 billion over the next 20
years.
The estimate is a decrease
of 90 aircraft from the 1,
expected for Oceania in the
2016-2035 Current Market
Outlook (CMO).
The Oceania figures from
Boeing’s CMO for 2017-
were shown during a
presentation to media attending
Qantas’s delivery events for itsfirst 787-9 at Boeing’s Everett
facility on October 16.
The single-aisle category was
cut from 800 in the prior year’s
CMO to 680 aircraft, a reduction
of 15 per cent.
By contrast, there was an
increase in the small widebody
segment (between 200-
seats) from 130 aircraft to 150
aircraft.
There was also an increase in
the regional jets segment, which
Boeing does not compete in but
offers a forecast for, from zero
aircraft in the prior year’s CMO to
10 in the current outlook.
The medium/large widebody
segment was unchanged from
the previous year.
Boeing Commercial Airplanes
managing director for product
marketing and analysis Jim
Freitas said the emergence of
next generation aircraft suchas the 787 enabled airlines to
launch more point-to-point
routes with smaller gauge, lower
cost equipment.
Airlines were also able to
grow through adding new
frequencies on existing routes
and opening new markets rather
than flying larger aircraft.
Freitas was also upbeat about
the budget end of the market in
Oceania.
“We do see strong growth in
LCCs and the low-cost long-haul
carriers,” Freitas said.
Boeing expected the Oceania
fleet to increase from about
580 aircraft today to 970 over
the next 20 years, with some
540 aircraft replaced and 390
new aircraft joining the fleet for
growth. Just 40 aircraft flying
today will still be in the skies in
two decades’ time, according to
Boeing estimates.“That indicates you have a
fairly mature market in Oceania
today,” Freitas said.
The bulk of the growth in
passenger traffic for Oceania was
likely to be for travel within the
region, as well as to and from the
key markets of the Middle East,
China and South-East Asia.
“We see the Oceania market
has huge potential growth,”
Qantas chief executive Alan
Joyce said.
The forecast reduction in
single-aisle orders comes as
the Australian domestic market
has experienced almost no
growth over the past two years
as Qantas and Virgin Australia
have cut capacity in an effort
to improve the bottom line, and
better match the number of seats
in the market with demand, amid
the slowdown in the mining and
resources sectors.China Airlines is due to begin
flying the A350 to Sydney
from December 1.ROB FINLAYSON