Sarawak’s startup airline will put people over profits
30.11.2022 – 04:22 UTC
Sarawak’s state government is continuing its push for a local scheduled passenger airline and is now saying that their proposed startup, which would be operated and managed by state-owned local charter operator Hornbill Skyways (Kuching), will put people before profit.
“As the boutique airline is owned by Sarawak, we will have our own model to set up the airline without following those such as Malaysia Airlines or AirAsia,” Sarawak Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg said in a speech on the weekend. “There are people who question why the need to set up an airline. For me, it is one of the infrastructures which we must build. It is just like building roads. You don’t talk about the intangible returns that you will get from road construction because it provides connectivity. So, the same goes for the airline.”
The state government is keen to bring more tourists into Sarawak and offer way to get there that bypass a Kuala Lumpur Int’l transit. Local media are reporting that the premier…
India’s IndiGo okayed to wet lease B777s for 12 months
30.11.2022 – 03:33 UTC
India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has met IndiGo Airlines (6E, Delhi Int’l) halfway on its proposal to wet-lease B777-300(ER)s from Turkish Airlines (TK, Istanbul New). IndiGo had wanted to take three Boeings for a two-year period but Indian regulations only permit a three-month wet lease plus a three-month extension. After initially denying IndiGo’s waiver request, the DGCA has now agreed to a one-year wet lease period comprising a six-month lease plus a six-month extension.
While IndiGo wants to operate the wet-leased aircraft on routes between India and Turkey, the DGCA’s approval is contingent on the airline starting flights to Europe or the United States. Presently, IndiGo flies as far west as Istanbul New and as far east as Guangzhou. The airline has long-stated plans to fly to London Heathrow but so far those plans have amounted to nought.
In a statement provided to ch-aviation following the one-year approval, IndiGo said that it was yet to finalise the lease contracts but wanted to use the B777-300ERs on the Mumbai…
UK anti-trust authority warms to Korean Air/Asiana merger
30.11.2022 – 02:43 UTC
The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has signalled it will approve the proposed merger between Korean Air and Asiana Airlines after raising significant concerns about it earlier this month. In a November 28 statement, the CMA said it now had reasonable grounds for believing undertakings put forward by Korean Air since then, or potential modifications of those undertakings, would address its earlier anti-trust concerns.
In a November 21 submission, Korean Air reportedly tackled the issues raised by the CMA in a November 14 announcement in which the competition authority said it believed the merger “may be expected to result in a substantial lessening of competition within a market or markets in the United Kingdom.” The CMA also said it would escalate its inquiry to a tougher phase 2 investigation unless Korean Air responded to the concerns raised.
If approved by all jurisdictions, the Korean Air/Asiana merger would create the world’s seventh-biggest airline and dominate passenger and air cargo traffic between the UK and South Korea. With British Airways (BA, London Heathrow) withdrawing from…
Singapore Airlines takes 25% stake in Air India
30.11.2022 – 01:53 UTC
Singapore Airlines (SQ, Singapore Changi) is swapping its 49% stake in Vistara (UK, Delhi Int’l) for a 25.1% stake in Air India (AI, Mumbai Int’l), with the deal paving the way for Tata Sons to merge its two full-service India-based airlines within 18 months. Singapore Airlines says it is getting an instant stake in an airline entity four to five times larger than Vistara.
Details of the highly anticipated deal were confirmed on November 29, with the Vistara/Air India merger timetabled to be concluded by March 2024 and Singapore Airlines and Tata committing significant future capital injections towards Air India. Singapore Airlines says it will immediately invest INR2.585 billion rupees (USD252 million) as part of the agreement and up to INR5.2 billion (USD614.5 million) once the merger is complete.
“We have an opportunity to deepen our relationship with Tata and participate directly in an exciting new growth phase in India’s aviation market,” said Singapore Airlines CEO Goh Choon Phong in a statement. “We will work together to support Air India’s…
