Qatar Airways first to receive 777X in 2020 - al Baker ch-aviation PRO exclusive

Vistara (UK, Delhi Int'l) is planning to add more B787s to expand into Europe and the United States as its parent Singapore Airlines Group looks to exert more competitive pressure on the Gulf carriers, Bloomberg has reported.

The Indian full-service carrier, a 51/49 joint venture between Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines Group, is still in the early stages of planning its proposed acquisition, sources close to developments told the news wire. The exact size of the potential order will, however, be predicated on, among others, the airline's ability to acquire slots at London Heathrow, they said.

Vistara currently has six B787-9s on firm order from Boeing but expects to take additional units from lessors, the ch-aviation fleets advanced module shows. The first two B787s are scheduled to deliver in February and March 2020. The airline has yet to confirm their initial routes but it is understood that it is studying various options for serving London as a matter of priority.

However, sources told Bloomberg that the aircraft would not be...

ANA - All Nippon Airways (NH, Tokyo Haneda) and fellow Star Alliance carrier Singapore Airlines (SQ, Singapore Changi) are hoping to sign a Joint Venture (JV) agreement by the end of this month, with the arrangement anticipated to launch in 2021 once the airlines receive the green light from antitrust authorities, the Nikkei Asian Review has reported.

The two airlines have a long-standing codeshare, but the JV will allow them to coordinate schedules, networks, fares, inventory and pricing. Both airlines see the advantages of joining forces to combat the encroachment of low-cost carriers (LCC) in the region, as well as allowing them to better take on Middle Eastern players like Emirates (EK, Dubai Int'l) and Qatar Airways (QR, Doha Hamad Int'l) in terms of retaining Asia-Europe traffic.

For the Japanese carrier, the link-up, if approved, will be its third JV, joining existing agreements with United Airlines (UA, Chicago O'Hare) and Lufthansa (LH, Frankfurt Int'l). Singapore Airlines (SIA) currently has similar partnerships with Air New Zealand...

Qatar Airways (QR, Doha Hamad Int'l) is expecting to reduce its losses in the fiscal year ending in March after a surge in sales had led to an improvement in load factors, claimed the Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Akbar Al Baker at a media briefing during the Kuwait Aviation Show 2020, and attended by Bloomberg.

“Our losses are half of what we budgeted,” Al Baker said on January 15. Reducing costs and “being very aggressive in the way we sell” has resulted in the improvement. The CEO explained that the losses were not caused by the Saudi Arabia-led blockade of the country but were due to higher operating expenses, including increased fuel prices, and that he expected that the airline would break-even in the next financial year (FY) and could post profits in FY2021-22.

Al Baker also discussed his continued interest in acquiring a stake in IndiGo Airlines (6E, Delhi Int'l). The Oneworld carrier is ready to buy as much as the Indian airline "can give us" said the...

Qatar Airways (QR, Doha Hamad Int'l) has announced a codeshare partnership with Deutsche Bahn (DB), the German railway operator, offering its passengers connections to and from eight key destinations in Germany, according to a press release issued by the airline.

The Oneworld carrier currently operates 35 weekly flights between Doha Hamad Int'l and the German cities of Frankfurt Int'l (2x daily), Munich (2x daily), and Berlin Tegel (1x daily). Under the DB deal, Qatar Airways passengers will be able to connect through Frankfurt to German cities like Stuttgart, Nuremberg, Hannover, Leipzig, Cologne, Dusseldorf, Munich, and Hamburg.

“This codeshare agreement between Qatar Airways and Deutsche Bahn further strengthens the ties between Germany and Qatar," said Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker. "We have witnessed significant growing demand between Germany to Qatar and beyond. Our new codeshare destinations not only meet that demand, but provide a service for our valued passengers in Doha, and from dozens of destinations globally to new, exciting places to explore in Germany.”

Berthold...