Cathay’s first Boeing 777-300ER aircraft has two huge General Electric engines which give it fuel efficiency. Nowadays, with the price of fuel, that is desperately important.

The delivery of Cathay’s first 777-300ER last month also means a better sleep for long haul passengers. First and business-class seats, but of course, electronically recline into fully flat beds. But economy class provides seats that recline within a fixed shell to boost space.

The story is that Cathay had research showed passengers want more comfort, privacy and control over their immediate living area. One would have thought a chat with any ten passengers would have brought precisely the same result.

Cathay’s investment coincides with the fact that the total number of travellers passing through Chinese airports rose 17% last year and is expected to grow by 14% annually through 2010.

Eleven airlines, including Cathay, now serve the Vancouver-to-Asia market. Canadians’ visits to China surged 56% in 2006.
Cathay predicts that, by 2020, China will have 12 million aircraft movements a year - up 400% from today.
Boeing forecasts that Asia-Pacific air traffic will expand at 6.3% a year for the next 20 years.
Of the 8,350 new jets Asia will need during this period, China alone is expected to account for about 3,000 new aircraft deliveries.

The illustration is the Boeing 787 Dreamliner Engineering flight deck simulator in Seattle.
Source: Canada.com

Asiana, the South Korean carrier, intends to use its extensive network into China to try and become the carrier of choice for Olympics attendees.

Asiana Airlines flies to more cities in China than any other airline and has been using its network to draw more U.S. passengers traveling China. It want to introduce other Chinese destinations to people who will be visiting that country for the first time to attend the Beijing Games.

Kang Joo-an, president of Asiana said, ‘In terms of China, we are the market leader. Though competition is fierce, we believe we have the most-convenient network and best service to China.’

On Asiana U.S. passengers can make a stopover at South Korea’s Incheon International Airport, then catch another flight to any of the 20 cities in China it serves.

Asiana currently operates four daily nonstops between LAX and Incheon but is looking to add more flights before the Beijing Olympics.
Asiana is about half the size of Korean Air: It has 63 aircraft and flies to 63 cities in 17 countries, whereas Korean Air has 123 aircraft and flies to 114 cities in 37 countries.

Asiana has its strengths. For the third year in a row, Asiana was picked as having the best on-board service and flight attendants in the world, beating Singapore Airlines and British Airways, in a survey of business travelers. It also is one of only five airlines in the world with the highest five-star rating from an independent rating firm, SkyTrax. And this writer can testify that at least one frequent traveler goes out of his way to fly Asiana.
Source: LA Times

Li Jixiang, the chairman of Air China Chairman, said there is a need for the Chinese aviation industry to create ’super-carriers’ able to compete on a global level, and that his airline was up to the challenge.

The comment also leaves room for the flag carrier to further pursue a merger with China Eastern, a move earlier denied them, but one that Air China still hasn’t ruled out for further consideration.

In a sense it has already expanded through consolidation. On 28 October, 2002, Air China consolidated with China National Aviation Corporation and China Southwest Airlines. During 2004 as part of a consolidation of the Chinese aviation industry Air China absorbed Zhejiang Airlines (a subsidiary of CNAC).

Li Jixiang said, ‘Air China is still too small. To realize this super-carrier, Air China can do it; other airlines can also do it. Other airlines can also buy Air China — we welcome anyone to buy Air China shares. As long as China produces a super-carrier, I’ll be happy.’

Chairman Li brought up one option for growing as being small acquisitions as it has before in the bid to create the super-carrier. It will take a lot of acquisitions for it to be able to compare with, say, United Airlines with a 460-strong fleet compared to Air China’s 68.

Not helping as the delays by Boeing in the delivery of the 787 Dreamliner. The six month delays on initial deliveries could hinder the carrier’s planes for aggressive route developments to serve the Beijing Olympics.

Shenzhen Airlines has said passengers will soon be able to use their mobile phones and connect to the Internet during flights. The airline will be the first in China to offer the service.

Swiss technology firm OnAir is providing the service and said the move will allow travelers to call and send text messages from their mobile phones and access the Internet on laptops during flights.

Three aircraft from Shenzhen to Beijing and Shanghai will introduce the service ahead of the Beijing Olympics next year.

The OnAir service will be installed across Shenzhen Airlines’ full fleet of Boeing 737 and Airbus A320-family aircraft by mid-2009.

OnAir has earlier signed deals with other Asian and European airlines that want to introduce the technology, according to Benoit Debains, chief executive officer of OnAir. He didn’t elaborate on which airline is or will be the first in the world to provide the service in the air. Nor did he say how much the airlines will charge per call. Many passengers would like it to be $50 a minute. Or more.
Source: China Daily

According to data from the Civil Aviation Administration of China, China’s aviation industry posted a total passenger volume of 45.813 million in the second quarter of the year, an increase of 17.5% compared to the same period last year.

Passenger volume increased by 0.3 percentage point, total traffic by 1.6 percentage points and cargo and mail by 3.7 percentage points compared to the first quarter data.
Total traffic throughput reached 8.77 billion ton-km, up by 19.8%, and cargo and mail volume totaled 0.969 million tons, higher by 17% on year-on-year.
International flights total traffic volume was 3.05 billion ton-km, an increase of 26.6% on a year-on-year basis.
Total passengers reached 4.121 million, up by 20% and cargo and mail reached 0.27 million tons, higher by 29.2 percent.
The average scheduled flight occupancy rate is 74.7%, and the scheduled flight load factor 65.9%, both up by 2 percentage points compared to data in the first quarter.

In truth those figure are something of a worry. They should be higher. This is the year the American airlines came in a flood and there will be a lot more in the next five years.

True, the Olympic Games will give next year’s figures a big boost and Expo 2010 comes after that. But the aviation industry in China simply has to lift its game, especially in the area of passenger service, if it is to hang on to a decent percentage of overseas flights. The food must always be as good as shown in our illustration, which is the Dynasty Service on China Airlines.
Source: China Aviation Civil Report