According to First Financial Daily, by 2010 when the World Expo will be held in Shanghai, five runways will be completed to form an air communication hub. Together China’s Aviation Administration and the State Development and Reform Commission have granted the permission to Hong Qiao Airport for its expansion application.

This means the airport is expected to build one more runway and tower further cementing its position as one of the key airports of China.

The project report suggests the capacity expansion is aimed to reach a final figure of 40 million passengers and about 300,000 aircraft coming and going.

The newly-constructed runway will extend to 3,300 meters, 60 meters in width; and the new tower will cover an area of 364,000 sq meters. Price is estimated to be RMB13.928 billion.

There will also be a further investment of RMB 450 billion yuan in the expansion of domestic airports.

By 2020, the number of China’s civil aviation airports will grow to 244, of which 97 will be newly-built.
Source: English People’s Daily Online

A new air route has opened over China that will reduce flying times between Europe and cities in the east and south of the country. IATA says the new route, designated B208, was implemented on April and around 475 flights a week expected to use it.

The association says flights from Europe to Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hong Kong will no longer have to be channeled through Beijing, saving 60 nautical miles (111km) per flight.

IATA director general and CEO Giovanni Bisignani said, ‘While being introduced to deal with Olympic-related congestion, this is the latest in a series of major permanent improvements to China’s air traffic management infrastructure.’

China introduced a new route in 2006, dubbed Y-1, that cuts flight times between Europe and China by 30 minutes per round-trip. Also last year, China introduced reduced vertical separation minimum (RVSM) procedures that helped to increase airspace capacity.
Source: Flight

Taiwan President-elect Ma Ying-jeou (shown here) has tentatively set July 4 for launching weekend charter flights with the mainland as part of his plan to improve ties.

The National Policy Foundation, a think tank of Ma’s Nationalist Party or Kuomintang, said in a recent report that it had completed the direct weekend charter plan.

The service would begin taking passengers from the mainland for the weekend and carrying them back on Monday noon.

Chen Shih-yi, a foundation spokesman, said Ma had instructed that the service be started from July 4, and be extended to Chinese tourists coming to Taiwan for vacation after Beijing and Taipei work out an agreement.

Ma, a mainland-friendly politician who won a landslide victory in last month’s presidential election, has vowed to further open up the island to the mainland and forge direct transport link in 2009 after he assumes office on May 20.

Chen said Taiwan will open its international airports in Taoyuan in the north, Taichung in central Taiwan and Kaohsiung in the south for charter services. Flight points from the mainland will include Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Xiamen.
Source: TopNews.in

The world’s busiest airport now has a direct connection to the world’s fastest-growing economy.

Delta Air Lines has began its new nonstop service from Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport to Shanghai.

According to a study commissioned by Delta, the new daily flight from Atlanta to Shanghai, China’s booming business center, will add close to $400 million to the economy in the Southeast every year. It should also give a boost to Delta’s bottom line.

Lee Macenczak, Delta’s Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing. said, ‘This year, more than 40% of all our revenue will come through international markets and that holds a big profit potential for us for the ongoing future.’

One word of warning.

No one as far as I know has ever transited Atlanta airport without getting lost. Sometimes the staffneed to ask for directions. If you do not know the airport when you are flying out leave lots of time. Even if you know the airport leave lots of time. It is airport’s like this that try men’s souls.
Source: 11HD News

Philippine Airlines, an airline which has had an interesting career and is still the nation’s flag carrier, is opening two regular flights to China, marking the the first direct air link between the Philippines and the scenic southwestern part of China.

Departures from Manila for Chongqing are every Monday and Friday. The return service departs Chongqing on the same days.
For Chengdu, departures from Manila are every Tuesday and Saturday. Return flighs are on the same day. Both routes will be served with brand-new Airbus A320 aircraft.

Chongqing and Chengdu are PAL’s fourth and fifth destinations, respectively, in mainland China. The airline already operates daily services to Shanghai and Xiamen, and a five-times-weekly service to Beijing.
Source: Business Enquirer