AIRLINE NEWS

AIR ASIA has signed a memorandum of understanding with Inmarsat to upgrade its in-flight connectivity. The airline will install the GX Aviation system aboard its Airbus A320s and A330s later this year, with the service scheduled to go live in 2018. AIR CHINA launches its new Shanghai Pudong-Barcelona route on May 5, operated by an A330-200 flying three times weekly. AIR FRANCE will begin codesharing with Singapore Airlines and Silk Air. The European carrier will place its code on SIA flights to Melbourne and Sydney, and Silk Air’s flights to Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Phuket. In return SIA’s code (SQ) will appear on Air France connections via Paris CDG to ten destinations. AMERICAN AIRLINES has announced plans to codeshare with China Southern Airlines later this year, following the airline’s US$200 million equity investment in the Chinese carrier. ASIANA AIRLINES and Hong Kong Airlines have begun codesharing on all flights between Hong Kong and Seoul. Asiana flies the route four times daily while Hong Kong Airlines operates a daily service. CATHAY DRAGON will cut its Tokyo Haneda service in October, but parent airline Cathay Pacific will continue to operate a twice-daily service between Tokyo Haneda and Hong Kong. CATHAY PACIFIC has confirmed a ten-across seating configuration on its B777 fleet; the change is expected to take place from mid-2018 to 2020 with a new “ergonomically designed seat” with a 17.2 inch-width, six-inch recline and 32-inch pitch. CHINA SOUTHERN has launched its new Guangzhou-Mexico City service, which transits via Vancouver – the carrier’s first route to Latin America and now the longest in its route network. HAINAN AIRLINES now operates its Dreamliner aircraft between Beijing and Manchester, featuring 36 flat-bed business class seats and 177 in economy. QANTAS has launched in-flight wifi on its Boeing 737-800 aircraft, enabling internet connectivity across its domestic flights. The launch marks the start of wifi rollout across 80 of Qantas’s aircraft, due for completion by the end of 2018. UNITED’s new B777-300ER now connects San Francisco and Hong Kong after beginning operation in late March. The new aircraft features United’s recently unveiled Polaris Business seat. VIRGIN AUSTRALIA has launched a new Economy X product, offering extra legroom (between 34- and 39-inch pitch), located at the front of the aircraft and emergency exit rows. International passengers will also receive noisecancelling headphones.