Cathay Pacific
oneworld airlines sweep the board for best loyalty schemes
oneworld® alliance members swept the board in a survey to find the best airline loyalty schemes – taking every single top award.
oneworld airlines win again with in-flight wine
Judges at a leading international wine-tasting competition have raised their glasses to the oneworld® alliance and many of its member airlines once again.
Kingfisher Airlines to join oneworld from 10th February
Kingfisher Airlines will become part of oneworld® with effect from Friday 10 February 2012, adding India’s leading carrier to the premier global airline alliance. Read more
Cathay Pacific receive their first Boeing 747-8 Freighter
Cathay Pacific receive their first Boeing 747-8 Freighter aircraft, the second air cargo operator of this latest Boeing model. Read more
Cathay Pacific to fly three times a day between LA and Hong Kong
Beginning on the 2nd March 2012, Cathay Pacific will increase frequencies between Los Angeles and Hong Kong to three nonstop flights daily. The multi-award-winning carrier will then offer more than 6,300 seats a week between the two cities. Read more
Cathay Pacific order 12 Boeing 777 freighter and passenger aircraft
Boeing and Cathay Pacific Airways have announced that the Hong Kong-based carrier has ordered eight Boeing 777 Freighter and four 777-300ER (extended range) aircraft. The order is valued at $3.3 billion at list prices. With this announcement, Cathay Pacific becomes the 15th customer to order the 777 Freighter and increases its Boeing 777-300ER fleet to 50. Read more
Iberia signs Airbus engine maintenance contract with Cathay Pacific
Iberia Maintenance and Cathay Pacific have signed a contract under which the Spanish company will repair and maintain of the Asian carrier’s 49 CFM56-5C4 engines on 11 Airbus A340-300.
The work will be carried out at Iberia’s engine workshop, a 52,500 m2 facility near the Madrid-Barajas airport.
Iberia conducts all types of maintenance services on its own engines and those of other airlines. These services include dismantling, cleaning, inspection, and repair of components, and reassembly and follow-up.
The volume of engine work carried out by Iberia Maintenance has increased by 15% in recent years, with gains both in the number of engines serviced –183 in the year to date– and customers, which now number more than 30. The increased workload has occasioned an expansion of staff and productive improvements.
Iberia’s facilities include a testing bench for engines of up to 100,000 lb. of thrust for to verify performance after servicing.
Like Iberia, Cathay Pacific is a member of the oneworld airline alliance. The flag carrier of Hong Kong was founded in 1946, and it serves 116 destinations in 35 nations of Asia, the Pacific, Europe, North America, and Africa. The airline auditing firm Skytrax named it the airline of the year in 2009 for the quality of its customer service.
Iberia Maintenance is the maintenance unit of Iberia Airline of Spain, and it boasts modern and well-equipped installations near Madrid-Barajas airport, where it maintains the airframes and engines of the Iberia fleet, and also serves more than third-party 100 clients around the world, including British Airways, Continental Airlines, Atlasjet, SAS, DHL, Meridiana, Air Finlandia, and now, Cathay Pacific. Its Spanish clients include Iberworld, Air Europa, Spanair, and Vueling.
Iberia Maintenance is the world’s ninth-largest aircraft maintenance operator, excluding OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) and posted sales of some 732.5 million euros in 2009.
Flight data shows issue with only one engine on Cathay Pacific Airbus A330 CX780
Cathay Pacific today emphasized that at no time were both engines on CX780 from Surabaya, which made an emergency landing at Hong Kong International Airport yesterday, shut down.
At a press briefing, Dennis Hui Manager Maintenance Support at the airline’s Engineering Department emphasised that safety is always the airline’s number one priority. He said that after further investigation of the flight data from CX780 and having interviewed the crew, updated information had shown a clear picture of this aspect of the incident.
He said it had been determined that the number 2 (RH) engine was at idle power throughout the approach and landing at HKIA, and the Number 1(LH) engine was operating at 70 per cent of its maximum power, and frozen at that level.
Mr. Hui said: “This is a higher power setting than is required for a normal approach with a single operating engine. Consequently, this higher than normal power setting led to a higher than normal approach speed and incorrect flap configuration.
“The aircraft therefore touched down at approx 230 knots, as against a normal 135 knots at this aircraft’s operating weight.
“ However, the aircraft touched down on the correct position on the runway, but due to its high speed had to brake hard and use reverse thrust from the operating engine to bring the aircraft to a halt.
“The high speed and high energy braking led to very hot brakes, tyre deflation and the report from the FSD outside the aircraft that it had observed flames and smoke on the landing gear,” he added.
Mr. Hui said details of what happened and what caused the engine malfunction are now the subject of CAD investigations. Cathay Pacific was co-operating closely with the investigation, along with Airbus and Rolls Royce, the engine supplier.
At the same briefing, Quince Chong Director Corporate Affairs emphasized that no decision could be taken before touchdown on evacuation, until the aircraft safely landed and the commander was in the best position to assess the situation.
Once the pilots were told by the Fire Services Department that they had seen flames and smoke in the undercarriage, they decided to deplane the passengers and immediately alerted the cabin crew to begin the evacuation procedure.
Ms Chong praised the professionalism of the cockpit and cabin crews for their handling of the incident.
She said the cabin crew had assisted all the passengers out of the aircraft, and made sure all were safely deplaned before leaving themselves. Then the Captain and First Officer walked the entire length of the plane to ensure all were safely evacuated before leaving themselves.
She said the evacuation had taken just two minutes.
Ms Chong said: “The pilots and the 11 cabin crew all demonstrated professionalism of a highest order in handling a most testing situation. It was due to their training, professionalism, their judgment, and ability to perform multi-tasks under a highly intense situation that the injuries had been kept to a minimum.”
She said that Cathay Pacific had mobilized 40 department heads to operate the Crisis Management Centre and deployed 50 members of a “care team”, including Indonesian speakers, to accompany injured passengers to hospital and assist the others with their baggage and connecting flights.
The company was now offering to refund all passengers tickets and offer them a free regional flight.
Cathay Pacific statement on engine incident at Hong Kong Airport
Cathay Pacific today confirmed that our flight CX780 from Surabaya made an emergency landing at Hong Kong International Airport at 1343. The aircraft is an Airbus A330 with 309 passengers and 13 crew on board.
Cathay Pacific is working closely with the Civil Aviation Department which is investigating the incident.
A Cathay Pacific spokesman said that the left hand engine of the aircraft had shut down as the aircraft made its landing approach at Hong Kong International Airport.
The other engine was functioning.
The spokesman said: “Cathay Pacific flight crew are all trained on a regular basis to handle such situations.”
This spokesman also said that during landing, all four tyres on the left hand side of the aircraft had deflated while two of the four on the right hand side also deflated.
He said that the tyres were designed to deflate during such high energy braking to avoid them bursting. Such landings were usually accompanied by smoke or dust as the tyres become warm and deflate.
As a precaution, the passengers and crew were deplaned through the aircraft’s evacuation slides.
Eight passengers suffered injuries and were taken to hospitals accompanied by Cathay Pacific airport staff.
The aircraft entered into service with Cathay Pacific in 1998 and it had been through all the checks and servicing procedure recommended by its manufacturer, Airbus.
The spokesman added that all the passengers who had not required hospital treatment had been released from the holding area of the airport, assisted and supported by Cathay Pacific staff. Cathay Pacific staff were also present at Princess Margaret Hospital and Yan Chai Hospital to support the injured passengers and their friends and relatives.
We are not in a position to release any further details at this stage. We will release information as and when it is available.
JAL confirms oneworld membership at first Governing Board
Chief Executives from oneworld’s member airlines gathered for their first Governing Board of what is turning out to be a breakthrough year for the alliance.
It was the first time they had convened since:
- Japan Airlines reaffirmed its membership of the grouping in February and then filed for anti-trust immunity with American Airlines to deepen their co-operation across the Pacific – and the first oneworld Governing Board meeting attended by JAL’s new President Masaru Onishi since his appointment on 1 February.
- India’s leading carrier and only five-star airline Kingfisher Airlines signed a memorandum of understanding as its first step towards joining oneworld.
- The US Department of Transportation gave tentative approval in February to the application by oneworld’s transatlantic partners American Airlines, British Airways, Iberia, Finnair and Royal Jordanian for anti-trust immunity across the Atlantic – and the European Commission began market testing of proposed remedies in a key step towards approval of the proposed transatlantic joint business agreement between American, BA and Iberia.
It is also the first oneworld Governing Board meeting in a year that will see Russia’s leading domestic carrier S7 Airlines join the alliance.
oneworld Governing Board Chairman Gerard Arpey, Chairman and Chief Executive of American Airlines, said: “This time 12 months ago, oneworld was celebrating its 10th anniversary. Since then, oneworld has taken a series of significant steps towards establishing itself firmly as the world’s premier global airline alliance.
“We added one more leading airline, Mexicana, in November and look forward to welcoming on board Russia’s S7 Airlines later this year with India’s Kingfisher Airlines to follow next year.
“Not only does our line-up of members include the finest airline brands in the world, our collection of networks delivers the best coverage in the markets that matter most throughout the Americas, Europe, Asia and Australia. We believe our focus on the quality, rather than quantity, of members has been the right approach.”
“Meantime, we have been able to welcome Japan Airlines’ reaffirmation to oneworld. It is very good to have Masaru Onishi among us. We respect JAL’s alliance review was an important decision for the airline and the government of Japan. We believe they made the right choice for JAL’s many stakeholders, for Japan’s national interests and for consumers.”
Mr Arpey noted that this year had seen the biggest progress in oneworld’s history in deepening links between its member airlines: “We expect our applications for anti-trust immunity across the Atlantic and Pacific to be approved soon, levelling the alliance playing field between North America and Europe and ensuring that alliance competition remains robust between North America and Asia. Both initiatives will enable oneworld to offer our customers even better services and benefits.”
oneworld had taken significant strides in many other areas too, completing its biggest yet airport co-location project, bringing all on-line airlines from across all five passenger terminals into just two at its biggest European hub, London Heathrow, and increasing its lead in offering the widest range of alliance consumer fares.
Mr Arpey concluded: “For us, the key aim of all this activity is simple -to establish oneworld further firmly as the premier airline alliance, delivering to both our customers and member airlines services and benefits beyond the reach of any individual airline and making it easier and more rewarding to reach more places more easily on a quality network of the best brands in the business.”
Significant progress in expanding co-operation with Japan Airlines
Considerable progress has been made in expanding co-operation between JAL and its oneworld partners since the airline reaffirmed its membership of the alliance, following a review of its alliance strategy conducted as part of its overall restructuring programme, on 9 February this year.
Three days later it applied with American Airlines to the US Department for Transportation for anti-trust immunity for a joint business agreement between North America and Asia, and notified Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Tourism of their transaction. By working more closely together, the two airlines will be able to provide more seamless links for connecting passengers, expand customer choice by offering new routes and supporting existing routes that would not be economically viable for the airlines individually. This will enable them to improve efficiency, find opportunities to lower costs and have greater ability to invest in products, services and fleets.
American Airlines has also taken steps to serve Tokyo Haneda, which is JAL’s main domestic hub. American applied in February for slots to serve the airport from Los Angeles and New York JFK with flights that would also carry the JL code, subject to regulatory approvals.
British Airways and JAL are expanding their code-sharing agreement significantly, more than doubling the number of European destinations served by flights operated by the UK airline with the JL prefix. Nine routes were added last week with another four to follow later this month, taking to 23 the number of cities in Europe served by these joint services.
Meantime, preparations are moving ahead for the transfer this November of British Airways operations at Tokyo Narita into Terminal 2, alongside those of JAL and all other on-line oneworld partners.
Other oneworld member airlines are also expanding code-sharing with JAL. Its JL code has recently been added to flights by Mexicana to its Mexico City hub and on more routes served by Qantas subsidiary Jetstar.
At London Heathrow, oneworld’s biggest European hub, JAL and all other oneworld on-line partners, along with some BA services, have recently consolidated operations in Terminal 3. JAL has just started sharing BA’s lounges for premium customers there. Plans are being developed to enable JAL to share its oneworld partners’ lounges at more airports worldwide.
oneworld Governing Board Chairman, American Airlines Chairman and Chief Executive Gerard Arpey, said: “Japan Airlines is a highly valued member of oneworld and we are all committed to supporting JAL in its restructuring to create an even stronger partnership for the benefit of all our stakeholders. The rapid progress we have achieved so far is testimony to that commitment.”
Japan Airlines President Masaru Onishi said: “We analysed our alliance strategy in great detail before reaffirming our oneworld membership. oneworld is clearly the alliance of best quality, with excellent airline partners, extensive global coverage and best overall alliance proposition. The progress we have made with our oneworld partners since then, and our meeting today, has confirmed we made the right decision.
“We at Japan Airlines are excited at the prospects of further developing our relationships with our oneworld partners. We also firmly believe that being part of oneworld can strongly support JAL at a time when we are striving towards the revival of our business, which we are determined to achieve.”
The oneworld facts:
oneworld brings together some of the best and biggest names in the airline business – American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, LAN, Malév Hungarian Airlines, Mexicana, Qantas and Royal Jordanian, and around 20 affiliates including American Eagle, Dragonair, LAN Argentina, LAN Ecuador and LAN Peru. Russia’s S7 Airlines will join the alliance in 2010 with India’s Kingfisher Airlines on track to follow in 2011, subject to regulatory approvals. Between them, these airlines:
- Serve 800 airports in nearly 150 countries, with some 9,000 daily departures.
- Offer nearly 550 airport lounges for premium customers.
- Carry some 340 million passengers a year.
- Operate a combined fleet of almost 2,500 aircraft.
- Generate more than US$100 billion annual revenues in total.
The only alliance with airlines based in South America, Australia or Asia’s Middle East, oneworld enables its members to offer their customers more services and benefits than any airline can provide on its own. These include a broader route network, opportunities to earn and redeem frequent flyer miles and points across the combined oneworld network and more airport lounges. oneworld also offers more alliance fares than any of its competitors.
oneworld was voted the World’s Leading Airline Alliance for the seventh year running in the latest (2009) World Travel Awards. It is the only winner of this award since it was introduced in 2003.
