Report by : Gan Yung Chyan
/ KUCINTA SETIA
Three out of nine Cambodian airlines have already ceased operations. They are Cambodia Bayon Airlines, KC International Airlines and Small Planet Airlines Cambodia. Another airline with only two aircraft, Bassaka Air, is struggling to be airborne.
Cambodia Bayon Airlines, which reduced its flight network to a domestic route linking Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville in January 2019, has filed for bankruptcy in February 2019, after a stake of 24 per cent in its parent airline company Joy Air was bought over by Tianjin-based Okay Airways Company Limited and Xi'an-based Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) withdrew its investment from the Cambodian subsidiary.
KC International Airlines, or KC Air in short, has ceased operations in May 2019 and its only aircraft was transferred to Lanmei Airlines.
Small Planet Airlines Cambodia has gone into receivership after its Lithuanian parent company Small Planet Airlines has closed down its associate in Germany.
Bassaka Air has cancelled scheduled regular flights to Macau and Siem Reap in early 2019 and all its charter flights to Macau, Guiyang, Changsha, Hangzhou and Qingdao remain ad hoc amidst fierce competition from Lanmei Airlines, JC International Airlines, Skywings Asia Airlines, Cambodia Airways and Cambodia Angkor Air in the Cambodia - China travel market.
The pictures in this update are in tribute to these Cambodian airlines that have flown regularly in the Cambodian skies from 2014 to 2019 (Cambodia Bayon Airlines, Bassaka Air), from 2017 to 2018 (Small Planet Airlines Cambodia) and from February to May 2019 (KC Air).
Report by : Gan Yung Chyan
/ KUCINTA SETIA
Cambodia Airways launches scheduled flights from Phnom Penh to Shenzhen on 27 December 2019 and to Chengdu on 2 January 2020. The Phnom Penh - Shenzhen return flights are under the codes KR929 / KR930 while the Phnom Penh - Chengdu return flights are represented by the codes KR913 / KR914.
The flight schedules are listed below:
Flight Route Timing
KR929 Phnom Penh - Shenzhen 8.50 pm - 1.15 am, Mons, Weds, Fris
KR930 Shenzhen - Phnom Penh 5.45 am - 7.10 am, Tues, Thus, Sats
KR913 Phnom Penh - Chengdu 11.30 pm - 3.30 am, Tues, Thus, Sars
KR914 Chengdu - Phnom Penh 4.30 am - 7.10 am, Weds, Fris, Suns
Shenzhen and Chengdu are the third and fourth mainland China destinations of Cambodia Airways after Fuzhou and Wenzhou. Other destinations in Cambodia Airways' route network include Macau, Siem Reap, Sihanoukville, Suvarnabhumi, Taichung and Taoyuan.
Report by : Gan Yung Chyan
/ KUCINTA SETIA
Seen in the above picture is GetJet Airlines, a charter flight operator from Vilnius, Lithuania, parking at Changi Airport Terminal 1 on the rainy day of 11 December 2019. That day marks the first B737-400 charter flight arrival in Singapore from Vilnius via secondary cities in Asia.
Report by : Gan Yung Chyan
/ KUCINTA SETIA
Due to overall increase in demand for affordable flights between Singapore and Shanghai and the import of its first new A320neo aircraft on 12 December 2019 for deployment on domestic flights from Pudong to Shenzhen, Changchun, Chongqing, Qingdao and Xi'an, Juneyao Air is introducing second daily flight from Pudong to Singapore from 18 January 2020.
The second daily return flights are indicated under the pair HO1397 / HO1398 and are operated by Juneyao Air's Airbus A320 aircraft.
On 18 January 2020, flight HO1397 departs from Pudong for Singapore at 8.15 pm, arrives in Singapore Changi Airport Terminal 4 at 2.15 am before leaving Changi for Pudong at 3.15 am and touching down in Pudong at 8.15 am under flight HO1398.
Juneyao Air continues to operate its first daily flight to Singapore operated by 787-9 Dreamliner under the codes HO1605 / HO1606.
Juneyao Air adds that passengers may now check-in early at Changi Airport Terminal 4 from 2 pm.
On the A320neo aircraft introduced by Juneyao Air, it has 8 Business Class and 156 Economy Class seats. The Business Class uses the industry-leading seat brand Recaro's CL4710 Business Class seat, which is designed ergonomically with passenger comfort as the core design concept, providing passengers with the possibility to experience a comfortable flight. Juneyao Air added a six-way adjustable headrest, leather seat material, tablet computer stand, USB charging interface and legrest to the standard seat. At the same time, the Economy Class also uses the BL3530 seat from Recaro, which is also equipped with a tablet computer stand and USB interface. Two new seats combined with a new generation of cabin style will greatly enhance the comfort and convenience of air travel.
Report by : Gan Yung Chyan
/ KUCINTA SETIA
Image courtesy : Pham Duc Manh
According to Starlux Airlines Facebook, Starlux Airlines has received its Air Operator Certificate (AOC) from Taiwan Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) on 12 December 2019 after passing mandatory assessment of its test flights and required administrative assessment procedures.
Thus, Starlux Airlines is on its course to launch commercial flights to Macau, Danang and Penang on 23 January 2020.
Release of schedules and sales of air tickets are expected to begin on 16 December 2019.
Ironically, Starlux's AOC news came on the day of Far Eastern Air Transport's business collapse.
The number of active Taiwan airlines remains unchanged, five, including China Airlines, Mandarin Airlines, EVA Air, Uni Air and Starlux Airlines.
Report by : Gan Yung Chyan
/ KUCINTA SETIA
Translated from Taiwan Media ETtoday's report
Zhang Gangwei, Chairman of Far Eastern Air Transport (FAT), issued a testament at 5 pm on 12 December 2019 stating that the company has been defrauded by four people and deepening recession has drawn FAT to its business closure.
Here is the content of the testament: "I am sorry to everyone, due to fraud of the fraud group and the cross-strait recession, the company’s losses are gradually expanding. I have advanced nearly 900 million Yuan. However it is still inadequate. After more than two decades of hard work, I can only die for pardon but I will not look away. I asked the prosecutor to investigate Pao Yuanri, Lin Yusheng, Chen Shenglong, and Wang Ruikai. They claimed that a large amount of funds would be bet on the company. The sudden jump of votes due to lack of advances and the high operation fee made me worse. I wholeheartedly hoped that FAT would continue to soar to the sky, but I heeded the words of these four men, which caused the situation now. I hope they can come out and take responsibility for the business closure. With debts FAT cannot be reborn. The company will also do bankruptcy liquidation and hope to solve everyone's problems. I did not expect to save FAT solely by my own power 12 years ago. I didn't expect to be dragged down so much, and it was all my fault to die. It's not about anyone else. "
Fang Zhiwen, Deputy Director of the Taiwan Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) held a press conference at 4.30 pm and pointed out that FAT failed to pay by due date bank finances that ensure continuity of the business. Yet the company has a 268 million passenger trust guarantee. It is estimated that it is enough to solve the passengers' travel problems. In addition, it has negotiated with Mandarin Airlines and Uni Air to assist the passengers affected by the flight business closure.
The CAA pointed out that in consideration of the poor financial health of FAT, the CAA has a “FAT Financial Abnormality Contingency Plan” and set up a contingency group to continue to conduct a high degree of supervision of FAT’s finance and flight safety and require the establishment Special consumer trust account, highly supervising voyage flight security and finance. Relevant contingency actions are currently implemented in accordance with the plan.
A recent inspection by the “Civil Aviation Authority” found that FAT’s funds had insufficient liquidity and relied on Chairman Zhang Gangwei's continued betting of funds. On 11 December 2019 bank financing failed to be paid as scheduled. The CAA contingency team planned a meeting on 12 December 2019 at 8 am and FAT was requested to explain.
Huang Yuqi, Deputy General Manager of FAT, said yesterday that Zhang Gangwei still entered the company. This morning, a temporary situation occurred. He could not contact the chairman Zhang Gangwei and could not continue to bet on funds. FAT will temporarily cease operations from 13 December 2019.
The CAA has required FAT to ensure the safety of aviation, to carry the stranded passengers back to Taiwan as a priority, and to properly refund the passengers who have purchased tickets and protect the rights and interests of employees.
According to investigations, some 500 international and cross-strait tourists are currently stranded outside and in Taiwan. Since most of them are group passengers, they have requested assistance to supervise travel agencies to handle related matters. Intra-island evacuation, the CAA has asked Uni Air and Mandarin Airlines to increase the number of flights and enlarge the aircraft to assist in the evacuation of passengers.
In view of the suspension of flights from 13 December 2019, the CAA urges passengers to change their itinerary as soon as possible to rebook other airlines. In terms of consumer rights, the CAA, in a contingency group meeting, required FAT to make every effort to properly handle consumer rights matters. In addition, in the case of travel agencies, it should contact relevant cooperative travel agencies to assist in handling passenger itinerary arrangements and ticket refunds.
According to Article 48 of Taiwan's "Civil Aviation Law", the airline should submit a closing business plan before closing or closing business, apply for approval from CAA and transfer it to the Ministry of Transportation for approval, and within sixty days after the date of approval, the company may suspend or close its business; if the company suspends business tomorrow, it seriously violates the public interest and violates the regulations and CAA will penalize the company in accordance with Article 112 of the Civil Aviation Law with a three million Yuan fine and reported to the "Ministry of Communications" to revoke its permission, and also asked the prosecution to investigate the person in charge.
According to the "Civil Aviation Law" Article 110-3 a maximum punishment of up to three years imprisonment and new a fine of 200 million Taiwan dollars will be imposed on FAT.
Report by : Gan Yung Chyan
/ KUCINTA SETIA
China Express launches scheduled non-stop flights from its headquarters base Chongqing to Luang Prabang and Vientiane, the two major cities of Laos, on 20 and 22 December 2019 respectively.
On 20 December 2019, China Express flight G54855 departs from Chongqing for Luang Prabang at 12.30 am, touches down in Luang Prabang at 1.40 am before leaving Luang Prabang at 2.40 am for Chongqing and arriving in Chongqing at 5.50 am under flight G54856.
On 22 December 2019, flight G52805 leaves Chongqing for Vientiane at 12.35 am, arrives in Vientiane at 2.20 am before taking off from Vientiane for Chongqing at 3.20 am and touching down in Chongqing at 6.45 am under flight G52806.
China Express flies to Luang Prabang on Fridays only using its Airbus A320 aircraft while it flies to Vientiane using its Bombardier Regional Jet 900 on Sundays and Wednesdays.
The routes to Laos are China Express' fifth and sixth international routes as it currently operates flights on the routes Zhanjiang - Don Mueang, Zhanjiang - Phnom Penh, Tianjin - Mandalay and Zhengzhou - Mandalay.
Report by : Gan Yung Chyan
/ KUCINTA SETIA
Urumqi Air launches flights to Nagoya, Japan, via two Chinese cities Wuhan and Jinan before 1 January 2020, thus ensuring travellers from Urumqi arrive in Nagoya daily for business and tours.
On 30 December 2019, Urumqi Air flight UQ2657 departs from Urumqi for Nagoya via .
Wuhan at 7.05 am, transits in Wuhan at 11.25 am before leaving Wuhan for Nagoya at 1.05 pm and landing in Nagoya at 5.15 pm.
The return flight for Wuhan and Urumqi under flight UQ2658 leaves Nagoya at 6.45 pm, touches down in Wuhan at 10.20 pm before departing from Wuhan for Urumqi at 1.55 am on 31 December 2019 and returning to Urumqi at 6.30 am.
On 31 December 2019, flight UQ2659 takes off from Urumqi for Jinan at 7.35 am, transits in Jinan at 12 pm before departing from Jinan for Nagoya at 1.30 pm and touching down in Nagoya at 5.15 pm.
The reverse flight UQ2660 departs from Nagoya for Jinan at 6.45 pm, lands in Jinan at 9.15 pm before taking off for Urumqi at 11.50 pm on 31 December 2019 and arriving in Urumqi at 4.30 am on 1 January 2020.
The Urumqi - Wuhan - Nagoya route is operational on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays while the Urumqi - Jinan - Nagoya route is effective for travel on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays.
According to Urumqi Air, the Urumqi - Wuhan - Nagoya and Urumqi - Jinan - Nagoya routes are its second and third international routes. Its first regular international route is the Urumqi - Wuhan - Singapore route where Urumqi Air currently performs five weekly scheduled flights on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and weekends.
All international flights of Urumqi Air are operated by its B737-800 aircraft.
Report by : Gan Yung Chyan
/ KUCINTA SETIA
In Indonesia, there were rumours that Sriwijaya Air of Indonesia may cease operations. The rumours stemmed from the dissemination of a copy of an internal email to all employees of Sriwijaya Air on 25 September 2019, which contained two messages. The first piece of information stated that Sriwijaya Air will stop selling air tickets from 27 September 2019, and the timing for when the tickets will resume for sale is undecided. The second piece of information is about the possible suspension of operations of Sriwijaya Air and its wholly-owned subsidiary NAM Air.
Jefferson Irwin Jauwena, CEO of Sriwijaya Air Group, has denied the truthfulness of the email. However, he has acknowledged that Sriwijaya Air Group is in dispute with Garuda Indonesia Group management over the addition of Garuda Indonesia logo to the aircraft of Sriwijaya Air and its wholly-owned subsidiary NAM Air.
In November 2018, Garuda Indonesia management took over the operations of Sriwijaya Air and its subsidiary NAM Air through its subsidiary Citilink. As a result of this joint venture agreement, Sriwijaya Air has added the Garuda Indonesia eagle logo to its aircraft.
On 26 September 2019, Garuda Indonesia formally announced that it will remove its eagle logo from the aircraft operated by Sriwijaya Air Group because of ongoing disputes between the two parties.
Garuda Indonesia spokesman M. Ikhsan Rosan said, "Removing our eagle logo on aircraft operated by Sriwijaya Air is part of our effort to protect our brand in Indonesia, especially considering that since the beginning of the dispute, the services provided by Sriwijaya Air Group have consistently failed to meet our standards. "
It is estimated that the total debt of Sriwijaya Air has reached 43.5 billion Rupiah. Sriwijaya Air Group's maintenance supplier has threatened to unload five CFM engines from Sriwijaya Air's aircraft in service if it did not receive arrears in the near future. The ground handling company of Sriwijaya Air and NAM Air has also threatened to stop business cooperation with Sriwijaya Air Group.
If there is no settlement to the management dispute, Sriwijaya Air and NAM Air may cease operations at the same time.
