9 Air launches flight to Vientiane from Guangzhou on 1 September 2024

 Report, photo copyright by : Gan Yung Chyan, KUCINTA SETIA

9 Air, the low-cost airline subsidiary of Juneyao Air, launches direct scheduled flight from Guangzhou to Vientiane on 1 September 2024.

On 1 September 2024, 9 Air flight AQ1277 departs from Guangzhou for Vientiane at 7.20 pm, touches down in Vientiane at 8.45 pm before leaving Vientiane for Guangzhou at 9.45 pm and landing in Guangzhou at 1 am on 2 September 2024 under flight AQ1278.

9 Air flies to Vientiane on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays with its B737-800 aircraft.

China Southern completes C919 test flight on 3 August 2024

 Report by : Gan Yung Chyan, KUCINTA SETIA / Image : Web Screenshot

China Southern completes its inaugural Comac C919 aircraft test flight on 3 August 2024 in Pudong.

Loongair plans flight from Wenzhou to Narita on 3 September 2024

Report, photo copyright by : Gan Yung Chyan, KUCINTA SETIA

According to AeroRoutes, Hangzhou airline Loongair plans to launch non-stop flight from Wenzhou to Narita on 3 September 2024 with its A320 aircraft.

Accoridng to schedules, Loongair flight GJ8089 departs from Wenzhou for Narita at 9.30 am, touches down in Narita at 2.15 pm before leaving Narita for Wenzhou at 3.15 pm and arriving in Wenzhou at 5.55 pm under flight GJ8090.

Loongair flies to Narita from Wenzhou on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, subject to bilateral approval. The airline currently has regular flights from Hangzhou to Kansai in Japan.

AirAsia Indonesia launches flights to Hong Kong from Denpasar and Cengkareng in October 2024

 Report, photo copyright by : Gan Yung Chyan, KUCINTA SETIA

AirAsia Indonesia launches scheduled flights from Denpasar and Cengkareng to Hong Kong in October 2024. The inaugral flight from Denpasar to Hong Kong heralds on 1 October 2024 while the first flight from Cengkareng to Hong Kong goes operational on 8 October 2024.

According to schedules, AirAsia Indonesia flight QZ300 departs from Denpasar for Hong Kong on 1 October 2024 at 12.45 am, touches down in Hong Kong at 5.35 am before leaving Hong Kong for Denpasar at 7.20 am and arriving in Denpasar at 12.10 am under flight QZ301.

On 8 October 2024, flight QZ400 takes off from Cengkareng for Hong Kong at 7.25 am, lands in Hong Kong at 1.10 pm before departing from Hong Kong for Cengkareng at 1.55 pm and touching down in Cengkareng at 5.55 pm under flight QZ401.

The above flights are operated by AirAsia Indonesia's A320 aircraft daily.

Inflight Pictures : Myanmar National Airlines B737-800

Pictures copyright by : Gan Yung Chyan, KUCINTA SETIA

Akasa Air launches flight to Kuwait City on 23 August 2024

 Report by : Gan Yung Chyan, KUCINTA SETIA / Image : Akasa Air

Indian low-cost airline Akasa Air launches flight from Mumbai to Kuwait City on 23 August 2024.

On 23 August 2024, Akasa Air flight QP571 departs from Mumbai for Kuwait City at 7.50 pm, touches down in Kuwait City at 10 pm before leaving Kuwait City for Mumbai at 11 pm and landing in Mumbai on 24 August 2024 at 5.35 am under flight QP572.

Akasa Air flies to Kuwait City daily with its 737 MAX 8 aircraft. It also flies to Riyadh, Jeddah, Doha and Abu Dhabi and 23 domestic airports in India with its MAX fleet of 737 MAX 8, MAX 10 and MAX 200 aircraft. It first launches its domestic flight on 7 August 2022 from Mumbai to Ahmedabad and launches its first international flight to Doha on 28 March 2024.

Cebu Pacific launches flight to Chiang Mai from Cebu on 29 October 2024

 Report, photo copyright by : Gan Yung Chyan, KUCINTA SETIA

Cebu Pacific Air (Cebu Pacific, in short) launches direct scheduled flight from Cebu to Chiang Mai on 29 October 2024.

On 29 October 2024, Cebu Pacific flight 5J874 departs from Cebu for Chiang Mai at 8.35 pm, touches down in Chiang Mai at 11.35 pm before leaving Chiang Mai for Cebu at 12.45 am on 30 October 2024 and landing in Cebu at 12.55 am under flight 5J875.

Cebu Pacific flies to Chiang Mai from Cebu on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, It returns to Cebu on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. The flights are operated by its A320 aircraft.

 

Aero Dili plans scheduled flights to Darwin and Melbourne from Dili in October 2024

 Report, photo copyright by : Gan Yung Chyan, KUCINTA SETIA

Aero Dili Timor-Leste (Aero Dili, in short), the national flag carrier of Timro-Leste, plans to launch direct scheduled flights to Darwin and Melbourne separately from Dili in October 2024. The first flight from Dili to Darwin takes place on 2 October 2024 and the Dili=Melbourne flights follow on 7 October 2024.

On 2 October 2024, Aero Dili flight 8G271 departs from Dili for Darwin at 7.45 am, touches down in Darwin at 9.30 am before leaving Darwin for Dili at 10.15 am and arriving in Dili at 11 am under flight 8G272.

Flights to Darwin from Dili are operational on Wednesdays only.

On 7 October 2024, Aero Dili flight 8G291 leaves Dili for Melbourne at 6 pm, lands in Melbourne at 12.20 am local time before taking off from Melbourne for Dili at 2.30 am and arriving in Dili at 6.50 am under flight 8G292 on 8 October 2024.

Aero Dili flies to Melbourne from Dili on Mondays and returns to Dili on Tuesdays.

The above flights, subject to bilateral authorities' approval, are operated by Aero Dili's sole A320 aircraft, that formerly belongs to Bangkok Airways.

Before 2 October 2024, Aero Dili flies to Changi from Dili on Saturdays only, to Denpasar from Dili daily with its A320 and from Dili to domestic airports Suai and Oecusse in Timor-Leste with its Cessna 207T. It has plan to expand its international flight network to include Xiamen.

The airline has fleet orders for an additional A320 and a Cessna Grand Caravan 208B.

According to Wikipedia, Dili is only served by a handful of international and domestic airlines including Citilink, Airnorth, Air Timor (charter flights operated on behalf by Drukair Royal Bhutan Airlines), QantasLink, Mission Aviation Fellowship and ZEESM, beside Aero Dili.

The cities that the XiamenAir A321neo has landed

 Report by : Gan Yung Chyan, KUCINTA SETIA  / Image by : Jay Lee

XiamenAir, that begins A321neo international flight service to Suvarnabhumi on 18 July 2024, has been operating domestic flights in Mainland China since 4 May 2024.

The first city, that XiamenAir A321neo (B-32F3) flies to on 4 May 2024. is Nanning. The destinations follow include Xi'an Xianyang, Daxing, Chongqing, Hangzhou, Guangzhou, Zhengzhou, Jinan, Sanya, Pudong, Chengdu, Hohhot and Hefei.

XiamenAir has not revealed which next international city will be served by B-32F3 next. The airline's last A321neo flight to Suvarnabhumi falls on 31 August 2024.

Croatia Airlines takes delivery of its first A220-300 aircraft

 Report by : Gan Yung Chyan, KUCINTA SETIA  / Image : Airbus

Croatian flag carrier and Star Alliance member Croatia Airlines has taken delivery of its first Airbus A220-300 aircraft at the Airbus Montreal factory in Canada. The delivery is one step in Croatia Airlines’ efforts to renew its entire fleet with new generation aircraft and is the largest project in the airline’s history as it celebrates its thirty-fifth anniversary this year.

This is the first aircraft to be delivered in a firm order of 13 A220-300 aircraft and 2 A220-100 aircraft from Croatia Airlines. The introduction of the A220 will bring significant technological advancement to the airline's fleet. Compared with the previous generation model, the A220 has higher fuel efficiency. Single-seat fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions can be reduced by 25%, noise can be reduced by 50%, and nitrogen oxide emissions are also about 40% lower than industry standards.

Like all Airbus aircraft, the A220 can fly on a blend of up to 50% Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). Airbus aims to have all aircraft products flying on 100% SAF fuel by 2030. The A220 will play an important role in helping Croatia Airlines reduce operating costs and environmental impact.

The Airbus A220 aircraft is a model specially manufactured for the 100-150-seat market. It can fly non-stop up to 3,600 nautical miles/6,700 kilometers. This provides strong support for Croatia Airlines to gradually expand its route network, and also ensures that Croatia Airlines can improve passenger satisfaction while providing quality services. In addition, the A220 is equipped with Pratt & Whitney's latest generation GTF engine with advanced aerodynamic design and materials, and adopts an innovative cabin design, with wider seats, larger windows and more spacious cabin space among aircraft in its class, which provides passengers with a higher level of comfort.

As of the end of June 2024, about 30 airline customers have ordered more than 900 A220 aircraft, which is enough to prove the A220's leading position in the small single-aisle aircraft market. Currently, more than 340 A220 aircraft are flying on more than 1,400 routes connecting more than 440 destinations around the world, and have transported more than 100 million passengers.