Results tagged “airlines”

Wow, what is it with China Eastern Airlines? First their passengers staged a sit-in at the LAX in Los Angeles and now they actually started throwing fists at Beijing International Airport... all gloriously documented by security cams.

A volcano located in Russia is currently wreaking havoc on all trans-Pacific flights to and from East Asia. According to The Canadian Press, the Sarychev Peak first started shooting ash and smoke on June 12 and now airlines are trying to avoid flying through the 50-km diameter residue. Anyone planning to fly to the western coast of North America should double-check their flight status before leaving to the airport. Shanghaiist especially feels for anyone who has just been released from a week in quarantine, just to have their flight delayed and be placed right back in a hotel.

A lot of us over here have friends that we miss terribly over in the U.S., but our repeated pleas to have them come and visit are usually met with a sad shrug and something along the lines of, “We're in the middle of an economic crisis over here. I ain't got funds, man.”

Cathay Pacific has given an apology and an upgrade to “Airport Auntie,” the hysterical older Chinese woman who had a complete breakdown in the Hong Kong International Airport after she missed her flight.

China Eastern's chairman Li Fenghua (李丰华) has been replaced by Liu Shaoyong (刘绍勇), chairman of rival China Southern Airlines in what's been described as a "government-orchestrated industry shake-up". There is no news on where Li Fenghua is off to next but we're curious because this was the guy that had earlier bitterly vowed that China Eastern would "never consider Air China as a strategic investor" after Air China blocked Singapore Airline's proposed HK$7 billion bid for a 24% stake in China Eastern. The management shakeup has piqued the interest of the Chinese business press. Some have speculated that Li is moving on to some new position in the State Council but this remains quite unlikely. As an anonymous insider revealed to the Securities Daily 《证券日报》, Li presided over China Eastern's worst performance ever, and bears some responsibility for losses of up to RMB5 billion in fuel-hedging. For that, Li may be sent off to "idle" at some work unit for some time before being "audited and reviewed" for his performance.

Shanghai-based China Eastern airlines has announced that it will increase its flights to Taipie from 3 times weekly to daily beginning next Monday. Also, whereas previously all flights had to bypass Hong Kong airspace, now flights are all going direct, ie., you can now get to Taipei in a little over an hour and for less than what you used to pay for! This is truly historic. A quick check with Elong.com indicate roundtrip flights to cost approximately RMB2100 plus tax of about RMB658.

Air China, China Eastern and China Southern have dispatched special charter flights to bring home stranded Chinese tourists caught in Bangkok during the recent anti-government protests there.

"Coca-Cola Co plans to seek approval under China's antitrust law for its $2.5 billion bid for top domestic juice maker Huiyuan, the final obstacle to what would be the largest foreign takeover of a local firm."

Frustration at mysterious delays and abrupt diversions and cancellations have at times boiled over into violence at Chinese airports, with passengers trying to storm grounded aircraft and police having to be brought in to keep the peace. Deputy head of the civil aviation regulator, Yang Guoqing said authorities will punish airlines whose passengers refuse to disembark or misbehave in protest over problems like delayed flights. "We will severely punish airlines which experience aircraft occupations and other incidents as a result of service reasons which originate with the airline," Yang told a news conference. "These measures include cancelling slots at corresponding busy airports."Customers must also be kept better informed about delays, especially those caused by bad weather, a big issue in China.

Fasten your seat belts, this is not a test. Guangzhou Daily brings us this news today that on July 4th, Shanghai Airlines flight FM9105 encountered serious turbulence leaving twenty passengers injured on their flight from Shanghai to Beijing.

The 60-seat China-made turboprop MA600 has been unveiled in Xi'an amid great fanfare. It is some 300 kilogrammes and 40 percent more fuel-efficient than its predecessor, the MA60, 122 orders of which have been received since it was introduced. While most of the foreign orders seem to be from African countries like Zimbabwe and Zambia — not the most exciting aviation markets — the China Aviation Industry Corporation has ambitious plans to take over its rivals, Canada's Bombardier and France's ATR, to become the world's leading provider of turbo-prop regional aircraft. Bombardier has since been quick to respond by saying it is not worried about increasing turboprop competition from China, adding that it is "the only aircraft manufacturer with three distinct families of products: turboprops for short haul, regional jets for mid-range and the proposed CSeries for longer-range and mainline carriers."

Shanghai travelers en route to Europe have never had it cheaper, but the real winners may be Hong Kong commuters. Newcomer Hong Kong Express Airways (which launched its first SH-HK flight only three days ago) announced Thursday that it will offer a monthly package for unlimited trips between the two cities, all for around 6,000 RMB. The deal is currently available in Hong Kong for HK$6,888 (6,086 RMB) a month, and the company reported that ticket prices will probably decrease by the time it is offered in Shanghai. So how much could you save? According to discount travel site elong.com, roundtrip tickets between the two cities range from 420 RMB to triple that, plus substantial tax and service fees. Moral of the story: travelers would have to make the trek at least weekly to justify the price tag. The monthly ticket may not be for the casual visitor, but frequent fliers are poised to benefit not just from financial savings, but also from faster booking and boarding procedures.

If you've been looking to fly to Europe for that much-needed break, ladies and gentlemen, that time is now. Air fares to Europe are at all-time lows and have never been cheaper in the six years that we've been here. Lufthansa leads the pack with the eye-popping offer of a return flight to Germany from Beijing at RMB3,760 and from Shanghai at RMB4,880. Air France has the very special web deal of a return tic to the UK from both Beijing and Shanghai from RMB4,040. KLM is also flying to the UK from RMB4,040 and elsewhere in Europe via Amsterdam from RMB4,470. In the meanwhile, new kid on the block Air Berlin flies direct from Shanghai to a host of destinations in German-speaking Europe including Berlin, Hamburg, Duesseldorf, Nuremberg, Stuttgart, Munich, Vienna and Zurich. We found a one-way ticket to Duesseldorf for about EUR300 (incl. taxes) — not a bad price at all, if you're not thinking of coming back to Shanghai that is!

After a successful month running at reduced capacity, the new Terminal 2 at Pudong Airport took another 18 airlines under its wing today.

From yesterday until April 29th, this is the list of airlines which will use the new Terminal 2 at Pudong:

Daily allowance on long-haul flights: NZ$55 (RMB310)

Photo from gruntzooki

Air Asia, Asia's first budget airline, has just announced its latest China destination. From now on, you can fly from Hangzhou (which is just a stone's throw from Shanghai) to Kuala Lumpur at a fraction of the price! We just did a quick check on their system and if you plan ahead of time, you can expect to pay around RMB1,115 (taxes included) for the flight. You can even select your own seats on the website if you pay an additional RMB48! Kuala Lumpur being Air Asia headquarters, you can fly onward to a host of other exciting Southeast Asian destinations for that much-needed break. Other Chinese destinations currently served by Air Asia are Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Xiamen and Macau.

In part of China's ongoing Olympic makeover, Chinese airlines will face harsh penalties for delays and cancellations . New restrictions will set a cap on the daily number of flights and prevent airlines from overbooking flights. Certain airports will also keep an airplane on reserve in the event of mechanical problems. If problems persist, offending airlines could lose their domestic service or face two-year restrictions on further expansion.

77% of China Eastern shareholders have voted against Singapore Airline's proposed HK$7 billion bid for a 24% stake in it. Disappointed by the results of the vote, China Eastern chairman Li Fenghua has vowed not to ally with Air China:

"We will never consider Air China as a strategic investor. The most important thing is not the price. The most important thing is to improve China Eastern Airlines' brand and management."

Continue reading "China Eastern vote update"

Looks like the much talked-about HK$7 billion bid by Singapore Airlines and its parent Temasek Holdings for a 24% stake in Shanghai's loss-making and debt-laden China Eastern Airlines may not happen just yet. Blocking the bid is its arch-rival and shareholder, Air China, as well as its parent China National Aviation Corp. (CNAC), which has now upped the ante by saying it would bid no less than HK$5 per share if shareholders vote against Singapore Airlines' HK$3.8 offer.

From Shanghai Daily:

SHANGHAI issued an orange alert for heavy fog this morning. It was the first orange fog warning since winter began early this month.

Continue reading "Orange fog alert and lousy airport/airline services"