We continue with the weekly series, in this case, regarding the Asia and Oceania market summary during October, with current news and some future developments for the coming months. To review the latest posts, click on the following links:

• Latin America – October 2023
• United States and Canada – October 2023
• Europe – October 2023

For one of the world’s fastest growing markets, several highlights can be noted. As the restrictions imposed by the Coronavirus pandemic continue to decrease and demand rises, airlines from Asia and Oceania are resuming and increasing their operations to the United States. Air China, Air New Zealand, Cathay Pacific, China Eastern and China Southern will all have new services in the Asia/Oceania – US market.

Air China

After a three and a half year suspension due to the pandemic, Air China will resume flights between Beijing and San Francisco as of November 1st. The carrier will have twice-weekly services as follows: Wednesday and Saturday · Boeing 777-300(ER)

• CA985  Beijing PEK 15:00 · 12:00 SFO San Francisco
• CA986  San Francisco SFO 14:20 · 19:30+1 PEK Beijing

Air India

On October 22nd, the Indian airline began its seasonal flights between Bengaluru and Singapore. According to the company’s website, Air India will offer four services a week on Airbus A321 aircraft. Monday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday

• AI392  Bengaluru BLR 22:30 · 05:40+1 SIN Singapore

Monday, Tuesday, Friday and Saturday

• AI393  Singapore SIN 06:40 · 08:35 BLR Bengaluru

Air India will operate to Singapore from Bengaluru, Chennai, Mumbai and New Delhi.

Schedule between Bengaluru and Singapore

• Air India (AI): 4 weekly · Airbus A321s
• IndiGo (6E): 7 weekly · Airbus A321s
• Singapore (SQ): 16 weekly · Airbus A350s and Boeing 737 MAX 8s

Air New Zealand

Effective December 2nd, Air New Zealand will boost its flights between Auckland and Los Angeles. The carrier currently operates seven weekly services with 342-seat Boeing 777-300(ER)s. Daily

• NZ6  Auckland AKL 20:15 · 11:15 LAX Los Angeles
• NZ5  Los Angeles LAX 19:55 · 06:00+1 AKL Auckland

New flight

• NZ4  Auckland AKL 23:30 · 14:30 LAX Los Angeles
• NZ3  Los Angeles LAX 20:40 · 06:45+1 AKL Auckland

The new operations will be carried out on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Flight NZ 4 and 3 was performed until early October.

Bamboo Airways

The company will cease its long haul flights as of November 2023 due to a major restructuring. Currently, Bamboo operates to Frankfurt, Melbourne and Sydney with Boeing 787 aircraft, all of which will leave the fleet in the short term. As a consequence of its corporate restructure, Bamboo Airways is expected to focus on narrow body planes and routes within Asia over the next few months. Fleet

• Airbus A320: 6
• Airbus A320neo: 6
• Airbus A321: 4
• Airbus A321neo: 6
• Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner: 3
• Embraer 190: 5

Destinations

China

• Lijiang (LJG)

Japan

• Tokyo (NRT)

South Korea

• Seoul (ICN)

Taiwan

• Taipei (TPE)

Thailand

• Bangkok (BKK)

Vietnam

• Buon Ma Thuot (BMV)
• Can Tho (VHA)
• Con Do (VCS)
• Da Lat Lien Khuong (DLI)
• Da Nang (DAD)
• Dong Hoi (VDH)
• Hanoi (HAN)
• Ho Chi Minh City (SGN)
• Hue Phu Bai (HUI)
• Nha Trang Cam Ranh (CXR)
• Phu Quoc (PQC)
• Pleiku (PXU)
• Qui Nhon Phu Cat (UIH)

Until mid-October, in addition to operations to Australia and Germany, Bamboo also had flights to London from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, services that were discontinued.

Cathay Pacific

The Hong Kong International Airport-based carrier resumed its regular flights to Chicago on October 3rd, a route it had suspended since March 2020 as a result of the pandemic. Cathay will operate three times a week with Airbus A350-1000 aircraft, configured for 334 passengers in three seating classes. According to Cathay’s website, this will be their schedule: Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday

• CX806  Hong Kong HKG 12:35 · 14:00 ORD Chicago
• CX807  Chicago ORD 16:05 · 20:45+1 HKG Hong Kong

Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco are Cathay Pacific’s destinations in the United States:

• Boston (BOS): 3 weekly · Airbus A350
• Chicago (ORD): 3 weekly · Airbus A350
• Los Angeles (LAX): 12 weekly · Boeing 777
• New York (JFK): 16 weekly · Airbus A350
• San Francisco (SFO): 8 weekly · Airbus A350

China Eastern

By October 29th, China Eastern Airlines resumed operations to San Francisco after a nearly four-year suspension because of the coronavirus pandemic. The carrier will offer two weekly flights from Shanghai using Boeing 777-300(ER) jets. Friday and Sunday

• MU589  Shanghai PVG 14:20 · 09:30 SFO San Francisco

Monday and Saturday

• MU590  San Francisco SFO 12:00 · 17:35+1 PVG Shanghai

China Southern

Wuhan will recover its non-stop connection to San Francisco starting November 4th. China Southern Airlines will fly once a week on Boeing 777-300(ER) aircraft configured for 360 passengers. The last scheduled flight between Wuhan and San Francisco was in February 2020. Saturday

• CZ659  Guangzhou CAN 11:20 · 13:10 WUH Wuhan
• CZ659  Wuhan WUH 15:10 · 11:55 SFO San Francisco

Sunday

• CZ660  San Francisco SFO 12:55 · 18:40+1 WUH Wuhan
• CZ660  Wuhan WUH 20:20 · 22:10 CAN Guangzhou (Monday)

JAL

Japan Airlines has increased its flights to Taiwan starting October 29th. A new destination from Taipei will be added, as well as more services from Tokyo Narita. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday

• JL8667  Osaka KIX 10:00 · 12:15 TPE Taipei
• JL8668  Taipei TPE 13:25 · 16:55 KIX Osaka

Daily · no changes

• JL809  Tokyo NRT 18:05 · 21:15 TPE Taipei
• JL802  Taipei TPE 10:35 · 14:35 NRT Tokyo

Daily · new flight

• JL8663  Tokyo NRT 11:35 · 14:45 TPE Taipei
• JL8664  Taipei TPE 15:50 · 19:50 NRT Tokyo

Hong Kong Airlines

As can be seen on its website, Hong Kong Airlines plans to resume flights to the Maldives from January 19th, 2024. The company is scheduling three weekly services on its Airbus A330-300s with the following timetable: Monday, Wednesday and Friday

• HX791  Hong Kong HKG 15:40 · 19:35 MLE Maldives
• HX792  Maldives MLE 21:20 · 06:35+1 HKG Hong Kong

Qantas

Qantas’ Sydney to Tokyo Haneda operations will have an increase on their frequency starting November 26th, as the airline will duplicate services between the two cities. Daily

• QF25  Sydney SYD 22:05 · 05:55 HND Tokyo
• QF26  Tokyo HND 08:45 · 20:30 SYD Sydney

Daily – new flight

• QF59  Sydney SYD 12:10 · 20:00 HND Tokyo
• QF60  Tokyo HND 22:00 · 09:55+1 SYD Sydney

Singapore Airlines

Singapore will increase its flights to Johannesburg from Changi Airport, which currently operates seven times a week on 318-seat Airbus A350-900 aircraft. Starting January 3rd, 2024, the airline will have 10 weekly services: Daily

• SQ478  Singapore SIN 01:30 · 06:10 JNB Johannesburg
• SQ478  Johannesburg JNB 07:10 · 09:25 CPT Cape Town
• SQ479  Cape Town CPT 10:40 · 12:40 JNB Johannesburg
• SQ479  Johannesburg JNB 13:45 · 06:10+1 SIN Singapore

New flight · Wednesday, Friday and Sunday

• SQ482  Singapore SIN 16:35 · 21:15 JNB Johannesburg
• SQ483  Johannesburg JNB 22:30 · 14:55+1 SIN Singapore

As of October 29th, Singapore Airlines resumed services between Singapore and Tokyo Narita with Airbus A380 aircraft. This flight, SQ 638/637, was operated by Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner jets. Singapore’s last scheduled flight to Tokyo with Airbus A380s had been in late March 2020. According to its website, the company will operate once a day this route on the mentioned aircraft. Daily

• SQ638  Singapore SIN 23:55 · 07:30+1 NRT Tokyo
• SQ637  Tokyo NRT 10:00 · 16:55 SIN Singapore

Star Air

Beginning November 21st, Star Air will inaugurate commercial operations at Shivamogga (RQY). The airline will have three scheduled routes with its Embraer 175s, configured for 76 passengers.

Goa Mopa

• S5210  Shivamogga RQY 13:55 · 14:45 GOX Goa Mopa
• S5211  Goa Mopa GOX 15:15 · 16:05 RQY Shivamogga

Hyderabad

• S5212  Shivamogga RQY 09:30 · 10:35 HYD Hyderabad
• S5213  Hyderabad HYD 16:30 · 17:35 RQY Shivamogga

Tirupati

• S5202  Shivamogga RQY 11:00 · 12:00 TIR Tirupati
• S5203  Tirupati TIR 12:35 · 13:40 RQY Shivamogga

Each will be offered on a daily basis.

Vietnam Airlines

According to reports, Vietnam Airlines plans to launch flights between Hanoi and Beijing Daxing from January 2024. The carrier intends to operate three weekly services on Airbus A321 aircraft. Monday, Thursday and Saturday

• VN514  Hanoi HAN 01:10 · 05:30 PKX Beijing
• VN515  Beijing PKX 08:15 · 11:05 HAN Hanoi

At the time of publication, operations are not available for sale.

Vistara

Vistara will inaugurate services between Mumbai and Frankfurt from November 15th. The Indian company will operate six weekly flights on 299-seat Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft. Mumbai will be Vistara’s second destination at Frankfurt Airport, as it currently operates from New Delhi six times a week. Daily except Monday

• UK27  Mumbai BOM 13:00 · 17:30 FRA Frankfurt
• UK28  Frankfurt FRA 20:20 · 09:10+1 BOM Mumbai

Frankfurt, London and Paris are Vistara’s routes in Europe:

• Mumbai (BOM) – London (LHR): 5 weekly · Boeing 787
• New Delhi (DEL) – Frankfurt (FRA): 5 weekly · Boeing 787
• New Delhi (DEL) – London (LHR): 7 weekly · Boeing 787
• New Delhi (DEL) – Paris (CDG): 5 weekly · Boeing 787

Air Mauritius

The carrier will increase its flights to Kuala Lumpur in April and July 2024. Air Mauritius currently operates twice weekly from Port Louis, Mauritius with Airbus A330s. Monday and Thursday

• MK646  Port Louis MRU 23:00 · 10:10+1 KUL Kuala Lumpur

Tuesday and Friday

• MK647  Kuala Lumpur KUL 12:50 · 15:50 MRU Port Louis

New flights on Wednesdays from Port Louis, and Thursdays from Kuala Lumpur. The actual schedule will be carried out during May and June 2024, with the three weekly services returning in July.

Regarding the civil aviation situation in Israel, and the status of each airline, you can listen to AvTalk Episode 237.

Cover photo: Yoshiharu Ozaki – JetPhotos.