Roundup: The Most Important Aviation News From Asia In 2023
The biggest stories from around the continent this year.
Air aviation news- In a year that saw the aviation industry bounce back to full health, the Asian aviation industry has seen scores of important stories and milestones. From mammoth aircraft orders to important regulatory changes, let’s dive into the biggest aviation stories from Asia this year.
COMAC’s Hong Kong flights
COMAC’s C919 and ARJ21 completed their first visit to Hong Kong earlier this month to perform a flight demonstration. The China-made aircraft are almost exclusively used inside the country, other than TransNusa Airlines, which flies the ARJ21.
While this wasn’t the foreign foray of the ARJ21, it marked the first time a C919 had been flown outside of China. Presently, COMAC’s narrowbody C919 – designed to rival the popular Boeing 737 MAX and Airbus A320neo-family range – is only operated by China Eastern Airlines but has supposedly attracted over 1,000 orders. Despite optimism for the C919, progress with COMAC’s widebody – the C929 – has been less forthcoming, with the program now led exclusively by COMAC following the departure of Russian partner United Aircraft Corporation (UAC).
Indian aircraft orders
With the Indian aviation market continuing its upward trajectory, its airlines are eager to grow their fleets to serve the inevitable rise in demand. Low-cost carrier IndiGo placed the largest single aircraft order in aviation history when it committed to 500 Airbus A320neo-family aircraft – 125 A320neos and 375 A321neos – at the Paris Air Show in June.
National carrier Air India also signaled its ambitious growth plans under owners Tata Group when it placed an eye-watering $68 billion order for 470 aircraft with Airbus and Boeing. This included widebody commitments for the Airbus A350, Boeing 787 Dreamliner and upcoming Boeing 777X, along with the 737 MAX and A320neo-family planes.
Korean Air-Asiana merger progress
The merger between the two South Korean carriers has dragged on for more than three years now. Despite receiving vital approvals from the majority of aviation authorities, it is still awaiting the green light from three key regulators – Europe, the US and Japan.
In a sign that things are moving in the right direction, the European Commission stated earlier this month that “very good progress” is being made on the merger. However, it will still need to secure authorization from US and Japanese regulators, which will be watching the EU’s decision closely.
JAL welcomes first A350-1000
Japan Airlines has been eagerly awaiting to get its hands on the first of 13 Airbus A350-1000s. With the jet spotted rolling out of the factory in Toulouse in October, JAL had to wait until mid-December for the next-generation widebody to arrive in Tokyo.
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The Japanese carrier plans to operate its first A350-1000 revenue flight in early 2024, deploying it on its route between Tokyo Haneda and New York JFK. It will then induct a second A350-1000 by March 2024, which will allow the carrier to make all of its daily HND-JFK flights operated by the type.
Boeing 737 MAX return to China
Boeing has been eager to firm up its presence in China, given how sizable the market is. In January, the Boeing 737 MAX made its first passenger flight in China in almost four years – however, the company was still barred from delivering new MAX aircraft to Chinese customers, an obstacle that has forced many local carriers to cancel their orders.
This week, Chinese authorities gave the green light for MAX deliveries to restart after more than four years without a delivery. A MAX 8 which was built way back in December 2019, has been busy completing test flights in California ahead of its eventual delivery to Chinese customer China Southern.
source: https://simpleflying.com/top-aviation-news-asia-2023/
