Airlines Hike Fares, Expand Service
Singapore Raises Fares
Rising fuel costs are expected to make the cost of flying to Asia more expensive this year. While several Asian-based carriers are considering fare increases, Singapore Airlines already has raised fares on all off its international flights by 3 percent. An airline spokesman said SIA's fuel costs increased by 22 percent last year.
CAI Expands Asia Service
Canadian Airlines International will expand air service to Asia out of its Vancouver hub by more than 20 percent over the next several months. The airline recently expanded service to Beijing from two flights per week to six and service to Nagoya, Japan, from five flights per week to daily. At the same time, flights to Taiwan will increase from three per week to six, and flights to Hong Kong will increase from nine to 11.
Spurring Canadian's expansion plans is the completion of a new international terminal at Vancouver International Airport, according to Don Casey, vice president of capacity planning for the airline. "The old terminal was very congested and we were constrained in terms of access to gates," he said. "Now we can build a real hub structure to Asia."
Canadian, which has a code share agreement with American Airlines, is targeting U.S. passengers for its transpacific flights. According to Casey, the two airlines are coordinating flight schedules to allow for better connections to Asia via Vancouver from American's U.S. gateways.
Malaysia Airlines Plans To Add Service Out Of SFO
Malaysia Airlines, which currently provides daily service between Los Angeles and Kuala Lumpur, plans to add San Francisco as a gateway in October. The new service will be offered three times per week, providing direct flights to Kuala Lumpur with a stop in Taipei.
Gilbert Whelan, San Francisco-based sales manager for the airline, said the new service is largely a result of increased demand from Silicon Valley firms which do business in Malaysia as well as growing interest in the country as an incentive destination.
Northwest, Garuda Codeshare
Northwest and Garuda Indonesia Airlines have signed a codesharing pact which will extend to both transpacific and U.S. domestic flights. Northwest also hopes to start service between Seattle and Jakarta as an extension of its service to Osaka, but has been unable to get approval from the Japanese government.