Manila Bulletin
October 7, 2011
MANILA, Philippines — Seven of the top ten airlines in Asia are expected to take delivery of wide-body aircraft over the next 12 months with only Emirates, Lufthansa, and Qatar Airways leading the group, according to the Center for Asia Pacific Airlines (CAPA).
ANA heads the list, thanks to its hectic B787 induction schedule, while Cathay Pacific, Air China, and China Southern all have 15 or more widebodies on order for delivery over the next 12 months.
Malaysia Airlines, Air India and Japan Airlines are also present in the Top 10. Asia Pacific airlines are likely to be in hot demand for airport route developers worldwide in coming months.
Among the Top 30 carriers by wide-body deliveries worldwide, 13 are from Asia Pacific, 10 are based in Europe, five are from the Middle East/Africa and just three are from North America, according to Ascend data. There are four dedicated cargo operators in the Top 30 list – CargoLux, FedEx, UPS and Yangtze River Express.
ANA, which on Sept. 26, 2011 took delivery of the first B787, has 20 widebodies scheduled for delivery over the next 12 months. At present, the carrier has 112 wide-body aircraft in its fleet accounting for 72.3% of its fleet total, with 63 wide-bodies on firm order, comprising 71.6% of the carrier’s orderbook.
B787s will constitute a considerable number of the 20 deliveries, with the carrier scheduled to take delivery of four B787s in the remainder of 2011 and an additional eight in 2012. By the end of 2017, the carrier will have all 55 on-order B787s in service for deployment on domestic and international routes, based on the current schedule. The carrier also has three B767-300ERs and five B777-200ERs on order to supplement its wide-body fleet.
Emirates, one of the world’s fastest growing carriers, has 19 widebody aircraft scheduled for delivery over the next 12 months. Emirates, which only operates wide-body aircraft, is building the world’s largest A380 fleet and is also one of the largest customers for the A350, as it seeks to reinforce Dubai as a leading intercontinental travel hub.
The carrier has 161 wide-bodies in service at present, with a further 194 on firm order, including A350s, A380s, B747-8Fs and B777s, according to Ascend.
Cathay Pacific, like Emirates, operates an all-wide-body fleet of 126 aircraft.
In 1H2011, Cathay Pacific took delivery of six new aircraft with a further eight deliveries scheduled in 2H2011 for a total of 95 for delivery between now and 2019.
The value of these aircraft at list prices is almost HKD200 billion.
Air China has 16 wide-bodies scheduled for delivery over the next 12 months, further highlighting its future international expansion aspirations.
At present, just 18.7% of Air China’s total seats are deployed internationally, highlighting significant scope for expansion.
China Southern Airlines, which had 15 wide-bodies scheduled for delivery over the next 12 months, is also expanding its fleet with new aircraft, including A380 and B787 equipment to support its international growth aspirations. The airline is seeking to add more wide-body aircraft to its fleet as it boosts its international network amid intensifying competition on domestic routes following the development of the high-speed rail network in China.
Malaysia Airlines (MAS) has 15 wide-bodies scheduled for delivery over the next 12 months, including the delivery of six A380-800 aircraft between Apr-2012 and Jun-2012. London, Sydney and Melbourne are likely destinations for A380 operations.
The carrier has 95 aircraft in service and 60 aircraft on firm order, including the six A380s and 13 A330s. At present, the carrier's fleet is split 50:50 between narrow-bodies and wide-bodies, although future deliveries are more eighted to narrowbodies (68%).
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