SIA was named the best airline in Asia, but slipped to third place globally, according to a survey of millions of airline passengers conducted by Skytrax. Emirates was voted the world’s top airline, the fourth time it has clinched the award, while Qatar Airways came in second. SIA also clinched the award for Best Airline in Asia as well as Best Business Class Airline Seat. Asiana Airlines won the award for the best economy class airline, followed by Qatar and SIA, while Qatar won for the best business class airline, followed by SIA and Etihad Airways. The best cabin crew award went to Garuda Indonesia, with ANA taking second place and SIA third. THAI was named as the world's most improved airline,. <br/>
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South African Airways suspended treasurer Cynthia Stimpel pending an investigation into a misconduct charge, the latest in a wave of disciplinary proceedings that have caused management upheaval at the unprofitable carrier. Stimpel’s actions amount to a “breach of SAA’s code of ethics and conduct,” a spokesman said Wednesday, without giving further detail about the charge. The treasurer has been “suspended and not dismissed,” he said. Stimpel had objected to SAA’s decision to award Johannesburg-based BnP Capital a contract to advise on the restructuring of US$1b of debt, Business Day newspaper reported July 7, citing an e-mail she sent to acting CFO Phumeza Nhantsi. The arrangement will see BnP paid a success fee of ZAR256m, about 3 times what the airline’s treasury had estimated. <br/>
Avianca Brasil is pushing ahead with plans to overhaul its aircraft fleet as the closely held carrier shakes off worries over the deep Brazilian recession and looks ahead to projections of rapid growth in Latin American air travel. Synergy Aerospace Corp, the airline’s owner, agreed to buy 62 narrow-body planes from Airbus’ A320neo family, the companies said Wednesday. The deal is valued at more than US$6b at list prices. The purchase agreement comes about a year after Synergy and Airbus signed a memorandum of understanding for the jets. Since then, Brazil has plunged into its deepest recession in a century amid wide deficits and falling business and consumer confidence. The country’s credit rating has been downgraded to junk, while a widespread corruption probe has ensnared business and political leaders. <br/>
EgyptAir, seeking to overcome slumping tourist numbers and the impact of a fatal jetliner crash, revealed an order for 9 Boeing single-aisle jets and said it plans to buy more planes to aid its recovery. The carrier, disclosed as the buyer of the 737-800 aircraft valued at US$864m and entered into Boeing’s books some months ago, is looking to add aircraft spanning regional jets to the latest wide-body models, Safwat Al Musallam, chairman and CE of its holding company, said Wednesday. Under consideration are the re-engined Boeing 737 Max and Airbus A320neo narrow-bodies, the twin-aisle 787 and A330, and the Bombardier C Series and Embraer 195 regional jets, Al Musallam said, adding that EgyptAir must take steps to move on from the May 19 crash. <br/>
Wednesday is the day when United Airlines further pushes to become the dominant US-based carrier serving mainland China with its inaugural flight to Hangzhou, China from San Francisco International. United is launching the new service in grand style on the newest addition to its fleet, the Boeing Dreamliner 787-9, a stretch version of the original Boeing 787-8 model. The debut of the San Francisco-Hangzhou service marks the fifth city United is serving in China, and the 14th destination in the Asia/Pacific region that United connects to from San Francisco. Hangzhou also is the fifth new international route United has launched from San Francisco in just the past 3 months. But make no mistake. It's the China market where United is looking to making its boldest statement. <br/>