China’s 3 biggest airlines are poised to report losses totalling CNY8.5b (US$1.3b) from currency swings this year as a weaker yuan proves a drag amid rising traffic and cheaper fuel. Air China may face CNY3b in foreign-exchange losses, while China Southern is looking at a potential hit of CNY4b and China Eastern Airlines may lose about CNY1.5b. That compares with a combined loss of CNY16.2b in 2015. The carriers are scheduled to announce their first-half earnings this week. A strategy to trim dollar-denominated debt may be paying off as the airlines seek to shield their earnings from declines in the yuan. A weaker local currency typically hurts companies that borrow in dollars to pay for imports such as aircraft. An unexpected devaluation of the yuan last year led to an 18-fold surge in currency losses in 2015 for the 3 carriers. <br/>
sky
KLM is to resume flights to Tehran in October, the latest international airline to restart flights to Iran since January’s historic nuclear accord. A number of major international airlines have indicated they would resume flights to Tehran following the landmark agreement. KLM will operate 4 weekly flights to Tehran from Amsterdam from Oct 30, the airline said. Air France resumed services in April this year. KLM said it suspended direct flights to Iran in April 2013. Tehran will be the airline’s 14th new destination this year, it said. European airlines have slowly been returning to Iran in recent years. Austrian Airlines returned in 2014 whilst Lufthansa and Alitalia never stopped flying to the country. Earlier this year, British Airways pushed back its plans to relaunch flights to Tehran to February 2017 due to “technical issues.” <br/>
Market research shows that many Americans often think KLM means either milk or music. So the airline is embarking on an advertising campaign that is heavy on self-deprecating humour to explain what the letters mean. “The brand has not been so visible, but we want people to know it’s an airline, and that it’s Dutch,” said Christophe Attard, the VP of marketing for Air France-KLM. “We wanted KLM to reflect the nationality of the country,” Attard said. “It’s friendly and innovative.” The approach underscores KLM’s effort to solidify its American market, where it currently has 8 gateways for passengers to fly directly to Amsterdam. The carrier is striving to keep its footing against competition from low-cost rivals, as well as carriers based in the Middle East that are trying to expand their service networks. <br/>
China Airlines, which was scheduled to take delivery of its first Airbus A350 XWB in July, has been informed by the manufacturer that its first aircraft delivery should take place in Q3 2016. According to China Airlines, Airbus expects to progressively deliver 4 A350s, 1 in Q3 and 3 aircraft in Q4 of this year. The first A350 XWB for China Airlines has rolled out from the cabin furnishing & engine installation at the Airbus final-assembly line, and is ready to proceed to further ground testing. The initial test flight of China Airlines‘ first A350 will take place in early September. China Airlines ordered 14 A350s in Dec 2007, plus 6 options. The carrier’s chairman and CE Hang Hung Sun said in July 2015 that China airlines would take delivery of “6 more A350s in 2017, and 4 more in 2018.” <br/>