Emirates and the Persian Gulf’s two other major airlines are likely to get pride of place at Frankfurt airport’s new terminal, allowing them to offer bigger premium-class lounges to compete more aggressively with local rival Deutsche Lufthansa. Frankfurt’s Terminal 3 will probably house Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways of Abu Dhabi, as well as Emirates, said Matthias Zieschang, CFO of airport owner Fraport. An extra floor will be added to satisfy demands of the Middle Eastern operators for more space, about doubling the room reserved for luxury lounges, Zieschang said. The design change is contributing to a one-year delay in the terminal’s completion to 2023 and may push construction costs beyond the budgeted E$3b. Fraport is under pressure to find alternative sources of growth. Lufthansa, Frankfurt airport’s largest customer, is limiting fleet expansion there to develop its low-cost Eurowings unit, which doesn’t currently fly to the hub. Meanwhile, Air Berlin Plc, Germany’s second-biggest carrier, is halving its fleet to stabilize operations. Frankfurt airport’s passenger numbers slipped 0.3% in October and are on track to fall this year for the first time since 2009. Frankfurt airport’s push to woo new tenants adds to challenges facing Lufthansa. The Gulf carriers are targeting premium long-haul passengers, while in the discount segment, Ryanair Holdings will start service from the hub in March, joining budget rivals including IAG’s Vueling division and Wow Air of Iceland. <br/>
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Emirates airline said Thursday it has retired the last Airbus A330 and A340 aircraft in its fleet from active service, making Emirates the only airline in the world to operate a fleet of all Airbus A380 and Boeing 777 aircraft for its passenger flights. Emirates’ fleet of all Airbus A380 and Boeing 777 aircraft will have a smaller environmental impact as both aircraft types have better fuel efficiency and emissions performance than the retired aircraft, the airline said in a statement. It added that it plans to further phase out some 25 aircraft over the course of 2017 and 2018 to ensure that the operating fleet remains modern and efficient. <br/>
Thai AirAsia reported a profit increase in its third quarter to 729.2m baht (US$20.65m). The four-fold net profit lift was attributed to an increase in foreign visitors to Thailand and lower fuel costs. Revenue rose to 8.145b baht from last year’s 7.254b. Thai AirAsia carried 4.33m passengers in the quarter to end September, a 21% increase on 2015. Capacity in available seat km rose 20% and revenue (in revenue passenger km RPK) was up 23%. Load factor increased 3 percentage points to 84%.<br/>
The newest airline to enter the New Zealand market lands this week and has announced plans to boost capacity before its first flight. Hong Kong Airlines will begin regular daily services to Auckland on Friday and will increase this by three a week for two months over the summer high season from December 11. Daniel Yuen Chun Yu, the airline's New Zealand country manager, said there had been a very strong market response. The airline, which last week sold some return Auckland-Hong Kong fares for $750 return, will compete against established carriers Cathay Pacific and Air New Zealand on the route. Cathay has just introduced a new plane on the route and recently dropped business class fares on the route and on to Europe to NZ$3500. Yuen Chun Yu said his airline was aware it was in for a fight on the route but believed there was room for three airlines. "We know that we have to improve our service to the top standard to be competitive," he said.<br/>
China’s Hainan Airlines reported a Q3 net profit of CNY1.7b (US$251m), nearly doubled from a net income of CNY887.3m in the year-ago quarter. Operating revenue climbed 18.1% to CNY11.8b against a 5.3% increase in operating expenses to CNY9.9b. Industry analysts cited continuous market demand growth and lower fuel prices as the main reasons for the Haikou-based carrier’s much-improved performance. China’s big three carriers also posted third-quarter net profit improvements: China Southern reported a third-quarter net profit of CNY3.3b, nearly tripled from the year-ago quarter. Air China reported a net profit of CNY3.8b, up 62% year-over-year while China Eastern reported a Q3 net profit of CNY3.5b, up 95.5% from the year-ago quarter.<br/>
JC International Airlines, a Chinese-backed carrier, is preparing to launch operations in Cambodia to serve both the domestic and international markets. The Cambodian-registered airline, managed by China’s Yunnan Jingcheng Group, expects to launch flight services in February 2017 with about 160 to 180 staff, according to Yan Yi Xi, a company representative. He said JC International Airlines plans to operate a fleet of six aircraft, serving domestic routes as well as cities in Malaysia, Singapore and China. “We’ve applied for almost all the licences necessary, save for a few checks that still need to be conducted,” he said. “Things are still in the preliminary stage, but everything’s more or less settled and we’re excited to serve our passengers next year.” Sinn Serey Vutha, spokesman of the State Secretariat of Civil Aviation (SSCA), confirmed that the airline had submitted an application for an air operator’s certificate (AOC). <br/>