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Qatar Airways has unveiled new destinations, and announced flight resumptions and frequency increases during a press conference on the first day of ITB Berlin 2023, the world’s largest travel and tourism trade show. Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker announced over seven new destinations planned for launch in 2023, including Chittagong, Juba, Kinshasa, Lyon, Medan, Toulouse, and Trabzon. Qatar Airways is also resuming flights to 11 destinations: Beijing, Birmingham, Buenos Aires, Casablanca, Davao, Marrakesh, Nice, Osaka, Phnom Penh, Ras Al-Khaimah, and Tokyo Haneda. Multiple destinations also saw frequency increases scheduled for the year 2023. Al Baker added: “Qatar Airways is dedicated to enrich the global community which it serves. As the World’s Best Airline, we are excited to offer more ways of bringing the world together, increasing connectivity and bridging gaps within the travel industry. As we expand our fleet, network, partnerships and international presence we look forward to working together to deliver sustainable growth and a compelling future for the industry.<br/>

Qatar Airways is to start introducing its own Boeing 737 Max jets, to support capacity growth in short-haul sectors. The airline says it recently had an “opportunity” to acquire a “small number” of 737 Max 8s, without elaborating on the details of the agreement. Qatar Airways says the twinjets – powered by CFM International Leap-1B engines – will be added to its fleet “in the coming months”. They will provide capacity to “help drive future growth”, particularly in short-haul markets, it states. “As a rapidly growing airline, these efficient and modern aircraft are a welcome addition to the narrowbody fleet to support our sustainable expansion plans,” the carrier adds. One aircraft – MSN43342 – has been captured in Qatar Airways livery carrying out flights in the USA with a temporary registration. Cirium fleets data lists this aircraft and a second, MSN43329, as due for delivery to the Doha-based airline. It also shows three other Max 8s in storage, although these are all Irish-registered jets which were originally delivered to Qatar-linked Air Italy several years ago. The airline ceased operations in 2020. Qatar Airways has an agreement with Boeing to take 25 of the larger Max 10 variant. It had been scheduled to introduce Airbus A321neos to its fleet but the carrier’s legal dispute with the airframer over A350 skin-paint deterioration has ultimately resulted in deliveries being deferred to 2026.<br/>

Japan Airlines is close to placing an order for more than 20 Boeing (BA.N) 737 MAX airplanes as it renews its medium-haul fleet, industry sources said on Wednesday. JAL confirmed it was involved in talks to buy new jets but declined further comment. "We are still at the stage of negotiation, so we cannot provide details," a JAL spokesperson said when asked about an earlier Bloomberg report on the deal. The order will likely be a combination of 737 MAX 8 jets and some of Boeing's larger 737 MAX 10 planes, the report said, adding the airline was also in talks with Airbus. Boeing declined comment on any commercial discussions. Airbus said it never comments on talks with customers. A deal for JAL to buy Boeing's single-aisle MAX would be the second by one of Japan's top carriers following All Nippon Airways, in a national market traditionally dominated by Boeing. The future of the MAX in Japan had been uncertain after a recent safety crisis and the pandemic, which delayed ANA's decision to finalize its own order by around two years. Analysts say Boeing was stung when Airbus unexpectedly sold its A350 wide-body jet to JAL 10 years ago in the wake of a crisis over battery problems on the competing Boeing 787, for which Japan is both a major supplier and customer.<br/>

Japan Airlines is conducting durability tests with “riblet” coatings that can be applied directly over the paint of an aircraft. JAL’s partners in the project are the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), O-Well Corporation, and Nikon. JAL claims that these are the first “sharkskin” riblets that can be applied as coatings directly over an aircraft’s existing paint, and that this saves weight. Sharkskin riblets are known to reduce friction along an aircraft’s skin by moving tiny vortexes away from the aircraft’s surface. JAL adds that applying riblets over most of an aircraft’s skin can result in fuel savings of 2%. The project saw O-Well’s coating applied to a small area on the belly of one JAL 737-800, and Nikon’s to another. The aim of the work is to test the durability of the coatings. “Durability tests are currently being carried out by performing repeated inspections, measuring the changes in the shapes of the riblets incurred during test flights,” says JAL. O-Well’s coating uses a water-soluble mould to apply the riblets, while Nikon uses a laser process. The depth of the riblet groves is 50 microns, about the thickness of a human hair. JAL adds that applying either coating requires a high degree of skill, because they are “very sensitive” to such factors as the type of underlying paint, as well as the temperature and humidity at the time of application. So far, the 737 with the O-Well application has flown 1,500h, and that with the Nikon application 750h. Both the O-Well and Nikon coatings have demonstrated “sufficient durability.” “JAL will establish an optimal method on a large area that will reduce CO2 emissions as early as FY2023, and will further improve fuel efficiency by increasing the number of aircraft with riblet coating, especially aircraft for international flights that are more effective in reducing fuel consumption,” says the carrier.<br/>

Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Group said it was "rebuilding" after announcing a third consecutive full-year loss as the city reopens after harsh travel restrictions were scrapped. The airline group extended its net loss to 6.5b Hong Kong dollars ($834.4m) for 2022 -- more than the HK$5.52b loss over the same period the previous year. But the company reported a marked improvement in the second half of the year, with the city's flagship airline Cathay Pacific recording a positive cash flow of HK$2.96 billion as travel demand resumed. "On the premium travel and low cost side, we [are] still really optimistic about the outlook in terms of travel demand from Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area as well as people transiting via Hong Kong," said Cathay Pacific CEO Ronald Lam, referring to a cluster of 11 cities that comprise a megalopolis in southern China. Full-year revenue for 2022 rose 11% to HK$51b compared with HK$45.5b in 2021. Cathay anticipates flight capacity to hit 70% of its pre-pandemic capacity this year and return to pre-COVID levels by the end of 2024. It is flying at half its pre-pandemic capacity this month. The company's passenger revenue grew to HK$13b, a 214.9% increase compared with 2021. Cargo revenue dropped by 16.6% to HK$26.9b compared with the same period last year as cargo capacity was reduced. Losses for Cathay's low-cost carrier Hong Kong Express dropped 31% last year to HK$1.36b. Cathay said it had "moved into a new phase" with a focus on growing travel connections in the Greater Bay Area, adding it aimed to provide a wide range of intermodal transportation for visitors traveling between the mainland into Hong Kong's airport. Lam welcomed the reopening of mainland China's borders but did not answer questions about how much it would contribute to its business. He said a total of 110 weekly flights between Hong Kong and 12 mainland Chinese cities will be in place by the end of March. The Hong Kong airline has scrambled to hire back employees as demand rapidly rose after travel restrictions were loosened earlier this year and a campaign to bring back tourists.<br/>

Cathay Pacific Airways removed 24 aircraft from overseas storage in 2022, as Hong Kong’s air traffic recovery got underway. At the end of 2022, Cathay’s fleet amounted to 181 aircraft, while low-cost unit HK Express had 26 aircraft, and cargo operator Air Hong Kong 15, according to Cathay’s 2022 results statement. The return of aircraft coincided with the lifting of coronavirus-related travel restrictions in Hong Kong. Following the start of the coronavirus pandemic in China in early 2020, Hong Kong had been all but completely cut off to international air travel, effectively grounding Cathay. The number of aircraft parked during 2022 was reflected in Cathay’s overall utilisation rate, which stood at just 3.3h per day, down from 3.4h per day in 2021. At the end of 2022 41 passenger jets were still parked overseas. In addition, Cathay received five new aircraft in 2022, and expects deliveries of 11 in 2023. “These aircraft were firm commitments made earlier that will help to modernise our fleets and improve efficiency,” says Cathay. “The Group believes that based on its available unrestricted liquidity as at 31st December 2022, as well as its ready access to both loan and debt capital markets, it will have sufficient financing capacity to fund this material investment in our fleet.” The average age of the combined, 222-aircraft fleet of Cathay, HK Express, and Air Hong Kong is 10.6 years. The oldest aircraft in the fleet are 17 Boeing 777-300s operated by Cathay, with an average age of 21.2 years. Given the rebound in passenger traffic, Cathay has also converted four 777-300ERs from “preighters” back to passenger jets by reinstalling their seats. Two -300ERs are still equipped for freight carriage, but these will also see their passenger seats reinstalled in 2023.<br/>

More than 1,700 people contacted the ACCC about Qantas during the previous financial year. The number was up 68 per cent compared to the year prior and well ahead of Jetstar at 544 and Virgin at 359. In 2022, Qantas faced a string of problems, including huge delays at Easter, hours-long call wait times, and even a revelation that the cabin crew of a Qantas A330 were made to sleep across seats in economy. However, Australian Aviation reported in November how Qantas shifted from being the worst airline in the country for cancellations to being the best, a position it still maintains. The turnaround led to Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce declaring his airline is “back to its best” earlier this year. Nonetheless, the revelation by the ACCC in its latest quarterly report for the first time reveals the sheer scale of passenger anger. “The number of contacts involving Qantas was over a third higher than the second most reported company,” the report read. “Key causes of the increased reports included issues around remedies for flights cancelled due to COVID-19 travel restrictions and the high levels of cancelled or delayed flights in mid-2022 that occurred during the post-pandemic surge in demand.”<br/>