Airline Post » airbus a330

Etihad starts new services to Japan

Kevin — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 12:50:57 +0000

Etihad Airways has started a new service in Abu Dhabi under which 4 flights a week will go to Nagoya via Beijing. From March 29 it will increase to five flights a week including two-class Airbus A330 aircraft.

According to James Hogan, the CEO of Etihad Airways this service which is the first to Japan has huge impact on the company. He also said connecting Abu Dhabi and Nagoya will offer great value to tourism and will help in commercial growth of the country. It has key role in industries like energy, manufacturing and environmental services.

He also announced company future plan of launching flight services from Abu Dhabi to Tokyo on 27^th March. Etihad has also collaborated with Japan’s ANA to offer joint services from 1^st March under which Etihad passengers from Nagoya will fly to Chitose and Fukuoka through ANA’s flight. In return ANA’s passengers will enjoy the worldwide connectivity through Etihad’s network via Abu Dhabi.

On the other hand AirAsia X has cancelled its five-times a week A340 service in between Abu Dhabi and Kuala Lumpur due to commercial reasons which was started in November last year.

EVA Airways & the Hello Kitty craze

Dave — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 16:16:00 +0000

If you aren’t familiar with the “Hello Kitty” trend in Japan, you might want to know that this is a fictional character created by the Japanese company Sanrio in year 1974. It became one of most well-known Japanese symbols that you can find virtually anywhere (TV, toys, dishes, home appliances etc.). With more than $1 billion in sales every year, it was natural that this brand would expand to more industries, such as airlines.

EVA Airways, a Taiwan based airlines, was the one that wanted to pay tribute to Hello Kitty with an entire plane. In October 2005, EVA launched a campaign together with Sanrio to create the “Hello Kitty Jet”. They painted the exterior of an Airbus A330-200 and another aircraft followed one year later, with both the interior and the exterior having the Hello Kitty motif.

And, if you were wondering how this Hello Kitty fantasy looks like, we have gathered a few photos to illustrate the crazy concept.

Another photo of the branded Airbus A330

Photo of the branded Airbus A330

Hello Kitty stewardesses

Hello Kitty Airplane ticket

Business class meal with the Hello Kitty motif

Hello Kitty Wine & Beverage menu

Branded seats on the Hello Kitty jet

Hello Kitty snack

Hello Kitty Coffee set

Hello Kitty Wet towels

Hello Kitty Personal care set

Sadly both of these planes were taken off from international routes, the first in December 2008 and the second in March 2009. EVA Airways still use these two jets for short routes in Asia.
(photo sources limcorp & Luke Lai)

Airline baffled by toilet clogs

Dave — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 13:15:24 +0000

You have probably never asked yourself about the mechanics of an airplane toilet. Nor should you. But when onboard toilets cause an emergency landing because they’re clogged, it’s something you need to worry about. A flight belonging to Cathay Pacific, an airline company based in Hong Kong, had to make an emergency stop in Mumbai, India because all 10 bathrooms were clogged.

The 278 passengers on the unfortunate flight were delayed 18 hours.

A similar incident happened when two other flights from Hong Kong, when the airline had to refuse boarding to about half of the passengers because the bathrooms on one side of the plane could not be used.

According to a Cathay Pacific spokesman quoted by Gadling, incidents occured on the Airbus A330 and A340 aircraft and suggested passengers are guilty for the toilet clogging.

‘You would be amazed at what we find in the pipes when we clean the system – not just face towels but medicine bottles, socks and even children’s stuffed toys,’