HONG KONG-NEWARK
CARRIER Cathay Pacific
START DATE March 2014
AIRCRAFT Boeing 777-300ER (40 seats in business, 32 in premium economy and 268 in economy)
WHY IT IS IMPORTANT The route is a direct link to New Jersey State’s largest city, and also provides an alternate gateway into the New York metropolitan area. It complements Cathay's four times daily service to John F Kennedy airport.
DOHA-CLARK
CARRIER Qatar Airways
START DATE October 2013
AIRCRAFT Airbus A330-300 (36 seats in business and 248 in economy)
WHY IT IS IMPORTANT The greatest advantage that Clark offers travellers is its highly strategic location. The city is situated a mere 80km north of Manila in the province of Pampanga in Central Luzon. Similarly, Qatar’s hub in Doha acts as an alternate gateway into the Middle East, Europe and Africa. Now that the airline is part of Oneworld (see story), travellers can enjoy the extended network offered by other members of the alliance.
FRANKFURT-KUALA LUMPUR-JAKARTA
CARRIER Lufthansa
START DATE Summer 2014
AIRCRAFT Airbus A340-600 (eights seats in first class, 48 in business and 270 in economy)
WHY IT IS IMPORTANT Not only will this service improve Jakarta's connectivity with Europe, Lufthansa will also soon be flying non-stop from Frankfurt to Kuala Lumpur. The service into the Malaysian capital currently includes a layover in Bangkok, but Lufthansa will be converting its daily Bangkok flight into a terminator service, which will provide even more seats into the popular Thai capital.
PARIS-SINGAPORE-JAKARTA
CARRIER Air France
START DATE March 2014
AIRCRAFT Boeing 777-300ER (eight seats in first class, 67 in business, 28 in premium economy, and 200 in economy)
WHY IT IS IMPORTANT With Garuda Indonesia having yet to commence its services between Jakarta and London, many travellers from the Indonesian capital will appreciate being able to travel to Paris Charles de Gaulle, where there they can easily connect to the UK and other parts of Europe. Connecting to London through CDG is also one way to save on UK's Air Passenger Duty.
JAKARTA-LONDON (GATWICK)
CARRIER Garuda Indonesia
START DATE May 2014
AIRCRAFT B777-300ER (eight first class suites, 38 business class seats and 268 seats in economy)
WHY IT IS IMPORTANT This has been a long time coming. Initially slated to launch in October, the route was delayed due to the insufficient structural rigidity of Soekarno-Hatta airport’s runways. Garuda has however announced a new launch date of May 29 next year. The new service is set to become a useful route for UK travellers heading to Australia via Jakarta. Likewise, travellers flying from Indonesia will no longer have to hub through Singapore anymore.
Clement Huang
