Lufthansa will introduce its Airbus A380 to one of its flights from Frankfurt to Shanghai Pudong Airport from September.

The aircraft will operate on Mondays and Wednesdays (Tuesdays and Thursdays from Shanghai) from 26 September.

From the winter season the Boeing 747-400 will replace the Airbus A340-600 on Lufthansa‘s daily departure to Shanghai. The A380 operates in addition to this daily service.

FedEx have announced plans to build and develop a large hub at Shanghai in China.

The new facility, with designated onsite customs clearance, will be located at Shanghai’s Pudong International Airport and is slated for completion in early 2017.

Establishing a new hub at the Shanghai Pudong International Airport is a strategic move for Memphis-based FedEx.  The airport is expected to become the world’s top air cargo hub by 2015 and recently received approval to carry out an expansion project that is expected to increase its freight handling capacity to five million tons annually by 2020[1].  When launched, the new hub is expected to more than triple the capacity of the current FedEx facility in Shanghai, allowing it to process up to 36,000 documents and parcels per hour.

“FedEx currently serves Shanghai with 68 flights a week, both inbound and outbound, including several direct flights between Shanghai, the U.S. and Europe,” said Raj Subramaniam, senior vice president, Global Marketing, FedEx Services.

The airport has been the focus of a number of cargo airlines recently, including UPS who developed a hub there in 2008.

United Airlines has announced more routes that its new Boeing 787 Dreamliners will fly on.

Their first aircraft made a test flight looking resplendent in full United colours earlier this week. They should take delivery of this aircraft in September, with many more to follow.

The initial route, previously announced was between Denver and Tokyo Narita (5x weekly, starting 31 March 2013). However, United has announced that its Dreamliners will also be flying on the following routes:

- Houston to Amsterdam Schiphol. Temporary service, starting 4 December 2012.
- Houston to London Heathrow. Temporary service, starting 4 February 2013.
- Houston to Lagos, Nigeria. 5x weekly, starting 7 January 2013.
- Los Angeles to Tokyo Narita, Japan. Daily, starting 3 January 2013.
- Los Angeles to Shanghai, China. Daily, starting 30 March 2013.
If you want to be lucky enough to travel on these services, the 787 aircraft will display for sale for these routes on united.com and other distribution channels beginning Aug. 25, while Denver to Narita service is available for sale now.

CDI Cargo has launched operations after a lengthy startup process. It is backed by significant investment and a strong, experienced, management team.

The airline, which operates a single Boeing 737-300 freighter, is based in Huangzhou, China. It is expected to take delivery of two more 737s by the end of the year.

It is currently flying between Huangzhou, Qingdao, and Changchun. However, with widebody aircraft planned for the near future, it is anticipated that the airline will begin cargo flights to Japan and South Korea, and expand its domestic network.

Guangzhou Baiyun Airport in the Pearl River Delta has begun a $3 billion expansion that will turn it into one of the top three airports in China.

The airport sits amongst other major airports of the region, including Shenzhen, Zhuhai, as well as Macao and Hong Kong Chek Lap Kok, however the government is planning to elevate its position as the leading gateway in the area.

Guangzhou is currently handling more than 45 million passengers per year, however its single terminal is only designed to handle 35 million at a push. In addition, its two runways can not handle the required number of movements per hour.

Therefore, the expansion which is now underway will add a second terminal that capable of bringing the airport’s capacity to more than the 80 million passengers per year expected by 2020. In addition to this, another 12,500ft runway will be built and the instrument landing system on all runways upgraded. A new air traffic control centre, metro station, fuel farm, and associated roads and car parks will also be added as part of the expansion, which is due for completion in 2014.

Guangzhou Baiyun Airport is covered in my book Airport Spotting Guides Far East and Australasia – listing all of the places to spot and photograph aircraft at this airport and others in China. It also lists the airlines which operate, nearby aviation attractions, and hotels with views of aircraft.

Click here for more information.

For many in the UK, this week’s Farnborough Air Show was a thrilling chance to see and step aboard the new Airbus A380 in Malaysia Airlines colours.

Their second example, 9M-MNB, was flown to the event for demonstration whilst their first example -MNA has recently entered service on the carrier’s Kuala Lumpur – London Heathrow service.

So where can you see these shiny new behemoth’s? Initially, the Malaysia A380s will be flown on the following routes (all from Kuala Lumpur):

• London Heathrow (3x weekly, until it goes 1x daily on 25 August 2012)
• Sydney (1x daily from 25 November 2012)
• Tokyo Narita (1x daily from 25 November 2012)
• Beijing (1x daily from 1 March 2013)

If you get to fly on the aircraft please leave a comment and let us know what it was like!

New low cost carrier FlyScoot, which is run by Singapore Airlines, has revealed its first plane in the airline’s full colour scheme. The airline will operate a fleet of Boeing 777-200s out of Singapore on high-demand intra-Asian routes, such as Gold Coast, Sydney and China. Doesn’t it look smart? Photo (c) FlyScoot from their Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/flyscoot

This week’s Best of the Web video is a cool time-lapse of a trip to China filmed on board multiple aircraft, and at multiple airports. You’ll see takeoffs, landings, lots of slow motion flight above fluffy clouds, and just a cool travel experience in general. It’s certainly made me want to get on a plane for a long haul trip!

Let me know what you think…

To mark the start of international scheduled services this week by ANA’s Boeing 787, I thought I’d mention a few other places you’ll be seeing the type this year. We’ll see a lot more Boeing 787 Dreamliners in our skies this year as more are delivered to airlines such as Air India, Japan Airlines and China Southern, so it’s time to start getting them in your logbooks!

Tokyo Haneda & Narita
With both ANA and JAL operating the Dreamliner this year, one of the best places to catch the type is at their Tokyo Narita and Haneda bases. This seems likely to be the place to catch the biggest concentration of Dreamliners outside of Seattle or Charleston this year.

Frankfurt International
For Europe, Frankfurt is the first place to see 787 operations with ANA from Tokyo. This was the type’s first international destination, and will be flying in every day.

Seattle
OK, so there are a few Seattle airports to see Deamliners. Most notably, Boeing’s Everett facility is the place where they’re put together. So you’ll see them quite regularly on flight test and out on the flight line. This includes the demonstrators, which is quite cool. However, ANA have also announced 787 flights to Seattle-Tacoma Airport from Tokyo, starting soon.

Boston
The US East Coast gets its first Dreamliner service from Japan Airlines in April, with non-stop service to Tokyo Narita.

Singapore
From September, Japan Airlines’ flights from Tokyo Narita will switch to 787s, increasing to 14x weekly by the end of October.

Melbourne
From October, Air India is expected to begin sending its 787s to Melbourne from its Indian bases. This will likely mark the first scheduled Dreamliner services to Australia.

Osaka Itami
Again, ANA sends its 787s to Itami. Maybe we’ll see more routes out of Osaka’s Kansai airport in the future, but for now the domestic one is the place to be.

New Delhi
Japan Airlines will start daily 787 flights to Delhi from Tokyo Narita later this year. However, if Air India receive their 787s on time, the airport is likely to get even more of the type in residence.

Moscow Domodedovo
Japan Airlines will send their Dreamliners to Moscow DME this year, replacing their 777 equipment. This sees the second known destination in Europe for the type.

Guangzhou
Despite heavy delays, China Southern are expected to take delivery of their first 787 before the Autumn. Therefore their home base of Guangzhou will become a hub for the type very soon.

There are of course more airports that the 787 flies to, such as domestic destinations within Japan. And as new frames arrive for Air India and China Southern, new routes will be announced. If you hear of any, let me know.

Boeing have announced that their 787 is to go on a world tour that lasts 6 months and takes in many different countries.

The purpose of the tour is to raise public awareness, and in particular to demonstrate the aircraft to potential customers and those airlines that are awaiting their first deliveries of the type.

The tour will involve the third production aircraft ZA003 (N787BX) in a special livery, and with a lavish interior designed to show off the capabilities of the aircraft from a passenger experience.

The tour will begin on 4th December when the aircraft reaches Beijing . It will go on to visit Guangzhou and Haikou. Then, between 11-16 December, it will visit African destinations including Addis Ababa and Nairobi.

Between 16-19 December, the aircraft will visit the Middle East and demonstrate to Qatar Airways in Doha.

Further stops will be announced. Keep an eye on Randy’s Journal, who I credit for the info on this page. With any luck we’ll see the aircraft at a number of European airports, and more of the US and Canada. For official news, check out the Boeing website for the tour http://www.newairplane.com/787/dreamtour/