FlightGlobal
• Lizzie Rix
Air New Zealand is adding a nonstop route from Christchurch to Bali and making its Singapore service from the New Zealand city year-round. The moves extend the airline’s services at Christchurch airport as it continues expanding its network there.
Asia-Pacific (APAC)
Latest source-backed stories
Air New Zealand is adding a nonstop route from Christchurch to Bali and making its Singapore service from the New Zealand city year-round. The moves extend the airline’s services at Christchurch airport as it continues expanding its network there.
Sceye will manufacture, launch and operate a fleet of its high-altitude platform systems for SoftBank under a newly signed agreement. The plan moves the companies’ work from demonstrations toward deploying a fleet over Japan, though the announcement provides no schedule, fleet size or financial terms.
Rocket Lab’s Electron successfully placed a radar-imaging satellite for Japanese company iQPS into orbit, marking another mission for the small-launch vehicle as it approaches its 100th flight. The launch underscores Electron’s continuing role in serving commercial satellite customers and Japan’s Earth-observation market.
Japan’s two largest carriers are changing how they operate domestically, with government assistance helping the shift. The available reporting frames the changes as part of a broader consolidation and fleet revamp in Japan’s airline sector, but provides no further detail on the carriers’ plans or the government’s role.
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Air India’s new CEO is weighing additional widebody aircraft as the carrier targets international growth, new global connections and cost reductions. IndiGo, meanwhile, plans lie-flat business class on future A350s and A321XLRs, with its A321XLR fleet set to reach 14 by the end of 2027 and A350 service planned for 2028.
High activity
Two Airbus AS350 helicopters operated by Fishtail Air and Air Dynasty collided while attempting to land almost simultaneously at Pheriche in Nepal’s Everest region on Nov. 3, 2026. One passenger was killed and three people were injured, according to reports.
A Dassault Aviation Rafale M has successfully landed and taken off from an Indian aircraft carrier, marking a flight-test milestone for the French naval fighter in India. The country operates two carriers and has ambitions to add a third, giving the tests relevance to its future carrier-air-wing planning.
Kyrgyzstan’s Aero Nomad has started scheduled service linking Bishkek with Phu Quoc, Vietnam, converting a route it previously operated as a charter. The launch adds a scheduled connection between the Central Asian capital and the Vietnamese island destination; the report provides no frequency or capacity details.
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