Tonight, Cathay Pacific hosted an airline event like no other. Not just for the press and not just for consumers, Light Up the Sky was a spectacularly executed amalgam of press and public that possessed such a critical mass as to have a persistent energy throughout the entire evening. There were buffets. And there were games. But most of all, there was the celebrated unveiling of a brand-new long haul business class alongside a lineup of  new, stylish uniforms.

Taking place at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai, a venue typically used to host conventions in its gigantic halls, Light Up the Sky was already bustling with people when I arrived at in the late afternoon to attend the press conference. With this excitement in the air, I proceeded with some fellow bloggers (and escort of some outstanding Cathay Pacific staff) to the press room.

Mr. John Slosar greets members of the press in attendance for the event

We are all greeted by Mr. John Slosar, COO of Cathay Pacific. He had some nice opening remarks and commented on the airline in general, its growth, and what one would expect in a cordial, “warm-up” greeting.

Hong Kong-based designer Eddie Lau takes the podium

After Mr. Slosar, we were introduced to Eddie Lau, a famed Hong Kong-based designer of both fashion and interior as he prefaced and presented the new uniforms.

Mr. Lau and cabin crew with the new uniforms

After Mr. Lau, we were treated to Mr. Alex McGowan, Cathay Pacific’s Head of Product, for a deep dive into all things new business class.

Mr. Alex McGowan discusses the new business class

After a detailed overview of the new class, history, etc, we were treated to Hong Kong-based artist Maria Lobo and her unveiling of new cabin-based fine artwork.

Ms. Maria Lobo discusses in-cabin art

This is a very interesting concept. Fine artwork in the cabin. After all, as Mr. Slosar later put it, we put up artwork in our homes to create an atmosphere, so why not the cabin?

After the press session, we got to head over to the Light Up the Sky event, and that’s where the real fun started.

The author signing the "Light Up the Sky" board

View of the party

View of the party

Party introduction by Mr. Tony Tyler

Additional remarks by Mr. Henry Tang, Chief Secretary Hong Kong S.A.R.

Finally, after all the laser lights, dignitaries, and other bits, we got to the part both the journalists and frequent flyers alike wanted to see: the new business class with our own eyes.

New business class

VIP new business class seat tour

FAs

New seat

New seat

New seat

All in all, it was a fantastic event. The reception of the product was phenomenal, and most of all it was both comfortable and fun to sit in.

And one last bit from Light Up the Sky: FlyerTalkers sign-in!

Kiyotaka Matsuda of Bloomburg (via bloomburg.co.jp) today wrote that Skymark, Japan’s fantastic domestic LCC (low cost carrier) extraordinaire, will be adding between four and six of the A380 superjumbos in FY2014 for use in international service. Skymark offers an excellent service in Japan in that it is so cheap that it can beat train prices.

Unlike many countries (especially the United States except for outside the Eastern Seaboard), Japan has this superdense area in which trains are not just prevalent, they are the daily norm. In the Tokaido Corridor, a 1200km-long, nearly 90m population megalopolis encompassing Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, and many other big cities, trains dominate transportation. Flights that traverse less than half the country aren’t exactly too popular given the time commitment and cost expenditure…that is until LCCs like Skymark started offering prices that could dramatically beat the trains.

Now, we have an airline known for the opposite of bloat looking into service utilizing the very epitome of it within the airline industry: the A380.  What could this move mean, perhaps, is that Skymark may be secretly positioning itself to join SkyTeam in 2015 or sooner.

Ever since JAL ended up staying in oneworld in the wake of its rebirth, SkyTeam (and especially Delta Airlines) has been in need of an option to cover Japan. While international carriers and members of SkyTeam can readily dump passengers into Narita, it’s a terrible airport for domestic connections compared to Haneda.

In order for SkyTeam membership to work, Skymark would need to enhance its Haneda hub by adding Haneda-Itami service, and at the same time SkyTeam carriers would need ramp up their Haneda flights as deregulation continues with Japanese airports. Delta’s flights to Los Angeles and Deroit flights out of Haneda are a nice start to this and allow incoming passengers to hook-up nicely with domestic Skymark flights.

As for its own international routes, it would make sense for Skymark to use the A380s for high capacity routes while using some of its Boeing planes for regular, non-chartered Korea service (and not starting regular Guam service as Delta already covers Guam). What would make sense would be to take advantage of the current Asian regional airport cooperation that is going on between Haneda in Tokyo, Gimpo in Seoul, and Hongqiao in Shanghai by running regular service to Gimpo and Hongqiao (as compared to Incheon and Pudong). For its A380 routes, there are two very viable options, one of which might shock the business traveler out there.

The first option, to the shock of many, is Hawaii. Hawaii, for the Japanese, is the pinnacle of warm and relaxing vacation destinations. In fact, if you ask a Japanese person on the street what country Hawaii is part of, many will think that it’s its own country and just as many or more might think it to be part of Japan. ANA’s Haneda-Honolulu route is a smash success and is already sold-out for months after having only been in service for a matter of weeks, so the notion of a superjumbo serving Hawaii from Haneda is not as ludicrous as it might sound. Honolulu might be the natural choice, but Kona International Airport should at least be given consideration as they are hungry to get a Japan flight back after JAL gave up their slot during route reduction.

The remaining option that would be strategically sound for SkyTeam’s global route map would be Australia. While Star Alliance has Air New Zealand and oneworld has Qantas, SkyTeam doesn’t have a Japan-ANZ route for its network. Another potential destination of interest could be Mumbai or New Delhi, as Japan-India business continues to grow and there are currently limited options out of Tokyo to get to India.

Following these ideas, we could then have:

• Haneda-Gimpo and Haneda-Hongqiao service operated by Skymark (my proposed idea)
• Haneda-Itami operated by Skymark (my proposed idea)
• Haneda-Domestic Destinations (7 direct and growing) by Skymark (current service)
• Narita-Nagoya operated by Delta (current service)
• Haneda-Los Angeles and Haneda-Detroit by Delta (starts January 2011)
• Haneda-Hawaii on an A380 by Skymark (my proposed idea)
• Haneda-Australia and/or Haneda-India on A380s by Skymark (my proposed ideas)
• Haneda-Gimpo and Haneda-Incheon on Korean Air (current service)
• Haneda-Hongqiao on China Eastern (current service)
• Lots of SkyTeam Narita flights which need to transition or get replaced by Haneda flights (opinion)

If all of the above can happen by 2014, there could be a very bright future for Skymark as a future member of SkyTeam.

Photo Credit: Public domain image of A380 taken by Adrian Pingstone

Today, a Qantas flight en route to Sydney from Singapore experienced something out of the ordinary: the engine cover from one of its four Rolls-Royce came off mid-flight in a manner that generated sound and smoke. Fortunately, nobody was injured, but the plane had to return to Singapore immediately.

Qantas issued this statement on their website:

Statement on QF32 Air Return to Singapore - Aircraft has Landed Safely

Sydney, 04 November 2010

A Qantas A380 aircraft operating QF32 from Singapore to Sydney experienced an engine issue soon after take off and returned to Singapore.

The aircraft had 440 passengers and 26 crew on board.

In line with procedure, the pilot sought priority clearance for its return to Singapore. The aircraft landed safely at 11.45am local time.

Some media reports suggested the aircraft had crashed. These reports are incorrect. No Qantas aircraft has crashed.

Further details will be released once they are available.

Updated 4.20pm

There have been no injuries to any customers or crew.

The aircraft is currently de-boarding and hotels are currently being organised for customers and crew.

We are currently planning for an aircraft to depart for Singapore to bring passengers back to Sydney tomorrow morning. Passengers on QF32 are being accommodated in Singapore.

We have commenced our own investigations as to how this incident occurred and have notified the ATSB. We will continue to work with them as they investigate the issue.

The flight crew carried out standard procedure for this situation.

Qantas has also indicated that, in accordance with its commitment to the highest safety standards, it has suspended scheduled A380 takeoffs until sufficient information has been obtained about what occurred on QF32.

Qantas Chief Executive Officer, Alan Joyce said Qantas would suspend A380 services until we are confident that Qantas safety requirements have been met.

Passengers on affected flights will be accommodated on alternative flights. Regular updates will be provided.

Issued by Qantas Corporate Communication (5029)

Email: qantasmedia@qantas.com.au

Singapore Airlines quickly followed suit, preparing its own A380′s for safety checks by taking them out of use. Though Singapore Airlines issued has no statement on their website as of this writing, new outlets have confirmed this precautionary action.

The other carriers with A380s don’t see any issues as they don’t use the Rolls-Royce engine in the A380 like Singapore and Qantas do. Only time will reveal what the issue was with the engine cover, and hopefully the A380s can get back into action as soon as is safe.