News Desk

Boeing To Increase 737 Production
Boeing has announced that it will increase the production rate on its 737 line in 2012 to meet customer demand.
The increase will see Boeing raise output of 737s from 31.5 per month currently to 34 per month in early 2012, with suppliers already prepared for the increase. Boeing has also not ruled out further increases in output to keep up with the continued strong demand for 737s.
“With over 5200 sold to date, the Next Generation 737 is the workhorse in our customers’ fleets around the world,” said Boeing Commercial Airplanes president and CEO Jim Albaugh. “Even through the global economic downturn, our diverse 737 backlog has remained very strong. Increasing the 737 production rate is the right thing to do to meet the growth and fleet replacement needs of our customers.”
The increase in production follows a similar announcement by rival Airbus that it would raise production levels on the A320 Family lines from December to 36 aircraft per month. Boeing has also announced plans to lift 777 production rates to seven units per month from mid 2011, while it has also brought forward an increase in 747-8 production from 2013 to 2012.

FIRST LUFTHANSA A380 DELIVERED
Lufthansa took delivery of its first of 15 Airbus A380s in a ceremony at Airbus’s Hamburg facilities on May 19.
More than 700 guests were on hand to witness the official handover ceremony for Rolls-Royce Trent 900 powered A380 MSN038 D-AIMA, which has been named Frankfurt am Main, at Airbus’s Hamburg-Finkenwerder plant.
Lufthansa became the fifth airline to put the A380 into service (behind Singapore, Emirates, Qantas and Air France) when it began flights between Frankfurt and Tokyo on June 11. The first Lufthansa A380 also flew the German national soccer team to South Africa on June 6 for the World Cup.

A350 Chewing Up Contingency Time – Gallois
EADS CEO Louis Gallois has admitted that the A350 program has begun eating into its contingency time, but is still maintaining its schedule.
Gallois made the admission in a recent interview with Bloomberg. “For the time being we’re sticking to our delivery schedule, but it’s tense, and we have eaten most of the buffer we had,” he said, adding that “Boeing is a very good company with a good technical background and when we see difficulties they have [with the 787], we have to be very cautious.”
Airbus is currently planning for the A350 to make its first flight in 2012 with first customer delivery to Qatar Airways planned for 2013. Airbus holds orders for 530 A350s from 33 customers.

Rr Runs E3e Core
Rolls-Royce has announced that it has successfully run the latest core engine build in its E3E (efficiency, environment, economy) two-shaft research program.
“Our E3E technology, which is at the heart of our future two shaft engine product strategy, continues to make great progress,” said RR’s president of civil aerospace Mark King.
E3E is aimed at developing new jet engine technologies which increase engine temperature, pressure ratio and component efficiencies, together with a 25 per cent-plus increase in thrust to weight ratios. The company claims that the improvements being tested could reduce fuel burn and CO2 emissions by 15 per cent.
RR is aiming to use two-shaft technology to develop a new narrowbody engine which could compete against Pratt & Whitney’s PW1000G geared turbofan and CFM International’s LEAP-X engines to power the replacements to the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320.

Atr Considers Bigger Engines

ATR says that it has entered advanced discussions with Pratt & Whitney Canada and General Electric on engines to power a larger turboprop airliner than its existing ATR 72, which it could launch over the next year.
“You know we are discussing with two to three engine manufacturers but not just general discussions, but in a very detailed way, and namely Pratt & Whitney and General Electric and they have very, very interesting things for us,” said Mario Formica, head of marketing at ATR at a press briefing in the US, who added that the airframer would be targeting a 2016 entry into service for the aircraft.
GE Aviation is reportedly looking at offering ATR an adaptation of the GE38 turboshaft engine which powers the CH-53K heavylift helicopter. “Currently our thought process is to utilise the core size defined by the GE38 and use that for potential opportunities,” GE’s general manager of the CF34 turbofan Chuck Nugent told Flightglobal.
Both Bombardier and ATR are expected over the next few years to reveal plans for 90-seater turboprops, with a number of airlines interested in providing an intermediate step between the current 66-72 seat Q400s and ATR 72s and regional jets. While regional jets have made major inroads, a number of airlines in the US and Europe in particular have expressed interest in larger turboprops to service shorter routes due to their greater fuel efficiency compared to regional jets.

Commercial briefs

* Two captains from All Nippon Airlines became the first customer pilots to fly the Boeing 787 on May 12, taking flight test aircraft ZA001 on a 1 hour 40 minute flight over Washington state.
* Boeing has used the delivery of Qatar Airways’s first 777 Freighter to highlight that the 777F’s despatch reliability since entering service in February 2009 is running at 99.1 per cent. Qatar Airways’s first of three 777Fs, the 23rd 777 Freighter to be delivered so far, was handed over on May 17 at Boeing’s Delivery Center at Everett before it flew nonstop to Doha, Qatar.
* One of the three 747-8F test aircraft, RC521, suffered minor damage to an engine fan cowl on May 30 when it hit a tug while being towed at its Victorville test base near Los Angeles. The impact did not damage the engine, and the aircraft was expected to resume flight testing shortly.

SALES

* South African Airways has ordered five additional Airbus A320s, which will be delivered from 2013. The order brings up SAA’s commitment for A320s to 20, with all to be powered by IAE V2500 engines.
* Emirates Airline has ordered 32 additional Airbus A380s
* Luxembourg based Luxair has ordered an additional Boeing 737-800. The new aircraft will join Luxair’s existing fleet of two 737-700s and one 737-800.

Military

Pentagon Agrees To More Us Navy Super Hornets

The US Defense Secretary Robert Gates has ceded to Pentagon advice and Congressional support and has approved a multi-year buy of 124 F/A-18E/F/G Super Hornets for the US Navy.
The contract, expected to be awarded in the near future, will reportedly see the aircraft acquired for at least 10 per cent less per unit, or a total of more than US$590m (A$675m) over the four year term, than if they had been ordered on a year-by-year basis because manufacturer Boeing is able to order components in larger numbers and provide greater stability to its St Louis workforce.
The order comes after more than two years of lobbying by Boeing and its political representatives, and completes the US Navy’s ‘program of record’ requirement for a total fleet of 515 Super Hornets and 114 EA-18G Growlers. “I commend Secretary Gates and Secretary [of the Navy] Mabus for seeing the light and moving forward with a multi-year contract,” Republican Missouri Representative Todd Akin said. “It is encouraging to see the Navy and DoD come to their senses on this issue, after I have spent two years arguing that a multi-year contract made sense on all fronts.”
But delays with the US Navy’s planned initial operating capability (IOC) of the F-35C JSF from 2014 to 2016 are believed to have been important in sealing the deal. The numbers of legacy F/A-18A-D ‘classic’ Hornets have been dwindling in recent years, with many analysts forecasting a shortfall in US Navy strike fighter numbers of more than 100 jets, or two full combat wings, in 2016/17.
The new order is reported to comprise 66 F/A-18E/Fs and 58 EA-18G Growlers, to be delivered between 2012 and 2015.

Boeing Delivers Hfmod
Boeing Defence Australia has completed testing and begun handing over the High Frequency Modernisation (HFMOD) project for the Australian Defence Force.
“The purpose of the HFMOD is to provide the ADF with a secure, cost-effective information exchange capability for the command and control of deployed forces as a primary survivable system and as a parallel system to satellite communications,” said Minister for Defence Materiel and Science Greg Combet.
The troubled HFMOD project gained initial operating capability in November 2004 but enhancements to the communications system were beset by delays in 2007, forcing a project schedule rebaselining in 2009. It has for a number of years been on the government’s ‘projects of concern’ list.
Steve Parker, Boeing Defence Australia’s vice president and general manager for Network and Space Systems welcomed the Minister’s comments, saying “Since late 2008, Boeing has achieved every milestone on or ahead of schedule and we remain on track to complete all activities necessary to achieve project complete this month.”

QUICKSTEP WINS NEW USAF RESEARCH CONTRACT
Quickstep Holdings and its US partner Vector Composites have been awarded a Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract by the US Air Force for materials used in the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF).
Under the contract, the two companies will conduct research focusing on process qualification of bismaleimide (BMI) and epoxy resin composite materials using Quickstep’s patented out-of-autoclave curing process. The two materials constitute the majority of the advanced structural composites used in the F-35 and have an extensive design database. The contract, planned for 27 months, will develop extensive mechanical properties data for comparison to the baseline autoclave results, as well as fabricate and test representative components based on the JSF design.
Material handling, preparation and fabrication of all test articles and prototypes will be conducted at the Vector facility and will be subsequently cured at Quickstep’s US subsidiary, Quickstep Composites LLC, located in an adjacent facility in Dayton.

Waverider Flight Breaks Scramjet Record

Boeing’s X-51A WaveRider broke the record for the longest scramjet (supersonic combustion ramjet) powered flight in history after it sustained flight for nearly three and a half minutes at a top speed of Mach 5 on May 26.
The unmanned WaveRider was released from a US Air Force B-52H off the coast of southern California at approximately 1000 local time on May 26. It was released at about 50,000ft, then was accelerated to Mach 4.5 by a US Army tactical missile which was then jettisoned and the X-51’s Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne scramjet ignited on a mix of ethylene and JP-7 jef fuel, flying for more than 200 seconds reaching approximately 70,000ft and Mach 5. The aircraft transmitted telemetry data to ground stations at Edwards and Vandenberg AFBs and Point Mugu Naval Air Warfare Center and a US Navy P-3 Orion before “Something then occurred that caused the vehicle to lose acceleration,” according to a Boeing statement. “At that point, the X-51A was terminated as planned.”
“The technology proven today is something the Boeing Company has worked on for the past seven years,” said Alex Lopez, vice president of Advanced Network & Space Systems, a division of Boeing Phantom Works. “It is thrilling to be a part of history and advance hypersonic science to the next level. Boeing is looking forward to transitioning the technology to operation in the near term, but for now, we are exhilarated.”
The data from the WaveRider is expected to give engineers from Boeing and the US Air Force Laboratory greater insight into hypersonics, which could have applications for space, reconnaissance, strike, strategic lift and commercial transport.

First Australian Trained C-17 Pilots Graduate
The first two RAAF C-17 pilots to be converted to the aircraft in Australia have successfully completed their Pilot Initial Qualification (PIQ) conversion course at RAAF Amberley.
The 36SQN pilots, FLTLT David Whyte and PLTOFF Stephen Maunder, completed their course in early May which included time in the RAAF’s new full flight simulator which was commissioned in late 2009.
The simulator is the only C-17 device of its kind located outside the US.

Indian C-17 Buy Approved
India’s proposed purchase of 10 Boeing C-17s has been approved by the US Congress, clearing the way for final negotiations to take place.
The sale, first revealed in an April Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSAC) notification to Congress, is valued at about US$5.8bn (A$6.9bn) including FMS fees, spares, training and infrastructure.
“We are pleased that India’s intent to buy 10 C-17 Globemaster IIIs has received US Congressional approval,” Boeing India’s VP for Defense, Space and Security, Vivek Lall, told India Strategic. “With this, the Indian government is one step closer to acquiring the C-17 which we believe is ideally suited to meet India’s airlift needs for military and humanitarian purposes. The submittal of the Letter of Acceptance to the government of India will be the next step towards finalising the Foreign Military Sale.”
If a contract is signed this year, first delivery to India would be scheduled for late 2013.

Raaf Reviews Evans Head, Reduce Salt Ash Range Use

The RAAF has agreed to review its future training requirements at the Evans Head weapons range on the northern NSW coast following protests from local residents and fishermen, and has announced the use of the Salt Ash Air Weapons range near RAAF Base Williamtown will be halved when the F-35A JSF enters RAAF service.
The Evans Heareview order by Chief of Air Force AIRMSHL Mark Binskin comes after local media reported increased restrictions in the airspace and waters surrounding the range would be put in place to allow for an increase in training activities by Amberley based F/A-18F Super Hornets, specifically the use of laser designators on their ATFLIR targeting pods. Local fishermen, surfers and wildlife experts all commented that the added restrictions would adversely affect their activities and endanger rare fauna.
“I have directed that further consideration of reactivating the range for air-to-ground gunnery be suspended, pending a total review into future training requirements at Evans Head,” AIRMSHL Binskin said in a statement. “The review is examining the detailed range requirements for Air Force’s new Super Hornets. Air Force values its relationship with the Evans Head community. This review will include extensive consultation with local and state authorities, recreational groups and industry in finding a balance between Defence requirements and community needs.”
Meanwhile, the ADF says it has completed its review into the way the JSF will use the range and the aircraft’s anticipated noise footprint, expected to be far greater than the F/A-18 Hornets it will replace, and has determined the use of the range can be halved by the increased “use of training simulation.”
“Through this review of our proposed JSF training activities we have assessed that we can make a significant difference to levels of aircraft noise near the range which will in turn refine the Australian Noise Exposure Forecast in that area,” Deputy Chief of Air Force, AVM Geoff Brown, said in a statement. “RAAF Williamtown has long been part of the Hunter region. Air Force has worked with the Port Stephens Council and the local community to find a way to decrease the noise footprint of the JSF, while still achieving essential training.”
AVM Brown stressed that the reduced requirement for the Salt Ash range didn’t change the anticipated noise “contours” in other areas surrounding RAAF Williamtown, “where we have no room to move on our requirement to get aircraft into and out of the Williamtown base.”

Military briefs

* BAE Systems has celebrated a decade of production and support of the RAAF’s Hawk 127 Lead-In Fighter, with the first Australian assembled aircraft, A27-10, rolling out of BAE’s hangar at Williamtown for its maiden test flight on May 12 2000. Fittingly, A27-10 returned to Williamtown to undergo a scheduled maintenance check on the anniversary. The RAAF operates a fleet of 33 Hawk 127s, of which 21 were assembled locally, to undertake fast jet training, replacing the long serving Macchi jet trainer. Currently, there are 18 Hawks operational at RAAF Base Williamtown and 15 at RAAF Base Pearce.
* Kuwait has placed an order for three Lockheed Martin KC-130J Hercules tanker transports via a US government FMS sale. The KC-130Js will be used to support Kuwaiti Air Force F-18 Hornets and to add to the airlift capability provided by Kuwait’s current fleet of three L-100s. The aircraft are scheduled to be delivered in late 2013 and early 2014.
* BAE Systems Australia has commenced basic flying training of students from the Royal Brunei Air Force (RBAF) at its Tamworth Flight Training Centre. The contract is seeing five students complete a training program flying CT-4B training aircraft. They follow two RBAF pilots who graduated as qualified flying instructors (QFIs) at Tamworth last August.

Airlines

Virgin Profit Outlook Dives

Virgin Blue has slashed its net profit before tax outlook for the 2010 financial year, saying it will come in between $20 and $40 million, a major revision to the previous guidance of $80 million.
“Since the guidance given earlier this month, we have continued to see rapid deterioration and increased volatility in the operating environment, particularly in respect of the leisure segment both domestically and internationally,” the company told the Australian Securities Exchange in a statement. “This is consistent with the weakening trend seen recently in the broader retail market as well as an unexpected and sudden decline in consumer confidence in the last month. The decline in demand has coincided with a period of increased industry capacity.”
The company added that its average fares have decreased by 10 per cent, severely impacting yields. Nevertheless, it expects the short haul business to record a net profit before tax and exceptional items in the order of $100 million, indicating that it expects V Australia to be in a net loss position at the end of the financial year.
“The company will continue to monitor market conditions and, should these prevail, we have flexibility to adjust capacity through lease returns. However, we remain focussed on defending our core strategic routes,” said the airline.
Subsequently it was revealed new Virgin Blue CEO John Borghetti has started a major review of the airline’s network and product as it aims to increase its share of the corporate travel market and lower its exposure to the leisure market.
According to a report in The Australian newspaper, the network review is expected to be completed by the end of June, and is expected to lead Virgin Blue to rationalise capacity on leisure markets, with V Australia’s services to Fiji and Phuket likely to be axed in favour of operating more services from Melbourne and Brisbane to the US. Pacific Blue’s domestic New Zealand services are also likely to be streamlined, with the airline suffering due to the strong competition with Jetstar and Air New Zealand in the small market.
Borghetti told analysts from Macquarie Equities Research that he was aiming to boost the airline’s share of the domestic corporate market from 10 to 15 per cent over the next year or two, adding that previous efforts such as the introduction of premium economy had only been marginally successful. Expanding the Velocity loyalty program is also understood to be a major priority, while a revamp of the airline’s premium economy product also appears to be favoured by Borghetti.

Tiger Announces Gold Coast, Adelaide And Perth As First Avalon Flights

Tiger Airways Australia has announced the Gold Coast, Adelaide and Perth as the first destinations it will serve from the new base it is establishing at Avalon Airport southwest of Melbourne, as part of new plans to up the number of aircraft it operates from Victoria from six to 10 by the end of the year.
“We’re proud to call Victoria home and the five additional aircraft for the region will provide 2.5 million more low fare seats to/from Victoria,” said Tiger Airways Australia’s new managing director Crawford Rix.
Som e of those new aircraft will allow Tiger to commence its first ex Avalon services, to the Gold Coast and Adelaide, on November 10, while flights to Perth will begin on November 12
Tiger also has three A320s which operate from its Adelaide base.
Meanwhile,

Tiger Airways Holdings, the listed parent company of Tiger Airways, has reversed its loss from last year to record a S$28.2m (A$23m) profit for the financial year ended March 31.
The profit came on a 29 per cent growth in revenue to S$486.2m (A$398m), driven by a 54 per cent increase in passengers as well as a 22 per cent increase in ancillary revenues. The airline also benefited from lower fuel costs, with cost per available seat kilometre down 11 per cent, although excluding fuel it remained static.
Tiger CEO Tony Davis noted that its major operations both performed strongly. “Our Singapore cub recorded its third year of operating profit, and our Australian cub has recorded a breakeven operating result in its second full year of operation, a fantastic achievement.”
Tiger now plans to take delivery of nine A320s in its current financial year (including the four aircraft it has committed to its Victorian operations), with two aircraft to be returned to lessors as their leases expire during the fourth quarter. The airline says that it is committed to growing its fleet to 68 aircraft by December 2015, which will operate from bases across the Asia Pacific region.

Continental To Fly To Auckland
Continental Airlines has announced that it plans to fly from its Houston hub to Auckland from November next year utilising its new Boeing 787-8s, becoming the first airline to publicly announce a 787 route.
The airline, which recently agreed to a merger with United Airlines, plans to launch services which will vary between daily and five times weekly depending on the season from November 16 2011, subject to government approval. The route will be operated by Boeing 787-8s, which are due to start delivery from August 2011. Continental says its 787s will have 228 seats, including 36 new BusinessFirst seats.
“Continental is a valued Star Alliance member, and the commencement of daily services in late 2011 between Auckland and Houston opens up an exciting new US market opportunity to New Zealand, and beautifully complements the market development work being done in other parts of the US,” said Auckland Airport CEO Simon Moutter. “We are especially pleased that Continental has chosen Auckland as a world first dedicated route for the brand new 787 aircraft. Houston is a central American hub that offers access to a wide range of North American destinations that we think will prove extremely attractive to travellers.”
Continental will join Air New Zealand and Qantas as the only other airlines operating direct services between the US and New Zealand. Continental commenced codesharing on Air NZ services from Auckland to Los Angeles and San Francisco in April, while the Kiwi carrier also has a codeshare arrangement with United Airlines.

Air Nz To Up Capacity
Air New Zealand is poised to increase its capacity on long and short haul markets for the northern winter scheduling season in response to increasing demand.
Most of the additional capacity, which will be achieved through adding frequencies, will be on North American routes, with San Francisco up 17.9 per cent, Vancouver up 7.9 per cent and Los Angeles up by four per cent. Capacity on routes to Japan will increase by 6.7 per cent, while its other long haul destinations in China and the UK remain unchanged.
Norm Thompson, Air New Zealand Deputy CEO, said the extra capacity is being added as the airline starts to see a recovery in air travel, although demand still remains lower than two years ago. “We are seeing a slow, but definite sign of a recovery from the reduction in travel in 2009, however these are still 13 per cent below levels in 2008,” he said.
In the short haul arena, the airline has already announced that it plans to increase capacity by 3.8 per cent on domestic services, while on the Tasman capacity will increase by 10.2 per cent.

ASH DISRUPTIONS COST WORLD US$5BN
A report by Oxford Economics has estimated that the world economy lost US$4.7bn (A$5.7bn) as a result of the Icelandic volcano eruption which shut down large parts of European airspace during April, while further disruptions during May have added to that figure.
The report, which was commissioned by Airbus, found that between April 15-21 that the aviation sector made net losses of US$2.2bn (A$2.66bn) after accounting for deferred travel, while net visitor expenditure losses tallied US$1.6bn (A$1.9bn) as the number of flights crossing European airspace fell by 53 per cent. By region, the impact was largest upon Europe, with US$2.6bn (A$3.1bn) lost in GDP, followed by the Americas at US$957m (A$1.15bn), Middle East/Africa at US$591m (A$713m) and Asia at US$517m (A$624m).
“The far reaching impacts of the recent disruption to air transport have of course been felt acutely by travellers, airlines and destinations,” said Adrian Cooper, CEO at Oxford Economics. “But the impact has also been felt by those who rely on goods that are imported and exported by airfreight, and on general production and productivity.  This report shows the integral role aviation plays in the basic and every day functions of society and commerce.”

Rex Posts Lower Profit
Regional Express Holdings has announced its third quarter profit, which came in 41 per cent lower than the equivalent period last year.
The aviation group, which includes the Rex airline, Air-Link, Pel-Air and the Australian Airline Pilot Academy, recorded an unaudited profit before tax of $4.4 million, down significantly from the $7.5 million it recorded last year. Total revenue for the group declined by $3.3 million to $53.7 million, despite a small increase in passenger revenue, while fuel costs were up by $0.2 million to $7.0 million. Operationally, Rex’s load factor decreased by 1.8 points to 61.4 per cent as capacity increased by 3.3 per cent over the three month period.
In its presentation to investors, the company noted that there were a number of opportunities coming up during the fourth quarter of the year, with the delivery of its last two Saab 340B+ aircraft, four Beechcraft B200Cs to service an Ambulance Victoria contract, as well as tendering for an NT aeromedical service contract.
Overall, the airline says that it expects profit after tax for the full year to be largely static compared to last year, coming in between $21.5 and $23 million. Rex recorded a $23 million profit for the last financial year.

Air Nz To Offer Mobile Connectivity
Air New Zealand has announced that its Boeing 777-300ERs will be fitted for inflight connectivity which will allow passengers to use their mobile phones to send and receive text messages as well as access email and the internet on board.
“Customers onboard our new Boeing 777-300 aircraft will be able to use their own GSM/GPRS devices safely when the system is activated during the cruise stage of flight,” airline spokesman Ed Sims said in a statement.
“Passengers will also be requested to keep their phones on ’silent’ mode.”
Like most carriers rolling out the equipment, Air NZ will disable voice calls while on board the aircraft. The carrier is also awaiting regulatory approval before it launches the service, which is expected to be on its services to the USA, where the 777-300ERs will replace the airline’s remaining 747-400s.

Domestic Passenger Numbers Up Six Per CentNew passenger data from the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE) shows that the number of domestic passengers increased by 6.1 per cent during March to 4.49 million passengers.
Revenue passenger kilometres increased by 5.0 per cent for the month compared to the same month in 2009, while capacity in ASKs rose by only 3.3 per cent, seeing load factor increase to 79.5 per cent. The number of aircraft trips increased by 7.4 per cent to 49,387.
By route, Melbourne-Sydney remained Australia’s busiest air route with a 17.2 per cent boost in passenger numbers, although the biggest increase was on the Darwin-Melbourne route which was up 42.2 per cent for the month. The biggest decrease was on Maroochydore-Sydney, which was down by 21.5 per cent.

Fair Work To Hear Aipa Jetconnect Case Against Qantas
Fair Work Australia has agreed to convene a full bench to hear the Australian and International Pilots Association (AIPA)’s argument that Qantas pay pilots employed by its New Zealand based Jetconnect subsidiary the same wages and conditions as it pays its Australian based pilots.
AIPA claims that New Zealand based pilots employed by Jetconnect to fly 737s on trans Tasman services are paid around 40 per cent less than equivalent Australian based Qantas 737 pilots, which it says undermines the spirit and intent of the Fair Work Act, ‘The Australian’ newspaper reports.
“Effectively Qantas is off shoring trans-Tasman flying via its offshoot Jetconnect,” AIPA president Barry Jackson has said previously. “It is a deliberate strategy to drive down wages and conditions.”
“This unusual test case will determine where the Australian Fair Work Act ends and hopefully set limits on the deliberate off shoring of Australian jobs.”

Asiana Wins Airline Of The Year

Asiana Airlines has been named the world airline of the year in the 2010 Skytrax World Airline Awards, while Air New Zealand was awarded for best airline in the Australia-Pacific region, ahead of Qantas and V Australia.
“When evaluating the survey results, the real strength that was shining through for Asiana Airlines is their front-line staff,” said Skytrax CEO Edward Plaistad. “Across both the ground services environment at their home base at Incheon International Airport, and the exceptionally high quality and consistent cabin staff service, Asiana Airlines is setting a new world order when looking at the best airlines across the globe.”
Asiana was followed by Singapore Airlines, Qatar Airways, Cathay Pacific and Air New Zealand in the top five. Air New Zealand also won the best airline in the Australia-Pacific region, while Virgin Blue took out the best low cost airline in the region, ahead of Jetstar and Tiger Airways.
Qantas picked up awards for the World’s Best Economy and Premium Economy seats. The airline also placed seventh in the best airline rankings.
The oneworld alliance won the award for World’s Best Airline Alliance.

Emirates Ups Melbourne, Auckland Capacity
Emirates will add more capacity between Melbourne and Dubai from July as it replaces Airbus A340-500s with Boeing 777-300ERs on two of its three daily servics, meaning all three Melbourne flights will now be operated by 777-300ERs.
The changes see the daily EK409 service from Melbourne to Dubai via Kuala Lumpur upgraded from A340-500s to 777-300ERs from July 2, with EK407, which flies Auckland-Melbourne-Dubai, upgraded to 777-300ERs from August 2. The third daily Melbourne service, EK405, to Dubai via Singapore, is already serviced by 777-300ER aircraft.
The aircraft upgrades will lift Emirates’s capacity between Melbourne and Dubai by 23 per cent, and between Melbourne and Auckland by 37 per cent.
Emirates said that the changes will ensure a more consistent product offering on its Melbourne services, and also meets higher demand from the Victorian capital. “Demand for Emirates’s flights from Melbourne to Europe, the Middle East, Africa and New Zealand has consistently grown year-on-year, and the continued capacity increases are a reflection of this,” said Dean Cleaver, Emirates’s sales manager for Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and Northern Territory.

Airlines Png Picks Up New Contract
Airlines PNG has been awarded a contract by Esso Highlands Limited to provide a dedicated charter aircraft to support the Papua New Guinea Liquefied Natural Gas project.
Under the two year agreement, the carrier will operate a dedicated Dash 8-103 to transport field personnel and freight within Papua New Guinea. The aircraft will also be available to provide medivac operations to Australia from Port Morseby, while domestic services will operate between Port Moresby, Gobe, Tari and Moro.
“We are excited by the opportunity to be involved with EHL on this project and look forward to a mutually beneficial relationship throughout the contract term,” said an Airlines PNG spokesperson.
Airlines PNG also recently announced that it has secured the use of a Lockheed L100 civil Hercules which will be used to carry outsize freight to support the PNG LNG project.

Jetstar To Increase New Zealand Services

Jetstar will base a seventh Airbus A320 in New Zealand from later this year.
“Jetstar now has a pathway towards future strategic growth in New Zealand through our ongoing success and strong customer demand for our low fare services,” said Jetstar CEO Bruce Buchanan.
“With a well established brand, strong and efficient on-time operations, a partnership in growth with major New Zealand airports and a great Kiwi workforce, Jetstar is well advanced to deliver this next round of sustainable low fares flight expansion.”
Jetstar has not yet announced on which routes the additional A320 will fly, but noted that it would lead to the creation of approximately 50 new operational jobs. Jetstar claims that it is now the second biggest domestic airline in New Zealand, with up to 84 weekly return frequencies linking Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington and Queenstown.  The airline also operates 38 weekly return trans-Tasman services on six routes linking Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and the Gold Coast.

Regionals Win Fee Cap At Sydney Airport
Regional airline services into Sydney Airport have been secured according to Transport Minister Anthony Albanese, who announced on June 2 that a change in regulations will prevent the airport from raising charges for regional airlines above the consumer price index (CPI).
The federal government has instituted the cap on charges through issuing a new Declaration and Determination under the Commonwealth Trade Practices Act, which it says will prevent the airport’s operator, Sydney Airports Corporation Limited, from increasing charges above the CPI. It follows on from a similar action which commenced in 2002, with the new Declaration to take effect from July 1 2010 until June 30 2013.
The action is expected to be well received by the regional airline industry, which has long held fears that it would be priced out of Sydney as the airport sought to open up slots for more lucrative larger aircraft at the airport.

Jetstar Interlines With Air France-klm
In what has been described as a “landmark agreement”, Air France and KLM have entered into an interline arrangement with the Jetstar group of airlines, allowing passengers to seamlessly book on each others’ services.
Under the far reaching agreement, the interline will extend to Jetstar’s affiliate carriers in Singapore and Vietnam, marking the first time outside of parent company Qantas that all the Jetstar branded carriers have been involved in an interline agreement.
“This partnership with one of Europe’s most established carriers will provide new opportunities for customers to more easily travel to the almost 60 destinations across the Asia Pacific region that Jetstar serves, including through our growing Singapore hub,” said Jetstar’s executive manager commercial David Koczkar.
Jetstar has recently signed interline agreements with a number of airlines, including Etihad Airways, Japan Air Lines and Air Tahiti Nui.

China Southern To Brisbane, Increases Syd And Mel Frequencies

China Southern is planning a significant expansion of its operations into Australia, announcing plans to fly to Brisbane for the first time, and increased frequencies to Sydney and Melbourne.
From November 1 China Southern will begin three times weekly Airbus A330 flights between Guangzhou and Brisbane. The flights will be the only direct services between Brisbane and mainland China, and will depart Guangzhou every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday.
Meanwhile, from October 31 China Southern will increase its frequency of service to Sydney to double dailies, and increase Melbourne-Guangzhou flights from three times weekly to a daily timetable.

Qantas, Ba Expand Codeshare
Qantas and British Airways have extended their codeshare agreement to cover additional flights in Australia, New Zealand and Europe.
From June 14, BA will place its code on Qantas services to Queenstown, Albury, Armidale, Port Macquarie, Coffs Harbour and Wagga Wagga, and increase its codeshare on existing Qantas flights to destinations including Auckland, Wellington, Canberra, Melbourne and Hobart, for travel after June 26. Qantas will also place its code on BA services from London Heathrow to Rome, Milan, Toulouse, Prague, Warsaw and Budapest, taking to 29 the number of BA European destinations Qantas codeshares on.
BA and Qantas have operated a joint services agreement on services between Europe and Australia for 15 years, with the agreement recently extended for another five years.

INTERNATIONAL PASSENGERS UP AGAIN
New figures from the Bureau of Infrstructure, Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE) show that international passenger traffic again grew strongly during March 2010, continuing an upward trend being driven by low cost carriers.
Passenger numbers increased by 14.2 per cent during the month compared to March 2009 to 2.137 million, which is the largest single month increase since March 2005. The increase in passenger numbers was related to a 7.2 per cent increase in the number of seats available. Seat utilisation increased from 69.6 per cent to 73.9 per cent compared to the same time last year.
Qantas ceded some marketshare but remained the largest carrier of passengers in and out of the country with a 19.4 per cent share of international traffic. Australian designated airlines decreased their market share by 1.3 percentage points to 32.7 per cent. Low cost carriers increased their share by 2.9 percentage points to 18.8 per cent of total traffic for the month, aided by increased frequencies from carriers including AirAsia X, Jetstar and Pacific Blue.

Flights To Png Set To Rise
Cargo and passenger services between Australia and Papua New Guinea (PNG) are expected to rise over the next few years after the two countries agreed to a new air services agreement.
From June 3, the available cargo capacity to PNG increased by 30 per cent to 130 tonnes per week, while passenger capacity has increased by 10 per cent to 3520 seats per week.
“These new arrangements will allow airlines in both countries to capitalise on growing passenger demand and business opportunities, particularly in resources and oil and gas exploration in the region,” said Transport Minister Anthony Albanese.

Strategic Launches Port Hedland Link
Strategic Airlines has announced that it will operate flights from Brisbane and Melbourne to Port Hedland from August, making it the second carrier to link major WA resources centres with the east coast.
From August 3, the carrier will operate weekly between Brisbane and Port Hedland, with the intention of taking it to twice weekly services in the future. On the same day, the carrier will also operate its first weekly service from Melbourne to Port Hedland.
“The services between Port Hedland, Brisbane and Melbourne will provide faster and more affordable travel between the east and west coasts, give resource sector workers and regional residents greater access to these capital cities and help drive much needed human resources into the Pilbara,” said Strategic’s head of commercial Damien Vasta.
The airline says that the services will be operated by an Airbus A320 in a two class configuration of 12 business class seats and 144 economy seats. Fares, which go on sale from May 24, will start from $283 one way from Brisbane and $238 one way from Melbourne.
The direct flights to Port Hedland appear to be part of a wider trend to link major resource centres in WA with the major east coast capital cities, with Qantas recently launching direct services to Karratha from Sydney and Melbourne. Skywest is also expected to pursue similar services once it introduces its A320s into service.

EMIRATES RESTRUCTURES TRANS-TASMAN FARES
Emirates has announced that it is restructuring its business and economy class fare categories on trans-Tasman services, which appears to be set to challenge Air New Zealand’s recently announced changes to its fare scheme.
Under the new fare format, economy and business fares will be split into Super Saver, Saver and Flex categories, which the airline is now selling as one-way fares. As an example, Emirates says that a one way Economy Saver fare on Sydney-Auckland flights will start from $253 one way, while Business Saver fares will start from $733 one way.
The move comes after Air New Zealand, which recently announced plans to change its fare categories and move to a one-class cabin on its trans-Tasman services from later this year. Air NZ and Virgin Blue have also recently announced plans for a trans-Tasman alliance, which would give both carriers greater presence in the market against Qantas, Jetstar and Emirates.

Airline briefs

* QantasLink has launched sales for its flights between Cairns and Port Moresby, with the first service to take off on July 1. Qantas will operate 12 services per week, offering a total of 1776 seats per week on the route, and is offering launch fares from $349 return between the two cities to celebrate the commercial launch. Airlines PNG and Air Niugini also fly between Cairns and Port Moresby, with traffic expected to grow significantly due to the PNG LNG project which has begun construction recently.
* Qantas has announced that it will increase services between Melbourne and Queenstown to support demand over the peak summer period and the upcoming ski season. Qantas will operate an additional weekly flight from December 18 until January 29 from Melbourne to Queenstown each Saturday. The flights will be operated by Boeing 737-800s. Qantas will also offer supplementary flights during the winter ski season between Melbourne and Brisbane and Queenstown. The additional flights will operate on Saturdays for 13 weeks from June 26.
* Skywest has been granted an extension to its turboprop route licence until February 27 2011, ahead of the opening up of some of WA’s intrastate routes. The WA government has proposed to open a number of routes which were operated solely by Skywest and Skippers Aviation as part of its review of intrastate air services. The government recently put out a request for proposals for the route network, with responses due by July 29.

Emirates Makes Record Profit
The Emirates Group has defied the economic slowdown over the past year, recording a 248 per cent increase in net profit for the financial year ending March 31.
“It has been an exceptional year of continued profitability against a backdrop of the worst global recession in generations,” said Emirates Group chairman and CEO HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum. “The first half of the financial year, however, was extremely challenging as the world continued to grapple with the economic crisis. Our pioneering spirit and ability to adapt in adverse conditions helped us to push through this harsh economic climate with an extremely strong performance in the latter part of the year.”
The group’s net profit came in at AED4.2bn (A$1.3bn), while revenue remained stable at AED45.4bn (A$13.8bn), reflecting lower passenger and cargo yields offset by increased traffic.
Emirates Airline recorded stable revenue of AED43.5bn (A$13.2bn), while profit increased by an incredible 416 per cent compared to the previous financial year to AED 3.5bn (A$1bn), reflecting lower fuel costs and other unit costs.
Over the year, the airline took delivery of four Airbus A380s, 10 Boeing 777-300ERs and one 777 Freighter.

Airline briefs

* Garuda Indonesia used the launch of its new Jakarta-Dubai-Amsterdam services on June 1 to confirm it remains on track to raise US$300m (A$360m) in an initial public offering by the end of the year to support its growth plans. The new daily service to Amsterdam is operated by the airline’s fleet of Airbus A330-200s, which have 222 seats in two classes.
* The IASC has issued Qantas a determination which will allow China Eastern Airlines to codeshare on Qantas operated services between Australia and Singapore, while Qantas will place its code on some China Eastern services to China from Singapore. Both carriers will be required to price and sell their seats independently and are not permitted to pool revenues.
* Regional Express has announced that it will add two new nonstop services on the Townsville-Mount Isa route from June 14. The new flights will operate on Fridays and Sundays and will depart Townsville at 12.20 pm, arriving Mount Isa at 2.20pm. From Mount Isa the new flights will depart at 2.50pm, arriving in Townsville at 4.50pm.
* Emirates has announced that it its A380s will return to the Dubai-New York JFK route from October 31 due to strong demand from the Americas.

ENVIRONMENT

BOEING LOOKS TO CHINESE PARTNERS FOR BIOFUELS
Boeing has signed an agreement with PetroChina to evaluate establishing a sustainable biofuels industry in China.
Boeing says that the project will look at all phases of sustainable aviation biofuel development including agronomy, energy inputs and outputs, life cycle emissions analysis, infrastructure and government policy support. An assessment of the economic and technical feasibility is slated to start in June and will be steered by AECOM, Honeywell’s UOP and United Technologies, while Air China and PetroChina will lead the Chinese team.
Boeing has joined a number of partnerships aimed at addressing issues of technical and financial viability of the biofuels industry, including the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Users Group, which includes Virgin Blue, Qantas and Air New Zealand.

Airports

Maroochydore Now Sunshine Coast Airport

Maroochydore Airport will officially become Sunshine Coast Airport on June 3, marking the end of a 10 year process to officially change the name of the airport and its associated infrastructure.
“The airport has grown in the past 48 years from a small grass landing strip into the gateway airport to the Sunshine Coast, so it’s logical that the name reflects the region and destination it serves,” said  the airport’s general manager Peter Pallot.
“Not only does the new name better describe the destination and harmonise with the changes in the Sunshine Coast region, it will remove the confusion often experienced by passengers travelling to the Sunshine Coast when they are destined for places on the coast other than Maroochydore,” he added.
Under the change, the ICAO designation for Sunshine Coast Airport will now be YBSU and the control tower will now be called Sunshine Coast Tower.

SCONE AIRPORT TO BE UPGRADED
The New South Wales government is helping to fund a $2 million upgrade to Scone Airport which is expected to boost local businesses in the Upper Hunter region.
The upgrades will include an extension of the runway, construction of an additional taxiway and improved drainage around the airfield, and will support 54 direct jobs over the next year.
The airport is adjacent to the Scone Airpark, which is a commercial development aimed at aviation businesses which would have direct access to the runway on the airfield.

Airport briefs

* Airservices Australia has announced that it will upgrade the instrument landing system (ILS) at Cairns Airport to increase its reliability. The upgrade will cost $3 million and will be undertaken before the onset of the wet season. The works are expected to be done in such a way that disruption to air traffic at the airport will be minimised.
* Construction of the $10 million forecourt at the front of Perth Airport’s domestic terminals has been completed, opening up new lanes and covered walkways aimed at increasing the efficiency of traffic flows around the terminals. The works are part of a major program of improvements being made by the airport, which also include new retail concessions in Terminal Three and a new on-airport road to link the domestic and international terminals. The road is scheduled to open by the end of 2010.
* Sydney Airport Corporation Limited and Beijing International Airport Co Ltd signed a memorandum of understanding which will establish a sister airport relationship at a ceremony in Beijing on June 3.

General Aviation

Hawker Pacific Moves Mods To Cairns

Hawker Pacific will relocate its aircraft modification operations from Bankstown to Cairns in order to take advantage of the northern Queensland centre’s proximity to new markets in the Asia Pacific region.
“Increasingly we are seeing demand for quite sophisticated systems integration tasks as part of the broader modification programs we perform,” said chief executive officer Alan Smith.
“Consequently, co-locating the structural modification capability within the same facility as Australian Avionics, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hawker Pacific employing around 50 staff in specialised avionics work and sales, is a logical move. The transfer is expected to create at least 12 additional positions at the Cairns facility, increasing total staff numbers there to over 110.”
The business provides special missions modifications for both civil and military customers, and in recent years has included aircraft for surveillance, aeromedical, law enforcement and various defence roles.
As a result of the move, the company says that it will rationalise its service centre at Bankstown Airport with some redundancies, although Hawker Pacific Technologies will continue to operate there alongside its MRO and support activities for operators of Hawker Beechcraft, Diamond and Bell aircraft.

Hall Survices Red Bull Near Miss
Former RAAF fighter pilot Matt Hall had to withdraw from the Windosr, Canada, leg of the Red Bull Air Race series after his aircraft hit the water during a rare close call.
Hall’s MXS-R aircraft contacted the water during qualification on the Saturday after suffering an aerodynamic wing stall in a tight turn. Hall’s wing and right wheel touched the surface of the water but he was able to quickly regain control and return safely to the race airport.
“Rather than taking the aircraft to its limit and seeing if it had enough turn potential to get around the corner, I looked at where I wanted to go and tried to force the aircraft to that point,” Hall recounted on his website. “Aircraft will only develop so much lift, I know where that limit is in my aircraft, though unfortunately I exceeded this limit momentarily which resulted in a dynamic stall of the wing.”
“Some people are saying it was an ‘incredible piece of flying’ but I’m looking at it the other way – I feel like it was a terrible piece of flying to get myself there,” Hall told Red Bull Air Race’s Erik Kay in an interview. “So it depends how you look at it. I’m very critical of myself all the time. I did what I had to recover from a situation that I put myself in. So I guess it evens out. A slight bit of damage but [I] walked away from it.”
Hall’s aircraft was only slightly damaged, and was trucked to the North Carolina for repairs in time for him to participate in the New York round of the race series in mid June.

Rfds Upgrade For Alice Springs
The Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) is undertaking a $2 million upgrade of its Alice Springs aeromedical base in the Northern Territory, reports Chris Milne.
The work includes redevelopment of a recently acquired fourth hangar at the town’s airport, which will be used as a new maintenance facility. The other three hangars are being upgraded to provide improved patient management and better office space for RFDS staff.
The chief executive of RFDS Central Operations, John Lynch, said the work was expected to be completed by the end of August, bringing the Alice Springs base up to the same standard as the service’s other major base at Port Augusta.
The RFDS also is planning to upgrade its Alice Springs tourist centre, which receives more than 65,000 visitors a year.
Lynch said plans to “reinvigorate” the centre were expected to be put to the Central Operations board in August.
Meanwhile, the service expects to put the first of its new Pilatus PC-12 aircraft into service by the end of July.
The first of five new PC-12s arrived in Adelaide from Switzerland in March for its medical fitout and work has begun on the recently arrived second aircraft. Lynch said further deliveries were scheduled for July, September and October.
Deployment of the aircraft was not yet decided but, initially, the first two would operate from the Adelaide Airport base. They are replacing five older Pilatus PC-12s acquired in 1995. Each has clocked up more than 15,000 hours.
Meanwhile, In a bid to spread its operations further, RFDS Central Operations has joined the tender process for the Northern Territory Government’s ‘Top End’ contract, at present held by Pearl Aviation, which is owned by Darwin based Paspaley Pearling.
Under the existing contract, Pearl provides aviation services and the NT Health Department provides medical staff. However, the new requirement calls for a fully-integrated service including aircraft, pilots, doctors and nurses, and engineering support.
This follows the Cornish Report, which called for a new, centralised approach, with a fully integrated aeromedical service, and an upgrade in aircraft. The report by J Cornish and Associates said the present ageing Pearl air ambulance aircraft did not meet other aeromedical standards in Australia and suffered above-normal unserviceability standards.
The Cornish recommendations also covered a need for a new aeromedical base at Darwin Airport, including hangar space for two aircraft.
It is understood 11 organisations and aviation firms have tendered for the new contract.

BUSINESS AVIATION

THIRD G650 FLIES
The third Gulfstream G650 ultra-long range business jet made its first flight in late May and has joined the other two jets in the type’s test program.
T3 will be used to measure aerodynamic loads and to test the G650’s new PlaneView avionics suite and ice protection systems. T1 has been employed on envelope expansion duties while T2 has been doing system functionality, including environmental controls and hydraulics work.

Supplier problem halts Mustang production

Problems with suppliers have forced Cessna to temporarily halt production of the Citation Mustang until early July.
According to media reports, the supplier issues have been related to flooding in Rhode Island which has prevented some suppliers from being able to produce components in time. As a result of the shutdown, Cessna is issuing rolling furloughs to about 200 workers at the Wichita, Kansas, facility where it produces Mustangs, but production is expected to restart in July.
So far, Cessna has not said how it expects the stoppage to impact on second quarter deliveries of the popular selling very light jet, but deliveries of aircraft already manufactured are continuing.

CARGO

JAL, AIR NZ FACE PROSECUTION ON CARGO CARTEL
Japan Air Lines and Air New Zealand are the latest airlines to face prosecution from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC)’s long running investigation into air freight surcharges.
Both airlines are accused of entering into arrangements with other carriers regarding fuel and security surcharges on air cargo between 2002 and 2006. Both carriers are accused of colluding on the surcharges on services in Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan, with the ACCC launching court action seeking declarations, injunctive relief, pecuniary penalties, and costs. A directions hearing in the Federal Court in Sydney has been set down for June 10.
The ACCC has now taken action against 15 airlines as a result of its investigations into the fuel and security surcharges, with a number including Qantas and British Airways reaching agreed settlements with the Commission out of court.

Cargo briefs

* Pacific Air Express has lodged an application with the International Air Services Commission (IASC) for an allocation which would allow it to operate a second weekly freighter service between Brisbane and Port Moresby. The carrier said in its allocation that it is seeking an additional 17.5 tonnes of capacity on the route, which would allow it to operate a second 737 Freighter service (operated by Airwork) between Brisbane and Port Moresby in addition to its current weekly service.
* Cathay Pacific Cargo is due to launch a twice weekly round-the-world freighter service from July 9, which will be the first time the airline has operated a trans-Atlantic service. The airline will operate a Boeing 747-400 Freighter which will depart from Hong Kong and fly via Anchorage to Chicago, before crossing the Atlantic to Amsterdam, then onwards to Dubai and back to Hong Kong. In total, the round-the-world flight will take 44.5 hours to operate, including ground time to uplift freight.

Security

Security, Regional Aviation Win Budget Funds

The federal government’s budget has confirmed increases in spending on aviation security and regional aviation infrastructure and funds the study for a second Sydney airport site, meeting commitments made in the Aviation White Paper.
As announced in February, the government has allocated nearly $200 million in the 2010-2011 budget to assist with the rollout of new security measures. This includes $28.5 million to introduce new technologies at passenger screening points, including full body scanners at some terminals, $32 million over four years to bring forward security screening at a number of airports served by larger turboprops, and $18.2 million over four years to strengthen cooperation between aviation security authorities in the Asia Pacific region (including $5.1 million this year). The government has also placed $54.2 million aside over two years to install x-ray equipment and explosive trace equipment at certain locations to screen air cargo, as well as the establishment of a regulated shipper scheme.
In addition, Transport Minister Anthony Albanese has announced an extra $5.9 million to extend the Remote Aviation Infrastructure Fund for two years. “The new funding will upgrade up to 19 airstrips from a ‘charter’ safety standard to the higher ‘regular public transport’ standard, with the likely work ranging from the laying of an all-weather runway to the relocation of the airstrip away from hilly terrain,” he said.
The budget also includes $8.5 million for the long term planning process for a second Sydney airport. This study, due to be finalised in the first half of 2011 and run in conjunction with the NSW state government will, the Minister says, “identify potential sites for a second Sydney airport, the additional road and rail infrastructure that will be required, and investment strategies that will deliver this additional capacity”.

Albanese Tightens Cockpit Security
Controversial new regulations which limit access to an aircraft’s flightdeck during flight have been passed into law, despite the same regulations being voted down by the Senate last year.
Under the legislation, which took effect from May 22, only the operating pilots and those with an operational, safety, security or training need would be permitted in the cockpit of an aircraft in flight.
“It is unacceptable that such an important part of aviation security has been left to industry self-regulation in the past,” said Transport Minister Anthony Albanese in introducing the new legislation to parliament.
“By restricting access to a cockpit, the government is taking a strong, practical and common sense approach to strengthen the last line of defence against unlawful interference with a plane.”
The regulations have been opposed by the Australian and International Pilots Association (AIPA), which says that they will decrease safety, as non-flying company pilots will not be allowed in the cockpit. AIPA is also opposed to how the new regulations would shift responsibility for flightdeck security to individual pilots. “Shifting criminal responsibility to the pilot in command undermines a long held aviation principle that the airline is ultimately responsible for the actions of its pilots,” said AIPA president Barry Jackson.
Minister Albanese subsequently said that the AIPA was wrong in its assertions that new cockpit security regulations prohibit off-duty pilots from accessing the flightdeck of an operating aircraft.
“The pilot’s association is wrong when it says the regulations exclude licensed company pilots from travelling on the flightdeck when they are not actually flying the plane. If the airline allows those pilots to travel in the cockpit for an operational, safety, security or training reason they can do so, and the airline – not the pilot – carries legal responsibility,” he said.
“In fact, the pilot in command of a plane will be able to allow people to travel in the cockpit (such as other pilots), so long as they have an operational, safety, security or training reason for being there.  The pilot is then legally responsible for doing so.”

MAINTENANCE, SUPPORT & TRAINING

* Transport Minister Anthony Albanese officially opened the newest Aviation Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) station at Sunshine Coast Airport on May 21. The new $5 million facility incorporates two vehicle bays to house high-performance fire tenders, a maintenance bay and an observation tower housing a Fire Control Centre. Staff facilities include a training room, gymnasium, kitchen and stand-down area. The station operates between 0700 and 2030hrs each day with 17 staff on duty.

AIR SAFETY

CASA TAKES ACTION FROM 717 HARD LANDING
CASA is taking action to resolve uncertainty over the responsibilities of operators and third party pilot training providers as a result of the ATSB investigation into a hard landing experienced by a National Jet operated QantasLink Boeing 717 at Darwin Airport in February 2008.
In the findings of the ATSB’s final report the Bureau noted that the issue of responsibility was a minor safety issue. “There was no clear division of responsibilities between the aircraft operator and the third party training provider in regard to ensuring the standards of flight training met all of the operator’s requirements, which had the potential to reduce training effectiveness,” read the report.
The final report also noted that CASA has taken action on the issue through prioritising the implementation of Civil Aviation Safety Regulation (CASR) Part 142, which has been progressed to the Office of Legislative Drafting and Publishing. The new CASR will place responsibility for flight training standards on the operator, rather than the provider of training.
“As aircraft operators increase their use of third party training providers, it is increasingly important that CASR Part 142 be introduced as a priority,” the ATSB report, which noted CASR 142 had first been covered by a notice of proposed rulemaking in July 2003, said.
Boeing 717 VH-NXE, which was operating a QantasLink flight from Cairns and Nhulunbuy, sustained major damage – such that the ATSB characterised the occurrence as an “accident” – after a hard landing at Darwin Airport on February 7 2008. The subsequent ATSB investigation identified a number of relevant safety factors, including the flightcrew’s actions and control inputs, the aircraft operator’s stabilised approach criteria and operational documentation, and the visual cues associated with runway 11/29 at Darwin Airport.
“The aircraft’s rate of descent below 400ft above aerodrome level exceeded the operator’s stabilised approach criteria; however, because the pilot in command considered the exceedance to be momentary, a missed approach was not conducted,” the ATSB report found.

Brasilia Pilots Performing Engine Out Manoeuvres Before Crash
The pilots of an Airnorth Embraer EMB-120ER Brasilia were performing a simulated engine failure on a training mission shortly before the aircraft crashed after taking off from Darwin Airport, according to a preliminary report by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB).
According to witness reports of the March 22 accident, the Brasilia VH-ANB’s takeoff appeared to be normal, when shortly after becoming airborne the aircraft rolled and diverged left of its takeoff path before entering a steep nose-down attitude and crashing into trees nearby. Both pilots died.
The ATSB noted that after the accident Airnorth conducted inspections on the rudder actuators on the rest of the company’s fleet of Brasilias, although no issues were found. The report also noted that before the accident Airnorth had also been pursuing options to conduct recurrent training of Brasilia pilots at the Ansett Aviation Training simulator centre in Melbourne.
The investigation is continuing.

Broadcast Frequency Set For Lake Eyre
CASA has assigned a set frequency for aircraft operating in Lake Eyre to reduce congestion on other frequencies as a result of the increased sightseeing traffic through the area.
Aircraft operating in the region are required to use 127.8 MHz as the broadcast area frequency from May 1 until October 31. The region covered by the frequency centres on North and South Lake Eyre – from Lake Gregory in the east to Mt Margaret in the west and Lake Pantoowarinna in the north to Tarlton Knob mine in the south and applies up to 5000 feet. Pilots are required to use the frequency to broadcast the aircraft’s callsign, position and level and intentions for the flight, while pilots taking off or landing within the designated airspace must also use the frequency.

Atc & Airspace

Raaf, Airservices Integrate Air Traffic Management

Airservices Australia and the RAAF have signed a Joint Operational Concept to develop and implement harmonised civil and military air traffic management systems, which also promises to save millions of dollars.
Under the agreement, the two organisations will align procurement processes on a range of air navigation and air traffic control systems to replace ageing infrastructure as part of their equipment upgrades over the next five to seven years.  Despite the harmonisation, the government says that the RAAF’s unique operational requirements will be maintained.
“By purchasing and developing compatible equipment and technology together, the RAAF and Airservices will provide better value for money and potentially save taxpayers millions of dollars,” said Transport Minister Anthony Albanese, adding that it delivered on a promise put forward in the government’s Aviation White Paper, which was released in December last year.

New Ground Movement System For Sydney

Airservices Australia has rolled out a $35 million Advanced Surface Movement Guidance and Control System (A-SMGCS) at Sydney Airport, which it says will help to improve safety for aircraft and ground vehicles.
The system allows air traffic controllers to see an electronic picture of what is happening on the ground at any time through the collection of surveillance data from multiple sources, helping to improve their awareness of aircraft and vehicle positions on the tarmac around the airport.
“About 800 aircraft movements are monitored by air traffic controllers every day at Sydney Airport. This system offers better conflict detection for controllers – for example, vehicles crossing an active runway without clearance – and a lower risk of surface collisions,” said Airservices’s general manager of air traffic control Jason Harfield.
Airservices has also implemented A-SMGCS at Melbourne Airport and is planning to roll it out at Perth and Brisbane airports later this year.

People

New Ceo Appointed For Bankstown

BAC Airports Pty Ltd, which operates Bankstown and Camden airports, has appointed Colin Grove to take over as the company’s CEO.
Grove was until 2008 a senior manager at Sydney Airport Corporation Limited and prior to that was the national manager of leasing for the Federal Airports Corporation. He will take up the new role from June 15, while outgoing CEO Kim Ellis is set to step down from June 30.

* New Appointments To Airservices Board

: Transport Minister Anthony Albanese has reappointed David Forsyth as the chairman of Airservices Australia and Hank Meertens as a board member, while also appointing Jude Munro as a new member of the board.
Munro has been appointed as a board member after Alice Williams stepped down this year. Williams had been on the board of Airservices since 2005.

People briefs

* Virgin Blue’s long time general manager of public affairs Heather Jeffrey stood down on  May 17. She was succeeded by Danielle Keighery, who has worked with the Virgin Group since 2003 in various senior marketing, communications and PR positions in the Asia Pacific region and London.
* Emirates vice president of Australia Stephen Pearse has resigned from the airline to pursue other interests.
* Skywest has appointed Alan Stuart as its general manager of sales and marketing.
* Tiger Airways Australia’s new managing director, Crawford Rix, started work at the airline on June 1.

Events

Airshow To Stay At Avalon

Victorian Premier John Brumby has announced that the Australian International Airshow and Aerospace & Defence Exposition will remain at Avalon Airport until at least 2015 after a new agreement was reached with the airport’s operator.
“This agreement with Avalon Airport Australia means that we can continue to grow and improve our event with the knowledge that we have a long term operational base,” said Airshow CEO Ian Honnery.
The growth of Jetstar’s services from Avalon, as well as Tiger Airways’s announcement that it will use the airport as its third base, had raised concerns that the disruptions to the airshow caused by the civil movements could force it to move to another venue.
The next airshow will be held from March 1 to 6 2011 and coincides with the 90th anniversary of the Royal Australian Air Force. “The Australian Defence Force, and in particular the Royal Australian Air Force, are our key military stakeholders, so we are thrilled that the 2011 airshow coincides with such a special celebration,” said Honnery.

Captions

SUPERJET COMPLETES WATER INGESTION TESTS Sukhoi Superjet 100 (SSJ100) SN95003 has successfully completed water ingestion tests on its engines and APU, clearing the type for takeoffs and landings from wet runways. The tests were conducted at Zhukovsky based Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Company’s flight test centre. A special 70m long pool was constructed on the runway, filled with water to a depth of 40 mm. (Sukhoi)

FIRST 747-8F PAINTED IN CARGOLUX LIVERY Boeing rolled out the first production 747-8 Freighter in the colours of launch customer Cargolux on June 7. The new livery features a distinctive new red tail and a logo on the belly, and comes after Boeing delivered the last Cargolux 747-400F with a unique transition paint scheme featuring fading stripes. Boeing is expected to deliver the first 747-8F to Cargolux during the fourth quarter of this year. Cargolux has 13 747-8Fs on order. (Boeing)

JETSTAR TO TRIAL IPADS FOR IFE Jetstar has announced that it will trial hiring out Apple iPads for onboard entertainment on some domestic services. The trial will make Jetstar the first carrier in the world to offer iPad hire onboard when they come on offer from late June. The iPads will be available to rent for $10, and will provide inflight entertainment with movies, TV programs, eBooks, music videos, games and music. Based on demand for the iPads during the trial, Jetstar will look to roll out the devices across its entire domestic and international network later in the year. The iPads are being trialled in conjunction with Bluebox Avionics and Stella Inflight. Bluebox is understood to have developed customised apps for the iPad, while Stella is a provider of movie and TV content for airlines worldwide. (Jetstar)

CANADA RECEIVES FIRST C-130J Canada took delivery of the first of 17 Lockheed Martin C-130J Hercules at Trenton Air Base in Ontario on June 4. The transports, all stretched C-130J-30s and designated CC-130J in Canadian service, will replace C-130E and H models and will be operated by 8 Wing. The first aircraft was delivered six months ahead of schedule and five more are planned to follow this year. All 17 should be in service by the end of 2012. (Lockheed Martin)

GLASS COCKPIT RETROFIT FOR TRINIDAD GT DAHER-SOCATA has launched a retrofit for its TB20 Trinidad GT single engine piston with a Garmin G500 glass cockpit. The retrofit, which gained European supplemental type certification (STC) in April, features a 16.5cm primary flight display and a multifunction display as well as an attitude/heading reference system. G500 customers also can install a tailored version of Garmin’s synthetic vision technology software and Chartview as an option, along with the new Garmin GAD 43 autopilot offered for the avionics upgrade. DAHER-SOCATA presented the retrofit on a Trinidad at the Eur-Avia trade show at Cannes-Mandelieu International Airport from June 4-6.

A330 MRTT DEMONSTRATES BUDDY REFUELLING CAPABILITY The RAAF’s first A330 MRTT (KC-30A) tanker currently undergoing certification testing in Spain has successfully ‘buddy’ refuelled the second RAAF KC-30A in flight. The milestone demonstrates the type’s flexibility to conduct long endurance and long range refuelling as well as its ability to pass fuel to and receive fuel from other large aircraft. The two aircraft are involved in the type’s certification program, with aircraft 2 expected to be the first KC-30A delivered to the RAAF later this year.

FIRST MEXICAN C295 DELIVERED Airbus Military has handed over the first of five C295 tactical transports to the Mexican air force, joining two C295s already operated by the Mexican navy. Meanwhile, an order for one additional C295 for the Finnish air force, to join two already in service, has taken C295 sales to 82 aircraft ordered by 13 different operators. The C295 is a likely contender for the Air 8000 Phase 2 project to find a long term replacement for the RAAF’s recently retired Caribou tactical transports.