News Desk

China’s Comac reveals C919 specs and orders

The Commercial Aircraft Corp of China (Comac) has revealed some basic specifications of its C919 narrowbody airliner and some initial orders for the twin jet at the Zhuhai Airshow.
It says the C919 will have a length of 38.9m, a wing span of 35.8m and a height of 11.95m, while cabin width will be 3.9m and cabin height, 2.25m. Comac plans a six abreast 168-seat single class cabin configuration, or 156 seats in a mixed class setup.
Four Chinese airlines and two lessors have confirmed orders for 55 C919s and options on another 45. The airlines, Air China, China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines and Hainan Airlines, will take up to 20 C919s each, while GECAS has ordered five plus five options, and Chinese lessor CDB Leasing Company (CLC) has ordered a similar number.
Detailed design work on the C919 is expected to be concluded in 2012, with first flight scheduled for 2014.
Boeing begins 737 improvement tests
Boeing has commenced certification testing on a United 737-800 of a series of performance improvements designed to give the evergreen airliner a two per cent reduction in fuel consumption – one per cent from engine improvements and one per cent from aerodynamics changes.
The performance package comprises changes to the aircraft’s CFM 56-7BE engines’ low and high pressure turbines, and aerodynamic improvements including new main wheel fairings, a redesigned environmental control system, exhaust vents and wing slats and spoilers, and new elongated teardrop shaped upper and lower anti-collision lights.
Testing and certification will continue through until April 2011.

EADS recovers to post small 3Q profit
EADS has rebounded from an €87m (A$121m) loss last quarter to post a €13m (A$18m) net profit for the third quarter.
The turnaround has been driven by increased revenues from Airbus airliners, Airbus Military and the Cassidian defense and security division. “EBIT was driven by more favourable one-time effects at Airbus Commercial and Airbus Military as well as better performance at Cassidian, partially offset by higher R&D at Eurocopter,” the company said in a November 12 statement.
Overall sales in the third quarter climbed 18 per cent to €11.24bn (A$15.6bn), while net profit for the first nine months now stands at €198m (A$275m) on sales of €31.6bn (A$43.9bn), which is a drop in profit of 32 per cent from the same time last year.
“The commercial aviation sector continues its ascent which starts to be reflected in the nine-month results,” said Louis Gallois, EADS CEO. “At the same time, (defence) budget reviews in our home countries are not yet fully completed; we therefore remain attentive to challenges which could arise for our business with government customers.”
Bombardier delivers 1000th Dash 8

Canadian manufacturer Bombardier has delivered the 1000th example of its Dash 8/Q-series airliners and the 400th Global series business jet.
The 1000th Dash 8 aircraft, a Q400 to Pinnacle Airlines, is the latest of a line started with the original Dash 8-100 series and which has since evolved into the stretched -200 and -300, the Q200 and Q300 which feature quietened cabins, and the substantially enhanced Q400 line.
“As we celebrate the 1000th Dash 8/Q Series ircraft and the 400th Global business jet, we are reminded of the long heritage of Bombardier’s Toronto site,” said Steve Ridolfi, president, Bombardier Business Aircraft. “These milestone aircraft are part of a more than 80 year tradition of excellent technological achievement in Ontario. Today, we salute the employees, past and present, who have worked at this site.”

Sales
SpiceJet of India has ordered 15 Bombardier Q400s, and optioned 15.
ufthansa has signed an order for eight additional Embraer E-195s, to supplement the 30 E-190s and E-195s ordered in June 2007. Lufthansa Regional carriers Augsburg Airways, Air Dolomiti and CityLine all operate E-Jets on Lufthansa’s behalf.
Panama’s Copa Airlines has ordered 22 Boeing 737-800s and taken options on a further 10 aircraft.
The order had previously been attributed to an unnamed customer on Boeing’s orders and deliveries website.
LAN Cargo has converted an option it was holding for an additional Boeing 777F freighter into a firm order.
Taiwanese carrier TransAsia has ordered two Airbus A330-300s and six Airbus A321s. The A330s are the first widebodied airliners ordered by the airline. They will be employed mainly on regional routes while the A321s will be for use between the island and the Chinese mainland.
Hawaiian Airlines has ordered an additional six Airbus A330-200s to join three already in service and six on order.

Commercial briefs
Airbus has selected Goodrich to provide the main landing gear for the A350-1000 long range twin.
The main gear on the -1000 is different to that on the smaller A350-800/900 models which will be supplied by Messier-Dowty. The A350-1000 is expected to be the last of the three A350 models to enter service, from 2016.

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A350 tail section fabrication begins Airbus has begun fabricating the first carbon fibre rear fuselage barrel for the A350 XWB at its Illescas, Spain, plant. The barrel, known as section 19, measures 5.5m in length and is 56sq m in area. Unlike the majority of the A350 XWB’s fuselage, which will be made from long carbon fibre panels, Airbus says the barrel design is “optimum” for the tapered tail section.
Boeing delivers 900th 777 Boeing has delivered the 900th 777, a 777-200LR handed over to Ethiopian Airlines at its Everett plant on November 17. Boeing says the 777 program reached the 900th milestone “faster than any other twin aisle airplane in history”. The first 777 customer delivery was to United Airlines in May 1995.

Military
RAAF Rhinos hit IOC target as four more arrive
The RAAF’s first squadron of F/A-18F Super Hornets, or Rhinos, has been declared operational after successfully completing its airworthiness boards late last month.
The Amberley based 1SQN, led by WGCDR Glen Braz, achieved the IOC milestone at a ceremony at Amberley on December 8, and is now combat ready if required for operations.
Parent unit 82WG now has 15 Super Hornets on strength following the delivery of four more aircraft which arrived for the ceremony. The latest aircraft were delivered by US Navy pilots and flew across the Pacific from the Boeing factory in St Louis via Travis AFB in California, Hickam AFB in Hawaii, and Andersen AFB on Guam, with tanker support from the USAF.
In the lead up to and following the retirement of the F-111 on December 3, 6SQN crews and maintainers have been deploying to NAS Lemoore in California to commence their conversion to the Rhino, and 6SQN expects to achieve its IOC by the end of 2011. Full operational capability of all aircraft, facilities and support systems is expected in late 2012.

F-111 flies into history
The RAAF retired the F-111 on December 3 after 37 years of service, with a flypast of Ipswich, Brisbane, and the Gold and Sunshine Coasts by six F-111s accompanied by four F/A-18Fs, and a final F-111 singleton display overhead RAAF Amberley, the type’s final flight.
The flights were the culmination of two days’ of retirement celebrations at Amberley (dubbed ‘Pigs Tales’) and a week of flypasts of major and regional towns and cities by 6SQN jets. The last aircraft to land, A8-125, was also the first to land at Amberley on delivery in 1973.
A formal retirement parade hosted by OC 82WG GPCAPT Steve Roberton was held at Amberley on December 2 and was attended by CO 1SQN WGCDR Glen Braz; CO 6SQN WGCDR Micka Gray; Air Commander Australia AVM Mark Skidmore; and Deputy Chief of Air Force AVM Geoffrey Brown, all of whom are former F-111 aircrew, and the parade reviewing officer, Chief of Air Force AIRMSHL Mark Binskin. Also in attendance were many current and former F-111 air and ground crews, and industry support personnel.

JASSM added to Projects of Concern list
The Air 5418 Phase 1 project to integrate the Lockheed Martin AGM-154 JASSM missile with the RAAF’s fleet of F/A-18A/B Hornets has been added to the government’s growing list of Projects of Concern.
The JASSM project is now running more than 12 months late due to ongoing integration issues with the missile to the Hornet’s OFP software. Although the US Navy, as the Hornet’s ‘parent’ service, is taking the lead on this work at its test facility at China Lake in California, the JASSM is a USAF weapon which the USN has not ordered, and therefore much of the integration work is developmental.
Defence Minister Stephen Smith took the unusual step of publicly criticising ADF management over its handling of the project. “Government has not been kept properly and fully informed as to the progress with respect to this major project,” he told Defence’s Senior Leadership Group on November 26. “It is essential for government to be appropriately informed about the delivery of complex and important capabilities so that appropriate steps can be taken to manage issues that emerge in relation to cost, capability or schedule.”
A list of questions submitted by Australian Aviation to the project team remained unanswered, but Defence insiders say a test shot of an inert missile is due to be conducted from an RAAF Hornet at China Lake by December 3 and, if successful will be followed by a live shot at the Woomera Test Range early next year.
Smith added that, now that the project is on ‘the list’, “Defence will ensure that this project now receives additional scrutiny and senior officer oversight in the lead up to the test firing and in the development of subsequent advice to government.”
First KC-30A on track?

The first of five Airbus Military KC-30A MRTTs was due to be handed over to the RAAF in a ceremony in Madrid on December 22.

The aircraft, believed to be A39-003, the third MRTT built and the second to be converted by Qantas Defence Services at Brisbane Airport, was due to be flown to Australia sometime in the new year, before the type’s airworthiness boards are held in March. Until that time, the aircraft reamins considered ‘experimental’ by the RAAF, and RAAF personnel cannot operate or work on the KC-30 without oversight by Airbus flight test crews.
The first MRTT, A39-001, is due to have its flight test instrumentation removed and undergo a service period before it is delivered, while A39-002 will remain in Madrid to support ongoing flight testing before it is delivered in mid 2011.
Project Air 5402 is now more than two years late and remains on the government’s Projects of Concern list. A Defence spokesman told Australian Aviation that the delays have been due to Airbus underestimating the amount of work required to bring the aircraft to a mature state. “Delays on the project are primarily due to increased developmental, certification and qualification testing required as a result of Airbus Military’s underestimation of the overall scope and complexity of work on this first of type developmental program.”
“Although the A330 MRTT received a Technical Certificate from the Spanish military airworthiness agency, Instituto Nacional de Technica Aeroespacial (INTA), on 5 October 2010, additional work is required to ensure that the aircraft comply with Australian contractual requirements. To accept the first aircraft, the contract also requires delivery of support systems such as publications, training, spares and test equipment necessary for RAAF to fly and maintain the aircraft.”
The planned initial operating capability (IOC) with Amberley based 33SQN is currently scheduled for the “second half of 2011”, while full operating capability (FOC), the point at which all five aircraft have been delivered, the logistics and support systems are in place, and the squadron is at full strength, is expected to “follow by the end of 2012.”

LockMart awarded contract for next batch of F-35s

Lockheed Martin has been awarded a US$3.5 billion contract for the fourth Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP 4) batch of 31 F-35 JSF aircraft.
Under the contract, the company will manufacture 10 F-35As for the USAF, 16 F-35Bs for the US Marine Corps, four F-35Cs for the US Navy and, despite that country recently changing its planned JSF buy to the F-35C, one F-35B for the UK. Also covered in the award is manufacturing-support equipment, flight test instrumentation and ancillary mission equipment.
The LRIP 4 contract has been under negotiation for some months, culminating in the Pentagon requesting Lockheed Martin agree to a fixed price contract instead of the traditional ‘cost plus’ contracts common in development programs.
To date, 19 test F-35s and three LRIP 3 F-35s have rolled off the Lockheed Martin line in Fort Worth, of which about eight have flown.

A400M partners sign agreement

The seven nation Airbus A400M partnership has finally agreed upon a financial package to support the aircraft’s development.
The countries – the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Luxembourg, Belgium and Turkey – have agreed to pay €3.5bn (A$4.8bn) to continue the A400M’s development, clearing the way ahead for the airlifter.
“The A400M is an emblematic program which Europe could not abandon,” French defence minister Herve Morin told European media. “Giving it up would have meant Europe saying it wanted to be dependent on the United States in the 21st century.”
After being plagued by early development issues, schedule delays and cost overruns, the A400M flight test program has ramped up comparatively smoothly since first flight late last year. The seven partners have ordered 170 aircraft, down from the original 180, with the UK and Germany reducing their orders slightly.

USAF KC-X suffers another delay
The USAF’s effort to replace its 45+ year old KC-135 fleet with 179 new tankers under the KC-X program has suffered another blow with the decision delayed from November 2010 until “early” 2011.
It has also been revealed that USAF officials accidentally sent each of the two rival bidders, Boeing with its KC-767AT and EADS with its A330 MRTT based KC-45, details about each others’ bids including sensitive pricing information.
The RFT documents released to the bidders had originally stated November 12 would be the date the decision would be announced, and this was later amended to December 20.
The latest delay will supposedly allow the USAF to ensure both companies get equal access to the same information which was inadvertently sent out, thus ensuring there are no further grounds for appeal.

Vigilare passes final factory tests
Boeing has announced that the Vigilare Network Centric Command and Control System (NC3S) it is delivering to the RAAF has passed its final factory and tactical datalink (TADIL) acceptance tests.
The company says the final tests were performed at its Systems Integration Laboratory (SAL) in Brisbane to prepare the system for its integration into the Eastern Regional Operations Centre (EROC – formerly EASTROC) at RAAF Williamtown.
“The tests mark the final engineering release of the system and formally verify that Boeing has met 95 per cent of the requirements for Vigilare,” Charles Toups, Boeing’s vice president and general manager of Network & Tactical Systems, said. “The remaining requirements will be met during EROC site acceptance testing in early 2011.”
The tests, which were held in mid October, verified the system’s enhanced data processing and display, fault detection and isolation, and interactive replay requirements with a 98 per cent compliance rate, while the TADIL test verified the system’s data link software for final EROC acceptance.
More success for JASSM-ER
The Lockheed Martin JASSM-ER has completed two more successful test flights, making it 10 successes from 11 launches for the 1000km range development of the AGM-158 JASSM.
The two test missiles were released from B-1B bombers and flew to targets at the White Sands missile range in New Mexico. The tests focused on the weapon’s alternate terminal engagement profile and Time-on-Target (TOT) mode where it demonstrated its ability to slow down or speed up in flight to allow for winds and atmospheric conditions, and to meet exact timings to engage time-critical targets.
“In my 25 years of Air Force acquisition, I have never seen a more successful air launched cruise missile developmental test program,” Col Steve Demers, the USAF’s JASSM program manager, said. “I’m confident JASSM-ER is ready for production.”
A decision on whether to proceed with low rate production will be made on December 2, while an initial operational test and evaluation (IOT&E) program of 16 flights is due to be conducted next year.

ADFA researchers create new ignition for scramjets
Researchers at the University of New South Wales, Australian Defence Force Academy have created a powerful laser which can be used to ignite fuel for hypersonic scramjets while travelling at speeds up to Mach 10.
Dr Sean O’Byrne, lead researcher in the laser diagnostics group, and PhD student Stefan Brieschenk have proved that laser-generated sparks can ignite supersonic mixtures of hydrogen fuel and air.  The successful demonstration occurred after three years designing and building the supersonic ignition experiment.
“At flight speeds of around 10,000km/h, one of the difficulties with scramjets is getting the fuel to mix and burn before the air has left the engine,” O’Byrne said.
Using the laser, the researchers have been able to create sparks at temperatures close to 100,000 degrees Celcius, under which hydrogen fuel forms a small amount of atomic hydrogen, accelerating the reaction between the fuel and the air, even at temperatures that are too low to spontaneously ignite.  As each laser pulse only lasts for a few billionths of a second, the laser-generated spark requires less energy than a continuous electrical spark.
While it has been developed for application in hypersonics, it is expected that the same principle will have application in natural gas engines. “Natural gas is a fuel with a lot of potential for clean combustion, and the success of Stefan’s experiments indicate that this technique may also improve ignition from gas-fired engines,” said O’Byrne.
Indonesia orders Super Tucano

The Indonesian Ministry of Defence has selected the Embraer Super Tucano to replace the TNI-AU’s Rockwell OV-10 Bronco light attack aircraft in service.
The order for eight aircraft also includes ground support equipment and an integrated logistics package, and is the first for the Super Tucano in the Asia Pacific region.
Deliveries are scheduled to commence from 2012.
UK admirals express Harrier concerns
A group of British flag officers has written an open letter to the UK MoD urging them to reconsider the recent decision to retire the UK’s fleet of Harrier strike fighters, a move which they say will leave the UK without a carrier borne fighter for almost a decade and leave the UK’s few remaining outposts such as the Falkland Islands vulnerable.
The letter, published in The Times, says the move will “practically invite” Argentina to make another attempt to take the Falklands, which they captured and were then evicted from by a UK naval task force in 1982. “We believe that these decisions should be rescinded in the over-riding national interest, before it is too late,” the letter said.
But what the letter did not take into account is the deterrence value of the detachment of RAF Eurofighters now permanently stationed on the islands and supported by tanker aircraft and a regular air bridge to the UK, something which did not exist in 1982.
Boeing receives large SDB order

Local firm supports RAAF Heron flight
Melbourne based Sentient has announced its Kestrel Land MTI, a computer vision system for electro-optical (EO) and infrared (IR) sensors, has been deployed aboard RAAF 5FLT Heron UAVs based at Kandahar in Afghanistan.
The system processes imagery in real time and automatically detects and tracks small, moving targets such as dismounts or vehicles within the sensors’ field of view.
“Kestrel detects any small movements in the field of view and alerts our operators to targets that are easily missed – camouflaged vehicles in tough terrains, dismounts or squirters leaving houses,” said WGCDR Dave Riddel, the RAAF’s deputy director – air combat capability and head of Project Nankeen under which the Heron capability was acquired. “This gives our commanders a complete understanding of the situation on the ground.”
Kestrel Land MTI was developed by Sentient as a part of the Capability and Technology Demonstrator Program which is managed by DSTO.

UK carriers labelled a “classic British disaster”!
The program to build two Queen Elizabeth II class aircraft carriers for the Royal Navy has been heavily criticised by a board member of one of the companies building the 60,000 tonne vessels.
Lord Alexander Hesketh, a non-executive deputy chairman of Babcock which is building the ships at its Rosyth shipyard, has said meddling by prime contractor BAE Systems which he says has a “vested interest” in having the F-35 JSF equip the ships has meant the UK is “paying twice as much as we should to get half the capability,” adding the “Looney Tunes” program was “about to turn into a classic British disaster”, and that the UK should have navalised the Eurofighter Typhoon instead.
Babcock executives have distanced themselves from the statements. “Babcock dissociates itself from these personal comments, which do not in any respect reflect the views of the company,” a company statement read. “Babcock with its partners in the Carrier Alliance is focused on delivering this major upgrade to the UK’s defence capability on time and to budget.”

RACR completes flight testing
Raytheon’s Advanced Combat Radar (RACR) has completed flight trials aboard a USAF F-16 at Edwards AFB in California.
The RACR is a company funded advanced electronically scanned array (AESA) radar leveraging technology from the successful AN/APG-79, and has been designed for retrofit to F-16s, F/A-18s and other tactical fighters.
“Raytheon’s AESA technology brings unparalleled capability and reliability to the F-16 at an acquisition cost comparable to the old mechanically scanned radars,” said Brian MacDonald, RACR program manager, Raytheon’s Tactical Airborne Systems.  ”RACR is now available as an option for domestic and international customers. We have designed, built and matured RACR from concept through to F-16 flight demonstration to ensure we can support any customer delivery time frames for new or retrofit aircraft requirements.”
Raytheon says its RACR team completed RACR development in a “record” 24 months.

Military briefs

* Massachusetts based Terrafugia, developer of the Transition flying car concept, has joined forces with AAI Corporation in a competition sponsored by the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop a flying car for the US armed forces. The vehicle, appropriately dubbed Transformer, would effectively replace the Humvee in US service but will feature helicopter-like air mobility. A three phased development program is planned to result in a prototype being ready for trials in 2015.
* Lockheed Martin has announced that South Korea has ordered four C-130J Hercules transports for delivery from 2014. The aircraft are the stretched fuselage variant, and add to a fleet of C-130Hs already in service in Korea. The deal also includes two years of support and an aircrew and maintenance crew training program.
* A USAF F-22A Raptor based at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson near Anchorage in Alaska crashed whilst on a training mission late on November 16, killing the pilot.
* The US Congress has approved a US$60 billion arms deal to Saudi Arabia. The deal, which includes 84 new F-15S fighters, upgrades to 72 F-15Ss already in service, 70 AH-64D Apaches, 72 UH-60M Black Hawks, 36 OH-6 Little Bird helicopters, and thousands of advanced weapons and sensors, is one of the largest ever single arms sales.
* Boeing has opened a new P-8 aircraft production facility at Boeing Field in Seattle. The building, which is a refurbished factory, gives Boeing additional space for the installation of mission systems and to conduct tests on aircraft for current and future customers. The P-8 airframes are built next to the commercial 737 line at nearby Renton and then flown to Boeing Field for the additional work.
* The RAAF’s first Wedgetail AEW&C Mission Crew training course was completed at Williamtown recently. The course, conducted by Boeing Defence Australia personnel on contract to the RAAF, saw eight students provided with more than 1200 hours of training in the air battle management (ABM) role.
* Perth based Quickstep Holdings has announced its successfully achieved a key milestone in its production preparations for the JSF program in mid October, passing the ‘Toll Gate’ review set by JSF partner company Northrop Grumman. The Toll Gate measured Quickstep’s manufacturing readiness for Group 1 composite parts at its Coogee facility in WA, and was required before the company could progress to final negotiations with Northrop Grumman on its manufacturing long term agreement (LTA). The process was adjudicated by a review panel made up of personnel from Northrop Grumman and prime contractor, Lockheed Martin.
* The ADF has released a revised aircraft noise map for the area surrounding RAAF Base Williamtown north of Newcastle for when the F-35 JSF enters service from 2017. The map, which the ADF says promises an improved outlook for local residents, is still conceptual in nature but has been revised following consultations with state and local authorities, community groups and individuals.
* The first F-35C carrier variant arrived at the US Navy’s test facility at NAS Patuxent River near Washington on November 6. The aircraft, designated CF-1, joins four F-35Bs at Pax River, where it will undergo air-to-air refuelling and performance testing by US Navy test pilots. The aircraft flew non-stop from Fort Worth with its

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More Gripens for Thailand Thailand has ordered an additional six JAS-39C Gripen fighters to add to the six it already has on order. The order also includes an unspecified upgrade to the Erieye radar-equipped Saab 340.
F-35B STOVLs in proximity trials Two F-35B STOVL test aircraft based at NAS Patuxent River in Maryland have evaluated the type’s close proximity handling qualities. The flights were conducted at 20,000ft and 30,000ft, and the accompanying image shows BF-1 and BF-3 in formation. Interestingly, the image also shows BF-1 sporting what appears to be an unpainted auxiliary inlet door, possibly indicating this has been replaced in the wake of aerodynamic issues with the door’s hinges when open.
UK takes seventh C-17 Boeing has delivered the seventh and final C-17 airlifter to the RAF at a ceremony at the company’s Long Beach plant. The UK originally leased four C-17s to be operated by 99SQN at RAF Brize Norton, but after higher than expected usage, took the option to buy those and three additional aircraft. Meanwhile, the RAAF is understood to be continuing to look for ways to increase its fleet of four C-17s before production of the aircraft ends in 2012.
Enders bails out of A400M Airbus CEO Tomas Enders has bailed out of the troubled A400M, literally! Enders, a champion skydiver, was one of 10 parachutists along with A400M program manager, Bruno Delannoy, who jumped out of the third A400M development aircraft near Seville in Spain as part of the aircraft’s development program.
Goodbye Harrier The recent decision to disband the UK’s Joint Force Harrier units has prompted 800 Naval Air Squadron (NAS) to paint the fin of Harrier GR9 ZD351 with the squadron crest, its Latin motto Numquam Non Paratus (Never Unprepared) and the titles ‘1980-2010 Royal Navy’ – the years the squadron operated the aircraft.  The rudder carries a list of the conflicts in which the squadron has been involved – from Suez to the Falkland Islands.  The aircraft was photographed on 24th November, on approach to land at its shore base, RAF Cottesmore, Rutland, having disembarked from HMS Ark Royal.  (Malcolm English)
Block 1 flies A F-35 JSF has flown with the ‘Block 1’ software standard for the first time. F-35B BF-4 made a 1.5 hour check flight from Naval Air Station Patuxent River on November 15. The Block 1 software integrates most of the F-35’s sensors. Enabling information fusion, Block will form the basis of all subsequent F-35 software blocks. (Lockheed Martin)

AIRLINES
Virgin Blue to add two further A330s in 2012

Virgin Blue has announced it will double its planned Airbus A330-200 fleet to four aircraft in early 2012, when two further aircraft will join the initial two due to enter service next May.
All four aircraft will operate on transcontinental services to and from Perth.
“These aircraft will be dedicated to domestic long haul services between the East Coast and Perth,” said Virgin Blue CEO John Borghetti. “We expect to take delivery of the third and fourth A330s in early 2012. The widebodied A330 will appeal to both the leisure and corporate customer.”
Virgin Blue originally announced plans to acquire two leased A330-200s in August.
Jetstar pilot sacked after newspaper article
A Jetstar A330 first officer has been sacked by the airline for “multiple breaches” of its code of conduct after he wrote an article for The Age newspaper criticising Jetstar’s plans to establish a Singapore base using Australian registered aircraft.
In the article, published in mid November, Joseph Eakins, who is also a union representative of the Australian and International Pilots Association (AIPA), claimed pilots working out of Singapore would be working on “contracts that cut basic remuneration by almost 50 per cent,” and labelled Singapore as a “base of convenience”.
“While the conditions of flightcrew have come under the knife, Jetstar chief executive Bruce Buchanan has been promoted by creating an additional layer of management between himself and operational staff, and in doing so has been rewarded with a 43 per cent pay rise,” the article read, adding that, “What (Qantas CEO Alan) Joyce is trying to do is to distract the public gaze from the real point of contention, which is having an Australian carrier operating on Australian routes, but having employees paid ‘Asian rates’ through artificially manufactured overseas bases.”
After the sacking was revealed by an AIPA release, Jetstar held a media conference to explain its decision. “Jetstar management actively sought to resolve this issue on numerous occasions but was unsuccessful,” Jetstar Australia and New Zealand CEO David Hall said. “We regret that we were forced to take action in relation to this matter.
In addressing the claims made by Eakins in his article, Hall said “In the past, and moving forward, our pilots based in Singapore achieve better take home pay in comparison to our Australian pilots. Assertions of a 50 per cent discrepancy in pilot pay between Australia and Singapore or circumvention of existing industrial law are patently false.”
For its part the AIPA says “Joe’s bravery in blowing the whistle on some of these practices has been rewarded by an unfair dismissal. The association will be taking Joe’s case to Fair Work Australia claiming unfair dismissal and making an “adverse action” claim under untested Fair Work laws.”
Qantas CEO Alan Joyce  subsequently accused AIPA (of playing the “safety card” when it is instead waging an industrial dispute over Jetstar’s sacking of Eakins.
“When something is related to industrial relations issues and it’s a breach of the code of conduct we’re going to act in that way,” Joyce told ABC TV’s Inside Business program in an interview which aired on November 28.  “And again, for the union to use this as an example and use this to say it’s all about safety is them using the safety card for industrial relations. It’s purely that yet again. It is outrageous that they keep doing this.”
Said Joyce of Eakins’ actions, “He was given opportunities to come in and talk about why he was doing it and to correct the action. He refused to come in and talk to the management and the management were left with no other action but to actually terminate his employment.”
Joyce also defended Jetstar’s decision to base pilots in Singapore on Singaporean wages and conditions, Eakins’ key point of contention in his newspaper article.
“What the pilots in Singapore are actually employed to fly for [is] Jetstar Asia which is a Singapore entity, flying and competing against all of the carriers in the region and the pilots are paid quite well,” Joyce said.
“They’re paid in the top few per cent of the population in that country.”
Meanwhile, AIPA has launched a petition protesting the sacking, which will be sent to Jetstar Australia and NZ CEO David Hall, and a support fund to raise money for Eakins.
“You can be sure that this event is a turning point for Australian aviation. Pilots’ jobs and the safety regime they fly by is under attack by airlines, particularly aggressive low cost carriers such as Jetstar that pretend to welcome feedback but sack people when that feedback is too clear and too compelling to hear,” AIPA posted on the pprune.org website.
“You can also be sure that AIPA will devote whatever is required to assist Joe Eakins return to his career as a pilot.”

Qantas launches domestic product improvements, Next Gen check-in

Qantas has officially launched its ‘Next Generation Check-in’ technology and unveiled new service enhancements across its domestic business and economy class cabins.
“Next Generation Check-in has now opened in Sydney and Perth and is already dramatically reducing domestic check-in times for customers, allowing them to move through the check-in area with increased speed and ease,” said Qantas CEO Alan Joyce.
“In addition to Next Generation Check-in, Qantas has made changes across the entire domestic experience with the most significant changes to the business class offering, both inflight and on the ground.”
Changes to domestic business class are aimed at more closely aligning it to Qantas’s international business class offering, and are no doubt a pre-emptive strike against Virgin Blue’s plans to launch a domestic business class next year.
Upgrades to the Qantas domestic business inflight product include a dedicated business class customer service manager, Neil Perry designed menus with matching wines selected by the Qantas Wine Panel, an entree course on transcontinental and trans Tasman flights, silver service, and “appropriate” time of day offerings such as antipasto in the afternoon.
Economy class upgrades include a Neil Perry “influenced” seasonal menu with matching wines, new “premium” breakfasts, new hot dinners, “enhanced” refreshments and seasonal fruit, and “enhanced recognition” for frequent flyers by the cabin services manager.
Qantas’s domestic lounges are also being upgraded, with changes in the Business and Qantas Club lounges including Neil Perry designed menus and Apple Mac computers. The Business Lounges will feature new furnishings and an “island dining” offering, the Qantas Club Italian style wood fired pizzas.
“Qantas customers can now check-in via their mobile phone, pre-select seats, check-in and pass through premium security lanes, enjoy more food and wine and be treated to enhanced levels of service both inflight and in the lounges,” Joyce said.
Qantas loses AFL account to VB
Qantas has used its newly launched @QantasMedia Twitter account to confirm it has lost the AFL corporate travel account.
“QF ends AFL partnership,” the airline Tweeted on November 18. “We have a history of supporting all Aussie sports and won’t enter into exclusive arrangements with any sporting body.”
It emerged last week that Virgin Blue was bidding for the contract, worth approximately $6 million a year. The new deal takes effect from January 1.
The Age has reported that that decision has angered some of the AFL’s clubs and players due to Virgin Blue’s lack of a business class, often used to give extra space for injured players, and its lack of frequencies compared to Qantas, especially on transcontinental routes.
”[The players] are extremely unhappy about Virgin and to what extent it will be able to accommodate the needs of footballers in rehabilitation mode and in terms of travel flexibility,” West Coast Eagles CEO Trevor Nesbitt is reported as saying. “Our people are already looking at how we are going to deal with this and the players’ concerns are with the AFLPA.”
Virgin Blue does plan to introduce two class Airbus A330s on transcontinental routes from Perth from next February.
Meanwhile, Virgin Blue has signed on as a major co-sponsor of new Australian Football League (AFL) team the Gold Coast Suns, with the airline’s logo to feature on the back of the Suns’ home jersey and on the front of the team’s clash and away jersey in 2011.
“Virgin Blue is a strong supporter of the Gold Coast and sees the value in supporting the AFL’s newest club and the benefits it will bring to the region in tourism, fan travel and related economic benefits,” said Suns CEO Travis Auld.
The deal also involves Virgin Blue sponsoring a 900 guest corporate lounge at Gold Coast Stadium.
Tiger adds new Avalon routes

Tiger Airways announced new destinations from Avalon Airport, with both Brisbane and Canberra to be served by direct links from the Victorian airport from February 2011.
Tiger began operating flights from Avalon on November 9.
Tiger was due to have 10 A320s in service by the end of 2010, with its 11th and 12th due to enter service in early 2011.
Solomon Airlines to get own A320

Strategic Airlines will cease operating flights for Solomon Airlines from March, with the airline instead announcing plans to operate its own dry leased Airbus A320
“The new lease has been arranged through a major capital management consortium and will be effective from the end of the current ACMI lease with Strategic between 24th February 2011 and 27th March 2011,” the airline says in a statement. “The new arrangement gives Solomon Airlines far greater control over its future destiny including use of ‘Solomons’ livery, but more importantly allows the airline to comply with recent amendments to IATA membership qualifications.”
Strategic has dedicated a single two class 166-seat Airbus A320 to its Solomon Airlines ACMI (aircraft, crew, maintenance, insurance) lease contract, which it began operating in August 2009. It began operating a fourth weekly Brisbane-Honiara service on December 5.
“The move has been taken to meet the projected increase in passenger numbers,” the airline’s statement continues. “Under the existing lease arrangements with Strategic, the airline would have to meet significantly higher additional service costs to cover the extra flight whereas operational costs reduce proportionately the more the airline utilises its own aircraft.”
“In September 2010 Strategic Airlines decided it would not continue operating on behalf of Solomon Airlines between Brisbane and Honiara, due to the need to have the aircraft available for its growing commercial route network,” a spokesman for the airline confirmed.
“Whilst the relationship between our two companies continues to be strong, at this stage Strategic Airlines will no longer operate this service beyond March 2011,”
Solomon Airlines’ new A320-212 will be configured with 20 business and 120 economy class seats. As it does now with the Strategic aircraft, Solomon Airlines will provide its own cabin crew for the new operation.

Hainan Airlines to Sydney
Hainan Airlines will begin thrice weekly Airbus A330 flights from Shenzen and Hangzhou to Sydney from January 19 next year.
“I welcome Hainan Airlines to Sydney Airport,” Sydney Airport CEO Russell Balding said. “It is a fast growing airline with an extensive domestic network across China.  This is great news for Sydney and demonstrates again the significant economic contribution that the airport makes to Sydney.
The airlines’s two class A330-200s seat 36 in business (with lie-flat seats in a 2-2-2 configuration) and 186 in economy.
Jetstar and JAL to extend codeshare
Jetstar and Japan Airlines have announced plans to expand and extend their codeshare arrangements on flights between Australia and Japan for a further two years.
Adding to the agreement first signed in 2007, the two airlines will extend the agreements currently in place for services between Cairns and Tokyo, Gold Coast and Osaka, and Cairns-Osaka, and will see Gold Coast-Tokyo added to the codeshare arrangement.
“This outcome is of both strategic importance to the Qantas Group and Australian tourism, allowing Jetstar to better leverage our existing strong brand presence in Japan by partnering with the distribution capability, wholesale and retail presence of Japan Airlines in their home market,” said Jetstar CEO Bruce Buchanan. “As the largest operator and single biggest investor in marketing Australia-Japan flying today, Jetstar’s relevance with Japanese consumers will only be strengthened by delivering greater choice for them to access affordable overseas travel experiences.”
The new arrangements commenced on November 25.
Meanwhile, Jetstar parent Qantas has applied to the IASC (International Air Services Commission) to permit Japan Airlines to codeshare on Qantas flights between Perth and Tokyo. Qantas operates on the route three times weekly with 229-seat two class Boeing 767-300s.
Jetstar’s Manila flights to takeoff in February

Jetstar’s new Darwin-Manila flights will operate thrice weekly from February 9, the airline has announced.
The flights, still subject to regulatory approval, will depart Darwin at 1900 on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays as JQ75, returning the same evening and landing the following morning as JQ76.
Jetstar has launched marketing of the flights with $99 one-way Darwin-Manila fares, and $199 one-way Sydney-Darwin-Manila and Melbourne-Darwin-Manila flights.
“Filipino Australians now represent the third largest overseas born population base in Darwin. This alone will drive personal, holiday and commercial related travel between Darwin and Manila and underpin this service to set a sound platform to attract larger Asian visitation to Australia,” said Jetstar’s head of government and commercial partnerships Unni Menon.
Parent Qantas also operates to Manila from Sydney.
Emirates to resume Sydney third daily in 2011
Emirates has confirmed it will resume its recently suspended third daily Dubai-Sydney service in 2011, with services to resume from October 2 operated by Boeing 777-300ERs.
Emirates suspended its third daily service, with was operated by Boeing 777-200LRs, last month as part of a reorganisation and reprioritisation of its aircraft and resources.
The 777-300ERs will be configured with eight first class suites, 42 lie-flat business class seats, and 304 seats in economy. The EK415/416 flights will increase the airline’s capacity to Australia by 41 per cent. Emirates says it has increased its Australian capacity over the last two years by 25 per cent per annum.
Jetstar launches
The shareholders of British Airways and Iberia approved plans for the two airlines to merge at meetings in London and Madrid on November 29.
Scheduled to take effect from January 21, the merger required the approval of BA shareholders for its ownership to be transferred to a new holding company, BA Holdco. The new company will hold 56 per cent of the merged International Consolidated Airlines Group (ICAG), while Iberia will hold 44 per cent.
“This is an historic day for British Airways with shareholder approval giving us the green light to merge with Iberia,” a BA spokesman told UK media. “We’ve had a strong relationship with Iberia for more than a decade and this merger will enhance both airlines’ strategic and financial positions, creating benefits for our customers, shareholders and staff.”

Jetstar launches Hobart-Gold Coast direct
Jetstar will become the first airline to operate direct flights between Hobart and the Gold Coast when it commences a daily A320 service between the two cities on December 22.
The new flights will provide 126,000 seats a year between the Tasmanian capital and Jetstar’s growing Gold Coast hub.
Earlier in December Jetstar is due to increase from twice to three times daily its Sydney-Hobart schedule, and from four to five times daily its Melbourne-Hobart flights (with six times daily Melbourne-Hobart flights to operate over the summer peak period).
Rex to the rescue for flood hit areas
Regional Express has again announced it will assist those in regional areas affected by adverse weather, setting aside a $200,000 travel fund to assist flood hit residents of regional NSW.
“These regional communities have continually supported Rex through the difficulties of the past few years with the pilot shortage, GFC, rising fuel prices and attempts by Sydney Airport to price us out of existence,” Rex deputy chairman John Sharp said. “We are fully committed to giving back to the community in these times of dire need. A few years ago, Rex had set aside $2.5 million worth of travel to assist communities affected by the drought. It is hard to imagine that the same communities now are affected by floods instead.”
Australia a destination for Skymark A380s?
Japanese carrier Skymark Airlines has signed an MoU with Airbus for four A380s, with Australia listed as a possible destination for the aircraft.
“Its excellent takeoff and landing performance enables the A380 to operate on the shorter 2500m runways at Japan’s Narita and Tokyo Haneda airports carrying a full passenger payload and cargo to destinations in Europe, North America and Australia,” reads the November 12 statement from Airbus announcing the deal.
Engine choice and cabin seating configurations are yet to be revealed.
Q400s to Blackall and Barcaldine

QantasLink has announced it will deploy the Bombardier on its flights to Blackall and Barcaldine from early February 2011.
The airline is increasings its weekly services to both Queensland centres from two flights to three each week, with the new flights to be operated by the Q400, complementing the existing Q300s flights.
“I would like to thank both the Blackall-Tambo and Barcaldine Regional Councils for ensuring the recent airport upgrades were completed in time for the airline’s Q400 expansion plans,” said QantasLink executive manager Narendra Kumar. “Modern airport infrastructure is so important to the ongoing viability of regional air services.”

Airline briefs
* Hawaiian Airlines will increase its Sydney-Honolulu service to daily during the peak April 6 to August 1 travel period next year, the airline has announced. The airline currently operates on the route four times a week, and will also revert to a five times weekly schedule from August 2 2011. All flights will be operated by 264-seat two class Boeing 767-300ERs.
* Perth based Skywest has announced an expansion to its codeshare agreement with Virgin Blue. The agreement will see Skywest operate Virgin Blue flight numbers between Perth and Albany, Esperance, Geraldton, Exmouth, Monkey Mia and Carnarvon to add to services it already operates to the Pilbara and Kalgoorlie.
* LAN Airlines resumed daily flights between Sydney and Santiago on November 17, having cut services during the GFC. The flights are operated by 260 seat, two-class Airbus A340-300s, via Auckland.
* Garuda Indonesia has announced it will join the SkyTeam airline alliance in 2012. SkyTeam member airlines include Delta, Air France-KLM, Korean Airlines and Alitalia.
* Singapore Airlines will next year employ its growing Airbus A380 fleet on services to Los Angeles. The airline will commence A380 services to the US west coast via Tokyo after it receives its 12th A380 which is expected to be delivered in February, replacing 375-seat 747-400s on the route.
* Emirates has now deployed the Boeing 777-200LR on both of its twice daily Dubai-Perth flights, with the type replacing Airbus A340s on the early morning EK425 service with effect from December 2. The 777-200LRs are configured with eight first class suites, 42 business class lie-flat seats, and 216 economy class seats.
* Singapore Airlines has announced it is increasing its fuel surcharge by between US$3 and US$25 per sector across its network, its first fuel surcharge increase since June 2008. The airline says the surcharge, made necessary by jet fuel prices of over US$95 per barrel, “will offer only partial relief from the higher operating costs arising from increases in the price of jet fuel”. The surcharge takes effect for tickets issued on or after December 2.
Singapore Airlines and Garuda Indonesia have signed a codeshare agreement which will take effect on December 1. Under the agreement, the two airlines will codeshare on a reciprocal basis on Singapore’s three daily and Garuda’s once daily flights between Singapore and Bali.

Environment
Lufthansa to operate regular biofuel flights
Daily Lufthansa flights by an Airbus A321 between Hamburg and Frankfurt from April next year will be the world’s first scheduled commercial passenger flights by an aircraft using biofuel.
The flights will operate for an initial six month period under the ‘burnFAIR’ research project and will be powered by a 50:50 biofuel blend mixing conventional jet fuel with hydrotreated vegetable oil (or HVO) provided by Finland’s Neste Oil (and produced from sustainable feedstock sources).
“We see great opportunities in the use of bio-synthetic kerosene,” said Lufthansa CEO Wolfgang Mayrhuber. “But we are first gathering experience with it in daily practice. Indeed, Lufthansa is the world’s first airline to utilise biofuel in flight operations. This is a further consistent step in the sustainability strategy, which Lufthansa has for years been successfully pursuing.”
Lufthansa estimates it will save around 1500 tonnes of CO2 emissions during the trial.
“Our ‘burnFAIR’ project is designed to research the long term alternatives to conventional aviation jet fuel,” said Prof Dr Johann-Dietrich Wörner, chairman of the executive board of the German Aerospace Centre (DLR). “The object is to gather data on pollutants from biofuel in comparison with conventional kerosene over a longer period. The measured pollution pattern related to diverse stresses in flight and the composition of the exhaust gases will allow us not only to draw conclusions about the compatibility of biofuel but also about the maintenance needs of aircraft engines. Since, above all, we expect a significant reduction in soot particles.”
The trial will cost Lufthansa an estimated E6.6m (A$9.0m). Lufthansa says the A321 will only be fuelled in Hamburg, and that a wide range of processes must be modified to accommodate the restrictions of deploying an individual aircraft exclusively on a single route.
Certification of Neste Oil’s biofuel is expected in March 2011.

TAM flies Jatropha trial
Brazil’s TAM Airlines and Airbus have conducted a Jatropha based biofuel test flight using one of the airline’s CFM56 powered Airbus A320s.
The 45 minute flight from Rio de Janiero’s Galeao Antonio Carlos Jobim airport used a 50:50 Jatropha based biofuel and regular jet fuel blend processed by Honeywell subsidiary UOP. Twenty TAM staff and Airbus personnel were onboard the trial flight.
Airbus says studies show Jatropha has the potential  to reduce the aviation industry’s carbon footprint by up to 80 per cent compared to conventional aviation fuels.

AIRPORTS
Airport planning changes legislated
Federal parliament has passed legislation to strengthen airport planning processes and improve community consultation as part of the government’s Aviation White Paper process.
“The reforms contained in the Airports Amendment Bill 2010 recognise that airports exist primarily for aviation purposes, there to serve the national economy and the flying public,” Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Anthony Albanese said.
The legislation now requires public consultation on runway alterations “that significantly change flightpaths or aircraft noise arrangements through a major development plan process,” according to the Minister, and “prohibit certain types of non-aviation developments, such as residential, aged or community care facilities, hospitals and schools unless there are exceptional circumstances.”
Other legislated changes include:
Strengthened requirements for community consultation under the airport masterplan and major development plan process;
Aligning airport planning and development with state/territory and local government planning;
A requirement that airport masterplans detail ground transport links and information on non aeronautical developments;
Strengthening the requirements for airports to lodge major development plans for developments deemed likely to have significant community impacts; and,
The integration of airport environmetal plans into their masterplans.
Avalon rail link promised
The Victorian Liberal Nationals coalition would build a rail line to link Avalon Airport to Melbourne and Geelong should it win November 27′s state election.
Opposition leader Ted Baillieu said the coalition would spend $50 million in its first term on design and planning, land acquisition and preliminary construction works, out of a total estimated project cost of $250 million.
“This rail link will allow passengers to travel from Melbourne, Geelong or even Warrnambool by train direct to Avalon Airport and will support the Coalition’s plan for Avalon as Victoria’s second international airport,” Baillieu said.
The completed rail link would see a single track rail line connect a new Avalon Airport train station to the Melbourne to Geelon rail line between the Little River and Lara stations.
Virgin Blue to upgrade BNE terminal
Virgin Blue has commenced an upgrade of its Brisbane Airport domestic terminal.
The refurbishment, which commenced on November 25, will see more modern amenities including parents rooms added, and improved lighting, general finishes and other improvements added over the next five months.
“This is the first major overhaul of our facilities at Brisbane Domestic Terminal since we moved in more than 10 years ago,” group executive operations Sean Donohue said. “There are more than 15,000 guests and visitors to this terminal every day. Brisbane remains one of our busiest airports with more than 145 flights each day and is a hub for regional and international connections. When the renovations are complete, our guests will enjoy spending time in the terminal where the surroundings are modern and fresh along with better access to areas such as baggage collection.”
The airline said disruption would be kept to a minimum during the work, which should be complete by the end of March.
Canberra’s new terminal opens for business
The first stage of Canberra Airport’s $350 million new terminal opened for passengers on November 14.
“To build the new terminal and keep the existing facility fully operational has been a challenging task and one that caused a number of changes to the vehicle and pedestrian access,” said Canberra Airport managing director Stephen Byron. “There will be a period where those used to coming to the old terminal are still finding their way, but we couldn’t be happier with our first few hours in operation.”
Features of the new 26,000 sq m southern concourse terminal includes a new check-in and baggage collection hall, new retail and food and drink outlets, and Qantas’s new Qantas Club, Business Class and Chairman’s Lounges. Qantas says it has invested over $20 million in delivering new and improved facilities as part of the development.
Environmental features of the new building include tri-generation power generation technology, a 600 megalitre rainwater tank, and grey and black water recycling.
Currently 3.25 million passengers a year fly through Canberra Airport. Completion of the redevelopment of the terminal, which will now see the existing terminal demolished for a northern concourse, will be complete in 2012.
Fees cut at Hervey Bay and Maryborough for GA aircraft

The Fraser Coast Regional Council has announced that it will not levy landing fees at the Hervey Bay and Maryborough airports for private aircraft with a maximum takeoff weight below 2000kg.
The announcement comes after the council and the Fraser Coast Aviation Group began working together to develop a plan to improve aviation tourism in the region. This is likely to see an increase in community aviation activities as well as more encouragement for the growth of general aviation businesses at the two airports.
“We suggested that council could get a better economic return to the region through promoting free recreational use and attracting aircraft than it would through charging recreational flyers landing fees,” said Fraser Coast Aviation Group chairman Mike Macbeth.
Commercial users will still be levied the appropriate fees based on the weight of their aircraft.
CARGO
QF ups freight capacity on Tasman

Qantas has announced it will wet lease a Boeing 767-300F freighter for services on the Tasman, increasing its capacity by 40 per cent over current services which are operated by a wet leased ATI 767-200F.
The new aircraft, which will also be the first to feature a new Qantas Freight-specific livery, is being added to cater for increasing demand on the Tasman.
“The Tasman is one of Qantas Freight’s most important markets and this investment reinforces the commitment we made when we established the freighter operation in 2009,” said Qantas Freight executive manager Stephen Cleary. “It will provide Australian and New Zealand exporters with more dedicated capacity and even better service reliability. This new aircraft has a maximum payload of 59 tonnes – an increase of approximately 40 per cent over the B767-200F aircraft we previously operated on the sector.”
The new aircraft will be operated for Qantas by subsidiary Express Freighters Australia (EFA), which also operates four 737-300Fs on behalf of Australian air Express, and is due to enter service in February 2011.
Security
New trial of x-ray and scanner explosive detection technology
The Department of Infrastructure and Transport’s Office of Transport Security has begun trialling new airport scanner and x-ray technologies to better detect explosives in liquids, aerosols and gels.
The new equipment comprises two new multi-view explosive detection x-ray machines and a number of bottle liquid scanners, and have the potential to negate the need for passengers to discard larger liquids/aerosols/gels on international flights. The trials began an Melbourne Airport on November 24, and will be extended to Sydney Airport on November 29.
“These trials are an important step toward the roll out of these technologies in Australia’s international airports in the future, gathering data that will assist in implementing new technologies with the minimum disruption to passengers,” said Paul Retter, executive director of the Office of Transport Security.
“The trials will contribute to international efforts to remove liquid restrictions on international flights, at present passengers must declare all liquids, aerosols and gels for inspection before boarding, and are restricted in the amount they can carry on.”
The trials are part of the $200 million aviation security package the federal government announced in February.

SUPPORT
Oxford receives JAR-FCL training approval
Moorabbin-based Oxford Aviation Academy (OAA) has received JAR-FCL approval from the UK CAA approval for its ATPL integrated and modular airline pilot training courses.
The approval comes following OAA’s acquisition of two new Mechtronix flight navigation and procedure trainers (FNPTIIs), one of which will be used for instrument flight training (a Cessna 172S piston simulator), and the other for Multi-Crew Pilot Licence (MPL) training and Multi-Crew Co-operation (MCC) training (a CRJ200 jet simulator).
“The JAR-FCL approval of our Australian training centre is significant insofar as we are now able to offer truly global and flexible solutions throughout our network of ab initio pilot training centres based at Oxford in the UK, Phoenix Goodyear in the USA and now Melbourne in Australia,” said Anthony Petteford, managing director of OAA’s ab initio training centres. “These ab initio training centres will now also feed a greater volume of graduates into our type training centre network based throughout Europe and in Hong Kong.”
The first students to benefit from the new approval are from the Bahrain based Gulf Aviation Academy (GAA) and Iraqi Airways, and they commenced their flight training recently. Further students enrolled on JAR-FCL training courses from Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific will arrive at the new centre during 2011.
OAA bought General Flying Services at Moorabbin in September 2008.

AIR SAFETY
ATSB investigation highlights QF30 oxygen bottle explosion “improbability”
The ATSB (Australian Transport Safety Bureau)’s final report from its investigation of the explosion of an oxygen bottle on a Qantas Boeing 747-400 in 2008 has highlighted the improbability of such an event occurring again.
Despite the bottle never being recovered, “the ATSB’s investigation has proven successful in highlighting the improbability of the failure event, and has confirmed the safety of current systems and procedures relating to the provision of emergency supplemental oxygen for passengers and crew of pressurised aircraft,” the report’s executive summary reads.
“The investigation found no record of any other related instances of aviation oxygen cylinder rupture (civil or military). Given the widespread and long term use of this type of cylinder in aerospace applications, it was clear that this occurrence was a very rare event.”
Qantas 747-438 VH-OJK was operating QF30 between Hong Kong and Melbourne on July 22 2008 when 55 minutes into the flight while cruising at 29,000ft  the explosion of a pressurised oxygen cylinder (one of a number that provide passengers with emergency supplementary oxygen) tore a 2 x 1.5m hole in the aircraft’s fuselage, immediately forward of the right wing.
“The flightcrew reported the initial event as a ‘loud bang or cracking sound’, with an associated jolt felt through the airframe,” says the report. “The autopilot immediately disengaged and multiple alert messages were displayed on monitoring instrumentation. The flightcrew reported that upon noting a cabin altitude warning, they immediately donned oxygen masks and began executing the appropriate emergency procedures. A ‘MAYDAY’ radio call was made and an emergency descent initiated.”
After an emergency descent to 10,000ft, where supplementary oxygen is no longer reguired, the crew subsequently diverted to Manila, where the aircraft landed safely.
“Despite the apparent failure of multiple aircraft systems, the flightcrew reported that the descent and approach into Manila was uneventful, and the aircraft landed safely on runway 06 at 1111 local time,” notes the report.
According to the ATSB, investigations showed “it was evident that the oxygen cylinder (number 4 in a bank along the right side of the forward cargo hold) had burst in such a way as to rupture the adjacent fuselage wall and be propelled upwards; puncturing the cabin floor and impacting the frame and handle of the R2 door and the overhead cabin panelling. No part of the cylinder (other than the valve assembly) was recovered and it was presumed lost from the aircraft during the depressurisation.”

Court finds Continental responsible for Concorde crash

A French court has found Continental Airlines criminally responsible for the crash of an Air France Concorde shortly after takeoff from Paris’s Roissy Charles de Gaulle airport in July 2000 with the loss of 113 lives.
The court ruled that the Concorde ran over a piece of metal that had fallen from a Continental DC-10, and that the metal shredded the Concorde’s tyres, pieces of which ruptured the aircraft’s fuel tanks causing a catastrophic fire in the left wing. Continental employee John Taylor was given a 15 month suspended sentence for the incorrect installation of the piece of metal, while the airline was fined €200,000 (A$274,000) for causing the crash, and was ordered to pay Air France a further €1m (A$1.34m) in damages.
A civil case brought by Air France against Continental is still pending.

ATC & AIRSPACE
ATC towers in Broome and Karratha to open
Airservices Australia is opening air traffic control towers in the Western Australian northwest centres of Broome and Karratha this week to cope with the significant growth in aircraft movements to the two key regional airports.
From November 18 Airservices controllers will start providing ATC services from Karratha’s existing but refurbished air traffic control tower (it was originally decommissioned 15 years ago) and a temporary control tower at Broome while a new tower is constructed there.
Airservices says seven air traffic controllers are being based at Broome to work across three shifts, with five to work across two shifts at Karratha. Both towers will operate seven days a week.
Construction of a combined air traffic control tower and aviation rescue and fire fighting station for Broome has begun, with completion scheduled for mid 2011.
Australia and Indonesia to share ADS-B data
Airservices Australia (ASA) and the Indonesian Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) have agreed to allow air traffic controllers to track aircraft up to 150nm inside each country’s airspace using Automatic Dependant Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B).
ASA CEO Greg Russell said the agreement will improve traffic situational awareness in both countries. “The new arrangement will bring a new level of safety to cross-airspace operations. The commissioning demonstrates the strong relationship between Indonesian and Australian air navigation service providers. It also addresses a long-standing need to have surveillance coverage available along the boundary for air traffic control in both regions. The agreement has been reached after much hard work and cooperation between Airservices and the DGCA, assisted by strong support from the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and the International Air Transport Association (IATA).”
Data from four Australian ADS-B stations will be transmitted to Indonesia’s Makassar ATC centre in Sulawesi, while ASA’s Brisbane Centre will receive data from four Indonesian ADS-B stations.

PEOPLE
New boss for Cathay as Tyler heads for IATA

Cathay Pacific CEO Tony Tyler will leave the airline on March 31 next year to take on the position of director general and CEO of IATA, replacing the retiring Giovanni Bisignani.
Tyler’s replacement as CEO will be the airline’s current chief operating officer, John Slosar.
“Our congratulations go to Tony on being recommended by the IATA board for this very important position,” said Cathay Pacific chairman Christopher Pratt. “IATA is fortunate to be gaining a man of his experience and calibre. Tony has worked for Cathay Pacific for 32 years, has been a director for 14 years and chief executive for the last three, when he steered the airline through a very volatile period. He is a well known and respected figure in global aviation and a passionate advocate for the industry.”
John Slosar, aged 54, joined the Swire group in 1980 and has worked with the group’s aviation division in Hong Kong, the US and Thailand. He became managing director of Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Co in 1996, MD of Swire Pacific’s Beverages Division in July 1998, and chief operating officer of Cathay Pacific in July 2007.

Regional Express has appointed aviation safety consultant Ron Bartsch as an independent director. Bartsch has held a range of operational, safety and regulatory roles in the aviation industry, including head of safety and regulatory compliance for Qantas and manager of the CASA Sydney Airline Transport Field Office. The the well known author of a textbook on aviation law, Bartsch is also a senior visiting fellow with the Department of Aviation at the University of NSW.