News desk

Europe’s air safety regulator EASA has ordered inspections of the entire Airbus A380 fleet after an initial round of checks found wing cracks in nearly every one of the superjumbo jets inspected so far.

In a safety directive issued on February 8, EASA said the cracks “may lead to a reduction of the structural integrity of the aeroplane” if not found and fixed.

The order comes after Qantas said it had grounded one of its A380s (VH-OQF) for repairs after finding 36 hairline cracks inside its wings. Similar cracks were first discovered during ongoing repairs of another of Qantas A380, VH-OQA, which suffered an engine explosion near Singapore in late 2010.

In January EASA ordered inspections on 20 of the most heavily used A380s, operated by Singapore Airlines, Air France and Emirates. This latest requirement means that the remaining 48 aircraft in the A380 fleet will also need to be inspected by the time they reach 1300 flights.

Qantas operates 12 A380s, the world’s largest passenger aircraft, while Lufthansa, China Southern and Korean Air also operate the double-decker.

Airbus has blamed a combination of manufacturing and design flaws for the cracks, which have been found in L-shaped brackets connecting metal ribs to the interior of the wings. It says the problem parts are “not a primary load-bearing structure” and insists that cracks were discovered long before they posed any safety risk.

The union representing Qantas engineers called for immediate inspections of all the carrier’s A380s after the cracks were first discovered in early January. At the time, Qantas said it would defer to Airbus. “They are the experts and we will take their advice,” a spokesman said.

Milestone deliveries for the 737 and A320

Boeing and Airbus’s narrowbody airliner program have both recently passed milestone deliveries ,with Boeing delivery the 7000th 737 and Airbus the 5000th A320 Family aircraft.

The 7000th 737, a 737-800, was delivered to budget carrier FlyDubai.

Since entering airline service in 1968, Boeing says the single aisle 737 has become the most popular airliner in history with total orders exceeding 9300 aircraft. That includes more than 900 orders for the new 737 MAX, a re-engined version scheduled to begin deliveries in 2017. More than 5400 737s are already in service worldwide, according to Boeing.

Meanwhile, Airbus delivered its 5000th A320 to Lebanese carrier Middle East Airlines.

The delivery completes an MEA order for seven of the single aisle airliners.

“Handing MSN5000 over to MEA is a real pleasure for Airbus. The Lebanese flag carrier has shown great courage maintaining its operations in the face of difficulty,” said Tom Enders, Airbus president and CEO.

Airbus has sold nearly 8300 A320 Family aircraft.

FAA certifies 747-8 Intercontinental

Boeing’s 747-8 Intercontinental has received US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification, clearing the way for Boeing to begin deliveries of the aircraft.

The first 747-8s will be delivered to launch customer Lufthansa, which has ordered 20. Boeing has so far announced 111 orders for the passenger and cargo versions of the plane. The cargo version, the 747-8F, began deliveries last October.

Boeing touts the composite built 747-8 as 30 per cent quieter and 16 per cent more fuel efficient than the 747-400, which it will replace.

The updated jumbo jet also features interior design cues taken from the 787, including LED ‘mood lighting’ and upswept architecture designed to foster a greater sense of space and comfort.

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/boeing-locks-out-747-8-tail-fuel-tanks-on-flutter-concerns-367148/

Enders to head EADS

Airbus CEO Tom Enders has been tabbed to lead parent company EADS from June this year in a move meant to maintain the delicate Franco-German balance atop the European aerospace and defence giant.

Enders, a 53 year old German who has headed Airbus since 2007, will succeed Frenchman Louis Gallois. Airbus COO Fabrice Bregier will replace Enders as Airbus chief.

The reshuffle was flagged in 2007 when EADS scuttled seven years of dual Franco-German management in favour of a single CEO, at which time shareholders agreed to alternate the nationality of the CEO after five years.

Enders formerly ran EADS’s military business and served as co-CEO from June 2005 until 2007, when he stepped down to run Airbus as part of the new management agreement.

Boeing to repair some 787s over fuselage issue

A manufacturing defect related to the aft fuselage of Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner will force the US planemaker to repair some aircraft but won’t affect plans to ramp up production, Boeing said in a statement this week.

Boeing declined to say how many aircraft were affected by the problem, which the company said resulted from “incorrect shimming performed on the support structure” of some 787s.

The composite built, fuel efficient 787 entered service late last year, three years behind schedule. Boeing aims to ramp up monthly production to 10 aircraft per month by the end of 2013. A company spokesman told Reuters that the fuselage problem would not impact those plans and presented no short term safety risk.

Embraer deliveries hit three year low

Embraer’s aircraft deliveries hit a three year low in 2011, though the company was buoyed by a late year surge in demand for its regional E-Jet airliners.

The Brazilian planemaker ended the year with deliveries of 105 commercial and 99 executive jets, missing by 16 its target of 220 deliveries. The shortfall came largely from cancelled orders for private jets.

Embraer delivered 246 aircraft in 2010.

The world’s third largest planemaker behind Boeing and Airbus, Embraer reported a fourth quarter surge of 45 order for its E-Jets . Year end E-Jet sales totalled 124, a 28 per cent increase over 2010.

In November, Embraer CEO Frederico Curado said the company would meet its 2011 revenue estimates of between $5.6 and $5.7 billion. The company is due to release its full-year financial results in March.

Embraer reported a year end firm order backlog valued at US$15.4 billion.

ATR touts turboprop “domination” on regional routes

Turboprop maker ATR recorded its best commercial year in 2011, posting firm sales of 157 aircraft and options on 79 more.

Claiming to have captured more than 80 per cent of sales for aircraft with 90 seats or less, ATR said the year’s results confirmed “the domination of turboprop aircraft” as a more cost effective alternative to jets on regional routes.

“Our success is based on our ability to answer to the market requirements,” ATR CEO Filippo Bagnato said in a statement. “Airlines are increasingly looking for planes that combine the lowest operating costs, cutting-edge technology, comfort and environmental friendliness.”

The European company, a partnership between Alenia Aermacchi and Airbus parent EADS, reported sales to 18 customers worldwide, including 10 new customers. It said 20 per cent of sales went to aircraft leasing companies.

Skywest Airlines operates a fleet of four 68-seat ATR 72-500 turboprops for Virgin Australia on regional routes based out of Brisbane and Sydney. The carrier plans to add nine more ATR 72-500 and -600 aircraft over the next two years, all leased from Singapore based Aviation PLC.

Air New Zealand announced an order for seven ATR 72-600s with options on five more in October.

ATR says it delivered 54 aircraft in 2011 and ended the year with a backlog of 224 orders valued at US$5 billion. The company plans to ramp up its delivery schedule to targets of 70 aircraft in 2012 and 80 in 2013.

Airbus soars past Boeing with record orders

Airbus delivered 534 aircraft and booked 1419 net orders in 2011, cruising past rival Boeing and setting company records in both categories.

The European airliner manufacturer’s haul was led by 1226 firm orders for its A320neo, a fuel efficient update of its popular single aisle A320 Family series set to begin deliveries in 2015. Airbus also reported 122 firm orders for current generation A320s, 53 orders for A330/A350 XWB Family aircraft, and 19 orders for A380 superjumbo jets.

When not adjusted to account for cancellations, Airbus reported gross orders of 1608 aircraft worth US$169 billion at list prices.

US based Boeing, by contrast, earlier reported 2011 totals of 921 gross order, 805 net orders, and 477 deliveries.

Airbus reported a year-end backlog of 4437 commercial aircraft orders valued at more than US$588 billion. The company said it planned to ramp up production toward a target of 570 aircraft deliveries in 2012, though it expects orders to drop by as much as half this year as airlines complete their fleet upgrade plans and hedge against global economic uncertainty.

Deliveries, which topped Airbus’s 2010 record by 24 aircraft, were led by 401 A320 Family aircraft, 87 A330s and 26 A380s.

Airbus said its military division also delivered a record 29 aircraft, including 20 C212, CN235 and C295 transport planes, three P-3 conversions and six A330 MRTTs. The company’s military backlog stood at 222 aircraft, mainly A400Ms.

Boeing gets 330min ETOPS nod for 777

Boeing has received US Federal Aviation Administration approval for up to 330-minute extended range operations (ETOPS) for the 777.

The FAA approval applies to 777-300ER, -200LR, -200ER and 777 Freighters equipped with General Electric engines. Approval for 777-200ERs equipped with Rolls-Royce and Pratt & Whitney engines is expected in the coming months, Boeing said.

The nod certifies that 777s are able to safely fly as much as five and a half hours if one of their engines fails and the aircraft needs to make an emergency diversion. That allows airlines to fly more direct routes over unpopulated areas such as the North Pole and the South Pacific and could speed flights from Australia to South America and southern Africa.

Boeing said Air New Zealand is the first carrier to purchase the new longer range ETOPS kit.

Military

Australia requests C-27J FMS buy

The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) has notified the US Congress of a possible Foreign Military Sale to Australia of 10 Alenia C-27J transport aircraft and associated equipment, parts, training and logistical support for an estimated cost of US$950 million.
The December 19 notification says Australia has requested a possible sale of the aircraft as well as 23 Rolls-Royce AE2100D2 engines, electronic warfare equipment, radios, portable flight mission planning systems, support and test equipment, spares, aircraft ferry and tanker support, personnel training and training equipment, publications and technical data, an operational flight simulator and fuselage and maintenance trainers, and other related elements of logistics and program support. Prime contractor for the project will be L-3 Integrated Systems based at Waco in Texas.

The aircraft would be acquired to fulfil the Air 8000 Phase 2 requirement for a Battlefield Airlifter (BFA) to replace the Caribou which was retired in 2009, and to fulfil the tactical transport role currently performed by the C-130H which is due to be retired by 2016. Current DCP timings show a 2014 service entry for the aircraft.

The DSCA notification follows requests for pricing and availability for both the C-27J and the competing Airbus Military C295 which were submitted in October.

F-35 gets a boost from Tokyo

Japan will purchase 42 Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighters as it moves to cope with increasing security concerns in northeast Asia.

The Pentagon’s F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO) said Japan’s initial letter of agreement will include four conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) F-35As to be delivered in 2016 and built as part of low-rate initial production (LRIP) batch eight.

Japan had short-listed the F-35 alongside the less advanced but cheaper and more proven Boeing F/A-18 and Eurofighter Typhoon to replace its ageing fleet of F-4EJ Phantoms. The deal represents the F-35′s first win in a competitive tender, and was seen as increasing the likelihood that South Korea will follow suit.

The move by Japan was seen as an endorsement of the F-35′s stealth technology and cutting edge sensors, as well as a reflection of the country’s traditional reliance on US military hardware.

“It is a big boost for the program politically,” James Hardy, a London based analyst at IHS Jane’s DS Forecast told Bloomberg News.

“Many partner nations have committed to buying the F-35, but to have it win an external competition will certainly help take the pressure off.”

The decision is a particular fillup for the F-35 after the head of JPO, Vice Admiral David Venlet, last month recommended slowing initial production of F-35s, saying problems uncovered during early stress testing were more numerous than expected.

BAE demonstrates UAV recovery capability

BAE Systems has for the first time successfully demonstrated the ability for an unmanned aerial vehicle to recover to an airfield which is unfamiliar to its mission system.

The demonstration – conducted at West Sale in Victoria – was conducted by a Kingfisher 2 UAV, and also saw the vehicle successfully integrate into nearby RAAF East Sale’s busy air traffic services.

“Most autonomous landing technologies require a fair amount of specific detail about an alternate recovery airfield before the aircraft’s launched on its mission,” said BAE’s Airborne Systems Integration and Development’s general manager Brad Yelland. “We’ve shown that we can get the aircraft back safely when its mission system has almost no detail about an airfield but still has to land there.”

The Kingfisher 2’s mission system incorporates a navigation system that does not rely on standard GPS information, and instead collects raw satellite data and inertial measurement and air pressure data. The autonomous recovery payload uses runway co-ordinates generated by the navigation system and combines all the data to create a destination flight path. For the demonstration flights, the vehicle was given single latitude and longitude bearings of an airfield and told to land, and the mission system calculated the flight path, identified the airstrip using the electro-optic sensor payload, surveyed and mapped the landing strip, and landed autonomously.

“We are excited about the next phase in our development of unique autonomous-enabling technologies,” Yelland added. “These capabilities will provide an advantage for military UAV operators in theatre and contribute to the progress of commercial UAV operations in Australia and worldwide.”

ADF extends F/A-18 maintenance contract

BAE Systems and L-3 MAS Canada have won a 10-month extension on their ADF contract for maintenance of the F/A-18 Classic Hornet.
The contract, which was due to expire in December 2012 and will now run through October 2013, includes structural refurbishment modifications and deep maintenance for an additional 14 F/A-18. The extension is worth between $50m and $130m.

The additional work will support an extra 60 jobs and involve a total of more than 200 aerospace technicians and support personnel at Williamtown, NSW, BAE said.

BAE has provided Hornet maintenance to the RAAF since 2003 and partnered with L-3 MAS in 2009 on a refurbishment program meant to extend the Classic Hornet’s lifespan.

F-35 exceeds 2011 flight test goals

Lockheed Martin’s F-35 System Development and Demonstration program accrued more than the required test flights and test points in 2011, the company has announced.

The 2011 flight testing plan called for the accumulation of 872 flights and 6622 test points. The SSD program flew 972 flights and tallied 7823 test points across all three variants of the jet. The F-35A model – the same as that to be procured by the RAAF – accomplished 474 flights and 3600 test points in 2011.

Testing highlights for 2011 included F-35B STOVL ship suitability testing aboard the USS Wasp, achievement of a maximum design speed of Mach 1.6, and aerial refuelling testing with KC-135 and KC-10 aircraft.

Meanwhile, Lockheed Martin has delivered the first three F-35B STOVL aircraft to the US Marine Corps. The jets are now assigned to the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing’s Marine Fighter/Attack Training Squadron 501 at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. BF-6 and BF-8 flew the 90 minute journey from the production facility in Fort Worth, Texas, to Eglin on January 11, with BF-7 following on January 19. They will be used for pilot and maintainer training at the new F-35 Integrated Training Center there.

Choules arrives home in Sydney

The RAN’s new amphibious ship, the Landing Ship Dock (LSD) HMAS Choules, sailed into its new homeport of Sydney on December 21.
“It was terrific to see her sail through Sydney Harbour flying the White Ensign for the first time,” Commander of Australian Fleet, RADM Steve Gilmore said.

Originally commissioned into service with the UK’s Royal Fleet Auxiliary in 2006 as RFA Largs Bay, HMAS Choules will bolster Australia’s amphibious capability for operations and humanitarian support in our region, leading up to the arrival of the Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD) ships in 2014 and 2015. The ship has been named after the former Chief Petty Officer Claude Choules, who passed away in May 2011 at the age of 110. A veteran of World Wars One and Two, Choules served as a member of both the Royal Navy and Royal Australian Navy.

Defence says the 176m long Choules has “a cargo capacity the equivalent of HMA Ships Manoora, Kanimbla and Tobruk combined,” capable of carrying “two large helicopters such as Seahawks and Black Hawks, 150 light trucks and 350 troops.” It has a crew of 158 officers and sailors.

BAE to build F-35 parts in Adelaide

BAE Systems Australia will produce titanium parts for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter at a new facility in the northern suburbs of Adelaide, the company has announced.

The facility, a collaborative arrangement between BAE, Rosebank Engineering and the South Australian government, will house Australia’s “biggest advanced aerospace components manufacturing and treatment operation,” BAE says.

BAE will use the facility to manufacture titanium parts for the vertical tail fin of the F-35 under a contract worth $177 million.

In addition to the F-35, the facility will be able to produce large-scale components for commercial aircraft, industry and other defence projects.

The Edinburgh Parks site will include matching metal processing and finishing facilities capable of producing long thin-wall titanium components up to five metres long — the second such facility in the world, according to BAE.

US to sell $30bn in F-15s to Saudi Arabia

The US has confirmed the sale of $30 billion worth of top line fighter jets to Saudi Arabia in an announcement coinciding with escalating tensions with Iran.

The deal, announced on December 29, will see the US send 84 new Boeing F-15s to the oil rich kingdom while upgrading Saudi Arabia’s existing fleet of 70 F-15s.

A bitter Iranian rival in its own right, Saudi Arabia is a key US partner as the Obama Administration moves to confront Iran over its suspected nuclear weapons program. Iran last month threatened to cut off oil supplies through the Straits of Hormuz if the US goes ahead with a new round of planned economic sanctions designed to strangle Iran’s oil exports.

The new fighter jets, known as F-15SAs for ‘Saudi Advanced’, include the APG-63(v)3 active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, digital electronic warfare systems (DEWS), infrared search and track (IRST) systems, and other advanced features that make them among the world’s most capable combat jets. The 70 existing F-15s will be upgraded to the ‘SA’ specification. Deliveries are expected to begin in 2015.

The F-15s are part of a larger 10 year, $63 billion weapons deal between the US and Saudi Arabia passed by the US Congress in 2011. The package also includes 70 AH-64 Apache attack helicopters and 36 AH-6i helicopter gunships as well as missiles, precision guided munitions and tanks.

Fourth RAAF KC-30A handed over in Spain

Australia’s fourth KC-30A Multi-Role Tanker Transport has been formally handed over to the RAAF, though the aircraft will remain in Spain for testing until later this year.

Deliveries of the tanker, based on the Airbus A330-200, began last year after a two year delay. The RAAF’s fifth and final KC-30A is expected to be delivered by the third quarter of this year, Airbus said.

The fourth aircraft was converted from standard A330 configuration by EADS in Spain, where it served as the development aircraft for the KC-30 program (during which it lost a boom during testing in early 2011). The other four KC-30s have been or are being converted at Qantas Defence Services’ facility at Brisbane Airport.

Air-to-air refuelling trials of the KC-30A began in October at the Edinburgh based Aircraft Research and Development Unit. IOC is scheduled for late 2012.

Free Australian Defence Business Review iPad app released

Phantom Media, publisher of Australian Aviation and Australian Defence Business Review (or ADBR) magazines, has published the first Australian defence magazine app for the iPad, released to coincide with the Pacific 2012 International Maritime Exposition in early February.

Featuring the January-February Pacific 2012 issue of ADBR, the app is for now a one-off, but Phantom Media is looking at publishing future issues of ADBR for the iPad, while soon Australian Aviation will be available on the iPad every month.

Phantom Media’s aim with this app is to make it an immersive, intuitive user experience, taking full advantage of the iPad platform, while highlighting the real strength of ADBR, it’s content, without it being overshadowed by superfluous functionality.

To download to your iPad, simply search for ‘ADBR’ in the Apple App Store.

Air Force Cadets alumni established

The Australian Air Force Cadets National Council is encouraging former cadets and staff to register their interest in participating in an Australian Air Force Cadet Alumni Association.

If you would like to find out more or register your details, please go to the interim website www.aafc.org.au/alumni.

2011 marked the 70th anniversary of Australian Air Force Cadets, which was formed as the Air Training Corps (ATC) to provide a reservoir of recruits for the RAAF during WW2. Since then more than 40,000 staff and cadets have been involved in the Air Training Corps and Air Force Cadets.

Military briefs

* The US Air Force has awarded a controversial US$355 million contract to Embraer to supply 20 A-29 Super Tucano turboprops for Afghanistan’s nascent air force. The deal is a major victory for Embraer as the Brazilian planemaker seeks to expand its business in the US. Embraer fought off US based Hawker Beechcraft, which has filed a lawsuit over the exclusion of its AT-6 from the bidding process.

The 20 A-29s destined for Afghanistan will be built in Florida by prime contractor Sierra Nevada.

* Northrup Grumman has successfully completed first flight of its re-engined E-8C Joint-STARS battlefield surveillance test aircraft. The US Air Force last year contracted Northrup to overhaul a pair of its E-8Cs by replacing their TF33 turbofans with Pratt & Whitney JT8D-219 engines.

* Boeing will close its production facility in the US city of Wichita in response to looming defence cuts. The closure of the Boeing Defense, Space and Security plant will cost 2160 workers their jobs and undercut Wichita’s claim as the aviation capital of the world, based in large part on the city’s longstanding relationship with Boeing.

Airlines

Fyfe to step down

Air New Zealand CEO Rob Fyfe has announced plans to resign at the end of the year, ending a seven year tenure that has seen the carrier bounce back from rocky financial times and establish a reputation atop the airline industry.

“After almost a decade at Air New Zealand, I am an Air New Zealander to the core and I live and breathe Air New Zealand every day,” Fyfe said in a statement. “At the same time I’m very conscious that I am surrounded by many very talented and capable executives and if they are to grow and realise their full potential I have to create the space to allow them to do so.”

Fyfe’s resignation will coincide with the end of his term as chairman of Star Alliance.

Air New Zealand chairman John Palmer hailed Fyfe’s work in restoring the airline’s profitability despite difficult economic times.

“The board respects that as a world class Chief Executive Officer, Rob wants to continue to challenge himself and explore new opportunities,” Palmer said. “We would expect significant international interest in the role and believe there are some very strong candidates from within Air New Zealand’s existing executive management team.”

Palmer said there was no fixed timetable for naming a replacement but indicated that a decision would likely be made within six months.
Fyfe said his management team had been working on a series of new initiatives that would be rolled out over the coming year.

“Underpinning Air New Zealand’s success over the past decade has been having the confidence to run against the tide and move nimbly to make key decisions to shape the business for the future,” he said. “It’s that spirit and attitude that will come to the fore again this year.”

Scoot tabs Gold Coast for second Aussie destination

Start-up budget carrier Scoot Airlines has announced plans for five times weekly flights from its Singapore hub to the Gold Coast, the second Australian destination for the new Singapore Airlines subsidiary.

Flights are due to commence in June. Scoot previously announced plans to fly to Sydney.

Australian tourism officials hailed the announcement. Singapore is already Australia’s sixth largest inbound tourism market and a major hub for international travel.

“The Gold Coast has today achieved a new standing as an international destination with regular direct flights from the Asian hub of Singapore unlocking a massive network of access and promotional opportunities,” Gold Coast Tourism CEO Martin Winter said. “Access is vital in the international tourism market, and in our region there is no better access than to be directly connected to the global network which Singapore delivers.”

Joyce hits out at Qantas Sale Act changes

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce used his appearance before a Senate committee on Monday to hit back at proposed changes to the Qantas Sale Act that he said would force the company to cut routes and either sell or shutter budget subsidiary Jetstar.

The union backed changes, introduced by independent Senator Nick Xenophon and co-sponsored by Greens leader Senator Bob Brown, would force Qantas to move Jetstar maintenance to Australia and require the carrier to pay overseas-based crew at local wages during some flights.

While the legislation is seen as having little chance of passage, Joyce made a forceful case against the changes. The requirement to pay overseas crew local rates would force Qantas to slash flights to Darwin and Cairns, he said, while the need to perform maintenance in Australia would leave Jetstar facing competitors with far lower labour costs.

“Those of us running Qantas would have to face a choice: allow Jetstar to fail within the confines of the Qantas Sale Act, or sell it to allow it to succeed outside it,” Joyce said.

Qantas pays foreign crew about $2000 a month, compared to $5000-$6000 a month for Australian crew, airline executive have said. But they point out that this is still far more than the average $1000 a month paid to cabin crew in developed Asian countries.

Still, the offshoring of Qantas jobs has emerged as a major flash point in industrial battles between the Flying Kangaroo and its unions over the past year, and Xenophon said preserving Australian jobs remains the key issue. He said paying overseas crew at local rates would have a “minuscule” impact on the airline’s costs and criticised as ridiculous Joyce’s assertion that the changes would make Darwin and Cairns routes unviable.

Virgin adds A330 Melbourne-Perth services

Virgin Australia is bringing daily Airbus A330 services to Melbourne for the first time, with daily flights to Sydney and twice daily flights to Perth commencing from mid-May.

The new flights come as Virgin expands its services in Melbourne, the airline’s second largest port behind Sydney.

The Perth services will depart Melbourne at 1pm and 5:30pm, with return flights departing at 8:30am and 5:30pm. Sydney services will depart at 7:15am, returning at 10am.

Tiger eyes extra flights, second hub

Tiger Airways continues adding flights as it claws back from last year’s suspension and eyes a second base of operations.

The budget carrier this weekend announced plans to fly an additional daily return service between Melbourne-Sydney and Melbourne-Perth starting in April. That comes on the back of plans to bolster services from Tiger’s Melbourne hub to Brisbane and Gold Coast. In all, the extra flights will add 155,000 seats to the carrier’s domestic network, Tiger said.

Tiger last week announced plans to resume service from Melbourne to Cairns pending CASA approval.

CASA grounded the airline for six weeks last winter over safety concerns and capped its daily operations after allowing it to return to the air in August. That cap has gradually been loosened from 18 flights per day in the weeks following the suspension to the current limit of 38 flights.

Meanwhile, Fairfax reported that Tiger is eyeing Brisbane for a second hub as it seeks to expand beyond Melbourne and make better use of its fleet. At present, the airline only uses seven of its 10 A320 aircraft.

Tiger Airways has announced plans to resume flights to Cairns pending approval by safety regulators.

The budget carrier was forced to sharply curtail operations following a six week suspension over safety concerns last year and remains under a CASA imposed cap on daily flights. It has focused on core routes out of its Melbourne hub since returning to the air.

In a statement, Tiger said it planned to re-commence daily service to Cairns from April 25, with flights leaving Melbourne at 8:50 am and returning at 12:45 pm. Fares start from $99.

The airline said it is “keen to reinstate flights to a number of other destinations around Australia.” Executives have said the carrier must increase flights in order to break even after bleeding money through the second half of last year.

Tiger Airways will add more than 380,000 additional seats in the coming months as the budget carrier looks to find its footing after a disastrous 2011.

The extra capacity will be spread over Tiger’s existing network of four routes based out of its Melbourne Airport hub. Melbourne-Sydney will see three additional return flights for a total of eight, adding 240,000 extra seats. Melbourne-Perth will jump from one to two daily returns for 69,000 additional seats, while the Brisbane route will get 28,000 extra seats and Gold Coast adds 46,000. The added capacity will go into effect in March with tickets on sale now starting at $39.95 to Sydney.

Tiger was forced to dramatically curtail its operations last year following a six week suspension imposed by CASA on July 2 over safety concerns. The additional capacity for the new year will be accommodated under the carrier’s current CASA imposed limit of 32 flights per day, which was upped from 22 per day in November.

In a statement, Tiger said it expected to announce new routes “in due course.” Fairfax Media reported that Tiger was again exploring Avalon Airport as a base to expand its operations. The carrier currently uses only seven of its 10 aircraft due to capacity limitations at its Melbourne Airport hub.

Tiger has improved its on-time performance since emerging from the suspension but faced deep financial losses last year. The airline’s managers say Tiger must increase flights in order to break even.

The expanded service comes under new CEO Andrew David, who took over the LCC in November.

Virgin aims at resource boom with strengthened alliance

The ACCC has given interim approval to an expanded alliance between Virgin Australia and Skywest aimed at tapping demand from the resources and mining industries.

The alliance, offering bundled passenger services to businesses wanting a combination of charter, domestic and international flights, represents an effort by Virgin to step up its competition with Qantas in the booming resource sector in Western Australia.

The agreement “will mean a range of benefits including more competitive pricing, enhanced flight connections and a higher quality overall travel experience,” Virgin Australia Group Executive of Commercial Liz Savage said, adding that Virgin will extend its frequent flyer program to Skywest charters.

Jetstar Japan announces first routes

Jetstar Japan will fly to Osaka, Sapporo, Fukuoka and Okinawa from its Tokyo Narita base when the airline begins operations in July, the carrier announced on Wednesday.

The initial schedule will make the airline the only LCC to fly domestically from the Japanese capital, Jetstar said. The carrier plans to commence flights on July 3, ahead of its previously announced goal.

A joint venture between Qantas, Japan Airlines and Mitsubishi Corporation, Jetstar Japan will operate a fleet of three new Airbus A320s, with plans to expand the fleet to 24 aircraft within a few years. The airline has said it is exploring international short haul flights to destinations in China and South Korea.

Since the start of the year, the Jetstar Group has announced 36 additional weekly international flights to and from Japan, including four times weekly service from Darwin to Tokyo via Manila.

Virgin ups capacity

Virgin Australia has announced a series of extra flights across popular corporate, resource sector and leisure routes to meet what the airline describes as rising demand.

The additional flights, commencing service next month, include the following:

Adelaide-Melbourne: An additional return flight Mondays through Fridays; taking total flights between the two cities up to 10 per day or 130 per week.

Brisbane-Melbourne: An extra return flight seven days a week; taking total flights to 13 daily or 174 per week; Melbourne-Sydney: An extra return flight seven days a week; taking total flights to 31 daily or 392 per week; Brisbane-Gladstone: One extra return flight on Sundays; taking total flights

to 34 per week; Brisbane-Rockhampton: An extra return flight, Monday to Friday; taking total flights to 78 per week; Brisbane-Cairns: An extra return flight every day except Saturdays; taking total flights to 80 per week; Brisbane and Whitsunday Coast (Proserpine): An additional return service, Monday to Friday; taking total flights to 24 per week.

Garuda plans fleet growth

Indonesian national carrier Garuda has obtained shareholder approval to purchase up to 97 new aircraft using funds from the airline’s initial public offering (IPO) issued last year. Garuda had initially planned to use the IPO funds to buy 36 new planes.

Under the new plan, approved Friday, Garuda will purchase or take options on 20 Boeing 737-800NGs, up from 10 under the previous plan; 10 Boeing 777-300ERs; 21 Airbus A330-200s, up from six; 25 narrow body planes, up from five; and 18 sub-100 seat aircraft, up from five.

The acquisitions will bring Garuda’s fleet to as many as 194 planes by 2015.

Garuda earned about Rp 3 trillion (US$333m) during its IPO last year. The carrier plans to use 80 per cent of that for fleet expansion and the remainder on capital expenditure.

AirAsia X to Sydney

AirAsia X will launch daily services between Sydney and Kuala Lumpur from April as the budget carrier turns its focus to Australia after abandoning routes to Europe.

During an appearance in Sydney, AirAsia X CEO Azran Osman-Rani said the long haul carrier also hopes to expand its daily Melbourne service to twice daily and open service to Adelaide, according to reports. The airline already flies to Melbourne, Perth and the Gold Coast.

Flights to Sydney are due to start April 2, days after AirAsia will cease flights to London and Paris. The Malaysian carrier moved to cut those services last week as persistent economic woes in Europe continue to drive down demand for leisure travel. AirAsia also slashed flights to India, saying it would refocus on more profitable routes in Asia and Australasia.

Meanwhlie, Australia’s consumer watchdog has filed legal action against AirAsia X, claiming the airline failed to disclose the full price of international flights from Australia.

In documents filed in the Federal Court, the ACCC alleges the airline’s website did not include taxes and fees as part of advertised AirAsia X fares to London plus a range of destinations in Asia.

“Businesses that choose to advertise a part of the price of a particular product or service must also prominently specify a single total price,” the ACCC said in a statement.

The ACCC is seeking penalties, an injunction restraining AirAsia from “engaging in misleading conduct in the future,” and a court order forcing the airline to publish corrective notices on its website.

The move comes as AirAsia X ramps up services to Australia, launching highly touted daily flight between Kuala Lampur and Sydney.
AirAsia X will suspend flights to Paris and London and curtail services to India in a cost cutting move, the Malaysia based budget carrier announced Thursday.

Attributing the move to the familiar combination of global economic uncertainty and soaring fuel costs, the long haul division of AirAsia said it would suspend its only two services to Europe at the end of March. Routes to Mumbai and Delhi will be cut from January 31 and March 22, respectively.

AirAsia X flies to London and Paris from Melbourne, Perth and the Gold Coast via Kuala Lumpur.

Passengers who hold bookings on the routes after they are scheduled to be canceled will be given alternative travel options at no extra cost, the airline said. Those include a full refund, a reroute to another AirAsia X destination, or a move to another carrier where possible.
The airline said it would redeploy its fleet to focus on its core markets of Australasia, China, Taiwan, Japan and Korea.

Qantas deal with engineers approved

Fair Work Australia has approved a deal between Qantas and its engineers’ union that will give workers a three per cent pay rise for the next three years.

The agreement, reached last month after a damaging labour dispute, also allows Qantas to introduce extended hours rosters more easily and gives workers near the end of their careers more options to transition into retirement through part time work and job sharing.

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce called the deal a “relief” after a year of industrial action by the engineers’ and two other unions that led to the controversial grounding of the airline’s fleet in October.

“This is a positive outcome that will allow Qantas to move forward with certainty and allow our customers to continue to book with confidence,” Joyce said. “The union cannot take any industrial action before 2015.

“The determination from Fair Work Australia does not contain any of the restrictive demands that would have handed control of parts of the airline to the union however it provides reasonable pay increases to our workers,” he added.

Meanwhile, in mid December, Qantas’s short haul cabin crew voted in favour of a new enterprise bargaining agreement.

The three year agreement between Qantas and the Flight Attendants Association of Australia’s Domestic/Regional Division will apply to approximately 2150 domestic customer service managers and flight attendants.

“We have been able to negotiate a good outcome with the FAAA, providing a three per cent pay increase each year for three years as well as some changes to increments and improved flexibility for Qantas,: Qantas group executive of operations Lyell Strambi said
Qantas remains in binding arbitration with its pilots’ union and Transport Workers Union. The unions have sought job security clauses, citing concerns that Qantas will outsource work to Asia as it seeks to cut costs.

Challenging Qantas, Virgin rolls out business class

Virgin Australia has launched business class service on most domestic routes as it seeks to lure corporate travelers away from Qantas.
The airline’s upscale cabins went into service yesterday, with business class fares starting at $429 one way and $529 from Sydney to Melbourne. An economy saver fare between Australia’s two largest cities starts at $99.

Virgin launched business class service on trans-continental flights late last year, with tickets for the rest of its business class network going on sale in November.

The move comes as Virgin completes a transition from budget carrier to full service airline and seeks to gain ground on a weakened Qantas still struggling to emerge from a damaging labour row.

In a statement, the airline said the launch would give Australian business class travellers a choice for the first time since Ansett collapsed in 2001.

“Last year we announced our commitment to bringing competition to business class travel in Australia and today we have done just that, ahead of the return of business travellers in February,” Virgin Australia group executive of commercial Liz Savage said.

The new premium cabins include leather seats, a gourmet food and beverage service, complimentary access to Virgin lounges and priority security screening, check-in and boarding. Business class travel will be eligible for double frequent flyer points between January 26 and February 29.

Virgin said it will also begin offering free beer and wine to economy passengers travelling between Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney between 4pm and 7pm Monday through Friday.

Airline briefs

Qantas has launched its fourth Airbus A380 destination with four times weekly service from Sydney to Hong Kong.

The inaugural A380 operated QF127 departed Sydney yesterday at 11:45am and arrived in Hong Kong at 5:50pm local time. The service will operate Thursdays through Sundays and will return the same day as QF128.

Capacity for the new service arrived late last year in the form of Qantas’s 11th and 12th A380s. The new jets also allowed Qantas to increase A380 services from Melbourne to London from six times weekly to daily and from Melbourne to Los Angeles from four times weekly to daily.

Jetstar increases Darwin-Asia links

Jetstar has launched a four-times weekly Darwin-Manila-Tokyo service as it increases international flights to and from the Northern Territory capital.

The budget carrier will also increase weekly flights on its Darwin-Singapore route from seven to 10. The new services go into effect on March 25.

The announcement of the Darwin-Tokyo service also comes as Jetstar Japan moves toward a planned launch later this year.

As part of the changes, Jetstar will cancel its four-time weekly Darwin-Ho Chi Minh City service, instead routing Vietnam bound passengers through Sinapore. Jetstar Asia recently increased Singapore-Ho Chi Minh services to 27 times a week and added new four-times weekly services between Singapore and Hanoi.

Fat tax for Qantas pax?

Former Qantas chief economist Tony Webber says overweight passengers should pay a surcharge to offset extra fuel costs.

Webber says passengers are already weighed along with their luggage in some parts of the world – citing rural Indonesia as an example – and imposing the fee in Australia would help carriers deal with ballooning fuel costs.

“When the passengers weigh more, or where there’s extra weight on the aircraft, that generates more fuel burn and higher fuel costs,” he told the ABC. He said the surcharge would only amount to $5 or $10 on a flight between Sydney and London.

Some airlines have sought ways to grapple with the growing size of passengers. The majority of US airlines have imposed policies requiring obese passengers to purchase two seats.

But Qantas – as well as the rest of Australia’s airlines – say they have no plans to introduce a fat tax. As Webber himself acknowledged, the surcharge would likely “humiliate” some passengers and could lead to a public relations backlash.

Speaking of which, a social networking tracking site this week tagged Qantas with three of the year’s top 10 PR disasters.
The October grounding of the Qantas fleet took top place while the airline’s luxury pyjamas contest came in second. It’s “golliwog” social media promo came in fifth. The list was compiled by monitoring site Cyber Chatter.

Labour strife drags down Qantas marks, but not by much

Qantas customer satisfaction fell slightly during the latter part of 2011 with Virgin Australia seeing a corresponding rise, according to a report by market research firm Roy Morgan.

Satisfaction with Qantas fell during October, when the airline briefly grounded its fleet amid a labour dispute, and ended November at 84 per cent, down from a high of 87 per cent in June 2011, the report said. The November figure is still better than the 80 per cent satisfaction reported in January 2010.

Virgin Australia closed the gap on Qantas, finishing November with 82 per cent satisfaction, up from 80 per cent in June.

“Although Qantas still has a small lead over Virgin Australia the gap is likely to close further in the coming months,” Roy Morgan Research International Director of Tourism, Travel and Leisure Jane Ianniello said in a statement.

“By contrast the satisfaction rating for Virgin Australia with its quick response in putting on more flights during the Qantas industrial dispute has increased strongly in the past two months. Virgin’s satisfaction rating has now recovered to the same level as it was before the reservation and check-in system failure in late September 2010 that affected approximately 50,000 customers.”

The report also showed increasing levels of customer satisfaction for both Jetstar and Tiger Airways during late 2011.

Air New Zealand, QantasLink top industry awards

Air New Zealand has been recognised as the world’s top airline for the second time in three years, while QantasLink has taken honours as the top regional carrier.

In its 38th annual awards, US based industry journal Air Transport World recognised Air New Zealand for its product innovation, use of social media and environment initiatives, calling the carrier an “industry trendsetter.” It also commended the carrier for its work following the Christchurch earthquakes.

“Winning ATW Airline of the Year in 2010 was in my view one of the greatest accolades that had ever been bestowed on Air New Zealand – in our industry it’s equivalent to winning an Oscar,” Air New Zealand CEO Rob Fyfe said in a statement. “To pick up the award again this year is simply outstanding.”

QantasLink, meanwhile, was recognised for its safety record and its extensive service to “remote and hostile” regions of Australia.

“QantasLink is more than a regional airline,” Air Transport World chief editor (and Australian Aviation contributor) Geoffrey Thomas said in a statement. “It’s a lifeline to millions of Australians who live sometimes thousands of kilometres from a capital city and hundreds of kilometres from the nearest town.”

Other winners included:

Japan’s All Nippon Airways for Airline Technology Leadership, recognising its role in development and design of the Boeing 787, for which it is the launch customer.

AirAsia for Value Airline.

Etihad Airways for Passenger Service.

Transaero Airline for Airline Market Leadership.

Alaska Airline for Industry Service, recognising its extensive environment and corporate giving initiatives.

Former IATA DG Giovanni Bisignani for Decade of Excellence.

Qantas pax numbers bounce back in November, but still down

Qantas passenger numbers recovered in November, backing up claims by management that the airline had bounced back from a dire October that saw its fleet grounded amid labour strife.

Domestic passenger numbers for the Flying Kangaroo were still down 1.3 per cent from November 2010, but that was a marked improvement from October when domestic passengers fell 11.3 per cent from a year earlier.

International numbers were up 1.5 per cent as more Australians travelled overseas on the back of the strong dollar.

Passenger numbers for the Qantas Group as a whole were up 3.2 per cent with Jetstar Domestic up 5.5 per cent and Jetstar International up 9.3 per cent.

Virgin Australia, meanwhile, reported a 3.5 per cent increase in domestic passengers for November as it continued to capitalise on Qantas turmoil. Virgin’s international numbers also grew by 5.1 per cent, the airline said.

With the bounce-back, Qantas resumed its place as Australia’s largest domestic carrier, taking on 1.47 million passengers compared to Virgin’s 1.42 million. Jetstar Domestic and regional carrier QantasLink reported 845,000 and 449,000 passengers respectively.

Air New Zealand to operate Norfolk Island flights

Air New Zealand has won an Australian government tender to operate flights from Brisbane and Sydney to Norfolk Island.

The twice weekly services from each city will complement Air New Zealand’s existing weekly service between Auckland and Norfolk Island, a tiny Australian territory roughly 800km northwest of New Zealand.

The services are tentatively scheduled to run from Sydney on Mondays and Fridays and from Brisbane on Tuesdays and Saturdays. They will utilise a 168 seat Airbus A320, the airline said.

The new flights will commence from March 2.

Bidding for business class to grow with Air New Zealand

Air New Zealand has expanded a trial program that allows economy and premium economy long haul passengers to bid on upgraded seats.

The ‘OneUp’ program has already been tried with Air New Zealand passengers who purchased tickets in North America, the UK and Australia, and the carrier said it will now be expanded to include people traveling from New Zealand to a selection of international destinations.

Only passengers who purchase tickets directly from the airline are eligible to bid for an upgrade on flights in which premium classes are undersold. The program does not effect passengers who would already receive an upgrade based on frequent flyer points, Air New Zealand said.

“The OneUp trial is a unique way for passengers to have the chance at an upgrade when they might not otherwise be able to afford it,” says Air New Zealand’s group general manager international airline, Christopher Luxon. “It’s also a win for the airline, enabling us to earn additional revenue from seats that would previously travel empty.”

Air Austral withdraws from Sydney

Air Austral has announced a decision to withdraw operations on Reunion-Sydney-Noumea and Reunion-Bangkok routes from March 2012.

The decision follows a review of the airline’s long haul operations, which cited the difficult economic climate and continued impost of rising jet fuel prices as reasons for the cessation.

The French Indian Ocean territory Reunion Island based airline said the cancellation would allow it to concentrate on flights between Reunion Island and France.

The final flight from Sydney will depart on March 20 next year, with the final Bangkok service to operate on March 26. Flights after these dates have been removed from computer reservations systems.

The airline is currently finalising details of its re-protection policy for passengers booked to travel cancelled routes beyond the March withdrawal, with information to be distributed to travel agents once confirmed.

Virgin-Singapore alliance rolls out first service

Virgin Australia and Singapore Airlines have launched the first phase of their recently approved alliance with a joint service connecting Singapore, Darwin and Sydney. SilkAir, Singapore Airlines’ regional subsidiary, will begin four-times-weekly service between Singapore and Darwin from March 26, while Virgin will complement those flights with a daily service between Sydney and Darwin starting April 2.

“Together with Singapore Airlines we will be able to offer visitors from Singapore, Asia and Europe the opportunity to visit the Northern Territory and then travel on to Sydney and the East Coast of Australia,” Virgin executive of alliances, network and yield management Merren McArthur said.

Virgin and Singapore Airlines received final approval for their alliance from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission in December.

More Virgin ATRs

Skywest Airlines has announced plans to add five ATR 72-600 turboprops to the regional fleet it operates on behalf of Virgin Australia.
Skywest already operates four 68-seat ATR 72-500s for Virgin on routes out of Brisbane and Sydney. It expects to take delivery of four 68-seat 72-600s, early next year. The latest five ATR 72-600s are scheduled for delivery between early 2013 and early 2014.

Those five aircraft brings to 13 the number of ATR 72s ordered this year by Singapore based leasing company Avation PLC for Skywest Airlines. The new also includes options for eight -600s. The list price of the agreement, including options, is over US$295 million, according to ATR.

“We are delighted to have firmed up five additional aircraft and secured price protection on an additional eight aircraft over the next few years. This new agreement provides a potential delivery stream of aircraft for the next four years,” said Avation chairman Jeff Chatfield. “Avation PLC has entered discussions with respect to financing the acquisition costs of these aircraft.”

Airline briefs

Virgin Australia has launched extra weekday flights between Mackay and Brisbane and has opened its first ever lounge at Mackay Airport.

The extra services, which will be available from March 5, will bring to 78 Virgin’s weekly flights between Mackay and the Queensland capital, giving it two more flights per day on the route than any other carrier. The 260 square metre lounge includes business facilities, a private meeting room and high definition televisions and can accommodate 70 guests.

Air New Zealand has announced plans to launch twice weekly flights from Auckland to Bali’s Denpasar Airport. The Boeing 767-300 service will operate seasonally between June and October beginning later this year, pending regulatory approval.

Environment

Virgin Australia has entered another agreement with a biofuel company as it searches for ways to cut fuel costs.

The memorandum of understanding with Australian company Licella will support the commercialisation of a process that could make aviation fuel out of biological waste.

Under a joint venture, Licella and Norske Skog Australasia have exclusive license to what is known as Catalytic Hydrothermal Reactor (CAT-HTR) technology, which the companies claim can produce high-quality bio-crude from agricultural and farm waste using a process much simpler than current biomass technologies. The resulting fuel will emit 60 per cent less carbon than fossil fuels, they say.

The MoU came as a new demonstration plant for the CAT-HTR technology was opened Wednesday in Summersby on the NSW Central Coast.

Boeing and CSIRO partner on biofuels

Boeing and CSIRO have launched a year-long study on the potential for growing new feedstocks in northern Queensland that could be turned into sustainable aviation biofuels.

The first phase of the study will focus on current and potential biomass production systems based on grasses and fast growing trees that would not disrupt current grazing and farming practices in northern Australia. The study will also look at potential fuel conversion technology and how production systems would fit in with local infrastructure.

The study will build on recommendations from CSIRO’s Flight Path to Sustainable Aviation roadmap, released in May 2011, which made the case for an Australian bio-based aviation fuel industry that CSIRO says could create 12,000 clean energy jobs over 20 years while reducing Australia’s dependence on aviation fuel imports by $2 billion per year.

Biofuels have drawn increasing interest in the aviation industry as oil prices have soared in recent years, with both Virgin and Qantas looking for alternative sources of cleaner fuels. Virgin last month signed on with a company developing a method to make biofuel out of farm and agricultural waste and had earlier staked a claim to a project that could convert mallee tree biomass into fuel.

Airports

NSW govt frowns on second Sydney airport option

The NSW government will continue its opposition to a second international airport in Sydney despite reports that a site to the city’s west has emerged as a leading option under a joint federal-state study.

According to a report by News Limited, the Nepean option – covering Luddenham, Wallacia and Greendale – has pulled “streets ahead” of other options under consideration as part of the long delayed Sydney Basin Aviation Capacity Study, which is expected to be released early this year.

According to the report, the study will suggest that Sydney Airport is nearing capacity.

But NSW officials say Sydney Airport has the ability to grow to meet increasing demand. The airport’s planned terminal overhaul, announced last month, was widely seen as an effort to stave off a move toward a second airport.

Speaking to reporters in Sydney, NSW Planning and Infrastructure Minister Brad Hazzard said the federal government had not briefed him on the reported Napean option.

“But there is a very strong view in the NSW state government that a second airport will certainly not be happening in the Sydney basin, nor will it happen on the Central Coast,” he said, according to AAP.

Business lobby says Melbourne needs third airport

The Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry has called for a third airport to be built near Melbourne.

“It would be a good idea if we had two domestic airports either side of Melbourne,” chamber spokesman Chris James told ABC News. “We’ve already got one at Avalon; we will need one on the south-east as well.”

James said options for a third airport include Tooradin or Tyabb, near Westernport Bay, or West or South Gippsland.

With Melbourne’s population expected to overtake Sydney’s over the next 20 years, the business lobby says Melbourne Airport will become the country’s largest international port, sparking a need for additional domestic capacity elsewhere.

Melbourne Airport last month unveiled plans to have its new T4 domestic terminal opened by 2014 as part of a $300 million expansion.

Airport briefs

Perth Airport has opened a purpose-built viewing platform for arrivals and departures. “The viewing platform has a magnificent view of the main runway, and is as close as the public could ever hope to get to watch an arrival or departure,” Perth Airport CEO Brad Geatches said.

The shelter is reflective of the shape of the body section of a Boeing 747, and a 108 foot section of paving has been laid in reference to the length of the Wright brother’s first airborne flight, which took place 108 years ago on Saturday.

The platform is 200 square metres in size, has capacity for 100 people and is wheelchair accessible.

General Aviation

CASA grounds Bonanzas, Barons

CASA is requiring immediate inspections of Beechcraft Bonanza and Debonair aircraft after frayed flight control cables were discovered on a pair of planes.

In airworthiness directives issued this weekend, CASA ordered owners and operators of the four-seat aircraft to replace any damaged forward elevator control cables before further flight. The directives allow only a single flight to be undertaken with no passengers on board if moving the aircraft is necessary to allow for inspection.

CASA is also requiring operators of the aircraft to replace any control cables older than 15 years within 60 days.

The directive follows the discovery of a broken forward elevator cable by a pilot in Echuca in northern Victoria just before Christmas.

“The pilot was about to take off, moved the controls, it was his own aircraft, and felt that it didn’t feel quite right,” CASA spokesman Peter Gibson told ABC Radio. “He taxied back in, got out and had it checked and it was found that it was actually broken.”

This led another pilot operating the same aircraft at the same airfield to inspect his plane and discover the cable “very badly frayed,” Gibson said.

“It is a significant problem,” Gibson added, according to a transcript. “If the cable is broken, if it broke while the aircraft was in the air, basically you’d lose control of the aircraft.”

Gibson said the problem was likely a result of age. The aircraft began production in 1947, with many of those in service in Australia produced in the 1960s and 1970s.

Used largely as private planes, the Bonanza remains in production, making it the longest continuously produced aircraft in history. Some 17,000 of the planes have been built, with about 270 currently in service in Australia, Gibson said.

CASA has extended its immediate grounding of some Beechcraft models until required inspections are carried out to include the twin engine Baron.

The earlier directives were issued this weekend after a private pilot in Victoria discovered a snapped front elevator cable prior to takeoff. CASA is requiring operators immediately inspect control cables and replace any that are found frayed. Cables older than 15 years must be replaced within 60 days.

The directive applies to several older variants of Beechcraft aircraft using the ‘single-pole’ design control system, where the pilot’s control yokes are supported by a single shaft moving in and out of the instrument panel for elevator control. Some 370 Bonanzas, Debonairs and Barons are registered in Australia, mostly as private aircraft, CASA says.

Models requiring inspection include:

Beechcraft 50 series Twin Bonanza,

Beechcraft 36 Bonanza,

Beechcraft 35 Bonanza,

Beechcraft 33 and 35-33 Debonair/Bonanza,

Beechcraft 56TC Turbo Baron,

Beechcraft 55, 58 and 95-55 Baron.

DA40s for Flight Training Adelaide

Hawker Pacific has announced the sale of as many as 26 Diamond DA40 CS aircraft to Flight Training Adelaide, with the first four set for delivery by mid year.

Eight of the single engine four-seaters are scheduled to be delivered in 2012, with the flight school taking options on 18 additional aircraft scheduled for delivery in 2013 and 2014.

The DA40 CSs are equipped with a Garmin G1000 avionics suite and powered by a Lycoming IO-360-M1A avgas engine.

Piper delivers Mirage to Victorian company

Victorian company Pressfast Industries has taken delivery of a new single engine Piper Mirage.

The company, which produces pressed metal products, will base the aircraft in Moorabin in Melbourne’s east and use it primarily for business travel to Sydney and Brisbane. The aircraft was delivered on December 12, with the sale first announced during the Australian International Airshow at Avalon in March.

Featuring a pressurised cabin, the six-seat, piston engine Mirage has a maximum range of 1345nm and can fly at altitudes up to 25,000 ft.

General Aviation briefs

French planemaker Daher-Socata says it delivered 38 TBM 850 tubroprops in 2011, making it the fourth best year in the 21 year history of the TBM family.

The company said it delivered its first aircraft to Singapore and Argentine, though US customers accounted for more than three-quarters of deliveries.

Since its introduction in 2006, a total of 260 TBM 850s have been delivered. Daher-Socata bills the aircraft as the world’s fastest single engine turboprop.

Business Aviation

Citation Ten flies

Cessna’s Citation Ten, an improved development of its popular Citation X business jet, made its first flight on January 17.
The two hour flight, which operated from Wichita’s Mid-Continent Airport, assessed aircraft stability and control, the autopilot and autothrottle system, engine operability and avionics operation.

“It took a significant amount of work by a large number of people to get us to this milestone today and I am happy to report that the aircraft performed exceptionally well and handling characteristics were excellent; just as predicted,” said Cessna engineering test pilot Michael Voigt. “All systems functioned as expected including the Garmin G5000 avionics system.”

Cessna says that US Federal Aviation Administration type certification is “on track” for mid-2013. First deliveries are planned for the second half of that year.

Embraer rolls out Legacy 500

Embraer rolled out its first Legacy 500 test aircraft at its headquarters in São José dos Campos, Brazil, on December 23.

First flight of the midsize executive jet is scheduled for the third quarter 2012. Embraer plans to produce three test aircraft.

Powered by twin Honeywell HTF 7500E turbofan engines, the Legacy 500 will accommodate up to 12 passengers in a stand-up cabin.

Embraer has completed the first engine run of its Legacy 500 midsize executive jet, the Brazilian company said.

A series of preparatory evaluations – such as APU tests and first refueling – were held the day prior to the engine run. Engine tests are essential to properly evaluate all dependent systems: bleed air, electrical, environmental (air conditioning), hydraulic, and FADEC logics, as well as the integration of the engine with avionics.

The first flight of the Legacy 500 is expected to take place in the third quarter of this year.

Gulfstream rolls out final G200

Gulfstream has rolled out its 250th and final G200 business jet, capping a 14 year production run. Jan 4

Gulfstream says the G200 fleet has flown more than 581,000 hours and completed more than 351,000 takeoffs and landings.

The G200 was originally introduced as the ‘Galaxy’ by Galaxy Aerospace, which was acquired by Gulfstream in 2001. The midsize jet was manufactured by Israeli Aircraft Industries in Tel Aviv and then flown to Gulfstream’s Mid-Cabin Completions Center in Dallas for interior outfitting and paint. The last G200 is scheduled for customer delivery later this month.

Gulfstream credits the G200 with establishing a niche market as a ‘super midsize’ corporate jet, becoming a mainstay in the US and opening new markets in Brazil, China and elsewhere.

“The G200 took the basic cabin dimensions of a large-cabin aircraft and made them available to a broader market by offering a shortened eight- to 10-place, two-seating-area layout with solid transcontinental US range,” said Stan Dixon, vice president, mid-cabin programs, Gulfstream.

The G200 will be replaced by the G280, which is scheduled to enter service in the first half of 2012.

Finance

Etihad posts first ever profit

Etihad Airways ended 2011 in the black for the first time in its eight year history, posting profits of US$14 million on the back of a 36 per cent increase in revenues to US$4.1 billion, the Abu Dhabi based carrier reported.

The results exceeded a break-even forecast for the year. In 2007, Etihad set a 2010 deadline to break even but later pushed that back due to the global financial crisis.

Etihad said it would look to build on its strategy of investing in other airlines following a US$95 million acquisition of a 29 per cent stake in Air Berlin in December. The UAE national carrier said it was eyeing a stake in Ireland’s Aer Lingus.

“In the future, we will continue to look for acquisitions where it makes sense,” CEO James Hogan said during a news conference, the Abu Dhabi newspaper The National reported.

The carrier will also continue the expansion of its own network, with plans to take delivery of more than 100 new aircraft over the next decade, including four Boeing 777s and three Airbus A320s scheduled to arrive this year.

Etihad, which launched an alliance with Virgin Australia in 2010, said it carried 8.3 million passengers in 2011, up 17 per cent.

Security

Body scanners coming to Oz airports

The federal government plans to introduce controversial full body scanners at airports across Australia but says the machines will only display a generic “stick figure” outline of passengers while highlighting items hidden under clothing.

The decision, part of a $200m aviation security program, comes after trials of the scanners at Sydney and Melbourne Airports last year. The machines will be rolled out at other airports from July this year.

The body scanners were introduced at US airports after a failed attempt by a Nigerian man to detonate explosives hidden in his underpants aboard a flight to Detroit in 2009. The machines have proven controversial both for their revealing nature and because of concerns over radiation exposure.

In a statement, Transport Minister Anthony Albanese said the scanners would show generic male and female stick figures with no defining features, and the images could not be copied and won’t be stored. He said the machines were safe, with radiation levels comparable to passive exposure to a mobile phone used several metres away.

Support

New innovation awards announced

Innovators in the aerospace and maritime industries will be honoured with new awards including grants and scholarships.

Nominations for the awards, which were launched at the Pacific 2012 International Maritime Exposition in early February, will be sought in mid 2012 with entries judged by an independent panel. The awards are sponsored by Aerospace Australia Ltd and Maritime Australia Ltd, organisers of the Pacific Exposition and the Australian International Air Show at Avalon.

The awards will be presented in both civil and military categories and will include a custom made trophy for the Industry National Innovation Award winner, a $10,000 grant for the Industry SME Innovation winner, and a $10,000 scholarship for Industry Innovation.

The grants are “designed to reward SMEs and help them across the so-called ‘Valley of Death’ which is so often a barrier to innovation success for small companies,” organisers said. The scholarships are meant “to help Australian innovators develop their personal innovative skills and capacity.”

The Aerospace awards will be present at the Avalon Air Show in February 2013, with the Maritime awards presented at the next Pacific show in October 2013.

Hawker touts avionics firsts

Hawker Pacific has completed what it says are several firsts in major avionics upgrades at its Asia Pacific Customer Service centres.

The company recently completed the retrofit of a Rockwell Collins Proline 21 for a Philippine-based customer at its Manila Service Centre, a world-first on a King Air 350. Another was done in tandem at the company’s Cairns facility where the design and modification approval was developed by its in-house design engineering team, Hawker said.

The Singapore Service Centre also recently completed the successful installation of three Garmin G1000 systems into King Air B200s – the first in Asia. Demand for more upgrades is expected to continue to grow across the company’s network, Hawker said.

Hawker Pacifc is the authorised dealer and installer for several leading avionics providers, including Rockwell Collins, Honeywell and Garmin.

TAE buys NAS Services

TAE has bolstered its maintenance capabilities by purchasing the NAS Services APU, starter generator and electrical component maintenance system from Cobham Aviation Services in Adelaide.

Terms of the purchase were not released. In a statement, TAE said existing NAS operational staff and equipment would be retained, with operations transferred from NAS Services’ Parafield base to TAE’s Adelaide Airport facility.

TAE said it had also received approval from from Hamilton Sundstrand to serve as Authorised Repair Facility for the APS500 and APR1000 APUs from the Dash 8, Fokker 50 and BAe fixed wing family of aircraft for the next 10 years.

Air Safety

Report on A380 engine explosion nears completion

ATSB investigators have finished collecting data on the November 2010 explosion of a Qantas A380 engine and have moved on to analysis and writing a draft report on the incident.

Findings from the report are not likely to be released to the public until the second half of the year following a 60 day consultation period with stakeholders, the safety agency said.

In an update released today, the ATSB said it was working with engine maker Rolls-Royce to identify “missed opportunities” that could have caught problems with an oil feed pipe blamed for the uncontained explosion of the Trent 900 engine.

In its own statement, Rolls-Royce said it was “working closely with the ATSB to make sure that all the issues raised in their report are effectively addressed. Each time an incident happens the aviation industry learns lessons.”

The aircraft damaged in the incident, the Nancy-Bird Walton, is expected to return to Qantas service in March after $135 million in repairs. The engine uncontained failure punctured fuel tanks, severed wiring and cut hydraulic lines. All four of the aircraft’s engines have been replaced.

The ATSB said it had not found any “significant or critical” safety issues in its examination of airframe and systems damage resulting from the engine explosion. The plane was able to return safely to Singapore following the explosion; no one was injured.

Computer fault blamed for QF72 Qantas nose dive

A rare computer fault caused the sudden nose dive of a Qantas flight in 2008 that injured 119 people, an investigation by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau has concluded.

The incident occurred on board Airbus A330-303 VH-QPA operating QF72 that departed Singapore for Perth on October 7 2008. While cruising at 37,000ft, one of the aircraft’s three air data inertial reference units (ADIRUs) began outputting spikes of incorrect values including erroneous angle of attack data. Minutes later, primary flight computers initiated a pair of dramatic, uncommanded dives.

Though lasting only a few seconds, the dives hurled unrestrained passengers against the ceiling and overhead bins, injuring 110 of 303 passengers and nine of 12 crew members. After regaining control of the aircraft, pilots declared a MAYDAY and made an emergency landing at Learmonth Airport, where the flight was met by the Royal Flying Doctors Service and CareFlight. Fourteen people were airlifted to Perth for hospitalisation.

The ATSB investigation found that the computer algorithm for processing angle of attack data, while generally effective, was unable to manage multiple spikes in the data over a short span.

“The occurrence was the only known example where this design limitation led to a pitch-down command in over 28 million flight hours on A330/A340 aircraft, and the aircraft manufacturer subsequently redesigned the angle of attack algorithm to prevent this type of accident from occurring again,” the report said.

However, the investigation did not determine what led the ADIRU to spit out the incorrect data in the first place, concluding only that the spikes were likely initiated by a “rare type of internal or external trigger event.”

Speculation has long centred on interference from nearby Naval Communication Station Harold E. Holt as a possible culprit, especially after a second Qantas flight suffered an ADIRU malfunction in the same area in December 2008. However, the ATSB investigation concluded that the station’s very low frequency radio transmissions were “unlikely” to have played a role “based on multiple sources of information.”

Not surprisingly, the investigation concluded that passengers who were not wearing their seat belts were substantially more likely to have been injured in the incident than those who were. At least 60 passengers were seated without their seat belts on when the first pitch-down occurred.

The investigation found that younger passengers were less likely than older passengers to have been wearing their seat belts, with 38 per cent of those between the ages of 18-30 strapped in compared to 65 per cent of passengers aged 46-60 and 69 per cent of those 60 and older. Asian passengers were also less likely to have been wearing their seat belt than those from Australia and Europe, the report found.

“The report is a timely reminder for passengers to fasten their seatbelts during flight,” the ATSB said in a statement.

Data entry miscue blamed for stickshaker incident

Incorrect weight data entered into a flight computer led to the near stall of a QantasLink 717 flight near Kalgoorlie in late 2010, an ATSB investigation has concluded.

The investigation found the flightcrew mistakenly entered the Boeing 717-200’s operating weight instead of the zero fuel weight into the aircraft’s flight management system (FMS). That led the FMS to calculate a landing approach based on a weight that was 9415kg less than the plane’s actual weight.

As a result, the copilot was forced to abort landing twice after the stickshaker activated, indicating a near stall. The aircraft landed on the third try after the pilot in command took over and increased the approach speed.

The Perth-Kalgoorlie flight was operated by Cobham Aviation Services Australia, a primary contractor for QantasLink. Ninety-seven passengers were on board.

The ATSB said its inquiry had identified “several organisational issues that had the potential to adversely affect the safety of future operations.” Those issues related to the format of the aircraft load sheet, the verification by the flightcrew of the aircraft takeoff weight, and the lack of an independent validation check of the FMS generated landing weight.

“In response, the operator has made a number of enhancements to the format of the 717 load sheet, the FMS weight data entry and verification procedures, the weight validation checks and the 717 simulator training in respect of recovery from stickshaker activation,” the ATSB report said.

Incorrect data entry led to Emirates tailstrike – ATSB

The incorrect entry of takeoff weight data resulted in the tailstrike and runway overrun of an Emirates Airbus A340 on departure from Melbourne Airport in March 2009, an ATSB investigation has found.

The A340-500, A6-ERG, was carrying 18 crew and 257 passengers at the time of the incident.

“The investigation found that the accident resulted from the use of erroneous takeoff performance parameters,” the report reads.

“Those erroneous parameters were themselves a result of an incorrect takeoff weight being inadvertently entered into the electronic flight bag during the pre-departure preparation. Due to a number of factors, the incorrect data entry passed through the subsequent checks without detection,” it continues.

The report further found that the 2009 error in Emirates flight EK407 was not unique, and similar events continue to occur throughout the world.

“These sorts of errors have potentially serious safety consequences,” said ATSB Chief Commissioner Martin Dolan.
“We now understand what caused the error and why it wasn’t picked up,” Dolan said. “We also know there have been a number of other accidents and incidents that involved similar errors in the range of difference aircraft operated by different airlines around the world.”

People

Jetstar Asia CEO Chong Phit Lian will step down early next year after six years with the budget carrier, Jetstar announced Thursday.
Chong is leaving to pursue opportunities outside of the aviation sector, Jetstar said in a statement. She will remain on the company’s board.

Jetstar said the search for a replacement was well underway, with a new CEO expected to be announced in early 2012. Chong will resign effective February 1.

Events

RAAA announces convention plans

The Regional Aviation Association of Australia (RAAA) has announced plans to hold its annual meeting and convention from October 10-12 2012 at the Hyatt Regency in Coolum, Queensland.

“The event brings people and business together from around Australia and internationally, it is of tremendous benefit to the industry as a whole, providing the platform for members to come together and hear from and speak with industry leaders and professionals, regional operators, technical experts, manufacturers and suppliers,” RAAA CEO, Paul Tyrrell said “CASA, the government, and other regulatory bodies also contribute significantly to the program.”

The RAAA represents and promotes the interests of regional airline members and regional and general aviation. Sponsorship opportunities are available.

Naval Fleet Review, next Pacific Maritime show planned for October 2013

A international naval review and the next Pacific International Maritime Exposition will be held in Sydney in October 2013, to coincide with the centenary of the arrival of the first Royal Australian Navy fleet into Sydney in 1913.

“In October of 2011, Chief of Navy Vice Admiral Griggs sent letters of invitation to over 50 international counterparts to participate in an International Fleet Review to be held in Sydney from the 4th to 11th of October 2013,” Captain Nick Bramwell, Director of the RAN’s International Fleet Review, told the Seapower Conference in Sydney on Thursday.

“This review is being held to commemorate the centenary of the first entry of the Royal Australian fleet into Sydney, which occurred on the 4th of October, 1913.”

The event will be reminiscent of the RAN’s 75th anniversary in 1986, and the Bicentennial Naval Salute in 1988, but will also include a significant tallship component.

The intent, Bramwell said, was for as many warships as possible to rendezvous off the NSW South Coast before making a final push into Sydney, arriving on Friday, October 4 2013, exactly 100 years to the day after the first entry.

On leaving the Harbour on October 11, the international vessels will be invited to participate in a combined naval exercise, tentatively titled Exercise Triton Centenary.

The next Pacific International Maritime Exposition will also be moved up October 2013 to coincide with the Fleet Review, running from October 7 to 10 next year, before the event returns to its normal biennial schedule in the first quarter of 2016.

“We are delighted to have been invited by Navy to participate in this once in 100 year opportunity,” said Maritime Australia CEO Ian Honnery. “We have moved the Pacific Exposition schedule forward to join with Navy in this special occasion.”

“Our exhibitors will have a unique opportunity to showcase their businesses to visiting naval leaders and delegations from around the world.”

Captions

Korean Air takes 747-8, 777 Freighters Korean Air has taken delivery of its first Boeing 747-8 and 777 Freighters, becoming the first airline in the world to operate both cargo jets. The carrier plans to fly the 747-8F on its transatlantic route with stops in Osaka, Narita, Los Angeles and San Francisco. The twin engine 777 will be used to open new market in Europe, including Vienna, Frankfurt and London, the airline said.

Bryce named 75SQN patron The Governor General’s husband, Michael Bryce, has been named patron of the RAAF’s No 75 Squadron Association. Formed in 1942, the squadron played a key role in defending Australia’s northern approaches from Japanese air attack during World War 2. Currently based at RAAF Tindal near Katherine, the squadron deployed to Iraq in 2003. An architect and graphic and industrial designer, Bryce served for five years in the Air Training Corps before joining the RAAF Reserves as an intelligence officer. He served from 1956 to 1970.

Royal Brunei adds Melbourne flights Royal Brunei Airlines will increase its Brunei-Melbourne service from four times weekly to daily beginning on March 25, a year after launching the route. The service — Royal Brunei’s only Australian route — offers passengers onward connections to China and London. The increase in service will amount to an additional 88,920 seats.

Miranda Kerr named Qantas ambassador After an ugly 2011, Qantas hopes a supermodel can turn around its image. The airline announced Australian model Miranda Kerr as its newest “Qantas Ambassador,” joining an embassy already staffed by John Travolta, Cathy Freeman, Mark Webber, Greg Norman, Mark Schwarzer and John Eales.Kerr is pictured here with fellow ambassador John at a Qantas Spirit of Australia cocktail party in Los Angeles in January.

Air New Zealand’s new all black Boeing 777-300ER — billed as the world’s largest black aeroplane — arrived in Auckland on January 11. ZK-OKQ, part of the carrier’s sponsorship of New Zealand’s world champion All Blacks rugby team, joined what is billed as the world’s smallest black aircraft, a 19-seat Beech 1900D turboprop operated by subsidiary Eagle Air, which entered service this week. The noir livery, which features a silver leaf design over a black background, is also featured on a pair of the carrier’s Airbus A320s, with two more Beech 1900Ds set to get the makeover.

Phyllis flies in Qantas has taken delivery of its 12th Airbus A380, with VH-OQL Phyllis Arnott arriving in Sydney on December after ferrying in from Toulouse via Singapore as QF6026. Qantas has said that the delivery of its 11th and 12th A380s will allow it to operate the type four times weekly Sydney-Hong Kong, plus increase Melbourne-Singapore-London services from six times weekly to daily, and Melbourne-Los Angeles A380 flights from four flights per week to daily.

Boeing has unveiled Japan Airlines’ first 787-8 Dreamliner, featuring JAL’s updated livery and the carrier’s iconic flying crane on the tail. The jet will operate on JAL’s new Tokyo Narita-Boston route. The carbon composite built 787-8 entered commercial service in October with launch customer All Nippon Airways.

Hawaiian Airlines has announced plans to upgrade its Sydney-Honolulu service to larger Airbus A330-200 aircraft by May. Hawaiian this week became the only carrier operating daily services between Sydney and Honolulu, using Boeing 767-300ER aircraft. Moving from five flights per week to daily service boosted available seats by 40 per cent, or 12,000 seats per year, the airline said. With 294 seats, the A330s will be able to carry 30 more passengers than the 767, upping capacity by another 11 per cent.

The fifth Airbus Military A400M, ‘Grizzly 5′, has made its first flight, taking off from Seville, Spain, on a 2hr 10min flight on December 20.
Grizzly 5 is the fifth and final member of the A400M flight test fleet, which to date Airbus Military says has now completed more than 2500 hours of the planned 3700 hour flight test program. Airbus says the fifth A400M “will be primarily dedicated to electromagnetic interference testing, cargo development, operational demonstrations and extreme cold weather trials”.

Embraer “brand ambassador” and martial arts star Jackie Chan has taken delivery of the first Legacy 650 executive jet in China as the Brazilian planemaker moves to increase its visibility in the growing Chinese corporate market. Chan, star of the Rush Hour films as well as such classics as Drunken Master and The Legend of Drunken Master, said in a statement that he was honoured to join the Embraer family. “I chose the Legacy 650 because [sic] its large three zone cabin, offering incredibly quiet performance and luxury,” he said.

First night flight for F-35 The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter has made its first night flight, Lockheed Martin has announced. F-35A AF-6 took off from Edwards Air Force Base at 5.05pm on January 18, landing after sunset at 6.22pm, with the jet, flown by Lockheed Martin test pilot Mark Ward, flying a series of straight in approaches in twilight and darkness. Ward also evaluated the F-35′s cockpit lighting, saying it was “the best he’s ever seen”. Lockheed Martin says night refuelling and formation test flights will take place later this year.