News Desk

Boeing has delivered a pair of 787 Dreamliners to Japan Airlines on March 26, the second carrier to receive the cutting-edge but long-delayed jet.

JAL will use the aircraft to launch non-stop services between Tokyo and Boston, a 13 hour flight showcasing the range that is one of the mid-sized 787’s selling points. The Boston flights were due to begin on April 22, with 787 flights between Tokyo and San Diego to follow.

The newly delivered 787s are the first to fly with General Electric GEnx engines, which received FAA approval on March 20.

“This milestone completes the certification of the 787-8 airplane, and allows airlines to now operate the GE engine-powered 787 with both the baseline Block 4 engine and the PIP1 engine upgrade,” said Mike Sinnett, vice president and chief project engineer for the 787 program.

Launch customer All Nippon Airways took delivery of the first 787s with Rolls-Royce engines late last. The Qantas Group has selected the GEnx for the 50 787s it has on order, with first deliveries, to Jetstar, planned for mid-2013, JAL has ordered 45.

Boeing and Airbus on side against EU ETS

Boeing has backed Airbus in its dispute with the European Union over the EU’s carbon pricing scheme, a rare moment of agreement between two arch-rivals who remain locked in a bitter trade dispute over government subsidies.

“This is not about Boeing and Airbus,” Boeing CEO Jim Albaugh told Reuters during an aviation industry meeting in Geneva. “It is about what is best for our customers and how we are going to get the whole industry to reduce its environmental footprint.”

The EU’s Emission Trading Scheme has drawn strong criticism from the aviation industry and from other countries – most notably China, India and the US – who say Brussels is acting unilaterally and should have worked through the UN for global consensus on emissions reduction. The EU has said it acted only after years of global inaction and has no plans to abandon the scheme.

But the plot has thickened, with Airbus claiming the Chinese government is holding up commercial orders of its aircraft in retaliation for the scheme and warning of a looming trade war.

Boeing and Airbus are in the midst of a trade war of their own – with each side arguing that the other receives illegal government subsidies. The WTO has ruled against both parties, but the dispute remains unresolved.

Boeing reports strong Q1 deliveries

Boeing has reported solid first quarter orders and deliveries as it pushes to make up lost ground on rival Airbus.

The US planemaker delivered 137 commercial aircraft during the first three months of 2012, a 32 per cent increase over last year. During the same period, Boeing took in orders for 412 aircraft.

Boeing’s deliveries were led by 99 of its single-aisle 737s, followed by 20 777s, seven 767s, six 747-8s and five 787s. The company has pushed to increase production of the popular 737 as it seeks to whittle down its backlog.

Thanks to a strong March, Airbus nearly matched Boeing’s delivery numbers, handing over 131 aircraft including 104 single aisle A320 Family airliners, 23 A330s and four A380s. But the European aerospace giant was well behind Boeing with 100 first quarter aircraft orders, including 89 single aisle jets, five A330s and six A350s.

Boeing and Embraer vaguely embrace

Boeing and Embraer have signed a broad – and notably vague – agreement to cooperate on aircraft safety, efficiency and manufacturing productivity.
What if anything the agreement means in real terms remains to be seen. But the timing of the announcement, following a meeting with the US and Brazilian presidents and coinciding with the announcement of a civil aviation partnership between the two countries, indicates a strong diplomatic element to the announcement.

Still, both sides insisted there were “real opportunities” to work together. Embraer CEO Frederico Curado said the agreement was a first step “towards a collaboration between Embraer and Boeing, starting with some research and technological work.”

In March Boeing, Embraer and Airbus signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on the development of aviation biofuels, though Boeing and Airbus remain locked in a bitter trade dispute

Boeing 777X plans aim at A350

Boeing’s update of its 777 twin-engine widebody could bring to market an “entirely new category” of aircraft sitting between the largest of Airbus’s upcoming A350s and Boeing’s own 747-8 jumbo jet, according to a report by AirInsight, an aerospace analysis website.

Boeing is currently developing new versions of its popular 777 jetliners, which are expected to feature new engines, carbon composite wings and a stretched fuselage.

The largest model, tentatively known as the 777-9X, is likely to feature 405 seats, 55 more than the A350-1000, according to AirInsight. Both aircraft will likely have a similar range of about 13,700km. The smaller 777-8X is projected to have 345 seats – five fewer than the largest A350 – but 1500km of additional range. AirInsight said those numbers are based on market intelligence and could change.

“Boeing’s 777X strategy is clearly intended to bracket the Airbus A350,” the website said. But that strategy could also threaten Boeing’s 747-8I, which has about 60 more seats but a slightly shorter range than the 777-9X.

Current projections estimate that the 777X could begin entering service by 2019. Airbus expects the A350-900 to enter service by next year, followed by the -800 and -1000 by 2017.

Airbus starts assembly of first A350

Airbus has started assembly of its first A350 XWB static test airframe at its facility in Toulouse, France. Assembly of the first flying A350 is scheduled to get underway by mid-year.

Assembly of the static test airframe, which will be used for structural tests as part of the certification process, began with the joining of the 19.7 metre centre fuselage with the 21 metre front fuselage, both of which were manufactured at Airbus’s St Nazaire facility in France. Delivery and installation of the aft fuselage from Hamburg, Germany is expected to take place in the coming weeks. That will be followed by delivery of the A350 the wings from Airbus’s wing assembly facility in Broughton, UK.

A carbon composite built mid-size widebody twin, the A350 is slated to begin deliveries in the first half of 2014 after Airbus announced a six month delay in the program late last year.

Sales

* BOEING 777: Angolan flag carrier TAAG Linhas Aereas de Angola – otherwise known as Angola Airlines — has ordered three 777-300ERs with options on three more.

* BOEING 787: Transaero Airlines (Russia) has signed a firm order for four 787-8s.

Military
Go for RAAF Growlers?

Australia is to purchase long-lead items for the “potential conversion of 12 of the RAAF’s F/A-18 Super Hornets to the EA-18G Growler variant”, Minister for Defence Stephen Smith and Minister for Defence Materiel Jason Clare announced on March 29.

In a statement the ministers stressed that no Growler acquisition decision has been made yet, but that the $19 million purchase of items including electronic systems, antennas and high-frequency modulation receivers kept the option open.

“The decision to purchase this equipment has been made now to ensure Australia continues to have potential access to the Growler technology. A final decision on whether Australia converts some of its Super Hornets to Growler configuration will be made after exhaustive assessment by the government this year. This purchase ensures Australia will continue to have access to specific technologies needed to make any such conversion,” the statement reads.

“The purchase of this equipment is being made through the United States Foreign Military Sales process. As part of this process, a Letter of Request formally requesting the purchase has been delivered to the United States.”

Twelve of Australia’s 24 F/A-18F Super Hornets have been pre-wired for potential conversion to the Growler configuration.

Sixth C-17 RAAF confirmed

Australia has finalised a deal to buy a sixth Boeing C-17A Globemaster for about $280 million, the government announced on March 19.

The aircraft, purchased through the US Foreign Military Sales program, is expected to arrive in Australia early next year.

In a joint statement, Defence Minister Stephen Smith and Minister for Defence Material Jason Clare said the C-17 had proven its worth since the first heavy lifter entered Australian service in 2005.

Last year, the RAAF’s C-17s flew more than 1.2 million nautical miles and delivered 755 tonnes of supplies to Australian troops in Afghanistan, more than 500 tonnes of cargo to Japan following the earthquake and tsunami, and more than 320 tonnes of food and other supplies to flooded areas of Queensland.

“A sixth C-17 will give the government increased options to support a wider range of contingencies that might require heavy-lift aircraft and will extend the life of the C-17 fleet by reducing the use of each aircraft,” the ministers said.

Meanwhile, the UK’s Royal Air Force will take delivery of an eighth C-17 later this year, Boeing has announced. The RAF took delivery of its seventh C-17 in November 2010.

Other international customers for the airlifter comprise Canada, India, NATO, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

Shadow 200 for early deployment to Afghanistan

A Shadow 200 Tactical Unmanned Aerial System (TUAS) has been deployed to Afghanistan since August last year and a second will be delivered to Australian troops preparing to deploy, almost one year ahead of schedule.

Purchased through the United States Foreign Military Sales program, the second Shadow 200 system was originally scheduled to be delivered in the first half of 2013, but will now arrive in the first half of this year.

The two Shadow 200 systems are being acquired through Joint Project 129 Phase 2 at a total cost of over $90 million. Each system comprises five aircraft, ground control stations, a launch and recovery element, and associated equipment, logistics and training.

The first Shadow 200 system is currently operating in Afghanistan and will be certified as fully operational in the near future. It has already completed more than 220 hours of successful testing and training.

The Shadow 200 system captures full motion video during both day and night operations which can be sent back to a ground control station up to 125km away. It can recognise targets on the ground while operating at an altitude of up to 8000ft.

Japanese C-130 visits Richmond

A visit by a Japanese C-130H Hercules to RAAF Base Richmond in March was billed as an historic symbol of strengthening military ties between the two nations.

The JASDF C-130 arrived at Richmond on Wednesday for a three day visit aimed at improving cooperation on future operations, particularly disaster relief efforts. The visit came one year after RAAF C-17 provided assistance to Japan in the wake of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

“Responding to a natural disaster often requires us to deliver a short notice response and for a sustained period, which makes our relationships with foreign partners so important,” Group Captain Don Sutherland, OC of the RAAF’s 84 Wing, said. “This is an opportunity for our Hercules aircrew and maintainers to speak to members of the JASDF, brief each other on our capabilities, fly on our aircraft and understand how each side works.”

US ups F-35 cost estimate

The Pentagon has increased its projection of through life costs for the US F-35 program by nine per cent to $1.51 trillion, unwelcome news for a program already under fire for cost overruns.

The estimate includes development costs since 1994, production of the full US requirement of 2443 aircraft and support costs over a period of 55 years. Estimated production costs increased 4.3 per cent to $395.7 billion.

The total through life costs were last estimated at $1.38 trillion in 2010.

Pentagon officials said the higher costs estimate reflected revised inflation projections, higher than expected labour and material costs, and lower than expected international sales of the fighter. It also reflects the US decision to defer the purchase of 179 F-35s that had been scheduled for delivery over the next five years.

US Air Force Major General John Thompson, the deputy F-35 program manager, said the cost increase was “not optimal” but downplayed its significance.

“From the standpoint of just percentages, it’s not a significant amount from one year to the next,” he told reporters in Washington, according to Reuters.

F-35 maker Lockheed Martin did not dispute the estimate but said it was “based on a number of variables that are subject to considerable fluctuations over the next 55 years, making the estimate inherently imprecise.”

“Lockheed Martin remains confident that F-35 operations and support costs will be comparable to or lower than that of the seven platforms it will replace,” the company said in a statement.

Lockheed delivers 4500th F-16

Lockheed Martin has delivered the 4500th F-16 Fighting Falcon, a Block 52 aircraft destined for Morocco.

In production since 1975, the F-16 has been selected as a front-line fighter by 26 countries. Lockheed currently has 70 unfilled F-16 orders that will keep its Fort Worth, Texas production line open until at least 2016. That includes orders from Turkey, Morocco, Egypt, Oman and Iraq.

Originally designed as a light and highly manoeuvrable air superiority fighter, the F-16 has evolved into a multirole attack plane and has undergone numerous upgrades over the years. The jet was produced by General Dynamics until 1993, when General Dynamics sold its aircraft manufacturing business to Lockheed.

The US Air Force recently announced plans to upgrade 300 of its F-16s and plans to keep the fighters in service through at least 2025 as they are phased out in favour of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, also built by Lockheed.

Lockheed hopes F-16 production will eventually overtake that of the Vietnam-era F-4 Phantom II, of which 5195 were built, which would make it the most produced US jet fighter.

First Dutch F-35 rolls out

Lockheed Martin has rolled out the first F-35 Joint Strike Fighter destined for the Netherlands.

The jet, a conventional takeoff and landing F-35A known as AN-1, will be assigned to Eglin Air Force Base in Florida later this summer, Lockheed said. The Netherlands will use the jet for training and operational tests.

The Dutch have ordered two test F-35s but, like a growing number of other countries, have wavered over their long-term commitment to the aircraft. The Netherlands had originally planned to buy more than 100 of the stealthy fighters but analysts say a number around a third of that is now more likely.

Airlines

Virgin buys into Skywest

Virgin Australia will invest $8 million in regional carrier Skywest Airlines as it moves to take advantage of the booming resource market.

The deal will give Virgin the equivalent of a 10 per cent stake in Perth-based Skywest, which operates a network of scheduled and chartered FIFO services serving the mining sector as well as Virgin Australia’s ATR 72 regional network. Earlier this year Virgin and Skywest also announced a codesharing alliance.

“This investment highlights the confidence that Virgin Australia has in the Skywest business and our ability to tap into future growth opportunities in the Australian regional market,” Skywest executive chairman Jeff Chatfield said in a statement released on Tuesday.

Virgin Australia CFO Sankar Narayan said the airline looked forward to a closer partnership with Skywest.

“We have grown our regional operations significantly since launching our regional network with Skywest in October 2011, with the commencement of new services to Emerald, Gladstone and Port Macquarie,” Narayan said. “These services have been highly popular with the flying public and are already among our best performing regional routes.”

Narayan said plans to increase Virgin’s fleet of ATR turboprops from four to 12 by the end of FY13 left “plenty of opportunity to further expand our regional footprint”.

Earlier, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission had issued a draft approval of the planned codesharing alliance between Virgin Australia.

The ACCC said the alliance would benefit consumers by fostering competition between Virgin-Skywest and Qantas and its affiliates. The deal “will result in public benefits such as enhanced products and services for corporate customers…and potentially lower prices due to closer competition,” ACCC Chairman Rod Sims said in a statement.

The ACCC issued interim approval to the codesharing alliance in January.

Liquidation for Air Australia

Failed Air Australia will be liquidated, after the airline’s creditors voted to wind up the company at a meeting in Brisbane on March 23.

Administrator Mark Mentha of Korda Mentha said the airline’s 350 staff would get most of their entitlements paid out under the federal government’s General Employee Entitlements and Redundancy Scheme (GEERS) but other creditors will be significantly out of pocket.

“Basically GEERS will pay the employees $5 million, employees won’t be paid $3 million and then there are $75 million of creditors left, so the total losses are about $85 million,” he said, according to ABC News.

Air Australia suspended flights on February 17.

Qantas cuts on Kangaroo route leave limited choices

Qantas has completed the first phase of a planned contraction of its money losing international operations, scaling back flights on the Kangaroo route to London and replacing Buenos Aires services with flights to Santiago, Chile.

The carrier ended flights to London via Hong Kong and Bangkok on March 25, leaving daily return services from Sydney and Melbourne via Singapore as the only fully Qantas-operated options between Australia and London. Qantas passengers connecting through Hong Kong and Bangkok will now transfer to a codeshare flight operated by British Airways for the longer leg of the journey. BA, in turn, will drop its Sydney-Bangkok services and increase flights between London and Hong Kong.

Meanwhile, the last Qantas flight to Buenos Aires departed on March 24, with flights on the new route connecting Sydney and Santiago beginning on Monday morning.

The changes are part of a five-year plan announced in August meant to staunch losses from Qantas’s increasingly uncompetitive international operations. As part of that plan, Qantas deferred the purchase of the last six of the 20 A380s it plans to buy from Airbus and moved up the retirement of all but nine of its Boeing 747-400s. The remaining 747s are being upgraded to an A380-style interior, a project that is roughly halfway finished.

The end of the London flights came on a weekend that ended with Qantas announcing a deal with China Eastern Airlines to launch a new Jetstar franchise in Hong Kong (refer feature elsewhere in this issue of AA), news that provided a welcome distraction from the parade of bad news that has dogged the airline for the past year. Still, the retreat from a flagship route that was once a lucrative mainstay of Qantas’s international network is significant, and not just symbolically.

The new schedule with BA is notable for offering a relatively limited choice of flight times in comparison to its key competitors.

Under the contracted schedule, the daily Qantas A380 service between Melbourne and London departs as QF9 at 3:30pm and returns as QF10 at 10:30pm London time. The other option, a Qantas A330 to Hong Kong with an onward connection on a BA 747-400, also departs Melbourne in the afternoon at 2:15pm. That contrasts with Emirates, Cathay Pacific, Malaysia Airlines and Singapore Airlines, all of which offer two daily flights from Melbourne to London including a late-night option.

The Sydney-Singapore-London service, also aboard an A380, has been renumbered as QF1 returning as QF2, a designation it takes over from the former Sydney-Bangkok-London flight. QF1 departs at 4:10pm and arrives in London at 6:35am, returning at 9:30pm for a 5:10am arrival.
Again, that leaves Qantas offering a limited choice of flight times in some cases. For example, all three daily Qantas/BA flights from Sydney to Singapore, two of which are operated by Qantas, will leave within a half-hour window in the late afternoon.

Talks between Qantas, TWU officially very dead

Qantas says efforts to reach a negotiated contract settlement with 3800 baggage handlers and other ground staff have collapsed as the union representing those workers continues to raise claims that Qantas plans to outsource its workforce.

The dispute between Qantas and the Transport Workers Union was sent to compulsory arbitration before Fair Work Australia in November, alongside disputes between the airline and unions representing pilots and engineers. Talks continued, however, with Qantas and the engineers unions reaching an agreement in January.

In a statement released on March 26, Qantas acknowledged that no such agreement would be reached with the TWU and said it would be up to the labour umpire to resolve the dispute.

“For the first time since enterprise bargaining began in 1993, Qantas will have a pay dispute with a union resolved by compulsory arbitration,” the airline said.

Qantas said the TWU was demanding a 10 per cent pay hike over two years, well above the airline’s offer of a three per cent increase over three years. The union is also demanding a new pay structure and wants employees of subsidiary Qantas Ground Services (QGS) covered by the new contract, a key sticking point.

“This would prevent us from the sensible use of contractors and having a flexible workforce while our competitors are free from these constraints,” Qantas Group executive Lyell Strambi said in the statement. “The union is sticking by the claims that were central to the dispute which would see the union dictate how we run our business.”But TWU boss Tony Sheldon said it was the airline’s determination to outsource jobs that was the key obstacle to a deal.

“Qantas have made it absolutely clear that they’ll outsource jobs left, right and centre right across this country so they can get the lowest rate of pay, the lowest conditions they can possibly get, which includes poorer training, poorer skills and it means less performance for the travelling public,” Sheldon told the ABC.

Albanese defends govt on regional aviation

Federal Transport Minister Anthony Albanese has defended the carbon tax and other government policies that have come in for criticism from the regional aviation industry.

Federal Infrastructure & Transport Minister Anthony Albanese has pushed back on suggestions that the carbon tax and other government policies unfairly hurt an already threatened regional aviation industry.

During remarks to a summit of industry leaders in Canberra on Monday, Albanese acknowledged “some real challenges” to regional aviation in Australia but said the industry as a whole remains strong, with passenger traffic at regional airports growing at a faster rate than at airports in major cities.

Albanese said the cost to airlines from the carbon tax could be passed along to passengers through modest surcharges and would remain a tiny portion of airlines’ operating expenses.

“The carbon price on a regional airfare, depending on the flight length, would be around $1-2 per seat,” he said, citing plans by Virgin Australia and Qantas to impose an average surcharge of $3 and $3.50 to offset the cost of the tax. “I would ask you to recognise that these costs are only a small fraction of the fluctuations in oil prices that you have weathered over the last decade.”

Albanese also defended the government’s decision to let the Enroute Charges Payment Scheme expire on June 30. Established after the collapse of Ansett in 2001, the scheme reimburses regional carriers for the cost of some air traffic control services through Airservices Australia.

Albanese said the scheme, designed as a transitional measure after the Ansett collapse, had outlived its need and dismissed claims that lifting the scheme would make marginal routes unviable.

“The size of the subsidy per flight is on average about $2 per passenger,” he said. “I don’t believe this should affect the commercial viability of any route.”

Regional carriers have stepped up their criticism of government policies in recent months, saying they compound the effects of high fuel prices and will force airlines to abandon less profitable regional routes in favour of routes servicing the natural resources sector.

Regional Express, Australia’s largest independent regional carrier, earlier this month said the federal government’s “draconian policies on regional aviation will no doubt succeed in wiping out regional air services to all but the biggest regional centres over the next few years.”

Albanese said those claims were overblown. “We will certainly not be reading an obituary on regional aviation in this country anytime soon,” he said.
Still, he acknowledged a series of challenges facing the industry. Both the number of regional airlines and regional airports has fallen by half since 1984, he said, while growth has come disproportionately from mining centres and popular tourist destinations such as Ballina and Port Macquarie.

But he said regional aviation as a whole was experiencing strong expansion, with passenger movements through regional airports jumping from 16.8 million in 2005 to 22.5 million in 2010, a 6.1 per cent growth rate that outpaced 5.7 per cent growth at major city airports.

Albanese also defended the government’s handling of the industry, saying the government had committed more than $48 million since 2009 to upgrades of regional airports and airport infrastructure. He announced a further $5.4 million in upgrades at 31 of the country’s most remote airstrips.
“This will keep standards up to scratch and ensure that services such as Australia Post and the Royal Flying Doctor can land and take off safely.”

Unions to fight Qantas consolidation

An alliance of trade unions has launched an effort to lobby the government to save thousands of engineering jobs threatened by Qantas plans to consolidate its heavy maintenance operations.

The unions – the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union, the Australian Workers Union and the Electrical Trades Union – say they will join forces to push state and federal governments as well as the airline itself to keep the jobs of some 6000 engineering employees in Australia.

Separately, however, the Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association, which represents Qantas engineers, says it believes the airline has already decided to close down its maintenance operation at Melbourne’s Tullamarine Airport, a move that would cost about 400 jobs.

That would likely see Qantas shift maintenance of its Boeing 737 fleet from Tullamarine to nearby Avalon Airport, where Qantas maintains its Boeing 747s. But the union says that would only be a short-term reprieve for Avalon’s 700 engineers.

Qantas says it will not make a final decision until a consultation period ends in mid-April. The airline has said it plans to consolidate its three maintenance facilities – the third is at Brisbane Airport — to one or two. The airline claims newer aircraft and more efficient maintenance procedures have cut into demand for heavy maintenance, an assertion the unions dispute.

Also at issue is the offshoring of maintenance work. Qantas currently does about 90 per cent of its heavy maintenance in Australia and has vowed not to move any of the existing work overseas. But the airline says it pays about 30 per cent more for maintenance than its competitors, and it has chosen overseas maintenance for its newest aircraft, the Airbus A380, a decision seen as foreshadowing its plans for future aircraft such as the Boeing 787

Dreamliner

Alliance flags Argyle FIFO flights

Alliance Aviation Services has announced plans to launch fly-in, fly-out services to the Argyle diamond mines in Western Australia.

Under a contract with Rio Tinto Argyle Diamonds Ltd, Alliance will commence services from April 16 and will fly seven round trips per week between Perth and Argyle using Fokker 100 and Fokker 70LR aircraft. In a statement to the ASX, Alliance flagged the possibility of originating flights from Sydney and Brisbane in the future.

Alliance listed on the ASX in December. The company maintains a fleet of 25 aircraft and focuses on FIFO services for the mining industry.

Skytrans to launch Toowoomba-Sydney service

Queensland based Skytrans has announced plans to launch flights between Toowoomba and Sydney from July.

The airline said it will initially fly six return flights per week on the new route with plans to increase to 10 flights per week within a year. Skytrans operates a fleet of Dash 8 turboprops and currently flies to 23 destinations in Queensland.

The airline said the flights will provide a vital link between Sydney and the agricultural and mining industries of mid-west Queensland. Currently Toowoomba is served only by charter flights.

The new Sydney flights will be aimed squarely at business and will depart Toowoomba in the morning and return in the evening. Skytrans said it would release a final schedule and pricing next month.

“The local business community have lobbied for these services for some time, so it is our great pleasure, after many months of due diligence, to make this announcement,” Skytrans managing director Simon Wild said.

The airline said it intends to recruit cabin crew from the Toowoomba region initially with a medium term aim to base flight crews, engineers and aircraft in Toowoomba.

Jetstar Asia names new CEO

Singapore-based Jetstar Asia has tapped a former chief financial officer as its new CEO.

Barathan Pasupathi will take over on July 2, replacing Chong Phit Lian, who stepped down February 1 after six years heading the budget airline. Former Jetconnect head Paul Daff will serve as Jetstar Asia interim CEO until Barathan starts work.

Barathan served as Jetstar Asia’s CFO between 2004 and 2007 before moving to Kuwait’s Jazeera Airways and later to a German oil company in Singapore.

Qantas owns a 49 per cent share of Jetstar Asia, which posted a pre-tax profit of S$18 million (A$14m) last financial year, its best result since it began service in 2004.

Air NZ drops Beijing in favour of Shanghai dailies

Air New Zealand is dropping its twice-weekly direct flights to Beijing from June 30 in favour increased services to Shanghai, following a review of its current China schedules.

Flights from Auckland to Shanghai will increase from four to five times weekly from July 4, with Air New Zealand planning to operate daily flights to the Chinese commercial centre with the next year. Beijing, meanwhile, will be served via a codeshare with Air China between Shanghai and Beijing.

Singapore, China, Sth Africa first destinations for VA-SQ codeshare

Virgin Australia is to begin codesharing on Singapore Airlines flights to Singapore, China and South Africa from this month, the latest feature of the alliance between the two airlines to be rolled out.

From March 29 Virgin Australia can book on codeshared Singapore Airlines flights to Singapore from Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Darwin and Adelaide, and onwards to Shanghai and Beijing. From tomorrow codeshared flights to Cape Town and Johannesburg via Singapore go on sale, while passengers can also book to travel between Perth and London via Singapore.

Virgin says it will begin codesharing on other Singapore Airlines flights over coming months, including to India, Malaysia, Japan, Thailand and Indonesia.

Singapore Airlines began codesharing on domestic Virgin Australia flights last month.

Qantas raises fuel charge again

Qantas will raise ticket prices for the second time in two months as it battles high fuel costs.

The airline will increase its fuel surcharge on international flights by between $10 and $30 while domestic fares will rise by an average of about five per cent, including a $7 increase on a one-way fare between Sydney-Melbourne and a $10 hike on most other routes. The new surcharges go into effect on April 5 for domestic flights and April 12 for international routes.

With average fuel prices for the financial year to date at their highest level since 2007-08, Qantas said it expects its fuel bill for the first six months of 2012 to rise to $2.25 billion from $1.95 billion over the same period last year.

Qantas said it will also increase the fuel surcharge on frequent flyer award tickets from $12 to $16 for domestic flights and from $20 to $30 for trans-Tasman flights. Jetstar will also increase fares on some routes within both its Singapore and Australian markets, the airline said.

The last increase in the fuel surcharge, announced in early February, raised international fares by up to $60 and domestic fares by 2.5 per cent.

Combining the effects of both increases, the fuel surcharge for a flight to the US has risen from $250 to $340, while fares between Sydney and Melbourne have grown from $117 to $129.

As it did in February, Qantas said the latest round of fare hikes will not recover the cost of higher than expected fuel prices.

Fair Work takes Jetstar to court over contracts

Jetstar has denied contract violations alleged by the Fair Work Ombudsman and says it will fight the case in court.

The Fair Work Ombudsman has filed legal action against Jetstar over allegations the Qantas-owned budget carrier paid trainee pilots in Australia under cheaper New Zealand contracts.

The case centres on claims Jetstar employed six trainee pilots under New Zealand work conditions “when it was foreseeable the work they were to perform was predominately in Australia.” The Ombudsman alleges Jetstar failed to pay superannuation for the pilots and sought to make them re-pay the cost of their training, both of which violated Australian workplace law.

Jetstar rejected the charges, saying the pilots were originally engaged to work in New Zealand and were to be transferred to Australian contracts. The case now heads to Federal Court in Sydney, where the Ombudsman is seeking fines of up to $33,000 per violation.

“Multi-national companies with wholly or partly-owned overseas enterprises need to exercise caution and care if they engage workers under those entities and then have them work in Australia,” Fair Work Ombudsman Nicholas Wilson said in a statement. Wilson added that the practice was especially problematic when “the terms and conditions their employees are engaged under are less than provided for by Australian law.”

Wilson also indicated that further claims against Jetstar could be forthcoming, saying Fair Work investigators were looking into allegations that Jetstar had underpaid foreign cabin crew working on its Australian domestic flights.

The Fair Work action was quickly seized on by Qantas critics as evidence that the airline’s Asia expansion was part of a plan to off-shore Australian jobs.

“This is not just about a handful of cadets and their contracts,” Independent Senator Nick Xenophon told the ABC. “This strategy to continue to offshort, to rely more and more on foreign-based crew – particularly cabin crew – raises fundamental and deep issues about the future of the Qantas Group strategy into Asia.”

Qantas overhauls intl baggage allowance

Qantas will shift its baggage alllowance on international flights from a weight-based to a per piece system.

Qantas has overhauled its checked baggage policy on international flights in a move that will benefit premium and frequent flyer passengers.
Under the change, which applies to tickets issued after May 2, Qantas will shift from a weight-based to a piece-based system. That will result in less flexibility for some passengers, with the economy class allowance for flights to Europe and Asia shifting from a total weight of 23kg to a single bag weighing up to 23kg.

Qantas said 70 per cent of international economy passenger travelled with a single checked bag last year.

The change brings Qantas into line with alliance partners British Airways and American Airlines and also mirrors a similar shift by Virgin Australia last month.

Details on the policy are available on Qantas’ website. Among the key changes:

For flights to/from the Americas:

The baggage allowance for business and first class passengers increases from two to three pieces weighing up to 32kg each,
For economy and premium economy, the allowance remains two pieces of up to 23kg each.

For flights to/from all other destinations:

The economy allowance goes from a total weight of 23kg to a single piece of up to 23kg, while premium economy goes from a total of 23kg to two piece of up to 23kg each,

The business class allowance shifts from a total weight of 32kg to two pieces of up to 23kg each,

The first class allowance goes from a total weigh of 40kg to three pieces of up to 32kg each,

Frequent flyer members generally receive a more generous allowance but also shift from a weight-based to piece-based system.

Virgin overhauls baggage allowance

Virgin Australia has announced plans to switch from a weight-based baggage allowance to a per piece system.

Virgin Australia will switch from a weight-based checked baggage allowance to a per piece system, the airline announced yesterday.

The changes, which will affect tickets purchased after May 16, applies to domestic and international short haul flights. International long haul and carry-on baggage policies will not change.

Under the airline’s current system, economy passengers are allowed to check baggage weighing up to 23kg while premium economy and business class passenger can check bags weighing up to 69kg. Under the new system, economy passengers will be able to check one bag with a maximum weight of 23kg, while higher classes can check two bags weighing up to 32kg each.

Under both systems, a baggage allowance is not included in Virgin’s cheapest ‘saver’ fares but can be purchased for between $12 and $15 on domestic routes or $25 to $30 on international short haul routes. Virgin will also change its overweight and excess baggage policies. Under the current system, excess baggage is charged at $15 per kg. Under the new system, economy fare bags weighing more than 23kg up to the maximum allowable weight of 32kg will be charged a flat fee of $40. An allowance for additional bags can be pre-purchased for fees starting at $32 for domestic flights and $80 for international short haul flights. Extra bags purchased at the airport carry significantly higher fees.

Members of Virgin’s Velocity frequent flyer program are in some cases eligible for an additional baggage allowance.

Virgin names frequent flyer CEO

Virgin Australia has created a separate business division for its Velocity Frequent Flyer program and has appointed former Qantas executive Neil Thompson as CEO of the new branch.

Virgin said the move reflected its increasing focus on its frequent flyer program.

“The Velocity Frequent Flyer program is critical to Virgin Australia’s goal of becoming the airline of choice in Australia and we are confident this new structure will help us achieve that,” Virgin CEO John Borghetti said.

Thompson held a number of senior position at Qantas before leaving as group general manager of loyalty marketing in 2008. Subsequent to that he worked at a US company that advises airlines on frequent flyer programs.

Jetstar Japan cleared for takeoff

Jetstar Japan has received its final regulatory approval, clearing the way for the budget carrier to begin flights in July, well ahead of its original schedule.

The Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport issued the airline with its Air Operators Certificate on Friday. Jetstar said it would begin proving flights next month, with commercial flights scheduled to begin on July 3.

“This approval means we’re on track to start flying five months ahead of schedule,” Jetstar Japan CEO Miyuki Suzuki said. “Travellers can be confident that as well as our operational strengths around safety and service, Jetstar will offer the best fares.”

A joint venture between Qantas, Japan Airlines and Mitsubishi, Jetstar Japan is targeting revenues of $1 billion within two years. The carrier will start operations with a fleet of three Airbus A320s and plans to expand to 24 aircraft within a few years. Initial routes will connect its Tokyo Narita base with Osaka, Sapporo, Fukuoka and Okinawa.

Virgin tops up Tassie services

Virgin Australia has announced plans to launch an extra daily service between Melbourne and Hobart and build a new premium lounge at Hobart Airport.

The announcement coincides with the launch of a priority boarding service for premium passengers at Hobart Airport, part of a larger effort by Virgin to expand its business offerings.

The additional flights will commence in September, increasing Virgin’s total flights between Melbourne and Hobart from 62 to 76 and its total flight to and from Tasmania to more than 200.

Virgin’s new 75-seat premium lounge, set to open next year, will include business facilities, entertainment and a designer buffet, Virgin said.

Airline briefs

* Virgin Australia now offers a kerbside “premium valet” service for its passengers travelling through Brisbane’s domestic terminal. The service costs $55 for up to 14 hours and $65 for up to 24 hours.

* Air New Zealand subsidiary Mount Cook Airline was forced to cancel dozens of flights in mid March after discovering hairline cracks around the cockpit windows of an ATR turboprop. The carrier temporarily grounded all 11 of its ATR 72-500s from March 18 as it inspected the aircraft.

Airports

Pressure builds on O’Farrell over second Sydney airport

Battle lines are being drawn between the federal and NSW governments over the placement of a second Sydney Airport, as the bipartisanship called for in the wake of a dire study on the city’s airport needs appears predictably elusive.

Federal Transport Minister Anthony Albanese has accused conservative NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell of pursuing “short-term politics” by opposing a second airport anywhere in western Sydney. O’Farrell’s preferred plan to link Sydney to an expanded Canberra Airport was unrealistic and might as well have come “out of a Coco Pops packet,” Albanese said.

But O’Farrell shot back, saying Albanese was pursuing a second airport to relieve aircraft noise in his own electorate, which includes Sydney’s Kingsford-Smith airport. O’Farrell insisted he would stand by his election promise not to “dump” aircraft noise on the western suburbs.

Increasingly, however, political pressure appears to be mounting against O’Farrell from both side of the federal parliament, with reports indicating that about a dozen Coalition MP’s have met to discuss how to convince O’Farrell to drop his opposition to a second airport in Sydney.

“The truth is there are no more temporary solutions, there can be no more procrastination, there can be no more delays, we have to start work planning for a second airport now,” Shadow Treasurer Joe Hockey told Fairfax, adding that the second airport “cannot be built at Canberra. Canberra is a fog-bound airport 300km away.”

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce has also weighed in for the first time, in early April telling The Australian that it was “timely to start planning for a second airport in the Sydney basin to ensure that future international and domestic aviation growth opportunities can be realised.”

The push comes in the wake of the release of a long awaited study that called for urgent action on a second airport and said Kingsford-Smith would reach “aircraft deadlock” within a decade. The study, jointly commissioned by the federal and NSW governments, recommended Badgery’s Creek and Wilton as the preferred sites of a second airport. Both sides have rejected Badgery’s Creek, but Albanese is said to be considering further study of the Wilton site despite O’Farrell’s opposition.

Meanwhile, federal frontbenchers from both parties have strongly rejected a call by the Sydney Business Chamber to repeal the hourly cap on aircraft movements at Kingsford-Smith, a move the business group described as a stop-gap measure in light of O’Farrell’s opposition to a second airport.

The recent airport study also called for raising the hourly cap from 80 to 85 aircraft movements during peak times, but Albanese rejected the recommendation, saying it would do little to relieve congestion while adding considerably to noise woes. Hockey said the cap would be lifted over his “dead body.”

Tullamarine T4 to break ground by October

Melbourne Airport has released plans to begin work on its new $300 million domestic terminal in October with an aim to open the doors by July 2014.

The 35,000m2 T4 terminal, to be built to the south of the current T3, will be designed to accommodate up to 20 million passengers per year and will include additional aircraft apron space and taxi lanes, the airport says. The project also includes widening roads into the airport and the construction of two multi-level car parks.

The new terminal will be connected to the current terminals, maintaining Melbourne’s “under one roof” advantage over rival Sydney Airport.
Melbourne has not revealed which airlines will use T4 and says talks with carriers are ongoing. The new terminal will replace the T4 shed currently used by Tiger Airways and is likely to be aimed at the budget carrier market.

“We are in ongoing discussions with prospective users of the new terminal about its configuration and operation,” Melbourne Airport CEO Chris Woodruff said.

In a Preliminary Draft Major Development Plan released in March, the airport said construction of the new terminal is expected to create up to 400 jobs on site. The draft plan will be available for review and public comment until May 7.

Environment

Airbus joins Virgin in biofuel effort

Airbus has joined with Virgin Australia in studying the possibility of producing sustainable jet fuel out of eucalyptus trees.

The consortium, which also includes the Future Farm Industries CRC, aims to have an alternative fuel pilot plant operating in Australia within the next year. The effort is focusing on a thermal conversion process known as Pyrolysis that would refine feedstock from eucalyptus mallee trees into aviation biofuel.

Airbus will focus on getting Pyrolysis-based fuels approved by the world’s fuels standards authorities, which do not currently recognise such fuels, Airbus said.

The mallee trees will be grown in Western Australia’s wheat belt

General Aviation

Airvan becomes most made Australian plane

The GA8 Airvan has set a new record as the most produced Australian-made civil type certificated aircraft, manufacturer GippsAERO says.
The 175th Airvan recently rolled off the assembly line at GippsAERO’s facility in Morwell, Victoria, breaking a record previously held by the N24 Nomad.

The first production GA8 was delivered to Fraser Island Air in December 2000 and the aircraft is now flying in 34 countries, according to the company. The 175th Airvan is destined for the US, where it will serve as a demonstrator.

GippsAERO, a subsidiary of Indian company Mahindra Aerospace, also holds the type certificate for the Nomad, which was originally designed and manufactured by the Government Aircraft Factories, and plans to place an updated version of the twin-turboprop back into production as the GA18.

DAHER-SOCATA launches TBM 850 Elite

DAHER-SOCATA has introduced an enhanced development of its TBM 850 turboprop for the 2012 model year with reconfigurable seats to increase cargo space for larger items.

The TBM 850 Elite’s middle seats can be positioned in either a rearward or forward facing positions. With the TBM configured to seat four passengers (instead of the usual six) with the rear pair of seats removed and the middle seats facing forwards, additional cargo space is freed up. Freight and baggage items in the enlarged space can be secured by cargo nets.

“For missions with multiple pieces of baggage, a small cargo net compliments the normal internal baggage compartment by providing additional space. Long, bulky items such as golf bags can be secured by using a large cargo net, which essentially unites the rear baggage compartment and the extended baggage area,” according to DAHER-SOCATA.

Other features of the TBM 850 Elite, which was introduced at the Sun n Fun fly-in and expo in Florida on March 27, include two new avionics options – a long-range KHF 1050 HF radio and Garmin’s GSR 56 Iridium satellite transceiver, carbon fibre trim in the central upper panel, table cover exterior insert and cabinet door cover, and gold and brush metal treatment on interior fittings.

Price for a standard equipped aircraft is US$3.2 million.

P-750 XSTOL cleared for single-engine IFR

Pacific Aerospace says its P-750 XSTOL has been certified for single-engine IFR operations for RPT passenger flights by the New Zealand CAA.
The Hamilton, New Zealand-based company says achieving certification involved making a number of modififcations to the aircraft, including fitting a new, dual-independent electrical generation system.

The first operator to take advantage of the SE IFR certification will be Fiji’s Island Hopper, which has two P-750 XSTOLs in service and will become the first operator of the type to fly scheduled passenger services.

“We are very pleased to have a quality operator like Island Hoppers as our launch customer in Fiji and to have them as the first commercial passenger transport operator of the P-750 in the world is very exciting.” said Pacific Aerospace CEO Damian Camp.

Diamond DA52 takes first flight

Diamond Aircraft has announced the successful first flight of its carbon composite built, twin-engine DA52, on April 3.

Diamond said its new flagship seven-seater reached an altitude of 12,000ft in less than nine minutes and a cruising speed of 190kt during the hour long flight. Diamond chairman Christian Dries called the aircraft “the best prototype aircraft I have ever made a maiden flight with” and predicted it would reach faster speeds in later test flights. The cruising speed of 190kt “was the limit of the authorised envelope, but we may see a lot more,” he said.

The DA52 is powered by Diamond’s Austro AE300 turbo diesels engines producing 180hp each.

Air Safety

CASA considers easing private pilot medical, drug and alcohol testing requirements

CASA is considering relaxing the requirements for private pilots to hold an aviation medical, and easing the drug and alcohol management plan requirements for smaller aviation organisations, director of aviation safety John McCormick says in the March issue of regulator’s monthly email newsletter.

According to the newsletter CASA is well advanced on assessing the “merits and risks” of a proposal that would allow private pilots to obtain a medical based on the unconditional drivers licence medical standard rather than a class 2 aviation medical.

“The advantage would be that eligible pilots would be able to get a medical certificate from their general practitioner that confirms they meet the unconditional medical standards required to drive a motor vehicle, with some additional requirements to take into account the different risks in flying and driving,” McCormick writes. “Once a pilot had this certificate, they would simply electronically inform CASA and carry the certificate whenever flying.”

The medical would be available for private pilots flying aircraft weighing up to 1500kg under day visual flight rules and “generally” limited to one passenger.

Meanwhile, CASA is also considering changes to its contentious drug and alcohol management plan requirements for smaller operators with seven or fewer “safety sensitive” employees.

“These organisations would have access to a simplified means of compliance with the requirements of the drug and alcohol regulations and be able to use a standard drug and alcohol management plan provided by CASA,” McCormick writes. “There would be requirements for training of employees and an on-line reporting system to CASA.”

Another area of potential reform is new maintenance regulations for GA.

“CASA recognises new maintenance regulations for general aviation should reflect how the sector operates, with requirements ‘lighter’ than those already introduced for regular public transport maintenance.”

The proposals have arisen from CASA’s General Aviation Task Force consultation process.

“I must stress that the proposals being looked at by the General Aviation Task Force are still proposals and no final decisions have been made. However, the process is proving to be both valuable and worthwhile and I look forward to being able to announce some positive news later in the year,” McCormick says.

Books

An Iconic Airline

Guinea Airways, founded in Adelaide in 1927 to provide transport for remote mining operations in Papua New Guinea, was one of Australia’s early commercial aviation successes.

It moved to the Australia mainland to start flights on the Adelaide-Darwin route in 1937 and developed a network of services between Adelaide and regional centres, including Broken Hill in NSW and Mildura in Victoria.

A hostile takeover by Reg Ansett and his Ansett Transport Industries at the end of 1959 ended the Guinea Airways story and started a new one in 1960, with the renaming of the Adelaide-based operation as Airlines of South Australia.

Former ASA pilot Jim Evans and local aviation historian Nigel Daw have dredged through the records and memories of ASA personnel to produce An Iconic Airline, the story of Guinea Airways and ASA, which came to an end on June 27 1986, amid lost contracts, low growth, rising costs and tough competition from newcomers on selected routes following deregulation.

The book melds the historic facts and photographs with personal recollections of pilots and cabin crew, ground staff, even passengers, to evoke the memories of a “happy” little airline with a fleet which ranged from a rugged Junkers G31 in PNG through Lockheed Electra, DC-3 and Fokker Friendship aircraft; an airline which clearly forged a special place in its region, and in the hearts of its people.

An Iconic Airline, by Jim Evans and Nigel Daw, self-published. $39.95 through www.airlinesofsa.com – Chris Milne