Debrief

Airbus says it has received more than 2,000 registrations for its student competition Fly Your Ideas. The global competition offers students an opportunity to work with a team of aviation professionals on real-world challenges going beyond the aircraft itself. Airbus outlined six challenges – electrification, data services, cyber security, internet of things, artificial intelligence and mixed reality – when it launched the sixth edition of Fly Your Ideas in June. The Round 1 submission phase closes on November 16 2018. A team of three students from Melbourne’s RMIT University finished runner-up in the most recent Fly Your Ideas competition held in 2017. More details are available at www.airbus-fyi.com.

Airline News

Singapore Airlines (SIA) has chosen Adelaide to debut its new two-class Airbus A350-900 widebody configured for medium-haul operations. The first flight with the next-generation Airbus widebody is scheduled to take off on December 18 2018 and represents both an upgrade in terms of the passenger experience and an upgauge in capacity. SIA’s A350-900 have 303 seats (40 business and 263 economy), while the A330-300s currently on the route have 285 (30 business and 263 economy). The difference represents a seven per cent increase in overall seat capacity. “The decision to deliver increased capacity to the city reinforces our commitment to South Australia and will provide more opportunities to grow inbound and outbound travel,” SIA regional vice president for south west Pacific Philip Goh said.

Still on SIA, the Virgin Australia alliance partner and shareholder also announced Brisbane as the second Australian destination for the two-class A350-900. The airline currently has four flights a day to Brisbane, three with long-haul configured three-class A350-900s and one with a 777-200. While the shift to medium-haul A350s to Brisbane would result in the loss of a premium economy offering, Goh said it would help meet market demand for more seats into and out of Brisbane. “In looking at the route and how it has developed, premium economy is growing well and up to expectations, but the missing part has been the economy cabin,” Goh said. “People are missing out on economy and we couldn’t carry as many passengers as we had in the past.

‘People are missing out on economy.’
Philip Goh’

Finally, Goh said SIA’s new schedule to Canberra and Wellington that had been in place since May has been performing well. The airline ended Singapore-Canberra-Wellington and started up four times weekly Singapore-Melbourne-Wellington and daily Singapore-Sydney-Canberra-Singapore services. Goh said the airline was now considering how to add capacity into Wellington either through more flights or with larger aircraft and welcomed Airbus’s tests at Wellington with the A350-900 in June. “The 777-200 is one of the older aircraft in the fleet. That aircraft is going to go away from the fleet, we are going to get rid of it. A new aircraft is required. The question is what aircraft and so that development in Wellington is good for us. It gives us more possibilities and more options,” Goh said

Samoa Airways plans to start nonstop flights between Apia and Brisbane from November 13. The new service would operate on Tuesdays and Sundays with its Boeing 737-800. Samoa Airways chief executive Tupuivao Seiluli Alvin Tuala said the new route was being launched in partnership with Brisbane Airport. “The Brisbane area is home to a large Samoan population and I am particularly pleased that the national carrier, with the support of Brisbane Airport, is able to respond to calls by our community who travel frequently between Samoa, American Samoa and Brisbane for family, church and cultural obligations, for improved air access”, he said in a statement. Virgin Australia is currently the only carrier with nonstop flights between Apia and Brisbane.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has issued a safety advisory notice after a Malaysia Airlines (MAS) Airbus A330-300 took off from Brisbane Airport with the covers for the aircraft’s three pitot probes still on. The ATSB preliminary report on the July 18 2018 incident said an inspection of the aircraft prior to departure “did not identify the presence of the pitot probe covers”. ATSB chief commissioner Greg Hood said it was a serious incident and the investigation was ongoing. “We will be focusing specifically on the procedures for flightcrew and ground crew in relation to the pre-flight checks for the aircraft, and also the cockpit warning systems received by the flightcrew as they accelerated down Runway 01,

Air Niugini says the loss of a codeshare agreement with Qantas is behind the move to end Port Moresby-Townsville flights and reduce services to Sydney. The airline announced in mid-August it would drop nonstop flights to Townsville and cut Sydney from three to two flights a week from October 1. “The decision by the Australian Government regulator, the International Air Services Commission, to disapprove the Qantas application to code share on Air Niugini’s innovative direct services to Townsville and Sydney, thereby denying customers a choice of marketing airline on these developmental and marginal flights, is one factor in the airline’s decision to suspend services to Townsville, and reduce Sydney flights to twice weekly,” Air Niugini acting chief executive Tahawar Durrani said in a statement.

Regional Express (Rex) has reported net profit of $16.9 million for the 12 months to June 30 2018, a 34 per cent improvement from the prior corresponding period. The company said it expected to achieve double-digit growth in the current year amid an improving Australian economy and despite near-term challenges such as higher oil prices and a global pilot shortage. “I am quietly confident that we have the wherewithal to withstand the storm if it does materialise,” Rex executive chairman Lim Kim Hai said in a statement on August 29. Profit before tax increased 40.8 per cent to $25.1 million.

Still on Rex, the airline group announced in a regulatory filing to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) on September 7 it had sold Dubbo-based subsidiary Air Link Pty Ltd after the unit ended passenger services in January 2018. The company was acquired by Rex in November 2005 and operated charter and regular public transport (RPT) flights in New South Wales. Air Link’s ex-chief operating officer David Brooksby said in a statement on September 10 the decision to terminate Air Link’s “pilot-intensive operations” was in response to the global pilot shortages in the current aviation environment. “The board do not expect the divestment of Air Link to have any negative impact on the group’s earning,” Brooksby said.

Air New Zealand said on August 23 it expected all the necessary inspections for its Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines that power its Boeing 787-9 fleet to be completed within the next 12 months. In the meantime, the airline has dry leased three widebody aircraft – two 777-200s and one 777-300 – as cover for grounded 787s awaiting engine checks and made schedule changes on certain routes in order to offer “better reliability” for passengers, Air New Zealand chief executive Christopher Luxon said during the company’s 2017/18 full year results presentation. “We continue to work closely with Rolls-Royce to limit the impact of the global Trent 1000 engine issues but we do recognise that we need to deliver greater schedule certainty for our customers going forward,” Luxon said. Regulators have called for more regular checks on Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines’ intermediate pressure compressor rotor blades in response to some durability issues.

Qantas News

American Airlines and Qantas have told the United States government their current level of codesharing is akin to “keeping the lights on” as they await a decision from the Department of Transportation (DoT) on a proposed alliance. The remark was included in the pair’s latest submission to the DoT following the department’s request for more information in June on the expanded alliance and joint-business agreement (JBA). The two carriers are making a second attempt to forge a closer relationship after their initial bid was withdrawn in late 2016, when a Show Cause Order (SCO) indicated the DoT was inclined to reject the application on competition grounds. “This ‘keep the lights on’ level of codesharing has been maintained while the Parties’ re-application for ATI is pending,” the submission said. “Given the Parties’ intent to re-file for ATI, and to avoid additional loss of goodwill from abandoning routes, they have maintained a greater level of service and cooperation than they would if there was no hope for implementing the proposed JBA.” While the pair continued some level of codesharing on each other’s networks, particularly on domestic services in Australia and the United States, Qantas took its QF airline code off American’s Los Angeles-Sydney service, while American took its AA code off Qantas’s Sydney-Los Angeles and Sydney-Dallas/Fort Worth flights. The two carriers also “scaled back or paused” efforts to improve the passenger experience such as coordination of baggage handling, lounge services, investments in infrastructure, IT integration, revenue and yield management integration, scheduling, and frequent flyer benefits following the SCO.

Qantas has operated its last Los Angeles-New York (JFK)-Los Angeles rotation with Boeing 747-400 equipment. The US-tag flight is now served with 787-9 Dreamliners. The final 747-400 service to New York was on Friday August 31, with VH-OJT taking off from Los Angeles as QF11 a little after 0900 local time and landing at New York’s John F Kennedy Airport about five hours later. It spent about two hours on the ground before operating the reciprocal QF12 back to Los Angeles. The equipment change on the QF11/12 Los Angeles-New York (JFK)-Los Angeles rotation has resulted in a 35 per cent reduction in available seats on the route.

The end of 747 flights to New York comes as Qantas began international operations with the 787-9 at Brisbane, where Qantas is basing four of the next generation Boeing widebodies. Since the start of September, the 787-9 has been flying daily between Brisbane and Los Angeles alongside three additional 747-400 services a week. The 787-9 continues onto New York.

Qantas has completed latest phase of its Melbourne domestic terminal premium passenger lounge upgrade with the opening of a refurbished business lounge in late August. The full redevelopment of the business lounge was expected to be completed by November, offering 20 per cent more seats and a redesigned layout. The first phase of the Melbourne Qantas Club upgrade was completed in May. “We know renovations can be unsettling, but the redevelopment is progressing to schedule and we are on track to offer our customers two completely new lounges by early November,” Qantas head of customer product and service development Phil Capps said in a statement.

Virgin Australia News

Australia’s International Air Services Commission (IASC) has approved Virgin Australia’s application for Papua New Guinea carrier PNG Air to codeshare on its nonstop flights between Brisbane and Port Moresby. The codeshare would be offered on a free-sale basis and was due to commence on October 1, the IASC determination said. PNG Air would also add its CG airline code on certain Virgin Australia-operated domestic flights.

Virgin Australia said it operated 195 flights out of Brisbane powered by a blend of traditional jet fuel and aviation biofuel delivered via the airport’s regular fuel supply system. The flights, which spanned 430,000km and covered both domestic and international routes, were part of a trial involving the airline, Brisbane Airport, the Queensland government and fuel supplier Gevo, as well as Caltex and DB Schenker. Virgin Australia said it was the first time in this country aviation biofuel, or biojet, made from sustainable sources such as sugarcane bagasse, molasses, wood waste and agave, had been supplied through an airport’s regular fuel supply system. “The successful completion of the trial at Brisbane Airport is the first important step in ensuring Australian airports and the fuel supply chain will be ready for the regular supply of sustainable fuels in Australia,” Virgin Australia group executive for airlines Rob Sharp said in a statement.

Virgin Australia has joined a host of companies around the world endeavouring to reduce the use of plastics in its day-to-day operations. The airline has replaced plastic straws and stirrers used in its premium passenger lounges at the airport and on its flights with paper straws and bamboo stirrers. The initiative would mean 260,000 plastic straws and 7.5 million plastic stirrers a year would no longer be taken to landfill. “As an airline, we have a responsibility to contribute to sustainable initiatives that will benefit the environment and removing plastic straws and stirrers is an important step in the right direction. We know there are still improvements to be made, but we are committed to continuing to look for ways to improve the environmental footprint of our operations,” Virgin Australia general manager of group sustainability Rob Wood said in a statement.

Virgin Australia has bested Qantas in terms of punctuality for the 12 months to June 30 2018. A report from the Bureau of Transport, Infrastructure and Regional Economics (BITRE) showed 82.6 per cent of Virgin Australia’s flights arrived on time – defined as within 15 minutes of published schedules – ahead of Qantas on 82.3 per cent. Meanwhile, Virgin Australia had 84.7 per cent of on-time departures, compared with Qantas at 82.8 per cent. QantasLink was the best-performing regional carrier in terms of punctuality with 84.4 per cent on-time arrivals and 84.7 per cent on-time departures.

Finally, Virgin Australia has raised the cost savings target for its three-year Better Business transformation program. The airline revealed at its 2017/18 full year results presentation on August 29, which showed a statutory net loss but a strong improvement in underlying profit before tax (see story elsewhere in this edition) the Better Business program was expected to achieve $400 million in annualised net free cash flow savings by June 30 2019. The figure is up from the previous target of $350 million. The Better Business program, which has focused on fleet simplification, operational efficiencies and balance sheet improvements, achieved $224 million in savings in 2016/17 and $324 million in savings in 2017/18.

Airport News

Brisbane Airport says new taxiways linking the new parallel runway with the domestic and international terminals and the rest of the airfield have been completed. The construction of the taxiways would allow for the opening of a public road under the taxiways in late September for access to airport facilities such as the general aviation terminal, Royal Flying Doctor Service and plane spotters’ area. The new runway, due to be fully operational in 2020, will be 3,300m long and 60m wide and is about two kilometres to the west of existing Runway 01/19 on what was previously a 360ha greenfield site.

Sydney Airport expects the number of travellers passing through its terminals to grow by 51 per cent by 2039. The forecast was included in Sydney Airport’s draft master plan, which outlines the airport’s plans for its operations and development for the period to 2039 and beyond. Sydney Airport said it expected total passenger numbers to increase from 43.3 million in 2017 to 65.6 million in 2039.

Still at Sydney Airport, the company reported net profit of $174 million for the six months to June 30 2018, up four per cent from $167 million in the prior corresponding period. Revenue rose 7.9 per cent to $770.8 million, Sydney Airport said in a regulatory filing to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) in August. Chief executive Geoff Culbert said it was a strong result. Looking ahead, Colbert said the airport was working with the Australian government to further liberalise the country’s air services agreements to unlock new passenger flows and stimulate air travel.

Defence News

Boeing has been awarded a contract to build the US Navy MQ-25A Stingray carrier-borne unmanned tanker aircraft. The initial US$805m (A$1.1bn) contract will cover the design, development, fabrication, test and delivery of four MQ-25 Stingray air vehicles, including integration into the carrier air wing. The US Navy has a requirement for 72 MQ-25s in total, with the aim of an initial operational capability (IOC) by 2024.

A new $470 million training facility for the RAAF’s new Boeing P-8A Poseidon maritime surveillance aircraft has officially opened. The RAAF Base Edinburgh facility was formally opened by Minister for Defence Senator Marise Payne and the Minister for Defence Industry Christopher Pyne on August 17. It includes two flight simulators, a full-scale fuselage ordnance trainer, two air combat officer trainers, and other synthetic and hands-on training devices, and is the largest P-8 training facility outside of the US.

Australian manufacturer Quickstep says it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Lockheed Martin to build wing flaps for the C‐130J/LM‐100J wing flaps for a further five‐years. The MoU on a Long Term Flexible Contract covered the period 2020 to 2024, Quickstep said on August 23. Quickstep’s current contract with Lockheed Martin ran until the end of 2019. “In addition to this MoU, we look forward to further increasing the scope of our supply on the C‐130J/LM‐100J platform,” Quickstep chief executive Mark Burgess said in a statement.

Industry News

Boeing expects pilot retirements in the Asia Pacific region to peak within the next decade, which may help ease the demand for new pilots in aviation’s fastest-growing market. The outlook was part of Boeing’s Pilot and Technician Outlook for 2018-2037. It said Asia Pacific would require 240,000 new commercial sector pilots over the next two decades to 2037. The figure is five per cent lower than the previous year’s report, which outlined a need for 253,000 new pilots in the period 2017-2036. “This was driven by regional trends that indicate a peak in pilot retirements in the first decade of the forecast and a softening of replacement demand in the later years, due to a younger generation entering the pilot ranks long before reaching mandatory retirement age,” Boeing said in a statement. When the expected demand for new helicopter and business aviation pilots was considered, the Asia Pacific would need 261,000 pilots over the next two decades. The figure represented 33 per cent of total demand around the world for 790,000 pilots in the next 20 years.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has forecast significant growth in ground operations, customer service and cabin crew roles, as well as the increasing use of outside training providers to improve the quality of aviation training. “Job growth and demand is dependent upon a wide myriad of interlinked factors, which can differ depending on the exact job role in question,” the IATA Aviation Human Resources 2018 report said. “However, one consistent driver of growth across all job role areas in aviation is seen to be the anticipated increase in passenger numbers.” While there has been much focus in recent times on where the next generation of pilots and engineers are going to come from to support the expected growth in passenger numbers in the years ahead, this IATA report focused on other roles across the aviation spectrum.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) and Australian Association for Unmanned Systems (AAUS) have agreed to cooperate on the issue of drones. The pair has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to enhance the ATSB’s ability to access industry expertise to support a range of ATSB functions, including accident/incident investigation and industry education and outreach. “The ATSB and the AAUS are cognisant of the growth in the operation of unmanned transport vehicles. We are both invested in enacting better safety outcomes in the fast growing area of unmanned systems across all three domains of air, land, and sea. Through a constructive and cooperative relationship, this MoU provides a platform for working in this space,” ATSB chief commissioner Greg Hood said in a statement. AAUS president Dr Reece Clothier said his association welcomed the opportunity to work more closely with the ATSB given the growth in unmanned transport vehicles.

People News

Aviation industry veteran Tony Mathews has been appointed the new chairman of the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) for a three-year term. Mathews replaces Jeff Boyd, who stepped down after four years on the board. Previously, Mathews was on the board of Airservices Australia between June 2012 and September 2017. He was deputy chairman from July 2014 and also led the board’s safety committee. He has also worked as the general manager aviation for the Royal Flying Doctor Service and general manager and chief pilot for Qantas regional subsidiary Southern Australia Airlines in his more than 45 years in the aviation industry. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Michael McCormack said Mathews would bring a wealth of aviation safety expertise to the role of CASA chairman.

Qantas has named Tony Tyler as its newest board member. Tyler, who was chief executive of Cathay Pacific between 2007 and 2011 and director general of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) from 2011 to 2016, will formally join the board after the company’s annual general meeting in October. Qantas chairman Leigh Clifford said Tyler was one of the world’s “most seasoned airline executives” with more than 40 years in the industry.

Airbus Group Australia Pacific Head of Country Tony Fraser has been named as the next Deputy Secretary of the Australian Defence Force’s Capability Acquisition and Sustainment Group (CASG). Defence Minister Christopher Pyne and Minister for Defence Industry Steven Ciobo said Fraser would replace current CASG head Kim Gillis when he retired in November. Fraser served more than three decades in the Australian Army and his final posting was as head of the helicopter systems division within the Defence Materiel Organisation. “Mr Fraser will be responsible for delivering the Government’s $200 billion investment in Australia’s future Defence capability. This investment will secure Australia’s long term security, generate thousands of jobs for skilled Australians and many opportunities for Australian industry,” Minister Ciobo said in a statement.

Finnair has appointed Arnaud Michelin as its new regional manager for Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia. Michelin, who was previously with Air France KLM, Norwegian Cruise Line and Liquid Learning, replaces Geoff Stone, who left the role at the end of 2017 to join Australian Cruise Group. While Finnair does not operate its own aircraft to Australia, the airline serves this market via codeshares with fellow oneworld carriers such as British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas and is one of the country’s largest offline carriers.