Debrief

The Australian Defence Force’s (ADF) new Joint Helicopter School has graduated its first course of Australian Navy and Army pilots, aviation warfare officers and helicopter aircrew. The 28 graduates of No.1 Pilot, Aviation Warfare Officer and Aircrewman Courses were presented their wings by Commander Fleet Air Arm Commodore Chris Smallhorn at Nowra on August 31, after 37 students comprising the first intake began their training in mid-January. Boeing Defence Australia was the prime contractor for delivering and operating  Helicopter Aircrew Training System (HATS) program (acquired under AIR 9000 Phase 7), which sees Defence and Boeing civilian instructors work side-by-side delivering pilot, AWO and aircrew training for both the Navy and Army.

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The Department of Defence has begun the process of acquiring new light helicopters for Army special forces support with the release of a request for information (RFI). “The helicopters are to be proven (already in service) commercial or military off-the-shelf, optimised for operating in dense urban environments, and capable of being rapidly deployed by air transport in ADF Boeing C-17A Globemaster III aircraft,” the RFI, released on the Australian Government’s AusTender website, read. “The helicopter should be capable of being fitted with simple, proven, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) equipment and weapons systems.”

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Boeing and Saab have emerged victorious in securing the highly sought-after United States Air Force (USAF) T-X trainer program worth up to US$9.2 billion. The USAF said on September 27 2018 Boeing and Saab’s T-X trainer would replace the Air Education and Training Command’s 57-year-old fleet of Northrop T-38C Talons. Currently, it plans to purchase 351 T-X aircraft, 46 simulators and associated ground equipment. Looking further ahead, the USAF said the “indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract” allowed for the purchase of up to 475 aircraft and 120 simulators.

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The United Kingdom is considering buying Boeing E-7 Wedgetail airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft to replace the RAF’s seven ageing E-3D Sentry aircraft. Defence Minister Christopher Pyne said the UK had confirmed it was in discussion with Boeing and the RAAF about acquiring Wedgetail, six of which are in service with Williamtown-based 2 Squadron. Minister Pyne and Defence Industry Minister Steve Ciobo said this would further deepen Australia’s relationship with the UK and was an endorsement of a crucial part of Australia’s air combat capability.

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The first series production aircraft from Embraer’s KC-390 airlifter program completed its maiden flight on October 9. Although the KC-390 flight test program has logged some 1,900 flight hours since it began in 2015, the two aircraft being used are prototypes. Embraer said the first series production aircraft will also join the flight test program.

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AIRPORTS NEWS

A private consortium called AirRail Melbourne comprising fund manager IFM Investors, Melbourne Airport, Metro Trains Australia (the operator of Melbourne’s metropolitan rail network) and Southern Cross Station, which is owned, operated and maintained by IFM under a public-private partnership with the Victorian government has made a pitch to build the proposed $15 billion rail link between the Melbourne CBD and Tullamarine airport. It would contribute $5 billion to building the airport rail link, matching the funding commitments of both the Victorian and federal governments towards the project.

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Construction on Sydney’s long-awaited second airport kicked off at Badgerys Creek in the city’s west on September 24 2018 with Prime Minister Scott Morrison surveying the scene before him and declaring “how good is this”. The arrival of bulldozers for earthmoving works is the latest milestone in a project that is due to be completed by 2026. The initial earthworks were to prepare the ground for the eventual runway and terminal construction.

Brisbane will host the International Air Transport Association (IATA) slot conference to be held in November 2019. Held annually, the forum is for airlines and airports to allocate slots at fully coordinated airports and determine what schedule adjustments are necessary to conform to airport capacity limitation. The working conference will bring about 1,200 delegates to Brisbane.

VIRGIN AUSTRALIA GROUP NEWS

Virgin Australia is boosting its network from the Gold Coast with a new seasonal nonstop service to Perth that will operate twice a week with Boeing 737-800s during a six-week period between December 13 2018 and January 26 2019. The airline is also adding 27,000 more seats out of the Gold Coast during the Christmas travel period with more flights to Adelaide, Canberra, Melbourne and Sydney, as well as across the Tasman to Auckland.

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The Australian Transport Safety Board (ATSB) has found a Virgin Australia Boeing 737-800 came within five metres of a runway excursion after landing at Christchurch Airport because pilots did not configure the aircraft properly for a wet arrival in May 2015. The ATSB final report said the pilots of flight VA134 from Sydney to Christchurch, operated by 737-800 VH-VOP, “misperceived the runway surface conditions”, believing it was damp when it was actually wet. “As a result, the crew established the aircraft’s landing performance based on a dry rather than a wet runway and the expected Runway 29 landing performance was not achieved,” the ATSB final report said.

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QANTAS GROUP NEWS

Qantas and Cathay Pacific have announced a codeshare agreement that covers 13 Australian domestic routes, two Australia-Hong Kong routes and 10 routes from Hong Kong to India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Vietnam. Under the new arrangements, Qantas will add its QF airline code on Cathay Pacific-operated flights from Cairns and Perth to Hong Kong, as well as from Hong Kong to Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai in India, Colombo in Sri Lanka, Yangon in Myanmar and Danang, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. In turn, Cathay Pacific will add its CX airline code on select Qantas domestic services from Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney.

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The Qantas Boeing 747-400/400ER fleet is down to single digits after the retirement of VH-OJT. The aircraft named Fraser Island operated its last revenue service in Qantas colours on Saturday September 22, when it took off from Brisbane as QF55. Following a few final checks at Los Angeles, VH-OJT is scheduled to be ferried to the Mojave desert. Figures from Qantas showed VH-OJT, MSN25565 and LN1233, completed about 9,300 cycles and racked up about 90,000 flight hours in its near two-decade flying career with the airline. The remaining nine 747s were due to be withdrawn by the end of 2020.

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Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce has been named as the next chairman of the oneworld alliance governing board. He succeeds Finnair chief executive Pekka Vauramo, who has stepped down after leaving the airline to take up a new job. Joyce has been appointed for a two-year term.

Still on Qantas, the airline has appeared to lay the groundwork to operate Airbus A330 widebodies to Bali during peak periods in an application to Australia’s International Air Services Commission (IASC). The application, which requested an allocation of 1,250 seats per week on the Indonesia route, said: “Effective during the Northern Winter scheduling season, commencing 28 October 2018, Qantas plans to upgrade aircraft on selected services on the Indonesia route, including from B737 to A330 aircraft.” Further, it said the capacity would be “fully utilised” by January 31 2019. Currently, Qantas flies from Melbourne and Sydney to Denpasar with Boeing 737-800s.

Qantas and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines have signed a codeshare agreement covering routes between Australia and The Netherlands. Under the deal, Qantas will add its QF airline code on KLM’s Singapore-Amsterdam nonstop flight. At the same time, KLM will place its KL airline code on Qantas’s flights from Singapore to Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney. Qantas said it would continue to codeshare on Emirates’ Dubai-Amsterdam flights.

‘Fuel is certainly the biggest headwind we face.’

American Airlines president Robert Isom has told a company forum he is confident the United States Department of Transportation (DoT) will approve the proposed alliance with Qantas some time in 2019. “We feel really good about where things stand,” Isom is reported to have told staff according to the View from the Wing website. “Our hope is that sometime in 2019 that we get approval for joint business then we’re off to the races.” The two carriers are have a second attempt at securing regulatory approval for anti-trust immunity on Australia-US routes, after their first bid was rejected in 2016.

AIRLINE NEWS

The first Boeing 777 ever built has been donated to the Pima Air and Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona. The aircraft, a 777-200 with line number WA001, flew for almost two decades with Cathay Pacific as B-HNL. Cathay withdrew the aircraft from service and ferried the aircraft to Tucson in mid-September.

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Air New Zealand has set down November 12 2018 for the start of commercial service with its incoming fleet of Airbus A321neo narrowbodies. The A321neos have been configured to seat 214 passengers in a single-class layout, a increase of 27 per cent, or 46 seats, from from the 168-seat A320ceos. The airline has seven A321neos and six A320ceos on order for its trans-Tasman and Pacific Islands network.

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Air New Zealand chairman Tony Carter says rising fuel prices represented the airline’s greatest challenge for the year ahead. Speaking at the airline’s annual general meeting (AGM) in Christchurch on September 26, Carter said the company was optimistic about the current market dynamics and demand trends. However, he said the current levels of jet fuel price would be a “headwind on profitability compared to the prior year”. “Fuel is certainly the biggest headwind we face, undoubtedly,” Carter said in response to a shareholder question. While Air New Zealand left earnings guidance of underlying earnings before taxation in the vicinity of NZ$425 million to NZ$525 million for the 12 months to June 30 2019 unchanged, Carter said the outlook statement assumed an average jet fuel price of US$85 per barrel, while noting jet fuel prices had recently been “trading above this level”.

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Also at the AGM, Air New Zealand chief executive Christopher Luxon said the airline was continuing its evaluation of a replacement for its eight Boeing 777-200ER widebodies. “Work is being done now to assess what aircraft will be most suited to our future network, and we will be announcing the result sometime in the first half of calendar 2019,” Luxon said. The eight 777-300ERs were between 11 and 12 years of age.

Air New Zealand said it would temporarily suspend its Auckland-Tokyo Haneda nonstop flights over the Northern Winter scheduling season (from October to March) due to necessary maintenance requirements for its Boeing 787-9 Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines. Instead, it will add additional flights to its Auckland-Tokyo Narita schedule.

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Still on Air New Zealand, the airline has also dropped its seasonal Auckland-Ho Chi Minh City nonstop flight, which is not returning in 2019 due to what it described as inconsistent customer demand.

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Air Niugini has confirmed one fatality from flight PX73 that landed in a lagoon short of the runway at Chuuk Airport in the Federated States of Micronesia has died. While the initial statements from the airline on the day of the September 28 incident involving the Boeing 737-800 P2-PXE indicated all 35 passengers and 12 crew had been rescued, reports later emerged that that one passenger was unaccounted for. Air Niugini chief executive Tahawar Durrani said in a statement on the airline’s Facebook page on October 2 rescue teams had located the body of the missing passenger. “It is with deep sadness I confirm that the body of a male passenger was discovered by divers today as they conducted a further search of P2-PXE and the surrounding area in the Chuuk Lagoon,” Durrani said. “We express our deepest sympathy to his family.”

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Some 9,090,941 passengers flew between Australia’s two most populous cities of Melbourne and Sydney in 2017, making it the second busiest domestic route in the world, according to figures published by aviation events organiser Routes and calculated by the OAG Schedules Analyser. The Seoul Gimpo-Jeju route in South Korea, which has an average of 180 scheduled flights per day, claimed top spot with 13,460,306 passengers. The busiest international route in terms of passenger numbers was Hong Kong-Taipei Taoyuan at 6,719,030, followed by Singapore-Jakarta (4,810,602).

Emirates plans to downgauge some services and cut frequencies on its Australia and New Zealand network for the Northern Winter scheduling season from October 28 to March 30. According to schedule updates, the Qantas alliance partner will reduce its Dubai-Perth schedule from twice daily to 11 times weekly, downgauge its daily Dubai-Singapore-Melbourne and Dubai-Bangkok-Sydney services from the Airbus A380 to Boeing 777-300ER and switch Dubai-Adelaide from the 777-300ER to the smaller 777-200LR. Its Dubai-Denpasar-Auckland flights have also been cut from daily to between four and five times weekly.

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Similarly, Thai Airways is reducing its Bangkok-Sydney service to daily, from 11 times weekly, scaling back Bangkok-Brisbane from daily to four times weekly and cutting Melbourne-Bangkok from double daily to 11 frequencies a week. Its Perth-Bangkok schedule was unchangd at daily. The changes represent a capacity reduction of about 30 per cent.

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By contrast, Cathay Pacific is adding a sixth weekly flight between Adelaide and Hong Kong from October 28. The airline also planned to offer a split schedule where three flights a week depart Adelaide in the afternoon and three operate as an overnight service. Similarly, from Hong Kong there will be three red-eye services and three morning departures. Cathay Pacific said the new schedule would give customers greater choice and improved connectivity to and from European destinations via Hong Kong.

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The New Zealand government has given the green light to Air New Zealand and Singapore Airlines’ (SIA) continuing their alliance for a further five years. Under the partnership, which began in 2015, the pair codeshares on routes between New Zealand and Europe, India and Southeast Asia via Singapore. The partnership also includes revenue sharing and coordination of capacity and pricing.

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INDUSTRY NEWS

CHC Helicopter has won a five-year contract to provide flights in Western Australia’s Pilbara for four resources companies. The contract covers passenger transfer, medical evacuation and search-and-rescue services for BHP, Jadestone Energy, Vermilion Energy and Woodside in WA’s North West Shelf and North West Cape out of Karratha, Learmonth and Onslow airports. Two AW139 and two AW189 helicopters will be used to service the contract that is due to commence in July 2019.

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An Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) investigation has found the pilot flying a Beechcraft B200 Super King Air that crashed shortly after takeoff at Melbourne Essendon Airport in February 2017 killing all five on board had the aircraft’s rudder trim in the wrong position at takeoff. The King Air VH-ZCR was operating a private charter flight to King Island in Tasmania. “The ATSB found that the pilot did not detect that the aircraft’s rudder trim was in the full nose-left position prior to takeoff,” the ATSB report said. “The position of the rudder trim resulted in a loss of directional control and had a significant impact on the aircraft’s climb performance in the latter part of the flight.”

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OEM NEWS

Airbus’ re-engined A330-900 widebody has received its type certification from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), paving the way for first delivery to launch customer TAP Air Portugal. The certification of the A330-900, part of the A330neo family of aircraft, on September 26 2018 followed a flight test program that kicked off on October 17 2017 involving three aircraft that racked up a total of 1,400 flight test hours.

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Still on Airbus, the company has secured certification from regulators in Europe and the United States for its A321LR to operate long-range flights, including over-water routes. The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) have certified the A321LR to operate with up to three underfloor additional centre tanks (ACT), Airbus said on October 2 2018. Regulators also approved the A321LR to operate under 180-minute extended operations (ETOPS) rules. The 180-minute ETOPS – which means the aircraft can be flown on a route that keeps it within three hours flying time on a single engine from an alternate airport in the event of an engine failure – was sufficient for the A321LR to perform any trans-Atlantic route, Airbus said.

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Boeing’s evergreen 747 program has reached another milestone. On September 30, Boeing celebrated the 50th anniversary of the rollout of the first 747 at its Everett final assembly line in Washington State just outside Seattle. The first 747-100 emerged on September 30 1968, heralding the start of an aircraft program that ushered in a golden age of aviation and mass transportation via air travel.

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Gulfstream said on September 27 it had delivered the first G500 business jet. The first customer of the next-generation aircraft was based in North America. First delivery came about two months after the G500 received its type and production certificates from the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Boeing’s evergreen 747 program has reached another milestone.’

PEOPLE NEWS

The federal government has named former Chief of Defence Force Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin as deputy chair of Airservices Australia. ACM Binskin was Chief of Defence Force from July 2014 until July 2018, when he handed the reins to Australian Army Lieutenant General Angus Campbell and retired from the military after a 40-year career. The appointment comes after another former Chief of Defence Force Sir Angus Houston stepped down in June as Airservices chair and ensured the board retained a director with military experience at a time where Airservices and Defence continue work on the ambitious OneSKY air traffic management system.