Sunday, December 30, 2012

Bad brakes cited in Moscow jet crash


Russian investigators on Sunday blamed a defective brake system for a Moscow airport crash that killed four crew members when a liner careened off the runway and smashed into a highway.

Rescue workers recovered the flight recorders from the four-year-old Tu-204 of tycoon Alexander Lebedev's Red Wings airlines late Saturday as Russia began mourning its latest post-Soviet crash fatalities.

"The plane touched down in the proper landing area but for some reason was unable to stop on the strip," Federal Air Transport Agency chief Alexander Neradko said in televised remarks.

"According to preliminary data, the pilots used all the brake systems available on the plane," an unidentified source in the inquiry team told the Interfax news agency.

"But for some reason, the machine failed to stop and continued moving" down the runway. "Most likely, the cause was defective reverse engines or brakes."

A bigger loss of life was only averted because the 210-seat liner was empty except for eight crew on their return from a charter flight to the Czech Republic.

Cell phone footage of the accident posted online showed chunks of debris hurtling over the highway and crashing into cars whose drivers had to swerve and make emergency stops.

The jet split into three pieces and required the temporary shutdown of both the Kiev Highway and Vnukovo -- Moscow's third largest airport and the site of a special terminal for Kremlin officials.

Red Wings owner Lebedev -- a billionaire famous for his critical view of the Kremlin and his ownership of the London Evening Standard and The Independent in Britain -- said the jet had recently passed a meticulous check.

"Plane number 47 had accumulated 8,500 flight hours and underwent its last serious check on November 23," Lebedev tweeted.

He also suggested that traffic controllers' initial refusal to authorise landing -- requiring the plane to complete several circles over Vnukovo -- may have been a contributing factor.

"All machinery has its limits, even when it is new," Lebedev wrote.

Russian media said the authorities had concerns about the Tu-204 jet's ability to stop in various weather conditions even before Saturday's crash landing.

They cited a letter sent by the state aviation watchdog Rosaviatsya to the jet's maker on Friday asking about an incident last week in which the engines failed to fire into reverse on landing.

The manoeuvre is required for the plane to slow down quickly upon touchdown.

The russianplanes.net aviation website said the very same jet had suffered an engine failure and was forced to make an emergency landing in June 2009.

Smoke could be seen coming out of the Tupolev's right engine after Saturday's incident.

Russianplanes.net said Lebedev's airline had in fact decided not to order any more Tu-204 planes after the 2009 episode because of the engine problems.

The latest line of Tupolev jets were developed in the late Soviet era as the preferred replacement for the workhorse Tu-154 liner that still dominates Russian skies.

But only 50 or so of the more modern versions of Tupolev are in operation because of slow orders and continuing efforts to modernise the jet's engines.

The planes that do fly are most often used by charter companies -- both private and those belonging to the state.

A spokesman for the Russian Football Union said the national squad used the plane that crashed on Saturday for its flights to away matches in 2009-2010.

One photograph published online showed the Russian Football Union's insignia appearing on one of the segments of the plane's debris.

Russia has experienced a recent surge of air accidents caused by ageing equipment and poor maintenance work conducted by small and largely unregulated airlines that now dot the vast country.

The emergencies ministry says that some 200 Russians have died in air disasters in the past two years alone.

SOURCE

Thank god it's not a fully loaded plane, but that being said, my condolences to the four crew-members who lost their lives when the plane broke into three pieces. It's also quite fortunate that no casualty outside of the plane was involved as a highway was affected pretty severely by the crash.

As you can see, a small malfunction in a small part of a plane is enough to causes such accidents. So was it a wheel brake failure or a reverse thrust failure, or both? Both will require hydraulics to work and the key in finding out the cause of failure is to head in to the  hydraulic system.



Friday, December 28, 2012

Week 9: ATPL Ground School Week 9

This week is supposed to be the most exciting week for us due to the CAAS exam that we are supposed to sit today. Regretfully, it has been postponed to next Wednesday, right after New Year's Day. All of us were so disappointed in such an arrangement as we thought we can get it over and done with by this week and have an enjoyable weekend plus New Year celebration.

Instead, we now have to keep on revising the work until next Tuesday to get ourselves in tip top condition to face the 5 Tech papers. Frankly speaking, we're getting jaded about it. All of us did well for the second round of Mock Exam this week and I believe we are all thoroughly ready for it.

But we now will have to wait for next week to exhibit our tech knowledge at the exam hall. Let's hope I don't slacken off and start forgetting about some facts. Till then, good luck to myself, have a happy new year to everyone out there.

Loading, Principles of Flight, Engines

Airframes, Electrics

Some entertainment in class


Flyyyyyy

Thursday, December 27, 2012

Low-cost carriers to continue to drive growth in aviation industry

Low-cost carriers are driving growth in the aviation industry this year, accounting for a billion-dollar increase in the profits forecast for airlines in 2012.

And Singapore Airlines (SIA) has latched on to the trend with its newly-minted low-cost carrier Scoot, in a bid to remain competitive.

Low-cost carriers have continued to enjoy healthy profits, with the number of economy passengers more than doubling that of premium travellers, according to the International Air Transport Association.

Besides Jetstar and AirAsia, SIA's Scoot started operations this year, with Cebu Pacific joining the ranks next year.

Siva Govindasamy, Asia managing editor of Flightglobal, said: "From virtually nothing four years ago, we will have four Southeast Asian long-haul low-cost carriers next year, and you are still in a market segment that is unproven.

"People do not know how much money you can make in this market segment. AirAsia X is likely to have its IPO (initial public offering) next year, and we will see how the market reacts to that long-haul low-cost business model."

Asia Pacific carriers account for more than half of the profits in the aviation industry this year, and low-cost carriers currently take up about 18 per cent of the market in Asia Pacific, compared to 24 per cent globally.

Some airlines are expecting deliveries of more aircraft in 2013, with the likes of LionAir and AirAsia both adding more than 30 new planes to their current fleet. And experts have said this could lead to a price war in Indonesia and Malaysia, which could result in consolidation for smaller players.

But full service carriers aren't resting on their laurels either. Besides ordering new aircraft, SIA is also spending S$95 million to upgrade existing cabins.

But Singapore's national carrier is also repositioning its focus from the premium to value segments.

Subhranshu Sekhar Das, director (aerospace & defense practice) at Frost & Sullivan, said: "The only way to survive in this market is to consolidate and position their strengths.

"We have been seeing multiple carriers creating multiple brands under one umbrella, either SIA creating SilkAir, Scoot; Thai Air with Thai Smile and their partnership with other low-cost carriers; MAS with MASwings, Firefly..."

Besides multiple offshoots, SIA is also starting to get embroiled in a competition in Australia. SIA recently bought a 10 per cent stake in Virgin Australia and sold off its loss-making unit in Tiger Australia.

This came after a recent tie-up between Qantas and Emirates. But Qantas Airways looks set to defend its turf.

Leithen Francis, editor of Aviation Week, said: "Qantas is going to be focusing on the domestic market. I think Alan Joyce's point of view is to invest in those bits of the business that are profitable.

"Their international long-haul business is not profitable but what is very profitable is their domestic 737 operation, and also their regional turbo prop and regional jet operation. So I can see them investing more in new equipment for their operations in Australia."

But with the recent fall of India's Kingfisher Airlines, some analysts also predict that competition might soon move to India's aviation market instead.

Mr Francis said Etihad is in active negotiations to take a stake in Jet Airways and India is a very important market for Middle Eastern carriers.

SOURCE

Premium airlines no longer have the cutting edge? One thing for sure is the emergence of these low-cost carriers have battered on the profits of the big boys so much so that they're creating their own brand of low-cost carriers to complement their routes on the premium side of business. 

The tide has changed, the future belongs to the low cost carriers as they're virtually recession-proof.




Tuesday, December 25, 2012

2 dead, 11 hurt in Myanmar plane crash landing


A Myanmar plane carrying 65 passengers including foreign tourists crash-landed in eastern Shan state on Tuesday, leaving two people dead and 11 others injured, the airline and officials said.

Air Bagan said the aircraft, an ageing Fokker-100, was forced to make an emergency landing two miles (three kilometres) from Heho airport, which is the gateway to the popular tourist destination of Inle Lake.

"One passenger who was missing was found dead inside the plane. We are still trying to identify who the dead passenger is," the carrier announced in a statement posted on its Facebook page.

The victim was an 11-year-old child, according to the information ministry, which added that four foreigners were among those hurt in the accident.

Another person was killed when the plane struck a motorbike on a road near the airport, it said.

The exact circumstances of the incident were not immediately clear, but a government official said a fire was reported in one of the engines as it approached Heho airport at around 9 am (0230 GMT).

"Because of the emergency landing near the airport, the plane broke up in the middle," the official told AFP on condition of anonymity, adding that passengers were evacuated.

A local tour guide waiting at the airport for passengers on the Air Bagan flight to arrive said the fire had "burnt almost the whole plane".

Air Bagan spokesman Ye Min Oo said the two pilots among the injured were taken to hospital, although their condition was not immediately known.

"The cause of the accident is not clear yet. Only the pilots will know the cause, but we can't contact them yet as they have been sent to hospital," he said.

Air Bagan is one of several domestic carriers seeking to profit from a tourist boom in Myanmar as it emerges from decades of military rule. It is owned by Tay Za, a tycoon known for his close links to the former junta.

The airline operates two Fokker 100 jets, which are no longer manufactured.

Long isolated from the world under decades of junta rule, the Southeast Asian nation has seen an influx of tourists and business travellers in recent months following a raft of political reforms.

The surge in demand for air travel has stretched Myanmar's aviation infrastructure, in particular in remote airports.

Yangon International Airport, the country's main terminal, is set to exceed its limit of 2.7 million passengers this year and the Department of Civil Aviation warned in July it needs urgent upgrading.

SOURCE

Ageing plane, engine fire, emergency landing not on a proper runway, a total disaster waiting to happen. What's glad is the low level of collateral damage, although the plane is almost fully burnt. Hopefully Myanmar will take this as a lesson and beef up on its safety level.


Saturday, December 22, 2012

SIA Cargo fined NZ$4.1m for price-fixing


Singapore Airlines' (SIA) cargo unit has been fined NZ$4.1 million (S$4.2 million) by a New Zealand court for its part in a price-fixing cartel.

SIA said in a statement the Auckland High Court had approved the agreed penalty, bringing an end to proceedings brought by the New Zealand Commerce Commission.

Costs were fixed at NZ$259,079.

SIA Cargo had admitted liability for agreeing fuel and security surcharges in Indonesia and Malaysia for cargo flown to New Zealand over a four-year period.

SIA said it would make a provision of approximately S$4.41 million in its accounts for the current financial year.

New Zealand Commerce Commission chairman Mark Berry said in a statement: "Price fixing is unlawful and the fines imposed in the air cargo case should be a deterrent to others who might breach the Commerce Act."

SIA is the seventh international airline in the long-running case to settle with authorities, bringing total penalties ordered to S$25.8 million (NZ$25.5 million).

Other airlines to have settled include British Airways, Cargolux Airlines, Emirates, and Qantas.


SOURCE

It doesn't matter who you are, as long as the you breach anything, you will have to face the music. 


Boeing engineers improve in-flight wifi with the help of potatoes


If the wireless Internet connection during your holiday flight seems more reliable than it used to, you could have the humble potato to thank.

While major airlines offer in-flight Wi-Fi on many flights, the signal strength can be spotty. Airlines and aircraft makers have been striving to improve this with the growing use of wireless devices and the number of people who don't want to be disconnected, even 35,000 feet up.

Engineers at Chicago-based Boeing Co. used sacks of potatoes as stand-ins for passengers as they worked to eliminate weak spots in in-flight wireless signals. They needed full planes to get accurate results during signal testing, but they couldn't ask people to sit motionless for days while data was gathered.

"That's where potatoes come into the picture," Boeing spokesman Adam Tischler said.

It turns out that potatoes - because of their water content and chemistry - absorb and reflect radio wave signals much the same way as the human body does, making them suitable substitutes for airline passengers.

"It's a testament to the ingenuity of these engineers. They didn't go in with potatoes as the plan," Tischler said.

Recapping the serendipitous path that led to better onboard wireless, Tischler said a member of the research team stumbled across an article in the Journal of Food Science describing research in which 15 vegetables and fruits were evaluated for their dielectric properties, or the way they transmit electric force without conduction.

Its conclusions led the Boeing researchers to wonder if potatoes might serve just as well as humans during their own signal testing. Despite some skepticism, they ended up buying 20,000 pounds of them.

Video and photos of the work, which started in 2006, show a decommissioned airplane loaded with row upon row of potato sacks that look like large, lumpy passengers. The sacks sit eerily still in the seats as the engineers collect data on the strength of wireless signals in various spots.

The Boeing engineers added some complicated statistical analysis and the result was a proprietary system for fine tuning Internet signals so they would be strong and reliable wherever a laptop was used on a plane.

Boeing says the system also ensures Wi-Fi signals won't interfere with the plane's sensitive navigation and communications equipment.

"From a safety standpoint, you want to know what the peak signals are, what's the strongest signal one of our communications and navigation systems might see from a laptop or 150 laptops or 350 laptops," Boeing engineer Dennis Lewis explains in a video.

In a nod to the humor in using a tuber to solve a high-tech problem, researchers dubbed the project Synthetic Personnel Using Dialectic Substitution, or SPUDS.

The company says better Wi-Fi signals can be found already on three Boeing aircraft models flown by major airlines: 777, 747-8 and the 787 Dreamliner.

SOURCE

This is pretty creative and ingenious isn't it? The potato distributor must be very happy to be selling such a huge load of potatoes to an aircraft manufacturer. So, it's good to think about the tuber whenever you log on to the internet at 35,000ft.


Week 8: ATPL Ground School Week 8

Mock exam is over, but there will still be another round of mock exam next week to keep us on our toes. I did alright except for one paper which I screwed it all up. Should have scored better but oh well, I guess my knowledge is still isn't up to par.

There was a graduation ceremony this week for our seniors and the whole class attended it. Looking at them, how we wish we've already completed the course and ready to receive our wings. Indeed there's still a very long way to go since we've only completed a meagre 8 weeks.

They shall be our motivation, to be one of them at the end of the 18-months course.

Gotta work harder on Electrics

Best cadet

Graduated course

Fellow course mates

Friday, December 21, 2012

AirAsia becomes first operator of Airbus’ Sharklet equipped A320


Airbus has delivered the first A320 equipped with Sharklets today to AirAsia, which becomes the first operator of the new fuel-saving large wing tip devices. Sharklets are an option on new-build A320 Family aircraft, and are standard on all members of the A320neo Family.

Sharklets are made from light-weight composites and are 2.4 metres tall. These newly designed wing-tip devices reduce fuel burn and emissions by improving the aerodynamics of the aircraft significantly. Cutting airlines’ fuel bills by around four percent, Sharklets will offer the flexibility to A320 Family operators of either adding around 100 nautical miles more range or allowing increased payload capability of up to 450 kilogrammes.

“We are extremely proud to be the first airline in the world to take delivery of an A320 fitted with Airbus’ new, fuel saving Sharklets,” said Tan Sri Tony Fernandes, Group Chief Executive Officer of AirAsia . “AirAsia has a long-standing, special relationship with Airbus and as we grow our network with our all A320 fleet, these new wing tip devices will contribute to fulfilling our goal of being the most efficient, innovative low cost airline in the world.”

“As our biggest A320 Family airline customer, it’s very fitting that AirAsia is the first carrier to benefit from the four percent fuel saving our new Sharklets deliver,” said John Leahy, Airbus Chief Operating Officer, Customers. “AirAsia’s vision is to make is possible for everyone to fly and now with their Sharklet-equipped A320s they can assure their passengers that they are also travelling on board the world’s most environmentally friendly single-aisle aircraft.”

Due to the very strong customer demand for Sharklets, all Airbus’ single-aisle final assembly lines (FALs) will be engaged in building A320 Family aircraft with Sharklets. These FALs are located in Toulouse (France), Hamburg (Germany) and Tianjin (China) and will soon be followed by an additional A320 FAL in Mobile (Alabama, USA).

AirAsia, the largest low cost airline in Asia is also Airbus’ largest A320 Family airline customer. The carrier recently placed a new order with Airbus on the 13th December 2012 for 100 more A320 Family aircraft including 36 A320ceo aircraft with Sharklets. Altogether, AirAsia has ordered 475 single aisle aircraft from Airbus, comprising 264 A320neo and 211 A320ceo. Over 100 aircraft have already been delivered to the airline and are flying out of its bases in Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Manila and Tokyo.

The A320 Family is the world’s best-selling and most modern single aisle aircraft Family. To date, close to 8,900 aircraft have been ordered and over 5,300 delivered to more than 380 customers and operators worldwide.

SOURCE

New wing tip device resembling the fin of a shark called the Sharklet has finally made its appearance on an Airbus aircraft in the A320. With the new benefits, it makes the A320 more versatile. The airlines are now choose how to tap on the added advantages of the sharklets.

Fly further? Carry more cargo/passengers? Or simply remain status quo and burn less fuel. Local carriers in Singapore only Jetstar Asia has ordered one of it. SilkAir is switching to the B737 which already had the sharklets but Tiger Airways seems unmoved by it.


SIA to spend S$95m upgrading 777-200ER cabins


Singapore Airlines said it will spend S$95 million refitting 10 Boeing 777-200ER aircraft with new long-haul cabin products.

The improvements include seats that fold down into full-flat beds in Business Class and larger entertainment screens for both Business and Economy.

A shift in seat layouts will allow every passenger in the Business Class direct access to the aisle.

The first refitted Boeing 777-200ER will operate between Singapore and Amsterdam from 13 January 2013. Subsequent refitted planes will fly to destinations in Europe, India, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

The refitted Boeing 200ER series will have a reduced seating capacity of 271 passengers, instead of 285 previously.

SOURCE

Lightening the weight to save more fuel? But at a cost of S$95million.


Kingfisher shares rise on new licence application


Shares in India's grounded Kingfisher Airlines climbed nearly three per cent on Friday on news that the stricken carrier has applied to renew its operating licence.

The move came days after Kingfisher, whose liquor baron owner Vijay Mallya has been desperately seeking investment from foreign carriers, said it aims to resume operations in a "phased manner".

Kingfisher's shares rose to 15.88 rupees in morning trade after regulatory authorities confirmed it had applied Thursday for the licence renewal.

An official said, however, that the application had not included the revival plan that has been demanded by regulators.

"This application needs to be made as their licence is expiring but there can be no (licence) renewal without a revival plan," the official at the Directorate General of Civil Aviation told AFP, asking not to be named.

Kingfisher, once India's second-largest airline by market share, could not be immediately reached for comment but it said on Monday it has come up with a full recapitalisation plan.

The firm has not flown since its planes were grounded in October by an employees' strike over unpaid wages, leading the regulator to suspend its operating licence until it comes up with a "viable" revival formula.

The airline, whose current licence expires on December 31, said last week it was in talks with investors including Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways.

But aviation analysts have expressed doubt whether Etihad would be interested in Bangalore-based Kingfisher given its debt load, which is estimated at $2.5 billion by the consultancy firm Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation.

Kingfisher's shares have climbed from an all-time low of 7.05 rupees in August on investor hopes a stake sale will avert a shutdown but they are still trading at a fraction of their record 2007 peak of 334 rupees.

SOURCE

It's a miracle that they are even alive. How do they do it, I have totally no idea. Being grounded since October and US$2.5billion in debt, it is an airline waiting to go bust. We shall see which airline is willing to invest in it with the uncertain global economy we are facing now.


Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Pegasus Airlines unveils deal for 100 Airbus planes


Turkish carrier Pegasus Airlines said Tuesday that it has ordered up to 100 Airbus passenger jets, the biggest commercial plane deal to date by a Turkish airline and the first time that Pegasus has not placed its orders with Airbus' arch US rival Boeing.

Pegagus chairman Ali Sabanci told a press conference in Istanbul that the airline had signed a firm order for 75 planes and taken options on 25 others from the Airbus A320 series, in a deal that would carry a catalogue price of US$12 billion (9.1 billion euros), though large orders are routinely signed at discounts.

The purchase includes Airbus A-320 Neo and bigger A-321 Neo planes, which are the latest, more fuel-efficient versions of the group's best-selling single aisle, short-to-medium-range airliner.

Pegasus is thus set to become the first Turkish airline to operate the A320 neo plane, which is to be equipped with new engines and "sharklet" wing tips that provide substantial fuel savings.

Airbus chief operating officer John Leahy was quoted by a statement as saying that the new aircraft would "cut fuel burn by 15 percent" while offering the proven reliability of a model already being operated widely around the world.

Sabanci added that such savings by the Airbus airliner along with "superior cabin comfort made it without a doubt the best choice for achieving our ambitious future development plans."

The aircraft are to be deployed on flights from Istanbul to other Turkish cities as well as destinations in Europe and the Middle East, a Pegasus statement said.

Pegagus currently operates 42 Boeing planes, and serves 24 destinations in Turkey and 38 others abroad.

The airline also owns 12.02 percent of the voting rights in the Germany low-cost airline Air Berlin, making Pegasus the German airline's second-biggest shareholder.

SOURCE

Maybe Boeing is getting too many B737 orders that pushed Pegasus Airlines to Airbus? Haha, that's just a joke, don't take it seriously. This is the second piece of news about aircraft orders in the hundreds. It's really a crazy amount of planes.


Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Indonesia blames pilot error for plane crash that killed 45


Indonesian investigators blamed pilot error on Tuesday for a Sukhoi Superjet crash that killed all 45 onboard an exhibition flight that slammed into a Javanese volcano in May.

The National Transport Safety Committee (KNKT) found that the terrain awareness and warning system (TAWS) was functioning and that the pilot had switched it off before the crash.

"The TAWS had sent a 'terrain ahead' warning before the crash, followed by six 'avoid terrain' warnings. The pilot in command switched the TAWS off as he assumed there was a database problem," KNKT chief Tatang Kurniadi said.

He said there was a "diversion of attention" in the cockpit before the Sukhoi Superjet 100 crashed into the 7,200-foot (2,200-metre) dormant Mount Salak volcano.

"The crash could have been avoided if a recovery action was carried out within 24 seconds from the first warning," he told reporters.

The flight was scheduled to be a 40-minute hop to showcase the new Russian plane to prospective buyers in Indonesia, where the aviation industry is booming.

The Superjet accident was taken as a blow to the Russian aviation industry, which was hoping the twin-engine plane, the first new civilian aircraft built in post-Soviet Russia, would improve its image.

SOURCE

It's unfortunate to see such accidents happen as it is totally avoidable. Being an airline pilot, whatever decision you make affects the lives sitting behind you. For this case, the complacency of the pilot cost his own life as well as those with him in the aircraft.

Apparently he switched off the TAWS as he assumed the database is outdated and there is no terrain ahead. Well perhaps there wasn't much preparation done before flight and coupling with the pilot's unfamiliarity of the area, the tragic disaster happened.


Changi has potential to grow air traffic till at least 2018


Singapore's Changi Airport has the potential to handle 430,000 aircraft movements annually.

That is about 40 per cent more aircraft movements than the 302,000 handled last year.

Based on a study by UK air traffic experts, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) says Changi has sufficient capacity to grow air traffic further till at least 2018.

Changi currently operates on a two-runway system, just like London's Heathrow airport - touted to be the world's busiest dual-runway airport.

A study commissioned by CAAS concluded that Changi Airport has the potential to handle up to 430,000 aircraft movements annually.

That is about 90 percent of what Heathrow can handle.

CAAS director-general Yap Ong Heng said: "Changi Airport can continue to grow. More airlines can operate at Changi and increase their operations. This will be a key factor in the deliberations of the Changi 2036 Steering Committee when it looks at the future plans for the airport."

Authorities expect aircraft movements at Changi to exceed 320,000 this year.

And the study supports the view that there is sufficient air traffic capacity till 2018, with a projected average growth of 5 percent.

Observers say this means authorities will have to look at opening a third runway to cater to demand.

Standard & Poor's aviation analyst Shukor Yusof said: "There are two runways at Changi now. With the increased number of aircraft movements, air traffic and passenger, is there a need to open a third runway? That's a question that they will need to look at, because (with) growing budget airlines operations, you have seen aircraft movements grow higher and passenger numbers (too).

"For now, it's enough. (Come) 2015, there's the open skies agreement, there are more budget airlines coming in and expanding. AirAsia has ordered another 100 planes. So you know, based on the current market environment, there is a pressing need to quickly decide on an extra runway."

The study by UK NATS, the air navigation service provider of the UK, also considered measures to increase air traffic efficiency implemented since the start of this year.

They include cutting the interval for take-off from 120 seconds to 90 seconds, reducing the scheduled closures of a runway by leveraging on IT systems and reconfiguring flight routes to improve predictability.

With the measures implemented, CAAS says the number of flights taking off on time has improved by about 50 percent in the last six months.

More measures are in the pipeline, such that even when with more aircraft movements, efficiency and safety will not be compromised.

SOURCE

Currently Changi Airport is not fulfilling its true potential. And with many plane departures reportedly not being able to take-off on time, there has been calls to build a third runway to cope with the increasing traffic.

However, with this new find, the third runway can wait. It still has the capacity to handle 40% more traffic till at least 2018. The future is the world of the Low Cost Carriers. Come 2015, we will only get busier.


Malaysia Airlines to buy 36 turboprop planes


Malaysia Airlines on Tuesday said it will buy 36 new ATR turboprop aircraft for 3.0 billion ringgit ($916 million) as it looks to further expand its regional and domestic networks.

Of the 36 ATR-72-600 planes, the carrier said 20 will go to subsidiary Firefly, which is fast expanding its lucrative routes, while 16 are for MASwings which flies to Sarawak and Sabah on Borneo island.

The purchase comes after struggling flag carrier Malaysia Airlines in November said it had swung back to a profit, ending six straight quarterly losses after slashing unprofitable routes to cut costs.

Malaysia Airlines group CEO Ahmad Jauhari Yahya said Firefly is expected to rapidly expand within the next five years, thanks to growing demand in Asia.

"The additional aircraft will be utilised to continue growing Firefly's network and providing customers with more travel options," said Ahmad Jauhari, who signed the deal with Filippo Bagnato, chief executive of French-Italian firm ATR.

The aircraft are slated to be delivered from the end of the second quarter of 2013.

Launched in April 2007, Firefly provides connections to various points within Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia's Sumatra.

Firefly currently has 12 ATR-72-500 aircraft while MASwings operates 10 similar aircraft.

SOURCE

After news came from ATR that Asia has an increasing demand for turboprop planes, MAS decided to purchase 36 of it. But don't worry, they're not using it in their main fleet, it will still be the A380 that you will fly in, in the KL-London route.


SIA carried 9.1% more passengers per kilometre on-year


Singapore Airlines (SIA) said its passenger load factor (PLF) improved 2.5 percentage points to 77.7 per cent last month, as it carried more passengers per kilometre in November.

The airline carried 9.1 per cent more passengers per kilometre last month compared to a year ago, outpacing the 5.6 per cent increase in capacity.

SIA said in a statement that the number of passengers it carried also increased by 9.7 per cent to 1.5 million.

In addition, PLF strengthened across all route regions except South West Pacific, where growth in demand lagged capacity increase.

The Americas led the growth as demand was boosted by promotional activities.

However SIA said passenger yields are likely to come under pressure as a result of the "challenging operating environment and promotional activities".

Meanwhile, SilkAir carried 12.2 per cent more passengers per kilometre year-on-year against a 19.1 per cent growth in capacity.

As a result, SilkAir's average occupancy per airline (or PLF) was lower by 4.6 percentage points to 74.4 per cent.

This was a result of a decline in load factors in the East Asia and Pacific regions, as the increase in traffic lagged the rate of capacity expansion.

Meanwhile, overall cargo traffic, measured in freight-tonne-kilometres, was 8.8 per cent lower than the same month last year, while cargo capacity decreased by 11.4 per cent.

The cargo load factor (CLF) in November 2012 however increased by 1.9 percentage points.

CLF was higher for all route regions except East Asia due to better capacity management.

SIA said that CLF for the East Asia region declined 3.4 percentage points as traffic demand did not match capacity increases arising from cargo capacity on passenger aircraft.


SOURCE

Don't be too happy just yet. The weather is only going to get rougher ahead. The increase in load didn't really translate into true profits. SIA still has a lot to do.


Sunday, December 16, 2012

Week 7: ATPL Ground School Week 7

Pretty relaxed week I must say. There wasn't much teaching as we're all doing our revision. Classes ending at mid-day and we totally love it. As for the new place, it's alright but the previous location is definitely way better.

The difference here is that we get to see the planes right infront of our eyes. The SFC students are here too and it feels a little weird as all of us once tried to be in their places but couldn't. But I'm glad it all turned out good, with me in this programme and having the opportunity to fly for a local carrier upon graduation.

Monday will be the mock exam, gotta hit the books. Till then, cya~

The runway

Can't wait to take the skies


What I do on a Friday night, mugging away



Saturday, December 15, 2012

Demand for turboprop aircrafts growing in Asia: ATR


ATR, the world's largest regional aircraft maker, said the demand for its turboprop aircrafts in Asia has grown to a third of the total demand globally this year.

This is because airlines in the region are looking to expand short haul routes and increase flight frequencies.

Regional airlines are opting for 80-seater or less turboprop aircrafts to tap the growing market for short haul routes as experts note that regional passenger volumes may not support a large jet aircraft with a seating capacity of about 180.

The increased frequency of trips also appeal to business and leisure travellers as these aircrafts are able to make two trips daily.

With rising fuel prices, market watchers said airlines are replacing their old jets with fuel-efficient turboprop aircrafts for short haul routes as they use 50 percent less fuel.

Fuel costs typically accounts for 40 percent of airline costs.

ATR currently has a backlog of 220 aircrafts, with 100 going to customers in Asia.

ATR Aircraft's senior vice president of Product Support and Services, Lilian Brayle, said: "We can see that the demand is strong across the region. We have very dynamic sales across the recent years especially in Indonesia, but we're also very happy to report our first sale in Japan so really it's happening all across Asia."

Experts said switching to turboprop aircrafts will help airlines generate more revenue and profits.

Malaysia Airlines' subsidiary Firefly, has proven to be profitable with its fleet of turboprop aircrafts and access to the Subang Airport.

To remain competitive, market watchers said Garuda Indonesia is set to purchase 50 turboprop aircrafts this month.

This will allow Indonesia's national carrier to offer new routes which would be better serviced by smaller aircrafts.

Aviation Week's editor, Leithen Francis, said: "An airline needs to have a comprehensive network and a large number of destinations that it can provide business travellers with.

"One way to achieve a very large network is to supplement the network with some smaller aircraft that can fly to some of those routes with lower passenger volume."

Experts added that another advantage of turboprop aircrafts are that they are able to take-off and land in smaller-scale airports.

SOURCE

Wow, this is getting interesting. To be honest, I've never been on a flight flown by a turboprop, but from what I learned in ground school, such planes are very fuel efficient at low speeds. And from this article, ATR has planes that can carry just 80 passengers as compared to the 180-seater A320.

This is perfect for less popular short routes as there will be less wastage of fuel burnt. Perhaps we will see more of such planes in the Asian airports soon.


Friday, December 14, 2012

AirAsia places giant contract for A320 planes: Airbus


Malaysian low-cost airline AirAsia has ordered 100 Airbus A320 airliners with a catalogue value of US$9.3 billion (7.1 billion euros), including 64 future A320 fuel-efficient Neo models, Airbus said on Thursday.

The order means that AirAsia, the leading low-cost airline in Asia, is now the biggest customer for single-aisle A320 airliners in the world, Airbus said.

The A320 is popular with low-cost airlines because with its single aisle and flying range, it is suited to the short-to-medium distance routes on which low-cost operators tend to concentrate.

Airbus said that AirAsia had ordered in total 475 single-aisle aircraft from Airbus, comprising 264 A320neo and 211 A320ceo.

The airline was already operating more than 100 of these from its bases in Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Manila and Tokyo.

AirAsia group chief executive Tan Sri Tony Fernandes said at the signing ceremony alongside British Prime Minister David Cameron at Broughton, Wales, where Airbus has a factory, that the purchase "goes in-line with our strategy to further build our already extensive network through new routes and added frequencies and allow AirAsia to maintain its market leadership."

Airbus president Fabrice Bregier said: "AirAsia is one of the great success stories of recent years in the airline business."

AirAsia's all-A320 fleet services about 70 destinations in 20 countries across Asia.

The company has an affiliate AirAsia X which operates widebody A330-300s on longer services from Kuala Lumpur to Northern Asia and Australia.

Airbus said that so far, more than 8,800 A320 aircraft had been ordered and more than 5,300 delivered to more than 380 customers and operators worldwide.

SOURCE

100 new A320 for AirAsia. This is some very fierce expansion plans by Tony Fernandes.


Thursday, December 13, 2012

Seiko Astron GPS Solar


Beautiful watch to have. Will be very useful for frequent travelers and pilots who travel to different timezones frequently. Save you the trouble of adjusting the watch

Singapore Airlines targets Asia after Virgin exit


Singapore Airlines' sale of its 49 per cent stake in Virgin Atlantic will allow the cash-rich Asian carrier to focus resources on its fast-growing regional market, analysts said Wednesday.

The Singapore carrier's tie-up with British billionaire Richard Branson's Virgin Atlantic never really took off since the alliance began 12 years ago when the stake was bought for US$966.5 million.

Singapore Airlines (SIA) on Tuesday said it will sell the stake to Delta Air Lines of the United States for US$360 million in cash in a deal to be completed next year.

SIA said it "had been evaluating strategic options for the stake for some time, as the investment has not performed to expectations and the synergies the parties originally hoped for have not materialised."

Analysts said SIA, consistently one of the world's most profitable airlines, had little say in how Virgin Atlantic was run by the flamboyant Branson, and the sale allows it to exit an underperforming investment in the troubled European market.

"SIA can now focus on investments in the Asia Pacific region," Brendan Sobie, a Singapore-based analyst with industry consultancy Centre for Aviation, told AFP.

Sobie said it made more sense for Delta to have a strategic stake in Virgin Atlantic as there are more synergies in their trans-Atlantic network.

Jason Hughes, an analyst with IG Markets Singapore, said that despite the higher acquisition price paid by SIA, the US$360 million "will go down as a profit, as losses had already been accounted for in previous years".

SIA shares closed 1.12 per cent higher at S$10.87 as investors cheered the divestment.

Malaysian bank CIMB said in a note that the sale would give SIA a "short-term boost" but urged investors to focus on the long-term challenges posed by Middle Eastern carriers and budget airlines.

Shukor Yusof, an aviation analyst with Standard & Poor's Equity Research, said SIA can use the extra cash to "redefine its business strategy on top of beefing up its regional subsidiaries".

"It's also good to exit out of Europe because the market conditions there are quite atrocious," he told AFP.

Shukor said conflicting management styles with Branson was one of the chief reasons why the alliance failed to prosper beyond a code-sharing agreement.

"Branson remained the controlling shareholder and he called the shots," he said.

Virgin Atlantic also did not have enough slots at London's high-traffic Heathrow airport for SIA to latch on in its bid to gain a share of the lucrative trans-Atlantic route to New York, Shukor added.

Analysts said SIA's decision to buy the stake in Virgin Atlantic in March 2000 was a good move at the time because Asia was just emerging from the 1997-1998 financial crisis.

But the centre of global economic power has since shifted to Asia, sparking a travel boom in the region.

Passenger traffic in the Asia Pacific is forecast to account for 33 per cent of the global market in 2016, up from 29 per cent in 2011, according to trade body International Air Transport Association (IATA).

"This makes the region the largest regional market for air transport, ahead of North America and Europe which each represent 21 per cent," IATA said in a statement on their latest industry forecast.

SIA has been investing both in the premium travel segment, where it faces competition from Middle East carriers, and in the low-cost market where it is challenged by budget airlines.

SIA in June launched a long-haul budget wing called Scoot while maintaining a substantial stake in low-fare carrier Tiger Airways. It also operates a regional wing, SilkAir.

SIA and Scoot in October announced orders for 45 Airbus and Boeing aircraft. The orders came after SilkAir in August said it would buy 54 new Boeing planes with an option to buy a further 14 aircraft.


Bought for US$966.5 million in 2000 but sold for US$360 million today. What a huge loss in investment.

With this new found liquidity, let's see how SIA is going to make use of it and do magic, if any.


Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Delta buys 49% stake in Virgin Atlantic


Delta Air Lines is buying Singapore Airlines' 49 percent stake in Virgin Atlantic Airways, forging a joint venture to expand the carriers' trans-Atlantic network, the companies announced Tuesday.

Under the agreement, Delta will invest US$360m and British mogul Richard Branson's Virgin Atlantic will keep the 51 percent controlling stake.

Virgin Atlantic Airways will retain its brand and operating certificate.

"Our new partnership with Virgin Atlantic will strengthen both airlines and provide a more effective competitor between North America and the UK, particularly on the New York-London route, which is the largest airline route between the US and Europe," said Delta chief executive Richard Anderson.

The alliance gives the Atlanta, Georgia-based Delta greater presence at the congested London Heathrow airport.

The two carriers will operate as many as 31 round-trip flights between Britain and North America, 23 of which operate out of London-Heathrow.

SOURCE

As widely rumoured, Delta swallowed everything SIA spitted out after the less than impressive invesment in the British owned airline. Will Delta be able to turn it around and make it profitable in the long term? I'm skeptical about this.


Air rage: Chinese screaming mad over delays


Airline crews and ground staff are assaulted, passengers storm a runway, and a person yanks open an emergency exit door on a plane.

In China, angry passengers are resorting to extreme measures to protest delays as the country's restricted air corridors are becoming clogged with millions of new fliers each year -- a fact attributed to the fast rise of the middle class and cheap flights.

There have been dozens of incidents involving irate travelers on both domestic and international flights this year, as airlines struggle to stick to their schedules.

"When flights get delayed, passengers make a lot of trouble. Sometimes they even beat our staff," Wang Zhenghua, founder and chairman of Shanghai-based budget carrier Spring Airlines, told Reuters in an interview earlier this year.

"Airlines are actually the weaker party. With the government calling for a 'harmonious society', the only thing we can do is to give them compensation to calm them down."

With manufacturers predicting a new plane will take to China's skies every other day for the next two decades, industry officials say congestion is only going to get worse. And that means more delays.

Some 30 years ago, flying was a travel option only available to top government and company officials who needed to submit a special document from their employer to buy a plane ticket.

While most Chinese people still use trains for long-distance travel because of the lower cost, rising income and cheaper flights as a result of increased competition means more are now using planes.

Over 270 million passengers flew on domestic routes in China last year, up nearly 10 percent from 2010 and over 70 percent from 2003, according to government data. The International Air Transport Association projects 379 million will be flying domestically by 2014.

Airlines have been adding planes to keep pace with the increased demand. Boeing predicts China will need to add 5,260 new airliners worth $670 billion over the next 20 years.

OVER THE TOP

Airlines are increasing the number of flights but with China's air force controlling much of the airspace, flight delays are likely to become increasingly common.

The results can be over the top.

Earlier this year around 20 angry passengers dashed toward the runway at Shanghai's main international airport, coming within 200 meters of an oncoming plane from the United Arab Emirates. Their action was sparked by a 16-hour flight delay.

It was not clear why they charged on to the tarmac, unless they were seeking to create a scene in order to boost their chances of getting compensation.

In August, two passengers furious after being refused compensation for a delay yanked open an emergency exit door on their plane -- resulting in a further delay.

An Australian pilot and crew were surrounded and threatened by an angry mob in October after a Jetstar flight, which originated in Melbourne, was diverted from Beijing to Shanghai because of bad weather, Australian media reported.

That incident echoed another involving a United Airlines flight that was delayed for three days in Shanghai. Media reported frustrated passengers started shouting and rushed at the pilots.

Last week, angry passengers came to blows with ground staff after their flight was delayed from Guiyang in southwestern China, according to a witness.

"The staff's attitude was bad, so I can understand their anger but I strongly disagree with police not arresting the passengers," said the 28-year-old office worker, who only gave her last name as Tong.

There have been other equally bizarre, yet peaceful acts. A group of passengers sang songs over the public announcement system after airline staff deserted the terminal in Shanghai when all flights were grounded due to a thunderstorm this year.

The cause of these protests partly lies with the Chinese carriers themselves. It is not uncommon for passengers to have to wait for hours inside a plane or at the boarding gate without any information about how long the delay might last.

"In the past, only 'first class' people had the privilege to travel by plane so the average Chinese has very high expectations for services," said Li Yuliang, an independent civil aviation commentator who is also the chief trainer for China Eastern Airline's Shandong office.

"But when they actually fly, they find the services are not as good, especially when there is a delay, and these disappointed passengers make a lot of trouble."

In the case of the runway protest in Shanghai in April, all passengers, including those who ran out to the tarmac, were given 1,000 yuan ($160) each in compensation from the carrier, Shenzhen Airlines. None of the protesters were reprimanded.

According to the Civil Aviation Administration of China, about a quarter of the 2.4 million domestic flights were delayed in 2011. The ratio is roughly comparable with delays seen in Britain but this data does not reflect delays that occur after all the passengers have boarded the plane.

TIGHT AIR SPACE

China's skies are hardly crowded, but its restricted routes are. Experts and pilots say airspace allocated for commercial use is only around 20 percent.

"The airspace is too small. It's like an eight-lane highway with just two lanes open," said Jeff Zhang, a pilot at one of the top three Chinese carries.

In addition, the lack of up-to-date equipment at airports, such as those used to navigate pilots in bad weather, relatively stricter safety standards and the scarcity of trained air controllers are also adding to flight delays, they say.

With the military unlikely to make more space available for commercial use, it is up to the airlines and aviation authorities to make the best use of the resources they have, for example, by using bigger planes or upgrading equipment.

"As a pilot, I want to fly as soon as possible too because I don't get paid when I'm on the ground. The airlines don't like delays either since they want to use their aircraft as many times as possible," said Zhang.

"No one likes delays. But this is all because of the narrow air space."


SOURCE
Hmm... China not only has massive congestion on the ground, the situation in the air is very much alike, and it can only get worse. We're already seeing a huge boom in the aviation sector in China and this is only the start. The number of planes that's going to take the skies over China is only going to be even crazier as time goes by.

Can you imagine a 100% delay for all flights? That will be such a big turn off. Hopefully the Chinese government will acknowledge this problem and start freeing up more airspace, or else nobody would want to fly in/out of China cities.


Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Cathay Pacific crews threaten no-smile, no-booze strike


Cathay Pacific flight crews may stop serving alcohol and smiling at passengers after voting in favour of industrial action during the Christmas holidays over a salary dispute, their union said Tuesday.

The Cathay Pacific Airways Flight Attendants Union, which is demanding a five per cent salary increase from Hong Kong's flagship carrier, said the "work-to-rule" measures could also throw flight schedules into chaos.

"We will be selective in providing our services," union general secretary Tsang Kwok-fung told AFP, adding that the form and date of the action approved in Monday's vote is yet to be decided.

"This could include not smiling at passengers, not providing certain types of beverages -- such as alcohol -- or stop serving meals," he said.

"In a nutshell it means passengers will still be able to reach their destinations except they are paying a five-star price to get a three-star service," Tsang said.

Work-to-rule is a form of industrial action in which employees do no more than the minimum required by the rules of their contract, sometimes adhering to safety or other regulations precisely in order to cause a slowdown.

"We will follow the rules strictly, such as offloading oversize luggage, that could cause a slowdown or even delay of flights," Tsang said.

The protest was sparked by Cathay's announcement last month that it was giving a two per cent pay rise to its employees in 2013, on top of a discretionary one-month bonus for 2012, falling short of the union's demand.

The 6,000-strong union at a special meeting on Monday told the carrier to resume negotiations or face the Christmas action and a possible full strike during the New Year holiday.

Cathay has insisted the union withdraw the threat to strike before re-opening talks, and asked its staff to be "considerate and understand the difficult situation" the airline is facing.

The carrier has been trying to trim costs after it fell into the red in the first half of this year with a HK$935 million ($121 million) loss, partly due to high fuel prices.


SOURCE
Well at least the operations will not be as affected as a full strike. The ones on the disadvantaged side are the passengers who paid for full premium service but don't really get it. It's really a tough decision to make by CX. To give in or not??

  

Tiger Airways Nov bookings up 56%


BUDGET carrier Tiger Airways posted a 56 per cent rise year-on-year in passenger bookings to 628,000 in November, while capacity rose 32 per cent to 1.15 billion in available seat-kilometres (ASK).

Groupwide revenue passenger-kilometres (RPK) increased 47 per cent to 977 million while passenger load factor improved 8 percentage points to 85 per cent.

Tiger Singapore recorded a 33 per cent increase in traffic to 721 million RPK in November. This comes on the back of a 17 per cent increase in capacity to 852 million ASK. Passenger load factor was up 10 percentage points to 85 per cent while the number of passengers carried grew 30 per cent year-on-year to 389,000 passengers.

Tiger Australia, which has been reinstating services following the groundings a year earlier, recorded a 110 per cent increase in traffic to 256 million RPK while capacity increased 113 per cent to 296 million ASK for the month. Tiger Australia carried 239,000 passengers, up 132 per cent year-on-year, though passenger load factor slipped 2 percentage points to 86 per cent.

SOURCE

Not bad a performance! With a big jump in capacity Tiger Airways actually managed to even improve the load factor. The worst days are probably over and the sunshine is right ahead. Keep it going.


Turkish Airlines Ad



Cute eh? Turkish Airlines loves using sports stars as an attraction in their advertisement. Previously they even used the whole team of Manchester United to shoot the ad. Thumbs up!!


Monday, December 10, 2012

Airbus A380 poised to take MAS to new heights


MALAYSIA Airlines (MAS) is optimistic of maintaining the high load factor for London-Kuala Lumpur (KL) route although it is now deploying a bigger aircraft, the A380, for the sector amid the gloomy eurozone's economic outlook.

MAS regional senior vice-president for the UK and Europe (commercial) Huib Gorter said currently, the load factor within the route is in the "high 80" per cent.

He sees 2013 as an excellent year for MAS in Europe as the A380 aircraft will enhance MAS brand.

"Despite bigger aircraft, we expect the load factor in 2013 to be maintained at high 80 per cent," Gorter told visiting media from Malaysia, the Philippines and Brunei here two weeks ago.

The media visit was organised by MAS in conjunction with the start of its double daily A380 aircraft flight for London-KL-London route, effective November 24. With the existing four A380s, MAS is now flying two flights a day for the route, with a capacity of 494 seats per flight.

With the introduction of the A380 services, MAS has now ceased the 359-seater B747-400 flight operations between Kuala Lumpur and London.

Gorter said when MAS introduced the A380 into its fleet in July this year, there was 22 per cent rise in passenger load from London to KL. MAS is the only direct flight servicing London-KL route.

He said the UK is MAS biggest market in Europe, commanding 35 per cent of total passengers, followed by France (20 per cent), Holland and Germany (15 per cent each) and the rest, other European countries

The UK is also where most of Malaysian students are studying. There are currently about 12,000 Malaysian students in the UK.

Gorter said MAS passengers from Europe comprise holidaymakers, who make up 60 per cent of the total, followed by business travellers (18 per cent), those visiting family, friends and relatives (12 per cent) and students (five per cent).

"We have strategic partnership with Tourism Malaysia as the government wants to increase travellers to Malaysia," he said.

Gorter added that MAS, being a network carrier with a hub in Kuala Lumpur, also helps tourist arrivals in Malaysia.

Meanwhile, MAS sales manager for the UK (southern region) Anton Grossmann expects MAS to weather the current economic situation in the UK.

"The economic outlook is not good in the UK as the government is talking about the increase in VAT (value added tax) from 20 per cent to 25 per cent, so there'll be less disposable income.

"But, we have to be optimistic, we have good product. The UK market is very resilient," said Grossmann, who was also at the media briefing.

The A380 fleet will also improve MAS weekly seat capacity by 37 per cent in both directions of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport-London Heathrow route. The A380 services will offer 6,916 seats weekly compared with 5,026 seats offered through the earlier double daily B747-400 operations, allowing more passengers to travel on the super jumbo aircraft.

SOURCE



The A380 came a tad bit too late for MAS but at least it's making waves now. Replacing the aging B747, it now carries the passenger in KL to London with 6,916 seats weekly. Being the only carrier in KL airport providing a direct route to London, this is definitely a win-win situation. 

MAS has made 6 orders for the A380 with 4 already in service now. The final 2 will arrive by the first quarter of 2013.


Tiger Airways CEO optimistic of turnaround after sluggish FY12


Tiger Airways Holdings Ltd is all set for a growth next year, following a sluggish fiscal year ended March 31, which saw the group registering losses.

Its chief executive officer, Koay Peng Yen, said the group was confident of growth as its subsidiary, Tiger Airways Singapore, posted strong results for the first six months to Sept 31 2012, compared with the previous year corresponding period.

“Tiger Airways Singapore's third quarter, which corresponds to the quarter of the 2012 calendar year, is expected to perform well also, due to the holidays,” he told StarBiz.

For the first six months, Tiger Airways Singapore posted an operating profit of S$8.6mil against a loss of S$4.5mil in the same period of 2011.

For the same period, the group loss after tax narrowed to S$32mil from S$70.5mil recorded in the same period last year.

“Besides posting strong results, Tiger Airways Singapore also achieved the best running on time record in South-East Asia for 2012.

“We also completed 99.99% for all our flights, showing that we don't simply cancel flights in 2012. These achievements would help in our marketing strategies,” he said.

Tiger Airways' investments into Mandala Air in Indonesia and SEAir in the Philippines in 2012 are expected to bear fruit next year.

“As we are now airline partners in these two carriers, we can now better coordinate our networking to the 50 destinations we fly to.

“We have also expanded the number of carriers in Singapore from 12 to 19, which has helped the company to perform better in the first six months (ended Sept 31),” he said.

Koay said the group planned to add another 28 new A320 planes over the next 30 months, increasing the entire fleet under the company to 68 from 40 presently.

“We are also exploring increasing the flights to Penang, which is now running eight per week. India, Thailand, and Indonesia are the other high demand destinations, which we might increase our flight services in the near future,” he said.

On the impact of the global economic slowdown, Koay said it could be a blessing for Tiger Airways.

“During such times people would look for value-for-money airlines to travel and Tiger Airways is one of the leading choices.

“Our tickets are amongst the most competitive, as we sell seats only and not services that you don't need, which ensures that customers don't have to pay for inefficiency,” he said.

Tiger Airways had also recently launched the TigerApp software applications for both smartphones and tablets to facilitate bookings of flights by its customers.

“We want to lead the way as a new generation carrier, with the launch of innovative products for our travellers. The TigerApp is now one of the top 10 Android applications in the travel category in Singapore.

“We have also launched combo flights in 2012 that allow our customers to connect with the other destinations such as Sydney, Perth and Gold Coast via Singapore. “Such combo bookings can be done through a single reservation process,” he said.

Established in September 2004, the group comprises two fully-owned and two associated airlines.

The fully-owned airlines are Tiger Airways Singapore and Tiger Airways Australia.

The associated airlines are Mandala Air in Indonesia and SEAir in the Philippines.

Operating from Singapore and Australia, Tiger Airways' network extends to over 50 destinations across 13 countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

SOURCE

Better days ahead for Tiger Airways. Koay Peng Yen is determined to bring the airline to greater heights.


Japan's ANA plane overruns runway


An All Nippon Airways (ANA) flight from Tokyo's Haneda airport overran the runway at a northern Japanese airport, the airline said on Sunday.

None of the 161 passengers and six crew members were injured and no damage to the Boeing 737-800 plane was reported after the incident late Saturday, ANA said in a statement.

Japan's transport ministry however considered it a serious incident that could have caused a disaster and sent investigators to the scene.

An ANA spokesman denied an earlier report that the aircraft's automatic braking system failed. "We understand all the systems of the plane functioned normally," he said.

The pilot tried to land according to normal procedures. But the plane overran the runway and only stopped after travelling onto a grassy area at Shonai airport, the airline said.

SOURCE

Fortunately nobody is injured and the plane isn't damaged. Conditions at the airport were snowy but the runway seems to be cleared of snow. Considering the fairly small size of the plane, the B737 still overshot the runway, something must be very wrong.

Was there an overload? Was reverse thrust deployed? Was the approach inappropriate? Question marks loom while investigations are being carried out.


Sunday, December 9, 2012

Week 6: ATPL Ground School Week 6

That's it, the syllabus of all subjects are completed. What we need to do now is to carry on with lots of revision and get ready for our mock exam on the 17th. This weekend will be more relaxing since there's no tests for the first time in four weeks.

Good news, nobody failed a single paper during this week's progress test. That wake up call last week indeed worked its magic. But I have to admit the papers this week was much much easier, so easy that many of us scored full marks. None of us is taking it for granted though, the hard work will continue.

The only bad news this week is the need to move to a new location next week; the much dreaded Seletar. It's far, it's inaccessible, it has practically nothing there. I've spent two years in that place during my NS days and never loved it. It seems my fate with that place will continue and I really hate to think what will traveling there by public transport everyday be like. Sheesh......

Should have scored better.

Thursday, December 6, 2012

China Southern to buy 10 A330-300 aircraft


China Southern Airlines, the country's largest airline by fleet size, said Wednesday it will buy 10 Airbus A330-300 aircraft in a deal worth $1.88 billion at list price to boost its capacity.

The airline said the acquisition will "facilitate the strategic change and the internationalisation of the company", the firm said in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange where it is listed.

"The Airbus aircraft will be delivered in stages to the company during the period commencing from 2014 to 2016," the airline said, adding that the acquisition will be financed through internal resources and bank loans.

The airline said the purchase will enhance its "competitiveness" and increase the carrier's available tonne kilometre -- a measurement for airline capacity -- by 5.7 percent, when the new aircraft are delivered.

China Southern Airlines did not announce the actual price it was paying for the 10 aircraft, which are worth a total of $1.88 billion at list price, apart from saying it received "certain price concessions" from Airbus.

Airlines usually get discounts from plane-makers for large orders.

The deal came two weeks after rival China Eastern Airlines, a smaller Shanghai-based carrier, ordered 60 Airbus A320 in a deal worth $5.39 billion to satisfy the country's booming domestic travel demand.

Air travel demand in China has increased in line with the country's decades of surging economic growth that have made it the world's second-biggest economy and seen its increasingly wealthy consumers take to the skies.

An industry body said in November that China will need 4,960 commercial planes over the next 20 years at a total of $563 billion, as demand for air travel is expected to soar.

SOURCE

Competition heating up in China. Orders are coming in flick and fast.


Wednesday, December 5, 2012

British Airways says seeking to axe 400 jobs


International Airlines Group on Tuesday announced plans to cut 400 cabin crew jobs at its British Airways division.

"We are offering voluntary redundancy to some members of our senior cabin crew to help address an imbalance in our crew numbers," an IAG spokesman said, adding that 400 jobs would be affected.

"Based on the feedback from our senior cabin crew in the past few months, we believe that there will be good demand for this opportunity. We have now begun a 90 day consultation with Unite about the issues."

The spokesman stressed that it was a purely voluntary scheme and there were no plans to make any compulsory redundancies. In total, BA has around 14,000 cabin crew.

The news comes almost one month after BA's loss-making sister group, Iberia, revealed it was seeking to axe 4,500 jobs to save it from collapse.

British Airways and Spanish carrier Iberia merged in January 2011 in a tie-up aimed at slashing one another's costs, as a sharp economic downturn and rise of low-cost competitors sparked steep losses for traditional carriers.

SOURCE

European airlines are not having it easy considering the slump that the whole region is in. Airlines are axing jobs and no further aircraft orders are made. With the rise of low cost carriers, traditional premium airlines are finding it more challenging to survive.



Cathay Pacific crews threaten holiday strike


A union representing flight attendants of Hong Kong's flagship carrier Cathay Pacific on Tuesday threatened industrial action over a pay rise dispute, just weeks before the holiday season.

The airline announced on Friday a two percent pay rise for its employees in 2013, falling short of the five percent demanded by the 6,000-strong Cathay Pacific Airways Flight Attendants Union, sparking protest from members.

"We will mobilise all our members to join in the industrial action," union vice chairman Julian Yau told reporters, after calling the rise "totally unacceptable" due to the high cost of inflation.

He urged the airline not to "force its workers to carry out actions that would be harmful to all", and said the union, which has not ruled out the possibility of a strike, will decide its next course of action in a meeting on Monday.

Responding to the threat, Cathay said the two percent adjustment, along with a discretionary one-month bonus for 2012, is a "fair, reasonable and competitive offer in view of the extreme challenges the airline is facing".

"I trust most of our cabin crew are considerate and understand the challenging situation the company is in," Cathay said in a statement.

The airline fell into the red in the first half of the year with a HK$935 million ($121 million) loss, partly due to high fuel prices.

SOURCE

In times like now, a strike isn't one of the best things to do. Employees should also be a little more understanding of the situation airlines are facing. Rough out the bad weather together and the days ahead will be better.


Inspections ordered after Boeing 787 makes emergency landing



On the same day that one of its new 787 Dreamliners made an emergency landing because of a mechanical problem, Boeing said that US regulators would require the entire fleet of 787 jets to be inspected for a possible fuel line problem.

The twin mechanical issues, while not necessarily uncommon, were yet another headache for Boeing, a company still working to overcome the negative perception of production problems that delayed delivery of the 787 by three and a half years.

The company said the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is requiring inspections of all 787s in service to confirm that fuel line connectors have been properly installed.

The FAA requirement, due to be issued today in an airworthiness directive, "makes mandatory inspections already recommended by Boeing", the company said in a statement.

FAA officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Boeing said improperly installed fuel line connectors could lead to fuel leaks, loss of engine power or fire. But at the same time, it said there were "multiple layers of systems to ensure none of those things happen".

Boeing advised airlines flying the 787 to make inspections last month, and it said about half of the 33 jets in service have already been inspected.

The biggest 787 customers so far are Japan's All Nippon Airways, which was the launch customer and has 16 of the jets. Japan Airlines has four and Air India has three.

SOURCE

After the massive delay in delivery, further mechanical problems isn't what Beoing is looking for. Issues with fuel line connection post a great risk to safety. Fire on the aircraft is the worst things that can happen since there's no where you can run to. Hope this is only a small problem and Boeing is able to get it rectified soon.