Lufthansa to cancel 3,800 flights due to pilots' strike

Lufthansa, Germany's biggest airline, said on Monday it will cancel most of its flights later this week due to a pilots' strike.

The carrier said in a statement: "As a result of the planned strike by the pilots' union Cockpit, around 3,800 flights will be cancelled on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

"During the three-day stoppage by Cockpit teams, there will only be around 500 short- and long-haul flights by Lufthansa and Germanwings."

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Week 52: PPL Flight School Week 21

Tuesday

My second solo nav check was scheduled at 1215hrs. Did my planning the night before, this time with three checkpoints, two of which I've never been to. It was gonna be quite a challenge I'm up for. However, there was also always a chance to get diverted so I'm not sure where I would really be going in the midst of the flight.

Reported 2hrs before flight to get the weather forecast checked out and finish up with my planning while waiting for the instructor to return from his lesson with another course mate. Showed him my flight plan and he seemed satisfied with everything. I proceeded to key in my plan into the system and this time round, I mistakenly keyed in local time for my SAR Time. Ended up I had to make amendments to it. I guess the rush to head out had caused me to be careless, a thing which is not good in aviation. I will have to remind myself to double check properly from now on.

Lifted off the ground and climbed to 3500ft with clouds relatively close to the level I was cruising. I had to keep a good look out of the cloud level while navigating my way to the first checkpoint. Took me about 30seconds or so to spot the runway of my first checkpoint. It was a tarmac runway so it wasn't that tough, to my relief. Next, I changed tracked and headed for the second checkpoint which was also new to me. Enroute there, I flew past a mountain which is very close to 3000ft in height, an obstacle which I had anticipated beforehand, thus my cruising level of 3500ft.

Upon reaching my second checkpoint, I was having trouble in spotting the runway as it was brown in colour which blended very well with its surroundings. I was circling the area for close to 2minutes before my instructor pointed it out to me. "Next time if you can't spot the runway, try looking for aircraft parked near it", he advised me. Fair enough, I could see the white planes with their wings much easier than the runway. I'll keep this advice in mind the next time I'm new to an airfield.

Finally, heading for my last checkpoint, surprisingly with no diversion. When I was close to the halfway mark, I was told to carry out circuit flying in my next checkpoint. From that moment on, I was preparing myself the whole sequence of events which I have to carry out. Radio calls, descending, lookout, which runway to use, tuning my CDI and altitude bug etc etc.

After getting myself accustomed to the airfield's runways through my chart brief, I descended to 500ft above circuit level to check on the windsock to determine the direction of the wind. The previous time I did circuits in another airfield, I had the luxury of listening to the AWIS which is capable of informing me the wind speed and direction.

Spotting the windsock at 1500ft AGL wasn't easy when you don't really know where to look out for it on the ground. Nevertheless, I spotted it with one flyby and went on to descend to circuit height to join midfield crosswind on the active runway in use, which is a right hand circuit. Doing chart brief seriously is a very crucial part of navigation flying as it gets you oriented to the airfield.

I managed to do everything correctly this time, except that I forgot to set my altitude bug to circuit height, which my instructor helped me to set it up. First round was a normal landing, and from it, I realised how scarily short is the runway other than being narrow. The second round was a flapless landing and the third round was a glide approach to simulate engine failure. I was too high and too fast, the approach was messy but the final landing was smooth and safe.

Due to the messy approach, I landed close to the two-third mark of the runway, which resulted in insufficient runway for me to do a touch&go. My instructor had to signal me to brake instead of applying full power for take-off. While backtracking the runway after making a full stop, I did a comparison in runway length and discovered the runway is a good 200meteres shorter than my base runway.

At the end of the backtracking, did my final checks on the aircraft setup, my instructor told me to bring us back to base. Full power I went, took off, climbed back to 3500ft by circling above the airfield and headed back to base. There was some slight rain along the way but it was only passing showers. Circuit area was a little congested back in base but it was handled well. Had to keep my eye on some aircraft but I landed safely eventually with a fair bit of strong crosswind.

"Well done mate, that was a good flight", my instructor commented after I killed the spinning propeller. If he's happy, I'm happy too. He was very relaxed throughout the flight, with his seat pushed back so that he can literally take a backseat and watch me fly. Haha, my ultimate aim is to bring my instructor to snooze mode with my flying. He signed my solo nav form and I'm looking forward to my next solo nav flight. Let's go!!

Flight plan

Foggy morning which cleared after the sun rises

The day I was scheduled for solo nav

Pussy wants my breakfast?

Starting my Friday early in the morning with a car wash

Dinner 280314. Very nice nasi lemak by my housemate

Friday night with wine and TV

Lunch 290314

CAVOK conditions but I'm on the ground

Broken CBs on Sunday but it was another great day to fly

My solo nav was cancelled on Thursday after the weather turned for the worse. What a disappointment. Since then, I haven't been scheduled for flight while facing great weather conditions for three days from Friday to Sunday. Argh, I'm itching to fly! Oh and I realised it's been a full year of training since I've started with this course back in 2012. It reads my 52nd week, but it's longer than that due to the 5-month break last year. I hope things can progress more swiftly in the days to come.

Japan's ANA orders 40 Boeing, 30 Airbus planes worth US$16.4b

All Nippon Airways (ANA) said Thursday it would buy 70 new planes worth $16.4 billion, with almost half from Airbus in a move that marked a victory for the European aircraft maker as it tries to prise open the lucrative Japanese market.

The airline will buy 40 planes from Boeing, its major supplier that has had a virtual stranglehold in Japan for decades, and 30 from Airbus to increase its fleet ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, a statement said.

The order includes 14 of Boeing's troubled Dreamliner as well as 20 units of the 777-9X, and six 777-300ERs.

It will also buy seven Airbus A320neo and 23 Airbus A321neo.

The aircraft will be delivered between 2016 and 2027 and will increase the size of the ANA fleet to 250 aircraft.

The new Boeing aircraft will serve mainly international routes while the Airbus aircraft will operate both overseas and domestic trips, ANA said.

"ANA Group's introduction of these new aircraft will help it respond to the needs of the increasing number of passengers expected to arrive in Japan in the run-up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and will support the Japanese government's plans to boost the annual total of foreign visitors to Japan to 20 million," the firm said.

The orders, collectively the biggest in ANA's history, came as the airline aims to expand its international presence.

"The aircraft we have selected will enable us to modernise and expand our fleet further as we seek to become one of the world's leading airline groups," said Shinichiro Ito, president and chief executive of ANA Holdings.

"These new aircraft will give us maximum flexibility and improved fuel efficiency and will allow us to meet the growth in demand, both internationally and in our domestic Japanese market," he said in a statement.

SOURCE

Malaysian carrier Malindo Air catches fire mid-air

A Malindo Air flight bound for Kuala Terengganu had to turn back to the Subang Airport on Wednesday morning after one of its engines caught fire.

The hybrid airline, in a statement, said the incident occurred as the aircraft climbed to about 7,000 feet (2,334 metres) soon after it took off at 7.30am.

It said the aircraft fire detection system was activated and the crew immediately carried out an emergency standard operating procedure to contain the situation.

"The captain decided to turn back to Subang and the aircraft landed safely at the airport. No one was hurt.

"All the passengers were later transferred to another flight for Terengganu," it said.

Malindo Air said the cause of the fire was being investigated and the incident was reported to relevant authorities, including the engine and aircraft manufacturer.

It was learnt that Terengganu footballers were among the passengers onboard.

They were returning home after their Super League match against the Armed Forces at the Selayang Stadiumon Tuesday night. Terengganu won 3-0.

A picture of the burning engine posted on a social media site by Terengganu midfielder Mohd Faiz Subri on Wednesday morning went viral.

The Terengganu Football Association website said the team took a replacement flight back to Kuala Terengganu at 10am.

Headquartered in Petaling Jaya, Malindo Air is a joint venture between National Aerospace and Defence Industries (Nadi) of Malaysia and Lion Air of Indonesia.

Midfielder Mohd Faiz, 28, said the passengers had the fright of their life when they heard an explosion, after which they saw one of the plane propellers catching fire just after taking off.

"I could only pray that nothing bad would happen to us. Furthermore, it was the first time I encountered this kind of emergency.

"All of us were quite in a panic, but the pilot and crew acted professionally to calm us down," he told Bernama at the Sultan Mahmud Airport on Wednesday.

Defender Mohd Zubir Azmi, 26, said he became frightened and nervous as he thought of the fate of passengers and crew of the ill-fated Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.

"After the plane landed safely in Subang we thought of going back to Terengganu by bus, but we took the replacement flight at 11.15am anyway," he said.

Commending Malindo Air crew for their professionalism, another passenger, Dietmar Gierlich, 31, who was on a work trip, said: "The crew asked the passengers not to panic and took very fast action. The passengers also co-operated well with the crew and every one had made things easier."

Dismissing a suggestion that he will not be flying by Malindo Air again, he said, "The situation could happen to anyone or any plane in the world."

SOURCE

Airlines demand crackdown on unruly passengers

Global aviation body IATA on Tuesday demanded that governments close legal loopholes that allow unruly passengers to escape law enforcement for serious offences committed on board planes.

"Airlines are doing all they can to prevent and manage unruly passenger incidents, but this needs to be backed up with effective law enforcement," said Tony Tyler, head of the International Air Transport Association.

"Reports of unruly behaviour are on the rise."

The airlines' call came on the eve of a meeting of the International Civil Aviation Organisation in Montreal, which aims to update the 1963 Tokyo Convention on passenger safety.

Proposed revisions to the treaty would make it easier for authorities to prosecute the small minority of passengers who are violent, disruptive, abusive, or act in a manner that might endanger safety, the IATA said.

"The Tokyo Convention was not originally designed to address unruly behaviour and there is a great deal of uncertainty amongst carriers as to what actions crew can take to manage incidents in the air," Tyler said in a statement.

"Passengers expect to enjoy their journey incident-free. And air crews have the right to perform their duties without harassment."

Under the current rules, jurisdiction over offences committed on board an aircraft is left to the country where the plane is registered.

But modern leasing arrangements mean that is not always the aircraft's home base or destination, the IATA said.

The airline industry now wants jurisdiction to be extended to cover both where the plane has touched down and the operator's home country to make it easier to stop troublemakers.

"If the aircraft lands in a state other than where the aircraft was registered, local authorities are not always able to prosecute," Tyler added.

"At the moment there are too many examples of people getting away with serious breaches of social norms that jeopardise the safety of flights because local law enforcement authorities do not have the power to take action."

SOURCE

Electrical problems divert Malaysia Airlines plane to HK

A Malaysia Airlines flight from Kuala Lumpur to Seoul had to divert to Hong Kong early Monday due to electrical problems, the carrier said, adding to the flag-carrier's headaches as it grapples with its missing plane crisis.

Flight MH066 was "diverted to Hong Kong due to an inoperative aircraft generator which supplies normal electrical power" on the Airbus A330-300, the airline said in a statement.

"However, electrical power continued to be supplied by the Auxiliary Power Unit," the company said, giving no further details on the equipment problem.

It said the aircraft landed in Hong Kong "uneventfully" and that all 271 passengers had been transferred to other carriers.

A Hong Kong Airport Authority spokeswoman said the aircraft touched down without incident at about 3:00 am.

The plane had departed from Kuala Lumpur at 11:37 pm (1537 GMT) on Sunday and was scheduled to arrive at Seoul's Incheon airport at 6:50 am, South Korean time.

As a result of the diversion, the return flight MH067 from Incheon to Kuala Lumpur was cancelled and passengers were transferred to other carriers as well as subsequent Malaysia Airlines flights to Kuala Lumpur.

On March 8, Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 disappeared off civilian radar just an hour into its journey to Beijing, sparking an unprecedented international search across huge swathes of the Indian Ocean and South China Sea.

Malaysia has said the plane -- with 239 people aboard -- veered inexplicably off of its intended route in an apparently deliberate act.

Aircraft and ships from several nations have picked up a suspected trail in the southern Indian Ocean, where large pieces of floating debris have been spotted but not yet retrieved to determine if they are from MH370.

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Tigerair defers aircraft purchase, inks new US$3.8b Airbus deal

Singapore budget carrier Tigerair has cancelled existing orders for nine Airbus A320 scheduled for delivery in 2014 and 2015, addressing concerns about overcapacity in the short term even as it signed a new order for 37 aircraft that will be delivered between 2018 and 2025.

The order for 37 fuel-efficient Airbus A320neo aircraft powered by Pratt & Whitney engines is worth around US$3.8 billion based on the list price.

Tigerair has the option to increase the order by up to 13 aircraft and also convert the model to a bigger variant.

"This deal effectively dissipates some concerns over a potential capacity overhang in the next couple of years," Tigerair's group CEO Koay Peng Yen said in a statement on Monday.

The new contract will allow the budget carrier to build up its business at a more measured pace, he added.

Southeast Asia has seen a boom in low-cost carriers over the past decade.

But analysts are concerned about overcapacity, as regional carriers such as AirAsia, Lion Air and Cebu Pacific have hundreds of aircraft on order.

Mr Koay told Channel NewsAsia last week that Tigerair was refocusing its strategy and looking to strike up a greater network of partnerships to maintain its presence abroad.

Tigerair, whose biggest shareholder is Singapore Airlines, currently has 48 Airbus A320s in service.

SOURCE

Week 51: PPL Flight School Week 20

Tuesday
Having my second navigational flight today which was also to be a solo check for me to go out alone in my next nav flight. Flight planned at 0900hrs which meant I had to report for flight at 0700hrs. It was a cold day with morning temperatures just above 10'C and the rest of the day just as cold. To keep myself warm enough to survive the cold I wore double layer just in case.

The aircraft was dripping wet with condensation and I had a hard time cleaning up the windscreen properly, made worse with my less than mobile freezing fingers. Having completed my flight plan after checking up on the weather, I showed it to my instructor and he gave me a go ahead to key it into the system. This time round, I didn't commit the mistake I did with the SAR Time.

Soon, I was off the ground and heading my first checkpoint. It was another day of low clouds with patches of showers along the flight path. Cruising at 3000ft, it was smooth and enjoyable to fly. No turbulence, no crazy winds. As this route was in the northern region with mostly flat land, it was way tougher than my previous nav flight with many lakes to check my location. There are towns along the way but at 3000ft, some of them look so small that it doesn't look much like a town. I had to be prompted about my half way mark while flying towards my first checkpoint.

At least I stayed on track and didn't veer off course and was able to recognise the leading features that are near to by halfway mark. Doing my C:LEAR checks, I switched to a different set of radio frequencies for my checkpoint's aerodrome. Soon, I was nearing the aerodrome and my instructor told me to do a circuit. It was a surprise move but not one which is out of the norm. Having done my chart brief, I got myself accustomed to the runways and the direction of the circuit with a confirmation of which one to use after checking the wind direction with the AWIS.

Circuit height was 1700ft, and I had to set the bug to the correct altitude and my CDI arrow to the runway direction, doing all these while checking for traffic plus listening to radio calls plus descending and turning. Lots of multitasking there to be done dude!! Had some trouble getting to the correct altitude before joining midfield crosswind into the circuit and had to be prompted again by the instructor. Further more, it was my first time in this circuit, I had no idea how far to fly crosswind before turning downwind.

Once I turned downwind, I had to do my pre-landing checks which I had to be prompted and once that's done, I had to turn base for descend and make my radio call. Everything was happening so quickly I hardly had time to breathe! Turning final, I got a little disoriented with my aim point as the runway is way narrower than the one I'm used to at my base airfield. Then, I had to be prompted to set flaps to FULL for landing. The crucial moment came when I had to land the plane safely and I managed to do it safely. Huge sigh of relief from me and I took off again with a touch&go.

Everything started picking up in pace again as I needed to reset everything to prepare for my departure to the next checkpoint. My CDI arrow to track, altitude bug to 3000ft and prepare for radio call on departure at overhead. All these while climbing and turning and looking for traffic. The radio call wasn't easy and I had to be briefed by my instructor first before I made it. I was totally overwhelmed with the workload needed to join the circuit in an aerodrome I've never been before. It was a fantastic learning experience especially the part on landing on a runway that is very different from the one I'm used to.

Climbing to 3000ft overhead, I headed for my next checkpoint. After flying for 5minutes, I was handed the hood and had to fly without visual cue from outside the cockpit. With the smooth conditions, it wasn't hard to keep to my track and altitude. Flying for a few minutes under the hood, my instructor took over the controls and asked me to close my eyes. I wasn't sure what he was teaching me but I felt a few maneuvers executed by him. Once he's done with it, I was allowed to remove the hood and was asked by the instructor to find out where is my current position.

My track and heading was still the same, I had a look around where am I, checking for ground features that resemble what I see on the map in my hands. It wasn't easy at all. Everywhere was flat and totally unrecognisable on first glance. Then I took a look just below me and realised a small stream of water underneath with a very distinctive curvature. I immediately referred to my map and wala! I found out where I was. For a better confirmation, my instructor requested for more features to convinced him that we were really at the position I pointed out on the map. Indicated a few straight roads, towns far away and a small lake very far ahead. He seemed satisfied with my answer and just when I thought I could carry on flying to my next checkpoint, he requested for a diversion to a different aerodrome.

Instructor asked me to give him a rough gauge of the track angle to fly towards the diverted checkpoint without using the protractor. Surprisingly, the track that I gauged was exactly the same as I measured using the protector. That was not all though, I had to consider the variation to get the correct track. I had totally forgotten about that point. This is a very important point to note. Had I not put the variation into consideration, I will never reach my destination.

Re-planning my route while still flying the plane was very hard. I do not have much space in the cockpit to work in, then I had to keep looking up to keep my plane in straight&level flight. After drawing straight lines for my new flight path, I had to measure the distances, mark out the midway and 10nm points. Then I had to calculate my time needed to reach there as well as spotting the features along the way to be sure I'm on the correct track. Not easy at all, but I was glad it all went according to plan except that I had some trouble spotting the 10nm mark to make my inbound radio call.

About 30minutes later, I was back to base and started my solo check immediately, flying circuits to see if I'm good enough to fly my final 1.4hrs of solo circuit. Conditions were fairly good but the skies looked kinda scary with dark clouds. I was able to handle some crosswind on landing and my instructor deemed me safe enough to go for my last circuit solo. So it was indeed third time lucky eh?

Up I went on my own after not flying solo for more than 4weeks. The feeling was superb, I wasn't the least bit tired after 2.0hrs of flying. Round and round I went with conditions sort of getting tougher with each round. The crosswind got a bit stronger and there was some drizzling at the end of downwind leg and the whole of base leg. My windscreen was blur with raindrops and it got me worried about traffic. I made the call to land at 1.1hrs as I find it unsafe to my abilities to continue flying.

Spent a long time on the ground after I landed to taxi back to the parking bay, which eventually allowed me to clock the required remaining 1.4hrs of solo hours. I was so glad that I finally got it over and done with. This whole flight is by far the longest I've flown with a total of 3.4hrs. My previous longest was 2.7hrs. I was famished by the time I left for home and the weather turned for the worse. My instructor cleared me to fly my next nav flight in solo, and I couldn't be happier!!

I aim to eradicate all shortcomings in my flying after every lesson

Flying in the rain was a blur.

Friday
An exciting day for me as I was planned for my first solo-nav flight. Got my flight plan done the night before and had a check on the weather. It didn't look good as the weather was forecasted to get worse right on the time I was to take off. Determined to not have my flight cancelled, I went to the airfield 3.5hrs before flight to check if there was any spare unused aircraft which I could use to fly before the weather turns bad. Luck is on my side as I was already assigned an aircraft that was unused until my flight.

Consulted the CFI on the weather and he was also aware that I'm pushing for an early departure to avoid a cancellation. He gave me a go ahead and I went on to complete my flight plan and carry out my pre-flight checks. Lastly, I went back to the CFI to get his signature of approval to send me on a solo nav. We had a little chat, the first question he asked was "what are you gonna do if you can't land back here due to adverse weather conditions?" I replied that I will land at an alternate airfield nearby with better weather. He carried on to advise me on what will happen if that really happens.

If I'm really forced to put the plane down somewhere else, either I'll wait for the weather to improve or they will send the school's van to pick me up, or I will stay there overnight and fly the plane back the following day. Sounds pretty exciting huh? Well I was hoping I don't have to do that on my first solo nav. The CFI added that if it looks scary from where I see I was heading to, I can always turn back and land. "There are a lot of old pilots and bold pilots but there aren't many old and bold pilots", he said. He's tempted to let me go as he considers such a flight as character building for a pilot; to make decisions that are not according to plan and not to be a fair weather pilot. Eventually he signed the authorisation form and I raced off to the apron to get my flight started.

The feeling was surreal, with no instructor sitting beside me right from the start of the flight. I've never tasted something like this. I felt like a kid that has grown up and is ready to explore the world on my own. However, being independent also means that if any shit happens to me, I will have to handle it myself. Soon, I was off the ground and heading towards my first of three checkpoints. The skies ahead look pretty good but it was otherwise behind.

It was a race against time to complete my whole route before the weather starts coming in on my return to base. To make things worse, I encountered very strong headwind of 31kts while flying towards my first two checkpoints. After which, while heading for my third, the headwind was gone and I increased the throttle to fly at close to 120kts to make up for lost time.

When I've reached the last checkpoint, I was still on time to hit base before the weather comes in. But this time wind is on my side with a tailwind. Coupled with my increased throttle, the leg to return to base took 10minutes shorter than planned. I managed to return to my base aerodrome on time and with weather conditions looking good for landing.

Made a radio call for full stop and I was so relieved when my wheels finally touched the home tarmac. I made it back safely PHEW~!! What a great experience for a first solo nav flight! I learned a lot from this flight especially the part on the need for a diversion in case weather turns for the worse and I can't land at base aerodrome. It was indeed character building like what the CFI said. I can't wait for my next solo nav flight again.

Planning for my first solo nav

Racing against the weather. You can see the whole line of clouds, which is where the front is

Town of St Arnaud, my second checkpoint

A little sinful food at night to celebrate me not getting lost on my solo nav.

Lunch 220314, my first try at oglio olio

AirAsia India takes delivery of first A320 aircraft

AirAsia India took delivery of its first Airbus A320 on Saturday.

"Great news! India’s latest airline, AirAsia India, has taken delivery of its first A320," Airbus tweeted with a picture of the jet.

Airbus said the jet is equipped with Sharklets, which is a wing tip device that helps airlines reduce fuel burn and emission.

"Our first iron bird just left Toulouse to come home to India. Can't wait to revolutionise Indian aviation," AirAsia India's Chief Executive Officer Mittu Chandilya said in another tweet.

AirAsia India was granted an in-principle approval for the import of 10 Airbus A320-200 aircraft in December last year.

The airline is a joint venture between AirAsia, Tata Sons and Arun Bhatia of Telestra Tradeplace.

SOURCE

Budget airlines’ capacity expansion plans may lead to overcapacity

Tigerair has completed the sale of its 40 per cent stake in Tigerair Philippines to Cebu Pacific.

The deal is part of a strategic alliance announced by the two partners, hoping to tap each other's network to boost growth.

There has been rapid growth in the budget segment in Southeast Asia in recent years and competition is intense.

However, as low-cost carriers adopt aggressive capacity expansion plans, there are concerns that this may lead to overcapacity.

Low-cost carriers in the region have taken off in the past decade.

Ten years ago, budget air travel accounted for 9.8 per cent of total capacity of seats, but this has jumped to more than 60 per cent now.

To meet the growing demand and to position themselves for growth, low-cost carriers have placed strong orders for planes, with more than 1,000 aircraft now on order.

But industry-watchers warned that filling all the seats may be a challenge.

Greg Waldron, Asia managing editor at Flightglobal, said: "There is some analysis that shows there might be too many aircraft coming into the market and this could lead to a case of overcapacity, especially with the big carriers in the region such as LionAir, AirAsia and Indigo."

Paul Yong, vice president of equity research at DBS Vickers, said: "A lot of them have been aggressively expanding and ordering planes in order to get more market share.

"But we've seen in recent quarters that yields and load factors have not been as strong as they would've liked. Amidst this keen competition, I think earnings might have slipped quite far behind revenue growth."

To temper the risks, some budget carriers are now looking to slow down their plane orders.

Mr Waldron said: "One of the advantages that these big carriers have is that they have a lot of leeway with the manufacturers -- Boeing and Airbus -- to defer aircraft as need be, so they can actually manage their capacity growth quite well.

“We saw AirAsia defer the delivery of 19 aircraft, that shows they're trying to manage their capacity growth a bit more carefully as opposed to the rapid growth you saw last year, and of course you see Jetstar reducing its growth. The market out here is extremely competitive right now."

Plane orders aside, some budget carriers have been reviewing their business strategy.

Tigerair, for example, is focusing its efforts on exploring new routes to strengthen its foothold in Singapore.

It has chosen to divest its Philippine arm to Cebu Pacific, and strike up a greater network of partnerships to maintain its presence abroad.

Koay Peng Yen, group chief executive officer at Tigerair, said: "One of our strategies going forward is to work with alliance partners like Cebu Pacific, Scoot, Spicejet, China Air.

"These are some of the recent alliances we've announced in the past three to four months. So we will be able to compete also in the domestic sectors and international sectors in some of these countries in Asia."

Through the partnership, Tigerair can tap Cebu Pacific's network in the Philippines and North Asia, while Cebu Pacific can extend its network to include Australia and India. Both parties will be able to increase flight frequencies and jointly sell and market their routes.

Industry observers said one silver lining ahead is the ASEAN Open Skies agreement which is set to kick in by 2015.

They said with greater liberalisation, short haul travel with ASEAN cities is expected to double by 2020 and open up more opportunities for low-cost carriers.

SOURCE

Joint ventures between airlines result in consumer benefits: CCS

A recent market study on the aviation industry in Singapore has found consumer benefits resulting from joint ventures between airlines.

The Competition Commission of Singapore (CCS) had commissioned the study, which focused on two joint ventures in particular -- the agreement between Japan Airlines and American Airlines and the one among United Airlines, Continental Airlines and All Nippon Airways.

In a statement on Tuesday, CCS noted that airline joint venture agreements are inherently anti-competitive, as they typically involve price fixing, market sharing or output limitation.

But it said there is a need to carefully assess such agreements, as they can sometimes generate substantial benefits to consumers, such as lower airfares, more choices in connectivity and better service.

When an agreement generates such benefits, CCS may grant it anti-trust immunity.

The study, which was carried out by external consultants ICF SH&E, found that the two joint ventures have resulted in higher passenger numbers and lower fares.

But the improvements were smaller than those reported in Western literature on airline joint ventures in the US and Europe.

In particular, the significant drop in passenger fares found in literature based on US flight data were not replicated in the joint ventures formed in, or operate in, Singapore and the Asia Pacific region.

Still, the agreements resulted in other benefits such as improved flight schedules and increased capacity.

CCS said to date, it has reviewed eight airline joint ventures agreements, with the consideration that any substantial lessening of competition should be carefully weighed against the extent of consumer benefits that the agreement may generate.

It said it will continue to monitor developments in the aviation market in Singapore.

More information on the study may be found at the CCS website.

SOURCE

SIA carried fewer passengers in February

Singapore Airlines (SIA) carried fewer passengers last month, due to the Lunar New Year holidays falling in late January instead of February as well as softer demand for trips to Bangkok.

It carried 1.4 million passengers in February, down from 1.42 million a year ago.

February's passenger number was also lower than January's 1.55 million.

SIA's passenger load factor also fell to 76.8 per cent from 78.2 per cent a year ago.

Meanwhile, SIA said its cargo load factor dropped to 58.1 per cent from 62.7 per cent a year ago.

Looking ahead, SIA said the operating environment remains challenging.

"Efforts to stimulate demand to maintain loads will continue to place downward pressure on yields," it said in a statement on Monday.

SIA's performance and outlook contrast with a generally more bullish outlook for the aviation sector.

Last week, the International Air Transport Association said the global airline industry remains on track to deliver a second consecutive year of improved profitability in 2014, due to improvement in the global economy and stronger demand for air cargo.

Overall, SIA’s February load factor declined 2.7 percentage points to 66.5 per cent from a year ago. The load factor measures demand relative to capacity. 

SOURCE

Week 50: PPL Flight School Week 19

Tuesday
My final basic instrument flight was scheduled at 1400hrs, right smack in the noon when turbulence usually is at its most severe level. Nevertheless, I went up in conditions which were not easy to handle. Strong crosswinds were present along with raining clouds in certain parts of the training area. The hood was on but I could still see the rain drops on my side window. The lower clouds also meant that I had to fly at a lower altitude of below 5000ft where most of the turbulence are present.

Did a few Rate-1 turns but was totally having trouble maintaining my height due to the conditions. Climbing and descending were fine, the same for my PFL. Next was recovery from unusual attitudes using the standby instruments as my G1000 screen was dimmed to an almost un-viewable brightness. My instructor wasn't so gentle with the controls this time and I was close to getting airsick after a few of his maneuvers. Recovery with the standby instruments wasn't easy as they are located at the bottom of the panel where it is hard to read them properly.

There was one very important part about the standby compass which I didn't realise until this flight. The keywords are ONUS -  Overshoot North Undershoot South and SAND - South Accelerate North Decelerate. I have to overshoot the reading by 30degrees when turning northwards and undershoot the reading by 30degrees when turning southwards. And when I accelerate the compass with rotate towards south and then towards north when I decelerate. That is something I will never experience in the G1000. 

Then it was revision with the VOR needle thingy, which was already quite easy by now after getting used to it. The lesson ended with me joining an empty circuit and landing on a runway I've never landed before by myself. Luckily it went fine to my great relief.

Wednesday
Big day with my flight scheduled at 1300hrs. It was my first navigational flight which I had to do lots of planning and preparation. The night before, I familiarised myself with the route to fly through the land features along the flight path. Lots of things I had to remind myself to do while in flight. To kinda "play cheat", I went onto Google Earth to see how it's like to be flying the route. To be honest, it isn't 100% helpful as the season is different and the colours do not match the season I'm in now. But it at least gave me a rough idea of how things are going to look like.

Reported for flight earlier than normal as I had to go through the flight plan with my instructor to have his approval. My navigation flight was a 3-legged one with two checkpoints before heading back to base. Total distance to be covered was 154 nautical miles and planned flight duration about 86minutes.

My instructor approved the plan and I keyed into the system my flight details. My first mistake was when I keyed in a wrong SAR Time. SAR stands for Search And Rescue and  it is a time which the Australian authorities will activate a rescue team to go look for you when you don't return to base by then. Usually we set our SAR Time as return time plus one hour. In this case, I keyed in my return time, which gave me a very tight timeframe for my flight. If I didn't cancel my SAR Time before it hits the timing, I will have rescue teams come looking for me. More on this later.

I took off after some delay with the planning and headed for my first checkpoint at 3000ft. Conditions were tough as it was turbulent as usual and my altitude was pretty inconsistent, often climbing and dropping by 200ft while I looked out for features on the ground. Checklist to run through during nav flight is what we call CLEAR checks. It will have to be done at least at every midpoint and checkpoint.

C - Compass, heading, leading features. Check that my track and heading are correct.
L - Log Times. Check that my flight is consistent with the timings I've calculated.
E - Engine Temperatures and pressures. Check that nothing is wrong with the engine.
A - Altitude, Airspace(QNH). Check my height and the QNH I'm flying on
R - Radio Frequency. Check that I'm tuned to the correct frequency for the particular airfield.

My first-leg midpoint was reached within 12minutes just as I've planned. It felt great that nothing is going wrong. I hit my first checkpoint just as planned and this was where my trouble came. Upon reaching the checkpoint, I had to change my track and heading on the G1000. Turning two knobs while flying and turning wasn't easy. My instructor was even saying "c'mon you have to turn the knobs and fly at the same time". Had I known this, I would have turned knobs and set my heading/track way before I start turning.

My next checkpoint was 40minutes/67nm away and it's easier to get lost when it's so far away, coupled by a very hard to spot feature on the midpoint of this leg. Keeping my track as consistent as possible, I went for it hoping I do not screw up. Lucky enough, my eyes were sharp enough to spot the midpoint and my instructor kept quiet all the way. There were alot of lakes along this leg which I've used to track my path on the map. However, much of the lakes have dried up and they do not look quite close in terms of shape as compared to the ones I see on the map. It wasn't easy and because of that, I missed my 10nm point where I had to make a radio call telling everyone my impending arrival.

The airfield of my second checkpoint was a tough one to spot as the runway was grass and its colour sort of blend into it surroundings. It took me a full minute to finally discover it when it was just right before me. And learning from my previous mistake, I started turning the knobs to change the settings while still flying towards the checkpoint. Then when I fly over the checkpoint, I turned to follow the new track/heading which I've set. This was way easier!

The final leg was 22min/47nm away and it's way easier to fly than the one before it. Checking that I do not have much time left before I hit the SAR Time, my instructor increased the throttle to shorten the duration of my flight. As a result, I reached base earlier than planned and did a glide approach to simulate engine failure. The glide went well until the final moment when I extended Full Flaps too early and I ended up landing short. Scary moment when I'm so near the ground but I'm still a few good metres away from the threshold. That very instant reminded me of the Asiana flight accident at San Francisco. My balls shrank and I added some power to land safely. Phew!!

Knowing that my SAR Time was so close, my taxi speed was way higher than usual and I ran back to the flight centre to make the SAR Time cancellation call. I was 2minutes away from hitting the timing when I was making the call. What a close shave. A huge lesson learnt on this mistake and I shall not repeat it ever again to give myself a heart attack.

My instructor was happy with my navigation in the post flight brief but commented on my poor altitude maintenance, which I agree need some work on. My glide approach was good but need to judge better when to extend my flaps. However, he added that I would probably have taken out the lights of the runway but will still land safely. Not a bad first navigation flight I must say, and I'm looking forward to more.

Planning for my nav flight the night before

Friday
The day is finally here, I was scheduled for a solo check at 1715hrs. It's a great timing for flying and I was the last person to fly the aircraft which means I can finish my solo circuit hours in one shot. My batchmate flew for the same solo check just before I took over but he didn't manage to clear the check. His result worried me as the conditions up there might not be easy to fly in.

We were also flying with the same instructor, so chances of me not clearing the check to his standards were quite high. I had a chat with him before hopping onto the aircraft and he assured me not to feel the pressure and just fly to the best I can.

I took off with slight cross wind of about 6kts. Turning downwind I gained more than 100ft in height and I was so afraid that he would scold me for that. Trying my best to correct it after he made a brief comment to keep my height in check. Downwind was fine then turning into base and finals I was too high and had to go into idle to lose more height. I manage to correct it and landed alright for my first round.

My instructor seemed comfortable with my flying as he didn't really get mad at me. Subsequent rounds improved but the crosswind got stronger and started becoming inconsistent which caused me to have some trouble landing properly. He made the decision not to send me solo on such conditions and we ended the check with 0.7hrs flown. At least he was happy with the rest of my circuit flying and told me not to be too harsh on myself. Well, tough luck I guess, hopefully it will be third time lucky for me on my next final solo circuit check.

Some sorcery in this place. The engine oil seems to get consumed in our cars

A batchmate passed his PPL flight test. Pizza night for celebration!

Saw a new turboprop visitor at the airfield

Crosswind, always the cause

Hi little mouse

Double rainbow, good way to end the week

US Airways plane blows tyre on takeoff, passengers evacuated

A US Airways plane blew a tyre during takeoff late Thursday from Philadelphia's airport, though officials reported no serious injuries.

The airline said the pilot of Flight 1702 aborted takeoff for Fort Lauderdale due to the tire problem.

"Passengers were safely evacuated & we are reaccommodating passengers on a new aircraft, scheduled to depart later this evening," US Airways said on its Twitter account.

CNN reported that one person aboard suffered minor injuries.

The flight had initially been scheduled to take off from Philadelphia at 5:50 pm (2150 GMT) and arrive in Fort Lauderdale at 8:42 pm (0042 GMT), according to the airline's website.

A witness sitting in an airport terminal reported on the online travel blog flyertalk.com seeing the place "bounce twice on takeoff."

"Front gear collapsed, sparks on the runway, it then skid out of my line of sight. Light white smoke visible for about 7-10 min afterwards," added the user, writing under the handle phlwookie.

Images posted on Twitter showed the plane's nose to the ground though the aircraft remained upright. The emergency slides were deployed.

"So my plane just crashed," passenger Hannah Udren wrote on the social media platform. "I almost just died."

A photo by Will Jager posted by Twitter user Charles Davis showed passengers on the ground taking pictures of the pitched plane and selfies with the aircraft in the background.

Philadelphia International Airport authorities, also using Twitter, said: "Nose gear of plane collapsed on runway. The incident is under investigation. All passengers safely evacuated. No reported injuries.

"A big KUDOS to our emergency response team who responded to the aircraft emergency tonight for getting all our passengers evacuated safely!" it added.

The airport said the incident caused delays of up to two hours for passengers of other flights.

SOURCE

Boeing says talks with India's Jet on 'right' track

Aviation giant Boeing said on Thursday talks appeared on track for the multi-billion-dollar sale of its 737 MAX planes to India's Jet Airways, a day after sealing a major transaction with another domestic carrier.

Sale discussions with Jet -- India's leading premium carrier -- "are probably moving in the right direction", Boeing senior vice president Dinesh Keskar said on Thursday.

Keskar declined further comment on the status of the talks with Jet, a longstanding Boeing customer in which Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways recently picked up a 24 per cent stake.

Discussions were also under way with state-run Air India about the sale of the single-aisle 737 MAX jets but they could take far longer to come to any conclusion, Keskar said by telephone from an airshow in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad.

"Jet and Air India are obviously candidates for the MAX," said Keskar, speaking after Boeing sealed a $4.4-billion order on Wednesday from fourth-place no-frills carrier SpiceJet for 42 of the MAX jets, a more fuel-efficient version of the widely used 737s.

Boeing's talks with Jet involve the sale of 50 MAX planes with a total list price of around $5 billion, according to local media reports, but bulk orders always command discounts.

With Air India, "right now, we are working on delivery of the Dreamliner and working out issues", Keskar said.

Air India has ordered 27 of the high-tech 787 Dreamliners from Chicago-based Boeing and so far received 13, which have been hit by a string of technical snags.

The Press Trust of India reported Air India might seek compensation for the Dreamliners because it found the planes less fuel efficient than it expected, in addition to undisclosed compensation the airline has already received for delivery delays.

All major Indian airlines, except leading budget carrier IndiGo, are haemorrhaging red ink amid price wars and a sharply slowing economy.

But the sector still is in high-growth mode thanks to vast, untapped potential and a growing middle class and will need a huge number of new planes, experts say.

According to aviation consultancy CAPA, Indian airlines are expected to order a combined 400 planes this year -- over double the number now in service with the five national carriers.

"We've just touched the tip of the aviation iceberg," said Amber Dubey, global consultancy KPMG's India aerospace head, noting "access to aviation is still a dream for nearly 99.5 per cent" of India's 1.2 billion population.

Boeing in a report earlier on Thursday projected demand for over 1,600 new airplanes in India during the next 20 years, valued at $205 billion.

"India's demographics are highly favourable to growth of air transportation" while "the share of India's large population entering the workforce is growing,"Keskar said.

Boeing projects passenger airlines in India will rely primarily on single-aisle planes such as the Next-Generation 737 and the 737 MAX to link cities.

European rival Airbus said in a separate forecast India's carriers will need 1,290 new passenger aircraft valued at $190 billion between now and 2032 to satisfy surging demand.

Indian annual passenger traffic growth rates of 8.6 per cent are well above the regional Asia-Pacific average growth rate of 6.1 per cent and the world average of 4.7 per cent, Airbus noted.

The manufacturers' reports were released to coincide with the five-day air show which winds up this weekend.

SOURCE

India's SpiceJet places US$4.4b order with Boeing

Indian budget airline SpiceJet has placed an order for 42 Boeing 737 MAX planes in a deal worth $4.4 billion, the companies announced in a joint statement on Wednesday.

Delivery of the single-aisle planes will begin from 2017 as the cash-strapped SpiceJet seeks to win new customers in the vast but fiercely competitive Indian market.

"The induction of Boeing 737 MAX will further modernise our fleet, improve customer experience, and ensure that we operate the most efficient fleet well into the future," said S L Narayanan, chief financial officer of SpiceJet's parent, Sun Group.

The two companies signed a memorandum of understanding on the deal on Wednesday at an air show in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad, according to the Press Trust of India news agency.

India's aviation market has been going through tough times in an economy that grew at a decade low of 4.5 percent last year.

But airline companies see tremendous headroom for the market as the number of people taking flights in India is still very low compared with developed markets.

Low-cost carriers, including SpiceJet, IndiGo and Go Air, already dominate with a near 65-percent market share.

Abu Dhabi-based carrier Etihad Airways recently tied up with one of India's leading airlines, Jet Airways, after the government relaxed foreign investment barriers.

In the statement, Boeing senior vice president Dinesh Keskar said the strong fuel efficiencies of the 737 MAX "supports SpiceJet's mission to become India's preferred low-cost airline".

Boeing says the 737 MAX will feature eight percent lower per-seat operating costs than "the future competition".

Keskar said development of the 737 MAX is on schedule with the first flight slated for 2016 and deliveries to customers to begin in 2017.

Boeing has said the 737 MAX has received more than 1,800 orders so far.

With the latest announcement, SpiceJet has ordered 90 aeroplanes directly from Boeing, which includes the 737-800, 737-900ER and now the 737 MAX.

To date, SpiceJet has taken delivery of 31 of the Boeing planes.

SOURCE

Cathay Pacific says net profit tripled in 2013

Hong Kong flagship carrier Cathay Pacific said Wednesday net profit more than tripled last year thanks to a rise in demand from Chinese travellers and fuel cost-saving measures.

The airline said profit jumped to HK$2.62 billion ($338 million) from HK$862 million in 2012 as revenue climbed 1.1 per cent to HK$100.5 billion.

The 204 per cent increase helped the firm recover from a painful 2012, when its bottom line was hammered by the effects of the eurozone crisis as well as persistently high fuel prices.

The result was in line with the average HK$2.74 billion net profit forecast by analysts, according to Dow Jones newswires.

However the figure is still well down from the HK$5.5 billion profit seen in 2011.

"The operating environment remained challenging throughout 2013... It was therefore encouraging to see an improvement in our overall performance," company chairman Christopher Pratt said in a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Cathay, which also owns Hong Kong-based airline DragonAir, said it transported almost 30 million passengers in 2013, an increase of 3.3 per cent from the previous year, helped by strong demand for leisure travel from its base in Hong Kong, a jump in outbound travel from mainland China and promotional ticket programmes.

Fuel remains the most significant cost, the company said, accounting for 39.0 per cent of total operating costs in 2013.

The airline said it had helped combat high fuel prices by withdrawing older planes and operating more long-haul services using fuel-efficient Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. The company also reshuffled schedules, helping bring down fuel costs by 4.6 per cent year-on-year, it said.

Pratt said its cargo business had been hit by weak demand since April 2011, with revenue falling 3.6 per cent to HK$23.7 billion.

But the company said it remained confident in the city as an aviation hub.

An investment of HK$5.9 billion into a new cargo terminal at Hong Kong airport, which opened last year, "will bear fruit in the long term", it said.

The airline has also faced stiff competition from low-cost carriers, particularly in Southeast Asia.

In 2013, Cathay Pacific acquired 19 new aircraft, including five Airbus A330-300 aircraft nine Boeing 777-300ER aircraft and five Boeing 747-8F freighters.

Cathay was trading down 1.8 per cent at HK$15.5 early afternoon Wednesday in Hong Kong.

SOURCE

Qatar Airways MPL Cadet Pilot Programme

•     Age 18 - 27
•     Education: Minimum of a high school graduation with an average of 85% or its equivalent. (Science  stream)
•     IELTS Academic minimum score of 6.
•     Pass government and QCAA medical examinations.
•     Pass the selection process of the College and the Company (Interview/Assessment/Written Exams).
•     Agree to be bonded to Qatar Airways following graduation for a period not less than 5 years.
•     Successful candidates will spend up to 18 months on training to acquire a Multi-crew Pilot Licence (MPL) at ST Aerospace Academy in Singapore and overseas.
•     This is a SELF-SPONSORED PROGRAMME and upon successful completion of training, candidate will be offered conditional employment by Qatar Airways.

If you comply with the above requirements and are interested in a flying career with Qatar Airways, please submit your application to qatar.cadet@staa.com.sg.


Application deadline is 1 May 2014.


APPLY HERE

SIA cuts flying years: Captains to stop at 64, first officers at 62

Singapore Airlines (SIA) has told its pilots that from next month, first officers will have to stop flying at the age of 62 and captains at 64.

Currently, re-employment subject to criteria such as good health and conduct is offered for up to three years when pilots reach 62.

But The Straits Times has learnt that in a recent staff circular, SIA said it has decided to cut flying years due to excess manpower amid a business slowdown.

In accordance with government guidelines and SIA's re-employment agreement with its pilots' union, affected pilots will receive an undisclosed lump-sum payment when they leave the company, the airline's spokesman said.

"We have also been providing assistance to help them find alternative employment," she added.

Captain Mok Hin Choon, president of the Air Line Pilots Association- Singapore, said: "We are surprised and rather disappointed with the company's decision. The move does not seem to be in sync with the Government's overall push for re-employment."

The union has approached the Manpower Ministry for assistance and to seek clarity on the Retirement and Re-employment Act, he said.

A ministry spokesman confirmed this.

SIA's recent move is the latest among a slew of initiatives introduced in the last two years to cope with a manpower surplus.

The airline has more than 2,000 pilots but has never said how many extra crew it has.

SIA is experiencing slowerthan- expected growth following the global financial crisis which hit at the end of 2008.

The airline has so far frozen cadet pilot recruitment, cut flying hours and asked pilots to take voluntary unpaid leave.

Last year, it also told its 76 expatriate pilots that they will have to leave before their three-year contracts expire.

To cope with the slowdown in the premium and long-haul travel sector and tough competition from other full-service airlines such as Cathay Pacific and Emirates, SIA has turned its focus towards opportunities in the regional market and low-cost travel sector.

Growth plans have been unveiled for the group's regional arm SilkAir, and Scoot has also started to operate long-haul budget flights.

SIA is exploring opportunities in other markets, such as with a stake of almost 20 per cent in Virgin Australia.

It also plans to launch a new carrier in New Delhi by the end of this year in a joint venture with Indian conglomerate Tata.

Last month, SIA reported that revenue was flat at $3.87 billion for the three months to Dec 31.

SOURCE

Week 49: PPL Flight School Week 18

Wednesday
No flight for today but I was scheduled for ground class for second half the day. The mass brief lasted for about four hours and covered quite a fair bit of navigational instrument flying in terms of chart and map reading. It's quite confusing initially trying to interpret the aerodrome charts but I guess we will get better as we practise more.

It isn't easy at all, with a lot of things to take note and flying in IFR conditions mean that you will not be able to see the traffic. Everyone will have to fly by the rules in order not to have any mishap. This is by far the most relevant mass brief I've had in terms of commercial flying. Flying the A320 in the days ahead will be quite similar to what we have to do in IFR flying here. I'm very much looking forward to practise this in flight.

Thursday
Scheduled for my second instrument flying lesson at 1330hrs. I was quite worried about the timing of the flight as it has always been hot and turbulent during this hour of the day. Luckily, the temperatures were quite low at around 16'C and turbulent conditions were non-existent after I climbed above 5000ft. CAVOK conditions also meant that I was able to go high altitudes without the threat of hitting the clouds.

I took off to a slight crosswind and headed for 6500ft in the training area, putting on the hood at 2500ft. It was bumpy in the initial part of the climb but got much smoother as I went higher. Upon reaching 6500ft, I did Rate-1 turns to the left and right for 360degrees. With such smooth conditions, I was able to fly very well in terms of altitude and Angle of Bank consistency.

Next came the climbing and descending, executing APT and PAT respectively to standards required. Lastly, climbing and descending turns which were also done according to standards. With these basics accomplished in the lesson, my instructor did a brief introductory to VOR intercepting. VOR intercepting needed some getting used to after it has been more than a month since I had that mass brief on it.

With the arrow pointing to the direction of the VOR station, I was on full deflection. My next step is to select an angle of interception to determine my heading. If the bar is deflected to the right, my heading will be to the right and vice versa. As I get nearer to the VOR line, the deflected bar will slowly align to the arrow and that is when I will change my heading to the direction of the VOR station and fly towards it with the bar now fully aligned with the arrow.

It was easy to do that in non-windy conditions. However that ideal condition rarely exists so I have to correct my heading in order to compensate for drift. so it wasn't easy to fly accurately towards the VOR. The lesson ended after a few tries of intercepting the VOR and I landed the plane with much satisfaction from the instructor. He commented that it was a great landing. Well that was partly due to favourable conditions with a full headwind of 14kts and nil crosswind.

Great flight no doubt, how I wish I could finish my circuit solo flying after I've finished with this lesson considering how good the conditions were. But I guess they won't allow me to do that. Current total hours: 38hrs.

Autumn is here

Went to Bendigo to offer some joss sticks

Kuan Yin Temple, the only one is whole of Aussie

A car no longer seen in SG

Visited the Bendigo Airport which I will fly to during navigation flights

The road home from Bendigo is long

This is how it looks like flying under the hood during instrument training

Aerodrome charts which was covered in the mass brief

One of those days with low clouds and no flying could be done

Lunch 090314

Sad case

I guess we all know that MAS' MH370 has been missing for more than 24hrs by now and nobody knows exactly what happened unless the aircraft has been found. I am an optimistic person and I hope all of them are still alive somewhere.

Aviation can be cool, beautiful and fun, but it can also be treacherously unpredictable. At the end of the day, you just want to be back on ground in one piece so that you can hold your loved ones again.