Bali's airport gets $343m major facelift

When delegates of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) forum arrive in Bali for their meetings next month, they will be ushered into a new-look airport with cavernous halls filled with Balinese paintings facing glass panels that let in more light than the old terminal.

Before they land, they may spot the wavy blue roof, representing the ocean, of the new international terminal and the tiered green roof, representing the island's famed padi fields, of the multi-storey carpark.

This is the result of a 3 trillion rupiah (S$343 million) revamp of the old airport, which had not been renovated for more than a decade.

"The main driver of this airport facelift is the extreme lack of capacity we are facing," Mr Yuristo Hardi Anggoro, spokesman for airport operator Angkasa Pura I (API), told The Straits Times.

The old airport served 14 million passengers last year, twice its stated capacity, but the rebuilt one can handle up to 25 million passengers annually.

It is equipped with speedier baggage checking facilities and contains a transit hotel with 224 rooms. The new terminal will welcome its first international passengers at the end of this month.

The upgrading of Bali's airport, the country's third-busiest, is part of the Ministry of Transportation's countrywide airport revitalisation programme that will see 45 airports replaced or revamped in the next decade.

The government will spend a total of US$53 billion (S$67 billion) to upgrade transport infrastructure, including airports, roads, ports and rail links.

Most Indonesian airports are running at overcapacity, following years of robust growth that has made the country's 240 million people more affluent and more able to afford flying - the most practical way of travelling across this archipelago of 17,000 islands.

Last year, 72.5 million domestic passengers flew over Indonesian skies, up from 60.2 million in 2011, said a Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (Capa) report. This figure is double that in 2008.

But infrastructure has not kept pace with this thirst for flying, leading to a host of problems, from pilot shortage to overcrowding and long queues for airliners at airports which make delayed landings and take-offs common.

Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta airport, ranked ninth-busiest globally last year, handled 56 million passengers that same year, nearly triple its present capacity of 22 million. An 11.7 trillion rupiah expansion project is under way to build more hangars, a fourth terminal and a third runway and to revamp existing terminals.

Medan's new sprawling airport was built in the outskirts of the city after the 85-year-old Polonia Airport strained to serve double the capacity it was designed for. Completed in July and linked to the city by rail, it can handle 8 million passengers yearly.

Bali's revamped airport will be connected directly to the tourist districts of Benoa, Nusa Dua and Kuta via a 13km toll road built over the sea to avoid traffic jams on normal roads.

However, observers have flagged potential problems in the revitalisation programme.

API's data shows the number of flights to Bali increased 9.7 per cent from 2011 to 2012 and passenger volume rose by 15.6 per cent at the same time.

Flight numbers are predicted to jump to 131,682 next year from 113,639 last year, and passenger volume from 14 million last year to nearly 17 million by the end of next year. That figure is expected to exceed 70 million by 2030.

Capa's chief analyst Brendan Sobie told The Straits Times: "Indonesia is well behind the growth curve. About three-quarters of the major airports are already operating above capacity.

"The projects that are on the drawing board need to be accelerated and in some cases expanded."

New and improved

The old Bali airport served 14 million passengers last year, twice its stated capacity. The revamped airport can handle up to 25 million passengers annually. It has faster baggage checking facilities and contains a 224-room transit hotel.

Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta airport, ranked ninth-busiest globally last year, handled 56 million passengers that year, nearly triple its capacity of 22 million. An 11.7 trillion rupiah (S$1.3 billion) expansion project is under way.


SOURCE

Hard for Chinese pilots to leave for better pay

CHINA'S air travel industry is soaring, thanks to rising incomes in the world's No. 2 economy, but the same cannot be said about many of its pilots working at state-owned carriers.

Strict employment rules and the threat of lawsuits prevent them from quitting the three state airlines - Air China, China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines - in search of higher pay, better working hours or just a change of living environment.

Privately owned carriers such as Hainan Airlines, Spring Airlines and Juneyao Airlines are reportedly offering 30 to 40 per cent higher salaries to poach pilots from state airlines.

According to Chinese media, some airlines have held back on plane deliveries because they do not have enough pilots to fly the aircraft.

And some think the higher salaries paid to pilots could be passed on to consumers in the form of higher ticket prices. State airlines say training costs for a captain are between 3 million yuan (S$623,000) and 5 million yuan over a period of at least seven years.

"In a way, it is not unreasonable for state airlines to want to hang on to their pilots," said aviation expert Gao Yuanyang, noting that training of new pilots in China is mostly paid for by airlines, unlike in the United States where trainees foot their own costs.

State carrier pilots are on open-ended employment contracts, unlike pilots with fixed-term contracts at privately owned airlines.

This means that if they try to quit, state airlines can sue them for as much as 3 million yuan in compensation.

Even if pilots pay up, airlines can withhold the employment documents that they need to take up a new job, or bar them from joining rivals for a set period.

According to state media, there have been more than 1,000 lawsuits in China involving pilot resignations since 2005, even as the country rose to become the world's second-largest passenger-travel market behind the US.

In a rare show of open discontentment, some 530 pilots, mostly from state carriers, aired their grievances in a signed petition posted on the Twitter-like Weibo earlier this month.

About half of the petitioners are now unemployed due to lawsuits by former employers, said Captain Zhao Hong, a key mobiliser of the group known as China's Eagles A.

Capt Zhao, 43, is mired in a dispute with his previous employer, Air China. He said he paid 60,000 yuan to be let go but his ex-employer has yet to release his employment documents. He told The Straits Times he has spent at least 200,000 yuan in legal costs.

"It is tough, but I believe I have to persist so as to achieve a better future for all pilots and also to grow the industry," he said.

Because of the shortage of Chinese pilots, airlines have resorted to hiring foreigners, including Singaporeans.

More than half of the pilot openings on global aviation site Flightglobal were posted by Chinese airlines, with some offering captains as much as US$270,000 (S$343,000) in annual pay and benefits, double that in the US.

The number of foreign pilots at Chinese airlines has jumped from 50 in 2005 to 1,800 currently. There are more than 30,000 pilots in China.

The foreigners' higher salaries and better employment terms can be grating for their Chinese counterparts.

Chinese captains working at the Big Three earn around 600,000 yuan yearly, which is about half the 1.2 million yuan paid to foreigners, according to reports. Foreign pilots also get more annual leave and shorter working hours.

Professor Gao believes foreign pilots will continue to be sought after since China does not have the manpower and facilities to train its pilots quickly enough.

Each year, China produces some 2,000 new pilots, which is up from the 600 churned out in 2006 but short of the 3,200 needed yearly.

SOURCE

Pakistan to privatise national carrier

Pakistan's new prime minister plans to sell off a 26 per cent stake in ailing national carrier PIA and hand over management control in a bid to stem haemorrhaging losses.

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) is one of the poorest performing state-run companies in the country and businessmen were quick to welcome the decision, announced late Thursday.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who has made repairing the weak economy his top priority, ordered PIA management to slash losses to make the company viable for sale.

The company has incurred heavy losses because of poor management, corruption and inefficiencies.

PIA officially lost US$320 million last year but the deficit would have been much larger if the state had not been pouring money into its coffers in a bid to keep it afloat.

The company has a staggering 18,000 employees for 42 planes, a ratio of more than 400 staff per aircraft, a PIA spokesman said.

"The government is fully committed to reforming and restructuring all ailing state enterprises, including PIA," Sharif said on Thursday.

Under the plan, 26 per cent of PIA's shares will be offered to potential buyers along with the transfer of management control.

The auction is expected to attract international players and could be a milestone for the country's privatisation plan, analysts and businessmen believe.

Pakistan sold its state-run telecom company in mid-2000 by transferring 26 per cent of its shares and management control. The government offloaded another 10 per cent of PTC shares later on.

Arif Habib, chairman of Arif Habib Group of Companies and on PIA's board of directors until last month, said that the airline could attract an international buyer.

"If an investor injects some capital it could be turned around in a short span of time," said Habib, who is a former president of the Karachi Stock Exchange and a business tycoon.

"It would be a good public-private partnership model," he said.

Nevertheless the final sale is likely to face strong opposition from rival political parties and from employees.

Farrah Marwat, head of research at JS Capital Markets, said good financial packages and retirement benefits could help to defuse the complaints.

"We have a big market of 180 million people and no other sizable company to cater them so it would be a good attraction for the buyers," Marwat said.

SOURCE

Why Changi Airport must think big

Changi Airport's mega vision for the future, including a jewel of a mall to connect five terminals, expresses well the "aerotropolis" concept of urban planning scholar John Kasarda who sees the airport as a destination in its own right.

He argues for future cities to be built around airports (given the pivotal role of air travel) rather than the reverse.

For Singapore, the two are intertwined as dictated by geography, size and destiny. So integral is this interdependence to the global city - the entire economy depends on connectivity to throb - that the Government has underscored the fact that it will do its utmost to protect Singapore's hub status.

This lends urgency to Changi's task of thinking big and planning well ahead. History bears testimony to this approach with over half of the airport's land area reclaimed from the sea.

Construction in 1975 had 558 buildings and 4,096 graves giving way and swamps being cleared to usher in an era of around-the-clock travel and freighting that global business networks demand.

Since then, the airport has expanded progressively and terminals have been upgraded to cater to growing volumes and higher expectations.

Even greater changes are required now as its status as a connector hub is threatened by long-range aircraft, wrenching competition and traffic growth trends.

Indeed, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok have a geographic edge in linking travellers from Europe to Asia. Like Dubai (which convinced Qantas to pull its hub out of Singapore), they are keen to expand.

Hence, Singapore's position as a hub is far from "inevitable or unassailable", as analysts have noted. Mr Lee Kuan Yew pointedly warned in 2004 that "Changi will be bypassed and we will lose our air-hub status" if key strategies are misguided.

With such high stakes, half measures might prove woefully inadequate and even disastrous. Studies show that airports that lose their hub status do not easily regain it.

The latest master- plan for Changi involves creating a huge new air terminal, with possibly its own MRT station, building a third runway at Changi East fed by 40km of taxiways - the length of the Pan Island Expressway from Tuas to Tampines - and diverting Changi Coast Road and a 60m-wide canal.

The effort, cost and upheaval will be enormous but there are well-grounded reasons for supporting sky-high ambitions.

With plans for a Moshe Safdie- designed mall (with a five-storey waterfall amid a lush indoor garden), new hotels, dining spots and shopping choices, the airport will offer much to residents and travellers alike.

A locals-friendly airport could certainly help to create more buzz there. But ensuring a smooth flow of all forms of traffic must rank paramount.

SOURCE

14 hurt as plane skids off runway in Bangkok

A Thai Airways plane skidded off the runway in Bangkok after the nose wheel collapsed on landing, slightly injuring more than a dozen passengers, the airline said Monday.

The incident late on Sunday involved an Airbus 330-300 carrying 288 passengers and 14 crew members on a flight from Guangzhou, the carrier said.

The plane was seen resting on grass on Monday morning next to the runway with its evacuation slides still deployed and the Thai Airways name and logo hastily covered up.

"Sparks were noticed from the vicinity of the right landing gear near the engine; the matter is under investigation," the airline said in a statement.

"The captain took control of the aircraft until it came to a complete stop and passengers were evacuated from the aircraft emergency exits. The operation was conducted by the captain and cabin crew strictly according to emergency procedures."

About 14 people were slightly injured when they escaped down the emergency slides, Thai Airways president Sorajak Kasemsuvan told local television.

"They were sent to hospital but most of them received treatment and were discharged," he added.

The carrier said it would take about 24 hours to remove the aircraft, which could cause flight delays.

The incident comes just over a week after dozens of passengers and crew were injured when a Thai Airways A380 superjumbo hit severe turbulence during a flight from Bangkok to Hong Kong.

SOURCE

Norwegian reports new Dreamliner glitch

Low-cost carrier Norwegian Air Shuttle on Sunday announced a new technical problem with one of its Boeing 787 "Dreamliners", as the plane was grounded due to a flaw in its electrical system.

"We've had a problem since yesterday (Saturday) with a Dreamliner, linked to its electrical system," company spokesman Lasse Sandaker-Nielsen told AFP.

"The aircraft is not getting enough electricity."

The plane was scheduled to leave Oslo for Bangkok on Saturday, but after waiting for more than 24 hours, the passengers were transferred to Stockholm, where they boarded a chartered plane.

It is the second incident that Norwegian has had this week with its Dreamliner fleet - which currently consists of two planes.

Norwegian's other Dreamliner was stuck on the tarmac of Stockholm's Arlanda airport from Monday after a light suggested a problem with the brake system.

The plane was finally deemed fit to fly on Friday after technicians concluded the light had lit up by mistake.

"That kind of technical issue tends to happen with new planes," said Sandaker-Nielsen.

"If you think about Airbus A380, it also had all kinds of teething problems," he said, referring to the large European-built passenger airliner.

Norwegian has ordered altogether eight Boeing 787 Dreamliners, of which two have been delivered so far, with a delay.

The Dreamliner has encountered several serious difficulties since entering operation, especially with its batteries, causing the entire fleet to be grounded for about four months earlier this year.

These glitches do not appear to have seriously affected the fortunes of the American aircraft maker, which said on Friday it had received 89 new orders for the plane since the start of the year.

SOURCE

Additional Costs Part 1

A little update on current situation. My batch has be slated to depart for Australia in end-month for six months of flight school. We're now doing the final preparations like applying for student visa, medicals and other paper work.

It gets more exciting as the date gets nearer, but that also mean training will resume after I've been free for more than three months. It will probably take some time for me to regain the momentum. The free time was spent doing some freelance work to earn some money to feed myself, tutoring fellow course mates and keeping the body in shape. Bam, and three months just went by like this.

It has been almost a year since the course started in late October 2012, a journey that takes quite a fair bit of courage to embark on, at least financially. For the benefit of future cadets, I will keep a record of expenses and additional costs so that they can better gauge how much they have to prepare to enroll themselves in a self-funded pilot license course.

The current list so far will includes:-

1. Course Assessment - S$321
This amount varies with different flight schools, so give it an additional $100 just to be safe. This covers the aptitude tests and school interview.

2. Class 1&2 Initial Medical - S$535
You will need to prove that you're able to pass Class 1 medical as it is the requirement of the course.

3. CASA Class 2 Medical - S$204 (depending on exchange rate)
Medical needed by the Australia aviation authority for all pilot students.

4. Exam fees - S$399
This amount is highly variable as it depends on how many times and subjects you fail to pass. S$399 is what I've paid due to my failure in three subjects. A full examination will cost $2064, and this has changed since CAAS has updated the syllabus to JAA, which I heard costs a lot more. I will try to find out what's the updated exam fees.

5. Australia Student Visa - A$535 (S$605 based on 1.13 rate)
Getting a visa to stay in Australia as a student in the flight school.

6. Visa Medical - S$115
To attain the visa to Australia, you will need to go for a body check-up medical.

7. Documents notarization - S$100 (roughly $10 per document)
All personal documents and certificates will need to be notarized for the Australian authorities to view it as genuine and true.

===========================
Above total: S$2279

On top of these, you cannot neglect the daily expenses throughout the course. The zero income situation definitely doesn't help but everyone chose this path with their eyes opened, so the need to plan carefully is very crucial. Take a very conservative amount of S$250 expenditure per month for food, traveling and minimal entertainment, it will add up to roughly 250*11 = S$2750 before I leave for Australia.

Before leaving for Australia, you will usually need to spend some money to buy some stuff for your usage over there. If it's winter season, the amount you spend buying thick clothing will not come cheap. I shall give it a rough estimate of S$500.

Next will be amount needed for yourself to survive in Australia. Housing and transport to&fro school is covered in the course fee, own expenditure will include food, transport and other necessities. A good amount for six months is probably around S$5000, thanks to the weak AUD forex of 1.13 at the moment. You will not be able to get a car, even though cars are way cheaper than Singapore. Set aside an additional A$4000 for the car alone, excluding variables like petrol, parking and maintenance. A good way to beat the cost is to share it with fellow course mates, and the A$4000 can be mostly recovered when you sell it before returning to Singapore, as depreciation is low.

How about the course fee you wonder. It very much depends on your method of financing it. If you're forking out the full cost from your own or whoever's pocket, you don't have much to worry. However if you're getting an education loan from the bank, that is where the scary parts come in. Depending on the bank you approach, interest rates can range from 5-6.5%, and it will start rolling once you start drawing the money to pay your fees. Actually, even before you start drawing funds from the loan, there is already a processing fee which you have to pay to the bank to get the loan done. Standard charge is 2% of approved amount. Let's say you are going for a full loan of S$200,000, 2% of it will be S$4000.

So on top of ALL the money I've stated above, there is still the loan interest to think/plan/worry/cry about. I was very lucky to be able to dig out the initial starting fee from my own pocket which is almost S$25k. If this was drawn from the loan right from the start, you will need to pay S$95/month of interest base on 5% rate. Multiply it with the total number of months of the course; 95*18 = S$1710.

The next course fee installment, before departure to Australia, is close to S$60k, interest(5%) per month is $235. Multiply it with the remaining months of the course; 235*12 = S$2820.

I shall stop here for now since I'm currently at this stage of the course. Upon your return after completion of flight school, there is still a remaining six months for your pockets to endure before you can start applying for a job. I'll leave that part for a later blogpost, the payments do not stop here. Sounds daunting isn't it? It is, unless you have a thick wallet.

Spare Cash needed so far: S$ 19,869 (Add up all the red bold amount above)

This is strictly a rough estimated value, it will fluctuate with variables like loan interest rates, foreign exchange rates, course fee rates, exam failure count etc etc. You must have enough buffer to handle any increment in any of the aspects.

Alright I think I've given you a lot to think about but hopefully not terrible enough to scare you away. It is a far-fetched dream, but not one which is not attainable. Many people save up through years of work to make this possible, it depends on how "desperate" you want this to work out.

Boots to fight the cold and terrain in Aussie

My tools during flight training

Luminous vest is a compulsory wear during flight training

Tutoring fellow course mate

Dreaded Perf A tutoring. Thank god all of them passed.

Protector of my precious eyes. An expensive but essential purchase.