Tigerair, Scoot in JVs to set up Taiwan, Thai budget airlines

Taiwan's China Airlines and Singapore's Tiger Airways plan to set up a Taiwan-based budget carrier.

This will allow Taiwan's biggest airline to tap into Asia's low-cost aviation market.

Tigerair, in which Singapore Airlines owns about a third stake, will also extend its presence into the new and largely untapped markets of Taiwan, Japan, and Korea.

In a media release on Monday, Tiger said the new carrier will operate under the Tigerair brand and be independently managed. Tigerair's website will be the main sales and distribution platform.

Tigerair will initially hold 10 per cent of the start-up, while China Airlines will hold a 90 per cent stake.

The start-up will have a registered capital of T$2 billion (about S$85 million).

The partner carriers will be submitting applications for regulatory approvals.

Tiger Airways also announced an agreement with Indian budget carrier SpiceJet, allowing both to connect passengers on each other's flights.

Tigerair currently flies to Hyderabad in India and the agreement with SpiceJet will allow the two to connect 14 Indian cities from there.

Tiger Airways and Scoot -- the long-haul, low-cost unit of Singapore Airlines -- also agreed to work together on joint operations, and sales and marketing on parallel routes.

In a separate announcement, Scoot said the company plans to establish a new Bangkok-based low-cost carrier with Thailand's Nok Airlines.

The new airline will be named NokScoot and will be based at Don Mueang International Airport. It will operate wide-body aircraft on medium and long-haul international routes.

Nok will have up to a 51 per cent stake in the new carrier and Scoot will hold a 49 per cent stake.

The initial investment will be THB2 billion (about S$80 million).

The establishment of the new airline is subject to regulatory approvals.

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Emirates rules out financial lifeline for Qantas

Emirates president Tim Clark said he is carefully watching developments at alliance partner Qantas, but ruled out throwing a financial lifeline to the embattled Australian flag carrier, in comments reported on Monday.

Earlier this month, Qantas forecast a half-year loss of up to Aus$300 million (US$269 million) and said it would axe 1,000 jobs, leading to a credit downgrade from Standard & Poor's, which cut its rating to "junk" status.

Qantas blamed its predicament on record fuel costs and fierce competition from subsidised rivals, particularly Virgin Australia, which is majority owned by state-backed Singapore Airlines, Air New Zealand and Etihad.

Chief Alan Joyce has been lobbying the government to relax the Qantas Sale Act, which limits foreign ownership in the national carrier to 49 percent, arguing the cap hurts its ability to compete, particularly against Virgin Australia.

But even if the government decides to lift the foreign ownership restrictions, which it has indicated is possible, Clark said he would not be pumping in any cash.

In an emailed statement to the West Australian newspaper, published Monday, Clark said he "would watch it (the situation) carefully" but Emirates did not have the "bottomless pit of cash" Virgin Australia's partner Etihad Airways had.

"So no, equity is not on the table," Clark said.

Emirates formalised an alliance with Qantas earlier this year, seen as vital to the sustainability of the Australian airline.

It allows both carriers to combine operations for an initial period of five years, including coordinating ticket prices and schedules.

The deal also opened up Qantas's lucrative Australian domestic network of more than 50 destinations to Emirates customers.

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Volcanic eruption shuts Italy airport

The eruption of the Mount Etna volcano in Sicily on Sunday forced the closure of nearby Catania airport because of the plumes of ash billowing into the sky, airport officials said.

Twenty-one scheduled departures from Catania had to be scrapped and 26 arrivals re-routed to alternative destinations. The smaller airport of Comiso in the area was also closed down.

Sac, the company that manages Catania airport, said in a statement that "the wind direction and intensity" meant the ash was a risk to flights and it had to close off its air space.

Sac said it will review the situation on Monday.

Etna is an active volcano and eruptions are frequent but the latest activity, which began on Saturday, is the most intense in months.

The lava flow down one side of the mountain is visible from Catania and Taormina, a popular seaside resort. Three small earthquakes were also registered around the volcano on Sunday.

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Week 37: PPL Flight School Week 6

What a week I've had; there was so much that I reckon I may have to write a blog post for every sortie I've flown, otherwise the weekly post can get pretty long to write and probably tiring to read for some of you. I'd see how it pans out and will switch to sortie posts when things pick up. Oh and updates will be on Sundays instead of Fridays from now on.

Let's run through this whole week day by day.


Saturday
Planned for my second ever sortie. Was so eager to go up there and learn but turned out there was an error in the scheduling and it was cancelled. Tough luck.

Tuesday
Scheduled for sortie but once again cancelled due to pretty horrid conditions in the air. I accept what the instructor told me as it isn't productive to let me go up there just to fight the turbulence and wind when I'm supposed to learn how to keep the plane in straight&level condition. Better luck next time. I went home hoping for better weather next time.

Wednesday
It was a super long and exhausting day with three huge mass briefs from 0830-1830hrs. We were taught other important stages of flight - climbing, descending, turns while climbing/descending and circuit flying. It is quite interesting to know that a flight can be separated to different parts and it is very important to do each stage correctly so as not to endanger yourself or damage the plane. Every speed, every attitude, every power setting will have to be correct and imprinted into your mind so that you can immediately adhere to these standards when at the respective stages. Towards the end of the day, the schedule arrived and I was planned for sortie the next day.

Thursday
Third time lucky? Sortie went ahead as planned in late noon. This time round, I tried to do the radio calls on the ground but found myself being tongue tied. That feeling is terrible. Did my taxi and the steering was more natural this time. Next came the take-off. The instructor was confident enough to let me do it and for the first time, I brought a plane up into the sky once I hit rotate speed of 55kt.  I would say the turbulent condition was much worse than my first sortie once I was up in the air. Bumpy and going left-right-up-down everywhere. Sheesh..... I felt sick halfway through my lesson and had to resort to burping to make myself feel better. Gone up to 4500ft and conditions were slightly better. At least I managed to keep fairly straight&level and  did some mid-level turns fairly consistently. The flight ended in a blink of an eye, lucky I didn't puke. After this sortie, I was more confident of my exact location as I'm able to navigate myself back to base. I am now clearer of all the procedures to carry out in flight; runway to take, radio calls to make, directions to face, settings to make on the G1000. I'm also more familiar of the runways and the way circuits are being flown. All in all, a good flight, advice from instructor was that I have to be more positive on the controls. Next sortie planned on the following day, great stuff.

Friday
Sortie planned for early noon and it was the first time I get to fly with a different instructor. Things are always going to be different when you get a different instructor as each of them has their own style of doing things and own set of standards. He was less controlling and let me do all the wrong things before pointing them out. In a way, it's quite unsettling as I'm afraid to make mistakes or do stupid things, but on the other hand I wasn't so spoonfed and I can learn things "the hard way". Pros and cons I guess, like I said a different style, no right or wrong about it.

First thing, the taxi. I was taught to better control the throttle in order to control the taxiing speed so that I do not rely so much on the brakes and make the taxi jerky and uncomfortable. It is a very good advice as I was too fixated on the yellow line and lost the sense of speed. Second thing, the radio calls. I was way more comfortable in making them after my boo-boo in the previous sortie. Phew~~ But I was still quite inefficient in it. Third thing, the take-off. I did it again but find myself being too gentle on the back pressure with my climbing speed about 10kt higher than the designated 74kt Best Rate of Climb speed.

Once I was up in the air, the usual bumpiness hits me. To let me have a better learning experience, we climbed to 8000ft to get some calm air to fly through and IT WAS BEAUTIFULLLLL. Above those white fluffy clouds with clear blue sky all around, the sight was WOW. I've never been so close to a cloud before. It was literally right before my eyes. Sight aside, I had to bring the throttle up to 24000rpm in this high altitude as the air is thinner. Finally I got to do a proper Straight&Level. With the correct trim, I can practically fly the plane with only two fingers, that is how stable a C172S is.

Next comes the mid-level turns. This time I have no more excuses to not do it well with the smooth conditions I was granted with. Had a try at it after a demo was done. It is harder than it looks. Maintaining the attitude requires you to have a mental image of how a 30degree turn looks like from the cockpit and at the same time keeping the altitude and balance in check while keeping a look out for traffic. Oh, I almost hit a bird during the take-off climb. My performance wasn't consistent. Some turns I did fine, but some I lose height and/or over-bank and then I started staring at my G1000 screen to correct things. Not good at all. The mental image of the attitude of the plane during a turn is not easy to maintain. I guess I'll need more practice to gain experience.

Soon the practice ended and we head back to base. Negotiating through the clouds on descend requires so much skill that I was in awe with my instructor. Such beautiful flying brought out all the respect and admiration I have for him. Made more radio calls myself and we touched down. I applied what he taught me about taxiing and I can feel that it is way better than before. No complains heard this time round.

So far the most productive sortie I've had. Advice from instructor is my rudder control during turns gotta be co-ordinated with my yoke turning, stop chasing instruments and keep on a REAL look out as I was just doing it for the sake of it. To be honest, he's right. My eyes were looking outside but my mind wasn't processing what I was looking. Next sortie planned on the following day.

Saturday
Sortie in the late morning this time, the earliest I've had and it was with a totally different instructor again. And in this flight I'll be learning Climbing, Descending and Turns. Taxi and radio calls were fine except for a lousy U-turn at the start of the runway as I was backtracking it.

Take-off was effortless in strong direct headwind, but I found myself veering very far off from my initial heading once I was lifted off the ground. My attitude was also quite high. That take-off was very ugly. I blurted out to my instructor "the winds are pretty strong today". With that, he replied "not so much about the wind, it's all about control". At that moment, it dawned upon me that I am having the wrong mindset all along. I should not be blaming conditions but rather adapt to it. I've never blamed road conditions no matter how tough it is to drive on it, because I was totally confident in my skills and control. I have to overcome these conditions to be a better pilot.

The climb was ugly as said before; I wasn't able to maintain a consistent 74kt speed. The bumpiness continued until I went above 5000ft, but the clouds were low and I had to change training area, which means I got lost again haha. Climbing and descending are totally new to me. What I learned in the mass brief seemed easy but when you're doing it in the real aircraft, it's a whole new ball game. First on the climbing. Full power and back pressure, speed maintain at 80kt +/-. The trouble comes with you're leveling off on your desired height. To bring the plane back to level requires hell lot of forward pressure. Too much or too little will result in chaotic height fluctuations. Then there's the throttling and trimming to do too. Gosh!!

Second on the descending. Throttle to 1900rpm, apply some forward pressure and trim. Leveling off is the same thing again. Very much back pressure is needed, plus the throttling and trimming. Gosh again!! During all the climbing and descending, my heading went totally haywire. My instructor said to me "are you flying the plane or is the plane flying you?". Very strong phrases from him so far, which kept me thinking even till this very moment I'm typing it out.

On return to base, I had to take note of new landmarks so that I can know my way back if I come to this training area again. And for the very first time, I was allowed to join circuit flying for two rounds after the first round ended up in a go-around. It was quite a stressful experience as I had to keep my height in check while tracking all traffic around me and knowing when to bank to the next leg of the circuit, plus the radio calls. Sheeeeeeshhhhhhhh.... Too bad I didn't get to land the plane though as controls were handed over about 100ft above ground.

Another great flight with so much learned. Advice from instructor was to keep my heading in check and don't let the aircraft dictate me.





I was a little tired after three days of flight, but it's good that I'm getting into the groove of flying. I'll be very grateful if every week I'm able to be scheduled at such a frequency. Overall a superb week, can't wait for more flying to come.

What I did after I return home from a cancelled flight. Movies on laptop.

Traveling to nearby mountain on the weekend

810m above sea level

The view is great

Bottle of wine to go with the view

The kart hit a milestone

Great day to aviate? Still turbulent below 5000ft.

Air India to start talks on joining Star Alliance

Star Alliance has lifted the suspension on Air India's entry into the global airline body, the national carrier said on Friday, bringing hopes for the loss-making airline to expand its global presence even as its margins are getting squeezed in the domestic market.

"With this decision, final process for eventual entry of Air India has begun. Once the airline becomes a member, Air India passengers will enjoy enormous benefits, including seamless transfers while travelling across the world, more frequent flyer mileage points, code sharing leading to a wider choice of flights and access to facilities at over 1,000 lounges worldwide," said the carrier in a statement.

 "The market in India is now showing signs of stabilisation. Today we see an Air India which has successfully completed its merger with Indian Airlines and is building up a new fleet that forms the basis for a much improved level of service. This is why we believe the time is now right to recommence the integration process," said Mark Schwab, CEO of Star Alliance, after the board meeting.

"The re-integration process will begin now. There have been some fresh requirements brought into the structure since 2011. We will have to do a gap analysis to integrate with the system," said Pankaj Srivastava, director commercial at Air India.

The 28-member alliance's network offers 21,900 daily flights to 1,328 airports in 195 countries. It is the world's biggest airline alliance with a 12.9% share of the global airline market, according to data from Sydney-based CAPA-Centre for Aviation.

Air India's entry into the alliance is crucial for the airline to take on the massive competition from international carriers such as Etihad Airways which recently announced a doubling of its flights to India, under enhanced bilateral rights between India and Abu Dhabi.

Etihad has bought a 24% stake in Jet Airways, India's second-largest carrier by market share. Jet Airways too plans to connect 23 cities to Abu Dhabi.

The country is also set to enhance bilateral rights with Qatar, which means Qatar Airways too will significantly enhance capacity to India gaining a large share of its international traffic.

China, Dubai and Bahrain, too, have sought an increase in bilateral seat entitlements.

Moreover Singapore Airlines and AirAsia are also setting local carriers in India and may seek international flying rights.

The government is looking at relaxing its current rule under which a domestic carrier has to complete five years of domestic operations and have a fleet of 20 planes in order to be eligible for flying overseas.

Back home, Air India's margins have been hit by high input costs, slow traffic growth, cutthroat competition and its own problems of an inflated salary bill and the interest burden of an earlier plane purchase worth $15 billion.

The carrier has been making losses since 2007 after it was merged with erstwhile state-run domestic carrier Indian Airlines and has been over the last few years surviving largely on cash handouts from the government.

The airline recently gave an extension to its former director Deepak Brara to spearhead the airline's pitch to become a member of the alliance.

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Australia PM backs lifting Qantas foreign ownership limit

Australia's Prime Minister Tony Abbott has suggested he may support lifting foreign ownership restrictions on Qantas, saying the embattled carrier's push for a level playing field was not unreasonable.

Qantas has been lobbying the government to relax the Qantas Sale Act which limits foreign ownership in the national carrier to 49 per cent.

The struggling airline argues the cap hurts its ability to compete, particularly against domestic rival Virgin Australia, which is majority-owned by state-backed Singapore Airlines, Air New Zealand and Etihad.

"Where we can be helpful we will certainly try to be helpful but as I understand it, what Qantas wants is to be unshackled," Abbott said in an interview in the Australian Financial Review published on Saturday.

"They want to be able to compete with Virgin on a level playing field. Now I don't think that's an unreasonable request on their part, but that's a matter for the parliament as well as the government."

Earlier this month, Qantas flagged a half-year loss of up to A$300 million (US$269 million) and said it would axe 1,000 jobs as it struggles under the weight of record fuel costs and fierce competition from subsidised rivals.

The announcement saw Standard & Poor's downgrade the airline's credit rating to "junk" status, cutting it from BBB-, the lowest investment grade, to BB+ and placed it on a credit watch with negative implications.

The AFR said Qantas apparently sought a government guarantee in the short-term to protect its credit rating but no agreement had been reached.

Abbott has previously indicated that government assistance was unlikely, saying: "If we subsidise Qantas, why not subsidise everyone?"

"If we subsidise everyone, that's just a bottomless pit into which we will descend and if we offer a guarantee to Qantas then why not offer a guarantee to everyone?"

But the long-term fix of removing the foreign ownership restrictions would be opposed by the Labor opposition which argues that with the airline's share price hovering around A$1, the 'flying kangaroo' would be vulnerable to an equity raid.

Chief executive Alan Joyce has stressed that the airline is not seeking "an anti-competitive handout or bail out" but said the carrier was "hand-cuffed" by the Qantas Sale Act.

Qantas claims domestic rival Virgin Australia is waging a campaign to weaken it in the lucrative domestic market with cheap seats underwritten by foreign cash injections.

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US moves ahead on plan to allow phone use in planes

US regulators Thursday opened the door to allowing mobile phone use on airplanes -- an issue that has stirred howls of protest over the potential for disruption in the skies.

The Federal Communication Commission's 3-2 vote came after chairman Tom Wheeler said the action would merely publish rules for public comment, and determine the technical feasibility of in-flight phone use.

"This is a rule about technology, this is not a rule about usage," Wheeler said ahead of the vote.

"I don't want to listen to the business conversations of the person sitting next to me .. but if technology eliminates interference and therefore eliminates the need for the interference protection rule, then we ought to eliminate the rule."

Some 60 members of Congress signed a letter urging the regulatory agency to allow only text and Internet services in flight, without voice calls.

Wheeler said however that potential problems should be addressed in the rule-making process, and that other agencies as well as airlines would be charged with determining whether to permit voice calls during flight.

"Without this proposal, you would not be able to email or to text or surf the Web," Wheeler said.

Separately, US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx made a similar point, saying the FCC's only role "is to examine the technical feasibility of the use of mobile devices in flight."

Foxx said his agency's responsibility "is to determine if allowing these calls is fair to consumers" and "will now begin a process that will look at the possibility of banning these in-flight calls."

FCC member Jessica Rosenworcel voted to move forward on the proposal but voiced concerns over the prospect on in-flight calls.

Rosenworcel said that even though the FCC members were considering the matter as "technicians," that "does not absolve ourselves of the consequences of our decision."

She added that she feared an end to the prevailing quiet atmosphere in airplane cabins and expressed concern "that our safety would be compromised" by allowing such calls.

Commissioner Ajit Pai voted against the proposal, saying it "sets an unfortunate precedent when it comes to licensing" of spectrum for in-flight communications.

Pai said the proposal would grant the spectrum to airlines at a time without when mobile operators were spending "tens of billions" of dollars in spectrum auctions.

Additionally, Pai said safety and national security concerns had not been addressed and that he was disappointed there had been no comment from law enforcement agencies.

Wheeler argued however that the action "is intended to solicit input" and is not a final decision.

The FCC pointed out that foreign airlines have used onboard mobile access technology for years and that the agency "believes that these systems can be successfully deployed in the United States, and that the time has come to examine reforms to the agency's outdated rules with respect to mobile wireless service onboard aircraft."

"We are in support of new options for airline passengers to safely use wireless data for non-voice services such as text messaging, email, and Internet browsing; but we are adamantly opposed to the use of cellular voice services during flights," said the letter released by Representative Peter DeFazio.

The Swiss-based mobile communications firm OnAir said it supported the FCC's proposal, saying it "paves the way for US passengers to have the same inflight connectivity choices as passengers everywhere else in the world."

"Over four and a half million passengers use OnAir inflight connectivity each year and what is very striking is that there has not been one single complaint about disruption caused by phone calls," said Ian Dawkins, chief executive of OnAir. "Mobile OnAir is available on every continent apart from North America. People from all over the world, including Americans, use it every day."

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