Aviation Industry (incl Maintenance) 01 (Dec 08 - May 20)

[eauyong]

European aircraft-maker Airbus delivered the first A320 aircraft assembled at its factory in China, in a symbolic event further marking the nation's global rise.
This event was hailed as a landmark in Sino-European cooperation. It plans to produce 10 more this year.

[eauyong]

Only Certain Thing About 787 Is The Uncertainty
01:50 6/24/2009, Steven Russolillo,

One thing you can say for the Dreamliner, it's well grounded.

Boeing (BA) can’t seem to get anything right these days regarding the first flight of its new 787 Dreamliner.

Once again the company delayed the initial flight of the 787, saying wing-bending tests showed structural weakness. This is the fifth time the first 787 flight’s been delayed and is already two years behind schedule.

It’ll take several weeks before a new flight and delivery schedule is released, Boeing said on a conference call.

Boeing shares, which have lost half of their market value since the first delay was announced in October 2007, were recently down 7.7% at $43.27. The stock is taking about 31 points off the Dow, meaning it’s solely responsible for the index’s current slide. DJIA was recently down 14 in mid-afternoon trading.

JSA Research downgraded its investment rating on Boeing to hold from buy on uncertainty surrounding new 787 delays.

“At this point, Boeing has provided nothing but uncertainty,” firm says. In the worst case scenario, BA could add another months-long delay to first deliveries of the 787.

The company also has issues on the defense side of its business, although shares recently have been trading on 787 news.

“If the 787 program were going well, we wouldn’t have to worry much about defense contracts,” firm says.

The latest delay is especially difficult to digest because just one week ago Boeing said the Dreamliner “could fly today,” Barron’s Bob O’Brien says.

“How can you tell when executives of Boeing have misstated the delivery date for the new 787 Dreamliner?” O’Brien asks. “When you can see their lips move.”

The delay likely stings “as much as any since the first, inasmuch as Boeing seemed to attack so much urgency to living up to the latest production schedule,” O’Brien says.

(Ann Keeton contributed to this report.)

(Photo credit: Boeing)

[winston]

Airline crew bares all to get flyers' attention

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - Air New Zealand has hit on a novel way to make sure even the most jaded flyers keep their eyes glued on its flight safety briefing.

The national carrier's safety video for domestic services on its Boeing Co 737 planes show pilot and cabin crew dressed only in body paint.

But the safety message is kept seemly by carefully chosen camera angles. A copy of the briefing has been posted on the popular Internet site, YouTube. ">here

The safety video follows the same tactic as the airline's recent marketing campaign for its low-priced fares, which featured staff, including chief executive Rob Fyfe, adorned in only body paint.

http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEno ... ddlyenough

[winston]

Lose money is ok. Ah gong just inject more. No wonder Jim Rogers like the Chinese airlines ..

China may inject more funds into top airlines -paper

SHANGHAI, July 29 (Reuters) - China's state asset manager is considering whether to inject $454 million more into the country's top three airlines, the Shanghai Securities reported on Wednesday, after state-owned firms lost more than $4 billion in 2008 amid the global financial slowdown.

The State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission under the State Council, China's cabinet, recently convened meetings to discuss the possible injection, but no timetable had been set, the official newspaper said, citing unnamed sources.

Under the latest plan, the government would inject 1.5 billion yuan each into China Eastern Airlines (0670.HK)(600115.SS)(CEA.N) and China Southern Airlines (1055.HK)(600029.SS)(ZNH.N), and 100 million yuan into flagship carrier Air China (601111.SS), the newspaper said.

The reported 3.1 billion yuan ($454 million) capital injection would follow the government's previously approved injection of 7 billion yuan into China Eastern and 3 billion yuan into China Southern.

[winston]

Chinese air passenger numbers up 20.4 pct - Reuters

BEIJING, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Chinese airlines' passenger numbers increased by 20.4 percent in the first half of the year compared with a year ago, state television said on Tuesday.

[winston]

China carriers back in black

The mainland's top airlines returned to profitability in the third quarter of this year.

Air China (0753) received a boost from fuel-hedging gains and a strong recovery in domestic air travel.

The mainland's flag carrier, booked 885.3 million yuan (HK$1 billion) in net profit in the three months to September, compared with a net loss of 1.97 billion yuan a year earlier, the airline said.

Air China booked a gain of 553.6 million yuan from changes in asset value, mostly from fuel-hedging gains, compared with a loss of 899.6 million a year earlier.

China Eastern Airlines (0670) said third-quarter net profit amounted to 23.16 million yuan from a net loss of 2.33 billion yuan. It made fuel-hedging gains of 154 million yuan.

China Southern Airlines (1055) said net profit from July through September was 284 million yuan from a loss of 830 million yuan. "Chinese airlines have benefited from a rebound in domestic air travel since the beginning of the year. Volume on the international routes is also improving," said analyst Yu Jianjun.

"But hedging gains are still the biggest help to their quarterly bottom line, just like in the first half."

China's airlines faced a tough last year as demand for air travel slumped.

Source: REUTERS

[winston]

Airbus

Toilet blockages plague Cathay Pacific flights to Hong Kong

Planning a trip to Hong Kong in the near future? You might want to avoid flying there on Cathay Pacific, unless you’re really good at “holding it.”

The BBC reports that the airline’s Airbus jets have been experiencing severe toilet blockages on flights to Hong Kong. A flight from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia even was forced to make an unscheduled stop in Mumbai, India when all 10 of the plane’s toilets stopped working. The flight was delayed for 18 hours. Cathay Pacific apologized to passengers and issued them travel vouchers.

Two other flights to Hong Kong this month, one from Rome and the other from Dubai, suffered similar problems, forcing the airline to restrict the number of passengers on the flights. Those flights were able to continue to their destination because the blockages affected only toilets on one side of the aircraft.

Airbus is replacing plumbing on the jets, which use vacuum pipes to transport waste to a holding tank that is emptied between flights. An airline spokesperson noted that passengers contribute to the problem by flushing items they shouldn’t, including medicine containers, clothing items, and even stuffed animals.

http://www.examiner.com/x-3122-Chicago- ... -Hong-Kong

[millionairemind]

Published December 21, 2009

Business air travel recovering, says Iata

(GENEVA) Premium airline seats are starting to fill up again after business travel plunged 18 per cent in the first 10 months of the year compared with the same period in 2008, the International Air Transport Association (Iata) said.

The number of business class passengers was 9.3 per cent lower in October compared with the previous year, a slight improvement on the 13.9 per cent year-on-year fall seen in September, the global airlines body said on Friday.

'A stronger rise in world trade in recent months appears to be associated with a modest rise in business travel,' Iata said in its latest monthly report on premium travel.

Total demand for all classes was down by 5.1 per cent in the 10 months from January to October, versus the same period last year, it noted.

'Passenger numbers travelling on economy seats are down 3.6 per cent but premium seat numbers are down 18 per cent, reflecting the severity of the recession and downturn in business travel,' Iata said.

Economy travel rose between March and October as the global economy became firmer. However, the group said in October, there was a fall-back in consumer confidence in the United States and Japan amid continued job losses. -- Reuters

[millionairemind]

Jan 13, 2010
Airlines raise fuel levies
DALLAS - MAJOR airlines have raised fuel surcharges on travel to Europe by US$20 (S$28) per roundtrip, and some have added conditions that could cause travellers to pay higher fares.

Surcharges to Paris, Frankfurt and most cities on the Continent were raised to US$280 per roundtrip and to US$242 for London, airline representatives said on Tuesday.

Tim Smith, a spokesman for American Airlines, said his company matched increases by Continental and United. 'That's purely a competitive factor,' he said. Delta, Continental and United confirmed that they had raised surcharges to Europe by US$20 a roundtrip.

Tom Parsons, CEO of Web site Bestfares.com, said surcharges on roundtrips to Ireland are now US$100. 'Dublin is still a dirt-cheap destination,' he said.

Some airlines that previously required only a seven-day advance purchase for the lowest coach fares are now requiring a 14-day advance purchase, Mr Parsons added. Airlines, which have been hit hard by the recession-caused downturn in travel, have imposed surcharges for fuel and for passengers who travel on peak days around holidays such as Easter and spring break.

Fuel prices hit records in July 2008, then fell the rest of that year and into early 2009 but have rebounded since. On Tuesday, the spot price for Gulf Coast jet fuel was about US$2.16 per gallon, up 43 per cent in the past year and 95 per cent since hitting a low of about US$1.11 in March 2009. -- AP

[millionairemind]

Published January 28, 2010

Crash of '09 wiped out years of airline growth
2 1/2 years of growth in passenger markets, 3 1/2 years in freight business lost for good

By VEN SREENIVASAN

(SINGAPORE) Last year was the worst year for the global aviation industry in almost 60 years, according to the International Air Transport Association (Iata).

Costly affair: Mr Bisignani said airlines spend US$5.9b a year on security - a tab he says governments should pick up since national security is their responsibility

Releasing its December and full-year 2009 demand statistics for international scheduled air traffic, the Geneva-based agency said the industry ended 2009 with the largest ever post-war decline, with passenger demand for the full year down 3.5 per cent and freight falling 10.1 per cent.

'In terms of demand, 2009 goes into the history books as the worst year the industry has ever seen,' said Giovanni Bisignani, Iata's director-general and CEO. 'We have permanently lost 2 1/2 years of growth in passenger markets and 3 1/2 years of growth in the freight business.'

Sharp capacity cuts enabled the passenger side of the business to log up a load factor of 75.6 per cent, while freight had an average load factor of 49.1 per cent.

International passenger capacity fell 0.7 per cent in December 2009 while freight capacity grew 0.6 per cent above December 2008 levels. Yields have started to improve with tighter supply-demand conditions in recent months, but they remained 5-10 per cent down on 2008 levels.

'Revenue improvements will be at a much slower pace than the demand growth that we are starting to see,' added Mr Bisignani. 'Profitability will be even slower to recover and airlines will lose an expected US$5.6 billion in 2010.'

Seasonally adjusted demand figures for December compared to November 2009 indicate a 1.6 per cent rise in passenger traffic while freight remained basically flat with a 0.2 per cent decline.

Carriers in Asia-Pacific recorded a 5.6 per cent decline in passenger demand. However, Asia-Pacific carriers also stood out as benefiting most from the year-end upturn, with an 8 per cent year-on-year improvement in December.

This, Iata said, reflected their 35 per cent contribution to the year-end rise boosted by the significant economic upturn in the region.

On the cargo front, Asia-Pacific carriers accounted for over 60 per cent of the increase in international air freight markets over the past 12 months, outperforming their 45 per cent market share. Despite this improvement, Asia-Pacific carriers' freight volumes remain 8 per cent below peak levels.

Europe and North America recorded year-on-year declines in passenger demand of 5 per cent and 5.6 per cent respectively in 2009. But in December 2009, European carriers saw a 1.2 per cent decline and North American carriers declined 0.4 per cent.

'The industry starts 2010 with some enormous challenges,' Mr Bisignani said. 'The worst is behind us, but it is not time to celebrate. Adjusting to 2.5-3.5 years of lost growth means that airlines face another spartan year focused on matching capacity carefully to demand and controlling costs.'

Security - or, rather, the cost of it - has emerged as a major concern for airlines this year after the attempted bombing of a US carrier on Dec 25.

'Governments and industry are aligned in the priority that we place on security,' Mr Bisignani said. 'But the cost of security is also an issue. Globally, airlines spend US$5.9 billion a year on what are essentially measures concerned with national security. This is the responsibility of governments, and they should be picking up the bill.'