Production of Boeing 787 Dreamliners resumed yesterday with the join of the fifth airplane designated for flight test.

This airplane, designated ZA005, is the first to be powered with General Electric GEnx engines. The major assemblies were loaded in final body join over the past several days. The fuselage and wing joins occur simultaneously.

Five of the six airplanes designated for flight test are now in varying stages of production. Power was restored earlier this week to the first flight-test airplane, ZA001, and production testing has resumed as the airplane prepares for first flight in the second quarter. Rolls-Royce engines are hung on ZA002, in the fourth and final production position in the factory. The third and fourth flight-test airplanes, ZA003 and ZA004, are in the third and second production positions, respectively.

Fastener rework is done on ZA001, nearly complete on ZA002 and progressing well on the third and fourth airplanes

Assemblies for the final flight-test airplane, ZA006, are in production at partner sites worldwide. In all, assemblies for 30 Dreamliners are in production at this time.

SCARY!!!!, there is no other word to describe the performance numbers and the forecast from IATA, the association representing 93% of the global commercial air transport industry.

For the month of December, it is now official -- ALL regions of the world, have reported major declines in cargo performance in December 2008 when compared to December 2007. Across the globe, air cargo, a vital barometer of world trade, is down 22.6%.

In November, Africa was the sole region showing positive compared to a year ago. Again, the Asia Pacific region, which represents 45% of global air cargo, led the world with a whopping 26% fall, when compared to December a year ago, this on top of 16.9% decline in November.

As per Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s Director General and CEO

“The 22.6% free fall in global cargo is unprecedented and shocking. There is no clearer description of the slowdown in world trade. Even in September 2001, when much of the global fleet was grounded [post the 9/11 terror attacks on New York city], the decline was only 13.9%,”

The year on year performance does not reflect the oncoming tsunami of collapsing world commerce and trade. On an annual basis air cargo is down 4% with Latin America leading the world down 13.5%. Asia Pacific is down 6.6%.


Those of us, hoping for a global recovery in 2009, data from the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) and IATA, shatter those hopes. Business and consumer confidence are at historic lows. Leaders at the World Economic Forum meeting at Davos are talking about a mind numbing 0.5% growth for 2009. While India and China will experience moderate growth of around 6%, the recession in the developed economies will ensure the global recovery will commence only in 2010.



Semiconductors shipments are one the highest users of air cargo and a key barometer in global electronics production. The shipment performance of the global semiconductor industry reflects the deepening impact of the global recession.


Across the globe, the aviation market have been hit, and hit hard. Revenue Passenger Kilometers (RPKs) are down, and Freight Tonne Kilometers (FTKs) are way down.


Airlines have been retiring or parking their aircraft in record numbers. The silver lining in this saga, is that airlines, mostly in the middle east, have been taking deliveries of new more fuel-efficient aircraft, and refreshing their fleet to cut down operating costs.


Airlines across the world are facing deepening losses, and I am sure we are going to see the many airlines and brands simply disappear during 2009. US airlines were smart and cut their capacity ahead of the drop in demand, unlike airlines in other regions. This will aid them in returning to profitability sooner.


The bad news is going to continue in 2009. Passenger markets are expect to decline another 3%, which freight will decline another 5%.


Part of this precipitous drop in global trade is due to the "FUD Factor". Fear Uncertainty and Doubt. Every procurement manager, and individual consumer has retreated in to a shell. Stop all purchases. Buy only the bare minimum. This has slammed the brakes on the global economy so hard, that there is hurt everywhere.

Life is going to be difficult, but the world is still here. Caution is needed, but so is pragmatism. Surely there is no need to retreat so hard, and withdraw so deep.

As the world emerges from this shell, and consumption re-starts, the shelves are going to be bare, as existing inventories would have been fully consumed, and capacity cuts in manufacturing will be take supply well below demand. At that point air cargo will increase with a vengeance.

From the Summer 2009 schedule which commences end March, Air France will suspend its thrice weekly flight between Paris Charles De Gaulle and Chennai Anna International, and withdraw from Chennai.

I strongly suspect this move is partly as a result of the relentless capacity expansion by Emirates Airlines across India.

With its non-stop connectivity to both the coasts of the United States, and Europe from Dubai, Emirates has been steadily poaching passengers from all other airlines across India. At Chennai, Emirates, will be increasing to 19 flights a week in February, and to thrice daily by end of the year.

In the recent past British Airways has withdrawn from Kolkata, KLM from Hyderabad, and Austrian Airlines from Mumbai. Alitalia completely withdrew, but then, those are due to its bankruptcy.

Kingfisher is the largest defaulting private airline in India, and this has finally caught up with it. State owned oil marketing companies (OMCs), who claim they are owed about Rs. 1,000 Crore ($200 million), have enforced 'cash and carry' payment terms on the airline, since it has not cleared its dues, even after the extended 90 day payment terms.

Kingfisher Airlines will now have to pay upfront to buy aviation turbine fuel from oil companies to operate its regular scheduled flights. It goes without saying, this will put a major kink in the operations of the airline.

Airline officials are trying to keep its operations unaffected and claim that Kingfisher is sticking to all its schedules.

Hectic negotiations are on behind the scene. Industry sources in the oil industry indicate that with Kingfisher Airlines agreeing to the cash upfront terms, OMCs may not carry out any immediate action against the airline, though they will continue to seek ways to get the dues from the airline, and are also demanding interest on the outstanding dues, and bank guarantees.

Kingfisher Alliance partner, Jet Airways, has paid about Rs. 98 Crore, when pressed by the OMCs on January 28th. However, no action is contemplated against, the state owned National Aviation Company of India Ltd. (NACIL) which operates Air India.

NACIL is estimated to owe the OMCs about Rs. 2,500 Crore ($500 million), but no official, including the CEOs of the OMCs, would even dream of taking any step, for fear of their job. One hand of government has to scratch the back of the other.

AVHerald reports a passenger on board Japan Airlines flight was severely burnt by hot tea which was spilt over her.

JL950 from Seoul, South Korea to Tokyo Narita, Japan, with 330 people on board, was about 30 minutes into the flight and meal service had just started, when one of the trolleys rolled away, struck a seat and poured the whole pot of hot tea over the right arm of a 23 year old female passenger. The crew decided to continue to Narita, where the Korean speaking passenger was admitted to hospital with reportedly severe burns.

The Japanese Transportation Safety Board has launched an investigation in cooperation with Authorities in South Korea.

This has to be one the more unusual accidents I have heard about. I sure feel sorry for the young lady, and hope JAL compensates her apart from the major plastic surgery she will surely need.

Share your "unusual accidents" information via a comment.

Buoyed by its recent lease of the Jet Airways Boeing B777-300ERs, Turkish Airlines THY is again expanding flight frequencies to the cities of New Delhi and Mumbai in India, Brussels, Venice, Helsinki, Basel and Dublin in Europe, Kuwait in the Middle East, Addis Ababa in Africa.

New Delhi and Mumbai, India will increase its services from five times and three times a week respectively to a daily each, starting on February 2, 2009.

Brussels, the capital of European Union, will increase from 17 to 21 flights per week starting on March 2, 2009.

Venice, the tourism center of Italy; Helsinki, the capital of Finland; Basel, the art center of Switzerland; and Dublin, the capital of Ireland to 7 flights per week each. Venice and Basel from March 3; Helsinki from March 5; Dublin from March 29.

Flights to Kuwait and Addis Ababa from 4 days a week to 5 days a week each, from March 7, 2009.

Dubai based Emirates Airline will commence operations of its Airbus A380 superjumbo aircraft to Seoul's Incheon International Airport in November 2009.

Emirates currently operates daily flights to Seoul using a Boeing 777.

Trade ties between South Korea and Dubai have been growing steadily, and major Korean corporations are active in the Dubai business arena. The Korean government is also positioning award winning Incheon airport as a major hub.

The new service is also timed to coincide with Visit Korea Year in 2010, aimed to promote South Korea as a destination for international tourism.

Seoul will be the fifth destination for the Emirates A380 after New York, London, Sydney and Auckland.

Emirates A380s has a state of the art cabin offering. It includes on-board shower spas in the private suites First Class cabin, a new generation of intelligent seating and flat-beds in Business Class, mood-lighting, and an in-flight entertainment system featuring over 1000 channels of entertainment

Singapore Airlines is making further adjustments to its route network, primarily cutting back flights to various destinations in India, Thailand, Europe, and USA, while increasing capacities to the middle east.

The changes, will take place progressively from now and will apply for the rest of the Northern Winter schedule (i.e. till end-March 2009), and will most likely continue in to the Summer schedule.

India
Hyderabad-Singapore services SQ439 and SQ438 will be reduced from four to three times weekly, with the suspension of the Saturday service from 21 February. Service will operate on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.

New Delhi-Singapore services SQ405 and SQ406 will be reduced from a six times weekly service, to five times weekly service, from 10 March to 24 March 2009, as flights on Tuesdays during this period will be suspended.

Mumbai-Singapore services SQ421 and SQ422 will be progressively reduced from five to four times weekly services, starting 27 February 2009. Flights on Fridays will be suspended.

Thailand
Bangkok-Singapore services SQ972 and SQ975 will be suspended from 2 February until the end of the Northern Winter Schedule bringing Singapore Airlines capacity to 25 flights weekly.

USA
Newark-Singapore and Los Angeles-Singapore non-stop services performed by the Airbus A340-500; frequency will reduce by two flights to five weekly flights on each route. The Tuesday and Wednesday services, will be suspended.

Ironically, Thai Airways, who has been unable to find a buyer for its suspended A340-500 aircraft, is resuming Bangkok-USA non-stop services.

Europe
United Kingdom
London Heathrow-Singapore services SQ308 and SQ319 will be suspended on Mondays and Thursdays between 9 and 23 March 2009. Total frequency on the Singapore-London route will reduce from 21 to 19 flights per week.

Switzerland
Zurich-Singapore services SQ342 and SQ341 will be reduced from daily to five times weekly, from 9 March 2009. Total frequency on the Singapore-Zurich route will reduce from 14 to 12 flights per week.

Middle East
Kuwait and Abu Dhabi
Singapore Airlines will commence four times weekly services to Kuwait, via Abu Dhabi, from 15 March 2009, with the introduction of SQ458 and SQ457 on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. Singapore Airlines will continue its existing three times weekly service to Abu Dhabi. With the addition of the Kuwait service, Abu Dhabi will become a daily service.

Egypt
Cairo-Singapore services SQ492 and SQ493 will increase from thrice weekly to four times a week from 12 March. The Cairo flights will operate via Dubai, thus increasing frequency between Singapore and Dubai to 16 per week.

Call it wishful thinking, but I was so hoping to see the Airbus A380 in the Air Force One livery. Alas, my wish will not come true, and I will have to live with this CGI image by Gareth Burgess of Flight International.

EADS North America confirmed that it will not respond to a request for information by the US Air Force for an A380 replacement of the presidential transport called the AF-1.

"In 2007 at the USAF's request, EADS North America provided technical information and answered questions regarding several of our widebody commercial aircraft as the service conducted its Analysis of Alternatives (AoA) to recapitalize the current fleet of presidential aircraft.

"EADS North America's strategy for growth in the US is based on bringing value to the US warfighter; making industrial investments in the US and insourcing high technology defense and aerospace jobs. After careful review, we've determined that participation in the AF-1 program will not help us meet these business objectives."

"Though the company will not respond to this RFI, we remain focused on once again winning the KC-X competition with Northrop Grumman, delivering the UH-72A LUH to the US Army and meeting the needs of our US defense and homeland security customers.

"We reiterate our strong commitment to the US Department of Defense and to supporting the warfighter with our products and services."

It is very smart thinking on the part of EADS.

The simple reality, Air Force One, is the symbol of the United States of America. Despite being the leading proponent of the free market system, when it comes to aircraft, US lawmakers seem to follow the rule "Do as I say, not as I do".

A lesson, EADS learnt all to well, after last year's high profile hammering of the US Air Force, by the "Buy American" advocating lawmakers, when the Air Force dared select EADS over Boeing, for the US Air Force KC-X tanker program.

Economics have also played a part. There will be the highest levels of security surrounding the Air Force One program, for which EADS would be required to turn over a "green aircraft" to a U.S. company for systems integration modification, and move a significant portion of its production to the United States.

Despite the prestige, EADS may not have found it economically viable, given the fact that only three aircraft are required.

Over the last few weeks, we in India, especially New Delhi, Bangalore, and Kolkata have been experiencing flight disruptions due to low visibility and fog.

May be this picture from Flickr user moonm, of Singapore Airlines newest Boeing 777-3000ER, 9V-SWT, taking off from the cold foggy confines of Paine Field, might inspire some airlines, airports, and air traffic controllers, to re-look at their equipment and procedures, and offer us travellers increased low visibility operations.

Welcome to your new home in the warm, sunny, tropics at Singapore, 9V-SWT.

Germany’s cabin-crew union, Unabhaengige Flugbegleiterorganisation UFO e.V., began a six hour “warning strike” at airports in Berlin and Frankfurt at 06:00 (05:00GMT) today, and Deutsche Lufthansa AG is already experiencing delays and disruptions to its flights.

The union, is requesting a 15 per cent pay increase, bigger bonuses and improved working conditions. Negotiations between the union and the airlines broke off earlier this month.

Last Friday, January 23rd, the UFO members went on a three hour "warning strike" which caused Lufthansa to cancel 44 European and domestic flights. The backlog and delays took Frankfurt airport over six hours to clear, after the strike ended. This time the strike is twice the duration, which will end only at 12:00 (11:00GMT). There is bound to be significant disruption, cancellations, delays, and congestion that should last the whole day, and possibly stretch in to the night.

While Lufthansa spokespersons are indicating the airline "will try to minimize the impact for customers booked on long-distance flights", Lufthansa passengers are bound to have a difficult and uncertain time at both Frankfurt and Berlin airports.

Trains or an alternate airline might be the better option today.

"I know it looks like a baaji but it’s in custard Richard, custard. It must be the pudding. Well you’ll be fascinated to hear that it wasn't custard. It was a sour gel with a clear oil on top."

I am still doubled over with laughter after reading this complaint letter from a passenger on Virgin's Mumbai to London Heathrow flight in December 2008.

The letter is accompanied by photographic evidence to show Richard Branson exactly what the dishes referred to in the letter actually looked like.

The letter as published by The Daily Telegraph

Dear Mr Branson

REF: Mumbai to Heathrow 7th December 2008

I love the Virgin brand, I really do which is why I continue to use it despite a series of unfortunate incidents over the last few years. This latest incident takes the biscuit.

Ironically, by the end of the flight I would have gladly paid over a thousand rupees for a single biscuit following the culinary journey of hell I was subjected to at the hands of your corporation.

Image 1

Look at this Richard. Just look at it: [see image 1, above].

I imagine the same questions are racing through your brilliant mind as were racing through mine on that fateful day. What is this? Why have I been given it? What have I done to deserve this? And, which one is the starter, which one is the desert?

Image 2

You don’t get to a position like yours Richard with anything less than a generous sprinkling of observational power so I KNOW you will have spotted the tomato next to the two yellow shafts of sponge on the left. Yes, it’s next to the sponge shaft without the green paste. That’s got to be the clue hasn’t it. No sane person would serve a desert with a tomato would they. Well answer me this Richard, what sort of animal would serve a desert with peas in: [see image 2, above].

I know it looks like a baaji but it’s in custard Richard, custard. It must be the pudding. Well you’ll be fascinated to hear that it wasn't custard. It was a sour gel with a clear oil on top. It’s only redeeming feature was that it managed to be so alien to my palette that it took away the taste of the curry emanating from our miscellaneous central cuboid of beige matter. Perhaps the meal on the left might be the desert after all.

Anyway, this is all irrelevant at the moment. I was raised strictly but neatly by my parents and if they knew I had started desert before the main course, a sponge shaft would be the least of my worries. So lets peel back the tin-foil on the main dish and see what’s on offer.

I’ll try and explain how this felt. Imagine being a twelve year old boy Richard. Now imagine it’s Christmas morning and you’re sat their with your final present to open. It’s a big one, and you know what it is. It’s that Goodmans stereo you picked out the catalogue and wrote to Santa about.

Image 3

Only you open the present and it’s not in there. It’s your hamster Richard. It’s your hamster in the box and it’s not breathing. That’s how I felt when I peeled back the foil and saw this: [see image 3, above].

Now I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking it’s more of that Baaji custard. I admit I thought the same too, but no. It’s mustard Richard. MUSTARD. More mustard than any man could consume in a month. On the left we have a piece of broccoli and some peppers in a brown glue-like oil and on the right the chef had prepared some mashed potato. The potato masher had obviously broken and so it was decided the next best thing would be to pass the potatoes through the digestive tract of a bird.

Once it was regurgitated it was clearly then blended and mixed with a bit of mustard. Everybody likes a bit of mustard Richard.

Image 4

By now I was actually starting to feel a little hypoglycaemic. I needed a sugar hit. Luckily there was a small cookie provided. It had caught my eye earlier due to it’s baffling presentation: [see image 4, above].

It appears to be in an evidence bag from the scene of a crime. A CRIME AGAINST BLOODY COOKING. Either that or some sort of back-street underground cookie, purchased off a gun-toting maniac high on his own supply of yeast. You certainly wouldn’t want to be caught carrying one of these through customs. Imagine biting into a piece of brass Richard. That would be softer on the teeth than the specimen above.

I was exhausted. All I wanted to do was relax but obviously I had to sit with that mess in front of me for half an hour. I swear the sponge shafts moved at one point.

Image 5

Once cleared, I decided to relax with a bit of your world-famous onboard entertainment. I switched it on: [see image 5, above].

Image 6

I apologise for the quality of the photo, it’s just it was incredibly hard to capture Boris Johnson’s face through the flickering white lines running up and down the screen. Perhaps it would be better on another channel: [see image 6, above].

Is that Ray Liotta? A question I found myself asking over and over again throughout the gruelling half-hour I attempted to watch the film like this. After that I switched off. I’d had enough. I was the hungriest I’d been in my adult life and I had a splitting headache from squinting at a crackling screen.

Image 7

My only option was to simply stare at the seat in front and wait for either food, or sleep. Neither came for an incredibly long time. But when it did it surpassed my wildest expectations: [see image 7, above].

Yes! It’s another crime-scene cookie. Only this time you dunk it in the white stuff.

Richard…. What is that white stuff? It looked like it was going to be yoghurt. It finally dawned on me what it was after staring at it. It was a mixture between the Baaji custard and the Mustard sauce. It reminded me of my first week at university. I had overheard that you could make a drink by mixing vodka and refreshers. I lied to my new friends and told them I’d done it loads of times. When I attempted to make the drink in a big bowl it formed a cheese Richard, a cheese. That cheese looked a lot like your baaji-mustard.

So that was that Richard. I didn’t eat a bloody thing. My only question is: How can you live like this? I can’t imagine what dinner round your house is like, it must be like something out of a nature documentary.

As I said at the start I love your brand, I really do. It’s just a shame such a simple thing could bring it crashing to it’s knees and begging for sustenance.

Yours Sincerely

XXXX

In fairness, The Daily Telegraph, which published the letter, called Virgin's director of corporate communications

Paul Charles, Virgin’s Director of Corporate Communications, confirmed that Sir Richard Branson had telephoned the author of the letter and had thanked him for his “constructive if tongue-in-cheek” email. Mr Charles said that Virgin was sorry the passenger had not liked the in-flight meals which he said was “award-winning food which is very popular on our Indian routes.”

I must credit the capabilities of Paul Charles. Can you imagine saying that with a straight face after reading the letter? I sure cannot. Could you ?

I am sure, you have had some pretty pathetic airline food in your travels, but I am equally sure, it was not as bad as to have prompted you to write a letter of complaint as good as this one from the passenger.

Share your worst airline food experience via a comment.

AP is reporting a FedEx cargo plane crashed during landing Tuesday at Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport (KLBB), in my home state of Texas, USA.

Wikipedia Image
Airport director James Loomis says both crew members were taken to a hospital, but FedEx spokeswoman Sandra Munoz says both were able to walk from the crash. A supervisor at University Medical Center in Lubbock said the two crew members were being evaluated.

The ATR42-300F turboprop aircraft, registration N902FX, operating flight EM8284, was arriving from Fort Worth Alliance Airport (KAFW) in a freezing mist, touched down before runway 17R while landing in Lubbock with a visibility of about 2 miles at 04:36 local (10:36Z). Airport officials say the gear collapsed, the airplane veered to the right, the right wing impacted ground and the airplane caught fire, which was quickly extinguished by emergency services. Munoz says the plane had skidded off the runway.

The plane was operated by Idaho-based Empire Airways under contract with Memphis, Tennessee based FedEx Corp.

Delta Air Lines today reported financial results for the quarter and year ended Dec. 31, 2008.

Delta’s 2008 net loss was $503 million, or $1.08 per diluted share. When all charges are added Delta reported a net loss for 2008 of $8.9 billion, or $19.08 per diluted share.

Total revenues for the 4th quarter ending December 31, 2008, stood at $7.768 billion. $6.657 billion from passengers, $285 million from cargo, and $826 million from other sources.

A sectoral break-up of passenger revenue :


Key points for the 4th quarter include:

• Delta’s net loss for the December 2008 quarter was $340 million, or $0.50 per diluted share, excluding special items described below, and the impact of out-of-period fuel hedges. Results include $0.12 per diluted share from the negative non-cash impact of purchase accounting.
• Delta would have reported a $167 million net profit excluding special items in the December 2008 quarter, if fuel had been purchased at market prices.
• Delta’s reported net loss for the December 2008 quarter was $1.4 billion, including an over $900 million charge related to broad-based employee equity awards, and a $91 million loss on out-of-period fuel hedges.
• Delta completed its merger with Northwest on Oct. 29, 2008, creating the world’s largest airline.
• As of December 31, 2008, Delta had $6.1 billion in total liquidity and cash collateral posted with hedge counterparties.

Sectoral comparison of revenues 4th quarter 2007 vs. 2008.


Comparing 4th Quarter 2007 vs. 2008 combined revenues of Northwest and Delta, key points include

• Passenger revenue is down 1% to $6.657 billion due to a capacity decrease of 4%;
• Cargo revenue is down a whopping 24%, to $285 million, primarily due to reductions of Northwest freighter capacity;
• Other revenue is up 17%, to $826 million, thanks to the increases in baggage fees;
• Passenger performance measured in Revenue Passenger Miles or RPKs is down 2.7%;
• Capacity measured in Available Seat Miles or ASKs is down 3.8%;
• Passenger load factor is up 0.8% to 80.6%.
  

Year on Year, 2008 vs. 2007, Delta reports some improved performance.

• Passenger performance measured in Revenue Passenger Miles or RPKs is up 1.1%;
• Capacity measured in Available Seat Miles or ASKs is up 0.4%;
• Passenger load factor is up 0.4% to 82.4%.
  

Merger with Northwest
Delta completed its merger with Northwest during the fourth quarter, creating the world’s largest airline, and expects the merger to generate $500 million in synergies in 2009 and $2 billion in annual run-rate synergies by 2012.

Key points include:

• Delta placed its code on over 90% of Northwest routes, creating thousands of additional connecting opportunities for its customers;
• Delta extended its exclusive co-brand credit card partnership with American Express through 2015, which provided the company over $1 billion in immediate liquidity and is expected to provide an additional $1 billion in contract enhancements over the next two years;
• Delta and Northwest pilots, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association, achieved a single seniority list for the combined group. More than 25 percent of Delta’s total workforce has now resolved seniority integration, including pilots, flight dispatchers, meteorologists, aircraft maintenance technicians and other TechOps employees;
• The National Mediation Board ruled that Delta and Northwest now constitute a single transportation system for representation purposes under the Railway Labor Act. This is an important milestone toward resolving representation issues, which will allow alignment of pay, benefits and work rules for all employees of the new Delta;
• Elite members of both airlines’ loyalty programs gained immediate complimentary upgrade reciprocity;
  
• Delta completed the re-branding of approximately 50 of the airports in which Northwest operates and began a program to paint all Northwest mainline aircraft in the Delta livery by the end of 2010.

2008 Highlights
In addition to completing its merger with Northwest Airlines, other key points in 2008 include:

• Investing throughout the year in its employees through almost $500 million in pension and other retirement program contributions for Delta and Northwest employees, $56 million in combined Shared Reward and Incentive Program payments, pay raises and merger-related equity awards issued in 2008;
• Investing in new technology and process re-engineering, resulting in a reduction of mishandled bags at Delta and Northwest by 20% and 30%, respectively, year-over-year in the December quarter;
• Launching its joint venture with Air France, further strengthening the SkyTeam alliance and filling a key position in Delta’s portfolio by connecting its international gateways in Atlanta and New York to one of the world’s premier business airports at London-Heathrow;
• Receiving antitrust immunity for six-way alliance activities in trans-Atlantic markets for SkyTeam members Air France, Alitalia, CSA Czech Airlines, Delta, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and Northwest Airlines, enabling the carriers to offer customers more choice in flight schedules, travel times, services and fares;
• Implementing an expanded marketing alliance with Alaska Air Group, allowing the companies to offer customers more departures along the West Coast than any U.S. airline and the enhanced ability to connect passengers to Delta’s growing global route system;
• Continuing its international expansion to unique destinations and announcing new service from Los Angeles to Sydney, Australia to begin in July 2009, making Delta the only U.S. carrier to serve six continents;
• Taking delivery of two new B777-LR aircraft to support Delta’s international expansion and five B737-700 aircraft that allow the addition of service into airports requiring high-performance aircraft such as in Tegucigalpa, Honduras;
• Providing SkyMiles members with more ways to redeem their miles by initiating a “Pay with Miles” program in partnership with American Express, expanding access to Medallion® Marketplace, growing the SkyMiles online auction program, and enhancing the Award Travel search calendar on delta.com;
• Announcing plans to add new flat bed seats on Boeing 767-400 aircraft to offer customers the comfort of a 180-degree full flat bed on every Delta flight between the United States and London’s Heathrow Airport by the summer of 2009;
• Joining with Aircell® to announce that Delta customers traveling throughout the continental United States will experience the convenience of broadband Wi-Fi on board Delta’s domestic fleet of more than 330 mainline aircraft by the summer of 2009;
• Earning the prestigious 2008 Green Cross for Safety Medal from The National Safety Council, which recognizes organizations and their leaders for outstanding achievements in safety and health, community service and responsible citizenship.

2009 Guidance
2009 is going to continue to heap misery on the airline. System capacity is going to further decrease by 6% to 8% with domestic capacity cuts (10% to 12%) exceeding international services (3% to 5%). Passenger revenue is expected to further decline by 4%.

Read the full release of results here.

In my previous article I highlighted the faulty glideslope at Bengaluru International Airport (BIA) being a contributor to delays, especially in times of fog. Last Sunday January 24, 2009, BIA, again, experienced significant delays due to fog.

This issue has been hanging fire at Bengaluru International Airport since opening day.

I came across an article by Capt. A. Ranganathan, an Airline Instructor Pilot on Boeing 737 with a flying experience of 20,000 hrs, which explains the situation more technically, and with the right dose of humour.

To err is human but when an error is committed repeatedly, one must credit them with complete incompetence. They have proved that they are champions in “Bending it like Beckham”!

New Greenfield airports are constructed in Bangalore and Hyderabad. The runways are located in areas free of obstacles and the builders install PAPIs (Precision Approach Path Indicators) at a perfect 3° angle. PAPIs are mandatory equipment required by ICAO for airfields where airliner jets operate. These assist pilots to complete a precise landing in the touch down zone after they transition from an instrument approach. All the four runways, two in each city, had these installed at 3° angle.

The AAI installed the ILS (Instrument Landing System) for all the four runways. And they showed why they are great fans of the footballer. They bent the glide slope angles to 3.30° and 3.40°, instead of synchronising them with the 3° PAPIs. With this master-stroke, they killed the two airports from being capable of operating flights in CAT 2 and CAT 3 ILS conditions in fog. The recent diversions from Bangalore and Hyderabad, and the resultant air traffic congestion at Mumbai could have been avoided if the ILS Glide Slope had been less than 3.25° . The airport owners should have insisted on the AAI redoing the glide slopes. Instead, they bend the PAPI angles up to synchronise with the ILS! This is progressive thinking! Airports which should have functioned ‘24 x 365’ hours in a year are restricted to operations ONLY when the visibility is more than 550 metres,

High Glide Slope angles at Hyderabad and Bangalore. Photos: Naverus and Capt. A. Ranganathan

The implications do not stop there. All aircraft have a structural limit for their landing gear. The maximum rate of descent permitted is 600 feet per minute. A glide slope up to 3.25° will ensure a controlled flare and landing within this limit. Any higher angle will require a descent rate of 800 to 900FPM. A positive flare in the correct time is required. Any delay can result in a hard landing or a late touch down. These are a major threat while landing in heavy rain conditions. If the rain condition is accompanied by changing winds, especially tail winds, it becomes a dangerous recipe.

Read the full article here.

"Ladies and gentlemen, from the flight deck, ....... we advise you to always keep your seat belt fastened when seated, even when the 'fasten seat beat' sign is switched off"

How many times have we heard this advice during our flights ?

How frequently do we follow this advice ? The road warriors, and frequent fliers will probably say they do, but most of us do not.

Just as most of the 285 passengers of a Northwest Airlines Airbus A330-300, flight NW022 from Tokyo Narita, Japan to Honolulu, Hawaii, USA on January 22, 2009. The aircraft experienced severe turbulence for about 20 seconds while en-route near the Midway Islands.

One flight attendant received serious injuries, three passengers minor injuries. The flight attendant suffered serious head and neck injuries and was delivered to a hospital in Honolulu after the flight crew elected to continue and land safely. Two passengers with injuries, one to the hip, the other with neck and arm injuries, were also delivered to a Honolulu hospital, a third passenger was treated at the airport.

In the din of geese and a water landing, most of us missed this incident, one that occurs with far more frequency than bird strikes, and unlike bird strikes, this is something, we passengers can protect ourselves against.

One of the worst incidences of Clear Air Turbulence occurred on December 28, 1997. A Boeing 747-100 performing United Airlines flight UA826, and flying the same route as NW022, from Tokyo, Narita to Honolulu. Two hours into the flight, at 31,000 feet, the plane received reports of severe clear-air turbulence in the area and the seat belt sign was turned on, but before passengers could fully react, the aircraft suddenly dropped around 100 feet, seriously injuring many passengers and causing damage to the aircraft. The plane turned around and landed safely back in Tokyo, but was not put back in service. One passenger died of her injuries after landing in Tokyo. (Read NTSB press release of the incident).

Do you fasten your seat belt for the duration of the flight ? Share your thoughts via a comment.

The proposed merger of British Airways and Iberia are threatened, and may be heading for the rocks, after the UK carrier warned it was not prepared to merge with its Spanish counterpart on the basis of current market valuations for the airlines.

Thanks to good performance by Iberia shares, poor performance by British Airways shares, and the sharp decline of the British Pound against the Euro, the market value of Iberia on Thursday exceeded that of British Airways for the first time since the carriers began merger negotiations in July 2008, to form Europe's third largest airline behind Air France-KLM and Lufthansa-Swiss-Austrian-Brussels.

When the merger talks between the two began at the end of July, the respective market capitalisations indicated a share exchange ratio of 65 per cent for BA and 35 per cent for Iberia. The ratio has plunged to only 49.6 per cent for BA and 50.4 per cent for Iberia.

During a visit to Hyderabad, BA CEO, Willie Walsh said

The present valuation was unacceptable. Our shareholders would not accept it; The Iberia share price had "performed well in recent times", I would argue it is overpriced. We will look at this in the negotiations. That work is still to be done. I am not at all concerned about not doing a deal with Iberia. I would walk away if it does not make sense.

Bangalore Aviation readers will recall that valuation disagreement, was a dominating reason for the recent collapse of merger talks between British Airways and QANTAS.

The rising deficits in BA's pension scheme is also a cause of concern for Iberia, and it is due to receive a report by financial consultants, Mercer, by the end of the month.

Iberia executives are realistic, and acknowledge that the recent shifts in market valuation are not reflective of the true values, of the two airlines, but simplest corporate governance demands them to take fullest advantage of the situation, and get a good deal.

The talk from Willie Walsh may be tough, but British Airways is in a tight spot. It is rapidly falling behind in the airline consolidation race; a crucial strategy during these bleakest of times. Their anti-trust waiver requests with American Airlines, are far from through, and if the merger with Iberia fails, I do not see many available options for them.

Qantas' problems on their Airbus A330 fleet just don't seem to end. This time a Qantas A330 aircraft from Auckland to Melbourne was grounded. The reason -- a distressed pet dog escaped from his kennel in the cargo hold, and chewed up the wiring. Must have been a big dog, and extremely distressed to chew through the panel covers to get to the wiring.

As a dog lover, I read this story from the Courier Mail with amusement and a little apprehension. I just hope Qantas does not take punitive actions in transporting pets.

I wonder if the dog owner will or should be made to pay the repair bill ?

As usual your comments are always welcome.

Frankfurt airport, one of the busiest in the world, was shut down for 50 minutes this morning, due to a technical glitch in its Air Traffic Control.

The airport, was shrouded in fog, and the data transmission from the German weather service and the ATC broke down between 0635 and 0725, as per a spokesman for air traffic control.

This forced a cancellation of all flights in and out.

Airport operator Fraport reports 38 departing flights and 37 arriving flights. 25 flights already in the air, mostly long distance flights en-route to Frankfurt, were diverted to Cologne and Stuttgart airports.

The stoppage, caused significant downstream disruptions which took almost half the day to clear up.

Singapore Airlines took delivery of its first Airbus A330-300 aircraft, 9V-STA, today, and also unveiled the cabin product.

Acquired under a lease agreement with Dublin-based AWAS, and powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 700 engines, the aircraft was handed over to the airline at a ceremony in Toulouse today attended by Mak Swee Wah, Executive Vice President Operations and Services, Singapore Airlines, Frank Pray, President and Chief Executive Officer of AWAS and Tom Enders, President and Chief Executive Officer, Airbus.

The A330 joins an existing Airbus fleet at Singapore Airlines, that includes the double deck A380 and the ultra-long haul A340-500. The carrier has also selected the all-new A350 to meet future requirements in the mid-size wide-body category, with the delivery of 20 aircraft on firm order due to begin in 2013.

The airline is configuring its A330s in a high comfort layout seating 285 passengers in two classes, with accommodation for 30 in Business Class and 255 in Economy. See the cabin layout and seat map here.

In an industry first, the economy class features interfaces for passengers to plug in their iPods and iPhones and listen or view their own music and videos, on the large 26cm (10.2 inch) monitor in addition to the inflight entertainment system.

The economy seats are of a new ergonomic design increasing comfort, personal space, and legroom.

Regular passengers of Singapore Airlines, will recognise the A330 Business class seats as an improved version of the original "Spacebed" inclined lie-flat seats. I just love the colour.


For details of the planned deployment of the A330 by Singapore Airlines read my earlier article.

Delta Airlines which recently commenced its Atlanta - Mumbai non-stop is feeling the pinch of the economic slowdown affecting India's IT industry.

Effective March 29, it will reduce the frequency of its service from a daily to five flights a week.

The service will not operate on Tuesdays and Sundays ex-Atlanta, and Mondays and Wednesdays ex-Mumbai. In my opinion, it is a very sensible move. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday are the slowest days of the week.

Service will continue to operate with the ultra long range Boeing 777-200LR.

The Mint is reporting that GoAir recently started offering uniform fares, inclusive of surcharges and other taxes, for purchases made 21 days in advance.

For short sectors, defined as less than 750 kms travel distance, the airline will charge Rs 1,700 a ticket and Rs 2,700 for distances greater than 750 kms. According to the company statement, in effect a Mumbai-Delhi ticket bought 21 days in advance will be for Rs 2,700 instead of the base fare of at least Rs 1,000 plus Rs 2,925 of surcharges and airport fees.

GoAir’s new offer is in reaction to the introduction of Rs one fare by IndiGo on certain routes and SpiceJet Ltd.’s Rs 99 base fare for tickets booked at least 21 days before travel.

The quarter ended December 31, 2008 witnessed an 18 per cent decline in domestic passenger growth, and has prompted all major airline groups in India to resort to price cuts in order to stimulate passenger demand.

Jet Airways, and its low cost subsidiary JetLite, were one of the early adopters of the 21 day advance fares also called APEX fares. Jet Airways also recently offered Rs 250 base ticket fares, while JetLite started Rs nine base fare for travel during this month. It has similar schemes for its Business-Class too. Jet Airways is expecting a 15 per cent increase in passenger traffic.

Jet's alliance partner Kingfisher Airlines also slashed fares between 21 per cent and 65 per cent on various routes earlier this month while the state-owned and operated National Aviation Company of India Ltd. (NACIL), which runs Air India, also announced an average reduction of 52 per cent in basic fares for domestic travel on 20 major routes.

Agence France-Presse is reporting, the entire crew of a South African Airways flight from Johannesburg to London Heathrow, were arrested Tuesday after about $450,000 worth of cannabis and cocaine were found in their suitcases, by British customs officials.

As per officials, British customs agents found 110 pounds (50 kilograms) of cannabis, worth about $210,000, and 9 pounds (4 kilograms) of cocaine, worth about $240,000, in three suitcases, when the crew was passing a customs clearance point at London Heathrow airport, around 8AM.

The agents first found the cannabis in the suitcases, and additional searches revealed a white powder that tested positive for cocaine. All 15 members of the plane’s flight and cabin crew, 10 women and five men, were arrested.

Customs spokesperson Mr. Gaiger said

“Interviews will be taking place and will probably go into tomorrow, and then we will decide whether we are going to charge anyone,”

My post The world's most delayed and most punctual airports, seems to have ignited a media frenzy within India.

Times of India carried snippets from the article Sunday 11th January, which became a national story, and was picked up later that morning by the TV networks.

A lot of Bangalore Aviation readers have been asking me questions relating to the article.

Why are Mumbai and Delhi airports at the top of the list of delayed flight arrivals?

It is actually very simple. At both airports the number of flights arriving per hour exceeds the capacity of the runways. At Mumbai, there are two runways, but they cross each other in an X shape. There are also limitations of taxiways, but, I will not go into such a high level of detail.

Bottom line, the capacity of Mumbai airport is 30 landings per hour, but with a little juggling and using the crossing runway, the Mumbai Air Traffic Control (ATC) is able to push the number up to 36 per hour. But the demand is even higher.

It's a similar situation with Delhi airport, which inaugurated a new third runway, plagued with problems. Drainage, non-functional aeronautical aids, and to top it off, some faceless bureaucrat, probably encouraged by a narcissist politician, allowed a 40 feet (4 storey) tall statue of Lord Shiva along the path of the runway. Now the new runway cannot be used by the Airbus A380, the very aircraft it was specifically built for, till that statue is removed. And we all know, how very impossible that is, in a religiously charged India.

Add to this excess demand and weather. Fog in Delhi, and rains in Mumbai. The system is so over-capacity that it provides the ATC absolutely no room to manoeuvre during bad weather, and flights get even more delayed.

If Mumbai and Delhi are at the top of the list for delayed arrivals, why are they not at the top of the list for delayed departures?

The clock gets reset to the revised departure time, due to the late arrival of the incoming aircraft. The departure time is measured when the airplane doors are closed. Airlines get their passengers on board, close the doors, and then wait for taxi clearance. Due to the traffic jam in the skies, you will find that your aircraft will taxi, and then wait in line, for a long time, to take-off.

Why is Bengaluru International Airport (BIA) at rank 4 in the Top 5 list of most delayed arrivals? Is it not an efficient airport?

BIA is an efficient airport, no doubt. I suspect three reasons. One is thrust on to BIA, one is temporary, and one needs to be addressed.

One, and this is the biggest reason, as the airport spokesperson said, Bangalore's dependence on trunk routes. i.e. Bangalore-Mumbai, Bangalore-Delhi, and more especially after the increase in fares, which dropped the bottom out of regional flights. Flights from Mumbai and Delhi, may leave their gate/stand on time, but get delayed in take-off. So the blame lands up on Bangalore's door-step for the late arrival. It is unfair.

Two, last year, when the new airport opened, there was massive disruption for about a month. I suspect this brought down the overall performance of Bangalore. On the positive side, everyone at BIA have been working very hard, and the kinks have been solved. I suspect Bangalore will be off the list in 2009.

Third, and I have highlighted it in my original post, is weather. Bangalore suffers from fog, between 15th November to 15th February, typically between 3AM and 8:30AM. 6AM to 10AM is peak period, and the fog impacts the performance of arriving and departing aircraft. While fog is limited to a short period in the year, the disruptions are significant enough, to lower the overall annual performance.

The Instrument Landing System at BIA, has been installed incorrectly. Despite being CAT-II capable, which will permit operations in poorer visibility conditions, the equipment is forced to function at CAT-I level. (For a better understanding of CAT levels please read this Wikipedia article).

How, the Airports Authority of India (AAI), which is responsible for the equipment, and has installed over a hundred ILS systems, managed this blunder, is beyond me. Repairs of the installation were to have been carried out during the first six months of operations, i.e. by end November 2008, but given the delays this winter season, they obviously have not.

What is the solution?

We all want to fly during the peak hours of 6AM and 10AM and 5PM and 7PM.

While domestic traffic has declined, the demand during peak hours is sharper. Now that the economy is in the tank, we want to reduce our costs and try and complete all our work in a day trip, or at least not waste the working hours, flying.

Mumbai and Delhi are still way too overloaded, especially during the peak period.

With overall reduction in air traffic and shrinking incomes, there is pressure from the private airport operators MIAL and DIAL, on the ATC to accommodate more flights, as they scramble to earn more income. I cannot fault them. They are in business for profit, not charity, but this adds to the problem.

This economic connection, is the single path to solutions.

The first part of the solution lies with the Directorate General for Civil Aviation (DGCA). It is time they woke up from their slumber, audit the airports, and allocate the maximum number of flights per hour. Any airport scheduling more flights than capacity pays a hefty fine, and is open to punitive law suits from delayed passengers for permitting flights greater than capacity.

To help the airports demand the needed reductions from the airlines, the second part of the solution lies in changing the system of flight slot allocations. India follows a system of "historic rights", i.e. once an airline gets a slot, then they continue to get that slot, till such time they revoke it. Which no airline ever does. Move to system of performance based allocation :

• If a flight gets delayed, they loose their place in the queue. Similar to an appointment at the doctor, wait for the next appointment to open up, rather than delaying everyone in the queue behind you.
• Mr. Airline you want a premium landing or take-off slot, pay a premium for it. Hey, but that is unfair to the low cost airlines ? Sorry, but life is not fair.

The airlines can recover the premiums they pay for the slot, from the passengers as a higher fare. They used to charge Rs. 150 ~ Rs. 300 "congestion surcharge", in any case. We passengers who are flying during peak hours, are already paying for them benefit.

Third, and this is partly under way, optimise the air traffic control system. Implement Gagan and the GBAS systems fast. Encourage airlines to use Performance Based Navigation (PBN), and reward those who do.

In the mean time, force the air traffic controllers and pilots to perform efficiently. Right now, the system calls for a two minute separation or 5 nautical miles (10km). World over airports function with a 90 second separation, some even at 60 seconds. A 25 per cent reduction in separation from 120 seconds to 90 seconds at the major airports, will result in a 50 per cent increase in capacity from 30 movements to 45 movements.

Pilots don't react fast enough in the sky, SPIN 'EM. They can land nice and easy sometime before the day is out. Foreign pilots cannot speak English fluently, DE-CERTIFY 'EM. They can fly in less congestion countries. Controllers cannot cope, TRANSFER 'EM. Let them go to nice and easy Jabalpur, Guwahati, or one of the smaller airports in India.

We risk a future similar to La Guardia airport, where the US Department of Transportation is forcing slot reductions, since the system cannot cope any more.

It is time for some radical solutions to this creaking system.

Lufthansa has opened its new design, super lounge for its premium passengers, in Terminal 1 at New York's John F. Kennedy airport. The new lounge is spread across 3 levels and has a total area of 1,500 square meters (about 16,000 square feet).

The highlight of the new lounge is the First Class area for HON Circle members and First Class passengers, located on the third level. The first outside the Lufthansa and SWISS hubs at Frankfurt, Munich and Zurich, it features an exclusive atmosphere, where First Class passengers and HON Circle members will find all the amenities they need in order to refresh themselves and unwind; or they can simply sit back and be spoilt by the attentive staff. The area has its own large reception desk, where guests are welcomed, and 27 comfortable chairs. In a separate pre-flight dinner area, guests can have a meal before their flight departs so that they can then sleep or relax on a night flight without any interruption. Generously proportioned shower rooms are also provided so that guests can freshen up before their flight.

The Senator Lounge on the second floor, which also reflects the elegant new lounge design, has 124 seats. Comfortable relaxing armchairs invite guests to unwind and recharge their batteries. In the bistro area, snacks, a choice selection of German wines, beers and spirits are served. The Senator Lounge also has comfortable bathrooms with bathtubs and showers.

On the lower floor, the completely renovated, spacious Business Lounge will accommodate up to 171 guests. It has a bistro and bar area offering a choice of snacks and drinks, a lounge area with groups of comfortable leather easy chairs and televisions and a separate work area with workstations for business travellers.

Oliver Wagner, Vice President Global Airport Products and Services at Lufthansa said

“The lounge at John F. Kennedy Airport is a walk-in advertisement for Lufthansa on the American continent and is an important component of our 150-million-euro investment programme to upgrade our lounges worldwide,” “In the first three months of this year alone, we will open seven lounges, including in Mumbai and Paris.”

Access to the Lufthansa lounge at JFK is directly behind the security checkpoints to minimise the distance lounge guests have to walk to the departure gates.

Lufthansa currently operates about 60 lounges worldwide with a total floor space of over 22,000 square metres. One entirely new facility is the first Lufthansa Welcome Lounge at Frankfurt, Lufthansa’s largest hub.

Until 2013, Lufthansa will be investing about 150 million euros in constructing new lounges and refurbishing existing ones in order to further expand and enhance its airport lounge facilities for customers.

In its Summer 2009 time-table, effective March 29, Singapore Airlines will revert back to servicing Bangalore Singapore with the Boeing 777-300, an upgrade from the existing Boeing 777-200.

The slowdown in the global economy caused significant impact in the Information Technology sector, which constitutes a bulk of Bangalore's international traffic. In response Singapore Airlines had downgraded services from a daily Boeing 777-300 to a Boeing 777-200, and suspended its 3 times a week morning flights.

It appears, the airline is re-testing the waters progressively, by first re-introducing the higher capacity aircraft on a daily night service and may consider re-introducing the morning flight if market conditions significantly improve.

Singapore Airlines Boeing 777-300 seat map
Unfortunately, these aircraft will not be the 777-300ERs featuring Singapore Airline's super spacious new Business class nor the upgraded First class, in the 1-2-1 configuration, and will not feature the lie-flat seats in either of the premium classes. The Business Class is in a 2-3-2 configuration and the First is in a 2-2-2.

The Bangalore Singapore flight is identical to the classic "red-eye" west coast flights in the US. Leaving Bangalore close to midnight and arriving at daybreak in Singapore. Since it is just under four hours in duration, sleep is at a premium. Most premium class passengers put their seats back and try grab some sleep as soon as the flight is airborne.

The regular seating on these 777-300s is geared for day flights, and just does not provide for desperately needed sleep. I hope some of Singapore Airline's senior management read this post and decide to put in aircraft with lie-flat seats.

It will be a hit, especially considering that Malaysia Airlines will be downgrading the Bangalore-Kuala Lumpur service to a Boeing 737-800 by June, and Thai Airways will continue with its old Airbus A300-600.

Update 1 - January 22
As per the latest update Singapore Airlines will revert back to a Boeing 777-200 from May 18th. What a pity.

An era came to its end as Australian carrier Qantas retired its last Boeing 747-300.

The fleet of six, which entered service between 1984 and 1987, clocked more than 524,000 flying hours.

Along with the retirement of the fleet, comes another retirement -- flight engineers. Modern airliners with their "glass cockpits" have eliminated the flight engineers' station. Qantas will no longer have need for flight engineers in any of its remaining aircraft's cockpits.

The last serviceable Qantas B747-300 VH-EBW, will depart Sydney today at 1900 local (AEDT) 0800 GMT bound for the jets graveyard in Marana, Arizona, USA, pending sale.

Farewell.