July 2010 Archives

Earlier today Virgin Atlantic unveiled its new livery, which, to the untrained eye, looks not a huge amount different to the old livery.

But, in Virgin's own words, here's what's new:

"The Virgin Atlantic name, previously on the front end of the fuselage is now emblazoned large across the whole of the aircraft in a fine custom drawn font. In addition, the undercarriage of the aircraft now features the new Virgin Atlantic logo in dark purple - making the aircraft more easily identifiable when taking off and landing.  The winglets are now red with the Virgin script on the inner side, visible to passengers on board the plane. The iconic, flag carrying flying lady, who appears on all Virgin Atlantic aircraft, has been rejuvenated with a subtle cosmetic makeover and enhanced detailing - now fluttering a larger Union Jack."

So now you know. Here's the (corrected!!) old livery for comparison and another pic here - thanks to DC Spotter and Scoreboard for your feedback (see comments below).

We've just pulled together the 2009 world annual rankings for Airline Business - this is our annual listings of the top 150 airline groups by revenue and the top 200 airlines by passenger traffic. That 2009 was a bad year for the airline sector comes as little suprise, but the 11% fall in revenues (calculated in US dollars) among the top 150 airlines last year is still pretty eye-watering. Lufthansa Group remained the largest carrier by revenues in 2009 at $31 billion, closely followed by Air France-KLM and an enlarged Delta Air Lines following its merger in late 2008 with Northwest Airlines.

To illustrate how the revenues break down among the top 30 carriers, our extremely talented designer Dominic Ray has produced this rather cool graphic  - which we call the Airline Revenue Map. Click here to see it full size.

For more commentary on this year's rankings and a look at some of the key lessons to be learned from the crisis, check out our related feature here.

To see the full rankings we published in our August issue, you could always check out the digital edition of Airline Business, which is available for free with Flightglobal's Yodl desktop application.

Or you can access the full tables and additional data in spreadsheet format by purchasing individual datasets of our rankings here. 

JetBlue is taking the entire year to celebrate being one of the most successful startup carriers in the last twenty years after marking its first decade without a trip in Chapter 11 or being acquired by another airline.

But while the celebrations continue, JetBlue is very aware that complancency could result in any one of those scenarios and is aggressively moving into its next decade with the same sense of innovation that has underpinned its staying power for the last ten years.

Airline Business recently sat down with JetBlue CEO Dave Barger while he was in between station visits to celebrate the carrier's 10-year milstone.

Here's a conversation with a chief who is heading into the future with a totally open mind about how JetBlue should build the business going forward.

The respective heads of the three mega-Gulf carriers, Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways, were all at Farnbrough for last week's air show and all three spoke to Flightglobal during the show. You can watch our video interviews with Emirates chief executive Tim Clark, Etihad chief executive James Hogan and Qatar Airways chief executive Akbar Al Baker here.

• Tim Clark
• James Hogan
• Akbar Al Baker

Plus, there's loads more video interviews and footage from Farnbrough to watch - click here for more.

British Airways didn't sneak a crafty Boeing 787 order into the Farnborough bun-fight, but you couldn't be blamed for thinking it had.

Not least because the non-existent order for 24 aircraft was splashed by Dow Jones and its sister Fox Business...

...and, inevitably, left a trail of confusion in the aviation forums.

It was all complete twaddle, of course, but every false start begins with a gunshot. Whose finger was on the trigger?

Look no further than British Airways itself, which took the opportunity to distribute a short statement directly to journalists as the 787 arrived on 18 July:

As the Boeing 787 makes its first international appearance at the Farnborough Air Show, preparations for the aircraft to enter the British Airways fleet are well underway.

 

British Airways has ordered 24 of the new aircraft which will join its long-haul fleet from 2012.

 

Jonathan Counsell, British Airways' head of environment, said: "We are committed to addressing our impact on climate change...

You might think a landmark opening order for BA, at the UK's highest-profile air show, would have warranted a quote from chief executive Willie Walsh, rather than the airline's eco-greenness department, but that minor clue - as well as the fact that BA has been talking about this 787 order for nearly three years - fortunately failed to prevent one of the best slap-your-forehead moments of the show.

Farnborough isn't just just a venue for leasing companies to open their wallets and spread the wealth.  It's also a great way to plant the seeds of aviation in young minds -- as evidenced by kids in this photo taken on Friday giving a "green wave" to the A380 celebrating the aircraft's environmental attributes.

Our blue friends also payed a visit to the Flightglobal chalet...

The 787 departed Farnborough yesterday. Overnight, the prime real estate it occupied has been grabbed by the Qatar Airways Boeing 777-300ER and the 787 signs on Boeing's chalet in that area have been overlaid with Qatar logos.

Note as well a certain Middle Eastern rival behind the Qatar Airways 777 - that sight will please Qatar CEO Mr Akbar Al Baker!

Steven Udvar-Hazy has done quite a bit of shopping here at Farnborough, placing firm orders for 115 aircraft, including an intriguing deal for 10 ATR 72-600 turboprops.

He's bullish about the -600's fuel efficiency and its ability to operate from airports not suited to larger jets.

While covering the ATR deal I juggled my pen and paper and snapped a couple of photos of Hazy, and ATR CEO Filippo Bagnato.

Yesterday I was wondering where all the yellow paws prints painted on the roads around the Farnborough Show ground were leading.

I reveal they lead to the Airbus chalet on the flightline. The reason is the debut of the Airbus 400M - nick-named the Grizzly. Now you know.

Airbus has revealed images it describes as "more than a flight of pure fantasy" of a concept plane.

"The images released today illustrate what air transport could look like in 2050 - even 2030 if advancements in existing technologies continue apace," says Airbus.

"Airbus experts in aircraft materials, aerodynamics, cabins and engines came up with the design which is an 'engineer's dream' to meet the expectations of the passengers of the future.

"Ultra long and slim wings, semi-embedded engines, a U-shaped tail and light-weight 'intelligent' body all feature to further improve environmental performance or 'eco-efficiency'.  The result: lower fuel burn, a significant cut in emissions, less noise and greater comfort."

What's been walking around at the show last night?

It's 0700 here at Farnborough on a lovely Monday morning - the calm before the storm!

Boeing brings its brand new aircraft to the UK's premier air show and the BBC, as you'd expect, is straight in with an interview featuring 787 chief engineer Mike Sinnett.

And the choice of backdrop? Arch-rival Airbus' A380. Naturally...

There were about 300 snappers, journalists and others on the flight line at Farnborough at 0900 this morning to witness the long-awaited arrival of the 787.

After holding for a while because it was nice and early it did a low, slow flypast before landing, literally, on a sixpence. Honestly a Dash 7 could hardly have done better.

It's got lovely lines this lady. 

The 787 does a little bit of posing back down the runway before going off to customs.

Another shot.

And finally, the Airline Business editor and our man in Singapore Siva Govindasamy are all smiles because we were there when the 787 landed at Farnborough!

Couldn't resist grabbing this screenshot from the flight-tracking site Flightradar24 while waiting for the Boeing 787's arrival at Farnborough today.

It's pictured crossing into the UK mainland, pretty much directly over Broughton. Where, of course, Airbus builds all its wings. Those rascals.

Everyone is salivating about the arrival of the Boeing 787 in about an hour or so.

So, just so you don't forget that there is something else interesting at this show, here is a shot of the Airbus A380 just now as it is pushing into position on the flight line here at Farnborough.

Set-up day at Farnborough and one of our own lobs a speculation grenade into the Flightglobal chalet. The EADS stand features a full-sized Airbus A350 XWB mock-up with a Spanish flag prominently positioned behind the cockpit window.

There's a pressure wave of half-baked conclusions and outrageously premature headlines, mainly about Iberia long-haul orders, before we decide to sneak a photo for the record.

Sure enough, the A350 is there complete with Bandera de España...

...but what's being concealed?

Nothing is obviously visible through the cloth so I sidle up to the flag and, feigning intense fascination with the coat-of-arms, slide my hand up behind it, feeling around as if there's a front-page scoop written on the fuselage in Braille.

Still nothing. So there's only one option. A glance around suggests the only people around are labourers putting the finishing touches to the stand, so I lift the free corner of the flag and look underneath.

Then I hear a voice. "You like the flag? It's my flag," says one of the workers, in a Mediterranean accent. "The World Cup!"

And with that, the red-hot Spanish A350 scoop flatlines.

"Are you from Holland?" beams the worker. I tell him I'm not. Although I still have to trudge back without the glorious prize.

It is not often I am surprised by an advert in Flight International, the sister magazine of Airline Business.

But idly leafing through this week's issue - 20-26 July - I came across this ad opposite the contents page.

This type of ad is a bit of a throwback. It's a tombstone ad, once popular in mags like Airline Business, where finance houses deliver a simple message in print about a deal they have done regarding aircraft finance.

This one from FBR Capital Markets is remarkable because it records the $1 billion plus raised by Air Lease Corporation - that is the new aircraft leasing venture being launched by former ILFC founder Steven Udvar-Hazy.

Udvar-Hazy's new company has just unveiled its management team, first tranche of financing and its initial plans to grow its portfolio of narrowbody and widebody aircraft.

A first look at the four big halls here at Farnborough as the contractors work hard to finish them off before Sunday evening.

This team was assembling a COMAC C919 model.

This bit goes here.

The Antonov crew take a break from their model building...

While these Sukhoi's are built and remain under wraps...

These nets are in Hall 4 to contain the indoor Unmanned Aerial Vehicle demonstration which will take place pretty much all day.

Ummm, wonder what's under here?

A post on behalf of Henk Ombelet, Flightglobal business development manager

Being responsible within Flightglobal for our iPhone development, I was very pleased to receive an invitation from British Airway to the launch of their mobile application.

BA has had an iPhone app for a couple of years now, and had identified that it was in need of an upgrade. It also realised there are other platforms out there, and while the iPhone is the most used phone on their BA2GO website, the Blackberry is very important for their business travellers.

So, last night Chris Davies, Head of Digital Marketing, opened by giving an overview of the BA mobile strategy. Clearly, mobile devices are very important for their customers, and are also very personal.

Linking the travel plans of an individual with his or her smart phone means that BA can offer a very smooth travel experience. It's all done through the Executive Club, BA's frequent flyer program, and it links the application on your phone with all your upcoming travel, allowing you to check in online, and on the iPhone, even to store your boarding pass. No more bits of paper to lose.

It will also tell if your flight is delayed, you can check your Exec Club account, look up flight schedules and eventually it will present live information such as gates and boarding times.

They then let everyone loose on the various iPhones, Blackberrys and Android phones with some of the developers around to explain and at the same time record feedback.

While the apps are very good, and as a blackberry user I have been yearning for something that lets me check in on the run, what impressed me most though was the manner in which BA had organised the event.

It used an internet forum of frequent travellers to recruit BA travellers for the event, especially those that had been vocal about mobile apps. They gave them a nice, practically first class experience, and most of these people relished the opportunity to give feedback to senior managers at the airline - something they don't often get a chance to do.

In return, BA gets a lot of valuable customer feedback, and at the same time manages to give off a really positive vibe - something they needed after the ash clouds and other problems of the past months.

Check out the comments that were left on the chat forum after the event: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/british-airways-executive-club/1103088-would-you-like-chance-come-our-mobile-event-2.html , and you'll get an idea of how the attendees enjoyed the experience.

The new applications will be released on Monday 19 July 2010.

 
Being responsible within flightglobal for our iPhone development, I was very pleased to receive an invitation from British Airway to the launch of their mobile application. BA has had an iPhone app for a couple of years now, and had identified that it was in need of an upgrade. They also realised there are other platforms out there, and while the iPhone is the most used phone on their BA2GO website, the Blackberry is very important for their business travellers.

So, last night Chris Davies, Head of Digital Marketing, opened by giving an overview of the BA mobile strategy. Clearly, mobile devices are very important for their customers, and are also very personal. Linking the travel plans of an individual with his or her smart phone means that BA can offer a very smooth travel experience. It's all done through the Executive Club, BA's frequent flyer program, and it links the application on your phone with all your upcoming travel, allowing you to check in online, and on the iPhone, even to store your boarding pass. No more bits of paper to loose. It will also tell if your flight is delayed, you can check your Exec Club account, look up flight schedules and eventually it will present live information such as gates and boarding times.

They then let everyone loose on the various iPhones, Blackberrys and Android phones with some of the developers around to explain and at the same time record feedback.

While the apps are very good, and as a blackberry user I have been yearning for something that lets me check in on the run, what impressed me most though was the manner in which BA had organised the event. They used an internet forum of frequent travellers to recruit BA travellers for the event, especially those that had been vocal about mobile apps. They gave them a nice, practically first class experience, and most of these people relished the opportunity to give feedback to senior managers at the airline - something they don't often get a chance to do. In return, BA gets a lot of valuable customer feedback, and at the same time manages to give off a really positive vibe - something they needed after the ash clouds and other problems of the past months. Check out the comments that were left on the chat forum after the event: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/british-airways-executive-club/1103088-would-you-like-chance-come-our-mobile-event-2.html , and you'll get an idea of how the attendees enjoyed the experience. 

The new applications will be released on Monday 19 July 2010.

Morning All. Just arrived at the Farnborough air show 2010 and got first sight of my home for the next week or so.

First thing to say is security was excellent - whisked in very politely - good start!

A couple of photos on the way to the Flightglobal Media Lounge.

These racks will be filled up with the huge first issue of Flight Daily News which will be out on Monday first thing.

Don't forget to check out the first issue of interactive Flight from about 1500 GMT on Monday too.

Flightglobal's editors and photographers and designers are beginning to arrive.

Let the show begin.

As fans of the now-defunct 'Miss KrasAir' contest will testify, you can rely on Russia to be shamelessly anachronistic when it comes to female cabin crew, and it doesn't look like the upcoming 'Flight Attendant at the Helm' competition is going to be changing things much.

It all kicks off on 16 July when cabin crew from several airlines - Aeroflot, Transaero, SkyExpress and NordStar among them - will pitch up to show which of them can best handle a Boeing 737 simulator.

"You can find out which airlines have not only the most beautiful, but also the most talented stewardesses with piloting skills - capable, if necessary, of taking the place of the captain," says one of the parties involved, although I doubt the line-up will feature many diesel-faced munters with type ratings.

That pin-up scourge of the feminist aviation chapter, Avianova, is taking part as well, but don't ask me where that puts them on the moral barometer.

Execs and pilots of Air Canada's regional partner Jazz are trading kudos over a newly-ratified labour agreement that was preceded by the pilots agreeing to strike and a threat by the Canadian government to ratify legislation to thwart any work stoppage launched by the pilots.

While management at Jazz celebrates an agreement that will provide "the stability we require to continue to grow and diversify our business", and pilots say achievements in the agreement reflect improvements in pay, pension and lifestyle considerations, you can't help but wonder if their efforts were influenced by threats from Labour Minister Lisa Raitt last month that she'd usher through the necessary legislation to block a strike.

I'll let you decide if it is coincidence that after Raitt issued her directive the tentative agreement was finalised and ratified. Negotiations have been occuring for about a year, which in all fairness, is an impressively short period of time compared with some labour negotiations at US carriers. But leading up to the agreement there was a 60-day period of conciliation and a 21-day cooling off period.

With the myriad of intense airline labour negotiations occuring now in the US, it will be interesting to see if the government takes a page from Canada's playbook.  

And now Jazz management and pilots are enjoying aircraft being in the air rather than on the ground.

British Airways chief executive Willie Walsh was in bullish mood addressing a packed Aviation Club in central London yesterday. In a wide-ranging, and at times very funny, address, Walsh tackled a number of themes:

• BA/AA/Iberia transatlantic JV antitrust approval - confident it will be confirmed in the very near future
• Cabin crew dispute - calls new offer to cabin crew fair and reasonable
• UK air passenger duty - wants the tax scrapped when aviation enters EU (or a global) emissions trading scheme.

But problably the constant theme was his steadfast belief the UK carrier would continue to compete effectively and grow despite the capacity restraints in London's airport infrastructure.  For more on this, read my story here on how he believes BA's merger with Iberia through the creation of the International Aviation Group holding company will position it to exploit further consolidation opportunities.

One of the interesting aspects touched on by Walsh during the Q&A after his speech was in response to a question about the competitive threat posed by the mega Middle East carriers. Here was his take on it:

"The challenge in the Middle East is whether it can sustain three large global carriers. I struggle to see how you can create three global hubs so close to each other. It has never been done before. That is not to say it can't be done, but the ambition there is very, very large by any scale. I think the next five years will tell a lot.

But the good thing about it is I think the carriers in Europe are wide awake to the challenge it represents and we are not sitting back waiting for something to break. We are taking action today to make sure we are in a position to compete effectively on a global scale with those carriers.

We've got to respond, and respond in a positive way, and not be like the industry was when Ryanair appeared on the scene. We all laughed, we all said it wouldn't work
We've got to make sure we treat these ambitious carriers with respect and do whatever is necessary to make sure we compete with them.

We believe we can offer global reach, which they cannot yet do. The problem we face [in the UK], and its not a problem most of my European counterparts face, are concerns about the infrastructure. We can compete I believe effectively for a few years, maybe ten years. But 20 years? The UK is going to be bypassed because it won't have the infrastructure to support the demand that exists. That is something the Government needs to be awake to and I'm not sure it's recognised yet. The decisions taken today are critical for the future of this country and economy."

Vision Airlines tags itself as 'Your Personal Airline of Choice', which seems fairly ironic given that the alleged Russian spies on board its Boeing 767-200ER at Vienna today are being forcibly deported.

More irony, if you're into that sort of thing: the 767 in question, N766VA, has a history of transporting Russians having formerly been in service with the AirUnion alliance and Polet.

Hard to know which group of special transfer passengers is getting the raw end. The onward service from Vienna appears to be courtesy of a Russian emergency situations ministry Yak-42, RA-42446, but - on the bright side - it's only two-and-a-half hours' flying time to the Lubyanka.

Airside exchange, of course, means less hassle with passports and visas, and fewer nosey photographers. Not sure why it's all happening at Vienna, mind. Maybe there's some decent duty-free to be had, or maybe it's a chance to plug those convenient east-west connections, but I think it's a missed opportunity to re-enact the good old days at the Glienicke Bridge.