February 2009 Archives

Will Australia order additional Boeing F/A-18E/Fs? That is the view of some industry sources after today's announcement that Canberra will wire 12 of the 24 Boeing F/A-18E/Fs it has ordered for electronic attack capabilities, allowing it to upgrade these into the E/A18 Growler later on if it wishes.

When the country finally releases its long overdue defence white paper, it should give details on its plans for to buy the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. But while Australia remains committed to the JSF programme, but the delays that have plagued the F-35 mean that it is still uncertain when the fighter will finally join the Royal Australian Air Force fleets.

The RAAF's air defence capabilities will inevitably fall after it begins to retire the General Dynamics F-111s from next year. Upgrades to the service's older F/A-18A/B fleet will help to plug that gap, as will the induction of the Super Hornets from 2011.

However, that may not be enough and some sources believe that Canberra will convert 12 Super Hornets from the original order into Growlers, and place an order for more F/A-18E/Fs in the coming months. That could then have an impact on the number of F-35s that Australia finally orders,

Whatever the case, there is still much uncertainty about Australia's fighter procurement programme. Hopefully, the situation will become clearer at the Australian International Airshow and Exhibition, Avalon 2009, which will take place in a fortnight.

The Korea Aerospace Industries T-50 programme has suffered a serious blow after the United Arab Emirates selected the Alenia Aermacchi M346 for its advanced lead-in fighter trainer requirement.

If the South Korean company and Lockheed Martin, which helped to develop the aircraft and works with KAI to market it internationally, want to develop an export market for the T-50 (left), they need to assess what went wrong in the UAE and do it quickly.

The next major competition is in Singapore, where the T-50 is up against the M-346 (below) once again. The aircraft is also in contention in Poland against the BAE Systems Hawk 51 modified by Finland's Patria. Chile, Greece and the USA are other markets further down the line.

Abu Dhabi has not said why it went for the M-346 but does not take a lot to figure out that a combination of cost and capabilities ultimately decided the competition. The UAE is a savvy customer, as is Singapore. They know what they want, and it is up to the manufacturers to convince them that they have the best product.

Marketing plays a big part in any competition as well. At the end of the day, countries likes the UAE and Singapore only want an aircraft that ensures their pilots are properly trained to fly their new generation fighters.

The Italians have kept the attention on the M-346's training capabilities at every opportunity, and used this to say why they are the best option for the countries that are assessing the aircraft. KAI and Lockheed have raved about the T-50's ability to go supersonic and have attack variants, but that adds to the perception that it is simply a souped up toy that simply costs too much for an advanced trainer requirement. The T-50 marketing team needs to go back to the basics.

Winning in the UAE has given the M-346 an edge in upcoming coming competitions, but this can be a good wake up call for KAI and Lockheed if they learn the right lessons from their loss.

Malaysia Airlines (MAS) next month is withdrawing from the Penang-Medan and the Kuala Lumpur-Macau routes.

These are two routes where it faces stiff competition from low-cost carriers and once again highlights how MAS' brief attempt last year to mimic low-cost carriers was always doomed to fail.

There is no way MAS can compete if it tries to be like low-cost carriers. Instead it should be clearly differentiating itself against the AirAsia's of this world by highlighting that MAS is a full-service carrier that offers the customer a far superior level of service.

It will be withdrawing from the Penang-Medan route on 29 March and leaving it to Firefly, Kartika Airlines, Wings Air and Indonesia AirAsia to slug it out. And it will be exiting the Kuala Lumpur-Macau route on 22 March and leaving it to AirAsia.

Letting Firefly take over the low-cost carrier routes is a smart move. Firefly is MAS' ATR turborop operation. It has a lower cost base than MAS mainline so it better able to compete against low-cost carriers.

I think increasingly we will see MAS adopt a two brand strategy whereby Firefly will be used to encroach on AirAsia's routes and cap AirAsia's growth while MAS will cater to the high yielding traffic.

Sound familiar? Maybe the people at Qantas Airways and Jetstar can shed some light on the matter.

Malaysian low-cost carrier AirAsia may become Manchester United's next shirt sponsor.

Here is a photo of what it could look like, care of AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes who posted the snap on his personal blog after being approached by the EPL team.


Fernandes suggests on his blog that a deal is unlikely to take place but the fact that AirAsia was even approached shows how much the low-cost carrier's brand has developed in just a few years.

American International Group is the current Manchester United jersey sponsor but that deal is due to expire next year.

A Lion Air Boeing MD-90 late yesterday landed at Batam airport with no front landing gear resulting in extensive damage to the under-carriage but fortunately no one was hurt.

The MD-90, local registration PK-LIO, was on a domestic flight from Medan to Batam when the pilots discovered that the aircraft's landing gear was unable to be deployed, says Lion Air general director, Edward Sirait.

He says once the aircraft landed without its front landing gear it had to be towed from the runway to the airport and that the airport was closed until 0600 this morning.

Local news reports say the incident happened at around 1915 local time last night so the airport closure must have led to several other flight cancellations.

Lion Air has had several safety incidents over the years, some that have resulted in fatalities, but Sirait says no one was injured as a result of last night's incidence. But pictures, taken at the scene, show the under-carriage is damaged.

It was Groundhog Day at Aero India when a Sitara HJT intermediate jet trainer prototype crash-landed on the show's eve, just as one did at the 2007 show.

But the Tejas light combat aircraft and Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopter demonstrated that the country's indigenous programmes are making headway. And plans for medium combat aircraft, combat and utility helicopters, and joint programmes with Russia to build transports and fifth-generation fighters show the scale of New Delhi's ambitions.

India, however, is far from its defence minister's aim of meeting 70% of its military requirements locally. Reality supersedes political rhetoric and some in India realise that, including the Tejas developers.

They have decoupled the beleaguered Kaveri engine programme from the much-delayed fighter, deciding it is far more important for the air force to have a viable aircraft than an indigenous but underpowered one.

As a result, the first seven LCA squadrons will have foreign powerplants. Such pragmatism is encouraging in the face of growing calls for indigenous products in India's armed forces.

India is increasingly important on the global stage and must find a balance. Local industry should be encouraged as India needs its own source of weapons. But there is no harm in detouring abroad if it helps India reach its destination. The much-belittled LCA could, ironically, show the way forward for India's aircraft industry.

This is some amazing footage from India's CNN-IBN television news channel, showing one of the two Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE) Zlin Z-143 aircraft that took part in a surprise raid on Sri Lanka's capital Colombo.

The rebel aircraft apparently approached Colombo around 21.30h on Friday night and were met by anti-aircraft fire. They were brought down, one on top of the country's Inland Revenue building, killing two people on the ground and injuring more than 40. Both pilots also died in what appears to have been a kamikaze attack.



According to several intelligence sources, the Air Tigers, as the LTTE's aviation wing is known as, may have only one more Z-143 aircraft left in its fleet. Since 2007, these aircraft have conducted an estimated nine bombing missions, making them one of the few rebel movements in the world with an aviation arm.

Earlier this year, the Sri Lankan troops overran the LTTE's former strongholds in the country's Northeast and captured several airfields from which the rebels previously launched air strikes. They also found camouflaged hangars constructed from shipping containers. It is believed that the aircraft that took part in Friday's attack may have taken off from a national highway.

The Sri Lankan troops had not found any aircraft despite taking over almost all of the area previously controlled by the LTTE, and it is believed that the rebels either may have hidden or buried the aircraft in the jungle. The Z-143s are believed to have been procured by the rebels' supporters earlier this decade and smuggled into the country after being modified for light attack and bombing missions

Cessna has launched a topical ad campaign in US newspapers to counter a wave of negative publicity business jet owners have received in recent weeks from US lawmakers.

These lawmakers on Capitol Hill have publicly criticised some automotive and bank bosses for using corporate jets while seeking billions of dollars in government aid. And as a consequence the corporate jet, in the minds of some, has become a symbol of corporate greed and excess.

The bosses of the big three automakers - Chrysler, Ford and GE - have all responded by promising to stop using corporate jets.

And the CEO of Citigroup has promised to stop ordering new corporate jets.

But in the rush to vilify corporate excess, some US politicians have forgotten that the US is major manufacturer of business jets and a lot of Americans' livelihoods depend on business aviation.

Cessna is fighting back with a hard-hitting print campaign that says true corporate visionaries will continue to fly rather than cower to Capitol Hill.

The decision to have the ad campaign in newspapers is a wise one because a lot of the debate over corporate jets has been in the major US dailies.

It is also a lot quicker and cost effective to produce a series of print ads and because Cessna is responding to a topical issue, timing is everything.

The folks at Cessna also realise that a true marketing campaign is more than just few print ads.

In other words, to be truly effective, a campaign has to make use of several marketing methods and be integrated.

As you can see from this video from Fox Business news, Cessna has backed up its print campaign with a PR campaign in the news media.

http://www.foxbusiness.com/video-search/m/21891213/private-jet-ceos-we-re-villified-by-gov.htm#q=Business+Aviation

To see one of the print ads, click on this link.

http://www.cessna.com/media_releases/CessnaLdrship_Campaign2009_TimidityAd.pdf

                                                                                Embraer plans to deliver 29% fewer commercial aircraft this year with airlines in Asia one of the main reasons behind the shortfall.
The Brazilian aircraft-maker earlier today told Flight's online news service ATI that only 115 commercial aircraft would be delivered this year compared to last year's 162.
Asia was a bright spot for Embraer commercial aircraft prior to the global economic meltdown.
Last year Embraer had aircraft orders in place from Fuji Dream Airlines, Hainan Airlines, Japan Airlines (JAL) and Virgin Blue plus GE Commercial Aviation Services (GECAS) had succeeded in placing Embraer regional jets with airlines in the region such as PB Air, Paramount Airways and SkyAirworld.
But now the situation has changed.
JAL  and Fuji Dream still appear to be on track to receive Embraer aircraft on order as planned.
But Hainan Airlines has been delaying taking delivery of Embraer ERJ-145s and Virgin Blue has delayed taking delivery of some Embraer 190s until 2010/2011.
SkyAirWorld, meanwhile, has grounded three of its five Embraer aircraft and is negotiating with GECAS for the early return of these and PB Air is seriously looking at replacing its ERJ-145s with ATR 72-500s.
Asia has traditionally been a growth market, but the events of the past few months show how things can quickly change.

Thailand's tourism authority and its hotel association have launched a national drink called the Siam Sunray in an effort to boost the country's travel and tourism sector, which has been taking a beating.

With ongoing political troubles that have led to revolving door governments starting with a military coup in 2006, many foreigners have been going elsewhere for their holidays. Things were not helped late last year by the closure for more than a week of Bangkok's two airports by political protesters. Hundreds of thousands of people were stranded in Thailand as authorities sat by and did nothing to clear them away to get the economy moving again.

The country's tourism sector has been hurting badly as a result and its airlines, which rely heavily on leisure traffic, have been in real trouble, as we have been writing about in Airline Business.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand hopes to change that with its national drink, which it calls "Thailand in a glass". It says in its announcement launching the Siam Sunray that it is hoped the new cocktail will help boost the allure of Thailand and become "a part of global cosmopolitan culture" - the same way that it claims the Singapore Sling, Cuban Mojito and New York's Manhattan have become.

"Successful signature drinks are one way to fast track holiday destinations on to the world tourism map, and can contribute some added identity to the local food and beverage scene in the hospitality and tourism industry," it says.

Good on them for trying, but somehow I think it is going to take a lot more than a national drink to get people flying to Thailand again.

If you want to make one for yourself, read on for the recipe, care of the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

Singapore has taken delivery of its first Gulfstream G550 aircraft modified with the Elta Systems airborne early warning and control system aircraft. The country's defence ministry was, as usual, stingy with details and released only one photograph (below).

The MoD would only say that the four aircraft ordered - which unofficial sources estimate would cost the Southeast Asian country around $1 billion in total - have a "sophisticated mission suite that includes an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar", a longer detection range than the E2C Hawkeye, and the ability to "detect, identify and track aerial targets".

Really? Wow, an airborne early warning aircraft with the ability to detect, identify and track aerial targets? Thanks for the insight! Duh.

In any case, Flight understands that aircraft have a similar configuration to the Israeli air force's G550-based conformal AEW (CAEW) aircraft (below), the first two of which entered service in February and May 2008.

Israel Aircraft Industries subsidiary Elta says the CAEW platform offers a mission endurance of 9h when operating at an altitude of 41,000ft (12,500m) and 185km (100nm) from its home base. The aircraft features dual S-band radar arrays at the front and rear, plus L-band sensors on the fuselage side, providing 360° coverage. Israel's configuration has six onboard operator stations (see diagram below).

The modified G550 also has pod-housed electronic support measures equipment, plus satellite communications and line-of-sight datalinks. Elta says the airframe modifications have "minimal impact" on the business jet's performance.

According to a previous statement by Singapore's defence ministry, the G550 AEW aircraft, which will replace its 20-year-old Northrop Grumman E-2C Hawkeyes, will be delivered between late 2008 and 2010.

For those who couldn't understand what the Youtube star who went nuts after missing her flight at Hong Kong airport was saying, here is a version with English subtitles. Enjoy.

The global economic downturn is starting to translate into capacity and airline job cuts in Asia.
This week Singapore Airlines announced that it would be decommissioning 17 of its aircraft and cutting capacity by 11%.
Seventeen aircraft is a significant proportion of the airline's total fleet, which currently stands at a little over 100 aircraft.
SIA has yet to disclose which aircraft will be withdrawn but has said before that the first to be phased out will be the Boeing 747-400s and older Boeing 777s.
The Star Alliance carrier has also announced it has entered into negotiations with unions in Singapore to discuss getting employees to accept measures such as early retirement, no pay leave, shorter work months and accelerated clearance of leave.
Many of the airline's employees already work on rosters and earn a significant proportion of their pay from allowances linked to flight hours.
The fact SIA plans to have fewer flights means many SIA employees are already experiencing a pay cut.
But what may be of more concern to the employees is the fact the airline - in its statement this week - flagged the prospect of job cuts.
"We will only contemplate retrenchment as a last resort but we do not have the luxury of time and we need to agree and act on some measures quickly so that we can push back the point of retrenchment as soon as possible and improve our chances of avoiding it altogether," SIA says.
The Singapore Government's investment arm Temasek Holdings has majority control of SIA and the Government has made it clear to companies that it wants firms to use job cuts as a last resort.
SIA's remark that it will only use job cuts as a last resort is in line with the government mantra but it also means SIA is positioning itself for job cuts if the need arises.
The Singaporean carrier is not the only carrier flagging the prospect of job cuts.
Australian carrier Virgin Blue this week announced that it would be grounding five aircraft. Currently it has around 68 aircraft flying.
In its media statement, Virgin Blue says the cut in capacity "will impact up to 400 full-time equivalent positions at Virgin Blue" but "the company is exploring a range of initiatives to minimise headcount reduction."
While Virgin Blue is stopping short of saying exactly how many jobs will be axed, a smaller Aussie carrier SkyAirWorld has already acted on this.
SkyAirworld, which is based in Brisbane, this week grounded three of its five aircraft and axed 40 positions out of a total of 120, citing the global economic downturn.

Singapore Airlines celebrated the carriage of its one millionth Airbus A380 passenger yesterday and I'm not bitter that it wasn't me. Really, I'm very pleased for Mr Royston Pollard, who along with his wife Eileen won an upgrade to business class, a three-night stay at Singapore's famous Raffles Hotel and plenty of other nice gifts. It's a good thing I'm not the jealous sort, otherwise I might resent the fact that it wasn't me.

How close I came to being that one millionth passenger. I recently took my first flights on the aircraft, to and from my company's head office in London, and by my guess I was somewhere near to being passenger number 950,000 on the return leg.

My SIA friends tell me it's too difficult to find out what actual passenger number I was but that gives me a licence to speculate and make my own guestimate. So here we go: I'm estimating SIA is averaging a 75% load factor on its eight A380 flights per day (two round-trip London services, one round-trip Sydney service and one round-trip Tokyo service). That means a few more than 350 passengers per flight or a little more than 2,800 passengers per day, multiplied by the 18 days since my last flight and it comes to just over 50,000. Subtract that from one million and you get 950,000.

No luck this time but fingers crossed for the two million mark. By that time SIA will also be flying the A380 to Paris. Unfortunately my maths skills are not good enough to tell me when that milestone might be reached.

I thought I got upset once when I missed a flight but this lady takes the cake. She missed her flight at Hong Kong International Airport and her breakdown is now a Youtube hit. It's all in Cantonese but even if you don't understand what she's saying you'll get the message.

We journalists often have to relay bad news and of late the bad news on the economic front has been piling up. Generally though, we don't feel the effects of, say, an airline route cut - or spend even a moment to consider its real-life impact on those affected.

That changed for me this weekend as my wife and I were preparing to fly back to Singapore from a brief visit to Vancouver, Canada. We fly to Vancouver around one time per year to visit our parents and typically take a Singapore Airlines flight that operates via Seoul in South Korea. Even though we fly the route so rarely, the SIA ground staff in Vancouver always remember us and greet us warmly on check-in and on departure from the gate. We got the same warm greeting this past Saturday but it was a sad occasion, as the staff had been informed just a day earlier that SIA will be dropping services to Vancouver in April.

I was saddened by the news when I received the press release for selfish reasons, as SIA is my preferred airline and I love the timing of the Vancouver service. On arrival at the airport, however, I realised for the first time what an airline service suspension means: in the case of SIA and Vancouver, employees will be losing their jobs and those same employees are the ones who have been so great to me and my wife over the years.

Our favourite member of the SIA ground staff in Vancouver even gave us a hug before we boarded the aircraft as she fought back tears, knowing it will probably be the last time we see her while she is working for the airline. I have been a journalist for nearly 20 years but the experience taught me a good lesson: whenever I write about a simple route cut from now on I will spare a moment to think about what it means to those who work for the airline.

There is little surprise that Israel will have a major presence at the Aero India 2009 show in Bangalore next week, especially since it has become India's second largest arms supplier after Russia in the last few years.

One of the highlights will next week will be Israel Aerospace Industries' Gulfstream G550-based conformal airborne early warning and control (CAEW) system aircraft. The aircraft is equipped with a conformal dual-band active electronically scanned array radar, plus identification friend-or-foe equipment, electronic support measures and an integrated self-protection system. It also has a comprehensive communication suite designed to support network-centric operations.

IAI officials recently cited India as a potential customer for additional airborne early warning systems, with Elta already poised to deliver the nation's first Ilyushin Il-76 modified for the role. And this is only the second time that the aircraft will be on display at an air show.

Developed by IAI's Elta Systems subsidiary for the Israeli defence ministry, the modified business jet was delivered to the Israeli air force in February 2008 and has subsequently entered operational service. A second example was delivered in May 2008. Singapore has also ordered four aircraft, the first of which was due to have been delivered by end-2008.

Given that each G550 with the radar is estimated to cost around $250 million, the aircraft will not come cheap. But money is available for the India's armed forces modernisation programme, the country is keen to increase it surveillance abilities, and the country will certainly take a close look at the G550 AEW if the Israelis are keen to push it.

There is a classic scene in The Devil's Advocate where Al Pacino, who plays the devil, talks to Keanu Reeves about God teasing humans. And he utters this memorable line: "Look, but don't touch. Touch, but don't taste. Taste, don't swallow."

That must be how the Japanese are feeling after the US Air Force deployed the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor to their country for the second time in two years.

The 12 F-22A Raptors will be based at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa as part of a three-month deployment in support of US Pacific Command's security obligations in the Western Pacific. They will spend the next few months conducting air combat training alongside Kadena's Boeing F-15s, and will work to integrate with all of the aircraft assigned to the 18th Wing.

It is unclear if they will take part in joint exercises with their Japanese counterparts, but the sight of the Raptors will be like a rapier into the heart of the Defence Ministry in Tokyo. Japan craves for the F-22, which if they have the choice would be selected for the F-X competition to choose a new generation of fighters. The US Congress' Obey Amendment, however, prevents Washington from exporting the F-22 and Tokyo has so far been unsuccessful in its attempts to overturn that and get access to information on the aircraft.

Things could change after President Barack Obama took office in January, and there has been a renewed attempt over the last month to put pressure on new administration to relent.

Publicly, Lockheed Martin says that it has to wait for the Congress' or the President's directive. Privately, its officials are keen on exports to extend the F-22 production line beyond 2010 and keep several high-paying jobs at home. Selling the aircraft overseas would reduce the unit to the USAF and make strategic sense for Washington, say observers.

"I find the U.S. policy in this case incomprehensible," James Auer, director of the Center for US-Japan Studies and Cooperation at the Vanderbilt Institute for Public Policy Studies, says in a recent article in World Politics Review. "The U.S. has always said it favours a relationship of trust . . . and Japan is located in a very dangerous part of the world."

Dan Blumenthal, resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, points out in a recent article in The Weekly Standard that  "exporting the F-22 to Japan makes sound strategic and military sense" by improving alliance relations, furthering the country's Asia-Pacific defence policy, and creating jobs.

Japan remains hopeful and it is likely to make another push for information on the F-22 in the coming months. However, it is running out of time. The problem is that the US Congress has to debate this issue at a time when it has so many other pressing matters, and doubts remain on whether the Obey Amendment would be overturned or even if its restrictions are eased.

In the meantime, the Japanese will continue to ache as they see the F-22s on their soil for training exercises until this is resolved. And the tease will continue, with no end in sight.