April 2009 Archives

An Indian Air Force Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighter crashed early Thursday morning while on a routine training exercise, killing one of the two pilots on board.

This the first time than an Indian Su-30 has crashed and a board on inquiry has been formed to look into the incident, says the service. Its Su-30 fleet has not been grounded because of the incident, it adds. No other details were available.

New Delhi has bought 50 Su-30s directly from Russia and state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics license-produces the fighter in the country as well.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) today released its preliminary factual report into the Emirates A340-500 tail-strike that occurred on 20 March at Australia's Melbourne Airport.

The report said that soon after the tail-strike happened "the crew noticed that an incorrect weight had been inadvertently entered into the laptop when completing the take-off performance calculations prior to departure."

"The performance calculations were based on a take-off weight that was 100t below the actual take-off weight of the aircraft."

"The result of that incorrect take-off weight was to produce a thrust setting and take-off reference speeds that were lower than those required for the aircraft's actual weight."

ATSB says "damage to the aircraft included abraded skin to the rear, lower fuselage and damage to the rear pressure bulkhead."

China Eastern Airlines is reportedly fluttering its eyes at Singapore Airlines once again, which is a bit rich after the abrupt way in which SIA's advances were spurned the last time around.

In any case, SIA does not appear to be keen now and that is hardly surprising. It has problems of its own in the current economic crisis, and needs to work out how to arrest its falling traffic figures and cut costs. In the foreseeable future, fixing those issues will be its priority.

China remains an important market for any ambitious Asia Pacific airline, but there are simply too many barriers to entry - the biggest of which is its government itself. Without Beijing's blessings, which SIA failed to get the last time, a tie-up with a Chinese airline is a no-go.

SIA could eventually enter into talks once again with a Chinese airline, but that is not going to happen any time soon. And, in any case, that may not necessarily be with China Eastern. SIA, it appears, has hardened its heart and moved on.

Just when people thought that things could not get any worse for the reeling aerospace industry, here comes the "swine flu" to deal another blow. Whether we will be down for the count depends on the findings and decisions made by the scientific and medical communities, and various governments, in the coming days.

The way and the speed with which the virus has spread to far corners of the world will undoubtedly affect airlines and airport operators, who are waiting for more information before deciding on how to properly deal with the problem. Their share prices have been tumbling in a reflection of the public's worries about the issue,

The initial steps - additional screening points at airport, grounding staff who may have been in contact with those who were infected, and discouraging people from travelling to places where the virus appears to be most virulent - are necessary.

Some have taken it a step further. Australia, for example, requires the captains of all aircraft coming from the Americas to report to the Australian Quarantine Inspection Service (AQIS) on the health status of the passengers. An AQIS officer will see anyone with flu-like symptoms and assess if medical attention is required.

However, the truth is that it is still too early to jump to conclusions about the scale of the problem. Precautions are necessary, but let us not allow that to lead to widespread panic. When dealing with the unknown, a cool head is the best way to handle the issue.

Another one of Australia's defence requirements is being filled after the US government said that it plans to sell seven Boeing CH-47F Chinook (above) heavy lift helicopters to Canberra.

Yet, there is still no sign of the country's defence white paper. It looks like many of the key military procurement decisions are being made ahead of the report, with the white paper then likely to set a broad framework for the coming years.

According to some sources, the white paper, which had been due last December, could be released at the end of this week. We are all waiting with bated breath. Could you guys please get on with it?

Swine flu threatens to adversely affect international passenger traffic and could be even worse than 2003's SARS outbreak.

In early 2003 when the SARS outbreak was first reported in Hong Kong, airline bosses around the world were too complacent. I remember attending a Star Alliance conference in Seoul when the news of SARS first broke. Not a single airline CEO made mention of SARS at the conference.

At that time, the virus was restricted to Hong Kong and some obscure parts of southern China.

But a few weeks later it became apparent to everyone that SARS had had a huge adverse impact on the airline industry.

Airlines, I believe, have learnt from the mistakes of the past and are now better prepared to deal with this latest flu outbreak.

There is also a real danger swine flu could be more detrimental and scary than SARS. Unlike the SARS virus, swine flu appears to be easily spread from human-to-human transmission.

We can only hope that the World Health Organisation, national health organisations, airports and airlines act quickly and decisively to limit the spread of this killer flu.

What gives at Air India? The Indian state-owned carrier has eased out Raghu Menon (above) as chairman and managing director after only a year in-charge due to differences between him and civil aviation minister Praful Patel.

The Indian media have been speculating about the reasons, but one thing is for sure - the civil servants who are responsible for making the new appointment have to move fast. With the country's general elections taking place now, any dithering could result in them leaving the decision, which the cabinet must approve, to the next government and therefore further delays in the appointment.

That would leave Air India without a permanent chief during an immensely challenging time for airlines globally and especially in India, and make matters worse just when the carrier needs proper direction the most.

Talk about flying high! Here are some photos of the Cessna Citation XLS at Tibet's Qamdo Bangda Airport, the world's highest airport at 14,219ft (4,334m). What a view the pilots must have had.

These were taken while the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) conducted tests at the airport to certify the aircraft for operations at up to 15,000ft. This increased the type's certification from 14,000ft to 15,000ft, allowing all Citation XLS/XLS+ aircraft operating in China to be certified for operation from airports at this higher altitude. The CAAC is Cessna's largest Chinese Citation operator.

Beijing's port city of Tianjin is fast becoming the centre of aerospace in China and even the whole of Asia.

It is home to the first Airbus A320 assembly plant outside of Europe. Boeing, meanwhile, has a company in Tianjin called BHA that specialises in the manufacture of composite parts for aircraft.

Chinese aerospace firms too are investing heavily in Tianjin. Xian Aircraft has a factory under-construction next to the Airbus Tianjin plant that will be used for the final assembly and equipping of Airbus A320 wings.

And Xian Aircraft's parent AVIC has decided to build a helicopter factory at Tianjin and Airbus is considering having some Airbus A350 manufacturing work done in Tianjin.

Besides, aircraft makers there are also a myriad of aerospace suppliers that are investing in Tianjin.

The list includes PPG Aerospace, Goodrich and RUAG to name a few.

I know personally, I was pretty impressed with Tianjin Free Trade Zone, where all the aerospace firms are set up.

There's a new high-speed train, which I caught, that takes you from Beijing to Tianjin's city-centre in about 20 minutes.

I visited Tianjin late last year to see the new Airbus Tianjin assembly plant and I was impressed with how modern and orderly it was. There is no doubt Tianjin has the potential to be one of the top aerospace centres in the world.

Virgin Blue's long-haul operation V Australia, which launched operations earlier this year, today announced it has delayed the delivery of two Boeing 777-300ERs, a further sign of the impact the economy is having on aircraft-makers.

Call it corporate travel with a conscience. Bangkok-based OrientSKYs, a business jet charter company, is giving its clients the opportunity to offset the carbon emissions on their flights.

"As far as I know, we are the only private jet charter company in Asia who currently offer our clients the opportunity to offset their carbon emissions. Furthermore, the cost of this program typically represents less than one third of 1% of the total booking price," says Trevor Merszei, director of marketing and sales at OrientSKYs.

OrientSKYs partners Plant a Tree Today (PATT) Foundation, a UK-registered charity with an office in Thailand, to calculate the cost of the hourly carbon dioxide emission rates for all the aircraft that it operates. The money goes directly to PATT, which will plant trees within its "carbon free" project in Northeast Thailand.

Sure, this might help some corporate types who find it hard to sleep at night worrying about their carbon footprint. But will it go far enough to appease some of the more strident environmentalists who have set their guns on the aviation industry? I doubt it. But hey, at least it is a start!

Singapore's Changi Airport is set to gain a major boost in traffic thanks to the new Singapore-Malaysia air services agreement announced recently.

Airlines in Singapore and Malaysia have been quick to respond to the more liberalised air services agreement that opens new routes and allows more airlines to operate between the two countries.

Today Qantas Airways' low cost carrier in Singapore, Jetstar Asia, announced that it will be using the new agreement to launch services from Singapore to Langkawi and Penang in Malaysia.

And Malaysia Airlines' turboprop operation Firefly has announced plans to link several smaller cities in Malaysia, such as Ipoh and Kuantan, to Singapore.

Its good to see that the airport's operator, Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS), is being pro-active.

Airports around the world are currently experiencing sharp declines in traffic due to the global economic crisis. But thanks to liberalisation Changi Airport is now better placed to combat the downturn.

Above picture courtesy of CAAS

It must feel like Groundhog Day for Singapore Airlines and the Air Line Pilots Association - Singapore (Alpa-S), which are once again in disagreement.

This is turning out to be a regular occurrence at SIA, which said earlier that it is parking several aircraft and cutting capacity drastically in response to the ongoing economic crisis. The airline also wants its pilots to take three to four days of no-pay leave a month as a cost-saving measure.

The union says that its members should not take more than the one day that the airline has asked of its other staff. If they must, the airline has to agree to some form of restitution when times are better, adds the Alpa-S. The carrier and its other staff unions agreed earlier this month to begin a shorter work week from 1 May, but that is contingent on a deal with Alpa-S. Singapore's Ministry of Manpower has been asked to mediate between the two parties.

Since its inception in 1981, the Alpa-S has had more than 20 disputes with the carrier. In 2003, after the Sars virus led to a slump in the travel industry, union members overthrew their leaders due to unhappiness about the carrier's plans to cut wages. That led to Singapore's former prime minister and current minister mentor Lee Kuan Yew stepping in to resolve the dispute. In 2007, the union disagreed over the allowance for pilots who fly the Airbus A380 aircraft and the country's industrial Arbitration Court eventually had to settle the case.

Here's a suggestion - why don't we put both parties in the economy class of one of the parked aircraft in a desert, preferably one of SIA's older Boeing 777-200s with the horrible seat pitch, and serve them only dry bread and water until they reach an agreement? That just might help to move things along a little bit faster.

Air New Zealand (ANZ) has issued a series of statements attacking New Zealand's Engineering, Printing & Manufacturing Union (EPMU) which announced today it is helping ANZ's Zeal 320 cabin crew to organise a four-day strike that starts 7 May.

Ordinarily the airline would have the public's sympathy because the strike threatens to inconvenience thousands of passengers but the ANZ press releases are peppered with so much emotive language and attacks on workers that it would make even the most right-wing person think twice.

In one statement to the news media, ANZ accuses the Zeal 320 employees of "juvenile behaviour" and "making a mockery of the" other ANZ staff that have worked hard to get the airline in a strong position.

ANZ group general manager short-haul Bruce Parton is quoted in one statement as saying the workers' decision to strike "defies belief [and] I'm not sure which universe they're living in but it's not the same one as everyone else."

I don't know that this sort of language really wins over the general public to the airline's cause. Maybe a different tone of language would be more effective.

Also for some unknown reason ANZ seems to harp on the point that the strike will be coinciding with Mothers' Day.

One statement says workers who plan to strike over the Mothers' Day weekend will be locked out.

In another statement the airline makes it clear that it is unhappy that workers would choose to strike on ...yes, you guessed it Mothers' Day.

I'm not sure who's mother the EPMU has offended but it seems to have certainly struck a raw nerve.

Having said everything about Cathay Pacific's bad times over the last few days, one blogger claims that some airline staff will go the extra mile to please their passengers. The post, which first appeared on www.airliners.net, is no longer available.

However, according to several newspapers, the blogger was in the first class cabin of a Boeing 777-300ER from Toronto to Hong Kong. He and his girlfriend began to get frisky and a steward, who he knew from previous flights, invited them to use the crew rest area to join the mile-high club. His description of the events makes for an interesting read.

"On these long, long flights there isn't really anything to do after the meal service so my gf [girlfriend] and I were cuddling and watching movies. With the magnificent large bed one thing led to another and soon my friend was at our side saying, 'Would you like the privacy of our crew rest upstairs?'

"My gf and I looked at each other and were like, sure why not? We haven't been in the mile-high club. Now THAT left me exhausted."

All we need right now is for some Cathay frequent fliers to begin enquiring about this "upgrade" programme.

Hindustan Aeronatics (HAL) plans to establish a maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) joint venture with US MRO firm Timco Aviation Services but it is unclear when the JV will start.

Timco says in a statement that the parties have fully ratified the agreement but HAL general manager planning (corporate office), Naresh Babu, told me via telephone a few moments ago that the agreement signed is a memorandum of understanding.

In other words, there's still a lot of work that needs to be done before the deal is firmed up. Babu was unable to say when a final contract will be signed but he confirmed most of the other info in Timco's statement is correct.

Timco says the JV will be based at HAL's Bangalore manufacturing complex and it will focus on doing 'C-checks' for Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 aircraft.

HAL already does heavy maintenance checks on 737s but Babu says it only does heavy maintenance checks on one or two 737s at a time.

The new JV will ramp up considerably so that HAL will be able to compete for larger maintenance contracts and serve airlines with larger fleets, says Babu.

Currently HAL has very few 737 customers but it has done heavy maintenance checks for Indian low-cost carrier JetLite and Babu says it hopes to retain JetLite as a customer.

Having JetLite could help the JV to secure work from JetLite's larger parent, Jet Airways.

Babu says HAL also decided to team up with Timco because the US MRO can help the Indian JV to get FAA and EASA certification. Timco will also be helping to finance the JV and bring in customers from overseas, he adds.

HAL knows it has to work fast to ensure it gains a strong position in India's commercial MRO industry before competitors move in. The Indian firm has a strong presence in India in terms of manufacturing but other MROs are moving in quickly to cash in on the country's growing airline industry.

So just how bad are things at Cathay Pacific Airways? Very bad, according to a frank admission by the Hong Kong carrier's senior executives.

In the latest issue of CX World, the airline's monthly magazine, chief executive Tony Tyler calls the economic crisis "one of the most difficult" in the carrier's history. Chief operating officer John Slosar adds that there is no sign of a recovery. "Things went downhill very quickly, and there is no sign of any upturn as yet," he adds.

Last week, the airline announced a slew of measures to help it rein in costs and increase revenues. In these tough times, Cathay appears to be trying to swallow the bitter pill in an effort to keep afloat amid the ongoing turmoil.

The Indian Air Force says that the Dassault Rafale (above) is still in the country's medium multi-role combat aircraft competition, refuting reports by several of the country's newspapers last week that the fighter had been eliminated after failing the technical evaluation.

Dassault says that it is waiting for news and referred all media enquiries to the French embassy in India, saying that the negotiations were being conducted on a government-to-government basis. The embassy declined to comment.

Chalk this one up as just one of those confusing events that take place regularly during Indian military tenders!

               People's Liberation Army Navy Xian JH-7 strike fighter (source:http://english.chinamil.com.cn/)

               People's Liberation Army Navy transport helicopter (source:http://english.chinamil.com.cn/)

China's navy plans to buy and develop a new generation of aircraft as part of its modernisation programme, says the service chief.

The service has about 800 aircraft, including fighters, bombers, maritime patrol, transport aircraft and transport helicopters. However, its inventory is not as modern as the air force's fleet and the modernisation programme is much needed if the country wants to have proper blue water navy.

Beijing has been in discussions with Russia for several years to buy Sukhoi Su-33 naval fighters along with a refurbished Russian aircraft carrier, Kamov Ka-29 attack helicopters and Kamov Ka-31 airborne early warning helicopters. Chinese companies are also working on a naval version of the Chengdu J-10 fighter, Shenyang J-11 fighter, and Harbin Z-15 transport helicopter.

It certainly would be interesting to see how the US Pacific Fleet, as well as China's neighbours such as Japan, Taiwan, South Korea and India, react to this modernisation plan. This could be the spark to trigger a new wave of arms purchases by these countries as well. Any comments?

India's Jet Airways is planning to restructure its operations in the coming months in an effort to cut costs but the airline is saying publicly that there will be no job losses.

Reports in India, quoting from unidentified officials at Jet, say the company restructuring will result in approximately 3% of the 13,000 jobs at the airline being cut.

But Jet's executive director, Saroj Datta, told me briefly over the phone today that "there is no truth" in the assertion that the restructuring will result in job losses.

He says the carrier is restructuring to put itself on a better financial footing.

Last year Jet cut capacity in response to the sharp downturn in global traffic and Datta says this year it will be further cutting capacity.

But he declines to elaborate or say what the restructuring involves. Discussions on this are continuing and details will be released in the coming weeks when the plan is put into effect, he adds.

It is no surprise that Jet is stressing publicly there will be no job cuts. Last year Jet had a plan to lay off 1,900 employees.

But it abandoned the move last October following protests by sacked staff and growing opposition from politicians.

Jet knows that prosper in India it needs to keep the government on side.

Cathay Pacific's move to delay delivery of all the aircraft types it has on order does not augur well for aircraft-makers Airbus and Boeing.

The Oneworld carrier until recently was one of the world's most profitable carriers but the sharp downturn in passenger traffic and its fuel hedging losses have pushed it well and truly into the red so now the carrier is having to take some drastic action.

Cathay had already been parking some aircraft but today it announced it may no longer renew the leases on some other aircraft and that it has initiated talks with Airbus and Boeing to delay delivery of A330, 777-300ER, 747-8 freighter and 747-400ER freighter aircraft on order.

This list represents all the aircraft types Cathay has on order and creates a huge headache for Airbus and Boeing.

The news comes just two days after China Southern announced it too has initiated talks with Airbus and Boeing to delay the delivery of Airbus A380s, Boeing 787s and Boeing 777 freighters.

In the first quarter of this year, Airbus and Boeing only had a few net orders. I'm afraid that if the present situation continues Airbus and Boeing may face the prospect of having a quarter in which there are more aircraft order cancellations than new orders.

But it is important to note that in the case of Cathay nd China Southern, the two have so far said publicly that a delay in aircraft delays, rather an outright order cancellation, is on the cards.

The two carriers are fully aware that to cancel an aircraft order can be a costly exercise and that it is easier to push for a delay in deliveries.

Several Indian newspapers are reporting that the Dassault Rafale has been dropped from the country's medium multi-role combat aircraft competition after failing the technical evaluation. Dassault officials say that they are still waiting for word from the Indian defence ministry.

The aircraft was not brought to Aero India 2009 in Bangalore, leading to speculation that the type was in danger of being eliminated from the competition. A senior French official, however, defended the no-show at the time saying that the country's Rafales were required for NATO operations in Afghanistan at that time.

If confirmed, it would leave five contenders for the $10-12 billion contract. They are the Boeing F/A-18E/F, Eurofighter Typhoon, Lockheed Martin F-16, RSK MiG-35 and Saab Gripen. India is due to begin flight trials shortly.

Here is some pretty cool footage from the Royal New Zealand Air Force show at Whenuapai in March. The first video has footage of the service's Boeing 757-200 transport and Lockheed Martin C-130s, among other aircraft. Looks like the aircraft are returning from their recent upgrades! Time to check in with the air force for an update, I suppose.

Given that the RNZAF does not have a strike squadron, the Royal Australian Air Force lent them a hand - the second vide shows a RAAF Boeing F/A-18A taking part in the show.

G R Gopinath (above), founder of Indian low-cost carrier Deccan, is contesting in India's parliamentary elections. Better known as Capt Gopi, he sold his stake to Vijay Mallya's Kingfisher Airlines in 2007 and Deccan was renamed Kingfisher Red last year. He now plans to start up a cargo airline, Deccan Cargo, in May.

Contesting as an independent in the Bangalore South Constituency, he says in his official campaign website that he has thrown his hat into the ring in frustration at "the state of affairs in the political arena". He plans to start a "citizen's committee for civic issues, fight corruption and promise good governance". This is his second foray into the political arena after unsuccessfully contesting for a state assembly seat in 1994.

Voting will take place in the constituency on 23 April, but Capt Gopi probably has some long odds given that he is just one of 20 candidates for the seat. He also has to manage without the resources of the major political parties - an important factor in every Indian election.

To seem him in action on the campaign trail, click on the following videos. Good luck Capt Gopi!

Oops! My bad. Today's announcement by Australia's defence minister was on the findings of the community consultation segment of the defence white paper - and not the actual report itself. Apologies for being too quick off the mark.

Not surprisingly, the consultations found that Australians do not want their country to go beyond the current A$22 billion defence budget. Doh! Does anyone really want their government to increase defence spending in the middle of an economic crisis - especially one touted as the worst since the Great Depression?

Anyways, Australia's defence minister Joel Fitzgibbon reiterated this morning that the actual defence white paper will be released "in the very near future". We have been waiting since December, the original deadline. Please Mr Fitzgibbon, could you just end the suspense for all of us as soon as possible? We are weary with anticipation...

Australia will release the highly anticipated findings of its defence white paper tomorrow morning.

Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon will release the findings at 10.30am local time, a day after he returns from a trip to the USA that included visits to Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman facilities.

Among other things, the announcement should clarify Canberra's position on its commitment to the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter programme. It should also confirm if it will order additional Boeing F/A-18F fighters. There should also be guidance on Australia's naval helicopter, transport aircraft, and tanker programmes.

Let's just hope there is no plan to buy Lockheed Martin F-22s - that would be extremely bad timing after recent events in the USA!

Tough times call for tough measures down under. Australia's Qantas Airways will defer the delivery of four Airbus A380s and 12 Boeing 737-800s as worsening economic conditions force it to cut its pre-tax profit forecast by up to 80%.

Jobs are also at stake. Qantas and its low-cost subsidiary Jetstar will remove 500 management jobs, in addition to 90 management job cuts announced in March. Up to another to 1,250 jobs will be affected, says the airline's CEO Alan Joyce.

Finally, the carrier is in talks with Boeing to reduce the delivery of 787-8 aircraft over the near term. It will also ground 10 aircraft and make them available for sale. It is also slashing passenger and freight capacity for domestic and international routes.

Other Asia Pacific carriers are responding in similar fashion as the economic crisis bites in. Is this enough, though? Only time will tell as this downturn pans out.

Following US defence secretary Robert Gates' plans to overhaul his country's military procurement process, it is clear that there will be some winners and losers in Asia.

Japan suffered the biggest setback, given that the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor that it covets so much will not be produced beyond the 187 on order. It is unlikely that the US Congress will give its nod for the fifth-generation stealth fighter to be exported.

Countries that are keen on the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter will be happier. The US has increased its focus on the programme and will now buy 30 aircraft in 2010, up from 14 this year. Japan is now likely to turn its attention to the F-35, while several others like Australia, Singapore and South Korea will be engaged.

Without any major export orders, Boeing's C-17 transport aircraft production line is likely to end as Washington has decided not to buy any more of the type. India and Australia remain potential customers, but the cost is likely to be higher than expected.

Boeing probably suffered the most in the reassessment, but the company received a minor boost when the US government said that it would buy 30 F/A-18E/Fs in 2010, up from a previous plan to buy only 18. The type is in contention in India and Japan, and could be offered to countries like Malaysia and Indonesia.

Unmanned aerial vehicles like the Predator and Reaper will also be in greater demand across the region, in line with Washington's increased focus on the technology.

Gates' announcement is bound to lead to one thing - expect business development honchos from the various US military contractors to spend more time in Asia as they come under pressure to diversify their companies' revenue streams.

Meanwhile, here is a video of the F-22 Raptor on an exercise in Kadena, Japan, earlier this year. It looks increasingly like the only time the fighter will be on Japanese soil is when it is flying in USAF colours!

There has been another aircraft crash in Indonesia, this time involving an Indonesian Air Force Fokker F-27 transport. All 24 people on-board died when the F-27 plowed into a hangar while the pilot was trying to land in heavy rain outside Bandung.

There were five passenger aircraft and a helicopter in the hangar at that time, and one of the fixed-wing aircraft suffered some slight damage in the incident.

The video below, taken from an Indonesian television channel, shows what could have happened via computer simulation. However, it is still not clear what led to the incident and the Indonesian Air Force is conducting an investigation.

Expect more protests from international pilot associations after Indonesian courts sentenced a Garuda Indonesia pilot to two years jail for his role in an air crash that resulted in 21 deaths.

Marwoto Komar was arrested in July 2008 after a Boeing 737-400 with 140 passengers that he piloted crashed on landing at Yogyakarta airport in March 2007 (left). Prosecutors said that he was criminally negligent for the deaths and the courts agreed.

Indonesia's National Transportation Safety Commission said in its final report into the accident that the aircraft was far too high and fast on its final approach. Despite ground-proximity warning alerts, a flap deployment of just 5° and calls from the co-pilot for a go-around, the captain did not abandon the approach. The aircraft overran the runway and burst into flames.

The verdict will raise the ire of the International Federation of Air Line Pilots Associations (IFALPA), which condemned Komar's arrest and said that the investigation failed to address fully the reasons for the crew's actions. It reiterated its stance that the criminalisation of individuals involved in accidents "does little" to improve air transport safety.

Given that Indonesia has had several high-profile crashes in recent years, the government probably felt it had to show that it was doing something to address the problem. There are other issues, however, that the country must address including the lax safety records of some carriers and a lack of investment in airport infrastructure.

The debate over whether pilots should be held criminally responsible for air crashes is a separate issue from the fact that airlines and airport authorities are just as important to ensuring air safety in Indonesia and elsewhere in the world.

Korean Air probably has some of the prettiest flight stewardesses around, and here is a video to prove it. In conjunction with its 40th anniversary, the South Korean carrier is having an online competition to select the best uniform worn by its crew in that time.

Watch the video below to see some of their stewardesses in various uniforms, and then go to the Korean Air website where you can see even more and cast your vote. There are prizes waiting for 72 of those who cast their votes.

Yesterday afternoon Singapore's international TV station Channel News Asia (CNA) interviewed me to get some analysis on Jetstar Asia's ownership change.

This change involves the Singapore Government's investment arm Temasek Holdings selling its 33.5% stake in Singapore-based Jetstar Asia and the smaller shareholders are also selling out.

It also means Qantas Airways is increasing its stake in Jetstar Asia to 49% from 45% and Singaporean businessman Dennis Choo is stepping in and buying a 51% stake.

CNA had already interviewed Jetstar's CEO, Bruce Buchanan, yesterday and he would have obviously highlighted the positive aspects of the change.

So the CNA reporter asked me in the afternoon what could be the possible negative consequences of no longer having Temasek as a shareholder.

Quite frankly, I don't see a downside. Not having Temasek involved in Jetstar Asia, in my opinion, makes the decision-making process at Jetstar Asia a lot simpler and means the business can be run more efficiently.

Besides CNA, I was also interviewed by Singapore's Today newspaper. Once again the journalist looked to see if there were any negative consequences. "The fact that Temasek is selling out. Isn't that a slap in the face for the airline industry?," asked the journalist. He also asked if Temasek's exit from the business is a sign that airlines are no longer a good investment?

My response was that Temasek is probably selling out because it wants to focus its attention and energy on its larger investments. In the world of Temasek, Jetstar Asia is a tiny investment so the time and energy of Temasek's top management are probably better spent on Temasek's larger investments such as its investments in US financials and Asian tech stocks.

I also had chance yesterday to speak to Buchanan at Jetstar who made the point that when Temasek bought into Jetstar Asia a few years ago, it was at a time when Singapore was keen to have low cost carriers set up in Singapore.

They could see what was happening in Malaysia, he said, referring to Malaysian low-cost carrier AirAsia which has become a formidable competitor.

In my opinion, now that Jetstar Asia is firmly ensconced in Singapore and is unlikely to move, there is now no need for Temasek to continue owning shares in the airline. If buying into Jetstar Asia was a strategic move to get Jetstar to establish a base in Singapore, then that goal has now been achieved. So probably better for Temasek to move on and look at other investment opportunities.

Its also interesting to note that Jetstar Asia's new 51% owner Dennis Choo already has a strong relationship with Qantas.

Buchanan told me that Choo has been doing business with Qantas for about 20 years and is already Qantas and Jetstar's general sales agent in many Asian countries such as Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, China and India.

Having Singaporean businessman Choo as a business partner is a good move. Qantas needs to have a Singaporean own 51% of Jetstar Asia in order to meet Singapore's foreign ownership laws.

But in Choo, they have a businessman they know and whose travel business is so closely tied to the success of Qantas and Jetstar.

It is all getting a little bit confusing over in Melbourne.

Last year, Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways paid good money to sponsor the Australian city's main stadium. The deal makes sense for the carrier, which has just started its first direct Melbourne-Abu Dhabi flights and is planning on a major expansion of services to Australia. The operators of Etihad stadium, as it is now called, got a good deal after Australian communications firm Telstra's sponsorship ended last year.

But the Australian Football League, which has six teams based in the stadium, is furious. It has taken the venue's operators to court saying that the deal breached contractual agreements with Qantas, Australia's national carrier and a major AFL sponsor. This is because Qantas and Etihad are major competitors in the global aviation market, the AFL's lawyers added in court. Sounds fair?

Hang on a minute. Two weeks ago, just as those arguments were being heard in Melbourne courts, senior officials from Qantas and Etihad shook hands over a major code-share agreement.  This partnership will allow the Australian carrier to add four Middle Eastern destinations to its network and allow Etihad to add new destinations in Australia and New Zealand.

Hmmm, so are Etihad and Qantas partners or competitors? Go figure. I suppose, at the end of the day, it is all a matter of whom you talk to - and whose business is at stake.

In the meantime, while everyone scratches their head and tries to figure a way out of the mess, the AFL season has begun and that has plenty of people in Australia excited. For some, the game's rules are about as clear as the Qantas-Etihad saga. So, to help you along, here is the rather ambitious official promotional video for the AFL's 2009 season, followed by footage from some actual games. Enjoy!