January 2010 Archives

Boeing, Sikorsky and GE could face sanctions as the US goes ahead with the latest arms sales to Taiwan.

Beijing, for the first time, has threatened sanctions against the companies that are involved in the sale. The deal includes 60 Sikorsky UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters that are powered by GE engines, and Harpoon missiles that are manufactured by Boeing.

The sale was not unexpected - and it has not included the F-16s that Taiwan covets.

China's opposition was not unexpected either, but the extent to which it may go to protest the decision could have implications in the wider aerospace industry. Boeing, Sikorsky and GE all have long-standing commercial links with the mainland, and have said that it is a key part of their growth strategy in the coming years.

Expect this to unfold further in the coming weeks, and we will try to get a reaction from the companies at the Singapore Airshow.

Here are some of the aircraft on static display at the Singapore Airshow. I took them when I went to the show earlier, and the highlight is probably the Republic of Singapore Air Force's modified G550 with the Elta conformal Airborne Early Warning platform (above).

Others (below) include a USAF Lockheed Martin C-130, a model of the Lockheed F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, a RSAF Boeing Chinook CH-47, and Northrop Grumman's Global Hawk.

Did not see many civil aircraft apart from a few helicopters - was rushing out of the show, and so will try to get those pictures tomorrow.

Just took a trip down to the show site and I found - this cool baby, the Republic of Singapore Air Force's G550 Airborne Early Warning aircraft.

To my knowledge, this is the first time that the RSAF has publicly displayed this aircraft, about which it has been highly secretive. Singapore received its first aircraft in February 2009 and has ordered four of the G550s, which have been modified to carry the Elta conformal AEW platform.

While the RSAF has never confirmed the specifications, we understand that it has a similar configuration to the Israeli air force's G550-based conformal AEW (CAEW) aircraft, which entered service early 2008.

Israel Aerospace 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 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 on-board operator stations.

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 formal delivery period for its G550 AEW aircraft is late 2008 to 2010. The aircraft will replace four E-2Cs that have been in service for more than 20 years. Industry sources say that the four AEW-configured aircraft are expected to cost the island state up to $1 billion.

A fifth, unmodified, business jet is also being acquired to support training activities from 2012 under a 20-year private finance initiative deal with ST Aerospace.

How's this for some precious cargo? FedEx Express is transporting two giant Pandas from the USA to China on 4 February. The bears, which were born in the USA, are being flown from Washington's Dulles International Airport to Chengdu, China.

This is not the first time that FedEx Express has transported Pandas. In 2000, it flew one Panda from China to Washington DC's National Zoo, and in 2003 it transported a giant panda from China to the Memphis Zoo.

It has, in the past, also transported polar bears, white tigers, elephants, penguins, lions, gorillas, eagles and even a 13ft tiger shark used in filming the movie "Jaws."

This has been in the works for such a long time, and is likely to continue in the near term.

Singapore has been assessing the Korea Aerospace Industries T-50 (above) and Aermacchi M-346 (below) for its advanced jet trainer competition. Flight trials, from what we understand, are over and negotiations are ongoing between Singapore and the manufacturers.

We are still not sure what is causing the hold-up - some sources are telling me that Singapore is trying to find out the USA's initial preference before making a decision. That will be significant, given the island's close relationship with the US military.

We'll definitely try to find out more next week, when both the T-50 and M-346 teams (and their aircraft) will be in Singapore and making a case for their product.

Let's not get too carried away about the significance of the Jetstar-AirAsia alliance that was signed earlier in January.

Yes, this is the first time that two major low-cost carriers anywhere in the world are coming together and that is important. They will certainly benefit from working together on ground-handling and engineering services - their combined influence will help them source for cheaper providers of these services.

Apart from ticket prices, costs are the most important factor for these airlines.

The significance of their influence on the design of the next generation of narrowbody aircraft, however, is premature. Yes, they could be an important factor. But they are not due to order new aircraft for at least another seven or eight years and that is a long time in the industry - new airlines will come on board, some will fall by the wayside, and the manufacturers themselves may have different ideas.

It is far too early to say if this alliance will end up doing everything it sets out to do.

Here's something left of centre - how many of your remember the name Lisa Robertson? Doesn't ring a bell?

Now, how many of you can remember the story of a Qantas stewardess who romped with actor Ralph Fiennes on board a flight from Darwin to India? Yep, that's her.

It appears as though Robertson is now homeless and in trouble with the law. It sure has been a hard fall for Robertson, who was sacked by Qantas after that tryst with Fiennes.

Talk about never quite again reaching the heights of the mile-high club!

Yesterday, my colleague Ghim-Lay Yeo was in Kuala Lumpur talking to AirAsia and Tony Fernandes about the carrier's plans to expand to India. AirAsia, together with its long-haul associate AirAsia X, is making waves in the regional low-fare market.

Along with China, India is a big market for the Southeast Asian low-cost carriers. India, with its expat communities in the region, is a major market for the airlines. The country is also growing as a tourist destination.

Australia's Jetstar and its Singapore-based subsidiary are planning an expansion of their network out of Southeast Asia, including possibly long-haul flights.

That leaves the likes of Tiger Airways, Cebu Pacific, Mandala and Lion Air as those low-cost carriers that are still focused on the regional routes - and that is not necessarily a bad thing for them.

The long-haul low-cost model has not been proven sustainable yet, although AirAsia and AirAsia X will love to make that possible. So it makes sense to focus on the high-frequency short-haul routes.

What all of this - both long-haul and short-haul - means that these carriers pose an even greater threat to the full-service carriers in the region. The likes of Garuda Indonesia, Malaysia Airlines, Thai Airways, Philippine Airlines have to watch out.

Recently, we spoke to Singapore Airlines CEO Chew Choon Seng, whose carrier took delivery of the Airbus A380 around the time of the 2008 Singapore Airshow.

Two years ago, the headlines came from full service carriers like SIA, who ordered aircraft like the A380 and Airbus' A330 and A350, as well as Boeing's 777 and 787, in droves.

This year, some of them might surprise us and announce an order. But if anything, after the economic downturn of the last 18 months, that is more likely to come from the guys who have actually increased their market share in this crisis.

Low-cost carriers like AirAsia, Tiger and Jetstar have been adding aircraft and hiring people as they tapped on the growing market for low-fare travel, and took some of the traffic from their floundering full-service rivals in the region.

We hear that there might be some announcements next week, possibly from low-cost carriers. Times, however, have certainly changed from two years ago when almost every airline was confident about its prospects.

Chew believes that increasingly,  the market will be divided between the likes of SIA that offer very good full-service options and the likes of AirAsia, who have cornered the short-haul market with their low-fare options. The rest, as he puts it, will continue to be in a squeeze.

More Asian countries are likely to assess the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter in the coming years as a possible solution to their fighter requirements, and that should result in the aircraft taking the spotlight next week.

But expect a lot of questions from the media for the Lockheed executives next week, especially on the F-35's delivery timeline after the latest news about possible delays to the programme.

Countries like Singapore, South Korea and Japan will also wonder when they would be able to get their hands on the F-35 - and that could have an impact on Boeing and its ability to sell the F-15 Silent Eagle or F/A-18E/F Super Hornet.

To Lockheed's constant chagrin, Boeing executives have always maintained that there are likely to be delays to the F-35 that could open the market up for their products. Expect that mudslinging between Lockheed and Boeing - whether it is in private or in public - to continue next week.

We've been busy preparing for next week's Singapore Airshow, when we'll have a fantastic online presence. We have done a comprehensive overview of the Asian aerospace industry ahead of next week's show. Do especially look out for our digital daily next week, something the Flightglobal team is trying for the first time - I'll provide more details later this week.

Along the way, I began to dig more into BJETS - a business aviation start-up that made a big splash at the 2008 Singapore Airshow. Two years later, the dream has turned sour with the company rapidly shrinking its expansion plans.

The economic crisis of the last 18 months was partly to blame, but the reality is that the company also over-estimated the market potential and under-estimated the challenges. This does not just apply to the business aviation market, but to the wider aerospace industry as well.

Multi-national companies that come to Asia have increasingly found that they can't necessarily apply the way they do business in their home countries in this region. You need to adapt your business plan, and a slowly, slowly approach usually works much better.

There are many lessons to be learnt from the problems faced by BJETS.

There are some things in life you wish you never saw - walking in on your parents, catching your best friend in his gimp outfit, or spotting your uptight boss in the thick of the action at a sleazy bar.

I reckon we could add these photos to the list. As much as I like both Tony Fernandes and Richard Branson, I really was not prepared to see images of them in a dress.

At least, the Richard Branson image is computer generated and we could sort of look past it.

To me, though, there is just something very disturbing about the sight of Tony - albeit being a very good sport - wearing a pinafore at AirAsia's Christmas dinner.

Happy New Year, everyone!

Tomorrow, AirAsia and Jetstar are about to announce a new joint venture that would help them to save costs. There is still little information about what they plan to do, with the usual sources remaining rather tight-lipped. What we know is that it will likely involve some cooperation on routes and maybe ground services.

No matter what happens, a tie-up between the two will be a pretty significant deal. These are two of the largest low-cost carriers in Asia and it will be a significant threat to their competitors if they decide to work even more closely with each other.

Closer cooperation between AirAsia and Jetstar will be a pretty big deal in the regional airline industry.