Qantas Scraps Orders for Boeing 787 Planes

Qantas Airways of Australia said Friday that it would scrap or defer orders for 30 of Boeing’s new 787 Dreamliner aircraft, dealing a heavy blow to the American manufacturer and highlighting the intense pressure for cost savings at airlines around the world as the industry struggles to adjust to a sharp drop in passengers and freight.

Qantas, still the largest customer of the long-range, wide-body Dreamliner aircraft that is considered the key to Boeing’s future, is canceling orders for 15 of the 787s, in a move that it said would save the airline $3 billion. It is delaying delivery of 15 others by four years.

Alan Joyce, chief executive of the airline, said in a statement that Qantas’ decision was not linked to news Tuesday that the Boeing 787’s first flight had been delayed to allow further minor modifications to be made to what has been touted as the world’s most sophisticated plane.

Those problems were the latest in a series of delays in the Dreamliner project and ignited concerns about the possible effect on initial delivery schedules. The first delivery, to All Nippon Airways, was scheduled for the first quarter of 2010.

Qantas said it would retain orders for 50 of the new aircraft, including 15 for its low-cost subsidiary, Jetstar. A spokesman for Qantas, Simon Rushton, declined to comment on whether the airline would pay a penalty for the cancellation.

Analysts said the Australian flag carrier’s cancellation was one of the most significant such announcements to date, even in an industry that has already undergone major cost cuts and shake-ups.

“For Qantas to pull or defer deliveries is a major, major step,” said Derek Sadubin, an analyst at the Center for Asia Pacific Aviation, a consulting company in Sydney.

The Qantas decision takes the number of cancellations for the 787 from airlines around the world so far this year to 73, or about 8 percent of total orders for the aircraft, Mr. Sadubin said, adding that more cancellations — of aircraft of all types and makes — are probable.

Mr. Joyce, said, “Qantas announced its original B787 order in December 2005, and the operating environment for the world’s airlines has clearly changed dramatically since then.”

The global economic turmoil has taken a heavy toll on passenger and cargo traffic, with the latest figures from the International Air Transport Association showing passenger numbers in May were 9.3 percent below numbers from a year earlier, and freight demand was down 17.4 percent.

Falling volumes, combined with soaring oil prices last year, forced airlines around the world to reduce staff and flights, park planes and shelve investment plans, including aircraft orders.

Like many of its rivals, Qantas expects sharply reduced profits this year. In April, it announced it would shed 1,750 jobs, in addition to 1,500 job cuts announced last year, and warned it was exploring ways to reduce the number of aircraft it was to receive from Boeing.

“Qantas, like most airlines around the world, is clearly in survival mode,” Mr. Sadubin said.

“We are working Qantas to make changes appropriate to the current climate,” Jim Proulx, a Boeing spokesman in Seattle, told Bloomberg News.

QATAR Airways unveils expansion plans

Qatar Airways today announced plans to launch scheduled flights to Australia and further expand its operations in India and Europe with new routes from the start of the Northern Winter 2009 schedules.  Flights to the Australian cities of Sydney and Melbourne, together with new services to Goa and Amritsar in India, and two new European services are being earmarked over the next nine months. 

In addition, the Doha-based carrier will increase frequency to selected destinations across its global network from the beginning of the Northern Summer 2009 schedules on March 29. The expansion was announced today at ITB Berlin, the world’s largest travel and tourism show being held in the German capital this week. 

Subject to regulatory approval, the long-awaited Australian services will become reality as more Boeing 777-200 Long Range aircraft join the fleet. There are currently eight Boeing 777s in Qatar Airways’ fleet of 68 aircraft – of which two are the Boeing 777 Long Range version capable of flying from Doha to Australia non-stop. 

Amritsar, located in the rich northwestern Indian agricultural heartland of Punjab State, is home to the Golden Temple – the spiritual and cultural centre of the Sikh religion. Together with the popular idyllic beach holiday state of Goa, the two new routes will boost Qatar Airways’ Indian capacity from nine to 11 destinations. 

Qatar Airways will also step up its European presence with two new routes, which are currently being finalised. Details will be announced in due course. The airline’s first new route launch of 2009 will be daily flights between Doha and Houston which, at just under 17 hours, will be one of the longest non-stop flights in the world. 

Beginning March 30, the Houston route will feature Qatar Airways’ new fully flat Business Class seats deployed on its two Boeing 777-200 Long Range aircraft, which the airline took delivery of over the past six weeks. 

The expansion is part of the airline’s ongoing growth strategy – a long-term commitment to develop its route infrastructure as new aircraft join the fleet at an average delivery rate of one a month. 

The award-winning Doha-based airline currently has on order more than 200 new Airbus and Boeing aircraft worth over US$40 billion. 

“Qatar Airways’ robust expansion is continuing undeterred by the current economic climate,” said Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker, addressing a packed press conference on the opening day of ITB Berlin. 

“Sydney and Melbourne have been on our radar screen for many years. We can finally look forward to entering the Australian market with vigour as we will have the aircraft to serve this highly popular market non-stop from Doha. 

“India has been, and remains, one of our most important destinations and we are pleased to be strengthening economic and cultural ties with one of the world’s fastest growing economies. With the growth of the Indian economy into a potential global powerhouse and Qatar’s drive to spread its economic wings globally, increasing air links between the two countries is of paramount importance.” 

Qatar Airways currently operates 58 flights a week to nine cities across India – daily to Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Cochin, Ahmedabad, Trivandrum, Hyderabad, Kozhikode and twice-weekly to Nagpur. 

Al Baker said Europe was strategically important for Qatar Airways, highlighting the need to widen its market presence with the addition of two new routes over the next nine months. 

“Our tremendous growth is part of a long-term strategy to significantly build up our portfolio of routes and fleet size,” he added. 

“Qatar Airways continually identifies new opportunities around the world to better serve the travelling public and is able to easily shift capacity according to market conditions. As a network hub airline, Qatar Airways does not rely on traffic from any specific markets, so we are largely immune from the circumstances surrounding the current global economic meltdown.

“With new aircraft joining our fleet at an incredible rate of one a month for the foreseeable future, we are confident going forward, able to consolidate our position by increasing frequency on existing routes and introducing new routes to give passengers greater choice. 

“Qatar Airways is well poised to face the challenges ahead. We have a long-term vision demonstrated by today’s announcement to build on our highly successful young operation – a remarkable feat for an airline which launched just 12 years ago.” 

In addition to the route expansion, Qatar Airways is gradually stepping up capacity from March 29 to eight cities – Geneva, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Lagos, Muscat, Mashad (Iran), Tunis and Algiers. The frequency increases will see the Philippines capital of Manila being served with two daily flights, up from the current 11 services a week; Nigeria’s commercial capital of Lagos going from five services a week to daily; and capacity to the Omani capital of Muscat rising from 15 to 21 flights a week. 

Qatar Airways currently operates a modern fleet of 68 Airbus and Boeing aircraft to 83 diverse business and leisure destinations across Europe, Middle East, Africa, South Asia, Far East and North America. 

With the opening of the New Doha International Airport scheduled for 2012, Qatar Airways plans to increase its global network to beyond 100 cities worldwide. 

Highlights Of Qatar Airways’ 2009 Capacity Increases:- 

Non-Stop from Doha:- 

Houston – new route launch DAILY from March 30 
Geneva – up from 4 to 5 flights a week from March 29 
Lagos – up from 5 to 7 flights a week (DAILY) from March 29 
Manila – up from 11 to 14 flights a week (DOUBLE DAILY) from March 29 
Muscat – up from 15 to 21 flights a week from March 29 
Mashad – up from 3 to 5 flights a week from March 29 
Kuala Lumpur – up from 7 to 10 flights a week from June 1 
Algiers – up from 4 to 6 flights a week from October 1 
Tunis – up from 4 to 5 flights a week from October 5

Teens smuggle weapons on flight

TWO boys have smuggled a stolen arsenal of handguns, knives and 3000 rounds of ammunition through two West Australian airports in one of the state’s most serious breaches of airline security.

The boys, aged 11 and 14, packed the weapons in their checked-in luggage on a Qantas flight from Karratha to Perth on Monday night.

On arrival in Perth, they retrieved the baggage and checked in for a 10.55pm Jetstar flight to Cairns, where they were arrested after landing at 4.10am on Tuesday.

Qantas has admitted that “explosive trace detection” X-ray machines failed to pick up the ammunition.

The 14-year-old, who allegedly stole the weapons and ammunition from a shop in Karratha, has been charged and will face the Weipa Children’s Court on Tuesday.

Federal police were tipped off about the theft by Karratha officers. They intercepted the boys and their luggage at Cairns airport where they were waiting to board a flight to Weipa.

Their baggage also contained a Ruger revolver, a .22-calibre pistol, 14 knives and other weapons.

The West Australian Police Minister, Rob Johnson, said: “If that is substantiated, I would certainly have some discussions with the minister and those people with responsibility for security at our airports.”

A Qantas spokesman told The West Australian it was aware of the incident but there was “absolutely no flight security threat”.

Because one of the boys was aged under 13, Qantas and Jetstar staff chaperoned the boys throughout their journey.

Air Tahiti Nui cancels Sydney for 6 months

Air Tahiti Nui will cancel Papeete – Sydney nonstop service from 28MAR09 till 23OCT09. It will offer service via Auckland through codeshare partner QANTAS.

Airbus delivers 11th A380 to Qantas, aims for 12 this year

Airbus today handed over its 11th A380 superjumbo to Qantas. Airframe serial number MSN022 was registered VH-OQC and christenedPaul McGinness. The plane was the third A380 for Qantas this year.With just four days left in 2008, Airbus, the world’s largest maker of commercial aircraft, is scrambling to make one more delivery, in order to reach its goal of 12 deliveries this year.
That aircraft is expected to be delivered to Emirates, its largest customer for the A380, by Dec. 31

Air New Zealand suspends Hamilton Tasman route in 09

In the Northern Summer season of 2009, Air New Zealand is suspending service on the Hamilton – Gold Coast and Hamilton – Sydney route. The Northern Summer schedule spans from 29MAR09 to 24OCT09.

First Qantas A380 on its way

IT is two years late. It resulted in compensation to Qantas of more than $200 million, upset the airline’s fleet plans and handed an arch-rival a bigger than expected competitive advantage.

But it will be all smiles today as Qantas finally takes delivery of its first flagship Airbus A380 in the European plane maker’s home town of Toulouse.

The giant plane is due to take off just before midnight tonight, Toulouse time, and will fly via Singapore to land in Sydney about 9am (AEDT) on Sunday.

The plane is due to enter commercial service on the Melbourne-Los Angeles route on October 20, with Sydney-Los Angeles following four days later.

It is due to go head to head with Singapore Airlines’ A380 service on the Sydney-Singapore-London route from January.

If Singapore is anything to go by, the new plane should slide into service with minimal hiccups.

The double-decker superjumbo has already been flying commercially for almost a year and the Singaporean carrier, which now has half a dozen of the giant planes, says it has been its smoothest ever entry into service.

The A380 is also proving a hit with passengers, who invariably remark on how quiet the cabin is compared to other planes.

Airlines that have the aircraft so far have adopted it as their flagship and kitted it out to be the showpiece of their fleets. This means seating configurations below the Airbus-recommended optimum and new features such as lounges, bars, showers and luxurious first class seats.

In Qantas’s case, this means 450 seats with 14 in first, 72 in business, 32 in premium economy and 332 economy. Everybody will get access to a new Panasonic entertainment system with more than 100 on-demand movies, 350 television selections, 500 audio CDs, 30 PC-style games and a selection of audio books and radio.

And to help passengers adapt to their destination, the new system will feature Lonely Planet guides as well as language tutorials. Just which airline will emerge the victor in the battle of the big planes remains to be seen, but passengers appear to have already scored wins.

Airbus to extend A380 to accommodate 1,000 passengers

Airbus SAS, the world’s largest plane maker, is considering an extended 1,000-passenger version of the A380 aircraft, Louis Gallois, chief executive of the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS), has said. Two airlines, Deutsche Lufthansa AG and Air France-KLM SA, were interested in the extended version of the A380, Gallois told the German newspaper Saechsische Zeitung in an interview to be published Friday.  The A380, the world’s largest commercial aircraft even in its current form, can carry 555 passengers. It entered service in October last year after a two-year delay that severely hit Airbus profits and forced a major restructuring of the company.

Gallois said Airbus had planned the extended version right from the start.

AirAsia X launches budget flights out of Melbourne

Cut-price airline AirAsia X has announced it is to begin new Melbourne to Kuala Lumpur flights.

The Malaysian-based carrier will offer one-way fares to Kuala Lumpur – starting at $199 including taxes and charges – and four return flights a week from November 12.

The airline plans to increase to daily return flights during the peak season from December to mid-January and then daily from March 2009.

Qantas grounds six planes after service ‘issues’

In a statement released tonight, the airline said it would remove the six B737-400s from service while it cross-checked maintenance records relating to work carried out at one of its Australian facilities.

Qantas has been in the spotlight recently over a spate of incidents, most notably an explosion which tore through part of the fuselage of a Boeing 747-400 en route from London to Melbourne.

Last week, a Qantas jet was grounded because of noise from an air-conditioning fault which was found on a plane that was returned from routine maintenance in Malaysia two months ago with 95 defects.

This revelation seriously dents Qantas’ image of a near perfect airline with hardly any incidents.

Pacific Blue announces new route

Virgin Blue has announced that it will commence flights between Melbourne and Auckland in September.

To promote the new route, the airline are offering one-way flights from $199 per person, when the service commences on September 22, 2008.

Virgin Blue Chief Executive Brett Godfrey says the move reflected the success of the Pacific Blue move. “We have been considering this route for some time, as we’re always interested in markets that are under-served,” he said.

“It makes sense to us and we’re confident air travellers will feel the same way.” Melbourne Airport CEO Chris Woodruff said the announcement would provide a boost for Victoria.

Yet another Qantas jet makes emergency landing in Sydney

Australia’s aviation agency launched a review of Qantas Airways’ safety standards Sunday after a Manila-bound jetliner spraying hydraulic fuel made the airline’s third high-profile emergency landing in eight days. 

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority announced the review after a Boeing 767 with 200 passengers on board returned to Sydney airport soon after takeoff Saturday because air traffic controllers saw fluid streaming from a wing.

On July 25, an explosion on board a Qantas Boeing 747 en route from London to Australia blew a hole in the fuselage and caused rapid decompression in the passenger cabin. The jet landed safely in Manila despite damaged navigational instruments.

Last Tuesday, an Australian domestic flight was forced to return to the southern city of Adelaide after a wheel bay door failed to close.

Kingfisher to fly to Pak, Dhaka by Sept

Kingfisher Airlines, which plans to start its international flights by September this year, is looking to fly to neighbouring country Pakistan in the same month.  The airline is planning to fly to Lahore from Delhi, apart from a host of other overseas destinations, to start with.

The carrier has already applied for approval to the DGCA to start its operations to Pakistan, under the Bilateral Air Services Agreement India signed with the neighbouring country, he added. Kingfisher would fly an ATR 72 aircraft for the operation.

Besides, the carrier also plans to start flights to other destinations in SAARC countries like Bangladesh capital Dhaka, he added.  In the South-East Asian region, the airline is also planning to launch Mumbai-Singapore, Mumbai-Kuala Lumpur and Chennai-Kuala Lumpur flights.  It will also fly to Dubai from Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai. The carrier has already announced plans to launch Mumbai-London, Mumbai-New York, Bangalore-San Fransisco and Bangalore-New York services from September.

As part of its international flight plans, Kingfisher has already ordered 10 wide-body aircrafts, including five Superjumbo Airbus A380, and has taken delivery of two Airbus 330s. Another A 330 is due for delivery on August 2. The airline has 84 aircrafts in its fleet currently.

Air India cuts fares across the board to woo travellers

The latest strategy of Air India seems to be that of fare cuts across sectors aggresively to attract more passengers. While most carriers have increased both fuel surcharges and ticket costs, Air India has actually reduced ticket prices while keeping fuel surcharges almost constant. Air India cut down basic fare on some Gulf sectors by up to 20% last week. It’s also expected to bring down fare by about 5-10% on Delhi-London and other international routes.
Air India’s strategy has almost immediately begun to pay off with loads rising quickly across domestic sectors, while the trend has started in the international sector too. If Air India can retain these passengers through superior service, these will form the base for loyal customers. Air india can then move to increase fares to correct its bleeding balance sheet. This is a three pronged approach. The first step seems to be working. We have to wait and watch on the next 2 steps to see if Air India succeeds in this.

Please comment on what your thoughts on this strategy are!

Qantas plane in emergency landing as door pops mid-flight : Breaking News

A Qantas plane flying from London to Melbourne was forced to make an ermergency landing at Manila airport after a door “popped” midflight, leaving a hole in the side of the plane.

The Boeing 747 carrying 300 passengers and crew plunged 20,000 feet after the faulty door “popped”, causing an “explosive” depressurisation. Flight QF30 had just taken off from Hong Kong when the incident happened. As the plane dropped from 30,000 feet to 10,000 feet, oxygen masks dropped from the ceiling.

One passenger on flight QF 30, Brendan McClements said there was a sudden “gust of wind” through the plane. ”There was a degree of surprise – people questioning what it was,” he told Australia’s Herald Sun website.

”There was a rush of wind as the air pressure came down. It got people’s attention. It was then a matter of getting the masks on.” He said the faulty door was on the “driver’s” side of the plane. There was ”a big gap where the door used to be”, he said. He said other passengers were in “reasonably good” spirits.

Another passenger described how children burst into tears after a “quick bang” reverberated throught the cabin. She said the plane plunged, but then stabilised after about five minutes.

Passengers reported that the pilot did “an amazing job” of controlling the aircraft, taking it lower to counter the effects of the depressurised cabin. Mr McClements, an Australian businessman, said: ”The crew were terrific, they did a great job. Everyone gave them a round of applause as we landed.”

Qantas is still trying to establish how a large hole came to appear in the fuselage outside the baggage compartment. An emergency room has been set up at the airline’s head office at Mascot airport in Sydney, where senior airline executives are being continuously by aircraft engineers.

Alfonso Cusi, the Manila airport manager confirmed that the plane has requested an emergency landing. A Qantas spokeswoman said last night: “Qantas can confirm that Qantas flight 30 from Hong Kong to Melbourne has been diverted to Manila . The aircraft is on the ground and is currently being inspected”.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has been notified of the incident and its director of air safety is being briefed by Qantas officials.

In January a Qantas 747 flying from Londno to Bangkok was forced to land on battery backup after an electrical failure, caused by a cracked drip tray. In March, a cockpit alert on a Qantas flight bound from Los Angeles to Sydney forced the pilot to abandon take-off. He was travelling at such speed the impact blew out three of the plane’s tyres and threw passengers forward in their seats.

Qantas seems to be having a spate of major emergencies with its 747s.

Delta expands services to France

Delta last week launched flights from New York JFK to Lyon, France, offering the only nonstop flight between the United States and France’s second-largest city. 

Through Delta’s joint venture with Air France, the new Delta flight also connects customers to 40 European destinations via Lyon.
Delta already flies non-stop daily between Paris Charles de Gaulle and New York-JFK, Atlanta, Cincinnati and Salt Lake City and to Nice from New York-JFK.

Swiss announces new services in its winter schedule

Swiss’s winter schedule effective October 26 will see a new service from Geneva to Budapest and increased capacity between Zurich and London City.
Other changes include operating an A340 on the Zurich-Dubai-Muscat route and increasing Zurich-Istanbul to twice daily. 
The new Budapest flight is a result of Swiss’s swapping of Valencia services from Geneva to Zurich, which released capacity at the former.

Qantas cuts 1500 jobs

The Qantas Group is set to cut 1,500 jobs worldwide, as well as halting the implementation of its budgeted growth in flying in the 2008/09 financial year and would cancel plans to hire a further 1,200 people for that growth.

Over 20% of management and head office support jobs will be cut, with the redundancy programme completed by December.

The oil effect is showing up everywhere now. Oil has come down from USD 145 to USD 127 in a matter of a week, but for airlines to sustain and grow profitably with volumes, oil should stay below USD 110 a barrel.

Crude prices hurts airlines big time

The rising price of ATF in the past few months have hurt most airlines very badly. Most carriers are bleeding millions of dollars daily. Losts of airlines (About 25) have gone bust in the past few months. Lots of airlines have downsized their operations to cut losses and are struggling to stay afloat. On top of all that, most governments arent doing enough to support the industry by way of meaningful tax cuts on fuel (Contributes 60% of the operating expense of an airline), reduce parking and landing charges etc…

This move will result in rising prices and evetually lower demand. If the cost pressures of the operations are not controlled and bought down, the price rise and the lowering of demand will become a vicious cycle and will bring the industry to its knees like it did post 9/11.

I HOPE SOMEONE IS LISTENING AND READING THIS.

Airlines Saving Millions By Flying Slower

If airline flights seem to be taking a little longer these days, it may be because the pilot is flying slower.  To save fuel, a number of airlines are doing what drivers on the highway do: easing off the accelerator.

 

Southwest began two months ago. It’s projecting that by extending each flight by one to three minutes, it will save $42 million on fuel this year.Northwest Airlines added eight minutes to a Paris-Minneapolis flight earlier this week, saving 162 gallons of fuel and $535.

 

JetBlue’s director of flight operations said “it’s not a dramatic change,” but his airline saves about $13.6 million a year by adding an average of less than two minutes.

 

United has invested in flight planning software that helps pilots choose the best routes and speeds. The airline said it’s trying to fly “at a more consistent speed.” It estimates the software will save it $20 million a year.

So expect your flying experience to be even slower apart from the mad rush at the airports!!!