Jetstar receives Australia's first Boeing 787 Dreamliner

by BA Staff

Boeing (NYSE: BA) delivered to Jetstar Airways of Australia the carrier's first 787 today, which is also the first Dreamliner for the nation of Australia.

Jetstar Australia Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner VH-VKA

Jetstar, is the Qantas Group's low-cost brand. Like every other airline which has taken delivery of this new type of aircraft, Jetstar too will introduce the 787 Dreamliner first on domestic routes, to ensure its pilots achieve the required number of landings, its cabin and ground crews get familiar with the aircraft, and then move the Dreamliners to its international network. The airline has a total of 14 787 Dreamliners on order and expects to fly an all-787 long-haul fleet by 2015.

Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said

"Today is a historic milestone for the Qantas Group and Jetstar as we welcome the most advanced passenger aircraft ever constructed to the fleet," "In just 10 short years, Jetstar has grown to be the largest low fares carrier in the Asia Pacific, carrying more than 100 million passengers. The 787 will set up the airline for another decade of growth."

The aircraft departed Monday morning local time from Boeing's Everett, Washington state delivery centre for Melbourne, Australia where it will be greeted by airline employees and special guests.

Boeing Commercial Airplanes President and CEO Ray Conner said "

We're proud to deliver the revolutionary 787 Dreamliner to our partners at Jetstar," "The 787s unmatched fuel efficiency will give Jetstar an advantage in the marketplace and its passengers will travel with the world's most advanced in-flight experience."

"Jetstar customers will have the chance to fly in a larger and more spacious cabin, enjoy gate to gate in-flight entertainment and arrive at their destination more refreshed thanks to a lower cabin altitude to reduce the impact of jet lag," said Jetstar Group CEO Jayne Hrdlicka. "The entire Jetstar team is very excited to have the 787 take to Australia skies."

Boeing Aerostructures Australia manufactures the movable trailing edge on the wing of every Dreamliner.

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Analysis: Qantas more than doubles full year profit as rival Virgin Australia loses money

by Vinay Bhaskara

Image Credit: Paul Spijkers

Australian airline group Qantas Group has reported an underlying pre-tax profit of AUD 192 million (US $171.5 million) for the year ended 30th June 2013, more than doubling from AUD 95 million for the year ending 30th June 2012.

Broken up by segment, profit for Qantas mainline domestic fell 21% year-over-year (YOY) to AUD 365 million thanks to a fare war with Australia's second largest airline, Virgin Australia. Profits also fell 20% YOY at Qantas freight on Asian demand weakness to AUD 36 million, while Jetstar Group saw a deep 32% YOY decline in profit to AUD 132 million thanks to the start up costs of Jetstar Japan and Jetstar Hong Kong. Profits at the loyalty (frequent flyer) division remained strong, rising 13% YOY to AUD 260 million, but the biggest improvement came from the reduction in losses at Qantas' international division, with losses halving to AUD 246 million from AUD 484 million YOY.

Group operating revenues rose 1% to AUD 15.9 billion while operating costs remained essentially flat thanks to a 2% reduction in fuel costs. This contributed to a 5% reduction year over year in unit costs excluding fuel (cost per available seat kilometer - CASK ex. fuel), which was partly offset by a 2% decline in yields.

For the year, capacity as measured by available seat kilometers (ASKs) was essentially flat YOY, while passenger traffic in revenue passenger kilometers (RPKs) was down around 1%. However, passengers carried actually grew 3% YOY to 48.3 million as the Group re-balanced capacity towards shorter haul routes.

For Qantas, the strong improvement in its international results was a partial validation of the turnaround plan announced last year with an eye towards returning the international division to profitability by fiscal year 2015. The biggest part of that turnaround plan, a tie-up with Emirates, has also been partially validated, as it contributed to the results via a doubling of bookings onto code share services to Europe (versus the previous partnership with British Airways). And the partnership's contribution should continue to improve into FY14 as much of the partnership has not been fully implemented and FY13 had to deal with the start-up costs of launching operations in Dubai.

Moreover, the cost-base on international operations improved 5% thanks to reduction of loss-making routes, aircraft retirements, and the reconfiguration of 9 Boeing 747s and 12 A380s improving fleet economics. Qantas International has certainly paid the price for poor strategic vision in the sense of not taking advantage of the rise of Asia over the past decade. But the decision to join hands with Emirates and cut loss-making routes from the international network was the right decision. Bigger is not always better. By reducing some of the lower yielding destinations like Frankfurt and Buenos Aires, Qantas has cut its way towards profitability.

And the turnaround domestically has allowed Qantas to re-focus efforts on the group's primary profit center; Domestic. As Qantas struggled to re-make its international operations over the past few years, Australia's second largest carrier, Virgin Australia evolved from a low cost nuisance into a true full service rival. Having reconfigured its short haul fleet of Boeing 737s and Embraer E190s with a business class cabin, Virgin Australia even took a major shot across Qantas' bow by introducing Airbus A330-200 aircraft with lie-flat business class seats on lucrative transcontinental routes from Perth in 2011.

New Qantas A330-200 business class - Image Credit: Qantas

But Qantas now has the funds and shareholder confidence to fight back. Earlier this month, they announced a new updated product on its own fleet of 10 transcontinental A330s with lie-flat suites aimed at clawing back market share from Virgin Australia. Qantas also announced a new premium product for five Boeing 717-200s, to be flown by subsidiart QantasLink in competition with Virgin Australia Embraer E190s out of Australia's capital Canberra.

Even as Qantas is revving up for a fight, Virgin Australia continues to struggle. With a jumbled strategy of acquisitions aimed at modeling Virgin Australia Holdings after Qantas Group (including the transformation of regional provider Skywest into Virgin Australia Regional and the purchase of a 60% stake in ultra low cost carrier [ULCC] Tigerair Australia) weighing on results, Virgin Australia reported a post-tax loss of AUD 98.1 million for FY13. The competitive tide in the Australian market, for the moment, appears to have shifted back in Qantas' favor.

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Airbus A380 airline-wise seating configurations compared

by Devesh Agarwal

Early next year Qatar Airways will become the eleventh operator of the Airbus A380 super-jumbo. We have researched and produce below an airline-wise A380 seat configuration infographic for comparison. Airbus had original projected the aircraft in a three class 555 seat configuration.

We have also reached some conclusions which are produced below the infographic. Study the infographic and see what conclusions you derive. Compare them with ours, and please post your thoughts and conclusions via a comment.

Airbus A380 seating configuration airline-wise deck-wise (U=Upper, L=Main/Lower), class-wise (CT = class total)

Qatar's CEO Mr. Akbar Al-Bakar has indicated a first class of eight seats and a business class of 52 seats, both on the upper deck. The economy class will have 457 seats, the most by any A380 operator till now.

The main deck (also called the lower deck) will be all economy class, but most likely, there will also be, a small section on the upper deck. The exact configuration has not been revealed as yet, but a study of the Emirates'A380 configuration of the same 517 seats leads us to expect about 30 economy class seats on the upper deck and 427 on the main deck.

With a total configured capacity of 517 seats, Qatar will have the densest A380, second only to Lufthansa which operates its A380s in a 526 seat configuration. However Emirates which also has a 517 seat configured A380 packs seven more economy class passengers on the main deck when compared to Lufthansa to take top spot in the "stuffed" ranking.

Korean Air operates the least dense A380 with 407 seats, just two less than launch operator Singapore Airlines.

Singapore Airlines offers the widest business class seat

The dual configurations of the Singapore Airlines A380 also allows us to derive that for each of its "over the top" ultra-wide 1-2-1 business class seats, the airline loses 3.385 economy class seats. The airline adds 26 business class seats on the upper deck and loses 88 economy class seats. A similar deduction can be derived for Australia based Qantas as well.

The world's largest operator of A380s, Dubai based Emirates airline, sacrifices a full 28 seats to provide crew sleeping accommodation in the rear of the aircraft on its A380s configured for long distance flights (Dubai Australia and Dubai North America). That area is apparently so quiet, that pilots who are accustomed to a hum, are unable to sleep due to the silence. (Read story here).

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Emirates and Qantas begin their partnership

by Devesh Agarwal

Qantas A380 welcomed with a water cannon salute

Dubai based Emirates and Australian carrier Qantas have officially started their partnership.

The first Qantas flights departed from Sydney and Melbourne to London via Dubai on March 31.

In the partnership the two carriers will collaborate to deliver network, lounges, frequent flyer benefits and travel experiences over 98 flights a week between Australia and Dubai.

A white-paper providing an overview of the Emirates-Qantas partnership at a glance can be download here.

As part of the Qantas-Emirates partnership, there is a synchronisation in the services of the two airlines. The start also marks an enhancement in Qantas services to match those offered by Emirates.

• A return to a Middle East stopover for the Kangaroo route (Sydney-Dubai-London and Melbourne-Dubai-London) following a 30 year absence while it operated via Asia.
• Lounge access for eligible Qantas and Emirates passengers into either airline’s network in Australia, Asia, the Middle East, North Africa and the UK and Europe.
• Chauffeur Drive for Qantas Business and First Class passengers on flights (matching Emirates’ existing service).
• The ability to redeem existing Qantas Frequent Flyer or Emirates Skywards points for flights to 175 destinations worldwide, on both airlines.
• Reciprocal status recognition for frequent flyers across both networks (e.g. priority check-in for Qantas Gold Frequent Flyers when flying Emirates).
• Harmonised baggage policies, including an increase in Qantas’ Economy checked baggage allowance from 23kg to 30kg.

More details about premium class customer service enhancements are at the end of the story.

Tim Clark, President Emirates Airline. said

“The strength of this partnership stems from the fact the Emirates and Qantas brands are an excellent match. Emirates customers using a Qantas lounge or taking a Qantas flight will experience a level of service that is on par with what they expect from Emirates,”

Chief Executive Officer of Qantas, Alan Joyce said

Emirates-Qantas partnership flights map

“From today, our customers from Adelaide, Brisbane, Perth, Melbourne and Sydney have one-stop access to 65 destinations in the Middle East, North Africa, the UK and Europe via the joint Qantas and Emirates network.

“By travelling through Dubai, Qantas customers can connect to the extensive Emirates network into Europe and the UK and fly directly to their destination,”

“Before today, the Qantas network offered five one-stop code-share destinations into Europe and the UK with our partners. From today, we offer access to 32 destinations in Europe on the combined Qantas and Emirates network.

“The new network will cut average journey times by more than two hours from Melbourne and Sydney to the top 10 destinations in Europe,”

Emirates and Qantas A380s parked at Concourse A, Dubai International Airport

Qantas Premium Class Enhancements

You can also download this document here.

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Infographic: Airbus delivers 100th A380 superjumbo to Malaysia Airlines

Airbus matching milestones with Boeing, delivered its 100th A380 super-jumbo to national carrier Malaysia Airlines, the airline's sixth aircraft registration 9M-MNF.

Now in its sixth year of commercial service, the A380 is flying with nine world class airlines. To date, the worldwide fleet has carried some 36 million passengers in 100,000 flights.

The delivery to an Asian carrier is subtle in its signals. About 65% of current A380 capacity is to, from, or within the Asia-Pacific region, with more than 50,000 seats offered on nearly 500 flights every week. Europe has about 250 weekly services, and North America, 200.

Overall, A380s regularly operate at more than 30 airports globally on 65 scheduled routes with nine current airlines: Air France, China Southern, Emirates, Korean Air, Lufthansa, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas, Singapore Airlines and Thai Airways International.

Airbus projects a demand of 1,700 VLA (Very Large Aircraft of 400 seats or more) over the next 20 years. Asia Pacific leads demand at 45%, the Middle East 23% and Europe 19%.

Airbus has also produced a neat little Infographic which is shared below.

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The best wines onboard your flight. 2012 Cellars in the Sky awardees.

Once again it is that time of the year to combine two passions, flying and wine.

The annual Business Traveller 'Cellars in the Sky' awards were presented for the year 2012. The awards have been running since 1985, recognising the best business and first class wines served by airlines worldwide. Over 75 carriers were contacted in the summer of 2012, with a total of 33 airlines entering.



In repeat of last year, Australian carrier Qantas, took home the greatest number of awards, winning the prizes for Best Overall Wine Cellar, Best First Class Sparkling (shared with Oman Air), Best Business Class Sparkling (shared with Singapore Airlines), and Best-Presented First Class Wine List. A surprise winner this year is the resurgent Malaysia Airlines which also picked up two prizes, for Best First Class Red and Best First Class Cellar.

Blind tastings took place in December 2012 at the Brigade Bar and Bistro, London, with four judges independently scoring the wines. The judges were:

• Charles Metcalfe, co-chairman of the International Wine Challenge and food and wine matching guru;
• Tim Atkin, Master of Wine and award-winning wine columnist;
• Sam Harrop, Master of Wine and international winemaking consultant;
• Peter McCombie, Master of Wine and top restaurant wine consultant.

The airlines that took part were: Aer Lingus, Air Astana, Air Canada, Air France, Air New Zealand, All Nippon Airways, American Airlines, Austrian Airlines, British Airways, Brussels Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Delta Air Lines, Emirates, Eva Air, Finnair, Garuda Indonesia, Iberia, Jetstar, KLM, Korean Air, LAN Airlines, Lufthansa, Malaysia Airlines, Oman Air, Qantas, Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, TAM Airlines, TAP Portugal, US Airways, Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Australia.

The list of awardees:

FIRST CLASS

Best First Class Red

Malaysia Airlines – Schubert Marion's Vineyard Pinot Noir, 2010, Wairarapa, Martinborough, New Zealand
Emirates – Château Clinet, 2001, Pomerol, Bordeaux, France
Lufthansa – Château Canon La Gaffelière, 2007, Saint-Emilion Premier Grand Cru, Bordeaux, France

Best First Class White

British Airways – Vincent Girardin Puligny Montrachet Premier Cru le Champ Gain, 2007, Burgundy, France
Emirates – August Kesseler Lorcher Schlossberg Alte Reben Riesling Spätlese, 2010, Rheingau, Germany
American Airlines – Henri Darnat Meursault Clos de Domaine, 2010, Burgundy, France

Best First Class Sparkling

(JOINT) Oman Air AND Qantas – Champagne Taittinger Comtes de Champagne, 2000, France
(JOINT) Emirates AND Malaysia Airlines – Champagne Dom Pérignon, 2003, France
Cathay Pacific – Champagne Amour de Deutz Brut, 2002, France

Best First Class Fortified and Sweet

All Nippon Airways – W and J Graham's 30 Year Old Tawny Port, Douro, Portugal
(JOINT) Oman Air – Dr Loosen Riesling Beerenauslese, 2006, Mosel, Germany
AND Qantas – Seppeltsfield Paramount Collection Rare Muscat, NV, Rutherglen, Australia
Air France – Château Guiraud, 2006, Sauternes, Bordeaux, France

Best First Class Cellar

Malaysia Airlines
Qantas
Lufthansa

Best-Presented First Class Wine List

Qantas
Cathay Pacific
Qatar Airways

BUSINESS CLASS

Best Business Class Red

TAM Airlines – Château Bel-Air-Ouÿ, 2007, Jean-Luc Thunevin, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru, Bordeaux, France
Singapore Airlines – Bodegas Roda Rioja Reserva DOCa, 2007, Spain
Cathay Pacific – Villa Maria Single Vineyard Southern Clays Pinot Noir, 2010, Wairau Valley, Marlborough, New Zealand

Best Business Class White

Oman Air – Sancerre "La Porte du Caillou", 2010, Henri Bourgeois, Loire, France
Jetstar – Main Divide Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, 2011, New Zealand
(JOINT) Aer Lingus – Lawson's Dry Hills Riesling, 2008, Marlborough, New Zealand
AND Emirates – Metis Sauvignon Blanc, 2009, Trinity Hills/Pascal Jolivet, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand

Best Business Class Sparkling

(JOINT) Qantas AND Singapore Airlines – Champagne Charles Heidsieck Brut Reserve, NV, France
Qatar Airways – Champagne Bollinger Special Cuvée NV, France
(JOINT) Air France AND Cathay Pacific – Champagne Deutz Brut Classic, NV, France

Best Business Class Fortified and Sweet

KLM – The Stump Jump Sticky Chardonnay Riesling Semillon Pinot Gris, 2010, Adelaide Hills/McLaren Vale, Australia

Finnair – Niepoort Colheita, 1998, Douro, Portugal

Air New Zealand – Winter Solstice Glacier Wine, 2010, Reliance Wines, Marlborough, New Zealand

Best Business Class Cellar

Singapore Airlines
Qantas
Aer Lingus

Best-Presented Business Class Wine List

Air New Zealand
Finnair
LAN Airlines

OVERALL

Best Overall Wine Cellar

Qantas
Singapore Airlines
Qatar Airways

Best Airline Alliance

Oneworld

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Analysis: Qantas restructures Asian operations, looking at Indian service from 2016 onwards

by Vinay Bhaskara

Qantas A380 - Image courtesy QANTAS

Earlier today, Australian national carrier Qantas announced a restructuring of its Asian network. After launching an in-depth partnership with Middle Eastern carrier Emirates and switching its Kangaroo Route services to operate via Dubai instead of Asia, Qantas announced a renewed focus on strengthening its Asian operation. The key features of the news are as follow:

• Increased capacity and better frequency/timings for services to Singapore and Hong Kong
• Improvements to the cabin, in-flight experience, and lounges – dedicated capacity increase of 10% to Hong Kong and 40% to Singapore
• Earlier arrival times into Hong Kong, Bangkok, and Singapore to increase onward connectivity
• New code share service on Melbourne-Kuala Lampur, Melbourne/Brisbane-Singapore, and Sydney-Bangkok through Emirates 5th Freedom services
• Brisbane-Hong Kong increased to daily service from 4 weekly
• Melbourne/Sydney – Hong Kong re-timed for earlier arrival, Sydney – Hong Kong loses 4 weekly frequencies, Brisbane-Hong Kong increased from 4 weekly to daily, and re-timed, Perth – Hong Kong cancelled
• Perth  - Singapore reduced to daily from double daily and re-timed, Brisbane-Singapore re-timed, Sydney-Singapore gets daily service as does Melbourne-Singapore, Adelaide-Singapore is cancelled
• Sydney – Bangkok re-timed for earlier arrival. 
• A new Qantas lounge in Singapore (scheduled to open 31st March), and a new First Class lounge in Hong Kong– Combined investment in these lounges was $9 million
• An expanded Asian code share network through OneWorld partners Japan Airlines, Cathay Pacific, and Malaysia Airlines
• Investigating increased destinations in Asia including Beijing, Seoul, Mumbai, Delhi, and Tokyo-Haneda using 787-9 aircraft from 2016 onwards. 
• Potential refresh of the international Airbus A330 fleet with lie-flat seats in business class

The shit to focus on Asia for Qantas is a necessary change, especially as demand for both business and leisure travel has grown by leaps and bounds between rapidly developing East Asian nations and Australia. The better timings for onward connectivity also will buoy Qantas’ operations as they will allow for better integration with OneWorld partners. It should even be possible for Qantas passengers to connect through Asia onto British Airways for the Kangaroo route, though the timings are far from optimal.

But the decision to wait until 2016 for further Asian expansion is too far down the line; Beijing, Seoul, and Haneda are all viable destinations today. By 2016, Asian carriers will have had the opportunity to expand services on these routes even further, removing Qantas’ potential for expansion. Bangalore Aviation instead suggests that Qantas utilize its existing fleet of Airbus A330s to increase service to Asia, or at the very least use its fleet of 787-8s once the issues surrounding the 787s batteries are resolved.

In terms of serving Delhi and Mumbai, it would be wise to allow the market to develop and mature. None of the Indian carriers beyond the basket case national carrier Air India have any plans to serve Australia within the next 3-4 years, and Qantas can easily dominate Air India on the route. The Boeing 787-9 is the perfect aircraft for the route with enough range to make the route year round and strong unit costs to improve profitability. In terms of routes, the only city pair with enough volume to sustain nonstop service is Melbourne-Delhi, and even there the demand is primarily of the visiting family and relatives (VFR) variety, which is typically low yielding. So the profitability of Qantas services to India, even after 2016, is questionable at best.

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Photo Essay: Malaysia Airlines joins oneworld, unveils special livery aircraft. oneworld double mileage offer.

by Devesh Agarwal, reporting from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Malaysia Airlines officially joined the oneworld alliance of airlines, as its 12th member, at 12:01am Malaysia Time (+8 GMT), earlier today.

A day earlier on January 31, the airline had a series of events to celebrate its joining the alliance. Bangalore Aviation was present at the occasion, and brings you this photo essay of the events of the day.

In the morning the airline unveiled its aircraft painted in the special oneworld livery. In the evening, the Malaysia Airlines Group CEO Ahmad Jauhari (AJ) Yahya formally signed the joining contract at a live televised press event. The evening ended with a gala full sit down dinner with over 400 guests.

All ceremonies were attended by the CEOs of oneworld, and its member airlines, uniformed representatives (cabin and customer service crew) of all the airlines, and the world media.

The gala dinner added ministers and senior officers from the Malaysian Government, ambassadors to Malaysia from the home country of each the oneworld member and member-elect airlines, the airlines' most elite frequent flyers, a host of beauty queens, including the Malaysia Airlines cabin crew, amongst others.

Malaysia Airlines Airbus A330-300 9M-MTE in special oneworld livery. See another photo here.
This aircraft performed the first flight of the airline as a member of oneworld in the early hours of Feb 1 from Kuala Lumpur to Melbourne.

The other 88 aircraft of the airline will wear the oneworld orb near the front doors. One Airbus A380 and one Boeing 737-800 will also be painted in the special oneworld livery in the coming months.

(L-R) Alan Joyce, CEO, QANTAS who sponsored Malaysia Airlines entry in to oneworld, Malaysia Airlines Group CEO Ahmad Jauhari (AJ) Yahya, Bruce Ashby, CEO, oneworld.

AJ Yahya flanked by fellow CEOs, or senior management reps of oneworld member airlines. There is a genuine warmth and affection between Alan and AJ which was visible throughout the day. CEOs who attended the function were Qantas Chief Executive Officer Alan Joyce, oneworld CEO Bruce Ashby, Cathay Pacific Airways Chief Executive John Slosar, Finnair President and Chief Executive Mika Vehvilainen, Japan Airlines Chairman Masaru Onishi, Member elect SriLankan Airlines Chairman Nishantha Wickramasinghe and Chief Executive Kapila Chandrasena.

Uniformed cabin crew representatives from each of the oneworld member airlines standing top to bottom of the stairs in alphabetical order. AirBerlin, American Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, LAN Chile, QANTAS, Royal Jordanian, S7 Russian Airlines, and Malaysia Airlines. The Master or rather mistress of ceremonies kept referring to the crew as "girls" requesting them to line up, forgetting that British Airways was represented by Mr. Dave.

CEOs, management reps, uniformed reps, and senior Malaysian government, immigration, airports, and customs officers.

In the humid, sticky heat, it was amazing to see how the Malaysia Airlines cabin crew of Ms. Nur Syaza and Mr. Shahrulufti kept their cool and make-up intact, despite being in full uniform. Incidentally, Malaysia Airlines has won the "World's Best Cabin Staff" award from Skytrax seven of the last 11 years.

Alan Joyce, Ahmad Jauhari Yahya, and Bruce Ashby, celebrate after signing the contract

For photos from the gala evening, please visit the Malaysia Airlines Facebook page.

Notable quotes from the three key CEOs.

Group Chief Executive Ahmad Jauhari Yahya said

"Becoming a member of oneworld is one of the most significant landmarks in Malaysia Airlines' history. It will strengthen our competitive position considerably, enabling us to offer our customers a truly global network together with our partners who include some of the best and biggest airlines in the world. At the same time, it will enable us to benefit from all the financial benefits that come from being part of a global alliance, through additional passenger feed and the learning from best practices that it affords. As an airline that has always be proud to offer the highest quality Malaysian Hospitality, we are very pleased and honoured to be lining up as part of what is clearly the world's top quality airline grouping."

Qantas Chief Executive Alan Joyce said

"Qantas has been delighted to support Malaysia Airlines throughout its oneworld joining process, and we are very pleased now to be able to welcome another great airline on board the world's premier global airline alliance."

oneworld Chief Executive Bruce Ashby

"oneworld aims to be the first choice alliance for the world's frequent international travellers - with an unrivalled collection of quality carriers, delivering unmatched benefits to customers and to member airlines alike. That remains our focus today, as the alliance adds another great airline. Malaysia Airlines strengthens the alliance's offering in the growing economic powerhouse of South East Asia, just as we expect oneworld to strengthen Malaysia Airlines' competitive and financial positions."

Double miles offer

To celebrate the addition of the Malaysia Airlines to the alliance oneworld has announced a special double miles offer to cardholders of all oneworld® member airlines' frequent flyer programmes - including those of Malaysia Airlines' Enrich.

Members of Malaysia Airlines' Enrich loyalty scheme will receive double Enrich award miles when flying between 15 February 2013 and 15 April 2013 on oneworld partners airberlin, American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific Airways, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, Qantas, Royal Jordanian, S7 Airlines and around 30 of their affiliated airlines on tickets bought from today to 15 April 2013, provided they register first at the Enrich website.

Similarly, the 125 million members of existing oneworld airlines' loyalty programmes will receive double mileage awards when flying on Malaysia Airlines between 15 February 2013 and 15 April 2013. Each of the member airlines' website has more details.

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Malaysia Airlines to join oneworld alliance on Feburary 1

Malaysia Airlines will become a full member of the oneworld® alliance on Friday February 1, 2013. The national airline of Malaysia received clearance after successfully completing a review of its readiness conducted by its mentor, Qantas, along with the oneworld central team.

Malaysia Airlines' Airbus A380 superjumbo makes a high speed pass over the Farnborough air show 2012.

Malaysia Airlines' entry in to the alliance is being delayed due to the end-of-year holiday season and for "other administrative reasons".

The 2 million members of Malaysia Airlines' Enrich loyalty programme will integrate with oneworld member airlines - airberlin, American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific Airways, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, LAN Airlines, Qantas, Royal Jordanian, and S7 Airlines and some 25 affiliated airlines.

Editor's note: Because of an upgrade to LAN's frequent flyer information technology system being implemented shortly after Malaysia Airlines joins oneworld, frequent flyer services and benefits between Malaysia Airlines and LAN will be available from 1 April 2013.

Enrich Platinum cardholders will have Emerald status in the oneworld programme. Enrich Gold will be equivalent to oneworld Sapphire and Enrich Silver will be oneworld Ruby. Enrich Platinum and Gold members will be able to use any of the 550 airport lounges worldwide offered by oneworld member airlines whenever they fly with any of the alliance's carriers. Malaysia Airlines' First and Business Class passengers will also be able to use oneworld partner airline lounges.

Malaysia Airlines will substantially expand the alliance's network in South East Asia, where it will add 14 destinations and one country - Brunei - to the oneworld map.More importantly, the carrier will fill the large hole in the alliance's coverage between the middle east and south-east Asia.

Malaysia Airlines started operations in 1947. Today, it serves more than 60 destinations in almost 30 countries across Asia, Australasia, Middle East, Europe, and North America, including oneworld hubs Hong Kong, London Heathrow, Los Angeles, Sydney and Tokyo Haneda and Narita.
Its present fleet of 88 aircraft - including its flagship Airbus A380s - operates more than 250 departures a day. It boarded 13 million passengers in 2011, generating revenues of MYR 13.6 billion (US$ 4.5 billion).

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Post your views: Topic of the week: Global alliances accept the Middle East Big 3 (MEB 3)

This topic this week is focussed on the Gulf region home of the fast rising behemoths Emirates, Qatar Airways, and Etihad.

The last few days have been startling to say the least. From competing head-on, the airlines of the world, have accepted, nay welcomed, the Middle East Big 3 (MEB3) of Emirates, Qatar, and Etihad.

A few weeks back the shocker of an announcement, Australia's QANTAS was dumping oneworld partner, and virtual cousin, British Airways, in favour of (gasp) Emirates!!!! and.... QANTAS, the second largest airline at Singapore Changi airport, will shift its base to Dubai!!!!!

Then the week began with news that Abu Dhabi based Etihad is signing a long term partnership with SkyTeam founders Air France-KLM and in a rare instance of cross alliance cooperation, Air France and KLM will code share with oneworld member airberlin, in which, Etihad, has an almost 29% stake. SkyTeam cooperating with oneworld cooperating with MEB3 mon dieu!!!! H'as the world gone mad?!?!?

On Tuesday came the announcement that Qatar Airways is joining the oneworld alliance and its mentor is, yes you guessed it, British Airways. Willie Walsh to Alan Joyce, I say, good show. What chaps??

What are your thoughts?

Have the MEB3 become mainstream? With their global footprint, will they benefit or wreak havoc on their partners over the long term? Can the oneworld CEOs contain Mr. Akbar Al Baker?

Share your views. Talk back to your fellow readers.

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Qatar Airways to join oneworld alliance

Doha based, Qatar Airways is to join oneworld® airline alliance. Its election as a oneworld member designate was announced today at a press conference in New York.

The Doha-based airline's implementation into oneworld is expected to take between 12 and 18 months. British Airways will serve as the carrier's sponsor in joining oneworld. This move comes close on the heals of British Airways' close partner Qantas entering in to a strategic partnership with Gulf behemoth, and Qatar's strong competitor, Emirates airline.

Qatar Airways will be oneworld's second member airline based in the Middle East, alongside Royal Jordanian, which joined oneworld in 2007. In just 15 years of operations, Qatar Airways has built up a strong network serving 120 destinations in 70 countries. The airline operates over 100 flights a week to India, second only to Emirates.

Qatar Airways already code-shares with oneworld member designate Malaysia Airlines. It will develop bilateral links with more airlines in the alliance as it moves towards becoming a member of the group. Two oneworld member airlines currently serve Qatar's Doha hub - British Airways from London, and Royal Jordanian from Amman, along with member elect SriLankan, from Colombo. Additionally London is a major focus destination for Qatar Airways. The airline recently opened an ultra-premium lounge at Heathrow airport.

Among those alongside Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker at today's New York press conference to welcome the airline to oneworld were American Airlines' Chairman and Chief Executive Tom Horton, Chairman of the oneworld Governing Board; Chief Executive of IAG, parent of British Airways and Iberia, Willie Walsh; oneworld CEO Bruce Ashby; and senior representatives from other oneworld member airlines.

L-R Tom Horton (American), Akbar Al Baker (Qatar), Willie Walsh (IAG), Bruce Ashby (oneworld)

Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker said:

"Alliances are playing an increasingly important role in the airline industry today - and that will continue long into the future. Qatar Airways has carefully reviewed its strategic options and it is very clear that joining oneworld is by far the best way forward for us as we look to strengthen our competitive offering and give passengers what they fully deserve - more choice. Like Qatar Airways, oneworld is focused on quality and providing the best connections between the places most important to today's frequent international travellers.

"In Qatar Airways' relatively short history, we have quickly established a reputation for innovation, quality and excellence in everything we do, raising standards which our industry peers have watched with envy. We are pleased to build on that by becoming the only major airline from the Gulf to date to be invited to join any of the global airline alliances - and we are proud to have been invited to join the best of them, in oneworld. We look forward to completing all the joining requirements as soon as possible, and to fly alongside some of the best airlines in the world long into the future, bringing heightened benefits offered by oneworld to our customers."

American Airlines' Chairman and Chief Executive Tom Horton, Chairman of the oneworld Governing Board, said:

"Quality has always been the hallmark of oneworld, so we are pleased to welcome to our alliance another of the world's highest quality airlines. oneworld aims to be the first choice alliance for frequent international travelers the world over. Adding Qatar Airways will significantly improve our connectivity between many of the destinations that are most important to those customers, so today's agreement with Qatar Airways will enable us to offer even more value."

Willie Walsh, Chief Executive of IAG, parent of British Airways and Iberia, said:

"In Qatar Airways, oneworld is pleased to welcome another great airline that will enhance oneworld's network and product offerings in one of the world's fastest growing regions for air travel demand. Its fine reputation for customer service mirrors oneworld's own focus. British Airways is delighted to be serving as the sponsor of Qatar Airways in joining oneworld."

oneworld CEO Bruce Ashby added:

"The big three Gulf carriers have been embraced by millions of consumers the world over - just as consumers have embraced global airline alliances. Our own analysis clearly demonstrated that Qatar Airways is the best fit for oneworld's network, requirements, philosophy and strategy. oneworld is delighted to be the first of the global alliances to welcome a member airline from this region, enabling us to be the first to offer consumers the services and benefits offered by both a global alliance and a Gulf carrier. We look forward to welcoming another great airline to oneworld.

"oneworld's flexible approach to bilateral cooperation with carriers outside our alliance means that links already established between our member airlines with other carriers from this region may continue in tandem with Qatar Airways' addition to oneworld, further strengthening the choice and convenience we collectively offer our customers."

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Qantas release new video advertisement, changes slogan

Australian national carrier Qantas has released a new video advertisement and with it a very subtle change in its slogan. We are used to seeing "Spirit of Australia" emblazoned on the side of every Qantas aircraft.

Qantas A330-300 at Mumbai. Photo copyright Devesh Agarwal. All rights reserved.

In an effort to reach out to its passenger base, the new slogan is changed to the "Spirit of Australians".



A small, but telling change.

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Weekly Airline Stock Update - BAASA Index Shows a Mixed Bag

Last week, Bangalore Aviation introduced the BAASA Index, the world's first index of 30 airline stocks measured from a 3,000 point base value and designed to provide a broad based measure of airline financial performance and investor confidence in the airline industry.

Over the past week, the BAASA index fell 0.49% to close at 2985.80 points. Performance was mixed across the board by region, though Asia-Pacific outperformed the pack (excluding Qantas).

The weakest performers were Qantas, who suffered a precipitous 30% decline in shares, primarily on recent worries over Qantas reporting a 90% drop in profits for the past fiscal year, and airberlin, which fell 15.56%

On the plus side, Jet Airways, jetBlue, and Air Canada each rose more than 7% over the week, with Air Canada leading the pack with an 8.14% rise.

Here is the full table of values for this week. The initial prices (normalized to 100) can be found here.All values are as

Asia-Pacific	Value	% Change
Jet Airways	107.04	7.04%
Singapore Airlines	100.50	0.50%
China Southern	104.74	4.74%
ANA	104.33	4.33%
Korean Air	102.21	2.21%
AirAsia	103.39	3.39%
Qantas	70.00	-30.00%
Cathay Pacific	101.34	1.34%
Air China	102.96	2.96%
North America
United	97.24	-2.76%
Delta	90.41	-9.59%
Southwest	101.14	1.14%
US Airways	91.71	-8.29%
jetBlue	107.16	7.16%
WestJet	102.52	2.52%
Air Canada	108.14	8.14%
Allegiant	98.89	-1.11%
Europe
IAG(British Airways/Iberia)	105.91	5.91%
Lufthansa Group	100.66	0.66%
Air France- KLM	96.55	-3.45%
Ryanair	101.21	1.21%
EasyJet	99.76	-0.24%
Turkish Airlines	105.08	5.08%
AirBerlin	84.44	-15.56%
Norwegian Air Shuttle	101.90	1.90%
Middle East
Air Arabia	98.63	-1.37%
Africa
Kenya Airways	98.33	-1.67%
Latin America
Copa Airlines	95.72	-4.28%
LAN Airlines	104.51	4.51%
Aeromexico	99.31	-0.69%
Total	2985.30	- 0.49%

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MAP: All of the announced routes by airlines for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner

To date, the only carrier to enter the new super-efficient Boeing 787 Dreamliner into service is Japan-based All Nippon Airways (ANA). However, numerous airlines have announced their planned operations for the Boeing 787 as follow:

1. ANA (already in service)
2. Japan Airlines (already delivered; will enter service in March)
3. Air India (already delivered; entry into service [EIS] TBD)
4. Ethiopian Airlines (planned operations begin in June)
5. Jetstar
6. Qatar Airways
7. Hainan Airlines
8. United Airlines

This map summarizes all of the international 787 routes announced by these operators. See more 787 articles.



The launch operator of the Boeing 787 is All Nippon Airways (ANA), who operates the aircraft on a host of domestic services within Japan (centered on their Haneda hub), as well as on a select few global routes from their dual Tokyo hubs at Haneda and Narita (Beijing and Frankfurt from Haneda). ANA has 55 787s remaining on order, with 5 already delivered.





Africa's fourth largest airline Ethiopian Airlines will be using the Dreamliner on services within Africa/Middle East, as well as to the Far East and Guangzhou. Ethiopian has ordered 10 Dreamliners.



The world's largest airline, United Airlines, had previously announced Houston-Lagos on the 787, but due to delays, it has already commenced that route on Boeing 787 equipment. The only currently planned route for the 787 is Houston-Auckland. United has an even 50 Boeing 787s ordered.



Japan's second largest airline, Japan Airlines has announced a host of international routes from both Narita and Haneda; the route to San Diego is notable as San Diego's first ever nonstop Asian flight (Philippines Airlines has served it in the past with a one-stop flight). JAL has 45 787s on order, and will become either the first or second carrier to induct 787 operations to India(Delhi)depending on the new timeline for Air India's 787 integration.



India's beleaguered national carrier Air India is currently "planning" to induct its 787s first on the long rumored Delhi-Melbourne route. However, it is still uncertain whether the airline will take full delivery of its order for 27 787s. We have pictures of the planned Air India 787 interior here.



Middle East heavyweight Qatar Airways has 30 787s on order, but has only announced service on Doha-London Heathrow thus far.



China's fourth airline, Hainan Airlines has applied for long haul services to the US from Shanghai for their first batch of 787 routes (out of an eventual order of 10), a curious choice given that their primary hubs are located in Haikou and Beijing.



Finally, the low cost wing of Australia's Qantas, Jetstar, has announced a series of 787 routes from its Asian hub in Singapore. It is eventually planned that all Singapore widebody operations by Jetstar will become 787s, with the currently used A330-200s being transferred back to parent carrier Qantas. Qantas Group as a whole has ordered 55 Boeing 787s.



In addition to these announced routes, LAN, the third largest South American airline, will announce its initial planned 787 routes at the International Air and Space Fair, FIDAE, in Chile this month on March 27th. Meanwhile, fellow OneWorld member British Airways has said that it will use the Dreamliner on services to Asia without denoting specific destinations.

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MAP: All the routes flown by all airlines operating the Airbus A380

As of date there are seven airlines operating the Airbus A380 superjumbo.

1. Singapore Airlines
2. QANTAS
3. Emirates airline
4. Lufthansa
5. Air France
6. Korean Air Lines
7. China Southern Airlines

This post summarises all the A380 routes operated by these seven operators. See more A380 articles.

The launch operator of the A380 was Singapore Airlines. The newest route is SQ25/SQ26 Singapore - Frankfurt - New York JFK which is the last operated by their Boeing 747-400 Megatop aircraft. In January, this era will come to a close when this flight will be upgraded to an A380.

Australian flag carrier uses A380s primarily on the 'kangaroo run' between Sydney and Melbourne and London, with Singapore as the hub. Its sole north American destination is Los Angeles LAX.

Dubai's Emirates is the largest operator of the A380, and also has the most diverse network covering almost the entire world.

German carrier Lufthansa has been re-jigging its A380 network. It has suspended New York JFK and San Francisco SFO in the current winter schedule citing poor load factors. It has though introduced Frankfurt-Singapore, which will also be operated by Singapore Airlines with an A380. Is there enough traffic to fill two superjumbos every day? Time will tell.

Air France too has been re-jigging its flights. With currently the Paris CDG to San Francisco SFO route being suspended.

Korean Air Line's A380 route network is limited since it is a new operator and has a very limited fleet, but I gave the map an unusual polar view.

China Southern is the newest operator, and also the only airline to use the A380 on domestic flights. However its sole A380 has had teeting problems and the routes are yet to properly launch.

Please keep in mind that airlines keep changing the routes and aircraft deployed.

Maps generated by the Great Circle Mapper - copyright © Karl L. Swartz.

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Are reports claming that Qantas will shelve plans for Asian premium carrier credible?

Reports have emerged from Reuters and Plane Talking that Qantas has shelved plans for its Asia-based premium carrier which has been called by the media at various times Red Q, One Asia, or Red One. The venture would apparently be replaced by a joint venture agreement with future oneworld alliance partner Malaysia Airlines in Asia. Earlier this year, Qantas had announced plans to launch a full service carrier based in Asia (likely Singapore) with Airbus A320 family aircraft featuring lie-flat seats in business class.

Meanwhile, Qantas CEO Alan Joyce has denied these reports, stating in an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald:

"Nothing has changed in relation to our plans. We still believe we have to have an Asian alternative for our core customer base, "We are still looking at setting up a premium airline in Asia. We are still talking to the Singaporeans and the Malaysians and when we have a more definitive decision about what we are going to do ... and who the partners are ... we will inform the market."

Unions predictably reacted to the report with what qualifies as joy for PR spokespeople; Richard Woodward, vice-president of the Australian and International Pilots Association, stated “We've said for months that this whole plan was incredibly risky and wholly unnecessary. Qantas management had little to gain and everything to lose from pursuing a race to the bottom in South-east Asia,”

Market dynamics in Asia, which has seen heavy growth in traffic for low cost carriers (LCC), would indicate that Qantas' plan is flawed, as we opined back in August. Furthermore, competition with Asian full service carriers such as Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines would be tough given their superior service reputation and lower operating costs.

Still, it will be interesting to see whether these reports are actually true; Qantas management seems to have its heart set on an Asian premium carrier as the cure to its international woes.

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Opinion: QANTAS' Asian carrier should base at Guangzhou

Earlier this week, QANTAS, the beleaguered Australian national carrier, announced part of its major restructuring plan for the international division; doing so ahead of the initially planned August 24th date. There were numerous changes announced, but the carrier plans to hash out the details in the coming weeks so more news is still forthcoming.

QANTAS Airbus A380-800 VH-OQD lifts off from runway 27R at London Heathrow

These are some of the highlights of the announcement.

• Qantas will defer delivery of 6 of its remaining 10 Airbus A380s on order to the 2018-2021 time frame.
• Qantas is to acquire 110 Airbus A320 family aircraft, of which 78 are firm orders for Airbus' new A320neo, which promises 15% reduction in fuel burn over current generation aircraft.
• The carrier will improve premium cabins and check in for Trans-Tasman flights, as well as invest in new and bigger lounges in Singapore, LA, and Hong Kong.
• 9 Boeing 747-400s will be refitted with the A380 cabins and these aircraft will remain in Qantas' fleet till at least 2018
• 1,000 jobs will be cut from Qantas Group
• Jetstar Japan, a joint venture with Mitsubishi and Japan Airlines will be started, first on Japanese domestic flights before expanding to international routes.
• A new premium carrier in Asia will be launched (location and date still TBD) using 11 A320s at the start
• They are looking at Kuala Lampur as a good hand-off point for passengers traveling to Europe/the Middle East alongside their new OneWorld partner Malaysia Airlines
• Switch the flight to Buenos Aires to Santiago to feed into LAN's larger hub
• End Bangkok and Hong Kong to London sectors and simply transfer passengers onto British Airways at those two points - London flying to be focused at Singapore only.

While all of the changes mentioned above are news-worthy, the one that perhaps is the most important is Qantas' new carrier in Asia. The development of this new premium carrier is likely to dominate Qantas' international strategy for at least a few years; until the 787 has arrived in significant numbers. Indications have been that the premium carrier would be based at either Hong Kong or Singapore, though Kuala Lampur has also been mentioned as a potential hub.

Qantas' international wing has shriveled in the face of increased international competition and rising costs. Qantas has said that its mainline international business will post a loss of about $200 million AUD in FY 2010. Its market-share in the foreign sector has shrunk drastically - to just 18% last year. Asian market-share is just 14%, and competition has grown even to encompass their previously comfortable duopoly with United to Los Angeles.

Qantas' main strategic mistake has been that it failed to capitalize on the growing demand to and from China. While most of the airline serving Australia were surprised at the speed with which Chinese demand grew, Qantas has been by far the slowest to respond; even cutting flights to Beijing. China is now Australia's largest export market (especially to Western Australia with its rich natural resources), and in-bound tourism from China is the fastest growing segment of leisure passengers.

And therein lies part of the problem with Qantas' new premium carrier. Basing at Singapore or Kuala Lampur doesn't really solve the issue of flights to China; SE Asia is too far away to be a fully effective connecting hub. Furthermore, Singapore would see strong competition from a myriad of carriers, who have driven fares lower in recent years. Singapore Airlines with its golden service reputation and lower costs will likely draw more premium passengers while still being able to undercut "Qantas Asia" on economy class fares. Kuala Lampur presents its own problems; the market for premium travel at KLIA is relatively small, and with Qantas' new partner Malaysia Airlines facing financial troubles, Qantas may be reluctant to enter Malaysia.

And while Hong Kong would provide better access to China, it is also the home base of one of Qantas' OneWorld partners; Cathay Pacific. The Hong Kong airline market is also much more consolidated, with Cathay Pacific (and subsidiary Dragonair) combining with Hainan Airlines subsidiary Hong Kong Airlines to control more than 60% of the market. Thus Qantas would have to compete fiercely for origin and destination passengers (O&D).

So what's the solution for Qantas? For a carrier that has been criticized repeatedly for its placid strategy with regards to international flights, the time has come for them to take bold action. Thus, I propose that Qantas base its new Asian premium carrier at....

A Chinese airport, utilizing a joint venture with a China-based carrier to get over any regulatory hurdles. Of the choices, perhaps the best one is basing at Guangzhou in a joint venture with Air China.

Basing at Guangzhou makes sense for multiple reasons. Firstly, Guangzhou is one of the fastest growing markets to and from Australia. Its status as the hub of the Pearl River Delta, China's largest industrial production base and soon to be world's largest megalopolis, means that demand should continue to grow into the future. Moreover, with an expanding base of premium traffic to short-haul destinations, Qantas would be able to grow more quickly, and capture a larger share of the market than in the (relatively) more stagnant premium markets of KLIA, Singapore, or even Hong Kong. The shorter range of the A320 would also not be a problem, as Qantas could first "cut its teeth" in the highly profitable domestic sector before jumping into the international fray. Guangzhou's market is currently dominated by SkyTeam's China Southern Airlines, with no real viable second competitor.

QANTAS Airbus A330-300 VH-QPC departs Mumbai airport runway 27. Photo copyright Vedant Agarwal.

More importantly, Guangzhou is perfectly located to cater for a strong hub to Northern, Eastern, and even Southeastern Asia, as well as Europe and the Middle East. All major destinations in Australia and New Zealand are easily within the range of the A330-200 from Guangzhou.

If, after a few years, the venture is successful, Qantas could shift the A330s replaced by 787s at Jetstar to the new carrier; and allow it to open flights connecting all Australian points (as opposed to just Sydney) to Asia and beyond. Even the European market is (semi) ripe for the taking. China Southern operates to just Amsterdam and Paris in Europe, leaving such prime markets as London Heathrow and Frankfurt open to competition. With its growing demand base, coupled with smart connections to and from Australia, there's no reason why Guangzhou could not function as an effective scissors hub for the Kangaroo route.

Part of Qantas' problem in the past few years has been that it has effectively ignored the markets of Brisbane, Melbourne, and Perth; while electing to build up Sydney in the British Airways London-Heathrow model. But with a scissors hub in Asia, especially at the strategically located Guangzhou, Qantas could re-attack those passengers with well designed connections, especially on European flights where an Australian passenger has to connect somewhere.

The choice of Air China as a partner is also important; as it solves many logistical issues. As China's "flag" carrier, Air China's involvement is likely to speed up regulatory processes and the like. Furthermore, Air China has strong ties to oneworld member, Hong Kong based, Cathay Pacific, so even as a member of Star Alliance, they could work with Qantas as well.

For Air China, the benefit of the deal is twofold. Firstly, they'd get a stronger presence in the Guangzhou market; the largest one in China without a major Air China presence. And with Qantas likely to be the driving partner behind the venture, Air China's risk and capital requirements would also be minimal.

While this plan may be shocking to more than a few readers (as well as probably Qantas itself), the time has passed for Qantas to maintain the status quo. Further cutting its operations (as the changes above indicate) will lead Qantas into obscurity; it's time for a change.

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Boeing delivers Qantas' 75th 737 and FedEx's 1st 777 Freighter, both with meaningful names

Yesterday, Boeing and Qantas celebrated the arrival of the 75th Boeing 737 in the Australian carrier's fleet. Qantas which has been flying Boeing 737s since 1986 specified special 2.5 meter high blended winglets, which further reduce fuel burn, thereby increasing range and payload.

Since this aircraft will be deployed on the trans-Tasman Australia New Zealand route, Qantas aptly named the aircraft Jean Batten to honour the spirited New Zealand aviator who broke numerous flying records in the 1930s.

Today, Boeing delivered to FedEx Express, the world's largest cargo carrier, its first 777 Freighter. This is Boeing's ninth 777F delivery but the first to a U.S. based global freight carrier.

FedEx Express has a very touching practice of naming its aircraft after the children of its employees. The new 777F is named Saad, honouring the son of FedEx's New Jersey based input auditor Kashif Zia. Incidentally, the very first Federal Express plane to take to the skies – a Dassault Falcon 20 – was named Wendy, honouring the daughter of company founder Fred Smith.

In the FedEx Express operation, the 777 Freighter can fly 5,800 nautical miles (6,675 statute miles, 10,740 km), an increase of 2,100 nautical miles (2,410 statute miles, 3,890 km) versus the airline's MD-11 Freighter fleet. The FedEx 777 Freighter has a revenue payload capacity of 215,000 pounds (97.5 metric tons), a 37,000-pound (16.7 metric tons) increase over the MD-11 Freighter.

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Airbus cutting A380 superjumbo production to 14 deliveries in 2009 20+ in 2010

Airbus has confirmed it is further cutting down production rates for its A380 superjumbo from 18 to 14 for this year in response to specific customer requests for deferrals during the on-going economic crisis.

According to the new plan, Airbus expects to deliver 14 double-decker aircraft in 2009 and more than 20 aircraft in 2010

Airbus had already revised its A380 production plan for 2009 down from 21 deliveries to 18.

As per A380production, the airframes expected to be delivered this year will be:

Emirates: MSN017* (A6-EDE delivered), MSN023 (A6-EDF), MSN007 (A6-EDG), MSN025 (A6-EDH)

Qantas: MSN026 (VH-OQD Fergus McMaster), MSN027 (VH-OQE Lawrence Hargrave), MSN029 (VH-OQF Charles Kingsford Smith), MSN047 (VH-OQG Charles Ulm)

Singapore Airlines: MSN019 (9V-SKG), MSN021 (9V-SKH), MSN034 (9V-SKI), MSN045 (9V-SKJ)

Air France: MSN033 (F-HPJA), MSN040 (F-HPJB)

For a definitive Airbus A380 production list click here.

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Qantas Boeing 737 radio altimeter failure similar to Turkish THY Amsterdam crash

An April 7th incident involving a Qantas Boeing 737-800, registration VH-VYL performing flight QF-1020 from Hobart, to Sydney, in Australia, has raised the spectre of a failing radio altimeter which is suspected of causing the recent fatal crash of the Boeing 737-800 Turkish Airlines flight TK1951 at Amsterdam Schiphol on February 25th.

In very similar circumstances, the Qantas flight was on final approach to runway 16R descending through 150 feet AGL (above ground level), when the right radar altimeter suddenly produced a reading of 60 feet AGL and the Ground Proximity Warning System called 10 feet prompting the autopilot to disconnect and the throttle levers retard to idle.

Unlike the Turkish incident the Qantas flight crew, whose normal practice is to keep one hand on the throttle levers when in auto mode, immediately took over, increased engine thrust and landed safely.

Qantas reported the incident to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau who said they will consult with and assist Dutch crash investigators keeping in mind the similarities of the two incidences.

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