Boeing in 'advanced discussions' over 777s for China

Boeing says it is in "advanced discussions for a significant number of 777s in greater China", elaborating on commercial airplanes CEO Jim Albaugh's comments regarding having sold 30 777s to Chinese carriers in recent weeks.
"I think you're going to see sales of narrow-bodies and wide-bodies continue to grow. I'm pretty excited about it. I sold 30 777s over [in China] last week and have a lot of discussions with other customers about more," said Albaugh at the JP Morgan Aviation, Transportation and Defense conference in New York.

Boeing clarified that its discussions are being held with "all airlines in Greater China for 777s", and the 28 February order for 10 777-300ERs for China Southern Airlines was likely to be included in the total for 30.
Orders by state-owned Chinese carriers require government approval before being officially added to Boeing's backlog.

Albaugh expects Boeing to earn more than 84 orders for 777s this year, as he anticipates bookings for the wide-body to exceed deliveries. Boeing's 777 production rate is currently running at seven 777s per month, with plans to go to 8.3 later in the year.

The 777 is expected to follow a wider trend for Boeing orders in 2012 with Albaugh's expectation of a book-to-bill ratio above one as it looks to firm the more than 1000 commitments it holds for the re-engined 737 Max. Additionally, Albaugh said to expect 747-8 Freighter orders in the "next several months" despite softening in the global air freight market. Boeing forecasts delivering between 585 and 600 aircraft in 2012.


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Boeing targets year end 777X launch

Boeing is targeting a year-end board launch for its conceptual 777X, in time for a late decade service entry, said the company's commercial unit CEO, Jim Albaugh. "We're working towards being in a position toward the end of this year to talk to our board. That's assuming the business case closes, that's assuming the technical trades are ones that close," says Albaugh, who was speaking at a press conference following the unveiling of Boeing's 1000th 777.

Boeing strategic goals for the decade including achieving parity between the re-engined 737 Max and Airbus A320neo along with making a signficant investment to further bolster its widebody family for the future.
Emirates leadership was briefed on the latest 777X studies earlier in the day, says Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman of Emirates.

"Our teams have been in dialogue with the Boeing team for some time now, it's really very interesting to see this new aircraft if it will come out. It would be an excellent aircraft to have in Emirates, he says.The conceptual two-member family is seen as a 14,800km (8,000nm) 407-seat 777-9X and 353-seat 777-8X and potentially even a third model in an ultra long-range 777-8LX. The baseline -9X and -8X each grow the lengths of the existing 777-300ER and -200ER fuselages and add a 787-style composite wing, say those familiar with Boeing's studies.

The launch of the new 777 family would likely be done in conjunction with a 323-seat 787-10X, a stretch of the 787-9 due for service in 2014, and would more evenly spread Boeing's widebody product line from the 242-seat 787-8 to the 467-seat 747-8.

"Obviously you don't want to have airplanes on top of eachother. You want to have them spaced, and I think with the product line that we envision going forward over this next decade, we'll have about a 15% difference in seat count among the different models that we will probably go forward with," says Albaugh.
Albaugh declined to offer any details on the 777X's potential efficiency in comparison to the 777-300ER, but says it would be a "pretty significant improvement" and "I think that our customer base would be very interested in."

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Japan's Peach Aviation launches first flight

Japan's low-cost carrier Peach Aviation started operations on 1 March, with the launch of two commercial domestic services. The first flight, MM101, departed from Osaka's Kansai International Airport at 07:17 local, landing at New Chitose Airport near Sapporo at 09:09. There were 162 passengers on board, a spokesman said.

The carrier launched its second flight, on the Osaka-Fukuoka route, about 20 minutes later carrying 168 passengers. Peach Aviation will operate three daily round trip flights on the Osaka-Sapporo route and four daily round trip flights on the Osaka-Fukuoka route.

Two new routes will begin in April - a twice-daily Osaka-Kagoshima service on 1 April and a twice-daily Osaka-Nagasaki service on 25 April - to be followed by the carrier's first international serivce which is scheduled to begin on 8 May from Osaka to Seoul's Incheon airport, the spokesman said.
It is planning to add three new routes within the next three months to Okinawa, Hong Kong and Taipei, he added.

Peach Aviation was set up in February 2011 with Y30 million in equity commitments from three investors: All Nippon Airlines owns 33.4%, Hong Kong First Investment Group holds a 33.3% stake and investment firm Innovation Network Corporation of Japan owns the remaining 33.3% stake. The airline operates a fleet of three Airbus A320s and has another seven on order.

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Airbus Military lands C-295 deal with Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan's air force is to receive up to eight C-295 medium transports under the terms of a new agreement signed with Airbus Military. The nation's state-owned Kazspets export agency has signed a contract for two aircraft to be delivered by April 2013, plus a separate memorandum of understanding covering a planned further six, Airbus Military said on 1 March. The production order also includes support services, spare parts and ground support equipment, according to the European manufacturer.

Photo Credit: Airbus Military/Flight Global

 The C-295 is already operated by users including the Spanish air force

"Separate firm contracts will be signed progressively over the next few years," said Airbus Military, with the company to also deliver technical training to enable Kazakh personnel to support the type independently in the future. The Kazakhstan air force's current airlift fleet includes a combined 10 Antonov An-12, An-24/26 and An-72 transports, as recorded by Flightglobal's MiliCAS database.


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Boeing picks up awards for record-breaking 787 flight

Boeing has been presented with twin official records for the 787's December 2011 attempt to break the longest flight for an aircraft in its weight class and establishing an around-the-world speed record. The National Aeronautic Association (NAA) on 28 February presented Boeing with two certificates confirming its record flights.

ZA006, Boeing's sixth 787 flight test aircraft, fitted with General Electric GEnx-1B engines, departed Boeing Field, Seattle, US, on 6 December 2011 en route for Dhaka, Bangladesh, weighing 212t (467,375lb), including 103t of fuel, the volumetric shut-off limit for the aircraft.

Rod Skaar, assistant chief production pilot for Boeing Commercial Airplanes, called the flight "delightfully" boring, as was intended. "You don't want any excitement, you don't want any adventure, you don't want any drama," he said.

After flying 10,710nm (19,814km), ZA006 landed in Dhaka with 13.6t of fuel remaining. Boeing officially received credit from the NAA for 10,336nm flown. The distance record for the 200-250t weight class was held by an Airbus A330 that flew 9,127nm in 2002.

After 200 people toured the new twin-jet during a 1h 52min refueling stop on the ground in the Bangladeshi capital, the 787 departed Dhaka heading eastbound, having taken on 86t of fuel for the second leg of the journey.

The 787's lateral and vertical navigation modes (LNAV and VNAV) were used to fly the overwhelming majority of the record-breaking flights, said Mike Carriker, chief pilot for Boeing product development.
As NAA rules prohibit cutting a waypoint corner short, as the LNAV function is designed to do to optimize routing, the 787 was required to switch to heading select mode, overflying predetermined turn points in New York, Luxor, Egypt, and southern India before proceeding on course.

On its return leg to Seattle, the 787 landed with 9.08t of fuel remaining, even after accelerating the Dreamliner to Mach 0.88 for the final 6h of the flight. The global circumnavigation lasted 42h 26min.
Six pilots, on rotating 4h shifts throughout the flight, were among 13 people on board ZA006, including two NAA observers.


Flight Global

F-22 redesign considered as oxygen system concerns linger

US Air Force leaders are considering a redesign of the Lockheed Martin F-22 but still have no answers for the oxygen system breakdowns responsible for another operational disruption. F-22s based in Alaska were grounded for one day in mid-February after three separate pilots reported hypoxia symptoms, the Air Combat Command confirmed to Flightglobal.

It was at least the third temporary stand-down for the F-22 since the USAF deactivated the entire fleet for four months until last September. But air force officials are no closer to identifying the cause of the string of incidents, including one fatal crash in November 2010 that was preceded by a failure of the pilot's oxygen supply. USAF officials hoped an expert panel led by retired Gen Gregory Martin might yield the answer. The team has now reported its findings, but found no "smoking gun", said Lt Gen Herbert Carlisle, deputy chief of staff for operations, plans and requirements.

The USAF is considering a broad range of options, including redesigning the F-22 to include a back-up oxygen supply, Carlisle said. This would automatically detect an oxygen system malfunction and activate, he added. The F-22 already is equipped with an emergency oxygen system, but it must be manually activated by the pilot after the onboard oxygen generation system (OBOGS) stops working.

Capt Jeff Haney was killed on 16 November 2010 when his F-22 crashed in Alaska. Haney inadvertently steered the aircraft into the ground while trying to reach a handle to activate his emergency oxygen system.
The OBOGS had already stopped functioning during the incident. An unexplained oxygen leak in the engine compartment prompted an automatic fire protection system to shut down the supply of bleed air to the OBOGS.

While Haney's supply of breathing air was cut off, other F-22 pilots have reported symptoms suggesting their air supply was not filtered properly.

 Flight Global

MAS writes down value of A330Fs, blames P2F programme

Malaysia Airlines (MAS) has been forced to write down the value of its Airbus A330-200 freighters, blaming the airframer's recent decision to launch a passenger-to-freighter conversion programme for the type. The carrier's MASkargo division will take delivery of the last of four new-build freighters this year, dating from a 2010 order. It also operates a pair of Boeing 747-400 Freighters.

However, in its full-year results for 2011, MAS booked an impairment charge of M$314 million ($104.8 million) against the value of the aircraft, citing losses in the cargo operation and the conversion programme which it said will "depress the value of new freighters". Revenue at MASkargo fell by 14% in 2011, leading to a pre-tax loss of M$19 million, compared with a M$141 million profit in 2010.

MAS also plans to significantly reduce the size of its fleet by 2014, taking it from the current figure of 91 aircraft down to 80. This will involve the return of some 58 older airframes to lessors, with the majority of these leaving MAS's fleet in 2012, it said.

Fleet reductions will focus on the "older uneconomical 18- to 19-year-old aircraft", it said. According to Flightglobal's Ascend Online database, the bulk of these are 737-400s, with it operating 33 of the narrowbodies built prior to 1995. Just three of its 36 737-400s were manufactured after this date. Depending on when the older types are phased out, it could leave the carrier with as few as 33 of its current fleet this year.

Total cost of the retirements will be M$1.03 billion, with a charge of M$602 million booked in 2011's accounts. A further write-down on the value of aircraft spares cost it an additional M$179 million.
Meanwhile in 2012 MAS will receive 23 new aircraft, it said. According to Ascend this includes two A330Fs, eight 737-800s, three ATR 72-500s, four A330-300s and five A380s, with one as-yet unknown, from a total backlog of 60 at the start of 2012.

By 2014 the average age of its fleet will have been cut to 7.7 years, it said.

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Three unmanned aircraft earn chance to bid for $874 million US Navy programme

Photo Credit: Flight Global

AAI, Boeing and a Computer Sciences Corp (CSC)/Saab team were selected by the US Navy today to compete for task orders for services provided by unmanned air systems (UAS) worth up to $874 million.

While the navy did not reveal the selected aircraft, AAI offered the latest version of the Aerosonde, Boeing and subsidiary Insitu offered the RQ-21A Integrator, and the CSC/Saab team proposed Skeldar unmanned helicopter.

The services included in the selection include the full spectrum of training, support, installation and operation.
The navy plans to operate the aircraft from ships, while the marines intend to launch the unmanned air vehicles mainly from land bases. "AAI and Insitu are eligible to compete for both sea-based and land-based task orders. CSC is only eligible to compete for land-based task orders," the navy said.

The three bidders will replace the Boeing/Insitu Scan Eagle as the main UAV provider of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance services to the navy and maines. The ISR Services bidders will then be replaced after Fiscal 2017 as the RQ-21 Integrator enters the fleet in numbers under the small tactical unmanned air systems (STUAS) programme. Neither Navy nor corporate representatives were immediately available for comment.


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Stratolaunch nears conclusion of systems design review

Stratolaunch is to complete the systems design review (SDR) of its new launch system "in the next couple of months". That is the timeframe set out by Jim Halsell, director of Stratolaunch systems at Dynetics, which has been contracted to design the technical integration and to mate and demate procedures and systems.
"We are on the cusp of doing the systems design review, and we're moving toward a preliminary design review [PDR]," said Halsell. "Between those two, the SDR and the PDR, we will lock down the details of the technical approach, the outer mold lines of all the systems. It's the grunt early work of designing a complex system."

Major system trades and exact specifications, including information crucial to operation such as maximum gross take-off weight and required runway length, will not be finalised until the PDR. Disclosed in December 2011, the ambitious Stratolaunch system involves a massive Scaled Composites-built aircraft with a SpaceX-built rocket suspended between twin fuselages. The system will launch payloads of up to 6,100kg (13,500lb) in weight and 5m (16.4ft) in diameter into low Earth orbit (LEO). Although Stratolaunch eventually hopes to launch people into orbit and will build to strict human spaceflight standards, design efforts are on hold while the focus is on building and testing the launch system.

Preliminary construction has begun on the assembly facility in Mojave, California, where the aircraft will be built and tested. Construction of a wing spar and wing box for test purposes has also begun, with actual operational examples scheduled for completion in the summer.
Scaled Composites has selected two ex-United Airlines Boeing 747-400s, from which the company will take the Pratt & Whitney 4056 engines, hydraulic system, electrical systems, landing gear and windshields, among other major components.

"While the 747-400 wasn't the only airplane [available], it quickly became apparent that it was a good choice, and that a lot of the systems were designed for the take-off and landing weights in the family of what we're talking about here," said Halsell. "The hydraulic systems, the electrical systems, all of them had the kind of capacity or greater than what we would need for our application."

The first rocket launch is scheduled for 2016; no customers have yet stepped forward, but Stratolaunch hopes to be competitive in the light-to-medium satellite market, a growing market in a niche inhabited by the SpaceX Falcon 1, Boeing Delta II and Orbital Sciences Antares launch vehicles. Production of both the Falcon 1 and Delta II have ceased, although options remain for restarting production, and the Antares has yet to complete its first launch, scheduled for June 2012.

Although Stratolaunch officials have repeatedly mentioned plans to operate from the NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC) runway, one of the longest and widest runways in the world, there has as yet been no formal agreement between Stratolaunch and facility operator Space Florida. Operating from the KSC runway would enable Stratolaunch to fly south, closer to the equator, allowing greater payload and launch azimuth flexibility. Launching to the east over the Atlantic Ocean would take advantage of the Earth's rotation, allowing additional advantages.

Only a single aircraft will be produced, but Stratolaunch is open to building more aircraft. "Certainly our technical focus right now is making it work for a launch platform," said Halsell. "However, it is not beyond a stretch of the imagination, if a customer were to come to us and say, 'I need an externally carried large payload of significant mass and also volume requirements,' we would certainly value the opportunity to take a swing at satisfying those requirements."

According to Stratolaunch chief executive Gary Wentz, a larger version of the aircraft is feasible for launching larger rockets or carrying outsize cargo. "Based on physics and aerodynamics, scaling up is feasible," he said. "Material selection and design of the wing structure will have a great effect. Also, growing the wing to be much longer presents operational issues with runway selection."

Flight Global

Boeing delivers first 747-8I

Boeing has delivered the first 747-8 Intercontinental, which departed the company's Everett, Washington facility today enroute to Vancouver, Canada.
It is the first 747 passenger variant handed over since 2005.
The aircraft, dubbed RC002, the 1,439th 747 built since 1968, departed Paine Field at 13:01 local time to Vancouver to clear customs.

Captain Steve Taylor, who serves as president of Boeing Business Jets, was at the controls for the departure to Vancouver under a non-public flight plan. The aircraft will then be ferried to Boeing's Wichita, Kansas Global Transport & Executive Systems (GTES) facility for installation of the Greenpoint Technologies Aeroloft cabin.
The Aeroloft grows the 747-8's cabin area to 444.6sq m (4,786sq ft) with eight individual berths positioned in the upper crown area in the aft part of the aircraft's cabin between the empennage and the iconic hump.

Following the Aeroloft installation, the aircraft will travel to Hamburg, Germany for completion at Lufthansa Technik, wrapping up an approximately 24-month conversion process before entering service with its unidentified customer. Boeing would not identify the VIP customer for its first 747-8, though the aircraft wears a Qatari A7-HHE registration, and is believed to be for Qatar's Amiri Flight.

To date, seven customers have ordered nine 747-8 VIP aircraft, eight of which will be delivered for completion in 2012. The first of 20 747-8s outfitted for Lufthansa, the airline launch customer, is expected to be handed over in March. However, Boeing has not yet publicly identified an official delivery date for the German carrier.

Boeing expects to deliver between 35 and 42 747-8s and 747-8 Freighters, respectively, in 2012.
747-8 vice president and general manager Elizabeth Lund said production for the 747-8 passenger and freighter variants will accelerate to two aircraft per month from 1.5.
Lund said the fuselage and wing build-up areas are already running at the higher rate and final body join will advance in the middle of the year.

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NextGen procedures underway at Charlotte, Atlanta metroplexes

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Delta Air Lines, US Airways and other stakeholders have officially kicked off an airspace and flight procedures modernization project for the high density Atlanta and Charlotte area metroplexes, regions where several airports service one main metropolitan area.

Part of the FAA's optimization of airspace and procedures in the metroplex (OAPM) programme, Atlanta and Charlotte will follow the Washington DC metro area and Dallas/Fort Worth in becoming the beneficiaries of the government and industry effort to increase capacity while cutting flight time, delays, fuel burn and noise. Metroplex initiatives are underway or planned for 21 metropolitan areas, said the FAA.

Procedures in the Washington region, which include idling descents from as far out as 120nm from the landing destinations, will go live in stages starting in September. Along with the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (Natca), partners in the Washington metroplex programme include the local airports as well as US Airways for Washington DC Reagan National airport procedures, United for Dulles and Southwest for Baltimore.

Once the performance-based navigation (PBN) procedures are in place, the FAA estimates that airlines will be able to cut 1.2 million nautical miles per year from their routes into and out of Atlanta, Delta's hub, equating to 2.9 million fewer gallons of fuel burned and 30,000t of carbon emissions not emitted. For Charlotte, US Airways' hub, the FAA estimates there will be 2.5 million fewer nautical miles flown annually, with 3.7 million gallons of fuel saved and carbon emissions reduced by 35,000t annually.

With more than 630 flights per day at Charlotte, US Airways chief operating officer Robert Isom said the carrier will save $17 million a year in fuel costs and emit 59,000t fewer carbon emissions.
Strategies the FAA will study with the airlines, air traffic controllers and local airports in Atlanta and

Charlotte include creating separate high-altitude flight tracks for Atlanta departures and Charlotte arrivals to allow aircraft to climb and descend without levelling off; expanding optimised profile descent (OPD) procedures (idling approaches) into the Atlanta and Charlotte airports, and shortening flight tracks by making them more direct.

Reliever airports in the areas should also benefit from the work. The FAA said the team will design satellite-based flight paths that separate traffic destined for reliever airports from those flights heading for the main Atlanta and Charlotte airports.

"The end result for travellers will be fewer delays, quicker flights and an even safer, greener flying experience," said acting Federal Aviation Administrator Michael Huerta.

Flight Global

IAG doubles full-year operating profit

British Airways and Iberia parent International Airlines Group more than doubled operating profit for the full year to €485 million ($653 million), before exceptional items. The company's pre-tax profit reached €503 million for the 12 months to 31 December 2011, including the first 21 days of January before IAG's formal consolidation. IAG's revenues were up by more than 10% to €16.3 billion, although a near-30% increase took fuel costs to more than €5 billion. Other operating costs rose by 1.1% to €10.8 billion.

During the fourth quarter of 2011 the company posted an improved operating profit of €34 million, despite a heavy impact from fuel prices. Traffic for the year rose by 7.2%, in line with the airlines' hike in capacity, meaning the average load factor stayed stable at 79.1%. Passenger yield increased by 3.6%. IAG chief Willie Walsh said the consolidation had generated net synergies, in costs and revenues, of €74 million - some €64 million above the target - for the first year.

He said there were a "number of uncertainties" over the outlook for 2012. But demand from London "remains strong", said IAG, with "encouraging trends" over the North Atlantic network. But it cautioned that the fuel cost increase could be as high as €1 billion, and the economic problems in Spain and other countries with the euro as their currency will be "a major factor" regarding underlying demand growth.

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Ryanair offers scathing verdict on 737 Max

Outspoken Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary has offered a scathing verdict on Boeing's 737 Max, describing the re-engined narrowbody as a "dog's dinner of a design" that had been drawn "on the back of a fag packet as a response to the [Airbus] Neo".

Although talks "are ongoing" with the airframer about future orders of either the Max or current generation 737-800s, he complained "Boeing can't tell you what the Max looks like or what the fuel saving is".
An additional stumbling block is the carrier's concept for a standing-only area on its flights, raising capacity to 230 passengers from 189 on an all-seated aircraft. This would require the removal of the rear lavatories and final six rows of seats in the 737. "We won't place any new order until they [Boeing] come up with a fix for this issue," said O'Leary.

In the meantime Ryanair has approached an undisclosed aviation regulator with a view to trialling standing-area flights, but has received "no positive response". Ryanair is still considering ordering the Comac C919, added O'Leary, and has a design team working with the Chinese airframer toward a 200-seat variant of the baseline 174-seat aircraft in the 2018-19 timeframe. Airbus was not currently in the running, he said.

Meanwhile, he criticized the UK government's lack of a clear policy towards the aviation sector and said it was damaging the UK's competitiveness. Since Airline Passenger Duty was introduced in 2007, UK passenger numbers have fallen by 20%, said O'Leary.

He called for the government to "stop pandering to the idiot environmentalists and even less sensible Nimbys" and add extra runways at London Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted as these airports are already served by existing public transport and road infrastructure. Seeking to construct a new airport in "the estuary of Boris [Johnson's] imagination" with no road or rail links for delivery in 30 years time was, he said "complete and utter bloody lunacy even by Boris's standards".

 Flight Global

IAG determined to press ahead with Iberia Express

International Airlines Group (IAG) has "no other option" for turning around Iberia's struggling short- and medium-haul business than to press ahead with the launch of low-cost subsidiary Iberia Express, despite fierce opposition from pilots, according to chief executive Willie Walsh.

The parent company of British Airways and Iberia continues to face "stubborn resistance to reality" from pilots and each day of strike action to protest against the new carrier is costing it €3 million ($4 million). However, the expected €100 million positive impact of launching Iberia Express "outweighs the cost of the disruption", Walsh told analysts today during a conference call to discuss the group's full-year results.

Iberia's short-haul revenues remain well below 2008 levels, and the Spanish carrier as a whole performed significantly worse than BA during 2011. "This requires major surgery and that major surgery comes in the form of Iberia Express," said Walsh. The low-cost subsidiary plans to launch operations at the end of March with an initial fleet of four Airbus A320s, rising to 13 A320s by the end of the year.

Iberia Express "will give an opportunity to reverse the trend witnessed on short- and medium-haul at Iberia", said Walsh, and "will allow Iberia to create an efficient feeder airline into its long-haul hub in Madrid".
Iberia's pilots have so far carried out 12 days of strike action to voice their opposition to the new carrier. Iberia chief executive Rafael Sanchez described this as "a disgrace", adding: "We are absolutely determined to get this through - there is no way we're not going to do it. Reality will eventually get them to sit down at the table."

Flight Global

China Southern to acquire 10 777-300ERs

China Southern Airlines has agreed to acquire 10 Boeing 777-300ERs, the first time this specific type has been selected by the carrier. The

Guangzhou-based carrier said it would purchase the aircraft, the list price for which is $298 million apiece, and take delivery in stages from 2013-16. China Southern said, however, that the actual price was "significantly lower" than the catalogue price because of concessions from the airframer.

It said it could not disclose the actual agreed price of the aircraft, partly because it has failed to obtain consent from Boeing to reveal the information. "Disclosure of the actual consideration will result in the loss of the significant price concessions and hence a significant negative impact on the group's cost for the acquisition," the carrier said.

All 777-300ERs are powered by General Electric GE90 engines. China Southern said it would fund the acquisition of the 777-300ERs partly through cash and partly through financing arrangements with banks.
The twin-jets will increase the capacity of the group by nearly 8% compared with its position at the end of 2011. China Southern is already a 777 operator but its fleet currently comprises 777-200 variants including the 777 freighter.

Flight Global

Estonian to ditch CRJs as it signs for more Embraers

Estonian Air has confirmed that it will replace its Bombardier CRJs with Embraer regional jets, just a year after taking delivery of the Canadian-built type. The airline had already stated that it planned to introduce up to 12 Embraer E-Jets.

While it plans to lease an initial four 170s from Finnair - the first having arrived at Tallinn last week, bearing a new livery - the carrier has agreed to purchase three 175s and a 190, said Embraer, for delivery in 2014.

Embraer indicated that Finnair would also take another four 190s under third-party or lease agreements.
The carrier had said it would use the aircraft to replace Boeing 737s.
But Estonian Air president Tero Taskila has also confirmed that the Embraers will also replace the airline's CRJs. Estonian had been in line to receive CRJ900s through a broad fleet modernisation deal brokered by SAS Group, which previously owned 49% of the carrier.

The first of these CRJ900s only arrived in early 2011, by which time SAS Group had opted to divest most of its stake in Estonian Air. Estonian Air operates three of the type. Last November it highlighted the CRJ900's operating economics and speed as it disclosed that it was negotiating for additional regional jets.
Taskila did not give a reason for defecting from the CRJ, but said a single-family operation would offer capacity flexibility to "pursue our immediate expansion and fleet modernisation objectives".

"The aircraft will deliver a standard of in-flight experience that will keep us competitive and allow us to access new markets with lower risk than using larger jets," he added. Estonian Air also indicated interest in Embraer's proposed re-engined E-Jet family.

Flight Global

Air New Zealand converts options for two 787-9s

Photo Credit: Flight Global, Air New Zealand

Air New Zealand has converted options for two Boeing 787-9 aircraft, despite still being "hindered by the delay of the 787". Speaking as he unveiled the airline's half-year accounts for the six months ending 31 December 2011, chief executive Rob Fyfe said Air New Zealand has converted two 787-9 options, bringing its orders for the type to 10.

The carrier has agreed on new contractual terms and a modified delivery schedule with Boeing and its first 787-9 is scheduled to arrive in the second quarter of 2014.
Fyfe said although the airline is benefiting from more efficient aircraft such as the Boeing 777-300ER,  it is "still hindered by the delay of the 787".

He added: "Despite the extremely frustrating and costly delays, we strongly believe the 787-9 is the right aircraft for Air New Zealand and worth the wait." Interim net profit for the half-year fell by 61% to NZ$38 million ($31.8 million), down from NZ$98 million in the corresponding period a year ago.

Normalised earnings before tax were at NZ$33 million, down by 71% against the same period a year ago, the carrier said. Under New Zealand reporting rules, normalised earnings exclude net gains or losses on derivatives.

Air New Zealand carried 0.6% fewer passengers in the half-year, compared with the corresponding period in 2010. RPKs declined by 2.6% and ASKs declined by 1.0%. Passenger load factor declined by 1.4 percentage points to 82.8%.

"Acknowledging this disappointing result, we have already commenced a series of initiatives to improve the airline's profitability by more than $195 million per annum by [Fiscal Year 20]15 through a combination of cost reduction, improved efficiencies and revenue growth," said Fyfe.

"The price of jet fuel has doubled over the last three years, but a weak global economy is hindering our ability to pass on these higher fuel costs to passengers," added Fyfe. "Therefore, we have been moving quickly to adapt, to gain greater efficiencies and to develop into a stronger, more profitable business."
Other factors the carrier gave for the weak result were the continued weakness in the travel markets of Europe and Japan. It also expressed concerns about overcapacity in the industry.

The carrier will cut 441 jobs by the end of its current fiscal year, said Fyfe, adding that 266 involve the non-replacement of roles and the non-renewal of contracts, of which 193 have already been achieved. The carrier will begin consultations with the affected staff on the remaining 175 roles to be cut.

Flight Global

Indian carriers get approval for direct jet fuel imports

The Indian government has given formal approval for its domestic carriers to directly import jet fuel in a move aimed at lowering the airlines' operating costs.
Carriers that wish to do so have to get a licence from the directorate general of foreign trade (DGFT), said the Ministry of Civil Aviation in a statement.
The ministry submitted a formal proposal to the Ministry of Commerce last week, seeking approval to allow local carriers to directly import jet fuel.
Air turbine fuel prices in India are up to 40% higher than those in the international market because of the high base price and even higher taxes, both at the national and state level. This has long been a major concern of local carriers.
This move could come as a relief to local carriers, such as struggling Kingfisher Airlines, most of which are operating on huge losses.


 Flight Global

Soaring demand drives Airbus to plug freighter gap

Airbus's decision last week to launch a passenger-to-freighter conversion programme for its A330 twinjet was long overdue. The airframer's own global market forecast for freighters, issued last year, predicts demand for a total of 2,731 cargo aircraft over the next 20 years, split between 834 new-builds and 1,897 conversions.

Yet until last week's announcement, Airbus had addressed that demand solely with its new-build A330-200F. Although that programme has arguably under-performed, accumulating just 69 orders to-date, Airbus believes that section of the market still holds considerable sales potential.

Again, the global market forecast offers a clue to the airframer's thinking. It predicts that most of the growth in that 20-year period will come in the mid-size freighter market occupied by the A330. That equates to a total of 1,327 units, with potential for around 900 conversions according to the forecast.
Demand will be driven both by growth in the cargo market and the need to replace older aircraft. In fact, Airbus says around 570 aircraft will need to be replaced in the mid-size sector alone.

Likely candidates for replacement by the A330 P2F are the Boeing MD-10F/McDonnell Douglas DC-10, and at the lighter end, the Airbus A300 and A310 freighters, all of which still have a significant global presence. Flightglobal's Ascend Online database lists 81 MD-10Fs in active service, 198 A300 freighters and 54 A310 freighters. The vast majority of the three types are operated by US express carrier FedEx.

Closer analysis of its fleet using Ascend shows the Memphis company operating a total of 73 MD-10Fs - both -10Fs and -30Fs - with an average age of over 33 years. There are also substantial numbers of A300Fs (71) and A310Fs (45) in its fleet, with an average age of 19.5 and 25.5 years, respectively.
Boeing lists the MD-10-30F as able to carry a payload of 79.4t (175,000lb) over 3,305nm (6,115km). Although no payload-range figures are yet available for the P2F programme, Airbus gives the line-build -200F's maximum payload as 70t over 3,200nm.

 Clearly the P2F will not be a like-for-like replacement for the MD-10, but Airbus suggests the type's fuel efficiency more than compensates for what it loses in payload and range. Assuming a fuel cost of $100 and above per barrel, the -200F model need only have utilization of 2,200h per year to compensate for its $211.5 million acquisition cost against the Boeing, claims Airbus.

The necessary utilization would slide even further in Airbus's favor with a P2F aircraft. Airbus has not disclosed a list price for the conversion, however early estimates put a total cost at around $30 million. Early -300 models, produced between 1994 and 1997, are valued at $22.5-$25 million, according to Ascend. Newer aircraft are worth anywhere between $41.7 million and $58.95 million for the higher-gross weight -300 and $38.5-$51 million for the -200.

Ascend analyst Chris Seymour puts the optimum age for freighter conversion at 15 to 20 years. Early A330 models sit comfortably in that age range, but Seymour says the success of the programme rests partly on the availability of "feedstock" aircraft ripe for conversion. Numbers are plentiful: Ascend lists a total operational A330 fleet of 800 aircraft, split almost equally between the -200 and -300. And with the first P2F conversion not due to roll out until 2016, Seymour predicts even greater feedstock availability as airlines de-fleet in favor of new models.

Lessor Guggenheim Aviation Partners is active in the cargo sector, for instance leasing three 777Fs to European operator TNT Airways. Steve Rimmer, chief executive officer, says it is "intrigued by the programme" but stresses it is too early to form a firm opinion.
He says: "Feedstock for conversions and the increasing focus on age limitations will need some consideration. Payload range will be key.

"The production freighter has been slow in gaining momentum and that makes us a little cautious. However, it's definitely on our radar and we will be spending some time reviewing it when there are fuller details available."

One airline viewed as a potential launch customer for the conversion is Qatar Airways. The Doha-based airline has 29 A330-200 and -300s in service and, with the latter about to start being replaced by Boeing 787s, it has been urging Airbus to launch an A330 cargo conversion programme. Airline chief executive Akbar Al Baker has previously said that the converted A330s would be operated either by Qatar Airways' expanding cargo division or placed with its leasing division for placement with other freight operators.

One reason for Airbus's previous reluctance to launch the P2F programme was the fear of cannibalising sales prospects for the -200F. However, Seymour argues the two products are "complementary", citing their different mission profiles and the commonality between the types.

It is also worth noting that the existence of a P2F conversion programme has not particularly hampered sales prospects for Boeing's 767-300 Freighter. Some 35 of the converted 767s are in service and Boeing has taken a total of 111 orders for the 767-300F, with 46 still to be delivered, including to FedEx and fellow US parcel carrier UPS.

Flight Global

Embraer advances window for re-engined E-Jet to 2016

 Embraer now says a re-engined E-Jet could become available as early as 2016, or two years earlier than originally announced. The company's target date for entry into service also has slightly advanced from 2018 to "somewhere between 2017-2018", Paolo Cesar de Sousa e Silva, president of Embraer Commercial Aviation, confirmed to Flightglobal Pro. The precise timing will be driven by which engine is selected.

If the Pratt & Whitney geared turbofan (GTF) is chosen by Embraer, the second-generation E-Jet could start flying for airlines by 2016, Silva said. But new engine designs from General Electric and Rolls-Royce are "more likely" unavailable for operational service until 2018, he said. Silva's mention of GE specifically could be significant. The reference possibly omits CFM International, the GE-Snecma joint venture developing the Leap turbofan for narrowbodies, and points to the GE Passport engine that replaces the smaller CF34.
GE and CFM have a pact not to compete against each other for new applications, with CFM's Leap automatically offered for any powerplant requiring more than 18,000lbf.

Moreover, Silva also mentioned R-R as a possible engine supplier for the new E-Jet family for the first time. R-R is developing an all-new narrowbody core under the Advance 2 programme.
Embraer announced in November that it would re-engine at least three of the four-member E-Jet family rather than launch a new five-abreast airframe. The E-175, E-190 and E-195 would each be re-engined, but no final decision was made about the E-170. Embraer also is considering a 130-seat stretch of the E-195, which may span the power requirement between GE's Passport and CFM's Leap engines.

Flight Global