First Air France A380 Flight to Japan

Yesterday Air France’s Airbus A380 served the Paris-Tokyo route for the very first time, making Tokyo the first destination in Asia to be served by the airline’s Super jumbo. The aircraft with registration number F-HPJD, Air France’s fourth A380, took off early in the afternoon from Paris-CDG north runway eastbound, and will land at Tokyo-Narita at 08:10 local time, tomorrow morning.

The A380 flight schedule on the Paris – Tokyo route:

- Paris-Tokyo:

AF 276, on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays; flights will be daily starting 4 October 2010.
Flight departs from terminal 2E at 13:30, and arrives at 08:10 the following day

- Tokyo-Paris:

AF 275, on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays; flights will be daily starting 5 October 2010
Flight departs at 11:50 and arrives at Paris-Charles de Gaulle 2E at 17:15

Paris-Tokyo is Air France’s 3rd route served by A380, following Paris-New York in 2009 and Paris-Johannesburg in February 2010. Thanks to the A380, Air France is rationalizing frequencies on these busy routes by combining two flights leaving at close departure times, while still offering the same number of seats and reducing costs by 20%. The A380’s main deck is the same size as a Boeing 777-200 and the upper deck is the same size as an Airbus A340-300.

Air France’s A380 is equipped with 538 seats in three cabin classes – La Première (First), with 9 seats on the main deck, Affaires (Business), with 80 seats on the upper deck, and Voyageur (Economy), with 449 seats divided between the two decks.

The A380 is the world’s most environmentally-friendly aircraft – with less than 75 grams of CO2 produced per passenger per kilometre – and the quietest in its category. Its spacious cabin offers passengers additional comfort. On board this aircraft, Air France has introduced changing lighting moods adapted to the various stages of the flight, meeting points and relaxation areas, as well as a completely new in-flight entertainment system with wider screens.

Air France has ordered twelve A380s, four of which have already been delivered.

In winter 2010, Air France and KLM will operate 52 weekly return flights between Paris, Amsterdam and Japan:

- to and from Tokyo-Narita : 31 flights, including 21 AF flights (of which 7 operated by JAL on a code-share basis) and 10 KLM flights;

- to and from Tokyo-Haneda: 7 AF flights operated by JAL on a code-share basis, starting 31 October 2010 ;

- to and from Osaka-Kansai : 14 flights, including 7 AF flights and 7 KLM flights.

With this large number of flights, Air France and KLM offer passengers a wide choice of departure times both ways with daily flights leaving both in the morning, afternoon and evening.

Gulfstream G250 Integration Test Facility Reaches Software Testing Milestone

Gulfstream Aerospace Corp.’s G250 Integration Test Facility (ITF) has accumulated 1,000 hours of testing on the PlaneView250™ software load that will be the basis for securing the aircraft’s initial Type Certificate. Gulfstream reached the milestone just four months after evaluation of the Rockwell Collins-provided software began. Rockwell Collins is a strategic partner on the PlaneView250 flight deck, which features Pro Line Fusion™ avionics. 

“The cockpit of the G250 is going to lead the industry,” said Pres Henne, senior vice president, Programs, Engineering and Test, Gulfstream. “This test facility is a critical step in bringing this aircraft to market, because it allows us to integrate, test and make adjustments on the ground.”

The G250 facility is the first mid-cabin ITF for Gulfstream. The company initiated the ITF concept with the large-cabin GV and developed similar facilities for the G450 and G550. Those facilities, located with the G250 ITF at the company’s headquarters in Savannah, are still in use today.

The enhanced value delivered to customers through the testing conducted with the large-cabin ITFs as well as the introduction of Rockwell Collins’ Fusion platform for PlaneView250 drove Gulfstream’s decision to establish a G250 ITF.

“It’s been a great tool,” said Mark Kohler, G250 program director, Gulfstream. “It allows us to do the testing in a very safe environment and at a much quicker pace.  That’s the significance, to be able to accelerate the development effort and ensure the end product exceeds customers’ expectations.”

The G250 ITF was initially powered on Nov. 20, 2007, and had its first simulated flight on July 7, 2008. The facility allows engineers to perform a thorough analysis of the aircraft’s avionics and electronics to ensure they meet the certification requirements. The facility is also ideal for human-factors analysis, allowing certification authorities to make and test changes on the ground before applying them to the actual aircraft.

In addition to testing, Gulfstream utilizes the ITF to demonstrate the aircraft’s capabilities to the Gulfstream Customer Advisory Board (CAB) and potential customers. CAB participants are Gulfstream operators who provide input on aircraft in development and feedback on services the company offers.

Source and photo: Gulfstream

SuperJet International signs agreement up to US $300 million

Boeing Projects $700 Billion Commercial Airplanes Market in North America

MONTREAL, Sept. 2 /PRNewswire/ — Boeing (NYSE: BA) forecasts that air carriers in North America will take delivery of about 7,200 new airplanes over the next 20 years at an investment of $700 billion.

New airplane deliveries in Canada and the United States will be driven largely by the need to retire older, less fuel-efficient single-aisle airplanes and regional jets, as airlines replace them with new-generation, more fuel-efficient models. (For the purposes of the Boeing forecast, the North America market consists of the U.S. and Canada. Mexico is included in Boeing’s forecast for Latin America.)

“North America is a large, mature market, and we expect passenger traffic for the region to grow at a modest rate of 3.4 percent,” said Randy Tinseth, vice president of Marketing, Boeing Commercial Airplanes, who released Boeing’s 2010 North America market outlook today in Montreal. “The fast-paced lifestyles in Canada and the U.S. require rapid, frequent and reliable coast-to-coast and interregional transportation. Driven by this demand, nearly three-quarters of the new deliveries over the next 20 years will be single-aisle airplanes.”

Taking retirements of airplanes into account, the North America fleet will grow from 6,590 airplanes today to about 9,000 airplanes by 2029.

Boeing forecasts that single-aisle airplanes will grow from 56 percent of the total North America fleet today to 71 percent of the fleet by 2029. Airlines are increasingly focusing on airplane age as fuel-thirsty, older airplanes weigh increasingly on earnings. Increased attention to aviation’s impact on global climate change also will be a factor in selecting airplanes that produce lower carbon emissions.

Newer airplane types such as the Next-Generation 737 offer significant advantages in environmental performance as well as improved capabilities, fuel efficiency and maintenance costs.

“After several years of losses among the region’s air carriers, we’re seeing signs of improvement and airlines are beginning to implement fleet renewal plans as they look to the future,” Tinseth said. “To help meet this demand, Boeing Commercial Airplanes will continue to work closely with our more than 500 suppliers and partners in Canada. Boeing imports parts and services from Canada amounting to more than a billion U.S. dollars a year, more than $625 million of which is associated with Boeing Commercial Airplanes.”

Twin-aisle fleets will evolve in the region as airlines continue to expand international point-to-point services to a wider range of airport pairs and frequencies. Small- and mid-sized twin-aisle airplanes will grow to represent 19 percent of the North America fleet by 2029.

Within the North America market, Boeing sees a demand for 1,180 new, efficient twin-aisle airplanes such as the 787 Dreamliner. Twin-aisles will account for only 16 percent of total airplane demand in the region over 20 years but will have a proportionally higher share of delivery cost, at 37 percent of the overall investment.

Large airplanes (747-size and larger) will not see significant demand in North America, with only about 40 units (all freighters), or one percent of the total investment.

Boeing also forecasts declining demand for regional jets in North America as airlines shift to more fuel-efficient turboprops or larger jetliner models. High fuel prices, intensified competition and the superior efficiencies of larger single-aisles will take a toll on the economics of small regional jets. This category will account for just 4 percent of the total investment for new airplanes, with only 800 new regional jet deliveries over the next 20 years, nearly all for replacement.

Source: Boeing

EMBRAER’S LINEAGE 1000 EXECUTIVE JET FLIES MEXICO’S SKIES

Embraer held a delivery ceremony, last week, in São José dos Campos, Brazil, for its first Lineage 1000 executive jet to a Mexican customer. Grupo Omnilife, a leader in the production of nutritional supplements, will be operating the aircraft through its air taxi subsidiary, Omniflys. The aircraft is the first Lineage 1000 delivered in the Americas.

“With the purchase of the Lineage 1000, in December 2007, Omnilife made a solid statement regarding the expansion of its operations and fleet, by choosing our most prestigious aircraft,” USA, Canada, Mexico and Caribbean – Executive Jets. Omnilife, one of Mexico’s largest companies, into our family of customers.”

says Ernie Edwards, Embraer Vice President, Marketing and Sales,“With this delivery, we welcome Choosing from hundreds of interior possibilities, Omnilife selected a five-zone layout, including a master suite featuring a queen-size bed and a stand-up shower, a conference area and three living room areas with five divans, demonstrating the flexibility of interior configurations that the Lineage 1000 offers. The fuselage paint scheme of Omnilife’s new Embraer Lineage 1000 Executive jet is the work of artist Liam Gillick, featuring excerpts of a poem along the body, in a very subtle shade of gray.

Source: Embraer

Japan Airlines to remove 49 routes, 103 jets

TOKYO – Japan Airlines Corp, a carrier worth no more than a two-decade-old jumbo when it was bailed out by the government in January, said it will retire two-fifths of its aircraft, abandon one in eight overseas flights and end a quarter of its home routes in a bid to return to profit.

To compete against cheaper regional rivals, JAL also said it would look at creating a low-cost carrier. The state-backed turnaround body leading the restructuring said relisting the airline would be possible by 2013.

JAL’s turnaround pledge, submitted to the Tokyo District Court on Tuesday, includes a halt to 10 international flights following earlier closures aimed at stemming losses. It will also stop plying 39 domestic routes.

JAL forecast the latest contraction in money-losing services would help it to achieve an operating profit margin of 9.2 percent by March 2013.

“JAL’s flop has caused a lot of trouble to shareholders and financial institutions,” said Chairman and Chief Executive Kazuo Inamori at a news conference in Tokyo.

“Today is a new start for us,” said Inamori, the 77-year old founder of electronics maker Kyocera Corp, who was asked by the government to run JAL for three years after it filed for bankruptcy.

UNCERTAIN FUTURE

Under the turnaround plan, JAL will receive an injection of 350 billion yen ($4.14 billion) from the government and a 521 billion yen debt waiver from banks including Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and Mizuho Financial group. JAL said it had 959 billion yen of liabilities at the end of March.

Brought down by years of high costs, the former state carrier still faces an uncertain future as it takes on other carriers in a burgeoning and increasingly competitive regional air market.

JAL’s new start may also be without the architect of its revival. Speaking at the unveiling of its business plan, Inamori said he wanted to step down as CEO in February 2012, a year earlier than he had agreed to when he took the job in January.

Aviation analysts applauded Inamori’s fleet changes, which amount to the elimination of 103 aircraft.

JAL will offload all its Boeing 747-400 jumbos and every Airbus A300-600 jet it owns by March next year, and will stop operating all its McDonnell Douglas-built MD81 and MD90 aircraft by a later date. When complete, JAL will use four models rather than the seven it flies now.

“This is a massive shutdown in a very short amount of time, and generally only happens when airlines are shut down, not when they restructure,” said Shashank Nigam, head of Singapore-based airline industry consultant SimpliFlying Pte.

“We are likely to see a very much smaller and more regional Japan Airlines come out of this,” he said.

Source: business.maktoob.com

German Airbus A350 XWB Production commences

Airbus CEO Tom Enders and Parliamentary State Secretary Peter Hintze give go-ahead for largest integrated carbon fibre component ever made by Airbus.Blagnac,  31 August 2010

Boeing to Provide Landing Gear Exchange Service to Qantas Airways

SEATTLE, Aug. 31 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Boeing (NYSE: BA) will perform landing gear exchange, repair and overhaul services on Qantas Airways’ 747-400ER (extended range) jetliners. Qantas, the program launch customer for the 747-400ER and operator of six of the airplanes, becomes the launch customer for the 747-400ER Landing Gear Overhaul and Exchange Program.

Qantas will use the Boeing Service Center Repair Network for quick, reliable access to landing gear exchanges, repair and replacement around the world, greatly reducing maintenance time. The agreement takes effect in 2011.

The launch of the Landing Gear Overhaul and Exchange Program by Qantas for the 747-400ER family provides a similar opportunity for operators of the 40 747-400ER Freighters currently in service.

“We appreciate that a customer such as Qantas is demonstrating their confidence in Boeing to provide them with this important service,” said Dale Wilkinson, vice president, Material Services, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. “By choosing Boeing’s landing gear exchange program, Qantas will have immediate access to a replacement gear without having to invest in a landing gear asset themselves.”

Qantas Airways is the latest of more than 70 customers to take advantage of the Boeing’s Landing Gear Overhaul and Exchange Program. Boeing coordinates with airlines and global component repair and overhaul suppliers to promptly return airplanes to service.

More than 500 airplanes have benefitted from the Boeing Landing Gear Overhaul and Exchange Programs for 717, Next-Generation 737, Boeing Business Jet, 757-300, 767-300, 777-200ER/-300/300ER, MD-11 and, now 747-400ER/ERF models. The program adheres to Boeing-approved quality processes and procedures and provides full technical and emergency support.

Source: Boeing

PHI, Inc. Signs Contract For Ten AW139s

PHI, Inc. has signed a contract for ten AW139 medium twin helicopters. These aircraft will be used to perform offshore transport missions. Emilio Dalmasso, Senior Vice President Commercial Business Unit, AgustaWestland said, “We are proud to add PHI to our growing customer base. PHI’s order further confirms the already impressive success of the AW139 as the best selling medium twin helicopter among major players in the offshore world marketplace. As the Oil & Gas industry evolves further and its requirements become more and more demanding, we are sure the AW139 will prove a tremendous addition to the customer’s fleet to maximize operational effectiveness enabling PHI to be primed for any challenge.”

The AW139 has quickly become the aircraft of choice for offshore oil and gas support operations offering unparalleled features in its class in terms of performance, capacity and safety. The AW139 is ideally suited for the offshore role, with its large cabin and baggage compartments allowing it to transport 12 to 15 passengers, offering ease of access and egress by its large sliding doors. Remarkable space on board and modular solutions allows an easy and quick conversion to/from various configurations. The superior power of the two installed P&W PT6C-67C engines ensures the AW139 has the best performance in its weight class in all operating conditions. With its power reserve, the AW139 assures Category A (Class 1) superior performance from a helipad (elevated or at ground level) at maximum take-off weight with a superior one engine inoperative capability. Excellent payload and performance ensure unmatched productivity for offshore operations. Energy-absorbing landing gear, fuselage and seats as well as high main and tail rotor ground clearance provide added safety for the passengers and maintenance teams whilst on the ground. In addition to offshore transport, the AW139 can be used for a number of applications including executive/VIP transport, EMS/SAR, law enforcement and government duties. Almost 480 AW139 helicopters have been ordered so far by over 130 customers in almost 50 countries worldwide.

Troubled Saudi airline lays off staff

RIYADH – Troubled low-cost Saudi carrier Sama on Saturday told its staff that most of them will have to be laid off immediately after talks with the government failed to yield a commitment to support the loss-making company.

The private firm suspended all operations on Tuesday after it failed to obtain financing from investors or government support to cushion accumulated losses close to $300 million, a company source told Reuters.

Sama Chief Executive Bruce Ashby sent a circular dated Saturday to airline staff saying “discussions with various government agencies about the status of Sama” since last week were continuing in order to “obtain additional funding”.

“Unfortunately, until now no firm commitment has been made. Practically speaking, this means that we will not be able to restart operations quickly. Instead, we are facing a longer-term reorganisation,” Ashby said in a circular seen by Reuters.

“We also will need to reduce our workforce. Most of our employees will be released from duty today, 28 August 2010. We will ask certain employees to stay on for a longer period in order to help shut down operations, organise administrative matters, and continue to move our customers to other airlines,” he added.

Sama has 600 full-time employees, a company source said.

The airline was one of three private low-cost carriers Saudi aviation authorities have licensed to compete with national carrier Saudi Arabian Airlines.

But the firms have been complaining they were not on an equal footing with the state-owned carrier especially in the cost of fuel which the latter obtains at subsidised prices.

Sama has been flying to destinations in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Syria and Sudan, with 164 weekly flights using six Boeing 737-300 aircraft, according to its website.

Founded in 2005, it started commercial flights in 2007. According to its website, among Sama’s 30 shareholders are Olayan Financial Co and Xenel Industries Ltd.

Source: business.maktoob.com

Bombardier Sells Two Q400 NextGen Turboprops to Smart Aviation of Egypt

Bombardier Aerospace announced today that Smart Aviation Company of Cairo, Egypt has signed a firm order to acquire two Q400 NextGen turboprop aircraft, and has also taken options on an additional three Q400 NextGen aircraft.

Based on the list price for the Q400 NextGen aircraft, the value of the firm order is approximately $62 million US, which could increase to $158 million US should all three options be converted to firm orders.

A corporate jet aircraft charter operator since its founding in May of 2007, Smart Aviation has formed a commercial airline subsidiary and will use its Q400 NextGen aircraft to launch scheduled and charter services to complement its corporate aircraft activities throughout the Middle East.

“Middle East tourism and business travel are growing steadily and we want to be in a position to meet this growth with efficient, reliable, economical and passenger-friendly aircraft,” said Wael El-Maadawy, Chairman and Managing Director, Smart Aviation Company. “Bombardier turboprop aircraft have excelled on these attributes in the Middle East operating environment for several years, so the Q400 NextGen aircraft was the first choice for our new service.”

“The Q400 NextGen aircraft is optimized for the intra-regional, shorter routes in the expanding North African and Middle Eastern travel market,” said Gary R. Scott, President,
Bombardier Commercial Aircraft. “We at Bombardier are confident that the Q400 NextGen aircraft is well-suited to Smart Aviation’s new venture and welcome the company to the growing family of Q400 NextGen aircraft operators.”

Optimized for short-haul operations, the “comfortably greener,” 70- to 80-seat Q400 NextGen aircraft is a large, fast, quiet and fuel-efficient turboprop. It provides an ideal balance of passenger comfort and operating economics with a reduced environmental footprint. Including Smart Aviation’s order, Bombardier has booked firm orders for a total of 391 Q400 and Q400 NextGen aircraft, and as of April 30, 2010, 300 had been delivered. The aircraft are in service with more than 30 operators worldwide.

Source: Bombardier

EGYPTAIR receives first Airbus A330-300

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