Aeroflot says 'nyet' to Alitalia

photo courtesy albspotter

Russian carrier Aeroflot has withdrawn from the bidding process for Italian airline Alitalia, ending months of speculation of a possible takeover. In a press release, Aeroflot said, "Aeroflot believes that acquiring Alitalia under the current conditions would not be the right decision for it to take."

According to the airline, two reasons that led to the decision were the fact that Aeroflot did not get access to "critical information" regarding the "commercial and operational aspects of Alitalia’s business to confidently formulate a well supported business proposal to successfully restructure Alitalia". Another reason: "The conditions and requirements outlined for the privatization process would significantly limit the ability of Aeroflot to implement what Aeroflot believes to be the necessary measures to re-launch Alitalia."

This leaves Lufthansa-backed Italian carrier Air One as the only airline left in the bidding as of now.

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727 Landing at Meigs Field

I came across this clip on YouTube recently of a United Airlines Boeing 727-100 landing at the now-closed Meigs Field in Chicago. The 727 is now part of the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago - I've been there and you can actually go inside the airplane and try out the seats, etc. Meigs Field itself is now closed - the video clip is probably about 15 years old.

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Even more problems for Northwest

Things just seem to be getting worse for Northwest Airlines.

The carrier exited Chapter 11 bankruptcy last month, and that's about where the good news ends. It announced a few weeks ago that it expected 2nd quarter mainline domestic revenue per available seat mile to go down by 2 to 3 percent. Last Tuesday, the J.D. Power and Associates annual customer satisfaction survey was released, and among airlines, Northwest came in last place (JetBlue finished first). "[Northwest's] largest drop in rank position over last year was in satisfaction with the flight crews," said Linda Himeise, of J.D. Power. "The flight crews weren't happy. Courtesy, friendliness and helpfulness represent 43 percent of flight crew satisfaction. According to the customers, it just wasn't there."

The airline's pilots union, the Air Line Pilots Association, also recently gave a vote of no confidence to Northwest's management. "We didn't give up 40 percent of our pay and commit to a severely degraded lifestyle to watch it be squandered by poor management," said Monty Montgomery, a 20-year Northwest pilot and spokesman for ALPA. Naturally, the Northwest board has spoken out against these claims, saying that Northwest is "a much stronger and now profitable airline". But it's going to be hard for Northwest CEO Doug Steenland to keep the unions happy, especially when employees have had to give up $1.4 billion in annual concessions (pilot labor costs alone had been cut by $608 annually). Steenland has also received an estimated $26.6 million in stock and options - something that has got the unions even angrier.

To make matters worse, Northwest has also canceled hundreds of flights within the past few days, supposedly due to weather problems. “The recent severe weather events have caused Northwest Airlines to experience some crew shortages. Northwest apologizes for any inconvenience incurred as the airline continues to recover from these recent weather events," said a company spokesman. But the pilots union has a different explanation. “It’s a staffing issue,” said Monty Montgomery, spokesman for the union. “Our pilots are operating at contractual limits. The summer flying season is in full swing and we are operating at our max... I think they [Northwest] didn't realize the severity of the problem.” A spokesperson at Detroit's Metro Airport, home to one of Northwest's largest hubs, said that he wasn't aware of any weather-related delays there.

But regardless of the reason, Northwest has reason to be worried about cancellations. It should be looking to avoid a repeat of United's infamous meltdown in the summer of 2000 in Chicago, when a combination of factors, including weather, meant that it had to cancel a large percentage of its flights. The incident stuck with United for a while and, for a few, still does to this day. If it is an issue of pilot staffing - which it probably is - Northwest needs to get that resolved ASAP.

Secondly, the time is not right for CEO Steenland to be taking over $26 million when rank-and-file employees have to be sacrificing so much. Whether or not he deserves that $26 million (the board says he does, the unions say he doesn't) shouldn't matter; if he wants to increase his popularity (and perhaps employee morale), perhaps he ought to take a page out of Gerald Grinstein's book. As CEO of Delta, Grinstein earns a relatively modest salary and has said that he won't accept cash or stock awards following Delta's exit from Chapter 11 bankruptcy - instead, he's giving to a fund that will help Delta employees in times of hardship. Steenland should also take a look at the history books while he's at it, too - past CEOs at Delta and American have been forced down in recent years by angry unions upset over executive compensation.

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Paris Air Show: Day 5

The Paris Air Show drew to a close today (at least in terms of plane orders) with a few more for Airbus: 20 A350s for Singapore Airlines and 20 A320 family planes for Riyadh-based National Air Services. In a press release, Airbus mentioned its gains with much fanfare. “This Airshow has confirmed that Airbus is very much back on the market, continuing to satisfy customers with the right products. Especially the A380 and A350 XWB have been the highlight of the show, receiving tremendous customer endorsement. They will lead the way in the future in terms of aircraft technology, passenger comfort and environment friendliness. Also, the A330/A340 Family continues to be very much in demand, as is our single-aisle Family,” said Airbus President and CEO Louis Gallois. ”This should give us further incentive to pursue our efforts to turn the company around in order to be able to deliver on our promises”.

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Paris Air Show: Day 4

Surprise, surprise - Airbus has announced several orders so far today while Boeing has announced none. But keep in mind - Boeing has been steadily receiving orders throughout the year, while Airbus tends to save them up for the air show. And even though Airbus handily outsold Boeing at last year's show, Boeing ended up getting more orders for the year.

That said, here are today's orders:

Columbian flag carrier Avianca has ordered 19 more Airbus planes, 14 of which are in the A320 family, and five A330-200s. (It had options on the A330s, but this converts them to firm orders).

Hong Kong Airlines signed a Memorandum of Understanding for 51 Airbus planes, an order made up of 30 A320 family planes, 20 A330s and an Airbus Corporate Jet (basically, a plush version of the A319). BAA Jet Management also bought an Airbus Corporate Jet, to be based in Hong Kong.

Indonesian carrier Mandala Airlines purchased 25 A320s, which will be used to replace the aging Boeing 737-200s that it currently operates. Mandala will be the first Indonesian airline to operate the A320.

Singapore budget airline Tiger Airways signed a MoU for 30 more A320s and 20 options. This will certainly expand the airline's fleet by quite a bit, as it currently operates only nine A320s.

Embraer has also been receiving a few orders, too:

Brazilian carrier BRA Transportes Aéreos signed an order for 20 EMB 195 planes, with options for 20 more. The deal is valued at $730 million at list prices, and the planes will be delivered starting in 2008.

The EMB 190 got its first order from a Mexican airline when Aeroméxico announced that it would operate four of them under a contract with GECAS. (This order was previously booked.)

Italian airline Alpi Eagles confirmed five options for the EMB 195. The options were placed in March, when it ordered five planes. The value of the confirmed options is $182.5 million at list prices. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in April 2008.

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Paris Air Show, Day 3

Airbus has completed another order-filled day at the Paris Air Show, eclipsing rival Boeing yet again in terms of orders. Here's a wrap-up:

United Arab Emirates-based Etihad Airways purchased twelve Airbus wide-bodies, dividing the order between five A330-200s, three A330-200Fs, and four A340-600s. The order provides a bit of a boost for the A340 program, which has seen few orders recently.

As mentioned yesterday, Aeroflot bought five more A321s, as well as ten more A330-200s (which will be leased) and also placed a firm order for 22 A350s, which it had committed to back in March. Aeroflot will be relatively unique in that it will be operating both the A350 and its arch-rival, the Boeing 787.

Mumbai, India-based Kingfisher Airlines, which has been growing rapidly, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to buy up to 50 Airbus planes. The agreement is for 15 A350-800s, 10 A330-200s, 5 A340-500s and 20 A320 family planes.

Two carriers from Libya also placed orders with Airbus today. Afriqiyah Airways placed a firm order for five A320s and signed a MoU to acquire six A350s, with delivery starting in 2017. Libyan Airlines also signed a MoU to buy four A350s, four A330-200s and seven A320s, allowing the airline to modernize its fleet of aging planes.

Yekaterinburg, Russia-based Ural Airlines signed an MoU to purchase five A320s that will allow it to phase out the old Tupolev Tu-134s and -154s that it currently operates on short-to-medium range routes. The airline already operates two leased A320s.

Leasing company CIT Aerospace signed a firm contract for seven A350s and 25 A320 family airplanes.

Turkish cargo operator MNG Airlines placed a firm order for two A330-200Fs, proceeding with the MoU that it signed in January for the planes. MNG, which operates a fleet of A300Fs and F-27s, is seeking to fly to long-range destinations with the new planes.

A subsidiary of Aircastle Limited, a company that leases planes to passenger and cargo airlines, has signed a contract to buy fifteen A330-200Fs.

And the air freight company Flyington Freighters placed an order for six more A330-200Fs. The cargo airline was the first to purchase the A330-200F and will be the first to operate it.

Boeing, on the other hand, only really had one order to announce: Air France will buy nine 777-300ERs and KLM will get seven 737-700s. (Technically it's two orders, but Air France and KLM are two airlines, one company.) The order has a value of $2.7 billion at list prices. This is the first time that the two airlines have bought airplanes together, and it highlights their different fleet strategies: KLM is going Boeing for short-haul while Air France has Airbus airplanes for short-haul and mostly Boeings for long-haul.

Once again, Airbus has come out way on top in terms of orders placed. Boeing's order is important - Air France and KLM are important customers for both manufacturers. But Airbus certainly has stolen the show here with the orders that seem to just keep coming and coming. Even though 'saving up' orders for the air show is a tried and true Airbus practice, it is one that attracts a lot of attention.

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Aeroflot buys A321, IL-96

Russian carrier Aeroflot has announced that it has signed a contract with Airbus to purchase five Airbus A321s. It has not yet said when the planes would be delivered or how much the airline paid for them.

Separately, Aeroflot has also stated that it will buy six IL-96-400s. Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov expressed yesterday his hope that "a contract for the purchase of six such planes for Aeroflot will be prepared before long". The contract for the airplanes will be signed tomorrow when Ivanov visits Voronezh, Russia, where the IL-96 is built.

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Intrepid Aviation and Thai order A330; Leahy: "Airbus is back"

Aircraft lessor Intrepid Aviation announced a firm order of 20 Airbus A330-200 freighter airplanes, the largest order received for the aircraft so far. Deliveries will start in 2010 and run through 2012.

Thai Airways International also announced that they would be purchasing A330s (though none of the freighter variety). It has ordered eight more A330-300s, adding to its fleet of twelve A330s that it currently uses on routes across Asia. The airline also reconfirmed its order for the A380, the first of which will be delivered to the airline in late 2010.

Airbus also held a press conference at Le Bourget earlier today, in which COO John Leahy announced that "Airbus is back". With all the orders that the airline has announced in the last few days, Leahy is probably right.

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Fly Asian Xpress orders A330

Malaysian carrier Fly Asian Xpress (FAX) has ordered fifteen A330-300s at the Paris Air Show today, up from its previous commitment of ten. The airline signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for ten A330s back in April. FAX is a privately owned airline that is subcontracted by AirAsia to fly domestic routes in Malaysia. The A330s won't go into service for FAX directly, but instead fly for Air Asia X, which FAX owns and which will operate long-haul budget flights under the brand name of AirAsia.

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ILFC orders 63 Boeings

During the second day of the Paris Air Show, the International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC) announced an order for 63 Boeing aircraft, worth about $8.8 billion at list prices. ILFC is ordering 50 more 787s, with deliveries starting in 2010 and ending in 2017. In addition, ILFC ordered ten 737s and announced that it was exercising options to order 787-8s and one 777-300ER.

This announcement makes ILFC the largest orderer of the 787 to date, with 74 airplanes ordered. It orders airplanes and then leases them out to airlines.

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Paris Air Show Analysis: Day 1

Day 1 of the Paris Air Show is over, and here are the results:

Boeing: 46 total orders (6 today)

• 6 x 777 Freighter (GECAS)
• 40 x 737-900ER (Lion Air - these had already been ordered but the customer was unidentified until today)
  

Airbus: 342 total orders (310 today)

• 3 x A320, 80 x A350, 3 x A380 (Qatar)
• 60 x A320, 10 x A330, 22 x A350 (US Airways - 20 of the A350s had already been noted on Airbus' order sheet)
• 8 x A380 (Emirates)
• 30 x A320 (Jazeera)
• 60 x A320 (GECAS)
• 12 x A350, 7 x A320 (ALAFCO - the A350 had already been noted on Airbus' order sheet)
• 2 x A320 (Nouvelair)
• 25 x A320 (S7)
• 2 x A380, 18 x A320 (Air France)

In other words, an excellent day for Airbus, which has seen its high-profile models, the A350 and the A380, struggle recently. Both of the models saw strong sales today. And the A320 family continues to be a serious competitor to the 737 family. Airbus' success today has garnered a lot of media attention - rightfully so.

But Randy Tinseth, VP of Marketing at Boeing, thinks that Boeing's relatively paltry order numbers aren't indicative of much. In his latest blog post, entitled 'The long run', he says, "So keep in mind it’s just one week out of 52." Translation: just because Airbus is doing so well here doesn't mean that they'll be in the lead when it comes to year-end totals. "We don’t save orders to score points in an artificial battle for the week," said Tinseth, referring to Airbus' practice of 'saving' orders for events like the Paris Air Show. "Other companies" - cough cough Airbus - "might have a different approach – and maybe that works for them," he said.

Tinseth has a point. Today's orders are good news for Airbus, but the folks in Toulouse can't let their 'newfound' success go to their head. Boeing has seen strong sales so far this year, and both companies will continue to battle it out after the air show is over. Even though they are interesting and important, there is a tendency for people to get carried away with the numbers. For Airbus: congratulations. For Boeing: it's only the first day of one week.

Looking forward to tomorrow!

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Paris Air Show: Day 1

The 47th Annual Paris Air Show opened earlier today in Le Bourget, France. The Air Show is a place where many airlines announce orders for airplanes from the major manufacturers like Boeing and Airbus, and this year, the main focus is on two airplanes in particular: the 787 and the A350. Here are the highlights of the first day's events. This post will also be updated throughout the day - check back later! (Pictures are courtesy of Boeing and Airbus.)

GECAS orders Boeing 777 freighters
GECAS (GE Commercial Finance) announced an order for six Boeing 777 Freighters, although GECAS could substitute some of them for passenger models in the future, if desired. The order is valued at $1.42 billion at list prices (keep in mind that for the majority of these large orders, there's usually a discount).

Lion Air orders Boeing 737-900ER
Indonesian carrier Lion Air announced an order for 40 more Boeing 737-900ER airplanes, an order valued at over $3 billion in list prices. Lion Air now has 100 total orders for the 737-900ER.

Akbar Al-Baker, CEO Qatar Airways, and Louis Gallois, CEO Airbus

Qatar Airways orders 80 A350s, 3 more A380s
Qatar has ordered 80 A350 'XWB' planes and an addition three A380s, meaning that they now have five A380s on order. The A350 order is broken up into 20 of the -800, 40 of the -900, and 20 of the -1000 varieties. Deliveries, according to Airbus, will begin in 2013. This order was a key one for Airbus, whose A350 has been slipping behind the Boeing 787 in terms of orders.

Chairman of Emirates Group Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum and Gallois

Emirates orders 8 more A380s
Dubai-based Emirates has agreed to buy eight more A380s. A launch customer for the type, Emirates has the largest number of A380s on order, with 55. “It gives us a great sense of pride that Emirates Airline are showing such faith in our A380 product and in Airbus," said Airbus chief Louis Gallois. "We thank Emirates Airlines for this."

Jazeera Airways orders 30 A320s
Kuwait-based Jazeera has ordered 30 Airbus A320 aircraft, bringing the number of A320s it has on order up to 40.

US Airways increased A350 order, announces 'fleet renewal'
US Airways has announced that it will buy 92 Airbus aircraft for its fleet renewal in the future. The order is comprised of 22 A350-800s, 10 A330-200s, and 60 A320 family airplanes (a mixture of A319s, A320s and A321s). This is a sign that US Airways is committed to operating a predominantly Airbus fleet - it already operates 205 Airbus aircraft.

Nouvelair orders 2 A320s
Tunisian charter carrier Nouvelair has ordered 2 A320s, complementing the fleet of thirteen A320 airplanes (A320s and A321s) that it already has.

GECAS orders 60 A320 family airplanes
GECAS, which earlier announced an order for the 777F, has also signed a deal with Airbus for 60 more A320 family airplanes, which include the A318, A319, A320 and A321.

ALAFCO chair Ahmed Al Zabin with Airbus COO John Leahy

ALAFCO orders A350, A320
Kuwait-based ALAFCO (Aviation Lease And Finance Co.) has signed a firm contract for 12 A350s and has also ordered seven A320s.

S7 CEO Vladislav Filev with Airbus COO Leahy

S7 orders 25 A320 family planes
Russian carrier S7 has ordered 25 A320-family airplanes, adding to its leased fleet of A319s. Deliveries start in 2009, and the order is worth $1.8 billion at list prices (even though Airbus sales chief John Leahy said the actual price was "somewhat" less than list). Interestingly, S7 also recently ordered new Boeing 737s.

Air France signs MOU for A380, A320
Airbus announced that Air France would sign a 'memorandum of understanding' to buy two A380s and 18 A320s, although it should be noted that this is not yet an official order.

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Lufthansa, JAL go for Embraer

I'm creating a new post here because the other one was getting a bit long. Not to be outdone by Boeing and Airbus, Brazilian airplane manufacturer Embraer has also announced new aircraft orders at the Paris Air Show:

Lufthansa has ordered 30 Embraer 190 airplanes, with the option to order other planes in the 'E-Jet' family. The order is valued at over $1 billion (at list prices, of course). The first aircraft is scheduled for delivery in January 2009.

JAL has ordered 10 Embraer 170 airplanes, with options for five more. The first delivery is scheduled for 2008; notably, the planes will have a single-class interior and fly for J-AIR, a wholly-owned subsidiary of JAL, which flies regional routes throughout Japan.

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EasyJet announces the 'ecoJet'

Amid much prodding of major airplane manufacturers to produce 'greener' planes, European budget airline easyJet has unveiled its design for an aircraft that it calls the 'ecoJet', an airplane that it says will be "25% quieter and would emit 50% less CO2 and 75% less NOx [nitrogen oxide] than today’s newest aircraft (the 737 and A320 families of aircraft)".

The design, which is made up of a variety of current technologies, should be implemented by easyJet by the year 2015. Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are projected to be cut in half by the design. It would be built probably by either Airbus or Boeing, and could, according to Andy Harrison, easyJet CEO, be built within eight years: "We are spending £4 billion on aircraft. They will listen to us."

He also said, “The aviation industry has an excellent record in reducing the environmental footprint of aircraft. Today’s aircraft are typically 70% cleaner and 75% quieter than their 1960s counterparts. Now we are planning the next generation that will help towards taking the plane out of the emissions equation. The aircraft example we have unveiled today represents the next major step forward in airframe and engine technology. The lightweight structure and open-rotor engines are based on technologies that are being developed right now by the major manufacturers. The “easyJet ecoJet” is realistic and it is achievable. If the “easyJet ecoJet” were to be made available today we would order hundreds them for fleet replacement and to achieve the ‘green growth’ that our industry has committed to."

The ecoJet makes sense from a marketing perspective for easyJet. Airlines, especially in Europe, have come under fire from politicians and environmental groups for contributing large amounts of greenhouse gases like CO2. And 'budget' airlines, like easyJet and Ryanair, have been singled out in particular, mostly because of their rapid expansion.

Leo Van Wijk, vice-chairman of Air France-KLM, has dismissed the airline industry's concern over global warming as "a load of BS". But it is important that airlines, airports and governments do everything they can do to reduce emissions. Airplane designs need to be more efficient; airports need to have less wait times, and air traffic control could be more efficient. That said, people ought to keep in mind that airlines only produce about 1.6% of global CO2 emissions.

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United: still looking to merge

United Airlines CFO Jake Brace recently said that his airline is still looking for a merger partner. He recently said that there are still airlines that United could merge with, but that it isn't looking to do a hostile take-over. He said that "consolidation is not something that one company can do in isolation. We don't believe that ... hostiles in the airline industry are very successful. Our belief is that you have to do something on a consensual basis." Evidently he was referring to the failed US Airways hostile takeover attempt of Delta.

Brace also said what United was looking for in a merger partner:

• an airline with a strong Atlantic network (like Continental or Delta). This is one of United's weaker areas.
• an airline with a southern hub (like Delta) so that it can increase its presence in the Caribbean and Latin America, which is its other main 'weaker area'.
• an airline with a strong northeast presence (like Continental, US Airways, and to a lesser extent, Delta)

United has long called for increased consolidation within the industry, but hasn't really been specific in saying which airline would be a best fit. Both Continental and Delta have been rumored to be serious possibilities, and United actually contacted Delta back in 2005 about a merger. (Delta declined.) Delta seems, at this point, the most likely candidate - it has one of the strongest Atlantic networks, it has a southern hub (at Atlanta), and it has a pretty good northeast presence. Of course, other airlines are fair game, too - and until United management announces which airline it's interested in, we probably won't know for sure.

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Air France retires Boeing 737

photo courtesy albspotter

Yesterday, French carrier Air France retired the Boeing 737 after 25 years of service. According to a press release issued by the airline, Air France ordered twelve Boeing 737-200s in 1982 - the first aircraft ordered by Air France that required only two pilots.

Yesterday's flight was flown by F-GJND, a Boeing 737-500, which was delivered to Air France in December 1991 and flew over 34,500 hours four the airline. The flight, AF1703, was from Turin to Paris and was flown by Eric Monlouis, the head of the airline's 737 division.

Air France, which has operated the -200, -300 and -500 versions of the 737, now uses an all-Airbus fleet (comprised of the A318, A319, A320 and A321) on its short and medium haul routes.

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Interflug IL-62

It's been a slow past few days in terms of news, so here's an interesting video clip featuring defunct East German airline Interflug. It's the opening titles from the East German TV show "Treffpunkt Flughafen", which appeared on TV from 1985 to 1986, a show which followed around the crew of an Ilyushin IL-62.

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Aeroflot orders Boeing 787

Russian carrier Aeroflot announced today that it will be ordering 22 Boeing 787 aircraft - an order valued at about 3 billion dollars. Aeroflot is the second Russian airline to order the 787 - S7 was first. The airplanes, which are scheduled to be delivered between 2014 and 2016, will complement the 22 Airbus A350 aircraft that Aeroflot bought in March. There have been reports that Aeroflot preferred the 787 over the A350 but ended up getting both because state-owned Vneshtorgbank bought 5% of Airbus parent EADS last year.

Boeing emphasized the benefits to Russia that the deal would provide: key components for the 787 were designed at Boeing's Moscow office, where the company employs about 300 engineers, and that Russian titanium would be used in the building of the airplane. Boeing also agreed to help Russian manufacturer Sukhoi in the latter's production of the Sukhoi Superjet-100 (SSJ), also called the Russian Regional Jet (RRJ).

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Korean Air to start low-cost carrier

South Korean carrier Korean Air has announced that it will start a budget subsidiary that will allow the airline to compete with other low-cost carriers, which have made significant inroads into Korean's market. According to a statement from the airline, the subsidiary will start service within three years and will probably be run by Korea Airport Service, which provides ground handling services and is an affiliate of Korean Air.

The airline is planned to start service with a few Korean Air Boeing 737s and operate domestic and short and medium range international routes. Eventually, Korean's routes will be split, with the low-cost carrier operating the shorter range routes while Korean Air 'proper' flies long-haul, international routes. Fares at the low-cost subsidiary will probably be about 30% less than Korean Air fares.
One of the reasons that spurred Korean to make this move is the planned completion of high-speed rail service throughout South Korea; the airline is, according to the statement, planning to "develop new markets and business models to effectively use the fleet [of Boeing 737s] that will be freed from domestic operations". Additionally, South Korea signed an open-skies agreement with neighboring China, Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia, meaning that airlines from those nations and Korea can operate virtually unlimited flights between them. Korean Air also wants to get a larger share of the tourist market, and starting a low-cost branch will probably help them do this.

Korean isn't alone, however - it must not only compete with established low-cost carriers Jeju Air and Hansung Airlines. Rival Asiana Airlines has said that it would not be launching a low-cost subsidiary - for the time being. The executives at Asiana will no doubt be watching Korean Air carefully to see how the 'low-cost experiment' goes.

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Aer Lingus chooses the A350

In the latest installment of the 787-A350 battle, Irish carrier Aer Lingus has chosen the Airbus A350 XWB (Extra Wide Body) to supplement its fleet of A330s (and to replace some of the older ones). The order for six A350s plus six options is, according to Airbus, the airline's "biggest ever commitment for long-haul aircraft".

Aer Lingus CEO Dermot Mannion said, "The A350 XWB fits in with our ambitious plans to expand existing routes and to open up new ones from our hub in Dublin. We already have an all Airbus fleet and the new aircraft will fit in seamlessly."

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China Eastern can still join oneworld

China Eastern Airlines still has the green light to enter the oneworld alliance despite the fact that Singapore Airlines, a prominent member of rival alliance Star, recently bought a stake in the Shanghai-based carrier. oneworld's managing partner, John McCulloch, said, "China is an unusual market for this sort of activity. We are proceeding as before... I don't think it is going to complicate things." However, it's important to note that oneworld is making an exception to the rule here - usually, this sort of thing wouldn't be permitted. "But in China," said McCulloch, "we don't see it as a complication." The Chinese market is a crucial one, so oneworld is understandably willing to make an exception.

McCulloch also mentioned the example of Cathay Pacific, a oneworld member that has a share of Air China, which will be a Star Alliance partner. Cathay subsidiary Dragonair is expected to join oneworld as an affiliate member, and Hainan Airlines is also in talks with the alliance about joining.

Air China, China Eastern, and China Southern are the 'big three' Chinese carriers, and each of them are now (or will be) part of an alliance: Star, oneworld, and SkyTeam, respectively.

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Silverjet looks to expand

London-based business-class carrier Silverjet will receive two more Boeing 767-200ER airplanes that will allow it to possibly extend service to longer-range routes. The planes, which are due for delivery in March 2008, are from British charter airline Thomsonfly. While the airline hasn't yet announced any new routes, the extended range 767s allow it to fly to destinations in Asia, Africa, and the US West Coast. "We are delighted to have secured a letter of intent for two further long range aircraft for delivery in March 2008," said Lawrence Hunt, Silverjet CEO. "With these five aircraft we are on track to operate ten aircraft within three years as set out at the time of our IPO."

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Virgin eyes premium market

Speaking on the day of his airline's inaugural flight between London-Heathrow and Nairobi, Kenya, Virgin Atlantic chief Sir Richard Branson recently announced the launch of a business-only airline that would connect London and various European destinations with the US. Branson said that the airline "would provide choice and quality for the customer" and would hopefully be up and running in nine to 18 months.
The airline wouldn't be a fully separate entity; it would probably be an airline within an airline (Branson did say that the airline would be under the Virgin Atlantic name). The London airport was not yet mentioned - Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton, or Stanstead are all possibilities. Like arch-rival British Airways' newly announced service, Virgin's will connect London, Paris, Milan, Frankfurt and Zurich with the US (probably New York). "We've got to compete in this area," said Branson. "The service will be of the highest quality and will be competitive in terms of price." Virgin will also have to go up against airlines like Silverjet, Maxjet, Eos, and L'avion, all of which offer premium trans-Atlantic service.

Virgin is also reportedly in talks with aircraft manufacturers Boeing, Airbus, Bombardier and Embraer over a new aircraft order for up to 15 airplanes.

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A380 arrives at Paris

The Airbus A380 made its first arrival today at Paris' Charles de Gaulle Airport, which has had to undergo several modifications, such as lengthening runways and strengthening taxiways, to ensure that it can handle the aircraft. Airbus Chief Executive Louis Gallois said, "This airplane has created a lot of debate. Now we know it is here, it is beautiful, it is excellent." The plane will stay at CDG for two days in order to undergo testing before flying to Asia.

Some photos of the event, courtesy of Airbus:

The A380 arrives at CDG.


The aircraft gets a welcome from the CDG fire department.

French Transport Minister Dominique Bussereau tries out one of the A380's seats.

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