Showing posts with label European Aviation Industry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label European Aviation Industry. Show all posts

Monday, February 13, 2012

EU's carbon tax for airliners fuels concern

Global planemaker Airbus joined a chorus of concern that a European scheme to charge airlines for carbon emissions risks triggering a full-blown trade war, with implications for plane deals and even Europe's crippling sovereign debt crisis. The EU's Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), introduced on January 1, has drawn howls of protest from airlines around the world, with China banning its carriers from taking part. The escalating row comes on the eve of a China-EU summit in Beijing, with the EU looking to China to dip into its huge foreign exchange reserves to help the eurozone tackle a debt build-up that threatens its economic stability.

Airbus Chief Executive Tom Enders said he was increasingly concerned at the potential fall-out if tensions are not defused. "I am very worried about the consequences of that. What started out as a solution for the environment has become a source of potential trade conflict and that should be a worry for all of us," he told an aviation conference on Monday ahead of the Singapore Airshow. China is a strategic market for the world's two big planemakers, as it coordinates purchases centrally and regularly places orders with Airbus and Boeing in batches of 100 or more to coincide with high-level political contacts.

Chinese domestic air traffic quadrupled in the last decade and is expected to keep growing at more than 7 percent a year up to 2030, according to Airbus research, and Boeing predicts China will be the second-biggest market for new aircraft behind the United States between 2011 and 2030. China last year delayed the final signing of a deal for 10 A380 superjumbos worth $4 billion for Hong Kong Airlines in a signal of its displeasure over the EU plans, and in the mid-1990s, it refused to buy French products such as wheat and Airbus planes in retaliation for France selling fighters and frigates to Taiwan.

Last week, Beijing banned its airlines from joining the ETS without its permission, and threatened to take unspecified measures to defend itself against the scheme, which levies charges for carbon emissions on flights in and out of Europe. Foreign governments argue Brussels is exceeding its legal jurisdiction by calculating the carbon cost over the whole flight, not just Europe. Non-EU airlines say the levy is discriminatory. Increasingly, governments and the EU's executive European Commission are looking to the U.N.'s International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to find a global scheme that curbs airline emissions.

Singapore Airlines CEO Goh Choon Phong said opposition to the scheme was based on the way it is applied. "I was quoting the example of us flying non-stop from Singapore all the way to Europe. We get charged the whole journey, when somebody who could fly passengers to an intermediate point, and from there go to Europe, ends up paying much less," he told the same aviation conference in Singapore. Andrew Herdman, director general of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines, said any European policy that alienates the United States, China, Russia, India and three dozen other countries "is simply not going to work." "The risk for the airlines if this generates into a tit-for-tat trade war, is that airlines will be caught in a cross-fire from both sides," he said.

Saturday, September 17, 2011

AirFrance-KLM splits orders worth $12 billion between Airbus and Boeing

Air France-KLM has split a $12 billion order for long-range jets following a year-long competition, announcing plans to buy 25 Boeing 787 Dreamliners and 25 Airbus A350s. The move is part of a plan to renew the fleet of Europe's largest airline and the order could rise to 110 of the next-generation aircraft including 60 more options. EADS unit Airbus said it expected to receive 35 of these. Air France-KLM shares opened up more than 1 percent before slipping 0.5 percent to 6.035 euros by 4:26 a.m. ET. Shares in Airbus parent EADS were down 1.1 percent.

The deal follows months of politically sensitive negotiations during which the airline appeared to be pulled between pressure from French politicians to protect jobs at Toulouse-based Airbus and its own differences with Airbus over what caused the 2009 mid-Atlantic crash of an Airbus jet. The airline believes pilots have been wrongly blamed. Air France-KLM has said it ignored calls from French politicians to favor Airbus, but in a sign of frosty relations it snubbed the usual practice of endorsing the Airbus part of the deal in the planemaker's press release.

Boeing is delivering its first 787 Dreamliner to Japanese airline All Nippon Airways next week after three years of production delays as it switched from aluminum to lightweight carbon composites. Airbus plans to deliver its similar A350 mid-decade after earlier delays in the design. Air France-KLM said it aimed to operate 73 of the 250-300 seat aircraft through 2024, including 43 Airbus A350-900 and 30 Boeing 787-9 models. The first Boeing 787-9 will enter into service with KLM in 2016, and the first Airbus A350-900 with Air France in 2018. "Later, both airlines will operate both types of aircraft," the carrier said in a statement. The airlines merged in 2004 but maintain separate networks.

Final details of the order are still being negotiated. The firm part of the order for 50 aircraft is worth $6.7 billion to Airbus and $5.5 billion to Boeing, according to list prices. Airlines usually obtain significant discounts. Air France-KLM indicated in June it would follow United Airlines in splitting the order for the new generation of aircraft between Airbus and Boeing. The plane order guarantees business for Britain's Rolls-Royce (LSE:RR.L - News) to provide power for the A350-900, for which it makes the only engines currently on offer. But industry sources say rival General Electric is front-runner to power the Boeing 787s, for which it competes with Rolls-Royce. Air France traditionally buys long-range engines from the U.S. company.

Monday, May 16, 2011

Data recovered from the Air France A330 FDR

Investigators trying to determine why an Air France plane crashed mysteriously two years ago have recovered the complete contents of the flight data recorder and the last two hours of cockpit conversation, they announced Monday.It will take several weeks to analyze the data, French air accident experts said.All 228 people aboard Air France 447 were killed when the Airbus A330 belly-flopped into the ocean June 1, 2009, in stormy weather. The cause of the crash is still not known.

Discovering that there was data on the recorders "is excellent news. It is really going to help us work out what happened on that plane," said Martine Del Bono, spokeswoman for France's Bureau of Investigation and Analysis (BEA). The cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder were found at the beginning of May after an unprecedented series of submarine searches of a mountain range 3,900 meters (12,700 feet) under the ocean. They were brought to the surface and taken to Paris by ship and plane.

The investigators also recovered two bodies from the fuselage -- after finding only about 50 bodies in the days immediately after the crash.

They will not bring more bodies up from the ocean if they cannot identify the two they already have, they said Thursday. Those two bodies are being examined to see if there is enough DNA to identify them, investigators said, adding that they hope to have results by Wednesday. If they can identify the remains, they will consider bringing up other bodies from the wreckage. The bulk of the plane was located earlier this year and contains many more human remains, according to investigators.

Recovering more bodies will be a difficult task, with miles of cable required to bring each one up over a period of three hours, they said. Investigators also brought an engine and an avionics bay containing computers to the surface, they said. The pilots of Air France 447 lost contact with air traffic controllers on June 1, 2009, while flying across an area of the Atlantic known for severe turbulence, officials said. But exactly what caused the plane to plunge into the ocean remains a mystery.

The plane slammed into the water while en route from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to Paris, falling so fast that air masks did not have time to deploy. The fuselage was discovered in April with bodies still inside, investigators said.Some relatives of those who died have expressed reservations about remains being brought to the surface.

Last month Robert Soulas, head of a support group for families of flight victims, said: "For me, personally I would like to leave the bodies of my children, my two children, on the seabed." Other relatives have called for the bodies to be recovered.

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Emirates hunt for qualified FO's in UK and Ireland


Emirates is hiring highly skilled and successful Flight Deck Crew from around the world. Currently recruiting experienced and technically proficient First Officers to fly the extensive international route network. The First Officer position offers an exceptional opportunity for ambitious pilots to develop their career on one of the youngest high-tech fleets, with one of the fastest growing and most profitable airlines in the world. Emirates now has 201 wide-body aircraft worth more than US$85 billion on order to add to it's current fleet of 151 aircraft including A330/A340/A380's and B777's.
Emirates will be conducting Pilot Information Sessions in the UK and Ireland at the end of January. These sessions will provide more information on Emirates Selection Programme, the benefits of living and working in Dubai and details of our remuneration package.

January 24th, 2011 -- 10:00am
Apex City Hotel
61 Grassmarket, Edinburgh
Scotland

January 25th, 2011 -- 10:00am
Dublin Radisson Blu Hotel
Dublin Airport, Ireland

January 26th, 2011 -- 10:00am
Belfast Radisson Blu Hotel
The Gasworks
3 Cromac Place
Ormeau Road
Belfast, Northern Ireland

Thursday, January 13, 2011

FlightSafety Intl to provide Flybe with their new simulators

Flybe, Europe’s largest regional airline and the UK’s Number One Domestic carrier, has confirmed that it has selected US-based FlightSafety International to provide two state-of-the-art full flight simulators for its new Training Academy, namely for the Bombardier Q400 and Embraer E-Jet 170/190 aircraft, the Q400 sim being the first to arrive next month.

The simulators will be situated at the new Flybe Training Academy located at Exeter International Airport and will be equipped with FlightSafety’s industry leading VITAL X Visual System and electric motion and control loading technology. They will not only be used to train Flybe’s own pilots but, in a cooperative marketing agreement, also provide other Q400 and E-Jet operators with the opportunity to purchase surplus simulator hours on site. Prior to the E-Jet sim being installed in early 2012, FlightSafety will be providing Flybe with Embraer 170/190 training services at its facilities in Amsterdam and at Paris Le Bourget airport.

The new Flybe Training Academy will offer a wide range of Pilot, Technical, Cabin Crew, Customer Service and Aviation Support courses to airlines across the world, as well as a range of non-aviation training to other individuals and organisations. Apart from the flight simulator complex, it will incorporate Cabin Door trainers, 25 purpose-built classrooms and an integrated Apprentice workshop that will allow Flybe to offer an increased range of training to third party customers.