flee

Toulouse - Airbus regrets to confirm that an A350-900 operated by Japan Airlines was involved in an accident during flight JAL516 from Sapporo New Chitose Airport to Haneda International Airport shortly after 17:47 (local time) on 02 January 2024. All 367 passengers and 12 crew members on-board evacuated the aircraft. The A350 collided with a DHC-8 aircraft at landing in Haneda. The Japanese authorities have since confirmed that sadly five of the six people on board the DHC-8 did not survive. The exact circumstances of the event are still unknown. The aircraft involved in the accident, registered under the number JA13XJ, was MSN 538, delivered to Japan Airlines from the production line on 10 November 2021. It was powered by Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines. In line with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Annex 13 recommendations, Airbus will provide technical assistance to the Bureau d’Enquêtes et d’Analyses (BEA) of France and to the Japan Transport Safety Board (JTSB) in charge of the investigation. For this purpose, Airbus is presently dispatching a team of specialists to assist the Authorities. Further updates will be provided as soon as consolidated information is available and Airbus is authorised to release them. Our concerns and sympathy go to the families, friends and loved ones affected by the accident.

Yes, this is the first time the airframe is written off. There were small fires on B787s but those were related to the battery issues.

LIVE Five dead on coastguard plane after Japan Airlines crash in Tokyo https://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-asia-67862184

This aircraft is now completely destroyed: https://www.planespotters.net/airframe/airbus-a350-900-ja13xj-japan-airlines/enlwjj

A Japan Airlines plane was in flames as it landed on a runway at Tokyo's Haneda airport on Tuesday evening. Footage on broadcaster NHK showed flames coming out of the windows of the aircraft and beneath it. The runway was also set alight. The plane, which had taken off from Sapporo, collided with a coast guard plane, NHK said, citing authorities. All 379 passengers and crew on board were evacuated, media reports quoted the airline as saying. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-67862011

It would appear that MH will have only two B737-8 Max for now. 9M-MVB does not appear to be in a hurry to be delivered! So, with the 2023 promised deliveries falling short, how many Max will they get in 2024? Will some 2024 deliveries slip into 2025?

It is well known internally that TF drives his executives crazy. They can't last long in their roles - some of them quit the group and others move sideways. AK/D7 merging is already happening at the operational level - many of their routes are operated by both AK and D7. The restructuring is merely going to be a corporate and stock exchange exercise.

I think KA and MI are full fledged carriers targeted at leisure traffic. This niche is being taken over by LCCs - so they are redundant. As both airlines have LCC counterparts, it only makes sense not to cannibalise their business.

SQ deploys A350s for heavy lifting and B787s for regional routes - MH is using the A339s for its current network and any expansion into Europe/US will need A350s. As such, we can probably assume that any new orders for A350s will be for those routes.

It looks like MH's A330 fleet are now starting to be hangar queens. They have to consider easing their flight schedules to accommodate for the increased number of AOGs until they receive their Neos.

Scanning thru the fares OD are charging for their one stop KUL-NGO flights, it seems they are a little optimistic. Their fares are even higher than what the Japanese airlines charge for their one stop (in Tokyo) flights and SQ (stop in SIN)!

So will they be scrapped or sold by the lessors? IRC AirAsia will resume factory fresh A321Neo deliveries in 2024.

9M-MVB made another test flight, its second: https://www.flightaware.com/live/flight/9MMVB

The Airasia management loves to talk about their aircraft additions because they know Avgeeks will highlight it in discussions. Very often their plans just bite the dust and they will then talk about new plans again, repeating the cycle and keeping the brand in the publicity circle. So I think we really should only believe it when we see it.

MAG already has FY operating out of SZB, why bother with SKS?

I wonder if MAG is reviewing the future of their turboprop operations in SZB and if they will order replacements for the rapidly aging ATRs.

If and when they build the second satellite terminal, it might be better to separate the arriving and departing pax. A two level pax terminal should also be able to accommodate more pax.

AirAsia X pulling out of Auckland https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/airasia-x-pulling-out-of-auckland-in-blow-to-transtasman-competition/OPL2VWJZWNAKVJIABCGKYONVMU/ Looks like AKL is not doing well and they need the planes to fly more profitable routes.

I think AK has extended the "flight duration" so that its flights arrive "on time" by and large. I think their fleet operations IT system is doing a good job scheduling their aircraft. As most of their planes don't do 24 hour stints, extending the individual flight durations does not significantly impact the number of sectors the aircraft can do each day. Maybe MAG should invest more in their IT infrastructure to help with better operational planning.

RR is not strong financially and they need to increase their profit margins - that much was said in their Q3 earnings call. If they keep giving low prices, the company would go bankrupt. I think they had to pause Ultrafan development because nobody selected it for a new aircraft or NEO programme and it cannot fund development on its own anymore.

When D7 began, it was run by aviation professionals who listened to feedback from customers. Fleet planning was better and aircraft followed traditional aviation norms like having names. Unfortunately, doing all that is too costly for the LCC and irrational competition caused massive losses. The KO punch was Covid-19. Nowadays, the bean counters are in charge and some credit has to be given to them for keeping D7 afloat. However, a heavy price was paid and D7 no longer has its original identity. Hopefully the higher fares they are charging now will help them recover their former glory.