flee

Very bad reporting. They made a lot of statements but never disclosed the source. This kind of reporting will get more respect from me (source: Air Transport World http://atwonline.com/news/singapore-airshow-news-0309-0 ): I do not think the A380 should be compared to the B77W if an airline's route is able to support the higher pax loads of the A380. It is silly that the Malaysian media is comparing the A380 with the B77W just because MH says they are considering the B77W as an alternative. B77W has its own mission capabilities and is the best plane for those kinds of missions. Similarly the A380 has its own mission profile. If that is the case, MH should also be considering the C-Series based on a statement from Lufthansa: The Malaysian media (and Bernama in particular) has much to learn...

Yeah, somehow I feel there is some arm twisting by the Malaysian govt. - they might have told D7 that if they want Jeddah, Sydney, etc. they have to fly TEH first!

OK this is official from AirAsia X CEO Azran Osman Rani:

Seems to a characteristic of D7's A343's departures, whether in KUL or STN. They are either carrying full load or on fuel saving takeoff or both!

Maybe D7 can consider using this as the mid point in a one stop service for their Paris service.

Looks like you guys had a good time with Cummins Ng yesterday. I was just wondering if the Sepang town locals might find spotters to be a nuisance if more people "invade" their territory. Although they are friendly so far, it only takes one person to make a bulis report... Be vigilant, guys! Thanks for sharing the pix...

The might be using the sector for pilot training.

Not sure if it is any special deal but when I checked the KUL-SIN-SYD and KUL-SIN-HKG flights yesterday, the A380 flights are not available for booking on the lowest cost tickets.

Yes, that was a piece of very shrewd management by SQ. Instead of taking cash compensation (like MH did) from Airbus, they got something of greater value. It was a win-win situation too as for Airbus, the cost to them is much lower than if cash compensation was paid. And the A380 order was not cancelled. I wonder what kind of compensation SQ managed to extract out of Boeing for the B787 delays... Anyway, that is way OT and perhaps we can start another thread for that!

Problem with A333 leasing is that few are available due to the delays in the B787. That was why SQ had to order brand new A333s while waiting for their B787s. D7 could only find one creaky old A333 to lease. So leasing A333s is not so easy, especially newer ones (manufactured post 2000) and in the numbers that MH need them. Most airlines are still hanging on to their old A333s and not disposing of them yet.

I think CX carries a lot more belly cargo than MH. So that affects economics as well. They want aircraft that can balance range-payload so that the economics will work.

I think SQ is not too bothered with the B744 as they are all due to be retired. They are more interested in comparing it with the B77W. So far they are convinced that the A380 is the right way to go and they never sell A380 seats at their discount price levels. A380 Load factors are above fleet average too. Of course, if your airline is in a healthy state (which MH isn't), they can think of the finer points. But right now they are trying to get their basic products updated and they need to do it rather urgently as most of their fleet consists of creaky old aircraft. Hence they need aircraft with fast delivery times. They cannot afford to wait too long as passengers, like you said, will choose to fly with other airlines. As the CEO has already said, they will look at more widebodies and make a further decision by year's end.

Yes, I was also surprised to see Tehran becoming bookable when I checked for the Seoul fares. But there are no promo fares. AirAsia website did promote it for a while and then dropped that when India and Korea routes were launched. I am of the opinion that D7 is forced to fly Tehran because MH does not want it. D7 might be required to fly Tehran if it wants the more juicy Jeddah rights...

KC, My view is a little different - I hold the view that MSA split up because Malaysia wanted to use the airline as a VIP transport for ministers and other govt. officials. Singapore, on the other hand, is more concerned that the airline makes money and fulfils its business potential. This has been proven as post split, MH was used and abused by the govt. ministers and civil servants. If you look at the UK, British Airways or Virgin always gets a govt. contract if they carry govt. ministers. Otherwise they have to use RAF transport.

It is unlikely as flight will take more than 4 hours. See: http://www.travelmath.com/flight-time/from/ICN/to/BKI Unless D7 opens a hub in BKI, you will have to use other airlines.

Thai Tiger: Thai Airways puts the Tiger among the pigeons. Regional liberalisation the likely winner Thai Airways and Tiger Airways are to form a joint venture, “Thai Tiger”, to operate international and domestic Thailand domestic point-to-point services. The new JV, to be owned 51:49 by Thai Airways and another "Thai entity", raises the bar in low cost airline operations competition in Asia and could have a major impact on the pace of airline liberalisation in the region. Until now, the Thai government has been highly protective of its flag carrier and has been threatening to drag the chain on the ASEAN multilateral timetable for moving towards open skies for Southeast Asian airlines. This position could now soften, as high cost Thai Airways will have the opportunity to meet competition on a more equal footing. Some of this competition comes from AirAsia’s JV, Thai AirAsia, as well as from its own JV in low cost airline Nok Air (in which Thai currently holds a 39% stake). According to a Tiger/Thai Airways media release this morning, the new airline is to be based in Bangkok, operating “international and domestic flights out of Suvarnabhumi International Airport offering short-haul, point-to-point services within a 5-hour flying radius.” The agreement has clearly been consummated quickly in the last few hours, as a hastily arranged media conference is to be called later this morning. Tiger is due to report later this week and would have been keen to have the announcement out in the open in advance. In the media release, Thai President, Mr. Piyasvasti Amranand, was personally quoted as saying, "we are pleased to partner with Tiger Airways in establishing Thailand's newest airline, Thai Tiger. With its disciplined approach to the low-cost model, Tiger Airways has proven that it has the right approach to competing effectively in the growing low fare travel market in Asia. For people in Thailand and the region, our launching Thai Tiger will mean that in addition to the global network of premium services operated by THAI, more people will have access to new low fare, point to point services, giving a big boost to tourism and employment.” Full article: http://www.centreforaviation.com/news/2010/08/02/thai-tiger-thai-airways-puts-the-tiger-among-the-pigeons-regional-liberalisation-the-likely-winner/page1

Yes I guess accountants know that if you run out of cashflow, you run out of business i.e. close shop. End of story! That is one of the reasons why CX ordered the A350s - economics was better than the A380s. I think they were referring to belly cargo and not full freighter configurations.

Might be because the flying time is more than 4 hours. Those cramped A320s are not comfortable for long flights. Or they might follow the TPE method and let D7 establish the market first before AK moves in.

I think they have no choice but to defer the deliveries because: 1 LCCT is delayed 2 VietJet AirAsia stalled due to Vietnamese govt. protection - so they are not sending any planes there. Thai and Indonesia AirAsia's fleets are almost complete 3 They are running out of new routes - that is why they are now considering Australian domestic ops 4 They need to take a breather to consolidate. The customer service issues must be improved before they grow again 5 When those new planes come in 2015, they might want to think about selling their older planes So overall business outlook may not be that great from now on. Malaysian govt. is also not helping much with their problems with bureaucracy. So they do need to slow down - otherwise cash outflows will bleed them!

SQ has already reported a 16% lower operating cost on the A380 (per seat). So this is nothing new. Analysts were slow to pick up the facts! Actually what I would like to see is total cost of ownership numbers. MH's old (but lower capital cost) B744s vs new (but high capital cost) A380s. Will the B744's lower capital (or leasing) costs be able to ameliorate the higher fuel and maintenance costs? At the end of the day, total costs of ownership will show on the bottom line. The A380 will cost more to buy while MH's old B744s may already be paid for or substantially paid for. The A380 will also cost more to run, if pax load factors is insufficient to cover the higher running costs.

Asia's largest budget airline has deferred the delivery of seven A320 ordered from European planemaker Airbus to 2015 instead of next year. Asia's largest budget airline, AirAsia Bhd (5099), has deferred the delivery of new aircraft for a third time, blaming capacity constraints at the existing low-cost carrier terminal (LCCT-KLIA) in Sepang. It has deferred the delivery of seven A320 ordered from European planemaker Airbus to 2015 instead of next year. AirAsia's deferment now numbers 23 A320. It postponed the delivery of new aircraft for the first time in July last year, for eight A320 it was to have received this year. The second deferment was in October, for another eight slated for delivery next year. The latest deferment brings the number of new planes to be delivered next year down to eight and those it will receive in 2015 up to nine. The orders in 2007 for a total of 175 A320 were initially over delivery schedules from 2010 to 2014. In 2007, the airline was still operating out of the existing LCCT-KLIA. "Until the new LCCT is constructed, the current infrastructure at the low-cost terminal is not able to accommodate AirAsia's fleet expansion in the number of aircraft originally scheduled to be delivered in 2010 and 2011," it told Bursa Malaysia yesterday. The new LCCT is expected to be ready by March 2012. When announcing the first set of deferments in July last year, AirAsia group chief executive officer Datuk Seri Dr Tony Fernandes had said that it would deploy most of the planes to its Indonesian and Thai operations. The latest deferment appears to point to a change in its plans. Fernandes had warned of another round of deferments during its first quarter teleconference with analysts and media in June. He said the airline would look to reducing rollouts to match cash flow. "We want to maintain our current gearing level," Fernandes had said. AirAsia's net gearing ratio as at March 31 this year was 2.25 times. Source: http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/paff-2/Article/index_html#ixzz0vhSBPNF4

Two of SIA’s four daily flights linking Singapore with Sydney will soon be operated by A380 super jumbos, an increase on the current one A380 flight per day. The remaining two flights will be given over to smaller B777-200 aircraft. The move, which takes effect from October 31, means that SIA will be able to fly an extra 200 or so passengers a day each way on this increasingly popular route. SIA will roster the A380s for both its overnight Singapore-Sydney flights. In the return direction, the A380s will, as at present, be used for one of the morning flights out of Sydney. But SIA’s long-standing teatime service (which connects at Singapore with the overnight flights to Europe and which was downgraded to a B777-300ER earlier this year – see online news February 3) will be restored to an A380 operation. Full report: http://www.businesstraveller.com/news/sia-boosts-a380-sydney-flights

Airbus Press Release Cathay Pacific Airways today announced that it has selected the all-new A350 XWB to form the backbone of its future mid-size widebody fleet, following the signature of a Letter of Intent (LOI) with Airbus for the order of 30 aircraft. The Hong Kong-based airline has selected the A350-900 variant of the aircraft, which is capable of flying over 8,000 nautical miles non-stop. This will enable Cathay Pacific to operate the aircraft across its route network, including its non-stop flights to Europe and North America. The aircraft will be powered by two new generation Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines. "The A350-900 is a perfect fit for the development of our fleet. This is a mid-size long haul aircraft that is fuel efficient, and provides the kind of capacity, range and operating economics that we need to complement and enhance our existing fleet,” said Cathay Pacific Chief Executive Tony Tyler. “The delivery schedule fits our requirements very neatly. The 30 new aircraft will be deployed to replace older aircraft and grow our fleet to meet the challenges of the future.” He added: “The purchasing process has been a rigorous and competitive one which has produced the best result for Cathay Pacific at the end of the day." “We are honoured that Cathay Pacific Airways as one of the most prestigious and well managed airlines in Asia has selected the all-new A350 XWB over the competitor’s offering. We are equally pleased to welcome Cathay Pacific as our first Chinese customer for the A350”, said John Leahy, Airbus Chief Operating Officer, Customers. “The strength of our all-new, long-range, eco-efficient airliner has evidently ticked all the boxes in this very tough and professional evaluation. Offering a 25 per cent reduction in fuel-burn, the A350 XWB will enable Cathay Pacific to benefit from the lowest operating costs of any aircraft in this size category, while offering its passengers the highest levels of comfort and premium service for which the airline is renowned." The A350 XWB (Xtra Wide-Body) Family is an all-new mid-size long range product line comprising three basic passenger versions seating between 270 and 350 passengers in typical three-class layouts. Scheduled for entry-into-service in 2013, the A350 Family is already one of most successful aircraft programmes ever, with a total of 535 firm orders

Unlike MH, CX has a different network that has different demands on their fleet. If you take a look at their A333's ( http://www.planespotters.net/Production_List/search.php?manufacturer=Airbus&subtype=A330-300&fleet=1788&fleetStatus=1 ) the average age is way below that of MH's. Their fleet mix is quite different. I do not see much of a correlation or similarities between MH's and CX's aircraft selection.

Cathay Pacific Airways has signed a letter of intent to purchase 30 Airbus A350-900 aircraft, and plans to exercise purchase rights for six Boeing 777-300ERs. The total value of the aircraft purchases is about HK$75 billion ($9.7 billion) at list price, says the Oneworld carrier. The A350s, to be powered by Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines, have a catalogue price of about $7.8 billion. The General Electric-powered 777s have a list price of $1.6 billion. Cathay expects the A350s to be delivered between 2016 and 2019. The A350-900, which will enter service in 2013, will "form the backbone of Cathay Pacific's future mid-sized wide-body fleet", says the carrier. It will operate the aircraft across its route network, including on non-stop flights to Europe and North America. "The A350-900 is a perfect fit for the development of our fleet - a mid-size long-haul aircraft that is fuel efficient, environmentally friendly, and provides the kind of capacity, range and operating economics that we need to complement and enhance our existing fleet," says Cathay's CEO Tony Tyler. "The delivery schedule fits our requirements very neatly. The 30 new aircraft will be deployed to replace older aircraft and grow our fleet to meet the challenges of the future." Under the letter of intent with Airbus, Cathay will pay a non-refundable commitment fee of $4.5 billion for the A350s, says the airline. It plans to make a further announcement once it enters into a formal purchase agreement with the airframer. Separately, the airline agreed to exercise purchase rights for six 777-300ERs, on top of 30 777s already on firm order. Cathay has received 18 of the 30 777s and expects the remaining 12 to arrive by 2013. The aircraft will be operated on routes to North America and Europe, says the airline, which has a fleet of 128 wide-body aircraft currently. Source: http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2010/08/04/345740/cathay-to-purchase-30-a350s-and-six-777s.html