Aircraft News - Asia / Pacific.

Jul 9, 2007

Indonesia and ICAO yesterday signed a "groundbreaking declaration" in Bali under which Indonesia committed to wide-ranging initiatives to improve the safety of its civil aviation system. The deal comes after the EU banned all Indonesian airlines from flying into its airspace . Indonesia will restructure the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, enact the required legal framework for it effectively to meet international safety obligations, ensure the required human and financial resources and correct deficiencies identified by ICAO's Universal Safety Oversight Audit Program and other internal or external audits. Jul 3, 2007

Indonesia will implement a proactive and systemic management of safety to comply, in a verifiable manner, with national requirements and ICAO international safety standards and industry best practices. This includes a commitment by government authorities and the local air transport industry to foster transparency and the sharing of safety-related data to support the safety management process, under guidelines established by ICAO. Jul 3, 2007

Indonesia Pledges To Improve Air Safety. Indonesia has signed an agreement with the global aviation body to improve air safety in the wake of a string of accidents and after the European Union banned the country's airlines from its airspace last week. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) co-signed the pact at a conference in Bali on Monday. Under the agreement, Indonesia pledged to enact laws to support effective safety oversight, to ensure the required level of financial and human resources, and to correct shortcomings identified during internal and external audits. Jakarta has also committed to implementing safety management based on ICAO standards. Jul 2, 2007

Air Asia, OnAir

Based in Kaula Lumpur Malaysia, Air Asia will be the first airline in Asia to introduce OnAir mobile starting in early 2009. The airline's entire fleet of Airbus A320 aircraft will be fitted with the equipment, including aircraft currently flying and those on order; a total of 150. AirAsia's new venture AirAsia X, the long-haul low-cost airline, has also signed a similar agreement for OnAir's passenger communications services to be installed on the airline's recently ordered Airbus A330 aircraft, as confirmed by CEO, Tony Fernandes. With the first generation on board phones a financial disaster for the airlines it remains to be proven whether there will be sufficient take-up of the latest equipment to make it viable. Opinion seems divided regarding fellow passengers' reaction to use of the mobile phone facility, but the text/email provision appears to have universal acceptance. Jun 26, 2007

Air India, Airbus

Air India last week launched its first freighter dedicated to European service. The converted Airbus A310 will be one of two operating four-times-weekly flights from Mumbai to Frankfurt and Paris Charles de Gaulle via Bangalore and Chennai. The A310s were converted by EADS at a cost of $7.95 million each, AI said. Chairman and MD V. Thulasidas said, "Post the merger, cargo is going to be one of the most important strategic business units for Air India. Our vision is to see a full-fledged Air India cargo airline." AI currently holds a 9%-11% share of exports and a 5%-7% market share in imports. "Owing to the upsurge in the import-export demand coined with the Open Sky policy and globalization factors, Air India has decided to ramp-up cargo operations," it said. Jul 3, 2007

Asiana Airlines, Boeing

Jeppesen finalized an agreement with Asiana Airlines to provide electronic flight bag applications and data for three new Boeing 777s that will feature the Boeing Class 3 EFB. Jeppesen also will provide its e-Link system so that charts and data can be accessed electronically by ground-based personnel, such as dispatch and operations. Jun 26, 2007

Boeing, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries

Boeing may invest in Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd's project to build Japan's first passenger jetliner, the Asahi newspaper reported. Jul 2, 2007

Boeing, Virgin Blue

Virgin Blue exercised options on 10 Boeing 737-800 purchase rights worth $678.5 million at list prices. New aircraft will replace existing leased aircraft and are scheduled for delivery in the December 2011 to February 2013 period. Jul 5, 2007

Garuda Indonesia

EU Bans All Indonesian Airlines. The European Union will ban all 51 Indonesian airlines including national carrier Garuda from its airspace in an update of its "blacklist" of flight operators deemed unsafe, officials said on Thursday. The ban, proposed by EU experts this week and due to take effect on July 6, follows a series of air crashes in Indonesia and reports of deteriorating safety standards since deregulation of the country's aviation sector in the late 1990s. No Indonesian carriers fly to the EU, but the ban is set to harm the sprawling archipelago's tourist industry as Europeans will be warned not to use Indonesian airlines on transit routes, such as between Jakarta and the island of Bali. Jun 29, 2007

Hartwell, General Electric, AVIC I

Hartwell said it will provide the hold-open rods and rate control device for General Electric CF34-10As destined for use aboard the AVIC I Commercial Aircraft Company ARJ-21. Jun 27, 2007

Malaysia Airlines, ATR 

ATR and Malaysia Airlines signed a contract for 10 ATR 72-500s plus options for 10. The deal is valued at $183 million. The aircraft will be used to expand MAS subsidiary FireFly and to establish hubs in Penang, Subang, Yohoar Bahaurau and Kota Kinabalu. They gradually will replace F50s. Deliveries begin next year. The deal also marks the sale of ATR's 900th aircraft. Jun 26, 2007

Okay Airways, Boeing

Okay expects to take delivery of two Boeing 737-800s by early next year. It currently operates three 737 passenger aircraft and three 737 freighters. Jul 6, 2007

Philippine Airlines, Airbus, Boeing

Philippine Airlines is currently upgrading its fleet, with plans to acquire up to 20 Airbus A320 jets by 2008-2009 for its regional and domestic services. It has also signed a deal to acquire six Boeing 777-300ER aircraft for its long-haul operations by 2009. Jun 29, 2007

PMT Air

Cambodian authorities are still searching for a passenger aircraft that disappeared on June 25 with 22 people on board. Director of flight operations at Cambodia's CAA, Teo Sivoon, says a search is underway and the missing aircraft is an Antonov An-24, with local registration XU-U4A, flown by Cambodian carrier PMT Air. PMT director and co-owner, Dmitry Stepanov, says the aircraft went missing yesterday and "we have not yet located it because of heavy rain in this area." The authorities have mounted a search and are using four helicopters, he adds. PMT Air, which serves domestic and international routes, used to only operate Antonov aircraft but in more recent years it has added western aircraft such as Boeing 737s and Boeing MD-80s. According to Flight Global. Jun 26, 2007

PMTair, Antonov

All 22 passengers and crew aboard the PMTair An-24 that was lost Monday on its way from Siem Reap to Sihanoukville were confirmed killed, according to press reports from Cambodia, where officials are targeting stormy weather as the likely cause. Wreckage was discovered on a mountain in southern Cambodia after a two-day search. Jun 28, 2007

Qantas Airways

Qantas will establish an independent flight training business by year end with the aim of training 3,000 new pilots over the next 10 years. "We are in discussion with leading simulator manufacturers, aviation training organizations and financial partners," CEO Geoff Dixon said. The training company initially will operate from existing Qantas training facilities in Sydney and Melbourne. Jul 4, 2007

Qantas Airways

Australia's Qantas Airways and Griffith University are establishing a pilot training course that will give graduates a tertiary qualification, commercial pilot's licence and the opportunity to work as a Qantas pilot. Jul 2, 2007

Sichuan Airlines, Airbus

Sichuan Airlines recently took delivery of four Airbus A319s and expects to introduce an A320 on July 4. The carrier noted that it will add nine more Airbus aircraft to its fleet this year, including six A319s. Fleet expansion will allow it to launch flights from Chengdu to Shangri-La in Yunnan Province, followed by services to neighboring Asian countries in the next 2-3 years. It currently operates 36 aircraft and is planning to expand its fleet to 100 aircraft and reach CNY10 billion ($1.31 billion) in revenue within 3-5 years. Jul 2, 2007

Spring Airlines, Airbus

Spring Airlines plans a stock listing to finance the acquisition of six Airbus A320s in 2009, President Wang Zenghua announced. The LCC also plans to reach a deal with an international investment bank as a strategic investor next year, preferring an institution over another airline as it holds fast to its "go it alone" strategy. Wang said Citibank is Spring's first choice and the parties already are in discussions. He said the carrier's biggest headache at present is a shortage of pilots. It expects to expand its fleet to 25-30 aircraft and increase passenger boardings to 10 million by 2010. It currently operates seven A320s and transported 770,210 passengers in the first four months of 2007. Jul 4, 2007

ZZ

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