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Air New Zealand on September 12th conducted what has been hailed ‘the perfect flight’ from Auckland to San Fransisco.

Taking advantage of optimal flying conditions and the help of aviation authorities in Australia, New Zealand and the United States, the flight saved an estimated 4600 litres of aviation fuel. From a carbon emissions perspective this meant 9 tonnes (11,500kg) less carbon dioxide was emitted into the atmosphere. The flight across the Pacific normally produces 290 tonnes of C02.

he normal commercial flight NZ8, dubbed ASPIRE 1 (Asia and South Pacific Initiative to Reduce Emissions) is the first tailored test flight on the Pacific using technology and cleared gates at each end, eliminating air traffic congestion to test flight and fuel efficiency. It is part of a worldwide drive to make the aviation industry more environmentally friendly.

The aircraft sourced power from Auckland Airport’s supply while still on the tarmac instead of burning its own fuel to drive electricity while boarding passengers.

Six hourly updated weather reports sent electronically using GPS-based navigation to on-board computers meant the pilots could change their flight path to avoid bad weather.

The aircraft, which was a Boeing 777, used maximum thrust during take off to reach optimum altitude as soon as possible and a gradual, slow descent on landing instead of the usual rev up and rev down procedure, all contributing to the fuel savings.

Qantas and United Airlines are set to follow suit with gate to gate tests in flights across the Pacific.

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Qantas CEO Geoff Dixon predicted rising aviation fuel prices in the industry could lead to a massive restructuring of the industry. He said that up to 100,000 jobs could be at risk, worldwide, by the end of the year. Qantas announced last week that it would shed over 1500 jobs in Australia and forego hiring another 1200.

In an estimate last week, Dixon had said that rising fuel costs had added two billion Australian dollars (1.94 billion US) to Qantas’ fuel bill this year. Qantas also last week cut its estimated capacity growth for 2008-09 from eight percent to zero and announced it would retire up to 22 older aircraft from its fleet.

Speaking at a business luncheon in Sydney today, he referred to airlines around the world resorting to cutting routes and capacity, grounding and retiring aircraft in a bid to manage the rising fuel costs. He said that rising fuel costs were likely to change the economics and mechanics of the industry for ever.

“The global aviation industry faces not just a shock or indeed a blip or indeed a crisis really but a permanent transformation,” he said.

Dixon believed that the United States would eventually ease restrictions on foreigners owning more than 25 percent of the voting stock in US airlines, sparking a new wave of consolidation in the industry.

He predicted long-established airline brands would remain but that the number of airline owners in the market place would dwindle.

Read more about this story here.

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The Australian company Qantas today provided two major announcements.

One was the change in its logo. The logo was adapted to fit the tail of the new A380 aircraft, as well as to reflect the airline’s contemporary design focus.

Old qantas logo on the left, new one on the right. Photo credits: Qantas & the Sydney Morning Herald.

Qantas today also revealed the new Premium Economy cabin and seating to be offered progressively on its international Boeing 747-400 aircraft from February 2008 and on its fleet of new A380 being delivered from August 2008.

Qantas Executive General Manager John Borghetti said the airline’s Premium Economy cabin would appeal to Economy travellers seeking more space, comfort and an enhanced level of service.

Mr Borghetti said that the premium economy seat was designed by Marc Newson & manufactured by Recaro which makes seats for luxury auto brands such as Aston Martin, Audi and Porsche
“The Premium Economy seat was designed by Marc Newson - the designer of our award winning Skybed sleeper seat - and manufactured by Recaro, which makes seats for luxury auto brands such as Aston Martin, Audi and Porsche,” Mr Borghetti said.

“The seats offer extra width and recline, more legroom, and an in-arm digital wide screen television monitor, as well as laptop power connection.

“Premium Economy will also include a self-service bar offering a selection of refreshments throughout the flight, in addition to the regular choice of meals designed by Neil Perry’s Rockpool Group, premium wines, superior tableware and soft furnishings.”

Mr Borghetti said other key features of Premium Economy included:

* the world’s best Premium Economy recline and leg room - nine inch seat recline and up to 42 inch seat pitch;
* extra wide, 19.5 inch seat width;
* ergonomic cushioning;
* larger, in-arm touch screen video monitor;
* multiport jack with USB (A380 only) and RJ45 ports;
* a six-way adjustable headrest;
* an integrated leg rest with fold-out footrest; and
* a wide centre console with a fixed cocktail table and in-arm meal table.

“Premium Economy customers will also have a dedicated check-in area,” Mr Borghetti said.

He said the Premium Economy cabin would be available gradually on B747 services to London, Hong Kong and Johannesburg from February 2008 with further routes being added following the introduction of A380 aircraft.

Premium Economy will be located on the main deck of B747 aircraft with 32 seats in a two-four-two configuration. On the A380, the cabin will be located on the upper deck with 32 seats in a two-three-two configuration.

You can also view the interior of the premium economy seats A380 Superjumbo at the Sydney Morning Herald site here.

Overall, sounds like good news for Qantas passengers in the future.

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This Sunday will see Boeing unveil the much anticipated Dreamliner 787 in Seattle.

Photo Credit: Boeing Images

It does look very good and is Boeing’s first new model in 13 years.

It could be a game changer in the airlines industry, but not just for its good looks.

It is supposed to be much more fuel efficient than its competitors. The mid-sized plane, which seats up to 330 passengers and is capable of flying long-haul routes using up to 20 per cent less fuel while pumping out fewer greenhouse gases.

This is achieved using several revolutionary design features, most notably the use of high-tech plastic composites instead of aluminium.

Composites such as carbon-fibre will make up to 50 per cent of the primary structure of the plane - including the fuselage and wing.

“By manufacturing a one-piece fuselage section, we are eliminating 1,500 aluminum sheets and 40,000 - 50,000 fasteners,” Boeing said in a statement.

The composites used in the Dreamliner are also stronger and lighter than traditional materials, allowing the plane greater fuel efficiency.

The advantage in fuel efficiency is of course, a key competitive factor. It will allow an airlines company to potentially offer lower prices than its competitors who do not have a 787.

So far 634 orders have been placed for the Dreamliner, which has a price-tag of between $US146 million and $US200 million

You can watch the roll out of the 787 Dreamliner on the 8th of July at the Boeing webcast site here

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India is currently undergoing an aviation boom, with a host of new players in the game.
Kingfisher Airlines, Indigo Blue, Deccan, Jet Airways, Spice Jet are among the relatively new entrants that are entering the fray with new aircraft, superior service and competitive prices.

The fleet of the merged Air India-Indian Airlines entity is aging and needs new aircraft in order to compete. They have already placed an order for 111 planes worth over $10 billion. However, new analysis suggests that they may need 60 more aircraft.

Of these, at least 30 are likely to be wide bodied aircraft for which the options are Boeing 747, 777 and 787 apart from the Airbus A310 and Airbus 330s. For the narrow bodied aircraft, the options are Boeing 737 and the Airbus 320 family.

Either way, this is good news for both Boeing and Airbus, and of course the air traveller’s in India.

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Airbus appears to have landed firm orders for 425 aircraft, with a further commitment of 303 aircraft at the Paris Air Show.

Boeing’s count for firm booking’s at this stage seems to be 66 jets.

Airbus secured agreements for 728 aircraft during the Paris Air Show after landing firm orders for 425 and commitments for a further 303, eclipsing Boeing’s firm booking of 66 jets.

Airbus has tended to reserve order declarations for the flagship French show, and the company has been particularly keen to offset last year’s poor publicity regarding delays to its A350 and A380 projects.

Get more details about the break up of the orders by customer base and aircraft type here

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Boeing and Airbus continued on with a spree of orders being placed for their aircraft today.
Boeing reported on Wednesday it had won an order for 16 planes from Air France KLM. Air France put in an order of 9 Boeing 777-300 ER model wide bodied planes.

KLM put in an order of 7 of Boeing’s single aisle 737-700 planes.

The total deal is worth around $2.7 billion at list prices.

Meanwhile, rival Airbus announced that it had received a significant order from Russian airline Aeroflot for 22 of its A350 XWB aircraft.

It will be interesting to see which aircraft manufacturer ends up with the largest amount of sales, both in terms of the revenue from sales and number of airplanes sold, by the end of this year.

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A number of interesting announcements today.

Airbus said it is back in business today as it announced both of its flagship aircraft programmes were on track.

President and chief executive Louis Gallois said: ‘I can tell you with full confidence that Airbus is back.’

Gallois told a press conference at the Paris Air Show that Airbus is on track to deliver its first A380 to Singapore Airlines in October.

He also said the development of A350 XWB, which has reportedly caused some uncertainty in the market, is also on schedule.

Read more from Forbes here

Delta Airlines talked about the need to replace its widebody fleet and of putting in some big orders, but were still undecided on whether to go with the Boeing 787 Dreamliner or the Airbus A350XWB.

“We do need to make a decision really by the end of this year on the 767 replacement, because we will need to start taking those in 2013-2014,” said Jim Whitehurst, Delta’s chief operating officer, in an interview at the Paris Air Show.

Read more about this story from Reuters here.

Finally Bomarbier sees more demand for business jets in the near future. Tighter airport security and healthy corporate profits worldwide are driving demand for Bombardier’s “flying boardrooms,”

Read more about this story from CNN here.

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GE Commercial Aviation has put in an order for six Boeing 777 aircraft.

Boeing said that the deal would be worth around $1.42 billion. The deal will provide GE Commercial Aviation Services with the flexible option to change the model of the aircraft to passenger models later, if necessary.

The first of the 777 Freighters will be delivered from the fourth quarter of 2008.

In addition to this, Boeing also announced that it has won an order for 40 airplanes from Jakarta-based airliner Lion Air.

According to Boeing the Indonesian airline had ordered 737-900ER (Extended Range) airplanes, which are worth over $3 billion at list prices. The 40 fresh orders bring the total number of 737-900ER (Extended Range) airplanes ordered by Lion Air to 100.

Lion Air operates an all Boeing fleet and is one of the largest low cost airliner in Asia.

Boeing will deliver a total of seven 737-900ERs in 2007 to Lion Air.

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Just following up from my previous post on the Boeing versus Airbus competition over the next few years, it is interesting to look at Boeing’s recent forecast for new commercial airplanes.

Over the next 20 years, Boeing are forecasting a $2.8 trillion market, driven by robust demand for new eco-friendly airplanes.

Forecast growth in passenger traffic is assumed to be 5% and growth in air cargo traffic around 6%.
Boeing’s forecast assumes that over the next 20 years, there will be worldwide, delivery of:

• 3,700 regional jets - below 90 seats
• 17,650 single-aisle airplanes - 90-240 seats, dual-class
• 6,290 twin-aisle airplanes - 200-400 seats, tri-class
• 960 airplanes 747-size or larger - more than 400 seats, tri-class

If we add this to the retained fleet, total world commercial airplanes fleet will be around  nearly 36,00 airplanes by 2026.

Sounds like an awfully big number to me - however even if it were smaller it is still very, very good news for all people in the airlines industry.

You can view the forecast report from Boeing here.

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