A trusted source of Asia-Pacific commercial aviation news and analysis


MAY 2018

Orient Aviation May 2018

CRACKING THE MAINLAND MARKET
Virgin Australia CEO, John Borghetti, pleasantly surprised by results of China code share partnership

• Trump’s unwinnable tariff war with China

• IATA backs global drone registry

• Indian government extends deadline for Air India bids

• INDUSTRY INSIGHT SPECIAL REPORT: Leasing in the Asia-Pacific: an update

 

Cover Story

Cracking the mainland market

With flights already operating from Melbourne to Hong Kong and services from Sydney to the Special Administrative Region (SAR) to commence on July 2, Virgin Australia Airline Group (VA) CEO and managing director, John Borghetti, told Orient Aviation last month he could not be happier with his Mainland investors, China’s colourful HNA Group and the Nanshan Group. Read More »


 

Main Story

Industry must act fast to regulate drone use

As Air New Zealand’s NZ92 B777-200 was close to landing at Auckland Airport last month, its pilots were suddenly confronted with a crisis that is becoming increasingly common at airports around the world. Read More »


 

Industry Insight Special Report

Big players, bigger profits

For our insight report on aircraft leasing and finance in the Asia-Pacific, Orient Aviation asked leaders in the industry for their views on the sector as it continues to thrive in the region. Read More »


 

News Backgrounder

Trump’s unwinnable tariff war with China

Business leaders worldwide know there is only one outcome of a trade war. Read More »


 

News Backgrounder

Scoot joins the party in Berlin

After a year of successful flying to Athens, Singapore-based Scoot will add Berlin to its network next month. Read More »


 

Addendum

IndiGo CEO takes voluntary time out from the airline business

Forty-two-year-old Aditya Ghosh, until April 26 the CEO of India’s largest carrier by numbers, has resigned to “work out what he wants to do next”. Read More »


 

Addendum

Indian government extends deadline for Air India bids

India’s government has reacted to the lack of enthusiasm for its Air India group sale by extending the bid deadline by two weeks and revising several clauses of the Expression of Interest (EoI) document. Read More »


 

Addendum

Two time winner of Orient Aviation’s Person of the Year, Shinichiro Ito, presented with his award in Tokyo

Orient Aviation Media Group publisher and editor-in-chief, Christine McGee, presented ANA HOLDINGS INC. chairman, Shinichiro Ito, with his second Orient Aviation Person of the Year award at a private dinner in Tokyo on April 25. Read More »


 

Addendum

Down memory lane – and back – with industry veteran Eddington

It is more than a decade since former Cathay Pacific Airways and British Airways CEO, now Sir Rod Eddington, left the airline business for leadership and advisory roles in government, finance and media. Read More »


 

Addendum

Deciding the fate of the British Airways Concorde

Sir Rod said he had been at British Airways about six months when the French lost a Concorde out of Charles de Gaulle [airport]. Read More »


 

Industry Addendum

China Southern Airlines choses CTT’s new business class cabin climate system

Leading aircraft humidity control manufacturer, CTT Systems, will equip the business class cabins of 20 A350-900s at China Southern Airlines with its climate control systems. Read More »


 

Industry Addendum

Boeing and SIA Engineering joint venture to service Scoot and SIA fleets

Boeing Global Fleet Care integrated service agreements for 27 Singapore Airlines B777-300ERs and Scoot’s 20 B787s have been transferred to Boeing Asia-Pacific Aviation Services Pte Ltd (BAPAS). Read More »


 

Industry Addendum

Asiana Airlines and Lufthansa Technik signs ten year maintenance deal

Lufthansa Technik has signed a 10-year total Component Maintenance (TCM) program with Asiana Airlines that covers the nine aircraft of the type in the South Korean carrier’s fleet. Read More »


 

Industry Addendum

Gulf’s flynas planning LEAP-1A engine order

Saudi Arabian carrier, flynas, has signed a US$6.3 billion Letter of Agreement (LoA) with CFM for 160 LEAP-1A engines along with a long-term pay-by-the hour services contract. Read More »


 

Industry Addendum

Airbus’s Skywise builds Big Data client base

Since Airbus launched Skywise at the Paris Air Show last June, the aviation data platform has attracted five customers for its shared value agreement for its Big Data services and seven for its premium predictive services. Read More »


 

Industry Addendum

China approves CFM LEAP type certificate

The Civil Aviation Administration of China has issued a Validated Type Certificate for CFM International LEAP 1A engine, a critical milestone leading to A320neo operation in China. Read More »


 

Industry Addendum

Mandarin Airlines adds to ATR partnership with global maintenance agreement

Taiwan’s Mandarin Airlines has become a customer of ATR’s repair, overhaul and pooling services of line replaceable units as well as the turboprop OEM’s delivery service of spares to the airline’s MRO facilities. Read More »


 

Industry Addendum

GE and Rolls-Royce to bid for China’s twin jet engine

GE engines and Rolls-Royce are expected to join the first round of bidding for the engine to power the planned twin aisle jet, the CRAIC CR929, the China Daily reported last month. Read More »


 

Industry Addendum

Sabre rolls out Red Workspace worldwide

Global travel technology provider, Sabre, is progressing through the introduction of its Sabre Red Workspace, the company’s intuitive driven point of sale tool for travel agencies. Read More »


 

Industry Addendum: Training

ALSIM unveils multi-purpose hybrid simulator

Flight simulator manufacturer, ALSIM, has produced its largest flight simulator in its 24-year history, The Airliner. Read More »


 

Industry Addendum: Training

Europe’s BAA Training decides on Vietnam

Lithuania’s BAA Training has commenced construction of a US$60 million pilot training academy in Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City. Read More »


 

Industry Addendum: Training

Fiji and Qantas to invest in flight academies

Fiji is building a US$45 million cockpit crew training centre, the Fiji Training Academy, adjacent to the island nation’s international airport at Nadi. Read More »


 

Industry Addendum: Training

Airbus Singapore training centre booms

Airbus Asia Training Centre (AATC), after only two years in operation, has its six full flight simulators booked 24 hours a day seven days a week. Read More »


 

Asia-Pacific Cabin Showcase

Singapore Airlines opts for STELIA B787-10 business class seat

Singapore Airlines (SIA) has chosen STELIA Aerospace as the business class seat supplier for its B787-10 aircraft. Read More »


 

Asia-Pacific Cabin Showcase

Airbus and Zodiac develop cargo deck sleeper berths

Airbus and Zodiac are developing sleeping berths that will fit in aircraft cargo compartments, with plans to bring the options to market by 2020. Read More »


 

Asia-Pacific Cabin Showcase

RECARO wins prestigious Asia-Pacific airline seat orders

China’s largest carrier, China Southern Airlines, will equip its A350-900s in all three classes of the aircraft type with RECARO aircraft seating. Read More »


 

Asia-Pacific Cabin Showcase

Boeing – Adient joint venture to “disrupt” aircraft seating industry

Boeing and global car seat manufacturing, Adient, are developing airline seating prototypes for their new aircraft seating joint venture, which was announced in January. Read More »


 

Asia-Pacific Cabin Showcase

SIA Engineering signs IFE maintenance contract with Thales

Leading Asia-Pacific MRO, SIA Engineering Co. (SIAEC) has signed an Inflight Entertainment and Connectivity maintenance agreement with Thales. Read More »


 

Asia-Pacific Cabin Showcase

Video libraries for IFE eliminate hardware cabin upgrades

Software company, Cadami, has introduced technology to the airline IFE market that will increase the number of movies it offered to passengers via a software upgrade. Read More »


 

Asia-Pacific Cabin Showcase

Lufthansa Technik and Diehl Aviation broaden collaboration

Two leading aerospace companies, Lufthansa Technik and Diehl Aviation, intend to put their co-operation on a much broader footing following their successful joint development of individual cabin equipment. Read More »


 

Asia-Pacific Cabin Showcase

Emirates’ passengers exceed 1,000,000 IFE sessions in March

Emirates Airline and SITAONAIR reported last month that the Gulf carrier’s passengers consumed 1,037,016 internet ONAIR sessions from March 1-31 across its B777-300ER and A380 fleets. Read More »


 

Asia-Pacific Cabin Showcase: Briefly ...

Qatar’s Hamad International Airport has completed the second stage of its digital transformation project, said the Doha airport’s chief commercial officer, Badr Al Meer, said at a seminar in Hamburg last month. Read More »


 

Comment

Drone abusers threaten air safety

Drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), are no longer an occasional annoyance to airlines. Read More »