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Asia Air Freight Traffic Falls 18.6 Percent
Slim month-to-month gain gives capacity-cutting carriers improved load factor
Freight traffic for Asian airlines fell 18.6 percent in May from the same month last year, but the business showed signs of life with a slight improvement from the month before.
Traffic for Asia's carriers advanced 2.5 percent from April to May, according to the Asia-Pacific Airline Association.
The airlines also appeared to get their capacity better aligned with faltering demand, reporting their best freight load factor of the year after cutting freight capacity a record 16 percent in May compared to the same month a year ago.
Capacity also declined slightly on a month-over-month basis, pushing the airlines' combined freight load factor -- a key measure of efficiency -- up two percentage points to 64.8 percent.
May's 18.6 percent year-over-year decline in freight traffic, measured in freight metric-ton kilometers, was the 12th straight monthly drop the AAPA has reported but the slimmest since November.
Source: The Journal of Commerce
http://www.joc.com/node/412115
GAO Eyes Air Cargo Accidents
A congressional study of air cargo accidents is targeting small-carrier operations that account for nearly all deaths, and saying changes may be needed in the safety programs and equipment they use.
The Government Accountability Office, the watchdog arm of Congress, made the review in response to lawmakers' requests. It sent a report this week to Rep. James L. Oberstar, D.-Minn., who chairs the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and to Rep. Jerry Costello, D-Ill., chairman of the aviation subcommittee.
GAO said of 93 fatal accidents involving cargo-only air carriers for 1997 through 2008, which left 128 people dead, 89 of the accidents or 96 percent involved either feeder carriers or "ad hoc" small carriers. Those small cargo operations also had 79 percent of total accidents, GAO reported.
It polled 27 industry experts about the issues raised, and said the actions they most often listed to improve safety would be to install "better technology on cargo aircraft to provide additional tools to pilots" and for the Federal Aviation Administration to collect data to track small cargo operations.
GAO recommended the use of flight risk assessments to help pilots judge "the accumulated risk factors associated with some cargo flights."
And while the auditing agency noted that the National Transportation Safety Board found just four out of 443 total accidents in those 12 years to involve pilot fatigue, the GAO report came back to that issue. It said "12 of 27 experts we surveyed ranked pilot fatigue as one of the three most serious challenges to safe air cargo operations."
It said pilots of small cargo carriers often load and unload the planes, must ready them for flight as well as piloting and then servicing the aircraft afterward. But they are not required to have on-board safety gear such as collision warning systems, terrain awareness technology or an autopilot. Most of those systems are required of small aircraft used in passenger operations, GAO said.
The agency said total accidents fell 63 percent over the review period, but said a number of factors could have contributed to that drop including "the general decline in aviation activity" that followed the 9/11 terrorist attacks with airplanes in 2001.
GAO also cautioned that a much larger number of reportable incidents that did not result in accidents - ranging from a cargo plane losing power to a cargo door opening in flight and an aircraft engine coming into contact with a fuel truck - "are potential precursors to more serious accidents."
Source: The Journal of Commerce
http://www.joc.com/node/412091
Paris Gets Emirates A380
The airline flies twice daily to the French capital. The aircraft will replace the early PM arrival from Dubai.
Tim Clark, President of Emirates Airline said, "This is really great news for us to bring the A380 to Paris and is a result of such encouraging sales in and out of Paris Charles de Gaulle. Our plans to introduce this exceptional aircraft have been accelerated by almost a year which, in the current economic climate, is a major achievement."
Currently, Emirates operates five A380s to Toronto, London Heathrow, Bangkok, Sydney and Auckland. A further 53 aircraft are on order.
In related news, Aero Cargo International, part of European Cargo Services, has won a GSA contract in France to market Qantas destinations to Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific islands of Fiji, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea and Vanuata.
Aero Cargo will sell cargo capacity on Qantas' daily Boeing 747-400 passenger flights from Frankfurt, Germany, and its twice-weekly B747 freighter operations ex Liege and Frankfurt, which operate via Singapore.
Adrien Thominet, Director of Aero Cargo said, "Qantas serves many markets that we see as being more robust and less affected by the general downturn in the market. The airline recognises France as an important market and sees Aero Cargo as the ideal partner to improve sales and grow its market share. We are confident that the sales action plan we have proposed will achieve this."
Source: Air Cargo World
http://www.aircargoworld.com/News/Paris-Gets-Emirates-A380
Virgin Orders A330
Virgin Atlantic has announced the acquisition of ten A330-300 aircraft from Airbus with a total value of $2.1 billion.
Deliveries will take place in 2011 and 2012 and support services to Beijing, Cancun and Vancouver from London. The more fuel-efficient A330-300s deliver lower maintenance costs as well as substantial cargo capacity.
Financing for the aircraft was arranged via leasing company AerCap. Six aircraft will be purchased from Airbus and four will be on direct operating leases.
Steve Ridgway, Chief Executive of Virgin Atlantic said, "Despite the worst economic conditions in decades, we are focusing on sustainable growth in the years ahead using the most fuel-efficient aircraft possible."
Virgin operates six A340-300s and 19 A340-600 aircraft. The company has also ordered six A380s.
Meanwhile, Airbus has signed an MOU with the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), one of China's leading banks, to provide up to $3 billion in aircraft financing for airlines based in the People's Republic of China.
ICBC Leasing expects to provide financing solutions for up to 70 A320 Airbus aircraft assembled at Final Assembly Line China (FALC) over the next five years.
Source: Business Traveller.com
http://www.businesstraveller.com/news/virgin-orders-a330-200-aircraft
Passenger Decline Stabilizes - Some Improvement in Freight
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced international scheduled traffic results for May showing passenger demand declining 9.3% compared to the same month in previous year while freight demand was down by 17.4%. International passenger load factors stood at 71.2%, down from 74.5% recorded in May 2008.
The 17.4% decline in international cargo demand is a relative improvement compared to the 21.7% drop in April. Since December 2008, cargo demand has been moving sideways in the -20% range. This is one of the first physical signs of the economic recovery being anticipated in equity markets.
International passenger demand weakened from the -3.1% recorded in April to -9.3% in May. But both of the past two months have been slightly stronger than the 11.1% decline reached in March, even after adjusting for the distortions caused by the timing of Easter. This indicates that a floor may now have been reached. However, the capacity adjustment of -5.0% in May did not keep pace with the fall in demand during the same month. Moreover, although the impact of the recession appears to be stabilizing, strong headwinds from debt and low asset prices are expected to weaken and delay any significant recovery.
"We may have hit bottom, but we are a long way from recovery," said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA's Director General and CEO. "Capacity is not aligned with demand. Passenger load factors dropped 3.3 percentage points over the last 12 months. The impact on revenue is dramatic. After a 20% fall in international passenger revenue in the first quarter, we estimate that the drop accelerated to as much as -30% in May. This crisis is the worst we have ever seen," said Bisignani.
International Passenger Demand:
- May was the first full month to feel the impact of the Influenza A(H1N1) on travel. Mexican carriers saw their traffic fall almost 40% in May. Latin American carriers saw their traffic decline by 9.2% in May compared to the previous year. Against a capacity increase of 0.2%, the load factor plummeted to 64.7%. That is a 6.7 percentage point drop compared to May 2008 and the lowest load factor among all the regions. We estimate that the global impact of Influenza A(H1N1) on global travel patterns in May was a 1% drop in passenger traffic.
- Asia Pacific carriers recorded a 14.3% fall in demand. While capacity adjustments by the region's carriers were the most severe (-9.3%), they did not keep pace with the fall in demand driven by weak economies and the impact of Influenza A(H1N1) on the region with the most vivid memories of the SARS crisis.
- North American carriers posted a 10.9% fall in passenger demand, considerably worse than the 4.2% fall in April. This was the result of weak demand to Latin American destinations affected by Influenza A(H1N1) along with significant recession-driven drops in both trans-Atlantic and trans-Pacific markets.
- European carriers, in additional to weak long-haul markets, saw some loss of market share to European low cost carriers whose traffic grew by 2.1%, while the network carriers reported a 9.4% decline.
- African carriers saw a slight improvement of a 6.0% fall in demand in May, compared to a 7.1% decline in April.
- Middle Eastern carriers bucked the declining trend with 9.5% growth in demand and a 14.5% expansion of capacity.
International Air Freight Demand:
- In May, freight volumes rose by around 3% above April levels as manufacturers began to add to their product inventories in anticipation of an economic recovery. However, inventories remain 10-15% higher than normal in relation to sales levels, indicating that a significant recovery is not expected in the near term. Surveys of purchasing managers indicate we could experience a further improvement in air freight demand during June and July to levels that are 12-15% below last year's levels.
- Most regions were relatively aligned in the severity of the freight declines. Latin American carriers were the worst performers with a 21.0% fall, followed by Africa (-20.0%), Europe (-19.2%), North America (-18.8%), and Asia Pacific (-18.1%). Middle East carriers were the exception with a 3.7% fall.
- Capacity adjustments in freight markets have been catching up to demand declines. Freight load factors are 3.6 percentage points lower than a year ago. Freight yields fell by 17% in the first quarter, reducing revenues by 35%. Given the continuing downward pressure on yields, even the improvement in volumes in May will likely come without a corresponding improvement in revenues.
- "We have lost several years of growth and yields are under severe pressure. Airlines are in survival mode. Cutting costs and conserving cash are the priorities," said Bisignani.
- "Even if we look beyond the crisis, it is difficult to see a return to business as usual. This crisis is re-shaping the industry. The burden cannot be placed on airlines alone. All partners in the value chain must be prepared to change-reducing costs and improving efficiencies. Too often we get the opposite. Already this year we have seen US$1.5 billion in cost increases from airports and air navigation service providers. It's irresponsible in the best of times and a completely unacceptable abuse of monopoly position in a crisis," said Bisignani.
Source: IATA
http://www.iata.org/pressroom/pr/2009-06-25-01.htm
Airbus A330
 Delta Air Lines A330-300 landing
First flown in 1992 the A330 was developed at the same time as the four-engined Airbus A340 and shared common fuselage and wing components. The first variant (series 200) was delivered to Air Inter in 1994 and was followed by the slightly larger series 300. This has been followed by dedicated freighter variants.
A multi-role tanker and transport variant based on the series 200 has been developed as the Airbus A330 MRTT, this was further developed as the Northrop Grumman KC-45 which won a United States Air Force order which has since been cancelled.
Design and development
Airbus intended the A330 to compete directly in the ETOPS (Extended-range Twin-engine Operation Performance Standards) market, specifically with the Boeing 767. The A330 program was launched in 1987; airlines purchased it to replace the McDonnell Douglas DC-10. The A330 is 38% more fuel efficient than the DC-10.
The A330's fuselage and wings are virtually identical to those of the smaller A340 variants, although it has different engines. The A330 basic fuselage design is inherited from the Airbus A300, and the nose/cockpit section and the fly-by-wire system and flightdeck are inherited from the A320. Both the A330 and A340 are assembled on the same final assembly line at Toulouse-Blagnac, France.
By the end of July 2008, a total of 1,006 A330s had been ordered and 555 delivered. The 1,000 milestone was passed with orders from the 2008 Farnborough Air Show.
Variants
There are two main variants of the A330. The A330-300 was launched in 1987 with introduction into service in 1993. The A330-200 was launched in 1995, introduced in 1998 with passenger, freighter and tanker (Airbus A330 MRTT) variants available.
A330-200
 KLM Airbus A330-200
Its vertical fin is taller than that of the A330-300 to restore its effectiveness due to the shorter moment arm of the shorter fuselage. It has additional fuel capacity and, like the A330-300, has a Maximum Take-Off Weight (MTOW) of 233 tonnes. Typical range with 253 passengers in a three-class configuration is 12,500 km (6,750 nautical miles).
Power is provided by two General Electric CF6-80E, Pratt & Whitney PW4000 or Rolls-Royce Trent 700 engines. All engines are ETOPS-180 min rated. First customer deliveries, to ILFC/Canada 3000, were in April 1998.
A330-200F
Due to flagging A300-600F and A310F sales, Airbus first began marketing a freighter derivative of the A330-200 around 2000-2001, although it was not launched at that time. The A330-200F re-emerged at the 2006 Farnborough Airshow and received its industrial go-ahead in January 2007. The first flight is planned for late 2009.
The A330-200F is a mid-size, long-haul all-cargo aircraft capable of carrying 64 tonnes over 4,000 NM / 7,400 km, or 69 tonnes up to 3,200 NM / 5,930 km. It introduces a new versatile main-deck cargo loading system that will be able to accommodate both pallets and containers. Several different arrangements will be possible on the main deck, taking up to 23 Side-by-Side (SBS) pallets, aimed at the high volume, high value commodities or Single Row (SR) loading of 16 pallets (96"x96"x125" SR pallets) and/or nine AMA containers aimed at the general cargo higher density markets.
To overcome the standard A330's nose-down body angle on the ground, the A330F will make use of a revised nose landing gear layout. The same leg will be used, however it will be attached lower in the fuselage, requiring a distinctive blister fairing on the nose to accommodate the retracted nose-gear.
Power is provided by two Pratt & Whitney PW4000 or Rolls-Royce Trent 700 engines.
A330-300
 China Eastern Airlines Airbus A330-343E
The A330-300 carries 295 passengers in a three-class cabin layout (335 in 2 class and 440 in single class layout) over a range of 10,500 km (5,650 nautical miles). It has a large cargo capacity, comparable to early Boeing 747s.
It is powered by two General Electric CF6-80E, Pratt & Whitney PW4000 or Rolls-Royce Trent 700 engines, all of which are ETOPS-180 min rated. French domestic airline Air Inter was the launch customer for the aircraft.
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Carbon-Neutral Growth by 2020
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced that the airline industry is committed to achieving carbon-neutral growth by 2020.
"Two years ago we set a vision to achieve carbon-neutral growth on the way to a carbon-free future. Today we have taken a major step forward by committing to a global cap on our emissions in 2020. After this date, aviation's emissions will not grow even as demand increases. Airlines are the first global industry to make such a bold commitment," said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA's Director General and CEO in his State of the Industry address to 500 of the industry's top leaders gathered in Kuala Lumpur for the 65th IATA Annual General Meeting and World Air Transport Summit.
The commitment to carbon-neutral growth completes a set of three sequential goals for air transport: (1) a 1.5% average annual improvement in fuel efficiency from 2009 to 2020; (2) carbon-neutral growth from 2020 and (3) a 50% absolute reduction in carbon emissions by 2050.
To achieve these goals, all players in the air transport industry are united in their proactive approach to environment. A cross industry four-pillar strategy on climate change that is focused on improved technology, effective operations, efficient infrastructure and positive economic measures is delivering results. In 2009 the carbon footprint of air transport is expected to shrink by 7%. Of this, 5% is due to the recession and 2% is directly related to efficiency gains from IATA's four-pillar strategy. "No other industry is as united. And no other industry can point to such good results and progress," said Bisignani.
Bisignani noted that the airlines' commitment needed to be matched by governments. "We are ambitious, but our success will be contingent on governments acting effectively. ICAO must set binding carbon emissions standards on manufacturers for new aircraft. A legal and fiscal framework to support the availability of sustainable biofuels must be established. And governments must work with air navigation service providers to push forward major infrastructure projects such as a Single European Sky, NextGen in the US or fixing the Pearl River Delta in China," said Bisignani.
The commitment to carbon-neutral growth by 2020 recognizes that technology, operations and infrastructure improvements alone will not be sufficient to stop growth in air transport's carbon footprint. "Positive economic measures are needed to bridge the gap until the full benefits of future technologies-including sustainable biofuels-are realized," said Bisignani.
The timing of the industry commitment to carbon-neutral growth is significant, as governments prepare for the UN climate change meeting in Copenhagen (December 2009) and the post-Kyoto discussions. IATA reiterated its call for a global sectoral approach for aviation in the successor to the Kyoto Protocol. Under such an approach, aviation's emissions would be capped and accounted for globally, not by state. IATA would work with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to ensure compliance. "Airlines should get carbon credits for every cent we pay, whether in taxes, charges or ETS payments. And we should pay only once, not several times" said Bisignani.
"We can be proud of going farther and faster than any other industry. Air transport is a model for environment responsibility for other industries to follow. The challenge will be for governments to catch up," said Bisignani.
Source: IATA
http://www.iata.org/pressroom/pr/2009-06-08-03.htm
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