The week in brief 010710

Airbus has long been taking flak over slow sales for its flagship A380 (the whole of Toulouse prays daily that Sheik al Maktoum may have a long and prosperous life), but there’s no doubt that the big airliner has delivered everything that was expected of it. It’s popular, comfortable and quiet – and aside from the usual fine tuning that every new aircraft experiences, it has also delivered for the airlines. Given all of that, one would think that it’s now time for some of the slower adopters to open their order books. In terms of competing, there are some legacy carriers out there who need to move towards A380 operations. And that market where the big bird could carry the really full loads that it’s certified for is still untapped (except for Air Austral’s stated intention to put the A380 to such work). So it’s probably about time that a second wave of enthusiasm for the big Airbus is experienced. And maybe Farnborough could be the occasion for the start of it.

Meanwhile, Emirates' chairman Sheik Mohammed Bin Rashid al Maktoum has flagged further aircraft orders at the Farnborough Airshow this month. He says the additional airliners will be needed to keep up with demand. This comes on top of the order for another 32 A380s placed last month, taking the airline's total order for the big Airbus to 90. Ambition is a wonderful thing, but overcapacity is another thing altogether.

CASA has launched a special project to determine if Australia has an ageing aircraft problem. The aim is to “examine a wide range of ageing aircraft issues”, including safety, reliability, maintainability, economy and liability. CASA says that the current average age of light aircraft (both single- and twin-engined) is 30 years, with 97 per cent of the twins older than the typical 20-year design life. There are also more than a few ageing turboprops operating in regional arenas. CASA’s aim is to “identify at what point an increase in the age of an aircraft results in unacceptable consequences”. The process will involve the usual wide-ranging consultation with industry parties; and while individual submissions haven’t been specifically invited, they are likely to be welcome as long as they have relevance.

Roll-Royce has warned its customers that there could be "severe disruption" to its production of aircraft engines and spares because of non-availability of critical inputs. This could arise from new regulations imposed by the EU in relation to industrial chemicals. The threat to supplies is likely to exist for five months.

With Bombardier's CSeries threatening to impinge upon a market enjoyed exclusively by the two major manufacturers for so long, the last thing Airbus and Boeing needed to hear was a statement out of Tokyo last week to the effect that Mitsubishi is considering a 100+ seat version of its MRJ. The first MRJ is scheduled for delivery to ANA in 2014 and the company plans to sell at least 1000 of the regional jets globally over two decades.

IATA's traffic figures for May show pax up 11.7 per cent and cargo up 34.3 per cent on last year. The Asia Pacific numbers were 13.2 and 38.7 per cent. Giovanni Bisignani says that while these are pleasing numbers and that airlines generally are back in the black, there's still a long way to go to get to genuine profitability. IATA reckons the aggregate result for this year will be a profit of US$2.5 billion, a dramatic improvement on last year's loss of $9.9 billion.

A UK scientist working in the US reckons that full body scanners employed in airport security pose a significant radiation risk because their emissions are up to 20 times greater than previously thought. Dr David Brenner at the Columbia University Center for Radiological Research says that while the danger to most travellers is low, there will be up to one in 20 people who will be particularly susceptible to the increased levels of radiation.