The Week in Brief 21 July 2011

American Airlines has signed a firm contract acquire 260 Airbus A320 Family aircraft.  The contract calls for flexibility for the airline to take delivery of A319s, A320s and A321s, with 130 featuring Airbus’ New Engine Option (neo). But American has also ordered 100 Next-Generation 737s from Boeing, with options for an additional 40 aircraft. In addition, American Airlines has committed to order a variant of the 737 featuring new more fuel-efficient engines, pending final airplane configuration and launch approval of the program by the Boeing board of directors. Does that suggest that Boeing is starting to lean in the engine option direction rather than a commitment to an all-new narrow-body?

The New Zealand Government is looking for "new and improved" air service agreements with 10 countries to provide "greater freedom and certainty" for airlines. The initiative is really being driven by an absence of available capacity on several important routes and the need for additional routes. Auckland Airport is keen to have stronger connections to the surging Asian markets and Wellington Airport has expressed a desire for a share of long-haul routes.

Roy Morgan Research reports that 83 per cent of Qantas domestic passengers were satisfied with their experience of the airline's service in the year ending April 2011. That's just ahead of Virgin Australia, where the number was 80 per cent. QantasLink was also at 80 per cent, while Rex was at 76 per cent. Significantly, however, the industry average was a mere 75 per cent, dragged down by Jetstar (68 per cent) and Tiger (46 per cent).

Tiger Australia has appointed Chris Manning as Safety Advisor, to ensure that the airline is applying the highest levels of operational safety
management. There has even been speculation that Chris might take on the formal Chief Pilot role at the beseiged airline. Whichever way it pans out this is a good appointment.

The US Department of Justice has ceased its cargo cartel investigation against Air New Zealand. After five years of Air New Zealand defending its position and insisting it has done nothing wrong, US Department of Justice Federal Prosecutors have confirmed by letter that they have ended their investigation and Air New Zealand “is no longer a subject or target of the on-going grand jury investigation”. The end of the Department of Justice investigation follows a successful outcome for the airline last November when it was not among airlines fined by the European Commission.

Singapore Airlines has appointed New Zealander Campbell Wilson as founding CEO of its no-frills, low-fare airline which is set to be launched next year. Wilson, 40, has been with the SIA Group for more than 15 years and has held positions both overseas as well as in head office. He joined Singapore Airlines in April 1996 in Auckland and held marketing and sales positions in New Zealand as well as Australia.

In November last year, the Chinese Government announced the reform of the country's low-altitude airspace, initally covering specific cities including Chengdu, Guangzhou and Nanjing. The first stage is focused on the aero-medical emergency service. The initiative will gradually be extended to
other areas - and to other sectors of GA - with the aim of covering the whole country by the end of 2015. That is driving an inaugural Air Medical Rescue Congress to be held in Shanghai 11-12 October this year. More details at www.airmedchina.com

A report from the US suggests that airlines wanting to place new orders for aircraft may have to wait for a while, given that the manufacturers are holding record backlogs. Apparently Bernstein Research estimates that at current production rates Boeing and Airbus will need up to eight years to deliver what is already on order.

IATA, ICAO and IFALPA have jointly released a Fatigue Risk Management Systems Implementation Guide for airlines, which will assist operators to manage risks specifically realted to their operations. It provides a positive alternative to traditional flight and duty time-related approaches.