The May provisional traffic statistics from the Qantas and Virgin Blue brands are the last insights into their operations before black Friday, 3 July.
This Friday is the day Delta, the world’s largest carrier, enters the Australia-US market on the Sydney-Los Angeles route, and Singapore Airlines’ Jetstar clone, Tiger, takes on everybody and Jetstar in [...]
Monthly Archives: June 2009
Some last statistics from Qantas and Virgin Blue before things get even worse
June 30, 2009 – 5:27 pm
V Australia adds Hong Kong to list of possible new routes
June 30, 2009 – 9:46 am
A leak that says Virgin Blue is asking for slots at Hong Kong airport for its V Australia subsidiary isn’t surprising, except for taking so long.
The two factors in this move are the caustic losses being made by all carriers on the crowded trans Pacific non-stops to the US, and the synergy of a [...]
Attempt to lessen legal obligations of airlines blocked in Senate by pilot unions
June 30, 2009 – 6:27 am
A back door attempt to water down the absolute responsibility of airlines for the actions of their employees and criminalise pilots has been blocked in the Senate.
The government attempted to use the device of a Select Legislative Instrument (SLI) to amend the Aviation Transport Security Act 2005 to place off-duty airline flight crew outside the [...]
Dreamliner-An Impossible Dream?
June 28, 2009 – 9:21 am
The most alarming question to arise from the Dreamliner fiasco is whether high composite airliners are doomed to fail.
Not fail as in fail to reach production, although that is a possibility even at this stage, but fail as in start crashing after large numbers of the two high composite airliners in question, the Boeing 787 [...]
Where might the Dreamliner fiasco take Boeing and Airbus?
June 26, 2009 – 7:35 pm
It needs to be recognised that the 787 project has the potential to ruin the Boeing Commercial Airplane business and force the company as a whole to re-organise its defence, space and other technologies activities into a separated entity.
Such thoughts are probably already being entertained in EADS, the owner of Airbus, as to how it [...]
Dreamliner nightmare-Qantas cancels 15 and defers first deliveries of others by 4 years
June 26, 2009 – 8:53 am
Qantas has cancelled 15 Boeing 787s and delayed the first tranche of deliveries from the balance of a remaining firm order of 50 of the jets for four years.
The move saves the airline $US 3 billion in capital expenditure liabilities, and also keeps it clear of the consequences of current issues with the design of [...]
The Dreamliner debacle-Time to tell the truth
June 25, 2009 – 9:36 pm
One of the most troubling aspects of the Dreamliner nightmare is the failure of the jet’s composite structures to behave as predicted by the computer models used by Boeing.
If the assumptions made in the design diverged so sharply from results when the wing was put under stress, what confidence remains in the overall robustness of [...]
Angry Flyers Lounge-Why can’t I use my laptop?
June 25, 2009 – 4:34 pm
Why can’t I use my laptop or mobile phone when the plane is taking off or landing?
The answers to this question from a Crikey reader come at a time when Qantas is about to launch a system in which ‘dangerous’ mobile phones are made safe, for a fee of course, using new communications technology.
The simple [...]
Dreamliner ‘Neverliner’ bonanza for Airbus-up to 12 more A330s for Jetstar, maybe.
June 25, 2009 – 9:08 am
The numbers varied, but the hot tip earlier this morning was that up to 12 Airbus A330s will be added to the Jetstar fleet by late 2010 or early 2011 to replace the 787 capacity Boeing has failed to deliver according to any of its past broken promises.
This was followed by another hot tip that [...]
Qantas review of 787 program moving toward conclusion
June 24, 2009 – 5:33 pm
Boeing has a new definition of wing. It is ’side of airplane’.
This means it wasn’t really the wing that was starting to break two months ago under static testing, it was just the side of the Dreamliner. Easily fixed. Could have flown on time. Nothing to worry about.
This tripe, swallowed in its entirety by the [...]
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