Posted: May 18, 2013 | Author: walesairforum | Filed under: Passenger Advice | Tags: Airbus, EADS, British Airways, A380, BA, Superjumbo, BAW, Passenger Info |
Sourced by Business Traveller
British Airways is scheduled to receive its first A380 in July, with further deliveries due in August and October next year.
The carrier has 12 of the aircraft on order and will roster the superjumbo first onto its Los Angeles route from October 15, followed by Hong Kong from November 15.
The layout of BA’s A380s will feature 14 seats in First on the main deck, followed by 44 Club World seats in a 2-4-2 configuration, then 199 World Traveller seats in a 3-4-3 layout.
The work was carried out using spray guns, traditional paint rollers and paint brushes, with a total of five coats being applied. The paint adds around 650kg to the weight of the aircraft, but is no thicker than a human hair.
The aircraft’s interior has now been fully fitted, and will fly to the Airbus headquarters in Toulouse for final checks before being delivered to BA in July.
Airlines that currently operate the A380 are Singapore Airlines, Emirates, Qantas, Air France, Lufthansa, Korean Air, China Southern, Malaysia Airlines and Thai Airways.
Aside from BA, other airlines that have ordered the superjumbo include Virgin Atlantic, Asiana, Etihad Airways, Qatar Airways and Skymark Airlines.
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Posted: May 15, 2013 | Author: walesairforum | Filed under: Aircraft Engineering/Manufacturing | Tags: 2015, A380, Airbus, Airbus A380, CFO Harald Wilhelm, EADS, empty, Engineering, Maintenance, Manufacturing, production slots, Superjumbo, Under pressure |
By Jens Flottau
Airbus, which is under increasing pressure to prove the viability of its A380 production rates, yesterday conceded that it still needs to fill a “single-digit number” of production slots for the type in 2015.
Speaking during EADS’s first-quarter results conference call, CFO Harald Wilhelm—who also holds the same role at Airbus—stressed that it is a high priority to fill the remaining slots as quickly as possible.
Demand for the A380 has been declining for some time. The manufacturer also has reduced production this year from 30 aircraft to 25, to incorporate the newly designed wing rib-feet and spars that will become standard for new deliveries from 2014, a decision that has resulted in a significant inventory build-up and produced a €3.2 billion ($4.1 billion) negative free cash flow in the first quarter.
Should Airbus be forced to reduce the production rate in 2015, the program would almost certainly miss the goal to break-even that year. But Wilhelm remains “cautious about the further potential for break-even below 30.”
Airbus has firm orders for 262 A380s, 101 of which have been delivered. With a production rate of 30 aircraft a year, the backlog would be sufficient to fill more than five years of production.
Demand for Airbus’s A350, meanwhile, is surging, says Wilhelm. “The level of demand we see recently would make a very clear business case for an accelerated ramp-up of production,” says the CFO, although he cautioned that this would mean taking on additional risk. The A350 “remains a tough ride in terms of ramp-up of the other flight-test aircraft and production,” Wilhelm notes.
Wilhelm also reiterated Airbus’s official comment that the A350’s first flight will occur “in the summer,” adding that “for quite a number of months we have seen no further drift” in the schedule.
Airbus is understood to be planning to move MSN001 to the flight-testing department by the end of this week, which could lead to a first flight in early June, provided there are no last-minute technical issues to resolve.
Sourced by Aviation Week
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Posted: April 2, 2013 | Author: walesairforum | Filed under: Airline & Route News | Tags: A380, Airbus, EK, Emirates, long-term, partnership, Qantas, QFR, Superjumbo, UAE |
By April Hutchinson
The rare sight of two A380s flying side by side has cemented a new partnership between Qantas and Emirates.
Each of the airlines had one of its superjumbos fly over Sydney Harbour as part of what Emirates’ president Tim Clark called a “seismic development for the global aviation industry”.
“No carriers have ever come together to do something like that and I think it is a real testament to the bond of our new link – it has taken a herculean effort from all involved to get this kind of structure in place so quickly and effectively,” said Clark, speaking at Emirates’ headquarters in Dubai after flying with Qantas up from Sydney. “This is the beginning of a long-term partnership.”
Clark added that the partnership was “not just a codeshare or interline arrangement”. “It is a joint venture and we will treat each other’s passengers as if they were our own,” he said.
The new partnership will see the airlines cooperate on their combined 98 flights a week between Australia and Dubai.
The carriers will combine operations for five years initially, including coordination on ticket pricing, scheduling and frequent flyer benefits.
Emirates is already in the throes of its own expansion into Australia, but it’s Qantas’ passengers that will really feel the benefit of the tie-up, now with easier access to 65 one-stop onward connections in the UK, Europe, North Africa and the Middle East via Dubai.
Reduced overall flying time from Europe to Australia was also said to be one of the key benefits.
Journey times from Melbourne and Sydney to the “top 10” destinations in Europe are cut by an average of two hours going via Dubai, according to Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce.
The tie-up will also go some way to helping the Australian airline recover from a difficult patch, with the partnership said to be worth around A$90 millionto Qantas and a bolster to its international business.
Joyce said: “We have already seen a six-fold sales increase in bookings to Europe on the joint network over a nine-week period compared to last year. It’s obvious this new partnership with Emirates gives us a fantastic opportunity to grow.”
Before its new partnership with Emirates, Joyce said Qantas had only really been able to access five connecting destinations via Singapore.
The airline will now establish an international hub for itself in Dubai, where it will be the only other airline able to use Emirates’ Terminal 3.
All Emirates and Qantas A380 flights will use the terminal’s specially-built US$3 billion Concourse A which opened in January.
Capable of handling 60 million passengers a year through 20 gates, Concourse A is the world’s first purpose-built A380 facility and has direct boarding from lounge to aircraft for business and first passengers.
Australia’s minister for Infrastructure and Transport Anthony Albanese also flew up to Dubai to mark the official launch of the partnership and saidit was “vital that the national iconic brand of Qantas be successful”,claiming the tie-up would have a significant impact on tourism and trade.
“This partnership opens up new markets for Australians into Europe and North Africa with advantages for tourism, trade and economic opportunities,” he said. “It also allows for greater regional tourism opportunities in Australia.”
Clark said there was no reason why the relationship could not develop further in operational synergies down the line.
Joyce added that Qatar Airways’ imminent arrival into the oneworld alliance, of which Qantas is a member, was not an issue for him or Emirates.
“Oneworld has always been a very loose alliance,” said Joyce. “And we have worked with other airlines in other alliances in the past – we are perfectly free to go and do deals such as this one with Emirates.”
Nor did Clark rule out the option of seeking similar tie-ups for Emirates “if another airline has the chemistry we have with Qantas”.
Qantas has also rolled out a new suite of product enhancements in first and business class to coincide with the new partnership.
What does it mean?
Qantas and Emirates share 98 flights a week between Australia and Dubai every week / 14 per day
There will be 32 destinations in Europe available from Dubai
All Qantas flights to the UK will now be Sydney-Dubai-London & Melbourne-Dubai-London
Qantas flights to London from Melbourne and Sydney via Dubai are about 30 minutes shorter now; stopovers in Dubai are 1hr 30 or 1hr 45mins
Eligible business and first Qantas passengers can now avail themselves of a chauffeur drive service (matching Emirates’ existing service) when travelling to Europe; will extend to other parts of Qantas network from July
Shared lounge access for eligible Qantas and Emirates passengers (although Qantas customers’ oneworld privileges and conditions still apply, i.e. able to use BA’s lounges)
Shared redemption of Qantas Frequent Flyer or Emirates Skywards points
Harmonised baggage policies including an increase in Qantas economy checked baggage to 30kg from 23kg
Sourced by TTG Digital
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Posted: March 27, 2013 | Author: walesairforum | Filed under: Aircraft Engineering/Manufacturing, Hawarden / Broughton Airport | Tags: 150, A320, A380, Airbus, Blue Arrow, Broughton, CEG, contract workers, EADS, EGNR, Engineering, Jobs Losses, Maintenance, Manufacturing, Semi-skilled, Superjumbo |
WORKERS at the Airbus plant in Broughton say 150 staff are to lose their jobs.
Airbus employs more than 6,500 people at the Flintshire factory, making wings for their aircraft, including the double-decker A380.
One worker, who asked to remain anonymous, said that between 120 and 150 staff had received e-mail messages to say that their contracts were not being renewed after March 31.
He said they were mostly semi-skilled contract workers with recruitment firm Blue Arrow who worked on the A380 and A320 aircraft.
About 400 Blue Arrow temporary contractors work at the North Wales site.
The worker said: “We heard they can’t get components for the A350 aircraft for seven or eight weeks. These people have been trained up to do the job, so when they go they will have to move people from other parts of the factory who are not trained up. It doesn’t make sense.”
He said the people affected were also sickened at having to learn they had lost their jobs through e-mail.
“It has been done very shabbily”.
The worker added: “They had us sitting in front of the Prime Minister a couple of months ago telling us how well they were doing.”
Business Secretary Vince Cable is due to visit the plant today. (Wednesday)
Many temporary workers were on short term contracts that were renewed every month or every three months.
However, an Airbus spokesman said the redundancies were expected, saying: “We confirm that a number of staff deployed on specific, short term programmes on a temporary basis are due to reach the end of their contract periods.
“As the work they have been doing has now been completed, their temporary contracts will not be renewed.”
Airbus said in its annual financial results for the year recently that it planned to take on thousands more staff throughout its European operations during the coming year to reflect the level of orders being received for their various types of aircraft.
It is expected that Broughton, itself, could recruit up to 300 engineers in the coming year.
Sourced by Daily Post
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Posted: March 20, 2013 | Author: walesairforum | Filed under: Aircraft Engineering/Manufacturing | Tags: A380, Airbus, DLH, EADS, EK, Emirates, Engineering, LH, Lufthansa, Lufthansa Technik, Maintenance, Qantas, QF, QFA, repairs, Superjumbo, UAE, wing-rib |
By Kurt Hoffmann
Lufthansa Technik will perform some Airbus A380 wing rib feet repairs, chairman August Wilhelm Henningsen told ATW in Hamburg.
“We have taken on new responsibilities in terms of A380 support and carrying out the wing rib feet repairs mandated by Air France,” Henningsen said.
Henningsen expects one A380 wing rib repair to take between 40 to 50 days. About 40 technicians will work on the aircraft at the same time. The first aircraft, a Lufthansa A380, is already undergoing repair.
Lufthansa Technik will handle 10 Lufthansa A380 repairs at its base in Frankfurt. It will work with AMECO Beijing to carry out wing rib feet repairs on nine Emirates Airline A380s.
Twelve Qantas A380s will undergo the repair work at the Lufthansa Technik Philippine MRO facility. “A year ago, we opened our third widebody hangar at Lufthansa Technik Philippines. Now we are also able to provide technical support for the A380s. Among one of the first customers in Manila is Qantas with A380 cabin modifications,” he said.
Sourced by ATW
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Posted: January 28, 2013 | Author: walesairforum | Filed under: Aircraft Engineering/Manufacturing | Tags: 2013, A320, A320ceo, A320neo, A330, A380, Airbus, EADS, Engineering, Guenter Butschek, Maintenance, Manufacturing, Production Rates, Stabalize, Supplier Chain |
Jet Airways A330-300 and Qatar Airways A320 with sharklets at Airbus in Toulouse. By Kurt Hofmann
Airbus said production rates for the A320, A330 and A380 will remain the same this year.
Airbus COO Guenter Butschek, told ATW the A320 production rate will stay at 42 aircraft per month, which was announced in October.
“We will remain at this rate for the time being” to stabilize its supplier chain for this aircraft, Butschek said, adding that some suppliers could not speed up their production in time to meet the Airbus target.
“From 2015 we will be in the transfer [process] from A320ceo to A320neo.” During this time, he said Airbus will “not only build these two A320 next generation aircraft,” but will also ramp up production of its two engine options—CFM International’s LEAP-X and the PW1100G PurePower from Pratt & Whitney.
“In 2013 we will stabilize [the production], in 2014 we will optimize it, and from 2015-17 we will go into a stabilized transfer from the A320ceo to neo,” he said, adding in 2018 he expects the A320neo production process to be fully operational.
Butschek said A330 production will remain at 10 aircraft per month in this year’s first quarter. A rate increase to 11 aircraft “could be possible but so far we have not decided,” he said.
The A380 production rate of three aircraft per month will not increase in 2013 as the manufacturer deals with the wing crack issue and weak demand for very large aircraft (VLA).
“But we have enough flexibility in the A380 system and we can increase production any time if necessary,” Butschek said. By 2031, Airbus expects a worldwide demand of 1,200 or 1,300 VLA. “Around 160 A380s are still ordered. With a production rate of 30 to 35 aircraft per year for the next five years, the A380 production will be secured,” Butschek added.
Last week, Airbus announced it delivered a company record of 588 aircraft to 89 customers and exceeded its order target of 650 by winning 914 gross orders.
Sourced by ATW
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Posted: January 19, 2013 | Author: walesairforum | Filed under: Aircraft Engineering/Manufacturing | Tags: A380, Airbus, EADS, Engineering, Fabrice Bregier, Maintenance, Manufacturing, Market, Weak |
By Kurt Hofmann
The A380 program is on track to breakeven in 2015, Airbus CEO Fabrice Brégier told ATW on the sidelines of the results conference in Toulouse. However, he said the market remains weak for the aircraft. “We are confident [we will] get additional customers, because year-on-year we have met our targets,” he said.
Brégier said the A380 has a “huge market and a long-term outlook, but the market right now for this aircraft is too soft.” He said the economic crisis, combined with the aircraft’s price tag, have made customers more cautious. “We got nine new [A380] orders last year; Boeing got just one [747-8I]. We are not proud with nine orders, but the [weak] market is a reality.”
Brégier said the A380’s wing crack issue has had some impact. “We had very unhappy customers. At the beginning of 2012, some airlines were forced to inspect the wings and had to ground the aircraft,” he said. The incidents also affect potential customers.
The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is moving closer to certifying proposed permanent repairs and newly designed wings for the A380. According to Airbus EVP-Programs Tom Williams, EASA’s final certification is expected in early February.
Brégier said there were no complaints from customers who took the 30 deliveredA380s last year.
In 2013 and 2014, Airbus will slow down A380 production to 25 aircraft to secure the wing retrofit. “We are not in a hurry [to build more], but we need to maintain the build on that family.” He told ATW that Airbus has no plans for an extended -900 version.
“The biggest market for the A380 will be China,” Brégier said, adding that he sees potential for bigger aircraft. “For example, I’m selling many more A321s than before and fewer A319s. On the A350, I have a lot of conversions from the -800 to the bigger -900.”
Sourced by ATW
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Posted: January 11, 2013 | Author: walesairforum | Filed under: Aircraft Engineering/Manufacturing, Airline & Route News | Tags: A350-900s, A380, Airbus, EADS, Engineering, Firmes, Maintenance, Manufacturing, Order, SIA, Singapore Airlines, SQ, Superjumbo, Up, Widebody Aircraft |
Singapore Airlines (SIA) has firmed up an order for 25 more widebody aircraft from Airbus, comprising five of the world’s most efficient, high capacity aircraft, the A380, and 20 A350-900s. The deal was completed in 2012 and follows an agreement in October 2012.
Singapore Airlines has placed three consecutive orders for the A380, making it the second largest customer of the A380, and now has 19 aircraft in service. In the mid-size category, the new A350 XWB order sees the airline double its backlog for the all-new aircraft to 40. The A350-900s will be used by the airline on both medium and long haul routes.
“This second repeat order from one of the largest A380 operators today is a great endorsement” said John Leahy, Chief Operating Officer, Customers, Airbus. “We’re also delighted that Singapore Airlines are demonstrating equal confidence in the A350. With both these aircraft, Singapore Airlines will have the most modern, most comfortable and most efficient fleet the market can offer.”
Since 2006 the A380 is registering repeat orders by satisfied customers every year, bringing the total orderbook today to 262 from 20 customers. The A350 XWB gathered 582 orders from 34 customers.
Since first entering service with Singapore Airlines in 2007, the A380 has joined the fleets of nine world class carriers. Typically seating 525 passengers in three classes, the aircraft is capable of flying 8,500 nautical miles or 15,700 kilometres non-stop, carrying more people at lower cost and with less impact on the environment. The spacious, quiet cabin and smooth ride have made the A380 a firm favourite with passengers, resulting in higher load factors wherever it flies.
The A350 XWB (Xtra Wide-Body) is an all-new mid-size long range product line comprising three versions and seating between 270 and 350 passengers in typical three-class layouts. The new Family will bring a step change in efficiency compared with existing aircraft in this size category, using 25 per cent less fuel and providing an equivalent reduction in CO2 emissions. Entry into service is scheduled for 2014
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Posted: December 12, 2012 | Author: walesairforum | Filed under: Airline & Route News, Passenger Advice | Tags: A380, Airbus, BA, BAW, Boeing 787-8s, British Airways, Dreamliner, in-seat power, Seat plan, Superjumbo, Thales in-flight entertainment system |
By David Kaminski-Morrow
Source:
British Airways has revealed that its Airbus A380s will have a four-class layout with 469 seats, comprising 212 on the upper deck and 257 on the lower.
It has also disclosed that its Boeing 787-8s will be fitted with 214 seats in three classes.
But the carrier has yet to identify the routes on which the jets will be deployed. The initial destinations will be unveiled in spring 2013.
The A380s will have 14 first-class seats and 44 business-class seats on the main deck, plus 199 seats in the economy cabin.
It will feature a premium-economy section, but no first-class cabin, on the upper deck which will be configured with 53 business-class, 55 premium-economy and 104 economy seats.
Four 787s will be delivered to the carrier next year, the first arriving in May. BA will introduce its first A380 in July, with two more delivered in August and October.
It will also take two more Boeing 777-300ERs during September-October 2013.
BA will equip its new aircraft with a Thales in-flight entertainment system, while in-seat power will be available in all cabins.
Twelve A380s are on order for the airline as well as 24 787s, of which eight will be -8s. BA has yet to disclose the planned layout of the 16 larger 787-9s. “They could have three- or four-cabin configurations,” it says.
Sourced by Flightglobal
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Posted: December 11, 2012 | Author: walesairforum | Filed under: Airline & Route News | Tags: A380, All-A380 Experience, DUB, EGLL, EK, Emirates, Emirates UK, Heathrow, Laurie Berryman, LHR, London Heathrow, Superjumbo, Upgrades |
Emirates’ five daily flights to London Heathrow have all been upgraded to fly on A380s from today, two months ahead of schedule.
Combined with the daily Manchester A380 service, Emirates said this will mean it will be sending 360 flights to and from the UK each month, making Britain its biggest market for A380s, with the equivalent capacity of filling every seat at Arsenal’s 60,361-seater Emirates Stadium three times over.
Having steadily grown its London A380 operations since its first deployment in December 2008, Emirates originally planned the fifth service to take place from February 1 next year. However, due to increased passenger demand and recent A380 deliveries, Emirates has been able to bring the all-A380 London Heathrow service forward.
The A380 is the largest commercial aircraft in service, measuring 72.7 metres in length – three times the height of the Tower of London.
Laurie Berryman, Emirates’ UK vice president, said: “The A380 is known for its quietness, fuel efficiency and luxury; it takes airline travel to a higher level.
“Our passengers will now have a greater chance of an all-A380 experience when travelling across our network between London, Dubai and destinations such as Hong Kong, Beijing, Tokyo, Sydney and Melbourne.”
Sourced by Travel Weekly
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