As an international operation of the brand AirAsia, AirAsia X flies to 15 destinations within Oceania and Asia, and has a fleet of 11 aircraft, consisting of Airbus A330-200s, Airbus A330-300s, and Airbus A350-900s. The airline stopped its services to Europe in January 2012 due to high fuel costs, weak travel demand, and high taxes.

The six Airbus A330-300s on order will be delivered in 2013-14, and will be leased for a 10-year period. The aircraft will be fitted with Rolls-Royce Trent 700 power plants, and will be similar model to the A330-300s the airline already owns – they will be reconfigured to match AirAsia X’s existing Airbus A330-300 configuration, which consists of 365 economy seats and 12 premium flatbeds.

Air Asia chief executive, Azran Osman-Rani, said,

“These six aircraft, together with existing delivery orders from Airbus, will see AirAsia X’s growth develop, with a total of seven deliveries each in 2013 and 2014, with the aim of being the dominant market leader in the low-cost long-haul segment.”

Osman-Rani added,

“Our commitment to have a standardized, young and fuel- efficient fleet optimizes our resources and provides better value. We intend to deploy the additional capacity with a vision to solidify our positions in our identified core markets including Australia, China, Taiwan, Korea, and Japan.”

This lease agreement is Air Asia X’s first lease agreement with ILFC. Henri Courpron, ILFC Chief Executive Officer, said, “ILFC is pleased to welcome AirAsia X as our new customer in the Asia Pacific region. This new partnership will support the long-haul business of AirAsia X and reinforce the airline’s position in low-cost segment of the market.”

Tony Fernandes, AirAsia X’s Co-founder and Director, also commented,

“AirAsia X’s partnership with ILFC will further complement the AirAsia Group’s long-term vision of developing its presence in key markets in Asia, and strengthening the connectivity between the AirAsia’s short haul and AirAsia X long haul low cost network for the benefit of passengers’ convenience. This would hopefully fulfill our pledge – Now Everyone Can Fly further.”

AirAsia X, which commenced operations in November 2007, is affiliated with Air Canada and Virgin Group, who are some of its main shareholders.

About AirAsia

AirAsia, AirAsia X’s parent company, is the largest low-fare, no-frills airline in Asia. The airline currently operates about 150 routes to 80 destinations. The airline has more than 400 daily flights across Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, Nepal, Myanmar, Cambodia, Vietnam, Taiwan, India, Iran, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, and China, among others. AirAsia has several subsidiaries, namely AirAsia Philippines, AirAsia Japan, Indonesia AirAsia and Thai AirAsia.

AirAsia has an all-Airbus fleet. AirAsia’ total fleet of 277 aircraft consists of Airbus A320-200s and Airbus A320neos.

About ILFC

ILFC is one of the biggest independent aircraft lessors globally, with a portfolio of more than 1,000 owned or managed aircraft. The company currently has commitments to buy about 300 new, fuel-efficient aircraft. Founded in 1973 by three private entrepreneurs, the company was acquired by insurance company AIG in 1990.

ILFC currently leases Airbus and Boeing aircraft to key airlines worldwide, namely Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, United Airlines, Air Canada, Alaska Airlines, Asiana Airlines, Aeroméxico, Pakistan International Airlines, Air India, Emirates, Cathay Pacific, Korean Air, Lufthansa, Air France-KLM, and others.

Planetary Resources, Inc., a US-based firm, has announced that it will use unmanned robotic spacecraft to investigate and ultimately to mine near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) for valuable raw materials.

Mining of asteroids.

The first step of the project involves identifying suitable NEAs targets, based on their accessibility and compositions. Special prospecting spacecraft are currently being built for this task. The next step involves flying deep-space spacecraft to the targeted asteroids, to study them closely. The final step of the project involves setting up mining operations to extract high value materials.

Planetary Resources Inc is led by Peter Diamandis, Chairman of the X-Prize foundation and Eric Anderson of Space Adventures Limited. Several distinguished investors finance the company, including Larry Page, Google’s CEO and Eric Schmidt, executive chairperson of Google Inc. James Cameroon, filmmaker and explorer, is an advisor to the organization.

The project has several challenges, mainly high costs associated with building and launching spacecraft. However, the possibilities of finding rare, high value raw materials make this project a worthwhile investment.

According to Planetary Resources Inc, about 1,500 of the 9,000 known NEAs are as accessible as the moon.

The project has some legal uncertainties – the Outer Space Treaty of 1967 prohibits the ownership of planetary bodies. However, this law applies to states, and Planetary Resources Inc, as a private company, may not be bound by this law.

On 30 March 2012, a Fire Scout crashed off the coast of Africa after a surveillance mission. The aircraft failed to land on the US Navy Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate USS Simpson (FFG-56), and crashed into the ocean. US Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) said,

“After multiple approaches and exhaustive troubleshooting at established minimum fuel limits, the aircraft was positioned a safe distance from the ship and terminated flight”. He added, “Subsequently, USS Simpson performed a night time recovery of the aircraft which remained relatively intact.”

MQ-8 Drone

On 6 April 2012, another Fire Scout crashed in northern Afghanistan during an operational mission. The cause of the crash in not known, but initial reports suggests that it is unlikely the accident was due to enemy action.

An unmanned autonomous helicopter developed by Northrop Grumman, the Northrop Grumman MQ-8 Fire Scout is used by the United States Armed Forces for reconnaissance services. The aircraft also provides support for sea, ground air forces.

The indefinite suspension order affects all the Fire Scout helicopters – two in Afghanistan, another one aboard the USS Simpson and several aboard the USS Klackring.

There are 3 variants to the Fire Scout, namely RQ-8A, RQ-8B and MQ-8B.

The Fire Scout has a long operational history:

• The MQ-8B was first deployed aboard McInerney in 2009. This MQ-8B subsequently helped a vessel to detect a speedboat that was smuggling cocaine in the Eastern Pacific, leading to the arrest of the suspects.
• In 2011, 3  MQ-8s were deployed on a mission in Afghanistan.
• In 2011, a MQ-8 operating from USS Halyburton was shot down in Libya while on a reconnaissance mission.

Damage on the side of the body of the aircraft

After briefly touching down on runway 16R at Narita Airport, the aircraft bounced off and touched down heavily for the second time, nose gear first. The aircraft eventually settled on the runway, rolled out and taxied to the apron.

The aircraft, registration JA610A, was flying from Beijing to Tokyo Narita. Although the aircraft was significantly damaged, none of the 193 people on board were injured.

An ANA representative said, “The flight had a rough landing when it landed at Narita’s runway. After all passengers and crew were off, our mechanic checked the aircraft and found the outer panel of the aircraft’s fore side of the body had been damaged.”

The Japan Transport Safety Board is currently investigating the cause of the accident. There were gusty winds at the time of the accident, but it not yet known if the weather conditions caused the hard landing.

ANA is one of the main airlines in Japan and it operates services to about 50 destinations in Japan and approximately 30 international routes. ANA also runs several subsidiary passenger carriers, including ANA Wings, a regional airline, and Air Japan, a charter carrier. ANA also owns several small carriers, namely Air Do, a budget carrier, and several low-cost carrier joint ventures.

Video of the incident

Air India 787

Air India ordered 27 787s, and the first aircraft was supposed to be delivered in September 2008. However, there have been delays in the 787 program due to a number of factors including labour problem at Boeing, and the delivery of the Dreamliners was delayed.

The first of the 27 787s ordered by the state-owned carrier is ready for delivery – Air India was scheduled to take delivery of this aircraft in early June 2012. Once the compensation claim discussions are finalized, Air India will accept the delivery of the first aircraft.

The airline’s board held a meeting during which the decision to seek compensation was made, and the board’s plan has been sent to the Indian civil aviation ministry for approval.

The compensation amount that Air India is seeking has not been disclosed.

Air India is cash-strapped. The airline has reportedly invited financial institutions and banks to assist raise loans of up to $500 million to help the airline take delivery of first few 787 Dreamliners by December 2012.

Meanwhile, the airline has had labour trouble in recent weeks, which caused major disruptions on its international flights. All its pilots went on strike, and Air India subsequently dismissed 101 pilots. The pilots were protesting the carrier’s decision not to train them for the 787 aircraft. The airline has had to reduce its international flights due to the ongoing labour dispute.

Artists impression of a Batik Air 787 Dreamliner.

Lion Air is Indonesia’s largest privately run airline and it controls the largest share of the domestic market.

In recent years, the short-haul, low cost segment of the Indonesia’s air industry has experienced significant growth and increase in competition. Lion Air’s plans to acquire wide-bodies will make Indonesia’s airline domestic market much more competitive. Batik Air will also increase competition in the long-haul segment within the Southeast Asia region, putting more pressure on existing airlines in the region.

Air Batik will have its hub in the city of Manado, which is located in the northern region of the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. This will enable the airline to provide faster and easier connections to Northeast Asia and the Asia-Pacific.

Qantas subsidiary Jetstar and Malaysia’s AirAsia X were the first airlines to offer long haul, low-cost services in the region. Singapore Airlines subsidiary Scoot started offering services in the region in June 2012. In 2013, Philippines’s Cebu Pacific will also commence offering long-haul services in the region.

Entry by new airlines will increase competition and put pressure on existing airlines in the region such as Garuda Indonesia, Thai Airways, Malaysia Airlines and Philippine Airlines to renew their fleet and improve their services.

The Airbus A380 Wing.

Airbus has announced that it expects a one-off cost to implement a retrofit solution to the A380 wing-rib cracking problem to reach US$330 million in 2012. Airbus also announced that the first A380s with line-fit wing-fix will be delivered in 2014.

EADS, Airbus’ parent company, said it will liaise with certification authorities about the wing-fix solution for the A380s. After the European Aviation Safety Agency has approved the suggested solution and change, the company will start to implement the retrofit towards the end of 2012.

The company also said the fix is more complex that initially anticipated when the problem surfaced at the beginning of the year. EADS spokesperson said, “This charge is now treated as a one-off since the anticipated retrofit costs go beyond the recurring warranty levels.”

EADS has indicated that it has already allocated US$202 million for fixing 71 A380s that are currently in service.

EADS said,

Implementation in production of the final fix will temporarily generate headwind on the year-on-year A380 [earnings] improvement in 2012 and 2013 to account for non-recurring costs and delivery adjustments.” The company added, “General discussions are on-going with customers. However, this should not jeopardise the reaching of [A380] break-even by the beginning of 2015.

The Airbus A380 – a double-deck, wide-body, four-engine jet airliner – is the world’s largest passenger airliner. Because of its size, many airports have had to expand their facilities to accommodate it.

Three Air Finland 767s

The airline was founded in 2002 and operated from its head office and base at Helsinki Airport in Vantaa, Finland. The airline operated scheduled and chartered flights to popular holiday destinations such as Alicante, Antalya, Malaga, Madeira, Crete, Rhodes, Dubai, Las Palmas and Tenerife. The airline offered holiday package tours.

Announcing the airline’s collapse in an official statement, Mika Helenius, CEO of Air Finland, said, “In this challenging situation, we were unable to obtain additional financing…We are deeply sorry for this development and the inconvenience to customers.”

At the time of its collapse, Air Finland had thousands of customers at holiday resorts. Homeward flights for these customers are currently being organized in association with the Consumer Agency.

According to Helenius, the company has folded dues to high fuel prices and “overcapacity in the market”.

The company had about 200 employees.

Garuda flies to many destinations in East Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia, Europe and the Middle East. The airline’s head office is located at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, near Jakarta, the Indonesian capital city. The Indonesian government owns most of the airline’s shares.

Garuda Airbus A330

This order, which is the third for the A330 over the past two years, will bring Garuda’s total order of the wide-body plane version to 21. In 2010, the airline signed an agreement with Airbus for 10 A330-200s. The airline also signed an agreement for 50 A320s for Citilink.

Garuda will operate the A330-300 aircraft on services from Denpasar and Jakarta to several destinations, including Asia, the Middle East and the Pacific.

Emirsyah Satar, Garuda president and chief executive, said, “The A330 has proven to be a key element in the success of the revitalised Garuda Indonesia. The low seat mile cost and high passenger appeal make the aircraft a perfect fit for our fleet and a firm favourite with our passengers”.

The airline will receive 21 aircraft in 2012: two A330-300s, 10 A320s, 4 Boeing 737-800s and 5 Bombardier CRJ1000 regional jets. This will expand its fleet from 87 to 105.

Satar said this purchase is part of the airline’s Quantum Leap program aimed at expanding Garuda’s fleet and add more medium- and long-haul flights. Satar said, “In line with the Quantum Leap program, Garuda will operate 194 aircraft in 2015, consisting of B737-800 Next Generations, A330-300s, A330-200s, B777-300ERs and A320s that are operated by Citilink, with an average fleet age of 5 years.”

Garuda plans to expand its fleet to 194 aircraft during the next 3 to 5 years.

Currently, Garuda operates eight A330-200s and six A330-300s.

David Cameroon, the UK prime minister, who was in Indonesia as part of his Southeast Asia trade tour, attended the contract signing ceremony. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the Indonesia Prime Minister, was also at the signing ceremony.

Switzerland intends to purchase the Gripen fighter. Pilots and flight test engineers from Swiss air force and Armasuisse procurement agency have test flown the Gripen at Saab’s facility at Linköping in Sweden.

The Saab Gripen in flight.

Bernhard Berset, Armasuisse chief test pilot, said, “We performed flight performance tests using an air policing scenario. We simulated a quick reaction alert and a maximum performance intercept to high altitude and supersonic speed. We tested the [General Electric F414G] engine in the entire envelope and are pleased with the results.”

During the testing, the aircraft was flown with a wide range of weapon configurations, including the carriage of dummy Diehl BGT Defence IRIS-T, MBDA Meteor and Raytheon AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missiles. The test flights were carried out up to an altitude of 12,000ft (3,660m) and to a maximum speed of Mach 1.35.

Richard Ljungberg, Saab chief test pilot, said, “We have shown the growing capabilities of this aircraft and demonstrated everything requested, including increased performance, handling and endurance.”

Switzerland plans to use the Gripen to replace its Northrop F-5E/F fighters.

Following this successful testing, Switzerland will order 22 aircraft. Deliveries of the Gripen will be between 2018 and 2020.

There are several Gripen variants, including JAS 39A, JAS 39B, JAS 39C, JAS 39D, Gripen NG/IN, and Sea Gripen.

There are 163 Gripens in service in several countries, including Sweden, United Kingdom, Thailand, South Africa, Hungary and Czech Republic.

The Gripen’s unit cost is US$40-60 million.