Moody’s lowers Qantas rating, outlook stable

Moody's Investors Service lowered the long-term senior unsecured rating of Qantas Airways (QF) to Baa3 from Baa2 on Tuesday. While the rating agency also lowered the short-term rating to P-3, from P-2, it said the airline’s outlook is stable and has not lost its investment grade rating. QF is one of only three airlines to have an investment grade rating.

Moody's VP and senior credit officer Ian Lewis said in a statement that "the ratings downgrade reflects Moody's expectation of ongoing pressure on Qantas' credit profile from the combined effects of high fuel prices, strong competition and difficult operating environment.”

"Qantas' credit profile had been subject to ongoing pressure over several years and more particularly since March 2011 when the outlook was changed to negative. These factors are behind the rating downgrade," Lewis said.

However, QF reaffirmed its strong financial position in a statement to the Australian Stock Exchange late Tuesday.

“The group’s credit rating with Moody’s remains investment-grade at Baa3/stable. With operating cash flow strengthening this financial year, a cash balance of more than A$3 billion ($3.3 billion) and the ability to adjust capital investment as appropriate, the Qantas Group remains in a strong funding position,” the airline said.

“The group has mandated financing in place for its 2011/12 aircraft deliveries and intends to fund the balance of its future capital commitments from operating cash flow, cash reserves and available debt.”

QF added that there had been “a significant deterioration in the global aviation operating environment over the past 12 months. Fuel prices have reached the high levels of 2008 and remain at elevated levels, adding around A$450 million to the group’s fuel bill in the first half of 2011/12, and the sovereign debt crisis in Europe has brought further uncertainty to global travel markets.

Article Source : ATW Daily News

India to buy 126 Rafale fighter jets in $11B deal Read more: http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/India-to-buy-126-Rafale-fighter-jets-in-11B-deal-2865201.php#ixzz1l73oCNk5

NEW DELHI (AP) — India is buying 126 French-made combat aircraft in a massive $11 billion deal that will increase the might of the world's fourth largest air force with the first exported Rafale jets, officials said Tuesday.

India has become the world's biggest arms importer as an economic boom has allowed it to push modernization of its military, and major arms manufacturers are wooing the country as it replaces its obsolete Soviet-era weapons and buys new equipment.

Dassault Aviation said it was honored to extend cooperation with India, which has a fleet of its older Mirage jets, and French President Nicolas Sarkozy welcomed India's decision.

Dassault snapped up the €8.4 billion deal with the lower bid in a two-way competition against the Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft, said an Indian official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters about the sensitive defense deal.

India's air force has around 700 fighter aircraft and is exceeded in size by the United States, Russia and China.

Growing worries about China's fast-expanding military and the decades-old mistrust of Pakistan have fueled India's impetus to add heft to its defense forces.

"India needs to bolster its fighting capabilities, particularly with long-range strike aircraft," said Rahul Bedi, a defense analyst in New Delhi.

"India's concern is not just Pakistan, but the longer term threat posed by an aggressive China," Bedi said.

The Indian agreement is the first foreign deal for Dassault's Rafale fighter jets. Planes from Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin of the United States and from Russian and Swedish makers were dropped from consideration earlier for technical reasons.

Eighteen fighter aircraft will be delivered in "fly away" condition within three years and the remaining 108 are to be built by state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. through technology transfers.

Defense ministry experts were still fine-tuning pricing details, including the cost of on-board weaponry and royalties for producing the aircraft in India. Sarkozy said contract negotiations will begin "very soon."

The French have for years been trying to get an export deal. Just last month, French Defense Minister Gerard Longuet warned the Rafale program could be stopped if foreign buyers don't materialize.

Longuet maintained the Rafale is an "excellent plane" but acknowledged it is handicapped by its price.

The Rafale, in service for the French Air Force since 2006, has been flying air support roles in Afghanistan since 2007, and was a big part of the NATO air campaign against Moammar Gadhafi's forces in Libya in 2011.

For years, political leaders from different countries had made a strong pitch for their aviation companies at meetings with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other Indian leaders.

"The reported $5 million difference between the candidates is exceptionally small, and indicates this was a very close race — practically a photo finish," said Endre Lunde, a consultant with IHS Jane's Defence Weekly.

French political backing was essential in strengthening the French bid, and the Rafale win is therefore also a major victory for President Nicholas Sarkozy, Lunde said.

He described the deal as a "major win for France, and a major loss for the UK."

Indian analysts said it was ultimately India's familiarity with French fighter jets such as the Mirage that swung the deal in Dassault's favor.

Dassault won a $1.4 billion contract to upgrade India's Mirage fleet last year.

Article Source : Seattle pi

UPS's 2011 profit rises 14% to $3.8 billion

United Parcel Service (UPS) posted 2011 net income of $3.8 billion, up 14% over a net profit of $3.34 billion in 2010, and projected that it will do well in 2012 despite uncertainty about the global economy.

CFO Kurt Kuehn said the company has expectations "for mixed economic growth around the world [in 2012] with modest improvement in the US." However, he added, "UPS projects another strong year of earnings" with 2012 per share earnings expected to rise 9%-15% over 2011.

The Atlanta-based delivery giant's "cash flow will remain strong," Kuehn said.

UPS's 2011 revenue increased by 7.2% compared to 2010 to $53.1 billion including a 10% rise in air-intensive international package revenue to $12.25 billion. US domestic package revenue grew 6.6% to $31.72 billion. Expenses lifted 7.1% to $47.03 billion and operating profit was $6.08 billion, up 7.8% year-over-year.

Article Source : ATW Daily News

Alitalia plans tie-up with Blue Panorama, Wind Jet

Alitalia (AZ) is proceeding with plans to merge with two smaller Italian competitors, Blue Panorama Airlines (BV) and Wind Jet (IV).

The AZ board, which signed a memorandum of understanding with the two carriers, said the “project of integration” is “coherent with the ongoing consolidation processes into the air transport, at national and international level.” It said the carriers have “synergy potentials and are complementary with regard to product specialization, network design and served market segments.” 

Alitalia Group last year carried around 25 million passengers using a fleet of 144 aircraft. It has bases in Rome, Milan, Turin, Venice, Bari and Catania.

BV, which launched operations in 1998, carried some 2 million passengers in 2011 with a fleet of seven Boeing 737-300/400s, two 757-200s and four 767-300ERs, according to its website. Intercontinental flights are operated under the BV brand; short- and medium-haul flights are operated as Blu-Express. It has bases in Rome Fiumicino and Milan Malpensa. BV signed an order for 12 Sukhoi Superjet 100 aircraft at the Paris Air Show in June 2011. Deliveries are scheduled to start at the end of 2012.

IV, established in 2003, is a LCC that operates domestic and European routes using five Airbus A319-100s and seven A320-200s. It handled more than 2.8 million passengers in 2011 and has a 6.2% domestic market share, according to an AZ statement. It has bases in Catania, Palermo and Rimini.

AZ will submit merger documents to antitrust authorities.

Article Source : ATW Daily News

Emirates upgrades Dublin aircraft to cope with demand

Just three weeks after the launch of flights to Dublin, Emirates has announced a larger aircraft will be deployed on the route from 1st July, 2012


The new passenger service, launched on 9th January, 2012 has already become one of the airline’s most successful route launches with load factors driving through 90% for many of the flights. 

 
The daily Dublin - Dubai service is currently operated with a 237-seat Airbus A330-200, arranged in a three class configuration.
 
“Normally, this would provide enough capacity for the first two to three years of a new route operation,” said Salem Obaidalla, Emirates’ Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations, Europe & Russian Federation. “However, Dublin is exceeding our expectations much faster than was predicted and we need more seats to satisfy demand.”
 
From July onwards, the replacement Boeing 777-300ER will provide a total of 360 seats, representing an increase in capacity of 52%. The Boeing offers 310 seats in Economy Class, 42 in Business Class and 8 First Class Private Suites.
 
“A bigger aircraft means more good news for the Irish economy. We can bring extra visitors to the country and carry additional cargo,” said Mr Obaidalla. “The A330-200 can carry up to 15 tonnes of cargo in the belly hold – this figure rises to 25 tonnes with the introduction of the Boeing 777.” 

Throughout all cabin classes of the Boeing 777, passengers will be able to enjoy the 1000-plus channels of the ice entertainment system, thoroughly enjoyed by travellers, especially those connecting through Dubai on longer journeys, or those with children.

Emirates’ passengers departing Dublin can conveniently connect to more than 100 destinations, such as India, Thailand and Australia, with just one stop in Dubai. While Dublin is Emirates’ first passenger service into Ireland, the airline has been serving the market through its air freight division for many years, transferring cargo through UK gateways, such as Manchester. 
 
Already this year, the airline has launched new routes to Rio and Buenos Aires and will start flights to Lusaka and Harare on 1st February. Dallas will follow from 2nd February, Seattle as of 1st March, Ho Chi Minh City from 4th June and Barcelona effective 3rd July.


Article Source : Arabian Aerospace 

Dubai World Central Handles 90,000 Tonnes of Cargo in 2011

Dubai Airports today announced traffic statistics for Dubai World Central that showed the airport handled 89,729 tonnes of air freight during its first full calendar year of operations.

In 2011 Dubai World Central's average monthly air cargo volumes totalled 7,477 tonnes compared to 795 tonnes per month recorded during the airport’s first half year of operations in 2010. Cargo transit traffic comprised  32,989 tonnes or 37 per cent of volume.



Aircraft movements for the year came in at 8,198 of which 3,609 (44 per cent) were commercial cargo flights, 4,548 (55.5 per cent) were test and training flights and 41 (0.5 per cent) were general aviation operations.  During 2011, 36 airlines operated into Dubai World Central, predominantly as cargo charter operations.

“Although the airport is in its infancy,  incremental cargo traffic growth has been steady and continues to ramp up as new operations are launched,” said Paul Griffiths, CEO, Dubai Airports. “Sea to air freight traffic growth was particularly robust as airlines took advantage of the airport’s bonded link to the Jebel Ali port. Additionally the road feeder service operating between Dubai International and Dubai World Central facilitated the smooth flow of transit airfreight. Combined, Dubai’s two airports handled 2,279,219 tonnes of airfreight in 2011, which is up marginally from 2010.” 

“It’s clear Dubai World Central will play a pivotal role in providing the capacity needed to accommodate projected growth,” added Griffiths. “In terms of cargo, the need is more immediate.  By 2015 cargo volumes will top three million tonnes exceeding the current capacity of Dubai International. We expect a good proportion of that growth to spill over to Dubai World Central. As for passenger operations, Dubai International will continue to serve as the primary focus of expansion and we will be investing US$7.8 billion to boost capacity to 90 million passengers by 2018. That said, operational trails for DWC’s passenger terminal are set to start during the second quarter of this year and we could see commercial passenger operations commence in 2013.”

Industry analyst Saj Ahmad, commenting on today's results, said: "Dubai World Central may only have completed a year's worth of freight operations, but despite the economic gloom and freight market volatility, the airport has managed to amass not just a critical mass of new airlines using its services, but to handle some 90,000 tonnes of freight is testimony to the airports long term future and growth capabilities.

'While passenger trials later this year will augment the introduction of full-scale passenger operations commencing next year, the airport's development is being synchronised with that of Dubai International Airport to leverage the best of their positioning. With the port of Jebel Ali virtually next door to Dubai World Central, the greater connectivity between sea and air freight will continue to rise as the other airport expands and caters for expanding passenger numbers until such time Dubai World Central also starts more passenger flights as more airlines look to set up a base there.

'By far and away, Dubai World Central's real potential may be some years away as completion is not yet due for a number for years - but based on 2011's performance, the airport has the ability to cater for the continuing growth that Dubai is experiencing."

Article Source : Arabian Aerospace

Royal Jet adds to its Medevac fleet

Abu Dhabi's Royal Jet has added a second dedicated medevac aircraft to its fleet of luxury jets to meet the steady growth and demand for Medevac services.

Royal Jet’s Medevac missions in 2011 has seen an increase in numbers compared with the previous year.  

“Being one of only a few Medevac-operators worldwide that cover the full range of cabin sizes , Royal Jet has clearly established its leadership role in the air ambulance market,” said Shane O’Hare, President and CEO of Royal Jet. “More importantly, the fact that Royal Jet owns its own fleet of aircraft which can easily and readily converted into air ambulances based on requirement as well as being manned and operated by our very own in-house team of highly trained medical professionals, we provide the market and our customers with a high level of confidence about our reliability and dependability to undertake such tasks.

“Indeed, having performed over 1310 missions, Royal Jet continues to be the most successful Medevac operator with strong year-on-year growth and with the largest number of patient transfers,” he added.

All of Royal Jet’s Air Ambulances are equipped with the most advanced onboard medical equipment and technologies including an Intensive Care Unit (ICU), ventilators, and even incubators for neo-natal requirements. Manned and operated by specially-trained and experienced in-house medical team consisting of a doctor and a paramedic, Royal Jet’s Medevac missions provide bed-to-bed service starting from any medical facility where a patient may be coming from to the next medical facility or hospital that the patient is destined to go to.

Significantly, Royal Jet’s medical team includes medical specialists who have been carefully selected in accordance with patients’ needs and requirements, and are all capable of providing the highest level of medical care and attention at every mission due to their specialist training in Aeromedicine – a specialty on its own which is absolutely necessary to be part of any Medevac mission.

While most of Royal Jet’s Medevac missions begin or end in the UAE, it has also carried out a number of missions from or to many cities across the Middle East, Europe, Africa and America. Additionally, Royal Jet has likewise conducted a significant number of Medevac missions from high risk areas such as Iraq and Afghanistan.

The increasing demand from people who prefer to travel overseas for specialised medical procedures are among those that Royal Jet caters to as the company offers patients the flexibility of selecting whatever timings and service suit them.

Since inception, Royal Jet’s Medevac service has been created with an objective of transporting patients with any type of condition, including those who may be critically ill and require the utmost medical support and attention. Its industry-leading Medevac service is founded on the recognition of the complex process of organising each mission, with a view that all Medevac missions are a new challenge and not simply the provision of an aircraft for a patient’s travel needs.

The entire process begins with the Royal Jet Medevac team conducting high precision coordination starting with pre-flight assessment of the patient followed by necessary equipment coordination, ground transportation and in-flight medical care. And with each and every patient’s varying medical condition, Royal Jet ensures that each Medevac mission is tailor-fit and customised in accordance with the patients’ medical needs.

Article Source : Arabian Aerospace

RAK Airways to begin long haul operations

RAK Airways is to launch a long-haul operation with the introduction of flights to Bangkok in June.

Bangkok will be the emirates' carrier's 12th route and starts June 1st 2012.  RAK Airways will offer four non-stop flights a week to Bangkok.
 

CEO Omar Jahameh said, “With the introduction of our first long- haul route to Bangkok, RAK Airways has cemented its unique market position between the well-established full service carriers and the low-cost carriers. Our value offering and route network is now markedly different to other carriers in the region; as one of the world’s most popular tourist destinations we are confident our Bangkok route will be extremely successful.”

Article Source : Arabian Aerospace

Royal Air Maroc receives three B737s from GECAS

GE Capital Aviation Services Limited (GECAS), the commercial aircraft leasing and financing arm of GE, announced delivery of three new Boeing 737-800 aircraft leased to Royal Air Maroc.

The aircraft come from GECAS’ existing order book with Boeing and were the third, fourth and fifth new aircraft delivered to the airline in 2011 to help them with fleet growth.

The flag carrier airline of Morocco, Royal Air Maroc operates a fleet of more than 55 aircraft to some 83 destinations in Africa, Europe, Middle East and North America.

Article Source : Arabian Aerospace

Turkish Airlines increases flights to UK's midlands region

urkish Airlines is making a further commitment to the UK's midlands region by increasing flights between Birmingham and Istanbul from five flights a week to daily services from March 25th.

The move will give business travellers better choice and flexibility to meet in Istanbul, and will provide more onward connectivity from Birmingham than ever before.

Over the last year, more and more people have been using Istanbul Ataturk Airport to connect onwards with Turkish Airlines’ over 190 strong route network, benefitting both business and leisure travellers.

The new schedule will operate as follows:

TK1968  - Monday, Wednesday & Friday departures from Birmingham at 11:15
TK1970 – Tuesday, Thursday Saturday & Sunday departures from Birmingham at 14:15

Martyn Lloyd, Head of Air Service Development, from Birmingham Airport, said, “Turkish Airlines began services from Birmingham in 2008 and has offered a vital service for Birmingham and the Midlands, whilst increasing passenger numbers year by year.

“However, business travellers need both choice and flexibility and we have worked in partnership with Turkish Airlines to secure a daily service from the end of March. We’re therefore delighted with this development to give our business and leisure community even more choice for long-haul connectivity from Birmingham.”

Mustafa Yildirim, General Manager for Turkish Airlines at the Airport, said, “As the Best Airline in Europe, we’re committed to Birmingham Airport and the decision to increase our operation demonstrates this. Turkish Airlines can offer travellers excellent choice, service and punctuality across Europe, the Indian Sub-continent, The Middle East, the Far East and Africa, with a choice of 190 destinations across our network. We look forward to welcoming new passengers on this growing route and giving people from the region even more choice. We will continue our growth by keeping our service and quality standards”

Turkish Airlines will operate an Airbus 320 and Boeing 737-800, which are configured for two classes; Business and Economy. Turkish Airlines operates the youngest fleet in Europe, amongst scheduled airlines.
 

Article Source : Arabian Aerospace

Air New Zealand’s CEO to step down this year

Air New Zealand (NZ) CEO Rob Fyfe plans to step down by the end of 2012, it was widely reported by New Zealand media Monday.

The New Zealand Herald quoted a statement from Fyfe saying that his decision was made partly to create the space for the airline’s talented and capable executives to realize their full potential. 

Fyfe, who has been NZ CEO since 2005, is credited with introducing many of the changes that transformed the airline.

Chairman John Palmer was quoted as saying that Fyfe had been an outstanding chief executive officer and had the full support of the NZ board.

"He has ensured that Air New Zealand has remained profitable despite the backdrop of turbulent economic times that have seen airlines lose billions globally."

"The board respects that as a world class chief executive officer Rob wants to continue to challenge himself and explore new opportunities,” Palmer said.

The search for a Fyfe’s successor is expected to take about six months.

Article Source : ATW Daily News