All articles by Alfred Chua – Page 100
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NewsLack of alertness, improper operation behind China Airlines freighter undershoot
The pilot of a China Airlines Boeing 747-400 freighter that undershot a runway at Taipei Taoyuan International Airport had inadequate rest — thanks to a crying baby at home — which affected his alertness. Releasing its final report into the 2018 incident, the Taiwan Transportation Safety Board (TTSB) also ...
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NewsAir China warns of 'short term' loss from outbreak
Air China has joined a growing list of airlines in warning of an operating loss “in the short term”, as the coronavirus outbreak continues to wreak havoc. Discussing the outlook for 2020 in its full-year results, the Air China group noted the impact that the outbreak — which originated ...
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NewsAir China 2019 profit inches up 2.1%
Lower expenses, coupled with more passengers carried, helped push Air China’s 2019 operating profit slightly higher. It posted a full-year profit of CNY14.6 billion ($2.06 billion) for 2019, an increase of 2.1% compared to the previous year. Group revenue for the year fell marginally — at about 0.4% ...
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Airline BusinessQantas tests limits of ultra-long-haul service
Project Sunrise could see flights of 19h-plus from New York and London to Sydney - if the aircraft, passengers and crew can take the strain
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NewsLoosened tie bolt assemblies behind Virgin Australia 737 wheel failure
Virgin Australia has implemented new landing gear wheel inspection guidelines, following the failure of a main landing gear wheel on a Boeing 737-800. Releasing its final report into the 2017 incident, investigators from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) found that the number one main wheel ruptured because of loosened ...
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AnalysisOutbreak brings mixed fortunes for Asia MROs
While much has been said about how the coronavirus outbreak has affected the airline industry, what is less-known is its effect on MROs. Are MROs in Asia seeing the silver lining of the crisis, or is it also a picture of gloom for many of them?
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NewsCathay reduces flying to ‘bare skeleton’ network of 15 points
Cathay Pacific has extended its deep capacity cuts for another month, reducing capacity by 96% for April and May, operating a “bare skeleton” passenger flight schedule of just 15 cities. With the latest cuts, Cathay will fly three-times-weekly to 12 points in its network to cities such as Singapore, London ...
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NewsMitsubishi Aircraft adds new directors to board
Mitsubishi Aircraft will see yet another round of management changes, as it doubles down on certificating its SpaceJet M90 regional jet programme. Two current senior vice presidents in the Japanese airframer will be promoted to directors of its board, effective 1 April. Keisuke Masutani will oversee global governance ...
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NewsHAECO gains 787 landing gear MRO capability
HAECO’s landing gear services unit has added Boeing 787s to its overhaul capabilities. The latest addition will provide “timely support for the fast-approaching landing gear overhauls due on regional and international Boeing 787 fleets”, the Hong Kong-based MRO states. HAECO Landing Gear Services also holds MRO capabilities on ...
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NewsChinese carriers’ February traffic collapse amid pandemic hit
February was a difficult month for China’s three largest carriers as the country battled the coronavirus outbreak and was the subject of travel restrictions globally. In traffic results released on 18 March, each carrier saw capacity and load factors collapse, both domestically and internationally. As with January’s traffic results, ...
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NewsTaiwan closes borders to foreigner arrivals
Taiwan has joined a growing list of governments around the world to close off its borders to foreign arrivals, in a bid to stem the tide of imported coronavirus cases. A notice from the ministry of foreign affairs states the travel ban kicks in on 19 March, though exceptions ...
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NewsLatest SpaceJet M90 test aircraft embarks on first flight
Mitsubishi Aircraft’s SpaceJet M90 flight-test vehicle 10 took off on its maiden sortie on 18 March. The aircraft, FTV10, registered JA26MJ, took off from Nagoya and conducted a series of performance tests over the Pacific Ocean. Two hours later, the aircraft returned to Nagoya. Source: Mitsubishi Aircraft Flight ...
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NewsTaiwan extends financial lifeline to its airlines
The Taiwanese government will offer financial aid to its carriers – in the form of subsidies and loans – to help cushion the financial blow from the coronavirus. Among the measures the MInistry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) rolled out was the offering of loans to help airlines with normal ...
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NewsAustralia rolls out aid package for aviation industry
The Australian government has unveiled a A$715 million ($430 million) relief package for its aviation industry, which has been hard-hit by the coronavirus outbreak. Australian deputy prime minister Michael McCormack, who is also the minister for infrastructure, transport and regional development, announced the measures on 18 March, as he acknowledged ...
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NewsVirgin Australia cuts entire international network, halves domestic capacity
Virgin Australia will suspend all international flights until June, and ground its entire widebody fleet, as it continues to reel from the impact of coronavirus outbreak. It will also cut domestic capacity by half until June, up from a previously announced cut of 5%. Virgin Australia states that it was ...
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NewsCoronavirus costs Cathay HK$2 billion in February
Cathay Pacific made an unaudited loss of more than HK$2 billion ($257 million) in February, as it takes a hit from the coronavirus outbreak. Meanwhile, Singapore Airlines saw falling passenger numbers for the month, and warns of weakened travel demand in the near term.
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NewsQantas to ground nearly entire widebody fleet, cut capacity further
Australia’s Qantas Group will ground 150 aircraft — including “almost all” of its widebody fleet —amid deeper capacity cuts across both its international and domestic networks.
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NewsGAMECO clinches FAA approval for Daxing line maintenance
Chinese MRO GAMECO has received approval from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to provide line maintenance at Beijing Daxing airport. The company received FAA’s approval of operations specifications D107 on 3 March, it states. It comes after it passed the FAA’s series of audits in January. “This approval will ...
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NewsHainan signs avionics MRO contract with Aviage Systems
Aviage Systems has inked a three-year contract to provide Hainan Airlines avionics MRO services for its fleet of Boeing 787s. The contract, a first between both parties, covers the inspection, repair and overhaul service of the 787’s integrated modular avionics components. It comes as Aviage Systems received certification from the ...
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NewsChina aviation sector takes CNY24.6 billion coronavirus hit
The Chinese civil aviation sector lost about CNY24.6 billion ($3.52 billion) in February because of the coronavirus outbreak. Chinese carriers took the lion’s share of the losses. making up about CNY 21 billion, according to a China Daily report, citing data from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) ...