All articles by Alfred Chua – Page 99
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NewsST Engineering clinches $589m in Q1 aerospace contracts
ST Engineering reiterates that its order book “remains robust” despite the coronavirus outbreak. The Singapore-based company adds, however, that it is in discussion with customers about deferments or cancellations. For the quarter ended 31 March, ST Engineering’s aerospace unit clinched about S$838 million ($589 million) in contracts, ...
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NewsHAECO rolls out passenger cabin freight stowage solution
HAECO’s cabin solutions unit has launched a new stowage concept which will allow airlines to combine passengers and cargo in the main cabin. The concept comes amid depressed passenger traffic due to the coronavirus outbreak, which has led to a growing number of carriers using passenger aircraft to fly ...
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NewsBig Japanese 787 suppliers suspend operations
Boeing’s Tier 1 manufacturers in Japan have suspended 787-related operations, following the US airframer’s factory closures in the USA due to the spread of the coronavirus. Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Subaru’s aerospace unit both announced the closure of their 787-related factory lines from 20 April until May. Kawasaki’s ...
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NewsChinese carriers warn of ‘substantial’ Q1 loss from pandemic hit
Two of China’s largest airlines have warned of a “substantial loss” for their first-quarter financial results. Both China Eastern and China Southern Airlines flagged the financial hit in their monthly traffic results for March, where they note that even with “timely measures” taken to mitigate the of the coronavirus outbreak, ...
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NewsVietJet secures repayment deferral on aircraft loans
Low-cost carrier VietJet has managed to secure deferrals of loan repayments for aircraft purchases from most of its lenders. VietJet states that it has been “working hard” with its suppliers, local and foreign financial institutions to cut 30-70% of prices and service fees, and to extend payment terms. ...
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NewsPost-pandemic demand recovery ‘impossible to predict’: Cathay
March proved to be yet another month of weak traffic figures for Cathay Pacific, which states that it is “impossible to predict” when passenger demand will recover from the coronavirus crisis. Commenting on its traffic results for March, Cathay adds that it is not seeing any improvement so far in ...
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NewsHAECO gains GE90 fan case MRO capability
HAECO’s composite services unit has added the GE90 engine to its fan case overhaul capabilities. The unit, based in Jinjiang in China, will provide preventive maintenance inspections and associated repairs for fan stator modules on the engines, which power Boeing 777-300ERs. “The scope of work includes ultrasonic inspections ...
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Airline BusinessEarly retirements in crises: a new normal?
Across the world, airlines are considering bringing forward the retirement of older aircraft types. When the coronavirus outbreak finally abates, the question will remain if these accelerated retirements represent an anomaly, or a “new normal”.
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NewsCAAC warns that air traffic return will be slow
While some capacity has been restored for Mainland China flights, it is likely to remain low for the foreseeable future. In its monthly update, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) states that “the volume of flights…may continue to to operate at low levels in the future”, as the ...
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NewsVietJet mounts freighter flights with passenger jets
Vietnamese low-cost carrier VietJet Air has begun flying passenger freighter flights, as it gradually begins resuming domestic passenger service. The airline states in an update that it is operating about 10 cargo flights daily, with services to points within Vietnam and to Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asia. ...
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NewsChina Southern beefs up Beijing Daxing capacity
China Southern Airlines aims to move its entire Beijing operations to the capital city’s new Daxing International airport by March 2021. In an update, China Southern states that from 12 April to 2 May, it will move an additional 50% of its flights from Beijing Capital to Beijing Daxing. ...
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NewsWhat’s in a name? Taiwan mulls renaming China Airlines
Taiwan is open to renaming national carrier China Airlines, but stressed that it was up to the airline — and the flying public — to ultimately decide.
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NewsWuhan airport reopens after months-long lockdown
Wuhan’s airport has reopened for operations, ending more than two months’ of inactivity due to the coronavirus outbreak. On 8 April , the Wuhan Tianhe International Airport reopened to a reduced schedule of domestic flights, as Chinese carriers gradually resumed flying to the epicentre of the outbreak. It ...
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NewsTaiwan rolls out second round of relief for aviation sector
About a month after it first extended a financial lifeline to its aviation sector, Taiwan has unveiled a second round of relief measures to cope with the impact of the coronavirus outbreak. It will provide the sector with credit guarantees and other subsidies. The package is expected to cost the ...
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NewsEtihad doubles down on airframe, cabin maintenance of parked fleet
As it parks about 80% of its fleet amid the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, Etihad Airways has doubled down on aircraft and cabin maintenance work. In a video released on 10 April, the Abu Dhabi-based carrier states it has to date replaced more than 10,000 seat and backrest covers in ...
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NewsUS reapproves licence for Leap engine sales to China
The US government has reapproved GE Aviation’s application to supply engines for Comac’s C919 narrowbody programme, months after it mulled blocking engine sales. The enginemaker states the licence to supply CFM International Leap-1C engines will last for a term of four years. It did not indicate when the application ...
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NewsHigher expenses drag GMF profit down 47%
GMF AeroAsia saw its full-year operating profit for 2019 slump, on the back of ballooning expenses. The Garuda Indonesia subsidiary posted an operating profit of $15 million, down 47.1% year-on-year. This was partly attributed to a higher increase in expenses — the MRO saw expenses rise 14.2% to ...
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NewsEtihad to test contactless medical screening at airport
Etihad Airways will trial new contactless technology that will help it identify passengers with medical conditions, potentially even those with early stages of the coronavirus. The carrier is partnering with Australian technology firm Elenium Automation to test the new concept later this month at its Abu Dhabi hub. ...
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Airline BusinessSlowly but surely, China domestic capacity creeps back up
While airlines around the world hunker down amid the coronavirus crisis, the Chinese domestic market is telling a different story.
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NewsFebruary travel demand slump worst since 9/11: IATA
Collapsing domestic travel in Mainland China — the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak — coupled with falling travel demand to and from the Asia-Pacific region, led to the sharpest drop in demand in almost two decades. Releasing its global passenger traffic data for February, IATA says RPKs for the ...