A trusted source of Asia-Pacific commercial aviation news and analysis


JULY 2016

Orient Aviation July-August 2016

LOADED
Qantas Group CEO, Alan Joyce, answers his critics with record profits and transformed international operations

• Lucrative Business Class days are numbered says Emirates Airline boss

• King Power’s football loving Thai tycoon buys into Thai AirAsia

• U.S. open skies policy changing course?

• Industry insight: innovation in global aerospace

 

Cover Story

Loaded

If Qantas Airways group CEO, Alan Joyce, has any concerns about Chinese investors’ recent dramatic moves into the boardroom of arch rival, Virgin Australia, he is not showing it. Read More »


 

Main Story

The invisible foe

Dark agents or hackers should be industry friends rather than foes when setting up systems to fight aviation cyber assault and terrorism, security experts said at the recent IATA annual gathering of air industry leaders in Dublin. Read More »


 

Industry Insight: Innovation in Global Aerospace

Airbus’ ink jets

THOR can’t really be described as a commercially viable aircraft, but it has flown. The letters stand for Test of High-tech Objectives in Reality and it is one of the more recent developments in Airbus’ drive to find new and more efficient ways of building aircraft. Read More »


 

Industry Insight: Innovation in Global Aerospace

Digital passports to make airport security obsolete?

Borderless travel in the blink of an eye is on the technological horizon for the world’s airlines. But its advocates must convince governments that biometric recognition systems are foolproof – and that will take time. Read More »


 


 

News Backgrounder

No great leap forward for Indian aviation

Finally, the Indian government has revised its aviation policy and, as expected, it has not pleased anyone. For ambitious new airlines, one of the biggest bones of contention had been the 5/20 rule. Read More »


 

News Backgrounder

China rides to the rescue at Virgin Australia

Down Under’s Virgin Australia (VA) was rarely out of the news last month. As May turned to June, the carrier confirmed its newest investor was from China. Read More »


 

News Backgrounder

Garuda Indonesia’s bottom line zealot

When Arif Wibowo took charge of Garuda Indonesia in December 2014 , the carrier was about to announce a $368.9 million loss for that year. Read More »


 

News Backgrounder

Is U.S. closing down on global open skies?

CEO Qantas International and Freight, Gareth Evans appears to have no apparent concerns about the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DoT) slow response to approving a joint venture between the Australian carrier and its U.S. partner, American Airlines. Read More »


 

News Backgrounder

Airbus on the supplier warpath

When it comes to A350 seats and bathrooms, Airbus boss, Fabrice Bregier has a big problem – several of the groundbreaking jet’s suppliers. Read More »


 

Addendum

No more excuses warns THAI boss

Thailand remains Europe’s favourite long-haul getaway. Read More »


 

Addendum

Lucrative days for business class numbered says Emirates boss

Corporate long haul travelers would migrate to cheaper seats and “high end stuff is not going to come through as it did in the good old days”, Emirates Airline president, Sir Tim Clark, told the Financial Times at the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) annual general meeting last month. Read More »


 

Addendum

CEO-designate says Star Alliance offers value to airline joint ventures

Jeffrey Goh, 47, a distinguished aviation legal academic and latterly Star Alliance’s chief operating officer, will succeed Mark Schwab as the Frankfurt-headquartered alliance’s CEO in January. Read More »


 

Addendum

China’s home-grown ARJ21 finally takes off

After a 14-year program and so many delays that it no longer matters, China’s Asian Regional Jet for the 21st century, the ARJ21-700, made its maiden revenue flight with launch customer, Chengdu Airlines, on June 28. Read More »


 

Addendum

Thai billionaire and Leicester City team proprietor expands empire to Thai AirAsia

Fifty eight year old Thai duty free tycoon, Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, whose Leicester City Football team won the 2016 English Premier League, has added a substantial holding in a local LCC to his portfolio of airport retail outlets, hotels, polo tournaments and top league English football. Read More »


 

Comment

U.S. barriers to regional airline expansion

As the U.S. presidential election approaches on November 8, an issue of concern for Asia-Pacific airlines is the fate of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA), a groundbreaking regional free trade agreement that was formally signed in New Zealand last February. Read More »