Qatar Airways Announce Flight Services to Entebbe

An Asian airline that stopped flying to Entebbe eight years ago has returned, weeks after Qatar Airways announced its entry in the country.

Gulf Air, the national carrier of the kingdom of Bahrain, and one of the largest network operators in the Middle East, will re-launch direct flights between Bahrain and Entebbe on December 5, 2011, a month before Qatar flags off its daily flights between Doha and Entebbe. This sets the road for tight competition as the number of Asian airlines climbs to four after Turkish Airways joined last year.

The other is Emirates, owned by the United Arab Emirates government; it has been flying Entebbe since the late 90s. Speaking during a media conference at Sheraton Kampala hotel, Karim Makhlouf, Gulf Air’s Chief Commercial Officer, noted that the airline has come in with new products to ensure they re-establish their market niche.

Operating an Airbus A320 in a two-class configuration of 16 executive seats and 120 economy seats, the airline has what it calls “full connectivity” which allows phoning and smsing on the aircraft, provides broadband internet and allows watching live television with exclusive channels where passengers can watch live football Premiership games.

The airline also has what it calls ’sky nannies’, a unique and dedicated service where trained flight attendants are on board to care for children -letting you relax with your children under safe hands.

“Although there is competition, we are confident that with our services, we can convince a customer to fly with us,” Makhlouf said.

He added: “Gulf Air has made considerable changes to its service portfolio and I believe this new route will be a success to both our passengers and cargo operations.”

The airline has also set its fares so low compared to other airlines. The introductory fares are $200 to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and Indian sub-continent, and $350 to the Middle East, Asia and Europe. This comes with a baggage allowance of 40kg. Qatar airways has put its fares at $434 to Dubai, $449 to Bengalore and $680 to London, while Emirates charges $870 to Dubai, $960 to Mumbai (Bombay), and $1,023 to Bangkok, Copenhagen and Geneva.

This leaves Gulf Air as the cheapest airline in terms of fees. Founded in 1950 as an air taxi service to Doha and Dhahran from Bahrain by a British pilot, Freddie Bosworth, Gulf has over the years grown its portfolio. This year alone, Entebbe becomes the ninth destination to be added to its list. The airline already flies to Nairobi, Addis Ababa, Geneva, and Copenhagen, among others.

Given its success in Nairobi where it started early this year with three flights a week which have now grown to nine flights a week, Makhlouf is optimistic the airline will give the other competitors a ride for their money. Gulf Air kicks off with four flights a week connecting Entebbe to Bahrain.

According to Makhlouf, the comeback of Gulf Air is because of the growing business at Entebbe airport which has seen its passenger numbers grow from 400,000 annually eight years ago to more than 1.2 million today. Makhlouf is optimistic that once they fly off, the carrier will grow Entebbe’s passenger numbers by 60,000 in the first year.

The entry of more airlines from the Middle East is an indication of the growing trade between East Africa and the far East. Dubai, Instanbul are already seen as a good gateway to places such as China, India and Singapore. Currently, Uganda alone is estimated to have over 45,000 people living in United Arab Emirates.

European Aircraft Manufacture: Airbus and Boeing Compete to Win American Airlines Plane Order

European aircraft builder Airbus aims to win a large plane order from AMR Corp’s American Airlines by offering $6 billion in preferential financing to woo the American carrier away from rival Boeing , according to the Wall Street Journal.

Airbus wants to break Boeing’s monopoly at American Airlines and has assembled a team of lenders and leasing firms to help the European company win the deal, people familiar with the proposal told the newspaper.

Airbus’s offer has a catalog value of almost $23 billion, but that is being heavily discounted, the people told the paper.

The European plane maker is offering American, a unit of AMR Corp , 130 of the current-generation A320s and 130 of the more fuel-efficient A320neo, the new engine option slated to enter service in 2015, the newspaper said.

American Airlines, which currently operates an all Boeing fleet, might make a decision about its airplane order as soon as next Wednesday, the people familiar with the matter said.

Meanwhile, Boeing is offering 737-800s and 737-900 Extended Range planes, people familiar with the matter said. However, the price and financing terms were unclear, the paper said.

Boeing is also racing to develop a product strategy for its best-selling 737 model to compete with redesigns of the A320.

“Boeing does not discuss our ongoing talks or sales campaigns with our airline customers,” Boeing spokesman Jim Condelles told Reuters.

Official at American Airlines and Airbus could not immediately be reached for comment by Reuters outside regular U.S. business hours.

Virgin America Deal Worth $5,1 billion to Buys 60 Airbus A320s, Including 30 A320neos

U.S. low-cost airline Virgin America said Monday it is buying 60 medium-range Airbus A320 planes in a deal worth $5.1 billion at list prices.

The firm order includes 30 of the A320 with new, fuel-efficient engines that Airbus decided late last year to develop and that will become available in 2016, making Virgin America the launch customer for the aircraft that Airbus is calling the A320neo.

Last week, Indian low-cost airline IndiGo announced a memorandum of understanding to buy 150 A320neos as well as 30 of the current version in a deal worth $15.6 million at list prices.

Airlines are increasingly turning to more modern, fuel-efficient aircraft in a bid to limit the financial impact of rising fuel costs as the price of oil approaches the $100 a barrel level once again.

If the IndiGo order becomes firm, the aggregate 240 orders in the first half of January alone will put Airbus well on its way to beating the 644 orders it received last year.

Commercial Aviation History : Airbus Wins Record Order From IndiGo Airline India, Boosting Upgrade A320 jet Engines

Airbus SAS won the biggest order in commercial aviation history, worth $15 billion at list price, from Indian low-fare carrier IndiGo Airlines, a boost for the company’s decision to upgrade its A320 jet with new engines.

The preliminary agreement to buy 180 planes will include 150 of the modernized A320 aircraft, according to a statement late yesterday. Toulouse, France-based Airbus committed to the new variant in December after more than a year of studying the option and expects a firm order from IndiGo within two months.

Success in selling single-aisle jets is critical for Airbus and rival Boeing Co. as they derive most of their earnings from those planes. Airbus’s pledge to offer new engines on the A320 from 2016 has put pressure on Chicago-based Boeing to consider the future of its best-selling model, the 737.

“It’s a strong start,” said Richard Aboulafia, vice president of Fairfax, Virginia-based Teal Group. “Boeing will face more pressure to make a decision on its single-aisle future. The company’s faith in staying the course with its current 737 probably won’t be tenable for more than 6-12 months.”

Airbus dubbed its latest offering the Airbus NEO, which stands for new engine option. Boeing has said that it was capable of offering its 737 with new, more fuel efficient engines, though has held back so far from a commitment, saying it wasn’t sure the business stacked up.

Indian Growth

The new aircraft will help IndiGo boost operations in the world’s second-most populous country. The carrier, owned by InterGlobe Enterprises Ltd., had already ordered 100 Airbus single-aisle jets and operates 32. InterGlobe, headed by Managing Director Rahul Bhatia, also runs hotels, sells business jets and offers technology services.

“The fundamental demand for air travel is only going up,” said Aditya Ghosh, the president of IndiGo, in an interview with Bloomberg UTV. “The gap between capacity and demand is increasing and these planes will extend our order book beyond 2015, when the 100 planes we ordered earlier are delivered.”

India’s economic growth of 8.9 percent in the quarter ended Sept. 30 made it the world’s second-fastest-growing major economy. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s government is aiming to sustain more than 9 percent annual economic growth to improve the lives of 828 million people who live on less than $2 a day.

Domestic air travel may surge fourfold to 180 million passengers annually by 2020, Singh predicted last year.

“India is one of the key growth markets of the world for aviation, and we are betting on the winners in India,” Airbus Sales Chief John Leahy said in a telephone interview yesterday.

SpiceJet, Air India

The country will likely need 1,030 new commercial aircraft over 20 years, the plane maker said in March. SpiceJet Ltd., the New Delhi-based discount carrier, last year announced orders for 30 Boeing 737s and 30 Bombardier Inc. turboprop planes. Flag carrier Air India and Jet Airways (India) Ltd. have both ordered Boeing 787 Dreamliners.

The classic Airbus A320 had a list price of $81.4 million in 2010, and Airbus has said the upgraded version would cost $6 million more. The company will start delivering the new versions in early 2016 and predicted a market potential of as many as 4,000 aircraft over 15 years. IndiGo is the first client to commit to the new variant.

Firm Order Pending

Leahy said a firm order will be signed in about two months. IndiGo ordered some standard models because it needed aircraft before the new jets become available. Specific engines for the aircraft will be announced later, according to Airbus.

IndiGo has not yet decided how to finance the order, Ghosh said. “The order is still 5-6 years before kicking in and the company has time to decide on funding options.” he said.

The geared turbofan engine by United Technologies Corp.’s Pratt & Whitney unit and the Leap-X from CFM International, the venture of General Electric Co. and Safran SA of France, are the choices on the new A320. The current IndiGo fleet uses engines from International Aero Engines, a venture led by Pratt & Whitney and London-based Rolls-Royce Group Plc.

The A320 is a twin-engine model that seats about 125 to 185 people. When the company introduced the A320 in the 1980s, the jet included novelties such as fly-by-wire electronic handling, helping Airbus leapfrog Boeing Co. deliveries from 2003 onward.

Doug Runte, a managing director at Piper Jaffray & Co. in New York, said that while the IndiGo order is important for the new A320, the real test will be winning away a Boeing customer.

“IndiGo is a legacy A320 operator so it is not all that surprising that it would choose to stick with the A320 family,” he said today. “The real win for Airbus and for the ‘‘Neo’’ will come if and when they can wrest a legacy 737 customer from Boeing by virtue of their new product.”

Source : Bloomberg.com

Air New Zealand Crash in France Due to Pilot Error

French prosecutors said they would not press charges against anyone over a 2008 Air New Zealand crash after they received an investigators’ report that blamed pilot error.

The crew lost control of the Airbus A320 and crashed it — killing all seven people on board — as they tried to perform a low-speed test “in inappropriate conditions” off France’s Mediterranean coast, the prosecutors said.

They cited a report by experts appointed by a court in Perpignan, near the site of the November 27, 2008 crash.
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Boeing Get Order 92 Aircraft at Farnborough Airshow

Boeing took the wraps off 92 more airliner orders Wednesday at the Farnborough Airshow in the United Kingdom as both domestic and foreign airlines and leasing companies continued their quest for new, efficient capacity.

Boeing, which builds its airliners in Everett and Renton, got orders from American Airlines for 35 more 737-800s to replace its aging fleet mainstay, the MD-80.

By the end of 2012, American will have 195 737-800s in its fleet. The next-generation 737, built in Renton, is 35 percent more fuel efficient than the MD-80.
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Spirit Airlines to Use Aircraft Seat Unadjusted on New Airbus A320s

Customers traveling aboard Spirit Airlines’s new Airbus A320 aircraft are among the first to experience Brice Seating’s new pre-reclined B3100 Featherweight™ Super Light seat design.

The new leather seats with a greater recline built into the design offer comfort throughout the entire flight as you do not need to put the seat in a full upright position during take-off and landing. The new design also offers more space under the seat in front of you.

The lightweight seat means greater fuel efficiency, which is better for the environment and reduces costs. It is more than 30 percent lighter in weight than other seats. 178 seats on Spirit’s A320 weigh less than 145 seats on its A319.
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AirAsia Plans To Extend Flights to India from May 2010

AirAsia, one of the leading no-frills airlines, plans to expand flight route in India. It plans to add four direct flights connecting Bangkok with Kolkata, New Delhi, Amritsar and Mumbai from May this year.

“New Delhi and Mumbai sectors will be serviced by Air Asia X, low cost long haul carrier via new Airbus A330, while Amritsar and Kolkata will be serviced by AirAsia, low cost short haul airline by Airbus A320 aircrafts,” Kathleen Tan, head, (regional head – commercial), AirAsia, told reporters in Mumbai on Tuesday.
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