The largest commercial passenger jet ever built - Airbus's A380 superjumbo - was widely grounded late last year, when problems with engines built by Rolls Royce forced first Qantas, then Singapore Airliness and others, to curtain or even stop flying the big bird. The engines have been tweaked, the problems seem to have been worked out and airlines are gradually returning the A380 to service, as well as announcing new routes for the humongous double-decker plane.
This good for Airbus, of course, as several hundred of the aircraft are on order, led by petrodollar-rich Middle Eastern airlines. It's good for congested airports in that more of these planes once put into service could help ease congestion by moving people with fewer flights. It's good for the airlines, as they can fully utilize growing fleets. And it should be good for travelers; flying in the A380 is a memorable and usually positive experience.
Qantas is returning its superjumbos to service, having resumed flights between Sydney and Los Angeles International as of Jan. 16.
Singapore Airways recently announced it will deploy the big plane between LAX and Tokyo, with continuing service to Singapore, as of March 27.
Korean Air plans to launch service from New York's John F. Kennedy International to Seoul/Inchon International on Aug. 2, the first use of an A380 between New York and Asia. On Oct.1, Korean will ramp up some more, using the A380 between LAX and South Korea.
As it happens, I was on the first-ever scheduled commercial flight of an Airbus A380. That was Singapore Airlines's aptly numbered flight 380, from Singapore to Sydney on Oct. 25, 2007. I remember it as one big party, some eight hours long, with people popping in and out of their seats, drinking bubbly and snapping pictures of each other. The aircraft was memorably and impressively spacious and extraordinarily quiet for a plane its size.
Last month, I had lunch with James Boyd, a vice president communications in the Americas for Singapore Air, who told me that as of then ''11 Airbus A380s are back in the air. It's a well-received and reliable aircraft. We've carried 3 million passengers on our A380s and flown hundreds of thousands of miles. It's a well-performing aircraft, and 40 percent more quiet." Quieter than other jumbo jets, that is.
Speaking of SQ, Boyd said that his airline at the end of March will commence thrice-weekly service between Singapore and Barcelona. SQ also eyes three-times weekly service to Sao Paolo, pending approval from the government of Brazil. "It's an open space in our network,'' he said.
SQ plans to use Boeing 777ERs configured into three classes for its South America service.
In the meantime, it's evidently wheels-up for the A380 superjumbo, following the necessary safety fixes. It's good to have the big bird back in the sky.
Showing posts with label Airbus A380. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Airbus A380. Show all posts
Friday, January 21, 2011
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Hubris
Hubris, thy name is Boeing ... and Airbus.
The world's two giant aircraft-makers - embracing globalization but stretched to the limit by it - are still struggling to make what they proudly term "game-changing'' new airplanes and deliver them to customer airlines. The latest delay came in June, when Chicago-based Boeing Co. announced there would be yet another delay - the fifth since 2007 - in delivery of its B787 Dreamliner, a long-range airplane made of carbon-composite materials that airlines are counting on to generate less pollution and burn less fuel than do their current fleets. Now, Boeing says its first test flight of the 787 won't take place till the end of this year, with the first deliveries in late 2010 - two and a half years late.
Delays play havoc with the business plans of airlines and put off the day when the traveling public can start to reap the benefits of flying in relatively clean and quiet jetliners.
Toulouse-based Airbus, for its part, is two years behind schedule on its superjumbo A380, due primarily to problems in the extensive electrical wiring needed for the plane. The A380 has been flying for nearly two years but only three airlines are using it, as orders stack up, awaiting faster production by Airbus, a European consortium dominated by the French and Germans with some input from the British and Spanish.
I flew on the first scheduled commercial flight of an Airbus A380, traveling from Singapore to Sydney on Singapore Airlines flight 380. The date was Oct. 25, 2007, and the ride was spectacular - not least because of the movie-premiere-like party going on throughout the seven-hour flight, but also because of the astonishingly quiet performance of the enormous, double-decker plane. Since then, Emirates and Qantas have started flying the A380, too, though both are still waiting for most of the planes they ordered, as is Singapore Air.
The Dreamliner, too, promises to be a fine new airplane, though aviation industry pundits are understandably skeptical about the manufacturer's grand claims for it. "There was a lot of uncertainty, and a lot of the chatter on the street was "Will this aircraft ever fly?'' Alex Hamilton, an analyst with Jesup and Lamont Securities, told Airwise.com after the latest Boeing explanation and apologia.
That's a bit silly. With billions in research and development committed to the 787 and Boeing's prestige on on the line, the aircraft will fly. The question isn't if but when.
In the meantime, imagine being All Nippon Airways, the launch customer for the 787 and buyer of 55 of the aircraft. ANA was expecting to take its first planes in May 2008 and fly them to the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. That plan was dashed.
In Tokyo last year, I interviewed several ANA executives. When the question of the Dreamliner came up, the vexation in their faces was apparent. When I asked if they would seek financial compensation from Boeing for lost business, they said they just might. No one has commented on how much such compensation that could be.
Last week - following a Boeing announcement that it is making headway on resolving a problem left unsolved by an Italian contractor in afixing the wings to the body of the 787 - ANA issued this statement:
"We understand the need to make the best and safest aircraft possible and appreciate that delays due to engineering issues of the current nature must be solved in order to move forward and achieve this. However, as launch customer and future operator of the 787, the length of this further delay is a source of great dismay, not to say frustration.''
Some of Boeing's current difficulties come from overpromising, some from the increasingly globalized nature of manufacturing, with its extended supply chains, worldwide outsourcing and many subcontractors - some relatively unknown to Boeing and Airbus.
Despite their struggles in managing far-flung contract manufacturers, Boeing has said it is looking into starting a second production line for the 787 Dreamliner. If final assembly takes place outside Boeing plants in the state of Washington, that would be a first for Boeing.
Meanwhile, airlines and air travelers alike wait, and wait, to fly the sky of the future.
The world's two giant aircraft-makers - embracing globalization but stretched to the limit by it - are still struggling to make what they proudly term "game-changing'' new airplanes and deliver them to customer airlines. The latest delay came in June, when Chicago-based Boeing Co. announced there would be yet another delay - the fifth since 2007 - in delivery of its B787 Dreamliner, a long-range airplane made of carbon-composite materials that airlines are counting on to generate less pollution and burn less fuel than do their current fleets. Now, Boeing says its first test flight of the 787 won't take place till the end of this year, with the first deliveries in late 2010 - two and a half years late.
Delays play havoc with the business plans of airlines and put off the day when the traveling public can start to reap the benefits of flying in relatively clean and quiet jetliners.
Toulouse-based Airbus, for its part, is two years behind schedule on its superjumbo A380, due primarily to problems in the extensive electrical wiring needed for the plane. The A380 has been flying for nearly two years but only three airlines are using it, as orders stack up, awaiting faster production by Airbus, a European consortium dominated by the French and Germans with some input from the British and Spanish.
I flew on the first scheduled commercial flight of an Airbus A380, traveling from Singapore to Sydney on Singapore Airlines flight 380. The date was Oct. 25, 2007, and the ride was spectacular - not least because of the movie-premiere-like party going on throughout the seven-hour flight, but also because of the astonishingly quiet performance of the enormous, double-decker plane. Since then, Emirates and Qantas have started flying the A380, too, though both are still waiting for most of the planes they ordered, as is Singapore Air.
The Dreamliner, too, promises to be a fine new airplane, though aviation industry pundits are understandably skeptical about the manufacturer's grand claims for it. "There was a lot of uncertainty, and a lot of the chatter on the street was "Will this aircraft ever fly?'' Alex Hamilton, an analyst with Jesup and Lamont Securities, told Airwise.com after the latest Boeing explanation and apologia.
That's a bit silly. With billions in research and development committed to the 787 and Boeing's prestige on on the line, the aircraft will fly. The question isn't if but when.
In the meantime, imagine being All Nippon Airways, the launch customer for the 787 and buyer of 55 of the aircraft. ANA was expecting to take its first planes in May 2008 and fly them to the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. That plan was dashed.
In Tokyo last year, I interviewed several ANA executives. When the question of the Dreamliner came up, the vexation in their faces was apparent. When I asked if they would seek financial compensation from Boeing for lost business, they said they just might. No one has commented on how much such compensation that could be.
Last week - following a Boeing announcement that it is making headway on resolving a problem left unsolved by an Italian contractor in afixing the wings to the body of the 787 - ANA issued this statement:
"We understand the need to make the best and safest aircraft possible and appreciate that delays due to engineering issues of the current nature must be solved in order to move forward and achieve this. However, as launch customer and future operator of the 787, the length of this further delay is a source of great dismay, not to say frustration.''
Some of Boeing's current difficulties come from overpromising, some from the increasingly globalized nature of manufacturing, with its extended supply chains, worldwide outsourcing and many subcontractors - some relatively unknown to Boeing and Airbus.
Despite their struggles in managing far-flung contract manufacturers, Boeing has said it is looking into starting a second production line for the 787 Dreamliner. If final assembly takes place outside Boeing plants in the state of Washington, that would be a first for Boeing.
Meanwhile, airlines and air travelers alike wait, and wait, to fly the sky of the future.
Friday, June 5, 2009
Korean Air's Comeback Kids
INCHEON, KOREA - Time was when Korean Air couldn't buy a break. Troubled by high-profile disasters, South Korea's biggest airline was dogged in the 1980s and '90s by a poor reputation.
What a difference a decade makes. Korean brought in international aviation experts to consult with company leaders, raised the bar on its product, retooled its once-hidebound corporate culture and is now one of the world's most respected and forward-looking airlines.
I'm seeing the results first hand, having flown from New York JFK to Incheon International Airport, just outside Seoul, Korea's capital and largest city, on a beautifully appointed and well-run Boeing 777. I flew in business class - which KAL calls Prestige - and it was a delight. The food and beverages - who would sneer at Laurent Perrier Champagne and spicy Korean beef? - were first-rate. The flat-bed seat on this triple-7 was just this month made flatter, wider and longer. The LCD monitors at every Prestige seat were enlarged and graced with sharp definition. There were dozens of movies, games and TV shows, accessed through a remote or touch-screen. Best of all, the superbly trained staff was attentive without being intrusive.
I met afterwards at KAL's headquarters on the edge of Seoul with two KAL executives: Steve Sukwan Kim, general manager passenger marketing development team, and Arnold(Boyoung) Song, team leader of the U.S. route management team.They said the carrier would press ahead with cabin upgrades, the purchase of new aircraft and other plans, despite the weak global economy and weakening of South Korea's currency, the won.
Although it's not widely known, KAL operates more trans-Pacific flights between Asia and North America - about 90 departures per week this summer - than any other airline. The carrier flies often to neighboring China and Japan and promotes Incheon International as a major hub and transfer point in East Asia. The sparkling, seaside airport was opened on reclaimed land in 2001 and has expanded continuously since then, with still-more growth in the works.
Kim said KAL expects to take possession of its first superjumbo Airbus A380 in December of 2010, and receive the fuel-efficient Boeing B787 Dreamliner by 2011. KAL, Kim and Song said, will make first use of the A380 on flights to Los Angeles International Airport and JFK. They wouldn't disclose how many seats will be on the huge aircraft, but they did say they won't be putting closed-door suites in first class.
"The cabin crews say it makes it too hard to communicate with passengers, and the passengers feel uncomfortable,'' Song says.
He said KAL plans to spend $200 million USD over the next several years upgrading the seats in all three classes and is considering whether to add a premium economy class. In the present collapse of premium international business travel, many airlines have done well with premium economy, given that companies have forced executives to trade down and/or cut back on air travel. Indeed, business class on my New York-Incheon flight was only about one-third full.
Despite sagging load factors, "We won't consider cutting business class fares,'' Kim says. "We want to maintain a certain level of fares in business class. But we will offer them more.''
This is not the time for Korean to cut back, as many other airlines have done, the two men say. Celebrating its 40th anniversary this year - the former national flag carrier was privatized in 1969 - the company wants to look forward, not backward.
Korean has had a hard history until this decade. In 1983, in a notorious Cold War attack, a Soviet fighter shot down a KAL flight over Siberia with much loss of life, and in 1997 a KAL jetliner crashed near Guam, killing over 200 people.
While no one can afford to be complacent about safety at any time - witness the recent Air France tragedy over the Atlantic - Korean has improved its safety record dramatically, in line with its other broad and deep improvements. The carrier is now one of the world's 20 largest airlines and is actually no. 1 in volume of cargo . In the estimation of this frequent flier, KAL is one of the 10 best airlines for customer for service in the world. The turnaround is quite remarkable. Korean Air's comeback kids have something to be proud of.
What a difference a decade makes. Korean brought in international aviation experts to consult with company leaders, raised the bar on its product, retooled its once-hidebound corporate culture and is now one of the world's most respected and forward-looking airlines.
I'm seeing the results first hand, having flown from New York JFK to Incheon International Airport, just outside Seoul, Korea's capital and largest city, on a beautifully appointed and well-run Boeing 777. I flew in business class - which KAL calls Prestige - and it was a delight. The food and beverages - who would sneer at Laurent Perrier Champagne and spicy Korean beef? - were first-rate. The flat-bed seat on this triple-7 was just this month made flatter, wider and longer. The LCD monitors at every Prestige seat were enlarged and graced with sharp definition. There were dozens of movies, games and TV shows, accessed through a remote or touch-screen. Best of all, the superbly trained staff was attentive without being intrusive.
I met afterwards at KAL's headquarters on the edge of Seoul with two KAL executives: Steve Sukwan Kim, general manager passenger marketing development team, and Arnold(Boyoung) Song, team leader of the U.S. route management team.They said the carrier would press ahead with cabin upgrades, the purchase of new aircraft and other plans, despite the weak global economy and weakening of South Korea's currency, the won.
Although it's not widely known, KAL operates more trans-Pacific flights between Asia and North America - about 90 departures per week this summer - than any other airline. The carrier flies often to neighboring China and Japan and promotes Incheon International as a major hub and transfer point in East Asia. The sparkling, seaside airport was opened on reclaimed land in 2001 and has expanded continuously since then, with still-more growth in the works.
Kim said KAL expects to take possession of its first superjumbo Airbus A380 in December of 2010, and receive the fuel-efficient Boeing B787 Dreamliner by 2011. KAL, Kim and Song said, will make first use of the A380 on flights to Los Angeles International Airport and JFK. They wouldn't disclose how many seats will be on the huge aircraft, but they did say they won't be putting closed-door suites in first class.
"The cabin crews say it makes it too hard to communicate with passengers, and the passengers feel uncomfortable,'' Song says.
He said KAL plans to spend $200 million USD over the next several years upgrading the seats in all three classes and is considering whether to add a premium economy class. In the present collapse of premium international business travel, many airlines have done well with premium economy, given that companies have forced executives to trade down and/or cut back on air travel. Indeed, business class on my New York-Incheon flight was only about one-third full.
Despite sagging load factors, "We won't consider cutting business class fares,'' Kim says. "We want to maintain a certain level of fares in business class. But we will offer them more.''
This is not the time for Korean to cut back, as many other airlines have done, the two men say. Celebrating its 40th anniversary this year - the former national flag carrier was privatized in 1969 - the company wants to look forward, not backward.
Korean has had a hard history until this decade. In 1983, in a notorious Cold War attack, a Soviet fighter shot down a KAL flight over Siberia with much loss of life, and in 1997 a KAL jetliner crashed near Guam, killing over 200 people.
While no one can afford to be complacent about safety at any time - witness the recent Air France tragedy over the Atlantic - Korean has improved its safety record dramatically, in line with its other broad and deep improvements. The carrier is now one of the world's 20 largest airlines and is actually no. 1 in volume of cargo . In the estimation of this frequent flier, KAL is one of the 10 best airlines for customer for service in the world. The turnaround is quite remarkable. Korean Air's comeback kids have something to be proud of.
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