15 Menit Terbang, Batavia Air Mendadak Balik

Seorang pramugari menjelaskan bahwa pesawat mengalami kerusakan pengatur tekanan udara.

VIVAnews - Pesawat Batavia Air dengan nomor penerbangan Y6-301 terpaksa kembali lagi ke Bandara Soekarno-Hatta, setelah sempat mengudara selama 15 menit

Menurut informasi, pesawat rute Jakarta-Solo terpaksa kembali ke Jakarta setelah mengalami kerusakan tekanan udara. Menurut pantauan VIVAnews.com, saat sudah mengudara sekitar 10 hingga 15 menit, pilot mengumumkan bahwa pesawat Boeing 737-300 itu harus kembali lagi ke bandara karena "mengalami kerusakan" tanpa menjelaskan lebih lanjut.

Belakangan, setelah mendarat, seorang pramugari menjelaskan bahwa pesawat mengalami kerusakan pengatur tekanan udara, sehingga sesuai prosedur penyelamatan, pesawat harus kembali. Pihak Batavia mengumumkan perlu sekitar 30 menit untuk menyiapkan pesawat pengganti.

Kendati memahami situasi itu, banyak penumpang kecewa, karena pesawat sudah satu jam terlambat dari jadwal. Seharusnya pesawat ke Solo itu berangkat pukul 12.40, namun baru bergerak pukul 13.40 WIB.

Pesawat pun tidak langsung lepas landas melainkan harus menunggu sekitar 10-15 menit. Sementara itu, pihak Batavia menyediakan makan siang dan minuman kepada penumpang yang harus menunggu pesawat pengganti.

Dikonfirmasi, PR Manajer Batavia Air, Eli Simanjuntak membenarkan kejadian tersebut. "Tadi pesawat mengalami masalah teknis. Demi keselamatan penumpang, kami tidak mau ambil risiko," kata Eli kepada VIVAnews.com, Jumat sore.

Saat ini, dia menambahkan, sudah disiapkan pesawat pengganti. "Sudah koordinasi dengan bandara, disiapkan  pesawat pengganti," kata dia. Kapan diberangkatkan? "Sesegera mungkin, segera boarding."

Boeing guns for more MAX orders next year

(Reuters) - Boeing Co (BA.N) vowed to turn the tables on Airbus next year by winning well over 1,000 orders for its narrowbody 737 jets, following the first landmark order from Southwest Airlines (LUV.N) on Tuesday.

Buoyed by a $19 billion firm order for 150 revamped 737 MAX and other jets from the world's largest low-cost carrier, the head of Boeing's commercial division sketched out plans to make 2012 Boeing's year, just as Airbus made headlines in 2011.

European planemaker Airbus (EAD.PA) looks set to win the order race for 2011 by a wide margin after agreeing to refresh its 150-seat passenger jet as the A320neo, with fuel-saving engines.

Boeing has been clawing back share after deciding to revamp its competing 737, but until now it has not had firm signatures on its orders while it has scrambled to finalize the design.
"We will have 1,300 to 1,400 firm orders by this time next year, certainly," Boeing Commercial Airplanes Chief Executive Jim Albaugh told the Reuters Manufacturing and Transportation Summit on Tuesday by telephone from Dallas.

The Southwest order makes it the first airline to place a firm order for 737 MAX. It also makes the carrier the first operator of the MAX, which will feature a new fuel-efficient engine and is set to enter service in 2017.

"I think next year from an order standpoint again assuming that we don't have a total meltdown in the economy and the financing is still available, next year looks like it's going to be a very good year as well," Albaugh said.

Boeing's order forecast implies that the scales will tip sharply back in Boeing's favour in 2012, barring a fresh surge in demand to the benefit of both manufacturers. But Albaugh said the giant aviation companies would roughly share the largest market segment over time.
"I have full expectation that we will split the market on the MAX and the neo," he said.

Albaugh said Boeing would keep aircraft available for AMR Corp's (AMR.N) American Airlines, whose decision to defect to Airbus for part of a record order in the summer helped Boeing make up its mind to upgrade the 737 rather than wait for a newer design.

AMR filed for bankruptcy last month, raising questions over how quickly it would be able to confirm its order for 737 MAX passenger jets while in Chapter 11.

Albaugh used uncommonly direct language when he put his European archrivals on notice that Boeing would aim to keep up record sales momentum for its 365-seat, long-range 777 mini-jumbo aircraft to exploit a gap left by what he sees as uncertainty over the direction of the future Airbus A350.

Questions over the performance of the larger A350 variants will translate into a "sustained market for the 777," Albaugh said.

Airbus beefed up the design of the A350-1000 in June and said the aircraft would deliver significant improvements compared with the 777 when it hits the market in 2017. But some customers such as Qatar Airways have suggested the changes were not ambitious enough.
"As long as there's disarray in Toulouse, we're going to continue to watch, we're going to continue to keep our powder dry and we're going to continue to talk to our customers about what eventually they're going to need," Albaugh said.

Albaugh said demand for airplanes is robust in general despite economic pressures that threaten travel demand. This is partly because high fuel costs, which are a top expense for airlines, have forced carriers to reassess their fleets.

"We see playing out here the need to replace the older equipment because of rising fuel prices," Albaugh said.

"Rising fuel prices to an extent don't hurt us," he said. But as fuel prices go too high, it starts affecting the world GDP (gross domestic product) and the world GDP really drives air traffic. So it's a big watch item for us and we are concerned about it, but the market is holding up very well."

Albaugh also said the company was on track to meet its production rate target for the 787 Dreamliner, its brand-new, long-delayed, carbon-composite aircraft. The company aims to produce 10 787s per month by the end of 2013. But many aviation industry experts believe that target is too ambitious.

(For more on the Reuters Manufacturing and Transportation Summit, see: )

(For summit blog: blogs.reuters.com/summits/)

Kuwait transfers 8 Boeing 787 orders to Saudi Arabia

Boeing Co stated on Thursday that it has lost 8 orders with regard to 787 Dreamliners in the week which ended Nov. 9 but gained 8 after the move associated with orders in one customer to another, leaving an order book for 787s essentially the same.Boeing had stated on Sunday that Kuwait-based leasing organization ALAFCO experienced altered purchases for that 8 Dreamliners to Saudi Arabian Airlines.

Boeing, which competes for commercial airplane orders with Airbus, has more than 850 Dreamliner purchases orders from more than fifty customers on its book.Boeing’s light-weight, carbon-composite Dreamliner is more than 3 years behind it's original routine because of issues with the supply chain as well as labor.The organization stopped check flights for that plane following an electrical fire on-board among its check planes forced an emergency landing on Tuesday.

The company is actually investigating the incident and it has said that it is simply too earlier to inform if it might affect intends to help to make its first-delivery of the 787 through the middle of the quarter of 2011.Boeing said it also took 3 orders for 737 narrow-bodies from an unknown customer or customers.The organization is seeing a rebound in orders and it has taken orders for a net complete associated with 483 industrial planes so far this season, compared with over 250 in all of 2009.Boeing shares had been down 2.8 % at $65.16 at the end of trading on NYSE on Thursday.

source:  http://www.businesstoday-eg.com/business/middle-east/kuwait-transfers-8-boeing-787-orders-to-saudi-arabia.html

Race is on for sales of Boeing's MAX vs Airbus Neo

(Reuters) - Boeing Co (BA.N) started a year later than its European rival Airbus (EAD.PA) in a race to overhaul the $2 trillion narrowbody aircraft market, and is fighting hard to restore balance to their tense duopoly.

With Boeing's announcement this week that it has a launch customer -- Southwest Airlines (LUV.N) -- for its upcoming 737 MAX, the two planemakers have officially squared off in the competition to make the best -- and best-selling -- narrowbody aircraft: the upcoming MAX vs the upcoming Airbus a320neo.

The two airplane families feature new engines in their current designs. Both planemakers boast superior efficiency, and with Boeing's announcement on Tuesday of the list prices and a better understanding of the capabilities of the three models of its 737 MAX, the company will have an easier time converting its 948 commitments from customers to firm orders.
"We are in a position to start firming up the 948 commitments we have so far and continue to meet Airbus in different campaigns around the world," Boeing Commercial Airplanes Chief Executive Jim Albaugh told Reuters on Tuesday.

"We got off to a little later start than they did, but I think we've done very well in the four months since we launched the airplane," he said.

Speaking at the Reuters Global Manufacturing and Transportation Summit, Albaugh said Boeing has done enough work on the airplane's configuration to make performance guarantees.

Airbus has taken 1,450 orders and commitments including some 1,200 firm orders for its a320neo family, compared with 948 for the 737 MAX, which includes a single firm order for 150 planes from Southwest. Boeing says its remaining order commitments soon will appear as firm orders on its books.

"Right now, the stage is set for 50/50. You look at the numbers," said Teal Group aerospace analyst Richard Aboulafia. "You look at loyalty and so far there's been a very high level of loyalty displayed by customers on both sides."

Airbus orders include 200 aircraft from AirAsia (AIRA.KL), and all-Airbus customer, while Boeing signed up its loyal Asian customer Lion Air of Indonesia for 201 737 MAX aircraft. The difference of just one airplane illustrates the fierce rivalry between the two Asian low-cost carriers as well as their entrepreneur owners.

"I think you're going to see a tremendous run-up in orders of the next six to 12 months," Aboulafia said.

IT COMES DOWN TO ENGINES

The 737 MAX, due to enter service in 2017, will be powered by CFM International engines and promises to reduce burn and carbon dioxide emissions by 10 to 12 percent current single-aisle airplanes. CFM International is a joint venture between General Electric Co (GE.N) and Safran (SAF.PA).

Boeing says the plane also will have lower operating costs.

The neo is due to enter service in 2016, featuring engine options from Pratt & Whitney, a unit of U.S. manufacturer United Technologies Corp (UTX.N), or CFM International. Airbus maintains its aircraft is more cost efficient.

List prices for the MAX range from $78 million to $101.7 million. This compares with $84 million to $106 million for the three neo models.

"Either people are taking two different roads to the same result. Or someone's right and someone's wrong," Aboulafia said.

"The only difference is that Airbus is hedged because they've got a choice of both engines," he said.

Neal Dihora, an aerospace analyst at Morningstar, said Airbus still has a marketing advantage over Boeing simply because it started selling its plane earlier. Airbus unveiled its neo plans in December.

"Airbus is winning this contest because they're showing that they have a product and the ability to actually get these fuel savings into the market place as opposed to just in the design phase," Dihora said.

Boeing has yet to publicize the specs for its upgraded 737, but Albaugh said it is appropriate to view the aircraft as a replacement for the 737 Next Generation.

The current 737 models are the domestic workhorses for many airline customers, seating between 110 and 220 people for short- and medium-haul flights. The largest model of the MAX, the -900, can serve as a replacement for the discontinued 757 on most routes, Albaugh said.

"The 900 is an airplane that in our view can do over 95 percent of the missions that the 757 did," he said.

"In terms of a one-for-one replacement of the 57, it's not one for one, but it's pretty close," Albaugh added.

HOW BOEING ARRIVED AT ITS DECISION TO RE-ENGINE

Until its surprise decision to re-engine the 737 last summer, Boeing had made it clear that it preferred to build an all-new small airplane to take the place of its 737 NG.

The company took the heat from analysts as it dragged out a decision over whether to redesign or re-engine. And it stood by as Airbus notched more than a 1,000 orders for its neo and made inroads into U.S. markets.

In July, Boeing finally bit the bullet and said it would re-engine the aircraft, a move many outsiders perceived as a reaction to interest by American Airlines (AMR.N), a loyal Boeing customer, in buying the neo.

American, which is restructuring under Chapter 11, split its giant order for 460 single-aisle jets worth up to $40 billion between Boeing and Airbus.

In the Reuters interview, Albaugh said there were more considerations than American and that Boeing arrived at its decision on its own terms after consultation with customers.

"Everybody liked the idea of a new airplane. But they wanted an airplane with certainty on a precise date, and they also wanted to understand what the guarantees of that airplane might be," Albaugh said.

He said Boeing was confident it could build the plane and provide 20 percent improvement in efficiency.

"But what we weren't confident of was what the nonrecurring costs would have been for development," he said.

"I was also concerned about the schedule risks associated with that airplane," he said, "so I think we wound up in a good spot."

Albaugh said he believes the MAX has such a pronounced cost-savings advantage over the neo that it will quickly catch up in sales with the neo.

"Right now on the NG (Next Generation), we have more firm orders than they have on the 320 classic," Albaugh said. "And I have I have full expectation that we will split the market on the MAX and the neo as well."

(For summit blog: blogs.reuters.com/summits/)

Pilot Sriwijaya Air Dilarang Terbang, Pilot bersama awak pesawat diberi psikoterapi.

VIVAnews - Maskapai penerbangan Sriwijaya Air melarang pilot Tanto Indarto menerbangkan pesawat sementara waktu, menyusul insiden tergelincirnya pesawat Sriwijaya Air di Bandara Adisutjipto Yogyakarta, Selasa 20 Desember 2011.

"Pilot kami grounded agar sewaktu-waktu dibutuhkan KNKT (Komite Nasional Keselamatan Transportasi) untuk dimintai keterangan dapat segera memberikan keterangan yang dibutuhkan," kata Direktur Safety Sriwijaya Air, Toto Subandoro di Yogyakarta, Kamis, 22 Desember 2011.

Selain itu, dia menambahkan, pilot Tanto juga bisa memulihkan kondisi psikologisnya pasca kejadian dengan terapi. Tak hanya pilot, awak pesawat jurusan 234 dari Surabaya tujuan Yogyakarta juga akan mendapat psikoterapi. 

Saat ini, KNKT tengah menyelidiki penyebab tergelincirnya pesawat dengan memeriksa sejumlah barang bukti. Salah satu tim investigasi KNKT, Chaerudin, mengatakan pihaknya akan membawa kotak hitam (black box) pesawat ke Jakarta untuk diteliti.

"Sejak 2009, Indonesia sudah bisa untuk membuka dan meneliti black box, sehingga tidak perlu dikirim ke luar negeri," katanya.

Selain itu, KNKT meneliti lokasi pesawat yang tergelincir, kondisi landasan, dan beberapa bagian pesawat. Namun, KNKT belum bisa memberi kesimpulan mengenai penyebab kecelakaan dan masih menunggu hasil investigasi. “Investigasi belum semuanya dan masih dalam proses, termasuk data dari awak pesawat,” ujarnya.

Hingga Kamis, 22 Desember 2011, pesawat Sriwijaya Air yang tergelincir masih berada di lokasi kecelakaan, yaitu di areal persawahan sebelah timur Bandara Adisutjipto, Yogyakarta dan masih menunggu proses evakuasi. Badan pesawat tampak sudah dicat putih, sehingga logo Sriwijaya Air tertutupi cat.

General Manager PT Angkasa Pura I Bandara Adisutjipto, Agus Adrianto, menambahkan, pesawat akan dipindahkan ke taxiway yang baru selesai dibangun, sehingga tidak mengganggu lalu lintas bandara.

Akibat insiden ini, lima penumpang dibawa ke rumah sakit karena luka-luka.

Corrected: Boeing 787 delivery delay hits ANA schedule

(Reuters) - All Nippon Airways (9202.T), the first operator of Boeing Co's (BA.N) 787 Dreamliner, said it will postpone the start of Dreamliner service on some international routes because of a delay in receiving another Dreamliner.

In a statement posted on its website on Thursday, the Japanese carrier blamed a "productivity reason" at Boeing for the delay. The airline said it would delay Dreamliner service between Tokyo and Beijing and between Tokyo and Frankfurt.

The Beijing route was scheduled to start in December, but has been rescheduled for January.

"ANA regrets to take the precaution of amending international flight plans. ANA will continue urgent negotiations with Boeing to deliver the 787 as early and as close to the original schedule as possible," the company said.

Boeing, through a spokeswoman, said it was working with ANA to deliver the airplane as quickly as possible but would not comment on the cause of the delay.

The 787 Dreamliner is a light-weight, carbon-composite airplane that is fuel efficient. The airplane was three years behind its development schedule but finally entered service this year.

Boeing aims to ramp up monthly production on the airplane to 10 by the end of 2013 from the current pace of 2.5. Some experts believe the target rate is too ambitious.
Boeing has more than 800 orders for the airplane on its books.

The latest Dreamliner snag contrasts news from Boeing's top rival Airbus (EAD.PA), which said on Friday it topped its 2011 target for superjumbo deliveries when it handed over two A380s in rapid succession, reaching 26 deliveries for the year.

Shares of Boeing were up 51 cents at $71.12 on the New York Stock Exchange at mid-afternoon.

(This December 16 story has been corrected to delete the reference saying Boeing attributed the delay to wiring issue. The error also occurred in initial  story)

Airbus sees at least 30 A380 deliveries in 2012

(Reuters) - Airbus will deliver at least 30 A380 superjumbos in 2012 after meeting its target for at least 25 in 2011, chief operating officer Fabrice Bregier said in remarks published on Friday.

Bregier was speaking to a closed meeting of analysts in London after the European planemaker delivered its 24th A380 for 2011 to Australia's Qantas (QAN.AX) late on Thursday.

Airbus had previously predicted more than 25 A380 deliveries in 2012. Airlines pay on delivery for most of the value of the aircraft, which sells for $375 million at list prices before discounts typically available to customers.

The A380, which went severely off schedule and financial target due to production problems in 2005 and 2006, is expected to make an operating profit before R&D in 2015, based on a euro at $1.35, Bregier said, according to a slide presentation.

He said Airbus had reduced airframe production costs on the world's largest airliner to a level equivalent to 65 on an index where 100 represents the costs in 2009, according to a copy of the presentation issued online. EADS said it would issue a recording of this and other speeches after the two-day event.

The index is expected to fall to 62 in 2012 and 61 in 2013.

Bregier is expected to become chief executive of the world's largest commercial planemaker when key mandates come up for renewal in 2012, with the current chief executive Tom Enders stepping up to run parent EADS (EAD.PA).

Bregier said another aircraft that has seen significant production problems, the Airbus A400M military airlifter, would receive its safety certification in the second quarter of 2012.

The first European troop and heavy cargo transporter is in the assembly line and will be delivered to the French Air Force in March 2013 as agreed with purchasing nations, Airbus said. The aircraft is around four years late due to engine problems.

CORRECTED-Airbus expands order record, Boeing set to rebound

(Reuters) - Airbus is on course to end 2011 with well over 1,600 orders, pushing Boeing (BA.N) to the lowest market share of their 40-year rivalry, but Boeing has stored up momentum for a comeback as both companies put fresh vigour into their most-sold jets.

Although Boeing took a year longer than Airbus to revamp a key model to meet demand for lower fuel costs, both enjoy strong demand as Asian growth and the replacement of old aircraft in the United States blot out the euro crisis, at least for now.

The dominant jetmakers track each other more closely in deliveries, which drive revenues and are considered a gauge of competition. Airbus is expected to remain ahead for the ninth year running as it meets a record goal for 520-530 deliveries.

Airbus has 1,529 firm orders so far this year, including an eight-plane deal announced since its November data.

The number already represents a new record for the European planemaker, which outsold Boeing for most of the past decade, sparking trade friction between Europe and the United States.

This year's lead is particularly pronounced because of demand for the revamped version of its 150-seat A320 jetliner.

The jazzed-up A320neo aims to provide 12-15 percent in fuel savings due to new engines. Boeing has responded with the 737 MAX, a refresh of its most popular model that also involves new engines. Armed with data, both companies say their offering is better.

Underlying Airbus orders are higher still at 1,609 including a previously announced 80-plane deal with Republic Airways that did not immediately enter the order book.

That leaves 174 provisional A320neo orders still to be confirmed, many of which may trickle through in coming days judging by a pattern of chasing deadlines in previous years.
They include provisional orders for a total of 63 airplanes from Mexico's Volaris and Colombian AviancaTaca.

The industry will also be watching to see whether U.S. lessor Air Lease Corp (AL.N) completes a draft order for 36 A320neo planes this year after its influential founder Stephen Udvar-Hazy expressed skepticism even while ordering the jet.

The California-based company has said it is negotiating with Airbus over its future A350, providing some potential leverage.

2012 REBOUND

Boeing, by contrast, has 894 orders so far this year. Business is up since 2010, but Boeing slumped behind Airbus in the 2011 race as it hesitated over whether to match the A320neo or build a more ambitious new aircraft at the expense of near-term sales. It chose the first option by launching the 737 MAX.

"For nine months as Boeing hesitated, they left the A320neo almost alone on the market," Louis Gallois, chief executive of Airbus parent EADS (EAD.PA), told analysts in remarks released this week.

Boeing has effectively ceded 2011 in volume terms to its arch-rival, but may spring further orders before the end of the year.

The only real suspense is over whether Boeing will achieve a 40 percent market share in 2011, the lower end of a 40-60 band that many analysts regard as the framework for a stable duopoly.

Currently it has a volume share of 37 percent and would need to sell over 180 aircraft by end-year to get back to 40 percent, with the target moving away from it as Airbus closes more deals.

The picture for Boeing may not be as bleak as a single year's figure would suggest. On average the rivals remain close.

Boeing has almost 800 provisional contracts for the 737 MAX waiting to be completed, including 462 for which the names of the buyers have not yet been disclosed.

Some may come through in coming days, but the bulk are expected to slip beyond the New Year, giving the company a head start for what many analysts expect to be a bounce-back in 2012.

The company also stuck close to its rival in value terms after a record slew of more than 200 orders for its 777 mini-jumbo.

The $300 million 1990s long-range jet is enjoying a second honeymoon with airlines after Airbus failed to allay criticism of its competing A350-1000, due out in 2017. While Airbus has been in the driving seat for narrowbodies this year, analysts say Boeing is still setting the pace for many larger jets.

The two companies are preparing for a major battle over a $16 billion order expected to cover approximately 180 aircraft from United Airlines (UAL.N) in the first quarter, including possibly 130 of the latest generation of revamped 150-seaters.

The aircraft makers are also expected to push hard over the holiday season to complete aircraft deliveries for 2011.

Airbus has already said it will beat a previous record of 510 deliveries and is expected to reach its goal of 520-530, though this implies its second-busiest December schedule after 2009.

Steady deliveries are seen as the lifeblood for both planemakers in 2012 as doubts gather over the economy and the ability of airlines to pay for their aircraft. Barring global recession, the industry insists for now financing is secure.

(Reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by Matt Driskill)