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Thursday, April 11, 2013

Ini Penghargaan yang Diraih Garuda Indonesia Sepanjang Tahun 2012

(7/4/2013) Dengan keberhasilan dalam menjalankan transformasi bisnis yang dilaksanakan, Garuda Indonesia berhasil meraih berbagai apresiasi dan award dalam bidang Pelayanan, Operasional, Pengembangan SDM, serta Good Corporate Governance dari berbagai lembaga dalam dan luar negeri.

Pada Juli 2012, Garuda Indonesia meraih penghargaan sebagai “The World’s Best Regional Airline” dan “Best Regional Airline in Asia” dari SkyTrax dan meraih penghargaan sebagai “The Best International Airline” dari Roy Morgan Australia untuk periode Januari dan Februari 2012.

Selama tahun 2012 Garuda Indonesia menerima beberapa penghargaan di Tanah Air seperti “Indonesia Travel & Tourism Award” untuk kategori “Indonesia Leading International Airline” dari Kementerian Pariwisata dan Ekonomi Kreatif; “Net Promoter Leader Customer Loyality Award 2012” dari Net Promoter, SWA and Hachiko; “Indonesia Best Company” dari Warta Ekonomi; “Indonesia Customer Satisfaction Award 2012” dari Frontier Consulting Group & SWA; “Indonesia Original Brands Award” dari SWA; dan “Service Quality Award” dari Carre – Center for Customer Satisfaction & Loyality.

Sementara itu, sebagai bentuk pengakuan untuk penerapan “Good Corporate Governance” (GCG), Garuda mendapatkan penghargaan “Annual Report Award” dari Bappepam-KLK, IDX, BI, Kementerian BUMN, KNKG, IAI dan Dirjen Pajak Kementerian Keuangan RI. Sementara itu, sebagai bentuk pengakuan penerapan GCG dari lembaga internasional, Garuda meraih penghargaan “XV Annual Report Competition Moskow Exchange” dari Moskow Stock Exchange pada bulan November; “2012 Spotlight Award Global Communications Competition” dari League of American Communications Professional (LACP) pada bulan Oktober 2012; “Stevie Award” dari International Business Award; dan “Galaxy Award 2012” dari Mercomm. (Garuda Indonesia)


http://www.indo-aviation.com/2013/04/ini-penghargaan-yang-diraih-garuda.html

Merpati Tiru Cara Garuda Indonesia untuk Selesaikan Utang

(8/4/2013) PT Merpati Nusantara Airlines menyatakan akan meniru cara yang dilakukan oleh PT Garuda Indonesia dalam merestrukturisasi perusahaan. Merpati berharap bisa melakukan penjadwalan ulang dalam membayar utang senilai Rp 6 triliun.

Sebelumnya Garuda Indonesia memiliki utang lebih dari Rp 10 triliun. Tapi dengan strategi penjadwalan ulang pembayaran yang dilakukan Garuda, seluruh utang mendapatkan perpanjangan jatuh tempo pembayaran.

Selain itu, Garuda juga menunjuk Export Credit Agency (ECA) untuk mengelola semua utang perusahaan dari berbagai kreditur. Setelah seluruh utang bersih, Garuda menjual sahamnya kepada publik di bursa saham Indonesia.

"Utang Garuda diambil oleh satu badan, salah satunya melalui cara konversi utang menjadi saham atau debt to equity swap. Jadi saat Initial Public Offering (IPO), saham itu dijual kepada publik dan Garuda mendapatkan capital gain hingga 200%," ujar Direktur Utama Merpati, Rudy Setyopurnom seperti yang dikutip dari Liputan6.com.

Cara-cara yang dilakukan Garuda ini bisa diterapkan di Merpati yang memiliki utang Rp 6 triliun. Namun Rudy belum bisa menjelaskan opsi cara yang akan ditempuhnya.

Beberapa kreditur Merpati Nusantara Airlines antara lain Bank Mandiri, PT Pertamina, PT Angkasa Pura I, PT Angkasa Pura II, dan lain-lain.

Sementara menyangkut masalah penawaran saham perdana atau Initial Public Offering (IPO), Merpati belum bisa melakukan rencana besar tersebut karena terkendala masalah utang.


http://www.indo-aviation.com/2013/04/merpati-tiru-cara-garuda-indonesia.html 

Mandala Airlines Akan Beli 18 Airbus A320

Mandala Airbus A320

(7/4/2013) Sandiaga Uno, pemilik mayoritas saham PT Mandala Airlines mengatakan bahwa perusahaan berencana membeli 18 pesawat Airbus A320 sneilai US$ 1,6 miliar pada tahun 2014. Hal ini dilakukan untuk menjaring pengguna angkutan udara kelas menengah yang terus tumbuh di Indonesia.

Mandala saat ini mengoperasikan sejumlah penerbangan domestik dan penerbangan internasional bersama dengan pemilik saham minoritas, Tiger Airways, dengan menggunakan tujuh pesawat A320. Mandala akan menggunakan opsi pembelian A320 dari pesanan Tiger yang sudah ada.

Menurut Sadiaga Uno, Mandala memiliki target mendapatkan 2 juta penumpang pada tahun ini. Selain itu, perusahaan akan menambah pesawat lebih banyak lagi dan pada akhir 2014 Mandala akan mengoperasikan 25 pesawat.

Mandala berupaya mendapatkan pangsa pasar sebesar 20 persen yang saat ini masih didominasi oleh Lion Air. Lion Air sendiri baru saja mencapai kesepakatan dengan Airbus untuk membeli 234 pesawat senilai US$ 24 miliar.


http://www.indo-aviation.com/2013/04/mandala-airlines-akan-beli-18-airbus.html 

Indonesia Mungkin Pesan Tujuh C295 Tambahan

Airbus Military C295

(9/4/2013) Indonesia bisa menambah hingga tujuh pesawat angkut taktis C295 dari Airbus Military, sehingga Indonesia akan memiliki total sebanyak 16 pesawat jenis ini.

Hal ini diungkapkan oleh Wakil Presiden Marketing dan Penjualan PT Dirgantara Indonesia Arie Wibowo yang dikutip dari Flightglobal, mengatakan bahwa TNI Angkatan Udara membutuhkan tujuh pesawat tambahan.

Indonesia setuju untuk memesan sembilan pesawat Airbus Military C295 saat Singapore Air Show di bulan Februari 2012.

Selain itu, PT Dirgantara Indonesia juga menawarkan dua pesawat C295 kepada Kepolisian Negara Republik Indonesia. Polisi akan menggunakan pesawat ini untuk mengangkut tim khusus penanggulangan teroris.

PT Dirgantara Indonesia juga bekerjasama dengan Airbus Military dalam mempromosikan pesawat turboprop dua mesin ini di Malaysia dan Filipina.

Indonesia telah menerima dua pesawat CN-295 (C295 khusus untuk Indonesia) dari pabrik Airbus Military di Seville. Lima pesawat berikutnya akan dikirim dalam bentuk green aircraft, dengan PT Dirgantara Indonesia yang akan melalukan penyesuaian di pusat pengiriman baru di Bandung yang dirancang untuk program ini.

Sementara dua dari sembilan pesawat terakhir akan diproduksi di pusat perakitan akhir di Bandung, menggunakan peralatan yang dikirim dari Airbus Military. Pusat perakitan akhir ini akan digunakan juga untuk produksi potensi pemesanan tujuh pesawat tambahan.


http://www.indo-aviation.com/2013/04/indonesia-mungkin-pesan-tujuh-c295.html 

Bandara Hang Nadim Akan Miliki Dua Runway

Bandara Hang Nadim

(9/4/2013) Untuk mengantisipasi kepadatan lalu lintas penerbangan di Bandara Hang Nadim Batam, Badan Pengusaha (BP) Batam telah menyiapkan rencana untuk menambah landasan pacu atau runway. Dengan tambahan runway ini, Bandara Hang Nadim akan memiliki dua runway.

Penambahan runway dilakukan karena intensitas penerbangan di Bandara Hang Nadim terus meningkat setiap tahunnya. Ditambah lagi jika hanggar perawatan dan perbaikan pesawat yang sedang dibangun oleh Lion Air selesai, pasti akan semakin meningkatkan jumlah penerbangan di Batam.

Selain itu, PT Ilthabi Rekatama yang dipimpin oleh Ilham Akbar Habibie berencana membangun industri penerbangan seluas 100 hektar di lahan yang berada di kawasan Bandara Hang Nadim.

Jika seluruh pembangunan tersebut selesai, BP Batam memperkirakan satu runway saja tidak akan mampu menampung pergerakan pesawat di Batam.

Saat ini, dalam satu hari terdapat sekitar 100 penerbangan baik yang datang maupun pergi di Bandara Hang Nadim, dengan kepadatan tertinggi pada pagi dan sore hari. (Photo: Istimewa)
 

http://www.indo-aviation.com/2013/04/bandara-hang-nadim-akan-miliki-dua.html

Indonesia AirAsia Hubungkan Jakarta dan Medan dengan Johor Bahru

(8/4/2013) Maskapai Indonesia AirAsia berencana menghubungkan dua kota di Indonesia dengan Johor Bahru di Malaysia. Dua kota yang akan dihubungkan dengan Johor Bahru tersebut adalah Jakarta dan Medan.

Indonesia AirAsia akan mulai membuka layanan penerbangan Jakarta-Johor Bahru pada 16 Mei 2013 dengan frekuensi sebanyak empat penerbangan seminggu, yaitu pada hari Senin, Selasa, Kamis, dan Sabtu. Rute Jakarta-Johor Bahru merupakan rute pengganti Jakarta-Ho Chi Minh yang dihentikan mulai 14 April nanti.

Sementara itu, rute Medan-Johor Bahru akan dilayani pada 7 Juni 2013, bersamaan dengan pembukaan rute Jakarta-Medan (Baca: Indonesia AirAsia Akan Kembali Layani Rute Lama Jakarta-Medan). Penerbangan Medan-Johor Bahru akan diterbangi Indonesia AirAsia tiga kali seminggu setiap hari Senin, Jumat, dan Minggu.

Johor Bahru merupakan kota di Malaysia yang lokasinya berdekatan dengan Singapura. AirAsia bahkan mempromosikan bus untuk menghubungkan Bandara Sendai di Johor Bahru dengan Singapura demi menjaring penumpang yang akan ke Singapura melalui Johor Bahru. Tapi upaya ini kurang berhasil karena kebanyakan penumpang dari Indonesia yang ke Johor Bahru merupakan pekerja migran (TKI).

Saat ini Indonesia AirAsia telah melayani Johor Bahru dari Surabaya. Rute Surabaya-Johor Bahru telah dibuka oleh perusahaan sejak Oktober 2012. Namun, berdasarkan data-data yang ada, hanya sedikit sekali penumpang dari Surabaya yang ke Singapura melalui Johor Bahru.



http://www.indo-aviation.com/2013/04/indonesia-airasia-hubungkan-jakarta-dan.html

Mandala Diprediksi Rugi US$ 24-28 Juta di Tahun 2014 dan 2015

Mandala Airlines Airbus A320

(8/4/2013) CIMB memprediksi maskapai penerbangan Mandala Airlines akan mengalami kerugian sebesar US$ 24-28 juta untuk laporan keuangan tahun 2014 dan 2015. Kerugian pada Mandala ini akan berimbas pada kerugian untuk Tiger Airways sebesar US$ 8-9 juta. Hal ini terjadi karena Tiger memiliki 32,5 persen saham di Mandala.

Ruginya Mandala disebabkan karena maskapai tidak mendapatkan slot terbang yang baik pada jam-jam sibuk di Bandara Soekarno-Hatta, Jakarta. Mandala melayani penerbangan dari Jakarta ke kota lain pada dini hari dan tiba lagi di Jakarta saat hampir tengah malam. Jadwal yang kurang baik ini membuat Mandala kesulitan mengisi kapasitas kursi pesawat yang tersedia. Selain itu, rendahnya utilisasi armada pesawat juga berkontribusi pada kerugian perusahaan.

Saat ini, Mandala berharap bisa mendapatkan keuntungan dari perjanjian bilateral angkutan udara yang baru antara Indonesia dan Singapura, serta mendapatkan keuntungan dari bangkrutnya Batavia Air.

Dalam perjanjian bilateral angkutan udara yang baru antara Indonesia dan Singapura menghasilkan kesepakatan untuk menambah kapasitas pada empat rute dari Singapura menuju Jakarta, Surabaya, Denpasar, dan Medan.

Dengan adanya perjanjian bilateral baru, Mandala berencana membuka penerbangan Jakarta-Singapura sebanyak empat kali sehari. Sementara Tiger Airways akan menambah frekuensi penerbangannya menjadi empat kali sehari dari dua penerbangan yang ada saat ini. Gabungan antara Mandala dan Tiger nantinya akan menghasilkan delapan penerbangan sehari antara Jakarta dan Singapura.

Pembukaan sejumlah rute gemuk ke Singapura dan pengambilalihan sejumlah rute penerbangan eks Batavia Air diharapkan akan memperkecil kerugian yang dialami Mandala Airlines di tahun-tahun mendatang.



http://www.indo-aviation.com/2013/04/mandala-diprediksi-rugi-us-24-28-juta.html

Airbus CEO Stands By Mid-Year First Flight For A350 Widebody

April 11, 2013
The assembly of the Airbus A350 is largely complete with recent installation of the engines, and the manufacturer expects the first flight by mid-year, but not by the time of the Paris air show in mid-June, Airbus CEO Fabrice Bregier says.
“It’s possible, but not probable,” Bregier said in an interview before giving a speech this week to the Aero Club of Washington. “For the program, and this is what counts, it doesn’t make any difference if [the first flight] is before or just after.
"What counts is to fly around mid-year, because it will support the deliveries in 2014, which is what counts,” Bregier added.
No issues have come up in testing that change the mid-year target, he says.
Early this year, the CEO said Airbus had set an internal target to fly the aircraft before the air show, but also added that “if we fly just after the show, it does not make any difference to me.”
Bregier also is not professing much concern about Boeing’s consideration of a 777X, which he describes as a “nice paper tiger aircraft” at this point because of the lack of details. Airbus believes it has the lead in that area of the market with its A350-1000 plans. His belief is that the A350-1000, which Airbus is starting to “market more aggressively,” can match the range of the 777-300ER with 25% less fuel burn.
“The ball is now in Boeing’s camp, not in our camp,” he says. Airbus will wait to find out details of the offer and guarantees Boeing makes to potential customers regarding the 777X before deciding whether it needs to come up with any response, Bregier says.
Similarly, Bregier says he remains satisfied with the manufacturer’s decision to extend the range and increase the maximum takeoff weight of the A330 to make it more competitive on routes such as London to Southeast Asia, rather than opting for an A330NEO.



http://www.aviationweek.com/Article.aspx?id=/article-xml/avd_04_11_2013_p07-01-567492.xml

EVA Interested In 777X And 787-10


April 05, 2013
Taiwan carrier EVA Air, which already is buying Boeing 777-300ERs, is considering the Boeing 777X and Boeing 787-10.
“Both types are on our shopping list, and we are waiting for Boeing to reveal more information with respect to the 787-10 and 777X when the programs are launched,” EVA’s top management says in a statement in response to a query from Aviation Week.
The statement also says EVA is considering ordering Boeing 777 freighters as a replacement for the airline’s Boeing MD-11Fs and Boeing 747-400 aircraft, “though the downturn in the global air cargo market is not supporting a decision to enter into orders with the manufacturer at present. The global air cargo business continues to face difficulties, with demand for air freight falling in 2012’s fourth quarter. Yields are on a continuing downward trend, oil prices remain high and demand for air cargo remains soft.”
Besides being Taiwan’s second major passenger carrier, EVA also is one of the world’s largest air cargo operators. According to the Aviation Week Intelligence Network fleets database it has 60 passenger and cargo aircraft. Types include the 747-400, Airbus A330, Boeing 777-300ER, MD-11F, MD-90 and Airbus A320-family.
EVA management says in its statement that the MD-90s will be gradually phased out, starting next year until 2016, and that during that same time-frame it hopes to phase out of the majority of its 747-400s.


http://www.aviationweek.com/Article.aspx?id=/article-xml/awx_04_05_2013_p0-565873.xml 

Garuda Tingkatkan Frekuensi Jakarta-Jeddah Hingga 19 Kali Seminggu

Garuda Indonesia Boeing 777-300ER sewa dari Air Austral

(8/4/2013) Tingginya permintaan penerbangan umroh ke Jeddah membuat maskapai penerbangan nasional Garuda Indonesia berencana meningkatkan frekuensi penerbangan Jakarta-Jeddah dari saat ini 13 penerbangan seminggu menjadi 19 penerbangan seminggu mulai 1 Agustus hingga 18 Agustus 2013.

Penerbangan Jakarta-Jeddah dioperasikan dengan pesawat Boeing 747-400 dan 777-300ER secara bersamaan.

Permintaan kursi untuk penerbangan umroh dari tahun ke tahun semakin meningkat. Hal ini kemungkinan besar terjadi karena antrian untuk melakukan ibadah haji mengular sangat panjang, sehingga masyarakat memilih untuk melakukan ibadah umroh.

Untuk memenuhi permintaan, pada awal April ini Garuda Indonesia sampai menyewa satu pesawat Boeing 777-300ER berkapasitas 442 penumpang dari Air Austral. Tapi pesawat ini akan dikembalikan pada akhir Juni saat Boeing 777-300ER pesanan Garuda telah tiba. (Photo: Yulianus Liteni/PhotoV2.com)



http://www.indo-aviation.com/2013/04/garuda-tingkatkan-frekuensi-jakarta.html

Indonesia AirAsia Akan Kembali Layani Rute Lama Jakarta-Medan

(8/4/2013) PT Indonesia AirAsia berencana untuk kembali membuka rute Jakarta-Medan yang telah ditutup oleh perusahaan sejak beberapa tahun yang lalu. Rute ini akan mulai dilayani Indonesia AirAsia pada 7 Juni 2013.

Berdasarkan jadwal yang telah dikeluarkan perusahaan, Indonesia AirAsia akan melayani rute Jakarta-Medan dan sebaliknya sebanyak 10 kali seminggu dengan pesawat Airbus A320 berkapasitas 180 penumpang.

Sebelumnya, pada Oktober 2010 Indonesia AirAsia menutup layanannya pada rute Jakarta-Medan dan Jakarta-Surabaya, meskipun dua rute tersebut merupakan rute gemuk di Indonesia. Namun, sejak 1 Desember 2012 maskapai ini kembali membuka rute Jakarta-Surabaya, diikuti dengan pembukaan rute Jakarta-Medan pada bulan Juni nanti.

Indonesia AirAsia pada tahun ini memang sedang fokus dalam pengembangan rute-rute domestik. Untuk merealisasikan rencana ini, perusahaan akan mendatangkan sembilan pesawat baru Airbus A320 hingga akhir tahun.


http://www.indo-aviation.com/2013/04/indonesia-airasia-akan-kembali-layani.html 

Tahun Depan Lion Air Terima Enam Airbus A320

Lion Air A321neo

(9/4/2013) Beberapa waktu yang lalu maskapai penerbangan Lion Air telah memesan sebanyak 234 pesawat Airbus A320 family senilai hampir US$ 24 miliar. Lion Air menyatakan, enam pesawat A320 akan diterima secara bertahap mulai Juni 2014.

Menurut Direktur Umum Lion Air Edward Sirait, pihaknya belum tahu akan dioperasikan kemana pesawat-pesawat ini nantinya. Jika Lion mendapat izin membuka cabang di negara lain, pesawat ini akan digunakan untuk maskapai baru di negara lain tersebut. Tapi, jika tidak mendapatkan izin, maka pesawat akan disewakan.

Meskipun belum bisa dipastikan, Edward juga mengatakan bahwa pesawat buatan Airbus ini masih mungkin digunakan oleh Lion Air untuk penerbangan domestik di Indonesia.

Sebelum memesan 234 pesawat dari Airbus, pada tahun 2011 Lion juga memesan 230 pesawat dari Boeing senilai US$ 22,4 miliar. (Photo: Airbus)


http://www.indo-aviation.com/2013/04/tahun-depan-lion-air-terima-enam-airbus.html 

Bandara Polonia Akan Dikembalikan ke TNI-AU

Bandara Polonia Medan

(9/4/2013) PT Angkasa Pura II akan memindahkan operasional penerbangan di Medan dari Bandara Polonia ke Bandara Kuala Namu setelah bandara baru ini selesai dibangun. Selanjutnya, operasional Bandara Polonia akan dikembalikan kepada TNI Angkatan Udara.

Bandara Polonia sebelumnya adalah milik TNI Angkatan Udara yang kemudian digunakan untuk penerbangan komersial. Saat ini Bandara Polonia dianggap sudah tidak layak lagi karena kelebihan kapasitas baik untuk penumpang maupun kargo. Sementara pembangunan di bandara ini sudah sulit dilakukan karena padatnya pemukiman di sekitar bandara.

Menurut data yang dihimpun dari PT Angkasa Pura II, daya tampung terminal di Bandara Polonia hanya 900.000 penumpang per tahun. Tapi, kini bandara tersebut memiliki jumlah penumpang 7,7 juta per tahun.

Sementara itu, total penerbangan di Bandara Polonia rata-rata sebanyak 570 penerbangan per hari. Maskapai penerbangan seperti Garuda Indonesia yang akan menjadikan Medan sebagai base untuk pesawat Bombardier CRJ1000 NextGen, sudah mulai kesulitan untuk menampatkan pesawatnya di Medan saat pesawat tersebut tiba. Untuk itu, pemindahan dari Bandara Polonia ke Bandara Kuala Namu mutlak segera dilakukan. (Photo: Indo Aviation)


http://www.indo-aviation.com/2013/04/bandara-polonia-akan-dikembalikan-ke.html 

Indonesia Jadi Arena Perang Airbus dan Boeing

(2/4/2013) Sebuah persaingan baru antara dua pabrikan pesawat terbesar di dunia sedang memanas di Indonesia setelah Airbus mendapatkan kontrak dalam jumlah yang sangat besar dari negara yang selama ini menjadi benteng pertahanan Boeing.

Di masa lalu, perusahaan Eropa (Airbus) secara konsisten kalah dalam persaingan melawan perusahaan Amerika Serikat (Boeing) dalam mendapatkan kontrak dari Asia Tenggara. Namun, Lion Air yang baru saja menganggarkan dana sebesar US$ 24 miliar untuk membeli 234 pesawat A320 dari Airbus membuat pangsa pasar berubah.

Indonesia telah lama menjadi benteng pertahanan Boeing, dimana sebagian besar maskapai di Indonesia mengoperasikan pesawat buatan Boeing. Sementara bagi Airbus, ini menjadi kesepakatan besar untuk bisa melakukan penetrasi yang lebih dalam ke pasar Indonesia.

Pemesanan 234 pesawat A320 oleh Lion Air yang diumumkan di Paris beberapa waktu yang lalu telah mengalahkan rekor pemesanan sebelumnya yang juga dilakukan oleh Lion Air, dengan memesan 230 pesawat Boeing 737 senilai US$ 22 miliar pada tahun 2011.

Perwakilan Airbus di Asia mengatakan bahwa faktanya Lion Air merupakan satu dari sedikit maskapai di kawasan yang tidak pernah memesan pesawat dari Airbus. Tapi Airbus tidak pernah menyerah. Pesanan dari Lion Air secara signifikan meningkatkan keberadaan Airbus di pasar Indonesia yang sangat penting.

Sementara itu, juru bicara Boeing Ken Morton mengatakan, Lion Air mempunyai rencana pertumbuhan yang sangat ambisius dan tidak ada pabrikan pesawat manapun yang bisa memenuhi keinginannya.

Saat di dunia Barat kondisi ekonomi sedang melemah yang berimbas pada industri penerbangan, negara-negara di Asia sedang mengalami ledakan permintaan dengan munculnya kalangan tingkat menengah yang tertarik melakukan perjalanan dengan pesawat.

Di Indonesia, saat ini pesawat lorong tunggal Airbus A320 dioperasikan oleh maskapai-maskapai seperti Citilink, Indonesia AirAsia, dan Mandala dalam jumlah yang belum terlalu banyak. Namun tiga maskapai tersebut telah memiliki pesanan A320 yang cukup besar.

Sementara itu, pesaing Airbus A320 yaitu Boeing 737 masih cukup mendominasi dengan dioperasikan oleh berbagai operator seperti Lion Air, Garuda Indonesia, Sriwijaya Air, dan beberapa maskapai lainnya.

Pemesanan Airbus A320 oleh Lion Air dalam jumlah besar tentu saja cukup mendesak eksistensi Boeing di Indonesia yang sebelumnya sangat dominan.



http://www.indo-aviation.com/2013/04/indonesia-jadi-arena-perang-airbus-dan.html 

AirAsia Tawarkan Promo Dua Juta Kursi Gratis

(2/4/2013) Maskapai penerbangan AirAsia memulai bulan April dengan menawarkan sebanyak dua juta kursi gratis alias nol rupiah bagi para pelanggannya ke berbagai destinasi baik domestik maupun internasional.

Para pelanggan Indonesia AirAsia bisa membeli tiket dengan harga tersebut mulai 1 April pukul 23.00 hingga 7 April pukul 24.00, dengan periode keberangkatan mulai 1 Januari hingga 30 April 2014 mendatang. Tiket dapat dibeli secara online melalui website resmi AirAsia.

Walaupun AirAsia tidak memberikan kursi gratis pada semua rute yang dimilikinya, namun sangat banyak tiket yang dijual dengan harga murah untuk menarik minat pembeli. Misalnya pada rute domestik di Indonesia, kursi gratis diberikan pada rute Jakarta-Makassar dan Surabaya-Semarang. Selain rute tersebut, AirAsia memberikan harga sangat murah mulai Rp 66.000 sekali jalan.

Tiket promo kursi gratis maupun dengan harga murah tidak hanya untuk penerbangan domestik di Indonesia maupun penerbangan internasional dari Indonesia. Promo juga berlaku untuk seluruh jaringan rute AirAsia Group di Malaysia, Thailand, Filipina, dan Jepang.

Meskipun demikian, harga yang tercantum belum biaya bagasi dan biaya layanan pada penerbangan domestik di Indonesia, serta belum termasuk airport tax, biaya layanan, dan fuel surcharge untuk penerbangan internasional.



http://www.indo-aviation.com/2013/04/airasia-tawarkan-promo-dua-juta-kursi.html 

Keuntungan Garuda Meningkat Dua Kali Lipat, Mencapai Rp 1,38 Triliun

(27/3/2013) PT Garuda Indonesia Tbk baru saja mengumumkan laporan keuangan untuk periode tahun 2012. Perusahaan plat merah yang sudah masuk bursa saham ini mencatatkan laba komprehensif sebesar US$ 145,4 juta atau setara dengan Rp 1,38 triliun, naik dua kali lipat dibandingkan dengan laba tahun sebelumnya sebesar US$ 72,7 juta (Rp 690,6 miliar).

Meskipun demikian, pendapatan perusahaan tidak meningkat jauh dibandingkan pendapatan pada tahun 2011. Tahun 2012 Garuda Indonesia memperoleh pendapatan US$ 3,472 miliar, sedangkan pendapatan di tahun 2011 sebesar US$ 3,096 miliar.

Sementara itu, beban usaha perusahaan naik dari yang sebelumnya sebesar US$ 3 miliar menjadi US$ 3,3 miliar di tahun 2012. Selain itu, perseroan mencatat laba usaha sebesar US$ 168 miliar dari sebelumnya US$ 92,347 miliar.

Garuda Indonesia belum mengklarifikasi mengenai penyebab peningkatan keuntungan. Namun, sejumlah pengamat mengatakan bahwa Garuda Indonesia berbeda dengan kebanyakan maskapai penerbangan lainnya, karena pendapatannya sebagian besar berasal dari penerbangan domestik. Sementara maskapai lain terkena dampak dari krisis ekonomi di Eropa, dimana Garuda memiliki rute yang sangat minim ke Eropa.



http://www.indo-aviation.com/2013/03/keuntungan-garuda-meningkat-dua-kali.html 

Qantas-Emirates Memulai Kerjasama Bersejarah

Qantas dan Emirates A380

(1/4/2013) Qantas dan Emirates secara resmi menandai dimulainya kerjasama bersejarah antara kedua maskapai, dengan penerbangan Qantas yang berangkat dari Sydney dan Melbourne menuju London melalui hub internasional di Dubai.

Kerjasama ini menandai era baru Qantas dan Emirates, mengguncang bagi dunia penerbangan secara global, karena kedua maskapai berkolaborasi untuk memberikan jaringan rute yang luas, lounge, keuntungan bagi frequent flyer, dan pengalaman perjalanan terbaik.

Chief Executive Officer of Qantas Alan Joyce mengatakan, dengan kerjasama ini perjalanan jarak jauh akan menjadi lebih cepat bagi jutaan warga Australia.

"Mulai hari ini, pelanggan kami dari Adelaide, Brisbane, Perth, Melbourne, dan Sydney memiliki akses ke 65 destinasi di Timur Tengah, Afrika Utara, dan Eropa melalui jaringan rute kerjasama antara Qantas dan Emirates," ujar Alan Joyce.

Alan Joyce menambahkan, dengan perjalanan melalui Dubai, pelanggan Qantas dapat terhubung ke jaringan Emirates yang sangat luas di Eropa dan Inggris dan dapat terbang langsung ke tujuan mereka.

Sebelum adanya perjanjian kerjasama ini, Qantas menawarkan lima destinasi codeshare ke Eropa dan Inggris dengan partnernya. Mulai hari ini, Qantas menawarkan akses ke lebih dari 30 destinasi di Eropa dengan kombinasi antara jaringan Qantas dan Emirates.

Kerjasama dengan partner bari ini akan memangkas waktu perjalanan lebih dari dua jam dari Melbourne dan Sydney menuju 10 destinasi teratas di Eropa.

Kombinasi antara kedua maskapai akan menawarkan 98 penerbangan seminggu antara Australia dan Dubai. Qantas akan terus mengoperasikan Airbus A380 dalam layanannya dari Sydney dan Melbourne menuju London.


http://internasional.indo-aviation.com/2013/04/qantas-emirates-memulai-kerjasama.html 

Porter confirms CSeries order

Toronto-based Porter Airlines has signed a conditional purchase order for 12 Bombardier CSeries 100 aircraft and options for an additional 18, as well as purchase rights for six Bombardier Q400s.
The airline, which operates out of Toronto City Billy Bishop airport, will require authorities' approval and a runway extension to operate the jets at the downtown airport.
Deliveries of the CS100s will begin in 2016, says Porter, which confirms that it is the unidentified Americas-based customer that signed a letter of intent for the order announced by Bombardier on 19 December 2012.
The deal will be worth $2.29 billion at list prices if all options and purchase rights are exercised.
Porter's CS100s will be laid out in a 107-seat configuration and will be operated from Billy Bishop airport to new destinations such as Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, Los Angeles and cities in Florida and the Caribbean, says the airline.
Porter will request approvals from relevant authorities to extend the runway at Billy Bishop airport and to allow for the operation of jet aircraft. The airline says a 168m extension into water at each end of the airport's main runway would be required.
Toronto city, the Canadian government and the Toronto Port Authority were signatories to a tripartite agreement that has governed the airport since 1983.
"Thirty years ago, when the tripartite agreement came into effect, jets were noisy and not particularly environmentally friendly," says Porter chief executive Robert Deluce. "We chose the Bombardier CSeries aircraft because they are the world's quietest commercial jets in production. The CS100 jetliner is ideal for operation at downtown urban airports, is comparably quiet to our existing Q400 aircraft fleet, uses less fuel per seat than many modern compact cars, and creates up to 50% lower emissions than similar aircraft."
 
 
 
flightglobal.com

INTERIORS: Pace takes wraps off A350 cabin configurator

Software engineering firm Pace is helping Airbus bring its developmental A350 XWB to life thanks to a new configuration program created by the Berlin-based company.
The A350 XWB Configurator, a centralised system requested by Airbus, supports the airframer's sales, marketing and customer engineering teams.
It allows them to create airline-specific cabin layouts and aircraft configurations and present them in fully rendered 3D, with realistic representations of the selected materials and ambient lighting options. Additionally the tool checks whether any changes the customer wishes to make are feasible from a certification perspective.
"Being selected by Airbus for the A350 is really important for us and builds on our long-standing relationship with the company," says Anja Kittner, director corporate communications at Pace.
 
 
flightglobal.com

CSeries on track for first flight in June, says Bombardier

The Bombardier CSeries flight test vehicle (FTV-1) is on schedule to make its first flight by June.
"The first CSeries aircraft is on target for its first flight by the end of June 2013, followed by entry into service a year later," says Bombardier Commercial Aircraft president Mike Arcamone in Toronto at a Porter Airlines press conference where the airline announced a conditional order for up to 30 CS100 aircraft.
The fly-by-wire testing is going as planned, he says.
"The fly by wire testing is advancing, and thus far we're pleased with the results," adds Arcamone.
The final software block was installed on all the systems suppliers' rigs, FTV-1 and the integrated system test and certification rig (ISTCR) at the end of March and is undergoing testing, says Rob Dewar, Bombardier's vice-president and general manager of the CSeries programme.
Systems installations on the FTV-2 flight test vehicle are ongoing, wings are being mated to the FTV-3 and the fuselage of FTV-4 is undergoing the assembly stage.
The aircraft is "moving closer" to obtaining the aircraft's safety-of-flight permit, the manufacturer says.
Bombardier will not be bringing the CSeries to the Paris air show this year because it does not want to remove it from a critical period of the testing phase, the manufacturer says.
The CS100 is expected to enter service in mid-2014, while the CS300 will enter service by the end of 2014.
Porter confirmed its order for up to 30 of the jets, which it plans to receive in 2016 pending certain conditions, including gaining approvals from authorities in Canada to operate the aircraft out of Toronto City Billy Bishop airport.
The Porter order brings Bombardier's total orders and commitments for the CSeries family to 382.
 
 
 
flightglobal.com

INTERIORS: Airbus pitches extra-wide seat for 'growing' A320 passengers

Airbus is to offer airlines the option of an extra-wide 20in (51cm) seat on its A320 family aircraft which it believes will allow carriers to generate additional ancillary revenue.
At present the airframer configures its narrowbody with three 18in-wide seats in each row of the economy-class cabin. However, under the new concept, two seats would be reduced to a width of 17in, with the third growing to 20in.
Feedback from airlines has shown a preference for the aisle berth to be the wider of the three, says Stefanie Von Linstow, Airbus aircraft interiors marketing manager.
"Passengers in the window seat are already happy and those in the centre seat might not be willing to pay as much for the extra width," she says. "The aisle seat seems the most attractive for the concept."
The decision to offer the wider berth has partly been driven by what Von Linstow describes as a "growing population", noting "it is a difficult topic to handle for the airlines".
However, she points out that other categories of passenger, such as mothers with young children or cost-conscious business travellers, would also be prepared to pay a premium for the additional space.
"It could be a revenue-boosting solution that keeps a lot of passengers happy," she says.
Discussions are ongoing with potential customers ahead of any possible launch order of the B/E Aerospace manufactured seat, adds Von Linstow.
Airbus also displayed a full-scale mock-up of its Space-Flex rear cabin concept at AIX. This moves the rear lavatories and galley creating enough space for six additional seats in an A320.
Launch customer LATAM will take delivery of its initial Space-Flex equipped A320, the first of 100 it has on order, later this year.
The re-configured aircraft also marks the first time a toilet for disabled passengers has been available on a narrowbody, says Von Linstow.
 
 
 
flightglobal.com

INTERIORS: Bandwidth debate continues as connectivity takes off

Everyone wants an apples with apples comparison when it comes to bandwidth available from the different broadband connectivity providers. The trouble is, as consultant Michael Planey wryly observed during the Passenger Experience conference in Hamburg, "what we have is a fruit salad".
The different broadband connectivity solutions for airlines come with their own approaches on bandwidth. ViaSat, for example, says its Ka-band wi-fi service being installed on JetBlue will provide speeds of at least 12 Mbps per second for each passenger
"People value speed, whether at home or in mobile environment. We have built a system around a very high speed experience. So we are taking that and bringing it into the airline sector, says Bill Sullivan, director for strategy and business development, broadband systems at ViaSat.
Rivals argue it is more complicated to do so in the airline market. Indeed vice president of Panasonic Avionics' Global Communications Service reminds: "This is the most expensive place in the world to provide broadband."
Chief technology officer at another broadband provider, Row 44's John Guidon says: "One of the things we know from airlines flying is there is a reduction in efficiency, so you do have to over-provision.
"Just talking about speed is not satisfactory. It doesn't explain the totality of the experience," he adds. "Really people are most interested in, in my opinion, is page load time."
Panasonic's Bruner points to the growth of in-flight connectivity since it launched its service three and a half years ago. He believes a tipping point was passed in late 2011 after United Airlines made its big wi-fi commitment, which includes Panasonic's Ku-band solution and some ViaSat-equipped aircraft.
"It is not a question of do they [airlines] need it, that's over. Airlines are now on what should we use," he says. "The market is exploding. Passenger expectations and how much they are going to use the bandwidth is growing exponentially. It is changing the way we operate. All of us have to be fast adopters and scale our networks up to support increased useage."
 
 
 flightglobal.com

LOT leases 767 in place of 787s

Polish flag-carrier LOT is wet-leasing another Portuguese long-haul jet to maintain capacity while its Boeing 787s remain grounded.

LOT has agreed to lease a EuroAtlantic Boeing 767-300ER for long-haul operations, having already signed for an Airbus A330 from HiFly.

The 767 aircraft (CS-TLO) is configured with 16 business-class and 234 economy-class seats, says LOT.

LOT flight attendants will make up part of the cabin crew on the aircraft. The jet will serve the Toronto route from 1 May, and also be used for New York flights. It will remain in service for about a month.


flightglobal.com

AirAsia X Masuk Bursa Saham di Bulan Juni

AirAsia X

(28/3/2013) AirAsia X, maskapai penerbangan long-haul yang berafiliasi dengan AirAsia Berhad, siap memasuki bursa saham di Malaysia pada bulan Juni setelah menunda penawaran saham perdana (IPO), yang sebelumnya dijadwalkan pada kuartal pertama tahun ini.

AirAsia X telah menyerahkan semua daftar dokumen yang terkait, termasuk permohonan listing dan prospektus, kepada Komisi Sekuritas untuk mendapatkan persetujuan dari mereka dan saat ini sedang menunggu jawaban yang positif.

Melalui IPO ini, AirAsia X diperkirakan akan mendapat dana sebesar US$ 250 juta, atau setara dengan 97 sen per lembar saham, dimana dana ini akan digunakan untuk melunasi pinjaman bank dan 21,5 persen akan digunakan untuk belanja modal.

Perusahaan menunjuk CIMB Investment Bank Bhd sebagai kepala konsultan untuk IPO, sementara Maybank Investment Bank Bhd, CIMB, dan Credit Suisse bergabung sebagai koordinator global.

AirAsia X saat ini mengoperasikan sembilan pesawat Airbus A330-300 untuk penerbangan berjadwal dan dua Airbus A340-300 untuk disewakan serta operasional charter. Pesawat ini telah melayani penerbangan ke 12 destinasi di Asia, Australia, dan Timur Tengah.

Segera setelah IPO AirAsia X terlaksana, AirAsia Group juga akan melakukan IPO pada anggota mereka di Indonesia, yaitu Indonesia AirAsia.


http://internasional.indo-aviation.com/2013/03/airasia-x-masuk-bursa-saham-di-bulan.html 

Porter Airlines to order 12 Bombardier CSeries aircraft


Bombardier CSeries 100
Bombardier CSeries 100
Courtesy, Bombardier
 
Canadian regional Porter Airlines has signed a conditional purchase order for 12 Bombardier CS100 aircraft, with 18 options. The deal also includes purchase rights for six Bombardier Q400s.
in an order valued at $2.29 billion at list prices. The order will comprise 12 Bombardier CS100s, plus 18 options. The aircraft are expected to enter into service in 2016.
A Porter Airlines statement said it confirms it is the unidentified, Americas-based customer that signed a letter of intent for the CS100 in December 2012. The LOI was recently converted to a conditional purchase agreement.
Porter Airlines president and CEO Robert Deluce said the deal also includes purchase rights for six Bombardier Q400s.
“We have determined that the CS100 airliner with a 107-seat configuration is the ideal aircraft to operate from our home base at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport and will make it possible for Porter to open up new destinations—such as Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, Los Angeles, Florida and the Caribbean,” Deluce said.
Deluce said the plan will require changes to Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport. The airline will seek permission to fly the CS100s out of the island airport, where the runway would need to be extended by 168 meters at each end. “We believe it is time to spread our wings,” Deluce said at the news conference.
Porter Airlines said it will shortly be requesting the tripartite parties consider two amendments that would allow the operation of the CS100 aircraft at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport. “The first consideration is permitting use of this model of jet aircraft, while the second consideration is a modest 168 meter extension into water at each end of the existing main runway. This can be accommodated without changes to existing marine boundaries,” it said in a statement.
“Thirty years ago, when the tripartite agreement came into effect, jets were noisy and not particularly environmentally friendly,” said Deluce. “We chose the Bombardier CSeries aircraft because they are the world’s quietest commercial jets in production. The CS100 jetliner is ideal for operation at downtown urban airports, is comparably quiet to our existing Q400 aircraft fleet, uses less fuel per seat than many modern compact cars, and creates up to 50% lower emissions than similar aircraft.”
The Toronto Port Authority (TPA) released a statement saying it is “up to Porter to pursue its own business plan for the benefit of its customers, shareholders and employees. The TPA takes no position on Porter’s business aspirations. For the past 30 years, the TPA has operated the Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport based upon the terms of the 1983 tripartite agreement, and will continue to do so. The TPA will not consider any change of use to the airport until a determination is first made by the elected representatives on Toronto City Council regarding Porter’s proposed changes to the 1983 tripartite agreement.”



http://atwonline.com/airframes/porter-airlines-order-12-bombardier-cseries-aircraft 

Hawaiian Airlines selects P&W engines for A321neos


Hawaiian Airlines Airbus A321neo
Airbus A321neo in Hawaiian Airlines’ livery
Courtesy, Airbus
 
Hawaiian Airlines has selected Pratt & Whitney 1000G geared turbofan engines to power its new fleet of Airbus A321neo aircraft.
The carrier finalized an order for 16 A321neos plus nine options in March, an order that will require up to 50 engines.
The aircraft, which are scheduled for delivery between 2017 and 2020, will be used on long-haul flights between Hawaii and the US West Coast.
Pratt & Whitney will also provide offwing engine maintenance via its PureSolution fleet management program.
 
 
 
atwonline.com

Akhir Juli, Asiana Kembali Terbang ke Indonesia

Asiana Airlines A330-300

(11/3/2013) Maskapai penerbangan asal Korea, Asiana Airlines, akan kembali terbang ke Indonesia pada akhir Juli 2013, setelah delapan tahun menghentikan layanannya ke Indonesia.

Maskapai penerbangan anggota Star Alliance ini akan mengoperasikan layanan penerbangan harian dari Seoul Incheon ke Jakarta dan dua penerbangan seminggu ke Denpasar.

Penerbangan dari Seoul Incheon ke Jakarta akan mulai dilakukan oleh Asiana pada 21 Juli 2013 dengan pesawat Airbus A330-300. Sementara penerbangan dari Seoul Incheon ke Denpasar efektif dimulai pada 25 Juli 2013 dengan pesawat Boeing 767-300.

Asiana Airlines terakhir kali mengoperasikan penerbangan ke Jakarta pada Agustus 2005. Masuknya kembali Asiana ke Jakarta dan Denpasar tentu saja semakin menambah persaingan pada rute tersebut yang saat ini telah diisi oleh Garuda Indonesia dan Korean Air.


http://internasional.indo-aviation.com/2013/03/akhir-juli-asiana-kembali-terbang-ke.html 

PT Ilthabi Rekatama Berniat Bangun MRO di Batam

Ilham Habibie

(10/4/2013) PT Ilthabi Rekatama yang dipimpin oleh Ilham Akbar Habibie (anak mantan Presiden BJ. Habibie) berniat mengembangkan industri penerbangan di Batam. Hal yang sudah masuk dalam rencana bisnis perusahaan adalah membangun hanggar untuk maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) atau sebagai pusat perawatan dan perbaikan pesawat di Bandara Hang Nadim.

Menurut Kasubdit Humas dan Publikasi BP Batam Ilham Eka Hartawan, PT Ilthabi Rekatama telah mempresentasikan dan menyampaikan minatnya untuk membangun industri MRO. Tetapi, Ilthabi Rekatama juga tidak menutup kemungkinan untuk membangun industri pembuatan pesawat di Batam.

Saat ini Ilham Habibie bersama dengan perusahaannya sedang mengembangkan pesawat Regio Prop 80 yang diharapkan bisa bersaing dengan pabrikan besar seperti ATR. Menurut Ilham, dirinya mempunyai mimpi untuk menghidupkan kembali industri penerbangan di Indonesia seperti yang telah dilakukan ayahnya, BJ. Habibie, pada masa lalu. Apalagi sumber daya manusia yang dimiliki Indonesia tidak kalah hebat dibandingkan dari luar.

Sementara itu, Bandara Hang Nadim telah menyiapkan lahan seluas 150 hektar untuk pembangunan MRO dan industri penerbangan. Saat ini baru Lion yang memanfaatkan lahan tersebut untuk membangun MRO seluas 4 hektar dan akan bertambah menjadi 16 hektar di tahun 2016. (Photo: Vivanews)


http://www.indo-aviation.com/2013/04/pt-ilthabi-rekatama-berniat-bangun-mro.html 

Maskapai RI Diminta Terbang ke Australia

CANBERRA, KOMPAS.com - Menteri Perhubungan EE Mangindaan meminta lebih banyak maskapai penerbangan Indonesia untuk terbang menuju kota-kota di Australia. Saat ini baru maskapai Garuda Indonesia dan Indonesia AirAsia yang terbang ke Australia. Padahal, potensi penumpang yang diangkut diyakini sangat banyak. Penerbangan baru diharapkan meningkatkan perekonomian dua negara.
Tahun 2012 tercatat 12.000 penumpang pesawat setiap minggu diterbangkan dari Indonesia menuju Australia. Sebaliknya, setiap minggu, sebanyak 17.000 penumpang diterbangkan dari Australia menuju Indonesia. Tahun 2010, kuota penerbangan baru 10.000 penumpang per minggu, tetapi tahun 2012 mencapai 25.000 penumpang per minggu.
”Dengan ditandatanganinya Perjanjian Pelayanan Angkutan Udara (Air Service Agreement/ ASA), maka harus segera ditindaklanjuti oleh maskapai penerbangan Indonesia supaya terasa manfaatnya,” kata Mangindaan seperti dilaporkan wartawan Kompas, Haryo Damardono, dari Canberra, Australia, Kamis (7/2/2013). Kedua negara pernah menandatangani ASA pada 7 Maret 1969.
Perjanjian ASA ditandatangani Kamis kemarin oleh Menteri Perhubungan Mangindaan dan Menteri Infrastruktur dan Transportasi Australia Antony Albanese di Gedung Parlemen Australia di Canberra.
Presiden Direktur Lion Air Rusdi Kirana langsung menyatakan akan membuka penerbangan rute Kupang-Darwin dan Denpasar-Perth tahun ini. ”Kalau dimungkinkan, kami juga akan terbang di rute Denpasar-Adelaide mulai tahun ini. Penerbangan ke Australia akan dilakukan Batik Air yang mulai terbang April 2013,” ujar Rusdi, yang ditemui di Canberra.

Lion Air Siap Terbang ke Australia

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Menyusul revisi kuota hak angkut udara antara Indonesia dan Australia, maskapai Lion Air menyatakan kesiapannya untuk menerbangi sejumlah rute antar dua negara. Bahkan, Lion Air siap menerbangi dua rute yaitu Kupang-Darwin dan Adelaide-Denpasar.
Rusdi Kirana, Direktur Utama Lion Air, mengatakan dua rute tersebut atas permintaan Nadjib Riphat, Duta Besar RI di Australia. "Kedutaan Besar Indonesia banyak menerima permintaan penerbangan langsung dari beberapa kota di Australia ke Denpasar, khususnya dari berbagai kalangan di Adelaide," katanya dalam keterangan pers, Kamis (7/2/2013).
Saat ini kapasitas angkut yang sudah digunakan Indonesia sebanyak 12.000 kursi dan pihak Australia sudah menggunakan sebanyak 17.100 kursi per minggu. Rute dan maskapai yang menerbangi Indonesia-Australia adalah PT Garuda Indonesia dengan rute Denpasar-Perth, Denpasar-Sidney, Denpasar-Melbourne, Jakarta-Sidney dan Denpasar-Melbourne. Sementara, Indonesia Air Asia melayani rute Denpasar-Perth.
Sementara dari Australia, maskapai Qantas menerbangi rute Sidney-Jakarta, Qantas code share dengan Jetstar melayani rute Sidney-Denpasar, Melbourne-Denpasar dan Perth-Denpasar. Selanjutnya maskapai Virgin Australia melayani rute Adelaide-Denpasar.
Seperti diberitakan sebelumnya, Pemerintah Indonesia dan Australia menyepakati merevisi kuota hak angkut penumpang udara melalui Air Service Agreement. Dengan demikian, maskapai kedua negara bisa mengangkut hingga 27.500 penumpang setiap minggu untuk tujuan Sydney, Perth, Brisbane dan Melbourne.
Perjanjian tersebut dilakukan antara Menteri Perhubungan EE Mangindaan dan Menteri Infrastruktur dan Transportasi Australia, Antony Albanese.
"Jumlah penumpang udara kedua negara semakin meningkat, oleh karena itu Air Agreement perlu direvisi," EE Mangindaan, Menteri Perhubungan.

Lion Air Ingin Punya 1.000 Pesawat

TANGERANG, KOMPAS.com — Direktur Utama Lion Air, Rusdi Kirana, menyatakan, pihaknya berniat memiliki 1.000 pesawat.
Keinginan tersebut berdasarkan permintaan pasar yang terus tumbuh dan ambisi untuk menguasai penerbangan dalam negeri hingga Asia.
Rusdi menuturkan, untuk merealisasikan ambisinya, Lion Air telah memesan 468 unit pesawat. Pesawat-pesawat tersebut nantinya didatangkan dari Boeing dan ATR. Pada 2026, semua pesawat diharapkan sudah datang.
"Kami masih proses membeli pesawat baru untuk melakukan pembelian 1.000 pesawat dalam Lion Air Grup," kata Rusdi kepada wartawan, termasuk Tribunnews.com, di Kawasan Terpadu Lion Air, Balaraja, Tangerang, Banten, Kamis (14/2/2013).
Menurutnya, pertumbuhan penumpang udara di Indonesia setiap tahun terus meningkat. Tahun lalu, Lion Air mengangkut 32 juta penumpang (sekitar 50 persen) dari total jumlah penumpang domestik sebanyak 65 juta penumpang.
Untuk menguasai pasar di ASEAN, Rusdi mengaku telah bekerja sama dengan perusahaan Malaysia untuk mendirikan maskapai di Malaysia bernama Malindo Airways. Maskapai tersebut akan mulai dioperasikan bulan depan.
"Kami ingin menjadi domain di ASEAN, bulan depan mulai mengoperasikan Malindo," terangnya.

Ini Cara Bos Lion Air Melobi Airbus

PARIS, KOMPAS.com — Pemilik maskapai penerbangan Lion Air tak sekadar melakukan jual beli pesawat dengan Airbus, produsen pesawat asal Eropa. Rusdi Kirana, selaku pemilik Lion Air, mengaku memiliki target lain selain menambah ratusan unit pesawat kepada Airbus.
Rencana lain dari Rusdi dengan Airbus adalah membangun bengkel pesawat untuk melayani jasa perbaikan dan perawatan pesawat yang lokasinya ada di Kota Batam.
"Kenapa Batam? karena bea masuk bebas sehingga keluar lagi juga bebas," kata Rusdi menceritakan rencana bisnisnya seusai menandatangani pemesanan ratusan pesawat Airbus di Paris, Perancis, Rabu (20/3/2013).
Selain melayani perbaikan dan perawatan, bengkel akan menjadi engine shop serta landing gear. Untuk membangun bengkel itu, Rusdi mengaku telah mengalokasikan lahan seluas 16 hektar yang dikerjasamakan dengan BP Batam.
Walaupun pembuatan bengkel tidak termasuk dalam kesepakatan pembelian ratusan pesawat dengan Airbus, Rusdi mengaku Airbus sudah bersedia membantu Lion Air mendirikan bengkel tersebut. "Ini bengkelnya, mereka (Airbus) juga yang bangun, dan sertifikasinya juga dari Airbus," kata Rusdi.
Menurut Rusdi, sebagai pembeli pesawat terbanyak, pihaknya memiliki power untuk melakukan lobi kepada Airbus. "Kami punya power melobi, istilahnya, bukannya memaksa. Saya melihat sambutan Airbus sangat baik," tegas Rusdi.
Rusdi mengatakan, pihak Airbus sudah berkomitmen membantunya. "Ini artinya, bengkel nanti bisa memperbaiki pesawat Boeing maupun Airbus. Jadi, yang mereka bantu bukan memasok pesawatnya saja, tetapi juga bengkelnya bersertifikasi Eropa," terang Rusdi.
Bengkel di Batam nantinya akan merawat pesawat-pesawat milik Lion Air yang ada di Indonesia dan juga yang ada di luar negeri. "Dengan bengkel sertifikasi, kami juga bisa menarik pesawat luar negeri. Ini untuk menarik devisa negara juga pada akhirnya," jelasnya. (Djumyati Partawidjaja/Kontan)

Lion Air Thankyou

KOMPAS.com - Tepuk tangan membahana tatkala Direktur Utama Lion Air Rusdi Kirana menuruni tangga pesawat di apron Bandar Udara Blagnac Toulouse, Perancis, Senin (18/3/2013). Sejumlah 320 karyawan Airbus berdiri menyambut di samping pesawat Airbus A320 berlogo Lion Air. Di badan pesawatnya bertuliskan ”thankyou!”.

Seremoni sore itu kian meriah sewaktu CEO Airbus Fabrice Brégier merangkul Rusdi, lantas berfoto bersama di depan pesawat. Logo ”Lion Air Thankyou” di pesawat itu sengaja diciptakan untuk menyambut kedatangan direksi Lion Air di markas Airbus di Toulouse.
Hari itu fenomenal dalam sejarah Airbus A320, yang pada 22 Maret 2013 merayakan ulang tahun ke-25. Sebanyak 234 pesawat Airbus A320 dan A321 dipesan oleh Lion Air, dengan nilai kontrak 24 miliar dollar AS atau sekitar Rp 233 triliun.
Penandatanganan jual beli dilakukan di Istana Kepresidenan Perancis, The Elysee Palace, di Paris, disaksikan Presiden Perancis François Hollande. Dalam pidato yang cukup panjang, Hollande menyampaikan terima kasih dan penghargaan. Kontrak pemesanan pesawat yang terbesar dalam sejarah penerbangan sipil di Perancis itu akan menyerap 5.000 tenaga kerja dalam kurun 10 tahun ke depan.
Airbus merupakan industri pesawat milik konsorsium negara Eropa yang bermarkas di Toulouse. Airbus menggabungkan komponen yang dipasok dari beberapa negara di Eropa. ”Kerja sama ini kebanggaan, tidak hanya bagi Perancis, tetapi juga Eropa,” ujar Hollande.
Lion Air menjadi klien baru Airbus setelah selama ini menggunakan Boeing, pesaing utama Airbus asal Amerika Serikat. Kontrak pembelian pesawat Airbus yang akan tuntas dipasok tahun 2026 itu hampir seluruhnya menggunakan pinjaman luar negeri, yakni minimal 85 persen dari lembaga kredit ekspor (ECA) di Jerman, Perancis, dan Inggris, dan sisanya sindikasi.
”Hampir tidak ada modal dari Lion Air. Bisnis ini modalnya kepercayaan, mereka melihat track record kita,” ujar Rusdi.
Pembelian pesawat dalam jumlah besar itu diyakini akan memperkuat kiprah Lion Air dalam ekspansi bisnis di Asia Pasifik. Seluruh pinjaman untuk pembelian pesawat Airbus itu ditargetkan lunas dalam kurun 10-12 tahun mendatang.
”Kita bicara teknologi yang sekarang, perawatan pesawat lebih murah, bahan bakar lebih efisien, dan pasar juga lebih bagus,” ujar Rusdi.
Lion Air sebelumnya juga mengejutkan. November 2011, maskapai dengan pangsa pasar terbesar di Indonesia itu membeli 230 pesawat Boeing 737 berbagai seri senilai 21,7 miliar dollar AS atau sekitar Rp 195 triliun. Penandatanganan dilakukan Rusdi Kirana dan CEO Boeing Jim Albaugh di Nusa Dua, Bali, disaksikan Presiden AS Barack Obama.
Lion Air milik Rusdi Kirana dan kakaknya, Kusnan Kirana, sejak 2000 hingga kini telah memesan 727 pesawat. Sudah 100 pesawat Lion Air yang beroperasi. Lion Air berniat memiliki 1.000 pesawat tahun 2027.
Tumbuh tinggi
Ekspansi Lion Air ini, ujar Rusdi, karena harus merespons tingginya pertumbuhan pasar penerbangan di Asia Pasifik. Apalagi, tahun 2015 kebijakan ”open sky” diterapkan di ASEAN, yang memungkinkan konsumen punya banyak pilihan penerbangan. Pasar domestik dengan penduduk 245 juta orang juga akan terus digenjot.
Pertumbuhan pasar di Asia Pasifik yang sangat tinggi diungkapkan oleh Chief Operating Officer Customer Airbus John Leahy. Jika pertumbuhan pasar penerbangan di dunia mencapai dua kali lipat dalam setiap kurun 15 tahun, pasar Asia Pasifik bisa tumbuh dua kali lipat dalam setiap kurun 10 tahun. Karakter ini dipicu oleh penerbangan berbiaya murah.
Airbus mencatat permintaan maskapai penerbangan di Asia Pasifik yang sangat besar, pada saat bersamaan, backlog (kekurangan) pemenuhan juga besar. Untuk jenis A320, misalnya, dari jumlah pesanan 9.390 unit, baru bisa terpenuhi 5.467 unit.
Menurut Rusdi, fokus pengembangan bisnis Lion Air ke luar negeri dilakukan dengan membuat penerbangan baru maupun membangun maskapai baru di luar negeri dengan cara akuisisi atau membentuk baru. Beberapa negara tetangga yang potensial adalah Myanmar, Thailand, dan Vietnam.
Lion Air saat ini telah memiliki Maskapai Malindo Airways di Malaysia, perusahaan patungan dengan Malaysia, yang terbang perdana 22 Maret 2013. Beberapa destinasi antara lain Kinabalu (Malaysia), New Delhi, Dhaka, Kanton, dan Hongkong.
Bulan depan, Lion Air juga akan mengoperasikan pesawat layanan penuh (full service), Batik Air. Segmentasi pasar tetap akan dilakukan sesuai dengan target pasar. Untuk Thailand, misalnya, potensi tinggi dalam bisnis penerbangan biaya murah, sedangkan Australia untuk penerbangan layanan penuh.
Usaha membesarkan bisnis penerbangan haruslah bernilai tambah dan mendatangkan devisa ke dalam negeri. Pelebaran sayap usaha, lanjut Rusdi, tidak sekadar membeli pesawat.
Airbus telah sepakat memberikan pelatihan pilot dan teknisi di pusat training milik Lion di Cirebon dan Palangkaraya. ”Sebagai pembeli terbesar dari Airbus, kita punya power untuk melobi, dan mereka (Airbus) sangat kooperatif,” ujarnya.
Untuk perawatan, pihak Lion Air sedang membangun bengkel pesawat di lahan 16 hektar yang disewa dari Badan Otoritas Batam.

Bantah Pindah ke Malaysia, Lion Air Ekspansi ke Asia Pasifik

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - PT Lion Mentari Group, pemilik maskapai Lion Air membantah, pihaknya memindahkan hanggar ke Malaysia. Maskapai berlambang singa terbang ini justru sedang ngebut menyelesaikan pembangunan hanggar di Batam, Kepulauan Riau.
Rusdi Kirana, Presiden Direktur Lion menilai potensi bisnis di Batam besar. Pasalnya, di sana terdapat kawasan zona ekonomi eksklusif (ZEE). Ia pun masih berkomitmen untuk memperbesar porsi pasar domestik sebagai sumber fulus.
"Tidak ada rencana memindahkan hanggar (dari Manado) ke luar negeri, saat ini kami fokus membangun hanggar di Batam," ujar Rusdi kepada KONTAN, Rabu (10/4/2013).
Rusdi mengklaim, saat ini, Lion menguasai sekitar 40 persen pangsa pasar penerbangan domestik. "Kami akan terus tingkatkan karena potensi pasar masih bagus," tuturnya. Selain pasar domestik, Lion Air juga bersiap diri untuk menggarap kawasan Asia Pasifik. Setelah Malaysia, ada beberapa negara yang menjadi incaran perusahaan.
Menurut Rusdi, pihaknya sedang menyiapkan rencana bisnis dan mengurus perizinan terbang di tiga negara, yakni Australia, Vietnam, dan Myanmar. Tapi, ia belum memastikan negara mana yang akan digarap terlebih dahulu. Sebab, hal itu tergantung dari kecepatan respon di masing-masing negara.
Pada dasarnya, ketiga negara itu, kata Rusdi, merupakan opsi yang saat ini tersedia. Bisa saja, seiring dengan berjalannya waktu, ada negara-negara Asia Pasifik lain yang bakal dimasukkan lantaran lebih prospektif.
Skema kerjasama yang akan dilakukan untuk ekspansi regional ini kurang lebih sama seperti yang dilakukannya di Malaysia. Asal tahu saja, Lion Mentari Group menggandeng maskapai malaysia, National Aerospace and Defence Industries (NADI), untuk mendirikan Malindo Air. Kepemilikan saham Lion di maskapai berbiaya rendah ini sebesar 49 persen. Sedangkan 51 persen atau mayoritas saham dikuasai NADI.
Rusdi menyadari, Lion harus kerja keras untuk merealisasikan rencana ekspansi itu. Sayang, ia masih enggan mengungkapkan dana investasi yang disiapkan untuk ekspansi global tersebut.
Hanya saja, Lion Air sudah melakukan persiapan awal. Belum lama ini, perusahaan telah melakukan pemesanan pesawat besar-besaran. Pesawat itu terdiri dari 201 unit pesawat Boeing dan sebanyak 234 unit Airbus. (Ragil Nugroho/Kontan)

Juli 2014, Airbus Lion Air Tiba di Indonesia

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - PT Lion Mentari Airlines alias Lion Air pada Maret lalu meneken perjanjian jual beli atas 234 unit Airbus di Paris senilai 24 miliar dollar AS atau setara Rp 228 triliun. Pesawat Airbus tersebut akan secara bertahap didatangkan ke Indonesia, yang dimulai pada Juli 2014 mendatang.

"Tahun depan mulai datang. Juli tahun depan ada enam pesawat," kata Rusdi Kirana, Direktur Utama Lion Air di Hotel Sheraton Bandara Soekarno Hatta, Rabu (10/4/2013).

Perlu diketahui, Lion Air memesan 234 Airbus dengan dua tipe, yakni Airbus 320 dan Airbus 321. Pemesanan ini menunjukkan niat perusahaan maskapai penerbangan berstatus keluarga tersebut serius untuk mengibarkan bendera bisnisnya. Tentunya, Lion Air ingin mencicipi pasar penerbangan global, setelah sebelumnya sukses menjadi penguasa pasar domestik.

Untuk selanjutnya, pesawat Airbus di tahun 2015 akan didatangkan sebanyak 14 buah dan di tahun 2016 sebanyak 20 buah.

"Yah, secara bertahap," tandasnya.

Asal tahu saja, Lion Air mendapatkan pembiayaan pembelian pesawat Airbus tersebut dari sindikasi Export Credit Agency (ECA) di Inggris, Prancis, dan Jerman. Untuk pembelian satu pesawat, mendapatkan jatah kredit 10-15 tahun. Pertimbangan pria kelahiran 17 Agustus 1963 tersebut untuk membeli pesawat Airbus dalam jumlah besar adalah dikarenakan target yang dibidik bukan hanya pasar lokal, melainkan juga pasar Asia Pasifik dengan memanfaatkan kebijakan open sky di tahun 2015.

"Kami akan buat penerbangan baru di negara yang sedang kami bicarakan saat ini. Moga-moga tahun ini," pungkasnya.

Nantinya, di negara bidikan ekspansi Lion tersebut, bentuk kerja samanya akan sama seperti Malindo Airlines. Malindo adalah usaha patungan Lion Air dengan perusahaan Malaysia National Aerospace and Defence Industries (NADI Sdn. Bhd) dengan kepemilikan saham Lion Air sebesar 49 persen dan NADI sebesar 51 persen saham. (Margareta Engge Kharismawati/Kontan)

Lion Air Akan Sewakan Pesawat Airbus

Lion Air Airbus A321

(10/4/2013) Pesawat yang dipesan Lion Air dari Airbus sejumlah 234 unit rencananya akan mulai berdatangan pada pertengahan tahun 2014. Menurut Lion, nantinya pesawat ini tidak akan digunakan di Indonesia.

Direktur Umum Lion Air Edward Sirait mengatakan, pesawat akan digunakan untuk anak perusahaan yang dibentuk Lion di negara-negara lain, seperti yang sudah dilakukan pada Malindo Air di Malaysia. Lion Air telah berencana membangun maskapai penerbangan baru di Australia, Myanmar, Vietnam, dan Thailand.

Tetapi, jika Lion Air tidak bisa mendirikan maskapai baru di negara lain karena terkendala izin, perusahaan siap menyewakan ratusan pesawat yang telah dipesan kepada maskapai penerbangan lain baik di Indonesia maupun di luar negeri. Prinsipnya, Lion bisa menjadi perusahaan leasing pesawat.

Lion Air sangat menyadari ratusan pesawat yang telah dipesan baik kepada Boeing maupun Airbus tidak akan bisa seluruhnya diserap oleh Lion Air untuk penerbangan di Indonesia. Hal ini karena perkembangan infrastruktur, terutama bandara, cukup lambat dan tidak bisa mengimbangi pertumbuhan perusahaan.

Saat ini saja berbagai bandara utama di Indonesia telah mengalami overload, baik dari segi kapasitas terminal penumpang, kapasitas apron atau parkir pesawat, dan juga dalam hal kepadatan lalu lintas udara.

Solusi untuk menyerap ratusan pesawat yang telah dipesan adalah dengan membentuk maskapai penerbangan baru di luar Indonesia dan menyewakan pesawat-pesawat ini kepada maskapai penerbangan lain.

Lion Air saat ini telah membawahi tiga maskapai penerbangan antara lain Wings Air, Batik Air, dan Malindo Air (Malaysia). Jika izin mendirikan maskapai baru di negara lain berhasil didapatkan, jumlah anak perusahaan Lion Air tentu saja akan bertambah dan akan memperkuat eksistensi Lion Air di Asia. (Photo: Airbus)


http://www.indo-aviation.com/2013/04/lion-air-akan-sewakan-pesawat-airbus.html 

Aspal Runway Terkelupas, Penerbangan di Bandara Adi Sucipto Sempat Terhenti

Bandara Adi Sucipto

(11/4/2013) Sejumlah penerbangan di Bandara Adi Sucipto sempat terganggu akibat aspal Runway 09 terkelupas. Kerusakan runway diketahui sekitar pukul 09.30 WIB. Namun pengelola bandara tidak menyebutkan berapa panjang dan seberapa parah kerusakan yang terjadi.

Operasional bandara sempat dihentikan sementara sampai runway berhasil diperbaiki. Atas gangguan ini memang tidak ada penerbangan yang dibatalkan, namun sejumlah penerbangan ditunda keberangkatannya antara 15-20 menit.

Saat ini bagian teknis bandara telah memperbaiki aspal yang mengelupas dan operasional penerbangan di Bandara Adi Sucipto telah berangsur normal.

Beberapa penerbangan yang sempat ditunda antara lain Merpati tujuan Bandung, Wings Air tujuan Surabaya, Lion Air tujuan Jakarta, Garuda Indonesia tujuan Jakarta, Garuda Indonesia tujuan Denpasar, dan Indonesia AirAsia tujuan Denpasar. (Photo: Indo Aviation)


http://www.indo-aviation.com/2013/04/aspal-runway-terkelupas-penerbangan-di.html 

Dahlan Iskan Setuju Merpati Ditutup

Merpati Nusantara Airlines

(10/4/2013) Menteri Badan Usaha Milik Negara (BUMN) Dahlan Iskan mengakui sulitnya membangkitkan maskapai penerbangan Merpati Nusantara Airlines yang memiliki setumpuk utang. Menurut Dahlan, Merpati layak ditutup jika upaya menghapus utang gagal dilakukan oleh manajemen.

"Kami akan melihat satu kurun waktu lagi. Kami tidak emosi kalau Merpati harus tetap hidup atau tetap mati kami ikut perkembangan rasional," ucap Dahlan di Komisi VI DPR, Senayan, Jakarta, Senin (8/4/2013) seperti yang dikutip dari Merdeka.com.

Tanpa adanya restrukturisasi, Dahlan yakin Merpati akan mengalami kesulitan yang luar biasa.

Banyak pihak yang memberikan masukan kepada Menteri BUMN agar Merpati ditutup karena kondisinya sudah sangat parah. Dahlan sangat setuju dengan pendapat ini. Namun, pihaknya masih memikirkan nasib karyawan yang ada.

Saat ini utang Merpati Nusantara Airlines mencapai Rp 6 triliun ke berbagai perusahaan seperti Bank Mandiri, PT Pertamina, PT Angkasa Pura I, PT Angkasa Pura II, dan lain-lain.


http://www.indo-aviation.com/2013/04/dahlan-iskan-setuju-merpati-ditutup.html 

Dapatkan AOC 19 April, Batik Air Terbang Perdana 3 Mei 2013

Batik Air 787

(10/4/2013) Anak perusahaan Lion Air yang masuk dalam segmen full service, Batik Air, dikabarkan akan terbang perdana dalam waktu dekat.

Lion Air mengatakan kepada Flightglobal bahwa Batik Air baru akan mendapatkan Air Operator Certificate (AOC) pada 19 April. Selanjutnya, Batik Air kemungkinan baru akan melakukan penerbangan perdana secara komersial pada 3 Mei 2013.

Kabar ini tentu saja sedikit berbeda dengan kabar-kabar sebelumnya yang menyebutkan bahwa Batik Air akan melakukan penerbangan perdana pada 26 April (Baca: 26 April Batik Air Ramaikan Langit Indonesia).

Rencananya, Batik Air akan beroperasi dengan pesawat Boeing 737-900ER yang dikonfigurasi dalam 12 kursi kelas bisnis dan 160 kursi kelas ekonomi.

Pada tahap awal, rencananya Batik Air akan beroperasi dengan dua pesawat untuk melayani rute Jakarta-Manado, Jakarta-Balikpapan, dan Jakarta-Yogyakarta (Baca: Beroperasi April 2013, Ini Rute-Rute Batik Air). Tapi jumlah ini akan bertambah menjadi enam pesawat hingga akhir tahun.

Batik Air akan fokus pada rute domestik terlebih dahulu pada awal beroperasi. Nantinya maskapai milik Lion Air yang digadang-gadang sebagai pesaing Garuda Indonesia ini juga akan merambah pada rute internasional.


http://www.indo-aviation.com/2013/04/dapatkan-aoc-19-april-batik-air-terbang.html 

Dua Boeing 737-900ER Batik Air Tiba 17 April

Batik Air Boeing 737-900ER PK-LBG

(11/4/2013) PT Lion Mentari Airlines selaku induk bagi maskapai penerbangan baru, Batik Air, mengungkapkan bahwa dua pesawat Boeing 737-900ER untuk Batik Air akan tiba di Indonesia pada 17 April nanti.

Pesawat pertama Batik Air menggunakan registrasi PK-LBG, dicat dengan livery bercorak batik pada bagian belakang dan pada badan pesawat bertuliskan "Batik".

Pesawat ini rencananya akan mulai beroperasi pada 26 April mendatang dengan melayani penerbangan Jakarta-Balikpapan satu kali sehari dan Jakarta-Manado dua kali sehari.

Boeing 737-900ER yang dioperasikan Batik akan dilengkapi dengan 12 kursi kelas bisnis dan 160 kursi kelas ekonomi. Selain jarak antar kursi yang luas dan nyaman, setiap kursi akan dilengkapi dengan media hiburan berupa personal televisi (PTV).

Batik Air akan mengusung konsep full service, dimana pada segmen ini Garuda Indonesia bermain sendiri tanpa pesaing. (Photo: Drewski2112)



http://www.indo-aviation.com/2013/04/dua-boeing-737-900er-batik-air-tiba-17.html 

Batik Air Gunakan Kode Penerbangan "ID"

Batik Air 737-900ER PK-LBG

(11/4/2013) Jika tidak ada kendala, Lion Air akan meluncurkan anak perusahaan barunya, Batik Air, pada 26 April mendatang. Maskapai yang nantinya menjadi pesaing Garuda Indonesia di kelas full service ini akan mengoperasikan pesawat Boeing 737-900ER yang dikonfigurasi dalam 12 kursi kelas bisnis dan 160 kursi kelas ekonomi.

Pada tahap awal beroperasi, maskapai ini akan melayani rute Jakarta-Balikpapan satu kali sehari dan Jakarta-Manado dua kali sehari.

Dalam operasionalnya nanti, Lion Air telah menyiapkan kode IATA "ID" sebagai kode penerbangan Batik Air. (Photo: Istimewa)




http://www.indo-aviation.com/2013/04/batik-air-gunakan-kode-penerbangan-id.html 

Pemasangan Wi-Fi di Pesawat Batik Air Terganjal Perizinan

Batik Air 787

(11/4/2013) Batik Air, anak perusahaan Lion Air yang masuk dalam segmen full service, telah bekerjasama dengan Telkomsel untuk pemasangan WI-Fi di pesawat. Tetapi, rencana ini sepertinya akan terganjal masalah perizinan, karena hingga kini Kementerian Telekomunikasi dan Informasi Republik Indonesia belum memberikan izin kepada Batik Air terkait pemasangan fasilitas tersebut.

Bahkan saat ini bentuk peraturannya masih dalam tahap pembahasan. Menurut juru bicara Kementerian Komunikasi dan Informatika Gatot S Dewa Broto seperti yang dikutip dari Tribunnews.com, pihaknya sedang menyinkronkan masalah sertifikasi perangkat dan pembayaran Biaya Hak Penggunaan (BHP) telekomunikasi.

Gatot menambahkan, dalam pelaksanaan telekomunikasi, selain layanan internet yang ditawarkan ada juga layanan telephony. Karenanya harus ada aturan yang jelas dalam hal hak dan kewajiban BHP telekomunikasi dan sumbangan terhadap Universal Service Obligation (USO) dan masalah interkoneksi.

Sementara Kepala Pusat Komunikasi Publik Kementerian Perhubungan, Bambang S Ervan mengatakan, pihaknya sudah tidak masalah dengan telekomunikasi di atas pesawat tersebut.

Menurut Bambang, pihaknya sudah sangat proaktif dengan mengeluarkan STC (supplement Type Certificate) bagi pesawat-pesawat yang memasang peralatan telekomunikasi tambahan.

Menurutnya, peralatan Wi-Fi adalah peralatan tambahan, bukan utama untuk penerbangan. Peralatan Wi-Fi sebagai pemberian pelayanan premium. Sesuai ketentuan dengan adanya STC peralatan sudah boleh digunakan.

Saat ini yang menjadi masalah adalah belum adanya izin dari Kemenkominfo terkait mekanisme tarif dan pembayaran.

Lion Air dikabarkan akan menginvestasikan dana sebesar US$ 2,5 juta untuk pemasangan perangkat Wi-Fi pada satu pesawat. Pada tahap awal, Lion Akan memasang perangkat Wi-Fi pada empat pesawat Batik Air dan delapan pesawat Lion Air. (Photo: Boeing)



www.indo-aviation.com/2013/04/pemasangan-wi-fi-di-pesawat-batik-air.html 

Cathay Pacific builds flexibility while embracing opportunities

In posting an 83.3% drop in its 2012 full-year net profit to HK$916 million (US$118 million) from 2011′s HK$5.5 billion (US$708.5 million), Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific Airways has ridden through a turbulent year that saw Asia’s largest international carrier posting a HK$935 million 2012 first-half loss, its first since the 2003 SARS crisis, amid a cargo conundrum, softening passenger yields in premium classes and stubbornly high fuel prices.
The result which beat analysts’ estimate of a HK$538.7 million full-year net profit, according to a Bloomberg survey, showed the airline’s cost-cutting measures, including withdrawing the fuel-guzzling Boeing 747-400 aircraft from its fleet at an accelerated pace, trimming long-haul flying, were bearing fruit that was underlined by a HK$1.85 billion second-half profit.
As Cathay Pacific heads further into 2013, a pick-up in business travel to North America as a result of an improving US economy, a more normal profit and loss statement without non-recurring items which weighed heavily on its profitability in 2012, as well as the continued fleet renewal programme, will hopefully produce a material improvement in the carrier’s 2013 net profits.
Image Courtesy of Bloomberg
A more normal P&L statement in 2013
As Cathay Pacific accelerates the pace at which it conducts its fleet renewal programme, the profit and loss statement in 2012 has been plagued by one-off special items, especially in aircraft depreciation and impairment.
Cathay Pacific recorded around HK$719 million non-recurring special items on the airline’s operating profit before tax during the year, including a HK$247 million impairment on 1 Boeing 747-400 BCF (Boeing Converted Freighter). Another HK$140 million of impairment was booked against 2 747-400 BCFs sold to its Shanghai-based Air China Cargo (ACC) joint venture (JV) and HK$52 million against the 4 747-400 BCFs that will later be sold to Boeing under a trade-in deal struck in March this year. The remaining over HK$200 million charge and HK$80 million were respectively booked against higher depreciation expense as Cathay Pacific withdrew 3 747-400s passenger aircraft last year, including 2 in September and 1 in December, and carbon emission reduction units it bought for the European Union (EU) emissions trading scheme (ETS) where the price for carbon dioxide allowance has notoriously slumped by 40% within a short timespan in January and its current price is €4.77 a tonne compared to the €20 a tonne the EU originally envisaged.
Similarly, Cathay Pacific witnessed a 70% drop in fuel hedging gain from HK$1.81 billion the prior year to HK$544 million in 2012. Had there not been this plummet in fuel hedging gain and the around HK$719 million charge, the airline operation of Cathay Pacific and Dragonair would have recorded a HK$2.17 billion profit before tax (PBT) and a HK$1.9 billion profit after tax, versus the HK$158 million PBT and a HK$110 million after-tax loss. The 2012 full-year net profit would also be boosted to HK$2.9 billion, a less pronounced 46.6% drop than the 83.3% headline decline.
Yet these special items could hardly mask the underlying challenging environment Cathay Pacific faced in 2012, arguably more than any other airline owing to the reliance on its cargo operation which could take as high as 30% of its total revenue in good times and 24.7% in 2012.
Total revenue rose by 1% to HK$99.4 billion in 2012 from HK$98.4 billion in 2011, whereas operating expenses soared considerably faster at 5% to HK$97.6 billion in 2012 from HK$92.9 billion the year prior, thus leading to a 67.5% decline in operating profit to just HK$1.79 billion from HK$5.5 billion a year earlier. Profit before tax (PBT) for the group declined by 76.1% to HK$1.55 billion from HK$6.47 billion the prior year, while profit after tax slumped 80.1% to HK$1.1 billion in 2012 from HK$5.67 billion in 2011.
Needless to say, weakness in the air cargo market and sustained high fuel price impacted Cathay Pacific significantly, since it is the world’s largest cargo carrier.
Cargo revenue for 2012 plummeted by 5.5% from HK$26 billion a year earlier to HK$24.6 billion in 2012 with a 5.2% drop in the number of tonnes of cargo carried to 1.563 million tonnes in 2012 from 1.649 million tonnes the prior year. Freight traffic, measured in freight tonnage kilometre (FTK), slumped by 7.3% year-over-year to 8.942 billion, which outpaced a 3.1% decline in cargo capacity, measured in available tonnage kilometre (ATK) to 13.926 billion, thereby leading to a 3% decrease in cargo load factor to 64.2%. While cargo yield remained stagnant at HK$2.42, factoring in a 1.7% increase in average into-plane fuel price, the underlying cargo yield actually declined by 1.7%.
The airline trimmed its base freighter service to Europe from 22 flights per week to 11 flights per week in February 2013 in light of the weak European economy, suspended service to Zaragoza, Spain in November last year as a contract with a major shipper ended and will not serve Brussels and Stockholm as freighter destinations anymore.
Though the airline also pursued growth in airfreight by launching dedicated freighter flights to Zhengzhou, Henan province in China in March 2012, which proved to be so successful such that it increased its frequency from 2 per week to 6 per week. The airline also launched a weekly cargo flight to Colombo in Sri Lanka in December last year, in addition to the Hyderabad, India flight launched in May. Services to Bangalore temporarily increased to 3 flights per week before reverting back to 2 per week this January.
While its cargo business suffered from a severe air cargo market downturn, its passenger business seemed to be on a brighter note and was brisker, with passenger revenue soaring by 3.5% from HK$67.8 billion in 2011 to HK$70.1 billion in 2012, backed up by a 5% increase in the number of passengers carried to 29 million passengers in 2012 from 27.6 million the prior year, indicative of a fall in passenger yield. Similar to its cargo business, while passenger yield, measured in revenue per revenue passenger kilometre (RPK), rose by 1.2% from HK66.5 cents in 2011 to HK67.3 cents in 2012, a 1.7% increase in average into-plane fuel price meant the underlying passenger yield declined by around 0.5%, with restrictions in corporate travel hampering efforts to boost yield in premium cabins and offsetting a slight increase in yield in the economy class, Cathay Pacific finance director Martin Murray said in an analysts’ briefing.
Passenger traffic, measured in revenue passenger kilometre (RPK), rose by 2.3% to 103.8 billion whereas passenger capacity, measured in available seat kilometre (ASK), rose by 2.6% to 129.6 billion from 126.3 billion a year earlier, thereby leading to a 0.3% decline in passenger load factor to 80.1% in 2012 from 80.4% the prior year.
Cathay Pacific continued to invest heavily in improving its passenger products, rolling out its New Business Class, Premium Economy Class and New Long-haul Economy Class unabatedly, with 48 long-haul aircraft being fitted with the premium economy class at the end of 2012, before being featured on 86 aircraft by the end of 2013. The New Long-haul Economy Class, which features significantly thickened cushioning, a small storage space beneath the personal television screen, improved reclining and a touchscreen for its award-winning StudioCX audio/video on demand (AVOD) in-flight entertainment system (IFE), will be available on all long-haul 777-300ERs and A330-300s by the end of 2013.
It also launched the New Regional Business Class in January this year, which will be featured on all regional 777-200s, 777-300s and A330-300s by the end of 2014, as well as reopening the refurbished first class lounge in February 2013, The Wing business class lounge in January 2012 and a brand new first and business class lounge in Paris in August 2012.
Meanwhile, fuel remained the single biggest cost, increasing 4.1% to HK$40.47 billion from HK$38.88 billion a year earlier net of fuel hedging gain and accounting for 41.1% of the Cathay Pacific Group’s total cost last year. As a result, the airline took advantage of a short-lived plunge in Brent fuel price in May and June last year to engage in more fuel-hedging activities, and is now approximately 30% hedged for 2013 at a Brent oil price of US$105 per barrel, 20% hedged for 2014 at US$95 per barrel and 11% hedged for 2015 at roughly the same level.
While fuel cost indeed soared in 2012, Cathay Pacific made a remarkable achievement by being able to produce a 0.7% decrease in total fuel consumption despite the 2.6% growth in passenger capacity in available seat kilometre (ASK), which symbolised its swapping of 747-400 to 777-300ER, which is 22% more fuel efficient per payload tonne than the ageing jumbo jet, on European routes and its fleet renewal programme that saw 19 new aircraft being taken deliveries of in 2012, including 4 Airbus A320s, 6 Airbus A330-300s, 5 Boeing 777-300ERs and 4 747-8F freighters, are working and producing significant benefits.
Maintenance cost, on the other hand, decreased by HK$307 million owing to fewer expensive Rolls-Royce RB211-524H2-T engine shop visits and D-checks as the retirements of 747-400s were carefully timed to avoid these outlays. Though Cathay Pacific said there is little further room for maintenance cost to decline dramatically, as the rest of the fleet still needs to be maintained, notwithstanding the withdrawal of 6 747-400s this year.
“And on the maintenance side, a lot of the shop visits for even the 747s that are coming out this year were planned. The visits would have been done in 2012 so we’re not expecting from the 2012 numbers a significant drop in our maintenance costs, any further drop. The new aircraft still all need to be maintained and things so there’s not going to be a significant reduction in maintenance going forward. The timing of it very much depends on HAECO [Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company] etc, so it can vary,” Cathay Pacific finance director Martin Murray cautioned.
Nevertheless its unit cost, measured in cost per available tonnage kilometre (CATK) soared by 5.5% from HK$3.45 in 2011 to HK$3.64 in 2012, primarily owing to the 2.6% growth in passenger capacity which led to a HK$757 million increase in in-flight service cost, an average of 5% salaries increase in 2012. Additionally, this was compounded adversely by withdrawing 4 747-400 BCFs (Boeing Converted Freighters) last year alone, which pushed up the share of passenger costs onto the cargo operation.
“But now that you’re cutting, taking freighters out, the cost per freighter compared to passenger is about half so in terms of all the extras that you have on the passenger in terms of crew and meals, etc. So with the cost per ATK we’re going to have to think how we’ll work that out because the freighters, the denominator in that equation is down over double digit, so it’s down 11%. So it’s much more – it’s a huge impact on the operating cost,” Cathay Pacific director of corporate development James Barrington said.
That said, with the impairment for scrapping and selling numerous 747-400 BCF (Boeing Converted Freighter) aircraft already taken on in 2012, Cathay Pacific has largely bitten the bullet for laying the groundwork of improving its profitability, albeit its depreciation expense is still going to be at a heightened level as the 6 747-400s are withdrawn.
“No, we’re not expecting any further impairment in 2013,” Cathay Pacific finance director Martin Murray commented.
CX 2012 pax
CX 2012 cargo
Regional focus & the rising dragon
As Cathay Pacific works to deploy the right aircraft on the right route in its long-haul network, by shifting Boeing 777-300ERs to European routes and reducing Los Angeles, New York and Toronto routes in September last year which will be restored to 10 and 20 flights per week to Toronto and Los Angeles, respectively, there is a growing regional focus as burgeoning Asia/Pacific economies such as Vietnam, Indonesia, Myanmar and the rising dragon – China, and their rising disposable incomes enable strong intra-region air traffic growth.
For instance, Cathay Pacific increased frequencies to Singapore, Ho Chi Minh City, Bangkok, Penang, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Chennai, India from 4 per week to daily while Dragonair, its wholly-owned subsidiary, resumed services to Guilin, Xi’an and Taichung in Taiwan during the year in addition to launching flights to Haikou. Dragonair also launched flights to Clark near Manila and Jeju, South Korea in May, as well as Chiang Mai, Thailand in July, although the initial performance to Clark was unsatisfactory and only started to improve, the airline noted.
Cathay Pacific will also add 3 flights a week to Bangkok while switching 3 Hong Kong-Mumbai flights to non-stop ones, whose morning arrival enables onward connection and caters to the need of business travellers.
In the first 3 months of 2013, Dragonair has already launched flights to Zhengzhou and Wenzhou in China, Yangon in Myanmar and Da Nang in Vietnam, highlighting the importance of growing in Asia and China. Dragonair will also increase flights to Qingdao from 10 to 14 weekly, Airline Route reported; while its flights to Wuhan will increase to 10 per week from daily and its Kota Kinabalu flights will increase to daily, whereas its flights to Jeju and Chiang Mai will rise to 4 and 5 per week, respectively. The proportion of revenue made in North Asia, Southeast Asia, India and the Middle East of the total passenger revenue at Cathay Pacific Group rose by slightly more than 1% from 69.6% in 2011 to 70.7%, which Aspire Aviation believes will only grow further as Asia/Pacific economies outgrow their European and American counterparts.
This growing regional focus is also evidenced by the Cathay Pacific Group’s investment. Dragonair has rolled out a new business class based on its parent’s New Regional Business Class that features a 47-inch seat pitch and a 21-inch seat width, up from the existing product’s 45-inch and 21-inch, respectively. The largest recline angle has also been increased to 60 degrees from 38-55 degrees and features a 12.1-inch private television screen with a new audio/video on demand (AVOD) in-flight entertainment system (IFE) named StudioKA, in addition to providing power port and iPad/iPod/iPhone USB port at each individual seat. The airline will also adopt Cathay Pacific’s New Long-haul Economy Class seats as its new economy product.
Furthermore, Dragonair has just rolled out a new customer-facing staff uniform, including flight attendants’, which updates its previous design that has been in use for 13 years.
“As one of the world’s leading regional airlines, we constantly look for ways to enhance our products and services, and to expand our network and increase the choice we offer to our customers. We also invest a great deal of effort in strengthening our brand and boosting our corporate image,” Dragonair chief executive Patrick Yeung said.
Most importantly, besides its Air China Cargo (ACC) joint venture (JV), Aspire Aviation thinks the fullest potential of its strategic tie-up with Air China has yet to be fully realised and further benefits could realistically be reaped through a multi-pronged partnership.
For instance, the brand recognition of Cathay Pacific, while being very prominent in overseas market, remains substantially below that of Dragonair in China. A joint marketing campaign with Air China both overseas and in China could remedy Cathay Pacific’s relative marketing weakness in China and Air China’s one in overseas market.
Moreover, the rise of Middle Eastern carriers on the traditional Kangaroo route, which along with the commencement of the Qantas/Emirates partnership, has seen 25% of Australia-Europe traffic shifting to a Middle Eastern hub and Cathay Pacific said that competition has become stiffer on the Australia-London market, a revolutionary, let alone game-changing partnership with Air China could yield significant revenue synergies on Australia-Europe and Australia-China market.
Image Courtesy of Tian Xiaofei
Image Courtesy of Tian Xiaofei
This revolutionary partnership with Air China that Aspire Aviation is proposing specifically targets lucrative, price-inelastic but time sensitive business travellers and less towards price-elastic leisure travellers and covers two areas in one fell swoop.
As China is currently Australia’s top export partner owing to the mining boom of which the rising dragon is the world’s largest consumer of minerals, with which Australia trades 19.9% of its goods and services worthing A$121.1 billion in 2011, the latest government figure available showed. This spurred the trade link between the countries to grow significantly.
Cathay Pacific, located at the doorstep of China, has been feeding origin and destination (O&D) traffic from China, Asia, North Asia countries such as Japan, South Korea, North America and Europe to its Southwest Pacific – Australia and New Zealand flights very successfully and profitably. The airline operates 4-daily flights to Sydney and has multiple flights to major Australian ports such as Adelaide, Perth, Brisbane, Melbourne and Cairns using 3-class Airbus A330-300 featuring a disproportionately large New Business Class with 39 seats on each aircraft.
The Australia-China air travel market is booming, not least because of China Southern Airlines’ pursuit of its “Canton Route” strategy that aims to build its Guangzhou Baiyun Airport into a hub between Australia and Europe. China Southern Airlines registered a robust 24.6% growth in the number of passengers carried to 642,210 in 2012 from 515,370 in 2011, according to Aspire Aviation‘s compilation using Bureau of Infrastructure, Transportation and Regional Economics (BITRE) figures. China Eastern Airlines (CEA) also recorded a 26.6% growth in the number of passengers carried to 346,690 in 2012 from 273,905 in 2011.
With Cathay Pacific focusing on improving its yields with already very full Australia flights rather than on boosting the volume, the Hong Kong-based carrier has recorded roughly no growth at all over the past year in the number of passengers being carried at the 1.44 million level.
As many Australian companies conduct trades and business in China, such as ANZ Bank, Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, law firm Clayton Utz, coal company HRL Limited, Atlas Iron Limited, many firms do have corporate offices in both Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong and hence many business travellers make trips between these destinations.
Therefore Aspire Aviation proposes a metal-neutral partnership which entails the first business trip sector flying from Sydney or Melbourne to Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific before flying a second sector between Hong Kong and Shanghai or Beijing on either Cathay Pacific, Dragonair or Air China where no particular airline is favoured over each other; the final sector involves travelling Shanghai-Sydney or Shanghai-Melbourne or Beijing-Sydney non-stop flights on Air China, or in the reverse direction. Any incremental profits generated from the partnership would be equally split between Cathay Pacific and Air China.
Currently Air China operates 4-weekly Shanghai Pudong-Sydney, 5-weekly Shanghai Pudong-Melbourne and daily Beijing-Sydney flights whereas Shanghai-based China Eastern Airlines (CEA) operates the former two routes on an once daily basis.
Similarly, the Cathay Pacific/Air China partnership has the potential to counter Qantas/Emirates or Virgin Australia/Eithad Airways partnerships, especially for business travellers, by delving into a wide-ranging European partnership. This would entail business travellers who need to visit Europe and Beijing, Shanghai or Hong Kong in one business trip travelling on Cathay Pacific from Sydney, Melbourne, Cairns, Brisbane, Adelaide to Hong Kong and onward Cathay Pacific flights to London Heathrow, Rome, Milan, Paris and Frankfurt. Next, business travellers could fly on Air China flights from Rome, Milan, London Heathrow, Paris and Frankfurt to Beijing or Paris, Milan and Frankfurt to Shanghai, before flying on the Shanghai Pudong-Sydney, Shanghai Pudong-Melbourne and Beijing-Sydney routes.
This partnership in the carriers’ combined European network would also be metal-neutral where no particular carrier’s metal is favoured over the other’s and split incremental profits between the two.
While sceptics may question whether such wide-ranging partnership is realistically and operationally feasible given the complexity involved such as the alignment of products between the two carriers, as well as whether this will decimate Cathay Pacific’s European and Australian flights, these concerns are arguably misplaced.
Air China’s 5.65% increase in its number of passengers carried to 297,954 in 2012 from 282,025 in 2011 was below its peers and this partnership, both the Australia-Europe and Australia-China ones, will help bolster growth of the Chinese flag carrier on its Australian operation.
For Cathay Pacific, any business travellers needing to visit multiple ports in a single business trip stopping over in Hong Kong and Beijing/Shanghai from Australia would not have travelled on the oneworld member on the Europe-China and China-Australia sectors anyway and this partnership offers unrivalled convenience for passengers for which Cathay Pacific, along with Air China, can charge a revenue premium where no other airline partnership could offer.
Further, Cathay Pacific’s significantly more superior service and in-flight products and unparalleled offer of flight frequencies, coupled with a venerable Marco Polo Club frequent flyer programme (FFP), mean Cathay Pacific will still be the preferred airline for many business travellers. In addition, given the astounding 20%+ growth rate the Australia-China air travel market is witnessing, this partnership offers a clear path for Cathay Pacific to have a profitable and pivotal share of this growth.
As a result, Cathay Pacific may not have to increase its capacity on Australian, Chinese and European routes at all. Rather, this game-changing partnership specifically targeting business travellers, could be utilised as a means to further improve yields by achieving a better traffic mix where only premium travellers, or high-yield economy passengers on business travel, demand such premium travel products while it is much less likely to see leisure or price-elastic travellers engaging in this type of air travel behaviour.
Image Courtesy of Dragonair
Yet before such a wide-ranging and revolutionary partnership takes place, Cathay Pacific should strengthen its Australian operation by forging a codeshare partnership with Virgin Australia. In doing so, this would increase the access of the Cathay Pacific network to 18 secondary Australian destinations such as Townsville from Cairns, Mount Isa, Emerald, Gladstone, Rockhampton, Bundaberg, Moranbah, Hamilton Island from Brisbane, Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast, Ballina, Coffs Harbour, Port Macquarie, Canberra, Albury, Hobart, Launceston and Ayers Rock from Sydney while increasing the feed on its Hong Kong-Australia flights.
This would make much more commercial sense in the interim, which is also much less complex to achieve and easier to obtain the regulatory approval from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) since the codeshare partnership is highly unlikely to lessen its competition with Virgin Atlantic on the Hong Kong-Sydney route (“Qantas, Virgin Australia face new industry normal“, 6th Mar, 13). For Virgin Australia, while a partnership with Cathay Pacific means more competition for its sister airline Virgin Atlantic, it would provide instant access and shorter travel time to North Asia and China where Singapore Airlines (SIA) and SilkAir do not serve many destinations such as Haikou, Sanya, Guilin, Hangzhou, Xi’an, Nanjing, Ningbo, Fuzhou and Qingdao in China, Busan, Taichung, Kaohsiung while having considerably longer flight times to Seoul, Tokyo Narita and Haneda and Beijing via Singapore, etc.
Though Cathay Pacific and Air China should fix its loss-making Air China Cargo (ACC) venture first, which made a HK$600 million operating loss in 2012, albeit its aggressive expansion that saw it launch Shanghai-Chennai-Chongqing-Shanghai, Shanghai-Chengdu-Amsterdam, Shanghai-Chongqing-Amsterdam and Zengzhou-Shanghai-Chicago cargo routes in 2012 and Shanghai-Zhengzhou-Amsterdam and Shanghai-Chongqing-Frankfurt cargo routes in 2013.
In the meantime, the trade-in deal with Boeing that will eventually see Air China Cargo (ACC) selling 7 Boeing 747-400 BCFs (Boeing Converted Freighters) and replacing them with 8 fuel-efficient 777F freighters and Air China ordering 2 additional 747-8I Intercontinentals, 1 777-300ER and 20 737-800s, is going to enable the Shanghai-based carrier to temporarily reduce capacity from 11 aircraft to 7 examples as Boeing will take back the -400 BCFs faster than it delivers the 777F. By the end of 2013, Air China Cargo’s fleet will consist of 3 production 747-400Fs, 3 747-400 BCFs and 1 777F while Boeing will take back 4 -400 BCFs in March, May, July and October this year.
“They are in a much better position as of March 1 with this deal. They have 11 old aircraft of which they are selling 7 and getting 8 new efficient ones, the timing of which means they’ll be able to significantly reduce their capacity from 11 to 7 this year and then slowly build it up again, so again with a fuel-efficient fleet. So we’re now very excited about the re-fleeting that this deal has managed to bring to our joint venture,” Cathay Pacific finance director Martin Murray commented.
With reduced capacity and an ultimate dramatically more fuel efficient fleet, Cathay Pacific is looking beyond present challenges for Air China Cargo and remains confident in its long-term growth and profit potential.
“So the rationalisation of cargo capacity plus the introduction of more efficient cargo capacity, I think bearing in mind all the BCFs, 4 of the BCFs will be gone and that we’ll be left with 3 production freighters, 3 BCFs and 1 777, will certainly massively increase, A.) the matching of supply and demand, and B.) the beginning of the efficiency. The introduction of the 777s really only comes into play next year so the first 777 comes in December this year. But, as I say, don’t forget the rest of Air China Cargo has a revenue stream which is dependent on the bellies of the – the belly sales of Air China itself,” Cathay Pacific director of corporate development James Barrington asserted.
Cathay Pacific 747-8F air to air
Image Courtesy of Cathay Pacific
Flexibility means ability to respond to changes swiftly
The March 1st trade-in deal with Boeing, under which Cathay Pacific cancelled its orders for 8 777F freighters, ordered 3 additional 747-8F freighter due to be delivered later this year and took the options on 5 Boeing 777F freighters, while selling 4 parked 747-400 BCFs (Boeing Converted Freighters) back to the Chicago-based airframer, has added flexibility to its cargo operation, where cargo capacity, measured in available tonnage kilometre (ATK) is anticipated to grow by 2.6% in 2013.
As Cathay Pacific heads into the second-quarter, airfreight demand is still weak, with the number of tonnes being carried soaring 14.7% year-over-year in January to 132.8 million tonnes before plunging by 12% to 103.8 million tonnes in February due to factory closures for the Chinese New Year, although there is a silver lining on the corner.
Business confidence index, such as the JP Morgan Markit index, has been rising consistently since the beginning of the year, which is a major factor underpinning Geneva-based industry body International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) upgrade of the industry’s 2013 net profits to US$10.6 billion from the previous projection of US$8.4 billion, which also boosted its freight traffic growth forecast to 2.7% from 1.4%. IATA also said yesterday airfreight volume grew by 2% year-over-year in February after stripping out seasonal factors, as global freight traffic and Asia freight traffic were down 6.2% and 14.7% year-over-year, respectively, owing to factory closures during the Chinese New Year.
Yet should a much hoped-for strong recovery in the cargo market materialise after countless false dawns in the past 2 years or so, Cathay Pacific stands to gain the most from a significant rebound.
“I think firstly we think that the airfreight market is a good market to be in. We think if you’re setting up an air freight business you’d want to be either in Hong Kong first, secondly in Shanghai. We’re 100% of Hong Kong. We’re 49% of Shanghai. We think that’s a good strategy. What I think we think we’ve done is we’ve slightly right-sized our business, inasmuch as we probably had over-invested and got our freighter business a little bit too big. But we don’t – that doesn’t suddenly mean we’re thinking of getting out of the freighter business. I think what we’ve learned is that we want to build more flex into it so that we have options to grow in line with the market,” Cathay Pacific director of corporate development James Barrington said.
And the HK$5.9 billion Cathay Pacific cargo terminal, which started operations in February 2013 with high-valued goods such as diamond and mail in stage one, where in second stage it will take transshipment and import before being fully operational in September and able to handle other airlines’ cargoes starting from 2014, will be a state-of-the-art facility handling 2.6 million tonnes of cargo annually and employing more than 1,800 employees.
While the concurrent handling of Cathay Pacific’s cargo at its in-house terminal and HACTL will incur a one-off cost of HK$0.5 billion, the efficiency and extra revenues it will bring, such as slashing cargo handling time from 8 hours to 3 hours, more than outweighed its costs.
Importantly, as the airline receives more Boeing 777-300ERs this year, it increasingly has the flexibility to choose from a range of options to respond to cargo market volatility swiftly, either by utilising belly cargo space on air cargo markets that see dwindling airfreight demand and the ability to add dedicated freighter services should European cargo demand pick up. The 777-300ER has a revenue cargo volume of 5,200ft³ from a total cargo volume of 7,120ft³, a significant increase compared to the venerable 747-400 it is replacing while burning 22% less fuel per payload tonne.
“You’re absolutely right that the amount of belly space to Europe where, A.) there’s a huge amount of belly space which is available and saleable versus North America, where there’s less belly space and, B.) the payload restrictions means that with the number of – when you’ve got full passenger flights, there’s a lot less belly space available,” Cathay Pacific director of corporate development James Barrington conceded.
“Means that the freighter demand, the demand for freighters transpacific where we’re by far and away the biggest freighter operator now and the acquisition of 3 more 748s [747-8Fs] on top of the 10 we’ve already got will give us 13 of the biggest freighters available in the market, which we will plan to deploy to the USA because it’s a good market, is different from the thinking to Europe where we certainly do need to watch out for the incremental, the by-product belly space versus the dedicated freighter space,” Barrington explained.
Which brings us back to the flexibility of the passenger operation. With a backlog of 26 Airbus A350-1000s and an eventual strong fleet of 50 Boeing 777-300ERs, Cathay Pacific does not have to order any very large airplane (VLA) such as the Boeing 747-8I Intercontinental or Airbus A380, of which the former has a revenue cargo volume of 3,895ft³ from a total cargo volume of 6,345ft³, whereas the latter has a revenue cargo volume of only 2,995ft³ from a total cargo volume of 5,875ft³. While the VLAs may have the power to carry such a payload on transpacific routes, their lacks of revenue cargo volume render this capability useless and it can afford to wait for the 407-seat 777-9X which provides growth opportunities and balances frequency and capacity nicely but will not enter into service until mid-2019 (“Boeing 777X to spark mini-jumbo war“, 28th Mar, 13).
The airline will take delivery of 19 new aircraft this year, including 5 Boeing 747-8F freighters, 9 777-300ERs and 5 Airbus A330-300s, of which 4 A330-300s will go to the mainline Cathay unit and directly replace the 4 outgoing examples being returned to lessors. 5 more A330-300s and 7 more 777-300ERs will be delivered to the carrier in 2014. Cathay Pacific also agreed to lease 2 more new Airbus A321s for Dragonair which will be delivered in February and October 2014.
Screen Shot 2013-04-04 at 00.19.52
Meanwhile, 6 Boeing 747-400s passenger aircraft are going to be withdrawn and the 4 parked 747-400 BCFs (Boeing Converted Freighters) will leave the fleet, leaving 1 remaining operating example, which Aspire Aviation strongly urges Cathay Pacific to retire the lone example in light of its fuel inefficiency.
Simply put, with a backlog of 85 aircraft and a HK$21 billion of capital expenditure, of which HK$18 billion is earmarked for aircraft, HK$1.5 billion for the cargo terminal and the rest for information technology (IT), the airline could wait for the 323-seat 787-10X that will be ideal for replacing the A330-300s while burning 25% less fuel and better payload/range performance with a 7,000-7,100nm (nautical miles) range while strengthening its balance sheet, which has seen the net debt-to-equity ratio increasing 0.19 times from 43% to 62% and a 49% higher net borrowing at HK$35.4 billion from HK$23.7 billion to fund growth.
A noteworthy point is, Aspire Aviation believes the profit potential of the premium economy class, whose fullest potential is yet to be seen as it is still being rolled out across its fleet. A premium economy class is designed to be a long-haul product that extracts consumer surplus (total use value – total exchange value, or TUV-TEV, the amount of a good one is willing to forego in order to obtain all of the amount of another good) from those who are willing and able to pay twice the economy class fare, in exchange for better seats, services and in-flight catering, yet are unprepared to pay for a full business class fare whose fare is triple or quadruple the economy class fare.
Provided that a premium economy class be structured properly, it should minimise the trade-down from business class to economy class while maximise the upgrade from economy class by utilising a powerful revenue management system (RMS) with price differentiation. Cathay Pacific seems to be doing just that with the premium economy proving to be very successful, popular and beating expectations.
“Firstly I think we would say that our premium economy as a product has been a winner. Then premium economy if you look at it as a separate business has been a winner in some places, but has taken time to pick up in others. So in markets where we were late into the market, in some ways surprisingly where premium economy had already been established in the market, specifically London, premium economy has been an outright winner. And by an outright winner I mean the amount of extra revenue we gain versus the amount of seats taken out has been heavily in favour of premium economy,” Cathay Pacific director of corporate development James Barrington declared.
“The premium economy is growing fast in North America where there are much less premium economy operators. So it started slowly and picked up fast and as you would imagine on flights to places like New York, where a 16, 17-hour flight in economy versus premium economy would incentivise people to pay a little bit more, that is starting to be a real winner. The place where the jury is still out is to Australia where there is an established market with Qantas. On the other hand it’s only between – depending whether you’re Perth or Sydney or Melbourne, only a 6.5 to 8-hour flight, but it’s much more price sensitive. And premium economy the jury is still out there. It’s a winner for the connecting traffic to Europe and it’s taking time to pick up between Hong Kong and Australia.
“So that’s where we are, but I think we consciously chose not to make it a product that was region by region, to make it system-wide in the knowledge that it would be from a customer proposition point of view very hard to sell if it was on some routes and not others. So I think it’s, I would say it’s exceeded expectations,” Barrington concluded.
In conclusion, with many more opportunities awaiting the carrier on the horizon, including a potential game-changing partnership with Air China in the China-Australia and Europe-Australia markets, a potential codeshare with Virgin Australia that makes every business sense and expands the access of its network in one of its most important markets, Cathay Pacific is building flexibility which few of its rivals have into its system, with passenger capacity, measured in available seat kilometre (ASK) expected to shrink 1.5% this year and cargo capacity, measured in available tonnage kilometre (ATK), expected to grow by 2.6% this year.
With a substantially larger fuel efficient Boeing 777-300ER fleet, the fuel consumption of the Cathay Pacific Group should further decline significantly, while its heavy product investments in premium economy class and new regional business class, Dragonair’s new business and economy classes, shall give passengers “a reason to fly Cathay Pacific”. This flexibility to respond to market changes swiftly, will bode well even as it faces low-cost competition where low-cost carriers (LCCs) have accounted for 5% of capacity at Hong Kong International Airport and Spring Airlines and Jetstar Hong Kong expanding at its home turf.
While low-cost carriers (LCCs) are undeniably likely to produce traffic growth in Hong Kong, Cathay Pacific’s profitability may not be significantly undermined as a plethora of such carriers, Hong Kong Express, Jetstar Hong Kong, Spring Airlines and to a lesser extent Hong Kong Airlines, engages in cut-throat price competition, which could enable Cathay Pacific to prevail in the high-yield sector while competing effectively using heavy discounts such as its “fanfares” without the complexity and risk involved in running an in-house low-cost carrier at a slot-restricted, high-cost premium hub where premium seats account for 11.1% of all seats in Hong Kong being versus a global average of 4.6%. This formed a stark contrast to low-cost carriers’ capacity share in Asia/Pacific which grew from 1.1% in 2001 to 24% in 2012, according to the Centre for Aviation (CAPA).
All told, flexibility is the new name of the game.
 Cathay Pacific Airbus A350-1000



http://www.aspireaviation.com/2013/04/03/cathay-pacific-builds-flexibility-while-embracing-opportunities/