All Boeing operator Xiamen Airlines orders 40 A320 NEOs

Chinese carrier Xiamen Airlines will renew and grow its fleet with forty Airbus A320neo family aircraft. The order is significant in that Xiamen has been a Boeing only operator so far and has orders for the MAX 8.

The news was announced on September 22 by its parent airline, China Southern Airlines, which bought 96 A320neo family aircraft itself in July. The order would be valued at USD4.8 billion based on list prices of between USD105 and USD136 million per aircraft.

The airline currently has only Boeing-built aircraft in its fleet.

The 40 jets will be delivered between 2024 and 2027, said China Southern Airlines, which owns 55% of Xiamen Airlines, in a stock exchange filing on 22 September.

Xiamen Airlines, which will become Airbus’s newest Chinese customer, says the order will “help [it] ensure the safety of its strategic development, continue to promote the structural adjustment of its fleet”.

Xiamen Airlines normally operates around 350 domestic and international routes, a network that covers the whole of China and a lot of Southeast and Northeast Asia and even covers Europe, America and Oceania.

Xiamen Airlines is an all-Boeing operator and flies 737s and 787s.

As of January 2020, the size of Xiamen Airlines’ fleet reached 206 airplanes with an average age of 6 years, making it one of the youngest fleets in the world.

The Chinese domestic market is one of the largest in the world (representing about 20% of world traffic) and both Airbus and Boeing have been competing for years to dominate the short- and medium-haul segment with more than 150 seats.

Xiamen Airlines adds the 40 A320neo families to its fleet.

The A320neo Family incorporates new generation engines and Sharklets, which together deliver more than 25 per cent fuel and CO2 savings, as well as a 50 per cent noise reduction.

ALSO READ - Chinese airlines orders 292 Airbus A320neo aircraft

The aircraft also features Airbus’ Airspace interior, which brings the latest cabin technology to the A320 Family to deliver the most comfortable flight conditions for passengers.

At the end of August 2022, the total number of A320neo Family firm orders reached over 8,500 from more than 130 customers worldwide.

As India’s telecom operators prepare to launch 5G services, the country’s aviation safety regulator has written to the telecom department concerned about potential interference of the 5G C-Band spectrum with aircraft radio altimeters.

A radio altimeter is an instrument that provides direct information about the altitude above the ground for various aircraft systems. The main concern of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) stems from the fact that these altimeters as well as part of the 5G telecom services operate in the C band.

For telecom service providers, C-Band offers a great place to deploy 5G services, ensuring coverage as well as higher bandwidth, resulting in faster internet speeds. For aircraft operations, the use of altimeters in this range ensures very accurate measurements of the aircraft’s altitude.

ALSO READ - TRAI believes that 5G won’t be a threat to aircraft in India

The radio altimeter antennas are installed on the bottom of the aircraft.

"The DGCA is working in close coordination with the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and has apprised it of its concerns over likely interference of 5G C-Band spectrum with aircraft radio altimeters."A senior government official said.

ALSO READ - AT&T and Verizon turn down requests from the US to delay the rollout of 5G wireless technology

These red flags are based on concerns raised by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) over the last year since telecom operators in the US, such as AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile etc, began rolling out 5G services. In the US, an agreement between the FAA and the telecom operators resulted in a delay in the rollout of 5G services in the C-Band near airports that were assessed to be difficult for pilots to make visual approaches.

ALSO READ - Amid safety concerns over C-Band 5G rollout and consecutive restrictions on flights to the US, Japan has a simple solution for it

The radio altimeters pick up the faintest signals reflected off the ground in the assigned frequencies to achieve highly accurate results.

“Now we have auctioned C-Band spectrum within the frequency starting from 3.3 GHz to three.6 GHz (in India). Plane radio altimeters primarily use frequencies starting from 4.2-4.4 GHz. So, there’s a vital 500 MHz hole between the 2 frequency ranges."An official from DoT said.

The official mentioned the difficulty within the US grew to become vital as a result of operators there are deploying 5G companies within the 3.7-3.98 GHz frequencies, which is nearer to the radio altimeter frequencies.

United Airlines boss warned 5g rollout could be 'catastrophic'.

ALSO READ - Due to 5G rollout concerns, major international airlines cancel flights to the US

Earlier this 12 months, Air India needed to cancel a few of its flights to the US as airways globally scrambled to reschedule flights amid considerations that the rollout of 5G cell companies within the US may doubtlessly intrude with plane navigation methods.

During the last 12 months, the FAA has issued several directives to airlines to put in sure filters or modify their tools to make sure that 5G airwaves don’t intrude with their navigation methods.

Touted to contribute about 2-3% of global CO2 emissions, the aviation industry produces around one billion tonnes of carbon dioxide annually on a global scale, which is equivalent to what Japan, the third-largest economy in the world, produces.

Air travel is technologically based on outdated practices, when compared to the fact that many governments are controlling emissions from cars and trucks, such as by gradually phase-out internal combustion engines and moving to electric vehicles. Except for a break during the COVID-19 pandemic, annual increases in aircraft emissions have averaged 2.5% over the past 20 years.

The industry's influence on global warming is expected to surpass that of its whole history, which dates back to the Wright Brothers' pioneering flights in the early 1900s, over the next 30 years.

Representative | NPR

All emission sectors must decarbonize and show routes to net zero emissions in the second half of the 21st century if global warming is to be kept far below 2 °C (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 2018). International aviation is frequently excluded from reduction targets, such as those in the Paris Agreement, as it is generally regarded as a "hard to abate" industry (UK Climate Change Committee 2020, Grewe et al 2021)

Climatic effects of aircraft

Before the epidemic, aircraft engines burnt more than 1 billion litres of fuel each day from 2016 to 2019. They produce up to 15.14 g of NOx, 1.2 g of SO2, 3.16 kg of CO2, 1.23 kg of water vapour, and 0.03 g of black carbon (soot) per kg of fuel.

Representative | NASA Climate Change

Nitrogen oxides react in the atmosphere, changing the radiative balance of other gases such as stratospheric water vapour (H2O), ozone, and methane (CH4). This has an indirect effect on climate. This additional net warming effect is brought on by these non-CO2 emissions.

The biggest unknown is cloud formation, a rapidly changing element with enormous uncertainties. According to certain simulations, "contrail cirrus" may have contributed to warming up until 2018 almost twice as much as CO2 from the aircraft industry. Due to these additional consequences, biofuels may not completely solve the climate problem even if they replace traditional jet fuels and lower CO2 emissions.

NATURE

Does it end there? Perhaps not.

This brings up a second major issue related to investment planning. Governments and corporations can't attempt to treat the patient if the diagnosis isn't apparent. If contrail cirrus turns out to be a significant issue, then alternatives to clean fuels, such as other propulsion systems and possibly rerouting planes, will need to be considered.

Since certain atmospheric conditions are required for the formation of contrail cirrus, changes to flight times, altitudes, and routes could theoretically be important. The aviation industry must exert greater independent effort to reduce climate impacts if carbon offsets do not genuinely offset at scale or if the use of clean fuels does not increase.

The limited vision of airlines/stakeholders

Representative | Dezeen

Airlines frequently have very slim profit margins. Airports face concerns of stranded costs as a result of quick technological advancements while trying to recoup the cost of significant infrastructure investments. Additionally, every time they create a completely original plane, like the Boeing 787 or the Airbus A380, aircraft makers "bet the company." Large companies that are concerned with risk and cost are in charge of many parts of the aviation industry. The least disruptive technology options are what they seek.

The way forward

Sustainable aviation fuels may play a significant role, but much more funding is required for choices that are not now economically feasible, such as electric or hydrogen-powered aircraft, which may prove to be successful methods for cutting emissions and minimising contrails. Those solutions are unlikely to emerge from the mainstream industry due to their disruptive nature.

Contrails and Cirrus Clouds | Representative | KQED

Fuel economy will be important, but it is unlikely to significantly lower emissions. The industry already has financial incentives to get more passenger miles out of each tonne of expensive jet fuel, but improvement rates are unlikely to be much higher than 1% annually.

Representative

A more broad experimental strategy is required, one that makes investments in a range of response options, such as energy, hydrogen, and cleaner, more scalable fuel alternatives. Europe would likely be at the forefront of it because its climate regulations are already robust and credible and because European governments can support financially and technologically hazardous ventures.

The European air traffic management system is focusing on determining which routes are best for the environment since shorter routes with fewer delays can reduce the demand for fuel and new routes can reduce contrail creation.

The initiative by Norway to develop a market for short-haul electric aircraft is a good illustration of a partnership between businesses and governments that aims to invest in disruptive technologies. Many of the airports in Norway, a small nation divided by fjords and mountains, are built for quick takeoffs and landings and have proximity to one another.

As a result, Norway makes an ideal test location for electric aircraft, and since few of these routes are economically viable, the government can stipulate in bidding specifications that zero-emission flights be included.

Norwegian Wideroe (WF, Bodo) is set to become the world's first commercial operator of a wholly electrically-powered commuter aircraft as it aims to take delivery of its first TECNAM P-Volt by 2026 | ch-aviation

Furthermore, research is crucial to advancing our understanding of topics like contrails and chemical interactions in the atmosphere, which will allow the aviation sector to move forward with more assurance. Understanding how various propulsion systems affect the climate through atmospheric chemistry needs to be improved, as does the theory and measurement of how aviation generates contrails, cirrus, and other induced cloud changes.

For instance, hydrogen-fueled aircraft may release H2 gas into the atmosphere during production and transport while continuing to emit nitrogen oxides and contrails, both of which may have unknowable effects on the climate.

It is impossible to reduce aircraft emissions by merely installing new pollution-capturing equipment. The ability to create adequate quantities of clean aircraft fuel could prove to be unachievable.

And in an industry that is particularly concerned with safety, weight, and space, addressing the additional climatic consequences of aircraft beyond CO2, such as contrails, may necessitate overhauling engines, airframes, and onboard storage. Several million different parts make up a conventional aeroplane. Air traffic control and ground handling procedures are likewise closely entwined with commercial aviation, making it challenging to design and implement significant changes.

ALSO READ - The race to net zero emissions is on – Airbus solidifies its hydrogen commitment by establishing ZEDC in the UK

The Airbus A380 ZEROe Hydrogen Flight demonstrator | Representative | Business Insider

ALSO READ - Airbus confirms collaboration with CFM to use A380 as ZEROe hydrogen demonstrator

The risks that aviation encounters must be taken carefully. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is holding its triennial assembly this month in Montreal, Canada, and a top priority on the agenda is reducing the sector's contribution to global warming. An industry-wide target for reducing emissions in keeping with the objectives of the Paris climate agreement will be negotiated by ministers from 193 countries.

SOURCE(s)

COVER: BBC

The Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said on September 21 that it is extending domestic budget carrier SpiceJet suspension to operate at 50% capacity till October 29.

In its order dated September 21, the aviation regulator said that it is extending the restriction imposed on the budget carrier as a cautionary measure. In the meantime, SpiceJet shall be under "enhanced surveillance" by the DGCA.

If SpiceJet wants to operate more than 50% of its fleet then it will have to prove to the DGCA that it has adequate technical support and financial resources to increase its capacity, the regulatory body added.

DGCA order

The statement issued by the DGCA read: "Any increase in the number of departures beyond 50% of the total number of departures approved under the Summer Schedule 2022, during this period, shall be subject to the airline demonstrating to the satisfaction of DGCA that it has sufficient technical support and financial resource to safely and efficiently undertake such enhanced capacity."

ALSO READ - SpiceJet to send 80 Captains on LWP amid financial instability

The DGCA announcement came a day after SpiceJet decided to send 80 pilots on leave without pay for three months to cut costs. The airline has claimed that despite several pilots being sent on leave without pay, it would have sufficient capacity to operate its full schedule as and when the DGCA restriction on flights is lifted.

"In a temporary measure to rationalise costs, SpiceJet has decided to place certain pilots on leave without pay for three months. This measure, which is in line with SpiceJet’s policy of not retrenching any employee which the airline steadfastly followed even during the peak of the Covid pandemic, will help rationalise the pilot strength vis-a-vis the aircraft fleet."SpiceJet

The pilots who have been told to be on leave without pay are from the airline's Boeing and Bombardier fleet. Sources have revealed that the airline was expecting the DGCA to extend the cap on its operating capacity and sent pilots on leave without pay as a pre-emptive measure.

ALSO READ - DGCA orders SpiceJet to operate only 50% of approved flights

The civil aviation regulator on July 27 issued an order putting a cap on SpiceJet’s capacity based on the review of the safety performance of the airline. Under the order, the number of departures was restricted to 50% of the number approved under Summer Schedule 2022 for eight weeks.

Before that, the regulator had issued a show-cause notice to the airline saying that it had failed to "establish safe, efficient and reliable air services". SpiceJet had reported multiple technical malfunctioning incidents between April 1 and July 5.

DGCA extends the 50% cap on SpiceJet flight operations; keeps it under enhanced surveillance

The DGCA had also issued a warning notice to the airline after reviewing a series of incidents that showed “poor internal safety oversight and inadequate maintenance actions” by SpiceJet.

ALSO READ - Spicejet looking for a “knight in shining armour” to help with financial distress

SpiceJet promoter has been trying to raise funds and is in talks with various players for the stake sale. However so far there has been no recapitalisation. As a result, SpiceJet has been delaying paying whatever percentage of salaries it gives to employees; is not paying PF to many staffers and is yet to give Form 16 of last fiscal.

ALSO READ - Struggling to-Survive SpiceJet allegedly not depositing PF in employee accounts

The only lifeline has been a credit facility of about INR 200 crore under the emergency credit line guarantee scheme (ECLGS). The airline’s troubles have been mounting in the past few months due to its inability re-capitalise so far despite reported attempts to sell stakes to raise about INR 2,000 crore.

The DGCA announcement came a day after SpiceJet decided to send 80 pilots on leave without pay for three months to cut costs.

ALSO READ - SpiceJet set to receive funds through ECGLS, an extension of up to 3 months for AGM’22

In the past few months, six Boeing 737 rented to it have been repossessed by lessors. SpiceJet’s chief financial officer (CFO) Sanjeev Taneja resigned with effect from August 31, 2022. The airline lost INR 1,725 crore in FY 2022. The company’s accumulated losses as on March 31, 2022, were INR 5,912.6 crore.

ALSO READ - The worst nightmare of SpiceJet – From financial losses widening to the CFO resigning to non-payment of salaries

Its net worth has completely eroded, with current liabilities exceeding its current assets by INR 6,408.7 crore as on March 31, 2022. SpiceJet has for nearly a year been saying that it will get more Boeing 737MAX. Industry sources say the question is whether it can manage to finance those aircraft.

ALSO READ – Cash-strapped SpiceJet plans to take delivery of 7 Boeing 737 Max

India’s civil aviation regulator, DGCA, will hire more than 400 employees in different capacities to bolster its surveillance capability, according to people aware of the plan, as Indian airlines increase their fleet size to match the pickup in demand for air travel amid the easing of pandemic restrictions.

The finance ministry has given clearance to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to hire permanent staff for about 410 posts, the highest in a decade, the people cited earlier told ET, requesting not to be named.

A senior authorities official stated that whereas the variety of business planes of Indian airlines has practically doubled since 2014, the regulator has not created new everlasting job posts since 2014 to deal with the elevated workload attributable to extra planes and elevated flight frequencies, together with these of international airlines.

The finance ministry has given clearance to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to hire permanent staff for about 410 posts

“The final time DGCA noticed contemporary hiring in full-time positions was in 2014, instantly after the US aviation regulator FAA had downgraded India,” the official stated. “Whereas the variety of planes has elevated from 400 in 2014 to 700 now, no contemporary positions have been created within the DGCA.”

The DGCA has around 1,300 staff. Of those, 634 work within the departments that look into flight security and airworthiness of the 700 business planes. Compared, the US aviation regulator, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), has around 45,000 technical workers for 7,700 business planes, or six folks per plane.

Based on an estimate by the aviation ministry, Indian airlines are seemingly to add, on common, 100 planes yearly as they give the impression of being to rebuild their companies after Covid-19. Domestic air traffic in India grew by 64% year-on-year in August 2022, with 11 million flyers taking the sky, by the DGCA.

Domestic air traffic in India grew by 64% year-on-year in August 2022, with 11 million flyers taking the sky, by the DGCA.

The recruitments on the DGCA, which will probably be executed via the Union Public Service Fee (UPSC), will probably be for positions in in-flight security, airworthiness, coaching and the requirements division.

ALSO READ - DGCA aces the safety audit by FAA by achieving about 90% of the total compliances

Foreign auditors, together with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and FAA, have usually identified in their audit of Indian aviation security preparedness that the DGCA is beneath staffed and lacks enough educated workforce for surveillance.

During the FAA’s audit final 12 months, the regulator had crammed up positions of 47 flight operation inspectors and 35 consultants in the airworthiness division. But the positions of consultants will not be everlasting.

The matter of air security has come into focus over the previous couple of months after several incidents of technical glitches have been reported throughout Indian airlines

The matter of air security has come into focus over a previous couple of months after several incidents of technical glitches have been reported throughout Indian airlines, together with SpiceJet, GoFIRST, IndiGo, Air India, Vistara and Air India Express, associated with engine glitches.

Officials mentioned the necessity for hiring extra folks arose because the regulator intends to open places of work in new areas, together with Agartala, Ranchi, Jaipur and Coimbatore.

“There are some locations which have seen an increased flow of air traffic and aircraft movement,” mentioned an official, who didn’t need to be named. “It is not prudent anymore to inspect those locations from regional headquarters. Hence, there is a need to open new offices.”

ALSO READ - Shortage of Air Traffic Controllers widens

The aviation ministry has additionally approved hiring 370 new air traffic controllers

The aviation ministry has additionally approved hiring 370 new air traffic controllers, the official mentioned, including that the ministry can be contemplating a proposal to hire 470 extra controllers over the subsequent 4 years.

“There is an acute shortage of air traffic control officers, and in many locations, the ATC officials are not getting adequate rest due to this shortage,” the official mentioned.

ALSO READ - DGCA finds insufficient aircraft engineers during spot checks amid rising technical snags

ALSO READ - Indian aviation sector to employ 1 lakh people directly in the next 2 years

ALSO READ - DGCA to hire 100-150 people over next 6-8 months for enhanced aviation safety surveillance

(With Inputs from The Economic Times)

The government-owned regional airline, Alliance Air, announced the resumption of flights on the Delhi-Shimla route from September 26. With this recommencement, the airline will expand its network in Himachal Pradesh so that commuters can fly to Delhi-Shimla-Delhi daily.

The airline will restart daily flights on its brand new 48-seater ATR 42-600. The resumption was earlier planned for September 6, but was postponed due to "bad weather conditions".

Before resuming scheduled services, Alliance Air wanted to do a trial run at Shimla airport using its new ATR 42 plane. However, bad weather and turbulence have proven difficult for the aircraft to take off at full capacity from the table-top airport.

Alliance Air is expanding air connectivity in North India by recommencing Delhi-Shimla-Delhi with a daily flight.

The flight will operate with a load penalty (restricted number of passengers) as the Jubbarhatti airport in Shimla has a table-top runway, which is also short (1189 metres). The huge cost involving land acquisition and diversion of rivers to pave way for the expansion of the airports are the major reasons for the runway extension plans not materializing for the last 15 years.

"The last flight on the route was on March 21, 2020, but was discontinued due to COVID-19 and the expiry of lease for the ATR 42 aircraft. Now we have acquired a brand new ATR 42-600 plane." Airline official said.

The Delhi-Shimla flight will accommodate 35 passengers, and the Shimla-Delhi service will see a maximum of 25 passengers. In the past, the airline had also written to the Himachal Pradesh government for additional financial support to be able to mitigate losses on the route due to the penalty.

This will offer better connectivity between Tier-II and Tier-III towns.

Five years ago, on April 27, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the regional connectivity scheme (RCS), also known as UDAN, by flagging off the first flight from Shimla to Delhi. Until July 2022, a total of 425 routes have been opened by the government, but not all are operational at present.

Under the RCS or UDAN scheme, an airline is required to sell 50% of its seats at a subsidised rate of ? 2,500 per hour of flight in lieu of which it gets financial support from the government.

ALSO READ - Singapore Airshow 2022 | Alliance Air inks deal with TrueNoord for 2 ATR 42 aircraft

Alliance Air and ATR signed a deal at this year’s Singapore Airshow for two ATR 42-600 aircraft with Amsterdam-based lessor TrueNoord. The smaller ATR-42s will help the carrier expand its network to less accessible regions.