Aviation Business - March 2010 by ITP Business Publishing

THE MAGAZINE FOR AVIATION EXECUTIVES IN THE MIDDLE EAST | MA MARCH ARCH 2010

BUSINESS Fruits of labour Saﬁ Airways’ CCO tells the airline’s story so far

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FLEET Boeing’s bid to discover the future of sustainable ﬂight PHOTO SPECIAL | READER’S LET TERS | MOVERS & SHAKERS | REGIONAL NEWS

Billyy Gl Bill G ove oover e , managing ddirec irectorr of env nvir vi onmental strateg ategy, y, Boe oeing Commer Comm ci cia iaall Ai Airrp rplane la s

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CONTENTS

MARCH 2010 VOLUME 09 ISSUE 03

21 BOEING’S BIOFUEL BID As airline’s come under increasing pressure to cut their carbon footprints by 2020, plane manufacturers are entering into environmental projects to help them on their way. In this issue we talk to Boeing managing director of environmental strategy Billy Glover, who is working with Etihad Airways, Honeywell and the innovative Masdar Institute in Abu Dhabi to explore sustainable ways of turning saltwater plants into biofuel.

04 REGIONAL NEWS The Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation declares to improve air traffic management in the region. Air Arabia’s net profit falls for 2009. Jazeera Airways buys a leasing company. IATA’s chief is unusually optimistic. Royal Jordanian records a profit for 2009, despite revenues dropping by 15%. The cause of the Sharjah plane crash in October may never be known. Turkish Airlines continues its spending spree.

30 ASK THE EXPERT ARINC travel solutions senior director Tony Chapman asks ‘what are the future possibilities in self-service travel trends?’

46 MOVERS & SHAKERS Saﬁ Airways appoints a new sales director; Etihad Airways welcomes its Doha country manager; Oman Air expands its corporate aﬀairs team; Wataniya gets a CCO; Bahrain Duty Free hires head buyer. www.arabiansupplychain.com

SAFI AIRWAYS Saﬁ Airways’ chief commercial oﬃcer Claus Fischer has been with the Afghan airline for just over a year and he has much to celebrate. From achieving ICAO safety standards to setting up interline agreements and expanding the outreach of its global distribution, the airline’s ticket sales have sky-rocketed. But, could the country’s political unrest call a halt to the carrier’s growth plans?

VIRGIN ATLANTIC Creating ads with wow factor has proven a recession-busting move for Virgin Atlantic. We talk to sales and marketing director Paul Dickinson to ﬁnd out how he makes every penny of the airline’s ad spend count and discover that, despite its marketing prowess, Virgin has plans to change its creative approach. Not only that, we ask why the carrier has cooled its presence in the Middle East market. March 2010

READER’S LETTERS Ma’Salaamah, says Air Asia X to Abu Dhabi Lack of planning sees low-cost carrier Air Asia X cancel its services to the UAE capital, says Saj Ahmad It’s all very well that Air Asia X conveniently blames the disastrous adventure into Abu Dhabi and the feet of the equally disastrous airplane in the Airbus A340, but the fact of the matter remains that the long-haul, lowcost market is years away from maturity. Air Asia X’s pull-out was always on the cards. It didn’t have the minerals to take on Emirates in Dubai, so it opted to create a hub in Abu Dhabi. It dropped plans for a hub not long afterwards and now has dropped the stop-off point altogether. Equally, with incumbent carrier, Etihad Airways, at Abu Dhabi airport, there was no way on God’s Green Earth that the Emirati’s would let a sub-class carrier enter their playground to divert traffic from their growing base. While consumers have indeed become more astute about how their income is spent on air travel, in the Middle East at least, customers still insist on paying a little bit extra for quality service – there isn’t an Arab carrier that doesn’t have class or

BUSINESS Registered at Dubai Media City PO Box 500024, Dubai, UAE Tel: + 971 4 210 8000, Fax: + 971 4 210 8080 Web: www.itp.com Offices in Dubai & London ITP Business Publishing CEO Walid Akawi Managing Director Neil Davies Deputy Managing Director Matthew Southwell Editorial Director David Ingham VP Sales Wayne Lowery Commercial Director Diarmuid OMalley Editorial Editor Sarah Cowell Tel: +971 4 4356286 email:sarah.cowell@itp.com Advertising Publishing Director Diarmuid OMalley Tel: +971 4 435 6163 email: diarmuid.omalley@itp.com Sales Manager Nick Lowe Tel: +971 4 435 6364 email: nick.lowe@itp.com European Sales Manager Stepané de Rémusat Tel: +33 53 427 0130 email: sremusat@aol.com Studio Group Art Editor Dan Prescott Designer Angela Ravi Photography Director of Photography Sevag Davidian Chief Photographer Khatuna Khutsishvili Senior Photographers G-nie Arambulo, Efraim Evidor, Thanos Lazopoulos Staff Photographers Isidora Bojovic, Lyubov Galushko, Jovana Obradovic, Ruel Pableo, Rajesh Raghav, George Dipin Production & Distribution

FBE Aerospace analyst Saj Ahmad

prestige. Air Asia X has none of those and has even less brand loyalty. This exit, while painful for Air Asia X, serves as a timely reminder that while chasing volume for keeping seat costs down may look attractive, it doesn’t address the fixed costs of operating an anaemic service to a competitive region like the GCC, nor does it generate revenue. As the old adage goes, better luck next time – except there won’t be a resumption of services anytime soon.

Group Production Manager Kyle Smith Production Co-ordinator Louise Schrieber Managing Picture Editor Patrick Littlejohn Image Editor Emmalyn Robles Distribution Manager Karima Ashwell Distribution Executive Nada Al Alami Circulation Head of Circulation & Database Gaurav Gulati Marketing Head of Marketing Daniel Fewtrell ITP Digital Director Peter Conmy ITP Group Chairman Andrew Neil Managing Director Robert Serafin Finance Director Toby Jay Spencer-Davies Board of Directors K.M. Jamieson, Mike Bayman, Walid Akawi, Neil Davies, Rob Corder, Mary Serafin Circulation Customer Service Tel: +971 4 286 8559

Air Asia X suspends Abu Dhabi service Air Asia should learn a lesson from Air Arabia. Although Air Asia operates a point to point service, it must provide an air side transfer facility at LCCT terminal for those passengers needing onward connections. Otherwise the result will be big Ma’ Salaamah for many sectors. Shakeeb Vakkom, Abu Dhabi

Boeing 747-8F makes test ﬂight The image of take-off was breathtaking! I joined thousands of Boeing employees to watch this fly for the first time. History was made again. Abdulla Shams, Dubai

Saudi airport projects to create 35,000 jobs This was needed for a very long time.

March 2010

No doubt it will add to the tourism income for the exchequer, plus would be a great facility for the pilgrims. It is essential now that the Saudi GACA should seriously consider liberalising the air transportation sector and allow multiple designated carriers from various countries to operate. This would break the monopoly of single airlines operating to the KSA, especially during the Hajj season when the fares are sky rocketing. Asif Ahmed, KAIA Jeddah project

Certain images in this issue are available for purchase. Please contact itpimages@itp.com for further details or visit www.itpimages.com. Printed by Horizon Printing Press Controlled distribution by Blue Truck Subscribe online at www.itp.com/subscriptions The publishers regret that they cannot accept liability for error or omissions contained in this publication, however caused. The opinions and views contained in this publication are not necessarily those of the publishers. Readers are advised to seek specialist advice before acting on information contained in this publication which is provided for general use and may not be appropriate for the reader’s particular circumstances. The ownership of trademarks is acknowledged. No part of this publication or any part of the contents thereof may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form without the permission of the publishers in writing. An exemption is hereby granted for extracts used for the purpose

Gulf Air ‘wasting millions’ says trade union There are so many consultancy firms here in the Middle East that fools Arabs. I hope they wake up from these hypnotic influences. Edward Dy, Dubai

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04 Visit www.arabiansupplychain.com for the latest Middle East aviation news

CANSO declares to improve Middle East air safety

But countries fail to agree on better ways of working at regional air traﬃc control meeting The Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation (CANSO) has promised to transform air traffic management in the region through an initiative it is calling the ‘Middle East Declaration’. Middle East members of CANSO and other regional aviation stakeholders, including Emirates Airline, are preparing to form work groups to find solutions to meet the challenges facing air navigation services in the region. In addition, the declaration seeks to establish a ‘Single Sky’, similar to that of Europe, for both the military and the civilian aircrafts flying between the Middle East and countries in other continents. CANSO chairman and CEO of Airways New Zealand Ashley Smout said the programme would endorse the CANSO Middle East REDSEA vision to ‘Realise, Enhance and Develop Seamless Efficient Airspace’. “The Middle East Declaration marks a major step forward in the transformation of ATM in the Middle East. It leads the way for the future development and harmonisation of air navigation services in the region,” Smout said.

ABOUT CANSO CANSO stands for the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation It is the global voice of the companies that provide air traﬃc control systems Its members are responsible for supporting more than 85% of world air traﬃc

March 2010

Some 47% of total UAE ﬂights in 2009 were made at Dubai International Airport

Amongst others, safety enhancement, airspace management, customer consultation, regional HR development, CNS/ATM improvement, institutional transformation and performance-based ANS will be developed. The measure was welcomed by airports and airlines in the region as the latest figures from the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) showed the growing problem of air space congestion in the region. Air traffic movement in the UAE increased by almost 10% in January 2010, when compared to the same month last year. The GCAA recorded 51,851 movements, with the average number of daily flights coming in at 1673, representing an increase of 9.7% compared to January 2009. Dubai ranked first with 24,338 air movements, or almost 47% of total UAE flights.

But, a meeting at the ATC a common regulator.” But the Global conference in January parties involved in the panel in Abu Dhabi showed that a did not seem keen on having collaborative approach was an umbrella organisation, not favoured by all countries Birdal added. in the region. “I think they Following the meeting, should reconsidTurkish Airlines board er this however. member Orhan Birdal told It is not easy to Aviation Business that all tackle the probthe participating countries lem when it beseemed glad to come together comes unmanbut a specific proposal ageable.” on unified working had failed to materialise. “There has been a clear picture presented by each country as to the congestions in the area and it is evident that if the traffic flow increases constantly each country will face Turkish Airlines’ Orhan Birdal more problems unless they have www.arabiansupplychain.com

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REGIONAL NEWS

Jazeera purchases Sahaab Leasing

Jazeera Airways’ shares jumped 2.1% after the carrier announced it has fully acquired Sahaab Aircraft Leasing Company, a private aircraft leasing firm, for KWD 25.6 million. The acquisition gives Jazeera Airways a platform to “pursue strategic vertical integration initiatives” lined up for 2010 and 2011 that include an airline acquisition and access to global leasing markets, according to reports from the Centre for Asia Pacifi c Aviation. Sahaab currently owns a fleet of nine Airbus A320s that were purchased and leased back to Jazeera Airways, and will continue to operate as a fully-owned subsidiary of the airline, catering not only to Jazeera Airways but also other airlines, both regionally and globally, CAPA said. Sahaab will have a minimum fleet of 38 Airbus A320s by 2016 based on confirmed orders with the manufacturer. The acquisition is expected to be completed by March 31, 2010, allowing Jazeera to consolidate Sahaab’s earnings from Jan 1, 2010, adding an expected KWD 1.2 million in earnings for Q1 2010. Last month, also saw Jazeera Airways restructure its pricing policy. It has merged its three existing economy fare classes into one simple economy class price. The move comes after it was identified that fares needed to be made easier to understand. March 2010

Air Arabia posts fall in net proﬁt for 2009 Air Arabia’s net profit for the 12 months ending December 31, 2009, stood at AED 452 million, a drop of AED 2 million from the previous year. For the full-year 2009, the company registered a turnover of AED 2 billion, a decline of 4.5% from AED 2.066 billion recorded in 2008. The Sharjah-based airline served 4.1 million passengers in 2009, an increase of 14.2% compared to 3.6 million passengers in 2008. In the 12 months ending December 31, 2009, Air Arabia’s average seat load factor – or passengers carried as a percentage of available seats – stood at 80%. Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohammad Al Thani, chairman of Air Arabia, said: “The previous 12 months represented one of the most challenging periods in the history of the global aviation sector, as pressure on yields increased significantly as a consequence of the worldwide financial crisis. The associated overcapacity in the sector led to collective losses of roughly

Air Arabia chairman Sheikh Al Thani

US$11 billion for all global airlines, demonstrating the depth of the challenges facing our industry. During that time of great instability, Air Arabia nevertheless continued to chart a path to profitability.” Air Arabia faces more challenges within the next twelve months however, as flydubai garners its market share, said FBE Aerospace analyst Saj Ahmad. “Less than 40 miles away in the neighbouring UAE

emirate is the ever-growing flydubai – an airline aggressively pushing fares to record low levels, allowing penetration into key markets like Syria and Jordan as well as east Africa. “Air Arabia may have the benefit of a less congested hub at Sharjah, as well as excellent road/rail transport links to Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Al Ain – all key aerospace centres in the UAE, but with the recent woes that have beset Dubai World, the impact on Dubai means that the city will be doing more than usual to draw both business and traffic toward it. “This is already in motion with the significant fare offers that Emirates has been advertising for the last six months and flydubai stands to benefit from offshoot traffic on sub six-hour flights that Emirates doesn’t operate,” Ahmad said. “All in all, the competition in the GCC and surrounding areas as well as competition within the UAE is hotting up just as the summer season approaches,” he added.

Losses will shrink US$5.6b in 2010 The International Air Transport Association (IATA) expects the global aviation industry to reduce losses some 50% from US$11.0 billion in 2009 to $5.6 billion in 2010. The loss reduction is being led by Asia-Pacific carriers who are expected to see their losses shrink from $3.4 billion in 2009 to $700 million in 2010. “Asia-Pacific’s prospects are improving much faster than other regions,” said IATA director general & CEO Giovanni Bisignani. Despite his optimism, Giovanni said the region would face a number of challenges.

“Achieving Asia-Pacific’s tremendous potential is contingent upon short-term efforts to battle the impacts of the economic downturn with cost reductions and efficiency gains. “Longer-term, Asia-Pacific must also face global challenges including environment, security and liberalisation.” According to data from the industry body, which is the global voice for its member airlines, intra-Asia-Pacific travel had eclipsed the number of travellers in North America as the world’s largest aviation market. Asia-Pacific’s travellers numbered 647 million com-

IATA: Asia-Paciﬁc has strong prospects

pared to the 638 million who travelled within North America (including domestic markets). By 2013 an additional 217 million travellers are expected to take to the skies within Asia-Pacific, IATA said. www.arabiansupplychain.com

REGIONAL NEWS

RJ makes a profit Sharjah plane crash Royal Jordanian Airline announced that revenues were down 15% in 2009 as the global economic crisis impacted on both cargo and passenger travel. The carrier generated net profits of JD 28.6m for the year, compared to net losses of JD 24.7m experienced in 2008. Airline chairman Nasser Lozi said the board was satisfied with the result, adding that they reflected “the airline’s ability to make the best use of available resources, in spite of their limitations”. President and CEO, Hussein Dabbas, said operational revenues decreased from JD 700m in 2008 to JD 598m achieved in 2009, a decline of 15%, including a “remarkable regression” in cargo. Operational costs went down by 19.1%, from JD 675m in 2008 to JD 546.8m in 2009,

may remain a mystery

Royal Jordanian CEO Hussein Dabbas

due to the decrease in fuel prices globally, leading to a decline in the fuel bill of the company by 47% compared to 2008. Dabbas said that in 2009, the carrier transported 2.7 million passengers, 1% less than in 2008, and the passenger yield decreased by 13% due to reducing ticket prices in response to the decrease in oil prices and the sharp competition with the other airlines.

Flight recorders found in the wreckage of the Sudanese cargo plane that crashed in Sharjah last year were not working, investigators have revealed. The reason why the plane crashed shortly after takeoff in October may never be known, a senior official from the investigation committee told The National newspaper. It is not known why the plane’s black boxes, which record voice and data onboard the flight, were not operating, officials said, adding that the investigation is still ongoing. “Plane crash investigations are usually long,” an unnamed official told the paper. “The process includes data collection. Then you make analysis and conclusions. Lastly, you

make recommendations to prevent a recurrence of an accident on similar causes.” The Boeing 707 plane, operated by Sudan Airways, crashed shortly after taking off from Sharjah International Airport, killing all six people on board. The Khartoum-based cargo operator Azza Transport, from which the plane was leased, will remain banned from flying into UAE airspace until the investigation concludes. Early indicators suggested that engine difficulties were behind the crash. The plane had been in operation since 1969, but its engines were believed to have been 24 years old, General Civil Aviation Authority officials said at the time.

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March 2010

REGIONAL NEWS

SAS sees Dubai bookings rise 41% SAS Scandinavian Airlines has recorded a 41% increase in bookings for its winter season service between Dubai and Copenhagen, compared to the same period last year. The national carrier for Denmark, Norway and Sweden, which flies to Dubai from October until April every year with three weekly flights, has attributed this increase in demand to a 30% decrease in airfare, coupled with the UAE’s growing attraction as a tourist destination to Scandinavian countries. Due to last year’s global downturn, the airlines was forced to cut its seat capacity by 20%, resulting in some 20

planes being grounded, but SAS general manager, UAE Albert Henschel said the worst of the recession was over. “The first indication of this was our bookings on the Dubai-Copenhagen sector, which were up by 41% when compared to the same month last year. “As demand continues to rise, airfares will gradually follow suit and the playing ground should get more competitive,” Henschel told Emirates Business. Henschel added that the recent international press attention focusing on Dubai had helped in boosting people’s curiosity to visit the city.

SAS general manager Albert Henschel

It would be unlikely that SAS would increase its limited five-month presence to a

year-round route for the airline however. “We are still comparatively a small airline with a limited number of aircraft. We would much rather use our aircraft on more profitable routes such as Chicago or Beijing. However, as demand for these routes dips during the winter months, we were left with the option to ground those planes or send them somewhere else. Dubai was the ideal choice for those five months.” Henschel hinted that new code share agreements with Mideast carriers would be likely in 2010, but said nothing defi nite had been agreed.

Turkish Airlines buys 35 Boeing jets Etihad secures seven more ﬂights to Australia

CEO James Hogan wants Etihad to aggressively build on its Australian network Boeing’s latest 737-900 ER is ﬁtted with the next generation ‘Sky Interior’ cabin

Etihad Airways has secured seven additional weekly flight frequencies from its Abu Dhabi home-base to Australia. The flights can be operated to any gateway in Australia which includes Etihad’s current destinations of Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne. A further seven weekly flights have been granted to Etihad on the condition that the operation also flies via or onto a regional airport. Etihad Airways chief executive March 2010

officer James Hogan, said: “The announcement that Etihad Airways has been granted up to 14 additional flights each week is an indication of the airline’s deepening bond with Australia.” Etihad currently flies 21 times a week between Abu Dhabi and Australia. This includes 11 flights to Sydney, seven to Melbourne and three to Brisbane. The new flight slots will be available from March 2011.

Turkish Airlines has purchased 35 Boeing 737 jets - 20 definite and 15 optional. The Boeing 737-800 and 737-900 ER planes will all be fitted with the plane manufacturer’s next generation ‘Sky Interior’ cabin. This latest addition follows the recent announcement of the purchase of 30 Airbus planes to the Turkish Airlines fleet in line with its expansion plans.

Turkey’s flag carrier aims to acquire a total of 105 new aircraft over the coming few years. By the end of 2015, the number of single aisle jets in the fleet of Turkish Airlines will increase to 155, and the number of twin aisle aircraft will rise to 36. The total number of aircraft in the Turkish Airlines fleet will reach 196, five of them cargo airplanes. www.arabiansupplychain.com

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Dnata Travel opens low-cost counter

Al Jaber Aviation to set up base at Al Bateen STRATEGY

BUSINESS

Dnata Travel has opened a new counter at Dubai International Airport’s Terminal 1, offering a dedicated ticketing service for low-cost airlines. Open 24-hours, Dnata offers a booking service for customers’ travel requirements on flydubai, Air Arabia, Air Blue, Air India Express and Jazeera Airways. Dnata Travel vice president Majid Al Mulla, said: “Over the past few months we have experienced a significant growth in the demand for travel on lowcost carriers and have set up this service in response to demand from customers. We expect this trend to continue and are working towards widening this service to allow us to retail tickets for more low-cost carriers in the future.” The counter also offers additional travel-related services such as insurance, car hire and complete holiday packages.

Al Jaber Aviation will be based at Al Bateen Executive Airport in Abu Dhabi. The VIP aviation provider has signed a 10-year leasing deal with the airport’s owner and operator Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC). The deal makes Al Jaber Aviation the largest tenant to sign up at Al Bateen since ADAC took over the management of the airport in 2009. The company is expected to move into its new airport offices within two months. Al Jaber Aviation CEO Dr Mark Pierotti, said: “With AJA planning to further build our aircraft fleet, over the coming years, we recognise that Al Bateen combines a strategic location with fully equipped operational, administrative as well as maintenance facilities managed by ADAC - the largest operator of airports in the UAE. “Furthermore, basing AJA at Al Bateen will help us continue to deliver world-class services to our elite guests with fast-on-fast-off process-

AJA’s Dr Mark Pierotti with ADAC chief commercial oﬃcer Huraiz Al Mur bin Huraiz

ing; an advantage that we could not obtain in other international or larger airports in the region.” ADAC chief commercial officer Huraiz Al Mur bin Huraiz, added: “We are pleased to welcome Al Jaber

Aviation as ADAC’s first and now largest tenant at Al Bateen Executive Airport. The deal we are signing today is a clear indication of the growing importance of VIP and private aviation in the UAE capital.”

Abu Dhabi to host biggest ever World Routes BUSINESS

Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC) has announced Routes – The World Route Development Forum will come to Abu Dhabi in 2012, following the company’s successful bid to bring the air transport industry’s largest international event to the UAE capital. Routes is an annual event for the air service development industry, which brings March 2010

together airlines, airports and tourism authorities and provides opportunities to highlight route opportunities for airlines and host airports. Founder of Routes Development Group Mike Howarth, said: “There is always intense competition to host Routes, the annual gathering of the people who make decisions as to where the world’s airlines fly. Abu Dhabi met all the criteria, it is a new world

RDG founder and CEO Mike Howarth

aviation hub, ADNEC is now a major player on the international events circuit and the bidding partners led by the airport presented a compelling and powerful case.” The 18th World Route Development Forum is expected to be the largest ever planned, with 3500-4000 delegates estimated to attend. The four-day event will run from September 30 to October 3, 2012. www.arabiansupplychain.com

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Advanced FIDS technology hits the market

World’s ﬁrst Arabic kiosks installed at Sharjah airport TECHNOLOGY

TECHNOLOGY

Conrac GmbH, which specialises in the development of display systems, and video communications distributor Imago Group plc, have joined forces to deliver a passenger information solution that will be seen for the first time at Passenger Terminal Expo in Brussels. A high quality screen delivers full information management, and the facility to broadcast live TV, stream recorded video, such as advertising, and display digital signage. The Flight Information Display System (FIDS) has a fully integrated IPTV solution, which is the first of its kind on the market. “This is a real breakthrough for the airport information display system market,” said Imago head of new business development Peter Nice. “The development of the FIDS technology now enables the screens to show video content in addition to flight information, and because the displays are of such a superior specification, the quality of the picture - whether it is live TV or streamed video - is of the highest resolution and clarity.” Conrac managing director Walter Hammel, added: “The addition of Tripleplay technology to our own solution provides our customers with a wealth of options in terms of displaying innovative content in airport locations.” March 2010

Sharjah International Airport has deployed the world’s fi rst self-service checkin kiosks with an Arabic interface. The Common Use Self-Service (CUSS) kiosks, provided by aviation IT specialist SITA, are already in use by passengers of Air Arabia, Nas Air, SAMA, Indian Airlines, Indian Express and Jet Airways, which operate out of Sharjah airport. Under a five-year deal, SITA is also providing web check-in for low-cost carrier, Air Arabia, which fl ies 3.6 million passengers in and out of the airport each year. Sharjah Airport Authority director Ali Salem Al Midfaa, said: “The Arabic interface on the kiosks makes the passenger experience more userfriendly which in turn speeds up the check-in process. In

Sharjah International Airport has deployed SITA’s Arabic self-service check-in kiosks

addition, because the kiosks can be used by all the airlines we can increase the rates of passenger processing with a lower level of infrastructure.” SITA regional vice president Middle East and Turkey Hani El Assaad, said: “By using a combination of CUSS

kiosks and web check-in, Sharjah International Airport will increase passenger satisfaction, minimise congestion and reduce costs. This integrated approach will support the airport as it continues its growth and development to 2015.”

GPS systems at the Airport Show TECHNOLOGY

GPS tracking technology used for vehicle monitoring at airports will be on display at the Airport Show in Dubai from April 25. Visual control equipment, referred to as XOPS, can be used to manage the movements of an airport’s fleet of ground vehicles and has been successfully operated at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport for the past four years. Jean-François Bouilhaguet, managing director of Sodexi, the express handling division of Air France Cargo, uses the system to control his fleet which forms a part of the 7000 vehicles operated by the airport.

Sodexi MD Jean-François Bouilhaguet

“The system not only has the potential to revolutionise airport handling operations at Paris airports, but also at all airports and other industrial sites employing fleets of

mobile units,” Bouilhaguet explained. “The technology can function alongside other systems such as GPS and wireless communication.” From a central monitor, the XOPS technology keeps visual control of vehicles and is able to instruct drivers with real time data such as an aircraft’s late arrival or change of gate, as well as the positioning of ramp handling equipment. The system can also be applied to tasks such as fuel distribution and the positioning of maintenance equipment. It can also calculate charges and invoicing as well as providing security supervision. www.arabiansupplychain.com

SUPPLIER NEWS

Mubadala Aerospace opens engine ﬁnance ﬁrm Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Development Company has launched a new venture to provide component and engine financing solutions to the regional and international aerospace sector. Sanad Aero Solutions has been set up in response to the current state of the airline industry where economic conditions are putting increased pressure on liquidity, the company said in a statement. The announcement was made at the Singapore Airshow in February. The firm will provide new capital for airlines and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) alongside a number of services from Mubadala’s

Key officials from Jafza and Shell on site Sanad provides financing to Etihad Airways for the maintenance of its Airbus fleet

maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) companies, SR Technics and Abu Dhabi Aircraft Technologies (ADAT). Currently, Sanad is providing financing valued in excess of US$30 million over a 10year period as part of a total component solution contract

New safety voltage detector for airﬁelds Electrical safety testing specialist Seaward has developed a new voltage indicator to ensure safe working on ground lighting systems located in airfields. The AGL-5 two pole voltage detector enables service engineers, maintenance personnel and airport technical staff to verify that runway and airfield lighting circuits have been isolated from the main power supply before maintenance or inspection work commences. The two pole voltage detection system has been designed specifically for ground lighting systems and can be used to detect the presence of voltages from 50V up to 5KV. Ultrabright red LEDs and a polarising fi lter make the voltage indication clear-

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Shell opens new facility in Jafza

between SR Technics and Etihad for the airline’s entire Airbus fleet. Under this contract ADAT provides onsite technical and logistical support. In addition, the financing company has signed a deal for 12 spare engines valued at $100 million with Air Berlin.

Shell Lubricants has opened a lubricants bulk storage facility in Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza) in Dubai. The additional space adds 550 metric tonnes to Shell Lubricants’ storage building and will reduce the length of time customers have to wait for supplies to be delivered.

Celebrating 25 Years as a global component service provider

System detects voltages up to 5KV

ly visible in all working environments and conditions. Designed and manufactured in compliance with international safety standards, the unit is totally encapsulated in a shock resistant high impact rugged enclosure and is IP64 rated. The new two pole AGL-5 is supplied with a proving unit for self-test proof of performance before and after use.

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March 2010

15 Visit www.arabiansupplychain.com for the latest news

Freighters fly into an ambiguous market All-new freighter aircraft from Boeing and Airbus are preparing to enter the cargo market within the next few months, but the plane manufacturers are being warned to expect flight test problems and slow sales. Boeing’s 747-8F is currently undergoing its first flights and it is scheduled for delivery from the start of the fourth quarter this year. Aside from two orders being dropped, the 747-8F order book has remained solid, but an industry expert said that Boeing’s flight test resources are being stretched. “The biggest challenge by far, is how flight test resources shared between it and the 787 manifest themselves,” said FBE Aerospace analyst Saj Ahmad.

“During the production phase, both jets have had to move personnel around to help get the delayed jets back onto schedule.” In addition, the flight test programme has drawn to a close for the Airbus A330F, but Ahmad said the plane could not be entering service at a worse time. “Competing below the 777F and above the 767F, the A330F will have its work cut out, just like any other newbuild freighter airplane entering service. “The cargo market has been hit hard, and the ominous lack of Asia-based customers for the A330F is a signal of how bad things actually are.” Not only that, Airbus’ new freighter has been saddled with

Boeing’s 747-800 Freighter aircraft is currently undergoing its ﬁrst test ﬂights

its fate in the hands of no less than seven leasing companies and without major air freight firms buying directly from Airbus, there is a distinct possibility that the A330F could be a short-lived airframe, Ahmad went on to say. “These lessors account for a whopping 87% of the A330F backlog (64 units in total) with the remaining 8 units split between reluctant launch custom-

er replacement in Etihad Airways (2), MNG Cargo Airlines (4) and Turkish Airlines (2). “That said, the A330F is a superb platform for Airbus to finally crack the freighter market, currently dominated by Boeing. “The question is whether the A330F can ride out the industry downturn long enough to become an investor safe haven,” Ahmad added.

100th aid ﬂight to Haiti Lufthansa seeks Middle East growth Chapman Freeborn has completed its 100th aid flight to help the people affected by the devastating earthquake in Haiti. The global aircraft charter specialist has delivered relief cargo from the USA, Europe, the Middle East and Asia on behalf of international aid agencies. Aid has been flown into airports including Port au Prince (PAP), Haiti and Santo Domingo (SDQ), Dominican Republic on chartered aircraft including L-100 Hercules, AN12, IL-76, DC-8, MD11, B777 and B747 freighters. Operations on the ground have been overseen by Chapman Freeborn logistics experts, who were immediately deployed in the wake of the disaster. Chapman Freeborn’s passenger charter service was also utilised by American and www.arabiansupplychain.com

European search and rescue organisations, with charters to Port au Prince and other regional airports on B737 and B767 aircraft. The UN described the disaster as “one of the worst humanitarian crises in decades”. The quake claimed up to 200,000 lives, and hundreds of thousands more Haitians have been displaced from their homes in Port-au-Prince, Leogane and Jacmel. The main focus of the aid effort is now to provide urgent shelter and basic sanitation.

Lufthansa Cargo has said it is on the lookout for new market opportunities in the Middle East. Speaking to Aviation Business, Lufthansa Cargo board member for sales and product Dr Andreas Otto said: “Last year we opened our office in Qatar and LH passenger flights will start to BGW and

EBL as of summer 2010. In addition, we just increased by one freighter frequency ex SHJ to FRA and we are always looking for new market opportunities,” he added. Dr Otto went on to say that the cargo company had seen stable imports and increases in imports for all Middle Eastern markets during last year. March 2010

CARGO NEWS

SNTTA Cargo selected for global GSSA network

UAE bans ANTONOV An-12

NETWORK

EGSAC, the world’s largest independent cargo General Sales and Service Agents (GSSA) network, has appointed SNTTA Cargo as its exclusive member for Sharjah. SNTTA Cargo, which represents Emirates Airline, Iraqi Airways, Kuwait Airways, Royal Jordanian, Singapore Airlines, Saudi Arabian Airlines and Sudan Airways, has a network of offices in Sharjah International Airport, Dubai International Airport and Abu Dhabi. “Airfreight remains an important mode of transport in this region, despite the introduction of extensive trucking services between the GCC countries. Sharjah and Dubai attract large volumes of transit cargo for Africa and Europe, and have recorded strong growth over the last 15 years. This trend is expected to grow into the future,” commented SNTTA Cargo general manager Mohin Jassal. “SNTTA Cargo’s exposure to the wider international industry through the EGSAC network will help us to develop important contacts worldwide and grow the business. In return, members of the EGSAC network will now have access to a professional, quality-focused partner with wide-ranging capabilities supported by strong infrastructure and experience of over 30 years in the industry,” he added. EGSAC provides airlines with representation based at 128 stations in more than 30 countries around the globe. Reducing costs is the most common reason why airlines would consider using a GSSA. In addition, EGSA said that it could help airlines with marketing new routes. March 2010

ANTONOV An-12 aircraft: Results from a GCAA audit show that the aircraft falls short of international safety standards

FLEET

ANTONOV An-12 aircraft have been banned from the UAE’s airspace by the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA). The move, which will be effective from March 1, 2010, is aimed at raising safety standards in the country’s civil aviation sector and was made after the GCAA set up a special technical committee to determine the airworthiness of foreign aircraft flying to the UAE airports. The technical committee conducted a technical audit on ANTONOV Design Bureau, the de-

sign organisation in Ukraine for An–12 aircraft and also assessed the civil aviation administration system in Ukraine. The audit showed that the aircraft does not meet all of the international safety standards. GCAA director of safety Ismail Mohammed Al Balooshi announced during a press conference that at the start of last year, GCAA started applying an advanced programme which particularly allows the assessment of aircraft registered in foreign countries in order to ensure their safety and airworthiness.

“There were numerous incidents that involved ANTONOV aircraft in year 2008, including three minor incidents at Sharjah International Airport and one crash in Iraq,” he added. “That is why GCAA made an initial decision to temporarily ban this aircraft model which posed a threat to air safety, pending the results of the assessment by the technical committee regarding the airworthiness of ANTONOV An-12. The assessment showed that this aircraft can not be operated safely.”

Smugglers busted at Cargo Village BUSINESS

Dubai Customs officials have prevented a shipment of 2kg of cannabis being smuggled from Africa to Europe via Dubai International Airport’s Cargo Village. The parcel containing the illegal drug was first noticed when an x-ray machine revealed some irregularities in the packaging. At that point, an inspector examined the outside of the shipment and came to the conclusion that the wrapping of the parcel had been conducted in such a way as to mislead customs officials. Dubai Customs then ordered its mobile scanning equipment over to the Cargo Village, along with sniffer dogs, and both confirmed that the shipment contained illegal narcotics.

The Anti Drug Department at Dubai Police Headquarters was then contacted, which spoke to the relevant authorities in the unnamed European country to which the parcel was addressed. Customs officials arrested the addressee,

Shipment was found to contain narcotics

and have reported back that the individual in question was involved in two other instances of trading heroin. “This case embodies a live model for the effective cooperation and coordination between Dubai Customs and the relevant authorities in the country from one hand, and the other countries in the world on the other hand,” said Dubai Customs executive director of cargo operations Mohammed Mater Al Mari. “Cooperation in exchanging information in connection with such shipment was made as well with another European capital city to which the drugs shipment was destined, after leaving Dubai and before landing at its final destination where the owner was waiting.” www.arabiansupplychain.com

18 Visit www.arabiansupplychain.com for the latest Middle East private jet news

New partnership expands Vistajet’s global network

Business travel will improve, survey shows DATA

NETWORK

Vistajet, which operates services from Dubai, has teamed up with Flexjet and US-based Jet Solutions, operator of the Flexjet 25* Jet Card Programme, to offer its customers greater benefits across a wider global network, it said in a statement. Flexjet fractional owners and Jet Solutions’ Flexjet 25 Jet Card owners flying internationally, are guaranteed access across Europe and travel on an ‘as available’ basis throughout the Middle East and Asia on VistaJet’s fleet of Bombardier aircraft. Similarly, VistaJet customers flying within the US will have the opportunity to travel on the Flexjet 25 closed fleet of Bombardier aircraft, operated by Jet Solutions. Vistajet chairman Thomas Flohr said the move was a logical step for the company to take as it continues with its global expansion plans.

A recent quarterly travel survey showed almost half of respondents expected their business travel to increase in the next 12 months, marking a significant rise compared with figures of the same period in 2009. The survey by YouGov Siraj – which includes responses from 330 leisure and 255 business travellers from the UAE – revealed that 46% expected their business travel to improve in 2010. In 2009, just 24% of travellers expected to make more business trips. For 2010, some 15% of respondents indicated their business travel would increase a lot. A smaller proportion – 16% - expected their travel to drop over the next 12 months. “It has been a lean year for executives used to travelling for business around the world on company expenses, but business travel looks set to take off again. As people are

Jane Wilson of YouGovSiraj says the ﬁgures show an increased level of positivity

feeling more positive about the economy and are increasingly focused on growth, they are now planning to travel on business more,” said YouGovSiraj director of travel and tourism research Jane Wilson. Flying figures compared to a year ago,showed people continue to fly economy more and business class less however. In

January 2010, 24% said they flew first or business, compared to 31% in January 2009. Economy travel (53%) was up and premium economy (23%) increased, compared to the same period last year. The study shows the majority of business travellers (55%) plan to fly more premium economy in the next year however.

Royal Jet eyes Iraq market as it enhances ties STRATEGY

Royal Jet, the luxury executive fl ight services company based in Abu Dhabi, has completed more than 100 fl ights to Iraq during the past few months. Providing VIP charter services and emergency medical evacuation, the company said it had worked hard to establish thorough security procedures and good working relations with the Iraqi aviation authorities. “Following the 2003 confl ict, Royal Jet became March 2010

the fi rst commercial fl ight provider to enter the market,” said Royal Jet CEO Shane O’Hare. “Throughout this time, Royal Jet has worked closely with the Iraqi authorities including the Iraq Civil Aviation Authority who are responsible for airspace policy, fl ight permissions, and safety and economic regulations.” A number of reconstruction projects and oil industry-related business is being carried out across the region following years of political unrest.

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1 PIA conﬁrms passenger death on Abu Dhabi ﬂight

2 Low-cost airline prints ‘idiots guide’ on livery

3 BA invest £100 million in ﬁrst class product Kuwait Airways is the ﬂagship carrier at Kuwait International Airport

4 Plane from Abu Dhabi skids oﬀ runway

Kuwait Airways to face accounts investigation

senior official has ordered the formation of a committee to consider violations in the accounts of flag-carrier Kuwait Airways Corp (KAC). In the carrier’s closing statements for last four fiscal years, KAC reported accumulated losses of between US$520 million and $694 million. In order for the planned privatisation of the airline to take place, these closing statements need to be approved, after which the government will then pay the shortfall. “No-one will escape accountability if proven to be involved in the violations at KAC whether before or after its privatisation,” communications

minister Mohammed Al-Busairi told the Kuwait Times newspaper. Al-Busairi added that the independent committee, which was launched specifically to look at the Audit Bureau’s concerns during the 2008/9 fiscal year, will refer all violations to Kuwait’s public prosecutions department. The names of officials that have been implicated in the scandal will be revealed only after the probe has been completed, the official said. In January 2008, the Kuwaiti government announced its plans to privatise KAC, with the country’s cabinet tentatively agreeing terms to finalise the arrangement in January this year.

5 Security scare as Spice Jet crew ﬁnd bomb note

Most talked about suppliers

1 SNTTA Cargo International cargo company

2 Shell Lubricants Oil and lubricants provider

3 Seaward Airﬁeld safety specialist

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March 2010

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PROJECT FOCUS: BIOFUEL

FLEET Boeing has entered into a project that promises to discover the future of sustainable ďŹ&#x201A;ight

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March 2010

PROJECT FOCUS: BIOFUEL

There was interest from a number of parties in Abu Dhabi, but the Masdar Institute was particularly interested to get involved s the first quarter of 2010 draws to a close, a number of key announcements are being made in aviation’s environmental arena. At the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi in January, Boeing announced its collaboration with the Masdar Institute, Etihad Airways and Honeywell, on a project to establish the first sustainable bioenergy research project dedicated to sustainable energy solutions.

The Sustainable Bioenergy Research Project (SBRP) is exploring the agricultural possibilities of transforming saltwater-loving plants like mangroves and salicornia – plants known as halophytes – as well as shellfish and other fish products into jet fuel for use in commercial aircraft. Despite requiring a high level of investment at a time of considerable hardship for airlines and plane manufacturers alike, the announcements show the industry’s commitment to environmental measures – a topic that has come under increased scrutiny as Middle East carriers add to their fleets at exponential rates. Boeing Commercial Airpla Airplanes manenvironmen aging director of environmental strategy Billy Glover joined Boe Boeing some 30 years ago and during the past few enterprise-w years has led an enterprise-wide team responsible for developing and implementing a global envir environmental airp strategy for Boeing’s airplanes. He devel was instrumental in developing the ma design elements of the manufacturer’s fuel-efficient 787 and has been busy introducing these elements aircr onto the 777 and 737 aircraft. But it is not just compo composite materials and new realms of aero dynamics that interest him. Glover can cannot stress di enough the importance of discovering develo new ways to support the development and commercialisation of bi biofuel sources for aviation.

Billy Glover has been working on Boeing ‘s environmental projects for some 30 years

March 2010

“It is a five-year project,” explains Glover. “Each partner contributes money and services – and in our case, project oversight and technical know-how – to do with the characteristics of jet fuel and its ability with airplanes. “We don’t know what the challenges are going to be yet, but we will start with getting a site selection established.” The intention is to get a site of about two square kilometres, integrate mangroves and other products and then create jet fuel. “It provides the opportunity to optimise all of those products and understand practical solutions on one large site,” Glover adds. In fact, the project is off to a headstart. The intelligence on converting plant oil into fuel is already well-known; what Boeing and its partners are intent on discovering is how to efficiently use all of those plants and fish in an integrated agricultural system. “The agriculture end is what we are looking at, as well as tackling the feedstock question,” explains Glover; and it seems that Abu Dhabi was the natural choice when it came to choosing the project’s location. “There was interest from a number of parties in Abu Dhabi, but the Masdar Institute was particularly interested to get involved.” The Government of Abu Dhabi founded the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology to primarily research and develop alternative energy square kilometres will be and sustainable technolooccupied by the sustainable gies. The institute forms biofuel project in part of the Masdar InitiaAbu Dhabi tive, which aims to create and sustain the world’s first carbon-neutral, zero-waste city: Masdar City, located on the outskirts of the emirate. But the biofuel project Glover talks about has history that is deep-rooted. The evolutionary seawater concept was

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PROJECT FOCUS: BIOFUEL

founded by Dr Carl Hodges in 1977. Since then he has pioneered the technology needed to nourish seawater crops and fish for potential biofuel production, and the current project partners have wasted no time in engaging Dr Hodges as a special advisor. Boeing’s rival Airbus is also working on viable ways of producing large quantities of biofuel for use in commercial jets. Some eight months ago Qatar Airways, along with Qatar Science &

Technology Park and US-based Verno Based on the results of this in-depth Systems Inc., embarked on a feasibility study and the successful completion study on sustainable biomass-to-liquid of a commercial flight powered by a (BTL) jet fuel and possible bygas-to-liquid (GTL) fuel blend last products such as bio diesel. October, the founding partners, The study looked at all along with newcomers Airbus, available bio feed stocks have established the “Qatar that would not affect the Advanced Biofuel Platform” drop in CO2 emissions from food or fresh water sup(QABP) which will lead acaircraft between now and ply chain. It also looked tivities in the implementa2020, according to at existing and future protion for sustainable bio fuel duction technologies with a production, as well as an inIATA targets viability analysis. vestment strategy.

1.5%

FREE FROM FUEL A Swiss delegation unveiled the first ever solar powered aircraft at the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi. Renewable energy company Solar Impulse exhibited a model of the solar powered aircraft at the event and the company’s president delivered a thoughtprovoking speech. “Today, human and technical inquiry must go on, with a view to improving the quality of life for humanity. By writing the next pages in the history of aviation with solar energy, as far as a flight around the world without fuel or pollution is concerned, Solar Impulse’s ambition is to contribute to the world of exploration and innovation in the cause of renewable energies.” Staying in Europe and UK airline British Airways, in partnership with the Solena Group, is to establish the region’s first sustainable jet-fuel plant and plans to use the low-carbon fuel to power part of its fleet from 2014. The new fuel will be derived from waste biomass and manufactured in a state-of-the-art facility that can convert a variety of waste materials, destined for landfill, into aviation fuel. The self-contained plant, likely to be sited in east London, will convert 500,000 tonnes of waste per year into 16 million gallons of green jet fuel through a process that offers lifecycle greenhouse gas savings of up to 95% compared to fossilfuel derived jet kerosene.

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British Airways’ planes could be powered by low-carbon fuel by 2014

This volume of fuel would be more than twice the amount required to make all of British Airways’ flights at nearby London City Airport carbon-neutral. Put another way, the fuel’s reduction in carbon emissions would be the equivalent of taking 48,000 cars off the road per year. The project will make further major savings in greenhouse emissions by reducing the volume of waste sent to landfill, thus avoiding production of the powerful global warming agent, methane, and generating 20MW of electricity a year from renewable sources.

British Airways has signed a letter of intent to purchase all the fuel produced by the plant, which will be built by the Solena Group Inc., an advanced bio energy and bio fuels company based in Washington DC. British Airways chief executive Willie Walsh, said: “This unique partnership with Solena will pave the way for realising our ambitious goal of reducing net carbon emissions by 50% by 2050. We believe it will lead to the production of a real sustainable alternative to jet kerosene.”

December March 2010 2009

PROJECT FOCUS: BIOFUEL

But, as Glover points out, the Airbus project is taking a very different approach to that of Boeing’s. “The basic difference is in the process used to convert the feedstock into gas. We use a plant oil hydro-treating process that is under license from Honeywell, one of the project’s partners, and it uses different refining technology altogether. Not only that, the Qatar project has so far relied on fossil fuels, whereas we are trying to find alternatives.” Glover is quick to add however, that the manufacturers are united when it comes to the topic of sustainability. “I often speak with Airbus on this subject, and we have the same interests in mind; just different ways of getting there. “It’s in the interests of Boeing and the industry as a whole that a lot of people succeed in finding a number of different alternative sources of energy or methods to produce alternative energy.” In fact, irrespective of which companies lead the way, alternative fuel

It is a ﬁve-year project ... we don’t know what the challenges are going to be yet, but we will start with getting a site selection established

projects are much needed to help all global airlines meet demanding industry targets. The International Air Transport Association (IATA), has said that commercial aircraft must reduce their carbon emissions by 1.5% between now and 2020, and by 50% by 2050; and it is those targets that are putting the environmental challenges faced by the industry into perspective, says Glover. “The demand signals are clear and the [IATA] targets are well-founded. I would not say that they are a prediction at this point, but if people continue with the same kind of success we have seen

during the past two years, they certainly serve as an aspiration to be fulfilled.” Glover points out however, that until a few years ago Boeing, and indeed everyone in the industry, believed it impossible to create a kind of high quality fuel required for commercial aviation purely from bio sources. “The progress made has far exceeded expectations. Look at where we are at now? We know it is possible; we know it is high quality fuel, and the progress has been faster than we anticipated. We only hope it continues on this positive slope.”

A number of the fuel-eﬃcient design elements on the Boeing 787 will be integrated into the 777 aircraft

March 2010

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INTERVIEW: SAFI AIRWAYS

SaďŹ Airways has faced many challenges since its start-up in 2006, but its CCO says the rewards are immeasurable

Fruits of

LABOUR March 2010

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INTERVIEW: SAFI AIRWAYS

laus Fischer has taken just four days holiday during the past fourteen months; but the hard work and long hours have been worth it. As chief commercial officer of Safi Airways – Afghanistan’s first and only airline to achieve ICAO compliancy – Fischer has watched the business grow to become a competitive and respected airline. Speaking to Aviation Business on the eve of his first anniversary since joining the airline in February 2009, Fischer is clearly proud of the airline’s achievements so far, and rightfully so. A number of interline agreements connecting Safi’s home base in Kabul to four key hubs – Frankfurt, Dubai, Kuwait and Doha – has resulted in the airline publishing ‘through fares’ via its GDS providers, Sabre, Amadeus, Galileo and Worldspan; and with an estimated quarter of the airline’s turnover being generated through its distribution providers, the airline remains optimistic for strong ‘one-fare’ ticket sales figures in 2010.

It is this clever selection of transfer points that is giving Afghan families and the estimated 400,000 expats living in or close to Kabul, the ability to travel between the country’s capital and the US, for example, for just US$1300. “Our interlining agreements with a number of airlines gives our passengers the option to fly almost anywhere with just one point of transfer at a reasonable cost,” Fischer explains. “Most people flying from Afghanistan used to travel on UN charters, but those don’t exist anymore, because of Safi, and this has only been possible due to our emphasis on flight safety.” The airline’s strong focus on flight safety remains resolute. Kabul is an interesting market, but for most air-

We knew that to have a future in the business we had to operate to Western standards

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March 2010

INTERVIEW: SAFI AIRWAYS

lines it is a safety risk, explains Fischer. We are now seeing the results of our labour. “We knew that to have a future in the business we had to operate to Western We feel we are making a big change for standards, so this is why we went through all the ICAO compliancy, GDS interlining people in Afghanistan and most recently, the IOSA audit.” Fischer adds that with its flight safety credentials achieved, the airline has had more time to focus on developing a stra- line’s expansion has not been easy. With but this will not be possible without buytegic network and currently, the airline’s Afghanistan’s poor airport infrastructure, ing new aircraft.” busiest Middle East route is Dubai. Safi’s growth plans have been curbed. In addition, the plan to start a route to “Dubai traffic is getting better by the “A high number of military and civilian London has now been scrapped in favour day. In December we had the 767 on the movements at Kabul airport have to take of frequency increases. Flights to Frankroute, daily, and then the A340 went onto place during daylight hours – there is no furt will jump to five a week. Three flights the route for three to four weeks and we lighting or reliable IFR available – forcing a week from Kabul-Delhi will begin in the flew with 200 passengers on the midday the airline to restrict its flight times.” spring, “with a view to flying the route five service, it was extraordinary.” The carrier would like to resume its times a week,” and passenger and cargo In fact, two frequencies a day in Janu- Dubai-Kandahar service, for example, services to Beijing are also in the pipeline. ary saw the airline’s Dubai flights maintain “but with limited operating times from Not only do these frequency increases a load factor of 60%, with more demand in Kabul and just four aircraft, I can’t right make better financial sense, says Fischer, business class than Safi had available. now.” With the tumultuous elections done they allow the airline to concentrate on “I desperately need more business class and dusted however, and a new govern- other ambitious projects. seats on my planes, which on the 767 does ment installed, Fischer will be hoping that “We have plans to build an aviation colnot work. The A340 will be deployed on the country’s finance minister will set an lege, possibly in Masr-e-Sharif where the the Frankfurt route and the 737s are age- agenda for change. German government is funding an infraing, so we are looking at putting an A320 Not only that, Safi flew to Abu Dhabi structure project. Through this we hope into the fleet with a different configura- and Sharjah twice a week for three months to tackle the challenge of finding educated tion. Ideally I would like 12 seats in busi- last year, but both services have since been and well-trained people to work in Afness class and 140 in economy.” cancelled. While Sharjah will not be rein- ghanistan’s aviation industry.” So how has Safi managed to retain its stated – it was too far removed from Safi’s The vision is to train pilots, maintebusiness class passengers? Well, a 96% on- business model – Fischer still hopes that nance and ground staff and pay them a time performance rating helps, but it is flights between Kabul and Abu Dhabi deserving wage. This, Fischer says, would the attention to detail that counts. will resume. be a starting point for industry growth. “If you find people who want “Sometimes in the Middle Meanwhile, the ongoing task of reunitto fly to Kabul they are often East it is a learning proc- ing families is keeping Safi’s commercial leaving their families and riskess. It seems first you start guy more than busy. “Last year we put so ing their lives, so they ask the route, then you open much effort in and now we are seeing the load factor on Saﬁ’s for special treatment. Also, the commercial talks … we results of our labour. We feel we are making double-daily Dubai route through interlining we offer plan to reinstate the route, a big change for people in Afghanistan.” in January 2010 through-fares, which lower the yields, so it is getting cheaper to fly business class to Kabul.” Fischer estimates that 25% of the airline’s turnover is generated from the GDS, with a 15-20% increase in sales from when the system launched last year. But the air-

60%

SAFI FAST FACTS Airline was founded in 2006 Headquarters are in Kabul, Afghanistan Safi operates a fleet of Boeing 737-300 and 767-200ER It is the only Afghan airline to be ICAO compliant Safi currently flies to Frankfurt, Dubai, Kuwait and Doha

March 2010

Saﬁ Airways plans to buy more aircraft to increase its business class oﬀering

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ASK THE EXPERT

Mobilising the masses Question: What are the future possibilities in self-service travel trends? Expert: ARINC travel solutions senior director Tony Chapman

oday’s travellers enjoy a range of self-service options that would have been unthinkable a mere 10 years ago – and the rate of change is set to continue as increasingly sophisticated technology makes self-service available in ever more diverse forms. Already more than 80% of passengers choose to check in away from traditional, dedicated airport workstations, using mobile devices, the internet and self-service kiosks. This is a situation that suits passengers and airports equally well, saving time, money and space. The self-service travel scene of the future is set to be dominated by mobile devices since they offer passengers the greatest level of convenience and accessibility. While the internet matches the technical benefits of a PDA or a Blackberry, access to a printer is not always available. With demand for mobile self-service intensifying, technology has developed to a level at which the mobile device will become, in effect, a mini travel portal through which the passenger can book flights, select a seat, download an electronic boarding pass, apply for an upgrade, arrange airport parking – in fact anything and everything associated with the journey. With its flexibility to deal with all airlines the mobile device is, in fact, capable of doing everything that travel agents traditionally do. The dramatic rise in passengers checking in off-site means that airline check-in desks will increasingly become general baggage acceptance stations at which staff will be able to process the baggage of passengers from multiple airlines. ARINC’s ExpressDrop is just such a common bag drop application. By scanning the boarding pass the agent can identify passenger and airline, as well as ascertaining – and ensuring compliance with – the carrier’s March 2010

baggage policies. The latest version of ExpressDrop is currently being piloted at Narita airport in Japan. One consequence of doing away with dedicated airline desks is the loss of specialist staff to provide passenger information. This role will be filled by airport common-use self-service (CUSS) kiosks like ARINC’s SelfServ which is designed to host any airline with a CUSS-compliant check-in application. Passengers scan their boarding passes to access relevant flight/transfer information such as the gate number, directions on how to get there and departure time. Further developments may include offering suggestions on filling the time before departure – possibly through sponsored links by airport shops and restaurants. This information facility will be particularly useful for non-native-speakers when multi-language versions become widely available. Passengers who want to avoid queuing at baggage desks can use CUSS kik in their own baggage osks to check and print out tags. The kiosks nfigured to acknowlwill be confi rocess any changes of edge and process ake payment for any flight and take resultant additional charges – plus excess baggage payments. ARINC has installed over 60% of CUSS kiosks in airports around the world, most recently at Changhi Airport in Singapore. As well as p the speeding up ocess check-in process ucing and reducing hey queues, they ine cut airline ave costs and save floor space.

ARINC’s CUSS kiosks, which can be integrated with auxiliary devices such as passport readers, smart card readers, security cameras and biometric systems, are also used off-site in hotels, convention centres, and car rental agencies to expedite passenger and baggage processing. Another remote check-in application developed by ARINC is OnVoy. Represented on all six major cruise lines, OnVoy has become the industry standard. Passengers who sign up are given printed bag tags and have their baggage collected the night before departure, leaving them with nothing to do but get to the airport. ARINC has also implemented OnVoy throughout Walt Disney World Resorts. At the other end of a journey, those passengers who have the misfortune to find their baggage has been mislaid can use airport kiosks or, in the future, their own mobile devices to report the loss and give contact details for redirection. And such frustration is the key to self-ser the popularity of self-service travel trends – today’s busy travellers lifest with their hectic lifestyles want qu to sidestep delays, queues and crowds by dealing wit with the necth essary processes of their travel convenie to them. plans at times convenient ma harbour So, while airlines may some regrets that selfservice reduces am the amount of interac interaction with passen passengers, they would be the first to admit that they, too, bene t benefi from the trend, not least through sig ni f ica nt co cost-savings. www.arabiansupplychain.com w ww.ara

FACE TO FACE

INDIA’S GROWTH STORY India is emerging as an important and lucrative MRO hub, says Air Works director and group head of business development Ravi Menon

How is India developing ing g its MRO industry? The Indian MRO industry stryy is pegged at US$600 d too touch $1.06 billion in million which is expected udies have also showed a couple of years. Recentt stu studies ind dustry will be growing that the country’s MRO industry inv vites a lot of investors at 15% annually which invites ard s this lucrative indusand entrepreneurs towards nt stage, the Indian MRO try. Although at a nascent rowth opportunities. industry has tremendouss gr growth What challenges does es the t Indian MRO industry face? So far, one of the majorr hi hindrances indrances in O destinaIndia evolving as an MRO O ccompanies ompanies tion is the lack of MRO niseed certifi having a globally recognised AA to be cation like the EASA or FA FAA ed aircraft able to service the leased tern national of the domestic and international airlines. We hope with Airr Works omp pany to being the fi rst Indian company tion for receive the EASA certificat cation th he doairframe maintenance, the airrlines mestic and internationall airlines will fi nd value in what we offer erge and India will begin to em emerge as an MRO hub. What can the Indian MR MRO RO industry offer airlines? One of the major advantages tages ld that India offers to the worl world ghlly is the availability of highly caan qualified engineers who can th he easily be trained for the an njob. Cost advantage is anddiiother key factor. In addition to this, India offers thee proximity advantage forr re, countries like Singapore, www.arabiansupplychain.com

e that tha can avail a faster Malaysia and the UAE etc, turnaround time due to tthe con convenient geographical location. How will using an EASA EA ASA certified cert MRO company benefit an airline? ny The EASA certification – the gglobal certification which enables MRO comp panies to service specific companies aircraft (depends on typee of certifi ce cation) – further demonstrates that IIndia is able and ready to compete with the w world iin this multibillion dollar indust ry. We lower costs for the industry. airline and, a als many airlines in also, the Middle Miiddle East E operate fl ights to Ind dia, so the t ferry costs can India, be offset. offfset. How H ow is A Air Works establishiin g itself i ing in the MRO market? Air Works holds the EASA cer tification catio and is the only certifi thiird pa third party MRO service coompany which has certicompany fication from the Directora ate Gen rate General of Civil Aviat ion, giving gi tion, us approval t work on ATR 42-500, to 7 72-500 and Boeing 7376600/700 600/700/800/900 aircraft. O Bangalore Ban Our facility can cu urrently currently accommodate ATR or a Boeing 737, twoo ATRs t company com but the is investing m t construct a wide $45 million to h body hangar. This will be operationall by the start of 2011 and useed to ho will be used house and repair all aircraf as well as mainwide body aircraft, and repa tenance and repair of private and craft. chartered air aircraft. March 2010

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FEATURE: INSURANCE

2010 INSURANCE

INSIGHT

rise in global ďŹ&#x201A;eet values in 2009

How is the insurance nce market at does this changing and what ast airlines? mean for Middle East

1.5% drop in global bal passenger numbers mbers in 2009

ollowing years of insurance exposure growth due to an increase in passenger numbers and ongoing deliveries of new aircraft, it seemed the Middle East airline industry was unstoppable. But both the insurance market and airlines witnessed a dramatic dow downturn in 2008-09 and despite bein being just three months into 2010, it see seems the dynamics of the aviation in industry and the insurance market wi will continue to change. Acco According to Willis Aerospace executiv executive director Stephen Doyle the airline insu insurance market witnessed three phases in 20 2009. â&#x20AC;&#x153;When aan Air France flight travelling from Bra Brazil to Paris crashed into the Stephen Doyle of Willis Aerospace

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March 2010

FEATURE: INSURANCE

There is predicted to be an increase in the number of start-up operations [in 2010] and this will bring new premium and exposure to the market

Atlantic Ocean killing 228 passengers on June 1, airlines were seeing their exposures contract and premiums increase in the region of 10%. Post Air France there was talk of 30% plus premium increases being the norm as the year was projected to be one of the highest ever for losses, but finally at the height of renewal activity in the final quarter the level of capacity began to come into play. The annual premium increase being 18.3% overall with fleet values up 1% and passenger numbers down 1.5%.” In addition, 2009 saw some significant changes in many of the largest airline insurance group buying programmes, and a significant volume of personnel and account changes in the broking community. Looking ahead, Doyle believes the challenges of the economy will likely continue to impact the aviation insurance industry throughout 2010, albeit at varying rates. “The experience of the industry has varied by both sector and geography and therefore the experience in 2010 will continue to differ along those lines. If the economy does begin to improve and passenger numbers increase then the insurance exposures will start to increase once again. This may or may not be the case for the airlines in terms of their yields as it must be remembered that the legacy revenue downturn was greater than the downturn in passenger numbers.” Analysts remain optimistic however, that the economic downturn has bottomed out and this will be reflected by fewer airlines going bust during the year.

18.3%

US$1.8 billion 2009 claims total

2009 premium increase

March 2010

other parts of the world and it will be interesting to watch how the recovery develops.” Aside from the struggling economy, competition between carriers remains buoyant, particularly in the Middle East; helped in part by overcapacity in the market. While not driving prices down, overcapacity has stopped premiums rising sharply. Overall, from an airline insurance perspective, Willis Aerospace currently anticipates 2010 to be a better year for buyers. “An improving situation was witnessed toward the end of 2009. Depending on the early year loss experience and changes in exposure we anticipate the potential to return to low single digit premium increases,” Doyle explains. The fact remains however, that Middle East airlines have not been as hard hit as those in other parts of the world. “Instead, the industry has had to deal with the subtle affects of slowing growth rather than a widespread contraction.” Doyle says. “It is probably a case of reevaluating your airline’s growth plans on a regional basis in order to adjust to what the new global economic outlook considers to be ‘business as usual.’”

“The market will expect a number of insolvencies but it is likely that this will not be at the same level as 2009. There are also a number of major consolidations being discussed and these will also influence the insurance market as the size and shape of some of the largest programmes in the airline insurance market will continue to evolve. “There is also predicted to be an increase in the number of startup operations and this will bring new premium and exposure to the insurance market,” Doyle adds. All signs point to strong economic recovery, but only time will tell if this is the case. Doyle points out however, that low-cost carriers could play a major role in boosting the industry’s growth, particularly in the Middle East. “It could be said that the low-cost carrier segment has benefited from the challenges of the legacy carriers. The Middle East and parts of Asia have not been hit as hard as

US$291 million 2009 year-on-year premium change

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FEATURE: INSURANCE

Need help ﬁnding insurers? A round-up of insurance brokers and aviation insurance specialists local to you

AVIATION INSURANCE BROKERS UNITED ARAB EMIRATES Abu Dhabi Arab Commercial Enterprises PO Box 585 Abu Dhabi Tel: +971 2 645 8060 Email: aceauh@ace-ins.com Website: www.ace-ins.com Saudi Arabian Insurance Company PO Box 585 Abu Dhabi Tel: +971 2 645 8060 Email: saiauh@saicoins.com

Nasco Karaoglan PO Box 7108 Dubai Tel: +971 4 352 3133 Email: nascodub@emirates.net. ae Website: www.nascodubai.com Saudi Arabian Insurance Company PO Box 1100, Dubai Tel: +971 4 295 8881 Email: saicodxb@saicoins.com Website: www.ace-ins.com

AVIATION INSURANCE

Dubai Arab Commercial Enterprises PO Box 1100 Dubai Tel: +971 4 295 8881 Email: acedxb@ace-ins.com Website: www.ace-ins.com

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi National Insurance PO Box 839 Abu Dhabi Tel: +971 2 626 4000 Website: www.adnic.ae

HSBC Insurance Brokers PO Box 24912 Dubai Tel: +971 4 324 2600 Website: www.insurancebrokers. hsbc.com

Al Khazna Insurance Company PO Box 73343 Abu Dhabi Tel: +971 2 676 7000 Website: www.alkhazna.com

JLT Risk Solutions PO Box 24459 Dubai Tel: +971 4 312 4333 Marsh PO Box 64057 Dubai Tel: +971 4 223 7700 Email: james.dowlen@marsh. com Website: www.me.marsh.com

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Al Khazna Insurance Co PO Box 15023 Tel: +971 3 766 3133 Email: mmustafa@eminsco.com Website: www.eminsco.com

Emirates Insurance Co PO Box 4430 Tel: +971 4 299 0655 Email: pbalaji@eminsco.com Website: www.eminsco.com

Emirates Insurance Co PO Box 15023 Tel: +971 3 766 3133 Email: eminco@emirates.net.ae Website: www.emirates-ins.com

GE Commercial Finance & Aviation Services PO Box 11549 Tel: +971 3 313 1431 Email: ray.sisson@gecas.com Website: www.ge.com

Dubai Abu Dhabi National Insurance Co PO Box 11236 Tel: +971 4 222 2223 Email: adnic@adnic.co.ae Website: www.adnic.ae Al Khazna Insurance Co PO Box 11236 Tel: +971 4 294 4088 Email: khazna@emirates.net.ae Website: www.alkhazna.com Al Sharif Advocates & Legal Consultants PO Box 8867 Tel: +971 4 262 8222 Allied Insurance PO Box 5501 Tel: +971 4 605 1111 Website: www.alliance-uae.com

Emirates Insurance Co PO Box 3856 Abu Dhabi Tel: +971 2 644 0400 Email: info@eminsco.com Website: www.eminsco.com

Dijla Group PO Box: 5501 Tel: +971 4 297 8847 Email: goldenfr@emirates.net.ae Website: www.dijlagroup.com

Al Ain Abu Dhabi National Insurance Co PO Box 1407 Tel: +971 3 764 1834 Website: www.adnic.ae

Dubai National Insurance & Reinsurance PO Box 1806 Tel: +971 4 325 9700 Email: mails@dnirc.com Website: www.dnirc.com

Lutﬁ & Co Advocates & Legal Consultants PO Box 8812 Tel: +971 4 332 1117 Website: www.lutﬁco.co.ae Oman Insurance Co PO Box 5209 Tel: +971 4 262 4000 Website: www.tameen.ae Oracle Insurance Brokers PO Box 26635 Tel: +971 4 397 9794 Email: contact@oracleib.com Website: www.oracleib.com Wehbe Insurance Services PO Box 2550 Tel: +971 4 324 2345 Email: info@wisuae.com Website: www.wisgroup.com Sharjah Abu Dhabi National Insurance Co PO Box 3674 Tel: +971 6 535 0743 Email: adnic@adnic.co.ae Website: www.adnic.ae

March 2010

Innovative Life Cycle Support Fokker remains on the edge of tomorrow. See FLYFokker, our Life Cycle Support program for the Fokker 50, 70 and 100. It covers all the phases in the life cycle of the operation, intensifying Fokkerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s existing Future programs. The new program helps start-up operators to shorten take off from 6 months to 6 weeks. We assist current Fokker operators more than ever in increasing their TDR and reducing their DOC. Operators who change aircraft receive dedicated support enabling them to focus on their operation. And finally, FLYFokker includes a mean and lean transfer of aircraft to the next operator. Visit www.flyfokker.com.

LUYK-10016-Fokker AdvLARA Magazine A4.indd 1

21-01-2010 15:14:14

INTERVIEW: W VIRGIN W: VIR VI IRRG GIN N ATLANTIC

here are few, if any airlines that can say they have immunity to the global economic crisis and Virgin Atlantic is no exception. The UK long-haul carrier took quick steps to address the issue early last year – reducing capacity by 13% by dropping unprofitable routes and cutting staffing levels by a similar percentage to mirror that strategic move. But unlike many travel firms, whether airlines, hotels or tour operators, Virgin Atlantic, which is renowned for its ‘outthere’ cheeky and influential ad campaigns, did not cut back on sales and marketing spend.

In fact, it embarked on a 25th anniversary advertising extravaganza that involved creating a TV advert that set drop in capacity made by the airline back £800,000 Virgin Atlantic in (AED 4.6 million). This ’25 years and still early 2009 red hot’ initiative was a roaring success, picked up by websites, bloggers and cyber geeks worldwide, while it was parodied and posted online by avid fans, from groups of bus drivers to Essex girls. The result of this investment has created a formidable brand and one that is ready to wow the crowds once again in 2010. Gemma Greenwood speaks to Virgin Atlantic sales and marketing director Paul Dickinson about this success story.

13%

STILL

RED

HOT Creating ads with wow factor has proven a recession-busting move explains Paul Dickinson, the sales and marketing director of eternally upbeat UK airline Virgin Atlantic

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March Mar rch ch 2 2010 01 10

INTERVIEW: VIRGIN ATLANTIC

What was your strategy towards sales and marketing during the recession? During the past 12 months our crew We didn’t cut resources and we didn’t cut spend and it has really paid back for have carried on professionally and us when others were cutting back. UK is our number one market and so we always have not lowered their standards or invest the most in that market. But with become grumpy no new routes or aircraft, the question was ‘what to market?’ so the story was to make more of our 25th birthday and run the campaign all year. We chalon investment. We discov- as some of our competitors haven’t had lenged the agency to come up with ered that our ROI was the most effective advertising and mara good concept and they came £15 (AED 86) for every keting this year and others haven’t had back with the ‘25 years and still £1 (AED 5.8) spent on the best price relations either. At the same red hot’ campaign. We proROI for every £1 spent this campaign. By using time, the on board experiences of some duced a TV advert at the cost on Virgin Atlantic’s ad this system we also found have been disappointing. During the of £800,000 involving 200 excampaign in 2009 that our very glamour- past 12 months our crew have carried on tras, a massive crew and turned ous adverts for Premium professionally and have not lowered their Ascot into an airport terminal. Economy didn’t work as well standards or become grumpy and we are The ad was based in 1984 and the – the ROI was just £5 (AED 29) for currently the only travel brand listed in day or our first flight. It ran three times throughout 2009. Admittedly, we took a every £1 spent – and that’s mainly be- the top 50 family-friendly companies. cause of the limited size of the Premium big risk in spending that money. What’s your sales and marketing Economy cabin. So how did you measure its success With the ‘still red hot’ campaign we strategy for next year? and ROI? recorded more than 700,000 searches on The challenge for 2010 is to maintain and We did ad tracking and used economet- Google and more than 100,000 hits on grow. The big news is we are changing rics – a special agency that tracks data our website. When the TV campaign was the way we do our marketing – we are and calculates the effect of adverts on aired the number of people searching globalising the creative work whereas in your revenue and tells you your return for the Virgin name increased by 500% the past, each territory has had its own and as a result, our rating as an airline budget and agency. From now on, all for business and leisure is the highest it’s the creative work will be done out of the UK with our ad agency (Y&R) and each ever been. marketing team [overseas] will have acHow does th this position you against cess to an online system where they can your competitor competitors coming into 2010? adapt the creative to the local market. In the UK and US, our brand has never From March 1, which is the start of our been stronger. Virgin Atlantic is per- financial year, we will have consistent be light ever, particularly ads around the world. ceived in the best

£15

What’s your advertising theme for this year? The theme is a secret, but it’s going to be very confident – we are never pessimistic and never shy and try to be amusing. We think it will work in all of our markets.

Virgin Atlantic’s ‘Still red hot’ campaign wowed the crowds

March 2010

Your marketing in Dubai has been low key of late: what’s the plan for 2010 in this market? We always invest proportionately to the scale of opportunity, so smaller markets like Dubai get a relative percentage of spend. For 2010 it will depend on how big we see the potential – if we think the biggest opportunity will be inbound to Dubai then we will spend less in Du-

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INTERVIEW: VIRGIN ATLANTIC

Virgin’s rating as a business and leisure airline is the highest it’s ever been

bai and more in the UK and vice versa. Dubai does have potential however, if we did go to double daily flights (currently daily). It would probably be on the back of inbound to Dubai. But this is unlikely to happen for the next two years. Saying that however, we are seeing an increase in the number of hotel rooms available and average rates are coming down, so suddenly we can offer fantastic packages for prices that people can afford. This opens up massive new markets for us.

and that’s about 10-12% of our business. What’s changed is the number of people booking on the website, however, our strategy is to work with all channels to market. We are not so big that we can dictate how people book. We work closely with the big agents and TMCs plus there are some big leisure players out there – Expedia, Trailfinders, Thomas Cook, TUI etc. Web penetration is low in Dubai and our strategy is to work with all agents to support their growth and objectives, but at the same time, What is your distribution ensure our website is up structure/strategy? to date. About 30% of business is We don’t pay commission of Virgin Atlantic’s direct, which has increased passengers book their trips in many markets anymore, from around 18% from a but of course, we have overdirect with the airline few years ago. Bookings on rides and marketing agreethe phone remain unchanged ments in place.

30%

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Virgin’s Sir Richard Branson proves he’s still red hot

VIEW AD ONLINE To view Virgin’s ‘25 years still red hot’ campaign visit www.virginatlanticstillredhot.com

March 2010

PHOTO SPECIAL: AIRSHOW

SINGAPORE RE AIRSHOW 2010 More than 112,000 visitors attended the Asian aerospace and defence exhibition last month

ingapore Airshow 2010 – one of the top p n three aerospace and defence exhibitions in n the world and the largest in Asia – has been d hailed a success by organisers, despite a mixed response from visitors and the media. d The opening of the event was marked with a special ceremony on February 2, at-tended by Singapore’s deputy prime minis-ter and minister for defence Teo Chee Hean,, d and Raymond Lim, minister for transport and second minister for foreign affairs. More than 800 exhibiting companies were expected at thee aviation trade show, including 62 of the top 100 global aero-space companies. w According to reports released shortly after the airshow closed, more than 41,000 trade visitors from 122 countries camee to the event, while about 71,000 people showed up on the lastt two days, when the event was opened to the public.

GETTY IMAGES

GETT Y IMAGES

Visitors look at a Boeing aircraft display at the

Singapore Airshow 2010

More than 800 exhibiting companies were expected at the a aviation trade show, including 6 62 of the top 100 global a aerospace companies Models of various airline’s planes are displayed at the event

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March 2010

PHOTO SPECIAL: AIRSHOW

GETTY IMAGES

Attendees gather at the Boeing pavillion during the airshow

GETT Y IMAGES

an Airb or looks at a model of isittor visi A vi re Airshow ore apo Singap h Si display at the

us A380 plane on

PHOTO: ROSLAN RAHMAN/GETTY IMAGES

GET TY IMAGES

eing 787 up model of a Bo cockpit of a mockent ev the g A man sits in the rin du y pla which was on dis passenger plane

GETTY IMAGES

Attendees walk through the Singapore Technologies Engineering pavillion at the Singapore Airshow 2010

March 2010

T Tom Enders, the CEO of Airbus speaks at a press cconference during the Singapore Airshow

GETTY IMAGES China’ na’s naval oﬃcers (R) are briefed by an exhibitor from Lockheed Martin on a M-299 mis sile launcher

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AVIATION DATA

AVIATION FACTS & FIGURES A SUMMARY OF LATEST INDUSTRY STATISTICS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

Knowledge of passenger numbers is crucial to improving the aviation business, particularly during the current economic slowdown. Every month we bring you up-to-date industry ﬁgures

CI’s monthly reports show strong positive growth in both passenger numbers and freight tonnage in November. It is the first month since March 2008 during which all regions registered positive passenger traffic growth.

International traffic growth was dominated by Middle East and Asia-Pacific regions (Dubai +13%, Singapore +10%, Kuala Lumpur +21%, Bangkok +35%). Freight traffic surged during the month, with Dubai up 21% compared to November 2008.

NOVEMBER 2009/2008 CITY/COUNTRY

PASSENGERS (tonnes)

CARGO

% CHG

(tonnes)

YEAR-TO-DATE NOVEMBER 2009/2008 MOVEMENTS

% CHG

(tonnes)

PASSENGERS

% CHG

(tonnes)

CARGO

% CHG

(tonnes)

MOVEMENTS % CHG

(tonnes)

% CHG

MIDDLE EAST ABU DHABI, UAE

822,315

9.5

36,922

21.2

9287

12.9

8,794,042

7.3

349,312

6.1

93,176

BAHRAIN

799,880

12.6

30,503

(2.7)

9178

9.4

8,229,208

3.0

312,496

(7.6)

94,249

2.3

BEIRUT, LEBANON

380,233

27.1

6458

(0.3)

5658

19.6

4,554,835

24.2

65,988

6.3

60,868

23.2

DUBAI, UAE

9.4

3,520,287

12.6

191,898

19.6

25,188

7.8

37,085,392

8.7

1,744,646

3.9

255,473

3.5

KUWAIT

671,458

21.0

17,208

9.8

6966

(4.9)

7,520,491

13.4

183,220

10.1

88,536

9.7

MUSCAT, OMAN

410,937

30.7

6322

25.8

5303

41.2

4,101,106

12.2

58,186

7.8

50,051

20.5

SHARJAH, UAE

497,758

12.8

40,685

6.5

5563

(4.1)

5,166,565

6.5

381,615

13.3

58,568

0.8

ACCRA, GHANA

119,303

8.9

3347

(33.0)

1670

(3.4)

1,272,425

1.8

31,664

(14.6)

18,295

7.8

1,245,119

11.4

24,947

5.0

12, 513

8.9

13,149,468

(0.4)

258,226

1.5

129,801

3.4 (4.9)

AFRICA CAIRO, EGYPT CAPETOWN, SA

689,838

1.6

*****

7899

(2.6)

6,988,979

(5.2)

*****

84,988

CASABLANCA, MOROCCO

537,807

10.7

3963

(10.7)

6414

14.5

5,809,584

1.9

49,523

(6.3)

66,154

0.5

DAR ES SALAAM, TANZ

124,004

2.2

1605

(9.0)

4794

(5.5)

1,292,807

(8.9)

17,221

(19.1)

53,006

(6.8)

JOHANNESBURG, SA

1,463,519

(1.8)

24,128

(8.3)

17,270

(1.9)

16,020,134

(6.4)

227,194

(22.2)

185,601

(5.9)

MARRAKECH, MOROCCO

257,797

1.7

1.3

2764

8.7

2,737,863

(4.9)

1341

8.1

27,330

(6.4)

SHARM EL SHEIKH, EGYPT

763,078

3.8

*****

5682

4.6

6,784,964

(5.4)

*****

51,200

(6.3)

ASIA PACIFIC BANGKOK, THAILAND

3,729,071

43.0

103,922

33.9

21,956

25.5

36,415,935

0.5

941,181

(15.1)

234,173

0.9

BEIJING, CHINA

5,475,663

9.3

127,052

15.7

40,664

5.8

59,979,434

17.2

1,278,292

1.5

446,795

14.2

MANILA, PHILIPPINES

1,896,347

8.3

38,377

44.4

18,551

30.0

21,842,873

9.3

323,509

(1.5)

206,432

13.3

MUMBAI, INDIA

2,192,287

16.7

50,525

20.7

20,398

2.7

22,277,022

(0.4)

515,331

(0.3)

219,671

(1.5)

NEW DELHI, INDIA

2,293,227

18.9

42,562

23.7

21,250

7.1

22,734,688

6.6

429,457

2.9

223,000

2.3

SINGAPORE

3,365,250

9.2

154,723

4.3

21,090

8.7

33,371,650

(2.4)

1,508,426

(13.9)

222,668

4.1

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA

2,934,044

7.6

*****

24,970

1.4

30,350,283

(0.3)

*****

265,980

(3.5)

TOKYO, JAPAN

5,277,141

(7.3)

66,770

(2.9)

27,602

(0.3)

57,031,440

(7.5)

693,384

(9.3)

307,144

(1.3)

FRANKFURT, GERMANY

3,904,691

(0.2)

192,799

6.0

38,385

(0.9)

47,088,077

(5.3)

1,707,309

(13.3)

427,178

(5.0)

LONDON, UK

5,040,402

1.0

129,510

3.0

37,583

(1.8)

60,708,301

(1.7)

1,220,045

(11.3)

428,944

(2.8)

MADRID, SPAIN

3,686,891

2.7

33,227

10.3

35,520

(0.6)

44,523,901

(5.8)

295,653

(10.4)

400,487

(8.0)

MUNICH, GERMANY

2,569,264

(0.2)

21,387

1.2

32,114

(4.9)

30,303,129

(6.0)

208,403

(14.3)

368,012

(8.5)

PARIS, FRANCE

4,263,786

(2.2)

174,500

1.3

40,622

(4.0)

53,459,723

(5.1)

1,655,980

(12.2)

485,516

(6.1)

ATLANTA

6,942,466

(1.3)

50,824

(3.5)

78,160

(1.4)

81,063,638

(2.0)

504,497

(16.4)

891,190

(0.8)

CHICAGO

5,006,881

0.7

116,927

15.4

66,938

1.2

59,373,194

(9.4)

1,038,404

(17.2)

759,676

(6.9)

DALLAS FORT WORTH

4,454,080

3.9

51,744

1.0

52,794

3.6

51,425,817

(2.0)

559,468

(8.4)

584,857

(2.9)

LOS ANGELES

4,419,683

3.4

148,167

22.4

44,459

1.1

51,691,807

(6.3)

1,360,639

(10.1)

498,187

(13.5)

EUROPE

NORTH AMERICA

Passengers = total passengers enplaned and deplaned (transit passengers counted once). Cargo = loaded and unloaded freight & mail. Source = Airports Council International *Growth rate > 200% or < -50% due to extraordinary circumstances, i.e. war, social and political unrest, major sports events, new routes.

March 2010

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AVIATION DATA

EMIRATES SKYCARGO FUEL PRICE INDEX 410

AIRLINE ONTIME STATISTICS & DELAY CAUSES: DECEMBER 2009

08 January

Air carrier delay 6.62%

Ontime 71.99%

Weather delay 1.05%

Diverted 0.28%

408 04 December

380

29 January

18 December

365

364

350

Index 100 = 53.5 US cents per US gallon 320

Fuel Price Index The fuel index is based on the average price of aviation fuel in ﬁve key spot markets (Rotterdam, Singapore, New York, US Gulf and US West Coast) 290

National aviation system delay 8.57%

Cancelled 2.78%

04 Dec 09

11 Dec 09

18 Dec 09

25 Dec 09

01 Jan 10

08 Jan 10

15 Jan 10

22 Jan 10

29 Jan 10

5 Feb 10

12 Feb 10

260

SOURCE: Bureau of Transportation Statistics (www.transtats.bts.gov)

Planned capacity growth for top 10 carriers between Middle East and Western Europe (OAG Data March 2010 versus March 2009)* WEEKLY CAPACITY

WEEKLY FREQUENCY

Aircraft arriving late 8.63%

Security delay 0.08%

Planned capacity growth for top 10 carriers between Middle East and Asia/Paciﬁc (OAG Data March 2010 versus March 2009)*

WEEKLY SEATS

WEEKLY CAPACITY

AIRLINE

WEEKLY FREQUENCY

Total

Change (%)

Total

Change (%)

ASK Million Change (%)

EMIRATES

828

506

168,476

ETIHAD AIRWAYS

203

192

40,400

EMIRATES

1305

QATAR AIRWAYS

303

286

65225

ETIHAD AIRWAYS

369

-4

13,414

-3

GULF AIR

184

-17

-100

IRAN AIR JAZEERA AIRWAYS

WEEKLY SEATS

AIRLINE ASK Million Change (%)

AIR ARABIA

129

Total

Change (%)

302

Total

Change (%)

-2

48,924

945

287,892

324

69,268

222

-13

44,974

-19

-100

MIDDLE EAST AIRLINES

108

20,162

MAHAN AIR

100

8820

ROYAL JORDANIAN

138

18,916

OMAN AIR

192

31,300

GULF AIR

-23

-19

17,426

-22

540

474

110,863

MAHAN AIR

100

5460

6394

SAUDI ARABIAN AIRLINES

-17

-28

10,338

-24

271

194

65,446

WEEKLY CAPACITY

WEEKLY FREQUENCY Change (%)

Total

WEEKLY SEATS

Change (%)

Total

Change (%)

10,044

20,272

ETIHAD AIRWAYS

-5

-14

6300

-7

50,762

GULF AIR

-8

5750

-12

13,068

JAZEERA AIRWAYS

9570

248

44,712

MIDDLE EAST AIRLINES

200

100

5186

149

6894

OMAN AIR

35,596

283

41,901

AIR FRANCE

250

38,906

TUNIS AIR

368

BRITISH AIRWAYS

121

15 -23

Total

204

WEEKLY FREQUENCY

ASK Million Change (%)

EMIRATES

LUFTHANSA GERMAN AIRLINES

AIRLINE AIR ARABIA

AIR ALGERIE

KLM-ROYAL DUTCH AIRLINES

SAUDI ARABIAN AIRLINES

WEEKLY CAPACITY

Change (%)

AIGLE AZUR

EGYPT AIR

ROYAL JORDANIAN

WEEKLY SEATS

AIRLINE Total

QATAR AIRWAYS

Planned capacity growth for top 10 carriers between North Africa and Middle East (OAG Data March 2010 versus March 2009)*

Planned capacity growth for top 10 carriers between North Africa and Western Europe (OAG Data March 2010 versus March 2009)*

ASK Million Change (%)

JAZEERA AIRWAYS

-11

13,967

2968

QATAR AIRWAYS

20,130

ROYAL JORDANIAN

102

11,142

SAUDI ARABIAN AIRLINES

134

35,468

-10

TURKISH AIRLINES

114

19,980

AIR ARABIA MAROC

168

25,200

*Data is for week of 1-8 March, 2010 against 2-8 March, 2009. Regions follow IATA deﬁnition. E-mail: dataservices@oag.com

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March 2010

RECRUITMENT

TO ADVERTISE HERE CONTACT: Fareed Dubery Tel: +971 4 435 6339 Email: fareed.dubery@itp.com

MOVERS & SHAKERS Wataniya W Airways appoints new CCO

Sales director joins Saﬁ Airways S

W Wataniya Airways, Kuwait’s premium sservice airline, has announced the aappointment of Lee Shave as the comp pany’s new chief commercial officer. S Shave brings with him more than 20 yyears of experience in the international aaviation sector. He has held marketiing, sales and commercial positions with British Airways in 1991, before moving to Swissair as executive vice president, sales and marketing and product. After several years in Zurich, he moved to the Gulf working with Qatar Airways and then as vice president marketing and sales at Gulf Air.

A Afghan carrier Safi Airways has aappointed Thomas Bommer as d director for sales and marketing ffor its Afghanistan, UAE and ooverseas markets. Bommer joins tthe airline with a total of 33 years oof experience in the aviation busin ness, 15 years of which he spent in m management functions for Swissair ooverseas. In addition, he brings with him knowledge of international, schedules and charter airline, air cargo and aviation management in West Africa and the Middle & Far East.

Bahrain Duty Free hires purchasing head

Etihad Airways welcomes Doha country manager

Karl Sutcliffe joined Bahrain Duty Free on February 1 as head of purchasing & logistics. He moves from sister company Muscat Duty Free – also part of the Aer Rianta International–Middle East network – to take up his new role.

ACS expands New York team A S Stuart Smith (l) has joined the New Y York branch of Air Charter Service aas its cargo sales director. Formerly h holding the same role in the ccompany’s Dubai operation, Smith ttakes over from Gary Hopkins as h he moves to Toronto to head up the n new office there. Smith joined the aair charter firm’s London office in 22005, and moved to the UAE to help with the newly formed Dubai office in 2006. In 2009 Smith was in charge of the Dubai cargo department as it more than doubled 2008’s figures despite the economic downturn. Nick Harris (r) will take over Smith’s position in Dubai as cargo charter sales manager, Middle East.

Etihad Airways has hired Ahmed Thani Salim Mousa Al Halyan as its country manager for Qatar, based in Doha. Ahmed has worked in the airline industry for nearly 10 years, most recently as commercial manager for Emirates Airline and, prior to that, with Dubai Customs.

Oman Air gets new COCA O P Philippe Georgiou has joined O Oman Air as its new chief officer oof corporate affairs. He will be in charge of marketing, corporrate communications and media, ccustomer relations, emergency rresponse, government relations aand legal affairs. He will also be tthe official spokesperson for the aairline. Georgiou has lived in the Middle East most of his life and his work experience includes management roles at Cadbury Schweppes and Coca-Cola where he consolidated the public affairs and communications divisions.

Please email your ‘movers and shakers’ information to sarah.cowell@itp.com P March 2010 0

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RECRUITMENT CLASSI FIEDS

TO ADVERTISE HERE CONTACT: Jeremy Bladon Tel: +971 4 435 6241 Email: jeremy.bladon@itp.com

DIMOCORP. MIDDLE EAST LLC BIN HILAL ENTERPRISES

Commercial - Corporate - Military Providing worldwide aviation logistic support

Large inventory of Boeing and Airbus parts and components at our Abu Dhabi warehouse, ready to be shipped immediately. New - Overhauled - Repaired

P.O. BOX 7349, ABU DHABI, UAE TEL: +971 02 633 3728 / FAX: +971 02 621 4043

WWW.DIMO.COM

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO ADVERTISE IN THIS SECTION PLEASE CONTACT:

NICK LOWE SALES MANAGER, AVIATION BUSINESS

DIRECT: +971 4 435 6364 EMAIL: nick.lowe@itp.com

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March 2010

01 1 02 2 03 3 04 EVENTS CALENDAR 06 07 08 09 11 12 133 14 16 177 18 1 21 22 223 24 26 27 28 29 48

EVENTS LISTING

05 10 15

A listing of trade shows, conferences and seminars relating to the Middle East aviation industry 28 FEBRUARY  1 MARCH 2010

28 FEBRUARY  1 MARCH 2010

3 MARCH 2010

Aircraft Interiors Middle East

MRO Middle East

Aerospace Manufacturing 2020

Brought to you by the organiser of the Dubai Airshow, F&E Aerospace is holding its second Aircraft Interiors Middle East (AIME) event in Dubai. Located at the city’s Airport Expo, the two-day conference and exhibition is of use to operators seeking the ultimate in aircraft refinement, connectivity and efficiency, and gives suppliers direct access to airline decision-makers. The event will be colocated with MRO Middle East - F&E’s maintenance, repair and overhaul event.

The MRO Middle East conference and exhibition is designed to offer the newest and most innovative concepts and best practices, while encouraging the advancement of the airline and aircraft maintenance repair and overhaul industries in the Middle East. Speakers will address the current and future forecast for this market, cost and staffing issues, supply chain trends, and a wide variety of other concerns. Opening remarks will be delivered by Sheikh Ahmed.

The Middle East Aerospace Consortium is holding a technology manufacturing event, which will offer insight into the leading global OEMs and vital technologies required to meet the demands and challenges of the aerospace market. The event will bring together the industry’s leading companies at the Al Ain International Aviation Academy to focus on the technologies that are essential to creating a modern aerospace manufacturing facility.

VENUE: Dubai EMAIL: p.damgaard@fairs-exhibs.com WEBSITE: www.aime.aero

VENUE: Dubai EMAIL: Via website WEBSITE: www.aviationweek.com

VENUE: Abu Dhabi EMAIL: laura@singletonpr.com WEBSITE: www.singletonpr.com

3  4 MARCH

23  25 MARCH 2010

Aerospace & Defence Training Show

Passenger Terminal Expo

Middle East Aerospace and Defence event organisers F&E Aerospace have teamed with specialist simulation and training providers Halldale Media to produce the ADTS event, which takes place in March. ADTS will feature an exhibition of the latest training and simulation offerings for regional airlines and air forces and will incorporate two simultaneous conferences. The event is supported by some key industry players including, Emirates and the AACO.

The global event for 2010 will be held in Brussels, Belgium and will bring together more than 200 suppliers for airport and airline teams to meet. The conference agenda will include more than 200 speakers to discuss a number of subjects including terminal design; management and planning; baggage handling; security; border control and check-in, amongst others. As usual, networking events will include one-to-one meetings, dinPassenger Terminal ners and cocktail evenings.

VENUE: Dubai EMAIL: p.damgaard@fairs-exhibs.com WEBSITE: www.adts.aero

VENUE: Brussels EMAIL: s.greenwood@ukipme.com WEBSITE: www.passengerterminal-expo.com

Expo

8 APRIL

25  27 APRIL

4  6 MAY

Aircraft Repossession

Airport Show

EBACE

This half-day conference will focus on legal issues of aircraft repossession and asset recovery. The participants are expected to include operators, bankers, lawyers, financing and leasing companies and aviation professionals with an interest in all aspects of aircraft repossession and risk management. Companies that have signed up so far include aviation law firm Gates + Partners, asset management specialist IBA, and ICM Aviation, which provides a range of solutions to aircraft owners.

Now in its 10th year, the Airport Show offers a number of business development opportunities, through a series of roundtable discussions, seminars and hosted buyer programmes. There will also be a cocktail reception one evening. As its title suggests the Airport Show is devoted exclusively to companies that are supplying to airport construction, operations, technology and services. The event – held over three days – is the ideal opportunity to place your business in front of key decision makers from the industry.

Despite being held in Geneva, Switzerland, the European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition is a mustattend event for most business aviation people operating in the Middle East. The European event includes exhibits, a static display of aircraft, educational sessions and maintenance and operations sessions and the entire convention is conveniently located at the impressive Geneva Palexpo and Geneva International Airport. You can follow the build-up to EBACE on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ebace.

VENUE: Ireland EMAIL: sponsor@aeropodium.com WEBSITE: www.aeropodium.com

VENUE: Dubai EMAIL: mohamad.ahmed@reedexpo.ae WEBSITE: www.theairportshow.com

VENUE: Geneva EMAIL: info-eu@ebace.aero WEBSITE: www.ebace.aero

March 2010

MARCH

25 30 www.arabiansupplychain.com

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24 11 2009 14:03:35