Emirates says $1.13bn funding for six A380s in place

FUNDING BOOST: Emirates president Tim Clark has said that $1.13bn is in place to fund six new A380 deliveries.Emirates Airline on Thursday announced that it will receive two new A380 aircraft by the end of December, adding that funding for them was not a problem and the company remained in a "secure financial position" despite the global crisis.

The Dubai-based carrier will receive the first A380 early next week, with a second arriving in late December and the remaining four A380s due for handover in 2010.

These six aircraft will form part of the 53 Airbus A380 aircraft that Emirates currently has on firm order, the company said.

Tim Clark, president, Emirates Airline said: “Emirates remains in a secure financial position despite the global financial crisis. We have never encountered difficulties in obtaining finance for our aircraft acquisition programme, with both international and regional banks comfortable with our financial stability."

He added: “As one of the world’s most profitable airlines, Emirates has always honoured its financial commitments and we continue to progress with our rigorous fleet and network expansion plans.”

The company said financing for the six aircraft - worth $1.13bn - was arranged and funded under two separate finance agreements.

The first agreement, covering three A380 aircraft, has been undertaken with Citibank, backed by a guarantee from the European Export Credit Agencies (ECAs). A second financing agreement has been arranged through Doric Asset Finance and covers the remaining three A380 aircraft, Emirates added in a statement.

The delivery of the A380 aircraft early next week will bring Emirates’ A380 fleet to six with the aircraft due for deployment on the Seoul, Korea route from December 14.

Later this month Emirates will receive its seventh A380, scheduled to service the Dubai–Paris route three times per week from December 29, becoming daily from January 17, 2010.

Emirates operates an all-wide bodied fleet of 141 aircraft to 101 destinations in 62 countries.

Flydubai’s Sixth Aircraft Arrives on Schedule

DUBAI — Flydubai took delivery of its sixth aircraft in a little over six months. The newest Boeing 737-800NG will begin service with the inaugural Bahrain flight on Sunday, December 13 and will also operate the new Kathmandu route starting on December 15 - flydubai’s tenth and eleventh destinations. flydubai’s next aircraft is due in March 2010.

The aircraft is the sixth one to be delivered on schedule and is part of the historic $4 billion order for 50 aircraft that flydubai placed with Boeing at the Farnborough Airshow in July last year.

Christmas strikes on British Airways horizon

Picture an unlikely scene: British Airways (BA) boss Willie Walsh standing next to the leader of his airline's biggest union and announcing a new dawn in industrial relations.

"The central thing is we have two sides that are more focused on the future than ever before," says Walsh. "We will have a more positive and constructive relationship."

A dream scenario for hundreds of thousands of passengers hoping to avoid crippling strikes this Christmas, but that was two years ago.

Fast forward to December 2009 and the relationship between BA, its 14,000 cabin crew and the Unite union is on the cusp of breakdown once again.

Walsh hailed a new era on the steps of a west London hotel in January 2007 after agreeing to an 11th-hour pay deal with Tony Woodley, the general secretary of Unite's predecessor, the TG.

Underlining the lack of progress since then, it is likely that the build up to a possible strike this month will shadow the events of 2007.

This time the atmosphere is undoubtedly worse. BA has avoided antagonising Unite publicly thus far but in this week's British Airways News it accuses the union of "threatening" passengers over a strike that would "cost the company millions of pounds."

A spokesman says the airline has made it "absolutely clear" that it wants to continue talks. But when pressed on whether a date has been set, he adds: "I am not aware that a date has been agreed as yet." It all appears choreographed for a resounding "yes" to a
s trike and a frantic seven days of talks after December 14.

Serious issues at stake

Given the deep-seated frostiness between BA management and Unite, passengers could be excused for being indifferent towards both sides' grievances. However, there are serious issues at stake.

BA is facing a pretax loss of about £600 million (Dh3.6 billion) in 2010, on top of a loss of £401 million in 2009, and argues that a leaner cost base is crucial to its long-term survival as its losses top £1.6 million per day.

Unite is fiercely resisting BA's cost-saving proposals which, in saving £140 million per year, will see one fewer crew member on long-haul fleets, a two-year pay freeze and, most controversially, the introduction of fresh crew members on new contracts. Unite sees the latter as a Trojan horse for a separate, low-paid and de-unionised workforce — something BA denies vehemently.

A former BA executive who had a 20-year career at the airline has sympathies for both sides. Some union representatives at BA can be "malicious trouble-makers" and cabin crew can be guilty of displaying a "precious attitude," he says.

However, according to discussions the former senior employee has held with colleagues still at the carrier, industrial relations have worsened to the extent that the schism between staff and management is wider than ever.

As is typical with industrial disputes, much of the resentment is directed at the chief executive and the head of human resources, which in BA's case is Tony McCarthy, who performed a similar role at the equally strife-ridden Royal Mail.

"The issue is one of trust," says the former executive. "There is a sense that the cabin crew don't know what the company's intentions are. They read about mergers [with Spanish carrier Iberia], the need to save costs, the state of the industry, but no one tells them what it means for their job."

The cabin crew lifestyle is also a hindrance to forming a constructive relationship with bosses, because they are often out of the country and do not meet regularly with managers.

It all points towards history repeating itself over the coming weeks, at great financial cost to the airline and cabin crew. The last-ditch deal in 2007 came too late to lure back thousands of BA passengers, who by then had booked on to other flights.

Douglas McNeill, analyst at Astaire Securities, estimates that a two-day strike will cost BA £50 million. McNeill argues that, with access to nearly £2 billion in cash, BA can afford to absorb the blows from a trade union's biggest weapon.

"In financial terms a strike of limited duration would be manageable for BA," he says. "In a sense the timing is good because in a year in which the airline is already on course to incur substantial losses, the impact of a strike will be much less apparent than it might otherwise be."

Reassuring for investors, perhaps, but not for passengers.

SIA to resume daily all-business flights to New York

SINGAPORE: Singapore Airlines (SIA) said Thursday it will reinstate daily all-business-class flights to New York on January 18 as demand for the service begins to pick up.

SIA in February cut the frequency of the 100-seat Airbus A345 trips to five times a week, saying fewer people wanted premium travel as a result of the global economic slowdown.

"There's increased demand, that's why we are increasing the flights," said a spokeswoman for the airline, which is reputed in the industry for its business and first class services to North America and Europe.

Regional aviation analyst Jim Wong of Nomura Securities in Hong Kong said SIA's latest move reflected a larger trend as Asian economies lead the rest of the world in recovering from the crisis.

"The clienteles of a lot of Asian airlines are home-based," he told AFP by telephone. "So if the Asian economies are recovering, the Asian airlines will recover that much faster."

A sharp recession in Singapore ended in the third quarter and other economies in the region, notably powerhouses China and India, are posting robust growth.

Asia-Pacific economies are expected to grow 6.3 per cent in 2010, according to a recent UN survey.

Korean Air unveils New Premium Seats in Hong Kong today

Korean Air unveiled and showcased its new premium seats for first and business classes in Hong Kong today.

The new premium seats are being offered on mid-haul business destinations in China and Southeast Asia, such as Incheon-Hong Kong, Incheon-Beijing and Incheon-Shanghai, and long-haul business routes to the Americas including Incheon-Los Angeles, Incheon-Washington D.C. and Incheon-Seattle.

In first class, the sleekly-designed Kosmo Suite offers a new degree of comfort and privacy for the passenger, with large side panels and a 23” LCD screen. The Prestige Sleeper seat in business class features increased space between seats, a 180-degree flat bed with ergonomically designed cushions to reduce fatigue. The new economy seats, which are available in economy class on all routes, are also ergonomically designed with a slimmer seat back to secure more leg space, and the bottom cushion slides forward when the seat is reclined to leave more space for the passenger sitting behind.

Mr. James Jin-Ho Yoon (left), Regional General Manager, Hong Kong and Macau, of Korean Air introduced the new premium seats for first class.

Passengers in all classes can enjoy Korean Air’s enhanced state-of-the-art AVOD system with a 16:9 wide screen and a huge selection of entertainment, including 60 movies, 40 short features, 300 CDs, 40 games and 15 audiobooks, delivering a richer entertainment experience.

Currently a total of four Korean Air aircraft, including three recently delivered B777-300ERs and a newly refurbished B777-200ER, are now equipped with these next-generation premium seats. Four more B777-200ERs are scheduled to enter into service by March next year, bringing the total number of aircraft equipped with the new generation seats to eight.

This $200 million project involves the replacement of 9,720 seats with the help of 28,800 technicians per year. With such a mass amount of resources and investment, Korean Air is signaling its commitment to provide quality services that exceed customers’ expectation and bringing in-flight enjoyment to new heights, especially in the area of premium class services.

Mr. James Jin-Ho Yoon, Regional General Manager, Hong Kong and Macau, said: “We believe that our mission of “Excellence in Flight” is the key to our long term success. Although the aviation industry is experiencing some challenges, and some other airlines are cutting back on premium seats and in-flight services, Korean Air is still investing in our premium class enhancements, as we see tremendous growth opportunities offered by the premium class segment. The airline is devoted to providing the best premium class services and will continue to perfect the travel experience for our passengers.”

Apart from the premium seats, Korean Air has also introduced the finest champagnes and enhanced in-flight meals to upgrade the epicurean experience on board. Cuvée Rosé Brut, Laurent Perrier’s best selling rosé champagne, and Grand Siècle, the champagne poured on France’s presidential flights, are served in first class on Southeast Asia and Oceania routes, and the Americas and Europe routes, respectively. Business class pours Laurent Perrier’s Brut L-P on all routes. Korean Air’s signature house dish of Bibimbap and other specially-designed in-flight meals also round off the premium travel experience.

British Airways To Keep Unit

British Airways PLC has decided to keep full ownership of its OpenSkies subsidiary after seeking outside investors, as the industry continues to show interest in value-oriented airlines amid the economic downturn.

The U.K. carrier, which created OpenSkies last year to take advantage of airline deregulation between the U.S. and the European Union, early last month received five bids from European and U.S. private-equity firms to invest in or buy the small operation, Dale Moss, head of the Paris-based unit, said in an interview.

After assessing the proposals and the unit's performance, BA decided not to accept any of the offers, he said. Mr. Moss declined to disclose financial details of the bids, or which companies made the offers. BA was advised by Reynolds Partners Ltd., a small London investment bank.

An OpenSkies plane touches down at New York's Kennedy airport last year. British Airways plans to maintain full ownership of the subsidiary.

.The assessment of OpenSkies had been conducted as part of a review British Airways is undertaking of its entire business, according to a British Airways spokeswoman in London. "The situation stays as is," she said.

BA created OpenSkies as a way to test European markets outside Britain and experiment with inflight services. It began service in June 2008 between Paris and New York, three months after the U.S. and the EU partially deregulated trans-Atlantic aviation. The liberalization, known as open skies, allows any EU carrier to fly to the U.S. from any point in the 27-country bloc. Previously, a European carrier could only fly from its home country.

OpenSkies offers fares for business-class and premium-economy seats at as much as 50% below those of larger carriers in Paris. Officials at Air France-KLM SA, by far the biggest carrier in Paris, have said they aren't affected by OpenSkies, which only operates four Boeing 757 jetliners, carrying about 170 passengers each.

In October last year, OpenSkies added flights to New York from Amsterdam, but it dropped those in July amid the global recession. Mr.Moss said the carrier will again serve a second destination, which he expects to announce in about a month.

In July last year, British Airways bought a small French carrier, L'Avion, for €68 million ($100 million) to expand OpenSkies. The global airline industry already had begun sliding into its worst crisis in years.

"The first 10 months were extraordinarily challenging," Mr. Moss said. The recession set OpenSkies back by about one year from its original business plan, which it has since revised, Mr. Moss said.

But the economic crisis also has prompted travelers to seek better value. In short-haul markets world-wide, this has helped budget carriers. Mr. Moss said a similar trend has helped OpenSkies. "In some ways, the recession was not the worst thing in the world for us," he said, although he said launching a brand amid the economic crisis has been difficult.

Mr. Moss said that since late summer, OpenSkies has been flying its planes fuller, with loads rising from roughly 70% full in August to about 74% full today.

Airlines in the U.S. and other markets recently have reported similar upticks in traffic.

BA in September launched a similar but more upscale service between tiny London City Airport and New York's John F. Kennedy Airport. The service is proving popular and its two planes are carrying more than enough passengers to break even, the BA spokeswoman said.

Indian aviation sector needs $120b: Official

Dec. 9: The fast expanding aviation sector in India can absorb as much as $120 billion in investment by 2020, the civil aviation secretary, Mr Madhavan Nambiar, said.

"As per the reports, the Indian aviation sector has the potential to absorb up to $120 billion of investment by 2020. Analysts predict that domestic traffic can reach 160-180 million by 2020, with the international traffic in excess of 50 million," Mr Nambiar said in his keynote address to the US-India Aviation Partner-ship Summit here on Tuesday.

The summit is being attended by some 200 corporate leaders from the sector from both the countries.

"Airport infrastructure in India is the one area which has huge opportunities for the investors. The airport upgrade action and modernisation plan will see an investment of approximately $10 billion by 2010," he said.

"The Indian civil aircraft market is valued at $90 billion involving sale of 1,000 aircraft during the period 2008-20," he said. — PTI

Iran Air announce new low London - Tehran web fares

Iran Air has announced new low cost web fares for 2010, with the price of an economy return from London Heathrow to Tehran starting at just £318.00, fully inclusive of taxes and service charges.

Iran Air operates three times weekly from London Heathrow's Terminal 3 direct to Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport. Onward connections to Isafahan, Mashhad, Tabriz and Shiraz are available online free-of-charge, providing the transit time in Tehran is no more than 24 hours.

All fares are now available through the Iran Air London Office website at http://www.iranair.co.uk.

How to get a flight upgrade

Want to fly Business on an Economy budget? Ex-cabin crew Yasmine Gibson reveals her insider tips for getting bumped up Yasmine Gibson From the December issue of The Sunday Times Travel Magazine

Every economy-class traveller dreams of being upgraded, but it’s more than just a matter of luck. There are ways to improve your odds: get ready to fly in style?

CLUB RULES

Increase your chances of an upgrade before you even leave the house – by signing up for the airline’s loyalty card. As a regular customer you’re more likely to get the letters SFU (Suitable For Upgrade) next to your name on the passenger list; when I worked for an airline, we were under strict instructions to prioritise frequent flyers.

DRESS FOR SUCCESS

Wear a scruffy hoodie or carry a shabby rucksack and you can kiss goodbye to that seat up the front. Airline staff will only upgrade smart passengers who won’t look out of place in Business.

One cabin service director refused to upgrade my brother because his shirt didn’t have a collar, even though I was working as cabin crew at the time. If you’re a man, this doesn’t mean you have to wear a suit and tie – just plump for shirts and chinos rather than T-shirts and jeans. Women should avoid jeans, tracksuits and combat trousers.

CHARM AT CHECK-IN

Check-in and gate staff have far more power in the upgrade stakes than flight crew, so start your charm offensive at the check-in desk. But whatever you do, don’t ask outright for a free upgrade. Airline staff are asked this question all the time and get fed up with it. Try a more subtle approach: ask for a seat as close to the front as possible because you’re scared of turbulence (the back of the plane is more bumpy). I did this once and bagged a Premium Economy seat.

BIDE YOUR TIME

Airlines only upgrade when flights are overbooked, so make sure you’re in the right place at the right time. Try checking in later if you’re booked on a busy flight. If there are no Economy seats left, staff may upgrade you or ask you to take a later flight and give you a seat in Business as compensation.

It worked for me on a flight from the Caribbean (in peak season these routes are often overbooked). But be warned: this plan can backfire – on a flight from Mumbai to London, my parents and I tried this and ended up sitting miles away from each other in Economy.

BEG FOR THE BULKHEAD

Got a dodgy knee or twisted ankle? Ask check-in staff for a bulkhead seat at the front of Economy (they have more legroom). These seats are often given to passengers with babies because they have drop-down panels in front where cots can be strapped in. With luck (a lot of it) they’ll all have been allocated to young families before you arrive, and you’ll be bumped up.

If that doesn’t work, wait until you’re on board to discreetly ask a crew member if there’s a seat with extra legroom. But be polite – a man on one of my flights kept moaning about his ‘bad’ leg and demanded a seat in First Class. In the end we did an upgrade – for the person sitting next to him!

PLAY THE HONEYMOON CARD

Just married? Make the most of it by letting airline staff know you’re off on honeymoon. Instead of making a fuss by flashing your new rings, casually drop your newlywed status into your initial conversation with check-in staff. They will help if they can, and shouldn’t need to see any proof: experienced staff can spot genuine honeymooners a mile off.

If there are empty seats left in Business you could get lucky, but you have a better chance on some routes than others. It’s less likely you’ll be upgraded when flying to popular honeymoon destinations such as the Maldives, Seychelles and Caribbean.

CONSIDER HAGGLING

If you’re still having no luck, remember that you can buy yourself an upgrade at the airport – and the price tends to get cheaper the nearer you get to take-off. Try a little haggling at the ticket desk: Virgin Atlantic has been known to sell off upgrades to Premium Economy for just £165 one way (bought in advance, they could cost £1,000).