RI, EU ink agreement on 'open skies' aviation market

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Thu, 06/30/2011

Indonesia and the European Union (EU) signed a “horizontal agreement” on Wednesday on the aviation industry, aiming for a more liberalized or “open skies” aviation market between the two parties.

“The Agreement between The Government of the Republic of Indonesia and The European Union on Certain Aspects of Air Services” was signed in Brussels on Wednesday evening by Indonesian Transportation Minister Freddy Numberi, Hungarian Ambassador to the EU Agnes Vargha and European Commission Vice President and commissioner responsible for transport Siim Kallas.

“The transportation minister said during the signing of the agreement that it was an important step to strengthen the relationship between Indonesia and the EU in the future, through the implementation of high standards of air transportation security and safety,” Indonesian Transportation Ministry spokesperson J. A. Barata said in a Thursday press release.

“The horizontal agreement between Indonesia and the EU will serve as a legal ground for bilateral agreements on certain aspects [of air services], such as aviation safety, taxation requirements and compliance with regulations on competitions,” he said.

Barata said the new agreement would complement existing bilateral agreements on aviation Indonesia had earlier signed with 18 member states of the EU: Austria, Belgium, Britain, Bulgaria, Czech, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Spain, Sweden and Greece.

“The agreement is expected to encourage more intensified flows of goods and humans, increases in investments and the growth of tourism between the two parties, which in turn is expected to boost our national welfare and economic growth,” Barata said.

Royal Brunei pays the price of decades-long wrong strategy

eTurbo News, by Luc Citrinot, ETN | JUN 23, 2011

BANGKOK (eTN)- Arrogance? Probably. Lack of vision? Certainly. Royal Brunei Airlines remains a mystery among Southeast Asian carriers. The carrier serves Southeast Asia’s second wealthiest country after Singapore with a GDP per capita of over US$ 20,000. But at the same time, the Sultanate of Brunei is the less populated countries among ASEAN members with a population of 360,000 inhabitants. Although Brunei population is small, the airline’s catchment area is rather attractive. Brunei is the only independent Kingdom located on Borneo Island with its population of 20 million inhabitants. Southern Borneo (Kalimantan) belongs to Indonesia, while a large part of Northern Borneo opted half a century ago to rally the Malaysian Federation. An independent and neutral Brunei could then position itself as the ideal international gateway to connect Borneo with the rest of the world…

"I had a dream". RBA Airbus A320 in front of
Bandar Sri Begawan air terminal./
Photo: L. Citrinot.

Except that RBA has preferred to concentrate until today on prestigious routes such as long haul flights. Its fleet is composed of Airbus A320 and Boeing 777-200 ER, leased from Singapore Airlines. And instead of offering flights to Sandakan (Malaysia), Balikpapan, Pontianak and Makassar (Indonesia), or Davao (Philippines) –they all desperately look for more international connections!-, the airline’s management found more rewarding to propose flights to Auckland, Brisbane, Dubai, London or Melbourne. Of course, in the tiny Kingdom, RBA has been long considered as a toy, an object of pride to be exhibited worldwide.

Unfortunately, this strategy cannot survive anymore in current world air transport. RBA is losing money, a lot of money on long haul flights due to the absence of O&D° passengers. Flights in transit to Australia from Southeast Asia or London were also wrongly timed, making Bandar Sri Begawan an unattractive alternative. Finally, low cost carriers in the region –especially AirAsia in neighbouring cities of Kota Kinabalu and Miri but also in Kuala Lumpur- slowly made Brunei national carrier’s own regional network moribund and its proposed fares rather expensive.

The airline’s pays now the price of its overrated ambitions. By appointing ex-Aer Lingus executive Dermot Mannion, the airline’s shareholders (in reality the Sultanate of Brunei) show finally that they understand the urgency of the situation. RBA is probably close to financial asphyxia, even its management will never admit it. But the decisions now taken by Dermot Mannion show that the situation at the airline has been seriously addressed. From August, RBA will terminate flights to Kuching in Sarawak and from October, it will end most of its intercontinental flights, abandoning Auckland, Brisbane, Perth as well as Ho Chi Minh City. From an intercontinental network which still had Frankfurt and Sydney a decade ago, RBA will be only left with three overseas destinations: London via Dubai and Melbourne. And nobody is now certain that those destinations will not be eliminated in a second phase of restructuring.

Meanwhile, Bandar Sri Begawan could be turned into the missing international gateway to Borneo Island and even to neighbouring Celebes and Mindanao Islands… Opening new routes in a circle of up to three or four hours around Brunei, offering a more competitive fare structure matching low cost airlines could dramatically change RBA destiny. A good example to take inspiration from is Singapore-based Silk Air, Singapore Airlines’ regional subsidiary. The carrier managed to grow its traffic volume despite low cost competition by offering a simplified service without compromising on high quality for but passengers. RBA Management’s announcement this week certainly marks the end of a dream… but probably also of an increasingly frightening nightmare.

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Airbus A320neo shines at the Paris Air Show

English.news.cn 2011-06-23

PARIS, June 22 (Xinhua) - The influx of orders and commitments for the Airbus' eco-efficient A320 New Engine Option ( A320neo) Wednesday has made it a super star during the ongoing Paris Air Show.

A320neo (Photo: Airbus)

IndiGo, India's largest low-cost carrier, confirmed its historic order of 150 A320neo and 30 A320. The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) concerned was signed earlier in January.

Demand from South American region was also strong as two local leading airlines, namely LAN Airlines and AviancaTaca booked a total of 53 A320neo aircrafts.

LAN Airlines placed a firm order for 20 A320neo while AviancaTaca signed an MOU for 51 A320 Family aircrafts, including 33 A320neo planes.

Another MOU came from Republic Airways Holdings, Inc. The American company ordered 40 A320neo and 40 A319neo in the MOU.

Besides, Kuwait-based international Aviation Lease and Finance Company, ALAFCO, signed an MOU for 30 Airbus A320neo and six more Airbus A350 XWB aircraft in Le Bourget airport, where the 49th Paris Air Show is held.

The shower of orders from Airbus may leave its arch rival Boeing red-faced with only one booking on the third day of the show.

UTair Aviation from Russia announced an agreement to purchase of 40 Next-Generation Boeing 737 airplanes, including seven 737- 900ERs and 33 737-800s.

The huge success of A320neo may contribute to the soaring fuel prices, which have driven airlines to search for more economic ways to fly.

The A320neo would save 15 percent in fuel cost with Airbus' Sharklets wing tip devices and the latest generation engines, according to the France-based aero giant.

Editor: Chen Zhi

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AAA Will Offer Roadside Charging Service For Stranded Electric Vehicles

POPSCI, by Rebecca Boyle, 06.22.2011

Needs Roadside Assistance / Pat Hawks via Flickr

One of the biggest obstacles facing electric vehicles is their range — the best models on the market can only drive about 100 miles on the highway on a single charge, which is pretty limiting in a world with very few EV charging stations. But AAA, the biggest roadside assistance service in the country, plans to offer a solution that has helped many a stranded motorist who runs out of fuel: An emergency supply of juice.

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The automobile club plans to deploy mobile charging units for battery-electric vehicles starting this summer, according to a report initially posted by Edmunds.com. AAA already has at least one working unit and plans to post additional vehicles in California, Florida, Georgia, Oregon, Tennessee and Washington, Edmunds said.

Roadside assistance trucks will have Level 2 and Level 3 chargers, offering 240 volts and 500 volts of alternating current, respectively. The auto club plans to unveil its first mobile charging unit at an electric vehicle conference in Raleigh, N.C., next month. The first trucks will start operating in August, Edmunds reported.

Nissan, maker of the Leaf battery-powered car, is reportedly working with a company to offer the same service in Japan, and AAA’s announcement came on the heels of Nissan’s news last week.

Using a 240-volt charging dock, the Leaf's 24 kilowatt-hour battery fully charges in four to eight hours, so it's not exactly speedy. But a few minutes' charging time could be enough to get a stranded car back home or to a charging station. Cars with 500-volt ports would recharge even more quickly.

As electric vehicles increasingly make their way onto roadways, auto service suppliers will have to keep up with changing demands. The Department of Energy is already working to install Level 2 chargers at filling stations in 19 states, for instance, and other entrepreneurs are offering solutions like towable extra batteries.

The ability to call AAA for a quick recharge, just as easily as one could call for a tow truck or a few gallons of gas, could be one more option to put electric vehicle drivers’ minds at ease.

Now if the cars would just come down in price...

[Edmunds.com via Bloomberg]

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Biofuel to power KLM flights

RNW, 22 June 2011

(Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

Beginning in September, KLM flights between Amsterdam and Paris will run on used cooking oil. The move is an important new step towards aviation sustainability, the airline announced Wednesday.

“KLM has again shown it is stimulating the development of biokerosene,” said Managing Director Camiel Eurlings. “The route to 100 percent sustainable energy is enormously challenging. We need to move forward together to attain continuous access to sustainable fuel.”

More than 200 KLM flights will operate on biokerosene, biofuel derived from used frying oil and tested to meet the same technical specifications as traditional kerosene.

The move is part of the airline's efforts to secure a positive recommendation from the Dutch Sustainability Board. It is also an expression of support for World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) research suggesting alternative fuels from biomass are the only replacement for fossil fuels used in the airline industry.

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Garuda Orders 25 Airbus A320 Planes to Replace Boeing 737 Fleet

Jakarta Globe, Femi Adi | June 22, 2011

PT Garuda Indonesia ordered 25 Airbus SAS A320s, including 10 A320neos, as it replaces a fleet of Boeing Co. single-aisle aircraft at its low-cost unit.

The contract, worth about $2.2 billion at list prices, also includes options for another 25 A320neo planes, Garuda Chief Financial Officer Elisa Lumbantoruan said by e-mail today.

The Citilink unit, which operates five 737s, will receive the new Airbus aircraft from early 2014, he said.

The deal builds momentum for the A320neo after Toulouse- based Airbus yesterday won 90 orders for the plane on the first day of the Paris Air Show.

Boeing is deciding between joining Airbus in offering a revamped single-aisle aircraft with new engines and developing an all-new model.

Garuda, Indonesia's biggest carrier, picked the Airbus planes because of lower operating costs and because they were more quickly available than Boeing models, Lumbantoruan said.

Slots for the 737 are sold out until 2016, Jim Albaugh, the head of Boeing's commercial-plane unit, said in an interview yesterday.

Airbus markets the A320neo as 15 percent more fuel efficient than current planes. Deliveries of the new aircraft are due to begin in 2015.

Citilink also plans to add four leased Airbus A320s this year to support traffic growth that's three times as fast as last year, Garuda said earlier this month. The unit flies to domestic cities including Jakarta, Surabaya and Denpasar.

Bloomberg

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Antwerp-Amsterdam rail line gets solar power

RNW, 14 June 2011

Europe’s first solar panelled train tunnel

Europe’s first solar panelled train tunnel opened in June, bringing green energy to trains on the high-speed line between Antwerp and Amsterdam. The 16,000 solar panels on the roof of Antwerp Central Station will also power railway infrastructure and trains using the Belgian rail network.

The project, known as Solar Tunnel, is expected to generate 3.3 megawatts of energy – the equivalent of the average annual electricity consumption of about 1,000 homes. According to a press release from project partners Enfinity, the tunnel will decrease CO2 emissions by 2,400 tons a year.

The tunnel is hailed as the first ever railway infrastructure to be used to generate green energy. “It is the perfect way to cut the carbon footprint because the spaces used have no other economic value,” Bart van Renterghem, Enfinity’s UK head told The Daily Mail.

Among those collaborating on the tunnel were Belgian rail operator Infrabel and solar construction company Solar Power Systems.

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Scandal in Russia Over Official's Plane Hold-Up

Jakarta Globe, June 14, 2011

An Aeroflot pilot is being hailed as a hero by bloggers for refusing
to delay a flight to allow a top official to board. (AFP Photo)

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A pilot for Russia's flag carrier Aeroflot was Tuesday hailed as a hero by bloggers for indignantly objecting to a command by air traffic control to delay his flight to allow a top official to board.

The pilot on the flight last week from the Siberian city of Irkutsk to Moscow was told he could not take off until regional governor Dmitry Mezentsev had arrived for the flight from an over-running meeting.

The Aeroflot pilot's indifference to the ranking of the official have made the leaked tapes of the exchange an Internet sensation in Russia and the latest example of the increasing use of the net to expose the excesses of the elite.

"I'd rather vote for him in the elections than (President Dmitry) Medvedev," wrote one user on YouTube, where the exchange has now been listened to almost 350,000 times after its posting by prominent blogger drugoi.

"Bravo comrade!"

Showing a defiance of authority still rare in Russia, the pilot bluntly says the governor has no right to hold up passengers and even suggests the press should be invited to find out what is happening.

Pilot: "I was told to get in touch with you, what's the problem?"

Controller: "The top official needs to get here and then we will allow take-off."

Pilot: "Well, let the top official fly on his private jet and I will fly these passengers.

"This not a charter but a scheduled flight ... kindly make sure your top official does not turn up late for the flight and then he can fly with us.

"I have already closed the doors and I am not going to allow anyone else on the plane."

Controller: "We are not going to let you take off."

Pilot: "Please invite the television and journalists here to find out why a scheduled flight is being delayed."

Eventually, the flight took off one hour late with Mezentsev on board.

"Courageous pilot! Respect to these guys," wrote another blogger on Youtube.

The Kommersant daily said the resonance of the scandal risked ending the career of Mezentsev, who is already enduring low popularity and is under pressure from ruling party United Russia after poor local poll results.

"I apologized to the passengers, I explained the situation," Mezentsev said in an interview with the pro-government Izvestia newspaper Tuesday in a clear attempt at damage-limitation.

"I only use scheduled flights. I have headed this region for two years and not once have I used a private VIP jet"

AFP

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