IATA: ‘shocking’ fall in June revenue

The fall in passenger traffic continues at a faster rate than capacity cuts, warned IATA in its report on June traffic results.

A 7.2% drop in international passenger traffic was a slight improvement on the 9.3% fall in May but capacity was cut by 4.3% - leaving average fares and yields under ‘significant pressure’. And we have seen the outcome - lower fares are announced daily. June revenue on international markets fell by a ‘shocking’ 25-30%, IATA said. International passenger load factors were 75.3%, down from 77.6% recorded in June 2008.

Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s DG, warns there are ‘no signs of an early economic recovery’ and there are other ‘potentially great’ risks such as rising oil prices and swine flu. ‘International passenger demand remains very weak. While it appears that there is stabilization in some markets, this comes at a steep price,’ he said. ‘Even with lower fares, the load factor remains 2.3% below last year’s levels. Airlines are seeing international revenue falls of up to 30% at the start of the busy June-August period when airlines traditionally make their money. The outlook remains bleak.’

After years of cost-cutting, airlines have no scope for more cutbacks. IATA urges governments to grant ‘modern commercial freedoms’ to help carriers find new capital and new markets.

The biggest drop in passenger demand was for Asia-Pacific carriers, which recorded a 14.5% fall in June compared with the same month last year. Estimates suggest the impact of swine flu took up to 4% off growth rates for the region’s airlines last month. North American airlines saw demand fall 6.7% in June, compared to a 10.9% fall in May, probably due to continued discounting (Southwest had two fare sales this month). European carriers saw traffic drop 7.1%, less steep than May's decline of 9.4%, and the load factor was 77.3%. Again this may have been caused by disruptive action by LCCs. Middle Eastern carriers remained the 'bright spot' with strong 12.9% growth in demand with a 15.2% expansion of capacity.

In other news --

• BTS reports fares
• Air Canada raises big bucks - sort of re-nationalized?
• bmi Coaches BA - really and in English too
• Revenue up, traffic down at BAA

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Airbus' Gordon Gekko moment

It has taken a while, but here we are. Way back in the mists of time, OK, it was May 2007, there juicy talk of the recorded call detailing insider information. Now jump forward to this week and the whole mess is the rage in the EU news.

The Autorité de Marchés Financiers recommended stiff penalties for several current and former Airbus executives who allegedly traded EADS stock on inside information about production delays on the A380 during late 2005 and early 2006. Now here's a shock sales chief John Leahy is among them and could be fined $5.1m while former CEO Noël Forgeard could be fined $7.7m (nearly double his apparent profit).

Now for the next surprise - Tom Enders the current CEO was cleared in the report as was Daimler and French media group Lagardère, both major EADS shareholders that had earlier been targeted in the probe. Work that one out yourself.

The initial list of 17 people under investigation by the AMF has been pared to 7. As one can imagine the investigation took away management concentration from the ample work at hand. Now these 7 will become virtually frozen - though in the case of Foreard that is no problem as he is no longer working for Airbus.

In other news --

• Qantas hits a great milestone
• easyJet's numbers
• EADS' numbers
• A great time to be a buyer

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SpiceJet declares profit

Not every Indian airline is in trouble. Highlights for the quarter ended June 30, 2009 vs June 30, 2008. An important trend during the recent quarter is the increasing shift towards LCCs. More than 55% of passengers traveled on LCCs compared to 45% last year.

Financial performance for the quarter •15% increase in Revenue from Operations. •24% reduction in Cost per Available Seat Kilometer. •EBIDTAR improved from loss of INR 67 crore to profit of INR 121 crore. •EBIDTAR margin improved from negative 15% to positive 23%. •Net Profit after Tax of INR 26.3 crore compared to a Net Loss of INR 129.2 crore.

Operational performance for the quarter •21% growth in number of passengers. •12% growth in Available Seat Kilometers. •8% growth in number of departures. •Load factor increase from 70% to 76%.

In other news --

• Premium podcast - Bombardier's Ben Boehm briefs us on the CSeries
• THY commits to 777-300ERs
• FA union creeps up on Delta
• Hawaiian's 2Q09 results

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Oh, to be a fly on the wall....

U-turn Al is in the US. He told reporters in Washington on Friday that Boeing requested a meeting with him and that he expects to be updated on the 787's latest delay over the weekend. "The meeting is at their request because they are now concerned which way Qatar Airways will go," he said, adding that Boeing has "lost its leadership...The mess with this program could have been corrected a long time ago. If they had correctly focused management, they could have seen this coming."

He is even quoted in USA Today saying "a lot of heads would roll" if he were running the company (Boeing). With such a dramatic entrance the meeting/briefing should be lots of fun.

Just a small point - if Boeing requested the meeting, why is he here and they are not there?

In other news --

• Virgin Blue needs lots more cash
• easyJet's spat seems over
• Ryanair's numbers - great but the stock sank anyway
• ATA's numbers

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The Social Media Deal Page

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Aircraft salvager savages Airbus

This is amazing and we wanted to share with with all our readers, not just the premium site. Take a look at this damning letter to the NTSB by an aircraft salvager.

In other news --

• More 2Q09 results
• Delta's consolidated numbers
• UK think tank pushes biofuels
• North American traffic numbers

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Have you heard our Executive Interviews?

IAG has started to assemble a special line of interviews with C level executives, subject matter experts and top journalists. Take a look here. These are for sale and they are good value. Unique insight with truly smart guests.

Etihad Airways is launching services to Cape Town on 30 September 2009. The carrier aims to tap into expected high demand in the build up to FIFA 2010, when Cape Town will be an Official Host City. This is Etihad’s second destination in South Africa, after Johannesburg, and its fifth on the African continent, joining Khartoum, Cairo and Casablanca.

The new Cape Town flights will operate via Etihad’s current daily A330 service to Jo'burg. James Hogan, Etihad Airways’ chief executive, said: “Etihad Airways is committed to expanding its flight network across the world and we are delighted to add flights to Cape Town to our schedule from September. In the coming 12 months demand for flights to South Africa will grow immensely, especially with the 2010 FIFA World Cup next summer.” One wonders why Emirates cut service to the city now doesn't it?

Etihad started flights to Johannesburg in December 2005 and it has established itself as one of the airline’s most successful destinations. It is expected the new Cape Town service will be welcomed by the South African expatriate community living in the UAE which is ~40,000 people.

The city is South Africa’s premier tourist destination offering many highlights including the iconic Table Mountain and Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned. It was voted “Africa’s Leading Destination” at the 2009 World Travel Awards.

In other news --

• China's C-130 attempt
• AirTran's profit
• A380 operational update
• United announces.....a profit?

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Dubai revises plans

It was only about a year ago that Dubai was a star that kept rising. But things have changed - the former Cunard flagship QE2 is becoming a floating hotel in Cape Town in time for next year’s World Cup in South Africa.

The vessel, sold for £50m to Dubai-based developer Nakheel, was originally to be refurbished as a floating hotel in the Gulf state. The QE2's ignominious end was to become like its predecessor, the Queen Mary in Long Beach. But instead the QE2 is to be moved to the South African city for 18 months. The ship will be positioned in the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront to help ease a shortage of hotel rooms. It is no coincidence that this is the part of the city's redeveloped Waterfront now owned by the Al Maktoums.

A spokesman for Nakheel said: "It has been our intention for some time to provide a short term opportunity to enjoy QE2 as a stationary hotel in her current condition before refurbishment begins. It is clear that Cape Town provides the best opportunity for us to open QE2 to visitors as quickly as possible.”

Kudos to Dubai Inc. for being flexible and focused on the big picture.

In other news --

• Ryanair cuts Stansted back
• Continental's numbers
• Southwest's numbers
• ATA's report

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The F-22 and F-35 shoot out

The podcast we did today with Colin Clark, editor of DODBuzz highlighted just how rough is the fight over the budget and these two planes. The F-22 costs $250m each - more than double the F-35. But even as the brass try to protect their budgets, Congress is once again demonstrating its superior weapon system knowledge. In their view, because of jobs and votes, they think the USAF needs another 7 F-22s. The USAF demurs and wants that money to go to the F-35 program.

Sec Gates has made it clear he does not want any more F-22s, and even the President has said so - with a veto threat to boot. Tomorrow the Congress is set to vote and according to our sources, it looks like Congress will defy the administration. We wonder if Sec Gates will bother to stay in the job. Is this aggravation worth it?

Once Congress has proven its deep understanding of votes and jobs, it might have a tougher job with the tanker. But as Colin says, that program is easy and can be fudged. Congress is GREAT at fudging.

In other news --

• JetAmerica - plane to nowhere
• Singapore upgrades premium seats - no, really
• Stupid is what stupid does - part of a series
• Aer Lingus' new boss - can Paddy learn to march?

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Climb2011: Better Safe than Sorry

With a full war chest and planes not as empty as one might think and with lots of contributors to the overall results, one might wonder why LH feels pressed to save money. However, as the old saying goes: better safe than sorry! According to the team effort that the LH Group nowadays is, everybody is expected to chip in.

The LH department called 'Passage', which runs the core passenger airline within LH has now come up with a new savings program called 'Climb 2011', which should save an additional €1bn in costs by - you guessed it - the end of 2011. LH 'Passage' chief and board member Christoph Franz and his Bavarian crown prince in Munich, Thomas Klühr, who runs the hub there, have said that 'earnings per passenger decrease more quickly than overall passenger numbers. The core airline must take precautions to ensure it will continue its ability to earn its costs outright. Thus, ways have to be found to save money.' A wise statement no doubt and one that highlights the open management at the airline: cost analysis and cash flow control are at the core of senior management there, helping to see the tidal spring floods before they eventually occur.

Klühr is clear (no pun intended) that both staff and suppliers have to chip in. But this is Germany, the inventor of the social market economy, so there is no Anglo-American style firing. Instead positions becoming vacant over the next two and a half years will not be filled again and certain posts combined, thus eliminating 400 admin and management staff out of the 2,000 that are currently needed to run the core airline.

Suppliers to the core airline - both internal and external - have to examine their offers and prices and contracts that are up for renewal will be negotiated with the savings in mind. Even new aircraft deliveries will be re-examined: LH currently has orders of about 160 new aircraft between summer of last year through to 2014. Allowing for special pricing by the airframers this still leaves about €10bn to be financed. LH stands by all its orders though, as they are 'a cornerstone of flying cleaner and greener in the future' board member Franz is quoted as saying. As flag carrier of the world leader in green technologies and clean industry that is a huge selling point and a must have.

As outsiders, it also again highlights that it pays to pay attention to detail, because the signs of misery are all showing well before the illness breaks out.

In other news --

• FAA re-authorization & RNP
• American's results
• Icelandair goes back to Scotland
• Thales IFE meeting hard times?

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Austrian Airlines warns EU regulators

AUA warned that should the proposed takeover by Lufthansa fall through because of European Commission red tape it would need €1bn in new funds to ensure its survival. Chairman Peter Michaelis told a shareholder meeting yesterday that if the transaction fell through the airline would need “more than twice” the €500m pledged by the government in Vienna as part of the purchase by Lufthansa.

The European watchdog demanded Lufthansa give up certain flights in and out of Austria – a move Lufthansa reasonably claims will make the deal uneconomical. Regulators recently launched an investigated into the take-over, saying the deal could reduce choice and hike fares for passengers on some routes.

The European Commission said it has “serious doubts” the takeover could proceed without the two airlines making changes to eliminate antitrust concerns. It said the new company could become too powerful on flights from Vienna to other European cities.

Lufthansa is Germany’s biggest airline and Austrian Airlines dominates routes out of Austria. Lufthansa has offered to make changes but the EU said these were “not sufficient” to approve the deal at this stage and it wanted more time to look at the problems and possible solutions. Regulators can now take an extra 90 days to examine the deal. Lufthansa has the right to pull out of the takeover if EU approval doesn’t come through by July 31. It seems reasonable, given the bmi deal, that Lufthansa would withdraw to save money. When AUA collapses, it can then come in and pick up the pieces for much less.

Antitrust EU officials are separately looking into whether the Austrian government is selling AUA at a fair price. They launched an investigation in February, saying they believed that the price could be too low and may be an illegal state subsidy.

Michaelis on Tuesday told AUA shareholders the proposed deal was facing undeniable difficulties, but added: “If all parties want it, the transaction can be closed in time.” Peter Malanik AUA’s co-chief executive warned failure of the deal would result in the need for a huge capital injection and be followed by a radical downsizing of the airline – which would then still need a strong partner.

Time is not on the side of the Austrians. They know it and so does Lufthansa. The gnomes in Brussels, of course, don't seem to care.

In other news --

• Two neat videos
• Delta and social media - A lesson United learned
• BA to scale back premium seats
• World tourism drops 8% YTD

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BA plans for five years to business travel recovery

BAs’ premium market is expected to take at least five years to recover, according to the airline’s head of American operations. Premium passengers are traditionally BA’s main cash cow but with almost 70% of business cutting travel budgets, airlines must work out how to win back the business, says Simon Talling-Smith, EVP for BA in the Americas.

“BA’s view is that it will take quite a long time, potentially more than five years, before the full value of the business market returns,” he told The Times. “Right now [businesses] are putting more people into (premium) economy class. Our business and first class business volumes have fallen by around 15 per cent, but economy volumes have fallen by about 1 per cent [for the six months to June 2009]. One could reasonably guess that a certain number of business class customers are down trading to economy.”

He also admitted that in a recovery, the days of charging executive travelers £4,000 for a return transatlantic ticket could be some time off. “The big question is, will people be prepared to pay the same prices? One has to reasonably assume that they won’t,” he added. This may be the single most important item in this post. People are learning new consumption habits quickly and the value proposition may changed forever.

BA recently ran special offers with prices as low as £1,100 and two for one offers allowing some business travelers to fly for free. A top priority for BA now is to persuade corporations that cutting back on executive travel could be bad for business, Talling-Smith believes.

The company commissioned a travel survey from the Harvard Business Review, among 2,100 business customers. More than two thirds [69%] report a reduction in their travel budgets, 87% considered face-to-face meetings as essential for closing deals, and 95% agreed meetings are key to building long-term business relationships. The survey found that 48% are managing pretty well on reduced travel budgets. That is a telling number wouldn't you say?

In other news --

• Sustainable aviation fuels
• Southwest's near convertible
• Heathrow's third runway EIR
• The non so clean hands at Virgin Atlantic

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UAV surveillance in Great Lakes Region

US Customs and Border Protection's (CBP) Office of Air and Marine announced that it concluded surveillance operations along the U.S. side of the border of Lake Ontario and St. Lawrence Seaway, and the border of New York and Ontario on June 25, 2009. CBP currently has six Predator Bs providing border security surveillance capacity with superior optical equipment and great persistence.

On June 20th, UAVs from North Dakota and Arizona were launched and executed law enforcement missions within their respective airspace. And so UAVs are slowly taking over from other assets. With 20 hour loiter time, CBP expects to increase its efficiency and do its job better.

In other news --

• After all that - BA blinks
• Chinese consolidation
• AUA is German for ouch
• US DOT approves Continental for Star Alliance

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London City Airport to increase flights by 50%

London City Airport has been given the green light by the local council to raise its flights from 80,000 to 120,000 by the end of next year. The expansion is expected to generate £26m for the local economy as well as creating of 957 jobs.

The Borough of Newham said it had agreed to the 50 percent increase in the number of flights, despite objections from environmentalists over the increase in volume of greenhouse gases. Newham Council originally agreed to the expansion in October, but decided to reconsider after objections by Friends of the Earth. They sought to overturn the decision arguing that it would increase air pollution and impact upon the local population.

Jenny Bates, one of Friends of the Earth’s London campaigners, said: “It’s just completely the wrong way to go - from a climate point of view and in terms of noise and pollution for the locals. It’s right in the middle of London and air quality is a big issue in the city,”.

A spokeswoman for Newham council said that early morning flights will not be increased and that there would be strict restrictions on night and weekend operations. The expansion will be in place for the 2012 Olympic Games – the site is only two miles from the airport.

A record 3.2m passengers used the airport last year, a 12% increase on 2007. But numbers could be considerably lower in 2009 after a 20% decline in the first half. Two thirds of the airport’s passengers are on business trips compared to 44% at Heathrow. In September, BA will begin flying from City to New York, the first non-European flight to be operated from the airport.

In other news --

• B-52 gets another job
• Alaska demonstrates to power & attraction of ancillary revenues
• Iberia's new chairman
• Tanker premium podcast

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Alaska tries RNP

Alaska said it’s testing new flight procedures at Sea-Tac that could save it millions of gallons of fuel each year and provide quieter landings. Alaska is testing landing procedures using a satellite guidance technology called required navigation performance, or RNP. According to the airline the technology allows planes to “descend more efficiently and reduce aircraft fuel consumption, emissions and noise in the Puget Sound region.”

Alaska hopes to obtain FAA approval for the system, which would also be used by sister airline Horizon Air, by next year. Alaska says the system could cut its fuel consumption by 2.1m gallons/year, reduce carbon emissions by 22,000mt and reduce landing noise created by its planes. Really a win-win you might say.

In other news --

• Etihad cancels A346
• Another sign of a bottom
• The odd couple - Delta & V Australia?

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Here's a weird one

So, what does one make of this? It would seem there has been something of a falling out between Embraer and Tassili. Seems the Brazilians won and had the goal posts moved. They correctly demurred and lost the deal. The airline is not being too bright here - they should have kept Embraer in the race and used them to force the other player to bend. Now they have one less player in the game, the airline looks decidedly less than smart.
---------------------
COMMUNIQUÉ
São José dos Campos, July 8, 2009 – Regarding the recent news involving Embraer and Tassili Airlines, from Algeria, the Company makes the following clarification:

- The information stating that Embraer had been selected to supply three EMBRAER 190 aircraft, covering materials and associated services, was released in Algeria, on July 6, by the Evaluating Commission of the International Public Bidding Contest of Tassili Airlines;

- Yesterday, July 7, Embraer’s team in Argelia was contacted by representatives of Tassili Airlines, requesting a change in specific conditions of the proposal presented and evaluated in the process of the public bidding contest by the Commission on July 6;

- Since it did not agree to the requested changes, Embraer was disqualified from the public bid.

In other news --

• More June traffic numbers
• Its two years today - time flies but not the 787
• Mad at France? Threaten Airbus
• easyJet to Israel

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Panic starts to set in with Boeing's move on Vought

You might think of the reaction to the 787 news as the first sign of panic in Washington state. For years unions have kicked Boeing. Organized labor treated the firm as a milk cow to be used and abused. Voters in the state repeatedly elected people who would attempt to protect Boeing (Sen Murray is a prime example), but made sure these elected officials were labor friendly even as Boeing was given tax benefits. The room to move has become tighter and tighter. As Scott Hamilton has been saying for a long time, Boeing's future is outside the Puget Sound area.

Welcome to the future. This just in:
----------------
Breaking News from The Aerospace Futures Alliance

Greetings!

Below, please find a copy of The Boeing Company News Release announcing the purchase of Vought Operations in South Carolina. While this is not a final decision by The Boeing Co. regarding production of the 787 second line it should register a loud wake up call for all of us.

It is time for business, community leaders, labor and government to unite efforts to keep production of the 787 second line in Washington State.

It is time for all of us to pull together and create a competitive environment to promote and enhance Washington's aerospace industry.

It will take all of us and we must act now!

Please feel free to contact me with any questions by email lindal@afa-wa.com or phone 206-465-3215.

Thank you,

Linda Lanham
Executive Director
Aerospace Futures Alliance
---------------------------------------
News Release

Boeing Commercial Airplanes
P.O. Box 3707 MC 21-70
Seattle, WA 98124-2207
www.boeing.com

Boeing Announces Agreement to Acquire Vought Operations in South Carolina -- Accelerates productivity and efficiency within 787 supply chain -- Bolsters Boeing capability to develop and produce large composite structures -- Vought continues relationship with Boeing on range of programs

SEATTLE, July 7, 2009 - The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] announced today that it has agreed to acquire the business and operations conducted by Vought Aircraft Industries at its South Carolina facility, where Vought builds a key structure for Boeing's 787 Dreamliner airplane.

The Vought facility, located in North Charleston, performs fabrication, and assembly of structures and systems installation of 787 aft-fuselage sections, which are made primarily of composite materials. After the transaction, Vought will continue its work on many Boeing programs including other components of the 787, as well as structures and components on the 737, 747, 767, 777, C-17, and V-22 through operations located elsewhere.

"Integrating this facility and its talented employees into Boeing will strengthen the 787 program by enabling us to accelerate productivity and efficiency improvements as we move toward production ramp-up," said Scott Carson, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes. "In addition, it will bolster our capability to develop and produce large composite structures that will contribute to the advancement of this critical technology."

"We take great pride knowing that we have been able to satisfy the technological and physical demands of the 787 program alongside much larger companies, " said Elmer Doty, president and CEO of Vought Aircraft Industries. "However, the financial demands of this program are clearly growing beyond what a company our size can support. We are pleased that we will continue our 787 involvement at a component manufacturing level, as well as provide on-going technical capabilities that have helped make Charleston a world-class composite facility."

Through the agreement, Boeing will acquire, among other things, the facility, assets and inventory as well as assume operation of the site, and the parties will resolve all matters related to Vought's prior work on the 787 program. The cash consideration to be paid to Vought at closing is approximately $580M. In addition, Boeing will release Vought from its obligations to repay amounts previously advanced by Boeing. Separately, Boeing entered into new agreements with Vought for work packages on the 737, 777 and 787.

This transaction is anticipated to close in the third quarter following satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including consent from Vought's lenders.

Once acquired, the North Charleston facility will be managed by the 787 Program. "We look forward to welcoming the South Carolina team to Boeing and continuing our relationship with Vought to bring the most value to the 787 and our other programs," said Carson.

In other news --

• In-flight refueling for UAVs coming soon
• Saudia Arabia's Royal Jet
• June traffic numbers trickle in
• Lufthansa to cut deeper

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Standing room only for Ryanair?

MOL is considering plans for passengers to stand during flights so more people can be squeezed in. MOL says he is in talks with Boeing about designing an aircraft with standing room. Standing ticket holders would perch on bar-style stools with seatbelts around their waists. Ryanair estimates it would be able to pack in 50% more passengers and cut costs by 20%. If given the go-ahead by the Irish Aviation Authority, the airline plans to order a new fleet of jets. Not sure if this is from Airbus or Boeing - as that game may still be ongoing. China’s Spring Airlines initiated the standing idea earlier this year. The airline has been trying to cope with surging passenger numbers and new flight routes, but only has 13 planes. The announcement from Ryanair follows a series of new cost-cutting measures it plans to roll out including making passengers carry all their own luggage up to planes, and charging £1 to use the toilet.

In other news --

• C-5A bids adieu
• Ryanair traffic keeps growing
• BA backs away from A380 deliveries; staff grow antsy
• AeroMobile now certified on six aircraft

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Airbus vs. Ashton Kucher & Twitter

Some background is useful, so start here. Mr Kucher is an actor. However his primary claim to fame may be his wife. He can make another claim – he was the first person on Twitter to reach 1 million followers. As of this writing Mr Kucher has over 2.5 million Twitter followers.

However what makes him worthy of attention is his note to his Twitter followers – “"A 30 year vetran pilot recommended 2 me that I dont ride on an airbus until they prove that the composite tail is not creating ths accidents." His exact words – you don’t need to know how to spell to be an actor. Think this is unfair? Then make your own assessment.

What is more, we know nothing of the “30 year vetran” pilot (sic). The unfortunate thing is this – he has over 2.5 million people who actually think this man has something useful to say. Now perhaps he does – but in the context of commercial aviation and travel, he clearly lacks credibility. Seriously lacks credibility. If these comments came from John Travolta, another actor, but one who knows the business of flying, well then we should all sit up and pay attention.

The power of Twitter is its ability to disseminate information instantly to a very wide audience. In some ways it is becoming the primary source of news for millions of people – its 43 employees run a system that has something like 6 million users (no official number is released), but credible Alexa ranks this as the world’s 27th busiest website. Now think of the impact Mr Kucher brings. It’s pretty scary actually. Scarier than flying anything.

As of this writing, Airbus has not responded. Nor would they in all likelihood. But the challenge is clear – Airbus has been tarnished by two unrelated accidents. The Internet has seen lots of conspiracy theories. The fact is that Airbus’ planes are certified by every appropriate agency as safe to fly and its planes carry thousands of people around the world safely daily (even Mr Kucher). If people start to question the safety of Airbus’ planes, the whole aviation business is hammered -from national safety agencies on down.

The truth is that any hysteria about travel safety is bad for the travel industry, which does not need this sort of misinformed attention. Flying is assumed to be safe because it is. It is safer than any other form of transportation. It’s too bad that people can mouth off without a safety license and be listened to without protection.

In other news --

• End of an era - Lufthansa bids A300 farewell
• Airbus launches initiative to reinforce flight data recovery capability
• ANA steps up 787 order
• Germans move into bmi

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The Class of '65

The conspiracy theorists will love this. It sure was a good year.

Go to the alumni database of Ecole Polytechnique and there you find four special names among the graduates of Class 1965:

1. Noël Forgeard (formerly Airbus, stepped down due internal stock trading scandal)
2. Claude Lelaie, currently chief of flight test at Airbus
3. Paul-Louis Arslanian, chief of BEA (AF447 accident investigator)
4. Pierre-Henri Gourgeon, Current Air France CEO, after having been at the head of DGCA (the regulatory body)

In other news --

• BA and Unions break up
• Lawyers threaten to ground Airbus longhaul fleet - The AA DC10 nightmare all over again?
• Strange IPs
• 787 program costs to rise sharply

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