Aviation News

The National Transportation Safety Board in the US has published a series of pictures of the aftermath of the crash, including the external wreckage and an interior shot showing oxygen masks hanging from the ceiling of the cabin and seats bent.

The NTSB plans to interview all four pilots aboard the aircraft, the two at the controls and two relief pilots for the long flight. Deborah Hersman, chairwoman of the NTSB, told the global press on Monday that investigators will closely examine the crew's coordination in the cockpit. They have recovered both "black box" in-flight recorders from the 777, which should reveal exactly why the aircraft came down.

Deborah Hersman, head of the National Transportation Safety Board, said the plane was travelling well below its target speed of 157mph.

"We're looking at what they were doing and why they were doing it," Hersman said. "We want to know what they understood."

She said the NTSB wants to get the facts straight about who was the "flying pilot" in this leg of the flight and "who was the pilot in command in the cockpit."

Although the captain, Lee Gang-guk, had spent nearly 10,000 hours at the controls of other planes, he had never landed at San Francisco before.

He was sitting alongside another pilot who had flown 3,200 hours in 777s and around 12,000 hours in total.

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SAN FRANCISCO–Federal authorities are looking into whether an Asiana Airlines jetliner clipped a sea wall before crashing at San Francisco International Airport Sunday, killing one person and injuring dozens, sources said.

Mechanical difficulties have not been ruled out, but investigators are focused on whether Asiana flight 214 from Seoul, South Korea, came in too low, according to sources familiar with the investigation who spoke on condition of anonymity. The plane appear to hit the seawall dividing the airport runway from San Francisco Bay, possibly causing the tail to come apart.

Multiple sources said there was no reported trouble or declared emergency on the plane that was carrying nearly 300 people until the flight crash landed.

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(CNN) – Three more Asia-Pacific based airlines have announced plans to ban shark’s fin cargo from their flights.

Fiji’s national carrier and South Korea’s Asiana and Korean Air are the latest to promise to halt shipments of shark fin and shark-related products from unsustainable and unverified sources.

Acting CEO of Air Pacific – soon to rebrand as Fiji Airways — says the move is the result of a month-long review of its freight policies relating to shark products.

“We believe a ban on the shipment of unsustainably sourced shark fins is the right thing to do, and have implemented this policy effective immediately,” Aubrey Swift said in a statement released Monday.

“We will now work with conservation partners and the fishing industry to prepare and implement policies and processes that will ensure future shipments are sustainably sourced.”

Korean Air made its announcement of the change in policy last week.

“Previously, Korean Air carried shark fin only under the condition that a valid CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) permit was fully obtained by the customer from the related national management authority,” the airline said in a statement.

“However, recently there has been a series of global movements calling to ban the carriage of shark fins. In view of these movements and in order to support the global call of protecting endangered shark species, Korean Air has recently reviewed its policy to stop the carriage of shark fins.”

Lee Hyomin, a spokesman from Korean Air rival Asiana, told CNN the airline has already banned shark fins from its flights as well.

Success for anti-shark fin campaigns

The announcement by Air Pacific — which in two days will officially relaunch as Fiji Airways — comes in the wake of criticism of its earlier shark fin shipments to Hong Kong, the world’s biggest market for the controversial product.

Campaigns highlighting the cruelty and devastation stemming from the practice continue to gather pace in the region. Approximately 72 million sharks are killed each year and 10,000 tons of fins are traded through Hong Kong.

Cathay Pacific bans shark’s fin cargo flights

“Bans such as the ones taken by the airlines are an important step in the right direction,” Ran Elfassy, director of Hong Kong-basedShark Rescue, told CNN.

“The supply chain of shark products involves many players and the chances are good that traders will move to other carriers. But each disruption adds inefficiency and added cost to the transport, hopefully adding strong pressure to end the trade.”

Prominent hotels and restaurants in the city have been publicly striking shark fin from their menus, while Hong Kong’s main carrier Cathay Pacific also announced a ban on shark’s fin cargo last September.

Shark Rescue’s Elfassy says the impact of these large companies stepping up to ban shark fin is huge.

“When hotels like the Peninsula or airlines like Cathay Pacific take a stand to do what’s right, it sends a message that being socially responsible is good business,” he says.

“It also means these organizations who reach millions of customers every year can be major contributors for doing good. Moreover, it validates what the grassroots groups have been saying all along.”

Last month, Air New Zealand also agreed to stop flying shipments of shark fin to Hong Kong.

The decision came about after the New Zealand Shark Alliancerevealed the airline’s shipments in local media.

“Air New Zealand has taken the decision to suspend the carriage of shark fins while we undertake a review of the issue,” Air New Zealand spokesperson Andrew Aitken told CNN last month.

Though such bans prove that the issue is taking root not just at the dinner table but also in boardrooms, more governments in Asia need to follow suit says Jerry McLean, director and co-founder of the Hong Kong Shark Foundation.

“Consumers’ attitudes are shifting against consuming shark products and many states have banned it including Brunei,” he tells CNN.

“Asia’s governments need to step up and echo the attitudes of their populace. Hong Kong plays a crucial role in this, as it accounts for a little over 50% of the global trade. But so far Hong Kong hasn’t even followed China in banning it at government banquets.”

Peninsula Hotels group bans shark’s fin from menus

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/06/25/travel/airline-shark-fin-ban/?hpt=hp_bn5

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The battle between Airbus and Boeing over their next-generation of long-haul jets is heating up, with a string of major airlines flagging plans last week to place multi-billion dollar orders.

Germany’s Lufthansa, Japan Airlines and Malaysia Airlines were among carriers at the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) annual general meeting to say they were sizing up Airbus’s new A350 widebody jets and Boeing’s rival 787 Dreamliner and revamped 777 models.

Airbus and Boeing compete for the lion’s share of a jet market estimated at $100 billion a year. While recent years have seen them battling over smaller Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 aircraft, interest in larger fuel-efficient planes is on the rise, suggesting airlines are betting on an upturn in the global economy and therefore their premium and long-haul markets.

IATA, the airline trade body, on Monday hiked its 2013 industry profit forecast by 20 per cent to $12.7 billion, encouraged by cost cutting and lower oil prices.

Airline executives at the IATA meeting in Cape Town, South Africa, said the stage was set for a slew of orders at the Paris Airshow later this month, and a sustained campaign by Europe’s Airbus and US rival Boeing to win more customers.

The executives said they had been receiving briefings on Boeing’s proposed 787-10X and the 777X, the latest variants of both aircraft.

Industry sources say the 787-10X could be launched in Paris and the 777X later this year, but caution this is dependent on delicate negotiations with potential buyers and production plans. A launch of the stretched 787-10X would imply an increase in Boeing’s plans to make 10 Dreamliners a month from end-2013.

Airbus, meanwhile, is pushing the A350-1000, the largest of three variants, as an alternative to the popular 777-300ER and has gained traction over the last year with several high profile buyers such as Cathay Pacific.

POWER STRUGGLE

Some of the bigger potential customers in coming months include Lufthansa for around 50 aircraft, Japan Airlines (JAL) for 40 jets, and Malaysia Airlines for around 30 aircraft.

Others include Japan’s All Nippon Airways (ANA), Garuda Indonesia, and Ethiopian Airlines. All are keen to assess both Airbus and Boeing aircraft for their requirements, worth tens of billions of dollars at list prices.

Among the most closely watched competitions are those held by ANA and JAL, which are considering orders for A350s.

That could mark a seismic shift in the airline world as JAL operates only Boeing aircraft and ANA, which has Airbus A320 narrowbody aircraft, operates only Boeing jets on its medium and long-haul services. Amid tough competition, analysts say Japanese airlines could pick up the Airbus aircraft.

Both airlines, however, will talk to both aircraft suppliers as they want to get the best possible deal. ANA, for example, says that it will assess the proposed 777X as well as the A350 to replace its older 777s.

Strong demand for the 787s and A350s and a large backlog mean Boeing and Airbus have sold out early delivery slots. Some airlines like Garuda Indonesia are potentially getting their aircraft from leasing companies instead.

“The slots are tight but we need the aircraft in the 2016-2017 timeframe,” said Garuda’s chief executive Emirsyah Satar. “Leasing companies can be the answer for us as they can supply the aircraft when we need them.”

Reuters

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/travel/holiday-type/business/plane-wars-the-battle-to-rule-longhaul-travel-20130605-2nq4c.html#ixzz2VstPFnpg

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