Aviation News

China Airlines will order six Boeing 777-300ERs as a part of a fleet renewal plan to meet the fast-growing market demand. The Taipei-based carrier reportedly plans to order 10 of the aircraft type but only six were approved by the carrier’s board of directors. More aircraft orders will be announced in the coming days, according to the airline.

The six aircraft are scheduled for delivery from 2014.

“Replacing the fleet is the main reason for the company to buy new aircraft,” China Airlines spokesman Hamilton Liu told Taiwan media. The company plans to replace its old Airbus 340-300 aircraft with the new Boeing 777-300ERs to reduce fuel costs and improve operating efficiency, Liu said.

China Airlines has 71 aircraft in its fleet, which includes six A340-300s.

The carrier has accelerated the pace of buying new aircraft due to the rising demand following the signing of an open skies agreement between Japan and Taiwan and the increase in flights between Taiwan and China’s mainland, Liu said, according to Taiwan media.

EVA Airways ordered seven Boeing 777-300ERs in May, which are expected to be delivered from 2014.

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The Cathay Pacific flight attendants’ union has called for Hongkongers’ support in its stand-off with the airline, in newspaper adverts published on Monday.

The ads appeared in at least two Chinese-language newspapers, shortly before the union holds an emergency general meeting on Monday afternoon to decide whether to take industrial action.

The ads explain the 6,000-strong Cathay Pacific Airways Flight Attendants Union’s disappointment with the airline’s offer of a 2 per cent pay rise, and offers a “sincere apology” for any inconvenience industrial action may cause.

They also call on the airline to resume negotiations about the pay rise and other matters.

“Cathay Pacific’s pay adjustment has always been an index for companies in Hong Kong,” the advert says. “The pay rise announced is way below inflation, which means it is taking the lead to bring down the pay rise that Hong Kong workers will get.”

The union also expressed concern that a cross-base flying scheme for non-Hong Kong cabin crew will see local flight attendants gradually replaced by the cheaper non-Hong Kong crew.

“If the Cathay Pacific management continues to turn a deaf ear to our demands, so that we are forced to take [industrial] actions, we sincerely apologise for any inconvenience that may cause to the passengers,” the advertisement reads.

Cathay Pacific has been embroiled in public spats with its employees over the years. Last year, the union warned of a work-to-rule action during the Lunar New Year to push for higher wages, but eventually called it off.

The last union-organised strike was in 1993 and lasted 17 days.

Former union chairwoman Becky Kwan Siu-wa called on union members to unite. “It’s time to show the company that the union members are united,” she said on Monday.

She fears the union will weaken its bargaining power by threatening, but not taking, industrial action. It has done that several times already, she noted.

Cathay reported a HK$935 million loss in the first half, dragged down by sluggish cargo business and falling ticket prices.

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A flight attendant has left her job with Cathay Pacific after saying on Facebook that she wanted to throw coffee over ousted Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra’s daughter, the airline said Tuesday.

She had come under investigation for alleged misconduct after her Facebook comments, in which she reportedly said that she wanted to pour coffee over Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who she described as “the daughter of my enemy”.

A spokeswoman for Cathay Pacific would not confirm whether the attendant, who the airline declined to identify, resigned or was sacked when contacted.

“We have investigated the matter thoroughly,” Cathay said in a statement, adding that it confirmed the attendant’s Facebook posting was unauthorised.

“We can also confirm that the cabin crew concerned is no longer an employee of the company,” the statement added.

According to the South China Morning Post, the Thai stewardess had posted the original comments on her Facebook page after she had discovered Paetongtarn was on board a November 25 flight from Bangkok to Hong Kong.

On the Facebook post, she said she had told her flight manager: “I could not work knowing the daughter of my enemy was on the plane.

“I called my personal adviser asking if it would be all right to throw coffee at Paetongtarn, but was told that this could breach Hong Kong’s laws,” she reportedly wrote.

She added that she had been angry at “the failure” of an anti-government rally in Bangkok on November 24.

The SCMP and Thai media said that the attendant used the Facebook name Honey Lochanachai. Reports said she had worked for the airline for 24 years.

Thai media quoted Paetongtarn, one of Thaksin’s three children, as saying she felt “uncomfortable” about the incident, which sparked a small protest by some 50 pro-Thaksin supporters outside Cathay’s office in Bangkok on Monday.

She added that she had been visiting Hong Kong for work and to see her father, who was ousted in a military coup in 2006 and has been living abroad to avoid a jail term for corruption.

The long-running political crisis in Thailand recently saw its first major street protests against the government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, Thaksin’s younger sister, who is accused by her rivals of being a puppet for her fugitive brother.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/travel/travel-incidents/coffeethrowthreat-flight-attendant-leaves-cathay-20121205-2au6d.html#ixzz2ECnvgrYz

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A brand new United Airlines 787 Dreamliner with 184 people aboard was forced to divert and make an emergency landing in New Orleans on Tuesday after experiencing a mechanical problem on a flight fromHouston to Newark.

The pilots of Flight 1146 declared an emergency while in the air. When the plane landed safely around 9:25am US Central Time, fire trucks were on the runway, a standard procedure.

Initial inspections showed that there was no fire in the aft electrical equipment bay, where the problem was reported, and no sign of electrical “arcing,” or electricity flowing incorrectly, according to a person familiar with the situation.

Boeing is ramping up production of the 787 after more than three years of delays in producing the new jet. While concerns about its safety could affect passenger perceptions and raise issues with deliveries to other airlines, analysts said flight diversions are not unusual, especially with new aircraft.

“These are the typical growing pains one would expect with a new airplane as it enters service,” said Carter Leake, a former military and commercial pilot who is now an analyst with BB&T Capital Markets. “No conclusions can be drawn.”

Looking at the path of Flight 1146, he noted the plane overflew a closer airport in Jackson, Mississippi, to land in New Orleans, where it could presumably accommodate passengers more easily.

United said the problem occurred with its third 787, delivered November 27, just eight days ago. It carried 174 customers and 10 crew members. The airline put the passengers on other flights to Newark. The airline is due to receive two more 787s this month.

United and Boeing said mechanics were examining the jet, and it was unclear what caused the problem. There was no indication that it was common to other 787s.

“At this point, we’re just looking at this specific plane, not the fleet,” said Christen David, a United spokeswoman.

United is the first US airline to put the new carbon-composite 787 into service, and flew its first commercial flight with the new jet on November 4.

The flight was scheduled to leave Houston at 7.30am US Central Standard Time, but departed at 8.06am, according to the flight-tracking website Flightaware.com.

It reached a maximum altitude of 41,000 feet at 8.25am CST. Around 8.40am, the flight began descending and landed in New Orleans at 9.25am, Flightaware.com data show.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/travel/travel-incidents/brand-new-united-dreamliner-forced-down-by-mechanical-problem-20121205-2auc3.html#ixzz2ECnam41j

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