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WORLD AIRLINERS
UPDATES ON ALL
MAJOR MAINLINE
JET PROGRAMMES
SPECIAL REPORT
VIRGIN IN NO RUSH
UK carrier ponders how to
replace four-engine types
but plans to take its time
introducing A380
SAFRAN SIZES UP
Fallout from Goodrich
takeover gives surge to
French giant’s electrical
power business
11
22
FLIGHT
INTERNATIONAL
flightglobal.com
30 OCTOBER-5 NOVEMBER 2012
INDUSTRY CLUSTER
WICHITA’S
WORKING
How the US aviation capital is
slowly rebuilding its reputation
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£3.20
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FLIGHT
INTERNATIONAL
VOLUME 182
NUMBER 5364
30 OCTOBER-5 NOVEMBER 2012
WORLD AIRLINERS
UPDATES ON ALL
MAJOR MAINLINE
JET PROGRAMMES
SPECIAL REPORT
VIRGIN IN NO RUSH
UK carrier ponders how to
replace four-engine types
but plans to take its time
introducing A380
11
SAFRAN SIZES UP
Fallout from Goodrich
takeover gives surge to
French giant’s electrical
power business
22
PIC OF THE WEEK
YOUR PHOTOGRAPH HERE
AirSpace user 1-2-3-calum posted this shot
of a Boeing C-17 Globemaster at the UK’s
Royal International Air Tattoo. Our World Air
Forces special report 2011-2012 lists 212
C-17s in the US Air Force’s active fleet. Open
a gallery in flightglobal.com’s AirSpace
community for a chance to feature here
FLIGHT
INTERNATIONAL
30 OCTOBER-5 NOVEMBER 2012
INDUSTRY CLUSTER
WICHITA’S
WORKING
How the US aviation capital is
slowly rebuilding its reputation
£3.20
£3.20
COVER IMAGE
Craig Hacker took this
shot on the Hawker 4000
assembly line at Hawker
Beechcraft’s Wichita
facility. Our cover story is a
locally researched analysis
of the city’s aerospace
industry and its prospects.
See Special Report
P24
Boeing debuts surveillance aircraft prototype
P16
. Virgin
Atlantic to introduce A330-300s in 2014 as it defers
A380 delivery plans to 2017
P11
flightglobal.com/imageoftheweek
NEWS
COVER STORY
24
WICHITA SPECIAL REPORT
Rebuilding
the capital
What lies ahead for the
recession-hit city as its aerospace
institutions adapt to regain the title
of “air capital of the world”
15
Sikorsky appeals for talks to calm Cyclone
storm.
US Army targets April for upgraded OH-58F
ight
THIS WEEK
6
Government cash aids AgustaWestland’s
Yeovil switch
16
Aerial scout contenders wait on army
7
Airbus stays cautious with A350 plan
BUSINESS AVIATION
18
Aircraft Industries pitches revamped L-410
at Russia.
Wind farm generates Bond deal
8
Gearbox issue led to EC225 ditching
FEATURES
36
9
787 windows open new possibilities.
Natural resonance downed hypersonic
test ight
WORLD AIRLINERS SPECIAL REPORT
Plane sailing
The rst instalment of
our two-part package looks at mainliner
manufacturing and tracks the progress
of conversion programmes in a struggling
air cargo market
19
Gulfstream sanguine over substantial
G650 backlog.
Marshall corrals executive operations
AIR TRANSPORT
10
Confused Monarch pilots strayed into
path of 737
TECHNOLOGY
20
Testing near for sense-and-avoid tool.
Cassidian seeks to dazzle in power
management
11
Virgin in no hurry to introduce A380s.
Airbus breaks down segregation for
A350 cockpit
12
Cracked deector led MD-90 to land
without nose-gear.
Lufthansa set to Score with
standardised specs
BUSINESS
22
Safran feels the power
REGULARS
5 Comment
51 Straight & Level
52 Interactive
54 Classified
57 Jobs
63 Working Week
61
JOB OF THE WEEK
13
Kingsher could face legal action for
‘aircraft parting’.
Converted 767s could augment FedEx
new-builds
NEXT WEEK
CHINA SPECIAL
We set the scene for the Zhuhai air show
with analysis of the host nation’s aircraft
programmes and its booming market, a
prime target for Western manufacturers
DEFENCE
14
Swiss complete evaluation of UAV
candidates.
A330 boom detachment traced to
back-up hoist
Air trafc control
ofcers, Marshall, Cambridge Airport, UK
I AM GLOBAL
Access the free Interactive Business Aircraft Guide
ightglobal.com
30 October-5 November 2012
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Flight International
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3
CONTENTS
IN THIS ISSUE
Companies listed
Aeroservicios Especializados .......................19
AgustaWestland ............................................. 6
Airbus ....................... 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, 22, 23
Airbus Military..............................................14
Aircelle ........................................................22
Aircraft Industries.........................................18
Air Lease Corp ............................................... 7
Air Malta ......................................................23
Alenia Aeronautica .......................................20
ATR ........................................................13, 22
Austrian Airlines ...........................................12
Avincis ........................................................... 6
Avfuel ..........................................................18
BAE Systems ...............................................22
Bell Helicopter .......................................15, 16
Blue Panorama ............................................10
Boeing .........6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 16, 22, 23
Bombardier .................................................12
Bond Air Services................................. 6, 8, 18
Brussels Airlines ..........................................12
CFM International ........................................22
CHC Scotia .................................................... 8
CHEP Aerospace Solutions ...........................23
Dassault ......................................................18
Diehl ............................................................20
Duncan Aviation...........................................23
EADS ...............................................14, 16, 22
Elbit Systems ...............................................14
Embraer.............................................6, 14, 18
Ethiopian Airlines ........................................... 9
Eurocopter ............................................... 8, 18
FlairJet .........................................................18
General Electric ................................... 6, 9, 22
Gentex ........................................................... 9
Germanwings ...............................................12
Gulfstream .............................................18, 19
Hawker Beechcraft .......................................16
Hindustan Aeronautics ................................... 6
Honeywell. ...................................................22
Indra ............................................................20
Interjet .........................................................10
Israel Aerospace Industries ..........................14
Kingsher Airlines ........................................13
Lao Central ..................................................10
Liebherr .......................................................22
Lion Air ........................................................12
Lockheed Martin ................................6, 15, 16
Lufthansa ....................................................12
Marshall Business Aviation...........................19
Metro Aviation..............................................23
Monarch Airlines ..........................................10
Orbital Sciences...........................................22
Pratt & Whitney .............................................. 6
PPG Aerospace .............................................. 9
Qatar Airways ................................................. 7
Raytheon .....................................................23
Rolls-Royce ................................................ 6, 7
Ryanair ..................................................10, 15
Saab ...........................................................20
Safran .........................................................22
Sagem .........................................................20
Selex Galileo................................................20
Sikorsky .................................................15, 16
Sky Aviation .................................................10
Southwest Airlines........................................23
Sukhoi .........................................................10
Superjet International ..................................10
Swiss International Air Lines.........................12
Thales ....................................................20, 22
Tiger Airways ................................................12
United Technologies .....................................15
UTC..............................................................22
Virgin Atlantic...............................................11
Yakutia Airlines.............................................10
Zodiac .........................................................22
BEHIND THE
HEADLINES
THE WEEK ON THE WEB
flightglobal.com
Business editor Dan Thisdell (
top
)
got close to a
while
visiting Selex Galileo in Trieste,
Italy
Meteor UAV
News that the nation of
had adopted a year-round
unied time zone presented a headline opportunity David
Kaminski-Morrow just couldn’t resist: “
Jordan
). News editor Dominic
Perry’s travels took him to
Toulouse
(
P20
Amman for all
seasons
” was, inevitably, the
title he gave his
(
below
), for the opening
Airline
of Airbus’s A350
final assembly
line (
P7
,
P11
), and to Yeovil, for a
Business
blog post. The
move, he wrote, is unlikely to
win favour with Royal
Jordanian Airlines’ passen-
gers, who “are being advised
that as a result of the
brieng at
AgustaWestland
’s
UK production facility (
P6
).
government’s plan to extend
summer
to include, er,
winter
,
they’ll need to mentally add an hour to the times on their
tickets”. On
, Craig Hoyle drew attention to
one of the winners in the UK Royal Air Force’s annual
photography competition (
The DEW Line
’s
shot captured Hawker Hurricane IIC LF363 from the Battle
of Britain Memorial Flight close-up, seconds before passing
above
above
):
SAC Daniel Herrick
during the Diamond Jubilee
celebrations earlier this year.
Buckingham Palace
Find all these items at
flightglobal.com/wotw
QUESTION OF THE WEEK
Last week, we asked for your thoughts on
Red Bull’s Stratos
skydiver.
You said:
36
27
37
Genuine pioneer
Brave but crazy fool
Pure publicity stunt
%
%
%
For a full list of reader services, editorial
and advertising contacts see P53
EDITORIAL
+44 20 8652 3842
ight.international@ightglobal.com
DISPLAY ADVERTISING
+44 20 8652 3315
gillian.cumming@rbi.co.uk
CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING
+44 20 8652 4897
ight.classied@ightglobal.com
RECRUITMENT ADVERTISING
+44 20 8652 4900
recruitment.services@rbi.co.uk
WEBMASTER
andrew.costerton@ightglobal.com
SUBSCRIPTIONS
+44 1444 445 454
ightinternational.subs@qss-uk.com
REPRINTS
+44 20 8652 8612
reprints@rbi.co.uk
FLIGHT DAILY NEWS
+44 20 8652 3096
ightdailynews@ightglobal.com
Total votes: 1,502
This week, we ask:
What are the chances that the A350
will appear at the 2013 Paris air show?
R
Racing certainty
R
Nip and tuck
R
50:50 at best
R
Next to zero
Vote at
flightglobal.com/poll
HIGH FLIERS
The top five stories for the week just gone:
1
SIA orders ve A380s and 20 A350s, transfers 787s to Scoot
2
Airbus Military explains cause of A330 boom detachment
3
Virgin closing on selection of 747-400 and A340-600 replacement
4
Airbus advances towards rst ight of A350 twinjet
5
SIA to drop nonstop USA ights as Airbus buys back A340s
Flightglobal reaches up to 1.3 million visitors from 220
countries viewing 7.1 million pages each month
FLIGHT TRAINING
Search the Civil Simulator Census
www.flightglobal.com/civilsim
4
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Flight International
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30 October-5 November 2012
ightglobal.com
 COMMENT
Distant dreams
With its latest order, Singapore Airlines reafrmed its commitment to the newest Airbus
airliners, but the same deal dealt a severe blow to the ultra-long-haul concept it pioneered
E
mbedded in the agreement that committed Singa-
pore Airlines to acquiring five more Airbus A380s
and 20 A350s was an undertaking by the airframer to
buy back the carrier’s five A340-500s. In the fuss creat-
ed by blue-chip endorsements of flagship airliners, this
detail may have been overlooked, but it heralds an im-
portant, if unsurprising, decision. Plainly, SIA has fi-
nally opted to throw in the towel on its ultra-long-haul
transpacific experiment. That will happen at the end of
next year – and comes as little surprise.
It was a bold attempt to open up a new frontier with
nonstop connections between SIA’s Changi hub and
the USA, and the innovative carrier’s perseverance is to
be admired. However, it was an open secret that the
five-strong A340-500 fleet was failing to turn a profit
when deployed on flights of up to 19h, serving Los An-
geles and Newark. Even a change of strategy to all-busi-
ness-class service in an effort to boost yields failed to
stem the flow of red ink.
The long goodbye...
jet – which, unlike the A340, remains in production –
has achieved a degree of success serving the needs of
the rapidly expanding Gulf network carriers, as well as
the likes of Air Canada, Delta Air Lines and Ethiopian
Airlines. However, there have been misses, too, with
Air India deciding to put the majority of its -200LR fleet
up for sale.
Ultra-long haul has effectively become a niche with-
in a niche, as relatively few routes have been demon-
strated to be capable of commanding the ticket-price
premium that is essential to offset the fuel penalties.
The concept was marginal at best when fuel was as
low as $40 a barrel five years ago. At today’s price of
$100-plus, sustainable profits seem utterly out of reach
– perhaps forever.
Meanwhile questions remain over whether the trav-
elling public has the stomach for remaining aloft for
such a long time. The world may have to wait for a “son
of Sonic Cruiser” before the ultra-long haul finds a
strong foothold in the mainstream.
O
Ultra-long haul is now a niche
within a niche, as few routes
command the needed premium
Given that SIA is not alone in its desire to abandon
the A340-500 for transpacific routes – Thai Airways is
also retiring its four aircraft – there is less than robust
demand for the type on the second-hand market. SIA
has understandably jumped at the chance to cut its
losses and hand the A340s back to Airbus in return for
topping up its fleets of Airbus’s newer widebodies.
So what of the future for the loudly trumpeted ultra-
long-haul niche? Boeing’s equivalent 777-200LR twin-
See This Week P7
How Wichita is weathering the storm
W
eather changes spectacularly on the Great Plains.
A flood disappears as fast as the next drought ar-
rives. So it is with the Wichita aviation cluster. This,
community, nearly a century old, has wondered if the
post-2007 downturn is the hardest yet.
Severing a relationship dating from 1929, Boeing’s
brand will withdraw from Wichita in 2014. Meanwhile,
Hawker Beechcraft is struggling to redefine itself before
it is too late. The iconic Beech brand may still endure,
but in what form nobody is certain.
Yet hope remains. Aerostructures specialist and Boe-
ing spin-off Spirit AeroSystems now dominates the
cluster’s fortunes – and this is one of those cyclical
“better” times. Wichita’s entire aviation community
rises now on the strength of Spirit’s fast-growing back-
log from an increasingly diverse mix of aircraft. Wichi-
ta’s plan to survive is no longer dependent solely on the
whims of any single aviation market. And when the
business aviation market recovers, Wichita will be bet-
ter prepared than ever. Unhealthy businesses have been
shed and a training pipeline for skilled labour exists.
This is good news for the aviation industry as a whole.
This medium-sized Kansas city has a depth of experi-
ence, skill and talent that cannot be transplanted to a
lower-cost market, or replaced by new competitors with
only a fraction of Wichita’s lifespan. The winds in Wi-
chita are changing – this time in the cluster’s favour.
O
Analysis of airlines’ eet
strategies is available via our
premium news and data
service:
See Cover Story P24
flightglobal.com/pro
ightglobal.com
30 October-5 November 2012
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Flight International
|
5
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