Neha Jain: http://newzealandaviationnews.blogspot.com/3

Air New Zealand's new premium economy seat design, the 'Spaceseat'.

1. South African Airways reveals new UK country manager
Airline industry veteran Gary Kershaw has joined South African Airways as country manager UK and Ireland.

Kershaw, who will report to SAA head of Europe Michael Bentele, has 22 years aviation experience.

He worked in various operational positions at Gatwick before joining Virgin Atlantic at Heathrow in 1991. He also worked for Canadian Airlines and US Airways and was most recently Air New Zealand head of sales - UK and Ireland.

2. Australia Considers C-17 Instead Of C-130Js

Australia is considering acquisition of a fifth Boeing C-17 Globemaster airlifter instead of the two Lockheed Martin C-130J Hercules that it has been planning to buy.

In language that suggests Australia has almost decided on another C-17, Defense Minister Stephen Smith cites Canberra’s great satisfaction with the performance of the four C-17s that it bought last decade.

They “have delivered excellent service and have provided [the defense department’s] first true global-airlift capability,” Smith says.

“We are seeking cost and availability information to enable consideration to be given to the acquisition of another C-17 aircraft,” he says, adding that he has discussed the issue with Heidi Grant, deputy under secretary for the U.S. Air Force for international affairs, during her current visit to Australia.

The purchase would be made through the U.S. Foreign Military Sales program.

“An acquisition of an additional C-17 would almost certainly obviate any need for the acquisition of two additional C-130 aircraft, currently planned for after 2013-14,” Smith says.

Australia has 24 Hercules, having repeatedly bought batches of the type since becoming its first foreign operator in 1958.

Of those 24, 12 are the C-130H version developed in the 1960s and were marked for retirement in Australia’s 2009 defense white paper. No date for their leaving service has been announced, however.

Australia’s C-17s, ordered to stock U.S. Air Force standard, have gained great publicity in relief missions in a series of natural disasters that have swept the country and neighboring New Zealand over the past two months. But Smith stresses that their main role is long-range military lift — for example, supporting Australia’s deployment in Afghanistan.

Canberra’s interest in a fifth C-17 comes as the country increasingly cooperates in supply operations with New Zealand.

The Royal Australian Navy, finding that its fleet of auxiliary ships, including assault ships, is largely inoperable, will rely for a time on the Royal New Zealand Navy’s support ship HMNZS Canterbury.

Officials in the C-17 program told Aviation Week last year that a fifth Australian C-17 was a possibility (Aerospace DAILY, May 28, 2010). At that time, there also was consideration of a sixth aircraft that would be operated jointly with New Zealand.

3. Australia Considers C-17 Instead Of C-130Js

Australia is considering acquisition of a fifth Boeing C-17 Globemaster airlifter instead of the two Lockheed Martin C-130J Hercules that it has been planning to buy.

In language that suggests Australia has almost decided on another C-17, Defense Minister Stephen Smith cites Canberra’s great satisfaction with the performance of the four C-17s that it bought last decade.

They “have delivered excellent service and have provided [the defense department’s] first true global-airlift capability,” Smith says.

“We are seeking cost and availability information to enable consideration to be given to the acquisition of another C-17 aircraft,” he says, adding that he has discussed the issue with Heidi Grant, deputy under secretary for the U.S. Air Force for international affairs, during her current visit to Australia.

The purchase would be made through the U.S. Foreign Military Sales program.

“An acquisition of an additional C-17 would almost certainly obviate any need for the acquisition of two additional C-130 aircraft, currently planned for after 2013-14,” Smith says.

Australia has 24 Hercules, having repeatedly bought batches of the type since becoming its first foreign operator in 1958.

Of those 24, 12 are the C-130H version developed in the 1960s and were marked for retirement in Australia’s 2009 defense white paper. No date for their leaving service has been announced, however.

Australia’s C-17s, ordered to stock U.S. Air Force standard, have gained great publicity in relief missions in a series of natural disasters that have swept the country and neighboring New Zealand over the past two months. But Smith stresses that their main role is long-range military lift — for example, supporting Australia’s deployment in Afghanistan.

Canberra’s interest in a fifth C-17 comes as the country increasingly cooperates in supply operations with New Zealand.

The Royal Australian Navy, finding that its fleet of auxiliary ships, including assault ships, is largely inoperable, will rely for a time on the Royal New Zealand Navy’s support ship HMNZS Canterbury.

Officials in the C-17 program told Aviation Week last year that a fifth Australian C-17 was a possibility (Aerospace DAILY, May 28, 2010). At that time, there also was consideration of a sixth aircraft that would be operated jointly with New Zealand.

3. Attention-seeking airlines: they want your business

Airline innovations - Air New Zealand's "cuddle class" Skycouch, for instance - are often a clever and effective form of attention-seeking, suggests a savvy expert on industry trends.

"It's a way for an airline to be noticed in a cluttered marketplace," says Raymond Kollau, founder of website airlinetrends.com, which monitors new developments in the aviation industry.

"You may never use the particular service that's being written about but you'll probably remember the airline and think of it as innovative - and, therefore, perhaps decide to travel on it."

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Kollau cites the example of Emirates, which garnered plentiful publicity globally when it introduced showers for first class passengers aboard its A380s. Very few passengers can afford to travel first class, he points out - but they nevertheless view Emirates positively because of such developments.

Most passengers use ticket price as their main criterion when picking an airline. Low-cost carriers - such as Australia's Jetstar and Tiger Airways, Europe's Ryanair and Asia's Air Asia (with long-haul arm Air Asia X flying to Australia) - win abundant publicity through announcements of deep discounts, $1 fares and even "free" seats.

Airlines are remembered even by passengers who miss out on these deals or who are aware that "free" flights aren't actually free when taxes, charges and ancillary fees are factored in.

In this highly competitive climate, other traditional airlines - known in the aviation industry as "legacy carriers" - are compelled to try harder to win media coverage.

"It's about differentiation," says Amsterdam-based Kollau. "Fierce competition... is forcing airlines to think of ways to stand out.

This especially, but not exclusively, applies to relatively small airlines such as Air New Zealand, All Nippon Airways and Finnair. They don't have the vast networks of the likes of Lufthansa, Delta or Emirates and have to offer something extra."

While Air New Zealand is important in Australia, in world terms it's "a small airline in a small country at the end of the world". At least, that's how airlinetrends.com defines it. What's more, many of its flights are long-haul - such as services to London.

4. Emirates becomes world's third largest airline

With only 144 aircraft in its fleet, Emirates has just become the world's third largest airline by capacity, overtaking US carrier United and behind only Delta and American Airlines.
Emirates' rise up the capacity charts comes thanks to the airline's decision to use only the world's largest planes. Emirates already has 15 Airbus A380 superjumbos in its fleet, with a staggering 75 more to come -- plus 53 stretched Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, with 49 of those still to be delivered from Seattle.
Business travellers can expect to see significant growth in Emirates' routes and flights as a result of the new deliveries, with Australia sure to be on the list for more flights and bigger planes.
Emirates has a capacity advantage in comparison with other airlines because Dubai is a convenient geographic hub for flights between Australia and Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Stops in Bangkok and Singapore on some Australian routes mean that Emirates is a good option for travellers to southeast Asia as well. Look for the airline to increase direct options to Dubai, connecting times to major European and African destinations, and for additional options for stopping en route.
Plus, continuing flights across the Tasman -- as the only airline to offer First Class and one of the few to offer international calibre Business Class -- make Emirates an attractive choice from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane to New Zealand. Expect more flights and greater capacity for these flights in the future.
So where's Qantas in the rankings? Back in 15th place, behind Air China and only slightly ahead of European low-cost carrier Ryanair, according to the latest data from the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation.
Emirates is likely to drop down the capacity table in the short term, though. United Airlines' numbers don't include the fleet of Continental Airlines, which merged with United but is still reporting separately. Joint reporting will push the merged United-Continental up to the top of the list, knocking Emirates back to fourth place.
However, Emirates won't stay in fourth place for long. The enormous growth spurt that 75 A380s and 49 777-300ERs will bring will add nearly 60,000 seats to Emirates' capacity.
And that's not even counting the 70 big Airbus A350s. Emirates has yet to announce a seating plan for the A350, which is Airbus' competitor to Boeing's 787 Dreamliner. But it's likely to be around the 270-320 passenger mark: larger than the A330s flown by Qantas and soon to be introduced by Virgin Blue.

NEHA JAIN

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