AVIATION

Emirates to launch Airbus A380 to J’burg

Emirates one of the fastest growing airlines in the world has announced that Johannesburg, the industrial and economic capital of South Africa, will be the next destination slated for its flagship A380 aircraft. The daily A380 service will start on October 1.

The announcement of Emirates’ first scheduled A380 service to Africa comes as the airline unveiled its full year financial results for 2010-11. These revealed a surge in the number of South African travellers flying with Emirates - with total passenger growth up 12 percent over the previous financial year. Overall revenue from the South African market also rose sharply, up 34 percent from 2009-10.

An Emirates A380 aircraft

The year that saw South Africa host the highly successful 2010 FIFA World Cup also saw Emirates record a huge rise in inbound traffic to South Africa - with passenger volumes up 20 percent in the calendar year 2010. As an official FIFA Partner, Emirates helped to bring the world to South Africa by flying in football fans from across its network of six continents.

“We have enjoyed a successful partnership with South Africa since launching services in 1995, and now connect our Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban gateways to our vast global network through 42 non-stop flights each week to Dubai,” said Emirates Airline President Tim Clark.

“The very positive trends we have witnessed over the last 12 months will only be boosted by the arrival of our flagship A380 aircraft, which has set a new benchmark for air travel.”

“Our A380 demonstrates the future of aviation - both in terms of passenger experience and environmental sensitivity,” he added. “By launching the aircraft to Johannesburg, we are further underlining our commitment to serving South Africa and we anticipate very strong demand from leisure and business travellers keen to experience its unique features and unparalleled levels of comfort in the air.”

The 489-seat Emirates A380 offers 14 Private First Class Suites, 76 lie-flat beds in Business Class and 399 seats in Economy Class. First Class passengers have access to two Onboard Shower Spas, while all premium passengers on the upper deck can socialise at 40,000 feet in the Onboard Lounge. Beverages and bar snacks are served once the aircraft reaches cruising altitude - all the way until descent. The A380 service will operate daily as EK 761, departing Dubai at 0440hrs (local time) and arriving at O R Tambo International Airport at 1050hrs (local). The return flight, EK762, departs Johannesburg at 1410hrs (local) and arrives in Dubai at 0010hrs (local) the following day.

The arrival time of the A380 in Dubai will offer passengers from South Africa convenient connections to an extensive range of destinations within Europe, which following the 1 June launch of Geneva and the Copenhagen launch on August 1, will stand at 27. Passengers will also be able to connect seamlessly to a wide range of points within the Middle and Far East.

Customers wishing to break their journey in Dubai will discover a huge variety of things to see and do in what is often billed as the world’s ultimate stopover city. Attractions range from world-class golf courses to indoor skiing, fine dining to desert safaris and shopping options spanning from gold, diamond and spice souks to chic designer boutiques; not to mention the chance to get a true birds-eye view of the gleaming cityscape from the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building.

Johannesburg is the most populous city in South Africa and capital of the Gauteng province, the country’s wealthiest province and home to approximately nine million residents. The city, which is located on the mineral-rich Witwatersrand range of hills, is also a thriving centre for the gold and diamond trade.

The new A380 service will also help to support the thriving trade relationship between South Africa and the UAE, which has enjoyed an average year-on-year growth of eight per cent since 2007. Total trade volumes rose from $1,379,000 in 2007 to $1,749,000 in 2010.

Emirates currently operates a three times daily service to Johannesburg, a double-daily service to Cape Town and a daily service to Durban; while the airline’s fleet of 15 A380s operate on services from Dubai to London Heathrow (double-daily), Manchester, Paris Charles de Gaulle, Toronto, Seoul, Bangkok, Beijing, Shanghai, Jeddah, New York, Hong Kong, Sydney and Auckland.

Emirates currently serves 19 passenger and cargo destinations across the African continent.

 Regular ‘green’ flights across Asia and Pacific

The Asia and Pacific Initiative to Reduce Emissions (ASPIRE) partnership is launching regular ‘green’ flights across Asia and the Pacific. These come under the ‘ASPIRE-Daily City Pair’ programme, which aims to deliver gate-to-gate environmental best practices for pairs of airports throughout the Asia Pacific, one of the fastest growing aviation markets in the world. The first daily ‘city pair’ flight was launched between Auckland and San Francisco on February 21. More of such ‘city pair’ flights will be implemented over the next few months by ASPIRE partners.

On 16 May, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) and Singapore Airlines (SIA), working together with the United States Federal Aviation Administration and the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, are launching the second regular ‘city pair’ -Los Angeles (LAX) to Singapore (SIN) -flight. SIA flight SQ37, which operates non-stop from Los Angeles to Singapore, will employ enhanced gate-to-gate air traffic management operational procedures to reduce fuel burn and carbon emissions in all phases of the flight.

Director-General of CAAS Yap Ong Heng said, “CAAS aims to actively contribute to reducing aviation’s environmental footprint where we can. Hence, our participation in the ‘ASPIRE-Daily City Pair’ programme, with the launch of the LAX-SIN ‘city-pair’ with SIA. This will clearly demonstrate how collaboration among ASPIRE partners, airlines and other Air Navigation Service Providers in employing best practices and technologies in air traffic management can achieve significant reductions in fuel consumption and carbon emissions for flights.”

The ASPIRE partners are Airways New Zealand, the United States Federal Aviation Administration, Airservices Australia, Japan Civil Aviation Bureau and Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore.

The following air traffic management best practices, which significantly reduce fuel burn and carbon emissions, will be utilised for the LAX-SIN ‘green’ flight:

User-Preferred Routes’, ‘Dynamic Airborne Reroute Procedures’ and ‘30/30 Reduced Oceanic Separation’, which allow pilots to take full advantage of atmospheric conditions, such as prevailing winds, to reduce separation between aircraft and shorten flight time;

Time-Based Arrivals Management’ and ‘Arrivals Optimisation’ which allow aircraft to fly with engines set at idle mode in continuous descent from a high altitude during the landing phase of the flight, thus reducing fuel burn.

Despite volatile jet fuel prices:

Singapore Airline Group posts $ 1.09 bn profit

The Singapore Airline Group achieved a net profit attributable to equity holders of $1,092 million for the 2010-11 financial year, an increase of $876 million from the $216 million profit last financial year, which was adversely affected by the global financial crisis. The 2010-11 financial year result included an exceptional item of $202 million in respect of provision for fines imposed on SIA Cargo [see Note 2 below].

The uncertain global economic outlook is manifested by the recent Standard & Poor downgrade of the US debt outlook from stable to negative, and continual fears of a sovereign debt crisis in Europe. In addition, the concerns over nuclear radiation in Japan following the March 11 earthquake continue to impact air traffic to and from Japan. These effects are reflected in forward bookings, indicating near term weakness in load factors. The average price of jet fuel has surged by more than 25 percent between January and April, to USD 140 per barrel, the highest level since the last peak at USD174 per barrel recorded in July 2008. While there has been some respite in the past week, jet fuel prices are likely to remain high and volatile in the near term.

The twin challenges of near term weakness in load factors and high fuel prices will adversely affect operating performance of airlines. The Company remains committed to staying lean and competitive. The Company will be vigilant in cost management and closely monitor patterns of demand and adjust capacity accordingly.