GerryAirways has moved

Dear Readers,

After several years in writing my blogs, it is time for me to move the blog to a hosted sight. This blog will no longer be updated. Please go to:
http://www.gerryairways.com

I hope you prefer the new site.

FAA quirks - Unsolvable Americanistic standoff with the world?

The Federal Aviation Administration audits civil aviation authorities of other countries on compliance to ICAO rules and guidelines, as well as oversight capability and activity. However something continues to irk me throughout these years. The FAA continue to audit and even slap 'sanctions' in form of country categories based on compliance to ICAO, but did they ever slap themselves?

Remember the fuss on the change the FAA imposed for the phraseology from "position and hold" to "line up and wait" to be inline with the rest of the world? I recall many American pilots saying it's ridiculous and unnecessary, some even said the change would compromise safety! If they want to talk about safety, let's not forget the JFK controllers who are famous for being "cruel" to international airlines with crew who can go about talking to ATC in English in other countries, by doing their fast talking non-ICAO compliant English, with the famous "do you understand English" insult thrown in the radio frequency. Yet American pilots complain about going to countries where ATC can use other language over the radio, such as Spanish, French, and Russian, citing it reduces collective situational awareness and therefore such a practice should be stopped.

Here's my not so serious viewpoint: Why not start by stopping these FAA standard phrases over American airspace and use ICAO compliant phrases, then we can all talk!

Image taken from: http://www.facebook.com/cleared4takeoff

Of course, the above is not entirely accurate, but then I'm sorry if you think I was being 100% serious!

Lion Air 737-800 undershoots and ends up in the water

Lion Air flight LNI/JT904 flying from Bandung to Denpasar today ended up short of the runway and in the water this afternoon (13-Apr-13). The aircraft involved was PK-LKS, the aircraft is a Boeing 737-8GP with the possible serial number 38728, formerly used by Malindo Air for proving flights, the aircraft's first flight was 5 February 2013. The aircraft have only been in service with Lion Air Indonesia for less than since 28 March 2013 and appears to be a definite write off. The aircraft is also one of the few (if not the only) in Lion Air Indonesia's fleet that has a full In-Flight Entertainment on every seat by Panasonic.

PK-LKS ends up in the water short of the runway. Note the
perimeter fence is intact. (Source: Unknown via Twitter)

Contrary to initial media reports that stated the aircraft had overran the runway and ended up in sea, the aircraft never made it to the runway and instead of overshooting, it undershot the runway.

Weather at the time:

WADD 130730Z 15006KT 110V270 9999 FEW017CB SCT017 30/25 Q1007 NOSIG

(0730UTC/1530LT), Wind 150° at 6 knots varying from 110° to 270°, visibility more than 10 kilometers, few Cumulonimbus cloud at 1700ft, Temperature 30°C, Dew Point 25°C, Pressure 1007 milibars).

The Airport Ground Chart for Denpasar Bali (DPS). Note the geography for the western and eastern ends of the airport differ greatly.

Based on weather info at the time, and from ADS-B recordings of the flights preceeding and after the accident aircraft, the runway in use was runway 09. Overunning this runway would mean it should have crossed a major road and ended up in mangrove swamps and not in clear seas just off a runway!

Instrument Approach Chart for DPS 09

Based on ADS-B recordings, the following flights made their approaches for 09.

From 0550UTC:

- GIA439 KOEDPSCGK landed at runway 09.

- MAS851 KULDPS landed at runway 09.

- OZW251 PERDPS landed at runway 09.

- JST110 PERDPS landed at runway 09.

Following JST110 was LNI904. After LNI904 ended up in the water, VOZ4145 (SYDDPS) went around to 2000ft, and climbed to 3000ft and on hold at waypoint KUTA.

AWQ8497, held at 4000 at waypoint KUTA.

EVA255, held at 7000 at waypoint KUTA.

Possibly a CTV891 held at 5000 or 6000 at waypoint KUTA.

ADS-B recording of JT904 unfortunately was not enturely reliable, but it did show that VOZ4145 went around behind it.

Despite the past number of accidents and incidents at Lion Air, a significant safety improvements have been made over the past 5 years resulting in a huge drop in the number of mishaps per 10,000 departures for the airline.

Many are already asking if the accident was caused human error or mechanical or maintenance issues. While it is still early days, the following photo was sent to me reportedly from someone on duty at the airport at the time of the accident (the two aircraft was on hold), and if genuinely taken at around the time of the accident, can explain the weather information of the wind varying from 110° to 270° with that rain cell moving eastwards south of the runway centerline, carying with it some nice downdrafts (a.k.a. windshear).

Could this rain cell be responsible as one of the cuases of the accident?

Adding to the possibility of down drafts due to rain cells, approaching runway 09 also carry a risk of visual illusion. The lack of ILS (Instrument Landing System) and approach lights for the runway (the lack of the latter due to geography and ecological reasons), with only the PAPI (Precision Approach Path Indicator) as a cue of one's incoming slope on the visual part of the approach, raises the risk of losing depth perception, which in turn increases risk of undershooting the approach.

Whatever the causes, reasons, speculation, let the National Transportation Safety Committee investigate the accident. For me personally, I suspect the windshear and or the usual unstable approach as possible causes for this accident, but we must thank the low tide at the time of the accident as it certainly contributed to the high (100%) survivability rate of this accident.

Garuda's initial 777-300ER schedules revealed

According to Airlineroute.net Garuda Indonesia plans to commence 777-300ER operations in July 2013.

Jakarta-Jeddah will be served by the 777-300ER twice daily (except for Saturday departure from Jakarta and Friday departure from Jeddah, served 1x daily) from 1 July 2013 until 19 August 2013. The regular Jakarta-Jeddah service will then be suspended for the post Eid-Al-Fitr holiday season and recommence on 20 September. The Boeing 747-400 usually serving Jakarta-Jeddah will open a new daily Surabaya-Medan-Jeddah service from 1 August until 19 August.

The 777-300ER schedule between 19 August and  to 19 September 2013:

Denpasar-Tokyo Haneda will be served daily with the 777-300ER, this route will then tag on to Denpasar-Jakarta as GA405/406.

Jakarta-Tokyo Narita will be served 6x a week with the 777-300ER and the remaining day is served by the A330-200 (CGK departure Friday, NRT departure Saturday).

For more details please go to the Airlineroute.net page by clicking this link. 

New American Airlines look is similar to...

When American Airlines announced it's new livery, my jaw dropped.

American Airlines' new livery

No, my jaw didn't drop because it was good. It was the contrary.

Initially I thought that USA and Cuba are suddenly going to be friends. I mean compare the new American Airlines scheme with:

An American 757... On hang on, where's my glasses. OH!
SORRY! It's a Cubana Tu-204!

I thought that was that, until I saw this today.

I definitely AGREE with the meme.

So, does this mean that the USAirways-American Airlines merger is now replaced with American-Colgan, and that the new merged entity will get fresh cash injection to get out of bankruptcy courtesy of the Castro brothers and Cubana as the major shareholder of AMR?

On a more serious note, can someone replace that tail with the new logo?

For God's Sake AA, PUT THAT EAGLE ON THE TAIL PLEASE!

Garuda returns to London in October 2013

Garuda's Vice President for Marketing, Amelia Syafrina Dewi Nasution, announced during a visit to the United Kingdom recently that Garuda is to return to London this year with a non-stop service:

"When the new service begins in october this year, this will be the first non-stop scheduled service between Jakarta and London. Schedules and fares are now being finalized, and full details will be announced before the flights go on sale in April."

4 new Boeing 777-300ERs to be delivered this year. It has been touted that the new 777-300ERs will be used for Jakarta-Amsterdam non-stop replacing the Jakarta-Abu Dhabi-Amsterdam and the A330-200 service will then be moved elsewhere later when Frankfurt gets the 777-300ER. This announcement for London non-stop will likely change those plans, however the frequency of the planned London service remains a mystery. The Boeing 777-300ER will have 184 Economy Class seats, 42 flat-bed Business Class seats and 8 First Class cabins.

This piece of news was found on the website Alternative Airlines, which is part of Flight Directors, Garuda's General Sales Agents in the United Kingdom. The news builds on December's announcement by the CEO Emirsyah Satar of the airline's plan to fly to London in late 2013 or early 2014. He cited that there is an estimated 5,000 passengers flying between Indonesia and the United Kingdom every day.

Benign but Deadly: Sukhoi Superjet Accident Conclusions

A version of this article in Indonesian was published on 10 January 2013 at Sindo Weekly magazine with the title of "Sepele Berujung Petaka." A link to the article will be put here when it becomes available.

With today's ever increasing levels of safety, the cause of any subsequent accident becomes seemingly benign or more mysterious. Improvements in safety is done by mitigating the easier of the high-risk factors, before moving on the more difficult and the cycle is repeated as we move to the medium-risk factors and then the low-risk factors. This is how we end up enjoying today's high levels of flight safety.

Seemingly benign or mysterious and difficult to understand?

The final trajectory that raised
many questions. (Source: NTSC)

Was this Sukhoi accident caused by mindbogglingly simple and seemingly benign factors or mysterious and hard to understand factors? Trying to explain why a high-tech aircraft with no malfunction can hit a mountain when piloted by an experienced crew is hard enough, explaining the factors behind it is more difficult. Explaining that it is caused by seemingly benign factors, can seem futile, even though it is important.

Speculation arising in the past include bombing, hijacking, or doing those hair-raising maneuvres that is normally reserved for airshows, are simply plucking dreams out of the air to get a quick  and easy answer. As these shortcut answers prove to be unsuitable as more facts are known, the blame-game ensues, and it is always easier to blame the dead than it is to fix those of us who are still alive to prevent us from making the same mistakes.

The final investigation report by Indonesia's National Transportation Safety Committee (NTSC) on the Sukhoi Superjet accident that occured on 9 May, was finished and released in a world record-breaking 6 months and 1 week. The report itself covers a lot on the seemingly benign factors causing or contributing to the accident, which people find hard to accept and tend to simply blame the dead, but what can we learn and fix from this accident?

Benign but deadly! 

A Visual Flight Rules chart provides good

information on the topography and is useful

for both cross-country and local area flying.

(Source: NTSC) 

The simplest question arising from this accident is how did the crew not know there was Mount Salak that they end up hitting? The NTSC report reveals that the preparation for the demo flight was grossly inadequate and poorly coordinated, in particular on risks due to the local topographical. The flight was initially planned to reach out to 20 nautical miles from Halim on a radial of 200 degrees. This plan was rejected prior to the first demo flight by the Halim Briefing Office, and the plan was changed to plan to go to Pelabuhan Ratu area, which was 30 nautical miles further out. However, the first flight ended up only as far as it was originally planned, 20 nautical miles on a radial of 200 degrees from Halim. On the second flight, the crew assumed that the route would be the same, as in reach 20 nautical miles out and returning. However, the Air Traffic Control (ATC) in Halim heard a conversation in the Briefing Office, that the first flight occured above Bogor Area, and that information was forwarded to the Approach Controllers. Two different perceptions occured on where the flight was going with ATC assuming Bogor Area and the crew assuming 20 nautical miles at radial 200 degrees. Coincidentally, 20 nautical miles at radial 200 degrees, is above and in the middle of Bogor Area. Who would have thought the existence of the two differing assumptions was one recipe for disaster?

The next benign factor was the improvisation of the aircraft type that was entered into the Flight Data System of the ATC network and reveals the lack of coordination between the ATC and other segments of the Air Traffic Services. One can understand that the improvisation was inevitable when the Flight Data System database does not have the Sukhoi RRJ-95B (the official designation of the Sukhoi Superjet), and the Flight Data Officer entered the Sukhoi-30 as the aircraft type into the ATC system. While the manufacturer is the same, Sukhoi, one is a passenger transport aircraft, the other is a highly maneuverable combat aircraft. Who would have thought that this improvisation forms the next benign recipe for disaster?

The En-Route chart used by the aircraft crew and is not

suitable as a source of topographical reference due to

its scale. It is apparent that this chart does not show

the Minimum Off-Route Altitude (MORA). 

(Source: NTSC)

The types of charts carried, forms the next benign factor. The crew carried an en-route chart which is suitable for intercity flying instead of a local area flight. Although it does show basic topographical information, the scale of the chart makes it literally impossible to accurately measure a distance of 20 to 30 nautical miles and shows Mount Salak further south than its actual  location. During the briefing the crew was not given any other chart apart from the approach chart (which only covers the immediate vicinity of the airport). No low-level Instrument Flight Rules chart or Visual Flight Rules chart was given. Not having a suitable chart showing where the terrain was, is another benign but fatal causing factor.

These three benign factors, on their own, would not cause a perfectly healthy aircraft and an experienced crew to hit a mountain. However, put these three factors in a row, and the risks posed to the flight went up exponentially.

A Low-Level En-Route Chart that shows the MORA and

the locations of Training & Restricted areas at low

altitudes which are more useful than High-Altitude

En-Route charts for low-level IFR flying.

(Source: NTSC)

3 benign factors in a row.

The ATC officer monitoring the flight authorized the descent from 10,000 feet to 6,000 feet because he received information that the flight was to be conducted at Bogor Area where there is the Atang Sanjaya Training Area with an upper limit of 6,000 feet.

The descent to 6,000 feet in obscure weather conditions was not a concern because on the screen, the aircraft was showing to be a Sukhoi Su-30 combat aircraft which would have a different set of operating rules to civil transport aircraft. 

By not carrying the suitable charts for the flight, the crew would not be aware how close they are to the mountains, in particular to Mount Salak, and it is likely that the crew never even knew there was a mountain where they were heading due to the inadequate area briefing.

Forget blaming the dead, let's focus on the homework for the living.

These three seemingly benign factors became the foundation of the tragedy on 9 May 2012. This accident can be categorized as human error, but the error is not limited to the ATC officer monitoring the flight, nor is it limited to the crew (pilot error). Before we blame the crew for switching off the Terrain Awareness and Warning System (TAWS) when it was giving its warnings, or blame the guest in the cockpit, we must remember that they can no longer make the same mistake again because they're dead.

What we, the living, need to do is the act on and rectify the errors causing these, at least, three seemingly benign factors because, the person who was giving the briefing that day, the person who entered the aircraft type into the Fligth Data system, and the person who didn't give the crew a more suitable chart to be used, are all still alive. We need to improve our working system and work ethos, and theirs, so these seemingly benign factors will no longer be the foundation of a future disaster.

Note:
The Final Report for the RA-97004 Accident Investigation can be found HERE and HERE.

Indonesia Air enters jet scheduled service

Indonesia Air's A320 PK-TAA seen at Halim Airport's
South Apron. (From Twitter)

Poster depicting the A320 planned routes

Indonesia Air (I8) , better known as Indonesia Air Transport, is getting ready launch its new jet service using Airbus A320s. Initially I8 will base the A320s in Bandung and go head-to-head against Indonesia Air Asia and Lion Air, the other 2 carriers with bases in Bandung. The carrier has deliberately chosen a base outside Jakarta due to the competition and lack of available slots.

The A320 will be configured with 12 Business Class and 148 Economy Class seats. The first A320 (msn 421) has been registered as PK-TAA (previously EI-DNP). Proving flights are scheduled since 15th, and Indonesia Air plans to commence its A320 scheduled operations by the end of this month.

Indonesia Air is not a newcomer to the airline scene. The company was founded in 1968 and has a long history of providing charter flights to the oil and gas industry. Since 2008, I8 has been providing limited scheduled flights out of Bali and Lombok.

Garuda accepts 1st CRJ-1000NG

New photo emerging from the CRJ-1000NG acceptance ceremony for Garuda Indonesia. Unfortunately, information on the ceremony itself is scarce.

The aircraft, PK-GRA is reported to be delivered soon, as schedules for the CRJ-1000NG have already been reported loaded for sale for flights by end of this month

Qantas threatens Australia to support the Emirates deal

AirDrama: Camel Race now gets ruined by Qantas' rhetoric

Qantas' plays hardball with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) in its submission that if its deal with Emirates is rejected, it would quit its European network, and focus on profitable routes only.

It all sounds logical, but its attempts to play the nationalist card throws he argument credibility away:

"Under such a scenario Australians will lose the benefit of Qantas operating a strong locally based international network airline. This is not in the national interest."

Didn't Qantas state in its announcement that it is tying up with Emirates in a bid to stem losses? Why is Qantas now saying basically, "approve it, we'll stem some losses, not approve it, we'll stem more losses..."

Did someone really chop the Roo's head off?

Lion into Malaysia - Who is the target?

AirDrama: As Lion enters Malaysia with Malindo, could Air Asia be in
denial that it is the target and continue to slag off Malaysia Airlines?

(Artwork by: Rimanti N)

As Lion Air announced its entry into the Malaysian market yesterday, I do wonder on several things:

• Malindo's Malaysian shareholder is National Aerospace & Defence Industries, a state owned enterprise. They don't just go and set up companies with foreign partners just to compete with local fellow state owned enterprises do they? Just who is Malindo targetting? State owned Malaysia Airlines + Firefly because the politicians are frustrated at 'lack of progress' there? Or Air Asia (OK, did Tony Fernandes peeve off some politicians?)?
• As Air Asia becomes stronger regionally, Tony will have to spend less time on the home turf Malaysia... is this peeving some politicians off? Elections are coming up in Malaysia, no?
• Malindo's announcement yesterday, was attended by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib. Elections are coming up, and Tony Fernandes has run off to Jakarta... is Najib peeved off?
• Within 24 hours of the Malindo Airways announcement, Lion Air opened its Bandung-Kuala Lumpur route, head-to-head with Air Asia group. Timing is rather suspicious.

Air Asia's Tony Fernandes was quick to tweet:

"I think Malindo is more problematic for Malaysian Airlines not AirAsia. We have very strong position in Malaysia and are really a regional company."

While I generally agree to that tweet, I wonder, perhaps his habitual slagging off of Malaysian Airlines is peeving the Malaysian politicians off?

Coincidentally, today, Tony Fernandes' other slagging victim, Tiger Airways, announced better financial results. Tiger itself is trying to set up bases around the region. As the big cats grow, could their feline ambitions be aimed at Air Asia while Tony's confidence elude Air Asia's minds from the possibility? I guess I have to wait until Tony starts slagging off Jetstar (if he has, I must have missed it!) to figure it out.

Although there is one thing I agree with Tony Fernandes regarding Malindo Air:

"Why is the airline not called Lion Air Malaysian. Strange"

Express Air new livery

Eastern Indonesian niche carrier Expressair appears to be adding another 737-200 to its fleet, this time with a new livery. The aircraft is identified as PK-TXK, previously PK-CJJ with Sriwijaya Air, and is currently undergoing an overhaul at AeroNusantara Indonesia (ANI).

Expressair currently operates 737-200s, 737-300s, 737-500s, and Do-328s.

Qantas stemming losses by throwing parties!

AirDrama: The Qantas continues like a soap opera...

(Artwork by: Rimanti N)

Qantas' decision to dump British Airways for Emirates was claimed as "to stem losses in long-haul operations"... yet, The Age reported they had a bloody nice party after the announcement, with even nicer goodie-bags to take home...

"But the biggest enigma lay within the goodie bag handed out to the needy throng. Guests got travel guides, a passport folder and a bottle of bubbly - and not just any old plonk, but Taittinger's 2000 vintage Comtes de Champagne, which fetches $320 to $350 a bottle.
So who paid for all this largesse? "It was a joint venture," a Qantas spokeswoman said. "Both Emirates and Qantas contributed to that goodie bag."

Sorry, but what was the excuse Qantas said? 
To stem losses?

Malindo Airways: Lion Air makes its roar heard in Malaysia

Indonesia's Lion Air and Malaysia's National
Aerospace & Defence Industries join hands
to set up Malindo Airways in Malaysia

Lion Air has confirmed plans to set up Malindo Airways in a partnership with Malaysia's National Aerospace & Defence Industries.

Several interesting key points were made in the event:

• Malindo will provide a hybrid service (between LCC and full service carrier).
• Base will initially by at KLIA2, the future home of Air Asia Malaysia
• Malindo will start in May 2013 with 12 737-900ERs with 12 business class seats and 168 economy, with IFE and WiFi.
• Malindo aims to add 12 aircraft a year and hit 100 aircraft in 10 years.
• 787s will be introduced in 2015.
• Prices for tickets and services is aimed to be on par if not lower than Air Asia.

What this means for Lion Air and possible factors:

• Lion Air sees that its growth in Indonesia needs to slow down due to infrastructure limitations such as airport aircraft parking space are running out nationwide.
• Lion still have A LOT of aircraft to be delivered, and they have to be used somewhere, these aircraft will now go to Malindo and to a certain extent, Batik Air.
• The 787s slated for Batik Air is likely to go to Malindo first, Lion is negotiating for more 787s for Batik Air.
• Lion Air sees that if it wants rapid growth, it must be done outside Indonesia. This is nothing new to Lion Air, but previous attempts to set up subsidiaries outside Indonesia have so far failed (in my opinion, due to picking the wrong partners). Malindo seems to be the most realistic one yet (and I believe it will happen).
• Growth on the premium sector through Batik Air will not be as rapid as desired, again, due to limitations on infrastructure in Indonesia.
• This announcement effectively put an end to the previous rumored Malaysian joint venture, Lion Berjaya Air (And unless there's another announcement, Lion Air Australia is effectively scrapped).

On the Malaysian competitors...

• Air Asia will now have serious competition. Insiders have said that Air Asia's Tony Fernandes isn't afraid of Lion Air in Indonesia, but sees non-LCC developments of Lion Air (such as Malindo and Batik Air) as a threat.
• Firefly needs to set its direction and stick to it, lounging around between jets and props isn't going to get them anywhere against Air Asia, and with Malindo, the might end up being the loser.
• Malaysia Airlines will only face more challenges. Its entry into OneWorld is already being questioned by some after it's alliance sponsor Qantas decided to dump British Airways and went for Emirates. Malindo will only erode further on its short haul yields.

Looking back over the years, Lion Air have announced many plans to set up joint ventures and/or subsidiaries outside Indonesia, none of which have come to fruition. Malindo appears to be Lion's boldest move yet, with a reputable local partner in the form of NADI, and the ceremony was attended by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib.

This time around, it seems that Lion Air is planning serious business outside it's den.

Bye bye, Baby!

bmibaby takes the high road in exiting the industry after years of losses and change of ownership of the parent group.

Farewell note by Tiny, bmibaby's logo and mascot.

Baby started with the East Midlands to Malaga, so it was fitting for the last Baby landing to be done by the flight from Malaga back to East Midlands, some 10 years and 9 months later.

bmibaby never failed to find ways to end a slogan with "... baby!"

Despite the losses, Baby left on a high and orderly note instead of trying to go it alone in such a precarious situation that could, upon shutdown, leave passengers stranded. It left with good memories...

Second to last Baby departure from EMA, made by "rainbow baby"
See the First Officer holding up "Tiny" to show him the farewell crowd.
Photo by: Tom Smith

bye bye, baby!

The OneWorld Kangaroo Race heats up!

Air Drama: OneWorld's Kangaroo Race heats up with... Camels!
(Click image for Large Size! Artwork by: Rimanti N)

The Kangaroo Route is an elusive one to grab. One would expect that domination belongs to the empire and it's aftermath, that is, British Airways and Qantas, both OneWorld alliance founders. The truth is, that market is lead by: Star Alliance member, Singapore Airlines, who share its Singapore hub with the Qantas/BA European Ops scissor hub there; and the other leader and a major force to be reckoned with on this route is, Emirates.

Qantas' position on the Europe-Australia route continues to weaken. Only Frankfurt and London remain. Paris, Rome, etc, all gone. Emirates and Singapore Airlines compete vigorously on the London route, and have literally obliterated Qantas from the rest of Europe. The London-Sydney route, also sees competition from Virgin Atlantic and Cathay Pacific (LHR-HKG-SYD). Emirates' domestic neighbour and rival, Etihad, had allied with Virgin Australia to give it better access to Australia quickly.

Qantas' position on the European routes seemed doomed. It can't ask for help from Cathay because Qantas' Jetstar is setting up operations in Hong Kong. Cathay would gladly help in exchange for Qantas to abort the Jetstar Hong Kong plans.

So Qantas decided to yet again do the unthinkable. Last week, in a bid to stem losses from its long-haul operations (and while not busy playing with Jetstar), they announced they're dumping British Airways, and moving their European cooperation to Emirates. You know the saying:

If you can't beat them... join them..

BUT this poses several perceived problems, especially within the OneWorld alliance.

• Qantas plans to move its European scissor hub to Dubai. This means Singapore Airlines (Star Alliance) now have a free hand on the traditional Kangaroo route, and OneWorld now has literally nothing there!
• Qantas will ally its European route to British Airways' big rival to Asia, Emirates, which do not belong to any alliance. This does not please British Airways.
• Etihad and its alliance with Virgin Australia now poses problem for either Etihad or the OneWorld alliance because Etihad owns 29% of Air Berlin, OneWorld's newest member, who are suffering from losses, and is dependent on Etihad for its long term future.
• Etihad will likely to strengthen its ties with Virgin Australia as a reaction to Qantas/Emirates, this could take focus and resources away from AirBerlin.
• Malaysia Airlines' bid to enter OneWorld was sponsored by Qantas was based on a hope to have massive cooperation with Qantas (including entry to the alliance), and it remains eager to put Kuala Lumpur as a major alternative to Singapore as OneWorld's Kangaroo scissor hub which would greatly boost its aspirations to be a major player on the Kangaroo route. If Qantas does another upset by leaving OneWorld (unlikely, but Alan Joyce's consistency is as reliable as Michael O'Leary's good verbal gestures), Malaysia Airlines would not be able to enter OneWorld.

BUT, it doesn't look bad does it? British Airways could go with Malaysia Airlines to keep it's Kangaroo route presence, or go to Cathay and squash Virgin Atlantic's Kangaroo escapades... here comes the last piece of the mess...

• British Airways had decided instead to talk on an alliance to handle the Asian (and Australian) routes with Qatar Airways , whose ambition is "to beat Emirates", which means it includes plans of dominating the Kangaroo route, and the world.

Confused? Well, you're not the only one. But don't let that worry you. Aussies are no stranger to camels, and British expats in the Middle East have camel riding as an initiation ritual... so, the OneWorld Kangaroo Race, has literally become a camel race!

So I invite all of you to caption the above illustration using the comment boxes below. You can caption the illustration as a whole, or caption what each person is saying (and if you can, keep it simple, clear, and understandable... unlike my writings!). I'll pick the best one and maybe give a prize or something... *no promises*

About the illustration:

I asked Rimanti N to make the Airdrama illustration. She's a 2nd year visual design student who is working on a comic about the airline industry (to which I am an industrial adviser in her project), with one of her comics already published while she was in high school. Aside from being a very good comic artist, she is also an AvGeek (something to do with her family's history). Follow her at @rimanti_n or find more about her work at:

http://rinota.deviantart.com

http://reachingtheskyofdreams.blogspot.com/

http://www.pixiv.net/member.php?id=2300458

Stupid costs money to fly!

O'Leary - if he's not Ryanair CEO then he might live in
mental institution with the stuff he says.

We know Ryanair's CEO O'Leary is a loudmouth, but before you complain about him on Facebook and Twitter, think again.

A 35-year-old mother of two, Suzy McLeod had to pay GBP 236 to print out boarding passes at the airport for her family to fly back home. She wrote to O'Leary to ask for compensation "as a gesture of goodwill." O'Leary in return replied, "Thank you Mrs. McLeod, but it was your **** up." She then wrote about it on Twitter, and more than 350,000 people on Facebook and Twitter backed her claim of receiving "unfair treatment."

I am no fan of O'Leary or Ryanair's seemingly "silly fees", but to ask for "a gesture of goodwill" to get the fees back for your own mistake, and the complain about it seems rather silly. Was she complaining because of being refused the compensation or because O'Leary was simply being (too) frank about it?

As much as I hate Ryanair, I have to side with them on this one. They're in the business of making money by transporting you from A to B in accordance to the terms and conditions set out. All the complaints about hidden fees make me wonder if people never read the "how to avoid fees" page on Ryanair's website.

One thing is for sure, LCC doesn't always mean Low Fares all the time for all flights... and if the fares are cheap enough, the airline has got to make it up from somewhere else. However, I do wish O'Leary would just shut up even if he's right.

Air India 787 finally gets delivered

Air India's 1st 787 gets the water cannon salute treatment at
New Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport

They have ranted that the 777 is a fuel guzzler while delaying their 787 delivery because they didn't have the money... or some other excuses.

Yesterday, the delivery is finally done! (emphasis on the bolded word!)

Now, how long before Air India rants about something wrong with the 787?

Garuda fails at English test?

Language fails continue to plague Garuda!

Despite its bid to go to become a 5-star airline, entry into the SkyTeam alliance, and the amazing turnaround at Garuda, some old habits really die hard. One particular die-hard problem aspect of Garuda is: ENGLISH LANGUAGE!

No, I am not going to mention the "cabin crew English", whose correctness from real English truly depend on your seniority combined with the "I have doing this been 20 years, do you know what newbie?" mentality (in case you're wondering, "I have been doing this for 20 years, what do you know newbie?"). It's a lot worse than the crew English, it's MARKETING ENGLISH.

Dare to against the current? I thought all the fuss were
just hype until I actually saw this page!

The first time I saw this last month, I was baffled. What latest street side illegal drugs they were on when they made this, I don't know. However, taking a look at the Indonesian version, it's obvious what it means.

English translation: Dare to go against the flow?

The promotion was for those seeking to go to Jakarta for the Eid holidays when the majority of Jakartans would leave town.

I've truly lost count how many "English errors" have been made by this so-called 4-star rated flag carrier of my country, to the point where it is beyond embarrassing as an Indonesian national, so, why not keep track of the errors?

The Promo pages can be found at:

Indonesian Version

English Version

(You know I'm having an evil grin moment writing this!)

Pacific Royale CEO resigns

Despite much news coverage for startup Pacific Royale over the 12 months, it appears that the carrier continues to suffer from problems. The latest is that the CEO, Samudra Sukardi, has resigned as per 1 August.

Samudra Sukardi's resignation was covered by Kontan, and cites that the Sukardi's term was only for the startup phase, and now that the airline is flying, it was time for him to step aside. Another reason cited was that no agreement had been reached about extending his contract.

While the official reason looks kinda iffy but reasonable, I suspect there is a lot more to the story than the airline is willing to admit.

Following the story of the airline through various sources, a gloomy picture emerged. Hence I think, the CEO was asked to leave... if only several of his 'henchmen' would leave too!

Several sources cited internal corruption as the major problem for this startup, whose funding has already been commented as inadequate to establish itself in Indonesia's competitive environment by several analysts.

There seems to be lack of transparency by the company too when it comes to the attempts to lease the A320s it needs to have to complete the startup phase. I was approached last year to source several A320s for the airline, but it really never got anywhere as the airline deems the required documentation by the leasing companies as "going naked into the open." (I must say, the documentation requirement is standard!)

The delay in commencement of flights has also made the A320 pilots to threaten a walk-out several months ago, but this was averted by the commencement of the Fokker 50 operations as a "concrete milestone."

The Fokker 50 operations hasn't been a stellar success either. Observers in the field note the low passenger numbers for operations between Surabaya, Semarang and Bandung. Sometimes the passenger count is as low as 4 passengers, and the highest number I got was less than 30 passengers. It does not look good.

To make matters worse, the inaugural Java based operations was marred by a bird strike on the last flight of the day, and subsequent maintenance problems occured, reducing operational continuity. It doesn't help that their sole other aircraft (another F-50) is based in Batam on a totally separate network. Now, that other aircraft is in maintenance, reportedly for "fitting EGPWS", but the pictures reveal that engine maintenance might be needed.

Again, to make matters worse, it is also rumored that the Fokker 50s do not have a parts sourcing contract or 3rd party maintenance support. One source close to the Ministry of Transportation said that Pacific Royale at one stage even claimed that Fokker Air Services in Singapore had closed shop (while other Fokker users here still use them!).

The dubious maintenance questions and allegations do not stop there. The first two Fokker 50s are ex Ethiopian Airlines, and somehow managed to be registered in Indonesia without the mandatory HF radios. Stories on what happened when the Ministry of Transport realized this had slipped, was rather bizarre, in that the airline simply cannibalized an HF radio from another aircraft and put it on, without obtaining a Supplemental Type Certification required for the modification.

Despite all this, there are some good news still. It is reported that they have finally secured their first A320 (but delivery is as usual, postponed). They also have received their 3rd Fokker 50, PK-PRC, interestingly, on 1 August, the day the CEO resigned.

Pacific Royale's third Fokker 50 on arrival at Jakarta's Halim
Airport on 1 August 2012 (Photo: Bintang Sakti)

I have grave concerns regarding the timing and the public version of the reason for the CEO's resignation. If you hear the stuff I hear, in which I gave just a snippet of it, wouldn't you? Now if this isn't the Chairman "cleaning out the house" at Pacific Royale, then perhaps the end IS near...