No Backing Down
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Vol. 27 No. 8 October 2020 orientaviation.com NO BACKING DOWN Industry steadfast in commitment to 50% cut in emissions by 2050 SIA pilots volunteer Cargo’s biggest challenge: Premium start-up deeper pay cuts to distributing anti-virus taps Taiwan’s taste save jobs vaccine worldwide for grander travel EVERY AIRPORT EXPERIENCE SHOULD BE EFFORTLESS. THAT’S WHY WE INTEGRATE OPERATIONAL SOLUTIONS TO BOOST AIRPORT PERFORMANCE. From improving safety and customer service, to lowering costs and using infrastructure more effi ciently – as a modern airport operator you are challenged in all these areas – and more. To reach your full potential, you need a partner with the experience of transforming airport performance. Working with ADB SAFEGATE, you can tackle each challenge with confi dence. 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Work with the best – ADB SAFEGATE. www.adbsafegate.com CONTENTS Volume 27, Issue 8 MAIN STORY 14 ORIENT AVIATION MEDIA GROUP 17/F Hang Wai Commercial Building, 231-233 Queen’s Road East, Wanchai, Hong Kong Editorial (852) 2865 1013 E-mail: [email protected] NO Website: www.orientaviation.com BACKING Publisher & Editor-in-Chief Christine McGee DOWN E-mail: [email protected] Associate Editor & Industry steadfast in Chief Correspondent Tom Ballantyne commitment to 50% cut Tel: (612) 9638 6895 in emissions by 2050 Fax: (612) 9684 2776 E-mail: [email protected] North Asia Correspondent Geoffrey Tudor COMMENT 11 Aircraft lease rollovers grinding to halt in Tel: (813) 3373 8368 5 We hear you on climate change says industry paralysed market E-mail: [email protected] 12 Vietnam and Indonesia: Southeast Asia’s next Photographers ADDENDUM aviation powerhouses Rob Finlayson, Graham Uden, 6 Youthful full-service Starlux tapping Taiwan’s 13 Vietnam’s privately owned full-service Bamboo Ryan Peters desire for grand flying Airways adds Embraer jets to its fleet Chief Designer Chan Ping Kwan Printing Printing Station(2008) ADMINISTRATION General Manager Shirley Ho 6 AirAsia Group to cash in big from expected sale E-mail: [email protected] of 49% AirAsia India holding INDUSTRY ADDENDUM 7 Cathay Pacific Group adopts clean sheet 18 STELIA Aerospace unveils single aisle business ADVERTISING approach to post COVID-19 structure class seat 7 Every penny counts Asia-Pacific, Europe & Middle East Defne Alpay Tel: +44 7712 829859 NEWS BACKGROUNDERS E-mail: [email protected] 8 Indian aviation falling short in nurturing local leadership talent The Americas / Canada 10 Distributing COVID-19 vaccine air cargo’s Barnes Media Associates “greatest challenge” says IATA Ray Barnes Tel: +1 434 770 4108 Fax: +1 434 927 5101 E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] 18 AMECO to be China’s first Pratt & Whitney EngineWise GTF engine MRO provider 18 India’s Air Works wins Marketing Campaign of Download our 2020 media planner at: 2020 at MRO Asia-Pacific orientaviation.com/advertising 18 Jennifer Cato announced as Travelport’s new Follow us on Twitter @orientaviation 11 SIA pilots offer deeper salary cuts to save jobs of chief marketing officer and a member of the cockpit colleagues company’s Senior Leadership Team OCTOBER 2020 / ORIENT AVIATION / 3 C42166.002-Embraer-DifferentAnimal-OrientAviation-Oct20-273x202-v1.indd 1 06/10/2020 17:09 COMMENT We hear you on emissions, industry says Aviation’s contribution to global warming has long been warned last month, ultimately the climate crisis will “dwarf” subject to controversy with airlines a primary target of the impact of the pandemic. There may be a horrendous environmentalists. This situation has persisted despite number of coronavirus fatalities, frustrating lockdowns the fact aviation is the only global industry with ambitious and international border closures, but people increasingly targets for reducing emissions and achieving long-term are worried about the effects of global warming even in sustainability. pandemic times. COVID-19’s ruinous financial impact on airline A Globescan poll recently conducted across 27 countries operations, bringing international flying in particular to a showed 90% of people regarded climate change as a very virtual standstill, presents a good reason for carriers to put serious or somewhat serious problem and that these beliefs their environmental obligations aside as they struggle to had strengthened in the last few years. survive. But this has not happened. There is absolutely no doubt there is an increase in The Air Transport Action Group’s (ATAG) 2020 Global extreme weather events and temperature changes on every Sustainable Aviation Forum - Green Recovery, an online continent in the world. This situation alone is sufficient reason conference held at the turn of the month, was proof of for airlines and the industry in general to maintain their focus aviation’s commitment to emissions reductions. The summit on working to reduce the impact of emissions from aviation. brought together leaders from all sectors of aviation. They Scores of thousands of jobs are disappearing at discussed critical environmental issues related to the airlines and across the spectrum of their suppliers, but sustainability of the industry and its green recovery post the when the pandemic passes and growth returns to some pandemic. form of predictability, whether that will be in 2024, as the Airlines, aircraft and engine manufacturers, airports International Air Transport Association is forecasting, or and suppliers are recommitting to their sustainability goals beyond, the challenge of mitigating climate damage from despite the immense pressure of surviving the COVID-19 aviation will not have gone away. In fact, it will have become crisis. more important as aviation’s target of a 50% reduction in Present times may be bad, but as Britain’s Prince Charles emissions, against 2005 levels, draws ever closer. ■ TOM BALLANTYNE Associate editor and chief correspondent Orient Aviation Media Group A trusted source of Asia-Pacific commercial aviation news and analysis ORIENT AVIATION ORIENT AVIATION CHINA OCTOBER 2020 / ORIENT AVIATION / 5 ADDENDUM AIRLINES AIRPORTS PEOPLE Starlux Airlines tapping Taiwan’s desire for grand flying By Tomasz Sniedziewski in Taiwan conditions, Starlux remains billion. Its target is NT$30 billion, positive about its outlook. In said airline spokesman, Nieh Kuo- When Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s Taipei to Penang, Malaysia and Da September it announced the wei, who declined to offer more newest carrier, launched flights on Nang were put on indefinite hold leasing of eight A330-900neo, details about the airline’s strategy. January 23 this year and thereby in March. making it the first Taiwanese The massage of the message is establishing a third force in the By last month, the carrier’s carrier to fly the type. Deliveries Starlux’s funding is solid. skies of Taiwan, its first challenge website said routes to Penang and will start from the fourth quarter of Unlike its rivals in Taiwan, was battling the hardship of the Macau were being operated but next year. Starlux has not entered the COVID-19 pandemic and not, Taipei-Cebu was canceled until the Starlux’s order book is now 10 domestic or cargo sectors. It is as expected, wooing skeptical end of March 2021. A350-900s, nine A350-1000s and using the hiatus created by the customers. In the first half of 2020, Starlux a commitment to three additional pandemic to reinforce its brand, Of the three initial Starlux lost NT$1.31 billion (US$44.8 A321neos over its previous order which has established very strong destinations out of Taipei, the million), only NT$1 million or of 10 of the type. Following the recognition in Taiwan. carrier had to suspend its service US$35,000 less than China recent signings, Starlux will have When the airline decided to the Special Administrative Airlines. To June 30, the full- 39 aircraft by 2024. to participate in pseudo trips Region of Macau less than two service carrier had accumulated Starlux said the A350 will join abroad – flights to nowhere – one weeks after the inaugural cross losses of NT$2.81 billion. its fleet at the beginning of 2022, flight sold out in just 30 seconds, straits flight. In quick succession, Despite the adverse market which will be slightly later than according to media reports. originally planned, and that the Top of the class positioning planes will be equipped with first convinced Samsung to partner class, a decision going against the with Starlux in the launch of its trend at many Asia-Pacific carriers. latest flagship smart phone in Longer term, it has the U.S. in its Taiwan. sights for its long-haul fleet. “Why shouldn’t we be able to The increase in scale of its hold out?” asked Starlux Airlines operations will put Starlux on par chairman, Chang Kuo-wei, with funds hungry China Airlines in a profile in the widely read and EVA Air. From early 2021, CommonWealth magazine. The Starlux will continue with building positive buzz around the brand on its current capital of NT$8.36 seems to fuel his optimism. ■ AirAsia Group to score big from AirAsia India exit By Anjuli Bhargava Malaysian LCC group invested Tata was sold on the idea. management style of the Malaysia $14 million-$15 million to launch Citing another AirAsia joint headquartered LCC group. AirAsia Group co-founder, Tony the carrier, along with partner, success, he painted a picture of “The blame for the venture Fernandes, is jockeying bids Tata, seven years ago. instant prosperity when seeking going awry lies far more with between joint venture AirAsia At press time, it was reported board approval for the deal. Fernandes and Co who tried India (AAI) majority partner, the Tata had first right of refusal Until the news broke that and failed to micro-manage Tata Group, and fund investors to decline to buy the AAB Fernandes had an offer of $54 the company from Malaysia,” a as he negotiates the sale of his shareholding in the LCC.