Singapore Airlines : SQ : SIA

Dublin, 4th May 2010

Dublin based lessor, AWAS, has delivered its sixth Airbus A330-300 aircraft to Singapore Airlines.

As a part of Singapore Airlines’ ongoing product enhancement efforts, this aircraft will join the fleet of A330-300s which will operate on selected routes serving the Middle East, West Asia, North Asia and the South West Pacific.

Singapore Airlines (SIA) has finalised a deal with Russian carrier Transaero for the sale of four [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]-200ERs and other carriers such as [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] Airlines and Portugal's [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] are also speaking to SIA about acquiring 777s.
"We have now finalised an agreement with Transaero covering the sale of four 777-200s, manufacturing serial numbers 28998, 28999, 28514 and 28523," says a SIA spokesman.
Flightglobal's ACAS database says these are all -200ERs and three were built in 1998 while 28523 was built in 1999.
These aircraft are all in a two-class configuration, the spokesman adds.
Transaero announced late last month it would be getting 14 ex-SIA 777s but the SIA spokesman says "at that point [last month] it was a letter-of-intent" only whereas now the deal has been finalised.

SIA's spokesman declines to comment on whether Royal Brunei and EuroAtlantic Airways will be getting ex-SIA 777s as well.

But a Royal Brunei spokeswoman says the carrier does plan to add 777s in June and is working to finalise a deal in the coming days.
"It is no secret that the party we are speaking to is SIA," says the spokeswoman. Royal Brunei's CEO, Robert Yang, is SIA's former VP for eastern USA and South America.

Royal Brunei's online booking engine shows that it plans to replace its [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] 767s on the Bandar Seri Begawan-London Heathrow route starting 24 June but the service will continue to have a stop-over in Dubai.
Its non-stop Bandar Seri Begawan-Brisbane service will switch from 767s to 777s effective 25 June, it says.
National carrier [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], meanwhile, has added an ex-SIA [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] and this aircraft is leased from Portugal's EuroAtlantic Airways.

"We have one [ex-SIA 777-200ER] in the fleet with another 777-200ER in the process," says the spokesman, adding that the second aircraft will also be an ex-SIA aircraft on lease from EuroAtlantic.
He says the carrier is also talking to EuroAtlantic about adding a third and fourth 777-200ER.

Efis a écrit:Les 777-200 et -300 ne sont pas faciles à replacer...
Même d'occasion, et bien entretenus, ce qui est le cas chez SIA.

Efis a écrit:L'A 330 est une très bonne affaire même neuf.

Efis a écrit:HK, Singapore,... toute la région dispose en outre d'un maillage conséquent pour le suivi de ces A 330s

Efis a écrit:Mais les quantités encore en place de 777 sont aussi non négligeables, avec, par contre, une diversité de motorisations plus importante ( Rolls a presque tout eu sur les A 330 dans le coin, et nous attendons de voir pour MAS !)

Sevrien a écrit:Pour MAS, il y aurait un problème avec une sélection en faveur de P&W :
La valeur résiduelle dégringolerait bien plus rapidement que dans le cas des A330-300 en question, motorisés par le RR Trent 772B EP !

Aussi, il semblerait que, sans les conditions « hot & high » les PW 4100 soient bien moins performants que les RR Trent 772B EP !

Réactions ?

Efis a écrit:Les liaisons régionales la bas correspondent à des modules type A 300/310 que SIA n'a plus.
( Silk, sa filiale, utilisant des single aisles en heures creuses ).

Efis a écrit:SIA n'a jamais communiqué sur un 787-3 "régional"
(et nous sommes quelques une à attendre de voir ce que va devenir la commande de B 787 de SIA)

Efis a écrit:Le B777 fait du "régional" en bouche trou et ça marche plutôt pas mal MAIS ce n'est pas son rôle. ( ce n'était pas exactement le business case )

Efis a écrit:Quelle sera la prochaine décision de SIA pour ces routes ?

SEVRIEN a écrit:Salut, Jeannot !

Jeannot a écrit:Dans la version bi-couloir quelle cible cherche-t-on à atteindre en terme de PAX et de distance et de distance ?

Commençons par le commencement. Les premiers écrits, à ce sujet, diffusés publiquement, remontent jusqu'au début de l'année 2005.

L'initiation à la réflexion, sur ce genre de concept d'avion, appartient officiellement à Boeing.

Sources :

Boeing Engineer Patents Design for Small, Double-Aisle Plane
Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Publication date: 2005-01-21

Jan. 21--Days before [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]'s recent announcement that it was ending production of its smallest commercial jet -- the unpopular, single-aisle 717 -- a top engineer at the company secured a U.S. patent for the design of a small, double-aisle plane that promises efficiency and comfort.

Voilà un fait historique (histoire récente).

In many cases, passenger comfort has been a casualty of the airline industry's move to buy smaller, fuel-efficient planes to ferry travellers on short-haul routes. The culprit has been the cramped, single-aisle configuration embraced by regional and low-cost carriers.

Boeing engineer Mithra Sankrithi's patent, No. 6,834,833, contemplates a small, double-aisle plane with more space and the fuel efficiency coveted by airlines. Received Dec. 28, it could have multiple configurations, but it generally would seat fewer than 200 passengers.

Voila pour le nombre de passagers, ... envisagé initialement à l'époque.

Mais, depuis l'époque de cet article, les personnes que cela intéressaient, et qui savent de quoi elles parlent, ont évoqué une évolution dans les réflexions (qui n'a rien d'officiel, et qui ne sera jamais 'reconnue'). Les réflexions portaient, paraït-il, sur la possibilité ce faire une famille de deux avions de ce type : un de 190 à 200 places, et un "stretch" capable de transporter 225 à 240 paasagers, ce chiffre de 240 constituant le plafond (en term du nombre de passagers à transporter).

His patent also envisions a design that reaches out to multiple classes of planes.

Ceci n'est absolument pas une garantie de développement & de production, ... ensuite !

Richard Aboulafia, an aerospace analyst at Teal Group Inc., said 200-seat planes have been the fault line between narrow and wide-body jets. "It's been hard for airplane makers to decide if these planes should be one or the other."

The market, however, has dictated that anything less than 200 seats should be a narrow body, Aboulafia said.

"You have to do something aerodynamically new to have the twin aisle make sense," he said. "Width is the enemy of economy."

Il est vrai que ceci réfléchit la façon de penser de l'époque, ..... et bien avant, aussi.
.................

One embodiment of Sankrithi's patented design calls for two aisles, each at least 17 inches wide and 75 inches high from floor to ceiling.
There would be several rows of at least seven seats, with each seat bottom measuring 17 inches across. In contrast, a larger Boeing 777 has seat bottom widths of 18.5 inches and aisle widths of 19 inches. Boeing was not available for comment. It also isn't clear if Sankrithi's vision ever will go beyond the drawing board. He is manager of Boeing's commercial airplanes product development, configuration and engineering analysis group.

Voir notre remarque ci-dessus.

Tom Leritz, an aerospace analyst at Clayton-based Argent Capital Management, said airlines want planes that match the supply and demand of their routes. Network carriers, such as American Airlines, fly fewer bigger planes and increasingly have leaned on regional carriers to operate the smaller jets. Airlines also are trying to cut expenses by standardizing their fleets.

J'espère que ceci est une entrée en matière raisonnable. Je reviendrai plus tard sur l'aspect "rayon d'action" .

Singapore Airlines has reached the half-way point in its A380 phase-in, with 10 of the jetliners currently in service from the total 19 on order. .... this marks a real milestone in the carrier’s history, as the number of A380s has now surpassed the total of 747s flown by Singapore Airlines – which once was one of the world’s largest operators of the widebody Boeing airliner.

Singapore Airlines is expanding the fleet size and operational use of its Airbus A380s, A340s and A330s as this leading Asian carrier benefits from the long-term strategy of employing a young and efficient jetliner inventory.

In addition to being the world’s first airline to utilise A380s in revenue service, Singapore Airlines is growing the number of A330-300s flown on medium- and long-haul flights while also continuing the operation of its A340-500s on record-setting ultra long-range routes.

Mak Swee Wah, Singapore Airlines’ Executive Vice President – Operations & Services, said that more than 2.5 years after the A380’s first flight with the carrier, this 21^st century flagship “continues to fascinate the public” while attracting strong load factors in all classes of service.

Singapore Airlines has reached the half-way point in its A380 phase-in, with 10 of the jetliners currently in service from the total 19 on order. Mak noted this marks a real milestone in the carrier’s history, as the number of A380s has now surpassed the total of 747s flown by Singapore Airlines – which once was one of the world’s largest operators of the widebody Boeing airliner.

The A380 has demonstrated a high dispatch reliability of better than 98 per cent in the more than 7,800 flights and 75,000-plus flight hours logged since the aircraft entered service in October 2007, Mak said, with well over three million passengers carried to date.

The A380’s network has been steadily expanded by Singapore Airlines, performing long-haul duties to London, Melbourne, Narita, Paris and Sydney – to which Zurich was added earlier this year. These segments have flight durations from 6 hr. 45 min. to nearly 14 hr., and have been joined by shorter-range service to Hong Kong, which has an en-route time of less than four hours.

“Our first use of the A380s was to link the longer-haul hubs where there is dense traffic as well as issues of capacity and slots, but we continue to look at windows of opportunity,” Mak explained. “Hong Kong is one such opportunity, as it has a good proportion of premium traffic, and we are able to use the A380’s fast turnaround on the ground.”

The new A380 service to Zurich – initiated in late March – operates daily, providing increased efficiency over the previous 12 weekly frequencies with 777s, while also introducing Singapore Airlines’ Suites and new-generation business class seats to this market’s premium passengers.

“We will watch how the world’s other markets develop as they recover from the recession, and continue to look for additional A380 route opportunities in Europe, possibly the U.S., and elsewhere,” Mak added. “The A380 is clearly a passenger-pleasing aircraft, which also is loved by our flight and cabin crews. There clearly is a different ambience aboard, with high marks going to the A380’s space, amenities and very low noise levels.”

Some 230 Singapore Airlines pilots have been trained to fly the A380, while over 4,000 of the carrier’s 7,000 cabin attendants are qualified on the aircraft.

Another new addition to the carrier’s fleet is the A330-300, which has been operating in Singapore Airlines’ colours since 2009. With 13 of the 19 ordered aircraft now in service, Singapore Airlines is expanding its A330-300 operations from three Australian destinations (Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth) and two Japanese cities (Nagoya and Osaka) through the addition of service to Abu Dhabi, Jeddah and Kuwait (the latter two points are served via Abu Dhabi), as well as Male, Fukuoka, Taipei and Colombo – replacing 777s on these routes.

“We have configured the A330s with our latest cabin product and service offerings, and these aircraft are operating at above the industry average with a dispatch reliability of 99.7 per cent,” Mak said. “Singapore Airlines has embarked for the first time on a total support programme with Airbus for the A330s, in which the aircraft manufacturer looks after the maintenance and provides ‘power-by-the-hour support.”

Singapore Airlines continues to utilise its five A340-500s on ultra long-haul service to Los Angeles and New York, with maximum non-stop flight durations of up to nearly 19 hours. This very unique service began in 2004 in a two-class configuration with 64 business and 117 coach seats, and subsequently was upgraded to an all-business cabin layout accommodating 100 passengers – the largest business class capacity of any aircraft in the world, according to Mak.

“We were logging nearly 100 per cent load factors – particularly from New York – until the global financial crisis, and we’re now seeing a rebound in traffic during the recovery,” he added. “This has resulted in our increase of the New York-Singapore frequency from five weekly trips during the recession to daily flights once again.”

Looking to the future, Mak said the planned 2013 introduction of A350 XWBs will provide new levels of efficiency on medium-haul routes, with the possibility of extending operations to longer-range segments.

Singapore Airlines has established an internal programme office to oversee the development and introduction of this next-generation Airbus jetliner, and also created an on-site presence at Airbus’ Toulouse, France headquarters to ensure a close working relationship with the A350 team. A total of 20 A350-900s have been ordered by the airline.

Royal Brunei Airlines (RBA) has confirmed that it will lease six Boeing 777-200ER aircraft from Singapore Airlines to replace its 767-300ERs.

The two carriers signed the lease agreement today, says RBA, adding that the 777s will help it renew its fleet and expand its operations.
"In addition to a higher passenger and cargo capacity than the 767s, the 777s' improved product will enhance RBA's ability to grow its revenue base," says RBA.
The airline said earlier this month it is in talks with SIA to lease 777s, and was expecting to finalise a deal soon.
RBA's first 777 is expected to arrive on 26 May, and the airline will operate the first flight to London via Dubai during the third week of June.

The remaining five aircraft will arrive between June and September, adds the carrier.
Each aircraft will be configured with 30 business class and 255 economy class seats. The 777s will be equipped with RBA's in-flight entertainment system with individual screens and video and audio on demand, says RBA.
"The support that Royal Brunei Airlines received from Singapore Airlines brought this partnership beyond a pure lease. Under the lease terms, selected support programmes provided by Original Equipment Manufacturers to SIA are also provided to RBA to cover the aircraft engines, auxiliary power unit and other selected components," says RBA's CEO Robert Yang.

Singapore Airlines reported net income of S$253 million ($184.7 million) for its fiscal first quarter ending June 30, reversed from a S$307 million loss in the year-ago period, and said the recovery in passenger demand and yield evident in the quarterly results "will hold up for the rest of 2010."

Revenue lifted 20.7% to S$3.47 billion, "reflecting the recovery in load factor and yields," SIA said. It noted that advance bookings continue to look solid. Passenger yield during the quarter rose 14.7% year-over-year to S$0.117.

SIA saw a particular boost in its cargo business, which reported a 5.2% increase in cargo and mail carried to 281.3 million kg.

Cargo yield leaped 42.3% to S$0.387. "Leading indicators, as well as sentiment among shippers and forwarders, suggest that the recent resurgence in air freight may be sustained in the near term, although the rate of growth may abate," SIA said.

Fiscal first-quarter expenses increased 0.9% to S$3.23 billion "due primarily to higher expenditure on fuel [up 42.4%], partially offset by a smaller loss from fuel hedging (S$78 million this year versus $287 million last year) as well as other non-fuel expenditure savings of S$80 million," the company said.

Operating profit was S$250.5 million, reversed from a S$319.3 million operating loss in the year-ago quarter.

Operating profit for its passenger airline business was S$136 million, reversed from a S$271 million operating loss in the
FY2009-10 first quarter.

SIA Cargo swung to a S$60 million operating profit from a S$104 million loss in the year-ago period while SIA
Engineering earned S$36 million on an operating basis, reversed from a S$12 million operating deficit in the prior-year period.
SilkAir posted operating income of S$15 million, turned around from a S$3 million loss.

SIA said during the quarter it took delivery of four A330-300s and decommissioned six 777s.

As of June 30, its passenger aircraft fleet stood at 106 comprising seven 747-400s, 69 777s, 15 A330-300s, 10 A380-800s and five A340-500s.

Singapore's budget carrier Tiger Airways and Thai Airways will jointly launch a low-cost airline that is expected to start operations next year, they said in statement on Monday.

© 2010 AFP

Thai Airways International and Singapore-based Tiger Airways have agreed to form a new low-cost carrier based in Bangkok.

The new airline, to be called Thai Tiger Airways, will start operations in the first quarter of 2011 pending regulatory approval, say the two carriers after signing a memorandum of understanding.

It will operate domestic and international flights within a five-hour flying radius out of Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport using Airbus A320 aircraft.

"The route network and further information on the corporate structure will be announced in due course," say the airlines.
Thai, and an undisclosed Thai entity, will hold a 51% stake in the new carrier while Tiger will own the remaining 49%, says Thai's president Piyasvasti Amranand.

"We believe that this move will provide revenue opportunities for Thai, and allow Thai to be more competitive in the region with the anticipated growth in the low cost market," he adds.
This growth will come from the Association of South-east Asian Nations' [Asean] air liberalisation policies, which will come into effect by 2015 and should help grow air travel in Asia, says Piyasvasti.

Thai will hold the chairmanship on the new airline's board, which will have three nominees from Thai and two from Tiger.
Tiger's group president and CEO Tony Davis says: "Thai Tiger will be well positioned to offer low fares to even more parts of the Asia-Pacific region from its base in Asia's tourism leader, Thailand. Bangkok is a key gateway to the whole of Southeast Asia and from its base at Suvarnabhumi Airport. Thai Tiger will be well positioned to also serve destinations in North Asia and the Indian sub-continent."

Tiger, in which Thai's fellow Star Alliance partner Singapore Airlines has a 34% stake, which was established in 2004. It has a fully-owned subsidiary in Australia offering domestic services, and Bangkok will be its third base.
It had plans to set up associate carriers in South Korea and the Philippines a few years ago, but dropped those citing the economic downturn and regulatory uncertainty.

Malaysian low-cost rival AirAsia has Bangkok-based associate, Thai Air Asia, which operates both domestic and international services.
Thai's low-cost subsidiary, Nok Air, also operates flights out of Bangkok but from the smaller Don Mueang Airport.

Singapore Airlines is expanding the fleet size and operational use of its Airbus A380s, A340s and A330s as this leading Asian carrier benefits from the long-term strategy of employing a young and efficient jetliner inventory.

In addition to being the world’s first airline to utilise A380s in revenue service, Singapore Airlines is growing the number of A330-300s flown on medium- and long-haul flights while also continuing the operation of its A340-500s on record-setting ultra long-range routes.

Mak Swee Wah, Singapore Airlines’ Executive Vice President – Operations & Services, said that more than 2.5 years after the A380’s first flight with the carrier, this 21^st century flagship “continues to fascinate the public” while attracting strong load factors in all classes of service.

Singapore Airlines has reached the half-way point in its A380 phase-in, with 10 of the jetliners currently in service from the total 19 on order. Mak noted this marks a real milestone in the carrier’s history, as the number of A380s has now surpassed the total of 747s flown by Singapore Airlines – which once was one of the world’s largest operators of the widebody Boeing airliner.

The A380 has demonstrated a high dispatch reliability of better than 98 per cent in the more than 7,800 flights and 75,000-plus flight hours logged since the aircraft entered service in October 2007, Mak said, with well over three million passengers carried to date.

The A380’s network has been steadily expanded by Singapore Airlines, performing long-haul duties to London, Melbourne, Narita, Paris and Sydney – to which Zurich was added earlier this year. These segments have flight durations from 6 hr. 45 min. to nearly 14 hr., and have been joined by shorter-range service to Hong Kong, which has an en-route time of less than four hours.

“Our first use of the A380s was to link the longer-haul hubs where there is dense traffic as well as issues of capacity and slots, but we continue to look at [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] of opportunity,” Mak explained.

“Hong Kong is one such opportunity, as it has a good proportion of premium traffic, and we are able to use the A380’s fast turnaround on the ground.”

The new A380 service to Zurich – initiated in late March – operates daily, providing increased efficiency over the previous 12 weekly frequencies with 777s, while also introducing Singapore Airlines’ Suites and new-generation business class seats to this market’s premium passengers.

“We will watch how the world’s other markets develop as they recover from the recession, and continue to look for additional A380 route opportunities in Europe possibly the U.S., and elsewhere,” Mak added. “The A380 is clearly a passenger-pleasing aircraft, which also is loved by our flight and cabin crews. There clearly is a different ambience aboard, with high marks going to the A380’s space, amenities and very low noise levels.”

Some 230 Singapore Airlines pilots have been trained to fly the A380, while over 4,000 of the carrier’s 7,000 cabin attendants are qualified on the aircraft.

Another new addition to the carrier’s fleet is the A330-300, which has been operating in Singapore Airlines’ colours since 2009. With 13 of the 19 ordered aircraft now in service, Singapore Airlines is expanding its A330-300 operations from three Australian destinations (Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth) and two Japanese cities (Nagoya and Osaka) through the addition of service to Abu Dhabi, Jeddah and Kuwait (the latter two points are served via Abu Dhabi), as well as Male, Fukuoka, Taipei and Colombo – replacing 777s on these routes.

“We have configured the A330s with our latest cabin product and service offerings, and these aircraft are operating at above the industry average with a dispatch reliability of 99.7 per cent,” Mak said. “Singapore Airlines has embarked for the first time on a total support programme with Airbus for the A330s, in which the aircraft manufacturer looks after the maintenance and provides ‘power-by-the-hour support.”

Singapore Airlines continues to utilise its five A340-500s on ultra long-haul service to Los Angeles
and New York, with maximum non-stop flight durations of up to nearly 19 hours. This very unique service began in 2004 in a two-class configuration with 64 business and 117 coach seats, and subsequently was upgraded to an all-business cabin layout accommodating 100 passengers – the largest business class capacity of any aircraft in the world, according to Mak.

“We were logging nearly 100 per cent load factors – particularly from New York – until the global financial crisis, and we’re now seeing a rebound in traffic during the recovery,” he added. “This has resulted in our increase of the New York-Singapore frequency from five weekly trips during the recession to daily flights once again.”

Looking to the future, Mak said the planned 2013 introduction of A350 XWBs will provide new levels of efficiency on medium-haul routes, with the possibility of extending operations to longer-range segments.

Singapore Airlines has established an internal programme office to oversee the development and introduction of this next-generation Airbus jetliner, and also created an on-site presence at Airbus’ Toulouse, France headquarters to ensure a close working relationship with the A350 team. A total of 20 A350-900s have been ordered by the airline.

Singapore Airlines (SIA) has signed a ‘Flight Hour Services - Tailored Support Package’ (FHS-TSP) contract with Airbus to integrate and provide full component support, line and base airframe maintenance, as well as fleet technical management services for SIA’s five A340-500 ultra long-haul all business-class aircraft.

Under this six year agreement with Airbus, SIA will benefit from the experience and expertise offered by Airbus and its OEM and MRO partners in the areas of maintenance, engineering, reliability and supply chain management. As part of this, Airbus will procure MRO services from SIA Engineering Company (SIAEC). SIAEC is a member of the Airbus MRO Network.

This contract builds on two existing FHS delivery commitments to SIA: an A330 FHS-TSP agreement signed in July 2008, and also an FHS components support agreement signed in July 2007 for its A380 fleet. In particular, the smooth delivery of the selected services and the excellent operational performance of Singapore Airlines’ A330 fleet already clearly demonstrates Airbus’ FHS successful concept.

“This repeat FHS order re-iterates SIA’s confidence in Airbus’ FHS achievements. Through the delivery of our services, we are committed to drive maximum efficiency of Singapore Airlines’ A340-500 operational reliability,” said Didier Lux, Airbus’ Executive Vice President, Customer Services.

“Our A340-500 ultra long-haul all business class fleet requires undisputed passengers’ satisfaction based on absolute fleet reliability. The exceptionally high performance today of our A330 fleet under FHS-TSP gives us confidence to apply this successful concept to our A340-500 fleet,” said Mervyn Sirisena, Singapore Airlines’ Senior Vice President Engineering.

Through Airbus FHS, maintenance fees are predictable, cost-effective and adapted to each customer’s fleet utilisation. The selected services are tailored, integrated and delivered in the spirit of a long term partnership, whose goal is to achieve the highest performance of Airbus aircraft and the satisfaction of our customers.

About Airbus Customer Services
Airbus Customer Services has team of more than 3,000 people covering all areas of support from technical and spare parts, to crew and personnel training and aircraft upgrades. Hundreds of technical specialists provide around-the-clock advice and assistance to Airbus customers, 7 days a week. Over 290 customer support representatives are positioned around the world in more than 175 cities close to the airlines they serve, backed by an international network of support and training centres and spares stores. Today more than 6,000 Airbus aircraft are operated by over 300 customers.

Sydney Airport has welcomed the launch of a second daily A380 Sydney-Singapore service from Singapore Airlines this Sunday.

The 471 seat A380 will replace the existing 278 seat B777-300ER on the SQ231/222 service.

The extra 193 seats provided on each flight means that 140,000 extra seats to and from Sydney will be available each year.

The CEO of Sydney Airport, Russell Balding, said that he was delighted to see Singapore Airlines add a second A380 on the Singapore-Sydney route as it made it easier for Australians to travel to the airlines’ hub and then onto the extensive network of destinations that it flies to.
“Singapore Airlines made the world’s first commercial A380 flight in 2007 on the Singapore-Sydney route.

“In just three years, Sydney Airport has become one of the most A380 intensive airports in the world. The new aircraft has had an exceptionally trouble free introduction into service at Sydney Airport.

“With the double daily A380 service from Singapore Airlines, Sydney Airport now handles 84 A380 movements each week with services from Singapore Airlines, Emirates and Qantas.

“This is all in line with the forecasts made in Sydney Airport’s Master Plan that demonstrate that the introduction of larger aircraft means that passenger numbers can increase in a sustainable way.

“To secure the benefits of the A380, Sydney Airport invested $128 million in new and upgraded infrastructure.

“Sydney Airport is the National Gateway and is conveniently located just 8 kilometres from the Sydney CBD making it is easily accessible for both business and leisure travellers.

“The additional passengers flying on this service will also get to experience the benefits of Sydney Airport’s upgraded International Terminal with more space and new passenger facilities including waiting areas, retail outlets, and new passenger processing areas.
"Expanding Sydney's access to the global aviation network strengthens Sydney as a global city and enhances our attractiveness as an international tourist destination,” Mr Balding said.

Singapore Airlines has no plans to ground its Airbus A380 fleet following the forced landing of a Qantas A380 owing to an engine failure.
"There are no plans as of now to ground our A380 aircraft, and operations are continuing as normal," says an SIA spokesman. "It is premature at this point to speculate and we will await advice from the aircraft and engine manufacturers as the investigation progresses.

Shortly after the engine incident Qantas grounded its entire A380 fleet.
According to FlightGlobal's ACAS database, SIA operates 11 A380 aircraft, with eight on order. As with Qantas, SIA's A380s are powered by Rolls Royce Trent 900 engines.
The Qantas A380 involved in the incident, which had the registration number VH-OQA, had just lifted off en-route from Singapore to Sydney when it suffered the engine failure. Passengers report hearing an explosion, and amateur footage from the Indonesian island of Batam, 20 kilometres from Singapore, shows a large aircraft trailing smoke from its left wing.

When the plane was safely on the ground in Singapore, media photographs showed that the cowling for the number two engine was missing. Photographs also show damage to the aircraft's wing above the engine. TV footage from Batam showed residents picking up debris in the red and white colours of Qantas.
The aircraft had 433 passengers and 26 crew on board, all of whom disembarked without injury.
Airbus and Rolls Royce are assisting with investigations.

• Même SIA est en train de procéder à des "precautionary checks", dont le point focal serait, effectivement, la nacelle, .... dans sa partie arrière, soit le "cowling" et sa / ses "fixation(s)".
  
  Ils parlent de risques de retards sur les vols d'aujourd'hui.
  
  Certains professionnels "internationaux", et excluant RR, qui n'a fait aucune déclaration publique, au-delà de ce que nous lisons ci-dessus, ....ont dit, en exigeant que leur anonymat soit préservé, que les media n'auraient jamais dû prononcer le terme "engine failure".
  
  Pour eux, il s'agirait d'un "significant incident", et surtout pas d'un "engine failure", malgré le dire d'un "spokesman" de Qantas, qui n'aurait pas dû, paraît-il, employer ce terme.
  

Singapore Airlines is "delaying" all flights scheduled to be operated with its Rolls-Royce Trent 900-powered Airbus A380s following an incident earlier today involving a serious engine failure on a Qantas aircraft.

"Our engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce and aircraft manufacturer Airbus have advised us to conduct precautionary technical checks on our A380 aircraft, following today's incident involving another operator's A380," says SIA.
"Resulting from this development, Singapore Airlines will be delaying all flights operating our A380 aircraft.
"We will keep affected customers updated and more information will be provided once it is available," adds the statement posted on the airline's website.

The Qantas A380 made an emergency landing at Singapore's Changi Airport earlier today after its number two Trent engine appeared to suffer an uncontained failure, resulting in damage to the adjacent wing structure. The Australian flag-carrier has subsequently grounded its A380 fleet.
Lufthansa is the only other current operator of Trent-powered A380s and says it is continuing operations as normal.

Since Qantas QF32 suffered an engine failure and returned safely to Singapore Changi Airport we have been working closely with our customer and the authorities.

In situations like these Rolls-Royce has well established processes to collect and understand information relating to the event and to determine suitable actions.

As always the safe operation of our products is our number one priority.

The in service fleet of Trent 900 engines is small and relatively new, and the Group feels that it is prudent to recommend that a number of basic precautionary engine checks are performed.

This process is now underway.

We will continue to work closely with our customers as the investigation moves forward. This is at a very early stage and it would be inappropriate to draw any conclusions at this time.

FRANKFURT -(Dow Jones)- Germany's Deutsche Lufthansa AG (LHA.XE) said Thursday it is operating its flights using its A380 superjumbo jets as scheduled Thursday, but awaits further information from Rolls-Royce PLC (RR.LN), the maker of the engine involved in an incident that forced a Qantas Airways Ltd. (QAN.AU) A380 jet to make an emergency landing.

"We're in contact with the manufacturer and international safety authorities," a Lufthansa spokesman said.

If Rolls-Royce recommends grounding the A380 superjumbo jets, Lufthansa expects to follow that recommendation, he said. The spokesman added that the engines are checked continually.

The Qantas A380 jet had to make an emergency landing after one of its engines failed after takeoff. Qantas has decided to ground its A380s as a precautionary move.

Some A380s are equipped with Trent 900 engines from Rolls-Royce while others use engines made by Engine Alliance, a joint venture between General Electric Co. ([Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]) and United Technologies Corp.'s ([Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]) Pratt & Whitney unit.
The Qantas aircraft in question, and Lufthansa's three A380s, use the Rolls- Royce engines.

"At the moment, we have two A380s in the air," Lufthansa said. Until the airline receives further information, flights will continue to run on schedule.

A380 manufacturer Airbus is offering technical assistance to Singapore authorities. Rolls-Royce, the European Aviation Safety Agency and the Australian Transport Safety Bureau are also offering assistance.
-By Sarah Sloat, Dow Jones Newswires; +49 69 29725521 .......... ;
sarah.sloat@ dowjones.com