Facing frequent problems with the Boeing Dreamliner planes, the engineers of national carrier Air India have urged the management to not accept any further delivery till the pending issues are resolved. The airline is awaiting six more Dreamliners of the total 27 ordered.
Reportedly, AI is losing money by the day as many planes remain grounded due to snags. The Air India Aircraft Engineers Association recently stated, “The association requests the management to put on hold further deliveries of B787s till all technical problems are resolved to the satisfaction of Air India.”
An internal route economic analysis done by AI in April showed that in the last financial year, the airline lost over Rs 1,800 crore on all international routes on which the state-of-the-art Boeing Dreamliners were operating. It was nearly half of the total loss (Rs 3,900 crore) incurred by the carrier on international routes during the period. The losses are worrying, as the Dreamliner was an important part of AI’s turn-around plan.
The carrier is reeling under a debt of over Rs 44,000 crore and is dependent upon the state grant for funds. Sources said the Dreamliners were ordered because the manufacturer had claimed that they were 20 per cent more fuel efficient. Fuel expenditure amounts to over 40% of the airline’s operational cost.
During an interview with dna last month, Dinesh Keskar, senior VP (Asia Pacific and India sales) for Boeing Commercial airplanes, had said that despite some initial snags, the airline management was satisfied with the Dreamliner’s performance. “In fact, I had a meeting with former AI CMD Rohit Nandan a few days ago, and he admitted to me that Dreamliner was now the backbone of their airline’s turn-around plan.”
DNA
United Airlines to launch San Fransisco – Xi’an route
United Airlines is looking to expand its footprint in China. The carrier said on Tuesday it is seeking regulatory approval to begin seasonal flights between its San Francisco hub and the interior Chinese city of Xi’an.
If approved, United says it would be the first U.S. carrier to serve Xi’an and the first-ever to offer a trans-Pacific route from the city. United has proposed seasonal service between the cities, saying it would fly three times a week on Boeing 787-8 “Dreamliner” aircraft. The service would operate from mid-May through late October.
“We are excited by the prospect of using the game-changing 787 to make Xi’an a new trans-Pacific gateway for China,” Jim Compton, United’s chief revenue officer, says in a statement. “Assuming our application is approved, we will offer our customers unique non-stop flights between one of China’s most vibrant cities and the U.S. West Coast, with fast and easy connections via our San Francisco hub to destinations throughout the Americas.”
Xi’an would become United’s 11th nonstop route to the Asia/Pacific region out of its hub in San Francisco. United says it “already operates more non-stop China-U.S. flights, and from more cities in China, than any other airline.”
The 787-8s that United would fly on the San Francisco-Xi’an route seat 219, including 36 in business class, 70 in Economy Plus and 113 in standard coach.
United projects the flight time on the route to be about 12 hours, 5 minutes, eastbound and about 13 hours, 5 minutes, westbound. China-bound flights would operate Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday, leaving San Francisco at 1:25 p.m. and landing in Xi’an at 5:30 p.m. the next day (all times local). The return would leave Xi’an on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 10:30 a.m., arriving to San Francisco at 7:35 a.m. the same day, all times local.
USA Today
UNITED on 22SEP15 filed an application to the US Department of Transportation, seeking approval to operate San Francisco – Xi’An route. The Star Alliance member intends to operate this route 3 times a week, using Boeing 787-8. Subject to Approval, first flight for this seasonal service is tentatively scheduled on 08MAY16.
Proposed schedule as follow.
UA853 SFO1325 – 1730+1XIY 788 247
UA852 XIY1030 – 0735SFO 788 246
Airline Route
ANA All Nippon Airways reveals R2-D2 livery
ANA (All Nippon Airways) (Tokyo) today (September 12) is celebrating the roll out of the new R2-D2 Star Wars special livery on new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner JA873A (msn 34530).
The R2-D2™ ANA Jet, a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, rolled-out from the Boeing Everett Factory for the first time this morning (September 12). The R2-D2™ ANA Jet is the first of three planes to be decorated with Star Wars characters as part of an agreement between ANA, Japan’s largest airline, and The Walt Disney Company (Japan) Ltd.
“Today the time has come to bring the ANA Star Wars project to life and we hope Star Wars fans across the world will be as excited about our R2-D2 ANA Jet as we are,” said Hideki Kunugi, Senior Vice President, the Americas, ANA. “At ANA we’re always looking for ways to improve the flying experience for our passengers, and what better way to start your trip to Asia than on a one-of-a-kind Star Wars plane?”
The R2-D2 design was unveiled to Star Wars fans at the Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim, California earlier this year. Today marks the first time a Star Wars character appears on the exterior of an actual commercial aircraft.
“The Boeing Company is truly honored that ANA has selected the new 787-9 Dreamliner to showcase this wonderful new livery,” said Ihssane Mounir, Senior Vice President, Northeast Asia Sales and Marketing, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. “Their commitment to the 787 is a testament to the market-leading efficiency and innovation of the Dreamliner. I am confident this latest addition to its large fleet of 787s, will help ANA maintain its position as one of the best airlines in the world.”
On October 18, the R2-D2™ ANA Jet is scheduled to go into service on international routes, initially as flight NH116 between Tokyo and Vancouver, and then fly between Japan and other cities in ANA’s robust international network including the US (Seattle and San Jose), Europe (Munich, Paris and Brussels), Australia (Sydney), China (Beijing), and Indonesia (Jakarta).[1] The R2-D2 motif is imprinted onto the cockpit and front half of the jet’s main fuselage, while the Star Wars logo spans the length behind the wings. The interior of the 215-seat passenger plane will feature themed in-flight decorations, such as headrest covers, paper napkins and cups, and passengers will be able to enjoy all six of the currently released Star Wars films as part of ANA’s extensive in-flight entertainment options. This will be the first time that any of the Star Wars movies have been included as part of an in-flight entertainment system.[2]
Two additional planes decorated with BB-8, a brand new character from Star Wars: The Force Awakens and R2-D2 will take to the skies following the R2-D2™ ANA Jet. The first, a Boeing 767-300, will begin flying domestic Japanese routes in November and then, in March 2016, a Boeing 777-300ER, is scheduled to start serving international routes principally between Japan and North America (the exact routes have yet to be announced)[3]. Fans will be able to see the planes’ schedules at http://www.ana-sw.com.
Today’s ceremony began with an introduction from Ihssane Mounir, Senior Vice President of Northeast Asia Sales and Marketing at Boeing, who welcomed the crowd that included journalists, R2-D2, C-3PO and Stormtroopers. When the official Star Wars music began to play, the Paint Hangar doors at the Boeing Everett Factory opened, unveiling the R2-D2™ ANA Jet to the world for the first time.
[1] Routes and flights detailed on the above site are provisional and subject to change without notification.
[2] Star Wars movies to be shown from November 1, 2015 to January 31, 2016 on all international routes.
[3] The routes are tentatively set as New York, Chicago and Houston, but this is subject to change.
World Airline News
