The aircraft

The aircraft used for the trial is A380 MSN002 and is powered by four Rolls Royce Trent 900 engines. From its start in Toulouse, France, on November 13th, the current technical route proving exercise will see ten different airports visited in four trips by the time the testing is complete: Singapore and Seoul, and Hong Kong and Narita being trips one and two respectively. The third trip will take the aircraft to Guangzhou (22nd November), and Beijing and Shanghai (23rd November).

The fourth and final trip will take the A380 around the globe, via both poles. It will depart Toulouse to reach Johannesburg on 26th November, and then fly over the South Pole en-route to Sydney where it will arrive on 28th November. From Sydney, it will fly across the Pacific to Vancouver (29th November) prior to returning to Toulouse via the North Pole.

During this technical route proving exercise, the A380 will have to demonstrate that it can be turned around as per normal airline operations. Tests will cover, amongst other things, checks on standard aircraft maintenance and behaviour, as well as typical airport operations and compatibility. These will include monitoring functions such as bridge docking, cleaning and catering, refuelling and boarding procedures.

Five development A380s have now flown. Four aircraft, one of which is powered by the Engine Alliance GP7200 engine, are now actively involved in the intensive flight test programme, which has already reached over 730 flights and 2,300 flight hours. The fifth aircraft is undergoing cabin installation in Hamburg. Firm orders and commitments for the A380 currently stand at 166 aircraft for 15 customers.

World Record Attempts

World Record Attempts

Sir Richard Branson has been involved in many world record breaking activities;

1986 His boat Virgin Atlantic Challenger II crossed the Atlantic Ocean in record breaking time.

1987 Virgin Atlantic Flyer was the first air balloon to ever cross the Atlantic.

1991 The Virgin Atlantic Flyer crossed the Pacific Ocean from Japan to Artic Canada at record speeds of up to 245 miles an hour! Now that’s fast.

1995 – 1998 Richard Branson made various attempts to circumnavigate the world in a hot air balloon however the weather never prevented him from seeing this dream come into life. They were in fact beaten by a Swiss firm in 1999.

Innovations

‘Flying without Fear’ program was established on 4 April 1998. It helps people overcome their fear of flying.

It is a one day program that is aimed at conquering a person’s fear of flying. The program consists of a session run by a VS pilot in the morning that discusses safety but also teaches people about things such as what are the normal sounds that would be heard during a flight and why they occur. This is then followed by a session on relaxation techniques.

At the end of the day session, participants are given the opportunity to conquer their fear and participate in a short flight.

As recently seen on The View, where Whoopi Goldberg went through the program live on air on the April 01 2009 to conquer her fear of flying.

Skytrax World Airline Award (2008)

The top 10 2008 Skytrax World Airline Award rankings (last year’s rankings in brackets)

1 Singapore Airlines (1)
2 Cathay Pacific (3)
3 Qantas (5)
4 Thai Airways (2)
5 Asiana Airlines (12)
6 Malaysia Airlines (6)
7 Qatar Airways (4)
8 Air New Zealand (7)
9 Emirates (9)
10 Etihad Airways (23)

SURVEY METHODOLOGY
The survey was operated over a 11 month period (August 2007 to June 2008), during which time air travellers completed a wide range of survey nominations – for the Airline of the Year title, together with regional and other award categories.  The Survey data is collated from a variety of input sources, including:

Passenger Interviews completed online & via e-mail
Business Research Group / Travel Panel Interviews
Corporate Travel Questionnaire / Interviews
Telephone Interviews
Selective Passenger Interviews
Product and Service factors ranked by customers in the survey included :

GROUND / AIRPORT
Standard of Airline web site
Online Booking service
Online check-in services

Airport Ticket Counters
Waiting times at Check-in
Quality of Check-in service
Self Check-in options
Boarding Procedures
Friendliness of Ground staff
Efficiency of Ground Staff
Transfer services
Arrival services
Baggage Delivery
Handling Delays

ONBOARD : PRODUCT
Cabin Seat comfort
Cabin Cleanliness
Toilet Cleanliness
Cabin Lighting / Ambience
Cabin Temperatures
Cabin Comfort amenities
Reading Materials
Airline magazine
Inflight Entertainment standards
Audio / Movie programming
AVOD options
Quality of Meals
Quantity of Food served
Meal Choices
Selection of Drinks / Pay bar formats

ONBOARD : STAFF SERVICE
Assistance thru Boarding
Friendliness of Staff
Service Attentiveness / Efficiency
Consistency of Service across different 
Staff Language skills
Meal service efficiency
Availability thru Flight / Cabin presence
PA announcements
Problem solving Skills
General Staff Attitudes
Staff Grooming

World Airline Industry

Switzerland - IATA says World Airline Industry to Lose $4.7 Billion in 2009 says IATA

World airlines are set to lose $4.7 billion this year as a result of the global recession that has shrunk passenger and cargo demand, industry body IATA said. The International Air Transport Association had estimated in December the industry would lose $2.5 billion in 2009.IATA the Swiss-based body said its latest forecast was based on a view that the economy and air transport demand would hit bottom by mid-2009 and then start to recover.

"We do expect better prospects toward the end of this year or the beginning of 2010," Bisignani told a news conference at Geneva airport. Leading airlines have slashed fares to encourage continued travel and unveiled a range of cost-cutting measures to stay afloat throughout an economic slump. Fares should stay low throughout the year while airlines compete for the business that remains until global economic activity rebounds, Bisignani said.

World Airline Captain Cap

World Airline Captain Cap

Global figures

Global figures for commercial aviation crashes in 2007 show an all-time low of 23 fatal accidents. Even the number of fatal casualties, at 597, was well below the annual average for the past 10 years. Comparable figures for accidents in 2006 show 27 fatal accidents resulting in just over 863 fatalities. The annual averages for the decade 1998-2007 show 34.5 fatal accidents and 846 fatalities a year (see chart below).

air routes

Map of global passenger air routes. This image is generally correct, but not specifically correct. Flights take various routes, and the traffic density portrayed is based on the number of airlines on a particular route, not the number of actual flights. Data from Google Maps, Airlineroutemaps.com, and individual airline websites.