Boeing Took Record 1,413 Orders In 2007

Boeing on Thursday reported an industry record of 1,413 firm commercial plane orders for 2007, setting up a photo-finish with rival Airbus, which reports its annual order tally later this month.

Boeing's net total -- which excludes orders that were subsequently canceled and takes account of orders converted into different plane models -- beats its previous record of 1,044 in 2006 and tops Airbus's industry record of 1,055 net orders in 2005.

Airbus had 1,204 gross orders at the end of November, not adjusted for cancellations or conversions. It is expected to announce its tally of net orders over the next few weeks.

Between them, Boeing and Airbus are set to post more than 2,500 orders for the year, an industry record easily beating the previous best of 2,057 net orders in 2005.

The massive tally marks the third year of the boom in commercial plane sales, as a resurgence in travel after the attacks of September 11, 2001 pushed airlines to expand and update their fleets.

For each of the last three years Boeing and Airbus have posted more than 1,800 net orders combined. In 2004, they barely had 600 orders between them.

Boeing's orders alone this year are worth more than USD$150 billion at list prices. The single-aisle 737 remains its most popular plane, followed by the new, lightweight 787 Dreamliner, which is set to have its maiden flight in the next few months.

The boom has been led by carriers from the oil-rich Middle East, expanding Asian airlines and aircraft leasing firms. Large European and US airlines -- the traditional cornerstones of the market -- have played a smaller role.

Industry analysts do not expect this year's orders to set new records, as many big buyers have made large orders and high oil prices are already forcing some airlines to cut capacity.

Boeing said earlier on Thursday it delivered 441 commercial aircraft in 2007, its best performance in six years and up 11 percent from 2006.

The year tally is in line with Boeing's forecasts, and the highest since it delivered 527 planes in 2001. But it may fall slightly short of rival Airbus, which had delivered 410 aircraft by the end of November, three more than Boeing at that time. (Reuters)

Bombardier Gets USD$136 Million Of Plane Orders

Bombardier said on Thursday that Libyan Airlines agreed to buy two of its CRJ900 NextGen regional jets in an order valued at about USD$76 million.

The order is a conversion of two options Libyan Airlines had taken with its firm order for three CRJ900s on June 14 and stems from its fleet renewal plan.

Bombardier said that including Thursday's order, 229 CRJ900 or CRJ900 NextGen airliners are in service or have been ordered by 17 airlines around the world.

The world's third-largest civil aircraft maker also said Spain ordered two of its Bombardier 415 amphibious water-bombers.

The contract, valued at USD$60 million, includes technical support, training and other equipment for Spain's fleet of 22 Bombardier fire-fighting aircraft. (Reuters)

AIRPORT NEWS

BBI given go-ahead for Globe Ground Berlin sale

Right: BBI has been given the go-ahead to sell its 51% stake in the loss-making ground handler Globe Ground Berlin

Berlin’s municipal authorities have given the go-ahead for airport operator BBI to sell its stake in ground handler Globe Ground Berlin. BBI announced its intention to sell its 51% shareholding last June.

With almost 1,700 employees, GlobeGround Berlin offers a complete package of ground handling services at Berlin’s three airports. Labour unions are concerned at the proposed sale, fearing increased pressure on wages. “We will strongly defend against the sale,” says works council chief Achim Pike. Employees particularly fear the negative impact of low cost carriers on their working conditions.

GlobeGround handles 80% of all traffic in Berlin, but in its last financial year posted a loss of about US$1.18 million (Euro 800,000). The company’s financial performance in 2007 is expected to improve just slightly.

Lufthansa holds the remaining shares in the company and is also willing to divest, but no potential investors have yet appeared. GlobeGround’s operating permit expires in 2011, when the new Brandenburg airport is due to open.

Passport cards promise shorter US security queues

From the start of next month US citizens traveling to Mexico, Canada and the Caribbean will be permitted to use new passport cards that can be scanned from a range of 6m (20 feet). The cards differ from the new e-passports, which guards must swipe close to a reading device to unlock electronically stored personal data.

The new cards, which are optional, are expected to save time at the border and make the border more secure.

US State and Homeland Security Department officials say the unique identifying number that is transmitted from the passport card to the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agent is of use only to officials with access to the database where the traveler’s data is stored. Furthermore, the cards contain none of the personally identifiable information that passports contain.

According to the CBP, the passport card uses technology that has been applied successfully in trusted-traveler programs since 1995.

The new passport cards have been developed to satisfy legislation that requires the US Department of Homeland Security to develop a plan to ensure everyone entering the United States is documented and to create a US passport card to facilitate travel between the US, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and Bermuda.

Officials hope the passport cards will be in use this spring.

Berlin beats 20 million record in 2007

Right: Berlin's airports handled a record 20 million passengers in 2007, compared with just 13.3 million in 2003

Berlin’s airport operator BBI welcomed its 20 millionth passenger on 30 December – an all time record. “This is an important step in our development,” says BBI’s chief executive officer Dr. Rainer Schwarz. “Berlin grows faster than the average German airport with a rise of 8.3%.”

During the past four years, Berlin has registered a passenger traffic rise of over 50%. In 2003, the airports handled just 13.3 million passengers.

Construction of the new Berlin Brandenburg terminal is expected to commence this summer. But since the projected capacity of this airport is about 22 million passengers annually, a terminal extension might be considered given the current growth rate.

Digital screens installed at Beijing Capital

AirMedia Group has completed the installation of high-definition LCD screens at Terminals 2 and 3 of Beijing Capital International Airport (see: Network CN wins Beijing advertising contract).

AirMedia has upgraded 90 light box displays to 46-inch digital frames at Terminal 2 of Beijing Capital International Airport and began placing clients’ advertisements frrom the beginning of December 2007. By 31 December 2007, the company had installed 328 117cm (46-inch) digital frames and 120 178cm (70-inch) digital frames at Terminal 3 of Beijing Capital International Airport.

The new digital frames at Terminal 3 will begin displaying paid advertisements when Terminal 3 opens for testing at the end of February 2008.
Beijing Capital International Airport is expected this year to become one of the world’s five busiest airports, with more than 64 million passenger movements by the end of 2008.

“As our digital frames are placed at both sides of all 60 boarding gates at Terminal 3, and other prime locations with high air passenger traffic, we believe these new digital frames may optimize the effective reach of our clients’ advertisements, making them a very attractive advertising platform. We will continue to expand the number of digital frames in other airports of our network,” says Herman Man Guo, chairman and chief executive officer of AirMedia.

AirMedia has also installed 328 digital TV screens at Terminal 3.

StarHub wins Changi Wi-Fi tender

StarHub has launched free Wi-Fi access for travellers at Singapore’s Changi Airport (see: Changi Airport to offer free Wi-Fi access). The Wi-Fi specialist won the five-year contract following a tender. The service was launched on 1 January in the public and transit areas of all of Changi’s terminals. The free service can be accessed by anyone with a compatible laptop or personal digital assistant (PDA). The service offers download speeds of up to 512Kbps, which is sufficient to support low-cost calls over the internet using online services like Skype.

Singapore Changi Airport welcomes Mihin Lanka

Singapore is the airline’s second international destination in South East Asia.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) held a ceremony yesterday to officially welcome Mihin Lanka, an airline from Sri Lanka, to operate at Singapore Changi Airport.

Mihin Lanka is the second international carrier from Sri Lanka to mount flights to Singapore. The state-owned airline first began operating six weekly flights between Singapore and Colombo on 24 September 2007 with Airbus 321 aircraft.

At the welcome ceremony, CAAS’ Director-General and CEO, Mr Lim Kim
Choon said, “The launch of Mihin Lanka’s services comes at an opportune time as passenger traffic between Singapore and Sri Lanka has grown by 30% over the past
4 years to reach 275,000 movements for the first 11 months of 2007. Between
January and November 2007, there were over 70,000 visitor arrivals from Sri Lanka, representing a robust 10% growth year-on-year.”

Mr Lim further expressed confidence that the visitor arrivals from Sri Lanka to
Singapore would grow further in the coming years, boosted by new tourism developments in Singapore such as the Singapore Flyer, Formula 1 Grand Prix and the Integrated Resorts.

Mihin Lanka is the fourth airline to operate flight services between Colombo and Singapore. The other three airlines are Singapore Airlines, Sri Lankan Airlines and Emirates. This brings the number of weekly passenger flights on the route to a total of 42. 6 Changi Airport is currently served by 81 scheduled airlines, operating over 4,300 weekly scheduled flights to 189 cities in 60 countries.

CHA Education Foundation’s 2008 scholarship program opens

The Caribbean Hotel Foundation (CHF), the non-profit subsidiary of the Caribbean Hotel Association (CHA), announced the launch of its 2008/2009 Scholarship Program for Caribbean hospitality employees, educators, and students wishing to pursue studies or professional development courses related to the tourism industry.

This year, the Foundation introduces a new online mentoring resource for applicants. Sponsored by Virgin Holidays, the mentoring program facilitates a system through which past and current beneficiaries of the Foundation provide advice and encouragement to people considering applying for a scholarship or grant from CHAEF.

“CHAEF mentors can harness their experience to help others to make more informed decisions about education and career prospects,” observed Jonathan Winfield, Responsible Business Executive at Virgin Holidays. Scholarship application forms, application guidelines, a list of mentors, and additional information about the CHA Education Foundation are now available on the CHF website. Application deadline is March 15, 2008.

The CHAEF offers awards ranging from US $500 to US $5,000, available to worthy applicants who demonstrate a strong commitment to the industry and the potential for future success. Further, corporate awards sponsored by private entities include the Virgin Holidays Tourism Management Scholarship of US $10,000 a year for three years. Likewise, Johnson & Wales University, Miami Campus, offers two scholarships worth $5,000 each for four years, while Interval International offers two scholarship of US $7,000 each.

Requirements to apply for the CHF Scholarship Program includes being a Caribbean national, having a high school (or equivalent secondary school) degree, pursuing a tourism-related educational degree – and demonstrated financial need, among others.

In 2007, CHAEF awarded 26 academic scholarships totaling US$86,500 to promising Caribbean students and industry professionals from 13 Caribbean islands. Applications were received from candidates across the region, with a wide variety of educational interests and industry backgrounds. Among the successful candidates were high school graduates pursuing associate and bachelor degrees in tourism and hospitality, hotel personnel committed to their professional development, and tourism and hospitality university graduates looking forward to advanced degrees and certifications.

The Caribbean Hotel Foundation was established in 1987 as a non-profit organization, through which scholarships and special assistance would be made available for the education of Caribbean hotel industry personnel and students pursuing hotel careers. As part of its mission, the Foundation provides people throughout the Caribbean region with an awareness of the industry’s varied career opportunities, as well as technical and professional development. Since 1987, the Foundation has awarded close to US$1 million in scholarships and grants to applicants who demonstrate a strong commitment to the hotel and tourism industry.

New Beijing Terminal 3 for Air China

Starting in March 2008, Air China will begin using the newly constructed Terminal 3 of the Beijing Capital Airport. The Terminal 3 is the China's largest investment project for airport, and will be the main supporting building for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

The one million square-meter Terminal 3 project also includes a 3,800-meter-long by 60-meter-wide runway, which will accommodate the Airbus A380, the largest airplane in the world. Terminal 3 and its new runway had been started in March 2004, and will double the current passenger capacity of the Beijing Capital Airport in 2015.

"Air China is proud to be the flagship tenant in Beijing's fabulous new Terminal 3," said Mrs. Lan Zhang, senior Vice President of Air China. “Our familiar customers will benefit from the move to this new facility, and our new passengers joining for the 2008 Olympic Games will also be pleased with their state-of-the-art experience here in Terminal 3."

Once in Terminal 3, Air China will launch a variety of advanced systems in order to speed the service process and improve luggage management capability. The move to Terminal 3 is an important step in the growth of Air China, enabling the airline to serve the Olympic Games, launch its enhanced network strategy, and offer world-class flying services to its customers.

For additional airport infrastructure, the new Li-Tian highway will run north of the airport, while the airport railway quickly connects the city to the airport. Passengers may take the city railway from Dongzhimen to the airport transportation center, located at the south side of Terminal 3. The airport will also provide 7,000 parking spaces next to the Terminal 3 building.