Article courtesy of https://www.btnews.co.uk/article/19121

With Farnborough coming up (begins Monday 18 July) The Aviation Club of the United Kingdom has invited Stan Deal, Executive VP of The Boeing Company and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, to the RAC London for its next lunch, Thursday 16 June.

Stan Deal has been Executive VP & CEO of The Boeing Company since 2019.The timing is perfect with Deal expected to attend the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Annual General Meeting which starts in Doha the following Sunday.

Described as a ‘fireside chat’ Deal, who has been at Boeing since 1986, will be interviewed by Club Chairman Karl Brünjes followed by a question-and-answer session from the floor.  The confirmation of a major IAG order for the Boeing MAX will no doubt be discussed.   

Since joining Boeing Deal’s broad range of positions has included leading integrated product teams for propulsion systems and structures on the 717 programme and serving as Programme Manager for the MD-11 Japan Airlines programme.  Stan was named in his current position in October 2019.  He is now responsible for delivering a family of super-efficient aeroplanes to worldwide customers and leading the growth of the company’s commercial aeroplane programmes.  

Some 150 guests, drawn from Aviation Club UK members and delegates attending the Airline Economics Growth Frontiers Dublin 2022 Conference gathered on Sunday 8 May at the intercontinental, Dublin for the third edition of the Aviation Club of the UK’s ‘Dublin Dinner’.  American businessman and industry figure head Steven Udvar-Hazy joined the gathering as guest of honour and spoke about discussed the present position of aviation leasing and shared his personal views on the current and short-term future of the market.  Previous events have welcomed guest speakers Willie Walsh and Gus Kelley, Aircap. 

‘The Dublin Dinner has established itself as a popular and important event on the Club’s annual events programme.  The pandemic meant a cancellation in 2021 and several date changes to this year’s event, but the increased attendance numbers of 150 from 85 in 2020, demonstrate the value in face-to-face networking and the appetite and appreciation for  the  much  welcomed return to physical events.’  Said club Chairman Karl Brunjes.  He went on to thank the generous  ongoing support of the Bank of China and Airline Economics, without whom the dinner would not be possible.  A recording of Steve Udvar-Hazy’s speech is available at  The Aviation Club UK Speakers.

The next Aviation Club lunch will be held on Thursday 16 June at the RAC, London, with guest speaker Stan Deal, President and CEO Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Tickets are available for members and their guests from the club website – www.aviationclub.org.uk.

Article courtesy of BTN, the Business Travel news. For this and other articles visit https://www.btnews.co.uk/article/18868

A packed Aviation Club lunch on Tuesday 15 March 2022 saw a return of Ed Bastian, CEO, Delta Airlines (he was also guest of honour in 2014) in what was termed a ‘fireside chat’ with Club Chairman Karl Brünjes. No fireside but a good chat. He said that the terrible war in Ukraine had no impact on US originating traffic, noting that 8 March had been the busiest in the airline’s history. “I have not seen a stronger demand day for travel in my career”, he said.

He added that the Russian invasion had prompted a brief drop in sales, but otherwise consumers were not being put off by the rise in the cost of living and other factors, including spiralling fuel costs.

Carriers had weathered the pandemic, he said. “It has been the worst period that companies and the industry has ever been through, but we are through”.

Bastian said he was “not at a point of nervousness” about rising fuel prices. “We have seen $100 (a barrel) for many years over time. We were quite successful when it moved over $100”.  He hinted at an impact on fares later in the year pointing out that Delta is not hedged “none of the US majors are, so we need to pass that on to the marketplace”.

He was optimistic. “In the US there is a lot of inflation, and fuel is at record levels, but the US consumer has savings. A lot of the spending has been on home improvements, etc, but there’s now a shift away from goods and services and that’s fuelling demand, not just at the moment, but for the summer”.

Airlines had a role to play in reuniting families and getting the corporate world moving, he said. “We realise the role we play and that is a noble role. Consumers will rally to our side and we are seeing just that”.

In answer to a question from BTN’s Malcolm Ginsberg he made it quite clear that Delta was firmly now established at Heathrow, offered a summer series to Edinburgh and was working closely with partner airline Virgin Atlantic.

www.delta.com

In a letter to staff, Mr. Dickson said it was “time to go home” to his family after a tumultuous period of more than two years leading the agency.

WASHINGTON — Steve Dickson, the administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, will resign at the end of next month, the agency said on Wednesday night.

The announcement by Mr. Dickson, who was appointed by President Donald J. Trump, cut short a five-year term after what had been a tumultuous period for the F.A.A. In a letter to staff, Mr. Dickson said it was “time to go home” to his family after 43 years in the aviation industry and more than two years leading the agency.

“Over the past several years, my family has been a source of tremendous encouragement, strength and support,” Mr. Dickson said. “Nevertheless, after sometimes long and unavoidable periods of separation from my loved ones during the pandemic, it is time to devote my full time and attention to them.”

He said the F.A.A. was in a “better place” than it was two years ago, adding that the agency had reinvigorated its safety culture, overcome some of its toughest challenges and “built a stronger, more collaborative, inclusive and open culture.”

Mr. Dickson had sometimes come under heavy criticism from lawmakers as he responded to a series of challenges at the agency, but on Wednesday night, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg praised him as “the F.A.A.’s steady and skilled captain.”

“His tenure has been marked by steadfast commitment to the F.A.A.’s safety mission and the 45,000 employees who work tirelessly every day to fulfill it,” Mr. Buttigieg said in a statement.

Mr. Dickson, a former pilot who rose to become senior vice president of flight operations at Delta Air Lines and a U.S. Air Force Academy graduate, took charge of the F.A.A. as the agency was reeling after two deadly crashes that grounded Boeing ’s 737 Max jet for almost two years.

Congress and safety experts condemned the agency for lapses in oversight that helped lead to the crashes, which killed 346 people. Mr. Dickson, who took over the agency months after the Max was grounded, oversaw revisions to the aircraft that allowed the fleet to eventually resume commercial flights .

He then had to navigate a cascade of disruptions to air travel from the Covid-19 pandemic, including new airline safety regulations , travel restrictions, a severe decline in commercial air traffic and a surge in unruly passengers that has led some airline executives to call for a federal no-fly list for those convicted of disrupting flights.

The agency had to confront concerns that a nationwide expansion of 5G cellular networks could interfere with sensitive aircraft instruments. The F.A.A. negotiated a compromise with cellular providers in January to partly delay the implementation of 5G service near airport runways.

Mr. Dickson was confirmed in an unusually divided Senate vote in July 2019 after some Democrats raised concerns about his involvement in a whistle-blower case at Delta. The agency had been without permanent leadership for more than a year and a half before his confirmation.

Representative Peter A. DeFazio, an Oregon Democrat and the chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said that although he “didn’t always see eye to eye” with Mr. Dickson, he thanked him for his leadership during a challenging time for the agency.

“President Biden must now nominate a new leader committed to the highest standards of aviation safety,” Mr. DeFazio said in a statement.

Article courtesey of BTN – The Business Travel News https://www.btnews.co.uk/article/18716

Guest of Honour at last week’s UK Aviation Club lunch at the RAC London, Air Arabia boss Adel Abdullah Ali was in a positive state of mind. He said that the airline was profitable for the first nine months of 2021, after a loss-making prior year, and the carrier would shortly unveil its full-year performance, which Ali says “should be good”.

Asked by BTN’s Malcolm Ginsberg whether London was a possibility he said the route was on the airline’s wish list, the carrier already serving Gatwick via Morocco.  Sharjah International Airport is less than 20 miles from Dubai International with currently nine flights to London, all wide-bodied. 

UK educated, and with British Airways at the start of his airline career, Mr Ali made it clear that the airline’s future was with the Airbus A320 series, which were easily obtainable on lease, and the long-range A321LR already in the fleet.

Ali also spoke of a new Pakistani joint-venture carrier to commence around mid-year.  Called Fly Jinnah.  It is being established with conglomerate Lakson Group and will be based in Karachi.  He said the airline would be flying around “June time” and that it would initially operate domestically for a year.  “Domestic Pakistan is good business”, he said.

Founded in 2003 Air Arabia today flies 58 aircraft and operates 179 routes.  Its largest overseas base is Casablanca where it serves 17 destinations.

The next Aviation Club lunch is Tuesday 15 March with guest speaker Ed Bastian, CEO Delta Air Lines.

Further articles on this event can be found at:

Routesonline.com – https://bit.ly/3rNoaSx

Reported by BTN – Malcolm Ginsberg:

Speaking at the Aviation Club in London last week Qatar Airways’ CEO Akbar Al Baker said that Airbus needs to admit it had a problem with flaws on the surface of its A350 jets and ruled out buying freighter planes from the European aircraft manufacturing company.

BTN’s Editor in Chief made a presentation to His Excellency. Having spent 23 years as Qatar Airways CEO Al Baker is now the longest serving CEO of a major airline.

“They acknowledge that they are working to find a solution, which means they don’t have a solution, and they don’t have a solution because they don’t know why it is happening.”  Al Baker compared the issue with the production and quality issues Boeing has with the 787, saying: “Boeing’s problems with the 787 are ‘dwarfed’ by that at the A350.”

Al Baker confirmed that Qatar Airways had grounded 20 of the long-range A350 jets in a month-long dispute over paint and other surface damage that has also prompted the airline to halt further deliveries.

“Qatar Airways cannot sit with its arms folded and legs crossed. We need to solve it. Airbus has made a very large dent in our widebody operations,” Al Baker said.

“It is a serious matter; we don’t know if it is an airworthiness issue; we also don’t know that it is not an airworthiness issue. The real cause of it has not been established by Airbus. Now they have, at last, accepted that there are other airlines, several of them that have the same condition.”

An investigation done by Reuters showed that the Qatar Airways issue over the A350 is not an isolated case. A private maintenance message board used by Airbus and A350 operators and reviewed by Reuters showed that as early as 2016, Finnair had raised concerns over paint and reported in October 2019 that damage had spread below to the anti-lightning mesh.

According to the investigation, Air France, Cathay Pacific, Etihad and Lufthansa also complained of paint damage.

The response to His Excellency’s discourse was given by Malcolm Ginsberg, Editor-in-Chief Business Travel News (BTN), who said that Al Baker sought every opportunity to promote Qatar and his airline.  “I might as well add a certain Michael O’Leary who also took the same route, but with far less civility.  I know which airline I would prefer to fly on!”

Other stories can be found at the following links:

Aerotime Hub: https://bit.ly/3IRoLZO

www.qatarairways.com