China Direct

British Airways flying to more Chinese destinations with China Southern

 

CBI member, British Airways has announced that it has expanded its code-sharing deal with China Southern Airlines. The pair, which have had a code-sharing deal since 2017, will now code-share on all direct flights operated between London and the Chinese cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Sanya, Wuhan and Zhengzhou.

The two carriers said at a press conference on Tuesday that their new business agreement would enable them to cooperate more on scheduling and pricing, open up more destinations between the two countries and develop a combined route network from Beijing’s new airport.

Alex Cruz, chairman and CEO of British Airways, said: “We are delighted to announce this joint business which will bring the UK and China closer together by providing British Airways and China Southern Airlines customers with a range of benefits. […]The agreement reinforces [British Airways’] commitment to boost tourism and business travel between the two countries and we look forward to strengthening the relationship further.”

CBI Members - Beijing Daxing International Airport

Dear CBI members & partners,

Kindly find a short business briefing highlighting the role of CBI member companies in the new Beijing Daxing International Airport due to be opened on 01 October.

Thank you.

China Direct

Download Aviation - Daxing Airport2

Airbus takes to the skies with major China aviation order

 

CBI member, Airbus has announced that it has agreed a €30 billion deal with China to sell a package of 300 aircraft to the country. The order was one of 15 commercial deals signed by the two sides during President Xi’s visit to France this week.

President Xi’s state visit to France comes one week after the European Commission labelled China a ‘Systematic Competitor’, and announced that it was considering steps to ‘develop a new arsenal [of trade defence instruments] to fight aggressive trade tactics’ –- French President Emmanuel Macron has been particularly vocal on the need for the EU to be more robust in its trade negotiations with China.

President Macron reportedly told President Xi after their meeting at the Elysée palace in Paris, where the trade deal was signed, that ‘[France] needs more access for our companies in China, the conclusion of a big contract for Airbus is a significant move forward and an excellent signal.’

The agreement, between China’s Aviation Supplies Holding Company and Airbus, covers 290 Airbus A320 aircraft and 10 A350 XWB jets.

Guillaume Faury, president of Airbus’ commercial aircraft division, said: ‘[Airbus is honoured to support the growth of China’s civil aviation with our leading aircraft families – single-aisle and wide-bodies. [Airbus’s] expanding footprint in China demonstrates our lasting confidence in the Chinese market and our lasting commitment to China and to our partners.’

China is a key market for Airbus, with the company predicting that it will become the world’s biggest aviation market by early next decade. Airbus on Monday said that its latest market forecast to 2037 predicted that China would need some 7,400 new passenger and freight aircraft over the next 20 years – representing more than 19% of the world total demand for aircraft.

As of the end of January 2019, Chinese airlines had some 1,730 Airbus aircraft in operation, according to the company.

 

Airbus's China innovation Centre opens in Shenzhen

 

CBI member, Airbus has announced that it has opened an innovation centre in south China’s Shenzhen to develop new technologies that will improve the cabin experience of Airbus aircraft for passengers as well as improve the manufacturing process for Airbus and partners.

China Direct subscribers will remember that in December, Airbus announced that it would be partnering with China mobile to upgrade in-flight WIFI services across the Airbus fleet. Shenzhen was chosen as the location for Airbus’ innovation centre because of the city’s rapidly developing innovation advantages, including access to local partners, such as China Mobile and Huawei, talent and local government support for foreign R&D initiatives.

Tom Enders, Airbus CEO said: “Shenzhen is the Silicon Valley of China, with many high-tech companies as well as promising partners […] Shenzhen is famous for its speed, which is certainly good for [Airbus]. We need to be more open to innovation at a faster speed.”

Airbus has also signed an MoU with Shenzhen Municipal Commerce Bureau to cooperate to deliver Urban Air Mobility (UAM) solutions in Shenzhen. Airbus’s UAM initiative aims to create a whole new industry from scratch to make inter-city helicopter travel accessible to the masses by designing and eventually manufacturing small electric ‘helicopter taxis’ which would open up the vertical dimensions of cities for travel.

Its an ambitious task, for an ambitious city, which is set to become central to Airbus’ China operations, as they build on the success the company is having the China market. As 2018 came to a close, 1,700 Airbus aircraft were serving in the China market, while more than 20% of all commercial aircraft manufactured by Airbus had at some point entered China’s airspace.

 

Airbus's skywise cloud service takes off in China

 

CBI member, Airbus has announced that it has launched its aviation data platform, Skywise Core in China.

China’s largest low-cost carrier, Spring Airlines will be the first Chinese airline to use the Skywise system, which aims to help airlines improve their operational performance by logging flight data on a cloud-based platform.

The agreement signed between Airbus and Spring Airlines on Monday sets out how Spring Airlines will integrate its own operational, maintenance, and aircraft data into the Skywise cloud-based system, so that Spring Airlines can store, access, manage and analyse its own data against selected Airbus data and global benchmarks without the need for additional infrastructure investment.

The Airbus Skywise system will be used to store data taken from Spring Airlines’ fleet of 81 Airbus A320 aircraft. Huge amounts of data are generated while operating commercial flights. Over the course of 12 hours flying, a narrow-body aircraft, similar to the Airbus A320, will create as much as 844TB (terabyte) of data, which is equivalent to downloading more than 20,000 HD movies.

Airbus has already signed 54 airlines to the Skylines platform, with the platform drawing data from over 4,500 aircraft.

The platform has the potential to save airlines a lot of money. Airlines are liable to be fined if flights are delayed and they miss their take-off window. Airbus’s Skywise system contains powerful data-analysing functions that allow airlines to intervene and prevent malfunctions before they happen, and isolate and change components to avoid flight delays or cancellations.

Airbus hopes that through the wide-spread adoption of Skywise, the platform will be able to drive digital collaboration across the aerospace value-chain, and accelerate digitalisation within the aviation sector; by providing companies across the sector with the data and capabilities they need to make more profitable decisions.

London Gatwick flying high with new Shanghai route

 

 

CBI member, Gatwick Airport has announced a new long-haul connection from London Gatwick to Shanghai off the back of record year on year growth of +20.8% during July.

The new service will be flown by China Eastern, which is China’s second largest airline, and will increase capacity between the two hubs by over 70,000 new seats and more than 3,7000 metric tonnes of cargo.

London Gatwick CEO, Stewart Wingate said: “I am delighted to welcome China Eastern to Gatwick and look forward to the start of this vital new link to Shanghai, which, like London, is undoubtedly one of the world’s most important cities and business hubs. Starting from such a strong position gives this new route every chance of success, as it will be popular with business passengers […] as well as leisure passengers keen to sample the excitement of China’s largest city.”

The launch of the new route follows the busiest July in Gatwick’s history, which saw the volume of cargo handled by the airport grow by +28.8% y/y as a direct result of its soaring long-haul demand.

On top of this, Gatwick/s Asia routes grew by +134.8% compared with July last year.

Mr. Wingate said, “July’s traffic figures demonstrate that Gatwick’s long-haul network is driving the airport’s growth. These connections to China and other non-European countries will take on extra significance in a post-Brexit Britain as [the UK] becomes more reliant on them to generate vital growth through trade and by exploiting the other business opportunities that they provide.”

China is taking on increasing significance in the aviation industry as size of the country’s middle class rapidly increases in number and develops an appetite for flying. It has been estimated that China will account for the largest number of out-bound travellers by 2030, with 260 million Chinese tourists set to make trips abroad over the next decade.

Please read more here.

Airbus partners with China Mobile to upgrade in-flight WIFI services

 

CBI member, Airbus has announced that the aviation company’s Innovation Centre in Shenzhen has signed an agreement with China Mobile to develop in-flight WIFI services to meet the need for greater in-air connectivity.

The agreement is between the Airbus China Innovation Centre and China Mobile Intelligent Mobility Network Technology Company.

According to the CEO of the Airbus China Innovation Centre, Luo Gang: “The cooperation will develop end-to-end solutions and create new in-flight high-speed connectivity, leveraging the favourable policy on the use of portable electronic devices on board aircraft and the upcoming 5-G technology.”

 Airbus and China Mobile hope to be the first to benefit from the lifting of curbs on the use of mobile devices on domestic flights made by the Civil Aviation Administration of China in January. From the start of this year, passengers on flights operating within China’s airspace can use mobile phones, tablets and laptops during the entire flight, as long as they have airplane mode switched on.

China’s in-flight WIFI market is expected to enter a rapid growth period over the next few years. Most domestic routes are yet to be equipped with WIFI services, due to technology and cost limitations.

The wider in-flight services market is already proving to be one where there is appetite from Chinese companies to partner with established foreign players. For example, CBI member Thales recently announced that they had extended their partnership with China Southern Airlines to provide in-flight entertainment systems across the airline’s Boeing fleet.

With domestic companies lacking the infrastructure and/or technology to provide such services themselves – within a timeframe that meets the expectations of the rapidly increasing number of Chinese passengers – agreements such as between Airbus and China Mobile are the only way Chinese companies can increase and improve their services.

This is especially significant considering that the China aviation market is expected to become the world’s largest aviation market by 2022, two years earlier than expected by IATA forecasts. It would be anticipated that such growth would trickle down to the in-flight services market by extension.

Airbus is ahead of the curve when it comes to developing products for the Asia market. The company’s Shenzhen innovation centre that opened last year was the first such facility in Asia; its new partner managed by China Mobile was opened in June.

Currently, in-flight WIFI mostly relies on the KU band signal, which makes it susceptible to instability during flights. Airbus and China Mobile hope that by investing resources into researching smart transportation fields, they will be able to significantly improve upon current provisions.

Please read more here.

Spirit AeroSystems joins Boeing in celebrating 2,000th plane in China

 

CBI member, Spirit AeroSystems joined Boeing in celebrating the delivery of the 2,000^th Boeing plane to a Chinese operator on Friday, with the handover of a B737 MAX to Xiamen Airlines last Friday.

Spirit AeroSystems is the largest individual supplier to Boeing and provides parts to all the company’s commercial jet programmes. However, Spirit AeroSystems is predominantly involved with production of the Boeing 737; the company is responsible for building close to 70% of every aircraft sold in China.

The company is enjoying a significant up-turn as a result of a recent boom in the China aviation market. Spirit AeroSystems estimates that China’s need of 7,690 new commercial jets over the next 20 years will contribute $1.2 trillion to the commercial aerospace industry in the company’s home city of Wichita in the US state of Kansas.

The China market is particularly valuable to Spirit AeroSystems because around a third of all Boeing 737 sales are made to Chinese airlines. Boeing did announce, that as a result of the importance of the China market to the American aircraft manufacturer, China-bound 737s would begin to be finished in a new completion centre in Zhoushan, China as of December this year.

Spirit AeroSystems will continue production at its Wichita plant to meet demand, and export fuselages and components to Zhoushan for furnishing and painting. Spirit AeroSystems expects to export 100 fuselages per year.

Thales extends China Southern Airlines partnership

 

CBI member, Thales has announced that it has extended its partnership with China Southern, and will launch its new AVANT inflight entertainment system aboard China Southern’s new fleet of B777 and fit avionics equipment to the airline’s fleet of A320neo and B737max aircraft.

The partnership is great exposure for Thales; China Southern Airlines operates the third largest fleet in the world.

The China Southern B777 fleet will be fitted with Thales’s state of the art, android based AVANT inflight entertainment system. AVANT offers passengers a wide selection of applications including 3D maps, games and flight connections, all on sleek lightweight screens with high definition display. Thales has been the inflight entertainment supplier of choice to China Southern across its B777 fleet since 2012.

The A320neo fleet will be equipped with Thales FMS, the most advanced Flight Management System on the market, as well as the Thales Head Up Display system.

On the Boeing 737Max fleet, Thales will supply the Thales Terrain Collision Avoidance System as well as the Thales Inmarsat System, which provides the aircraft with low-range altimeter capabilities.

Thales has supplied China Southern with terrain collision systems for almost 20 years and has provided inflight entertainment capabilities on aircraft other than the B777 since 2008.

It is in recognition of the length and depth of the relationship, that Thales has agreed with China Southern that the airline will be the launch customer of the new AVANT entertainment system.

Phillipe Carette, the CEO of Thales InFlyt Experience said: “Thales and China Southern have shared a long-term relationship over the years. As the launch customer of AVANT, the airline was first in market to benefit from the technological advancement of android based inflight entertainment.”

Eric Huber, Vice-President for Avionics Services Worldwide, “Not only do we have a long history of collaboration with China Southern, we also were selected because of the performance and competitiveness of our products which are underpinned by the support service excellence we provide to increase airlines efficiency.”

China has become one of Thales’s most important markets. The company has been active in China for more than 30 years and works closely with partners in the aviation and rail transportation industries. The group currently employs as many as 1,300 people in China and has taken serious steps to localise its work force; 95% of Thales employees in China are Chinese nationals.

Rolls Royce flying high with China Eastern deal

 

 

CBI member, Rolls-Royce have announced that they have signed a contract with China Eastern to supply engines and services for the airline’s A330 fleet.

The contract, valued at more than $1.4 billion, was one of the largest deals agreed at the China International Expo last week. Rolls-Royce will provide Trent XWB engines and facilitate Rolls-Royce’s long-term ‘TotalCare’ servicing for the airline.

Rolls-Royce Trent 700 engines already power all of China Eastern Airlines’ 59 currently operational Airbus A330 aircraft, and the latest deal is one in a series aimed at expanding and modernising China Eastern’s fleet. In 2016, China Eastern ordered 20 Airbus A350 XWB aircraft that incorporate Rolls-Royce’s Trent XWB engine to expand its widebody fleet and increase capacity across international routes. This was followed by a Letter of Intent in 2017, which set out that Rolls-Royce would also power the A330 fleet and further their relationship through the signing of last week’s contract.

The Trent XWB is the world’s most efficient large civil aero engine with more than 1,700 engines already having been sold to 46 customers. The engine entered commercial service in 2015.

Rolls-Royce sells its engines in China with ‘TotalCare’ servicing for the lifetime of the engine because it is aware of the unique operating environment which China presents. As a result, Rolls-Royce engineers are able to guarantee the engine from damage caused by operating within China’s heavily polluted airspace.

Rolls-Royce is enjoying considerable success in the China market. China became the company’s second biggest market in 2016, way ahead of when the company’s own predictions. China continues to be a key growth market for Rolls-Royce, where they are aiming to double their operating engine count.

Please read more here.