Jetstar to roll out iPad on board

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Recent Entries
Bombardier's Asian bombshell
IATA AGM: Japan Airlines looks for mindset change
IATA AGM: Industry will closely watch ANA's 787s
Jetstar to roll out iPad on board
Japan's new ATD-X technology demonstrator plays important strategic role
Japan looking to take new direction with future fighter programmes
ShinMaywa's US-2 needs a big market
Is the sun setting on Japan's defence industry?
Tiger roaring up the wrong tree?
Indonesia's new 19-seater entering crowded market
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Bombardier's Asian bombshell
By Leithen Francis on June 16, 2010 3:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)
It looks like Bombardier has finally realised that it needs to do more with product support in Asia.

The Canadian aircraft-maker announced yesterday that it plans to get Fokker Services to support its Dash 8 and Q-series aircraft around the globe. The only exception is that Bombardier will continue to keep Q400 product support because this aircraft - unlike the others - is still in production.Bombardier says it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Fokker Services and plans to sign a firm deal later this year.

This is a global deal but it has particular significance in Asia, where Bombardier's major turboprop competitor ATR has pretty much been capturing the market. But having Fokker in its camp gives Bombardier a huge boost in Asia.

Fokker may have stopped making aircraft more than a decade ago, but there are still heaps of Fokker aircraft operating in this part of the world and, as a consequence, Fokker has strong relationships with many of the region's carriers.

Fokker also has a maintenance, repair and overhaul centre in Singapore - Fokker Services Asia - that serves the entire region. And it is staffed by a team of product support and sales people, some of which - such as Fokker Services Asia regional director Michael Cole - formerly worked for Bombardier.

Another step that Bombardier is taking to boost its presence in Asia is - and I'm surprised they didn't do it earlier - is to actually have commercial aircraft sales people based in Asia. It already has a few in China but Bombardier Commercial Aircraft president Gary Scott says they plan to station commercial aircraft sales people in other parts of Asia starting later this year or next year. "We are living in a global economy and it is hard to manage everything out of Toronto or Montreal," says Scott.
IATA AGM: Japan Airlines looks for mindset change
By Siva Govindasamy on June 6, 2010 10:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)
I just interviewed Japan Airlines' new president and COO Masaru Onishi (above), a very interesting man, at the IATA annual general meeting in Berlin.

He was talking about how, above almost everything else, JAL needs a change in mindset - moving away from its traditional bureaucratic perspectives towards running the company towards an approach that befits a proper airline.

It will be tough - the "mindset" that he talks about has been entrenched for years, and changing corporate cultures is always a big ask in Japan. Yet, they have no choice. Sure, the government could step in and keep bailing it out. That, however, is becoming increasingly unpalatable in Japan.

As Onishi puts it, only a business and mindset transformation will lead to the emergence of a leaner, profitable and successful Japan Airlines. He may not say it, but the only other option is failure. IATA AGM: Industry will closely watch ANA's 787s
By Siva Govindasamy on June 5, 2010 9:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)
There will be a lot of attention focused on Japan's All Nippon Airways (ANA) when it introduces the 787 into service early next year.

It has been a long wait for the aircraft, and it will be a big deal for the airline industry especially if Boeing's promised cost savings come through.

ANA will initially deploy the aircraft on its high yield routes (my best is on the first international flights going to China, although the carrier is saying that the west coast of the USA and Europe are on the cards).

Recovery is underway in the industry, but the new-age aircraft like the 787 will be needed as the airlines restructure their business and get rid of older generation aircraft like the Boeing 767s and Airbus A330s.

The 787 will be a welcome addition to the global airline industry. Jetstar to roll out iPad on board
By Ghim-Lay Yeo on June 1, 2010 6:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Why use any old portable media player, when you can have the iPad?

Qantas Airways' low-cost subsidiary Jetstar announced today it will trial the iPad on board as in-flight entertainment on selected domestic services from later this month.

Pay A$10 ($8) to rent the iPad, and you get movies, music, e-books, all at your fingertips throughout the flight.

Jetstar's CEO Bruce Buchanan expects the device to have "strong appeal" among passengers, going by the demand for the gadget so far.

Jetstar passengers currently pay A$10 to rent a portable media player on board with limited entertainment options on short-haul flights, or A$15 for a full selection of entertainment on long-haul services.

The airline is conducting the trial with BlueBox Avionics and Stellar Inflight. BlueBox is behind the first iPad in-flight entertainment system.

Depending on how the trial goes, Jetstar might roll out the iPad on all domestic and international services later this year, says Buchanan