The Indonesian airliner that crashed Monday in waters near Jakarta was plunging at hundreds of miles an hour in its final seconds, according to preliminary data transmitted by the plane that could aid investigators looking for a cause. Lion Air Flight JT610, a nearly new Boeing 737 Max jet, went down from 4,850 feet altitude in just 21 seconds,. The plane was carrying 189 people and all are feared dead. The track of the flight raises as many questions as it answers. It shows the plane rising and climbing repeatedly with the speed also varying, both of which aren’t typical on the latest, computer-driven aircraft. Multiple failures involving the crew and equipment on the plane are possible explanations, from an erroneous speed indication to some sort of electronic failure. <br/>
unaligned
The investigation into the crash of Lion Air Flight 610 carries high stakes, not just for the rapidly expanding carrier but also for Boeing, which counts the airline as one of the biggest buyers of the 737 Max 8 aircraft type involved in the accident. Boeing shares fell 6.6% after the accident Monday, their sharpest one-day drop since Feb 2016. Other companies with large defence businesses declined by a similar amount on concerns about a shrinking Pentagon budget. Boeing said it is providing “technical assistance at the request and under the direction of govt authorities investigating the accident.” The investigation is at an early stage and authorities have given no indication that an equipment fault led to the accident. US airlines are major buyers of Boeing’s 737 Max 8. <br/>
The deadly crash of a Lion Air jet in the Java Sea has renewed questions about the safety of Indonesian airlines soon after US and European regulators removed prohibitions against them. A growing middle class and affordable fares have led to a boom in air travel in Asia, putting pressure on airlines, govt overseers and infrastructure to keep up. The surge has been particularly keen at Asia's budget airlines such as Lion Air. Indonesia's aviation industry has had a chequered past. The US and the EU banned its aircraft from their skies in 2007 after a string of accidents. The FAA lifted that ban in Aug 2016. This past June, European regulators — who had already allowed Lion Air and a few other Indonesian carriers to resume flying to Europe — lifted theirs on remaining Indonesia airlines. <br/>
EasyJet has pushed back its forecast for flying electric planes to 2030, but is more confident about a technology it expects to cut emissions and costs after a partner moved to the next stage of engine development, the airline said Monday. The carrier said it was aiming to use the lower-noise electric aircraft by 2027 through its partnership with start-up US company Wright Electric. EasyJet's CE Johan Lundgren shrugged off the delay to the timeline, saying it was more important there was clear path to bringing the new technology into operation. "We can definitely see a way forward in how we will get this aircraft into the fleet," he said. Wright is now working on an electric engine for a 9-seater plane that will fly next year, after success with a 2-seater, and will simultaneously start working on a 50-seater version. <br/>
Though all airlines in India are feeling the pinch - with debt-laden Air India and Jet Airways in such a parlous financial state they have been struggling to pay staff salaries on time - Vistara says its upmarket strategy is starting to bear some fruit. The carrier has narrowed its losses and seen average fares rise this year as customers take to its product offering, including a domestic premium economy class, even though ticket prices at most rivals are falling, Vistara CE Leslie Thng said. “We have seen a steady improvement in terms of demand, in terms of load factor as well as in terms of the fare passengers are willing to pay,” said Thng, a SIA veteran who previously ran its Southeast Asian regional arm, SilkAir. Vistara, which now has 22 Airbus A320 narrowbody jets and a 4% domestic market share, has struggled financially as it scales up. <br/>
The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has opened a formal merger inquiry into CityJet’s plans to wet-lease 2 Avro RJ85s to Aer Lingus. CMA launched a formal inquiry Oct 29, marking an escalation of an initial enforcement order that was issued Oct 4. The investigation relates to CityJet’s late-August announcement that it plans to relinquish operating Dublin-London City in its own right and instead fly 2 Avro RJ85s on behalf of Aer Lingus from Oct 28. The aircraft will fly in Aer Lingus colours, with the IAG carrier’s service model on board. “The CMA is considering whether it is or may be the case that this transaction has resulted in the creation of a relevant merger situation…and, if so, whether the creation of that situation has resulted, or may be expected to result, in a substantial lessening of competition,” CMA said. <br/>
Scoot will begin introducing sister company SilkAir’s Boeing 737-800s after April 2019 as part of SIA Group plans to optimise the airline’s network and better compete against regional LCCs. SIA announced in May 2018 that SilkAir will merge with the parent company from 2020, but will still retain its Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft. However, it is likely that Scoot’s potential 737-800s will be a stopgap measure as Scoot waits to receive the remaining 38 A320neos by 2025. The second A320neo will arrive by the end of 2018 and will only receive around 3 more aircraft within the next 2 to 3 years because of a long backlog behind other regional airlines with bigger orders. Scoot CE Lee Lik Hsini said he is unfazed by the various issues faced by the Pratt & Whitney GTF engines. <br/>