Canada takes key role in effort to shine light on global aircraft surveillance blind spots

Canada takes key role in effort to shine light on global aircraft surveillance blind spots

Kristine Owram, Financial Post · Dec. 22, 2014 | Last Updated: Dec. 29, 2014 8:41 AM ET

The world’s oceans are a massive blind spot when it comes to aircraft surveillance, a fact that was tragically illustrated by the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 in March. But a new network of satellites that will begin launching in 2015 will offer complete global coverage for the first time — and Canada is a key player.

Today, ground-based radar is generally used to track aircraft as they fly over land. But once a plane is about 200 miles offshore, that surveillance drops off and pilots are reliant on less accurate forms of communication such as high-frequency radio or a text-based system called datalink.

Monday, tragedy struck again when an Indonesia AirAsia plane, an Airbus A320-200 disappeared after its pilot failed to get permission to fly higher to avoid bad weather during a flight from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore on Sunday. The plane was refused permission because of heavy air traffic.

The missing AirAsia jet carrying 162 people could be at the bottom of the sea after it was presumed to have crashed off the Indonesian coast, an official said on Monday, as countries around Asia sent ships and planes to help in the search.

The drop in radar surveillance offshore is why it’s so difficult to find a downed plane if it disappears over the ocean, but it also creates more quotidian problems that raise costs for airlines and extend flying time for passengers. Onshore, where radar coverage is nearly universal in Canada except in the Far North, planes can fly within five nautical miles of each other. But over the ocean, when radar surveillance drops off, that rises to 80 nautical miles for safety reasons. This means longer flying times, higher fuel costs and more emissions.

Canada’s civil air navigation service, Nav Canada, hopes to change that through a joint venture called Aireon LLC that has the potential to save the global airline industry billions of dollars.

“Probably 80% of the earth is a blind spot to surveillance right now, which forces aircraft to fly under what’s known as procedural separation standards which are very, very inefficient,” John Crichton, president and CEO of Ottawa-based Nav Canada, said in an interview.

“Our plan is to bring real-time surveillance to everyone on the planet and particularly over the oceans.”

Here’s how it will work: Aireon partner Iridium Communications Inc., a Virginia-headquartered satellite company, will launch a constellation of 72 satellites that will carry a technology known as automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast, or ADS-B. This will broadcast a plane’s location nearly instantaneously, compared to every 10 or 15 minutes under datalink.

Once launched, Aireon’s service will immediately reduce the necessary distance between aircraft from 80 nautical miles to 15 over busy routes like the North Atlantic. This will allow more aircraft to fly at the optimum altitude to take advantage of prevailing winds and, in turn, burn less fuel.

Another side benefit to passengers could be less turbulence. Currently, airlines flying across the North Atlantic are stuck in a set track — “almost like a conga line of airplanes across the ocean,” according to Aireon CEO Don Thoma, a former Iridium executive. This leaves pilots with few options if they encounter turbulence on the route, but the new Aireon system will give them more flexibility to fly above or below bumpy spots.

Mr. Thoma estimates that Aireon will save airlines an average of $400 in fuel costs per flight during the three-and-a-half hour trip across the North Atlantic.

“It’s been estimated that when the service is in operation in 2018, it will save on the order of $125 million per year on fuel just for the airlines flying across the North Atlantic,” he said.

This won’t necessarily mean the planes are travelling faster, but it will mean they’re travelling more efficiently. However, Mr. Thoma said he hopes that Aireon will eventually allow airlines to take more direct routes from, say, Madrid to Miami, saving passengers time in the process. Aireon should also help decongest the busiest routes, like London to New York, and allow for more flights at optimal times of day.

It will save on the order of $125 million per year on fuel just for the airlines flying across the North Atlantic

And it won’t just improve aircraft surveillance over the ocean. There are also wide swathes of Africa and Asia, as well as some parts of South America, that aren’t covered by radar.

“It’s a quantum leap for the parts of the world that have not deployed Stuart Gradon/Postmedia News files

Airlines are enthusiastic about the new technology, according to the industry’s global trade body.

“IATA does not endorse individual vendors, but we certainly see value in space-based ADS-B and its potential to improve both safety and security,” said Tony Concil, spokesman for the International Air Transport Association. “It is clearly an area of great interest in the industry.”

And interest has only heightened since the disappearance of MH370. One of the side benefits offered by Aireon is the ability to pinpoint the exact location of a crash — assuming, of course, that the plane’s transponder is switched on, which it was not in the case of MH370.

Aireon has agreed to make its service available free of charge to search-and-rescue authorities through a system called ALERT.

Although it wouldn’t have helped to find MH370 since the plane’s transponder was shut off, Mr. Crichton cited the example of Air France Flight 447, which crashed en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris in 2009.

“It took them two years to find the airplane and God knows how much money,” Mr. Crichton said.

“We could have pinpointed where the airplane went down within a matter of seconds.”

Royal Air Maroc this weekend celebrated the arrival into Morocco of its first 787 Dreamliner

    The airline will be the first carrier in the Mediterranean region to operate the 787. The airplane, delivered to the airline on 31 December, 2014 from Boeing’s Everett, Washington Delivery Center, flew a 4,788 nautical mile (8,867 kilometre) nonstop flight to Royal Air Maroc’s home base in Casablanca at Mohammed V International Airport. 

    “The 787 will provide Royal Air Maroc the capability to grow its long haul network and significantly reduce operating costs, all while offering its customers an unmatched on-board experience,” said Van Rex Gallard, vice president of Sales, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. “Royal Air Maroc is a valued Boeing customer, and we are delighted to be able to celebrate with the airline as it opens a new chapter in its long and successful history with the operation of the 787. We look forward to strengthening our partnership with Royal Air Maroc as it expands its global long haul fleet.” 

        Passengers traveling on Royal Air Maroc’s 787 will experience the passenger-pleasing features of the Dreamliner such as larger, electronically dimmable windows and larger overhead luggage bins. During flight the 787 is pressurised to a lower cabin altitude, has higher humidity levels, advanced air filtration and smoother-ride technology to make the flying experience more comfortable and allow passengers to arrive at their destination more refreshed. Royal Air Maroc’s current fleet includes nearly 50 Boeing airplanes, consisting predominantly of Next-Generation 737s but also 767-300s, a 747-400 and now it first 787. The Casablanca-based carrier operates a domestic network throughout Morocco and serves more than 50 destinations across Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America. Boeing’s partnership with Royal Air Maroc dates back more than 40 years

Fly-SAX launches new international route to Uganda

Fly-SAX has announced the launch of its new international route to Uganda. Commercial flights between Nairobi and Entebbe, the capital of Uganda, commence tomorrow, January 9 2015.

With twice daily flights, Fly-SAX is significantly increasing the connectivity between the two countries and ensuring greater passenger choice. 

“We are launching a new route to meet the ever-increasing demand for low-cost, efficient and safe air travel between Uganda and Kenya,” said Don Smith, CEO & Founder of Fly-SAX. “Uganda forms part of our multi-hub strategy operating out of Nairobi and Mombasa, serving major cities in East Africa as well as the popular beach and safari destinations within Kenya.” 

Fly-Sax will be using a 50-seater CRJ to ferry passengers to and from Entebbe.

IATA announce decline in African traffic for November

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced global passenger traffic results for November 2014 showing a general continuation of the healthy demand trend of recent months apart from the African region that sees a decline.

Total revenue passenger kilometers (RPKs) rose 6.0% compared to November 2013, which was ahead of the 5.7% year-over-year growth recorded in October as well as the 10-year average growth rate of 5.6%. November capacity expanded by 5.4%, leading to a 0.5 percentage point rise in the load factor to 76.7%. 

Growth was driven primarily by domestic markets which experienced a 6.9% increase in demand over the previous November (an acceleration over the 5.3% year-to-date average for domestic travel). Chinese domestic travel (which rose 15.4% over the previous November) was the main contributor to this growth. International travel, meanwhile, experienced a slight deceleration in growth towards the end of the year. 

FTK: Freight-Tonne-Kilometers; AFTK: Available Freight Tonne Kilometers; FLF: Freight Load Factor. All Figures are expressed in % change Year on Year except FLF which are the load factors for the specific month. 

“November demand was healthy, but the overall picture is mixed. For example, strong traffic performance within China and India has not carried over into international demand for Asia-Pacific carriers. And while lower oil prices should be positive for economic activity, softening business confidence is having a dampening effect on international travel,” said Tony Tyler, IATA’s Director General and CEO.

International Passenger Markets 

November 2014 international passenger demand was up 5.4% compared to the year-ago period, which was below the 6.1% year-to-date growth trend. Capacity rose 5.9% and the load factor dipped 0.3 percentage points to 75.1%. All regions except Africa recorded year-over-year increases in demand. However, compared to October, most regions reported slower demand growth for November. 

·      African carriers were the only ones to see a decline in demand: November traffic fell 2.5% compared to the same month in 2013. Capacity fell 3.1%, causing load factor to rise 0.4 percentage points to 63.8%, the lowest for any region. Passenger volumes for the region’s carriers are back at late 2012 levels. The recent weakness appears to reflect adverse economic developments in parts of the continent including Nigeria, which is highly reliant on oil revenues. The impact on traffic owing to the Ebola outbreak is largely restricted to Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone (markets that comprise a very small proportion of overall African traffic). 

·      European carriers’ demand for international services rose 5.6% in November 2014 compared to the year-ago period in spite of the region’s economic frailties and risks. Robust travel on low cost carriers is behind much of the growth. Capacity climbed 4.9% leading to a 0.5 percentage point rise in the load factor to 77.7%. 

·      Asia-Pacific airlines recorded a 4.9% demand increase compared to November 2013 amid signs of a slowdown in regional production activity. Trade volumes have remained strong, however. With capacity up 5.6%, the load factor slipped 0.5 percentage points to 74.6%. 

·      North American airlines saw demand rise 2.0% over the 2013 period. This was an improvement over growth of 1.6% in October. November capacity rose 3.1%, causing load factor to fall 0.8 percentage points to 76.8%. The US economy is a notable bright-spot among developed economies, and recent gains in trade volumes bode well for business-related travel. 

·      Middle East carriers had the strongest traffic growth at 11.7%. This was the fourth consecutive month of double-digit year-over-year growth and the region’s economies are comparatively well-placed to withstand plunging oil revenues. Capacity rose 13.9% and load factor fell 1.4 percentage points to 70.1%. 

·      Latin American airlines experienced a 4.9% rise in demand in November. Capacity increased 5.7% and load factor fell 0.6 percentage points to 78.8%. Despite the decline, the load factor was the highest for any region. Although major economies in the region have been weak, the strength of the US economy has supported traffic carried by the region's airlines. 

Demand for domestic travel rose 6.9% in November 2014 compared to the year-ago period, an acceleration of the October increase of 5.9%. Total domestic capacity was up 4.5% and load factor climbed 1.7 percentage points to 79.3%. 

·      China’s domestic traffic soared 15.4% compared to November 2013, the strongest performance for any market. In fact, two-thirds of the total increase in domestic RPKs over the last few months is attributable to gains in the Chinese domestic market. This is occurring in spite of ongoing signs of a slowdown in the Chinese economy and industrial activity, although consumer surveys and retail sales data remain robust. 

·      Australia’s domestic demand was virtually flat year-over year and traffic volumes have largely remained stagnant since mid-2013. The economy is struggling to rebalance away from mining investment-led growth.  

The Bottom Line: 

Aviation is a vital driver of the global economy. Last month IATA issued an updated outlook forecasting industry earnings of $25 billion in 2015. While this appears large, at the global level, on revenues of $783 billion, a $25 billion profit represents a margin of just 3.2% or around $7 per passenger. And it is spread over a highly-fragmented and hyper-competitive industry with many hundreds of players, some of whom are making sustainable returns and many of whom are struggling. 

“Nonetheless, the industry is investing to improve the passenger experience. This year we expect to see some implementation of the New Distribution Capability, giving travelers the ability to view and purchase all of an airline’s products and services wherever they shop for air travel. And more passengers will have access to Fast Travel options such as self-boarding and self-tagging of luggage that offer convenience and time-savings and give them greater control over their journey,” said Tyler.

Business aviation in the CIS: survival of the fittest

In view of the recent political tensions, the environment in the business aviation industry within the CIS has recently been somewhat ambivalent. On the one hand, according to data provided by WINGX Advance, the region’s traffic to Europe alone has dropped as much as 23%.

On the other hand, with the full-year average oil price for 2015 expected to be $85/barrel, the players might have the opportunity to actually boost their performance efficiency-wise. Therefore, surviving the on-going challenges will depend on the operators’ ability to optimize relevant processes, while offering the most competitive products.

According to data provided by WINGX Advance, while business aviation traffic within Europe has been growing up until October, in November the picture has become grimmer. The experts state that while the leading markets, such as France and Germany, are still showing growth, the traffic within Eastern Europe and Russia has experienced a significant drop (-18% and -14% respectively). As a result, due to the challenges of the few recent months, traffic within the CIS is said to have experienced an overall yearly decrease of 5-to-10%. However, while the economical and political environment will most probably continue to put pressure on the developments within the market in 2015, it is still too soon to start panicking.

“While business travel within the European aviation market has been on the rise for the last few months, the respective drop in traffic figures in the Easter Europe and the CIS has been significantly slowing down the overall growth of the region. Unfortunately, the situation is not expected to become better any time soon, since the political crisis continues to highly affect the region’s connectivity,” says Vitalij Kapitonov, the CEO of KlasJet. „However, as these processes have coincided with the unprecedented reduction of oil prices, it is still too soon to speak about the worsening of the overall business conditions. After all, during the last few months Russia has seen at least one new player – SetFly Group - entering the market, which means that the demand for private travel remains high. What has changed, however, is the portrait of the potential customer.”

According to the executive, the potential clients can be expected to become even more cost-conscious, especially as regards choosing their business travel provider. For instance, local companies have already become more reluctant to pay for short haul business class flights, and this trend can well be expected to become even stronger. As a result, the competition within the segment has intensified, since currently not only business travel operators, but also legacy carriers have started to compete for premium-class clients. Moreover, in an unstable economic situation more business-jet owners are expected to search for an option which would allow them to reduce the risks, associated with such highly costly assets as aircraft. Thus, while some of them will try to sell their jets, some will seek aircraft management providers to make the most of their machines.

„In general, jet owners within the region tend to use as little as 18% of their jets’ possible flying hours. However, while owning a private jet surely offers total freedom and flexibility, crew salaries, scheduled and unscheduled maintenance, hangar rent, insurance, and many other expenses must be paid to keep the aircraft ready to fly when you need it. Meanwhile, considerable money savings can be achieved by entrusting your private jet to a fleet management provider, which has the experience and the capabilities to support the daily needs of the aircraft. There is exactly why such services that can be expected to become of high demand within the region,” shares Vitalij Kapitonov, the CEO of KlasJet. “All in all, while political unrest and weakening of regional economies will undoubtedly present a whole set of challenges for the market players, most consumers will be able to benefit substantially from the stronger industry performance as lower industry costs and efficiencies are passed through. As always, the secret of surviving is simply to be able to offer the best option.”

Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) Symposium, 23-25 Mar., 2015, Montréal

From 23rd to 25th March 2015, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) will hold the first truly global Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) Symposium, titled “Remotely piloted or piloted: sharing one aerospace system” at its headquarters in Montreal, Canada.

The Symposium will provide a unique opportunity for States, international organizations and stakeholders to identify how existing aviation rules need to evolve to meet the challenges involved in welcoming the RPAS community and to examine alignment between ongoing RPAS development and supporting regulatory provisions. The symposium will also showcase the opportunities created by the integration of RPAS into the global aerospace system. All participants will leave with a greater understanding of the complex issues that need to be addressed collectively to facilitate integration.

The event is expected to attract a wide variety of experts from rule-making authorities, air navigation service providers, operators, industry partners, international organizations, manufacturers, researchers and other stakeholders to share knowledge and experiences.

All throughout the symposium, a centrally located exhibition area will permit to present the latest solutions in RPAS, technology and services. The online registration is available.

Discovery of AirAsia flight QZ8501 debris confirmed

Indonesian rescuers have confirmed the discovery of the wreckage of the liner. In Indonesia, the Ministry of Transport said that the objects found off the coast of Borneo, are likely to be the fragments of the missing aircraft AirAsia, reportsLenta.Ru citing Reuters. According to various sources, more than 40 bodies have been already retrieved. 

According to RIA Novosti, the Indonesian Air Force also found human bodies. "There was a person in the water. After I reviewed the photos on my laptop, I have realized that the body was of the deceased, " said lieutenant Prabowo.

Earlier, the authorities said that about a dozen "red-white" (color airline AirAsia) large and many smaller items  were found in the sea. According to Agus Dwi Putranto, Indonesia's aviation Vice-Marshal, objects were found approximately 10 kilometers from the place where the radar recorded the missing aircraft for the last time; two of them resembled the door liner and emergency chute.

Airplane Airbus A320-200 Malaysia's AirAsia, flying QZ8501 flight from Surabaya in Indonesia Singapore, disappeared from the radar on the night of December 28. On board were 162 people, including 17 children.