To accommodate strong domestic demand the regional lounge will be open on weekdays, in addition to the Wellington domestic lounge which is open as per usual, and remains open for customers travelling on weekends and public holidays.
Air New Zealand Senior Manager Global Lounges and Valet Alison Swarbrick says the airline is looking forward to welcoming customers back to the popular regional lounge.
“It’s great to see Kiwis travel their own country and we’re pleased to be open again to provide our customers with a comfortable place to enjoy refreshments and relax ahead of their departure.
“Our refreshed summer menu has been very popular in our other ports and now Wellington regional customers will get the chance to try some of our new menu items like house-made immunity boost juices, vegetarian pita pockets and raw cacao and coconut bars.”
Wellington Airport Chief Executive Steve Sanderson says now domestic passenger numbers are picking up again, it’s great to see things getting closer to normal in the terminal.
“Our regular travellers will arrive and depart from the gates they were used to pre-COVID. They will also be able to enjoy more regular terminal entertainment and faster security screening following the roll out of new Smart Lanes by Aviation Security at the end of last year.”
Twinjet, s-duct, winglets, contra-rotating propellers: the aviation industry has developed numerous configurations over the last five decades that have enabled aircraft to fly higher, faster and longer. Now, Airbus engineers are unveiling a new configuration as part of the ZEROe programme that could enable a passenger aircraft to fly farther than ever without emissions.
The innovative approach consists of six, eight-bladed “pods” mounted beneath the aircraft wing. While the “podded” engine is not a new concept in aviation, these “pods” are not designed to be driven by any ordinary propulsion system: hydrogen fuel cells are among the key components.
“The ‘pod’ configuration is essentially a distributed fuel cell propulsion system that delivers thrust to the aircraft via six propulsors arranged along the wing,” explains Matthieu Thomas, ZEROe Aircraft Lead Architect. “Hydrogen fuel cells have very different design considerations, so we knew we had to come up with a unique approach.”
Indeed, hydrogen fuel cell technology has yet to be scaled up to a passenger-size large commercial aircraft. Smaller experimental hydrogen aircraft, comprising up to 20 seats, can rely on a traditional fixed-wing configuration with two propellers. But more passenger capacity and longer range require another solution. This is why Airbus is studying a variety of configurations, including “pods,” to determine which option has the potential to scale up to larger aircraft.
Airline doubles its fleet as domestic operations continue to grow
ATR today announces the sale of two ATR 72-500 aircraft from its asset management portfolio to Hi Air. With this purchase, the South Korean start-up, which began operations in December 2019 will increase its ATR fleet to four. The two additional aircraft will be delivered in August and October. Supported by the superior economics and versatility of the ATR 72, which burns 40% less fuel and emits 40% less CO2 than a comparable regional jet, the airline is already ready to grow its fleet and expand the number of routes it offers. This summer, Hi Air will launch services on five domestic routes, including to the popular tourist destination of Jeju Island. ATR aircraft are proven route openers, having opened 164 routes globally in 2019.
Hi Air’s capacity for growth at this time also illustrates the resilience of the regional aviation market which is likely to make a faster recovery, with domestic short haul routes proving to be the first to resume as countries around the world begin to lift lockdown restrictions. The airline continued to serve passengers during the Covid pandemic, ensuring connectivity to Korean communities. Regional aviation will continue to play an important role for communities and economies worldwide, ensuring vital access for families, businesses and essential supplies – supporting the economic recovery in a Post-Covid19 world.
HyungKwan Youn, Chief Executive Officer of Hi Air remarked: “Selecting the ATR 72 to begin operations has been important for Hi Air’s early success. Launching an airline is hugely challenging. To be successful, new airlines need an aircraft that is efficient, reliable and offers passengers a good in-flight experience. To be in a position already to expand our operations is because the ATR fulfills these criteria. At Hi Air, we believe that increasing regional connectivity in Korea will benefit passengers, communities and businesses and we look forward to continuing this mission with the support of ATR.”
ATR Senior Vice President Commercial, Fabrice Vautier, said: “Regional connectivity is more vital than ever and this is why the regional aviation segment will be resilient. In many countries, we are already seeing that domestic and regional routes are the first to return and in the case of Hi Air they continued to fly. Businesses, governments and people around the world are looking for solutions to this crisis and regional aviation has a key role to play. Our ATR aircraft have the right blend of economics and operational versatility to support airlines. Furthermore, with their advantage in fuel burn and CO2 emissions, they are the perfect solution to help aviation emerge from this global recovery as a more sustainable industry.”
The first of the 12000-horsepower, Prima T8 electric locomotives has been put into commercial service by Indian Railways. Built by Alstom and certified by the Ministry of Railways and Commissioner of Railway Safety/RDSO, the electric locomotives – known locally by the designation WAG-12 – are the most powerful locomotives to run on Indian rails. The 2015 contract will see a total of 800 locomotives built for Indian Railways.
Set to revolutionise freight logistics in the country, the e-locos will allow faster and safer movement of heavy freight trains, capable of hauling 6000 tonnes at a top speed of 120 km/h. Planned for deployment on Dedicated Freight Corridors (DFCs), they will increase the average speed of freight trains in India by approximately 25 km/h. Equipped with Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors (IGBT) propulsion technology, the e-locos will also allow considerable savings in energy consumption thanks to the use of regenerative braking.
“Alstom is very pleased to be delivering these electric locomotives to Indian Railways. The introduction of the Prima locomotives into the IR fleet demonstrates our commitment to the country. This revolutionary product which will be faster, safer and more environmentally friendly, and it will help write a new chapter for India’s sustainable mobility journey. We are immensely proud to be a partner in this,” said Ling Fang, Senior Vice President of Alstom Asia-Pacific.
In line with the Make-in-India mandate, all the 800 Prima locomotives are being manufactured locally. Designed at Alstom’s Engineering Centre in Bengaluru, the Prima T8 WAG-12 are being built in one of India’s largest integrated greenfield manufacturing facilities at Madhepura in Bihar. Spread across 250 acres, with a production capacity of 120 locomotives per year, the Madhepura site is built to international standards of safety and quality. Two ultra-modern maintenance depots in Saharanpur and Nagpur will ensure the high service availability of the locomotives. The Saharanpur depot is already operational and the one in Nagpur is under construction. Equipped with the latest features, these depots will play a critical role in maintaining India’s most advanced freight locomotives at significantly lower costs.
As part of the largest Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) project of Indian Railways, in 2015 the Ministry of Railways and Alstom signed a contract worth €3.5 billion (INR 25,000 crore) and created a joint venture for the project. The contract allowed for the manufacture of 800 double-section, 12000-horsepower electric locomotives for freight service and associated maintenance for a period of 11 years. The scope also included the set-up of a manufacturing plant at Madhepura (Bihar) for building the e-locos and two maintenance depots at Saharanpur (Uttar Pradesh) and Nagpur (Maharashtra). A true embodiment of India’s vision, the project will create more than 10,000 direct and indirect jobs in the country (primarily in the states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra).
ATR performed well in 2019. We received 79 orders and delivered 68 aircraft for a book-to-bill of more than one. The turnover for the year was $1.6 billion and was boosted by a strong performance from our Services.
In 2020, the aviation industry is facing an unprecedented challenge that will last well beyond the current year. It is too early to understand the full impact on our backlog, however we have not had any cancellations to date.
Currently, 40% of ATR aircraft around the world continue to fly, playing a vital role in humanitarian missions and the transportation of essential goods to the remotest areas.
Naturally, during this time, ATR continues to support airlines 24/7.
Cargo is becoming increasingly important and we have developed a solution allowing airlines operating ATR aircraft to quickly and temporarily convert to a light freighter configuration, allowing them to unlock potential operations.
During this crisis, ATR is not standing still. While our major concern is always the safety and health of our employees and subcontractors, our manufacturing sites have never closed, and we have implemented a very strict health protocol that has allowed us to continue critical activities. We remain committed to the delivery of our new programmes, the ATR 72-600F freighter and the ATR 42-600 STOL. The first deliveries of our new cargo variant will happen this year.
ATR believes that regional aviation will resume its activities faster than international air traffic, because it will have a huge role to play in the recovery of the global economy, connecting communities around the world with necessary supplies.
Hull Trains has invested £60 million into five state-of-the-art, bi-mode intercity trains – known as Class 802s– which will transform rail travel from Hull to London.
The fleet – which is built using Japanese bullet train technology – offers a sleek modern design, faster acceleration and longer carriages, offering more space and seats.
Once fully operational, people will benefit from 5,500 extra seats a week, greater reliability and a quieter and smoother ride. The fleet of new high-speed trains are being rolled into passenger service at intervals, with the full Paragon fleet expected to be in passenger service by early 2020.
Louise Cheeseman, managing director, said she was confident the Paragon fleet would revolutionise train travel between Hull and London.
“We have made a significant investment in these hi-tech trains which will completely overhaul the current service as our customers know it,” she explained.
“Not only will these trains give a smoother ride, they will be a lot more reliable than our existing trains, they will include complimentary Wi-Fi, plug and USB sockets throughout, a brand new at-seat trolley service and an even greater choice and improved quality of hot and cold food. We are increasing capacity on our trains by 22% which means more people are able to travel too.”
Hull Trains currently operates 92 services between Hull and London every week. The new trains can switch seamlessly between electric and diesel power. The trains can accelerate more quickly and they offer greater reliability across the rail infrastructure.
More than two thirds of the journey between Hull and the capital will be operated using electric power, which is much better than the environment. Even under diesel power the modern engines reduce harmful emissions (PM10 and NOx) by up to 90% compared to the existing trains.
Andy Barr, Group CEO, Hitachi Rail said: “These new trains designed using advanced bullet train technology have proven extremely popular, becoming the intercity train of choice on Britain’s rail network. The trains’ many benefits include no more diesel emissions when running on electric power, fast and free Wi-Fi, and greater comfort for passengers. With over 25,000 smart sensors on board each train allowing real-time monitoring, our maintenance team can ensure a reliable and efficient service for people travelling to and from Hull and beyond.”
Steve Montgomery, First Rail managing director, said: “This investment in five brand new trains demonstrates FirstGroup’s commitment to Hull and our Hull Trains service. We’re proud to have supported the local community and East Yorkshire’s economy by investing in Hull Trains and growing the service over the years.”
Kevin Tribley, CEO at Angel Trains, said: “By investing in and developing new trains that reduce the environmental impact of rail travel we are even closer to creating a rail system that modern Britain deserves. We are incredibly proud of our team and would like to thank those at Hitachi and Hull Trains for their hard work in making this vision a reality.”
Louise added: “The arrival of these long-awaited trains marks a new era for Hull Trains. We are now on an exciting trajectory to build and grow this business into one our city can be really proud of. It’s our mission to be the first choice when people are travelling to London, I want people to trust in the service we offer and the fantastic customer service our customers know and expect.
“I want to thank our loyal customers and committed staff who continue to support Hull Trains, I am genuinely excited about the future of Hull Trains, our new trains and new beginning.”
Steve Montgomery, MD First Rail, Louise Cheeseman, MD Hull Trains, Richard Vernon, Fleet Project Engineer Hull Trains, Jim Brewin, Project Director Hitachi Rail, Susan Holliday, Angel Trains
