But first, here’s an incredible video of the accident.

So what happened?

If you’re new to this story or would like a refresh before reading further, read the original story here.

According to Aviation Herald here’s the list of contributing factors.

During the LATAM aircrafts takeoff run, a Lima Airport Rescue Vehicle entered the runway without clearance by the control tower while in a response time exercise from the new fire station and collided with the aircraft. This chain of events was caused by lack of joint planning, poor coordination and non-use of ICAO standardized communication and phraseology.

Contributing factors were:

– Failure to hold a briefing meeting between the airport and Civil Aviation Authority after the first response time exercise to determine errors, deficiencies, discrepancies, missing materials and procedural shortcomings in the development of the exercise in order to arrange improvements for an optimal execution of the second response time exercise.

– The Civil Aviation Authority’s (CORPAC) acceptance of the proposal by the airport to carry the response time exercise out from partially implemented facilities that had not officially been handed over to control by CORPAC

– No meetings were held between CORPAC and airport to assess hazards, manage risks and mitigation actions with respect to the new areas and facilities of the airport

– Failure to hold a joint meeting between CORPAC and airport to plan the execution of the second response time exercise, which would participating personnel permitted to know clearly concept and details of the exercise

– Failure to provide instructions to control tower and emergency services for the execution of the second exercise permitting tower controllers to familiarize themselves with the location, designation and operational functioning of new aircraft and vehicle taxiways

– Incorrect application of aeronautical communication principles (clarity and precision) generated a wrong interpretation with CORPAC tower controllers of the execution of the exercise

– The tower controllers did not realize that by permitting the airport to remove the safety cones the only lane for the emergency vehicles to enter the runway was opened

– The erroneous interpretation by airport rescue services that the clearance to begin the response time exercise also included the clearance to enter the runway

– The aerodrome and surface controllers received information about the training exercise only minutes prior to its start, insufficient time to assess the hazards and risks

– Failure to use standard ICAO phraseology for communications between airport rescue services and the control tower

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Vietjet continues to fortify its Vietnam – Australia flight network by adding two new services from Ho Chi Minh City to Perth and Adelaide with five weekly flights, starting November 21, 2023.

The new routes make Vietjet the first airline from Vietnam connecting to Australia’s five largest cities of Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide.

The Hanoi – Hong Kong route will commence on December 22, 2023, with a daily frequency, departing from Hanoi at 8:55 and arriving in Hong Kong at 11:50. The return flight from Hong Kong to Hanoi will take off at 12:50 and land at 13:50 (local times). Travellers from Hong Kong can easily fly directly to all gateways of Vietnam’s North – Central and South, to Hanoi, Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City, and Phu Quoc.

Phu Quoc, the emerging star of Vietnamese tourism will also welcome two new Vietjet’s services: Phu Quoc – Busan and Phu Quoc – Taipei. Accordingly, Vietjet will operate the daily Phu Quoc – Busan route, starting from December 10, 2023. The flights depart from Phu Quoc at 1:15 and land in Busan at 8:05. The return flight will depart Busan at 8:55 and land in Phu Quoc at 12:40 (local times).

The Phu Quoc – Taipei direct service will operate from January 17, 2024, with a frequency of four flights per week on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. The departure from Phu Quoc will be at 8:25 and the arrival in Taipei will be at 13:00. The return flights take off from Taipei at 14:00 and touch down in Phu Quoc at 16:50 (local times).

To mark the intensive new route introduction, Vietjet is offering an extraordinary promotion with ticket fares from just USD0 (*) for all international services from or connecting via Vietnam. This incredible opportunity can be booked from now to October 10, 2023, with travel time up to one year in advance until October 31, 2024 (**).

About VietJet

Vietjet is a fully-fledged member of International Air Transport Association (IATA) with the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) certificate. As Vietnam’s largest private carrier, the airline has been awarded the highest ranking for safety with 7 stars by the world’s only safety and product rating website airlineratings.com and listed as one of the world’s 50 best airlines for healthy financing and operations by Airfinance Journal in many consecutive years. The airline has also been named as Best Low-Cost Carrier by renowned organizations such as Skytrax, CAPA, Airline Ratings, and many others.

Further information at www.vietjetair.com

The post More Cheap Flights to Vietnam Announced by Vietjet appeared first on Airline Ratings.

READ: Rex adds ninth 737

From mid-November Rex Flyer members will be able to use their points to redeem flights with
three flight reward options – Anytime, Getaway and Ultimate. The Anytime redemption option
allows members to redeem at last-seat-available basis and provides the highest flexibility of
all frequent flyer programs available in Australia.
Three Tier Status levels – Sapphire, Emerald and Diamond – will be accorded to members
who have accumulated the relevant number of status points and qualifying members will be
able to enjoy the Tier Status benefits from early 2024.
A unique component of the Rex Flyer program will see all unsold seats available at the
cheapest reward redemption rate (Ultimate) progressively from 48 hours before a scheduled
departure.
“The program with its superior benefits means we can at last reward our passengers for the
loyalty they have shown us over many years as we have fought hard – often against almost
impossible odds – to provide them with safe, affordable and reliable air services,” Rex Deputy
Chairman, the Hon John Sharp AM, said.
The staggered rollout of Rex Flyer will also be accompanied by new airport lounges planned
for Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane with construction commencing imminently.
Full details of the of the Rex Flyer program and details of how to register to become a member
can be found at rex.com.au

ABOUT REX
Rex is Australia’s largest independent regional and domestic airline operating a fleet of 58
Saab 340 and 9 Boeing 737-800NG aircraft to 57 destinations throughout all states in
Australia. In addition to the airline Rex, the Rex Group comprises wholly owned subsidiaries
Pel-Air Aviation (air freight, aeromedical and charter operator), the Australian Airline Pilot
Academy with campuses in Wagga Wagga and Ballarat, and propeller maintenance
organisation, Australian Aerospace Propeller Maintenance. Rex is also a 50% shareholder of
National Jet Express (NJE), a premier Fly-In-Fly-Out (FIFO), charter and freight operator.

The post Rex Frequent Flyer is (finally) here appeared first on Airline Ratings.

The new services linking Ho Chi Minh City with Adelaide take off on November 21, 2023, with five return flights per week. The flights from Ho Chi Minh City depart at 6:35, land in Perth, Western Australia, at 14:20, and continue their journeys at 15:20 before arriving at Adelaide at 21:10 on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays (local times).

The return flights leave Adelaide at 7:25, land in Perth at 8:55, depart from Perth at 9:55 and land in Ho Chi Minh City at 15:40 on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays (local times). 

Vietjet currently operates three direct services from Ho Chi Minh City to Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane. From December onwards, the Ho Chi Minh City – Melbourne and Ho Chi Minh City – Sydney services will have daily return flights on each route. The Ho Chi Minh City – Brisbane route, the only direct service in the market connecting Vietnam and Brisbane, will also add frequency to thrice weekly service from December. 

To celebrate the new route opening, Vietjet offers ticket prices from only USD0 (*) from October 2 to October 10, 2023 at www.vietjetair.com and Vietjet Air mobile app, applied for all routes connecting Ho Chi Minh City with Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney (Australia) and all Vietjet’s international routes with the flight times from now until March 29, 2024 (**). 

Perth and Adelaide are the 4^th and 5^th largest cities of Australia respectively.

Flying with Vietjet, passengers will receive complimentary Sky Care insurance while the SkyJoy loyalty program enables members to accumulate points and redeem gifts. 

(*) Excluding taxes and fees 

(**) Excluding public holidays, peak season 

The post Vietjet Adds Adelaide To Its Network appeared first on Airline Ratings.

According to a Bloomberg report, the airline group said that “the decision to go with Airbus for its widebody fleet renewal came down to a complex choice around aircraft range, pricing and slot availability — and the European plane maker’s willingness to be more aggressive to edge out arch-rival Boeing.” 

The A350-900s and -1000s will replace the group’s Boeing 777s.

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Airlineratings.com is packed with information about air travel and answers questions that many of us may have thought of, but didn’t know who to ask. Well, now you do!

Airlineratings.com was developed to provide everyone in the world with a one-stop shop for everything related to airlines, formed by a team of aviation editors, who have forensically researched nearly every airline in the world.

Our rating system is rated from one to seven stars on safety – with seven being the highest ranking. Within each airline, you will find the country of origin, airline code, booking URL and seat map information. The rating system takes into account a number of different factors related to audits from aviation’s governing bodies, lead associations as well as the airline’s own safety data. Every airline has a safety rating breakdown so you can see exactly how they rate.

Over 230 of the airlines on the site that carry 99 per cent of the world’s passengers have a product rating. Given that low-cost, regional and full-service carriers are so different we have constructed a different rating system for each which can be found within each airline.

The post Air France-KLM Opt For Airbus A350s appeared first on Airline Ratings.

The agreement doubles Cathay’s total orders for the A320neo Family to 64, of which 13 have already been delivered.

The 32 additional aircraft will comprise both the A321neo and A320neo which will join the fleets of Cathay Pacific and HK Express. They will principally serve destinations in the Chinese Mainland and elsewhere in Asia.

Airbus Chief Commercial Officer and Head of International, Christian Scherer said: “Cathay is one of the world’s leading airline Groups and we are proud to be part of its recovery and growth plan.”

“Operating out of the Cathay Group’s base at the heart of Asia, the A320neo family will enable it to expand its services across the region with a most efficient single-aisle fleet and a positive passenger comfort differentiation. With a significant reduction in fuel consumption, the aircraft will also bring an immediate contribution to the Cathay Group’s sustainability goals.”

With more than 9,700 orders from over 130 customers, the A320neo Family is the world’s most popular single-aisle aircraft.

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Airlineratings.com is packed with information about air travel and answers questions that many of us may have thought of, but didn’t know who to ask. Well, now you do!

Airlineratings.com was developed to provide everyone in the world with a one-stop shop for everything related to airlines, formed by a team of aviation editors, who have forensically researched nearly every airline in the world.

Our rating system is rated from one to seven stars on safety – with seven being the highest ranking. Within each airline, you will find the country of origin, airline code, booking URL and seat map information. The rating system takes into account a number of different factors related to audits from aviation’s governing bodies, lead associations as well as the airline’s own safety data. Every airline has a safety rating breakdown so you can see exactly how they rate.

Over 230 of the airlines on the site that carry 99 per cent of the world’s passengers have a product rating. Given that low-cost, regional and full-service carriers are so different we have constructed a different rating system for each which can be found within each airline.

The post Cathay Pacific Orders 32 More A320neos appeared first on Airline Ratings.

The deal comes five months after the rival to the Airbus A320neo and Boeing 737 MAX had its first service with China Eastern, which had ordered 5, with three in service.

Reuters reports that China Eastern will get delivery of five aircraft in 2024, while ten are to be delivered each year from 2025 to 2027. From 2028 to 2030, 15 C919s will be delivered each year, and the last 20 jets will be delivered in 2031.

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Airlineratings.com is packed with information about air travel and answers questions that many of us may have thought of, but didn’t know who to ask. Well, now you do!

Airlineratings.com was developed to provide everyone in the world with a one-stop shop for everything related to airlines, formed by a team of aviation editors, who have forensically researched nearly every airline in the world.

Our rating system is rated from one to seven stars on safety – with seven being the highest ranking. Within each airline, you will find the country of origin, airline code, booking URL and seat map information. The rating system takes into account a number of different factors related to audits from aviation’s governing bodies, lead associations as well as the airline’s own safety data. Every airline has a safety rating breakdown so you can see exactly how they rate.

Over 230 of the airlines on the site that carry 99 per cent of the world’s passengers have a product rating. Given that low-cost, regional and full-service carriers are so different we have constructed a different rating system for each which can be found within each airline.

Airlineratings.com has information on over 30 types of aircraft from the latest Boeing 787 to the A380 and smaller jets.

Best of all, there are simple answers to many of the quirky questions including:

• “What are all those noises after takeoff and before landing?”
• “Why do you have to put the window shades up for landing and takeoff?”
• “What is a winglet and what is it for?
• “Why is it so costly to fly short distances?”
• “How often is an aircraft maintained?
• “How strong is a wing?”
• “How do they test aircraft”
• “How often do plane tyres need to be replaced?”

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That restructuring has made the airline group leaner and better able to meet any challenges ahead suggests its Perth-educated and passionate aviation enthusiast CEO, Benyamin Ismail. 

However, the relaunch of AirAsia X has been gradual by design as most of the airline’s aircraft were grounded and required maintenance before carrying passengers.

Mr Ismail told AirlineRatings.com that the “whole world couldn’t get enough maintenance slots for the required overhauls after being grounded” and that slowed up the relaunch of passenger services.

The airline now has 18 Airbus A330s in its system but four are still going through maintenance.

“Our strategy out of COVID was to get at least get one foot in all the markets that we used to fly.”

“So, in Australia, we’re flying into Melbourne, Sydney, and Gold Coast, as well as Perth,” Mr Ismail said.

The airline has returned to Korea, Japan and India but China is not yet back to pre-COVID flight levels.

“We’re making sure that we have enough capacity when China does open up fully.”

Mr Ismail said that Australia is a significant market for the airline.

“It is a core market for us. We haven’t gone to the frequency that we want yet. Sydney, we’re flying up to 11 weekly flights. 

“Perth is daily. So, we’re not there yet. Ideally, we want Perth to be double daily as there is pent-up demand for travel out of Australia. 

“Potentially I think we do want to grow this market, and we may look at addressing some of the other markets that were untapped for us before in the past. 

“So maybe Adelaide,” Mr Ismail said. 

Further afield Mr Ismail says the airline will look again at the US and the UK when it receives a fleet of more capable Airbus A330-900neos.

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In the near term, the airline is looking at Central Asia.

“Places like Turkey, Kazakhstan or Uzbek or even Africa and there are other markets as well. Africa is very underserved in terms of carriers out of this side of the world. 

“So that is something that we’re working on now. 

“We haven’t been shy on saying that we want to go to Istanbul, we want to go to Kazakhstan, we want to go to Africa.”

These destinations are on the airline’s 18-month radar.

However, Europe is potentially around 2026 when the first 15 A330-900neos, with greater range and capacity, arrive.

Mr Ismal said that Thai AirAsia X may start a Bangkok-Perth service particularly as Thai International has not returned to Perth.

“I think Bangkok-Perth will be a good market.” 

Mr. Ismail said that growth is everywhere.

“People are coming out of Japan, people coming out of Korea. And of course, Australia is a great example. 

“I was just in Sydney two weeks ago and I was talking to the media and they were saying that it seems that now travel has become part of your disposable income, they don’t mind eating less every day just to travel more. 

“And that’s something that is happening now in Australia. We’ve seen that in our flights and the booking during peak season is crazy,” Mr Ismail said.

Mr Ismail said one of the strengths of AirAsia X is its network.

“We connect to the AirAsia Group of airlines and to over 150 destinations in Asia from our hub in Kuala Lumpur. 

“We are working hard to entice people in Australia that there is life after Bali. We have Thailand, we have Vietnam, India, Japan, and Korea.” 

The post AirAsia X Restructured And Ready To Expand appeared first on Airline Ratings.

Why? Because it lowers the accident rate dramatically

The safety data confirm that in aggregate, airlines on the IOSA registry have a lower accident rate than airlines that are not on the IOSA registry. Since 2005, the all-accident rate for airlines on the IOSA registry is 1.40 per million sectors, compared with 3.49 per million sectors for non-IOSA airlines. In 2022, IOSA registered carriers outperformed those not on the registry by a factor of four (0.70 accidents per million sectors vs. 2.82 accidents per million sectors).

Suggested Read: AirlineRatings safety ratings explained

Nick Careen, IATA’s Senior Vice President Operations, Safety and Security stated..

“Over the past two decades, IOSA has made a major contribution to improving safety, while reducing the number of redundant audits. While it is a condition of membership in IATA, more than 100 non-IATA member airlines also see the value of participating and we welcome others. Likewise, while more than 40 governments use or are intending to use IOSA in their safety oversight programs, many more do not.”

Reflecting the strong safety performance of airlines on the IOSA registry, IATA entered into IOSA’s third decade with a call for regulators to recognize the significant contribution to safety that IOSA makes as the global standard for airline operational safety and to incorporate IOSA into their own safety regulatory oversight programs.

Currently, some 417 operators are on the IOSA registry, of which 107 are non-IATA members – Airlines not yet on the IOSA registry are encouraged to join.

A History of Continuous Improvement

• IOSA was launched in September 2003 with Qatar Airways as the first airline to be audited and join the IOSA Registry. IOSA has been a requirement for IATA membership since 2006.
• It is also a condition of membership in the three global airline alliances, as well as a number of regional airline associations.
• It is used by regulators in numerous countries to complement their safety regulatory oversight programs, and as the primary means to verify operational safety for many airline codeshare arrangements.
• The audit assesses an airline’s conformity with the IOSA standards and recommended practices . These are based on the internationally agreed standards and recommended practices set down and maintained through the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
• IOSA was developed in cooperation with aviation regulatory bodies, including Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA), the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Transport Canada.
• Last year, IATA began evolving IOSA to a risk-based model under which audits are tailored to the operator’s profile and focusing on high-risk areas. The new approach also introduces a maturity assessment of the airline’s safety-critical systems and programs.

Of course no one at IATA or AirlineRatings can predict an accident or guarantee anyone’s safety on any airline at any time. We would however, always encourage choosing an IOSA audited airline.

The post Which airlines have the lowest accident rates? appeared first on Airline Ratings.

Fleet

Air Vanuatu has a tiny fleet of only 2 aircraft, an ATR 72 and a Boeing 737 NG/MAX. The 737 is relatively young at only 7.7 years old but it is the only aircraft the airline has for international operations.

Virgin Australia on the other hand has a fleet of 84 737- 700/800/MAX aircraft with an average age of 11.6 years.

What’s happened to the Air Vanuatu Plane?

The airline is currently ‘stranded’ in Brisbane awaiting an important replacement part.

According to an airline spokesperson, “The cause of these disruptions is unscheduled technical work that is required on the aircraft. This urgent engineering work is needed to ensure that the long term schedule integrity is restored moving forward.”

Our thoughts?

Despite the mammoth disruption this causes, AirlineRatings, a website focused on aviation safety, applauds the airline for taking such an unpopular decision to ensure the safety of everyone who boards that aircraft. When it comes to airplane maintenance there simply isn’t any room for error and we would hope despite the negative press that the airline would make this decision time and time again.

What is does however highlight is the need for ‘back up plans’ and by that we mean back up aircraft.

The Eat, Drink, Play, Relax in Vanuatu facebook page is riddled with stories of Air Vanuatu flight cancellations and delays. There are stories of one hour delays up to 2 days and customer service that is hard to get a hold of. Among all this is announcements from the airline to start direct flights to Christchurch and increase routes to existing destinations.

Economy onboard offering international flights.

Virgin Australia offers economy passengers a ‘buy on board’ menu with complimentary tea, coffee and water. All other drinks are for purchase. The airline also offers in flight entertainment via streaming to your own device. In terms of seating, economy seats offer a 17inch width, 30 inch seat pitch and 3 inch recline.

Air Vanuatu offers its economy passengers a complimentary inflight hot meal service and drinks including alcoholic. The airline also offers in flight entertainment via streaming to your own device. In terms of seating, economy seats offer a 17inch width, 31-32 inch seat pitch and 3 inch recline.

Both airlines offer seats with extra legroom as well as a business class cabin.

So who to fly with?

Overall Air Vanuatu offers a more comfortable and traditional experience in economy however when it comes to reliability and ‘back up plans’ Virgin Australia win hands down.

Of course any airline can succumb to maintenance induced cancellations but ultimately these will be better handled and navigated with an airline that has a bigger fleet and staff base. When making a decision of who to fly with we would consider the cost of the airfare and whether or not we had ‘room to move’ on our dates of travel should unforeseen circumstances arise.

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