WCA May 2014

From the Americas

to export its pared-down model to the US and Asia, has approval from the Irish Aviation Authority to move its long-haul operations to Ireland. Also from Dublin, NAI received its air-operating licence from the Commission for Aviation Regulation and in February filed it with the US Transportation Department. If the application for a foreign air carrier permit is granted, it will enable NAI to operate its Boeing 787 Dreamliners between any point in the European Union and the United States. In addition to the shift from Norway to Ireland, the Norwegian carrier is hiring flight attendants in the US and basing some pilots and crew in Bangkok, thus clearly laying the groundwork for a broader reach. The projected expansion is seen as a test of the “Open Skies” agreement between the European Union and the US, introduced in two steps in 2008 and 2010. Critics assert that NAI is seeking to take advantage of the liberalising intentions of that pact even though Norway is not a member of the European Union. The airline’s plans have angered American carriers, pilots, and labour groups who see in it an attempt to recruit cheaper labour and undercut competition. “Complex is not a good word here for what they are trying to do,” Lee Moak, president of the Air Line Pilots Association, told the New York Times (6 th February). “I’d say it’s convoluted.”  According to Aviation Week & Space Technology , the most substantive effect of Open Skies, to date, has been the opening up of London’s Heathrow Airport when the legacy Bermuda II agreement was superseded by new rules. Occasional attempts to establish flights from remote bases have been failures, all, and quickly abandoned. The sole European airline now operating from an EU member state other than its home country is a British Airways offshoot – in fact named Open Skies – that operates two Paris-New York round trips daily. “Only a fraction of [NAI’s] capacity will touch Oslo, its original home base,” noted Aviation Week (22 nd February). “Instead, the airline’s 787s might soon be flying from Barcelona to New York, much as it is already operating to the US from Copenhagen, Denmark, and Stockholm.” In brief . . .  Boeing Co of the US said that its deliveries to the Chinese market hit a record high of 143 planes last year, up 60 per cent from 2012, and that it expects to match that total in 2014. As reported by Tu Lei in the Global Times (Beijing) on 22 nd January, according to Marc Allen, president of Boeing China, 28 per cent of the Boeing 737s made in the US last year went to China. Boeing in March 2013 delivered its 1,000 th airplane to China, the second market after the US to reach that threshold. In June, the Chicago-based company delivered its first 787 to China Southern Airlines, followed by the delivery of a 737-800 to Xiamen Airlines in November: the 100 th plane in that airline’s all- Boeing fleet.

grounds that only the automaker’s official dealership is authorised to correct any problems. Almost every domestic automaker has agreed to start making available to outside mechanics nearly all the information available to shops run by their own franchisees. A memorandum of understanding, made public in December by two associations that represent automakers and two that represent independent repair shops, ends an impasse of more than a decade in Congress and in state legislatures. Christopher Jensen of the New York Times summarised the agreement: “In addition to unlocking the access to computer codes and diagnostic information vital to the complex mechanical and electronic systems of modern cars, automakers also agreed that, starting with the model year 2018, they would standardise diagnostic tools to work on all vehicles, not just those from one maker.” (“Carmakers to Share Repair Data,” 31 st January). Information on security systems and in the category of trade secrets will continue to be withheld. But now all but a few boutique car companies are to provide non-dealership shops with access, on “fair and reasonable terms,” to the same diagnostic and repair information furnished to their dealers. Models back to 2002 are included, enabling owners whose vehicles are out of warranty to use outside repair shops. In exchange for the automakers’ pledge, the aftermarket groups agreed to stop financing and promoting right-to-repair legislation. Mr Jensen observed that a factor in the declaration of peace was the right-to-repair law passed late last year in Massachusetts, which strongly motivated the automakers. If other states were to follow suit they would soon be compelled to contend with “a legislative quilt” of mismatched regulations. “This effectively announces a stand-down,” Daniel Gage, a spokesman for the Washington-based Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, told the Times . The 12 members of AAM are BMW Group, Chrysler Group LLC, Ford Motor Co, General Motors Co, Jaguar Land Rover, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz USA, Mitsubishi Motors, Porsche, Toyota, Volkswagen Group of America, and Volvo Cars North America.  There was some cautious early praise for the agreement from consumer advocates – and more than a little scepticism. “[It] has the potential to improve competition in the marketplace,” said Ami Gadhia, senior policy counsel for Consumers Union. “But time will tell if it will work as advertised.”

The air lanes

A Norwegian airline formulates an ambitious flight plan: Ireland, the US, Asia Norwegian Air International, whose Norwegian Air Shuttle specialises in low-cost flights within Europe and hopes

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Wire & Cable ASIA – May/June 2014