July
2008
Sumitomo
Precision Aims To Provide Soft Landings For M'bishi Heavy Jetliner
With Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. planning to debut its regional jet
in 2011, aircraft equipment maker Sumitomo Precision Products Co. is
accelerating efforts to develop a key part for the plane -- its
retractable landing gear. The plane will be the first passenger jet made
in Japan. In May, the affiliate of Sumitomo Heavy Industries Ltd.
dispatched three workers to Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp., a Mitsubishi Heavy
subsidiary set up three months ago for the regional jet project, and has
already finished a concept design for the component. It will now move on
to a detailed design and file for government approval. Although production
of the component will not begin until early 2010, "We will start
placing orders for necessary materials (with which to make the landing
gear) next month," said Akihiko Matsuyuki, general manager of the
international aerospace business department. The Hyogo Prefecture-based
firm is responsible for developing landing gear for both Mitsubishi and
Honda Motor Co., which is in the final stage of obtaining type approval
for the HondaJet, a light aircraft that Honda intends to start producing
in 2010. It is no coincidence that Mitsubishi Aircraft and Honda have
handpicked the Sumitomo group firm to develop a critical component for
their passenger planes, given the fact that the landing gear -- composed
of several wheels and other parts -- have to support several dozen tons of
weight when a plane takes off or lands. Sumitomo Precision Products has
the technical know-how it acquired while making parts for Zero fighters
during World War II. Its predecessor, Sumitomo Shindosho, succeeded in
developing duralumin, an alloy of aluminum and copper during the Taisho
era (1912-1926). Taking advantage of the alloy's light weight and high
durability, the company began manufacturing airplane propellers in 1925,
producing enough for 20,000 planes in 1943 alone. Japan's aircraft
industry was very strong then, with 1 million people working in the sector
at its peak and making a total of about 100,000 planes by the end of 1945.
But during the Occupation, the general headquarters of the allied forces
(GHQ) that governed Japan in the postwar period banned the domestic
production of aircraft and related R&D activities, and even design
drawings were discarded. Just when the nation's aircraft industry
vanished, manufacturers in other countries started shifting their focus
from propeller planes to jets. In 1952, Japan was finally allowed to
resume production of airplanes, but Sumitomo Precision Products had to
find a new business to replace its propeller operations. The firm set its
sights on the "leg" portion of planes, in which it was able to
use its proprietary technology for cutting forged materials like aluminum
alloys and titanium alloys. Things went well for the cash-strapped company
because it was able to use existing production facilities just as they
were. By obtaining know-how through licensed production of U.S. military
aircraft, the company began supplying hydraulic parts used in the landing
gear of small passenger jets to the U.S. firm Gulfstream Aerospace Corp.
in the 1980s, which paved the way for doing business with the private
sector. In 1999, it undertook joint development of the undercarriage of
regional jetliners with Canadian aircraft maker Bombardier Inc., and the
production of landing gear has since grown to become its mainstay
business.The firm's aluminum alloy casting technology was also helpful to
it in developing heat exchange equipment for the air-conditioning systems
of planes. It has earned over 20 billion yen in the aerospace business,
more than half of which comes from landing gear and one-quarter from heat
exchange devices. "We are striving to boost overall sales to 30
billion yen in 2012," said Yoshio Taoka, director in charge of
aerospace operations at Sumitomo Precision Products. As part of that
effort, it brought a new factory in Shiga Prefecture onstream this spring.
Now the firm aims to expand its landing gear operations for regional jets
with passenger capacities of up to several hundred people. The business
for large planes is dominated by huge firms in the U.S. and Europe, so the
Japanese company sees a better chance for success in the relatively new
regional jet market. (The Nikkei Business Daily; Wednesday, July 9, 2008)
June
2008
ANA Hopes To Turn Asia Into 'Domestic Market' Via
Open Skies Pacts
All Nippon Airways Co. President Mineo Yamamoto aims to expand the
company's passenger service network in Asia by seeking "open
skies" agreements that would liberalize international aviation
services. ANA Strategic Research Institute Co., a think tank created by
Yamamoto four years ago, is preparing a report on the firm's growth
strategy for an open skies era. Yamamoto will unveil the report at a
meeting of the airline's management advisory committee on July 8. The
meeting provides an occasion for the president to explain the company's
long-term strategy to its three other representative directors and seven
outside advisers, and ask for their opinions. The advisers, who include
Kunio Nakamura, chairman of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., and Akio
Toyoda, executive vice president of Toyota Motor Corp., often pose tough
questions. "Talking about open skies is a kind of taboo in Japan. It
may offend the Transport Ministry," said a person close to the
company. However, Yamamoto and Yoji Ohashi, the airline's chairman, appear
optimistic about their efforts to liberalize the industry. ANA expects
that there will one day be an open skies agreement between Japan and the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The ASEAN member states have
already agreed to sign a multilateral agreement to establish an open skies
regime within the region by 2015. If Japan joins the regime, the country's
airlines will be able to freely open routes in the ASEAN area, while
Southeast Asian airlines, including low-cost carriers, will rush into
Japan's domestic aviation market. Even so, "Gains (from the
agreement) would be greater than the losses," Yamamoto said. About 60
million people a year fly within the ASEAN region, and the number is
expected to grow by nearly 50% in several years partly thanks to synergy
between open skies and regional trade liberalization. The growth rate
would be higher than those for North America and the European Union.
Domestic services, which account for more than half of ANA's sales, have
been stagnant since 2000 primarily because of Japan's flat population
growth. When the planned shinkansen bullet train lines are completed in
the Hokuriku and Kyushu regions, the number of plane passengers will
further decline, leaving the airline with no choice but to expand its
international services. Beginning in 2010, ANA plans to allocate to Asian
routes many of the slots newly allotted to it at Tokyo's Haneda airport
upon the completion of the facility's fourth runway. The airline plans to
open routes to Indonesia and the Philippines, increase the number of
flights on its Bangkok route to two or three a day, and start air services
to Ho Chi Minh City while offering more flights to Hanoi. Operating
between foreign airports: In fact, all those plans presuppose open
skies arrangements, which would also enable the airline to operate routes
between foreign airports, like between Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok and
between Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. ANA envisions the development of a
single market so that flights within the ASEAN-plus-Japan region will be
just like domestic routes. The greatest barrier to that ambition is the
government. The Transport Ministry has stubbornly maintained a
protectionist stance since the end of World War II. In the second half of
the 1990s, the U.S. government repeatedly urged Japan to sign an open
skies pact, threatening sanctions if Tokyo did not agree. The Japanese
government resisted fiercely. ANA has had a tense relationship with the
ministry since that time. In winter 1996, Seiji Fukatsu, the firm's
president at the time and now a senior adviser, angered the ministry by
publicly expressing his support for open skies. He advocated a global
strategy because he did not want ANA to remain perpetually behind Japan
Airlines Co., currently Japan Airlines Corp. Yamamoto is continuing that
policy. On April 1, ANA flew a chartered plane to Hong Kong from Haneda
airport, taking advantage of a loophole in the regulations that ban
regular international flights from the airport to destinations more than
2,000km away. Its recent strategies are all based on the idea that Asia is
a place where it can grow. This past spring, the airline hammered out
plans to provide air cargo services all over Asia, using Okinawa as a hub,
and to set up a low-cost carrier that would operate in Japan and elsewhere
in Asia. ANA is one of the few airlines that enjoy an A credit rating
because its finances and cash flow have substantially improved over the
past few years through restructuring. However, its stock price remains
lackluster as rising jet fuel prices are seen as a negative factor.
Yamamoto, however, said, "We could have the highest profitability in
Asia in a few years once crude oil prices stabilize." His confidence
is backed by the expertise the company accumulated through its membership
in the Star Alliance, a league of air carriers from around the world,
which it joined in 1999. Software systems introduced from United Airlines,
in particular, have helped the firm greatly improve its profitability
because they allow the Japanese company to set fares and use aircraft in a
more flexible manner according to passenger demand forecasts. (The Nikkei;
Thursday, June 26, 2008)
Japan Eyes Sending SDF Personnel To Sudan For UN
Peacekeeping
The government plans to send several members of the Self-Defense Forces to
southern Sudan as part of United Nations peacekeeping efforts. With Japan
hosting the Group of Eight summit in Hokkaido starting July 7, the move is
seen as highlighting the country's willingness to actively make
international contributions. An announcement could come next week. Plans
to take part in reconstruction assistance in Afghanistan are also under
consideration. Both of these initiatives reflect a policy outlined by
Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda for Japan to promote peaceful cooperation. A
scouting team, including representatives of the Foreign and Defense
ministries, will go to Sudan as early as next month. Two SDF officials
would then participate in the command operations for the United Nations
Mission in Sudan beginning in August or thereafter. In Afghanistan, the
government envisions providing logistical support for the International
Security Assistance Force -- which operates under the auspices of the
North Atlantic Treaty Organization -- or getting involved in provincial
reconstruction teams. (The Nikkei; Thursday, June 26, 2008)
Emirates
Airline In Talks With Japan For Haneda Airport Service
Emirates Airline is negotiating with Japanese aviation authorities to fly
into Tokyo's Haneda airport, President Tim Clark told The Nikkei in an
interview. The company, which is wholly owned by the Dubai government, has
set its sights on increased slots for international flights after further
expansions at Haneda are completed. The Transport Ministry has already
announced plans to allow regular long-haul flights into and out of Haneda
airport from 2010. Clark revealed that his firm has been in serious talks
with the government for the past few months. Emirates already has regular
service into Kansai International Airport and Central Japan International
Airport. But flights into a strong market like Tokyo are a must in these
times when surging fuel prices are biting into profits, Clark said. With
airlines from more than 40 countries wanting to fly into Narita airport,
Emirates has yet to win a coveted slot. It has apparently been waiting 15
years. Emirates, the largest airline in the Middle East, has a fleet of
116 aircraft and has placed orders for 180 more, including 58
next-generation A380s from Airbus SAS. (The Nikkei; Friday, June 13, 2008)
