Abu Dhabi Airports Company to Host World’s Largest Air Transport Networking Event in Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi Airports Company to Host World’s Largest Air Transport Networking Event in Abu Dhabi

Boeing vs Airbus ... again! B737NG vs A320NEO - Paris Air Show

The decision by the executives of Airbus last year to offer a re-engined version of the A320 single-aisle jet from 2015, rather than going for an entirely redesigned plane, seems to be paying off.

Boeing is still hesitating to go for a simple re-engining of its rival plane, the 737, or a complete redesign.

Full article and pictures are available in 'The Economist'

Boeing vs Airbus ... again! B737NG vs A320NEO

Boeing cannot see any "compelling reason" to follow its European rival Airbus and offer a new engine upgrade for its best-selling single-aisle passenger jets, the US Company has revealed.

A keenly anticipated €1 billion plan Airbus announced last week to offer new engines on its A320 family of jets from 2016 would be costly and complex, said Jim Albaugh, head of Boeing's commercial aircraft division. It would only add "a few percent" in financial benefits for airlines. "We certainly can't see a compelling reason to do it" he said in an interview with FT.

Well, this is the second major disagreement between two major aircraft producers since the announcement of the A380 project. Airbus supported the case of bigger aircraft on major routes and feeder/de-feeder to/from hubs while Boeing supported the case of more direct flights between several cities, which perfectly in-line with ıts B787 strategy.

Today, this is still an open discussion. As long as B787 had several delays, A380 looks successful, but the real competition will begin in a year. On top of this, now there is another and new one discussion for the single-aisle, short to medium hall aircraft. When you consider the rising fuel prices and cost pressure on airlines, Airbus' decision is wise.

Everybody was expecting a counter-attack from Boeing. This could be announcing a major change in the B737 program or a new aircraft but not an announcement in complacency or ignoring the reality that Airbus is transferring its know-how from A380 to A320; and their B737 series will be old fashioned soon despite some make-up and development during the last few years.

On the other hand, there may be a strategy behind it. Bombardier, a Canadian producer, had announced its single-aisle low cost-high performance aircraft program years ago. Also, Embraer, a Brazilian producer, have already a similar program (E-Jets). Chinese, Russian and Japanese producers, are also in this game. Maybe they think that this is a game that they cannot win or will not be profitable as it was in the past. B787 can easily claim its dominant role in the medium hall market in the future.

This is a very nice game to watch...

For more information about Boeing’s position, you may read the following articles:
Boeing sees little sense in Airbus re-engine plan.

Boeing cool on a new engine for B737

For more information about Airbus’ A320NEO, you may have a look at Airbus corporate website or other aviation links:

New engine options offered for the A320 Family

Airbus A320neo to enter service in 2016

Airbus A320 NEO Alters Narrowbody Market

As a passenger, I find Airbus more comfortable, but I also have a great ambition to be onboard a B787.

Good luck to both of them! At the end of the day, passengers and the environment will benefit from this competition ;)

Update - Paris Air Show 2011

Airbus Neo Order Streak Leaves Boeing 737 Trailing at Paris Show

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2011/06/20/bloomberg1376-LN3Q8007SXKX01-6AF5C4G8NRKVSCAI9F9R7BGJPH.DTL#ixzz1PyvYDyiF

Business gets social...

Social technologies enable people to connect and interact with unprecedented speed and ease. Yet, there is still confusion about the value that social technologies deliver. Savvy business and IT leaders are getting smart about exploring — and possibly exploiting — the opportunities these new relationship dynamics promise. 

The special report of Gartner offers a growing body of research to help understand this fast-evolving arena. You may download the full report with essential reading lists from this link. Here is the summary and my comments; 

Exploring the Opportunities of Social Media Foundations 

Although vast numbers of business and IT leaders use social networks and social media for personal use, many enterprises are grappling to determine the right approach and timing for enterprise solutions. The market for social technologies is rapidly expanding and evolving as vendors seek to capitalize on enterprise investments, and this activity fuels the hype. In most organizations, there is little coordination of social initiatives. While it is appropriate to avoid the urge to centralize and control all things social, there are risks associated with unmanaged approaches. To optimize investments, competencies, and outcomes, it is essential that enterprises establish a shared understanding of social technologies and trends, coordinate strategies and initiatives, and leverage investments. 

  

I believe companies should also use social networks and social media for their brands and products. Of course, they have to set their policies, define the area they are going to be, and leverage investment. The question is, what should be the tone of your communication, and will you avoid exploiting it? 

Seeking Social Intelligence

People, on their own, are moving in huge numbers (over 600 million thus far) to take advantage of new (Internet-supported) social tools. Witness the billions of "tweets" and social-site memberships as well as the millions of blogs and the explosion of YouTube visits, posts and discussions. There are millions of terabytes of data on the Web (5 petabytes added each day) that reflect the attitudes, intentions and venues within which both business and consumer buyers are expressing their opinions and influencing the actions of their peers. The accumulation of their conversations, comments, ratings and rankings is already being mined by some for "social intelligence." The mixed nature of the data artifacts, unstructured and rich media, makes mining difficult, but not impossible. The IT organization has a challenge on its hands. How does it provide leadership in intelligence gathering and other efforts to integrate these collective activities in enterprise processes?

I have a totally different understanding of the “social intelligence” notion, a more spiritual and human-human thing. 

Socially-Enabling The Business

Just as the Internet had a disruptive impact on organizations' processes and business models at the beginning of the decade, today social media is changing the way business is conducted. Organizations need a strategy that will enable them to capitalize on the new socially-powered relationship dynamics. It is the ability of social media to enable rapid mass collaboration that differentiates it from previous generations of technology. Social media is ushering in a new era of transparency and allowing formerly hidden social structures to emerge. Social networks have the potential to deliver a new category of information based on social interactions. This information can be used to inform operational processes, facilitate engagement with employees, customers, business partners and the social Web, as well as create innovative business opportunities.

This is the dangerous part! Social networks and you should be careful about personal information, what you share, and handling those crucial data. For example, I didn’t like the word “capitalize” in the following sentence; “capitalize on the new socially-powered relationship dynamics”. No, no, no! 

Enabling Technologies

Social technologies are rapidly evolving, and are delivered in various configurations. Some solutions are offered as independent solutions, others offered as elements of socially-enabled collaboration suites, and many are available free or near-free in the cloud. Traditional software vendors are integrating social capabilities into business applications, such as customer relationship management and human resources. Over time, the boundaries between social and collaborative applications (such as, e-mail, instant messaging and "texting") and business applications (such as, finance or sales) will blur, and transactional activities will be augmented by socially-enabled capabilities...... Underlying technology is being hidden beneath social tools. Users of publicly available solutions like Facebook or Twitter, as well as users of enterprise solutions built with tools like IBM Lotus Connections and NewsGator, care as much about the technology beneath their social tools as they do about the types of gaskets used in assembling the transmission in their car. The technical details are being rapidly subsumed. The goal with automobiles is transportation. The goals with social tools are connecting, relating and better understanding. (Ask a 16 year old high-school student whether she will go "social computing" this evening.) For users, the important point is understanding what is possible and how to optimally navigate a broad range of social services, and most importantly, ensure that it can all be done on a smartphone.

My pick line is from the last part and probably for the whole text is; “The goal with automobiles is transportation. The goals with social tools are connecting, relating and better understanding”. Happy networking!

GAP Logo (Re) Change Issue

You are not someone or a brand which you think; you are absolutely someone or a brand what the others think...

So it is very important to listen to your target audience and be brave. Here is a good example from the US.

GAP has probably spent hundreds of thousands of dollars creating its new logo. They were looking for a change, a dynamic, young, fresh, modern...etc. logo for the next decades. Many people worked on it, some people choose it, and a couple of them approved it.

Look what happened at the end of the day!

US clothes retailer GAP has scrapped the new logo just one week after its introduction following an "outpouring of comments" online. The original logo, which has been used for more than 20 years, has a blue box with "GAP" written in the white inside, and the new one was with GAP in black with a blue box on the top right.

In a statement released on the GAP website, Marka Hansen, president of GAP Brand North America, said the company's customers always came first. "We've been listening to and watching all of the comments this past week. We heard them say over and over again, they are passionate about our blue box logo, and they want it back. So we've made the decision to do just that - we will bring it back across all channels."

A wise decision, GAP!

Ful story @ BBC

Can this work for Turkish Tourism?

Turkey, one of the hot -in both way- travel destinations for many Europeans. This year, due to Euro Zone's economic situation, more and more are coming to Antalya, Bodrum & Aegean Coast of Turkey as the average cost of a holiday is less than a one in Spain or Greece. Also, they spend Lira instead of Euro while shopping or tipping ;)

However, this may not continue... Euro Zone can stabilize itself, and/or Turkey may finally join the EU after decades :)

During the weekend I read an article about tourism and tour operators in Europe. Mr. Baraner suggested governments take a stake in those companies in order to secure a serious amount of tourists. In theory, it sounds good. Think about it; Turkish Ministry of Tourism holds a 20% stake in Öger, Neckermann, or Kuoni, and during their yearly planning meeting, they are discussing their next year focus country... guess which country is going to be top of the list?! ;)

The other idea I liked very much is from Kiwis... another side of the world. Kiwi Expat Association has kicked-off a new way of promoting New Zealand. Viral, savvy, low cost, clever...

I wonder that may work for Turkey as well? We have so many Turkish people in Europe and the U.S. Why not? Check out Springwise to read the full story; Viral Tourism site recruits ex-pats to promote New Zealand

Brand new SunExpress is ready for you!

New aircraft, nice surprises, same old value prices... 

It is on air... after 3 years of long studies and a year-long rebranding process, we launched the new SunExpress yesterday, in Antalya, with the participation of more than 3.000 people. The event's crescendo was the arrival of the 22nd aircraft, a B737-800 NG, which is a direct purchase from Boeing. For the question "What's new at SunExpress?" the answer is here; http://www.sunexpress.com/xq-tr/en/flight-info/the-new-sunexpress.jsp

It will take almost a year to paint the fleet and change every brand item, but renewed services and concepts will be on the air as of May 2010. I hope you will experience it soon and enjoy!