Bradley Perrett covered China, Japan, South Korea and Australia. He is a Mandarin-speaking Australian.
Before joining Aviation Week in 2006 he was a macroeconomics, politics and aerospace journalist with Reuters. Perrett holds a bachelor’s degree in law from Macquarie University, Sydney. He left Aviation Week in 2020.
AirAsia and Jetstar are negotiating a joint venture aimed at cutting costs while leaving the two leading Asia/Pacific budget carriers in competition for passengers. The companies would cooperate in ground-handling at airports that they both use and in purchasing, said Jetstar, but the Australian carrier’s owner, Qantas, stressed that the discussions are at a preliminary stage. No equity connection between the two airlines is likely, however. Jetstar said the key objective would be cutting costs.
The Chinese maintenance industry will advance not only in size but also in its technology and management in the coming decade, top executives predict. The major challenge will remain finding skilled labor. With the industry growing so fast and competing for technicians against rapidly expanding airlines, local training is likely to be only a partial solution to the labor demand.
VIETNAM BUYS: Vietnam will buy eight Sukhoi Su-30MK2 fighters and six Project 636 submarines from Russia, according to the country’s prime minister and a Russian news report. Prime Minister Ngyuen Tan Dung confirms that his country is buying warplanes and submarines from Russia. Interfax news agency separately identifies the precise equipment and numbers, adding that a further 12 of the Sukhois might be ordered. The submarines, code-named Kilo by NATO, will be delivered at a rate of one a year, Interfax says.
