Airbus Updates No.264

AIRBUS ORDERS 2011
Date	Airline	A318	A319	A320	A321	A330	A350	A380	TOTAL
20/05/2011	Aviation Link	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	2
06/05/2011	CASGC	0	2	-2	0	0	0	0	0
06/05/2011	Synergy Aerospace	0	0	0	0	0	10	0	10
06/05/2011	Aviation Capital	0	-7	11	-4	0	0	0	0
06/05/2011	US Airways	0	0	-5	5	0	0	0	0
06/05/2011	ILFC	0	0	0	0	0	6	0	6
03/05/2011	Korean Airlines	0	0	0	0	5	0	0	5
15/04/2011	Star Flyer	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	2
13/04/2011	Jareeza Airways	0	0	-25	0	0	0	0	-25
11/04/2011	Aerventure	0	-1	1	0	0	0	0	0
09/04/2011	APF	0	2	-2	0	0	0	0	0
01/04/2011	Rossiya	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	2
16/03/2011	Lufthansa	0	0	25	5	0	0	0	30
09/03/2011	Cathay Pacific	0	0	0	0	10	0	0	10
08/03/2011	ILFC	0	0	75	25	0	0	-10	90
08/03/2011	Hong Kong Airlines	0	0	0	0	10	15	0	25
07/03/2011	Iberia	0	0	0	0	8	0	0	8
03/03/2011	Afriqiyah Airways	0	0	-3	3	0	0	0	0
03/03/2011	Volaris	0	-14	14	0	0	0	0	0
03/03/2011	CASHC	0	1	-1	0	0	0	0	0
03/03/2011	Turkish Airlines	0	0	0	10	3	0	0	13
28/02/2011	Dubai Aerospace	0	0	-18	0	0	-12	0	-30
28/02/2011	Aer Lingus	0	0	0	0	-3	3	0	0
28/02/2011	TAM Airlines	0	0	32	0	0	0	0	32
28/02/2011	Air Asia	0	0	0	0	3	0	0	3
22/02/2011	Comlux Aviation	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1
17/02/2011	Skymark	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	4
03/02/2011	Flyington Freighters	0	0	0	0	-12	0	0	-12
03/02/2011	Asiana Airlines	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	2
03/02/2011	Asiana Airlines	0	0	0	0	0	-2	0	-2
03/02/2011	US Airways	0	0	0	6	0	0	0	6
03/02/2011	US Airways	0	-1	-5	0	0	0	0	-6
27/01/2011	TUI Travel Group	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	2
25/01/2011	Thomas Cook Airlines	0	0	0	12	0	0	0	12
24/01/2011	GECAS	0	0	0	0	12	0	0	12
17/01/2011	Virgin America	0	0	60	0	0	0	0	60
11/01/2011	IndiGo Airlines	0	0	180	0	0	0	0	180
06/01/2011	Asiana Airlines	0	0	0	0	0	0	6	6
04/01/2011	Easyjet Airlines	0	0	15	0	0	0	0	15
	Gross Orders	0	10	415	66	53	36	10	590
	Cancellations	0	-23	-61	4	-15	-14	-10	-127
	Net Orders	0	-13	354	62	38	22	0	463

Airbus Updates No.263

Airbus A300

-605RF

626

EK-

Rus Aviation

ferried 05jun11 DRS-BOD, N-reg, for paint

ex N77080

Airbus A300

-622RF

733

B-2315

China Southern

ferried 03jun11 URC-IST, for MNG Cargo

ex F-WWAE

Airbus A320	-214	1087		LZ-BHF	BH Air	delivery 04jun11 SNN-BOJ, c/n tba	ex EC-HDN
Airbus A320	-214	2745		EC-JQP	Iberworld	ferried 04jun11 IST-MAD after paint into all wh prior return to lessor	ex F-WWBO

Airbus A320

-214

4720

JA06MC

Star Flyer

delivery 04jun11 TLS-DXB

ex F-WWDP

Airbus A330

-343

1090

HS-TEU

Thai International

ferried 05jun11 HAM-BKK after seats installation

ex F-WWYB

Airbus Updates No.262

Incident: Airphilexpress A320 at Davao on Jun 1st 2011, bomb hoax

By Simon Hradecky, created Thursday, Jun 2nd 2011 08:37Z, last updated Thursday, Jun 2nd 2011 08:37Z An Airphilexpress Airbus A320-200, flight 2P-988 from Davao to Manila (Philippines) with 176 passengers, was lined up and waiting for takeoff clearance from Davao's runway 23 when an unknown voice was heard on radio (by both crew and tower) warning that there was a bomb on board of the aircraft. The aircraft returned to the apron where passengers disembarked. Police reported a search of the aircraft, passengers and luggage found no trace of explosives or incendiary device. The aircraft departed with a delay of 5 hours.

Airbus Updates No.261

Incident: Iberia A319 enroute on Jun 3rd 2011, airborne boarding

By Simon Hradecky, created Friday, Jun 3rd 2011 14:21Z, last updated Friday, Jun 3rd 2011 15:29Z An Iberia Airbus A319-100, registration EC-KMD performing flight IB-3721 from Malabo (Equatorial Guinea) to Madrid,SP (Spain), was enroute over Niger about 2 hours into the flight when an expectant mother, pregnant in her 36th week, went into labour. Assisted by a midwife, a paediatrician and a doctor amongst the passengers the woman gave speedy birth to a healthy baby boy weighing about 3kg about 15 minutes later. Upon recommendation by the doctor the crew decided to continue the flight to Madrid for a safe landing about 4 hours after birth, an ambulance met the aircraft after landing and took mother and still unnamed baby to a hospital. The airline said, that the airline recommends expectant mothers not to fly but can not ban anyone. In addition there had been extraordinary circumstances because the mother had attended a funeral in Malabo. The mother later said, she had travelled to Malabo to bury her father despite being pregnant in her 36th week. The birth lasted just about 15 minutes, the boy has been named Antonino.

Airbus Updates No.260

Airbus A318

-111

2552

N598EL

Avianca

delivery 03jun11 SJO-BOG

ex XA-UBY

Airbus A320

-214

3006

4K-AZ84

Azerbaijan Airlines

ferried 03jun11 BUD-DUS, HB-reg, prior delivery

ex HB-IOU

Airbus Updates No.259

Strong demand for used Airbus A320 aircraft drives joint decision to stop freighter conversion programme

 

3 June 2011 Press Release

Airbus, EADS EFW and their Russian partners, United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) and IRKUT, have jointly decided to stop the A320/A321 Passenger to Freighter (P2F) conversion development programme for economic reasons and, therefore, to launch the necessary legal procedures for the termination of the joint venture “Airbus Freighter Conversion GmbH (AFC)”.

Recent market developments, including the success of the upcoming A320neo, have resulted in more demand for A320 passenger aircraft and less for freighter versions in this aircraft category. In addition, strongly growing passenger traffic results in high demand for used A320 Family aircraft, thus reducing the amount of aircraft available for conversion.

Against the backdrop of these market changes and the increasing pressure on the P2F business case, the partners have concluded to stop and freeze the P2F programme.

The joint venture “Airbus Freighter Conversion GmbH (AFC)” was established between EADS EFW, Airbus and the Russian companies UAC, IRKUT, in April 2007. Headquartered in Dresden, Germany, AFC was equally divided between Russia (UAC and IRKUT with 25% each) and EADS/Airbus (EADS EFW 32%, Airbus 18%). The partners have decided to dissolve AFC.

The collegial and professional cooperation in this joint venture over the last four years developed by Airbus/EADS EFW, UAC and IRKUT, has strengthened the partnership between the European and the Russian aviation industry. IRKUT and Airbus will continue their partnership in components manufacturing for the Single Aisle programme.

Airbus Updates No.258

Hellenic Imperial to launch Athens – London Gatwick late-Jun 2011

Hellenic Imperial Airways from 24JUN11 is introducing Athens – London Gatwick service, on board Airbus A340-300 aircraft.
Service operates Daily except Saturdays. Schedules below:

HT211 ATH0725 – 0925LGW 340 5
HT211 ATH0800 – 1010LGW 340 x56
HT212 LGW1050 – 1650ATH 340 5
HT212 LGW1100 – 1630ATH 340 x56

Airbus Updates No.257

Airbus A318	-121	3062		PR-AVK	Avianca Brasil	in svc 01jun11 GRU-POA after delivery ex MEX late may11	ex CC-CVF
Airbus A319	-111	2230		G-EZEM	easyJet	ferried 02jun11 AUH-BUD, for Brussels Airlines	ex HB-JZH

Airbus A320	-212	579		UR-DAI	Donbassaero	at DUB 01jun11 in full Aerosvit cs after paint	ex N181LF
Airbus A320	-212	645		UR-DAH	Donbassaero	at DUB 01jun11 in full Aerosvit cs after paint	ex N241LF

Airbus A320

-232

4725

G-EUYL

British Airways

delivery 01jun11 TLS-LHR

ex F-WWDY

Airbus Updates No.256

Airbus delivers 100th Airbus aircraft to British Airways

 

One of Europe’s largest Airbus Single Aisle fleets

1 June 2011 Press Release

British Airways has taken delivery of an A320 aircraft, making it a member of a prestigious airline club that can boast 100 or more aircraft deliveries from every member of Airbus’ Single Aisle aircraft Family. The airline has already taken delivery of two A318s, 33 A319s, 48 A320s and 16 A321s.

The 100^th aircraft (an A320 powered by IAE engines) is also the 205^th Airbus single aisle delivered to International Airlines Group, which was formed in January 2011 folllowing the merger of British Airways and Iberia.

Keith Williams, British Airways CEO said:  "This milestone underlines British Airways' commitment to continue to invest in new aircraft for the benefit of our customers. The average age of our shorthaul Airbus fleet is just over seven years old, making it one of the youngest Airbus fleets of the European network carriers."

British Airways became an Airbus operator in 1988, when it introduced the A320 in its fleet. It added the A319 in 1999, the A321 in 2004 and the A318 in 2009.

“We are very proud that a world class airline like British Airways operates every member of our single aisle family aircraft, and even prouder to deliver to BA their 100th Airbus A320 family aircraft. We look forward to broadening and deepening our partnership with BA,” said Tom Enders, Airbus President and CEO.

With over 7,000 aircraft ordered, and more than 4,600 aircraft delivered to over 330 customers and operators worldwide, the A320 Family is today the world’s best-selling single-aisle aircraft family.  

Airbus Updates No.255

Airbus delivers the 50th A320 Family aircraft assembled in China

 

Juneyao Airlines keeps growing with Airbus’ top performing single-aisle jets

1 June 2011 Press Release

Less than two years after Airbus delivered the first A320 Family aircraft assembled by the Airbus A320 Family Final Assembly Line in China (FALC), the world’s largest aircraft manufacturer celebrates today the hand-over of its 50^th aircraft assembled by FALC at the Airbus (Tianjin) Delivery Centre to Chinese customer, Juneyao Airlines, a Shanghai-based privately-owned carrier.

The event was earmarked with a special ceremony, attended by National Development and Reform Commission of China and Tianjin government officials, Juneyao executives and Airbus representatives.

“We are pleased to take delivery of the 50^th aircraft assembled at FALC to further enhance our all Airbus fleet,” said Wang Junjin, Chairman of Juneyao Airlines. “Our highly reliable A320 Family fleet has demonstrated excellent performance while keeping operational costs low,” Wang Junjin added.

“We are proud that the A320 Family plays an important role in the growth of Juneyao Airlines,” said Laurence Barron, Airbus China President. “The 50^th delivery is a major milestone for FALC. Airbus will continue providing the best products and services to its Chinese customers,” affirmed Laurence Barron.

Currently Juneyao operates two A319s and 17 A320s.

The FALC is a joint venture between Airbus and a Chinese consortium comprising Tianjin Free Trade Zone (TJFTZ) and China Aviation Industry Corporation (AVIC). Since the first delivery of a FALC assembled A320 Family aircraft to Sichuan Airlines in 2009, 50 A320 Family aircraft, of which seven are A319s and 43 A320s, including today’s,  have been delivered by Airbus in Tianjin to nine Chinese Airlines.

The A320 Family, which includes the A318, A319, A320 and A321, is recognized as the benchmark single-aisle aircraft family. Each aircraft features fly by wire controls and all share a unique cockpit and operational commonality across the range. Over 7,000 Airbus A320 Family aircraft have been sold and more than 4,600 delivered to almost 330 customers and operators worldwide, making it the world’s best selling commercial jetliner ever. With proven reliability and extended servicing periods, the A320 Family has the lowest operating costs of any single aisle aircraft. Uniquely, the A320 Family offers a containerized cargo system, which is compatible with the worldwide standard wide-body system.

Airbus Updates No.254

Airbus A380

-861

35

HL7611

Korean Air

delivery 01jun11 TLS-ICN

ex F-WWAT

passed over London Heathrow at 1429 at 39000 feet on its delivery flight.......trailing nicely....

Arbus A320

-214

4723

B-6759

China Eastern

delivery 01jun11 TLS-SVX

ex F-WWDG

Airbus A320

-214

4718

B-6758

China Eastern

delivery 01jun11 TLS-SVX

ex F-WWBX

Airbus A330

-203MRTT

969

A39-003

Royal Australian Air Force

delivery 27-30may11 LEGT-LAS-HIK-YAMB, EC-reg

ex EC-334

Airbus Updates No.253

Airbus A300

-622R

621

D-AEAG

EAT Leipzig

ferried 01jun11 LDE-DRS, N-reg, basic JAL cs, for conversion

ex N2621

Airbus A300

-622R

730

D-AEAR

EAT Leipzig

ferried 01jun11 LDE-DRS, N-reg, basic JAL cs, for conversion

ex N4730

Airbus A300

-622R

641

D-AEAJ

EAT Leipzig

ferried 31may11 LDE-DRS, N-reg, basic JAL cs, for conversion

ex N5641

Airbus A320

-211

726

CS-TQS

White

delivery 01jun11 SNN-LIS

ex YL-BCB

Airbus A320

-214

4718

B-6758

China Eastern

delivery 01jun11 TLS-SVX

ex F-WWBX

Airbus A321

-211

4728

D-ABCH

Air Berlin

delivery 31may11 XFW-TXL

ex D-AVZF

Airbus Updates No.252

Air France Crash Sparks Pilot Mystery

May 31, 2011

The Air France airliner that crashed into the Atlantic in 2009 was out of control for four minutes, investigators said, in a report raising questions about how crew handled a "stall alarm" blaring out in the cabin.
Information gleaned from black boxes, and recovered almost two years after the disaster killed 228 people, confirmed that speed-readings in the Airbus cockpit had gone haywire, believed to be linked to the icing of speed sensors outside the jet.
As Air France pilots fought for control, the doomed A330 dropped 38,000 feet, rolling left to right, its engines flat out but its wings unable to grab enough air to keep flying.
The plane crashed on June 1, 2009, en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris. Black boxes stopped recording at 0214 GMT.
France's BEA crash investigation agency said in a detailed chronology of the crash that commands from the controls of the 32-year-old junior pilot on board had pulled the nose up as the aircraft became unstable and generated an audible stall warning.
Aviation industry sources told reporters that this action went against the normal procedures which call for the nose to be lowered in response to an alert that the plane was about to stall.
This type of aerodynamic stall is nothing to do with a stall in the engines, both of which kept working as crew requested.
"A stall is the moment at which a plane stops flying and starts falling," said David Learmount, operations and safety editor at the British aviation publication Flight International.
An aircraft industry safety consultant said the standard guidance in the Airbus pilot manual called in this event for the pilot to lower the nose by pushing the control stick forward.
"The BEA is now going to have to analyze and get to bottom of how crew handled this event," said Paul Hayes, safety director at Ascend Aviation, a UK-based aviation consultancy.
"The big question in my mind is why did the pilot flying (the aircraft) appear to continue to pull the nose up," he said.
French investigators said the emergency began with the autopilot disengaging itself two and a half hours into the flight and the junior pilot, who had been in control at take-off, picked up manually and saying "I have control".
The autopilot appears to have responded to a loss of reliable airspeed information. This was accompanied moments later by the disembodied voice of a recorded "stall" alert.
It is what happened next that is likely to fuel most theories on what preceded the crash, but Air France and its main pilots union insisted faulty speed probes were the root cause.
In a passage likely to attract particular scrutiny, the BEA said the pilot "maintained" the nose-up command despite fresh stall warnings 46 seconds into the four-minute emergency.
"The inputs made by the pilot flying were mainly nose-up," the report added.
The Airbus jet climbed 3,000 feet to 38,000 feet despite the crew having decided earlier against a climb, and then began a dramatic descent, with the youngest pilot handing control to the second most senior pilot a minute before impact.
The captain returned after "several attempts" to call him back to the cockpit but was not at the controls in the final moments, according to information gleaned from black boxes.
By the time the 58-year-old returned, just over a minute into the emergency, the aircraft was in serious trouble: plunging at 10,000 feet a minute with its nose pointing up 15 degrees and at too high an angle to the air to recapture lift.
The BEA did not provide extracts of the transcript for the last minute before the jet hit the water with its nose up.
It promised a fuller interim report which could say more about the causes of the crash in July.
SLIGHT TURBULENCE AHEAD
Relatives of victims had waited long for the report.
"It's very emotional to see the unrolling minute by minute or second by second at some points of what happened," said John Clemes, vice president of the families' support group.
"You automatically think of your family member and how they were living through this. It's the events that caused the deaths of 228 people so it's traumatic and moving."
The BEA report put to rest speculation that the pilots recklessly flew into the centre of an equatorial storm cell.
Pilots had decided calmly to alter course slightly to avoid turbulence shortly before the crisis. But the pilot did tell flight attendants to prepare for a "little bit of turbulence".
"In two minutes we should enter an area where it'll move about more than at the moment; you should watch out," he told cabin staff. "I'll call you back as soon as we're out of it."
Air France said the crew had displayed a "totally professional attitude" and stayed committed to the end.
The crew's response to stall warnings contrasts with advice to pilots contained in an Airbus training seminar in October last year, according to a document obtained by reporters.
In large red capital letters, the slide presentation says that in the event of a stall warning, pilots should "APPLY NOSE DOWN PITCH CONTROL TO REDUCE AOA (ANGLE OF ATTACK)".
Two aviation industry sources said the drill in force at the time of the accident was to apply full thrust and reduce the pitch attitude of the aircraft, which means lowering the nose.
Later guidance calls for pilots to push the nose down and adjust thrust as necessary, they said, asking not to be named.
Despite the apparent anomaly, aviation experts said it was early and most probably far-fetched to blame the miscommands -- so basic one compared it to hitting the accelerator instead of the brake when facing a car collision -- on a conscious error.
"One of the weird things about this is that the aircraft was definitely stalled, because the crew had had a stall warning, but they were not doing anything to recover from the stall," Learmount said. "It was almost as if they didn't know the aircraft was stalled, because they could have recovered."
The report and a more detailed follow-up are eagerly awaited by lawyers representing victims' families, but cannot be used in many courts. A separate French criminal probe is also under way.

Airbus Updates No.251

Incident: Meridiana A320 near Ancona on May 29th 2011, loss of cabin pressure

By Simon Hradecky, created Monday, May 30th 2011 16:43Z, last updated Monday, May 30th 2011 16:43Z A Meridiana Airbus A320-200, registration I-EEZF performing flight IG-2129 from Rhodes (Greece) to Bologna (Italy) with 166 people on board, was enroute at FL380 over the Adriatic Sea when the crew needed to initiate an emergency descent due to the loss of cabin pressure. The passenger oxygen masks were released during the descent. The aircraft diverted to Ancona (Italy) for a safe landing. The passengers were bussed to Bologna. Incident: Air France A320 at Athens on May 30th 2011, bird strike By Simon Hradecky, created Monday, May 30th 2011 17:02Z, last updated Monday, May 30th 2011 17:02Z An Air France Airbus A320-200, registration F-GKXA performing flight AF-1533 from Athens (Greece) to Paris Charles de Gaulle (France) with 152 passengers and 6 crew, was climbing through 4000 feet out of Athens when the crew reported a sea gull had impacted the left hand engine (CFM56) during rotation but there was no engine failure and asked whether debris had been found on the runway. The crew requested to level off at FL100, then reported some abnormal engine parameters and vibration of the engine and decided to return to Athens. Athens reported a sea gull in multiple large pieces was recovered from the departure runway. The airplane burned fuel overhead Egina and landed safely on Athens' runway 03R about 30 minutes after departure.

Airbus Updates No.250

Incident: TAP A320 near Lajes on May 25th 2011, engine shut down in flight

By Simon Hradecky, created Thursday, May 26th 2011 10:40Z, last updated Thursday, May 26th 2011 10:40Z A TAP Air Portugal Airbus A320-200, registration CS-TNT performing flight TP-1828 from Terceira Azores Islands to Lisbon (Portugal) with 80 passengers, was climbing out of Terceira's Lajes Airport about 10 minutes into the flight when a loud bang was heard in the cabin. The crew subsequently shut the engine (CFM56) down and returned to Lajes for a safe landing. The flight was subsequently cancelled. Incident: Qatar A320 near Budapest on Apr 29th 2011, cargo fire indication By Simon Hradecky, created Saturday, Apr 30th 2011 07:10Z, last updated Thursday, May 26th 2011 14:41Z A Qatar Airways Airbus A320-200, registration A7-AHF performing flight QR-94 from Vienna (Austria) to Doha (Qatar) with 95 passengers and 8 crew, was enroute at FL350 about 150nm southeast of Budapest (Hungary) already over Romania when the crew received a cargo fire indication, descended the aircraft to FL110, turned around and diverted to Budapest for a safe landing on Budapest's runway 13R about 35 minutes later and vacated the runway stopping on the adjacent taxiway. Responding emergency services found no trace of fire, heat or smoke, the passengers disembarked normally via mobile stairs. The airplane subsequently taxied to the apron. The smoke detector was identified faulty. The airplane was able to continue the flight after about 5 hours on the ground and reached Doha with a delay of 6.5 hours. The Hungarian TSB's initial notice of the serious incident mainly quoted the report by The Aviation Herald (see above) in the event description, adding the detail that the crew received a "FWD cargo smoke" indication, which ceased about 5 minutes later. The crew had initially declared Mayday, downgraded to PAN thereafter and requested a priority landing in Budapest. Incident: Rossiya A320 at Saint Petersburg on May 27th 2011, hydraulic leak By Simon Hradecky, created Friday, May 27th 2011 20:22Z, last updated Friday, May 27th 2011 20:22Z A Rossiya Airbus A320-200, registration VQ-BDQ performing flight FV-6831 from Saint Petersburg (Russia) to Zakinthos (Greece), had already reached the cruise altitude of 9600 meters (FL315) when the crew detected a hydraulic leak about 200nm south of Saint Petersburg. The aircraft returned to Saint Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport, burned off fuel and landed safely on runway 28L about 2 hours after the decision to return. A replacement Airbus A320-200 registration VQ-BBM reached Zakinthos with a delay of 3.5 hours Incident: Air China A333 enroute on May 25th 2011, passenger camera battery catches fire By Simon Hradecky, created Saturday, May 28th 2011 13:22Z, last updated Saturday, May 28th 2011 13:30Z An Air China Airbus A330-300, flight CA-1549 from Beijing to Shanghai (China), was enroute when cabin crew smelled smoke, located the source in an overhead locker and found a passenger's camera had caught fire due to thermal runaway of its Lithium battery. The cabin crew were able to contain the fire, cool the batteries down and thus stop the thermal runaway and resulting fire. The aircraft continued to Shanghai for a safe landing. No injuries were reported. The airline said, the spontaneous fire resulted in about 20cm high flames. The flight and aircraft remained unaffected, the flight continued to destination. Passengers reported the cabin crew carried the burning camera to a lavatory, other cabin crew rushed for fire extinguishers, and put the fire out in the lavatory. Incident: Kingfisher A319 near Kolkata on May 29th 2011, cracked windshield By Simon Hradecky, created Sunday, May 29th 2011 13:21Z, last updated Sunday, May 29th 2011 13:21Z A Kingfisher Airbus A319-100, flight IT-25 from Delhi (India) to Bangkok (Thailand) with 144 people on board, was enroute near Kolkata when the crew decided to divert to Kolkata due to a cracked windscreen. The airplane landed safely. A replacement aircraft reached Bangkok with a delay of 8 hours. Maintenance suspects the windshield cracked as result of an earlier bird strike. Incident: Thai A333 at Bangkok on May 27th 2011, engine shut down in flight By Simon Hradecky, created Monday, May 30th 2011 14:41Z, last updated Monday, May 30th 2011 14:41Z A Thai Airways Airbus A330-300, flight TG-602 performing flight TG-602 from Bangkok (Thailand) to Hong Kong (China), was climbing out of Bangkok about 7 minutes into the flight, when the crew needed to shut the left hand engine down and returned to Bangkok for a safe landing. A passenger reported the left hand engine emitted two loud bangs during the climb. A replacement Airbus A330-300 registration HS-TEH reached Hongkong with a delay of 2 hours.