Air France-KLM orders A350 and 787 Air France-KLM’s board of directors has approved, as expected, a split order of Boeing 787s and Airbus A350XWBs in its twin-widebody competition. It is the first major group order by Air France-KLM aimed at satisfying both airline’s demands and trying to generate savings by placing a single, larger order. Link
Black box data streaming service could be ready by early 2012 An in-flight aircraft performance data transmission service that promises to vastly improve on aircraft communications addressing and reporting systems (ACARS) could be in service in early 2012. EADS's Astrium Services unit presented its Airborne Data Service (ADS) concept at the Paris air show, where it attracted much interest during the then-ongoing search for the wreckage - and black box - from Air France flight AF447, which disappeared over the Atlantic earlier in the year. Link
Ryanair Steps Up Fight With Aer Lingus Ryanair has stepped up its confrontation with Aer Lingus by demanding that the Irish flag carrier pays out a special dividend to its shareholders, the Financial Times reported. Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary made a hard-hitting attack on the Aer Lingus board and management and demanded assurances that shareholders would have no liability for the deficit in the carrier's pension fund. Link
Qantas braces for Tuesday ground staff strike The Transport workers Union (TWU), which represents 3,800 Qantas’ (QF) baggage handlers and ground staff, has instructed its members to walk off the job Tuesday. The action will take place for 4-hr. during the morning peak in most airports and the afternoon peak in Canberra and Adelaide, as well as place a ban on higher duties, which could impact operations for two days. Link
Airbus Sees China, Asia As Recession Buffer Demand for new planes from China and Asia will provide Airbus with a buffer for growth in the event of a global recession resulting from Europe's debt crisis, the company's chief operating officer said on Thursday. "So far we have 1,000 net orders (from Europe) at the end of August and the air traffic is still good," Fabrice Bregier said. Link
Chinese carriers earn $1.03 billion in August Chinese carriers earned an aggregate profit of CNY6.59 billion ($1.03 billion) in August, up 27.4% over a net income of CNY5.17 billion in the year-ago month, crediting domestic market growth. Link
OECD statistics shows slow air cargo growth in 2011 first half International trade statistics through the first half of 2011 reveal that "the overall picture for global freight is one of growth slowing down," the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's (OECD) International Transport Forum (ITF) said in a new global trade and transport "statistics brief" released this week. Link
Panalpina upgrades to -8F Forwarder Panalpina will lease two 747-8Fs from Atlas Air. The multi-year aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance contract will see the aircraft enter service in the first half of 2012, operating in Panalpina’s airfreight network. Link
Other News
Turkish Airlines will resume 4X-weekly Istanbul Ataturk service to Benghazi (Sept. 13) and Tripoli (Sept. 24), following airport infrastructure work.
KLM will launch 2X-weekly Amsterdam-Luanda Boeing 777-200ER service Nov. 14.
Vueling will start daily Barcelona El Prat-Lille service at the end of March 2012.
Carpatair (V3) and Alitalia (AZ) have reached a codeshare agreement under which AZ will place its code on V3 flights operated via Timisoara to and from Italy, as well as on other direct flights operated by V3 from Italy such as Rome to Craiova and Iasi.
Malev will relaunch Boeing 737-600 5X-weekly Budapest-Tripoli flights service Oct 23.
AVIATION QUOTE
Airshow flying is tough, it's even tougher if you do something stupid. Don't do nuthin dumb!
— Ralph Royce
ON THIS DATE
September 16th
---In 1914... The Canadian Aviation Corps is authorized by the Minister of Militia and Defense to be formed. This is the beginning of Canada's military air force.
---In 1958…First flight of the North American NA265-40 Sabreliner.
---In 1975…The prototype of the Mikoyan MiG-31 makes its first flight.
---In 1999, the Boeing 717 receives JAA(EASA) certification.
---In 2007…One-Two-GO Airlines Flight 269 crashes on landing in Phuket International Airport after a failed go-around during extreme windshear conditions, breaking into two pieces on an embankment next to the runway. The crash of the MD-82 (registered HS-OMG) killed 90 of the 130 onboard. Investigators blame the crash on pilot error, as the pilot decided to land even though the control tower warned them about the difficult time the previous aircraft had.
DAILY VIDEO
EDITOR’S CHOICE
HUMOR
Act of Courage
Long ago a captain and his crew were in danger of being boarded by a pirate ship. As the crew became frantic, the captain bellowed to his First Mate, 'Bring me my red shirt!'
The First Mate quickly retrieved the captain's red shirt, which the captain put on and led the crew to battle. Although some casualties occurred among the crew, the pirates were repelled.
Later that day, the lookout screamed that there were two pirate vessels sending boarding parties. The crew cowered in fear, but the captain, calm as ever bellowed, 'Bring me my red shirt!' And once again the battle was on. The Captain and his crew repelled both boarding parties.
Weary from the battles, the men sat around on deck that night recounting the day's occurrences when an ensign looked to the Captain and asked, 'Sir, why did you call for your red shirt before the battle?'
The Captain, giving the ensign a look that only a captain can give, 'If I am wounded in battle, the red shirt does not show the wound and thus, you men will continue to fight unafraid.'
As dawn came the next morning, the lookout screamed that there were pirate ships, 10 of them, all with boarding parties on their way. The men became silent and looked to the Captain, their leader, for his usual command.
The Captain, calm as ever, bellowed, 'Bring me my brown pants!'
TRIVIA
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Ideology: The mistaken belief that your beliefs are neither beliefs nor mistaken.
1. Boeing 767-200 2. Convair B-58 3. Curtiss SB2C Helldiver 4. ?? 5. IAI Kfir 6. Douglas DC-9 7. Lockheed Electra 8. One of the most graceful aircraft ever designed, the Lockheed Constellation 9. Douglas AD1 Skyraider 10. DehAvilland Comet
