Airbus predicts demand for 27,800 new aircraft valued at $3.5 trillion through 2030 Airbus has forecast demand for 27,800 new commercial aircraft over the next 20 years, including 26,900 passenger aircraft (with more than 100 seats) and 900 freighters, valued at $3.5 trillion. The manufacturer said in its latest global market forecast released Monday that the "the aviation sector is expected to remain resilient to cyclical economic conditions as in the past." The forecast represents a 6.9% increase over the manufacturer's projection last year of demand for 26,000 aircraft over two decades. Link
Boeing 20-year forecast: Asia/Pacific will need more than 400,000 pilots, technicians The Asia/Pacific region will require hundreds of thousands of new commercial airline pilots and technicians over the next 20 years to support airline fleet modernization and the rapid growth of air travel, according to Boeing’s 2011 Pilot & Technician Outlook released Monday. The report called for 182,300 new pilots and 247,400 new technicians in the Asia/Pacific region through 2030. Link
Cargolux declines 747-8F deliveries, cites 'contractual issues' Cargolux (CV) declined to take delivery of the first two General Electric GEnx-2B67-powered Boeing 747-8 freighters scheduled for Monday and Wednesday, citing "unresolved contractual issues between Boeing and Cargolux in respect of the aircraft." Europe's largest all-cargo airline announced its decision Friday following a Thursday board meeting. It added that it has put financing of the aircraft, secured through JP Morgan via an Ex-Im Bank guarantee, on hold pending resolution of the dispute with Boeing. Link
Airbus unfazed by threat from 737 Max and 777 successor Airbus has played down the potential threat from Boeing's new 737 Max and its proposed 777 successor project. Speaking in London today at the unveiling of Airbus's 2011 20-year global market forecast, the airframer's chief operating officer customers John Leahy poured scorn on the commitment claims made for Boeing's re-engined single-aisle which rivals the A320neo: "I hear from my competitor that he's got 496 potential commitments - I can't for the life of me figure out where they are - other than American Airlines," he said. Link
IATA increases 2011 profit forecast, expects tough 2012 IATA has increased its industry net profit forecast for 2011 to $6.9 million from the $4 billion profit it predicted in June, but expects 2012 to be a tough year. Despite its increased forecast, IATA warns that profitability is "still exceptionally weak" - with a 1.2% net margin - considering the industry's revenues of $594 billion. Link
Thai Airways mulls forming LCC without Tiger Airways Thai Airways is considering going ahead with plans to start up a low-cost carrier without potential partner Tiger Airways. The airline had signed a memorandum of understanding with the Singapore-based low-cost carrier in August 2010 with the aim of starting up a Bangkok-based joint venture by the first quarter of 2011. Link
Qantas domestic operations disrupted by strikes Qantas Airways has cancelled 28 flights and delayed numerous others because of a union strike. All of the affected flights are domestic services, said a spokesman. Australia's flag carrier has put in place a contingency plan, where it will operate larger aircraft such as Boeing 737s and 767s on domestic routes, he added. Link
India Threatens Swiss Traffic Rights India is threatening to withdraw traffic rights from Lufthansa subsidiaries Swiss International Air Lines and Austrian Airlines, according to documents obtained by Aviation Week. In a Ministry of External Affairs letter to the Swiss embassy, the Indian government states that Swiss International Air Lines “does not meet the substantial ownership and effective control (SOEC) clause as mandated by the existing bilateral air services agreement between the two countries, therefore as per the ASA, is not entitled to operate.” A similar letter is believed to have been sent to the Austrian embassy. Lufthansa did not comment other than saying that air service negotiations are handled by the governments. Link
Funding Flies for Efficient New Aircraft Airbus and Boeing Co. are cranking up jetliner deliveries just as new turmoil hits financial markets and economic upheaval continues to threaten airlines and plane makers alike. Yet there's cautious optimism among the people who put planes in the air. Not pilots or engineers. The real power sources behind jets are the money managers who fund aircraft purchases and lease the planes to airlines. Many of them are gathering this week in Barcelona for the annual European meeting of the International Society of Transport Aircraft Trading. Link
Other News
Emirates (EK) will launch Airbus A330-200 daily Dubai-Dublin service Jan 9. DUB will become EK’s 29th European destination.
Germanwings plans to add 10 million additional seats for the summer schedule 2012 compared to this year’s season. The carrier will increase capacity by 40% from its bases in Cologne and Stuttgart, as well launch new routes to Pristina from Dusseldorf, Munich, Hamburg, CGN, Frankfurt, Berlin-Schonefeld and Hannover.
Icelandair will launch 4X-weekly Boeing 757-200 Reykjavik Keflavik–Denver service May 11.
Vueling will double the frequency of its Bilbao-London Heathrow service to 2X-daily Oct. 30.
AVIATION QUOTE ‘You’re on your own’ was all he said that day long years ago So long his name and face are lost in memory’s afterglow; Nor do I recollect of pride or joy or doubt or fright Or other circumstance which marked that time for solo flight The cryptic words alone endure : he said ‘you’re on your own’ And down through time I’ve found it so — the test’s to walk alone Not that one choose to draw aside in churlish mein or vein, From common lot of what life holds of pleasure, toil or pain But that the call’s to rise and cruise alone with dreams unshared Or plan alone for some far goal, for which none else has cared Or fight alone for what you hold is worth a warrior’s strife And ask no gain or fame or aught beyond the joy of life. I owe a quenchless debt to him who bade me seize my fate And hang it on the faith that I to it was adequate For when he said ‘you’re on your own’ and sauntered on away I knew that here, in four short words, was youth’s first judgment day Not wit to learn, not test of skill, not pride to satisfy, But will to walk down life in faith that life is theirs who try. — Gill Robb Wilson, Flying magazine, Janurary 1961.
ON THIS DATE
September 20th
--- In 1902... The Wright brothers make the 1st of nearly 1,000 glides on their modified No. 3 glider in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina. It is this glider, made of spruce wood and cloth, which incorporates for the 1st time the flight controls of the modern airplane.
---In 1904... Wilbur Wright on the Flyer III in Huffman Prairie, Ohio makes the 1st circular flight.
--- In 1904... Wilbur Wright in the airplane Flyer II makes the 1st complete circle in a powered aircraft.
--- In 1945... A British Gloster Meteor F.1 makes the 1st flight of an aircraft powered completely by turboprop engines. A turboprop or propjet is an aircraft with a propeller that is driven by a gas turbine engine.
---In 1952…First flight of the Douglas X-3 Stiletto
---In 1965…A UH-2 Seasprite makes the U.S. Navy's first helicopter rescue of a pilot downed in North Vietnam.
---In 1989… USAir Boeing 737 aborts a takeoff in New York and slides into the East River. Two people are killed.
---In 1993…Erich Hartmann passes away. He was a German World War II fighter pilot and is the highest-scoring fighter ace in the history of aerial warfare. He claimed 352 aerial victories (of which 345 were won against the Soviet Air Force, and 260 of which were fighters) in 1,404 combat missions. He insists his greatest achievement was never losing a wingman.
DAILY VIDEO
EDITOR’S CHOICE
HUMOR
Airline Humor
A Southwest flight attendant said this as the door was opened: "OK, now I'm going to tell you exactly what my Mama told me on my 18th birthday. GET OUTTA HERE."
"Hello Everyone, we have a first time flyer on board today - and it is also their 50th birthday!" After everybody cheers, the flight attendant continues, "Will everyone please wish the captain a Happy Birthday!?"
The pilot dropped out of the fog at Spokane Washington and discovered he was half way down the runway and slammed the plane down onto the ground. The flight attendant announced, "Ladies and gentlemen, we just dropped into Spokane."
"Welcome to Las Vegas, Nevada. We'd like to thank you for flying Southwest Airlines, and on behalf of the flight deck we'd also like to extend a very special and very happy 101st Birthday to a gentleman seated near the front of the aircraft." *scattered applause* "So, if you happen to see the Captain on the way out, mind his walker, shake his hand, and wish him well with another 100 years working here at Southwest Airlines."
"If you smoke, please wait until you arrive at a designated smoking area to light up, which (in California) would be outside."
TRIVIA
General Trivia
1. W.W. Windstaff was a fighter pilot for Great Britain during World War I. What did he say that is so well known that he is unwittingly quoted by almost every pilot?
2. What was Grumman’s first monoplane, and what was its first multiengine airplane?
3. What is a good reason to always leave the rotating beacon switch in the On position even when the airplane is parked, the master switch is off, and no one is in the airplane?
4. Just as B is the designation for Air Force bombers, RS is the designation for reconnaissance aircraft. Why, then, are the letters reversed in the designation of the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, which also is a “recon” aircraft?
5. A pilot climbs into the cockpit of his airplane and has reason to believe that his manifold pressure gauge is in error. How can he determine the amount of instrument error, if any, without turning on the master switch or operating the engine?
6. Who were the Night Witches?
And let's get one thing straight. There's a big difference between a pilot and an aviator. One is a technician; the other is an artist in love with flight. — E. B. Jeppesen
3. Safety - as soon as someone flips the master on, the rotating beacon will let everyone know.
5. Complete guess: If the engine isn't running, manifold pressure should equal QNH. Set field elevation on the altimeter, read the setting from the subscale, and note the difference.
My friend and I applied for airline jobs in Australia, but they didn't Qantas.
