NEWS
Lufthansa CEO: A380 rights to Shanghai denied in ETS dispute
China’s opposition to the European Union’s Emission Trading Scheme (EU ETS), has prevented Lufthansa (LH) from obtaining rights to operate an Airbus A380 to Shanghai, LH chairman and CEO Christoph Franz said.
“The EU ETS is further increasing the already distorted level playing. We [the European airline industry] cannot accept retaliatory measures against the EU ETS in whatever form, landing rights or other. Some days ago, Lufthansa once again did not get the authorization to use an A380 to Shanghai,” Franz told the European Aviation Club in Brussels Tuesday.
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Lufthansa unlikely to buy out Brussels Airline this year
Lufthansa (LH) will most likely not buy the remaining 55% of Brussels Airlines this year, LH chairman and CEO Christoph Franz revealed.
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Oneworld welcomes Air Berlin
Air Berlin (AB) became a member of the oneworld alliance in a Tuesday joining ceremony at the new Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER), which will serve as AB’s home base and be Europe’s newest hub when it opens June 3 (ATW Daily News, Feb. 3). AB's Austrian partner, FlyNiki, became an affiliate member of the alliance.
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American Eagle will meet with labor unions
American Eagle plans to meet with its labor unions Wednesday. "We will be making presentations to them and then we will have meetings in the afternoon with each of the three to present term sheets and information," spokesman Bruce Hicks said. AMR Corp., the parent company of American Eagle, filed for bankruptcy in November.
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JetBlue Airways will move to larger terminal in Puerto Rico
JetBlue Airways plans to move to a larger terminal at the airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The carrier, which launched service to Puerto Rico in 2002, will move from Terminal A to Terminal C at Luis Munoz Marin International Airport in May.
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FedEx looks for foothold in Europe after UPS deal
UPS' acquisition of Dutch firm TNT Express could mean FedEx will struggle in Europe, analysts say. "There is a lot of concern in the investor community that FedEx is now boxed out of Europe," said Deutsche Bank analyst Justin Yagerman. FedEx has invested in Boeing 777 aircraft, which allow the company to make nonstop flights to the U.S. from Asia.
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Airlines turning to satellite-delivered Internet
Satellites provide a more cost-effective, practical way to deliver Internet access to airplane passengers, this feature notes. "Satellites offer broadband capability that gives airlines flexibility to offer more services to passengers," said consultant Michael Planey.
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Boeing will build 737 MAX as long as market permits, exec says
A Boeing executive said at a conference that the company is committed to the 737 MAX. "Our intent is that we build the MAX until the market doesn't want to buy any more," said Mike Bair, a Boeing Commercial Airplanes vice president, at a conference hosted by the International Society of Transport Aircraft Trading. The 737 MAX is slated to enter service in 2017.
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Squeezed by Air Canada, aircraft repair firm Aveos shuts down
Aircraft repair firm Aveos Fleet Performance Inc. has filed for bankruptcy protection, laid off more than 2,600 workers and shut plants in Montreal, Winnipeg and Vancouver as it faces a cost squeeze from Air Canada.
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India will instruct airlines to ignore EU ETS, official says
An Indian official says the country is close to asking airlines to ignore the European Union's emissions-trading scheme. "We have lots of measures to take if the EU does not go back on its demands. We have the power of the economy; we are not bleeding as they are," the official said.
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Oil-refinery closure could hamper East Coast capacity
The East Coast could lose up to 50% of its refining capacity as an oil refinery in Philadelphia plans to shut down. Sunoco plans to shutter the refinery by July 1 if no one buys it. The company closed another refinery in Pennsylvania last year, as did Conoco.
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Cabin interiors connect passengers "with the flying experience"
Cabin interiors have evolved into a celebration of flight rather than an escape from the journey, this feature says. Larger windows and roomier entrance areas are just two advances in cabin architecture. "The innovations are designed to connect the travelers more strongly with the flying experience," said Blake Emery, Boeing's director of differentiation strategy.
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India May Cancel Kingfisher's License
India's aviation minister warned Kingfisher Airlines that its license might be cancelled if safety norms and financial viability conditions are not met, in the latest blow to the beleaguered carrier.
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IATA Cuts Airline Profit Forecast
The International Air Transport Association has cut its forecast for global airline profits due to a sharp rise in oil prices, warning that a spike to USD$150 per barrel could lead to losses as high as USD$5.3 billion.
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Air India To Go Ahead With 787 Orders
State-run Air India will push ahead with its purchase of 27 of Boeing's 787 Dreamliner aircraft, India's aviation minister Ajit Singh said on Tuesday.
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Other News
The US Senate has voted against reauthorization of Export-Import Bank, casting more uncertainty about the future of the federal credit agency that will soon reach its $100 billion cap.
Hong Kong’s Executive Council has in-principle at least—endorsed the construction of a third runway at Hong Kong International, according to the official Hong Kong government website.
IATA projected Tuesday that the world's airlines will earn aggregate net income of $3 billion in 2012, 14.3% below its industry profit forecast for the year issued in December and 38.8% lower than the $4.9 billion profit it predicted for 2012 last September.
Boeing received an amended FAA type certificate Tuesday for GE Aviation GEnx –powered 787-8s.
Ops and Maintenance NewsCPI Aerostructures reported full-year revenue of $74.14 million in 2011, up 68.5% over the prior year's revenue of $43.99 million. Net income reached $7.42 million, compared to $542K in 2010. Revenue generated from commercial contracts increased by 35% to approximately $10.2 million.
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PPG Industries announced its aerospace transparencies group has created kits for repairing commercial aircraft windshield moisture seals on "various commercial aircraft."
Engineering LLC, a Russian based MRO holding company, has agreed to acquire Bend, Oregon-based Epic Aircraft. Epic Aircraft CEO Douglas King will retain his position. Engineering LLC specializes in line and base maintenance and C checks for Airbus, Boeing, ATR and Bombardier-type aircraft.
Pemco World Air Services has voluntarily filed Chapter 11 to facilitate its restructuring. The company said it "expects to quickly restructure and emerge as a stronger and more viable business," and expects to emerge from bankruptcy within the next 90 days.
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AVIATION QUOTE
Sometimes I watch myself fly. For in the history of human flight it is not yet so very late; and a man may still wonder once in a while and ask: how is it that I, poor earth-habitituated animal, can fly?
Any young boy can nowadays explain human flight — mechanistically: " . . . and to climb you shove the throttle all the way forward and pull back just a little on the stick. . . . " One might as well explain music by saying that the further over to the right you hit the piano the higher it will sound. The makings of a flight are not in the levers, wheels, and pedals but in the nervous system of the pilot: physical sensations, bits of textbook, deep-rooted instincts, burnt-child memories of trouble aloft, hangar talk.
— Wolfgang Langewiesche, 'A Flyer's World.'
ON THIS DATE
---In 1877... Maurice Farman (1877-1964), aviation pioneer and manufacturer, is born in Paris, France. In 1908, he made the first circular flight of more than one mile (1,6 km) with his brother, Henri.
---In 1908... Henri Farman covers 6,275 feet in 3 minutes 47 seconds in his Voisin-Farman No.1 bis at Issy-les-Moulineaux.
---In 1933... Fairey’s TSR.1 torpedo spotter-reconnaissance airplane makes its first flight at Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England.
---In 1933... James L. Kinney makes the first cross-country test of blind flying and landing from College Park, Maryland to Newark, New Jersey.
---In 1946…The Strategic Air Command of the United States Army Air Force is formed.
---In 1951…Flying a U.S. Navy F9F Panther of Fighter Squadron 191 (VF-191) from the aircraft carrier USS Princeton (CV-37), Ensign Floryan "Frank" Sobieski is blinded by enemy ground fire over Korea. Guided and encouraged by his wingman, Lieutenant junior grade Pat Murphy, and assisted by Princeton's landing signal officer, Sobieski lands safely aboard Princeton wihout being able to see. He later recovers full vision.
---In 1965…US Ranger 9 launched; takes 5,814 pictures before lunar impact.
---In 1968… First SR-71 (976) operational mission over North Vietnam flown from Kadena Okinawa: Pilot Jerry O’Malley, RSO Ed Payne.
---In 1971…First flight of the Westland Lynx XW835.
---In 1996…Tupolev and NASA begin joint research into civil supersonic transports using a refurbished Tupolev Tu-144.
---In 1996…NEAR, USA Asteroid Orbiter (Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous) imaged Comet Hyakutake.
DAILY VIDEO
EDITOR’S CHOICE
HUMOR
You May Be A Redneck pilot If…
... your stall warning plays "Dixie."
... your cross-country flight plan uses flea markets as check points.
... you think sectionals charts should show trailer parks.
... you've ever used moonshine as avgas.
... you have mud flaps on your wheel pants.
... you think GPS stands for going perfectly straight.
... your toothpick keeps poking your mike.
... you constantly confuse Beechcraft with Beechnut.
... just before impact, you are heard saying, "Hey y'all, watch this!"
... you have a black airplane with a big #3 on the side.
... you've ever just taxied around the airport drinking beer.
... you use a Purina feed bag for a windsock.
... you fuel your wizzbang 140 from a Mason jar.
... you wouldn't be caught dead flyin' a Grumman "Yankee."
... you refer to flying in formation as "We got ourselves a convoy!"
... there is a sign on the side of your aircraft advertising your septic tank service.
... when you are the owner of Red Neck Airlines and pilot of Redneck One.
... you subscribe to The Southern Aviator because of the soft paper!
... you have ever incorporated sheetrock into the repair of your aircraft.
... you have ever responded to ATC with the phrase "That's a big 10-4!"
... you typically answer female controllers with titles like "sugar" or "little darlin'."
... she responds with the words "Honey" or "Big guy" then she may be a redneck.
... you have ever used a relief tube as a spitoon.
... you glance down at your belt buckle to help you remember your N-number.
... you have ever tried to impress your girlfriend by buzzing her doublewide.
... the preprinted portion of your weight and balance sheet contains "Case of Bud."
... your go/no-go checklist includes the words "Skoal" or "Redman."
TRIVIA
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