News
Sandy Causes Widespread Travel Disruption
Transportation ground to a halt along the US Northeast coast on Monday, stranding air, rail and cruise passengers from as far away as Europe and Asia, as Hurricane Sandy prompted closure of flights, ship, rail and even highway services.
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Singapore Air To Take Stake In Virgin Australia
Virgin Australia, Australia's second-ranked airline, said alliance partner Singapore Airlines would buy a 10 percent stake in it for AUD$105 million (USD$108 million) to help it compete with larger rival Qantas.
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Heathrow's Weak Summer Traffic To Hit Earnings
London Heathrow airport's EBITDA rose 9.6 percent to GBP£922.9 million in the nine months to the end of September on revenue 8.2 percent higher at GBP£1.84 billion, helped by an increase in tariffs it charges airlines.
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Aerion talks up transonic options as F-15 tests resume
Aerion is determined to prevent the industry slowdown from putting the brakes on its supersonic ambitions as it kicks of a fresh round of laminar flow flight tests in conjunction with NASA. Clouding the horizon, however, is uncertainty over the ongoing availability of Pratt & Whitney JT8D-200 power plants for Aerion's proposed supersonic business jet (SBJ), as military budget cuts threaten a project to re-engine the US Air Force's JSTARS surveillance aircraft.
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Italy’s Blue Panorama enters bankruptcy protection
Italian civil aviation authority ENAC has downgraded Blue Panorama (BV) to a provisional license and given it 12 months to restructure under a form of bankruptcy protection. BV is a privately owned scheduled and charter airline, which launched operations in 1998 and carried 2 million passengers in 2011. It has bases at Rome Fiumicino, Milan Malpensa and Bologna and operates four Boeing 767-300ERs and six Boeing 737s (-300s and -400s). Some of the 737s operate for low-cost arm Blu-express, which was created in 2005.
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MAS to join oneworld in February
Malaysia Airlines (MAS) will become a full member of the oneworld alliance Feb. 1, the airline confirmed Monday. MAS received clearance to join oneworld after a review of its readiness by Qantas, which is sponsoring its entry into the alliance. The decision to bring MAS into oneworld was announced in June 2011.
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China Southern 3Q net income drops 29.3%
China Southern Airlines (CZ) has reported a third-quarter net income of CNY2.22 billion ($353 million), down 29.3% compared to a net profit of CNY3.2 billion in the year-ago quarter, mainly due to foreign exchange losses. Operating revenue climbed 9.4% to CNY29.8 billion while operating expenses jumped 16.1% to CNY26.94 billion. The Guangzhou-based carrier reported CNY518 million in net finance expenses for the quarter, which it attributed to the “depreciation of RMB against the USD,” according to a filing released by the Shanghai Stock Exchange.
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CEO: United is expecting stronger corporate customer showing in Q4
United Airlines is expecting its fourth-quarter profit to be significantly higher than in its third quarter, President and CEO Jeffery Smisek says. The airline plans to reduce capacity and draw a stronger corporate customer base.
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US Airways unions call for strengthened employee integration
Representatives for the pilot and flight attendant unions with US Airways are encouraging the airline's CEO to integrate unionized employees more fully before moving forward with a possible merger with American Airlines. The unions say they are not opposed to the merger.
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AMR proposes new pilot 401k plan during labor talks
American Airlines leaders have proposed making contributions to new 401k plans for its pilots during recent contract negotiations. The move is intended to address concerns about the existing retirement plans, which are set to be frozen Thursday. "These discretionary contributions will be applied against contributions to be made under the replacement retirement plan anticipated as a part of a new collective bargaining agreement," said Denise Lynn, senior vice president for people, in a letter to pilots Friday.
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Opinion: Southwest business model must change to reduce costs
Southwest Airlines' business model must be adapted for the airline to succeed, writes business columnist Mitchell Schnurman. He suggests that the model, which was highly successful in 2001, has led to increased costs 10 years later that may be difficult to sustain.
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Storm disrupts air travel on East Coast, causing worldwide issues
Flight cancellations continue to mount at New York and Washington airports in advance of Hurricane Sandy, with the East Coast being threatened with gale-force winds. The hurricane has upset global air travel to and from major business-travel hubs in the country. Flight-tracker FlightAware reports that airlines have canceled thousands of flights.
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Other News
The Turkish government is moving forward with plans for a third airport in Istanbul, joining Istanbul Ataturk (IST) and Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen. The proposed new airport, which would include five runways, would handle about 100 million passengers annually. The first phase should be completed by 2016; the second phase should open by 2023, expanding capacity to 150 million passengers.
Austria’s air navigation services provider Austro Control has begun implementing Free Routes airspace in the Vienna Flight Information Region (FIR), with the official publication of 37 ‘Night DCTs’ (Night Direct Routings). Within Free Routes airspace, users can plan routes between a defined entry point and a defined exit point, without reference to the ATS route network, but subject to airspace availability. Flights remain at all times subject to air traffic control. Austro Control said that the high take-up rate of Night DCTs during the first hours of availability on the night of 17-18 October confirmed the level of airline demand. It said that “all technical systems at Austro Control and its neighboring ANSPs, as well as in the aircraft and at Eurocontrol in Brussels handled this transition smoothly.”
UK airports have reported a 78% on-time performance (OTP) during the second quarter, down 4 points compared to 82% in the year-ago period, according to the Civil Aviation Authority. The 10 reporting UK airports—London Heathrow (LHR), Gatwick (LGW), Luton (LTN), Stansted (STN), London City (LCY), Manchester, Birmingham, Newcastle, Edinburgh and Glasgow—reported the average delay was 12 minutes, up 1 minute year-over-year. The five London airports reported their second-quarter OTP for scheduled flights was 77%, down 4% year-over-year; the average delay increased 2 minutes to 13 minutes compared to the same period last year.
Lufthansa will launch 1X-daily Munich-Vancouver Airbus A330 service from May 16, 2013. This is the first time it has offered non-stop flights on this route. It already offers Frankfurt-Vancouver 1X daily.
Swiss regional SkyWork Airlines will increase its Bern-London City service from 2X-daily to 3X-daily from Mar. 29, 2013. This winter it will operate 13 destinations from Bern, but it is planning to grow its network to 34 destinations in summer 2013, compared with 25 in summer 2012.
OLT Express has launched Fokker 100 services between Dresden and Budapest.
Dassault Falcon today launched the Falcon 2000LXS, offering improved airport performance, payload and cabin comfort compared to the Falcon 2000LX which it will replace in 2014. The 4,000 nm Falcon 2000LXS will allow operators to access more airports because of new full-length inboard slats which give the aircraft category-leading airport performance and balanced field length. With full fuel, the Falcon 2000LXS will have a payload of 2,190 pounds; a maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) of 42,800 lbs with a balanced field length of 4,675 feet, which is over 1,000 feet better than some aircraft in its category. At M.80, the Falcon 2000LXS will offer a range of 4,000 nm (standard aircraft, full fuel, 6 pax, NBAA IFR reserves, 85% Boeing Annual Winds). It will climb directly to 41,000 feet in 19 minutes, reach a mid-cruise altitude of 45,000 feet and have a certified ceiling of 47,000 feet. With a typical end-of-flight profile, the Falcon 2000LXS will need just 2,260 feet of runway to land, no longer than that needed for a turboprop aircraft.
The U.S. Air Force has awarded Lockheed Martin (LMT) a $26 million foreign military sales contract to modernize the Royal Jordanian Air Force's national air command, control and communications infrastructure. Lockheed Martin will provide the Kingdom of Jordan with an integrated, real-time air picture across multiple command centers and many remote sites to better protect the country's airspace.
Aviation Quote
Today it is even more important to dominate the . . . highly sophisticated weapon systems, perhaps even more important than being a good pilot; to make the best use of this system.
— General Adolf Galland, Luftwaffe.
On This Date
---In 1908... Henry Farman performs the 1st cross-country flight in Europe as well as the 1st flight between two towns.
---In 1909... Claude Moore-Brabazon wins a £1,000 prize offered by the Daily Mail for a circular flight of one mile.
---In 1967… A-12 (932) is the first and only Blackbird ever to sustain flak damage. Flown by Denny Sullivan. At least 6 missiles were fired and confirmed by photography. Pilot witnessed 3 missile detonations behind the A-12. Traveling at Mach 3.1, 84,000 feet. Post flight inspection revealed the flak damage. (Q)
---In 1979… Sir Barnes Wallis dies, aged 82.
---In 2006…Arik Air commences operations.
---In 2006…Mango, the low-cost South African airline is founded.
Daily Video
Editor’s Choice
Humor
Ways To Annoy The Person Sitting Next To You On A Flight
• Find common interests. Ask, "Are you in the Witness Protection program too?"
• Tell your fellow passenger that you just heard the bathrooms were out-of-order. Then pause and say, "Did you know that peanuts are a natural diuretic?" Smile.
• Call the stewardess "nurse".
• Sport a kamikaze helmet and goggles. Speak in a low voice into a hand held tape recorder: "Today's date, December 7th, 1941. I was not able to command my own personal plane but success shall still be ours...."
• Yell out, "John Lithgow is on the wing!"
• Speak in Spelling Bee-eese: "Hello. H-e-l-l-o. Hello. Nice weather we're having isn't it? Weather. W-e-a-t-h-e-r. Weather."
• Start singing the Shari Lewis theme, "This is the song that never ends, it just goes on and on my friends, some people started singing it not knowing what it was, and they'll continue singing it forever just because, this is the song that never ends...." Suddenly realize that you can never stop singing. Become very panicky. Scrawl "Help me" on a piece of paper and hand it to the person sitting next to you. Claw at your throat and thrash around in the seat. Never stop singing.
• Continually offer to share your "Beano".
• Decorate. Bring a scatter rug and tiny draperies. Hang a "Home Sweet Home" plaque on the back of the seat in front of you. Invite your fellow passengers in for tea.
• Suddenly remember that you left your iron on. Ask if the pilot would mind going back so you can check.
• Bring your computer keyboard without a monitor. Place it on your lap. Stare into the palm of your hand. Wait. Push the return key a few times. Yell out "Yes! Alright! I told them I didn't need a laptop!" Plug the headphones into your nostril and play DOOM.
• Bring a duffel bag packed with pipe cleaners, styrofoam balls, construction paper, etc. Organize a "Kraft Korner". Make a craft likeness of the person sitting next to you. Give yourself an "F".
• Say, "Did you know every time a plane crashes, an angel gets its wings?" Then sigh and stare dreamily into the clouds.
• Snap Polaroids of him or her. Pull out an empty photo album and arrange the pictures inside it. Tuck the album under your jacket and say, "You know, in some cultures they believe that when you take a person's photograph...you own their soul...," while smiling maniacally.
• Bring a cellular phone. Call God. Say, "The reception is much clearer up here...."
• Speak in an incredibly fake Australian accent. Call the person "mate". Tell them you're not used to seeing the sky, since you are from "Down Under". Keep repeating quotes from "Crocodile Dundee," such as "That's not a knife! That's a knife!", until they are forced to yell at you that you are not Australian. Call them prejudiced.
• Bring a "Word-a-Day" calendar on board with you. Read every single word aloud and attempt to use it in a sentence. Use them all incorrectly. "My, you have a very irate home,' she said governessly."
Lean back in your seat, fold your arms behind your head and exclaim, "Thank God for auto-pilot, eh?"
Trivia
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