NewsHeathrow Investment May Lead To Price RiseA GBP£3 billion (USD$4.7 billion) five-year investment plan by London's Heathrow airport could see passengers facing a rise in ticket prices. Heathrow Ltd, the British airport operator formerly known as BAA, on Tuesday said it wants Britain's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to allow it to increase charges for airlines to use the airport between 2014 and 2019. If approved, the charges would increase from the equivalent of £19.33 (USD$30.28) per passenger for 2012/13 to an upper limit of £27.30 in 2018/19.
LinkDendrites A Focus In 787 Battery FailureThe US National Transportation Safety Board is investigating whether tiny thread-like formations, known as dendrites, inside lithium-ion batteries could have played a role in battery failures on two Boeing 787 Dreamliners last month. Dendrites - just one of several possible causes under investigation by the agency - accumulate as a battery is charged and discharged, and can cause short circuits, according to battery experts. "As part of our continuing investigation, we are looking at whether dendrites may or may not have been a factor," Kelly Nantel, director of public affairs for the NTSB, told Reuters.
LinkMuscat Airport Reopens After Crash LandingOman's Muscat Airport has reopened after closing on Monday because a Pakistan International Airlines plane crash-landed on the runway, the airport said on Tuesday. The landing gear of the Boeing 737 collapsed as the plane landed. All 70 people on board the Islamabad-Muscat flight were unhurt, a statement from the airport said.
LinkEmirates Sees New 777 Within Nine MonthsEmirates expects a revamped version of Boeing's 777 airliner to be available to customers in six to nine months, the carrier's president said, adding technical issues affecting Boeing 787s will not affect progress. "The engagement on 777X continues. I believe it will be launched and we'll see that in six to nine months," Tim Clark told reporters in Dubai on Sunday. Emirates, Boeing's biggest customer, has said it will need to replace its older 777s from 2017, which is prompting the push for a new version.
LinkUS Airways, AMR Near USD$11 Billion MergerUS Airways and AMR are nearing an USD$11 billion merger that would create the world's largest airline and could announce a deal within a week, after resolving key differences on valuation and management structure, people familiar with the matter said. Under terms of a deal that are still being finalized, US Airways chief executive Doug Parker would become CEO, while AMR's Tom Horton would serve as non-executive chairman of the board until spring of 2014, when the combined company holds its first annual meeting, the sources said. The deal would come more than 14 months after the parent of American Airlines filed for bankruptcy in November 2011, and would mark the last combination of legacy US carriers, following the Delta-Northwest and United-Continental mergers.
LinkThomson Airways notified of 787 delay Boeing has told UK carrier Thomson Airways that its first Boeing 787 will be delayed, although the new timeline for deliveries remains unclear. Thomson Airways is due to receive eight of the 13 787s TUI Travel Group has on order. Its first 787 was due to arrive at the end of February, with commercial operation slated to begin on May 1.
LinkTechnical problems found during SSJ 100 operations The main technical problems discovered during two years of SSJ 100 operations have been localized and are being eliminated. Sukhoi Civil Aircraft company (SCAC) representatives marked several design deficiencies that had been found since Aeroflot started flights with its first aircraft in June 2011. According to SCAC, erroneous leakage detection system engagement, slat extension fault and landing gear up fault have been detected during SSJ 100 operations. The problem with erroneous leakage detection system engagement has been isolated. The manufacturer issued a service bulletin and implemented it for all aircraft at the production site. All the necessary changes will be implemented for the aircraft in operation as soon as possible, said SCAC in its statement.
LinkCargolux details its 2013-17 business plan Cargolux is looking to renegotiate its collective agreements and boost its liquidity under its new 2013-17 business plan, following the withdrawal of former shareholder Qatar Airways. The Luxembourg all-cargo carrier is planning “permanent efficiency gains” by making its cost base and capacity more flexible. This will involve “a range of measures including amendments to the collective work agreement.”
LinkFinland considers Finnair ownership rule revamp Finnair may get a boost to its partnership credentials if rules limiting the carrier to majority state-ownership are dropped. Speaking to journalists on Friday during the airline’s full year results conference, Finnair CEO Mika Vehvilainen confirmed that a Finnish parliamentary committee is looking at relaxing the carrier’s ownership restrictions. “At the moment, there is a requirement that the state owns the majority of Finnair. There is a proposal to take away this requirement meaning that the government could open up the ownership of Finnair at a later stage,” said Vehvilainen.
LinkDOD Inspector General finds USAF F-22 crash report conclusions not supported by the factsThe US Department of Defense (DOD) inspector general (IG) has found that the conclusions of an US Air Force Accident Investigation Board (AIB) report into the fatal 16 November, 2010, crash of a Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor are not supported by the facts. The crash took the life of Capt Jeff Haney, a pilot assigned to the 525th Fighter Squadron based at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. "We concluded that the AIB Statement of Opinion regarding the cause of the mishap was not supported by the facts within the AIB report consistent with the clear and convincing standard of proof established by AFI 51-503," writes Randolph Stone, the Pentagon's deputy inspector general in a memo attached to the report. "Our conclusion was supported by five individual findings, and we recommended that the AIB report be reevaluated in light of our findings."
LinkOperational testers to receive first F-35s this month Operational testers at Edwards AFB, California, are expected to receive their first Lockheed Martin F-35A Joint Strike Fighters (JSF) on 21 February. A sister squadron at Nellis AFB, Nevada, is expected to receive their first F-35s about a week later. "Edwards is getting four Block 1B jets tentatively on 21 February," says a senior US Air Force official. "About 7-10 days later, Nellis will get four Block 2A jets." The operational test units were originally supposed to receive their first aircraft about eight months ago, the official notes. "We're just waiting for the final ACC [Air Combat Command] approval to take delivery," he says. The two USAF operational test squadrons, both of which fall under the auspices of the 53rd Test and Evaluation Group at Nellis AFB, currently have six qualified F-35 pilots between them.
LinkRussian air force goes cold on An-70 project The Russian air force command has composed a letter outlining its complaints about the progress of the Antonov An-70 transport, and has also prepared a step-by-step contingency plan for its withdrawal from the joint program with Ukraine, Russia's Izvestia newspaper says. Quoting unnamed sources in the command, it says the air force is concerned about the slow pace of development following test flights in September 2012. One source says a decision to quit the program "could be made by the end of 2013", with support for the withdrawal primarily coming "from above", referring to the Russian government.
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