News
FAA Disputes Reports That 787 Test Flights Near
The US Federal Aviation Administration said it is not close to approving test flights of Boeing's 787 Dreamliner with a proposed fix for the plane's troubled batteries, denying news reports that such tests could start as early as next week. "Reports that we are close to allowing 787 test flights are completely inaccurate," spokeswoman Laura Brown said on Tuesday. Boeing declined to comment. Batteries overheated on two jets last month, prompting regulators to ground the 50 787s in service worldwide. The grounding saddled Boeing with mounting costs and airlines with expensive planes that cannot be flown and in some cases are stranded far from their home airports.
Link
LAN Says No Date For 787s To Fly Again
LAN has not set a date to start flying its Boeing 787 Dreamliners again, a company source said, after a local newspaper reported the Chilean airline would keep its three 787s grounded until June 29. Regulators around the world last month joined the United States in grounding 787s after a series of battery-related problems. "We're awaiting the FAA's approval and that Boeing confirms that approval, so there's no date for operations to resume," the source said.
Link
EADS Sees Further Profit Growth After Strong 2012
EADS predicted higher profit in 2013 as it confirmed an upswing in 2012 driven by efforts to halt excess costs and by strong deliveries of passenger jets. Operating profit rose by 68 percent to EUR€3 billion (USD$3.92 billion) last year on revenue up 15 percent to EUR€56.5 billion, EADS said on Wednesday. Net profit also grew 19 percent to EUR€1.2 billion. For 2013, it targeted EUR€3.5 billion in operating profit but an even sharper rise in earnings per share after a planned share buyback linked to a shake-up of its core shareholdings.
Link
EU Rebuff Won't Free Aer Lingus From Ryanair
The European Commission looks certain to end Ryanair's seven-year pursuit of Aer Lingus, but Brussels can't stop the low-cost carrier from using its stake to keep its rival in limbo for years. The Commission, which acts as Europe's anti-monopoly watchdog, has told Ryanair it will reject its EUR€694 million (USD$905 million) bid in an announcement expected on Wednesday. A veto, which would be the first time it has twice rejected a proposed takeover, could force Ryanair chief Michael O'Leary to decide whether to finally set its smaller rival free by selling its 30 percent stake.
Link
EU Court Says Airlines Must Pay For Late Flights
Airlines must pay compensation to passengers who arrive at their destination three or more hours late, even when due to missed connections, the European Union's highest court said on Tuesday. The ruling supplements a verdict by the European Union Court of Justice (ECJ) in October that passengers should be recompensed for delays to individual flights. Judges in the court were ruling on a case of a woman who booked to fly from Bremen in Germany to Asuncion in Paraguay. Her initial flight with Air France to Paris took off with a delay of 2-1/2 hours and she missed her connection to Sao Paulo, also operated by Air France. She arrived in Asuncion 11 hours late.
Link
US Airways, American tout merger benefits to Congress
Executives from American Airlines and US Airways told Congress that the carriers’ planned merger will benefit both consumers and employees, and will leave the US with a highly competitive airline industry. Testifying Tuesday in Washington DC before the House of Representatives subcommittee on regulatory reform, commercial and antitrust law, US Airways executive VP-corporate and government affairs Stephen Johnson said, “We help our customers by this merger. Second, we help our employees.” He explained that US Airways pays its workers less than Delta Air Lines and United Airlines because it lacks the scale of those competitors. “By merging, we can pay our employees like Delta and United,” he said.
Link
Alitalia losses deepen to €280 million; CEO steps down
Alitalia reported a 2012 net loss of €280 million ($370 million), worsened from a loss of €69 million in 2011. As the results were announced, CEO Andrea Ragnetti submitted his resignation. According to a company statement, Alitalia and Ragnetti “have mutually agreed to terminate their relationship. Mr. Ragnetti resigned from the board and as chief executive officer of Alitalia and Air One as well as managing director of Alitalia,” it said. Ragnetti was named CEO last March. Alitalia chairman Roberto Colaninno has been named interim CEO until a replacement is found.
Link
Bombardier reveals engine-equipped CSeries
Bombardier has revealed the first image of a nearly structurally-complete CSeries test aircraft equipped for the first time with a pair of Pratt & Whitney geared turbofan engines. The photo posted on the company's Twitter account shows the small narrowbody almost ready to make its public debut in a 7 March event inside Bombardier's factory in Mirabel, Quebec. The photo reveals much progress in the roughly seven weeks since Bombardier last posted images showing the pace of progress in final assembly since the first flight event was delayed as much as six months from late December.
Link
A380 wing-fix charges reach €250m in 2012
Charges relating to the Airbus A380 wing-rib repairs reached €251 million ($328 million) during 2012, while EADS also recorded charges of €124 million for the A350 program. The A380 charges were "anticipated", says EADS, which had estimated the figure would reach €260 million. EADS is forecasting a further €85 million in charges for the wing fix during 2013. Fewer A380 deliveries this year, put at 25, will result in only "moderate" growth in Airbus revenues, says the company.
Link
First flying A350 moves to next stage of ground tests
Airbus has released a picture showing the first A350 XWB - MSN001 - emerging from the Roger Béteille final assembly line in Toulouse as it moves to the next stage of ground testing. It is the first time the airframer has shown the flying prototype with completed wings, following the recent addition of its curved winglets. The twinjet is structurally complete, says Airbus, and also its shows belly fairing panels, and main landing gear doors.
Link
Emirates to fly one-off A380 service to Gatwick in March
Gulf carrier Emirates will perform a scheduled passenger flight of an Airbus A380 into London Gatwick on 24 March to test the Sussex airport's newly completed A380 facilities. The airline was unable to confirm the exact timing of the service from Dubai, but says the flight is intended as a "one-off". Gatwick has been developing two stands at the Western end of pier 6 at its North Terminal to allow air bridge-served access by the super jumbo. Construction and testing work was completed by the airport in late February, it says.
Link
Pratt & Whitney to test upgraded F135 this year
Pratt & Whitney expects to test an upgraded version of its F135 afterburning turbofan later this year, a top company official says. The engine is installed on the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. "We'll run a demonstrator this year that will demonstrate hot section technologies in the combustor and the turbine that could provide another 5% thrust," says Bennett Croswell, president of P&W's military engines division.
Link
Other News
Hainan Airlines parent HNA Group is planning to launch Urumqi Airlines, in conjunction with the Urumqi municipal government. The new subsidiary will further explore the market potential in West China. The new venture will be launched based on the assets of Hainan Airlines Xinjiang Branch Co., which is the second biggest carrier in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, following China Southern Airlines. According to an industry insider, Haikou-based Hainan Airlines is expected to be the controlling stakeholder, but the ownership ratio has not yet been determined. Hainan Airlines president Wang Yingming said the new subsidiary is expected to operate not only on regional routes in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, but would open new routes to Middle Asia and Europe from Urumqi. It is also planning to launch an IPO “at the appropriate time.” The new entity is expected to face fierce competition from China Southern Airlines, which plans to build Urumqi as its key hub in West China and open more new international routes to the Middle Asia, West Asia and Europe from the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
Air France-KLM’s cargo division is facing a “drastic and substantial re-organization” after posting a €222 million ($291 million) full-year operating loss, compared to a €60 million loss in 2011. “This result cannot be satisfactory. It requires drastic and substantial reorganization steps,” Air France-KLM chairman and CEO Jean-Cyril Spinetta said at the release of the group’s 2012 financial results. Spinetta detailed plans to slash the division’s losses by €140 million, although he added: “This is not an Air France-KLM crisis. This is a crisis for all cargo leaders around the globe.” Full year cargo revenues fell 2.7% to €3.06 billion, although the decline would have been 6.4% excluding positive currency effects. In the first three quarters of the year, unit revenues fell by 4.1%, 6.7% and 5.7%, respectively, although they rose 1.5% in the final quarter. “It is not a very positive picture,” Air France-KLM EVP finance Philippe Calavia said. “There may be a glimmer of hope in quarter four, when we succeeded in maintaining unit revenues as slightly positive, but let’s not draw any hasty conclusions. We need to continue to tightly control capacity in that business.”
Paraguay media are reporting the government will soon announce the creation of a new state-owned carrier, according to president Federico Franco. No further details have been provided. Paraguay has not had its own flag carrier since Sol Del Paraguay Airlines was grounded in August 2012. The only major local carrier is TAM Mercosur, which is part of Brazil’s TAM and under control of the Brazilian capital. Separately, American Airlines is considering establishing a hub operation in the capital city of Asunción, taking advantage of geographical location and potential market in Paraguay and the Northern Argentina and Southern Brazil regions, a carrier spokesperson told local media. The US carrier operates 4X-weekly Asunción-Miami services with plans to increase to daily in the near future.
Aeroflot and Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) have reached an interim agreement in the dispute over the carrier’s deal with Moscow Sheremetyevo airport. In addition, FAS said it has fined Sheremetyevo airport RUB100,000 ($3,289) for “concluding an anticompetitive agreement.” Last year, Aeroflot and Sheremetyevo agreed to release airport terminals D, E and F for the carrier, its sister companies and SkyTeam partners. However, FAS later blocked the deal, saying that several terms and conditions would limit competition and put some carriers at a disadvantage. Last week, FAS gave Aeroflot and Sheremetyevo two months to correct the agreement. Later, authorities said they had received the documents from the airport, but it would take time to check proposed solutions. Neither the airport nor the carrier disclosed a possible decision on the new version of the agreement. Two airlines that would be affected by the agreement are Transaero, which operates from three Moscow airports including Sheremetyevo, and NordWind Airline, a charter carrier controlled by Pegas Touristik travel company.
Kenya Airways and Etihad Airways have signed a codeshare agreement for flights between Abu Dhabi and Nairobi beginning April 1. Kenya Airways will launch a 3X-weekly Nairobi-Abu Dhabi service in June, on which Etihad will then place its code as well as on 27 destinations across the Kenya Airways domestic network. Kenya Airways will place its code on Etihad Airways’ existing daily Nairobi-Abu Dhabi service and on 32 destinations on Etihad’s global network.
Ryanair will launch London Stansted-Ostrava service in June 2013.
Tiger Airways Australia will launch 4X-weekly Melbourne-Sunshine Coast service March 27, 4X-weekly Sydney-Cairns service April 4 and 4X-weekly service to Alice Springs from Melbourne and Sydney April 9.
Wizz Air will launch service from Kutaisi to Warsaw (2X-weekly, May 15), Donetsk (2X-weekly, April 23), Kharkiv (2X-weekly, July 1) and will increase Kiev service to daily, April 1.
Aviation Quote
I want to die like my grandfather did, peacefully in his sleep. Not screaming in terror like his passengers.
Anonymous
On This Date
---In 837 AD... 15th recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet.
---In 1910...Clarence Leonard “Kelly” Johnson is born in Ishpeming Michigan.(Q)
---In 1920... Major Rudolph W. Schroeder of the US Army Air Service sets a new world altitude record when he flies to the height of 33,143 feet. During the flight over McCook Field in Dayton, Ohio he nearly loses his life when his oxygen system fails.
---In 1935... Latècoère’s giant seaplane Santos Dumont lands with a cargo of mail after a record flight of 53 hours 4 minutes from Natal, Brazil to Paris, with two stops en route.
---In 1942…J. S. Hey discovers radio emissions from Sun.
---In 1965... The world’s largest aircraft at the time, the Antonov An-22 Antei, makes its first flight. It is powered by four 15,000 EHP Kuznetsov NK-12 turboprop engines.
---In 1967…First delivery of a McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30 to Eastern Airlines.
---In 1970…Hawker Siddeley begins buying back surplus Hawker Hunters from the Royal Air Force to remanufacture for new customers.
Daily Video
Editor’s Choice
Humor
German Aviation Terms
AIRCRAFT---Der Fliegenwagen
JET TRANSPORT---Der Muchen Overgrossen Biggenmother Das Ist Fliegen
Highenfaster Mit All Der Mach Und Flightenlevels. (Built by Boeing)
PROPELLER---Der Airfloggen Pushenthruster
ENGINE---Der Noisenmaken Pistonpusher Das Turnens Der Airfloggenfan
Pushenthruster
JET ENGINE---Der Schreemen Skullschplitten Firespitten Smokenmaken
Airpushenbacken Thrustermaker Mit Compressorsqueezen Und Turbinespinnen
Bladenrotors. (Made by Pratt & Whitney)
CONTROL COLUMN---Der Pushenpullen Bankenyanken Schtick
RUDDER PEDALS---Der Tailschwingen Yawmaken Werks
PILOT---Der Pushenpullen Bankenyanken Tailschwingen Werker
PASSENGER---Der Dumbkopf Das Est Strappened En Der Baacken Mit Der Other
Dumbkopfs Das Est Expecten To Leave Undgo On Scheduledtimen Und Arriven mit
Der Luggagebags Somplaceneisen
STUDENT PILOT---Der Dumbkopf Das Learnen Fliegen Un Hopen To Jobenfinden Mit
Der Airlinens
FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR---Der Timenbuilder Mit Less Den 1000 Hrs
Multienginefliegen. Teachen Dumbkopfs To Fliegen Vile Waitenwatchen Fer Der
Letter Mit Der Joboffering Frum United
AIRLINE TRANSPORT PILOT---Das Grosse Overpaiden Und Under Werken
Whinencomplainer Biggen Schmuck Dat Fliegen Mit Das Big Airlinen
PARACHUTE---Der Stringencotten Das Est Usen To Floaten Der Tailschwingen
Pushenpullen Bankenyanken Werker Down To Earthen Ven Der Fliegenwagen Est
Kaputen
FAA---Der Friggenfliegen Dumbkopf Schmucks Das Maken Alder Rulens Und
Regulations
Helicopter --- Der Flingen Wingen Maschinen mit der Floppen Bladens dot ist
Fliegen by der Dumbkopfs vas iss too Stupiden for Knowen dees Maschinens ees
not Safen ver Fliegen.
Trivia
Silhouette ID
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
