NewsEU Approves 787 Battery Design ChangesEuropean safety authorities approved design changes to batteries on board the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and said the aircraft could return to service once the new systems were installed. "The applicable airworthiness directive will now be updated, which will allow the European-operated aircraft to return to service as soon as the modification (is) installed," the European Aviation Safety Agency said in a statement.
LinkToo Early To Say Whether 787 Problems A Design ErrorA Boeing executive said on Tuesday it was too early to determine whether problems with the lithium-ion batteries on the 787 Dreamliner that led to the plane's grounding in January stemmed from a design error or a manufacturing problem. Mike Sinnett, Boeing's chief 787 engineer, told an investigative hearing of the National Transportation Safety Board that the batteries had been through thousands of hours of testing before the new airliner began flying, plus additional hours during flight testing.
LinkEU Deepens Aegean-Olympic Takeover ProbeAegean Airlines may have to offer additional concessions to secure EU approval for its second bid to buy Greek rival Olympic Air, after the EU's competition watchdog deepened its investigation into the deal on Tuesday. Aegean submitted concessions to the European Commission last month, including capping fares on some domestic routes. It sees the EUR€72 million (USD$94 million) deal as vital to its survival in the shrinking Greek air transport market. But the Commission said in a statement on Tuesday that it was concerned a deal would lead to price rises and poorer services on some domestic routes out of Athens, where the combined group would have a monopoly or strong position.
LinkSIA doubles Virgin Australia stake to 19.9%Singapore Airlines will acquire an additional 9.9% stake in Virgin Australia for A$123 million ($126 million), bringing its total stake to 19.9%. "The strategic stake will be acquired through the purchase of shares held by the Virgin Group," SIA said in a statement. The deal will see it buy 255.5 million shares at 48 Australian cents per share. Australia's Foreign Investment Review Board will need to approve the sale.
LinkNTSB hearing on 787 batteries reveals Boeing shift on testing A top Boeing official said today at a fact-finding hearing that a nail penetration test used to certificate the lithium ion batteries on the 787 in 2011 was later realized to be insufficient, one of several discoveries for the company and safety investigators over the course of a grueling, three-month grounding. "What we've since found out is that the nail penetration test, while it was believed at the time to be representative of a failure inside the cell and it was state of the art at the time, in retrospect I believe we don't feel it was conservative enough," says Boeing vice president and 787 chief project engineer Mike Sinnett. Sinnett's comments on the first day of a two-day hearing by the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) illustrate how the two battery failures that caused a three-month grounding of the 787 fleet have changed how the company and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approach lithium ion-driven power devices and, not least, the introduction of new technologies in commercial aircraft overall.
LinkUSAF leader confirms manned decision for new bomber The US Air Force has confirmed for the first time that the Long Range Strike-Bomber (LRS-B) will be manned on entry-into-service, one of a few new details revealed about the classified program. Several military experts have predicted the LRS-B program would eventually become optionally-manned but enter service with a flight crew or a pilot, but the USAF has never revealed such details publicly. Secretary of the Air Force Michael Donley said today at a Defense Writers Group breakfast that the service will initially field the new stealth bomber as manned aircraft. "It's likely that we'll start the bomber program as a manned program," Donley says. "It'll have the option to be unmanned at some point and so I think that option will be protected."
LinkBA A350 pact seals 747-400 retirement planBritish Airways' tentative agreement to acquire the Airbus A350-1000 closes the airline's Boeing 747-400 fleet-retirement plan. It has 52 of the type in its fleet and the phasing-out of 15 older aircraft had already been addressed by the decision to acquire 12 Airbus A380s and 24 initial Boeing 787s. BA is intending to reduce its 747 fleet to 43 in 2015, by which time it will have taken a dozen 787s and nine A380s. Only eight of BA's first 24 787s are the smallest -8 version - to be fitted with 214 seats. The remainder are the larger -9, the seating capacity for which has yet to be disclosed.
LinkDelta, US Airways, Southwest expect Q1 profits, analysts sayU.S. airlines should report healthy profits for the first quarter, analysts say. The first quarter of the year is usually a slow quarter for the airline industry due to the lack of major holidays. Delta Air Lines, US Airways and Southwest Airlines are all expected to post profits for the quarter.
LinkUnited Airlines transitions to new Chicago headquartersUnited Airlines staff and executives are almost finished moving to the carrier's new global headquarters in Chicago's Willis Tower. When the move is complete, the Willis Tower will be home to 4,000 United employees. The Willis Tower, formerly known as the Sears Tower, is located in the central Loop business district.
LinkAirlines brace for financial fallout from FAA furloughsU.S. airlines are warning that they might lose tens of millions of dollars each month due to delays from the ground delay program imposed by the Federal Aviation Administration. The FAA has started furloughing air traffic controllers due to the budget cuts. "Our revenue management and finance teams estimate that this negative impact upon demand could result in the loss of up to 2% of our domestic passenger revenue, i.e., up to $40 million in lost revenue per month," said David Holtz, Delta Air Lines’ vice president of operations control.
LinkAirlines need to be saved from governmentColumnist Ted Reed says the U.S. government is the next threat to the nation's airline industry. "We all realize that the federal government spends more than it takes in and that the solution is to reduce spending and to raise revenue," he writes. "But is there a way to reduce spending that does not cause delays in a delicately balanced air traffic system that transported 815 million passengers last year?"
LinkWhite House comments on FAA-imposed delaysThe White House said flight delays stemming from the furloughs of air traffic controllers could have been avoided if Congress had reached an agreement to avert the sequester. "This is a result of sequester that is never meant to be law," said White House press secretary Jay Carney. "And it was never meant to be law because of consequences like this." Meanwhile, the airlines launched the "Don't Ground America" campaign urging citizens to send a message telling Congress and the administration that they oppose FAA-imposed flight delays.
LinkSenators push FAA to change rule on electronic devicesA group of senators is urging the Federal Aviation Administration to drop the ban on personal electronic devices for passengers on commercial flights. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., said the rule is "a great example of a rule that needs to go away."
LinkUnited announces changes to rebooking policyUnited Airlines raised the majority of its change fees for domestic and international flights by $50 last week. "We carefully manage our seat inventory and incur costs when a traveler elects not to fly in a reserved seat. We adjusted this fee to better compensate us for those costs," United spokesman Rahsaan Johnson said.
LinkLas Vegas airport to see boost from AA-US Airways mergerThe McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas could see a lift in international flying after the merger between American Airlines and US Airways, experts say. "We already have British Airways doing extremely well with its service to Heathrow and now Gatwick (in London)," said Damon Hylton, an air service consultant to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. "A stronger (alliance) can only help efforts with international carriers."
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