NewsAirbus A350 Could Fly At Paris Air ShowAirbus could steal the Paris air show with a flypast of its newest passenger jet, the A350, as confidence grows over a first flight in about four weeks. The timescales of its previous airliner launches suggests the European manufacturer could be ready to fly the aircraft in mid-June, depending on weather and ground trials, giving pilots a narrow time window to test the plane's basic characteristics in flight before the June 17-23 air show. With just a few hours in the air, industry sources say it is unlikely that the first completed A350, rolled out of the Airbus paint shop only last week, will actually land at the show. But if the first handful of flights go to plan, a 600 km (400 mile) trip to Le Bourget for a brief roar over its American rivals would ratchet up the PR war just as Boeing aims to recover from a three-month grounding of its 787 Dreamliner.
LinkCountdown To A350 First Flight - FactboxThe final countdown is under way to the first flight of the Airbus A350. Once test crews accept the first A350 from developers, these are key steps to the first flight, based on previous programs. PRE-FLIGHT First, engineers at Airbus headquarters near Toulouse in southern France will turn on the Auxiliary Power Unit, a small turbine engine under the tail, used for power on the ground. The test will last just 1 minute to see if it leaks of oil or fuel. Crews check circuits and aircraft systems, one by one, and run the air-conditioning under APU power. Two Rolls-Royce engines are started one after the other, again briefly at first, to detect any oil or fuel leaks. Hydraulics and other systems run with the engines on. Engineers test "bleed air," a traditional conduit of air from the engines used for cabin pressurization and de-icing. This is a crucial design difference with Boeing's rival 787 Dreamliner, which relies more on the electrical system.
LinkSupreme Court To Hear Frequent Flyer CaseThe US Supreme Court agreed on Monday to weigh whether federal law prevented a customer from suing an airline for removing him from its frequent flyer program for allegedly complaining too frequently about the service. Rabbi Binyomin Ginsberg sued Northwest Airlines, which ceased operations in 2010 after merging with Delta Air Lines, for breach of contract after the airline said he had abused the program. Ginsberg, who is from Minnesota, said he and his wife were thrown out in 2008 for making too many service complaints. He said the airline told him it took action in part because he allegedly sought compensation after booking reservations on full flights, knowing he would be bumped to another flight. Ginsberg said his complaints involved only a small proportion of the flights he took on Northwest and were limited to such issues as long waits for luggage and not being notified about flight cancellations. Northwest said he filed 24 complaints.
LinkSlovenia To Launch Airline, Airport SelloffSlovenia will launch in September a sale process which will include its largest airport and its national carrier, finance minister Uros Cufer said on Monday. Slovenia earlier this month listed 15 companies it planned to sell to boost state income and improve corporate governance in an ailing economy that is around 50 percent controlled by the state. The firms include national airline Adria Airways, Ljubljana airport, Slovenia's second-largest bank, Nova KBM and its largest telecoms operator, Telekom.
LinkUnited returns 787s to revenue service United Airlines resumed revenue flights on its fleet of Boeing 787-8 aircraft today, a little more than a month since the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) cleared the type to return to service. Flight UA1 departed Houston Intercontinental airport at 11:00 local time and arrived at Chicago O'Hare International at 13:20 local time. A second flight, United 80, departed Houston at 11:30 local time for Newark Liberty International. The inaugural flight was operated by N27903, which was delivered to United in December 2012, according to Flightglobal's Ascend Online database.
LinkLinkLOT expects five 787s in fleet by August Polish flag-carrier LOT is expecting to have five Boeing 787-8s by August, having taken delivery of its third. LOT is preparing to restart services with the 787 after the airline, the first in Europe to operate the jet, was forced to suspend 787 operations in January. Its third 252-seat aircraft (SP-LRC) arrived at LOT's base in Warsaw on 17 May.
LinkBoeing discussing heavier 737 Max 8 option to hit BBJ range target Boeing has revealed a new option is under consideration to develop a business jet version of the 737 Max with 7,000nm (13,000km) range. A Boeing Business Jet (BBJ) version of the 737 Max 8 was launched in 2012, and Boeing is close to signing the first deal, BBJ president Steve Taylor revealed at EBACE. However, the standard BBJ Max 8 is limited to a range of 6,330nm, a 9.5% shortfall on the 7,000nm standard set by competitors in the ultra-large-cabin sector, such as the Gulfstream G650 and future Bombardier Global 7000.
LinkUSAF postpones T-X trainer industry day The US Air Force has postponed a planned industry day for its T-X advanced trainer replacement program. "T-X industry day has been postponed until further notice," reads a USAF notice posted on the Federal Business Opportunities website. The postponement is reflective of the USAF's lack of funds for the programme. "The current fiscal climate forced difficult decisions and we had to push T-X back," the service says.
LinkSome U.S. carriers add high-end interiors, amenitiesAmerican Airlines is stepping up to the plate with its new Boeing 777-300ER, while United has debuted upgraded Boeing 757-200 jets and Delta will upgrade some 767 and 757 planes. The planes feature upscale interiors and fold-flat beds. American Airlines' 777-300ER boasts a top-quality in-flight entertainment system, business-class seats and food, writes George Hobica.
LinkUnited's 787 to fly from Houston to Chicago todayUnited was scheduled to launch its first 787 flight at 11 a.m. today from Houston to Chicago. The carrier will fly the 787s on domestic routes until it begins international flights on June 10.
LinkFlight-deck upgrades in legacy fleets pave way for NextGenDelta has a $62 million contract with Pennsylvania-based avionics-maker Innovative Solutions & Support to add new cockpits on 182 MD-88 and MD-90 twinjets. The cockpits will include flat-panel displays, dual GPS/wide-area augmentation system receivers and a new flight-management system. The upgrades are expected to result in immediate fuel savings because of the lighter weight of the aircraft and increased NextGen capabilities.
LinkBoeing working on reliability enhancements, system improvementsBoeing and the carriers that fly its 787s continue to keep a close watch on 787 Dreamliner jets. A spokeswoman for Boeing said the company was implementing Dreamliner "reliability enhancements," a process she said is "standard for new airplane introductions."
LinkPoll: Fliers will pay extra for more legroomA Harris Interactive poll found that 33% of people would pay for extra legroom on a flight under two hours, while 58% say they would pony up more money for extra space on a flight over three hours. The poll reported that 13% of people said they would pay more than $25 for the extra space.
Link 
