NewsItaly Seeks Alitalia Rescue But Doubts RemainAlitalia, the Italian national airline that has made a profit only a few times in its 67-year history, once again risks collapsing as the government scrambles to find investors willing to rescue it. Rome offered a financial lifeline to Alitalia through the state-owned post office, but the plan depends on private shareholders putting more money into what many investors regard as a corporate lost cause. The carrier, whose board meets on Friday, needs EUR€500 million (USD$676 million) to stay in business as it has lost nearly EUR€700,000 a day since being privatized in 2008 and has debts of around EUR€1 billion. Cash-strapped Italy is realizing it may no longer keep its flag carrier in national hands. However, Rome is loath to accept a politically sensitive sell-out to Air France-KLM, Alitalia's biggest shareholder with a 25 percent holding, even though analysts say no other option makes business sense.
LinkAeroflot To Launch Budget Airline DobroletRussian carrier Aeroflot plans to launch a low-cost airline next year, aiming to make air travel more affordable with fares up to 40 percent cheaper than its current prices. Dobrolet, which roughly translates to "Goodflight", will initially focus on domestic routes, starting next year with several destinations for Muscovites including St Petersburg, Samara and Ekaterinburg. But by 2016 it also aims to be flying to Kiev and Istanbul. "The company (Dobrolet)... should help our passengers, especially less well-off ones, become more mobile," Aeroflot's chief executive Vitaly Saveliev told reporters on Thursday. The demand for travel is rising as the country's middle class grows and state-controlled Aeroflot said a low-cost airline could successfully compete on price with train tickets in Russia.
LinkNorwegian Air CEO More Positive On 787The chief executive of Norwegian Air Shuttle, Bjorn Kjos, said on Thursday that Boeing changed the design of a hydraulic pump that failed on its 787 Dreamliner in recent weeks, a failure that caused the plane to be taken out of service for two weeks. Bjorn Kjos told Reuters news agency that the faulty pump controlled flaps, and its failure put the jet out of service every other day. "I think the Dreamliner is going to be a fantastic aircraft," he said. "We know from the one that has flown very well so far, that it is performing fantastic" on fuel burn "and passengers love it."
LinkAer Lingus Says Staff May Have To Take Pension CutAer Lingus employees may have to take a reduction of up to a quarter on their pensions under a proposal by the fund's trustees, the Irish airline said on Thursday. The proposal could upset Aer Lingus's attempts to plug a hole in the pension scheme and avert a possible strike, as unions want the airline to help make whatever contributions are needed to keep retirement benefits intact. The pension scheme, which employees at Aer Lingus share with other aviation industry workers, had a deficit of over EUR€700 million (USD$947 million) at the end of 2011.
LinkKey core test begins on 777X turbofan General Electric has started a second series of preliminary tests on a critical component of the 100,000lb-thrust GE9X turbofan engine selected to power the Boeing 777X aircraft family. Testing began in mid-September on the high-pressure compressor rig at GE’s oil and gas turbine test facility in Massa, Italy, says GE9X program leader Chuck Jackson. GE officials have described the beginning of the core tests now as a significant step to reduce risk well before the 400-seat 777-9X is scheduled to enter service in 2020. The rig testing come five years before GE expects to complete FAR Part 33 certification of the GE9X.
LinkOne fatality confirmed after MASwings crashOne fatality has resulted from the crash of a MASwings de Havilland Canada DHC-6 during arrival at Kudat in eastern Malaysia. The accident destroyed the twin-engined aircraft and the impact of the crash damaged a house. MASwings originally indicated that six of the 16 passengers and crew had been injured, but has subsequently confirmed a single fatality with five other occupants sustaining injuries.
LinkNew Spartan customers await first aircraftAlenia Aermacchi is gearing up to deliver the first C-27J Spartans to a pair of new customers, Chad and Australia, as their respective aircraft face the final stages of assembly at the company's Caselle site in Turin. The first example of the tactical transport for the African nation is largely complete, with its Rolls-Royce AE2100 engines installed. Avionics and mission systems are presently being added, with painting and a number of tests still to be performed ahead of delivery provisionally scheduled for mid-December.
LinkUK says 'no thanks' to BAe 146 tankerThe UK Ministry of Defence has distanced itself from any possible future use of the BAe 146 as a refuelling tanker, following the concept’s recent promotion by BAE Systems Regional Aircraft. “No assessment has been made of the air-to-air refuelling capability of the BAe 146,” said minister for defence equipment, support and technology Philip Dunne in response to a parliamentary question on 8 October.
LinkF-35 JPO drops development of BAE alternative helmetThe Pentagon’s F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO) has halted the development of an alternative BAE Systems-built helmet mounted display system (HMDS) for the stealthy Lockheed Martin-manufactured Joint Strike Fighter. “The F-35 Joint Program Office has decided to stop the development of an alternate helmet and focus solely on bringing the ‘Gen 2’ helmet – now being used in testing and training – up to a fully compliant ‘Gen 3’ standard,” the program office says.
LinkGhana seeks more C295s for UN dutyAirbus Military is discussing the potential sale of additional C295 tactical transports to Ghana, with the type expected to be used in support of the UN’s African peacekeeping requirements. Ghana has previously acquired two C925s for use by its air force, which have been delivered in 2011 and 2012.
LinkColumn: Delta CEO one of industry’s most creative and innovative leadersDelta CEO Richard Anderson has charted an independent course since taking over as CEO of the carrier, including purchasing a refinery to help reduce jet fuel costs. His reputation as an ideas guy has led him to emerge as one of the industry's most creative and innovative leaders. "There's a lot of material for creativity in this business," said Anderson.
LinkJudge approves union request to file brief in AA-US Airways caseThe Transport Workers Union will file a brief in the American Airlines-US Airways antitrust case but will not intervene in the case. Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly approved the union's request to file a brief for the trial, which is slated to begin on Nov. 25. The union had initially asked to intervene in the case, but both the Justice Department and the carriers objected. The TWU is in favor of the proposed American Airlines-US Airways merger.
LinkAirbus forecasts strong demand for freightersAirbus forecasts demand for about 870 freighter planes in the next 20 years, spurred by market expansion in the Asia-Pacific region. “Looking forward after a difficult few years, world trade is showing improvements,” said Andreas Hermann, head of freighters for Airbus, in a statement. “Diverse emerging markets will call for increased flexibility in air cargo transportation.”
LinkBoeing promotes 747-8 with video testimonial from LufthansaBoeing executives said the 747-8 is faring well at Lufthansa, the launch customer of the jumbo aircraft. Lufthansa created a video testimonial of the benefits of the 747-8, which is displayed on the Boeing website. "Based on the testimonials of our launch customer, that's really going to give us a lot of traction in the market place," said Bruce Dickinson, Boeing's chief project engineer for the 747-8.
LinkAirline industry mergers result from increased competitionColumnist Samina Karim says airline mergers are inevitable because of the increase in competition in the industry. "This proposed merger -- or one like it -- will happen. It's just a matter of time," Karim writes of the US Airways-American Airlines merger.
LinkColumn: AA retirees reminisce about golden age of air travel They came together to celebrate the days when flight attendants in white gloves hustled to serve you, gate agents doled out upgrades and arranged seating so families could be together, and managers worked flights with the single mission of ensuring excellent customer service. When airline industry retirees get together, it's easy to see how dramatically air travel has changed world-wide over the past 25 years. "It's not like it used to be on every airline," said Moe Carey, who started at American Airlines as a ramp worker in 1966 in New York and retired as a supervisor handling celebrities in Los Angeles. He did everything at American from unloading a 747 that collapsed on its landing gear to regularly escorting Oprah Winfrey.
LinkNorwegian airline grounds Boeing 787 Dreamliner Budget airline Norwegian Air Shuttle plans to take its second Boeing Dreamliner out of operation for precautionary checks after repeated hydraulic and electrical faults led to the grounding of its other one.
The carrier said on Wednesday the second Dreamliner had had fewer problems than the other plane and the move was more a precautionary measure. It expects the checks to take place once the grounded jet is back in service, probably late next week. The move came as one of Boeing's largest customers, which owns the two jets and rents them to Norwegian for a fee, threw its weight behind the airline in a row over 787 reliability.
LinkAirBerlin Turns to New Software to Safe on Fuel As part of its eco-efficiency program, airberlin is looking to aerodynamics in order to improve its environmental performance. Airberlin is the first airline to develop software for aerodynamic optimization. The software measures air flow in order to reduce resistance in flight. Smoothness is all in reducing resistance and even the small blemishes, rough paintwork or even a one-millimeter gap between the landing gear doors can increase a jet’s air resistance enough to cause significantly higher fuel consumption. The new tool inspects the entire surface of the jet and measures imperfections. The software also calculates how much additional fuel consumption will result from that increased air resistance. It then generates a list of priorities for the maintenance schedule of each individual aircraft, so the areas concerned can be corrected.
LinkHouse passes bill to reopen FAA registry officeThe House of Representatives approved a bill on Wednesday to reopen the Federal Aviation Administration's registry office. The office had been closed due to the government shutdown and furlough of FAA employees.
LinkPa. county wants to expand service from Pittsburgh airportAllegheny County officials are talking to carriers about expanding international service from Pittsburgh International Airport. The airport authority is also preparing to reduce average per-passenger fees charged to airlines from $14.11 to $13.92 in its 2014 budget. "There's a lot of interest in Pittsburgh and what's happening in this economy," said Rich Fitzgerald, Allegheny County executive.
LinkAmerican could focus on LAX as gateway to Asia, expert saysLos Angeles International Airport could be the gateway to Asia for American Airlines, according to a former executive at the carrier. "American does need a strong anchor city on the West Coast, and the only one left that really matters is Los Angeles," said David Cush, who left American to serve as CEO of Virgin America.
LinkShutdown hits Alaska particularly hard An extended federal government shutdown could have long-term effects on Alaska's aviation industry, including regional airlines, air taxis and flight schools. "The longer the shutdown continues, the longer it will take to get back to business as usual," said Steve Smith, director of sales and marketing for Era Alaska, one of the state's biggest regional air carriers. "One major concern we have is that certain project timelines might be slipping which could put construction projects and safety improvements years behind schedule."
LinkSurvey confirms bizjets are timesaversA survey of 1,100 business jet passengers conducted by Business Jet Traveler shows that the use of private jets is primarily to save time and access smaller, more convenient airports. Most passengers said their flying habits have changed little over the past year.
LinkGarmin's new GPS smart watch for pilots can do just about everythingThe numerous features of Garmin's new D2 smart watch include a GPS receiver and global aviation database, a built-in altimeter and can be integrated with the the company's Pilot application and HD camera. Pilots can also load flight plans and create waypoints similarly to how GPS units function.
LinkRedbird calls early halt to $1 avgas salesRedbird Skyport will call an early end its much-publicized experiment selling $1-per-gallon avgas on Oct. 15 as it struggles to avoid being swamped by demand for the fuel, which normally sells in the $6-per-gallon range. The San Marcos, Texas-based FBO had forecast an eight-fold surge in demand for avgas during the promotion which was originally planned to run for the entire month of October. But that 32,000-gallons-per-month sales scenario was shattered when Redbird pumped 48,000 gallons of avgas in the first eight days, said Redbird Flight Simulations Chairman Jerry Gregoire.
Link 
