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Outlook for current A380 remains cloudy
Prospects for the Airbus A380 remain uncertain after the airframer's finance chief hinted at an outside possibility of halting the program as an alternative to upgrading the aircraft. Chief financial officer Harald Wilhelm made the remark as he detailed the earnings expectations for the airframer’s commercial programs, during an investor forum in London. He said the A320 and A330 programs would be “rather stable” in 2015. But he expects a volume and price pressure impact from the A330 in 2016, before ramp-up of the re-engined A320neo and A330neo programs drive a recovery from 2017 onwards.
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Airbus Doing More Flight Testing On Qatar's A350
Airbus is running more flights on the A350 to test for "very minor issues" ahead of handing over the plane to launch operator Qatar Airways. Airbus on Wednesday said the ceremony planned for Saturday to deliver the aircraft to Qatar had been postponed, without giving a new date.
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Mitsubishi completes wing-body join of second flight test jet
Mitsubishi Aircraft has completed the wing-body join of it its second flight test aircraft, and says its regional jet programme is on track for a maiden flight in the second quarter of 2015. A Nikkei report says the MRJ is likely to take its first flight in end May, and that the manufacturer has notified major suppliers of the schedule. When contacted, Mitsubishi says it has niether set a date nor announced a date to its partners, and that the schedule is still for the first flight happen between April and June next year.
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German Government Says Air Berlin Still European
Air Berlin is still a European airline despite the 29 percent stake held by Abu Dhabi's state-owned Etihad Airways, Germany's transport ministry said, meaning that in German eyes it should keep its European operating license. The German air transport authority will issue a ruling along those lines with supporting documents soon, the ministry said.
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Delta Eyeing 11 Percent Profit Lift Next Year
Delta Air Lines expects to boost pretax profit by 11 percent to at least USD$5 billion next year, helped by falling jet fuel prices and rising revenue. Speaking at its investor conference, the Atlanta-based carrier projected a net USD$1.7 billion benefit in 2015 from fuel-price declines, but said that includes a loss of USD$1.2 billion on its fuel hedges caused by the recent sharp drop in fuel prices. The nation's third-largest carrier by traffic is continuing to rein in other costs. It has cut debt by nearly USD$10 billion in the last six years, to an estimated USD$7.2 billion by the end of 2014, and expects next year's debt level will fall to less than USD$6 billion, greatly reducing interest expense.
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Emirates Raps Airbus For A380 Comment
Emirates' president Tim Clark has reacted angrily to a suggestion by Airbus that it may stop making the A380, saying it could double its investment if the plane maker agreed to upgrade it instead. Clark said he had protested to Airbus after its finance director aired the possibility of ending production of the flagship jet due to slow sales. "I am not particularly happy as you can imagine," Clark told Reuters news agency. "We are on the hook for this plane. I get pretty miffed when we have put so much at stake." Harald Wilhelm told analysts on Wednesday Airbus would break even on the A380 until 2018, "if we would do something on the product, or even if we would discontinue the product".
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Garuda Indonesia's CEO Resigns
The chief executive of Garuda Indonesia, Emirsyah Satar, has resigned from his post, the state-owned airline said, with a new CEO to be decided on at a shareholder meeting on Friday. Satar's resignation comes as no surprise as he had said earlier in the year he would step down within months. During his decade-long stint he helped repair the image of the Indonesian flag carrier and restructure its operations.
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Qatar A350 delivery held up by 'minor issues'
Qatar Airways’ delivery of its first Airbus A350-900 has been held up by minor technical matters, requiring a small amount of additional testing. The airline had been due to receive its first aircraft on 13 December, following formal transfer from the industrial division to the delivery centre on 3 December. A350 programme chief Didier Evrard, speaking during an investor forum in London, said the 10-day interval was normal for the delivery process but suggested it was a “little optimistic” for the first example of a new aircraft.
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Southwest unveils first international flights out of Houston
Southwest Airlines will begin non-stop service to six Latin American destinations from Houston Hobby in October 2015, in a move that has the carrier adding Belize City to its network. The Dallas-based airline has filed with the US Department of Transportation to begin flights to Cancun, Mexico City, Puerto Vallarta, Los Cabos, San Jose (Costa Rica) and Belize City. Southwest plans to operate daily on all of the routes. The flights will complement previously announced non-stop service between Houston Hobby and Aruba, which begins 7 March, says Southwest chief executive Gary Kelly today.
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Southwest Airlines boosts operational performance
Southwest Airlines has taken steps to boost its operational performance and make travel more efficient for customers. Southwest is giving employees monthly bonuses for on-time departures, and allowing more time in between flights.
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United to distribute iPhones to flight attendants
United Airlines will issue iPhones pre-loaded with safety information to its 23,000 flight attendants next year. The phones will also be used to accept payments for in-flight services and to receive updates on cabin issues.
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United seeks FAA investigation into Newark airport costs
United Airlines has filed a formal complaint against Newark Liberty International airport operator the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ), alleging a significant cost mark-up that places them at a disadvantage in the New York market. The higher fees at Newark than at either New York John F. Kennedy International or New York LaGuardia airports puts the Chicago-based carrier at a “significant competitive disadvantage in the New York metropolitan area, one of the most important air traffic markets in the world”, it says in the complaint it has filed with US Federal Aviation Administration. The estimated average cost to land a plane at Newark is $11.77 under a unique “flight fee” formula in 2014, says United. This is $5.06 per landing more – an about 75% mark up – than at JFK and $2.49 more than at LaGuardia.
LinkMilitary
Canada rates F-35A rivals equal on most missions
A new Canadian government report suggests other fighter jets are just as capable as the Lockheed Martin F-35A at fulfilling the nation’s most likely mission needs, potentially opening the door to a competitive acquisition process to replace a fleet of 77 Boeing CF-18s. Four aircraft – the F-35, the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, Dassault Rafale and Eurofighter Typhoon – were compared in the report, called the Evaluation of Options for the Replacement of the CF-18 Fighter Fleet. Each was assessed on its ability to carry out six mission sets including defence of Canadian airspace, responding to an “international event”, such as the Olympics, in Canada or a terrorist attack, peace enforcement, humanitarian disaster relief and state-on-state war fighting.
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Italy, Turkey will lead F-35 maintenance in Europe
The US Defense Department has chosen the European nations to which it will assign heavy airframe and engine maintenance for the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II. By 2018 heavy airframe maintenance, overhaul, repair and upgrade (MORU) will be provided by Italy. The UK will pick up any additional work needed following a review that will take place about five years into the program, says Lt. Gen Christopher Bogdan, head of the Pentagon’s F-35 joint program office (JPO). Turkey will take the lead on maintenance of the Pratt and Whitney F135 engine and establish the necessary infrastructure to perform tear-down, rebuild and test by 2018. Within two years of that deadline, Norway and the Netherlands are to have established the same capability.
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Aviation Quote
It was 1977 and we were on an old DC8 Air Ceylon coming in to Colombo, Ceylon from Bangkok. The landing approach was pretty bumpy, but the biggest bump was saved for when we hit the tarmac - a massive shudder and shake - at least I hoped it was the runway.. We were soon however airborne again and climbing steeply when a voice with a heavy Indian accent came over the PA as follows:
I am sorry about the landing ladies and gentlemen, the pilot will now take over.
— Tim Stuart, Great Aviation Quotes reader.
On This Date
---In 1951…Alaska Air becomes the first airline to fly over the North Pole.
---In 1953... Mach 2.5 (2 ½ times the speed of sound) is achieved for the first time by Major Charles “Chuck” Yeager in the Bell X-1A. The rocket-propelled experimental aircraft reaches 1,650 mph at 70,000 feet.
---In 1979…First flight of the SH-60 Seahawk 161169.
---In 1985… An Arrow Air DC-8,Arrow Air Flight 1285, carrying American military personnel on a charter flight home for Christmas, crashed in Newfoundland, killing all 248 passengers on board and 8 crew members.
---In 2001…Thomas Cooke Airlines Belgium is founded.
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Editor’s Choice
Humor
Uncle Bob Gets Shot Down
The teacher gave her fifth grade class an assignment: Get their parents to tell them a story with a moral at the end of it. The next day the kids came back and one by one began to tell their stories.
"Johnny, do you have a story to share?"
"Yes, ma'am, my daddy told a story about my Uncle Bob. Uncle Bob was a pilot in Desert Storm and his plane was hit. He had to bail out over enemy territory and all he had was a small flask of whiskey, a pistol and a survival knife. He drank the whiskey on the way down so it would not break and then his parachute landed right in the middle of twenty enemy troops.
He shot fifteen of them with the gun until he ran out of bullets, killed four more with the knife, 'till the blade broke and then he killed the last Iraqi with his bare hands."
"Good heavens," said the horrified teacher, "What kind of moral did your daddy tell you from that horrible story?
"Stay the hell away from Uncle Bob when he's been drinking!
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