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Commercial

ATC Failure Disrupts Flights Over UK
Hundreds of flights to and from London were disrupted on Friday by a technical failure at England's main air traffic control facility, which a senior government minister said was "simply unacceptable". Flights in and out of Heathrow, which calls itself the world's busiest international airport, were halted for at least an hour, causing knock-on effects across Europe. Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin demanded a full explanation for the problem that forced authorities to limit access to British airspace at one of the busiest times of the year. It was the second such incident in just over a year to hit the National Air Traffic Service's hub at Swanwick in southern England, one of NATS' two main facilities. NATS' other is in Prestwick, Scotland.
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Boeing sees strong demand for lie-flat seats
Aircraft-seat suppliers are struggling to meet the demand for new high-end, lie-flat seats for business and first class in big widebody jets, and the supply-chain squeeze has begun to slow Boeing jet deliveries. The shortage of premium seats and new Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification requirements for seats are prime reasons American Airlines on Wednesday pushed out delivery of two Boeing 787 Dreamliners from this month into sometime in “the first quarter” of next year.
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Sweden Says Russian Jet In Near Collision With SAS Plane
A Russian military aircraft nearly collided with a commercial passenger plane in international airspace near southern Sweden on Friday, Swedish authorities said, but Russia insisted its jet had kept a safe distance. SAS flight SK1755 from the Danish capital Copenhagen to Poznan in Poland, was diverted by Swedish authorities before a collision occurred, the authorities said. But Russia's Defense Ministry on Sunday denied its plane had come close to colliding with a civilian airliner, official news agency TASS reported.
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Airlines

American Airlines regional jets to get Gogo Wi-Fi
American Airlines plans to install Gogo in-flight wireless services on its two-class regional jets. The airline will install the service on 250 planes by 2016. "Adding in-flight Wi-Fi to our two-class regional jets will give our customers what they want -- comfort, connectivity and a world-class travel experience," said Andrew Nocella, American's chief marketing officer.
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Delta CEO highlights carrier's turnaround
Delta is now "one of the healthiest, most profitable airlines in the world," CEO Richard Anderson writes in this commentary. Anderson outlines how the carrier emerged from bankruptcy in 2004, merged and partnered with other airlines and boosted employee morale with a profit-sharing program. Delta also projected an 11% increase in 2015 pretax profit and said the carrier would use any savings from fuel to invest in its product and pay off its debt.
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Korean Air Steward Says Insulted, Forced To Kneel
The senior cabin crew member who was removed from a Korean Air flight after a company executive raged over the way she was served nuts said he was insulted and forced to kneel in front of the executive. In a case that sparked public outrage and ridicule over her treatment of flight crew, Heather Cho Hyun-ah, the daughter of the airline's chairman and head of in-flight service, reprimanded the cabin crew chief and one of his flight attendants who brought nuts to her in a bag, not a dish. "In a situation where she said "Make contacts right now to stop the plane. I won't let the plane go", I dared not object to her, the owner's daughter," Park Chang-jin, the chief steward, told TV network KBS.
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Qatar A350 delivery rescheduled for 22 December
The on/off delivery of the first Airbus A350-900 to launch customer Qatar Airways is now set to take place on 22 December. Qatar Airways and Airbus plan to hold a delivery ceremony in Toulouse attended by the airline’s chief executive Akbar Al Baker along with Airbus chief Fabrice Bregier and Rolls-Royce head John Rishton. Hand-over of the first of 80 A350s to Qatar Airways was due to take place on 13 December in Toulouse following formal transfer from Airbus’s industrial division to its delivery centre on 3 December.
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Integration of AirTran has helped Southwest add more markets, capacity
The merger of AirTran with Southwest Airlines has boosted Southwest's presence in the market, giving it 21 cities, including seven international markets in Central and South America. As Southwest fully integrates AirTran, the carrier is expected to return to higher capacity rates in 2015, industry experts say.
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Houston to Belize flights by Southwest to begin next year
Southwest Airlines expects to begin flights to Belize City next year as it expands international service. The airline said Thursday that it will fly to Belize from Houston beginning next October. Southwest said that it also plans to fly to four destinations in Mexico — Mexico City, Cancun, Puerto Vallarta and Los Cabos — and to San Jose, Costa Rica, from a new international concourse being built at Houston's Hobby Airport. Southwest needs federal government approval for the flights.
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Military

Greece approved to buy 10 US Army CH-47D Chinooks
Boeing has been given the go ahead to sell 10 CH-47 Chinook heavy lift helicopters to Greece, the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) announced on 11 December. Greece requested and the US State Department approved the sale of up to 10 D-model Chinooks and supporting equipment for a total cost of $150 million. Rather than a foreign military sale by Boeing to Greece, the deal has no principal contractor. The aircraft will come from US Army stock, DSCA says. Greece already operates a fleet of 15 CH-47Ds, meaning it “will have no difficulty absorbing these helicopters into its armed forces”, the announcement says. The deal will require assignment of US government or Boeing personnel to Greece at some point.
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​Japan looks to obtain AIM-120C7 air-to-air missiles
The US Defense Security Cooperation agency has notified congress about a possible sale of 17 Raytheon AIM-120C7 AMRAAM missiles to Japan. The deal, which will be conducted under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) mechanism, is valued at $33 million, says the DSCA.
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Aviation Quote

Eagles may soar, but weasels never get sucked into jet air intakes.

— Anon.

On This Date

--- In 1920... The first of a number of flying schools to train reserve pilots for the military opens at Orly, south of Paris.

---In 1955…The de Havilland Mosquito flies its final operational sortie with the Royal Air Force.

---In 1955…First flight of the Douglas DC-7.

---In 1959… Maj J W Roberts sets a new airspeed record of 1,526 mph (2,456 km/h) in a F-106 Delta Dart.

---In 1963…Alia- Royal Air Jordanian commences flight operations.

---In 1970... Artem Mikoyan, founder of the dynasty of MiG fighters, dies.

---In 1989…Atlantic Coast Airlines is founded…

---In 1996…The merger of McDonnell Douglas and Boeing is announced.

---In 2006….Lufthansa becomes the first airline to order the Boeing 747-8 passenger jet with an order for 20 planes and options for an additional 20 planes.

---In 2006…First flight of a U.S. Air Force aircraft, a B-52 Stratofortress, powered solely by a blend of synthetic jet fuel, produced by Syntroleum.

---In 2006…First flight of the F-35 Lightning II.

---In 2009…First flight of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner in Seattle.

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Editor’s Choice

Trivia

Airlines And Airways

1. What was Fiji Airways known as before May 2012?
Air Pacific
Pacific Airlines
Air Fiji
Fiji Airlines

2. Air New Zealand makes which major New Zealand city its "home base"?
Auckland
Wellington
Christchurch
Sydney

3. Magda Szubanski starred in which Australian low budget airline's commercials from 2004-2008?
Jetstar
Qantas
Tiger Airways
Air Australia

4. What is the name of the corporation that owns American Airlines?
AMR Corportation
Applied Industrial Technologies
American Transportation Corporation
Bucyrus International

5. Which airline was created with the backing of the Dubai royal family?
Gulf Air
Air Arabia
Emirates
Middle Eastern Airways

6. Singapore Airlines uses their iconic flight attendants as a successful marketing tool. What are the flight attendants known as?
Geisha Girls
Singapore Beauties
Asian Beauties
Singapore Girls


7. What airline is colloquially known as "The flying kangaroo"?
Emirates
QANTAS
Virgin
Air Canada

8. In 2011, Richard Branson's Australian airline became known as what?
Virgin Australia
Virgin Down Under
Virgin Oceania
Virgin Blue

9. If one was to fly to a regional center in Australia, what airline would one chose?
Regional Express
Emirates
Jetstar
Virgin Australia

10. Air Canada's predecessor was Trans-Canada Airlines, which was created in 1936. Which year was their first passenger flight?
1937
1932
1948
1955