NewsAir Asia QZ8501
QZ8501 searchers grasp for elusive recorder transmissions
Teams involved in the search for the Indonesia AirAsia Airbus A320 that crashed into the Java Sea on 28 December have yet to detect pings from the aircraft’s flight data and cockpit voice recorders. About 40 bodies have been recovered thus far, according to Indonesian search officials. Some of victims were found still belted into their seats. AirAsia Indonesia says that 50 ships will comb the search area on Tuesday 6 January. Of these, five are specifically tasked with trying to identify transmissions from the aircraft’s FDR and CVR. Eighty divers are also on hand, although visibility in the 30m waters in which the aircraft is thought to lie is extremely poor.
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Indonesian Navy May Have Located AirAsia QZ8501 Tail Section
An Indonesian naval patrol vessel has found what the captain said could be the tail of AirAsia flight QZ8501, the section where the cockpit voice and flight data recorders are located. Ships and aircraft seeking debris and bodies from the Airbus A320 widened their search area to allow for currents eight days after QZ8501 crashed into the water en route to Singapore with 162 people on board. "We found what has a high probability of being the tail of the plane," Yayan Sofyan, captain of the patrol vessel, told reporters. However, the Indonesian search and rescue agency is yet to confirm the discovery. Indonesia's meteorological agency has said seasonal tropical storms probably contributed to the December 28 crash and the weather has persistently hampered efforts to recover bodies and find the data recorders that should explain why the plane crashed into the sea.
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Boeing's top 10 customers include 3 U.S. carriers
Boeing's top 10 customers list (based on pending orders) as of November 2014 and around a similar time last year tells an interesting tale -- the spectacular rise of Persian Gulf airlines.
LinkAirlines
Air Arabia Buys 49 Pct Petra Airlines Stake
Air Arabia has bought a 49 percent stake in Jordan's Petra Airlines, the UAE-based carrier said on Monday. Petra Airlines will be rebranded as Air Arabia Jordan and the UAE carrier will establish a hub at Amman's Queen Alia Airport, with operations to commence under the new name in the first quarter, according to a statement to Dubai's bourse.
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American Pilots Union Leaders Accept Tentative Contract
The union representing American Airlines pilots approved the carrier's final contract offer on Saturday, paving the way for a retroactive 23 percent wage increase if its members agree in a vote this month. The news was a step toward concluding contracts to represent all workers at the airline, which became the world's largest by passenger traffic after it merged with US Airways in December 2013. Flight attendants received a new contract in arbitration last month and, while deals for other work groups such as ticketing agents are pending, the carrier is poised to avoid the multi-year contract delays that have plagued other merged airlines.
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Delta reports increase in passenger traffic for Dec.
Delta Air Lines posted a 2.1% increase in passenger traffic for December on a year-over-year basis. Delta flew 13.7 million passengers in December, compared to 13.4 million passengers in the same month of 2013.
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Eva Air retires Boeing 747-400 Combi aircraft
Taiwanese carrier Eva Air retired the Boeing 747-400 Combi aircraft from its fleet on 5 January. The type’s last service was operated by B-16409 on the Hong Kong-Taipei Taoyuan route, says the Star Alliance member. Besides operating passenger and cargo services, the aircraft had also performed diplomatic missions for the island nation’s presidents.
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Republic Airways aims for fleet of larger aircraft
Republic Airways Holdings is getting rid of smaller, regional aircraft in favor of larger Embraer 170s and 175s. "Streamlining and simplifying our business will enhance our efficiency and allow us to focus on the products that we feel have the strongest future," said CEO Bryan Bedford.
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Turkish Air Suspends Flights To Libya's Misrata
Turkish Airlines, the only foreign airline still flying to Libya, has suspended its flights to Misrata over concerns about worsening security in the country. Turkey's flag carrier cancelled its Istanbul - Misrata flights on Sunday, and suspended all Misrata flights, but had not yet taken a decision on other flights to Libya, it told reporters. Turkish Airlines also flies to Benghazi, Tripoli and Sebha in Libya.
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United Airlines Launches In-flight Wi-Fi on Regional Jet Service
United Airlines has expanded Wi-Fi to the first of its United Express regional aircraft, enabling more customers to stay connected in flight during their journeys. The airline will outfit more than 200 E175, E170 and CRJ700 regional jets with Gogo's ATG-4 advanced air-to-ground Wi-Fi product. By mid-2015, United expects to complete installation on nearly all these aircraft. Additionally, the company will begin providing Personal Device Entertainment on regional jets this year, offering customers hundreds of complimentary movies and television shows to view on their Wi-Fi-enabled iOS and Android devices using United's mobile app, as well as on laptop computers.
LinkAirports
Phoenix Sky Harbor bracing for influx of Super Bowl fans
Arizona's Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport is preparing for a surge of Super Bowl fans that is expected to peak on Feb. 2, when the airport projects it will serve 180,000 passengers -- a 60% increase over the typical 110,000. "The airport is working with the NFL, the Super Bowl Host Committee, airlines, the [Transportation Security Administration], car rental companies and other partners to make sure special operational plans and additional staff are in place," said airport spokeswoman Julie Rodriguez.
LinkMilitary
Elbit bags contract for Brazil Tracker upgrade work
Elbit Systems of America has been awarded a $106 million subcontract from Marsh Aviation to support the upgrade of four Grumman C-1A aircraft for the Brazilian navy. To be performed in San Antonio, Texas at the facilities of Elbit Systems of America subsidiary M7 Aerospace, the upgrade will be conducted over a five-year period. The activity will be supervised by Brazilian navy officers who are already at the site.
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Israeli Lavi trainer squadron nears readiness
An Israeli air force squadron equipped with Alenia Aermacchi M-346 "Lavi" advanced jet trainers is close to being declared operational, having already received nine aircraft from an eventual 30-strong fleet. Israel's first M-346 landed at Hazerim air base in the south of the country last July, and deliveries are continuing on schedule.
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Aviation Quote
Man must rise above the Earth—to the top of the atmosphere and beyond—for only thus will he fully understand the world in which he lives.
— Socrates
On This Date
---In 1610…Galileo Galilei points his newly developed telescope at the sky and observes craters and mountains on the Moon, moving spots on the Sun, four moons revolving around Jupiter, the phases of Venus, and the almost innumerable stars of the Milky Way. Jan 4 thru 15, 1601 are called by some the most important days in the history of astronomy.
---In 1926…Deutsche Luft Hansa Aktiengesellschaft is born in Berlin, out of a merger between Deutsche Aero Lloyd and Junkers Luftverkehr. The name would be shortened to its modern form, Lufthansa, a few years later.
---In 1928... Pilot Lt. C. F. Schilt, USMC, lands a Vought O2U-1 Corsair in the street of a Nicaraguan village to rescue wounded officers. Eighteen servicemen are rescued and, for his bravery, Lt. Schiltiss awarded the Medal of Honor.
---In 1942…Pan Am World Airways schedules the first around the world passenger flight.
---In 1949…The first atomic clock was built. It was based on earlier theoretical work by Isidor Rabi and used ammonia as its pendulum.
---In 1960…National Airlines Flight 2511, a Douglas DC-6B (reg N8225H), explodes over North Carolina while from flying from JFK to Miami. A bomb had detonated on the aircraft, which ultimately killed all 34 people on-board. It was suspected—though never proven—that passenger Julian A. Frank from New York City had smuggled the bomb on board. Frank was being investigated for embezzlement at the time, and had purchased life insurance for himself right before the crash.
---In 1968…NASA’s Surveyor 7 lands on the moon.
---In 1971…The first AV-8A Harrier is delivered to the US Marine Corps at MCAS Cherry Point.
---In 1979…The F-16 Fighting Falcon enters operational service with the 388th Tactical Fighter Wing USAF.
---In 1987…Astronomers at University of California see 1st sight of birth of a galaxy.
---In 1998…Lunar Prospector - USA Lunar Orbiter was launched and arrived at the Moon on January 11, 1998. It is designed for a low polar orbit investigation of the Moon, including the mapping of surface composition and possible ice deposits, the measuring of magnetic and gravity fields, and the study of lunar outgassing events. This data could help scientists plan a potential lunar base and develop theories of the formation of the Moon, Earth and Solar System. Its mission is scheduled to last one to three years.
---In 2009…Ted, a brand of the American airline United Airlines for their economy flights, is discontinued. Economy flights are rebranded under the main United Airlines brand.
Daily Video
Editor’s Choice
Trivia
General Trivia
Q.1 What new technology for a commercial airliner was introduced by Boeing on the 787-9?
Adaptive bypass ratio engines
Hybrid laminar flow control
Aero-elastic wings
Automated speech recognition for cockpit commands
Q.2 Which new aircraft concept did NOT emerge from either Airbus or Boeing in 2014?
A321neoLR
737 Max 200
A330-800
757 Max
Q.3 How many flight hours had been amassed by four Bombardier CS100s from first flight on 16 September 2013 to a grounding caused by an engine failure on 29 May 2014?
About 300
Nearly 2,400
Slightly more than 600
Less than 100
Q.4 Which country would have been the site of a Dash 8 Q400 assembly plant if negotiations with Bombardier had not failed?
China
Brazil
Russia
USA
Q.5 What Asia-Pacific carrier operates the world’s longest route?
Singapore Airlines: SIN-JFK
Cathay Pacific: HKG-LHR
All Nippon Airways: NRT-ATL
Qantas Airways: DFW-SYD
Q.6 Which Russian air defense system was identified by US officials as the source of an alleged missile attack that caused Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 to crash in Ukraine on 17 July?
Tor-M1
S-300
Patriot
Buk
Q.7 Which US carrier ordered 50 Airbus A350s?
Delta Air Lines
United Airlines
American Airlines
JetBlue Airways
Q.8 In April, Mesa Air Lines agreed to buy four regional aircraft from a mothballed Alitalia fleet. What type were they?
Sukhoi Superjet 100
Embraer ERJ 145
Bombardier CRJ900
ATR 72
Q.9 In its investigation of the 2013 battery fire on a Japan Airlines 787 at Boston’s Logan airport, the US NTSB raised quality control concerns about which Japanese supplier to Boeing?
Mitsubishi
Takamatsu
Panasonic
GS Yuasa
Q.10 Which Middle Eastern carrier is taking a 49% stake in Alitalia as part of a bid to save the troubled Italian flag carrier?
Emirates
Gulf Air
Etihad
Royal Jordanian Airlines
miamiair wrote:Commercial
Boeing's top 10 customers include 3 U.S. carriers
Boeing's top 10 customers list (based on pending orders) as of November 2014 and around a similar time last year tells an interesting tale -- the spectacular rise of Persian Gulf airlines.
Link
