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Column weighs in on boarding passes
Aviation is growing exponentially within rapidly developing countries and their burgeoning middle classes. In Europe and North America, too, air service is reaching new and expanded populations. The aviation industry rejoices that there are people who are new to travel and keen to experience the world — but it also needs to take responsibility for guiding them through the travel experience. In the same way that some airlines need to educate their passengers about sitting toilets (no squatting!), airlines with a greater proportion of first-time flyers — and that’s most of them — need to educate their passengers about boarding and how to find their seat. The boarding pass is a key part of that.
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Airlines

BA first with electronic logbook for 787 fleet
British Airways has received operational approval from the UK Civil Aviation Authority to use Boeing's electronic logbook on its 787 fleet, making it the first Dreamliner operator to go paperless for technical and cabin logs, the airframer confirms. Developed in partnership with Ultramain Systems, the ELB is intended to enable improved – and more efficient – communication between flightcrew, cabin crew and ground-based maintenance and engineering staff. The ELB software runs on the 787's integrated electronic flightbag and onboard server system to gather both automatically collected flight data and crew-observed fault input. Information is shared with ground-based personnel and maintenance systems while the aircraft is still airborne, enabling ground crew to be ready at the gate with parts and documentation.
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Delta supports the music industry with Grammy sponsorship
There are reasons why Delta Air Lines and other big carriers rarely advertise during the Super Bowl, advertising’s biggest day. For one, airlines dramatically trimmed their advertising budgets several years ago when times were lean. Advertising and marketing are among the first things to go when businesses look to cut costs.
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Hawaiian Airlines flew more passengers in Jan.
Hawaiian Airlines transported 2.9% more passengers in January on a year-over-year basis. Hawaiian flew 848,567 passengers during the month. Revenue passenger miles also increased 1.1% during January.
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Interjet Could List On Stock Exchange By End-2015
Mexican low-cost airline Interjet could list on the country's stock exchange by the end of 2015, its CEO said. "I think it could be at the end of this year, beginning of next year... if things don't change," chief executive Jose Luis Garza told Reuters.
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JetBlue to accept Apple Pay for inflight amenities
Apple Pay is coming to select JetBlue Airways flights starting next week, according to a report in USA Today. Passengers with an iPhone 6 or 6 Plus can purchase food and onboard amenities without fishing out their credit cards starting on transcontinental flights between New York’s JFK and San Francisco and Los Angeles airports. More destinations will be added in March with all JetBlue flights scheduled to support Apple Pay by June. If you’ve ever tried making an in-flight purchase with a credit card you’ll immediately recognize the convenience this represents. Not only will it speed up payment processing for Apple Pay passengers, it'll also accelerate the food service for everyone else on the flight.
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PSA Airlines to add 24 aircraft in $1B order from American
PSA Airlines has announced the addition of 24 Bombardier CRJ900 NextGen planes that will be operated under American Eagle, an order valued at $1.14 billion. "We are pleased to add these new aircraft to our growing fleet and see the award as a reflection of American's continued confidence in PSA," said PSA President Dion Flannery.
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Southwest traffic soared in Jan.
Southwest Airlines posted total system traffic of 8.048 billion revenue passenger miles in January, a 8.6% increase from the same month last year. During the month, passenger revenue per available seat mile also dipped by around 1% on a year-over-year basis.
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TUI Narrows First Quarter Loss
Improving profits at TUI's hotels and cruise divisions helped the group narrow its underlying first quarter loss. The loss before interest, tax, and amortization (EBITA) dropped to EUR€107.9 million (USD$122 million) from EUR€141.1 million a year earlier. TUI said it was on track for underlying earnings of about EUR€1 billion in the current financial year. The Travel Sector division, which includes tour operators and airlines, was hit by the impact of currency fluctuations and slight declines in Germany and the Nordic region in the first quarter and posted a slightly wider loss of EUR€149.1 million.
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United offers up to 30% savings for Australia-U.S. business travel
United Airlines PassPlus Flex program gives businesses up to 30% savings on business and first-class fares from Australia to the U.S. if they prepay for estimated travel expenses. The program also gives travelers free MileagePlus Premier Gold and United Club lounge memberships.
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United raises forecast for Q1 fuel costs
United Continental raised its first-quarter forecast because of rising fuel costs. The carrier now expects to pay up to $2.15 per gallon of fuel for the quarter, instead of its previous forecast of up to $2.01 per gallon. Fuel typically accounts for 33% or more of operating costs for airlines.
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US Airways E190 lands without nose gear in Houston
A US Airways Embraer 190 made an emergency landing with its nose gear retracted at Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental airport on the evening of 9 February, US Airways’ parent company American Airlines confirms. Photographs posted by passengers on Twitter show the aircraft, registration N953UW, resting on its nose on the tarmac with its main landing gear extended. The US Federal Aviation Administration, which has assumed the investigation of the incident, tells Flightglobal one passenger suffered an "injured left leg and ankle while deplaning".
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Airports

Strong Demand As Aena Sale Goes Ahead
Shares in Spanish airports operator Aena were priced at the top end of expectations on Tuesday, propelled by strong demand from investors betting on the country's economic recovery. In Spain's biggest privatization since 1997, bankers priced Aena at EUR€58 per share, valuing the world's largest airport operator at EUR€8.7 billion (USD$9.9 billion) ahead of its stock market debut on Wednesday. Proceeds for the state will be up to EUR€4 billion, which would make it Europe's largest initial public offering so far this year if an over-allotment of shares is used.
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Dubai Airports Cargo Volume Jumps 18 Pct In 2014
Freight volumes handled by Dubai's two international airports jumped 18.1 percent in 2014 as the emirate strengthened its position as a regional hub for trade. Combined cargo volumes at Dubai International and Al Maktoum International rose to 3.13 million tonnes last year from 2.65 million tonnes in 2013, according to figures from Dubai Airports. Volume at Dubai International dropped 3.1 percent to 2.37 million tonnes as dedicated freighter operations moved to Al Maktoum, where volume surged 262.5 percent to 758,371 tonnes.
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N.C. airport makes for expansion before city council
Airport officials presented their case for the expansion of Charlotte Douglas International Airport to the Charlotte, N.C., City Council. The airport plans to expand from 93 gates to 125 gates by 2025, as well as add an additional runway in the next 15 to 20 years.
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Military

Embraer outlines fly-by-wire test plan for KC-390
Embraer’s KC-390 jet airlifter/tanker flew for the first time in early February, but the company has not yet put its technologically ambitious fly-by-wire flight control system to the test. For the first flight, the aircraft’s flight-control system was fully operational, but set to direct-law mode, Paulo Gastão Silva, vice-president of the KC-390 program, tells Flightglobal. The KC-390’s active control sidesticks also were not fully operational during the 2h flight, he says. Over the course of the first phase of the two-year test campaign, Embraer will gradually enable more complex aspects of the fly-by-wire system.
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NASA opens P-3C market for propeller upgrade
A NASA-owned Lockheed P-3C will become the fourth aircraft type to be upgraded with an eight-bladed propeller system developed by UTC Aerospace Systems (UTAS), opening a potential new retrofit market. An agreement with NASA announced on 10 February calls on UTAS to deliver the NP2000 propellers and electronic propeller control system for the four-engined P-3C by the end of 2017, the company says.
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RAF's 17 Sqn assumes control of F-35 test and evaluation
The Royal Air Force’s 17 Sqn has assumed control of the test and evaluation of the UK’s first Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II, marking the start of independent operational testing by the UK of its future Joint Strike Fighter. The aircraft – dubbed BK-1 – is based at Edwards AFB, California, where 17 Sqn has now begun to test and evaluate without the assistance of US forces that have until now supported the test campaign for the UK’s aircraft.
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Regulatory

FAA softens transponder rule impact on experimental aircraft
The US Federal Aviation Administration has corrected an “inadvertent” error in a rulemaking that could reduce the cost of complying with a regulatory mandate on owners for thousands of US-registered experimental aircraft. When the FAA published a 2010 mandate to install new transponders compliant with the automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) system, it left out a key word in the rulemaking. The 2010 rulemaking requires all aircraft to carry transponders approved by the FAA under the technical standard order (TSO) certification process.
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Aviation Quote

I was sold on flying as soon as I had a taste for it.
— John Glenn

On This Date

---In 1909... An important pioneer in developing aviation in New Zealand, Vivian C. Walsh pilots a Howard-Wright biplane on what is generally considered the first flight in New Zealand by a powered airplane.

---In 1913…The Chilean Air Force is founded.

---In 1914... Distance record for balloons over land is set by H. Berliner, who flies 1,890 miles (c. 3,040 km) from Bitterfeldt, Germany to Kirgischano, Russia.

---In 1935…The first flight in the United States with a car slung underneath the fuselage takes place.

---In 1939…The XP-38, later to become the P-38 Lightning, flies from California to New York in 7 hours, 2 minutes.

---In 1946... The United States and United Kingdom sign an agreement in Bermuda setting out the principles by which air rates and frequencies of international services should be set. The Bermuda Agreement becomes a standard upon which air agreements would be based in the future.

---In 1959... A US meteorological balloon achieves a record height of 146,000 ft. carrying a special package of detectors sending information by radio signal to the ground.

---In 1960…CIA signs the contract which ordered a full twelve OXCART aircraft.

---In 1970…Japan becomes 4th nation to put a satellite, Osumi, in orbit.

---In 1974…Titan-Centaur Test launch fails.

---In 1978…Pacific Western Airlines Flight 314, a 737-200 (C-FPWC) crashes at Cranbrook Airport in British Columbia, after an aborted landing in which the reverse thrusters did not retract properly. The aircraft was trying to avoid a snowplow on the runway, which was faulted to ATC. There were 7 survivors and 42 fatalities on the aircraft.

---In 1984…10th space shuttle mission (41-B)-Challenger 4-returns to Earth.

---In 1986…United completes its purchase of Pan Am’s Pacific division for $715 million and begins service to an additional 11 cities for a total of 13 cities in 10 Pacific Rim countries.

---In 1987…Following its privatization, British Airways shares begin trading on the London Stock Exchange.

---In 1994…Space shuttle STS-60 (Discovery 18), lands.

---In 1995…Space shuttle STS-63 (Discovery 19), lands.

---In 1997…Space Shuttle STS-82(Discovery) is launched on a mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope.

---In 2000…JetBlue Airways (B6) starts operations from JFK.

---In 2002…First flight of the Airbus A340-500.

---In 2006…Steve Fossett broke the record for absolute longest distance flight without landing by taking off from Kennedy Space Center on 8 February, heading around the world eastbound, and then upon returning to Florida airspace, continued across the Atlantic for a second time to land in Bournemouth, England after a 76 hour 43 minute flight covering 42,469.46 km.

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