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Airline pilot self-employment on the rise in Europe
About 14% of pilots flying for European airlines are self-employed or work for temporary work agencies (TWA) – and the proportion is growing, according to a European Commission-funded study by the University of Ghent. The first conference held to examine this social phenomenon is being held in Paris on 12-13 February. The study, carried out between September and November 2014, involved a questionnaire that received a total of 6,633 responses – around 10% of all the professional pilots in Europe. The largest group of respondents were between 30 and 40 years old and had more than ten years flying experience.
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ATR pilots alerted over throttle use in high-speed descent
Safety authorities are urging ATR pilots to be cautious over their airspeed during descent after highlighting a risk of severe propeller mechanism damage. The advisory centres on sudden vibrations occurring during descent at speeds close to the maximum operating limit, with the power levers in the flight-idle position. In a bulletin the European Aviation Safety Agency describes the phenomenon as an “airworthiness concern”, although it has not taken the step of producing a formal directive.
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Boeing opens S.C. facility for 737 Max engine parts
Boeing opened a new facility in South Carolina on Wednesday that will produce 737 Max engine parts. The 225,000-square-foot plant will make engine inlets from carbon composite materials.
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Bombardier chief steps down, divestitures possible
A reshuffled leadership team has outlined a three-point plan for shoring up Bombardier’s finances as CSeries development continues, and has opened the door to selling more of the company’s businesses. Alain Bellemare will complete a leadership change launched last August by replacing Pierre Beaudoin as chief executive. Beaudoin is moving to become corporate chairman and replacing his father and 50-year veteran, Laurent, who will remain on the board of directors as chairman emeritus.
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Column: Passengers are already nostalgic for SkyMall
Runway Girl Network Contributing Editor John Walton writes that fliers are exhibiting a great deal of nostalgia for the defunct SkyMall inflight magazine. SkyMall.com is still up and running while a buyer is sought.
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Expedia confirms $1.3B Orbitz acquisition
Expedia will buy Orbitz for about $1.3 billion after buying Sabre Corp.'s Travelocity last month for $280 million. Expedia will now own Orbitz sites including CheapTickets and HotelClub; it also operates Hotels..com and Hotwire.
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CEO Walsh Says IAG Will Grow Aer Lingus
IAG said there would inevitably be some job losses at Aer Lingus if it takes over the Irish airline but its growth plans would add jobs for pilots and cabin crew. "It's important to be honest. There certainly would be some jobs that are in Aer Lingus today in administrative areas that would be duplicated so we would be looking to reduce some jobs," IAG chief executive Willie Walsh told national broadcaster RTE on Thursday.
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Air Canada plans 10% capacity growth in 2015
Air Canada plans to boost 2015 capacity by up to 10 percent year over year, largely through growth of international routes and its low-cost subsidiary Rouge, executives said on Wednesday during the carrier's fourth-quarter earnings call. Expansion of Rouge will account for more than half of Air Canada's capacity growth for 2015, according to the carrier. International growth—including new routes between Toronto and both Amsterdam and Rio de Janeiro as well as seasonal service between Vancouver and Osaka—will account for 38 percent of capacity growth.
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American Airlines to fly 787 on overseas routes
American Airlines Group announced plans to fly its Boeing 787 Dreamliners from Dallas to Buenos Aires and Beijing. The fuel-efficient 787 will begin flying the two routes in June. American took delivery of its first 787 in January. The planes will have Wi-Fi and touch-screen in-flight entertainment systems, USB jacks and power outlets at every seat.
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American to offer nonstop flights to Belize
Beginning in the spring, American Airlines will offer nonstop service to Guadalajara, Mexico, and Belize City, Belize, and Japan Airlines will add nonstop service to Osaka, Japan, a route it discontinued eight years ago. American’s new daily nonstop service between LAX and Guadalajara starts June 4 on an Airbus A319 that seats eight passengers in first class and 120 passengers in the main cabin.
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Germanwings Pilots Begin Two-Day Walkout
Pilots at Lufthansa's budget airline, Germanwings, started a two-day strike on Thursday as pilots' union Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) seeks to put pressure on management in a long-running row over pay and conditions. VC-member pilots staged 10 strikes last year, affecting hundreds of thousands of passengers and wiping up to EUR€200 million (USD$226 million) from 2014 operating profit as Lufthansa tries to reduce costs to keep up with rivals.
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Korean Air 'Nut Rage' Exec Gets One-Year Jail Term
A South Korean court sentenced the daughter of Korean Air Lines' chairman to one year in prison, after finding her guilty over an on-board incident at JFK Airport, New York concerning the way she was served nuts in first class. Heather Cho Hyun-ah, the airline's former head of in-flight service, violated the law by ordering the plane to return to the gate after it started to taxi on December 5, the court ruled.
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Ryanair Loses Aer Lingus Stake Appeal
Britain's Court of Appeal on Thursday rejected Ryanair's appeal against an order to dispose of most of its 30 percent stake in Irish rival Aer Lingus on competition grounds. Ryanair said in response it would appeal the decision of the Court of Appeal, where it had argued that Britain's competition regulator did not have the jurisdiction to rule on two Irish airlines.
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Southwest Airlines, Amadeus ink agreement
Southwest Airlines inked an agreement with Amadeus to allow Amadeus to sell its entire inventory of fares. Kevin Krone, vice president of marketing and chief marketing officer for the carrier, said the deal will allow "a new dimension in distribution to deliver world-class access to our entire available inventory of seats to more than 90 destinations."
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Transavia reveals order for up to 20 737s
Air France-KLM Group's low-cost operator Transavia is ordering up to 20 Boeing 737-800s. The company has disclosed that the agreement comprises 17 firm and three optioned aircraft. All 737-800s are fitted with CFM International CFM56 powerplants. Delivery of the jets will start in January 2016 and continue to 2018, says Air France-KLM Group.
LinkMilitary
Israeli Black Hawk crews hone flying tactics
The Israeli air force’s Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk pilots are using special flying techniques aimed at increasing their survivability in low-intensity conflicts. During a visit to the “Rolling Sword” squadron, which operates the “Yanshuf” transport, pilots spoke about the skills needed to fly troops or to perform a search and rescue mission in a densely populated area – such as the Gaza Strip – when weapons of all sorts are firing “from every rooftop”.
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Aviation Quote
What is it that makes a man willing to sit up on top of an enormous Roman candle, such as a Redstone, Atlas, Titan or Saturn rocket, and wait for someone to light the fuse?
— Tom Wolfe
On This Date
---In 1578... Tycho Brahe 1st sketches "Tychonic system" of solar system.
---In 1633…Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei arrived in Rome for trial before Inquisition for professing belief that earth revolves around the Sun.
---In 1913... At the second British Aero Show in London, the world’s first airplane specifically designed to carry a gun, 37-mm cannon on biplane, is displayed for the first time. Called Destroyer and built by Vickers, Sons & Maxim, it is officially called the Experimental Fighting Biplane No.1 (E.F.B.1).
---In 1919... The first post-war French commercial service is established on a route from Paris to Lille for the carriage of food and clothing to France’s northern departments.
---In 1935…Bruno Hauptmann is convicted of murder for the kidnapping and murder of Charles Lindbergh’s 20-month-old son Charles Augustus Lindbergh Jr. He would be executed in the New Jersey’s infamous “Old Smokey” electric chair a year later.
---In 1936…London-based Imperial Airways launches airmail service to West Africa.
---In 1943... The Vought F4U Corsair naval fighter makes its operational debut in Solomon Island, escorting PB4Y-1 Liberators (the US Navy’s version of the B-24) raiding Bougainville.
---In 1960… France detonates its first nuclear weapon.
---In 1961…Soviet Union fires a rocket from Sputnik V to Venus.
---In 1963…Pacific Southwest Airlines becomes a public corporation.
---In 1972... The Soviet Union has started to use Cuba as a base from which to spy on the US. The first mission is flown by two Soviet Tu-95, which surveys part of the east coast.
---In 1987…First flight of the Fokker 50.
---In 1995…violent thunderstorm causes $5 million in damage at Miami International Airport. Four airliners and nine air-bridges are seriously damaged.
---In 1997…Discovery captures Hubble Space Telescope.
---In 2002…The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) takes over responsibilities for airport security from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
---In 2002…SkyEurope commences flight operations.
---In 20093…BA CityFlyer Flight 8456, an Avro RJ100, registration G-BXAR, is substantially damaged when the nosewheel collapses on landing at London City Airport. All 71 people on board are successfully evacuated via emergency chutes.
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