Airbus China Plans First A330 Delivery In 2018 Airbus's China plant is expected to deliver its first A330 in 2018, one of the European plane maker's Chinese partners said. Airbus earlier this month signed an agreement to establish an A330 cabin completion facility in the northeastern Chinese city of Tianjin, where the firm already has a final assembly plant for A320s. The agreement was signed with the Aviation Industry Corporation of China and the Tianjin Port Free Trade Zone. Airbus hopes the increased presence in China will lead to more demand for the A330. Link
Boeing Profit Hit By Tanker Charge Boeing reported a 33 percent fall in quarterly profit, hurt by a big charge related to its military tanker, and cut its 2015 earnings forecast. The company earned USD$1.11 billion for the second quarter ended June 30, down from USD$1.65 billion a year earlier. Link
UTC expects A320neo to enter service in December United Technologies expects entry into service of the Airbus A320neo to take place in December, following the technical delay affecting Pratt & Whitney PW1100G engine testing. Flights with the two PW1100G-powered A320neo test aircraft have been suspended for several weeks while a component manufacturing fault was corrected. Link
Airlines
Alaska Airlines miles can be redeemed with US Airways Travelers can now redeem Alaska Airlines frequent-flier miles for US Airways flights scheduled to depart after Oct. 17. The change coincides with the merger of the reservation systems for US Airways and American Airlines. Link
Avianca Brasil joins Star Alliance Avianca Brasil joined the Star Alliance in ceremonies at São Paulo Guarulhos International Airport Wednesday. Avianca’s membership brings the number of Star airlines to 28. “Today we are setting the future pace of our airline and close a two year process, which saw us move to a new IT platform, review and update our internal processes, and specific training program for our employees to ensure they can provide the best possible service to customers. Link
FedEx Orders 50 Boeing 767 Freighters FedEx has signed a deal to buy 50 Boeing 767-300 freighters in the biggest order ever for the plane, allowing the aircraft maker to extend its production line into the next decade. The deal, announced in a statement by FedEx, includes options for another 50 767Fs and is worth USD$9.97 billion at list prices. FedEx said the aircraft will be delivered by Boeing for its FedEx Express arm over the fiscal years 2018-2023. The latest deal brings FedEx's firm orders for 767Fs to 106 and extends the company's drive to update its fleet. Link
Finnair A350 to feature Oneworld colours Finnair’s second Airbus A350-900 is to carry the livery of the Oneworld airline alliance. The airline has disclosed that the A350 will be painted in the special colours adopted by Oneworld members for selected aircraft in their fleets. Link
United offers sneak peek at new Airbus at Chicago airport United Airlines landed the first of its new A350s in Chicago on Friday and gave tours to employees and invited guests. The A350, which will join United's regular fleet in 2018, features upturned winglets and baggage departments designed to convey spaciousness. A United employee described the experience as a glimpse into the future in a "fantastic aircraft." Link
Airports
Dallas Love Field exceeds 1 million passengers for the fourth straight month Dallas Love Field saw a 60% jump in passenger traffic in June over 2014. The airport expects another jump in August as Southwest Airlines adds 14 new flights to its schedule. Link
Heathrow Near Miss Prompts Warning To Drone Pilots A "near miss" involving a drone flying just meters from an Airbus A320 at London's Heathrow Airport has prompted UK authorities to issue a warning to drone-users, as worries grow over unmanned aircraft flying near airports. In another incident, in Poland on Monday, a Lufthansa plane with 108 passengers on board nearly collided with a drone as it approached Warsaw's main airport. Link
Some LaGuardia, JFK Airport Contract Workers To Strike Some security workers and baggage handlers at New York's JFK and LaGuardia airports plan to strike starting Wednesday night, potentially affecting airline operations. Workers employed by Command Security's subsidiary Aviation Safeguards, who also include wheelchair attendants, have voted to strike starting at 10 pm, Wednesday, the service workers union 32BJ SEIU said in a statement. They say the security services provider has threatened to fire them for organizing for higher wages and benefits. Link
Military
B-2 bomber flight demonstrates rapid systems integration Northrop Grumman is the latest company to demonstrate compliance with the US Air Force’s new open mission system (OMS) standards, with recent flight tests involving a B-2 Spirit bomber and a NASA Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle. Northrop says that a series of test flights in June demonstrated how quickly OMS-compliant subsystems and payloads could be integrated with the B-2, as well as aircraft that conform to the new air force standards for software and hardware. Link
U-2 uses F-22 data to help re-target anti-ship missile A high-flying Lockheed Martin U-2 spy plane has enabled a mission control station to dynamically re-target a simulated Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM), using data passed from an F-22 Raptor over the deserts of Southern California in a recent flight trial. During the tests, targeting data was passed from the F-22 to a ground station via an L-3 Communications modem on the U-2, says Scott Winstead, Lockheed Martin's head of strategic development for the U-2 programme. This allowed the ground station to re-target the LRASM surrogate, essentially a cruise missile mission systems flown on a business jet. Link
General Aviation
Ascend 172 may spark broader piston remanufacturing drive A newly launched programme to remanufacture 35- to 40-year-old Cessna 172s could spread to several other piston aircraft models, creating relatively low-cost options for purchasing new aircraft. Wichita-based Yingling Aviation’s chief executive, Lynn Nichols, announced on 21 July the acceptance of a proposal from the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) to begin remanufacturing Cessna 172 Skyhawks. The programme begins a year after AOPA’s “Reimagining” initiative prompted Aviat to launch a remanufacturing programme for the two-seat Cessna 152. Link
Icon delivers safe, easy A5 seaplane after long development phase After nine years, a major redesign and a lot of patience, Icon Aircraft finally began making aircraft deliveries on 20 July with a donation – worth $239,000 – of the first A5 light sport amphibian to a US youth group called the Young Eagles. The long-awaited delivery comes a month after Icon passed a US Federal Aviation Administration audit of the company’s current production facility in Tehachapi, California, which allowed the start-up company to receive a special-light sport aircraft (S-LSA) certificate for the A5. Link
Aviation Quote
If the Wright brother were alive today Wilbur would have to fire Orville to reduce costs.
— Herb Kelleher, Southwest Airlines, USA Today, 8 June 1994.
And let's get one thing straight. There's a big difference between a pilot and an aviator. One is a technician; the other is an artist in love with flight. — E. B. Jeppesen
I'm sure the design of the plane in the Editor's Choice picture came through purely aerodynamic means (right down to the cowl vents), style and looks had nothing to do with it.
