NewsCommercial
Boeing Commercial Airplanes to cut 4,000 jobs by mid-year
Boeing said it is cutting about 4,000 jobs in its Commercial Airplanes unit through mid-year as part of a cost reduction campaign. The manufacturer said the job cuts would be achieved via involuntary layoffs “only … as a last resort.” The staffing reductions will include “hundreds of executives and managers,” Boeing said in an emailed statement. Boeing said it intends to achieve the cuts “through attrition, leaving open positions unfilled and voluntary layoffs.”
Link
Lockheed Martin wins first order for hybrid airships
UK startup Straightline Aviation (SLA) has placed a letter of intent for up to 12 Lockheed Martin Hybrid Airships. The deal, the first for the new airship, is potentially worth up to $480 million. SLA, based at Wolverhampton in the West Midlands, plans to operate the airships initially for the oil and gas industries, as well as mineral and alternative energy companies. It can carry up to 21 tonnes in a 10ft x 10ft x 60ft cargo bay, plus up to 19 passengers. Cruising speed is around 60kts and range 1400nm (2600km).
Link
Fatigued Superjet test pilot used wrong throttle before crash
Icelandic investigators have concluded that a fatigued Sukhoi Superjet crew advanced the wrong throttle lever during a single-engined go-around test before the aircraft overran the runway. The inquiry into the 21 July 2013 accident at Reykjavik’s Keflavik airport found that, although the crew was well-rested before the original planned duty time, “significant and repeated” delays meant this was not the case at the time of the testing.
LinkAirlines
Air China 2015 Profit Jumps 77.5 Percent
Air China's 2015 net profit jumped 77.5 percent, boosted by low fuel prices and robust leisure and business travel demand. Net profit was CNY6.8 billion yuan, up from CNY3.8 billion a year earlier. Air China's fuel bill, which accounts for about 40 percent of its operating costs, fell 30.4 percent from the year-ago level.
Link
Alaska honors founder with name of ground services company
Alaska Airlines created a ground services company named after its founder, Linious "Mac" McGee. "Having more airline services options will help Alaska provide a superior air travel product for customers at competitive costs," said Chief Operating Officer Ben Minicucci. McGee Air Services will offer ground services to Alaska and other airlines.
Link
American Airlines boosts trans-Pacific service from LAX
American Airlines is focusing on building trans-Pacific routes from its hub at Los Angeles International Airport, writes columnist Rohan Anand. "American will be celebrating the 10th anniversary of serving mainland China in April 2016 -- and by year end, it will boast an entirely different route profile in Asia than it did 10 years ago," he writes.
Link
Sampling American Airlines' first-class menu
Reporter Lewis Lazare sampled the five-course dinner menu from American Airlines available on first class. He especially enjoyed the starter course and dessert course. He praises "the piece de resistance, a royal chocolate mousse cake that was truly a moist, chocolatey, creamy delight."
Link
Avianca Aims To Delay Aircraft Deliveries
Avianca will hold off on receiving new aircraft as it looks to weather the region's economic downturn with a conservative strategy. By delaying the new plane deliveries, Avianca will ease its need for capital, company president German Efromovich said.
Link
Czech Airlines switches order to A320neo
Czech Airlines has signed for seven Airbus A320neo twinjets which will replace a batch of A319s in its fleet. The SkyTeam carrier states that it will acquire the jets as part of its restructuring program. Czech Airlines still had an outstanding order for seven A320s, according to the most recent backlog data from Airbus.
Link
Gol To Cut Capacity After Heavy Q4 Loss
Brazilian airline Gol reported a quarterly net loss of BRR1.130 billion reais (USD$311 million), 79 percent bigger than its loss a year earlier. Gol Linhas Aereas has posted a loss in every quarter of the past four years. Its net loss in 2015 nearly tripled from a year earlier to BRR4.291 billion reais.
Link
Lufthansa discloses initial routes and layout for A350
Lufthansa has tentatively selected Boston and Delhi as the initial routes on which to deploy its Airbus A350-900s. The airline had previously indicated that it would receive the aircraft towards the end of 2016, although its latest schedule says the aircraft will be stationed at Munich from January 2017.
Link
Ryukyu Air unveils Q400 combi configuration
Japanese carrier Ryukyu Air Commuter has unveiled the configuration of its Bombardier Dash 8-Q400 cargo-combi turboprop. The aircraft has 50 seats in a 2-2 configuration, and can provide up to 2,540kg of cargo capacity, says Bombardier in a statement. The airline showcased two of its turboprops at a ceremony in Okinawa, Japan.
Link
United Airlines to link SFO to Israel with new route
United Airlines is launching service from San Francisco to Tel Aviv today aboard a Boeing 787-9. "Israel is a pretty big technology center and San Francisco is the technology capital of the world, so connecting them makes sense," said Brian Znotins, vice president of network for United. The carrier will offer the flight three times a week.
Link
Brazil rejects UPS appeal of FedEx-TNT merger approval
Brazilian regulatory agency Conselho Administrativo de Defesa Econômica (CADE) has rejected United Parcel Service’s (UPS) appeal of CADE’s approval of the FedEx Corp.-TNT Express merger.
Link
Virgin Atlantic boosts UK regional links with Flybe codeshare
Virgin Atlantic has signed a codeshare agreement with UK-based regional Flybe for a network of routes connecting its London Gatwick, Manchester and Glasgow operations with 18 regional airports in the UK and Western Europe. The move comes six months after Virgin halted its Little Red project, which used Airbus A320s leased from Aer Lingus to provide feeder traffic from Manchester, Edinburgh and Aberdeen to London.
LinkAirports
Southwest to start service at Calif. airport
Southwest Airlines said it will begin service at Long Beach Airport in California. The carrier will announce its destinations at a press conference on Thursday.
Link
Military
Pentagon touts "Loyal Wingman" for combat jets
US Air Force plans to insert a “brain” into current-generation fighter jets to create autonomous flying wingmen paired with the Lockheed Martin F-35 were given a bump today, with the Pentagon’s second-in-charge saying he expects to see “unmanned wingmen in the air” before convoys of driverless Humvees. Deputy defense secretary Robert Work touted the long-considered “loyal wingman” concept at a forum hosted by the Washington Post in Washington DC on 30 March, where he explained that the air force will pair unmanned Lockheed F-16s with F-35s in future battles.
Link
Aviation Quote
What kind of man would live where there is no daring? I don't believe in taking foolish chances, but nothing can be accomplished without taking any chance at all.
— Charles A. Lindbergh, at a news conference after his trans-Atlantic flight.
Daily Video
Editor’s Choice
Trivia
General Trivia
1. “I apparently was the first to pilot a heavier-than-air aircraft in controlled flight. I also was first to use the term, ‘aero plane,’ and even wrote a small book with that title. I died following a crash in an aircraft of my design, and my last words were, ‘How is the machine?’ Who am I?”
2. True or False? A pilot is about to land an airplane with the right landing-gear leg and nosewheel extended but with the left landing-gear leg stuck in its well. The ailerons are equipped with conventional trim tabs that are controllable from the cockpit. During landing and rollout, the right aileron tab should be deflected fully downward.
3. Why did some airmen training at Midland, Texas, during World War II have a higher incidence of black eyes than airmen training elsewhere?
4. How can you tell the difference between a U.S. Naval aviator and a traditional Naval officer who does not fly simply by looking at their feet?
5. A pilot wants to fly a perfectly rectangular pattern while in the left traffic pattern for Runway 36 when the wind is strong and from the northeast. This requires that the radius of all turns be the same with respect to the ground. Assuming a constant airspeed throughout the pattern, the most steeply banked turn will be required when turning from
a. base to final.
b. crosswind to downwind.
c. downwind to base.
d. upwind to crosswind.
6. True or False: Most of the American aircraft that took off from Oahu during the Japanese attack of Pearl Harbor were shot down.
7. True or False: It is legal for a VFR-only pilot to fly extended distances in a small airplane above a solid undercast with no more than the instruments required for VFR flight.
8. Who was the first woman in the United States to become a licensed glider pilot?
