NewsCommercial
Boeing names Textron as 777X flight simulator provider
Boeing has selected Textron’s TRU Simulation + Training to provide a suite of training devices for the 777X, to be deployed at the aircraft manufacturer’s training centers. The 10-year agreement covers multiple devices, with the initial contract involving development and production of a 777X full flight simulator (FFS) and flat-panel classroom trainer. TRU will also supply an engineering simulator to Boeing for use in development of the 777X.
LinkAirlines
Alaska-Virgin deal awaits review
Alaska Air Group and Virgin America have both submitted paperwork to the government for an antitrust review. Alaska offered to purchase Virgin for $2.6 billion, pending approval by the Justice Department. The two carriers said they expect to complete the transaction, with regulators' approval, no later than Jan. 1, 2017.
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American Airlines to offer D.C. service from Mich. city
American Airlines plans to launch service from Washington, D.C., to Lansing, Mich. Flights will connect with Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and the Capital Region International Airport.
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American Airlines aims for premium travelers, CEO says
American Airlines CEO Doug Parker appeared at a reception hosted by the airline at a conference for corporate travel executives in Dallas. "Everything we're doing right now is largely based around the desire to attract more than our fair share of the premium traveler," he said.
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Borajet and Nordic Regional Airlines join ERA
Istanbul-based regional Borajet Airlines and Helsinki-based Nordic Regional Airlines (Norra) have joined the European Regions Airline Association (ERA). “Regional airlines need to have a voice in Europe to ensure their future prosperity and ERA works to ensure that our concerns are heard,” Norra CEO Maunu Visuri said.
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easyJet Founder Says He Would Oppose Acquisitions
easyJet's founder and biggest shareholder Stelios Haji-Ioannou would oppose any move by the company to make an acquisition, he said, following media reports that it was looking at making a bid for smaller rival Monarch. The Sunday Times newspaper said that easyJet was eyeing Monarch Airlines, one of a number of stories about Monarch to emerge in recent days.
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Garuda Indonesia orders 14 A330-900neos
Garuda Indonesia has confirmed an order with Airbus for 14 A330-900neos, which will be delivered from 2019. The national airline of Indonesia plans to use the A330neo to develop its medium- and long-haul network. The order replaces and extends an existing order for seven A330-300 aircraft.
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Hawaiian Airlines pilots to vote on strike authorization
Pilot leaders at Hawaiian Airlines (HAL) will ask members to give them authority to strike if labor negotiations break down and the federal government authorizes a walkout, the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) said in a statement released April 19. According to ALPA, its members are “fed up with management foot-dragging on a new contract while their airline is making record profits.”
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LAM and Germanwings inquiries contrast in medical scope
Investigators have not made any explicit safety recommendations relating to medical checks following the inquiry into the deliberate LAM Embraer 190 crash in Namibia in November 2013. None of the 33 occupants survived after the captain, left alone in the cockpit, commanded a rapid descent which culminated in a high-speed collision with terrain.
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Malaysia Airlines CEO Mueller to step down in September
Malaysia Airlines Berhad CEO Christoph Mueller has said he will resign in September, citing “changing personal circumstances.” The unexpected announcement comes less than a year after Mueller took over the top executive spot at Malaysia Airlines. The former Aer Lingus CEO known for turning around airlines was named CEO of Malaysia Airlines in late 2014 as the carrier was dealing with the aftermath of two fatal Boeing 777 crashes—flights MH370 and MH17—and took the position on May 1, 2015.
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European pilot union decries DOT approval for Norwegian services
The European Cockpit Association (ECA) has criticized the US Department of Transportation (DOT) and European Commission (EC) for the tentative approval of Norwegian Air International’s (NAI) bid to start transatlantic services. It has accused the two regulatory bodies of “firing a gun on a race to the bottom” in crews’ working conditions. The ECA, which represents more than 38,000 European pilots, said the April 15 approval of NAI’s requested traffic rights opened the door for the same type of “flag of convenience” arrangements that had driven down working conditions in the shipping industry.
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Norwegian Air Eyes More 787s After US Approval
Norwegian Air Shuttle will need to order more long-haul planes, with Boeing 787s the likeliest option, once its Irish subsidiary wins US approval to fly transatlantic routes. The US Department of Transportation said on Friday it intended to grant flying rights to Norwegian Air's Irish subsidiary.
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United p.s. service offers good night's sleep
Columnist Larry Olmsted enjoyed United Airlines' p.s. service on a recent red-eye flight from Newark, N.J., to Los Angeles. "I slept much better than I ever could have in a regular First Class domestic seat, and unlike some so-called 'lay flats,' it is a true 180° bed," he writes.
LinkAirports
ACI Europe rejects criticism of Brussels airport security
Airports Council International Europe (ACI Europe), which represents Europe’s major airports, has accused the media of spreading misinformation about the state of security at Brussels Zaventem Airport in the wake of the March 22 terrorist attack. Two explosions in the check-in area of the terminal building, together with a later blast in the Brussels Metro, killed 36 people.
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United to offer nonstop service to SFO from Neb. city
United Airlines plans to launch nonstop service from Omaha Eppley Airfield in Nebraska to San Francisco International Airport on Sept. 8. "We are excited to offer our business and leisure customers in Omaha this new, convenient, comfortable flight to San Francisco," said Tom Punt, Nebraska sales manager for the carrier. United will deploy an Embraer E-175 for the daily route.
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Military
P&W still pushing upgrade of B-52's original TF33 engine
Pratt & Whitney remains confident that a TF33 upgrade package it is developing would keep the fuel-guzzling Boeing B-52 bomber, an eight-engine goliath, flying into 2040 and beyond. The aircraft was introduced in 1952 and the later H-model that remains in service today is still powered by the original P&W TF33, which celebrated its 55th anniversary of first flight in March
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How a pilot’s NVG case brought down a USAF C-130J in Afghanistan
A deadly US Air Force C-130J crash at Jalalabad Airfield in Afghanistan on 2 October 2015 that killed everyone onboard, plus three Afghani security personnel manning the guard tower it struck, was caused by a hard-shell night vision goggle case placed in front of the yoke. According to the air force’s newly released accident investigation report, the C-130J pilot used the night vision goggle (NVG) case to keep the aircraft’s elevator up as tall cargo was loaded on the ramp.
[url=https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/how-a-pilots-nvg-case-brought-down-a-usaf-c-130j-in-424369/
Russian air force orders more Yak-130 trainers
Russia's defense ministry has ordered a further 30 Yak-130 twin-seat jet trainers for the nation's air force, Irkut announced on 18 April. The aircraft are expected to be delivered between early 2017 and the end of 2018.
LinkRegulatory
Senate passes bipartisan FAA bill by 95-3 vote
The US Senate has passed legislation to reauthorize FAA through Sept. 30, 2017, by a 95-3 vote. The bill, backed by Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee chairman John Thune (R-South Dakota) and Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Florida), the committee’s ranking Democrat, gained wide bipartisan support by staying away from issues that were controversial among lawmakers, such as separating air traffic control (ATC) from FAA, and focusing on areas of consensus, such as airline consumer protection and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) safety.
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EASA calls for more proactive approach to aviation regulation
Aviation regulation is not keeping up with the fast pace of change in the air transport industry and needs to become more responsive to the changing operational environment, European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) executive director Patrick Ky told the IATA Ops Conference in Copenhagen this week. “The aviation industry is extremely innovative, in particular in finding new business models to be able to grow and improve operations," he said.
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Aviation Quote
I think there is something exhilarating in flying amongst clouds, and always get a feeling of wanting to pit my aeroplane against them, charge at them, climb over them to show them you have them beat, circle round them, and generally play with them; but clouds can on occasion hold their own against the aviator, and many a pilot has found himself emerging from a cloud not on a level keel.
Cloud-flying requires practice, even if you have every modern instrument, and unless you keep calm and collected you will get into trouble after you have been inside a really thick one for a few minutes. In the very early days of aviation, 1912 to be correct, I emerged from a cloud upside down, much to my discomfort, as I didn't know how to get right way up again. I found out somehow, or I wouldn't be writing this.
— Charles Rumney Samson, A Flight from Cairo to Cape Town and Back, 1931.
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