NewsCommercial
Brazil president vetoes provision boosting foreign airline ownership
Brazilian interim President Michel Temer vetoed a provision of a bill allowing foreign investors to own up to 100 percent of Brazilian-flag airlines, according to a note published in Brazil's official government newspaper on Tuesday. The veto only affects one part of a package of aviation industry regulations aimed at boosting the struggling industry in the face of Brazil's deepest recession in decades. With the veto, the country's 20 percent limit on foreign ownership of airlines remained in place.
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Rolls-Royce, GKN Aerospace broaden Trent XWB partnership
UK engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce and tier-one aerostructures supplier GKN Aerospace have broadened their Trent XWB-84 risk-sharing partnership to include a modified intermediate compressor case (ICC). GKN Aerospace’s Swedish engine systems business already supplies the ICC for the Trent XWB-84, but GKN will now design and supply the ICC for the enhanced-performance Trent XWB-84, which will power the A350-900.
LinkAirlines
Air France details strike cancellations
Air France is hoping to maintain more than 87% of flights on July 27, when its cabin crew is set to begin a walkout that is expected to last until Aug. 2. Two of Air France’s three cabin crew unions—SNPNC-FO and UNSA-PNC—are staging the action over a new collective agreement for the period November 2016 to March 2018.
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Hawaiian Airlines reaches contract with dispatchers union
Dispatchers for Hawaiian Airlines are in line for "significant wage increases" under a newly ratified five-year contract between the carrier and the Transport Workers Union. "Our dispatchers have been an important part of our company's success, and we are delighted to have forged a contract that recognizes their contributions," said Jon Snook, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Hawaiian Airlines.
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JetBlue adds 30 A321s to order backlog
JetBlue Airways has added orders for 30 Airbus A321s, raising the US low-cost carrier's total backlog to 116 single-aisles. The amended purchase agreement includes orders for 15 A321s and 15 re-engined A321neos, says JetBlue.
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JetBlue posts $180 million 2Q net profit
New York-based JetBlue Airways reported a second-quarter net profit of $180 million, up 18.5% over net income of $152 million in the prior-year period. JetBlue’s 2Q revenue was up 2% year-over-year (YOY) to $1.64 billion. JetBlue president and CEO Robin Hayes lauded the performance of the company’s premium Mint service. Since its 2014 launch Mint has shown a 20% RASM growth, the company said.
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LATAM Airlines To Pay Fines Over Bribes Case
LATAM Airlines has agreed to pay more than USD$22 million in civil and criminal fines relating to a decade-old bribery case, the US SEC said. The Securities and Exchange Commission said the fine of LATAM unit LAN related to "improper payments it authorised during a dispute between the airline and its union employees in Argentina".
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Spirit Airlines Launches Its Ultra-Low Cost Service In Northeast Ohio
Sprint Airlines Inc said it would unveil its ultra-low cost service in Northeast Ohio by introducing Akron – Canton Airport. It would become the 57th city to join its expanding network. The company's VP of Network Planning, Mark Kopczak, commented, "Akron-Canton is the perfect place to expand our growing network. Spirit's super low Bare Fares
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United to roll out direct service from San Francisco to Miami, Tampa
United Airlines is adding nonstop service from San Francisco to Miami and Tampa, Fla. Miami service will commence Dec. 16 with the Tampa route beginning in February.
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WestJet 2Q net profit drops 41%, cites weak Alberta economy
Canadian low-cost carrier (LCC) WestJet reported a second-quarter net profit of C$36.7 million ($28.2 million), down 40.5% from net income of C$61.6 million in the 2015 June quarter, but the period did mark its 45th consecutive quarter in the black. The Calgary-based airline cited “continuing economic weakness” in the Alberta province, which is heavily tied to the oil industry, for the profit decline—the second straight quarter the carrier’s net profit fell. But president and CEO Gregg Saretsky pointed to topline revenue growth—WestJet’s second-quarter revenue increased 0.8% year-over-year to C$949.3 million—as a sign that the carrier’s “fundamentals remain strong” despite its home region’s economic issues.
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Xiamen Airlines launches Vancouver Boeing 787 route
China’s Xiamen Airlines began 3X-weekly Xiamen-Vancouver service, its first nonstop from Fujian Province to North America. The Boeing 787-8 service flies Monday, Thursday and Saturday from Xiamen’s Gaoqi International Airport. Xiamen is considered a vacation spot in southeast China and a 72-hour visa-free stopover program aids the service.
LinkAirports
BWI to open a gym this fall
Maryland's Baltimore–Washington International Airport will open a gym this fall. Travelers using the gym will be able to rent workout clothes and take a shower before catching their flights.
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Military
Israel may contract out F-35 maintenance
Israel is considering contracting out the heavy maintenance of its future Lockheed Martin F-35As, as it seeks domestic provision of overhaul activities on the type. Although Lockheed is establishing a European regional maintenance facility at Cameri airbase in Italy, Tel Aviv has repeatedly insisted that it will perform the majority of maintenance tasks in-country.
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Funding for new close air support platform remains uncertain
While rumblings of two potential close-air support platforms for the US Air Force shook Washington last week, discussions surrounding a possible light-attack aircraft and A-10 replacement have yet to reach the service’s secretary. The two new CAS procurements are still “pre-decisional,” USAF Secretary Deborah Lee James told an audience in Washington DC during a Tuesday event sponsored by Defense One.
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Aviation Quote
I suppose I'm as good as the next guy, but that's about all. Only reason I'm still flying while a lot of other great guys are gone is because I've had the breaks so far. I believe though, that the breaks are going to continue my way. The minute a flyer gets the notion that his number is up, he's finished. I start out, and know I'm coming back, and that's all there is to it.
Fear? You bet your life. But it's always on the way up. Then you get to thinking about a lot of things, but that all leaves you as you reach combat. Then there's a sense of great excitement, a thrill you can't duplicate anywhere. Then there can be no fear, no thought of life or death, no dream of yesterday or tomorrow.
What you have at that moment is — well, it may sound strange, but it's actually fun. The other guy has his chance, too, and you've got to get him before he gets you. Yes, I think it is the most exciting fun in the world.
- Lt. Col. Robert B. "Westy" Westbrook, USAAF, one of the leading aces of the Pacific, 'Los Angeles Examiner,' 20 June 1944.
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Trivia
General Trivia
1. What was the largest, heaviest and most powerful American Production fighter of WW2?
2. Five American Aircraft Carriers have been converted into floating museums. What are their names and where are they located?
3. Which of the following is not true?
A) The 172 was Cessna's first production airplane to be equipped with a tricycle landing gear.
B) The Hawker Siddeley Trident was the first production airplane with an autoland system.
C) On early models of the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, the tail gunner could bail out of the aircraft by jettisoning the entire turret.
D) The pilot of the An-2 Colt, can use an on-board compressor to vary the air pressure in the oleo struts to suit the type of surface on which he/she intends to land.
4. Why does moving the center of gravity forward make an airplane more stable in the pitch and yaw axis?
5. During W2, Germany launched V-1 buzz bombs from northern France towards London. These pilotless aircraft incorporated an autopilot to keep the airplane pointed in the target's direction. Without a navigation system, how did the bomb "know" when they were over the target?
