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Airbus To Beat Boeing Deliveries by 2020
Fabrice Brégier, the head of Airbus’s commercial aircraft unit, said the European plane maker will overtake Boeing in aircraft deliveries in 2020. Speaking to German newspaper Welt, Brégier said “In 2020, we will again be delivering more aircraft than Boeing”.
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Chinese connectivity to soar, despite great firewall
China’s rapidly growing aviation industry presents a huge opportunity for in-flight connectivity providers and satellite companies alike, but its complex regulatory environment and restrictions on Internet access make it a challenging market to enter. Stakeholders agree that the best way to compete for business in China is through local partnerships, but even this approach does not mean an easy ride.
LinkAirlines
Alaska Air-Virgin America merger progressing as expected
Reuters reports that good progress is being made on Alaska's proposed integration with Virgin America, and the carriers are looking to close the deal by the fourth quarter of this year.
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American Airlines brings international-style seats to premium economy cabin
American Airlines' new premium economy cabin in the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner features international-style seats, the first airline to offer such a seat in the US. The seats offer additional legroom, reclining capability and are wider than before. The new premium cabin, which will begin flying internationally in November, is currently available for select flights between Dallas/Fort Worth and Los Angeles.
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Aurora Airline predicts traffic will increase 20% in 2016
Aeroflot subsidiary Aurora Airline—which serves Russia’s Far East—has forecasted it will carry 1.4 million passengers in 2016, a 20% year-over-year (YOY) traffic increase, according to CEO Konstantin Sukhorebrik. Aurora carried its millionth passenger in the middle of October. Sukhorebrik said the growth is because of an increase in the region’s commuter traffic. Regional flights are subsidized by local governments.
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Binter Canarias to set up new Cape Verde airline
Spanish regional airline Binter Canarias is establishing a subsidiary in Cape Verde, an archipelago of islands off the northwest coast of Africa. “We think we will get our license in 15 days and one week later we will start to fly,” Binter president Pedro Augustin de Castillo said, speaking at the European Regions Airline Association (ERA) General Assembly in Madrid.
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EVA Air, Thai Airways to codeshare
Taipei-based EVA Air and Thai Airways International announced a new codeshare partnership Oct. 17. The first codeshare flights will begin Oct. 30. Under the agreement, the carriers will use both airlines’ flight numbers on North America service and onward connections between Taipei and Bangkok. The codeshare will extend to EVA Air’s North American routes to Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Toronto, Vancouver and Chicago (beginning Nov. 3).
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Hawaiian Airlines unveils a custom Disney-themed aircraft
Hawaiian Airlines today unveiled a custom Disney’s “Moana”-themed aircraft at the Honolulu International Airport. The Airbus A330 is the first of three custom aircrafts for the film which is set to release in theatres Nov. 23.
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Some Kenya Airways Flights Cancelled As Strike Deadline Looms
Kenya Airways cancelled five flights on Sunday, blaming staff shortages as some crew members stayed away from work. “Some of our outsourced staff including cabin crew have stayed away from work from Friday and we are working with their employer to resolve any issues they may have,” the national carrier said in a statement.
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List of debris with likely MH370 link grows
Malaysian authorities have released a list of 22 items found on beaches along the Indian Ocean’s African littoral region that have either been confirmed as being debris from MH370, or are likely to be so. The items were found in Reunion, Mozambique, South Africa, Mauritius, Madagascar, and Tanzania. The list was published by the Malaysian government on its official MH370 web site.
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TAP Portugal Recovery Continues
Passenger numbers at TAP rose 4.7 percent in September as new US routes boosted the Portuguese flag carrier. Total passengers carried during the month rose to 1,160,873, with Boston and New York JFK routes helping push the US total up 104.5 percent.
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United posts $965 million 3Q net profit
Chicago-based United Airlines parent United Continental Holdings reported a third-quarter net profit of $965 million, down 80% from a net income of $4.8 billion in the 2015 September quarter. According to United’s third-quarter performance report, in 2015, “after considering all positive and negative evidence, the company concluded that its deferred income taxes would more likely than not be realized. The company released substantially all of its valuation allowance in the third quarter of 2015, which resulted in a $3.2 billion benefit in its provision for income taxes.”
LinkAirports
American looks to boost efficiency, convenience at Philadelphia International
American Airlines says that adjusting flight schedules will result in more efficient operations and enhance passenger convenience at Philadelphia International Airport.
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LAX Airport offers extensive wine lists
In the winter of 1942 a group of Americans landed via seaplane at Foynes airfield in western Ireland. Miserably cold when they entered the terminal (which was a local hotel) they were served a special concoction that chef Joe Sheridan thought might warm them up. It included coffee, sugar, whipped cream and whiskey. When asked the name of this drink he invented for them, Sheridan replied, “Irish Coffee.” The association of airports with alcohol has only expanded since then. Five years later and ten miles away, the first ever duty-free store in an airport opened in Ireland’s Shannon Airport. The small kiosk sold souvenirs. The concept caught on. In the 1960′s two Americans founded duty free stores in Hong Kong and then in the U.S.
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Military
Leonardo reveals details of Osprey sale for Fire Scout
Leonardo has finally released details of its 26 May contract award from the US Navy to provide its Osprey 30 flat-panelled radar for the Northrop Grumman MQ-8C Fire Scout unmanned air vehicle. Earlier this year, the navy announced that it had contracted the company to provide the sensor, but a protest from rival bidder Telephonics to the US government delayed any further details being released
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Industry presents UAV upgrades to Royal Navy
As the Royal Navy moves towards retiring its only unmanned air vehicle from service in 2017, industry has presented a number of upgrades to UK-operated systems to try and tempt the service into continuing operations with such technology. Using the RN’s Unmanned Warrior exercise that began on 10 October, Boeing and Thales have pitched upgrades to the ScanEagle and Watchkeeper UAVs respectively, which they hope will result in some interest.
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India moves closer to acquiring Heron TP
The Indian air force is moving ahead with implementation of a plan to purchase the Israel Aerospace Industries Heron TP unmanned air vehicle, having joined the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) in June. India is operating the Heron 1 and other smaller Israeli UAVs, but the purchase of a strategic system such as the Heron TP had until recently been put on hold.
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Aviation Quote
Gliders... [will be] the freight trains of the air.... We can visualize a locomotive plane leaving LaGuardia Field towing a train of six gliders in the very near future. By having the load thus divided it would be practical to unhitch the glider that must come down in Philadelphia as the train flies over that place — similarly unhitching the loaded gliders for Washington, for Richmond, for Charleston, for Jacksonville, as each city is passed — and finally the air locomotive itself lands in Miami. During that process it has not had to make any intermediate landings, so that it has not had to slow down.
- Grover Loening, consulting engineer Grumman Aircraft, in 'Miracles Ahead! Better Living in the Postwar World,' 1944
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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?
