NewsCommercial
Bombardier delivers first new freighter variant
Bombardier has delivered the first CRJ200 Special Freighter (CRJ200SF) to Waterford, Michigan-based Gulf & Caribbean Cargo. The CRJ200SF, as well as the CRJ100SF, are major conversions from passenger versions of the Canadian-built regional jet. Miami, Florida-based Aeronautical Engineers (AEI), a Bombardier-licensed third party supplemental type certificate (STC) provider carries out the modifications, the most obvious of which is the installation of a 94 in. x 77 in. (238.7 cm x 195.6 cm) cargo door.
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GECAS orders 75 additional 737 MAX 8s
GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS) announced Jan. 4 that it booked an order in December 2016 for 75 Boeing 737 MAX 8s. The order is valued at $8.25 billion at list prices. The new order increases GECAS’s order book for 737 MAX 8 aircraft to 170, the largest number of bookings for the model by any leasing company.
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New ruling allows for low visibility commercial landings
A recently updated US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ruling will allow airlines to operate in almost all visibility conditions with the assistance of Elbit Systems’ Clear Vision Enhanced Flight Vision System (EFVS). Elbit explains that its EFVS is aligned with the most updated ruling released by the FAA, enabling the pilot to perform a full landing procedure with no natural vision.
LinkAirlines
Aeroflot A321 skids off runway at Kaliningrad
A Russian Aeroflot Airbus A321 suffered a landing gear collapse after skidding off the runway on landing at Kaliningrad Khrabrovo International Airport on Jan. 3 at 10:30 p.m. local time, Russia’s TASS news agency reported. According to the Flight Safety Foundation’s Aviation Safety Network (ASN), there were 167 passengers and seven crew members on board the aircraft. No fatalities were reported.
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New German leisure carrier set for April launch
New German airline Azur Air is preparing to start operations in April. The Düsseldorf-based carrier plans to operate leisure flights on behalf of Dutch-Turkish tour operator Anex Tourism Group. According to its website, Azur Air is stationing three leased 330-seat Boeing 767-300ERs in Düsseldorf, where a maintenance center is also being established. In addition to Düsseldorf, the carrier also plans to launch operations from Berlin and Munich in April.
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British Airways' Cabin Crew To Strike January 10/11
British Airways cabin crew working under ‘mixed fleet’ employment terms will strike for 48 hours from January 10, the Unite union said. Unite said the industrial action was called after mixed fleet crew rejected a British Airways pay offer before Christmas. The union said BA had “refused to extend the mandate of the strike vote to allow for talks”.
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JetBlue to receive A321s in 2017
JetBlue Airways plans to take delivery of 15 Airbus A321s this year, a fleet plan which will help boost the carrier's growth. JetBlue also plans to expand its premium Mint service on the A321s.
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Norwegian details plans for 2017
Fast-expanding low-cost carrier (LCC) Norwegian is planning to take nine Boeing 787-9s and its first 737 MAX in 2017, using some of this extra capacity to add its first long-haul, low-cost flights between the UK and non-US destinations. The Oslo-based LCC said 2017 will be its “busiest ever year,” with over 30 aircraft deliveries, including its first 737 MAX, which is scheduled to arrive during the summer.
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PIA aircraft clips wing of parked Air France 777 in Toronto
Air France has confirmed that its Boeing 777-200 was struck at the end of its left wing while it was parked at Toronto Pearson International Airport by a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) aircraft maneuvering to reach its parking stand. The PIA aircraft type was not identified.
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SWISS to take at least 12 CSeries in 2017
Lufthansa subsidiary Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS)—which took delivery of its fifth Bombardier CS100 on Dec. 30, 2016—expects to receive a minimum of 12 CS100s, as well as the larger CSeries variant CS300, in 2017. “We expect to receive at least one CSeries aircraft every month in 2017,” SWISS spokesperson Karin Müller told ATW in Zurich. She added that for several months two aircraft [per month] will be delivered. Müller could not detail how many total CSeries aircraft besides the 12 expected ones will be added to the fleet this year, “but we still plan to have all 30 aircraft by 2018,” she said.
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Travel Service finalizes order for five more Boeing 737 MAX 8s
Czech leisure carrier Travel Service has finalized an order for five additional Boeing 737 MAX 8s, valued at $550 at list prices. Travel Service, which is the Central and Eastern European launch operator for the 737 MAX 8, is scheduled to receive 30 direct-purchased and leased 737 MAX aircraft starting in 2018.
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United boosted international service from SFO hub in 2016
United Airlines boosted international service from its San Francisco hub in 2016, adding flights to Asia, New Zealand and Israel. Overall, United offers service to 14 cities in the Asia-Pacific region, including five destinations in China. "Our new service between San Francisco and Tel Aviv is a direct response of customer demand," said Dave Hilfman, senior vice president of worldwide sales for United.
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Vietnam Airlines reports stronger profit in 2016
Vietnam Airlines (VNA) and its subsidiaries earned a consolidated pre-tax profit of $113.7 million in 2016, which represents a 140% increase on the previous year, according to the company’s initial estimates. The Hanoi-based carrier’s core operation is estimated to have contributed $72.7 million in pre-tax profit, more than five times the profit from 2015. The company is majority owner of Vietnam-based low-cost carrier Jetstar Pacific and part-owner of Cambodia’s Angkor Air. Regional carrier VASCO is a VNA subsidiary.
LinkAirports
DEN plans $120 million baggage screening upgrade
Colorado's Denver International Airport is planning a $120 million renovation to improve underground areas where checked bags receive final screenings. The Transportation Security Administration will provide $50 million for the project, with the rest of the funds coming from the airport's capital improvements fund.
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Nigeria Delays Abuja Airport Runway Work
Nigeria has announced a change to its plans to close the capital Abuja’s Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport. The original six week closure was planned to start in February, but that has been delayed and will now start on March 8, the aviation ministry said.
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Military
Argentinian Kfir negotiations set to resume
Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has so far exported 40 Kfir Block 60 upgraded fighter aircraft, and plans to assemble and upgrade another 12-14 for Argentina. Sources say negotiations about the proposed sale to Argentina are about to resume, following two previous rounds of talks that did not result in a contract.
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Budget allocated for Israeli governmental VIP transport
An initial budget of $71 million was approved on 26 December for the acquisition of an Israeli “air force one” governmental VIP transport. The initial go-ahead was given in August 2016, but much of the program has since been shrouded in secrecy.
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French air force, Qinetiq confirmed as PC-21 buyers
Pilatus has announced a trio of orders for its PC-21 turboprop trainer, with the commitments totaling 21 units. Worth more than Swfr300 million ($292 million) to the company, the orders will lead to the production of 17 aircraft for the French air force, a further two for previous buyer Jordan and two for the UK company Qinetiq, for use by the Empire Test Pilots’ School (ETPS).
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Aviation Quote
Professor Focke and his technicians standing below grew ever smaller as I continued to rise straight up, 50 metres, 75 metres, 100 metres. Then I gently began to throttle back and the speed of ascent dwindled till I was hovering motionless in midair. This was intoxicating! I thought of the lark, so light and small of wing, hovering over the summer fields. Now man had wrested from him his lovely secret.
- Hanna Reitsch, German test pilot describing the first helicopter flight.
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Trivia
General Trivia
1. What country has the world’s worst weather?
2. What is the greatest speed ever attained by a human being in flight?
3. Explain how it is possible for two aircraft to maintain a constant distance and bearing from each other while both maintain the same true heading and altitude, yet are flown at different true airspeeds (in no-wind conditions)?
4. What famous pilot also was a bantamweight boxer who won a West Coast Amateur Championship and became a professional boxer?
5. What U.S. airline was first to operate an all-turbine (turbo-prop) fleet, and what U.S. airline was first to operate an all-jet fleet?
6. A pilot is speaking to an FSS specialist and is overheard saying, “I am going to praise God.” Why does this make perfect sense to the specialist?
7. Who was the first politician to use an airplane to travel between campaign stops?
