NAS Daily 23 APR 19

airtrainer 22 Apr 19, 23:18

News

Commercial

Airbus reports A220 integration on track
Integration of the former Bombardier CSeries program into Airbus is progressing well, the head of Airbus in Canada said.
“We will deliver more aircraft in the second half of the year than we did in the first half as we continue to ramp up,” said Philippe Balducci, CEO of the Airbus-led partnership that now builds the narrowbody airliner as the A220.
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Aviation groups oppose proposed FAA pilot drug testing study
Nine groups representing commercial and general aviation are calling on FAA not to follow through with a proposed pilot drug testing study, saying “deceptively and unknowingly” testing thousands of pilot urine samples does not comply with legal requirements and would “further erode the trust” between the pilot community and FAA aviation medical examiners (AMEs).
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FAA invites nine agencies to join MAX certification review
Representatives from nine civil aviation authorities—including the four major state-of-design agencies and China—have accepted invitations from the FAA to conduct a partial review of the Boeing 737 MAX certification, FAA announced April 19. The 90-day review will start at the end of April.
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Mitsubishi Aircraft nears final MRJ70 design
Japanese manufacturer Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp. is close to finalizing a refined design for the MRJ70, the shorter version of its MRJ regional jet, and by the end of June, two additional MRJ90 prototypes will be ready for MRJ flight testing, Mitsubishi Aircraft president Hisakazu Mizutani said.
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Russia expects first CR929 orders in 2023
The Russian chairperson of the Chinese-Russian commercial aircraft consortium (CRAIC) board expects the consortium to receive initial orders for its CR929 widebody airliner no earlier than 2023—a differing assessment compared to the late-2019 timing recently suggested by the Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China (COMAC), the Chinese partner in the program. Separately, the Russian CRAIC partner, United Aircraft Corp.
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Spirit Aero clarifies Boeing will pay for surplus 737 fuselages
Spirit AeroSystems has clarified that Boeing will pay for each 737 fuselage that Spirit produces in excess of Boeing’s production rate, helping maintain Spirit’s financial position as Boeing slashes output.
In a recent regulatory filing, Wichita-based Spirit says it will store excess fuselages, which will be considered delivered to Boeing.
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Airbus Helicopters opens Chinese H135 assembly line
Airbus Helicopters has opened its Chinese assembly line for the light-twin H135, with the first aircraft due to roll out later this year.
Situated in Qingdao, the construction of the plant follows a 2016 agreement that also saw China order 100 of the helicopters, of which 95 will be built at the new facility.
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PICTURE: Leonardo delivers first firefighting AW139 to Italy
Leonardo Helicopters has delivered an initial pair of AW139 intermediate-twins to Italy’s Vigili del Fuoco national fire service.
Part of a three-unit deal signed last year worth €45 million, the contract also includes 12 options as the operator begins to replace its current fleet of Agusta-Bell AB412 helicopters.
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Airlines

Sources: China Eastern permitted to keep Beijing Capital-Shanghai service
The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) appears to have changed its policy on how Chinese airlines will be split between Beijing airports after the new Daxing International opens, allowing China Eastern Airlines to maintain Beijing-Shanghai flights from Beijing Capital International. CAAC’s original plan, announced Jan. 3, was for China Eastern and China Southern Airlines, with their affiliate airlines, to move all their Beijing operations to Daxing after that airport opens ...
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Emirates, SpiceJet agree to codeshare pact
Emirates Airline and Indian LCC SpiceJet signed an MOU April 22 for a reciprocal codeshare agreement aimed at opening new routes and destinations between India and Africa, Europe, North America and the Middle East.
Upon approval by the necessary regulators, Emirates passengers from Dubai will have access to 67 weekly SpiceJet flights to six additional Indian cities: Amritsar, Calicut, Jaipur, Madurai, Mangalore and Pune. Emirates currently flies to 11 Indian cities from Dubai.
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Spring Airlines 2018 net profit up 19.1% on cost controls
Chinese LCC Spring Airlines overcame higher fuel costs and a weakened currency to post a 2018 net profit of CNY1.5 billion ($218.1 million), up 19.1% from CNY1.26 billion in 2017.
Total operating income increased 19.4% year-over-year (YOY) to CNY13.1 billion, while operating costs climbed 22.9% to CNY11.8 billion, with fuel accounting for 33.8% of the total.
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Firefly resumes Singapore service, studies Malacca route
After a four-month suspension because of a dispute between Malaysia and Singapore, Malaysia LCC Firefly has resumed scheduled service between the two countries, with the first flight landing at Singapore’s Seletar Airport on April 21.
This also marked the first scheduled operation of Seletar’s new terminal since its opening in November.
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United: Strain of MAX grounding will intensify
United Airlines has done well compensating for the absence of its 14 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft by adjusting its network and maintenance schedules, but the gaps created will become harder to fill as the peak summer season approaches, the airline’s executives say. The Chicago-based carrier has removed its MAX 9s through early July, the carrier confirmed April 15. The aircraft were operating about 40 daily flights when they were banned from operating in the US by FAA on March 13.
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Analysis: Why US majors are picking a fight with Air Italy
If the CEOs of American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines get their way, US Congress will hold yet another set of hearings this year on the seemingly never-ending quarrel over the US Open Skies agreements with the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
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France’s Aigle Azur begins direct service to Kiev
French airline Aigle Azur has launched a direct flight from Paris Orly to Kiev’s Boryspil International Airport, the capital of Ukraine, as part of an ongoing drive to expand its network.
The 3X-weekly service uses an Airbus A320 in a two-class configuration, with 12 business and 168 economy class seats.
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Jazeera Airways to launch Kuwait-London Gatwick services
Jazeera Airways will begin flights from Kuwait City to London Gatwick using an Airbus A320neo this year. The Kuwait-based carrier said. Thanks to the aircraft’s additional range, the flying radius from Kuwait has increased to 6.5 hrs.
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Silver Airways begins ATR 42-600 flights
Silver Airways has begun flying its new ATR 42-600 aircraft within Florida, the first step in its plan to replace its fleet of Saab 340Bs and expand its network.
The Fort Lauderdale-based regional carrier operated the first revenue flight between its base and Key West on 22 April, it says
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Allegiant to add Mexico scheduled flights
Allegiant Air plans to begin flights to Mexico, adding the first scheduled international service to its network.
The Las Vegas-based airline says it will announce launch dates and destinations at a later date.
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Vietnam's Bamboo in MOU for Hanoi-Prague route
Vietnam start-up Bamboo Airways has signed a memorandum of understanding regarding the possibility of services from Hanoi to Prague.
The MOU with Prague's Vaclav Havel International airport was signed during a visit to the Czech Republic by Vietnam’s prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, who attended a signing ceremony between the airline and airport officials.
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Airports

Crimean airport to receive new control tower
Russian state-owned Air Traffic Management Corp. (ATM Corp.) will invest RUB881.9 million ($13.8 million) to develop a new control tower at Simferopol International Airport in Crimea.
The agreement was signed by the airport, ATM Corp. and the Crimean government at the Yalta International Economic Forum April 18.
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Military

Lockheed tries reducing F-35 costs with new supplier contracts
Lockheed Martin is trying to improve F-35 Lightning II parts inventories and reduce sustainment costs by signing more long-term Performance Based Logistics (PBL) contracts and Master Repair Agreements (MRA) with suppliers.
The manufacturer previously had signed one-year contracts with its suppliers, but says recently awarded multi-year PBLs allow companies to make longer-term investments to reduce costs and become more efficient.
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USA and Japan confident China won’t find missing F-35A wreckage
The defence chiefs of the USA and Japan are confident that China won’t be able to recover pieces of the Lockheed Martin F-35A that crashed off the coast of Japan on 9 April.
A flurry of media reports had speculated that parts of the aircraft were vulnerable to discovery by the Chinese or Russian militaries, giving those countries’ armed forces an opportunity to exploit vulnerabilities or copy the fighter’s stealth technology.
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Washington, Tokyo go deeper on F-3 tech transfer: report
Washington and Tokyo appear to be holding deeper talks related to Japan’s development of a new fighter to replace the Mitsubishi F-2.
A report in Japan’s Yomiuri Shimbun, citing unnamed government sources, says that the United States is willing to offer a notable degree of intellectual content related to stealth aircraft design.
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Aviation Quote

Nothing ever built arose to touch the skies unless some man dreamed that it should, some man believed that it could, and some man willed that it must.

- Charles Kettering