NAS Daily 04 JUN 19

airtrainer 03 Jun 19, 20:18

News

Commercial

FAA to order slat track inspections of 312 Boeing 737 NG, MAX aircraft
Operators of more than 300 newer Boeing 737s—including nearly half of the in-service MAXs—will be ordered to inspect slat tracks and remove parts identified as being from a batch that may not meet Boeing’s production requirements, the FAA and the company said June 2.
“One batch of slat tracks with specific lot numbers produced by a supplier was found to have a potential nonconformance,” Boeing said. It did not name the supplier.
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Bombardier, Longview finalize Q series program deal
The de Havilland name has returned to aircraft manufacturing with completion of the $300 million sale of the Dash 8 program by Bombardier to Canada’s Longview Aircraft Capital. Production of the Q400 regional turboprop and support for the Dash 8-100/200/300 has been transferred to De Havilland Aircraft of Canada, a new subsidiary of Longview.
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IATA AGM 2019: Boeing should consider renaming MAX, Kenya Airways CEO says
Renaming the Boeing 737 MAX could help restore the public’s trust in the aircraft when the global fleet is flying again, Kenya Airways CEO Sebastian Mikosz said.
Communication will become as important as the technical issues affecting the MAXs, which were grounded after two fatal accidents in five months, Mikosz said on the sidelines of the IATA AGM in Seoul.
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https://atwonline.com/iata-agm-2019/iata-agm-2019-boeing-should-consider-renaming-max-kenya-airways-ceo-says
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines has teamed up with Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) to work on a wide-fuselage long-haul concept aircraft, known as the Flying-V, which would carry 314 passengers.
KLM president & CEO Pieter Elbers and TU Delft aerospace-engineering faculty dean Henri Werij signed a cooperation agreement on the sidelines of the IATA AGM in Seoul.
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IATA AGM 2019: IATA wants aircraft certification process review
One of the biggest takeaways from the global grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX is a need to review the certification process of aircraft, IATA believes.
“This industry has been learning from a difficult situation,” IATA SVP safety and flight operations Gilberto Lopez Meyer said during a briefing at the IATA AGM in Seoul June 3.
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IATA AGM 2019: Airbus sales chief optimistic in face of economic challenges
Airbus chief commercial officer Christian Scherer says he is “not worried about a slowdown” in aircraft demand despite lower airline profitability and the risk of trade wars.
“You are talking to a pretty frustrated commercial director because I have no [additional] aircraft to sell,” he said on the sidelines of the IATA AGM in Seoul June.
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Subset of 737 fleet requires slat track swap
A manufacturing defect will require the replacement of leading edge slat tracks on a small subset of the global fleet of Boeing 737NG and Max aircraft.
Operators with affected aircraft have 10 days to identify and remove the discrepant parts, and an airworthiness directive will be issued, says the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
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Airlines

American-Qantas JV receives tentative approval from US DOT
The US Department of Transportation (DOT) tentatively granted antitrust immunity for American Airlines and Qantas to operate a joint venture (JV) between the US and Australia/New Zealand, paving the way for the pair to expand coordination across planning, pricing, sales and logistics.
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Icelandair to lay off 24 pilots on MAX grounding; cancels hiring plans
Icelandair will lay off 24 pilots and will not be hiring 21 new pilots, because of the ongoing worldwide grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX.
The Keflavik-based carrier has a total commitment for 16 MAXs, scheduled for delivery through 2021. “We have not made any changes to our order,” an Icelandair spokeswoman told ATW.
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IATA AGM 2019: Emirates sticks to 787-10 commitment despite Airbus widebody order
Emirates Airline will stick to its large commitment for Boeing 787-10s despite the Abu Dhabi-based carrier’s recent decision to also order Airbus A330-900s and A350-900s.
“They will come,” Emirates Airline President Tim Clark said at the IATA annual general assembly in Seoul.
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IATA AGM 2019: Thai Airways moves closer to major aircraft order
Thai Airways’ expanded fleet acquisition plan is progressing toward the final stages of government review before a major aircraft order can be placed, a senior airline executive said.
Thailand’s transportation ministry is considering the airline’s broader business strategy, which includes the fleet plan, Thai Airways EVP-corporate strategy and sustainable development Krittaphon Chantalitanon said.
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IATA AGM 2019: Royal Jordanian to make narrowbody decision this summer
Royal Jordanian will make a final decision on how to modernize its narrowbody fleet by July.
Speaking on the sidelines of the IATA AGM in Seoul July, Royal Jordanian president and CEO Stefan Pichler said, “We are talking about an order of 22 aircraft. There are three possible aircraft fleet-mix scenarios [Airbus/Boeing/Embraer] on the agenda as well as the two engine manufacturers, CFM and Pratt & Whitney.”
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IATA AGM 2019: Qantas seeking final offers for ultra-long-haul aircraft
Qantas remains on track to place an order by the end of 2019 for an aircraft to launch direct flights from Australia’s east coast to London.
The carrier has completed the initial evaluation of the aircraft proposals for its Project Sunrise program, Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said during a briefing on the sidelines of the IATA AGM in Seoul June 3.
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IATA AGM 2019: Finnair CEO eyes network growth, narrowbody re-fleet
Finnair is focused on its position as a niche European carrier whose size allows it to be flexible, the airline’s CEO said.
Talking on the sidelines of the IATA AGM in Seoul June 3, Topi Manner said Finnair has found a good space where it can operate between Europe’s large LCCs and the flagship legacy carriers.
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Delta upgrades Boston to hub status on strong growth
Boston Logan International airport is Delta Air Lines newest hub, in a rare growth move by a US network carrier establishing a new connecting complex.
"We've been making significant investments in Boston this year… this has really enabled us to graduate Boston from what we consider a focus city to our newest coastal hub," says Amy Martin, managing director of domestic network planning at the Atlanta-based carrier, speaking at the Airport Council International-North America's JumpStart conference in Nashville today.
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Korean Air vows to go after LCC competition
Korean Air chairman and chief executive Walter Cho has vowed to act more aggressively against the growing competition from low-cost carriers in its home market.
Speaking during a press conference at the IATA Annual General Meeting, he says that the carrier has been watching the rise of LCCs passively, but that will now change.
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Jetstar shows interest in A321XLR for Australia-Japan routes
Jetstar has shown interest in the proposed Airbus A321XLR to potentially open up new routes between northern Australia and Japan.
Speaking during a roundtable discussion on the sidelines of the IATA annual general meeting, Jetstar group chief executive Gareth Evans says that it is having conversations with Airbus about the longer-ranging variant of the A321.
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Qantas pressing manufacturers for final offers on Sunrise aircraft soon
Qantas will move towards seeking final offers from Airbus and Boeing for ultra-long-range jets capable of meeting its Project Sunrise requirements, making it likely that an order will be announced this year.
Speaking during a roundtable discussion on the sidelines of the IATA Annual General Meeting in Seoul, Qantas group chief executive Alan Joyce reiterated that an optimised Airbus A350 and the Boeing 777-8 have been evaluated and confirmed as being able to fly nonstop between Sydney and London, albeit with some restrictions.
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Airports

ACI heralds new era for slot allocation at airports
ACI World, IATA and the Worldwide Airport Coordinators Group (WWACG) today announced the agreement of a new governance structure for the Worldwide Slot Guidelines (WSG).
Airport operators, airlines, and slot co-ordinators will now play an equal role in determining the global guidelines for the allocation of airport slots.
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Military

Insitu sells 34 ScanEagle drones to Southeast Asian countries
Insitu was awarded a $47.9 million contract to deliver 34 ScanEagle unmanned air vehicles (UAV) to Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam.
The tactical UAVs are expected to all be delivered by March 2022, according to a Department of Defense notice online.
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Boeing eyes international KC-46A, E-7 opportunities
Boeing is working on potential international deals related to its KC-46A tanker and the 737-based E-7 airborne early warning & control (AEW&C) aircraft.
The company has delivered 11 KC-46As to the US Air Force, and aims to have 18 delivered by the second quarter and “somewhere between 36 and 40 by the end of the year,” says Boeing vice-president Jeff Shockey, speaking with reporters in Singapore in late May.
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BAE sees Hawk upgrade as alternative to KL’s LCA plans
BAE Systems believes a Hawk upgrade is a cost effective way for the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) to address future attack requirements, as it eyes additional emerging opportunities.
Natasha Pheiffer, the company’s managing director in Asia, believes a Hawk upgrade is a viable alternative to the country’s plans to buy 36 fighters under its light combat aircraft competition.
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Aviation Quote

I belong to a group of men who fly alone. There is only one seat in the cockpit of a fighter airplane. There is no space alotted for another pilot to tune the radios in the weather or make the calls to air traffic control centers or to help with the emergency procedures or to call off the airspeed down final approach. There is no one else to break the solitude of a long cross-country flight. There is no one else to make decisions.
I do everything myself, from engine start to engine shutdown. In a war, I will face alone the missiles and the flak and the small-arms fire over the front lines.
If I die, I will die alone.

- Richard Bach, Stranger to the Ground, 1963.