NAS Daily 10 JUL 19

airtrainer 09 Jul 19, 23:33

News

Commercial

FAA orders AOA vane upgrades for Boeing 757, 767, 727
Reports of nuisance stall warnings triggered by frozen angle-of-attack (AOA) vanes has led FAA to mandate replacement of the parts on Boeing 757s, 767s and 727s. FAA, in a notice of proposed rulemaking set for publication July 9, is proposing a 36-month window for replacing affected AOA vanes—a shorter time period than Boeing recommended in alert service bulletins that target each model. Boeing issued the bulletins in the last six months.
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Boeing 1H commercial deliveries fall 37%
Boeing delivered 90 aircraft in the second quarter and 239 in the first half of 2019, as the 737 MAX grounding and related delivery suspension cut into the manufacturer’s totals. MAX deliveries were halted in mid-March following the second fatal 737 MAX 8 accident in five months. Boeing’s commercial 737 deliveries totaled 113 in the first half of the year, a 58% drop from 2018’s six-month total of 269.
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AVIC looks to roll out first MA700 prototype in September
The Aviation Industry Corp. of China (AVIC) has completed the forward fuselage section for the static test airframe of the MA700 turboprop airliner, as the program works toward rolling out the first prototype in September. The manufacturing schedule has slipped by three months since 2018, when AVIC planned to roll out the prototype of the 78-seat aircraft in June 2019.
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Single-aisle deals push Airbus into positive net orders
Airbus has broken into positive net orders for the first time this year, ending the first half with a figure of 88 aircraft.
It recorded gross orders for 145 aircraft during the month, with the largest agreement – for 36 A321neo and A320neo jets – allocated to an unidentified customer.
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ANALYSIS: Asia-Pacific Deliveries Report June 2019
Airlines in the Asia-Pacific took delivery of 35 of the 110 commercial airliners delivered globally in June 2019, followed North American airlines with 25 and European airlines with 25.
Asia-Pacific deliveries were down 17 aircraft from 52 in May, and sharply down from 69 in June 2018, according to Cirium's Fleets Analyzer.
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CR929 targets airlines in Southeast Asia, Middle East
The CRAIC CR929 widebody programme has received “commitments” from airlines in Russia and China, and is pitching itself to airlines farther afield.
United Aircraft, one of the partners in the CRAIC, confirms with FlightGlobal that it is “working with” airlines in Russia and China that have widebodies in their fleet.
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Airlines

Singapore Airlines to inspect four oldest A380s for wing spars cracks
Singapore Airlines (SIA) will inspect four Airbus A380s following proposed airworthiness directives (ADs) published July 5 by Airbus and EASA.
The AD calls for detailed checks for cracks on the A380 wing outer rear spars, from the 25 oldest wing sets, and requires detailed inspections of the affected areas, using phased-array ultrasonic testing methods for the external wing box and ultrasonic testing methods for the internal wing box.
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Lufthansa to shift more A380s from Frankfurt to Munich
Lufthansa will base two additional Airbus A380s at its Munich hub from 2020.
The move will boost the Munich-based A380 fleet to seven aircraft and will evenly split the total fleet between Munich and Frankfurt, the airline’s main hub. In Munich, the two additional aircraft are to be operated on daily roundtrips to San Francisco and Boston, the airline said July 9.
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FedEx Express adds Miami-Colombia service
FedEx Express has launched a new cargo service between Miami and the Colombian cities of Bogota and Medellin.
The 6X-weekly Boeing 767F flight aims to boost the export of perishable goods from Colombia via the FedEx Gateway facility at Miami International Airport, the company said.
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EasyJet to add three routes from Manchester base
UK LCC easyJet will launch three new routes this winter from Manchester to Hurghada, Egypt; Rovaniemi, Lapland (Finland); and Verona, Italy.
The new destinations add to recent growth at Manchester, where the airline has added 12 new routes in the past year, easyJet said.
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CASA finds no safety issues at Australia’s Regional Express
A month-long review of Australia’s Regional Express (Rex) by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) turned up nothing to suggest the operator is unsafe, the regulator said.
The audit that led to CASA’s July 6 public statement was triggered by allegations from a former Rex engineer and his union that the airline pressured its maintenance staff to overlook safety issues.
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ANA widebody deliveries boost international services
All Nippon Airways (ANA) continues to upgrade its widebody fleet as the Japanese carrier recently took delivery of two Airbus A380, Boeing 787-10 and 777F aircraft for international passenger and freight services.
ANA’s first 787-10 entered service April 26 on its Tokyo Narita-Singapore route. The second -10 was delivered at the end of June and began operating the Narita-Bangkok route this month.
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Norwegian cuts two transatlantic routes, trims 10 to seasonal
LCC Norwegian will discontinue two transatlantic routes, switch 10 from a year-round to a seasonal basis and move others from Oakland International Airport to San Francisco International as it tries to shore up its balance sheet.
The moves, announced July 8, came the same day as financial analysts said it is becoming increasingly likely the airline will have to raise more equity within the next year.
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Qatar firms order for five 777Fs
Qatar Airways has converted into a firm order what had been a letter of intent to purchase five Boeing 777 Freighters.
The US White House announced the news in a statement saying the airline purchased the Boeing aircraft and committed to buy "large cabin" aircraft manufactured by business jet maker Gulfstream.
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PICTURE: Azores receives first A321LR
Portuguese operator Azores Airlines has taken delivery of its first long-range Airbus A321LR, one of three destined for the carrier's fleet.
The aircraft (CS-TSH) is powered by CFM International Leap-1A engines.
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Airports

New trial at Edinburgh Airport will improve passenger experience
Wouldn’t it be easier to check your luggage in before you get to the airport to avoid the unnecessary stress? At Edinburgh Airport you can now check baggage in the night before you travel for a more seamless journey.
A new luggage pick-up service being trialled at Edinburgh Airport will allow passengers to check-in their bags the night before their flight.
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Traffic records continue to tumble at Milan Malpensa
Traffic records continue to tumble at Milan-Malpensa Airport (MXP), with the Italian gateway now having delivered 48 consecutive months of passenger growth.
In the rolling 12-month period ending June 30, the SEA operated gateway handled 25.7 million passengers.
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Military

Boeing reassures it’s still in the Canadian fighter competition
After a news report that said it might pull out of Canada’s fighter competition, Boeing says it’s still participating in the process and hasn’t made any final decisions.
Boeing and Airbus, which are respectively offering Ottawa the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and the Eurofighter Typhoon, have complained in letters to Canada’s Department of National Defence that its procurement competition is unfairly favouring Lockheed Martin’s F-35A Lightning II stealth fighter, according to a report by Reuters.
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Aviation Quote

I was engaged in what I believe to be the most thrilling industry in the world—aviation. My heart still leaps when I see a tiny two-seater plane soaring gracefully through the sky. Our great airlines awe me. Yet I know they were not produced in a day or a decade.

- William A. "Pat" Patterson, CEO United Airlines.