NAS Daily 06 SEP 19

airtrainer 06 Sep 19, 03:14

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News

Commercial

Airbus deliveries reach 500 at eight-month mark
Airbus reached exactly 500 deliveries over the first eight months of 2019, an increase of 66 on the same point last year.
The airframer handed over 42 aircraft during August, usually regarded as a holiday period for the company.
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CFM sustains LEAP-1B production despite MAX impact
CFM International is maintaining LEAP-1B engine production at its current level despite the financial impact of the Boeing 737 MAX situation. The GE-Safran joint venture is following Boeing’s requirement and betting on a ramp-up in the medium term, Safran CEO Philippe Petitcolin said. To ensure the manufacturer produces 42 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft per month, CFM is delivering 23 engines per week, which includes original equipment and spares, Petitcolin said during a Sept. 5 conference ...
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IATA: Air freight demand continues to drop on trade tensions
Global demand for air freight dropped 3.2% in July, marking the ninth consecutive month of year-on-year (YOY) volume declines as weak global trade and the intensifying trade dispute between the US and China take their toll.
According to IATA, data released Sept. 5 shows that while demand, measured in FTKs, fell 3.2%; capacity (AFTKs) rose 2.6% YOY. This means capacity growth has outstripped demand for nine months in a row
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Antonov warns Ilyushin on branding of revamped An-124
Antonov has raised an objection against any use of its brand to designate a revamped variant of the An-124 heavy transport that is being developed by Ilyushin.
In a statement, published on its website, Antonov acknowledges the need for continued modernisation of the outsize freighter to prolong its service life, and pays tribute to its Russian peer for conducting the work on its own.
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ANALYSIS: Boeing works to complete 777 bridge sales
This week’s order from KLM for two Boeing 777-300ERs is the first announced this year for the current version of the airliner, and comes as production transitions to the new-generation 777X. It is unclear how many additional production “bridge” aircraft remain to be sold, but Boeing is working on additional campaigns as the sun sets on the -300ER.
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Airlines

The Last Ever American Airlines MD-80 Flight: Is The Golden Age Of Flying Behind Us?
Today marks the last revenue flight of the classic McDonnell Douglas MD-80 at American Airlines: the fittingly numbered AA80 from Dallas to Chicago. It’s the end of an era. American at one point not too long ago had hundreds of these in its fleet crisscrossing the US, mostly on shorter domestic flights.
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Aigle Azur to cancel all flights as buyers are sought
French leisure airline Aigle Azur said it will cancel all flight operations as it seeks buyers after entering receivership.
“Aigle Azur confirms the cancellation of all its flights from Saturday, Sept. 7, 2019. The company’s employees were informed of this measure this afternoon,” the carrier said Sept. 5.
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Emirates Airline makes top management changes
Emirates Airline has promoted two long-time management team members to top leadership positions as president Tim Clark indicated he will stay in his position for longer.
The airline named Adel Al Redha as its new COO and Adnan Kazim as its new chief commercial officer. Sheikh Majid Al Mualla is running the company’s government affairs operation as divisional SVP-international affairs.
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Mesa Airlines agrees to buy 100 Mitsubishi SpaceJet M100 aircraft
Phoenix-based Mesa Air Group signed an MOU with Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp. (MITAC) Sept. 5 to enter negotiations to buy 100 SpaceJet M100 aircraft.
The new agreement, which targets 50 firm orders and purchase rights for an additional 50 aircraft, was signed during the Regional Airline Association (RAA) annual convention Sept. 5 in Nashville, Tennessee.
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AirBaltic delays 737 phaseout to fill Nordica gap
Latvian hub-and-spoke carrier airBaltic will retain four Boeing 737s for summer 2020, delaying a planned November 2019 phaseout following Estonian rival Nordica’s decision to withdraw from its own scheduled services. Riga-based airBaltic, which currently operates 19 Airbus A220s, eight Boeing 737s and 12 Bombardier Q400s, is in the process of transitioning to an all-A220 fleet.
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China Eastern 1H profit down 14.8% as costs increase
China Eastern Airlines posted a first-half net income of CNY2 billion ($28 million), down 14.8% from CNY2.35 billion in the year-ago period, as increased fuel costs, fluctuating currency rates and global trade disputes increased expenses.
Revenue was up 8% year-over-year (YOY) to CNY58.8 billion, but expenses rose 9.3% to CNY52.2 billion. On top of a 9% hike in fuel costs, airport landing fees rose 10.5% and employee costs were up 13.9% as the carrier’s network and staff grew.
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Cathay Pacific to buy Boeing 777-9 simulator
Textron subsidiary TRU Simulation + Training will provide a Boeing 777-9 full flight simulator (FFS) and two other flight training devices to Hong Kong flag carrier Cathay Pacific Airways, TRU announced Sept. 4.
Under the agreement, TRU will supply the Boeing 777-9 FFS, an Airbus A320neo FFS, and a 777-9 flight training device.
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Avianca Holdings receives $50 million in financial aid
Colombia’s Avianca Holdings has received a short-term loan of $50 million from Kingsland Holdings, which is expected to strengthen the company’s working capital position while executing its debt re-profiling.
Kingsland Holdings is an Avianca Holdings stakeholder.
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EU set to extend Brexit air service contingency period
Contingency agreements to maintain basic air connectivity between the UK and the European Union are set to be extended by seven months as uncertainty remains over the UK's withdrawal from the EU.
The contingency was put in place earlier this year in order to ensure that essential transport connections for aviation remained in place until 30 March 2020.
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KrasAvia becomes latest to sign for Il-114-300s
Russian operator KrasAvia has revealed that it is looking to acquire Ilyushin Il-114-300s, following the decision to restart production of the turboprop type.
The Il-114-300 is a modernised version of the Il-114 which had a limited production run following its development in the 1990s.
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Airports

Russian authorities to probe airports' exposure to bird risk
Russian authorities are proposing to assess airports' vulnerability to bird activity, in the wake of the Ural Airlines Airbus A321 landing accident outside Moscow.
The aircraft came down in a field shortly after departing Moscow Zhukovsky on 15 August.
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China Southern confirms first flight from Daxing
China Southern Airlines’ first flight out of Beijing Daxing International airport is likely to take place around 20 September, days ahead of the airport’s scheduled opening date.
The carrier states on Chinese social networking site Wechat that it plans to launch its first Guangzhou-bound flights around that period.
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Kraków to expand terminal and revamp commercial offerings
Kraków John Paul II International Airport has appointed London-based design specialists The Design Solution (TDS) to transform the commercial spaces in its terminal.
Over the past decade the airport has been one of the fastest-growing regional airports in Europe and has developed an ambitious Master Plan for its long-term development.
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Sydney Airport celebrates the arrival of its one billionth passenger
Sydney Airport celebrates one billion passengers, but the demand for travel may see the two billion passenger milestone reached within the next 20 years.
Sydney Airport has marked an historic milestone in the lead up to its Centenary, welcoming the arrival of its one billionth passenger.
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Schiphol aims to promote sustainable active transport commuting
Amsterdam Airport Schiphol and the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management plan to invest in safe, swift and sustainable modes of commuting.
Amsterdam Airport Schiphol has announced its aim to increase the number of its employees who cycle to work. In order to make this a reality, the ‘goinGDutch’ bicycling programme has been developed.
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Military

US Army asks for FLRAA conceptual designs
The US Army is soliciting conceptual designs for its Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA), opening the competition to replace the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk.
In the first phase of the competitive demonstration and risk reduction process, industry participants are asked to submit an initial aircraft conceptual design. That includes “technical documentation to support the design, requirements decompositions, trade studies, and requirements feasibility,” says the US Army in a 3 September online post.
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Philippine set to receive two Jordanian AH-1s in 2020
The Philippine air force looks set to receive two Bell AH-1 Cobra attack helicopters donated by Jordan in early 2020.
The delivery had apparently been planned for this month, but training the crews for the rotorcraft has delayed this, according to the government-owned Philippines News Agency.
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Poland offered transformed W-3 Sokol
Leonardo’s PZL Swidnik subsidiary has detailed plans to develop a next-generation multi-role helicopter based on its legacy W-3 Sokol platform.
Developed in conjunction with other Polish companies and research and development centres, the design features new main rotorblades and a digital avionics suite including glass cockpit avionics, head-up displays, a synthetic vision system and night-vision goggle compatibility.
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PZL Mielec aims new weapons pylon at Black Hawk users
PZL Mielec used the MSPO show in Kielce to unveil its Wasp product – an armed pylon station update for Sikorsky’s UH-60/S-70i Black Hawk family.
Designed and built by Polish engineers, the single-station pylon can be mounted without structural modifications to the rotorcraft. It has been created as a lighter and cheaper alternative to Sikorsky’s dual-station external stores support system (ESSS).
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Aviation Quote

You are professionals trained to deal with three things that can kill you: gravity, combustion, and inertia. Keep them under control, and you'll die in bed.

- Sailor Davis, long-time TWA ground school instructor.