NewsAccidents/Incidents
Woman Arrested For Boarding Flight With No Boarding Pass Twice
Reports have emerged of a Chicago woman who, last November, boarded two flights without documentation such as a boarding pass. These trespass incidents have highlighted serious safety concerns at O’Hare, where the woman was able to slip past security multiple times.
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Batik Air Airbus A320 Lands With Nose Gear Turned 90 Degrees
A Batik Air A320-200 suffered nose gear issues as it took off from Jambi, Indonesia. When the plane landed back nearly half an hour later due to the issue, the nose gear was found to have rotated 90° and ground down. Let’s find out more about this bizarre incident.
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NTSB Releases New Details About United Boeing 777 Incident
The United States National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released an update on Friday about the United Airlines Boeing 777 engine incident. In late February, the aircraft was climbing out of Denver International Airport (DEN) when the pilots throttled up the engines in anticipation of turbulence. Shortly after that, a loud bang and fire coming from the engine led the pilots to bring the plane back to Denver.
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Passenger Dies On Seattle-Bound Delta Air Lines Flight
Earlier this week, a passenger sadly died onboard a Delta Air Lines service to Seattle–Tacoma International Airport (SEA), Washington. The flight diverted to Sacramento International Airport (SMF), California, before continuing to Seattle later on in the evening of March 4th.
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Iran Air Fokker 100 Diverts Over Attempted Hijacking
On March 4th, an Iran Air Fokker 100 flying domestic service from Ahwaz to Mashad diverted to Isfahan after an attempted hijacking. The decision was made after security guards onboard managed to successfully neutralize the perpetrator. Sources note that the hijacker sought to divert the flight to the “southern shores of the Persian Gulf.”
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Air France 777 Vandalized At Paris Airport
An Air France Boeing 777 has been vandalized by environmental protesters at Paris’ Charles De Gaulle Airport. A group of activists from Greenpeace bypassed security at the facility and gained access to the location of the Boeing 777, then proceeded to spray paint the aircraft green.
LinkCommercial
The Rise Of The Airbus A321 Family
The A321, along with newer options of the A321neo and the A321LR, are a vital part of the A320 family. It is a popular aircraft with many airlines operating both short and medium-range routes. This article takes a look at the specifics of the A321 and how it has been so successful with its higher capacity and increasing range.
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US And EU Agree To Suspend Aircraft Tariffs For Four Months
The United States and the European Union agreed this week to suspend all retaliatory tariffs exports between the two imposed in the Airbus and Boeing disputes for a period of four months. This move will allow both parties to concentrate on resolving the ongoing trade dispute between the pair.
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Why Did Airbus Build The A318 Baby Bus?
The Airbus A318 is the European manufacturer’s smallest commercial aircraft flying today by length. It measures just 31.44 meters long, but why is it so small? And why did Airbus choose to build it in the first place? Let’s take a closer look at the story of the ‘Baby Bus.’
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CRAIC Plans 3 Versions Of Its New Widebody: The 'CR929’
The vast majority of modern airliner families feature more than one variant of the aircraft in question. This gives operators greater flexibility in tailoring their fleet to their specific needs by choosing variants that best correspond to them. Whether an airline favors range or capacity in a particular airliner family, there will generally be a variant that suits them. The upcoming CRAIC CR929 is also set to have multiple variants, but how do they differ?
LinkAirlines
FedEx Commits To Carbon-Neutral Operations By 2040
FedEx announced this week that it is looking to achieve carbon–neutral operations globally within the next two decades. To help reach this ambitious target, the cargo powerhouse is designating over $2 billion of initial investment in three key segments. These areas are vehicle electrification, sustainable energy, and carbon sequestration.
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EgyptAir Is Looking To Replace Air Sinai On Cairo To Tel Aviv Flights
EgyptAir is planning to be more open about its service between Cairo and Tel Aviv. Presently the airline runs a flight to Israel via its low-key subsidiary, Air Sinai. However, that may soon change as Egyptair has submitted a request to operate Tel Aviv – Cairo flights under its own brand. This comes on the heels of a number of several Middle Eastern nations ‘normalizing’ relations with Israel.
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US Airlines To Get Another $14 Billion In Government Aid
The United States Senate passed a stimulus package on March 6th that will include another $14 billion for airlines under the Payroll Support Program (PSP). The support package will preclude airlines from laying off or furloughing additional workers through the fall and keep people employed.
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Bulgaria's GullivAir Receives Permission To Operate A330 Flights To The US
Bulgarian startup airline GullivAir was this week awarded permission to fly scheduled and chartered flights to the United States by the US Department of Transportation. The DOT documentation reveals that the carrier intends to fly three weekly flights out of the capital of Bulgaria, Sofia, to New York’s JFK airport.
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After 30 Years Singapore Airlines Flies The Boeing 737 Again
Previously operated by Singapore Airlines (SIA) decades ago, the 737 as an aircraft type will once again operate under the carrier’s brand and livery. Up until now, the Southeast Asian airline had delegated much of its low-demand, short-haul operations to subsidiary airline Silkair.
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The Impressive Rise Of Amazon Air
Search the news for Amazon Air, and you’ll find a number of stories regarding expansions and aircraft acquisitions. Formerly known as Amazon Prime Air, the growth of the eCommerce site Amazon and its dedicated fleet of aircraft is indeed nothing short of impressive.
LinkAirports
Mumbai Airport Terminal One Reopens Soon – What To Expect
Mumbai Airport’s Terminal 1 will reopen on Monday after nearly a year. The move comes as passenger traffic continues to rise and airlines look for more operating area. The opening may also point to Mumbai allowing more flights to operate in the coming months, even though cases are on the rise in the city again.
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London Gatwick to introduce vehicle drop off fees from Monday
It is not going to be popular, but London’s Gatwick Airport is to go ahead with its decision to introduce a £5 charge for vehicles dropping off passengers directly outside its North Terminal.
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Hygiene and customer service remain top priorities for airports
ACI World today revealed the results of its annual Airport Service Quality (ASQ) customer excellence survey, with 33 airports picking up ‘hygiene’ awards in the programme which was modified for 2020 to take into account the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the airport industry’s response to it.
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Aviation Quote
Why does every plane have two pilots? Really, you only need one pilot. Let's take out the second pilot. Let the bloody computer fly it.
- Michael O'Leary, Ryanair CEO, regards eliminating co-pilots in airline operations. Interview in Bloomberg Businessweek, 2 September 2010
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Trivia
General Trivia
1. Why do some pilots in the Navy’s Blue Angels recommend that their guest passengers (members of the media, et cetera) eat bananas before a demonstration flight?
2. In what motion picture did the star of the movie say, “Now, I don’t propose to sit on a flagpole or swallow goldfish. I’m not a stuntman; I’m a flier.”
3. In 1935, Cosby Harrison crashed his Swallow while flying in stormy weather. What well-known aviation business was begun as a result of his accident?
4. What was the first airline to offer transcontinental passenger service, and what type of aircraft was used?
5. Pilots know that temperature generally decreases with altitude in the troposphere. Why does it increase with altitude in the stratosphere?
6. The Lockheed L–1011 was the first airliner to incorporate direct lift control. What is DLC?
