Troubled JAL seeks government bailout Japan Airlines President Haruka Nishimatsu yesterday asked Seiji Maehara, Japan's new transport minister, for a government bailout, conceding that even a cash infusion from a foreign investor likely won't be enough to keep the troubled carrier afloat. Link
Boeing begins 787 mods; Oman Air wavers on order Boeing said it has started making the upper wing join area fix on the first flight test 787 and the static test Dreamliner to address the structural weakness identified in June that led to the program's latest delay. Link
Aer Lingus looks to relieve long-haul burden An Aer Lingus source confirmed to ATWOnline that the airline's ambitious cost-cutting plan is targeting "every single part of the company," especially its long-haul operations. Link
AVIC, Safran unite to offer component programs on Chinese aircraft AVIC this week strengthened its international OEM relationships with the announcement of a significant agreement with Safran covering the design, production and support of landing gear systems and engine nacelles that also will pave the way for extensive Franco-Chinese cooperation on China's C919 150-seat commercial transport. Link
Emirates ponders resurrection of stalled Airbus A350 XWB order Emirates is evaluating whether to revive a stalled deal announced last year for up to 60 Airbus widebodies, including 30 A350 XWBs. Link
SA Airlink JS41 at Durban lost height after takeoff and impacted school fence A South African Airlink Jetstream 41, registration ZS-NRM performing positioning flight SA-8911 from Durban to Pietermaritzburg (South Africa) with 3 crew, lost height after takeoff from runway 06 and impacted a primary school fence at about 08:00 local (06:00Z) outside regular school hours. 4 people, amongst them a woman working on the ground at the school perimeter, have been airlifted to local hospitals, the captain with critical, the other 3 with serious injuries. Link
Other News
China expects to secure the launch customer(s) for the new C919 large commercial aircraft sometime in the first half of 2010, Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China Marketing Director Chen Jin told reporters at this week's Aviation Expo/China event in Beijing. "A lot of airlines and aircraft leasing companies have applied to be the launch customer for the C919, but since launch customers can get a favorable price, the number of launch customers is limited," Chen said. He said the initial order could number as many as 90 aircraft. The C919 is targeted mainly at filling domestic needs, although CACC also hopes to explore the overseas market. Its inaugural flight is expected in 2014, with entry into service scheduled for 2016.
Ryanair yesterday said it now expects to carry 66 million passengers this year rather than 67 million owing to its cuts at London Stansted (ATWOnline, July 22) and Dublin (ATWOnline, June 18). At yesterday's annual general meeting in Dublin, CEO Michael O'Leary maintained the full-year guidance of an adjusted net profit at the lower end of the €200-€300 million ($295.8-$443.7 million) range and said average fares in 2009 will wind up about 20% lower than 2008.
O'Leary also said Ryanair is prepared to increase its investment in struggling Irish flag carrier Aer Lingus, although a third bid for EI is "highly unlikely." He said, "I do think Aer Lingus will need a major reorganization," according to Reuters and RTE (see story above). "They will come back to the existing shareholders which would be the government, the trade unions and Ryanair, presumably to raise some more money. We'd be happy to invest more money in Aer Lingus," in which it holds about 29%. "I can't foresee circumstances in which we would be interested in bidding again, but you never say never," he said. "I don't believe Aer Lingus has a future as a standalone independent airline." He also said Ryanair is 3-4 years away from being able to launch a long-haul subsidiary. "While the market or orders for short-haul aircraft has collapsed for both Boeing and Airbus, the long-haul order book has held up," he said.
Alitalia has sufficient funds to support its operations through next year and does not need new capital, CEO Rocco Sabelli told a parliamentary transport committee. "Alitalia has been stabilized. It has moved from the recovery room to another room where it will complete its rehabilitation," Chairman Roberto Colaninno said, according to Dow Jones. Sabelli reportedly said that AZ is focused on shoring up its Rome Fiumicino operation and solidifying its position at secondary and tertiary airports where LCCs have eaten into its market share.
Jet Airways said it received shareholder approval to raise up to $400 million through private share placements, global depository receipts or foreign currency convertible bonds, according to a filing with the Bombay Stock Exchange cited by numerous press reports.
Pace Airlines CEO William Charles Rodgers was arrested Tuesday and charged with one count of willful failure to pay group health insurance premiums. North Carolina officials alleged that Rodgers terminated the policy without providing required notice to Pace's 337 employees. Pace is a charter carrier based in Winston-Salem and operated 17 Boeing aircraft, according to its website. The Winston-Salem Journal reported that the airline laid off or furloughed at least 275 employees in the past two weeks, announced a 90-day suspension of charter operations and owes nearly $900,000 in airport lease payments. It also said Continental Airlines terminated a maintenance agreement that was set to run through 2010.
DHL Express introduced two new 767ERFs into its fleet. Aircraft are operated by DHL Air (UK) on flights from Nottingham East Midlands and Leipzig to New York JFK and Cincinnati. A third new 767ERF will enter into service on the EMA-CVG route next month, with three more joining the DHL fleet by 2013. The aircraft will replace shared capacity on MD-11Fs secured through a joint venture with Lufthansa Cargo. They offer payload capacity of 59 tons.
Lufthansa took delivery of its first E-195 that will be operated by its CityLine subsidiary. LH took over an order for 30 E-Jets by Swiss International Air Lines when it acquired the carrier (ATWOnline, April 18, 2007). The first six are flying with Air Dolomiti (ATWOnline, Jan. 23). The new E-195 is configured for 116 passengers in two classes with a moveable divider. It will be based in Munich.
Embraer said it plans to raise an unspecified amount of money through an offering of a series of notes due 2020 to global capital markets through its Embraer Overseas subsidiary. Proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes and repayment of short-term debt. Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley are book-running underwriters.
US Dept. of Transportation and National Air Traffic Controllers Assn. are expected to sign a new labor agreement today following an affirmative ratification vote by union members. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said the vote "marks a new day between the controllers and the FAA."
CSA Czech Airlines will cease operating from Prague to both New York JFK and Manchester, UK, during its winter schedule and will reduce frequencies to London Heathrow, Riga and Hamburg. Flights will be added to Moscow Sheremetyevo, Yekaterinburg, Yerevan, Rostov-on-Don, Tbilisi and Minsk.
Emirates now is scheduled to launch its previously postponed Dubai-Luanda service on Oct. 18. Route will be operated thrice-weekly with a 777-300ER.
SkyWest Airlines and Atlantic Southeast Airlines flew 1.67 billion RPMs in August, up 8.5% year-over-year, against a 5.7% increase in capacity to 2.05 billion ASMs. Load factor rose 2.1 points to 81.5%.
Hawaiian Airlines flew 734.8 million RPMs in August, a 7.3% lift year-over-year. Capacity was up 3.2% to 860.1 million ASMs and load factor rose 3.3 points to 85.4%.
Republic Airways Holdings airlines flew 1.07 billion RPMs in August, a 14.7% increase year-over-year. Capacity rose 13.3% to 1.36 billion ASMs, lifting load factor 1 point to 78.5%.
Allegiant Air flew 383.3 million RPMs in August, up 45.8% year-over-year, while capacity climbed 50.9% to 425.2 million ASMs. Load factor slipped 3.2 points to 90.2%.
Pratt & Whitney announced maintenance contracts with El Al and Martinair. El Al deal is a $70 million, five-year Fleet Management Program extension covering PW4060s on its 767s and 747-400s, plus a five-year option. Martinair signed a 10-year service agreement covering its PW4056, PW4060 and PW4462 engines. No value was announced.
Lufthansa Technik signed a three-year contract with Vietnam Airlines for MRO on the PW124s powering seven ATR 72-200s and the PW127s on up to 16 ATR 72-500s. LHT also extended its deal with VN covering APU MRO on its A321s until mid-2010.
Air France Industries and KLM Engineering & Maintenance signed a Total Care Support contract with Midex Airlines of Abu Dhabi covering its 747-200F.
AVIATION QUOTE
Each test pilot I know considers him, or herself, now that there are women, to be the very best. It's very demeaning to step down the ladder once in a while.
Wally Schirra
AEROSPACE TERM
Goodness Of Fit
The degree to which the observed frequencies of occurrence of events in an experiment correspond to the probabilities in a model of the experiment.
DAILY VIDEO
HUMOR
Rules Of The Air
1. Every takeoff is optional. Every landing is mandatory. 2. If you push the stick forward, the houses get bigger. If you pull the stick back, they get smaller. That is, unless you keep pulling the stick all the way back, then they get bigger again. 3. Flying isn't dangerous. Crashing is what's dangerous. 4. It's always better to be down here wishing you were up there than up there wishing you were down here. 5. The ONLY time you have too much fuel is when you're on fire. 6. The propellor is just a big fan in front of the plane used to keep the pilot cool. When it stops, you can actually watch the pilot start sweating. 7. When in doubt, hold on to your altitude. No-one has ever collided with the sky. 8. A 'good' landing is one from which you can walk away. A 'great' landing is one after which they can use the plane again. 9. Learn from the mistakes of others. You won't live long enough to make all of them yourself. 10. You know you've landed with the wheels up if it takes full power to taxi to the ramp. 11. The probability of survival is inversely proportional to the angle of arrival. Large angle of arrival, small probability of survival and vice versa. 12. Never let an aircraft take you somewhere your brain didn't get to five minutes earlier. 13. Stay out of clouds. The silver lining everyone keeps talking about might be another airplane going in the opposite direction. Reliable sources also report that mountains have been known to hide out in clouds. 14. Always try to keep the number of landings you make equal to the number of take offs you've made. 15. There are three simple rules for making a smooth landing. Unfortunately no one knows what they are. 16. You start with a bag full of luck and an empty bag of experience. The trick is to fill the bag of experience before you empty the bag of luck. 17. Helicopters can't fly; they're just so ugly the earth repels them. 18. If all you can see out of the window is ground that's going round and round and all you can hear is commotion coming from the passenger compartment, things are not at all as they should be. 19. In the ongoing battle between objects made of aluminum going hundreds of miles per hour and the ground going zero miles per hour, the ground has yet to lose. 20. Good judgment comes from experience. Unfortunately, the experience usually comes from bad judgment. 21. It's always a good idea to keep the pointy end going forward as much as possible. 22. Keep looking around. There's always something you've missed. 23. Remember, gravity is not just a good idea. It's the law. And it's not subject to repeal. 24. The three most useless things to a pilot are the altitude above you, runway behind you, and a tenth of a second ago. 25. There are old pilots and there are bold pilots. There are, however, no old bold pilots.
TRIVIA
Aerobats
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Ideology: The mistaken belief that your beliefs are neither beliefs nor mistaken.
