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NEWS

British Airways cabin crew to strike for seven days this month
British Airways cabin crew represented by Unite announced Friday that members will strike for seven days this month, March 20-22 and March 27-30, and vowed that further industrial action could take place after April 14 "if the dispute has not been resolved."
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Gol swings to $504 million 2009 profit with reoriented network
Gol reported net income of BRL890.8 million ($504.2 million) for 2009, reversed from a BRL1.2 billion deficit in 2008, attributing its profitability to "synergies" created by the merger of Gol's and Varig's operations at the end of 2008 and its transformation into an efficient 737NG operator organized around a short-haul South American network that it believes appeals to Brazil's growing middle class.
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AA contends with FAA's proposed fines, unhappy unions
American Airlines faces growing problems on two fronts as US FAA announced Friday it is seeking to collect civil penalties totaling $787,500 from the carrier for maintenance violations and its ground workers became the second labor group to ask the National Mediation Board for a release from talks that could lead to a work action.
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Oman Air finding its niche
Oman Air realizes that it is better to remain a "unique boutique airline, rather than to compete against Emirates and company," CEO Peter Hill said at ITB Berlin.
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Carter Confirms JSF Unit Price Nearly Doubled
The average per unit cost of the Lockheed Martin Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) has substantially increased, from $50 million to up to $95 million, Pentagon acquisition chief Ashton Carter told senators March 11 on Capitol Hill. In today’s dollars, the per unit cost is estimated to be $112 million per unit.
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IAE partners still grappling with engine offering for new narrowbodies
Pratt & Whitney stands ready to break away from its current partners in the International Aero Engines (IAE) consortium and offer its geared turbofan engine to airframers examining possible re-engined and new design aircraft if it fails to reach consensus with its three IAE collaborators on a new product offering.
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Other News

Air China announced plans to raise more than $953 million through a share issue. It will issue up to 585 million new A shares to "10 specific investors" at CNY9.58 ($1.40) per share and 157 million new H shares to a subsidiary of parent company China National Aviation Holding priced at HK$6.62 per share ($0.85). The state-owned parent will subscribe directly to 157 million of the A shares for CNY1.5 billion. CA said the net proceeds from the A share issue will be CNY5.6 billion and will go toward working capital expenditure and its acquisition of a stake in Air China Cargo. Proceeds from the H share issue will be HK$1.04 billion, it said.

ARC reported that ticket sales through participating travel agencies totaled $6.22 billion in February, up a healthy 16.8% over February 2009 and a 4.5% rise over January 2010, "accelerating seasonal expectations." Credit card sales, representing the bulk of agency sales, soared 19% year-over-year to $5.56 billion. Total fares excluding taxes and fees grew 17.5% to $5.22 billion. Domestic fares climbed 15.8% to $2.73 billion on a 12.3% rise in transactions, while international fares were up 19.5% to $2.49 billion on a 9.4% gain in transactions.

Air Berlin CEO Joachim Hunold said in the German capital that the carrier is focused on European expansion and increasing transfer traffic at Berlin Tegel, especially to destinations in Italy and Spain, as it looks toward the opening of the new Berlin Brandenburg International next year. "We are already optimizing our hub structure at Tegel for the summer of 2010, with the aim of generating even more transfer options and further growth in passenger numbers in Berlin," he said. AB is targeting more than 6,000 weekly connections to/from TXL with 22 aircraft operating in six waves each day.

Another source close to the carrier told this website that it already has secured check-in areas at the new airport that will help it increase the number of Berlin transfer passengers from the current 3%-4% to the low double-digits. Hunold said AB already has proven it can run a low-cost hub operation at Palma, where it operates 322 weekly flights and holds a market share of 31%. He said it has not been contacted by any of the three major alliances regarding membership and is focused on strengthening its European network and leveraging its relationships with TUIfly and its Austrian partner Niki.

SAS Group announced formal agreements with eight unions representing flight and cabin crew that will save the company around SEK500 million ($70.1 million) per year and that satisfy "one of the conditions for participation by its major shareholders in the rights issue." The airline and the unions signed a letter of intent in February and the governments of Denmark, Norway and Sweden were waiting on a final deal before committing to a SEK5 billion capital increase. SAS said it now has achieved SEK7.8 billion in savings under the Core SAS program.

Thai Airways unveiled a fleet plan designed to accommodate "increased competition over the next five years as well as open skies in Asia and various regions worldwide" and growing customer expectations. Through 2014 it plans to phase out six 747-400s, 10 A300-600s, four A340-500s, three 737-400s and two ATR 72s. It will take delivery of three A330-300s and six A380-800s during the same timeframe and said it plans to acquire an additional seven 300-seat planes for use on regional routes and eight 350-seat aircraft for intercontinental operations to Los Angeles and Scandinavia. From 2015 through 2019, Thai said it will phase out an additional 32 aircraft and add at least 38, and from 2020 through 2024 it will phase out 20 and add no fewer than 28.

Aer Lingus applied to the US Port Director at Shannon to commence using the Customs and Border Protection facility for flights to New York JFK from early May. EI said it might extend the service to other US cities following the initial trial phase. It currently flies to JFK and Boston from SNN. British Airways' all-premium A318 flight from London City to JFK uses SNN's US customs and immigration pre-clearance facility.

Aeronautical Repair Station Assn. warned that a provision in both the US House and Senate FAA reauthorization bills "will prevent Canadian [Approved Maintenance Organizations] from performing maintenance" on aircraft operated by US airlines. In a letter to Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood and FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt, ARSA Executive Director Sarah MacLeod noted that the provision requires "individuals performing work on air carrier aircraft to be employed by the FAA-certificated carriers, FAA-certificated Part 145 repair stations or employed by and working under the direct supervision and control of a contract maintenance company possessing these certifications." This contradicts the longstanding US-Canada Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement that recognizes "that certification granted to a Canadian [AMO] by Transport Canada is the equivalent to the FAA approval," she stated. ARSA noted that many Canadian AMOs are "actually subsidiaries of US companies." It warned that Canada likely will retaliate against US MRO providers should the provision become law.

US Airways will launch service from Charlotte to Ottawa (daily from May 31 aboard an Air Wisconsin CRJ200), Los Cabos and Puerto Vallarta (each daily from June 5 aboard an A319), and from Philadelphia to Halifax (thrice-daily from June 1 aboard an Air Wisconsin CRJ200).

British Airways will resume six-times-weekly London City-Barcelona service at the end of March, becoming daily in May. New flights from LCY to Majorca and Ibiza will begin in May.

Lufthansa will launch six-times-weekly Dusseldorf-Edinburg service on April 26.

American Eagle Airlines will launch twice-daily service from Dallas/Fort Worth to Augusta and Fayetteville on June 10.

Air France KLM said that poor weather and last month's four-day air traffic controllers strike had an estimated €22 million ($30 million) impact on revenue. The company flew 13.98 billion RPKs in February, down 0.6% year-over-year, against a 5% drop in capacity to 17.99 billion ASKs. Load factor rose 3.5 points to 77.7%.

British Airways flew 7.79 billion RPKs in February, a 1.1% increase year-over-year. Capacity was cut 1.9% to 10.51 billion ASKs, lifting load factor 2.2 points to 74.2%.

SAS Group airlines flew 1.68 billion RPKs in February, down 3.1% year-over year, while capacity fell 10.2% to 2.52 billion ASKs. Load factor was up 5 points to 66.9%. SAS Scandinavian Airlines flew 1.55 billion RPKs, down 3.3%, against a 10.8% cut in capacity to 2.29 billion ASKs. Load factor rose 5.2 points to 67.7%.

Ryanair transported 4.4 million passengers in February, a 6% increase year-over-year. Load factor dropped 3 points to 75%.

EasyJet transported 3.4 million passengers in February, up 12.3% from the year-ago month. Load factor declined 1.7 points to 85.3%.

Aer Lingus flew 884 million RPKs in February, down 10.9% year-over-year, against an 8.2% cut in capacity to 1.27 billion ASKs. Load factor fell 2.1 points to 69.9%.



AVIATION QUOTE

You can be in London at 10 o'clock and in New York at 10 o'clock. I have never found another way of being in two places at once.

— Sir David Frost, Concorde regular.



AEROSPACE TERM

Helicity

A property of a moving fluid which represents the potential for helical flow (i.e. flow which follows the pattern of a corkscrew) to evolve.



DAILY VIDEO





EDITOR’S CHOICE





HUMOR

When A Chief Dies

"Well," snarled the tough old Navy Chief to the bewildered Seaman. "I suppose after you get discharged from the Navy, you'll just be waiting for me to die so you can come and piss on my grave."

"Not me, Chief!" the Seaman replied. "Once I get out of the Navy, I'm never going to stand in line again!"



TRIVIA

General Trivia

1. What fighter aircraft built by Lockheed, Boeing and General Dynamics, first test flown in 1990, was designed to combine stealth, supersonic cruise, high maneuverability, advanced avionics and had internal weapons carriage?

2. What aircraft introduced in 1991 could hold 102 troops, 48 litters, 54 ambulatory patients or 170,900 pounds of cargo? This aircraft received the Collier trophy for most versatile aircraft in aviation history.

3. What spacecraft was launched in the Nineties with a low-cost lander and rover, which sends back more than 16,500 pictures?

4. What constellation of satellites revolutionized navigation and surveillance during this time period?

5. What aircraft was the world's first ultra-long range business jet?

6. What aircraft was developed as a medium-size jet airliner for regional airline operations?

7. What single state-to-orbit reusable launch vehicle was developed by Lockheed Martin?

8. What was the permanent orbiting laboratory in space built by 15 nations? It's first components were placed in orbit in 1999. It was 356 feet wide, orbiting 225 miles above

1. YF22
5. G5?
8. ISS?

1. F-22 Raptor
2. C-17 Globemaster
3. Mars Pathfinder
4. Global Positioning System
5. Gulfstream G-IV?
6. Boeing 727
7. VentureStar? (X-33)
8. International Space Station

1. F-22
2. C-17 Globemaster III
3. ?
4. ?
5. Bomadier Global Express
6. Airbus A300
7. ?
8. The International Space Station ISS

1. F-22 Raptor
2. C-17 Globemaster III
3. Mars Rovers?
4.
5. Bombadier Global Express
6. Airbus A300, which is why the original A300B1 bombed so badly and the plane was already scheduled to be stretched before the first A300 even flew.
7.
8. ISS

ANSWERS:
1. The F-22 Raptor
2. The Boeing C-17A Globemaster III
3. The Mars Pathfinder
4. The Global Positioning System (GPS)
5. The Gulfstream V
6. The Regional Jet
7. The VentureStar
8. The International Space Station Development