JetBlue reports 1Q earnings of $3 million JetBlue said it earned a penny per share in the first quarter of 2011 as higher demand and airfares helped offset the rising cost of fuel. The airline earned $3 million over the first three months of 2011, compared with a $1 million loss during the same period in 2010. Revenue was also up 16% for the quarter, the New York carrier said. Link
Southwest posts $5 million for 1Q earnings Southwest Airlines said it earned a penny per share in the first quarter of 2011, despite the rising price of fuel. Southwest, which earned $5 million for the quarter, also noted that it expects to close its acquisition of AirTran Airways on May 2. The $1.4 billion purchase will bolster the size of Southwest by 25%. Link
Boeing to contest challenge to South Carolina 787 plant In 2009, Boeing chose to build a second final assembly line for its 787 Dreamliner in North Charleston, S.C., rather than in Puget Sound, Wash. A National Labor Relations Board complaint, which was originally lodged by a labor union, challenges that decision. The complaint claims that the commercial airplane maker engaged in unfair labor practices by moving the work. Boeing said it will "vigorously contest" the claim. Link
United Continental reports 1Q loss of $213 million United Continental Holdings, which reported a first-quarter loss of 65 cents per share today, is faced with the rising cost of fuel, winter storms and weakened demand in Asia. The airline reported a loss of $213 million for the quarter despite an 11% jump in revenue. "Rising fuel prices largely offset the improvement in revenue," United Continental said in a statement. Link
Higher fuel prices prompt AA to retire 25 MD-80s, shrink capacity AMR reported a first-quarter net loss of $1.31 per share, or $436 million, as it dealt with rising jet fuel prices, winter storms and softened demand in Asia. Gerard Arpey, CEO of American Airlines, said the carrier will retire 25 MD-80s and reduce its flight schedule slightly in an effort to increase operating efficiency. Link
LaHood backs Babbitt, FAA despite recent incidents Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said he has full confidence in the Federal Aviation Administration and FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt after recent reports of napping or inattentive air traffic controllers. LaHood said investigations into the incidents are under way and there is no need for an independent review. Link
Alaska earns $74.2 million first-quarter profit Alaska Air Group, parent of Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air, earned $74.2 million in first-quarter net income, considerably widened from a $5.3 million net profit in the year-ago period. Revenue lifted 16.3% year-over-year to $965.2 million. Link
US arms UAVs for Libya missions The US military has decided to arm unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) already flying two constant surveillance patrols over Libya. Link
New Zealand seeks fresh bids for stored Skyhawks New Zealand's defense ministry has put eight of its stored Douglas A/TA-4K Skyhawk ground-attack and training aircraft up for sale, with bids sought by 16 May. Part of a 17-strong fleet that was mothballed by the nation's Labour government after a 2001 decision, the package includes five single-seat A-4Ks and three two-seat TA-4Ks, plus up to 20 spare Pratt & Whitney J52 engines, ground support equipment and tooling. Link
Sikorsky wins Turkish utility helicopter battle Turkish defence minister Vecdi Gonul has named Sikorsky's T-70 Black Hawk as the winner of the nation's general purpose helicopter project, which covers the planned delivery of 121 aircraft. Link
Other News
US Airways filed a civil antitrust lawsuit against Sabre Holdings Corp. on Thursday to halt what it calls “anticompetitive and anti-consumer” practices by the GDS, as well as recover monetary damages. The action comes a week after American Airlines filed a lawsuit against Travelport—parent of Galileo, Apollo and Worldspan—and Orbitz alleging similar antitrust violations.
Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority is investigating Tiger Airways Australia over “a variety of issues,” according to insiders at the safety regulator. Details of CASA’s investigation emerged Thursday as the airline, owing to an unrelated problem, was forced to cancel several flights, disrupting Easter travel plans for hundreds of passengers. Perth services continue as scheduled.
AirTran Airways announced its flights attendants, represented by the Assn. of Flight Attendants, ratified a new collective bargaining agreement, which will take effect May 1. In a statement, AirTran said that 96% of its 2,200 voting members approved the agreement, which provides for “increased compensation, improved benefits and preservation of key service and reliability functions.”
AirBaltic beginning April 26 will offer a vacant adjacent seat to its business class passengers flying Bombardier Q400 NextGen and Fokker 50 aircraft. It says it plans to make "further improvements" to its business class travelers by offering the service at "more attractive prices" to those who book early.
Qatar Airways announced it has refurbished three Airbus A321s and two A319s cabins. Upgrades included new inflight entertainment systems featuring 700 audio and video options from Oryx Entertainment Systems as well OnAir telecommunications devices. One of the A319s will be operating on the new Doha-Stuttgart service.
Copa Airlines launched a mobile website, available at m.copaair.com, allowing travelers to access electronic boarding passes from smartphones or other portable electronic device. The carrier said it is the first airline to offer the service in North America. The service will be available immediately at Tocumen International Airport in Panama.
AVIATION QUOTE
One particular circumstance distinguishes the sea commander from his equals in most other spheres. He stands the same chance of death, mutilation or capture as the least experienced sailor in his fleet. What affects others will affect him personally. This fact 'concentrates the mind wonderfully', as Dr Johnson remarked of a man who was to be hanged in a fortnight.
— Oliver Warner, prologue to Command At Sea: Great Fighting Admirals from Hawke to Nimitz, 1976.
ON THIS DATE
April 22nd
• In 1912... Englishman Denys Corbett Wilson flies across St. George’s Channel between England and Ireland.
• In 1971... Britain and France give the go-ahead for four more Concordes, bringing the total to ten.
• In 1985... Pan Am sells its Pacific division to United Air Lines for $750 million; the deal includes all Pan Am’s Pacific routes as well as its complete fleet of long-range 747SPs, half its TriStars and one DC-10.
DAILY VIDEO
EDITOR’S CHOICE
HUMOR
A Different View
Water freezes at 32 degrees and boils at 212 degrees. There are 180 degrees between freezing and boiling because there are 180 degrees between north and south.
A vibration is a motion that cannot make up its mind which way it wants to go.
One horsepower is the amount of energy it takes to drag a horse 500 feet in one second.
You can listen to thunder after lightning and tell how close you came to getting hit. If you don't hear it, you got hit, so never mind.
Some people can tell what time it is by looking at the sun. But I have never been able to make out the numbers.
I am not sure how clouds get formed. But the clouds know how to do it, and that is the important thing.
In making rain water, it takes everything from H to O.
Rain is saved up in cloud banks.
Thunder is a rich source of loudness.
Isotherms and isobars are even more important than their names sound.
It is so hot in some parts of the world that the people there have to live in other places.
We say the cause of perfume disappearing is evaporation. Evaporation gets blamed for a lot of things people forget to put the top on.
To most people solutions mean finding the answers. But to chemists solutions are things that are still all mixed up.
In looking at a drop of water under a microscope, we find there are twice as many H's as O's.
Clouds are high flying fogs.
Clouds just keep circling the earth around and around. And around. There is not much else to do.
A blizzard is when it snows sideways.
A monsoon is a French gentleman.
Wind is like the air, only pushier.
The tides are a fight between the Earth and Moon. All water tends towards the moon, because there is no water in the moon, and nature abhors a vacuum. I forget where the sun joins in this fight.
TRIVIA
General Trivia
1. What airplane produced by a well-known aircraft manufacturer was rejected by the U.S. Army in 1973 because it could be brought down by bow and arrow?
2. What is the largest, post-World War II, piston-powered, twin-engine airplane designed from scratch and produced exclusively as a general aviation airplane?
3. Why should every dedicated pilot fly at least once to KFFA?
4. Several types of liaison airplanes served the U.S. military during World War II. Best known of these were the first five, the L-1, L-2, L-3, L-4, and L-5. Can you identify these utilitarian “L-birds?”
5. Almost everyone has heard of the Lockheed P-38 Lightning, but what is the Lightning II?
6. U.S. military flight-crew positions often have nicknames. What are the official positions of a boomer, a GAFO (pronounced GAY-fo), a raven, a GIB (pronounced gib), and a whizzo?
7. The Pratt & Whitney J58 (JT11D) engines that powered the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird use JP-7 fuel so inert that it could not be ignited with spark or ignition plugs. How was this exotic fuel ignited during engine start?
8. On November 13, 1942, and after having survived in a life raft in the western Pacific for 23 days, Capt. Eddie Rickenbacker, Col. Hans Adamson, and Pvt. John Bartek were found by the pilot of a Vought-Sikorsky Kingfisher, a U.S. Navy seaplane. What was so unusual about the subsequent rescue?
And let's get one thing straight. There's a big difference between a pilot and an aviator. One is a technician; the other is an artist in love with flight. — E. B. Jeppesen
6. Boomer = Aerial refueling boom operator on aircraft such as the KC-10 or KC-135. GAFO = ? Raven = One answer is that some Air Foce cargo aircraft used to carry Security Forces known as Ravens to secure and guard the aircraft during stops at austere locations, I don't know it they still do this. GIB=Guy In Back - The weapon system operator in tandem seat aircraft such as the F-4. Whizzo=Weapon System Operator - See GIB
1. The Goodyear Inflatoplane was the world’s first inflatable airplane, needed only eight pounds of air pressure, and was powered by a two-stroke, 40-horsepower Nelson engine.
2. The Howard 500 resembles the Twin Beech Model 18 but is much larger, faster, and more powerful. It first flew in 1960 (only 16 were built) and had two Pratt & Whitney R-2800, 2,500-horsepower radial engines.
3. KFFA is First Flight Airport at Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, site of the Wright brothers’ first powered flight. Such a pilgrimage is most memorable if made on December 17.
5. The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is a stealth-capable, joint strike fighter that first flew on December 15, 2006.
6. A boomer is a refueling boom operator; a GAFO is a gear-and-flaps operator (co-pilot); a raven is an electronic warfare operator; a GIB is a “guy in back,” and a whizzo is a weapons system operator (WSO).
7. Triethylborane (TEB) ignites upon contact with air. The JP-7 fuel-air mixture ignites as soon as TEB is added. TEB also is used to light the afterburners.
8. The two-place airplane was too small to accommodate three survivors. With Rickenbacker and an aircraft crewmember lashed to the wings, Lt. William Eadie water-taxied his airplane across 40 miles of open sea to his ship.
And let's get one thing straight. There's a big difference between a pilot and an aviator. One is a technician; the other is an artist in love with flight. — E. B. Jeppesen
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