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NEWS

AA is in talks with Airbus about buying 100 planes, sources say
American Airlines might make a decision as soon as July about a possible break from Boeing jets in favor of Airbus narrow-body planes, sources said. The carrier is said to have been discussing the possibility of purchasing 100 or more planes from Airbus.
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Airbus concludes busy Paris Air Show with AirAsia order for 200 A320neos
A massive order Thursday from Malaysia’s fast-growing, low-cost carrier AirAsia for 200 A320neos capped a record Paris Air Show for Airbus, bringing its total orders and commitments for the week to 730 aircraft from 16 customers.
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Republic agrees to buy 80 Airbus planes for Frontier
Republic Airways Holdings has signed a letter of intent to purchase 40 A320neos and 40 A319neos from Airbus for its Frontier Airlines division. The smaller Airbus models compete with the new CSeries from Bombardier.
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Tibet Air to launch in July
Tibet Air is scheduled to start formal operations in July, according to CAAC, which will soon grant an operating certificate to the Lhasa-based carrier. Tibet was launched in May 2010 and is the only Lhasa-based carrier in China.
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Rolls-Royce to pay Qantas $100 million for A380 engine failure
Rolls-Royce agreed to pay Qantas Airways A$95 million ($100 million) in full settlement for last November's uncontained failure of a Trent 900 engine on a QF A380. The announcement came as part of the airline's disclosure of a forecast profit before tax of A$500 million-A$550 million for the year ended June 30. QF reported a profit before tax of A$417 million for the half-year to Dec. 31, 2010.
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Kenya Airways confirms Boeing compensation for 787
Kenya Airways received compensation from Boeing for the delay of its Dreamliners, although the amount does not fully cover the expenses associated with the delay, Group Finance Director Alex Mbugua said on the sidelines of an investors briefing in Nairobi earlier this month.
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FedEx says fuel surcharges helped lift Q4 results
FedEx Corp., the world's largest cargo airline, reported fourth-quarter net income of $558 million, an increase of 33% from the same quarter last year. The company said fuel surcharges boosted its returns despite higher fuel costs.
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Rockwell Collins is developing "panic button" for pilots
Rockwell Collins is working on a "panic button" for pilots in trouble. When the button is pushed, onboard computers will take control of the plane and return it to safe and level flight, according to Rockwell Collins executives. The concept has triggered debate about cockpit automation.
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Demand for Airbus' A320neo surges on concerns about fuel costs
Airbus' fuel-efficient A320neo has proven to be a hit at the Paris Air Show as airlines worldwide continue to worry about rising fuel prices. IndiGo, a low-cost carrier in India, ordered 180 of the jets, the largest single order ever made in terms of planes. Chile's LAN Airlines, Kuwait's ALAFCO, Frontier Airlines and others have committed to 131 A320neos.
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Bombardier exec sees Boeing's indecision on 737 as opportunity
Guy Hachey, chief operating officer of the aerospace division at Bombardier, sees Boeing's indecision on its 737 jet as an opportunity to pitch its CSeries jetliner. He said Bombardier has discussed the CSeries with Southwest Airlines, one of Boeing's top customers in the U.S. "It's feasible for us to think we have a shot," said Hachey of a possible Southwest deal.
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Challengers struggle to break Airbus-Boeing narrow-body duopoly
Airbus and Boeing have a stranglehold on the single-aisle jet market, and while challengers have emerged around the world, they are struggling to break that duopoly. "Going up against Boeing and Airbus in head-to-head competition is really tough, not only because of their size, but because of their existing product line and industrial capacity," said Embraer CEO Frederico Curado. "They can have a very quick response and ... flood the market."
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Pilot shortage seems to be hitting airline industry
Despite the fragile economic recovery in the U.S. and Europe, a pilot shortage appears to be emerging as airlines poach from one another. Sherry Carbary, vice president at Boeing Flight Services, said the number of new pilots needed over the next two decades has risen from about 446,500 to 459,600. The number of trained technicians needed by airlines is also up, Carbary said.
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U.S. demands that EU exempt American carriers from emissions scheme
The European Union's Emissions Trading System, which will require airlines to purchase carbon permits to offset carbon dioxide emissions, is poised to launch at the beginning of next year. The U.S. is demanding that its airlines be exempt from the new EU rules. "We don't feel that it's appropriate for the European Union to apply its mechanism to all other countries," said an Obama administration official. The Air Transport Association and three major airlines have led opposition to the law and have gone to court over the rules.
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A320neo order analysis
Notwithstanding the need to firm up a large proportion of its order count, Airbus's success at the Paris air show has demonstrated positive market reception to the manufacturer's A320neo.
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European customer orders 10 CSeries twinjets
Bombardier has secured another firm order for its CSeries programme, after an unidentified European customer booked 10 of its CS100 twinjets.
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Other News

US FAA is proposing a $250,000 civil penalty against Orlando-based AirTran Airways for allegedly operating a Boeing 737 on four passenger flights without properly repairing or testing an angle-of-attack sensor on the aircraft, which warns if there is a potential loss of lift, after it was struck by lightning during a flight March 20, 2009. FAA also alleges the airline “misused the Minimum Equipment List when it decided to defer the repair and continued to operate the aircraft.” AirTran, a subsidiary of Southwest Airlines, has 30 days to respond to the agency.

AVIC announced that the Chinese regional turboprop MA700 is expected to make its first flight in 2016. The MA700, the stretched version of the 60-seat MA600, features increased seating capacity for 70-90 passengers. The MA700 introduces a high-efficient, six-blade propeller and a T-tail empennage that makes the aircraft faster than its predecessors.

Alcoa has developed new aluminum-based sheet, plate, forgings and hard alloy extrusion solutions for the aerospace market, which it said will provide "dramatically lighter and lower-cost short-range airplanes" than their "composite-intensive" counterparts. The new aluminum-based products combine new alloys and advanced structural technologies, and could increase fuel efficiency by up to 12%, the company estimated—even up to 27% when combined with new engines.

Spirit Airlines named Tony Lefebvre senior VP and COO, effective immediately. Lefebvre, who previously served as senior VP-Airports, Customer Service and Inflight, replaces Kevin McKenzie, who is joining Airbus North America as senior VP-Customer Services, effective Sept. 1.

AirBaltic announced it has begun selling discounted tickets to passengers during flight, claiming that by selling exclusively onboard it “secures discounted future flights to loyal customers.” Tickets purchased onboard are in the form of a voucher and can be given as a gift. The tickets will be on sale throughout June on all BT flights.

Intrepid Aviation said CIT Aerospace leasing executive John Shavinsky will join the company its new CEO. Shavinsky was formerly senior VP at CIT Aerospace. Prior to that, he was with ILFC and Boeing.

Safi Airways appointed Zaidan Khalifat as director of Quality and Safety and Miguel Serra director of Ground Operations and OCC. The carrier launched four weekly Kabul-Delhi flights June 16.

China Southern Airlines launched thrice-weekly Guangzhou-Vancouver service.
WestJet launched daily Calgary-Orange County service.

AirTran will add two daily roundtrips on its Milwaukee service to Des Moines and Akron-Canton Sept. 6.

Southwest Airlines will launch Milwaukee service to St. Louis (twice-daily) and Denver (daily) Sept. 6.



AVIATION QUOTE

It is hard enough for anyone to map out a course of action and stick to it, particularly in the face of the desires of one's friends; but it is doubly hard for an aviator to stay on the ground waiting for just the right moment to go into the air.

— Glenn Curtiss, 1909



ON THIS DATE

June 24th

---In 1784... Edward Warren, a boy of 13, makes the first, tethered, balloon ascent in the U.S. in Baltimore, Maryland; he volunteers when the craft proves too weak to lift its builder, Peter Carnes.

---In 1918... The first air mail in Canada is flown from Montreal to Toronto.

---In 1930... Dr. Albert Taylor and Leo Young of the Aircraft Research Laboratory, near Bolling Field, Washington, D.C., succeed in tracing the position of airplanes in flight using wireless detection equipment.

---In 1971… YF-12 (936) was lost at Edwards AFB due to a major in-flight fire in the right engine. Pilot Ronald (Jack) Layton and Billy Curtis ejected safely. (Q)

---In 1975…Eastern Air Lines Flight 66, a Boeing 727, crashed on approach for John F. Kennedy International Airport, killing 113 people. The cause was determined to be a microburst.

---In 1982… British Airways Flight 9, a Boeing 747–200, G-BDXH, City of Edinburgh flew through a cloud of volcanic ash and dust from the eruption of Mount Galunggung, causing extensive damage to the aircraft, including the failure of all four engines. The crew managed to glide the plane out of the dust cloud and restart all four of its engines, although one later had to be shut down again. The aircraft made an emergency landing at Halim Perdanakusuma International Airport just outside Jakarta. No-one was injured.



DAILY VIDEO





EDITOR’S CHOICE


Image © Brent Newman, 2010.



HUMOR

Flying

When a flight is proceeding incredibly well, something was forgotten.
(Robert Livingston, "Flying The Aeronca")

Just remember, if you crash because of weather, your funeral will be held on a sunny day.
(Layton A. Bennett, "Never fly the 'A' model of anything")

When a prang seems inevitable, endeavour to strike the softest, cheapest object in the vicinity as slowly and gently as possible.
(Advice given to RAF pilots during W.W.II)

The Cub is the safest airplane in the world; it can just barely kill you.
(Attributed to Max Stanley, Northrop test pilot)

A pilot who doesn't have any fear probably isn't flying his plane to its maximum.
(Jon McBride, astronaut)

If you're faced with a forced landing, fly the thing as far into the crash as possible.
(Bob Hoover)

If an airplane is still in one piece, don't cheat on it; ride the bastard down.
(Ernest K. Gann, advice from the 'old pelican')

Though I Fly Through the Valley of Death I Shall Fear No Evil For I Am 80,000 Feet and Climbing.
(Sign over the entrance to the SR-71 operating location on Kadena)

You've never been lost until you've been lost at Mach 3.
(Paul F. Crickmore)

Never fly in the same cockpit with someone braver than you.
(Richard Herman, Jr., "Firebreak")

There is no reason to fly through a thunderstorm in peacetime.
(Sign over squadron ops desk at Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ, 1970)

The three best things in life are a good landing, a good orgasm, and a good bowel movement. The night carrier landing is one of the few opportunities in life where you get to experience all three at the same time.



TRIVIA

Tail ID

1.


2.


3.


4.


5.


6.


7.


8.


9.


10.

2. bmibaby
3. Gulf Air
4. Iran Air
5. Norwegian
6. Malev
7. EgyptAir
8. Westjet
9. Air India
10. bmi

1. Insel Air?
2. bmi Baby
3. Gulf Air
4. Iran Air
5. Norwegian
6. Malev Hungarian
7. Egyptair
8. WestJet
9. Air India
10. bmi British Midland

Loce the editor's choice today. Some great reflections on that shiny metal hulk

I'm sure the two above have pretty much nailed the trivia.

Great Shot Brent . . .

Question: The MG Center Doors are open. Is that normal? I thought once the gear deployed those closed.

Concur with JL, trivia nailed already.

ANCFlyer wrote:Great Shot Brent . . .

Question: The MG Center Doors are open. Is that normal? I thought once the gear deployed those closed.

If you look you can see the strut that actuates the movement of the door. It is open when ever the body gear is extended. The wheel well doors (in blue) only operate when the body gear is in transit.