NAS Daily 02 DEC 11

miamiair (netAirspace FAA) 02 Dec 11, 05:37

NEWS

Airbus claims WTO compliance
Airbus said Thursday that the EU has made "limited changes" that remedy the illegal aid the World Trade Organization (WTO) had earlier this year ruled the manufacturer received on the A380 program. But the long-running transatlantic dispute over aircraft subsidies remains far from resolved.
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EU proposes new slot rules to allow secondary trading
Airlines in the EU will be allowed to buy and sell slots under clear and transparent conditions across the 27 member states under legislation proposed by the European Commission (EC). If approved, the new rules would end legal uncertainty on secondary slot trading and a patchwork of different practices across the bloc. Secondary trading exists in the UK, but it is banned in Spain.
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FAA awards $7.7 million in biofuel contracts
The FAA announced Thursday it is awarding $7.7 million in contracts to eight companies engaged in developing/producing alternative fuel to power commercial flights.
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Virgin Australia/SIA alliance gets final approval
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has approved the comprehensive integrated network alliance between Virgin Australia (VA) and Singapore Airlines (SIA). On Thursday, ACCC chairman Rod Sims said the alliance “is likely to lead to increased competition for international air passenger services." Under the alliance, the airlines will cooperate on all aspects of their Australia-Singapore services and any international and domestic connecting routes, including joint pricing and scheduling, as well as joint marketing and sales.
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Pilot Protest Grounds Czech Airlines Flights
A protest by CSA Czech Airlines pilots on Thursday grounded nineteen flights by midday and more were expected to be cancelled later.
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ICAO Seeks Emissions Deal By End 2012
The ICAO, the United Nations body that oversees civil aviation, is accelerating its work to address greenhouse emissions from commercial jets, and now hopes to have a global agreement by the end of 2012.
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Bank Crash Gives Latvia Control Of airBaltic
Latvia has taken complete ownership of formerly part state-owned airline airBaltic after the collapse of a local bank and is looking for a strategic investor, the Transport Ministry said on Thursday.
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Qatar chief issues A330 freighter warning to Airbus
Qatar Airways has warned that Airbus risks missing out on a substantial part of the freighter sector by stalling on an A330 conversion. Speaking during the Arab Air Carriers Organization conference in Abu Dhabi, Qatar chief executive Akbar Al Baker said he primarily wanted a conversion option for the carrier's A330-200s - the type for which Airbus is trying to offer a new-build freighter airframe.
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Australia receives final Tiger attack helicopter
The Australian Defence Force (ADF) has received its final Eurocopter Tiger ARH022 Tiger helicopter, bringing its fleet to 22 aircraft. The armed reconnaissance helicopters were obtained under Project Air 87 to replace Australia's Bell 206B-1 Kiowas and UH1-H Iroquois helicopter gunships, said Eurocopter's Australian unit, Australian Aerospace.
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Bombardier Aerospace posts $129m fiscal Q3 operating profit
Bombardier Aerospace's order backlog has risen 16% so far this fiscal year to $22.3 billion, mainly due to an increase in orders for large business jets and the CSeries airliner and partially offset by a lower order backlog for turboprops and regional jets. For the third quarter to the end of October, operating profit was up 32% to $129 million on sales up 28% to $2.3 billion, thanks to a leap in deliveries to 68 aircraft, from 51 during the same period last year.
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Boeing may again look to clean sheet narrowbody: Leahy
Airbus chief operating officer customers, John Leahy cited his "reliable sources" at airlines and suppliers who have said Boeing's clean sheet New Small Airplane (NSA) wasn't fully off the table as the US airframer works to evaluate the configuration of its re-engined 737 Max. "The clean sheet of paper team has not been dismantled in Seattle and...people are concerned as it takes longer and longer to get the Max into a condition [where] it can be competitive with the Neo that perhaps they would go back to - what until a couple months ago they were saying was their preferred choice - a clean sheet of paper airplane," said Leahy during a presentation in Washington, DC on the Airbus global market forecast for North America.
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US Airways is likely to court American for merger, analysts say
US Airways is likely to propose a merger with American Airlines now that American's parent, AMR, has filed for bankruptcy, analysts say. In the past decade, US Airways CEO Doug Parker has sought mergers with Delta Air Lines and United Airlines while the carriers were in bankruptcy. American has "a lot of internal technology infrastructure that US Airways lacks," aviation consultant Sandy Rederer said.
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AMR should retrench, cut labor costs, analysts say
AMR Corp., the parent company of American Airlines, will need to retrench to survive bankruptcy, analysts say. Options include merging with another airline, cutting unprofitable routes and renegotiating labor contracts. "We estimate labor will probably have to give up more than they would have otherwise, plus sacrifice jobs," said Ray Neidl, an analyst at Maxim Group.
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American Airlines' restructuring will be beneficial, Boeing exec says
Jim Albaugh, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, sees an upside in the bankruptcy filing of American Airlines. "I'm really confident that American's going to come through this restructuring a better company, a more competitive company, and if they're more competitive and making more money, they're going to buy more airplanes,” he said.
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Benefits of private screening program are debated
Supporters of expanding a program that would allow airports to hire private baggage screeners say expansion would reduce costs and possibly improve security. "Frankly, competition is a good thing in almost all places," said Rep. Roy Blunt, R-Mo. However, Transportation Security Administration chief John Pistole recently testified that he was looking for "a clear, substantial advantage to the taxpayer and to the traveling public, obviously, in terms of security and efficiency" before expanding the program. Seventeen airports are participating in the program.
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FAA plans to avoid tarmac delays through improved communication
The Federal Aviation Administration's Randy Babbitt has pledged that the agency will implement improvements in communication systems between airports, airlines and the FAA to prevent an episode similar to what occurred Oct. 29 at Bradley International Airport in Connecticut. Changes include a new website and hotline, which will be used to share information about problems on the ground, and the inclusion of airports in FAA-hosted teleconferences with airlines.
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Other News

Transaero Airlines (UN) has accused Rosaviatsia—Russia’s Dept. of Aviation/Ministry of Transport—of restricting competition and supporting a monopoly after it said the regulator withdrew permission for the carrier to operate charter flights from Moscow to Rome, Milan and Venice in the winter season.

GE Aviation’s GEnx-1B engine, which powers the Boeing 787, has been given FAA 330-minute extended-range, twin-engine operations (ETOPS) approval. The FAA approval confirms the engine has demonstrated the reliability to conduct ETOPS flights up to 330 minutes flying time from a primary or alternate airport, GE said. The approval process included a 3,000-cycle ground endurance test in April.

The Air Transport Assn. (ATA) has changed its name to Airlines for America (A4A), to “better represent the industry’s vital role of literally connecting the United States to the global economy.” Its new tagline will be “We Connect the World.”

Singapore Airlines’ new long-haul, low-cost subsidiary, Scoot]/b], has chosen Sydney (SYD) as its first international destination. Scoot will fly daily between SYD to Singapore (SIN) from mid-2012 on a Boeing 777-200ER. More destinations are expected to be announced shortly.

[b]United Airlines' (UA) and Continental Airlines' (CO) professional engineers and related employees rejected representation sought by the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE).

Thai Airways International (TG) acquired an additional 10% in Nok Air, lifting its stake in the low-cost carrier to 49%, it said in a statement to Thailand’s stock exchange. With a 49% share, TG has five directors out of nine on Nok Air's board, compared to four previously, giving it greater control over Nok’s strategy.

Rockwell Collins priced a public offering of $250 million of its 3.10% notes due in 2021. The proceeds will be used to repurchase shares of common stock as approved by the company’s board of directors in September and for other general corporate purposes, the company said.

Malev, the Hungarian national carrier, will get a HUF4.2 billion ($18.4 million) owner loan to cover its short-term financing from the Hungarian National Asset Management Co. The three-year loan must be repaid in a single lump sum upon maturity.

SAS Scandinavian Airlines has secured a five-year refinancing deal for four Airbus A321s worth $74 million, through Deutsche VerkehrsBank AG. The transaction is part of SAS’s ongoing aircraft refinancing program where loans maturing in 2011/ 2012 are to be renewed. The financing of two aircraft will close in the fourth quarter of 2011 and the remaining two will close in the third and fourth quarter of 2012.

AVIATION QUOTE

I hate to shoot a Hun down without him seeing me, for although this method is in accordance with my doctrine, it is against what little sporting instincts I have left.

— James McCudden, VC, RFC, 1917.

ON THIS DATE

December 2nd

---In 1943...First flight of the Grumman XF7F Tigercat.

---In 1946...First flight of the Beechcraft T-34 Mentor.

---In 1976... The Boeing 747 SCA, an ex-American Airlines airliner which has been adapted to carry the US reusable space shuttle, makes its flight.

--- In 1986... A Concorde airliner carrying 94 passengers returns to Charles de Gaulle airport after an 18-day round-the-world journey; total flying time amounted to 31 hours 51 minutes.

DAILY VIDEO

EDITOR’S CHOICE

HUMOR

Uncle Bob Gets Shot Down

The teacher gave her fifth grade class an assignment: Get their parents to tell them a story with a moral at the end of it. The next day the kids came back and one by one began to tell their stories.

"Johnny, do you have a story to share?"

"Yes, ma'am, my daddy told a story about my Uncle Bob. Uncle Bob was a pilot in Desert Storm and his plane was hit. He had to bail out over enemy territory and all he had was a small flask of whiskey, a pistol and a survival knife. He drank the whiskey on the way down so it would not break and then his parachute landed right in the middle of twenty enemy troops.

He shot fifteen of them with the gun until he ran out of bullets, killed four more with the knife, 'till the blade broke and then he killed the last Iraqi with his bare hands."

"Good heavens," said the horrified teacher, "What kind of moral did your daddy tell you from that horrible story?

"Stay the hell away from Uncle Bob when he's been drinking!

TRIVIA

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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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