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European airline leaders criticize EU lethargy
Major European airline leaders warned the European Union (EU) Thursday to put its house in order if the continent's carriers can help stimulate growth in the recession-battered region. The CEOs of 34 Assn. of European Airlines (AEA) carriers delivered their message to European Commission VP-Transport Siim Kallas at the AEA Presidents' Assembly in the Belgian capital.
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A330 production increase hinges on ETS solution

A planned production rate increase of the Airbus A330 depends on Europe resolving the global dispute over aviation carbon emission fees. Briefing media in Toulouse, France on Wednesday, Airbus EVP-programs Tom Williams said the plan is to take A330 production up to 11 per month in 2014 from about nine per month this year. The manufacturer has 1,199 firm orders for the A330 and a backlog of 328 aircraft.
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Malaysia 1Q losses slightly improved; plans to raise $800 million in Islamic bonds

Malaysia Airlines (MAS) reported a first-quarter after-tax loss of MYR171 million ($54.3 million), slightly improved from a MYR242 million loss for the same period last year. MAS said the improved results were “despite higher jet fuel price averaging $135 per barrel during the quarter compared to $120 per barrel in the previous year,” according to a statement.
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A380 cracks fixes to start early next year

Modifications to repair wing rib cracks on in-service Airbus A380s will begin in the first quarter of 2013 and the composite material at the root of the problem will no longer be used on new-production aircraft delivered from 2014. The cracks issue, discovered early this year, resulted from a carbon fiber-aluminum material known as 7449 that was used in A380 wing rib feet construction. The material was selected because it is both lightweight and strong, but it is now known that it becomes brittle during the production tempering process. Although the problem did not show up on computer modeling during the A380’s design and development or on demonstrator aircraft, it is now known that the material is affected by natural up and down wing movements during flight and also by extreme temperature variances.
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Airbus A380 Wing Flaws May Cost USD$629 Mln
Airbus said efforts to lower the weight of the world's largest airliner lay behind recent A380 wing component cracks and pledged to learn from mistakes, as repair costs looked set to climb towards EUR€500 million (USD$629 million).
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Airbus admits no quick-fix for A380 wing-rib crack issue
Airbus is expecting up to 120 A380s to be delivered before the permanent fix for the wing-rib bracket cracking problem on the type is fully in place. The airframer detailed its proposed solution during a briefing in Toulouse. Its initial retrofit, for aircraft already in service, centres on 23 hybrid ribs mounted in the more lightly-loaded sections of each wing.
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AirAsia In USD$4 Bln Talks For 50 Airbus A320s
AirAsia is studying a potential USD$4 billion deal to buy another 50 Airbus A320 passenger jets, its founder said on Thursday, extending the budget carrier's dramatic growth, months after it placed a record order for 200.
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Air France Outlines Plans To Return To Growth

Air France said it will reduce staff numbers and its short-haul and medium-haul fleet in an effort to cut costs and return the airline to growth in the face of rising competition and fuel bills.
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Airbus Says A350 Schedule 'Tight But Feasible'
Airbus's target to get the A350, its next new passenger jet, ready in time for delivery in the first half of 2014 is "tight but it remains feasible", the head of the European aircraft project said on Thursday.
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Jet Airways Posts Fifth Quarterly Loss

Jet Airways posted a fifth straight quarterly loss on Thursday, as the leading Indian carrier continued to bear the brunt of high fuel costs and intense competition.
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Changi Cargo Volume Continues To Drop
Singapore's Changi Airport, the second biggest in Asia, reported a steeper decline in cargo volumes and slower passenger traffic growth amid an uncertain global economy.
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UK CAA extends EASA pilot licensing deadline
The UK Civil Aviation Authority has extended the 1 July deadline for the issue of European Aviation Safety Agency licences to 17 September. The delay is necessary for logistical reasons, says the CAA, because "more than 20,000 national licences will have to be converted during the period; this is in addition to the Joint Aviation Regulation (JAR) licences that will have to be replaced with EASA licences on expiry or amendment". The licence documents have to be physically replaced.
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Thrane aims to expand airborne internet access
Flight and cabin crew may soon have the sort of internet connectivity that ground-based workers take for granted in their offices, thanks to antennae and equipment miniaturisation by Thrane & Thrane. The Danish communications systems maker, which is being acquired by Cobham through a share offer that values the company at $432 million, believes its system overcomes cost, weight and even aerodynamic drag issues to allow airlines to offer their staff satellite phone calls and "office-in-the-sky" internet access, even if the cost equation keeps passengers largely cut off while in flight.
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GE Aviation turboprop engine is ready for orders, executive says
GE Aviation says its CPX38 turboprop engine is ready for manufacturers to order. "Obviously, the next step is that we're looking for an airframe.... We have been talking with all of the air framers on the turboprop side," said Allen Paxson, a GE Aviation general manager.
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Bill that would ease satellite exports is introduced in Senate
A measure that would make it easier for U.S. commercial satellite makers to export their products overseas was introduced this week in the U.S. Senate. The Safeguarding United States Leadership and Security Act, which mirrors a similar bill introduced in the House, would move oversight of exports from the State Department to the Commerce Department.
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DARPA grant launches plan for travel to another solar system
The "100 Year Starship" study has been launched with a grant of $500,000 from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and it has an otherworldly goal: to send astronauts to another solar system. Led by former astronaut Mae Jemison, the study will gather experts to begin work on the obstacles that stand in the way of such ambitious flight, which is impossible with today's technology.
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DOT is looking during search-engine test at Delta
The Department of Transportation is investigating fare discrepancies at Delta Air Lines after calls from travel advocacy groups. The carrier's test of a new search engine resulted in frequent fliers seeing different fares than other customers over an approximately three-week period. Delta says it was testing the search engine as part of an overhaul of its website. Delta's vice president of e-commerce, Bob Kupbens, says the new search engine displayed less-desirable connections or flight times, which had lower fares. Delta halted the test of the search engine May 9.
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TSA says scanners, pat-downs may detect underwear bombs
Transportation Security Administration Administrator John Pistole said the TSA's advanced imaging scanners have "the best chance" of detecting underwear bombs. "This is not 100% guaranteed," he said. "If it comes down to a terrorist who has a well-concealed device, and we have no intelligence about him, and he comes to an advanced-imaging technology machine, it is still our best technology." Pistole said the TSA has developed mockups of an underwear bomb and is training agents how to detect such bombs via pat-downs. "If done properly, it may be found," he said.
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Other News

US carriers eye wider A320 seat: Two US carriers are interested in a new Airbus A320 cabin configuration that would provide wider aisle seats. Airbus is marketing its Extra Wide Seat as a potential revenue generator, saying airlines could sell it as a premium economy product that could bring in more than $3 million over 15 years. The current standard A320 economy seat is 18 in. wide compared to the 17-in. Boeing 737 seat. In a 3-3 configuration, the A320 Extra Wide Seat would be 20 in. wide, while each middle and window seat would be narrowed to match the standard 17-in. 737 seat.

Boeing announced that the first 787 built in its South Carolina facility for launch customer Air India (AI) completed a five-hr. test flight Tuesday. The production flight tested the controls and systems in all stages of flight as the crew checked the functionality of onboard systems at high and medium altitudes. They also checked backup and critical safety elements including cabin pressurization, avionics, and navigation and communications systems. In addition, they shut down and re-started each engine during flight, according to Boeing.

Russia will ratify the Montreal Convention before the end of 2012, Russia’s deputy minister of transport Valery Okulov said at the International Air Cargo Assn. (TIACA) summit in Moscow. Okulov added that the ratification procedure does not take a long time, as Russia needs to adopt local laws in accordance with the convention.

SAS Scandinavian Airlines has been given the go-ahead by the Swedish Tax Agency to change its financial year from the current calendar year to the period Nov. 1 to Oct. 31, starting this year. The purpose of the change is for the financial year to be more in line with seasonal operating schedules to improve external reporting and internal governance, and to decrease internal administration.

US Airways Awards More Than $250,000 In College Scholarships: Recipients include daughters and sons of mechanics, flight attendants, pilots, ramp agents, customer service agents, engineers and corporate staff. ast week, 101 students were notified that they were recipients of more than $250,000 in scholarships from the US Airways Education Foundation. The foundation awards college scholarships to children of US Airways employees. More than 400 students applied for the $2,500 US Airways Education Foundation scholarships and a committee comprised of educators and community leaders carefully reviewed each application. Applicants were scored on academic achievement, leadership, awards and honors, community service and volunteerism, work commitment, financial need and memberships or affiliations. The committee also reviewed applicants' essays and letters of recommendation.

Frontier Airlines today launched new nonstop service between its Denver, Colo. (DEN) hub and Bellingham, Wash. (BLI) bringing high-value, customer-friendly service to its third destination in Washington state, and marking a record-breaking 67 nonstop destinations served from its Denver hub. The daily nonstop service provides a convenient and cost-effective travel option to the beautiful Pacific Northwest and Vancouver.

AirTran Airways, a subsidiary of Southwest Airlines (LUV), announced today that the carrier is officially kicking off brand new international service from several markets including San Antonio, Austin, Orange County, Calif., and Chicago Midway, as well as new service between Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood and San Juan, Puerto Rico. The new routes were announced last winter and service details are outlined below. Today's departure out of San Antonio International Airport marks AirTran's first international destination and flight from the airport. The international service also brings AirTran service to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and John Wayne Airport in Orange County for the first time.

ON THIS DATE

---In 1543... Nicolaus Copernicus died in Frauenburg (now Frombork), Poland.

---In 1905... Ferdinand Ferber makes his first aerial tests in Chalais-Meodon, France with his No.6 bis glider fitted with a 12-hp Peugeot motor.

---In 1910... Orville Wright takes his 82-year-old father for his first airplane ride. Also on this day, Wilbur and Orville fly together for the only time in a six-and-one-half minute flight at Simms Station, near Dayton, Ohio.

---In 1954…First flight of the North American YF-100A Super Saber.

---In 1968…First flight of the Grumman EA-6B Prowler.

---In 1969… Apollo 10, USA Lunar Manned Orbiter, (May 18-26, 1969) Crew: Thomas Stafford, Eugene A. Cernan, John W. Young. Manned lunar fly-around and Earth return. Stafford and Cernan tested the Lunar Module, separating it from the Command and Service Module and descended to within 50,000 feet of the lunar surface. The astronauts acquired a large number of excellent 70-mm photographs.

---In 1979… American Airlines Flight 191, a McDonnell Douglas DC-10, crashed at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. During the takeoff roll, the left engine and pylon separated from the wing. The crew continued the takeoff, but wing damage due to the engine separation also damaged the aircraft hydraulic system and caused retraction of some flight control surfaces. The aircraft rolled and crashed shortly after takeoff. All 258 passengers and 13 crew were killed. Two people on the ground were also killed. This is the deadliest accident in the airline's history and the deadliest on U.S. soil.

---In 1982…North of the Falkland Islands, Argentinian Air Force A-4 Skyhawk bombers sink the British destroyer Coventry with two 1,000-pound (454-kg) bomb hits and two Argentinian Navy Super Étendard strike aircraft sink the container ship SS Atlantic Conveyor with two Exocet anti-ship missile hits. Eleven helicopters are lost aboard Atlantic Conveyor.

---In 1999... The first flight of Airbus A319-133X ACJ, or Airbus Corporate Jet, an airliner-sized business jet takes place.

---In 2003… Boeing 727 tail number N844AA mysteriously disappears in Angola, along with Ben Charles Padilla.

DAILY VIDEO

EDITOR’S CHOICE

HUMOR

ATC

Washington D.C., Clearance Delivery: "GAF269, you are cleared to destination Indian Springs via after take off radar vectors to 4000 feet thereafter present position direct BOM do not pass BOM at 6000 feet or below after passing 15000 feet turn right on heading 280 to intercept J156 direct ZZT thereafter intercept J158 own navigation read back."

GAF 269: "Roger German Air Force 269 is cleared to Destination Indian Springs via after take off radar vectors to 4000 feet thereafter present position direct BOM do not pass BOM at 6000 feet or below after passing 15000 feet turn right on heading 280 to intercept J156 direct ZZT thereafter intercept J158 own navigation and I need another pencil."

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