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Murder Suspect Dead After Stealing Plane
A pilot suspected of murdering his girlfriend stole a passenger plane at an airport in Utah on Tuesday, taxied it into a parking lot, then shot himself dead on board, police and officials said.
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AMR Merger Would Strengthen Oneworld - IAG

A potential merger between American Airlines and US Airways would strengthen, not harm, its partners British Airways and Iberia, IAG's chief executive said on Tuesday.
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United Airlines Pilots Vote To Strike

Pilots at United Continental on Tuesday voted to authorize a strike, showing their growing frustration after failing to agree a contract after two years of talks with management.
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Needles Found In Food On US-Bound Flights

Delta Air Lines said it was working with US federal authorities after what appeared to be sewing needles were found in food on four US-bound flights that left Sunday from Amsterdam, injuring one passenger.
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Ryanair Fleshes Out Bid For Aer Lingus

Ryanair published its offer document for rival Irish airline Aer Lingus on Tuesday, adding detail to a EUR€694 million (USD$849 million) bid which will come before competition authorities.
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SkyWest expects more deals to follow MRJ order within six months

US regional carrier SkyWest Inc expects to conclude more deals for 70- and 90-seat aircraft within the next six months, following-up on its commitment to buy 100 Mitsubishi MRJ90s on 11 July, says chief financial officer Michael Knaupp. The carrier's 725-aircraft fleet includes more than 500 less-efficient 50-seat regional jets, a type that many of its mainline partners are hoping to replace through scope clause relief.
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Boeing makes progress on 737 Max backlog
Boeing's latest single-aisle product, the 737 Max, entered the industry's premier event this year faced with high - and perhaps even impossible - expectations. The Seattle airframer makes no secret that neither itself nor its customers save order announcements for the likes of air shows - a marketing indulgence more commonly associated with its European competitor.
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Hawaiian to launch new regional subsidiary

Hawaiian Holdings has signed a letter of intent (LOI) to acquire turboprop aircraft from an unnamed supplier as part of plans to set up a new regional subsidiary in Hawaii. The parent company of Hawaiian Airlines intends to acquire up to six used turboprops with 50 seats or less in order to set-up the new operation, says Peter Ingram, chief commercial officer of the airline, in an interview.
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LAN's 787 completes final assembly
Chile-based LAN's first Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner has completed the final assembly process in Everett, Washington, ahead of its delivery to the airline in September. LAN will be the first Latin American carrier operating the aircraft with 32 787s on order. The airline recently completed a merger with Brazil's TAM and the merged carrier's chief executive Enrique Cueto told Flightglobal in June that the first 787 will be delivered in September.
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Superior Aviation back in court to battle Textron
Textron subsidiary Avco Lycoming is seeking to deal a harsh blow to Superior Aviation, the Beijing-based group which has become the top candidate to purchase Hawker Beechcraft. Hawker Beechcraft entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in May and is currently in a 45-day exclusive negotiation period to evaluate Superior's $1.79 billion offer to purchase the company. In parallel, Superior has relaunched a court battle involving its Texas-based Superior Air Parts (SAP), previously owned by Thielert. Superior bought SAP in 2009 for $7 million after Thielert went bankrupt the year before.
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First Air National Guard pilot starts transition to F-35
The US Air Force's 33rd Fighter Wing (FW) has started training the first Air National Guard (ANG) pilot on the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter at Eglin AFB, Florida.
Maj Jay Spohn, chief of standards and evaluation at the 33rd FW's operations group and a member of the Florida Air National Guard, flew his first transition flight in the F-35A-model jet on 16 July. After five more flights, he will be qualified as an F-35 instructor pilot.
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Israel-EU open skies agreement still on hold
Implementation of the open skies agreement between Israel and the European Union (EU), which was signed in March, has been delayed to protect Israeli carriers, Israeli tourism minister Stas Misezhnikov said.
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Airlines slam UK document on hub capacity
Airlines have severely criticized the latest government aviation consultation document, saying it fails to address London airport congestion. The previous labor governmenthad favored building a third runway at London Heathrow (LHR), which operates at more than 99% capacity, but one of the first acts of the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition on coming to power in 2010 was to scrap this proposal.
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Panalpina sells its 12% Luxair stake
Swiss forwarding and logistics specialist Panalpina has sold its 12.09% stake in Luxair (LG) to the State of Luxembourg for an undisclosed sum. Panalpina disposed of the shares as part of a clean-up of its portfolio, although the move will not affect its operations from Luxembourg’s Cargo Center where it employs 185 staff.
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Earnings preview: Southwest Airlines is expected to post Q2 profit
Analysts expect Southwest Airlines to report earnings of 32 cents per share for the second quarter. Analysts also predict revenue of $4.58 billion. The Texas-based carrier will announce its quarterly earnings Thursday.
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US Airways, flight attendants will resume negotiations
US Airways and the Association of Flight Attendants will resume negotiations this week on a labor contract. "We're headed to Philadelphia this week to make a deal with our flight attendants' union," said Al Hemenway, the airline's vice president of labor relations. Negotiations are scheduled for Wednesday through Friday.
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Latin America proves lucrative for U.S. airlines
For most U.S. carriers, flights to Latin America have proved profitable, show financial data filed with the Department of Transportation. During the first quarter, flights to Latin America returned a 5% operating margin, compared with a 4% operating margin for domestic flights.
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Honeywell is testing autopilot technology for the ground for safety
Honeywell International is testing a system for using autopilot to maneuver aircraft on the ground as well as in the air that aims to increase safety and efficiency. "It's a natural extension of flight planning on the ground ... just like it's now done in the air," said Carl Esposito, vice president of marketing and product management at Honeywell Aerospace.
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Airbus reconsiders production increase due to EU scheme
Airbus could reconsider increasing production on its A330 if China and the European Union do not resolve their impasse over the EU's emissions-trading scheme by the end of the year. The European aircraft manufacturer had planned to increase production from nine A330s per month to 11 per month in 2014.
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TSA to announce public comment process for scanners next year
A year ago, a federal appeals court ordered the Transportation Security Administration to "act promptly" to adopt rules and hold public hearings about the use of body scanners. Observers note that the TSA has not held the hearings yet. TSA spokeswoman Lorie Dankers said the TSA will announce the public comment process in the Federal Register next year. So far, the court has not penalized the TSA for not holding the hearings. The agency had argued that a public comment period would hinder its ability to respond to “ever-evolving threats.”
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Heathrow Airport prepares for record number of passengers
Heathrow Airport in London is gearing up for record numbers of passengers due to the London Olympics. The airport predicts the busiest day of the Olympic arrivals will be July 24, when an estimated 3,008 people involved with the games will arrive. "Today heralds the start of Britain's biggest peacetime transport challenge and Heathrow's busiest-ever period," said Nick Cole, head of Olympics planning for airport owner BAA.
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Other News

Warsaw-Modlin Mazovia Airport (WMI), the second international passenger airport in the Polish capital, opened Monday. The airport, formerly an unused military airfield, will be mainly used by low-cost carriers (LCCs). Ryanair, one of the first carriers to use the airport, is expecting to transport around 1.5 million passengers from WMI. The LCC is eyeing services to Barcelona, Bologna, Bristol, Brussels, Budapest, Dublin, Dusseldorf, East Midlands, Eindhoven, Frankfurt, Glasgow, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Milan, Oslo, Paris, Rome and Stockholm.

AirAsia (AK) has selected GE Aviation to design and deploy a network of ICAO Required Navigation Performance Authorization Required (RNP AR) flight paths. The program will include RNP AR approach paths for 15 Malaysian airports.

Austrian Airlines (OS) has signed a letter of intent to lease five of seven planned 168-seat Airbus A320s scheduled for delivery through early 2013. Two A320s are in Vienna and will undergo transit checks to begin operations in mid-October. OS operates 22 A320 family aircraft. OS will phase out its last seven Boeing 737-800s by March 2013. Four 737s are already sold and 31 former 737 pilots are undergoing type-rating for the A320 family fleet.

The FAA is proposing two civil penalties totaling $987,500 against Delta Air Lines (DL) for allegedly operating an Airbus A320 and a Boeing 737-800 on flights when they were not in compliance with federal aviation regulations. According to an FAA statement, it is proposing a civil penalty of $300,000 against DL for allegedly operating an Airbus A320 on 884 flights between May 25, 2010 and Jan. 3, 2011, after deferring repair of a broken cockpit floodlight socket at the first officer’s position. “Maintenance procedures allow the airline to defer repairs on a dome light for no more than 10 days before repairing or replacing it,” the FAA said, pointing out it discovered the alleged violation during a routine inspection. The FAA also said it is proposing a civil penalty of $687,500 against DL for failing to repair a chip in the nose radome, or nose cone, on a 737-800 after an FAA inspector had observed chip damage during a preflight inspection. “DL’s structural repair manual requires the airline to seal radome chip damage before further flight. The en-route inspection took place Feb. 25, 2010, and the airline operated the plane on 20 additional flights between that date and March 1 while the aircraft was not in compliance,” FAA said. It further alleges DL again failed to repair the radome during layover inspections of the aircraft Feb. 25 and 28.

Communications Workers of America (CWA) fleet and passenger service employees have voted to ratify a four-and-a-half-year collective bargaining agreement with Piedmont Airlines, a wholly-owned subsidiary of US Airways.

GECAS has delivered one leased Boeing 737-300SF to Northern Air Cargo. The Alaskan carrier operates a fleet of five cargo aircraft.

Skyworld Aviation delivered the first of three Embraer EMB170 aircraft to AeroMexico Connect, on lease from Republic Airways.

Aircraft Leasing & Management arranged the sale of one Airbus A320-211 from FG Wing Leasing Ltd to Jordan Aviation. The aircraft was delivered to Jordan Aviation June 22.

FLY Leasing Limited has sold two Airbus A320-200s and one Boeing 737-700 from its portfolio. It now has a fleet of 108 commercial aircraft on lease to 53 airlines in 29 countries.

Aviation Quote

Once committed to an attack, fly in at full speed. After scoring crippling or disabling hits, I would clear myself and then repeat the process. I never pursued the enemy once they had eluded me. Better to break off and set up again for a new assault. I always began my attacks from full strength, if possible, my ideal flying height being 22,000 ft because at that altitude I could best utilize the performance of my aircraft. Combat flying is based on the slashing attack and rough maneuvering. In combat flying, fancy precision aerobatic work is really not of much use. Instead, it is the rough maneuver which succeeds.

— Colonel Erich 'Bubi' Hartmann, GAF, aka Karaya One, the World's leading ace, with 352 victories in W.W.II. Jagdgeschwader 52.

On This Date

---In 1914... French pilot, Maurice Guillaux, makes the first official airmail flight in Australia. His cargo includes 1,785 letters, some Lipton’s Tea and OT Lemon Squash.

---In 1914... The Aviation Section of the U.S. Army Signal Corps is formed in Washington, D.C., with 60 officers, 260 men, and 6 airplanes.

---In 1915... Katherine Stinson becomes the first woman to loop the loop in an airplane. The stunt pilot performs the full rotation of her airplane over Chicago.

---In 1919... Self-styled Baroness Raymonde de Laroche, the first Frenchwoman to get her flying license, is killed in a flying accident in Northern France.

---In 1921... John H. Glenn, Jr., the first American to orbit the earth, is born in Cambridge, Ohio. After being selected by NASA with the first group of astronauts in 1959, he makes his historic orbital flight on February 20, 1962.

---In 1941…The first RAF aircraft equipped with radar

---In 1942…the world’s first operational jet-powered fighter aircraft and first mass-produced jet aircraft, the Messerschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe, is flown in Germany for the first time.

---In 1943…US Navy airship K-74 is shot down by a German submarine, the only airship lost to enemy fire during World War II.

---In 1965…the first Russian satellite to complete a lunar flyby, Zond 3, is launched.

---In 1966…Gemini 10, the first mission to complete a double rendezvous with other spacecraft, is launched from Cape Canaveral.

---In 1971…Southwest Airlines (WN) commences flight operations.

---In 1984…Beverly Lynn Burns becomes the first female Boeing 747 airline captain, flying PEOPLExpress flight 604 from Newark to LAX. The achievement earned her extensive media attention, congratulatory honors from several local politicians–and even an invitation to President Ronald Reagan’s second inauguration. By the time she retired from Continental in 2008, she had captained the 727, 737, 747, 757, 767, 777 and DC-10.

---In 2002…First flight of the Boeing YAL-1A Airborne Laser (ABL).

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Humor

No Frills Airline

You'll Know It's a No-Frills Airline If:

1. They don't sell tickets, they sell chances.

2. All the insurance machines in the terminal are sold out.

3. Before the flight, the passengers get together and elect a pilot.

4. If you kiss the wing for luck before boarding, it kisses you back.

5. You cannot board the plane unless you have the exact change.

6. Before you took off, the stewardess tells you to fasten your Velcro.

7. The Captain asks all the passengers to chip in a little for gas.

8. When they pull the steps away, the plane starts rocking.

9. The Captain yells at the ground crew to get the cows off the runway.

10. You ask the Captain how often their planes crash and he sez, "Just once."

11. No movie. Don't need one.

12. Your life keeps flashing before your eyes.

13. You see a man with a gun, but he's demanding to be let off the plane.

14. All the planes have both a bathroom and a chapel.

Trivia

AIRCRAFT SCRAMBLE

1. ABELTT
2. EMNDAPH
3. ISLGRTIN
4. SLNUDAEDNR
5. ELLLWSEEY
6. TIHUKRVMOS
7. TREADNED
8. OARVTU
9. NSOOEIDP
10. EPKMECEAAR