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Delta orders 40 CRJ900s in $1.85b deal
Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines has finalised a commitment for 40 Bombardier CRJ900s in a deal worth $1.85 billion at list prices as part of its regional fleet restructuring program. The deal includes 40 firm orders for the 76-seat CRJ900, plus 30 options, and guaranteed assistance from the airframer to help phase out the carrier's 60-strong fleet of 50-seat CRJ200s, according to the SkyTeam member. Deliveries will begin in the second half of 2013.
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Chinese customer orders 7 CRJ700 special mission aircraft
Bombardier has announced that an "undisclosed Chinese customer" has ordered seven CRJ700 NextGen aircraft in a deal valued at $330 million. "This latest order is a great step in establishing the CRJ700 NextGen aircraft as an excellent special mission aircraft," says Michel Bourgeois, president of specialised and amphibious aircraft, Bombardier Aerospace.
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China Airlines to order six Boeing 777-300ERs
China Airlines has received approval from its board to place an order for six Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. The announcement was made on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, but details were scant. A spokeswoman contacted said the board's decision was made on 6 December and that the Taiwanese airline will now work with Boeing on the formal order. She declined to say when the aircraft will be scheduled for delivery.
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Icelandair opts for 737 Max to operate alongside 757s
Icelandair has tentatively selected the Boeing 737 Max to modernize its fleet, opting for both the -8 and -9 versions of the twinjet. The carrier has signed a commitment for 12 aircraft - comprising eight -8s and four -9s - and is taking purchase rights on another 12. Icelandair will take delivery of the jets from the first half of 2018. Its 737-8s will have 153 seats while the -9s will be configured with 172. The airline has been considering options to renew its fleet of 183-seat Boeing 757s, and had been looking at whether to retain an all-757 fleet beyond 2020 or to take smaller aircraft.
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First US-built Phenom 300 takes to the skies
Embraer has flown its first US-manufactured Phenom 300, about a year after its smaller Phenom 100 stablemate made its maiden sortie from the airframer's Melbourne, Florida site. The light business jet will enter service as a flight demonstrator based at its US production and customer support facility where, Embraer says, it will have the capacity to produce up to eight of the seven-seat types a month.
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EC225 grounding 'biggest issue' in Eurocopter history
Eurocopter faces the "biggest issue" in its 20-year history, according to its chief executive, as the airframer attempts to deal with the fallout from two related ditchings of EC225s in the North Sea. Speaking at a Helicopter Safety Steering Group (HSSG) meeting in November, according to minutes seen by Flightglobal, Eurocopter boss Lutz Bertling admitted the UK's oil and gas industry had "lost confidence in the EC225 helicopters and in Eurocopter". Although the EC225 fleet used for offshore transportation in the oil and gas sector has been grounded in the UK and Norway since October, after rulings by both countries' civil aviation regulators, Bertling says Eurocopter's first priority is not to return the Super Pumas to service, but to "regain confidence in the aircraft, company and solution".
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Bomb Squad Finds Smoking Pack In US Airport
A bomb squad responded to a report of heavy smoke at Pittsburgh Airport on Thursday and found a suspicious satchel concealed in a men's bathroom.
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International Tourism To Reach 1 Billion In 2012
A record 1 billion people will travel across an international border as a tourist in 2012, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council.
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Germanwings To Woo More Business Travel
Lufthansa's low-cost carrier Germanwings is aiming to woo more business passengers in its battle against cut-throat competition from Ryanair and easyJet.
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AIA bullish on US aerospace sales, warns on sequestration
US aerospace sales are expected to rise 3.4% year-over-year to $217.9 billion for 2012 and increase another 2.6% in 2013 to $223.6 billion. In its year-end forecast released this week, US Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) said US civil aircraft sales are expected to increase 13.9% in 2012 to $60.6 billion and lift another 11.4% to $67.5 billion in 2013. Aerospace manufacturing is “an industry that remains healthy despite the obstacles.” AIA president and CEO Marion Blakey said at a Wednesday luncheon in Washington, DC. The aerospace business is “one of the bright spots in the US economy,” she added.
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Eurofighter Typhoon releases first Meteor missile
A Eurofighter combat aircraft has released an MBDA Meteor beyond visual-range air-to-air missile for the first time, with the milestone having been achieved over a UK test range on 4 December. Performed by a BAE Systems test pilot using the UK's Typhoon Instrumented Production Aircraft 1, the event included ejecting a telemetry-equipped Meteor test round from a rear-fuselage missile station over the Qinetiq firing range in Aberporth, west Wales.
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US Airways reports traffic increase in November
US Airways Group reported a 4.4% increase in passenger traffic in November when compared to the same month last year. Heavier holiday traffic contributed to the boost. Capacity rose 2.8%, and load factor increased to 84.8%.
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United shows signs of overcoming merger hurdles
United Airlines' performance in the stock market will be determined by how quickly it moves through its merger, writes anonymous investment blogger Freedonia Freelance. The carrier is showing promising signs of doing just that, as it takes on the difficult task of combining two computer systems.
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FedEx gives preliminary details of buyout program
Details are beginning to emerge about FedEx's voluntary buyout program, announced in August, for employees in the U.S. Eligible employees will receive notification Feb. 15, and employees who accept the offer will leave in three waves beginning in May.
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FAA to permit flights to Iraq, lifting 16-year ban
The Federal Aviation Administration plans to lift a ban on commercial flights by U.S. airlines to Iraq that went into place 16 years ago. Flights were banned due to safety concerns, but the agency is expected to allow flights into two airports in northern Iraq.
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EU passenger and freight traffic dipped in October
Passenger traffic fell by 1.3% and freight traffic was down 2.2% in October when compared to the same month last year, according to a recent report from the Airports Council International Europe. The numbers reflect the first time that passenger and freight traffic fell in the same month since 2009.
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Airlines forecast full flights for holiday season
JetBlue, Southwest and US Airways expect a very strong travel season for the holidays. Demand is "as high, if not higher, than we've ever seen," said Doug Parker, chairman of US Airways.
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Other News

AeroSvit Airlines and Moscow Sheremetyevo International Airport have been in a clash over the carrier’s debt of RUB 95 million ($3 million). The airport had given AeroSvit until Dec. 10 to pay off the debt or else it would ban the carrier. AeroSvit reportedly made a partial payment Thursday and said in a statement it will pay the rest before the Dec. 10 deadline. AeroSvit’s debt for Russia’s air traffic control system has reportedly reached $1 million. Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency, Rosaviatsia, said it sent a warning to Ukrainian authorities Nov. 20 saying it would restrict AeroSvit’s scheduled and charter flights from Nov. 27, but the date was postponed to Dec. 10.

India’s airline passenger traffic has fallen about 16% in October compared to a year ago, according to Directorate of Civil Aviation. The decline marks the sixth straight month of falling traffic despite capacity remaining largely flat. India's air travel numbers had registered double-digit growth over the past several years. October data shows airlines flew 4.5 million passengers compared to 5.4 million in the year-ago month. Analysts say the slowdown is largely because of higher fares and slowing economic growth. India’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth, the primary measure of economic health, declined to 5.4% in the April to September period, compared to the 7.3% reported in the same period last year, according to data released by the Central Statistical Organization. Many air passengers are making fewer trips or taking the train, travel agents in Mumbai said.

Flight attendants of Compass Airlines, a feeder service for Delta Air Lines Inc (DAL), said they sought arbitration by the National Mediation Board (NMB) that will allow them to strike if management fails to negotiate a new agreement. The flight attendants, represented by the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA), said if the NMB grants its request and agrees that management has refused to make significant movement, negotiations will be declared deadlocked leading to a "cooling off" period and a strike deadline. Compass Flight Attendants have been seeking an agreement that provides fair wages, better working conditions and benefits, AFA Compass President Catriona Bagley said in a statement.

The U.S. Navy announced today that the Danish government signed an official letter of offer and acceptance formalizing its intent to buy nine MH-60R SEAHAWK helicopters and comprehensive logistics support for its Maritime Helicopter Replacement Program. Valued at US $686 million (Kr 4 billion), the aircraft will be procured via the U.S. government's Foreign Military Sales program. "It's great news that the Danish government has selected the U.S. Navy's MH-60R, an aircraft we believe is the world's most capable multi-mission maritime helicopter," said Rear Adm. Paul Grosklags, Program Executive Officer, Air, ASW, Assault and Special Mission Programs. "Danish pilots and crew will be able to fly with the confidence that these aircraft have been proven operationally capable at sea and have the full logistics support already in place to ensure they are ready and able to fly anytime, anywhere in the world."

Boeing, union suspend talks for rest of year on mediator request. At the request of a federal mediator, Boeing Co (BA) and the union representing its 23,000 engineers suspended talks on new labor contracts for the rest of the year. The move came Wednesday, a day after the mediator joined the negotiations in Seattle. The two sides have been bargaining since April to replace contracts that expired October 6. A 60-day extension ran out November 25, giving the union the ability to strike. Union leaders have said they would not call a strike until January at the earliest. "At the request of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, negotiations between The Boeing Company and the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA), IFPTE Local 2001 are being suspended until after the first of the year," the FMCS said in a statement Wednesday. "Both sides agreed to this mediator request."

Aviation Quote

It got more exciting with each war. I mean the planes were going faster than hell when I was flying a Mustang, but by the time I got to Nam, it scared the piss out of a lot of guys just to fly the damn jets at full speed. Let alone do it in combat.

— Brigadier General Robin Olds, USAF.

On This Date

---In 1940...First flight of the Fairey Barracuda prototype, P1767.

---In 1941... The Imperial Japanese Navy makes a devastatingly successful surprise attack on Pearl Harbor and other U.S. military facilities on Oahu, Hawaii. Six aircraft carriers launch 353 warplanes in two waves. They sink five American battleships and ten other vessels, damage three other battleships, and destroy 188 U.S. aircraft, killing 2,402 and wounding 1,282. The Japanese lose 29 aircraft, five midget submarines, and 65 killed.

---In 1942..First flight of the Bell XP-63 King Cobra.

---In 1944…Signing of the Convention on International Civil Aviation in Chicago, Illinois.

---In 1945... New Zealand National Airways Corporation is founded with amalgamation of Union Airways, Air Travel and Cook Strait Airways.

---In 1962…First flight of the Aérospatiale Super Frelon.

---In 1964…Beale Air Force Base, California, announced as the home base for SR-71s. Beale AFB was the home base of the SR-71 throughout its entire career. (Q)

---In 1980... Pan Am’s Boeing 747 China Clipper arrives in Peking from New York via Tokyo to complete the first official flight between China and USA since shortly before 1949.

---In 1987… A PSA BAe 146 crashes after a former USAir employee shoots the pilots, killing forty-three.

---In 1990…In Alaska Airlines Boeing 727 takes off from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in visibility of only 500 ft (152 m), the lowest for any airliner takeoff in the US.

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Humor

Disembarking Passengers

On one particular flight the pilot had hammered his plane into the runway really hard. The airline had a policy which required the first officer to stand at the door while the passengers exited, give a smile, and a “Thanks for flying XYZ airline.”

In light of his bad landing, he had a hard time looking the passengers in the eye, thinking that someone would have a smart comment, but no one seemed annoyed. Finally everyone had gotten off except for one little old lady walking with a cane. She approached and asked conspiratorially, “Sonny, mind if I ask you a question?”

“Why no Ma'am, what is it?”

“Did we land or were we shot down?”

Trivia

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kmh1956 wrote:That Pearl Harbor photo is eerie. Very powerful.