NewsFrench Strike To Hit Flights On ThursdayFlights to and from France face disruption on Thursday due to a strike by air traffic controllers that has prompted companies including easyJet, Ryanair and Lufthansa to scale back their normal schedule. France's DGAC civil aviation authority said it was urging airlines to cut service by 10 percent, particularly on links between France and Spain, Portugal and North Africa. British low-cost airline easyJet and Ireland's Ryanair said they would have to cut about 30 percent of flights as a result of the one-day protest over plans for changes to air traffic control practices at European level.
LinkNigerian Aviation Minister Calls Air Crash 'Act Of God'Nigeria's aviation minister has caused outrage by calling air crashes inevitable acts of God, as she sought to deflect criticism of her record after the country's second deadly accident in 15 months. Stella Oduah was speaking to journalists at the presidential villa on Monday, three days after sixteen people were killed in a small passenger plane that crashed shortly after take-off outside Lagos airport's domestic terminal. In June last year, a Dana Air flight crashed into a Lagos apartment block, killing 163 people in the country's worst airline disaster in two decades. An investigation has yet to reveal the cause. "We do not pray for accidents but it is inevitable... We do everything to ensure that we do not have accidents, but it is an act of God," she said. "We do not speculate on the cause of accidents."
LinkEU Parliament Votes For Shorter Pilot HoursThe European Parliament voted on Wednesday for stricter flight time limits for pilots, which the European Commission said would improve safety, although opponents said they were not strict enough. The European Commission says the new system will improve safety by enforcing best practice across the 28-nation bloc. "It will bring better protection of passengers and safer working conditions for crew. This is a victory for common sense," EU Transport Commissioner Siim Kallas said in a statement. Pilot fatigue has been blamed for a number of air accidents and near misses in the United States and Europe.
LinkRyanair To Hire New Senior Exec To Boost ImageRyanair is to hire a new senior executive to spearhead efforts to create a new, softer image after it was voted the worst of the 100 biggest brands serving the British market by consumer magazine Which? The decision comes weeks after chief executive Michael O'Leary promised to transform the company's culture, admitting for the first time that a reputation for treating its passengers badly might have become a problem. The Irish-based airline, which carries more international passengers than any other carrier, frequently features in European tabloid newspapers with stories of customers charged huge fines for excess baggage or lost boarding passes.
LinkAegean gets European green light for Olympic acquisitionAegean Airlines' proposed acquisition of Olympic Air has been cleared by the European Commission. After "in-depth investigation" into the Greek airlines' second attempt to join forces, the Commission has concluded that financial difficulties would force Olympic Air to exit the market "in the near future" if not acquired by Aegean. And if Olympic went out of business, Aegean would be Greece's "only significant domestic service provider", it argues: "Therefore, with or without the merger, Olympic would soon disappear as a competitor to Aegean. Thus the merger causes no harm to competition that would not have occurred anyway." The Greek crisis has caused a 26% drop in demand for domestic air passenger transport from Athens between 2009 and 2012, notes the Commission, and the first half of 2013 brought further decline: 6.3% year-on-year.
LinkFalse stick-shake prompts order to check 747 sensorFalse activation of a stick-shaker during take-off has spurred a US directive to check and test certain angle-of-attack sensors on Boeing 747s. The directive, which covers a range of 747 variants including the -400, requires a general visual inspection to determine whether a specific sensor with a paddle-type vane is fitted. For those aircraft affected the US FAA is demanding an operational test of the stall-warning system and, if necessary, replacement of the angle-of-attack sensor. The directive also covers the earliest 737 models as well as 727s.
LinkTwin Commander crack checks reprieveSome operators of Twin Commander 690A/B model twin turboprop business aircraft have been given a reprieve from being compelled to carry out immediate repair work in the area of the type's rear pressure bulkhead. The Federal Aviation Administration airworthiness directive AD 2013-09-05, issued in May, required detailed modification work to be carried out on the area. However, the FAA and support company Twin Commander Aircraft have now agreed that although the requirement for inspection remains immediate, if on inspection no cracks are found the aircraft may continue to fly for another 100 flights or 110 flight hours, whichever comes first, before the work must be carried out.
LinkEx-Boeing procurement officer indicted for fraudFederal prosecutors have indicted a former Boeing procurement officer and three others for allegedly rigging subcontract awards on military aircraft programs in St. Louis. An 11-page indictment of wire and mail fraud charges unsealed by the US District Court in St. Louis on 7 October accuses Deon Anderson of providing insider information to Jeffrey LaVelle, William Boozer and Robert Diaz, who respectively run JL Manufacturing, Globe Dynamics, and Inland Empire. Anderson's tip-offs, including competitive bid details and historic pricing data, helped the companies win two dozen contracts to supply aircraft parts to Boeing worth $3.5 million between November, 2009 until early 2013, according to the court document.
LinkSuperjet partners discuss corporate overhaulRadical restructuring of the Russian Superjet program is in progress, with talks having started between partners Alenia Aermacchi and Sukhoi. Describing the discussions as "preliminary", Alenia chief operating officer, business, Ugo Vinti says both parties recognise that the business model "needs to be adapted to the current phase of the program". "In order to produce [Superjet] in volumes and sell it internationally we strongly believe that we need a slightly different business model," he says. "We are currently discussing with our partner the opportunity to change the business model of the program."
LinkChinese group buys Mooney to revive productionOfficial Chinese news outlets report that Zhengzhou-based real estate development company Meijing Group has agreed to acquire Mooney Aviation Company. The report by the state-sponsored Xinhua news agency quotes a source inside the Meijing Group confirming that the deal should be announced in November. The executive also reportedly told Xinhua that the Committee on Foreign Investment in the USA cleared Meijing to acquire Mooney on 2 October. The deal could allow Kerrville, Texas-based Mooney to restart production after a three-year hiatus.
LinkAluminium demand continues strong growth: AlcoaAlcoa is holding to its full-year forecast of 9-10% growth in global aerospace demand for aluminium, as third-quarter performance pulled the US metal producer back into the black despite falling prices. For the quarter, revenue held steady at $5.8 billion, level with the second quarter and the year-ago period, despite a 3% sequential and 7% year-on-year decline in the London Metal Exchange cash price of aluminum.
LinkBelgium introduces first NH90 transportBelgium's first NH Industries (NHI) NH90 tactical transport helicopter arrived at Beauvechain air base on 2 October. Carrying the registration RN-05, the aircraft is one of eight NH90s on order for Belgium. Half of the aircraft fleet will be used to increase the air transport capability of the nation's air force, while the rest will be configured to perform search and rescue missions from Koksijde air base, replacing the ageing Westland Sea Kings. The first of these, RN-01, was delivered on 1 August 2013.
LinkIndian arbitration request was last resort: AgustaWestland chiefAgustaWestland resorted to making an official request for legal arbitration with the Indian government over a stalled deal for AW101 VVIP helicopters because it "didn't see any other option". Daniele Romiti, chief executive at the airframer, says that despite frequent requests, he was unable to persuade anyone from the New Delhi administration to sit down and meet with him. Romiti took the top job at the Anglo-Italian manufacturer in February, after a bribery investigation surrounding the deal for the 12 AW101s claimed his predecessor Bruno Spagnolini.
LinkAgustaWestland nears certification for military AW149AgustaWestland hopes it will clinch military certification of its in-development AW149 helicopter in a baseline configuration by year-end. The new 8t-class medium-twin is being developed as a variant of the civil AW189, which is due to achieve EASA approval in the coming weeks. Luca Medici, chief project engineer for both models, says meetings have already been held with Italy's Armaereo military certification body in order to smooth its passage towards approval.
LinkPratt & Whitney hit with contract withholding over F135 engineThe Pentagon’s Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) has imposed a 5% withholding against future billings for Pratt & Whitney on the F135 engine, which powers the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Imposed on 30 September, the withholding impacts the program's fifth through eighth low-rate initial production (LRIP) contracts and a US Navy advanced engine contract to reduce fuel burn on the F135.
LinkAmerican reports rise in traffic, PRASM for Sept.AMR Corp., the parent company of American Airlines, reported passenger revenue per available seat mile rose 3.2% in September on a year-over-year basis. Both domestic and international traffic for the carrier also increased for the month.
LinkBoeing focuses on keeping ANA as customerAfter the aircraft manufacturer lost a key order from Japan Airlines, Boeing is focusing on Japan's ANA Holdings, sources say. ANA Holdings is considering both the Airbus A350 and the Boeing 777X to replace its Boeing 777s. The airline said it would reach a decision by 2014.
LinkNew aircraft deliveries delayed due to shutdownSeveral U.S. carriers are awaiting delivery of new aircraft, which have been delayed due to the government shutdown. The Federal Aviation Administration office handling the paperwork is closed.
LinkEU airports see 3.9% rise in passenger traffic for Aug.Passenger traffic at airports in the European Union increased by 3.9% in August, as compared to the same month last year. ACI Europe reported the data from 172 airports, which encompasses more than 88% of passenger traffic in the EU.
LinkN.C. launches effort to recruit next generation of aviation workersTimco, a Greensboro, N.C.-based aircraft maintenance company, has partnered with chambers of commerce in the Piedmont Triad region to promote careers in the aviation industry with commercials aimed at teenagers. "One of the challenges we're working on right now is getting in front of parents and students to show them it's a totally different manufacturing environment, if you will, than the basic manufacturing that their fathers and grandfathers and grandmothers were involved in," said Pat Danahy, president of Greensboro's economic partnership team.
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