NewsCommercial
Boeing Breaks Ground On 777X Wing Factory
Boeing executives and Washington state political leaders took sledgehammers to a 1960s office block on Wednesday to start clearing the way for a factory that will make composite wings for the 777X. The new 1.3-million-square-foot composite wing factory reflects Boeing's desire to bring more of its operations under its own roof. The previous generation of composite wings, used on the 787 Dreamliner, are made by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Japan. "We're going to be a here for a long, long time," Boeing commercial planes chief executive Ray Conner told a crowd of about 100 that included politicians, senior Boeing executives, employees and officials from the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers union.
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Little Room For Premium Carriers In Low-Fare India
A decade after low-cost carriers led India's air travel boom, full-service airlines are gearing up for a battle for premium passengers that only the deep-pocketed are likely to win. Flag carrier Air India, which has only offered premium travel, will face more competition from second-largest airline Jet Airways, which on Monday said it would ditch its budget unit and focus on the full-service market amid mounting losses. The carriers are also bracing for Vistara, a venture between Singapore Airlines and Tata, which will start flying in October.
LinkAirlines
American Airlines seeks fuel sales tax cap extension
American Airlines is asking North Carolina legislators to extend a measure that caps fuel taxes for airlines operating in the state at $2.5 million per year, or to eliminate the taxes altogether. The cap is set to expire Jan. 1, 2016. "North Carolina needs to be competitive for air service and airline investment," said Tracy Montross, American's government affairs director. "We are working on exempting the sales tax on jet fuel permanently through legislation. Until that is in place, any increase in the sales tax impacts our services.
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Cathay Pacific's First-Half Profit Jumps
Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Airways first half net profit jumped to HKD$347 million (USD$44.77 million) from HKD$24 million a year ago. Turnover for the period rose by 4.6 percent to HKD$50.84 billion.
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Delta museum allows visitors to glimpse aviation history
The Delta Flight Museum in Atlanta offers visitors a chance to see the first Lockheed L-1011 TriStar used as a movie set and the "Spirit of Delta," a restored Delta Boeing 767-232. The museum opened to the public in June after an overhaul, and is located in the carrier's corporate offices near Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
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Finnair hopes for cargo lift from new A350s
Finnair aims to capitalise on the additional belly cargo capacity of its new Airbus A350s, of which it will start taking delivery in the second half of next year. The Oneworld carrier is European launch customer for the type, with 11 on order and a further eight options. The carrier has given no precise date for handover of the first, saying only that it expects to take delivery of the type in the second half of next year. “This aircraft was ordered a long time ago. We have lived through the design phase and now await its arrival,” said chief executive Pekka Vauramo, speaking as the carrier unveiled its cabin plans for the type while the A350 stopped in Helsinki as part of route-proving tour. The airline will operate its A350 in a 297-seat configuration featuring 46 in business class.
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Finnair to roll out 'economy comfort' product by year-end
Oneworld carrier Finnair is to launch a new product offering additional legroom and amenities, dubbed "economy comfort", on its long-haul flights by the end of this year. The airline is pitching the new product between economy and premium economy, believing that, priced at between €45-65 each way, the product will be more affordable to its leisure travellers than a higher-priced full premium-economy product. “There is a set of travellers that want a bit more leg-space but don’t want to pay that much,” says Finnair commercial chief Allister Paterson. “The main feature is the leg-space.”
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JetBlue posts 4.3% increase in July passenger traffic
JetBlue Airways reported a 4.3% increase in passenger traffic for July on a year-over-year basis. The carrier also boosted capacity by 3.5% for the month, and passenger revenue per available seat mile climbed by 1% in July from the same month in 2013.
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Kenya Air Claims Compensation For Airport Fire
Kenya Airways wants Kenya's High Court to compel Nairobi Airport to pay USD$3.8 million to the national carrier over a fire last year that forced it to cancel flights and led to revenue losses. Kenya Airways alleges in court papers that the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) failed to provide adequate fire-fighting equipment at the airport, the carrier's main hub. "We have been negotiating over an insurance claim, and it is news to us that Kenya Airways has gone to court. KAA cannot comment at this stage until the summons reach us," Angela Tilitei, KAA corporate communications manager, told Reuters news agency.
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United updates employee incentive programs
United Airlines has changed the method for determining employee bonuses to rely less on on-time rankings. "Incentive programs need to evolve so that they reward the right outcomes," said Christen David, a spokeswoman for United. Employees eligible for bonuses can earn up to $125 a month under the new method.
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Virgin America flight attendants vote for TWU representation
Flight attendants at Virgin America have voted in favour of representation by the Transport Workers Union, the first employee group at the carrier to approve union representation. Cabin crew members voted for the union by a 16 percentage point margin with 58% of the 828 votes cast in favour of the union, says the TWU. The vote was held from 16 July to 13 August with the assistance of the US National Mediation Board (NMB).
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The best day to shop for airfare
I hear lots of airfare myths. A common one claims airlines hold onto a slew of dirt-cheap tickets only to unleash them all on an unsuspecting public during a very brief, super-secret window just before or after midnight each Tuesday. Now, the facts. And none of them are a secret. Fact No. 1: Yes, Tuesday is special - but you don't have to get up at midnight Tuesday is the busiest day of the week for airline ticket shopping. Here's why: • Airlines file most sales late Monday, but the public generally doesn't hear about them until Tuesday when sales are announced. • On Tuesday morning, other airlines begin matching competitors' sale prices so they don't wind up on page ten of a shopper's airfare search query. Who bothers to look at page ten? • By 3 p.m. ET Tuesday, this matching activity is complete and shoppers see the lowest prices from all the airlines. • Airfare sales usually last two to three days.
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Column looks at in-flight shopping options
In many ways, airplanes are a retailer's dream come true. They serve a captive -- often bored -- audience who have proven their income is disposable enough to afford air travel. It's no wonder that in the last few years, airlines have adapted an increasingly sophisticated approach to parting customers from their money. "By nature, airlines are mass transit operators, and they didn't necessarily have any retail savviness when they first started to unbundle -- it was very much low-hanging fruits, like chocolate bars and Pringles up and down the aisle," says Dan Thompson, senior vice president of global strategy at GuestLogix, a provider of in-flight retail solutions. "Now, there's a new sense of maturity in retail strategies with airlines," he adds.
LinkMilitary
Croatian MiG-21 pilot survives two in-flight emergencies
Croatia’s air force suffered a double blow while participating in national celebrations on 5 August – unusually with the same pilot involved in both incidents. Lt Col Stanko Hrženjak made an emergency landing at Zadar-Zemunik air base after the left leg of his Mikoyan MiG-21’s main landing gear failed to extend at the end of a flight to mark the 19th anniversary of the last major battle in Croatia’s war for independence. He overcame the problem by hydraulically retracting and re-extending the landing gear.
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Poland advances MiG-29 upgrade
Deliveries of upgraded RAC MiG-29s to the Polish air force are continuing, and negotiations for a second batch may begin soon. The upgrade is being performed by Poland's WZL-2 Military Aviation Works, and is based on a design and systems supplied by Israel Aerospace Industries. The modernisation package includes new avionics, cockpit instruments and an advanced debriefing system.
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More details emerge on RAF Tornado deployment
A “small number” of Royal Air Force Panavia GR4 Tornado combat aircraft have been deployed to RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, where they will be positioned to support aid deliveries to displaced refugees in Iraq. The aircraft left RAF Marham in Norfolk on 12 August fitted with the Rafael Litening III reconnaissance and targeting pod, and are being deployed to provide surveillance support to logistics aircraft delivering aid to stranded Iraqis.
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Aviation Quote
If you want to grow old as a pilot, you—ve got to know when to push it, and when to back off.
— Chuck Yeager.
On This Date
--- In 1909... The first woman passenger to fly in a powered airplane in Great Britain is the wife of Samuel F. Cody. She is taken for a 3-minute flight from the Royal Engineers Balloon Factory at Farnborough in Cody’s British Army Aeroplane No.1.
--- In 1931... Piloted by M. M. Gromov, the Tupolev ANT-14 large passenger aircraft makes its first flight. The largest landplane of its day, it could carry 36 passengers.
---In 1953... The sound barrier is broken over Australia for the first time by Flight Lieutenant Bentleigh, Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), in the first Australian-built Sabre fighter at Avalon, Victoria.
---In 1962…East German Ilyushin Il-62 crashes on takeoff from East Berlin, killing 156.
---In 1966…YF-12 (934) is written off after an a landing accident at Edwards AFB. The rear of this YF-12 was used to build 61-7981, an SR-71C which became known as “The Bastard”. This SR-71C is on display at Hill AFB Museum, Utah. (Q)
---In 1968…Los Angeles Airways Flight 417, a Sikorsky 61L helicopter (N300Y) flying from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to Disneyland Heliport, crashes in Compton, Calif., killing all 18 passengers and three crewmembers on board. One of the rotor blades had separated from the spindle, causing loss of control.
---In 1979…Hitting 499mph in a specially modified P-51 named Red Baron, Steve Hinton sets a new world speed record for a piston-engined aircraft.
---In 1993…Two B-1 Lancers complete a round-the-world trip in 47 hours.
---In 2005…Helios Airways Flight 522, a 737-300 (5B-DBY) crashes into a mountain near Marathon, Greece, killing all 121 on board. A problem with the pressurization system had caused the pilots to loose consciousness, leading to loss of control and fuel starvation.
---In 2009…Australian airline Strategic Airlines commences operations.
---In 2013…UPS Airlines Flight 1354, an Airbus A300 freighter, crashes short of the runway on approach to Birmingham–Shuttlesworth International Airport, killing the two crew on board.
Daily Video
Editor’s Choice
Humor
Student and instructor are on a dual, night cross country
Instructor: Turns down the panel lights, "OK, you've just lost your lights, what are you going to do?"
Student pulls out a flashlight.
Student: "I get out my flashlight."
Instructor grabs flashlight.
Instructor: "The batteries are dead, now what are you going to do?"
Student pulls out another flashlight.
Student: "I get out my other flashlight."
Instructor grabs next flashlight.
Instructor: "The bulb is burned out on this one, now what?"
Student pulls out yet a third flashlight.
Student: "I use this flashlight."
Instructor grabs this one too.
Instructor: "ALL your flashlights are dead. Now what?"
Student: "I use this glow stick."
Instructor: "Sighhhhhh, just fly the plane without any lights, OK?"
Trivia
General Trivia
1. What country has the world’s worst weather?
2. What is the greatest speed ever attained by a human being in flight?
3. Explain how it is possible for two aircraft to maintain a constant distance and bearing from each other while both maintain the same true heading and altitude, yet are flown at different true airspeeds (in no-wind conditions)?
4. What famous pilot also was a bantamweight boxer who won a West Coast Amateur Championship and became a professional boxer?
5. What U.S. airline was first to operate an all-turbine (turbo-prop) fleet, and what U.S. airline was first to operate an all-jet fleet?
6. A pilot is speaking to an FSS specialist and is overheard saying, “I am going to praise God.” Why does this make perfect sense to the specialist?
7. Who was the first politician to use an airplane to travel between campaign stops?
