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Airbus and Boeing trade punches over A330neo
Airbus and its rival Boeing offered customarily divergent takes on the prospects for the A330neo during the ISTAT Europe conference in Istanbul today. Boeing vice-president marketing Randy Tinseth suggests Airbus was wrong to build the A330 aircraft in the past and is wrong again with the A330neo. "It is a 1970 fuselage which is heavy and was abandoned for the A350 family. The wing was built in the 1980s while the Boeing 787 engine is not optimised for the A330neo," says Tinseth.
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Airbus sets date for A320neo maiden flight
Airbus is to conduct the maiden flight of its re-engined A320neo jet on 25 September. The test aircraft, fitted with Pratt & Whitney PW1100G engines, will depart from Toulouse at 10:30.
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Bombardier keeps CSeries on target despite grounding
Bombardier is confident the CSeries is back on track for service entry next year, following its return to the air earlier this month. The Canadian manufacturer relaunched flight-testing on 7 September. The enforced suspension began on 29 May following an engine failure during ground-testing while Pratt & Whitney worked on a modification to the aircraft’s PW1500G engines. “The entry-into-service for the CS100 is still the second half of 2015, and the CS300 will follow six months later. That’s the target and that’s the schedule we’re still on, says Bombardier’s marketing and airline analysis manager for the Americas Courtney Miller.
LinkAirlines
Both Sides Dig In As Air France Strike Continues
The bitter dispute between Air France and its pilots deepened as management pledged to press ahead with its low-cost airline ambitions and pilots extending indefinitely the strike. Air France-KLM wants to develop its own low-cost airline, Transavia, with hubs in France, the Netherlands and elsewhere in Europe in an attempt to maintain market share in the face of strong competition in the sector. However, Air France pilots fear that the move - particularly at the hubs that will hire pilots outside France - will end up eroding their pay and conditions, which are among the best in Europe. The strike has grounded 60 percent of Air France flights and is costing the company up to EUR€20 million a day.
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French Govt. Ups Pressure For End To Air France Strike
The French government has made a renewed appeal for an end to the Air France pilots' strike, urging management to "clarify" its proposals. The strike over the airline's plans to establish low-cost activities has entered its second week and is set to be the longest such industrial action in its history. The main SNPL union has extended strike action to September 26 and a second union, SPAF, to September 24 with an option to extend further. "Service must resume right now, that's what the country wants and all those involved must understand that," Jean-Marie Le Guen, minister in charge of relations with parliament, said before new talks between unions and management.
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Air France Offers To Postpone Low-Cost Project
The chief executive of Air France-KLM has offered to postpone roll-out of its European low-cost operation until the end of the year in a bid to end the pilots' strike. Setting out what he called a "final proposal", Alexandre de Juniac told Le Monde daily the aim was to buy time for detailed negotiations with pilot representatives on the plan. "We are proposing to suspend until the end of the year the project to create Transavia units in Europe outside France and the Netherlands. That will create time to carry out a thorough dialogue on the plan and to formulate the necessary guarantees with unions," he said.
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American Airlines saves fuel with weather software
American Airlines is using software developed by NASA to use the most efficient flight paths available to avoid severe weather. The carrier is testing the software, called Dynamic Weather Routes, and says the program has saved it 3,500 flying minutes on 500 flights.
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Emirates to re-evaluate A350 alongside 787 next year
Emirates aims to launch a competition between the Airbus A350 and Boeing 787 during 2015 once it has obtained detailed performance and in-service data for the two twinjets. The airline will re-evaluate the A350-900 and -1000 alongside the 787-9 and -10 following its decision in June to terminate its original contract placed in 2007 for 70 of the Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-powered twinjet. Emirates Airline president Tim Clark says the decision to cancel the original A350 order was driven by Airbus’s move three years ago to revamp the A350-1000 around a more powerful engine. “It’s a different aeroplane [to the one ordered],” says Clark.
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Southwest CEO: Love Field lacked growth due to Wright amendment
Gary Kelly, chairman and CEO of Southwest Airlines, said the repeal of the Wright amendment gave Dallas Love Field a future. "Love Field was not growing and really had no opportunity to grow because of all the very severe restrictions that were in place," Kelly said.
Southwest CEO: Love Field lacked growth due to Wright amendment
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United Airlines' efficiency push is paying off
United Airlines has pushed for better on-time rates by shedding uneconomical regional jets, adding check-in technology and making other moves that boost efficiency. And the work appears to be paying off: Analysts are applauding the company's second-quarter profit of $919 million.
LinkAirports
Boston airport to reconfigure terminal for Airbus A380
Boston's Logan International Airport plans to update its Terminal E to accommodate the Airbus A380. A $30 million renovation will reconfigure three airport gates and modify aircraft taxi lanes for the super jumbo jet.
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Chicago O'Hare aims to test customs app for travelers
O’Hare International Airport hopes to test a new app that should allow international travelers to maneuver through customs on their cell phones from their airplane seats — while taxiing to arrival gates, a top aviation official said Friday. Using the app post-touchdown, passengers could answer the same border clearance questions they now answer at O’Hare’s self-service customs kiosks, Chicago Aviation Commissioner Rosemarie Andolino revealed as she touted a World Route Development Forum due to open Sunday in Chicago.
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Aviation Quote
If Richard Branson had worn a pair of steel-rimmed glasses, a double-breasted suit and shaved off his beard, I would have taken him seriously. As it was I couldn't . . .
— Lord King, Chairman British Airways.
On This Date
---In 1910... Peruvian Georges Chavez, who flies over the Simplon Pass between Italy and Switzerland, makes the 1st airplane flight over the Alps.
--- In 1911... Earl Ovington carries the 1st airmail in the United States in a Ble´riot monoplane from Nassau Boulevard Aerodome, Long Island to Mineola, Long Island.
---In 1913... French pilot, Roland Garros, becomes the 1st person to fly across the Mediterranean, a distance of 470 miles. He lands in Tunisia 7 hours and 53 minutes after taking off from France, which is of particular note because he only had enough fuel for 8 hours of flight.
---In 1941…Hans-Ulrich Rudel single-handedly sinks the Soviet battleship Marat flying a Junkers Ju 87 dive bomber.
---In 1999…NASA announces that it has lost contact with the Mars Climate Orbiter after it descended to a low altitude in Mars’ orbit and was destroyed by atmospheric stresses.
---In 1999…Qantas Flight 1, a 747-400 registered VH-OJH, overruns a runway in Bangkok during a storm. While some passengers receive minor injuries, it is still the worst accident in Qantas history.
Daily Video
Editor’s Choice
Humor
Shipwreck
Following a moment of inattention by the Captain, a ship sank in the middle of the ocean. Two guys managed to inflate a rubber life raft and grab a box of provisions before the ship slipped gently below the surface. After floating under blazing heat for six days they ran out of food and water.
On the tenth day, bleary eyed and half dead from heat, thirst and starvation, they spotted a small object floating toward them in the water. As it drew near, they were ecstatic to find that it was an oil lamp (Oil Lamp, Brass, One. Genies for the use of). They grabbed the lamp and rubbed it. Out popped a tired old genie.
"OK, so you freed me from this stupid lamp, yadda, yadda, yadda. But hey, I've been doing this three wishes stuff for a long time now and quite frankly, I'm burned out. You guys get only ONE wish and then I'm OUTTA here. Make it a good one".
The first guy, without hesitation or thought blurted out, "Give us all the beer we can drink for the rest of our lives!!!"
"Fine," said the genie, and with a wave of his hand, the entire ocean turned into beer.
"Great move Einstein!" said the second guy, slapping the first guy in the head. "NOW we're gonna have to pee in the BOAT!"
Trivia
General
1: What is the world's busiest airport?
A) Hartsfield
B) Heathrow
C) JFK
D) Los Angeles International
2: Which was not a requirement for the first female flight attendants in 1930?
A) Must weigh no more than 115 pounds
B) Must be nurses
C) Must be able to hold their breath for at least 60 seconds
D) Must be unmarried
3: How did American Airlines cut their costs by nearly $40,000 in 1987?
A) Cutting the length of time it took to explain safety procedure
B) Using cheaper microphones for the cockpit
C) Using paper cups for in-flight drinks
D) Eliminating an olive from each salad served in-flight
4: How much did it cost to ride in a barnstormer's airplane in the 1920s?
A) Nothing
B) $1
C) $5
D) $10
5: When was the hijacking of airplanes officially outlawed?
A) 1954
B) 1961
C) 1972
D) 1987
6: What is the average number of people airborne per hour in the United States?
A) 20,000
B) 40,000
C) 60,000
☐ D) 70,000
7: About how much did American Airlines spend on in-flight meals in 2001?
A) $13 million
B) $150 million
C) $315 million
D) $425 million
8: British Airways passengers consume approximately 6 tons of what per year?
A) Caviar
B) Smoked salmon
C) Chocolate
D) Chicken
9: What words do the initials ORD (for Chicago O'Hare) stand for?
A) Orchard Field
B) Overland
C) Old River Run
D) Ordination
10: What was the world's first airline?
A) KLM
B) Qantas
C) Delag
D) Jetblue
