NewsAirlines
Air France-KLM hopeful of reviving European low-cost plan
Ambitions for a pan-European low-cost carrier persist at Air France-KLM, despite the group having abandoned its plan to build up its Transavia subsidiary as a budget airline with bases outside France and the Netherlands. That proposal was dropped after it ignited a two-week strike by Air France pilots in September. Instead, Transavia France will be expanded and, from its Paris Orly base, will serve European routes previously operated by Air France. Meanwhile, Transavia's Dutch arm is shifting focus from charter to scheduled flights at Amsterdam. Transavia will be playing in a "different league" to thoroughbred low-cost carriers such as EasyJet and Ryanair which operate throughout Europe with bases across the continent, said Air France-KLM finance chief Pierre-Francois Riolacci during a results briefing today.
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Air France-KLM Profit Drops After Pilots' Strike
Air France-KLM's third-quarter operating profit fell 61 percent to EUR€247 million after a 14-day pilots strike cost the airline about EUR€416 million in lost revenue. Overall, the group's revenue fell 6.7 percent in the third quarter to EUR€6.7 billion, while operating profit fell by EUR€394 million to EUR€247 million, the group said. On a like-for-like basis, revenues rose 0.2 percent and operating income fell by EUR€18 million, it said. Unit revenues fell 1.8 percent in real terms in the third quarter while unit costs fell 1.2 percent.
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American rolls back fare hike
American Airlines-US Airways last week rolled back an attempted $4 fare increase after too few competitors matched its new prices. Airlines have attempted to raise fares 21 times this year, with just five of the increases taking hold.
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Etihad, Alitalia Offer Concessions In Bid For EU Approval
Etihad and Alitalia have offered concessions in a bid to win European Union antitrust approval for the Abu Dhabi airline's plan to acquire 49 percent of the struggling Italian carrier. The European Commission said on its website that it would decide by November 17 whether to clear the deal. It did not provide details of the concessions, in line with its usual policy. The airlines have offered to give up some airport slots on the Rome-Belgrade route to facilitate rivals, a person familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.
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Fuzhou Airlines launches operations
Fuzhou Airlines launched operations with a commercial flight between Fuzhou and Beijing on 30 October. A Boeing 737-800 bearing the airline’s red and white livery took off from Fuzhou Changle International airport at 10:30 local time. The carrier says it will operate domestic services initially, to destinations including Shanghai Pudong, Xian, Haikou, Taiyun, Chongqing, Hefei, Kunming and Tianjin.
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Hawaiian marks 3 decades of flights to American Samoa
Hawaiian Airlines has reached a new milestone s it celebrates 30 years since launching its non-stop service between Honolulu and Pago Pago, American Samoa. The airline is the only major carrier to serve American Samoa. The departure of Flight HA 465 was preceded by festivities at the boarding gate at Honolulu International Airport (HNL) that included live Hawaiian music and presentation of kukui nut lei to more than 200 guests boarding the flight. A Samoan speaking crew serviced the flight, including employees who have worked on Hawaiian Airlines' Pago Pago route since its launch.
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Mouse Hunt Delays Norwegian Flight To New York
Norwegian Air Shuttle, already plagued by flight delays on its long-haul routes, was forced to delay a flight to New York by five hours on Tuesday because of a hunt for a mouse in the cockpit. "The pilots discovered a mouse on flight deck," spokeswoman Charlotte Holmbergh said on Wednesday. "We had to make sure that no cables or wires had been chewed. "This does not happen very often, but it does happen from time to time.”
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Republic Airways reports $18.5M profit for Q3
Republic Airways Holdings, based in Indianapolis, posted a $18.5 million profit for the third quarter. The carrier also reported $349.7 million in revenue for the quarter.
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Southwest encourages use of SWABiz online tool
Kevin Krone, a vice president and chief marketing officer for Southwest Airlines, encouraged corporate travel agents to use the carrier's SWABiz online tool for corporate travel. "It's a fantastic tool with a large user base," he said. Some agents said Southwest was difficult to book because not all its inventory is available through global distribution systems.
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United launches direct service between Guam, South Korea
United Airlines has launched daily direct flights between South Korea and Guam for the first time, serving a market that helped boost Guam’s tourism industry when the number of visitors from Japan declined. “As Guam’s hometown airline, we are delighted to bring additional economic benefits to our tourism industry and further expand the extensive route network from our Guam hub,” said Sam Shinohara, United’s managing director for business development in the Asia-Pacific. United also is launching twice-weekly direct flights between Guam and Shanghai, the Pacific Daily News reported Tuesday.
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United looks to replace regional jets
United Airlines is in the market for used aircraft to replace its regional jets. John Rainey, chief financial officer for the carrier, said buying aircraft in a "financially disciplined way" helps the carrier succeed. Experts predict United will either purchase Airbus A320s or Embraer 190s. United Airlines is on the market for used aircraft with a focus on narrowbodies to replace its rapidly shrinking fleet of 50-seat regional jets. The move comes nearly two years after the Chicago-based carrier’s pilots ratified a contract that allows it to add a “new small narrowbody aircraft” to its mainline fleet and more than a year after it announced its first order for E175s as part of a plan to replace some of the more than 300 50-seat regional jets in its Express fleet.
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VLM set to become first European Superjet operator
Belgian carrier VLM is to become the first European Union operator of the Sukhoi Superjet 100 following a deal with Ilyushin Finance to lease two of the regional aircraft. It has options for a further pair and purchase rights on 10 more. Lease periods on the first two jets, which are subject to a letter of intent, will run for 12 years. The airline – which is completing a management buy-out from Intro Aviation – will use the Russian-built twinjets to spearhead a return to scheduled services from its Antwerp base starting in April next year.
LinkAirports
Column explores opposition to 2nd Atlanta airport
Delta Air Lines, local property owners, environmental groups and labor unions are all objecting to development of a second Atlanta airport. "The proposal is a waste of taxpayer dollars, violates the city's restrictions on the land, and would siphon off increasingly scarce federal funding that's more needed at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport," said Trebor Banstetter, a spokesman for Delta.
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Commercial air service to resume at Iowa airport
Air Choice One will offer commercial flights between Iowa's Fort Dodge Regional Airport and Missouri's Lambert-St. Louis International Airport. Fort Dodge has been without commercial service since February, when Great Lakes Airlines halted flights because of a lack of pilots. Service to the airport is supported by a federal Essential Air Service subsidy.
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Myanmar Selects Consortium To Build New Airport
Myanmar has chosen a Japan-Singapore consortium to build its fourth international airport, a USD$1.5 billion project north of Yangon. Hanthawaddy Airport near Bago Town, about 96 km (60 miles) from the main airport in the commercial hub Yangon, will be undertaken by Yongnam-CAPE-JGC, a consortium that includes Singapore's Yongnam, Changi Airport Planners and Engineers (CAPE) and Japan's JGC Corporation. The project will be 49 percent financed by overseas development assistance, with the rest coming from private loans and the consortium itself, Tin Maung Ni, a member of the Tender Selection Committee, said.
LinkMilitary
Israeli F-35 buy takes fleet to 44
Israel has decided to increase its acquisition of Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II fighters by 25 aircraft, which will bring its fleet to 44 of the fifth-generation type. The country’s second contract, which is not yet finalised, was approved in principle when Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon recently met with his US counterpart, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, in Washington DC. Israel has already purchased 19 of the aircraft, at a cost of $2.75 billion. The first two F-35s are due to arrive in Israel by early 2017 and the rest should be delivered by 2018. The Israeli air force (IAF) plans to base the aircraft at Nevatim airbase in the southern region of the country.
LinkSpace
NASA has eye on Congressional critics following ISS launch disaster
NASA got the sternest possible reminder of the hazards of spaceflight when an International Space Station resupply mission ended in spectacular failure on 28 October, just metres above the launch pad at Wallops Island, Virginia. Seconds after lift-off, the Antares rocket – developed and operated by Orbital Sciences under the private sector partnership scheme NASA has relied on for cargo flights since it retired its Space Shuttle fleet in 2011 – exploded in a fireball, made all the more spectacular for being a night-time launch. No-one was hurt on the ground, early indications pointed to the survival of at least some of the launch pad infrastructure and the six ISS crew currently in orbit are in no immediate danger of running short of provisions. However, at a press conference later in the evening, NASA’s associate administrator for human exploration and operations acknowledged Congressional critics of NASA’s private sector launch partnerships, which will see Boeing and SpaceX ferrying US astronauts to the ISS from 2017, a service currently bought from the Russians.
LinkGeneral Aviation
AOPA outlines opposition to FAA NextGen technology mandate
The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association says a mandate from the Federal Aviation Administration requiring ADS-B equipment is not feasible for general aviation planes. A letter from AOPA President Mark Baker outlined the high cost of implementing ADS-B as a barrier for many general aviation users.
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Aviation Quote
We built a jet airplane to get in and out of a 5,000-ft field. No one believed it could be done.
— Joseph Sutter, Boeing Commercial Airplanes on the B-727.
On This Date
---In 1908... Henry Farman performs the 1st cross-country flight in Europe as well as the 1st flight between two towns.
---In 1909... Claude Moore-Brabazon wins a £1,000 prize offered by the Daily Mail for a circular flight of one mile.
---In 1967… A-12 (932) is the first and only Blackbird ever to sustain flak damage. Flown by Denny Sullivan. At least 6 missiles were fired and confirmed by photography. Pilot witnessed 3 missile detonations behind the A-12. Traveling at Mach 3.1, 84,000 feet. Post flight inspection revealed the flak damage. (Q)
---In 1979… Sir Barnes Wallis dies, aged 82.
---In 2006…Arik Air commences operations.
---In 2006…Mango, the low-cost South African airline is founded.
Daily Video
Editor’s Choice
Humor
Blackbird Humor
SR-71 Blackbird pilot Brian Shul tells of the following exchange: "One day as Walt (my back-seater) and I were screaming across Southern California 13 miles high, we were monitoring various radio transmissions from other aircraft as we entered Los Angeles airspace. Although they didn't really control us, they did monitor our movement across their scope. I heard a Cessna ask for a readout of its ground speed.
'90 knots,' Center replied.
Moments later, a twin engine Beech requested the same.
'120 knots,' Center answered.
We weren't the only ones proud of our ground speed that day as almost instantly an F-18 smugly transmitted, 'Uh, Center, Dusty 52 requests ground speed readout.'
There was a slight pause, then the response, 'Dusty 52, 525 knots on the ground.'
Then came another silent pause. Just as I was thinking to myself how ripe the situation was, I heard the crackle of our radio as Walt transmitted 'Center, Aspen 20, you got a ground speed readout for us?'
There was a longer than normal pause. 'Aspen 20, I show you at 1,742 knots.'
No further speed inquiries were made after that."
Another one for good measure:
In another popular SR-71 story, Los Angeles Center reported receiving a request for clearance to flight level 600 (60,000 feet). The incredulous controller, with some disdain in his voice, asked, "How do you plan to get up to 60,000 feet?"
The SR-71 pilot responded, "We don't plan to go up to it, we plan to go down to it!"
Trivia
General Trivia
1. Talton Higbee _______ and John Paul _______ began a Waco dealership in 1925 and in 1927 were awarded a contract to carry the mail using Wacos. After a series of mergers and acquisitions, their company eventually became part of what is now American Airlines. What current, well-known organization bears their names?
2. How did FIDO help to bring home British bomber crews during World War II?
3. How is it possible for four airplanes to fly in formation so that the distance between any one of these airplanes and any of the other three is the same?
4. What is the difference between Victor airways, T-routes, and Q-routes?
5. What airport was first in the world to have an airline passenger terminal and first to have an airport hotel?
6. Most are familiar with the Royal Air Force’s Lancaster and Mosquito bombers. What were the RAF’s Washington bombers?
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