NewsCommercial
Airbus starts assembling higher-weight A330
Airbus has started final assembly of the first A330 featuring the higher maximum take-off weight capability of 242t. The aircraft will be used for certification flights but a second for Delta Air Lines is being assembled “in parallel”, says the airframer. Delta has ordered 10 of the enhanced A330-300s, for delivery from the second quarter of 2015, and selected General Electric CF6 engines for the jets. The additional weight capability will extend the A330’s range by up to 500nm while improvements to the aerodynamics and engines will reduce fuel burn by as much as 2%, the airframer claims.
Link
Airbus Reaches 1,080 Gross Orders In Jan-Oct
Airbus sold three aircraft in October to bring its total orders for the year so far to 1,080, the European plane maker said. After adjusting for cancellations, which remained unchanged from September at 286 aircraft for the year to date, Airbus posted net orders of 794 aircraft between January and October. Airbus delivered 493 planes in the first 10 months of 2014, including 22 A380s.
Link
Boeing To Develop 737 MAX Replacement By 2030
Boeing has outlined plans to develop a new aircraft, with new engines and likely a composite structure, to replace the 737 MAX by 2030. The aircraft will be slightly larger than the 737 but its shape won't change dramatically from the current fuselage. The push for the new aircraft was being driven by competition from China and elsewhere, chief executive Jim McNerney said. "By 2030 we will have a new airplane," he said, adding there's "a good chance it will be a composite airplane." "It will be slightly bigger, there will be new engines. The current look of the planes (shape) won't change dramatically," McNerney said. China's COMAC is developing the C919 to compete with the 737 and the Airbus A320. The C919 has been delayed until end-2015. Other competitors include Russia's MS-21 and the slightly smaller Bombardier CSeries.
Link
MH370 hunt holds out for improved weather
Vessels conducting the hunt for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 have searched over 3,000km2 of the ocean bed since bathymetric survey mapping of the region was completed. Initial surveying work ended on 26 October with some 160,000km2 of the floor mapped to assist the detailed search. Three specialist vessels are spearheading the search for wreckage from the Boeing 777-200ER which disappeared en route to Beijing on 8 March. But the Joint Agency Co-ordination Centre, which is overseeing the effort, says the hunt is being affected by “considerable variance” in meteorological and oceanic conditions.
LinkAirlines
Aer Lingus still mulling A330neo before finalising A350 plan
Aer Lingus is to continue studying the new Airbus A330neo before finalising delivery plans for the nine A350s that it has long been committed to taking from the European airframer. The Irish airline initially ordered half a dozen A350-900s, as well as six A330-300s, in 2007. It later deferred and ultimately switched three of the A330s to A350s, leaving it with nine A350s initially due for delivery between 2015 and 2018. In February, it said this schedule could not be achieved and that it had revised delivery dates for the on-order A350s in addition to converting some to the regional version of the -900 model. These were likely to be delivered between 2018 and 2020, but further details awaited final agreements with Airbus.
Link
Aer Lingus Profit Up, Staff Back Pension Deal
Aer Lingus reported a rise in third-quarter operating profit to EUR€112.9 million, up 19 percent on the same period last year. Revenue for the three months to the end of September rose by 13.9 percent to EUR€509.32 million. The airline said it expected its full year operating profit to be ahead of last year's level of EUR€61.1 million, an upgrade from three months ago when it said it expected to match it. Aer Lingus employees have approved proposals to plug the airline's pension deficit. The scheme, which employees at Aer Lingus share with other aviation industry workers, has a deficit of more than EUR€700 million (USD$874.16 million) compared to Aer Lingus' market capitalization of EUR€800 million.
Link
Airline shares rise on Delta Oct. traffic report
Delta Air Lines shares rose nearly 5% in trading on Tuesday after a strong October traffic report. Shares of American Airlines and United Airlines also posted gains.
Link
JetBlue CIO shares goal of "seamless" travel
Eash Sundaram, the chief information officer for JetBlue Airways, discussed the carrier's IT strategy in a recent interview with CIO magazine. "Our goal is to limit transactions during the travel experience; we want to make travel seamless," he said. "We think we'll soon get to a point where we you won't have an individual boarding pass for each trip."
Link
Latin America to get third Viva airline by end-2015
New airline holding company Grupo Viva plans to launch another Viva-branded low-cost carrier in Latin America by the end of 2015, and will transition VivaAerobus' major Airbus A320 order to its books. This will allow the group flexibility to allocate aircraft to individual Viva airlines based on demand and market conditions, Grupo Viva's chief operating officer Joe Mohan said. Grupo Viva is in talks with Airbus to take over VivaAerobus' order of 52 A320 family aircraft, first announced in 2013. "We have actively been engaged with Airbus... They are very supportive," says Mohan. The order also includes an additional 40 A320 family options.
Link
Virgin To Make Gatwick Fleet Decision Next Year
Virgin Atlantic is likely to make a decision in the next five to nine months over which type of aircraft will replace its fleet of seven Boeing 747s based at London's Gatwick Airport. Virgin Atlantic, which is 51 percent owned by Richard Branson and 49 percent by Delta Air Lines, said it was looking at options as the leases on those 747s expire in 2019. "We'll probably make that decision in the next five to nine months," chief executive Craig Kreeger said at a travel conference in London. "There are aircraft that could be good candidates... like an Airbus A350 or more Boeing 787s or I suppose the Boeing 777. Those would be the three most likely scenarios."
LinkAirports
DFW sets new record for passenger traffic
Dallas/Fort Worth Airport handled 62.9 million passengers in its fiscal year ending September 30, setting a new record for passenger traffic. DFW added several international flights over the past fiscal year, including flights to Hong Kong and Shanghai.
LinkMilitary
Israel completes F-16 Barak upgrade
The Israeli air force has completed an extensive upgrade of its Lockheed Martin F-16C/Ds, which one source says has brought the fleet back to "peak operational capability." Work conducted under the Barak 2020 programme has included structural treatments to the fighter's airframe and the installation of new heads-up display and digital debriefing systems. Additional systems have also been fitted, but there have been no details released about their capabilities.
Link
Poland concludes JASSM purchase for F-16 fleet
Poland’s government has concluded negotiations for the purchase of 40 Lockheed Martin AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles to equip its F-16 fighters. Warsaw hopes to finalise the purchase by mid-December, with the munition entering operational service with its air force in 2017. To enable the service to field the missiles, its F-16s are receiving a software upgrade to M6.5 standard in a process that will last 12-18 months, the nation’s defence ministry says.
Link
South Korea kills BAE Systems F-16 upgrade program
Following a request from South Korea, the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) has terminated a Foreign Military Sales contract with BAE Systems to upgrade 134 Lockheed Martin F-16 fighters operated by South Korea. “On November 5, 2014, at the request of the Government of the Republic of Korea, the U.S. Government notified BAE Systems Technology Solutions & Service of Rockville, Maryland, that it would terminate for convenience a contract with BAE Systems, for initial development and long lead production in support of the Republic of Korea KF-16 fighter aircraft upgrade.” The cancellation will come as a severe blow to BAE Systems, which saw the South Korean F-16 upgrade program as a pivotal win in its bid to be seen as a viable rival to Lockheed in the global F-16 upgrade market.
LinkRegulatory
German Court Rejects Challenge To Air Tax
Germany's constitutional court has rejected an attempt by the federal state of Rhineland Palatinate to challenge the legality of the country's air traffic tax, which German airlines and airports say is hurting their business. The court said on Wednesday that the tax, which has been in place since 2011 and applies to all passenger flights leaving German airports, is constitutional and does not contravene passengers' or companies' rights. The tax brings the German government around EUR€1 billion (USD$1.25 billion) a year, with Lufthansa paying around EUR€350 million in 2013. The lawsuit argued that airports in border regions were losing customers to rival airports in other countries such as the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg, which do not levy similar charges.
Link
Aviation Quote
I believe they're all fvcking Toyota Corollas.
— Michael O’Leary, Ryanair CEO, regards the technical differences between Airbus, Boeing & Comac airliners. Fortune magazine article, 18 November 2013
On This Date
--- In 1915... The 1st catapult launching of an airplane from a moving ship is made from the USS North Carolina in Pensacola, Florida.
---In 1945... The 1st jet plane to land on an aircraft carrier is a Ryan FR-1 piloted by U.S. Navy Ensign Jake West.
---In 2002… National Airlines, already operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy, permanently ceases operations.
---In 2007…China’s first lunar satellite Chang’e1 enters lunar orbit.
Daily Video
Editor’s Choice
Humor
Parachute Joke
An airplane was about to crash; there were 4 passengers on board but only 3 parachutes.
The first passenger said, I'm Kobe Bryant, the best NBA Basketball player. The Lakers need me, I can't afford to die.." So he took the first parachute and left the plane.
The second passenger, Hillary Clinton, said, "I am the wife of the former President of the United States; I am the most ambitious woman in the world. I am also a New York Senator, a potential future President and, above all, the cleverest woman in the world." She just grabbed the second parachute and jumped out of the plane.
The third passenger, The Pope, says to the fourth passenger, a 10year-old school boy, "I am old and frail and I don't have many years left. As a Christian I will sacrifice my life and let you have the last parachute."
The boy said, "It's Ok, there's still a parachute left for you. America's cleverest woman took my school backpack.
Trivia
3D ID
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
