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Boeing rejects business case for 757 re-engining
Boeing vice-president Randy Tinseth says the company has studied reviving and re-engining the 757 “a couple” of times, but concluded that the economics do not make sense. “We’re not studying 757 re-engined replacements right now. It just doesn’t work,” says Tinseth, addressing the Pacific Northwest Aerospace Alliance (PNAA) conference in Seattle. Tinseth was asked to respond to a report in the Wall Street Journal that cited a source within Boeing saying a re-engined 757 was one option being considered as the company’s response to the long-range Airbus A321neo. “No, no,” Tinseth replied. In Boeing’s view, the 757 replacement market is limited. There are 550 passenger-carrying 757s still in operation, Tinseth says, excluding about 200-250 freighters. Of that market, only about 50-80 are flying trans-atlantic routes that exceed the maximum range of the 737 Max 9 or baseline A320neo.
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Boeing to release 777 upgrade for 2% fuel savings
Boeing plans to introduce upgrade packages for its 777-200LR and -300ER models that will bring a 2% fuel savings beginning in 2016, according to the company.
Boeing’s new 777X flagship is due to enter service in 2020. This seems like tomorrow to the company’s manufacturing side as it prepares for assembly, but for the 777 sales team looking to fill the production “skyline” during the transition it could be an eternity. To smooth the move at the end of the decade from the current 777 family to the 777X, Boeing needs to drum up more sales to keep the Everett assembly line ticking at, or close to, the current 8.3 aircraft per month. There are currently 278 777-300ER and 777Fs in the firm backlog, representing just under three-years worth of production at the current rate. While the longer-term outlook appears to be positive—286 sales are already locked in for the 777X—the delivery trough between 2018 and the acceleration in deliveries of the new model from the 2020-22 timeframe onward is causing some concern.
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Boeing consolidates major defense, space programs
Boeing is consolidating management of several of its vanguard defense, space and commercial programs under a single development organization, a move the company says will improve efficiency and cut costs for the US military and other customers. Six programs "managed elsewhere" in the company will now be administered by Boeing Defense and Security Development. On the defense side, the US Air Force KC-46 aerial refueling tanker and the presidential aircraft recapitalization effort to replace Air Force One with at least two Boeing 747-800s will come under BDS Development purview.
LinkAirlines
Air Canada's Net Loss Widens As Costs Rise
Air Canada reported a bigger quarterly net loss as a weak Canadian dollar contributed to a 9 percent rise in operating costs. Non-operating costs, which usually include interest payments on debt, rose 46 percent to CAD$206 million in the fourth quarter ended December 31. Operating costs rose to CAD$2.99 billion, with operating revenue up 7.3 percent to CAD$3.10 billion.
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Alaska Airlines expects boost from preferred seating option
Alaska Airlines plans to roll out preferred seating later this year. The optional amenity will offer passengers priority boarding, a free drink and seating in a bulkhead or exit row. "Initially, we expected around [$15 million] in revenue and margin on an annualized basis, but we anticipate growing these revenues over time," said Andrew Harrison, senior vice president of planning and revenue management at Alaska Air Group, the parent company of Alaska Airlines.
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Alitalia can breathe more easily – and focus on profits
Alitalia is not quite out of the woods, but at least one wolf is no longer snapping at the heels of the former Italian flag carrier. Since thed ecision by the European Commission that a capital injection of €300 million ($405 million) in October 2013 did not breach European state-aid rules – the deal, Brussels concluded, was made on terms that a private operator would have accepted under market conditions – the main problem facing the airline is the one that has dogged it for years: turning a profit.
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American continues regional fleet renewal with first owned E175
American Airlines took delivery of its first owned Embraer 175 aircraft today, the first of 60 aircraft it will add to its regional fleet through 2017. The aircraft, registered N200NN and MSN 17000456, will be operated by Trans States-subsidiary Compass Airlines beginning in March. It will be used to replace smaller regional jets as American continues renewing its feeder fleet. “The last few years really have been about restoring American Airlines to greatness and today really is the culmination of a lot of those efforts,” says Kenji Hashimoto, senior vice-president of regional carriers at American, at the handover ceremony in Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil, today. A “key effort” in that process is fleet renewal, he says.
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American to fly 787s to Beijing and Buenos Aires
American Airlines will debut its new Boeing 787-8 aircraft on flights to Beijing and Buenos Aires from its Dallas/Fort Worth hub in June. The Dreamliner will enter service on flights between Dallas/Fort Worth International and Chicago O’Hare International airports on 7 May before shifting to the Fort Worth, Texas-based carrier’s new Dallas/Fort Worth-Beijing flight on 2 June. It will also operate flights between Dallas/Fort Worth and Buenos Aires from 4 June.
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Asiana Airlines Orders 25 Airbus A321neos
Asiana Airlines has ordered 25 Airbus A321neos, worth USD$2.83 billion at list prices, for delivery from 2019. The order comes weeks after returning to profit partly due to rising traffic between its South Korean home and China. Korea's airlines benefited from a 42 percent jump in Chinese tourists in 2014, while a rise in the value of the won versus the yen spurred Koreans to take more trips to Japan, particularly toward the end of the year.
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Delta makes an agreement with GoJet as regional carrier
GoJet Airlines, a wholly owned subsidiary of Trans States Holdings, has entered into an agreement with Delta Air Lines to operate seven Bombardier CRJ900 aircraft under the Delta Connection regional service brand. Deliveries are slated to begin in June of 2015 and continue through October.
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Emirates To Hire More Than 11,000 Staff
Dubai's Emirates Group plans to increase its staff by about 6 percent over the next year as it adds 20 aircraft to its fleet and expands other operations. Emirates Group, which comprises the Emirates airline and aircraft ground handling and flight catering firm dnata, aims to hire more than 11,000 staff by March 2016, it said in a statement. Nearly half will be recruits for Dubai-based cabin crew jobs while it will also fill positions in flight operations, engineering, airport services and corporate roles.
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Germanwings To Operate Half Of Flights During Strike
Lufthansa's budget airline Germanwings said it would likely be able to operate more than half of scheduled flights during a two-day strike by pilots that begins on Thursday. The airline said according to its current planning, more than half of the 900 flights that would normally operate during the strike period would operate.
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JetBlue to debut 3 seasonal routes from Boston in June
JetBlue plans to add three nonstop routes to its schedule at Logan Airport over the summer. Beginning June 17, the airline will offer daily service to Martha’s Vineyard, four flights a week to Sacramento, and twice-a-week flights to Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Currently, no other airlines offer nonstop service between Logan and Port-au-Prince or Sacramento. The Sacramento flight will run through Sept. 7, as will the Martha’s Vineyard trip. The flight to Port-au-Prince is scheduled to end on Sept. 5. In a statement, JetBlue, Boston’s largest domestic carrier, said it was “thrilled to add more new nonstop routes out of Boston.” Mayor Martin J. Walsh said the nonstop flights allow the city to continue to create strong connections with the global community.
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Korean Air orders five 777-200LRFs
Korean Air has ordered five Boeing 777-200LRF freighter aircraft in a deal worth $1.5 billion at list prices. "We truly value our enduring partnership with Korean Air and we are pleased that they have selected the 777 freighter to bolster their all-Boeing Freighter fleet," says Ihssane Mounir, senior vice president of northeast Asia sales, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. "This order further demonstrates Korean Air's commitment to excellence and will help the airline maintain its position as a leading global airline."
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United Airlines reports higher traffic for Jan.
United Airlines reported a 1.1% increase in consolidated traffic for January on a year-over-year basis. The January results received a boost from a 15.9% gain in Latin American traffic, as well as a 4.6% rise in Pacific traffic.
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UPS to deliver millions of flowers for Valentine's Day
United Parcel Service expects to ship more than 110 million flowers on Valentine's Day on Saturday. Many of the flowers are imported from Colombia or Ecuador, and 90% of the imported flowers will come through Miami International Airport.
LinkAirports
Atlanta airport ranked highly for mass transit
The Global Gateway Alliance ranked 30 of the world's busiest airports on accessibility for mass transit. Among U.S. cities, Atlanta ranked the highest for airport mass transit with a score of 85 out of 100. Phoenix and San Francisco both received a score of 75 out of 100.
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Iowa airport to begin replacement of one of two runways
The Des Moines International Airport in Iowa plans to begin rebuilding a runway this summer. The $45 million project, which will be completed in phases through 2018, will replace the pavement for one of the airport's two runways. Last year, a sinkhole beneath the runway was found and repaired.
LinkMilitary
IAI delivers first T-38 replacement wing
The US Defense Contract Management Agency has taken delivery of the first replacement wing for a US Air Force Northrop T-38 trainer from Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI). Delays to the launch of the air force's replacement T-X trainer contest mean that the service is extending operations of its twin-engined T-38Cs. "Potential orders under the contract between the USAF air force and IAI could reach over 200 sets of T-38 wings," the company says. Handing over the first shipset marks the completion of the first phase of the program, which now enters its serial production phase.
LinkRegulatory
DOT numbers reflect airlines' commitment to safe, efficient travel
There were no super-long tarmac delays for airlines in December, making 2014 the best year on record for the fewest such incidents. The government is taking credit. The U.S. Department of Transportation said Tuesday that with December's perfect record, there were only 30 domestic flights stuck on the ground longer than three hours in all of 2014. As recently as 2009, there were 868 of those bladder-busting delays. The next year, the department imposed regulations that included potential big fines for long delays with no chance for passengers to leave the plane.
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Taiwan Orders Airlines To Review Safety Procedures
The Taiwan government ordered all airlines to review their safety protocols after nearly half of the pilots trained to fly TransAsia's ATR twin-engined aircraft were suspended following last week's fatal crash in the capital. Taiwan's aviation regulator said 10 of TransAsia's 49 ATR pilots had failed oral proficiency tests on handling the aircraft during engine failure. A further 19 pilots did not take the test, due to sickness or because they were not in Taiwan, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said.
LinkSpace
ESA opens 2015 book with triumphant re-entry vehicle test
A European Space Agency plan to master hypersonic re-entry got a boost on 11 February with the successful suborbital flight of a wingless testbed designed to validate heat shielding and control technologies that will feed into a follow-on program to develop a reusable, autonomous runway-landing spaceplane. About 5m long, weighing 2t and heavily wired up with sensors, the Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle (IXV) lifting body craft enjoyed an apparently flawless launch from Kourou, French Guiana atop ESA’s small rocket, Vega. Following an eastward and roughly equatorial trajectory to a height of around 450 km, IXV carried on to a Pacific Ocean splashdown about 100m after launch, when it was met and recovered by a waiting ship.
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Aviation Quote
It will free man from the remaining chains, the chains of gravity which still tie him to this planet. It will open to him the gates of heaven.
— Wernher von Braun
On This Date
---In 1914... Igor Sikorsky’s giant four-engined biplane, the Ilya Muromets flies in Russia. It is an improved version of last year’s Bolshoi Baltiskii.
---In 1921... The U.S. Army Air Service establishes the first in an expending series of airways – routes safely surveyed by the army civilian and commercial users linking towns and cities by air – by leasing land between Washington and Dayton, Ohio to facilitate a stopover.
---In 1928... Lady Heath (formerly Mrs. Elliot-Lynn) becomes the first woman to fly solo from Cape Town, South Africa to London, England.
---In 1935…The USS Macon, a US Navy scouting zeppelin with the ability to launch fighter aircraft, is damaged in a storm and sinks off the coast of California.
---In 1955…Soviets decide space center to be built in Baikonur, Kazachstan.
---In 1959... The last Convair B-36 bomber in operational USAF service is retired to Amon Carter Field, where it is put on display; Strategic Air Command is now equipped with an all-jet bomber force.
---In 1960... A Delta Air Lines Convair 880 lands in Miami, Florida, from San Diego to set a new transcontinental speed record over the route of 3 hours 31 minutes.
---In 1961…The U.S.S.R. launches Venera 1 towards Venus.
---In 1963…A Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 705, a 720B, suffered an in-flight break-up over the Florida Everglades approximately 12 minutes after leaving Miami, bound for Chicago. All 35 passengers and eight crew died. The cause of the crash was determined to be an unrecoverable loss of control due to severe turbulence.
---In 1974…Mars 5 - USSR Mars Orbiter entered into orbit around Mars. It acquired imaging data for the Mars 6 and 7 missions.
---In 1979…Air Rhodesia Flight 827, a Vickers Viscount, is shot down by guerrillas between Kariba and Salisbury in South Africa with a Strela 2 missile, killing all 59 on-board.
---In 1979…Kosmos 1076, 1st Soviet oceanographic satellite, launched.
---In 1981…Max Anderson and Don Ida make a failed attempt to circumnavigate the world by balloon. Their craft, the Jules Verne only covers 2,900 miles (4,667 km) from Luxor to New Delhi.
---In 1991…Continental unveils their blue and gray paint scheme.
---In 2002…An Iran Air Tupolev Tu-154 crashes into mountains while descending for a landing at Khorramabad Airport in Iran, killing 119.
---In 2004…Exactly four years and one day after the launch of JetBlue, United Airlines responds to its low cost competitors with Ted.
---In 2009…Continental Connection Flight 3407, a Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 operated by Colgan Air (reg N200WQ), crashes into a house in Clarence Center, NY, while on approach to Runway 23 at Buffalo International Airport. All 45 passengers and 4 crew on board the aircraft are killed, while in the destroyed house one man is killed and four others are injured.
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