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Airbus Group reports a healthy profit in 2014
Airbus Group reported a 2014 profit of $2.65 billion, a 59% increase from 2013. Airbus has seen strong demand for commercial aircraft recently, particularly single-aisle aircraft. Last week, the aircraft manufacturer announced plans to ramp up production of its A320 to 50 a month in 2017.
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ALC sees 757 being replaced rather than re-engined
Air Lease's chief executive believes Boeing is leaning towards a brand-new Boeing 757 replacement with additional capabilities rather than a re-engined version of the type. "We're very, very intimately involved with Boeing… and based on everything we've seen, I think the re-engining idea is not on the table at this time," said Steven Udvar-Hazy during a fourth-quarter earnings call. "I think Boeing is looking at an airplane that is not only a 757 replacement but one that also could do things beyond that capability in terms of range and size, because this aircraft will be around for 35 or 40 years."
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Boeing receives 50 orders for 737 Max jets
Boeing announced 50 more orders for its 737 Max jets. So far this year, Boeing has received orders for 74 commercial aircraft.
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CS300 completes first flight
Bombardier has launched the flight test campaign of the stretched, 135-seat CS300 with a 4h57min sortie from the company’s final assembly centre in Mirabel, Canada. The flight test begins a nine-to-15-month certification program for the largest variant of the CSeries.
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Russia funds tanker conversion for Il-96 freighters
Russia’s United Aircraft has approved a plan to produce two aerial refuelling tankers, based on the Ilyushin Il-96, for the country’s armed forces. The aircraft is being designated as the Il-96-400TZ, signalling its derivation from the -400T freighter variant.
LinkAirlines
American Airlines Group went on a hiring spree in 2014
American Airlines Group hired 2,900 employees last year, according to its annual report. American Airlines Group hired 800 pilots and 600 flight attendants in 2014.
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IAG Upgrades 2015 Profit Forecast
IAG on Friday raised its 2015 profit forecast by more than 20 percent, outperforming struggling continental rivals. It now expects 2015 operating profit in excess of EUR€2.2 billion, compared to the EUR€1.8 billion it had said it was targeting, the latest in a series of upgrades. For 2014, it reported operating profit up 81 percent to EUR€1.39 billion.
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Southwest to debut more nonstop flights from Love Field
Southwest Airlines will debut routes to eight cities form Dallas Love Field on Aug. 9, the carrier announced. The nonstop flights will service Boston; Detroit; Philadelphia; Pittsburgh; Salt Lake City; Charlotte, N.C.; Raleigh/Durham, N.C.; and Omaha, Neb.
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Southwest Nears End Of Safety Inspections
Southwest Airlines has inspected 115 of 128 planes that it pulled out of service on Tuesday when it discovered maintenance checks were overdue, and it expects to complete the rest this weekend. The Dallas-based carrier said the inspections, focused on the backup hydraulic systems of its Boeing 737-700s, have not resulted in additional repairs. Southwest voluntarily removed the aircraft from service and disclosed the matter on Tuesday to the US Federal Aviation Administration, which then said it could operate the aircraft for a maximum five days while it completed the checks.
LinkAirports
Dallas Love Field handled more passengers in Jan.
Dallas Love Field handled 47.6% more passengers in January on a year-over-year basis. In October 2014, the end of the Wright amendment allowed Southwest Airlines to offer nonstop flights to more destinations.
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New app helps travelers speed through customs in Miami
U.S. citizens with a valid passport and some Canadian travelers passing through Miami International Airport may now use the Mobile Passport application for iOS and Android devices, the airport said. Officials say the app will speed up the process for passing through U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
LinkMilitary
Airbus works to get troubled A400M back on track
Airbus is heralding mixed fortunes for its troubled A400M military transport program, with expected deliveries in 2015 of 16 units – double 2014’s total – coming on the back of a €551 million ($620 million) fourth-quarter charge for delays and action needed to ramp-up production. Highlights of the 2015 delivery campaign should include five aircraft for the UK Royal Air Force, which currently has two – including one delivered in 2014. But original expectations for the total transfer of more than 20 units are clearly out of reach.
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Aviation Quote
Every generation has the obligation to free men's minds for a look at new worlds, to look out from a higher plateau than the last generation. Your vision is not limited by what your eye can see, but by what your mind can imagine. . . . Make your life count and the world will be a better place because you tried.
— Astronaut Ellison Onizuka, astronaut, in his graduation address to Konawaena High School, Hawaii, 1980.
On This Date
---In 1918... Lloyd Andrews Hamilton becomes the first American to receive a commission in the British Royal Flying Corps when he is assigned as lieutenant with No. 3 squadron in France.
---In 1932... The 20-months-old son of aviator Charles Lindbergh has been kidnapped from the family’s home in Hopewell, New Jersey.
---In 1949... Commanded by Capt. James G. Gallagher, the crew of 14 aboard the Strategic Air Command B-5A Lucky Lady II of the Forty-third Bombardment Group, USAF, completes the first nonstop round-the-world flight of 94 hours 1 minute. Flying a distance of 23,452 miles the B-50A is refueled four times by KB-29 tankers before landing back at Carswell AFB, Texas.
---In 1955…First flight of the Dassault Super Mystère.
---In 1968…USSR launches space probe Zond 4; fails to leave Earth orbit.
---In 1969... After a lengthy succession of taxi and runway tests, the first prototype Concorde 001 (F-WTSS) makes its first flight, with Andre Turcat at the controls. The flight lasts 29 minutes.
---In 1972…The American space craft Pioneer 10 is launched.
---In 1978…Soyuz 28 carries 2 cosmonauts (1 Czechoslovakian) to Salyut 6.
---In 1995…Space shuttle STS-67 (Endeavour, launches.
---In 1996…NEAR, USA Asteroid Orbiter (Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous) imaged Comet Hyakutake.
---In 2012…The last departure of an official Continental Airlines flight takes place at 11:59 pm Pacific Standard Time as Continental Flight 1267 departs Phoenix, Arizona, bound for Cleveland, Ohio. On 3 March, Continental Airlines disappears into United Airlines, completing the two airlines' 2010 merger. Continental had operated since 1934.
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Trivia
Registration Codes – Countries
Tail number is provided, you provide the country
1. EI-CEZ
2. C-CCAN
3. CC-CZZ
4. LV-BFD
5. F-HSEX
6. G-CRAN
7. D-HYTE
8. EC-CIE
9. JA-5564
10. YV-234E
11. HC-BKO
12. HK-3910X
