NewsCommercial
Airbus updates seating configurations to accommodate demand
Airbus plans to offer airlines more choice in the way they configure their planes, and sees carriers opting for different levels of comfort within their economy cabins, a senior Airbus executive said on Wednesday. It also plans to redefine the capacity of its wide-body jets to add premium economy to the traditional economy and business classes to recognise market trends, Chris Emerson, head of marketing at Airbus, said in a telephone interview.
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Bombardier announces departures of executives Arcamone and Alary
Bombardier has announced another top-level management shakeup, saying today that Mike Arcamone, president of Bombardier Commercial Aircraft, is leaving the company and that senior vice president and chief financial officer Pierre Alary will retire. Arcamone, who joined the company from the automotive industry only three years ago, will be replaced by Fred Cromer, an executive with 23 years of aviation experience who was recently president for six years at ILFC.
LinkAirlines
Delta filing protests year-round service requirement to Haneda
Delta Air Lines is protesting a requirement by the Department of Transportation to offer daily service between Seattle and Haneda airport in Tokyo. "At the most basic level, the proposed condition deviates from past practice because, as far as Delta is aware, the department has never previously imposed such a strict 365-day-a-year service requirement," wrote Alexander Van der Bellen, an attorney for Delta, in a filing.
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Tenn. governor backs bill for cap on FedEx fuel taxes
Tenn. Gov. Bill Haslam is asking state legislators to approve a cap of $10.5 million on taxes levied on aviation fuel for FedEx. State Rep. Mark White introduced the bill, noting that other states with FedEx hubs offer lower or zero taxes on aviation fuel. "FedEx states that it is unsustainable for their company to justify keeping on paying this level of tax when they have capacity at their Indianapolis and Greensboro hubs with little or no aviation fuel tax," White said.
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Hawaiian to debut amenity kits on international flights
Later this month, Hawaiian Airlines plans to introduce amenity kits for passengers on international flights. All passengers will receive a kit with ear phones, ear plugs, eyeshades and a pillow box. Business-class passengers will receive the standard kit plus additional amenities such as skincare products.
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JetBlue to offer spring menu from Chef Brad Farmerie
JetBlue Airways plans to feature a spring menu for its Mint premium service from Chef Brad Farmerie of New York restaurant Saxon + Parole. The tapas menu offers roasted Atlantic cod and black Angus burgers, among other options. The menu will also showcase five wines from California vineyards.
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LATAM Airlines To Operate Normally Despite Strike
LATAM Airlines said it has a contingency plan in place for a planned strike by union workers in Chile and will continue to operate normally.
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March traffic for Republic Airways dropped 1%
Republic Airways Holdings Inc on Wednesday said its traffic in March fell 1% year-over-year to 975 million revenue passenger miles. Its capacity in March slid 1% from last year to 1.23 billion available seat miles, the Indianapolis, Indiana-based company said.
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Southwest Airlines Reports March Traffic
Southwest Airlines Co. announced today that the Company flew 10.2 billion revenue passenger miles (RPMs) in March 2015, a 6.7 percent increase from the 9.6 billion RPMs flown in March 2014. Available seat miles (ASMs) increased 4.4 percent to 12.1 billion from the March 2014 level of 11.6 billion. The March 2015 load factor was 84.5 percent, compared with 82.7 percent in March 2014. For March 2015, passenger revenue per ASM (PRASM) is estimated to have increased approximately 1.0 percent, compared with March 2014.
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United Airlines, ANA to create joint venture for cargo
All Nippon Airways (ANA) has secured Japanese antitrust clearance for its transpacific cargo joint venture (JV) with Star Alliance partner United Airlines. The joint venture, which was first announced last November, has been approved by Japanese transport ministry MLIT. The partners said the partnership will create “a more efficient and comprehensive” transpacific cargo network.
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United Reports March 2015 Operational Performance
United Airlines (UAL) today reported March 2015 operational results. UAL's March 2015 consolidated traffic (revenue passenger miles) decreased 0.7 percent and consolidated capacity (available seat miles) decreased 0.6 percent versus March 2014. UAL's March 2015 consolidated load factor decreased 0.1 points compared to March 2014.
LinkAirports
Boston airport adds Friendly's restaurant to mix
Boston Logan Airport welcomed Friendly's restaurant to its mix of concessionaires on Wednesday. The franchise offers milkshakes and burgers, as well as healthier options such as yogurt parfaits and salads. "People certainly know the Friendly's brand and have a lot of affinity for it," said John Maguire, CEO of the chain.
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Military
Croatia to keep combat aircraft, confirms Kiowa acquisition
Croatia has confirmed that it will retain a combat fixed-wing fleet, which will include restarting a programme for the replacement of its aging Mikoyan MiG-21 bisD/UMD aircraft. The Croatian state defence council - chaired by President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović - confirmed the decision, and the ministry of defence is believed to be “already evaluating three possible options” to replace its MiG-21 fleet.
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Fatal Serbian Mi-17 crash result of bad weather and operational procedure
The findings of investigations into the fatal crash of a Serbian air force Mil Mi-17 helicopter on 13 March have concluded that human error, bad weather and lack of compliance with operational procedure were the main causes of the accident. The helicopter, assigned to the 204th air force brigade/890th composite helicopter squadron, was on a medevac mission near Belgrade Nikola Tesla international airport when it crashed, killing all seven people on board.
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Aviation Quote
Did he not clear the runway - that Pan American?
— Flight Engineer William Schreuder, KLM, 27 March 1977, just prior to the worst aviation crash ever, the collision of two B-747's on the ground in the Canary Islands.
On This Date
---In 837 A.D... Comet 1P/837 F1 (Halley's Comet) approaches within 0.0334 AUs of Earth.
---In 1837... The earliest known aeronautical experiment in Canada is conducted by Canadian schoolteacher John Rae. He successfully launches a paper balloon able to carry weight. Its lift is provided by the heating of its blackened surface by the sun.
---In 1926... Lindberg becomes chief pilot for Robertson Aircraft Corp, flying a Saint Louis to Chicago mail route.
---In 1945…The Luftwaffe flies its final sortie over the United Kingdom, a reconnaissance mission from Norway by an Arado Ar 234.
---In 1960… BOAC resumes scheduled air service from London to Cairo (Egypt), suspended in October 1956 at the time of the Suez Crisis.
---In 961…Radar tracking of planet Venus for 7 weeks by Jet Propulsion Laboratory scientists had proved astronomical yardstick of 93,498,125 miles as the distance between the Earth and Sun (within 1,000 miles of error).
---In 1964…First flight of the EWR VJ 101C, world's first supersonic V/STOL aircraft.
---In 1967…The first flight of the McDonnell Douglas DC-8-63.
---In 1969... The Royal Norwegian Air Force is the first European air service to take delivery of the Lockheed P-3B Orion.
---In 1979…Soyuz 33 launched with a Russian and a Bulgarian.
---In 1981…First flight of the SIAI Marchetti S.211 I-SITF.
---In 1981…Computer glitch keeps Space Shuttle Columbia grounded.
---In 1984…Damaged Solar Max satellite snared by Challenger shuttle.
---In 2010…A Polish Air Force Tupolev Tu-154M carrying the Polish President Lech Kaczyński and many other Polish officials crashes on approach to Smolensk, Russia.
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