NewsCommercial
Airbus Picks Korean Air Aerospace For A330neo Parts
Airbus has selected Korean Air Aerospace, part of Korean Air Group, to manufacture "sharklet" wingtips for its A330neo family of aircraft. Under the terms of the agreement, KAL-ASD will manufacture the new composite wingtip devices, designed to increase wingspan and reduce drag, at its Busan facility in South Korea.
LinkAirlines
Alaska Air Group reports higher earnings for 1Q
Alaska Air Group, the parent company of Alaska Airlines, reported earnings of $1.12 per share for the first quarter, a 75% increase from the same quarter last year. Alaska Air Group also reported $1.27 billion in revenue for the quarter. "Our record first quarter results reflect lower fuel prices, but more importantly the tremendous loyalty of our customers in Seattle and across our system," said CEO Brad Tilden.
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American Air CEO Opts For Shares, No Salary
The chief executive of American Airlines Group has opted to receive his primary pay in stock, drawing union criticism because he has opposed linking the pay of pilots to the company's performance. CEO Doug Parker will receive shares in lieu of a base salary or annual bonus, he said in a letter to employees on Wednesday. Parker was paid about USD$12.3 million in 2014, including a USD$7 million stock grant.
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BEA plans A320 flight to validate Germanwings CVR data
Investigators will conduct a flight with an Airbus A320 to validate sounds picked up by the cockpit voice recorder of the Germanwings aircraft that crashed in the French Alps on 24 March. German transport ministry Alexander Dobrindt had said the flight would be operated in May "along the same line [path]" but France's BEA – which is leading the investigation – tells Flightglobal the test flight will not, in fact, follow the Germanwings A320's flight trajectory.
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Qantas A380 damaged in maintenance incident
A Qantas Airways Airbus A380 is expected to be out of service for around six weeks after it was damaged while under maintenance in Sydney. The aircraft involved bears registration VH-OQF, and the incident happened in the week ended 17 April. “During scheduled maintenance in Sydney, one of our A380s was damaged. We’ve engaged Airbus technical support to get the aircraft repaired as soon as possible,” the carrier says in a statement.
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Southwest 1Q report exceeds analyst predictions
Southwest Airlines reported a $453 million profit for the first quarter, or 66 cents per share. The carrier's quarterly profit exceeded analyst expectations of 64 cents per share. "We are thrilled to report an exceptionally strong first quarter 2015 earnings performance," said Gary Kelly, Southwest CEO
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United Continental posts 1Q profit
United Continental Holdings posted a profit of $508 million for the first quarter, compared to a $609 million loss in the first quarter of 2014. The carrier also reported revenue of $8.6 billion for the quarter.. "We continued to improve our operational reliability and deliver products that enhance our customers' experience, including new aircraft, improved food, new inflight entertainment options and modern facilities," said Jeff Smisek, CEO of United.
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United Airlines switches order from 787s to 777-300ERs
United Airlines said Thursday that it has swapped 10 orders of Boeing Co 787 Dreamliners for 10 larger 777-300ER jets, marking a victory for the plane manufacturer as it seeks to sell out the 777 planes before their production ends. The news follows months of speculation that Chicago-based United Continental Holdings Inc would make the swap, which allows it to move aircraft on to different routes to better fit customer demand.
LinkAirports
Carriers deploy larger planes at Tenn. airport
Some carriers at Memphis International Airport in Memphis, Tenn., are deploying larger aircraft. United Airlines and American Airlines are both replacing regional 50-seat jets with larger aircraft.
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O'Hare partners with CBP for Mobile Passport Control app
The Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA) and US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) today announced the expansion of Mobile Passport Control (MPC) to Chicago O’Hare International Airport. MPC is the first authorized app to expedite a traveler’s arrival into the United States. Eligible travelers submit their passport information and customs declaration form to CBP via a smartphone and tablet app prior to arrival. Android and iPhone users can download the Mobile Passport app for free from the Google Play Store and Apple App Store.
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Military
Indian Apache, Chinook pricing extended
The validity of bids for an Indian acquisition of 22 Boeing AH-64E Apache and 15 CH-47F Chinook helicopters, has been further extended to 30 June. At the request of the Indian ministry of defence, the US Government and Boeing agreed to extend the validity of bids, which expired on 31 March. Flightglobal understands that there has been no escalation in prices. There also exists a provision for 11 options for Apache and seven options for Chinook as part of the existing bid.
LinkSpace
Russian space dreams hit budget crunch
Russia’s space programme has had a bad week, with the 22 April failure of an experimental military launcher and, to add insult to injury, the apparent cancellation of a super-heavy-lift rocket programme owing to swingeing budget cuts. Federal space agency Roscosmos looks set to lose 35% of its budget over the next ten years, with spending cut over the decade to about Rb 2 trillion ($37.75 billion), according to a Reuters report carried by the Moscow Times. Lost in those cuts will be a super-heavy-lift rocket programme – and Russian plans to orbit its own space station from 2023 may also be in doubt.
LinkCorporate
HondaJet Flies In Japan, But No Asian Sales For Now
Honda on Thursday flew its HondaJet business aircraft for the first time in Japan, bringing to life a dream cherished by founder Soichiro Honda, but the automaker said sales of the jet in Asia remain years away. The HondaJet, built and tested in the United States, is expected to receive final type certification from the FAA in the next few months, 70 years after Soichiro Honda first dreamed of making aircraft. That would pave the way for deliveries of the USD$4.5 million jet to US and European customers, launching Honda's aviation business in earnest.
LinkGeneral Aviation
Solar Impulse appeal is selfie-evident
Selfie sticks have been banned in many public spaces, but Solar Impulse pilot Bertrand Piccard clearly likes the idea – catching this snap of himself piloting the solar-only aircraft over 1,344km and 17hr 22min from Chongqing to Nanjing, the sixth leg of a 12-hop round-the-world adventure that began in Abu Dhabi on 9 March.
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Aviation Quote
For God’s sake, open the door!
— Captain Patrick Sondheimer, Germanwings 9525, 10:32 local time, 24 March 2015
On This Date
---In 1909... Wilbur Wright makes five flights in Centocelle, Italy with King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy present. During one flight, a Universal News Agency cameraman accompanies him and takes the first motion pictures from an airplane in flight.
---In 1911... Lts. M. Longmore and C. R. Samson are the first British Royal Navy officers to qualify as pilots, after just two month’s training.
---In 1913…O. Gilbert flies a TK 825 km from Villacoublay, France to Vitoria, Spain in 8 hours and 23 minutes.
---In 1917... Lt. Col. William “Billy” Mitchell becomes the first U.S. Army officer to fly over German lines.
---In 1929…Royal Air Force Squadron Leader A G Jones-Williams and Flight Lieutenant N H Jenkins take off in a Fairey Long-range Monoplane from RAF Cranwell in Lincolnshire, England on the first nonstop flight between Britain and India. Strong headwinds impede forward progress and the crew decide to land in Karachi, Pakistan 50 hours later.
---In 1944…The first B-29 Superfortress arrives in China, beginning the build-up by the United States Army Air Forces' 20th Air Force for a strategic bombing offensive against Japan.
---In 1946... First flights of the first Soviet designed and built jet aircrafts, MiG-9 and Yak-15, are made. A member of the company test team for the Yak-15, Olga Yamschikova, is probably the first woman to fly a turbojet-powered aircraft when she flies in 1947.
---In 1946... Winged Cargo Inc. opens an unusual freight service in which goods are carried in a Waco CG-4A glider towed by a DC-3.
---In 1957…Heli-logging pioneer Columbia Helicopters is founded in Portland, Oregon.
---In 1962…1962/April/24 - First A-12 (924) engine test runs completed, high speed taxi tests. Pilot Lou Schalk. Accidental lifts off for a few seconds (first actual flight but not considered official).
---In 1967…Cosmonaut Colonel Vladimir Komarov suffers history’s first in-flight spaceflight fatality as the parachutes on the Soyuz 1 spacecraft fail during its return to earth. The crash was the culmination of many technical failures that forced the flight control director to abort the mission after 18 orbits.
In 1970…China launches its first space satellite, Dong Fang Hong I using a Long March I rocket. The satellite’s weight exceeds that of the first four satellites launched by Russia, the United States, France and Japan combined
---In 1971…Soyuz 10 spacecraft docks with the world’s first space station, Salyut 1. The cosmonauts on board are forced to return to earth without entering the station, however, due to a faulty hatch.
---In 1980…Operation Eagle Claw, an attempt by the U.S. Navy to rescue the 52 hostages being held in the U.S. Embassy in Teheran, fails miserably. Eight servicemen are killed as one of the eight Sikorsky RH-53Ds used in the operation crashes in a sand cloud, while another crashes into a C-130 Hercules on the ground in Iran.
---In 1984…First flight of the Dornier SeaStar D-ICDS.
---In 1990…Space Shuttle Discovery launches from Cape Canaveral, Florida on mission STS-31 carrying the Hubble Space Telescope.
---In 1992…A US Air Force C-130 Hercules transport aircraft on an anti-narcotics mission over Peru is attacked by Peruvian Air Force Sukhoi Su-22s.
---In 2001…A Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk UAV takes off from Edwards Air Force Base for a nonstop flight to Australia in 23 hours, the longest ever flight by an unmanned aircraft and the first UAV to cross the Pacific.
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Queso wrote:8. OAK?
Nosedive wrote:Some of those airports are from a made up country. I know 5 & 6 are.
