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Airlines scramble to comply with US temporary travel ban
The recent ban on entry into the USA by nationals of several countries may apply to airline crews, leaving the airline industry struggling to understand the implications of the order, IATA and media reports indicate. The executive order containing the ban, signed by president Donald Trump on 27 January, "was issued without prior coordination or warning, causing confusion among both airlines and travellers", says IATA in a statement.
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Why tardy MRJ is worth waiting for
Defending the latest delay to its MRJ program, Mitsubishi Aircraft official Yugo Fukuhara notes: “Building and certifying a new aircraft is a very complex process and includes a lot of challenges.” Mitsubishi will not appreciate the comparison, but its regional jet is beginning to share more than just a pair of letters with Comac’s ARJ21. The latter, lest we forget, finally entered service in 2016, eight years late.
LinkAirlines
AerCaribe 737 freighter damaged in landing accident
Colombian investigators are looking into a landing accident which badly damaged a Boeing 737-400 freighter of Bogota-based cargo airline AerCaribe. The aircraft (HK-5197) came off the runway after arriving at Leticia – in the far south of Colombia – on 28 January, air transport regulator Aerocivil states.
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Air Berlin-Lufthansa wet-lease deal cleared
Germany’s competition regulator has given the green light for Lufthansa's plan to wet-lease 38 Airbus A320-family jets from Air Berlin. In 2016, two airlines revealed a plan to transfer a total of 33 A320s and A319s to Lufthansa’s budget arm Eurowings, and another five A320s to group subsidiary Austrian Airlines from this year as part of Air Berlin's restructuring.
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American, Air Canada offer waivers to travelers affected by executive order
American Airlines and Air Canada are among the carriers implementing flexible rebooking policies for passengers affected by the President Donald Trump's executive order on immigration.
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Delta Flights Resume After System Outage
Delta Air Lines said its operations were recovering after a computer system outage caused severe disruption and cancellations on Sunday evening. Delta said 180 flights were cancelled Sunday and another 80 on Monday morning as flights get back to normal.
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Emirates blocked from third daily Nairobi flight
Emirates Airline’s plans to operate a third daily rotation between its Dubai base and the Kenyan capital Nairobi have been suspended after the Kenyan authorities declined to approve the additional service. The airline described the move as “surprising.” Emirates had been planning to use a Boeing 777-300ER on the route in a three-class, 354-seat layout. When announcing plans for the new service Jan.19, the Dubai-based carrier said it “underscores Emirates’ commitment to Kenya and confidence in the route, which has grown to become one of the airline’s busiest routes in Africa since it first launched services to the country in October 1995.”
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Flybe turns in ‘solid quarter in tough trading conditions’
UK-based regional carrier Flybe saw revenue and passengers increase for 3Q 2016/17 compared to the year-ago period, but plans to reduce capacity over the coming year to improve load factors. The Exeter-based airline’s revenue grew 18.1% to £160.8 million ($200.7 million) compared to £136.2 million for the equivalent period last year. Flybe only gives profit figures for the half- and full-year periods.
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Jazeera Airways names new CEO
Kuwaiti hybrid carrier Jazeera Airways has named Rohit Ramachandran as its new CEO, after an extended period when the carrier was without a full-time chief executive. Since previous CEO Stefan Pichler left the post in August 2013, it has been filled on an acting basis by Jazeera Airways Group chairman Marwan Boodai.
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Meridiana and S7 Airlines increase cooperation
Italy’s second-largest airline, Meridiana, is to widen its existing codeshare arrangement with Russia’s S7 Airlines. The expanded codeshare will cover three new services operated by the two airlines. Sardinia-based Meridiana is to launch a Milan Malpensa-Moscow Domodedovo 4X-weekly service from March 22, while S7 will start a Domodedovo-Pisa service April 26 and a Domodedovo-Catania (Sicily) flight the following day.
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Qantas unveils giant new A380 hangar at LAX
Qantas' new $30-million maintenance and engineering facility at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) has instantly become one of largest commercial aircraft hangars in North America. Opened on Friday, it is the first purpose built hangar to accommodate the Airbus A380 in the US. The 613,543-square-foot facility will be used to carry out maintenance checks on Qantas’ A380 and Boeing 747 aircraft during ground time in Los Angeles.
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Edinburgh Airport launches consultation on airspace change program
Edinburgh Airport has today launched the second stage of its public consultation on the Airspace Change Program (ACP). The ACP is about the way in which Edinburgh Airport intends to grow, ensuring that it continues to be able to support Scotland’s economy and jobs in a safe and effective way. The existing flight paths used by aircraft rely on the 1950s technology of ground-based radio beacons.
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Military
Boeing nabs $2.1 billion contract for KC-46 tanker
The US Air Force awarded Boeing a $2.1 billion contract for the third lot of low-rate production of the KC-46A tanker last week, just days after the company announced another penalty that would bring the recapitalization program’s total charges to $2 billion. The contract will cover 15 tanker aircraft, as well as two spare engines and five wing refueling pod kits. Work is expected to complete by 30 July 2019, according to the 27 January contract announcement.
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Lockheed cuts price on 90 F-353s by $600M
US president Donald Trump says that the Lot 10 contract for 90 Lockheed Martin F-35s will be $600 million cheaper overall thanks to heavy pressure from the White House, but Boeing will continue to be asked to compete for orders against the Lockheed stealth fighter. Although no contract has been announced by the Defense Department or Lockheed, Trump’s remarks appear to resolve a six-week push to overcome a negotiating stalemate between Lockheed and the joint program office on the Lot 10 contract.
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Aviation Quote
I want to go in the air, not a bathtub.
- A. Scott Crossfield. quoted in the Washington Post as having said this the day before his fatal flight, 'Clues Surface in Death of Expert Pilot,' published September 16, 2007. He had written many years before in 1960 that, "Death is the handmaiden of the pilot, sometimes it comes by accident, sometimes by an act of God." Scott's last known words, calmly spoken, were "Atlanta, this is Seven Nine X-ray. I'd like to deviate south. Weather." 19 April 2006.
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Unscramble and enter the ICAO code.
1. lsohpihc
2. trwhoaeh
3. anogl
4. dnnkeye
5. ciernssp lnaujai
6. zeiaez
7. ranait
8. jaarbsa
9. incuomfii
10. uloutose-balagcn
