NewsDelta, Bombardier renegotiating delivery clause in CS100 dealDelta Air Lines has asked Bombardier to guarantee all 75 CS100s ordered in April 2016 will be assembled in Mobile, Alabama, instead of Canada, a top airline executive says. The request puts further pressure on Bombardier’s plan to open a second final assembly line in Mobile after consummating a deal with Airbus to take a majority ownership stake in the CSeries program
LinkNASA keeps 747SP fit for life beyond 2030Inside a Hamburg maintenance hangar belonging to Lufthansa Technik (LHT), a 40-year-old Boeing 747 Special Performance is undergoing a heavy check to help keep the heavily modified, NASA-owned aircraft in service until 2034. The quad-jet – which was originally delivered to Pan Am in 1977 – is equipped with a 17t infrared telescope in the rear fuselage to conduct frequent long-haul space observation flights as part of a joint project between NASA and German aerospace research centre DLR.
LinkFlydubai deploys Max 8 on Kilimanjaro routeFlydubai has begun flights to Kilimanjaro, its third destination in Tanzania, using a Boeing 737 Max 8 jet. The UAE carrier says that as of 15 December it began operating thrice-weekly direct services to the African destination, with a further three flights a week operating to Kilimanjaro via the Tanzanian capital, Dar es Salaam.
LinkHeathrow finds potential savings of £2.5bn in third-runway planHeathrow Airport has outlined £2.5 billion ($3.3 billion) in potential cost savings relating to its proposed third runway and associated infrastructure. It suggests the reduced bill means airport charges could stay “close to today’s levels”.
LinkLights on at Atlanta, but Delta warns of more cancellationsPower has been restored at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson Intranational airport, after a 12-hour blackout across all terminals caused a cessation of operations. "Power has been restored to all concourses," says the airport in a Tweet. "5000+ meals are being delivered to passengers. Trains will be operational soon."
LinkTail-struck A320's crew originally chose to continue flightInvestigators have disclosed that the crew of an unbalanced Airbus A320 which sustained several violent tail-strikes during take-off from Verona initially chose to continue the flight in breach of operating regulations. Italian investigation authority ANSV had previously determined that 77 passengers had disembarked at Verona, after the BH Air jet arrived from Hurghada, but that the remaining 87 passengers flying onwards to Rome were not redistributed. Fifty-eight of these passengers had been in the aft cabin and another 25 in the centre cabin, with just four up front.
LinkSecond C919 makes two-hour first flightThe second Comac C919 prototype completed a two-hour maiden sortie on 17 December. Flight Test Aircraft two (FTA-2) departed from the fourth runway of Shanghai Pudong International airport at 10:34 local time. Onboard the aircraft were two pilots, two engineers, and an observer.
LinkEasyJet secures airberlin Tegel airport assetsUK LCC easyJet confirmed Dec. 15 that it had cleared the regulatory hurdles surrounding its acquisition of part of bankrupt airberlin’s assets at Berlin Tegel Airport. In a statement to the London Stock Exchange, easyJet said the acquisition will result in the London Luton-based LCC operating 25 aircraft from Tegel and that the agreement included easyJet leasing former airberlin aircraft, taking over other assets including slots, and offering employment to former airberlin crews.
LinkRyanair pilots call off strike actionRyanair pilots have suspended a planned 24-hr. strike after the Dublin-based LCC’s management took the unexpected step of agreeing to recognize their union as a representative of Ireland-based pilots.
LinkWest Wind Aviation to continue ATR 42 flightsCanada’s West Wind Aviation expects to resume flying its ATR 42s early this week after completing a review of a Dec. 13 accident that substantially damaged one of its twin turboprop regional aircraft.
LinkWideroe breaks out from Scandinavian homeNorwegian regional carrier Widerøe has announced developments to its route network that take it to major airports outside Scandinavia. Traditionally, Widerøe has played a major role in maintaining communications between isolated Norwegian communities in the Nordic nation’s rugged landscape. It operates to some 40 points within the country, with the only current non-Scandinavian destination being Aberdeen in northeast Scotland. This is connected to Bergen, on Norway’s west coast; both cities are heavily involved in the North Sea oil and gas industries.
LinkSouthwest to restrict smart bags with non-removable lithium batteriesSouthwest Airlines is joining the movement to restrict smart bags with non-removable lithium batteries, following similar guidelines announced by fellow US carriers Delta Air Lines, American Airlines and Alaska Airlines in early December. Effective Jan. 15, 2018, Southwest will no longer accept smart bags if the lithium battery cannot be removed, according to new rules released by the Dallas-based carrier Dec. 15.
LinkRostec member to provide MC-21 after-sale supportRussia’s Aircraft Service Center of the Technodinamika Holding Co., a part of Rostec State Corp., has won the tender for logistics and maintenance for the Irkut Corp.-produced MC-21 after-sale service. “The center will manage the repair of air-technical products, supply and replacement of failed equipment as well as provide access for airlines to components required for aircraft operation,” the company said in a statement.
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