NewsCommercial
Airbus opens innovation center in China
Airbus officially opened its first innovation center in Shenzhen China on Feb. 21. The Airbus China Innovation Centre (ACIC) is the first in Asia and second worldwide after the A3 center in San Jose, California.
Airbus said the ACIC has been operating since early 2018 and currently focuses on designing, testing, and certifying new technologies relating to five areas: Hardware Lab, Cabin Experience, Connectivity, Manufacturing Innovation and Urban Air Mobility (UAM).
Link
Airbus secures two South Asian carriers for Skywise platform
Airbus has secured agreements with GoAir and SriLankan Airlines to utilise the airframer's data platform, Skywise Core.
GoAir will be Airbus' first Indian customer of the product, where the airline will use the platform to reduce operational interruptions and maximise aircraft utilisation and flight operations.
Link
Air Lease expects Airbus delays through 2020
Air Lease will continue to experience delays to its deliveries in 2019, management says.
“While we believe Airbus has its industrial recovery plan in place, and that Pratt & Whitney are getting their arms around these issues, we fall just short of saying these problems are fully behind us,” chief executive John Plueger told investors during a fourth-quarter earnings call on 21 February.
Link
PICTURES: First ARJ21 delivered to Genghis Khan Airlines
Chinese start-up Genghis Khan Airlines has today taken delivery of its first Comac ARJ21-700.
The operator has orders for 25 ARJ21s, which are powered by General Electric CF34-10A engines. The twinjets will be used to operate regional routes within Inner Mongolia from its base of Hohhot Baita International airport, says Comac.
Link
EU extends safety certificate validity beyond Brexit date
Permanent representatives to the Council of the European Union have approved an agreement with the European Parliament on a draft resolution intended to ensure continued validity of aviation safety certificates.
The agreement – which will take effect if the UK leaves the EU without a post-withdrawal deal – extends the validity of such certificates for nine months, and potentially further if necessary.
LinkAirlines
Crashed 767's crew appeared to be trying to avoid weather
Preliminary analysis of air traffic control communications with the crashed Atlas Air Boeing 767-300ER freighter near Houston indicates that the crew was trying to avoid a weather system during the approach.
Meteorological data for the airport around the time of the accident, 12:40 on 23 February, points to good visibility but winds from the north-west gusting to 24kt.
Link
Divers search for FDR, CVR after Atlas Air Boeing 767 crash
Divers searched for flight data and cockpit voice recorders (FDR/CVR) in marshland to help unravel why an Atlas Air Boeing 767-300 freighter crashed in Trinity Bay near Anahuac, Texas, on Feb. 23, after a steep descent, killing three crew members.
Link
Atlas Boeing 767 freighter crashes in Texas
A Boeing 767-300 converted freighter operating for Amazon Air crashed into Trinity Bay near Anahuac, Texas, Feb. 23, FAA said.
Three people may have been onboard, FAA said, citing preliminary information.
Link
Video shows Atlas 767F in ‘steep’ dive prior to crash: NTSB
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has obtained security video showing Atlas Air flight 3591 in a “steep nose-down attitude” prior to crashing in Trinity Bay near Houston on 23 February.
“The aircraft is in the video… at a steep descent – [a] steep nose-down attitude,” NTSB chair Robert Sumwalt said during a press conference on 24 February. “I saw no evidence of the aircraft trying to turn or pull up at the last moments.”
Link
US investigators converge on site of deadly Atlas Air 767 crash
US investigators are converging on the site where the 767-300ER Freighter crashed into the water on 23 February, killing three people on board.
The National Transportation Safety Board has dispatched a “go team” from Washington, DC to the crash site, which is near the town of Baytown, Texas, not far from Houston, says the agency on Twitter.
Link
US airlines file with DOT for available Tokyo Haneda slots
US carriers—including American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Hawaiian Airlines, and United Airlines—have filed applications with the US Department of Transportation (DOT) for some of the 12 newly available daytime slot pairs at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport (HND). The new daytime slot pairs were made available following a tentative agreement reached Jan. 25 between delegations from the US and Japan to further amend the 2010 Open Skies agreement between the two countries.
Link
Flybe takeover deal finalized; continues normal operations
The deal to take over UK regional airline Flybe by a Virgin Atlantic-led consortium has completed, the Exeter-based airline said Feb. 22. Flybe’s two operating subsidiaries, their assets and operations are now owned by Connect Airways, a group consisting of Virgin Atlantic, Stobart Group and Cyrus Capital. Flybe will eventually be rebranded as Virgin Atlantic. Flybe flights continue to operate as normal during the transition, the airline said.
Link
China’s Jiangsu province in talks to buy stake in HNA’s Suparna
The provincial government of Jiangsu in eastern China is negotiating to buy a stake in HNA subsidiary Suparna Airlines, industry sources said.
The stake is likely to be large, since the sources said the government wants to move the airline’s base from Shanghai to the provincial capital, Nanjing, and change the name to Jiangsu Airlines.
Link
Cape Air, Mountain Air Cargo start pilot pathway program
US regional airline Cape Air and express cargo carrier Mountain Air Cargo have introduced a pathway program that allows pilots to transition between the two airlines to gain flight hours and experience.
Under the new program announced Feb. 21, Cape Air twin-engine piston pilots can transition into Mountain Air Cargo ATR 42/72 twin-engine turboprops to gain pilot in command (PIC) turbine time.
Link
Jet Airways grounds two more aircraft for lease defaults
Jet Airways has grounded two more aircraft after it failed to pay their lease rentals.
The carrier disclosed the additional groundings on 23 February in a letter to its two stock exchanges. It had previously disclosed that four jets were grounded for non-payment of rentals on 7 February, but none of the six aircraft have been identified, nor the lessors involved.
Link
Passenger who attempted to hijack Biman 737 killed
A passenger on board a Biman Bangladesh Airlines Boeing 737-800 was killed by special forces on 24 February after he attempted to hijack the aircraft.
The aircraft, registered S2-AHV, was operating flight BG147 from Dhaka to Chittagong, when the incident happened.
Link
Avianca suspends merger plans with Avianca Brazil
Bogota-based Avianca says it has suspended plans to merge with sister carrier Avianca Brazil, two months after the Sao Paulo-based carrier filed for bankruptcy protection.
Avianca says the due diligence process to study a merger of the two airlines has been "suspended for a substantial amount of time and will remain postponed indefinitely".
LinkAirports
GVK to increase stake in Mumbai airport operator
Indian infrastructure group GVK's airport division will raise its stake in Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) to 64%.
In a filing on the Indian stock exchange, GVK says it will acquire 162 million shares from Bid Services Division Mauritius Limited (Bidvest) for Rs12.5 billion ($187 million), increasing its stake in MIAL from 50.5% to 64% when the deal is complete.
Link
Dublin Airport helps reunite missing parrot with owner
With a Lidl help from a supermaket chain and a Slovak voice recording, Dublin Airport has helped reunited a missing African Grey parrot with its owner following a social media appeal.
The female parrot was discovered walking along the eastern end of Dublin Airport’s main runway by airport fire fighter Craig Wade last Sunday evening.
Link
Therapy dogs will enhance customer experience at Toronto Pearson
Fifteen therapy dogs are set to join the team as part of an initiative to improve passenger experience through Toronto Pearson International Airport.
Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) and the St. John Ambulance (SJA) Therapy Dog Program are partnering to bring the friendly faces of 15 therapy dog teams to YYZ. As part of the Toronto Pearson Welcome Team Volunteer Programme, SJA Therapy Dog teams will roam Terminals 1 and 3 to bring enjoyment and help alleviate the anxiety that some passengers experience while travelling.
LinkMilitary
Brazilian navy orders three Airbus H135 light helicopters
Brazil’s navy ordered three Airbus H135 light twin-engine helicopters.
The helicopters will be operated by the 1st General Purpose Helicopter Squadron and will be used for missions such as special operations, transport of troops and freight, naval inspection, search and rescue and medical evacuation, says Airbus Helicopters. The aircraft are replacements for the Brazilian navy’s twin-engine, light utility Eurocopter AS355 Écureuil helicopter.
Link
Northrop Grumman Australia’s F-35 repair work outlined
Northrop Grumman Australia was awarded a contract by the US Department of Defense for maintenance, repair, overhaul and upgrade (MRO&U) work on Lockheed Martin F-35 fighters stationed in the Asia-Pacific region.
Northrop Grumman Australia, as well as BAE Systems, Moog, Ruag, NIOA, Survitec, and GE Aviation, will provide services for 13 of 17 MRO&U component repair technology groups assigned to the Asia-Pacific region, the company said on 22 February.
Link
Aviation Quote
Stars scribble on our eyes the frosty sagas,
The gleaming cantos of unvanquished space . . .
- Hart Crane (1899–1932)
Daily Video
Editor's Choice
Trivia
SOVIET METAL SCRAMBLE
1. LFUUCRM
2. KRNEFAL
3. AEIFKRBC
4. NLRBDEI
5. IAMSD
6. FGOOTROF
7. KLAACJBKC
8. AERB
9. NCFERE
10. BAFTXO
