NewsCommercial
Leaked study raises debate on EU aviation fuel tax issue
The leak of a study funded by the European Commission has thrown the issue of aviation taxation into the spotlight, with sustainable transport lobby group Transport & Environment (T&E), saying the report shows taxing aviation fuel would significantly cut emissions without affecting GDP and employment.
T&E, which released details of the report May 13, said the study on aviation taxation, undertaken as part of the 2015 Aviation Strategy, was completed in mid-2018 but has not been published.
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Cabin-fitted MC-21 flown to Moscow for tests
Russian airframer Irkut has flown its first cabin-equipped MC-21-300 aircraft to the Moscow Zhukhovsky airport for testing.
The twinjet had initially been transferred to Ulyanovsk, for painting, following its assembly at Irkutsk.
Irkut says the 13 May flight to Moscow took place without incident.
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Seat firm Geven gains line-fit approval from Boeing
Boeing has approved Italian seat manufacturer Geven as a line-fit supplier of economy seats on the 787 programme.
The agreement was preceded by a "long" assessment and qualification process by Boeing, which covered Geven's entire operations and concentrated, in particular, on engineering and manufacturing capabilities, the Naples-based company says.
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Bristow bows to inevitable and enters Chapter 11
Bristow Group has bowed to the inevitable and entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as the offshore helicopter specialist attempts to restructure its crippling debt load.
The Chapter 11 filing, dated 11 May, covers only six US- and two Cayman Islands-registered businesses, with overseas operations – including Bristow Helicopters in the UK – unaffected.
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Mitsubishi Aircraft opens US headquarters in Renton
Mitsubishi Aircraft has opened its US headquarters at Renton, in Washington state.
The company says that the office will focus on “finalising” the MRJ programme, including sales, marketing and engineering.
“It will also play a key role in future product development,” Mitsubishi Aircraft adds.
LinkAirlines
Onex Capital takes Canada’s WestJet private in buyout deal
Toronto-based private-equity firm Onex Capital will purchase Canadian LCC WestJet in an all-cash deal valued at C$3.5 billion ($2.6 billion), the companies announced May 13.
Including WestJet’s debt, the transaction’s value is C$5.1 billion.
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Air France to reduce short-haul capacity 15%; cut 465 jobs
Air France plans to reduce its short-haul capacity in terms of available seat kilometers (ASKs) by 15% by the end of 2021 and cut 465 jobs without forced departures in the face of growing competition from high-speed trains and low-cost airlines.
The move is likely to reignite tensions with the airline’s workforce.
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Delta campaign discourages workers from unionizing
Delta Air Lines is standing by a campaign to dissuade its flight attendants and baggage handlers from unionizing, saying that a union would interfere with the “direct relationship” between airline management and employees.
The campaign—called “Don’t risk it, Don’t sign it”—was created to prevent employees from joining the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM).
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CemAir grounding overturned; must pass AOC audit
South African regional airline CemAir is hoping to resume operations after an appeal committee overturned the South African CAA’s (SACAA) decision to ground the airline twice in two months.
The SACAA suspended CemAir’s Part 121 and 135 air operator’s certificates (AOCs) in December 2018 and recommended revoking them completely over what it described as Level One infractions that posed a serious safety risk to the public.
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Azul proposes fresh bid for Avianca Brazil assets
Azul has returned to the race for assets of bankrupt Avianca Brazil with a new offer, while the financially troubled carrier filed an appeal in court against the last-minute suspension of its bankruptcy auction last week.
Azul has filed a petition for a minimum bid of $145 million on a new isolated productive unit, or UPI, of assets comprising "certain slot pairs" of Avianca Brazil including those for the lucrative shuttle service between Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.
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PICTURE: Start-up Great Dane shows off first aircraft
Start-up regional carrier Great Dane Airlines has shown off its first aircraft, an Embraer 195 newly painted in the Danish operator’s livery.
The aircraft (EI-GGC) – a 2008 airframe with serial number 213 – was formerly used by Flybe.
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PICTURE: Azul takes delivery of its first A330neo
Brazilian carrier Azul has taken delivery of its first Airbus A330-900, an aircraft being acquired through lessor Avolon.
Avolon has 15 of the Rolls-Royce Trent 7000-powered type on order.
LinkAirports
Heathrow expansion rival group to appeal third-runway ruling
The backers of rival London Heathrow Airport expansion project “Heathrow Hub” are planning to appeal a High Court judgment that dismissed a series of legal challenges against the government’s third-runway plans.
In fall 2016, the UK transport secretary selected a third runway—situated to the northwest of the current two runways—as the preferred option for new airport capacity in southeast England.
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Rescuers reached burning Superjet within time limit: airport
Moscow Sheremetyevo firefighters reached a blazing Aeroflot Sukhoi Superjet 100 within the required response time, and extinguished the fire in about 16min, according to the airport operator.
The operating company says fire-rescue vehicles arrived at the scene on 5 May about 1min ahead of the regulatory standard.
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New digital experience coming to Glasgow airport's car parks
AeroParker has been contracted by Glasgow Airport to power its online and mobile pre-booking service for car parking and other services at the gateway.
According to AeroParker, its platform will enable a new slick customer experience for passengers wishing to guarantee a parking space and any available ancillaries in advance of their arrival at the airport.
Link
Auckland airport duty free shops records $130,000 sale
A Chinese passenger at Auckland Airport has paid NZ$190,000 (approximately US$130,000) for a set of the limited edition BARON OTARD Collection du Roi, consisting of three rare, hand-crafted crystal decanters.
The trio of exceptional and exclusive cuvées of BARON OTARD Collection du Roi, offering three unique expressions of the art of Cognac, were sold at the ARI-operated Duty Free store at Auckland airport.
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Bahrain's new terminal to boast state-of-the-art technologies
Bahrain International Airport’s new passenger terminal will boast a host of state-of-the-art technologies that include an Automated Border Control platform supplied by Vision-Box.
The ongoing Airport Modernisation Programme (AMP) is one of the biggest national projects in the Kingdom’s history and is designed to elevate BIA’s infrastructure, facilities, and services, transforming it into a world-class boutique airport and a key driver of national economic growth.
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Bristol Airport launches new recycling initiative with paper cups
In a bid to reduce waste at Bristol Airport, a paper cup scheme has been launched which sees cups separated from other rubbish, recycled and re-purposed.
Nearly a tonne of paper cups has been recycled as a result of a new process introduced at Bristol Airport in March 2019. This is the equivalent of 54,500 standard size coffee cups which, if placed end to end would stretch for nearly six kilometres – nearly the length of 57 football pitches or three times the length of Bristol Airport’s runway.
LinkMilitary
DARPA to launch competition for AI-powered aircraft dogfighting
The Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) plans to launch a competition to teach artificial intelligence (AI) software programmes how to control aircraft and their weapons in dogfights.
The research agency sees the competition as the first step in developing software that would automate air-to-air combat. AI-controlled fighter aircraft could react faster in combat and free up pilots to spend more time managing a larger air battle, says DARPA.
Link
RAF to get second-hand jets as part of Wedgetail buy
Two of the UK’s five on-order Boeing E-7 Wedgetail airborne early warning and control aircraft will be converted commercial airliners, the Ministry of Defence has confirmed.
London on 22 March signed a £1.5 billion ($1.96 billion) contract for the 737-based Wedgetails, which will be operated by the Royal Air Force.
Link
PICTURES: India receives first of 22 AH-64E Apaches
The Indian Air Force has taken delivery of its first Boeing AH-64E Apache attack helicopters.
Representatives from the air force took delivery of the aircraft at Boeing’s production centre in Mesa, Arizona, it says on its Facebook page.
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Aviation Quote
Gliders... [will be] the freight trains of the air.... We can visualize a locomotive plane leaving LaGuardia Field towing a train of six gliders in the very near future. By having the load thus divided it would be practical to unhitch the glider that must come down in Philadelphia as the train flies over that place — similarly unhitching the loaded gliders for Washington, for Richmond, for Charleston, for Jacksonville, as each city is passed — and finally the air locomotive itself lands in Miami. During that process it has not had to make any intermediate landings, so that it has not had to slow down.
- Grover Loening, consulting engineer Grumman Aircraft, in 'Miracles Ahead! Better Living in the Postwar World,' 1944
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Trivia
General Trivia
1. What was the North American T–6 Mosquito?
2. If an airplane flies into an updraft, it most likely will
a) pitch up.
b) pitch down.
c) pitch up or down.
d) not change pitch.
3. What are their first names?
_____ Immelman (a maneuver)
_____ Fahrenheit (measure of temperature)
_____ Kollsman (altimeter setting)
_____ Mercator (map projection)
_____ Jeppesen (IFR charts)
_____ Hobbs (“money” meter)
4. What is the official (ICAO) definition of a broken layer?
5. The missing-man formation is used to pay homage to a person (or persons) who has (have) passed away. What is the origin of this formation?
6. On different occasions, a pilot keys his microphone 3, 5, and 7 times to activate pilot-controlled airport lighting. The runway-edge lights turn on and remain illuminated for _____, _____, and _____ minutes, respectively.
7. From reader John Schmidt: The Rutan Voyager was flown nonstop around the world without refueling by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager in December, 1986. Prior to that historic flight, what was the world distance record for nonstop, unrefueled flight in a piston-powered airplane and in what type of aircraft was that flight made?
8. What World War II pilot with a now-famous name took off from the aircraft carrier Lexington in his Grumman Wildcat and shot down five Japanese bombers in less than five minutes?
