NAS Daily 09 JUL 19

airtrainer 08 Jul 19, 21:27

News

Commercial

Cracks in A380 wing spars trigger inspections
Airbus and EASA are developing an inspection program for A380 wing outer rear spars after reports of cracks on in-service aircraft. The program, revealed in a proposed EASA airworthiness directive (AD) published July 5, targets “the 25 oldest wing sets” in the A380 in-service fleet. Affected operators are to conduct initial “special detailed inspections” on a schedule based on the aircraft’s age. Follow-up checks will be done every 36 months.
Link

Aireon activates distressed aircraft tracking service
Space-based surveillance provider Aireon has activated its Aircraft Location and Emergency Response Tracking (ALERT) service to provide on request the last known position of any transponder-equipped aircraft in distress. Managed by the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA), an Aireon joint venture partner, the ALERT service uses the company’s network of automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) receivers carried by Iridium Next satellites to locate transponder-equipped aircraft ...
Link

ANALYSIS: How the A321XLR gained initial order momentum
When looking at the launch of the Airbus A321XLR at this year's Paris air show, it is perhaps instructive to cast your mind back two years earlier to the 2017 event.
That edition of the biennial show saw the launch, to similar fanfare, of the Boeing 737 Max 10 – which, at 43.8m (143ft 8in) long, will be the largest variant of the re-engined narrowbody family.
Link

Airlines

Analyst: Delta sees revenue, capacity gains from MAX grounding
Delta Air Lines’ recent positive guidance revisions reflect the benefits of a strong demand environment produced in part by competitors’ struggles to fill capacity voids created by the grounding of Boeing 737 MAXs, analysts at Cowen & Co. say.
The Atlanta-based carrier reported July 2 that total second-quarter revenue will be up 8%-8.5% as unit revenue climbs 3.5%—at the high end of its April guidance.
Link

Virgin Atlantic updates A350 entry into service plans
UK long-haul carrier Virgin Atlantic will take delivery of four Airbus A350-1000s in 2019, with the type set to make its commercial debut between London Heathrow and New York JFK on Sept. 10.
Virgin has a total of 12 Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-powered A350-1000s on order, scheduled to join the fleet by 2021.
Link

EVA Air reaches agreement with striking cabin crews
A strike by EVA Air cabin crews is set to end at midnight July 10 after the airline and the Taoyuan Flight Attendants Union signed an agreement July 7.
The 18-day strike, the longest to hit Taiwan’s aviation industry, has caused the carrier to cancel about 1,440 flights affecting more than 280,000 passengers.
Link

IAG to challenge $230 million data-theft fine from 2018 breach
British Airways (BA) plans to “vigorously” defend its actions, after being told the UK flag carrier faces a £183.4 million ($229.6 million) penalty over a data-theft incident that occurred in 2018.
The European Union (EU) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) fine, which was announced by the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) on July 8, amounts to 1.5% of BA’s worldwide turnover for the financial year ended Dec. 31, 2017.
Link

Airports

UK regional airports see signs of revival
A new regional airport has opened in the UK and a second airport showing signs of being restored after years of inactivity.
The new facility is Carlisle Lake District Airport in northwest England, near the Scottish border and the Lake District National Park.
Link

UK Government announces funding to upgrade Gatwick train station
The investment from the UK Government to upgrade Gatwick Airport’s train station will include a larger concourse, five new lifts and eight new escalators.
Tens of millions of rail passengers travelling to and from Gatwick Airport will benefit from improved accessibility and swifter journeys, after the Department for Transport (DfT) announced a £150 million scheme to upgrade the station.
Link

Military

US Navy declares IOC for MQ-8C Fire Scout unmanned helicopter
The US Navy (USN) declared initial operational capability (IOC) for the Northrop Grumman MQ-8C Fire Scout unmanned helicopter on 28 June.
IOC clears the way for the unmanned air vehicle (UAV) to begin fleet operations and training, says the USN. The MQ-8C is to deploy aboard the USN’s littoral combat ships in FY2021, and is intended for intelligence, and surveillance and reconnaissance, as well as precision targeting.
Link

PICTURES: MQ-8B returns to southeast Asia aboard LCS
The deployment of the USS Montgomery Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) to Singapore highlights the increasing prevalence of manned and unmanned rotorcraft operating together from US warships.
The deployment marks the first time an LCS is deployed to southeast Asia since 2016. Supporting the deployment are two rotorcraft from Helicopter Sea Combat Sqn. 23, the “Wild Cards,” with a single Lockheed Martin MH-60S and an unmanned Northrop Grumman MQ-8B Fire Scout.
Link

PICTURE: First RCAF C295 conducts maiden flight
The first Airbus Defence & Space C295 aircraft due for Canada’s Fixed Wing Search and Rescue Aircraft Replacement (FWSAR) programme has had its maiden flight.
Airbus says that this places the aircraft on track for delivery by the end of 2019, whereupon it will begin operational testing.
Link

Aviation Quote

Many wonderful inventions have surprised us during the course of the last century and the beginning of this one. But most were completely unexpected and were not part of the old baggage of dreams that humanity carries with it. Who had ever dreamed of steamships, railroads, or electric light? We welcomed all these improvements with astonished pleasure; but they did not correspond to an expectation of our spirit or a hope as old as we are: to overcome gravity, to tear ourselves away from the earth, to become lighter, to fly away, to take possession of the immense aerial kingdom; to enter the universe of the Gods, to become Gods ourselves.

- Jerome Tharaud, 'Dans le ciel des dieux,' in Les Grandes Conferences de l'aviation: Recits et souvenirs, 1934.