NewsCommercial
Leasing Group Avolon Cancels Big Boeing Max Order
Dublin-based leasing company Avolon has canceled an order for 75 Boeing 737 Max jets scheduled for delivery from 2020 to 2023, the lessor said Friday, dealing another blow to the U.S. aerospace giant’s troubled narrowbody program. Avolon, which hadn’t yet placed any of the airplanes with operators, also said it had rescheduled delivery of another 16 Max jets to 2024 or later.
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Superjet 100s contracted to support UN peacekeeping
Sukhoi Superjet 100s are to be deployed in support of United Nations peacekeeping operations for the first time, following a procurement process.
The Russian foreign affairs ministry and Russia’s permanent mission to the UN have been supporting a bid for participation using the type.
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Coulson's 737 Tanker To Support U.S. Firefighting Ops
Coulson Aviation USA has been awarded a multi-year contract from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service for firefighting services using Coulson’s Boeing 737 next-generation air tanker, Tanker 137. The contract is effective beginning this year.
LinkAirlines
JetBlue and Delta apply for federal payroll grants
JetBlue Airways and Delta Air Lines have applied for federal payroll grants in time for the US Treasury Department to ensure quick approval, yet the chief executives of both carriers say they will need to raise additional capital.
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US government reminds airlines of ticket refund rules amid pandemic cancellations
An increase in passenger complaints have led the US Department of Transportation to remind airlines that even amid the coronavirus downturn they must abide by government air ticket refund regulations.
Those policies require airlines to provide passengers with refunds if the airline cancels a flight or makes “a significant schedule change”, and if passengers decline alternative compensation.
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Lufthansa Set To Fly An Airbus A350 To Fiji From Munich
Lufthansa had plans to fly one of its Airbus A350-900s from Germany to Fiji in the near future. At least it did as of earlier today. The airline was scheduled to operate a repatriation flight to the pacific island nation from Munich. However, within the last few hours, the flight was canceled. We’re waiting to see if and when this journey will actually take place…
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Braathens Regional Airlines Cuts All Flights Until June
Braathens Regional Airlines will tomorrow suspend all of its flights until the start of June. The airline was attempting to keep services going but new government guidelines have left the airline with no traveling customers. The Swedish airline is allowing affected customers to rebook tickets or receive a refund.
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United Crew Refuses To Fly With 135 Cruise Passengers
135 Australian residents trying to get to Sydney from San Francisco were turned away on Friday. The travelers had recently been on a cruise trip and were trying to get home. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, United Airlines staff members were not comfortable performing this operation. Therefore, the carrier had to find a suitable alternative.
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British Airways Employees Are Being Deployed To Combat COVID-19
British Airways is deploying its employees to the front lines of the battle against coronavirus in the UK. The airline has set up a company-wide taskforce of employees who have a variety of skills to offer charities, non-profit organizations, and the NHS.
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German Government Backs Vouchers Over Refunds For Lufthansa Passengers
In order to manage its liquidity, Lufthansa may issue its customers with vouchers for future travel instead of refunds. This week, the German government appealed to the European Commission to ask for special permission to avoid a hefty bailout. In response, the European Commission stated that normal protocol should still be followed.
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Austrian Airlines Extends Flight Suspensions Through May 3rd
In a press statement released yesterday, Austrian Airlines has confirmed that it is temporarily suspending flight operations through May 3rd, 2020. The extension is due to the restrictions being imposed by governments around the world to help stop the spread of the coronavirus.
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Here’s How Aer Lingus Used Seat Bags To Bring Cargo On A330s
From late-March, Aer Lingus had a task to fulfill. The Health Service Executive of Ireland contracted the airline to fly in medical supplies and equipment to Dublin from China. Now, for the next few months, Aer Lingus will be operating up to five nonstop flights per day between Beijing and Dublin to bring cargo onboard Airbus A330 aircraft.
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Delta Is Burning Through $60 Million Per Day
In an April 3rd memo to employees, Delta CEO Ed Bastian revealed that the airline is losing over $60 million each day. With an 80% reduction in flight schedules, Delta is further anticipating revenue for the second quarter to be down a whopping 90%.
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United Losing $100 Million Daily In Revenue
With much of its fleet grounded due to the COVID-19 pandemic, United Airlines is losing a staggering US$100 million in revenue each day. This week, the Chicago-based carrier’s leadership held a virtual town hall meeting with its employees via video chat.
LinkAirports
Wuhan Airport Terminal Undergoes Complete Disinfection
We’ve seen the incredible amount of work it takes a team of cleaners to disinfect an aircraft. With that in mind, imagine the resources needed to disinfect nearly an entire airport terminal. However, on April 3rd that’s just what happened at Wuhan Tianhe Airport’s Terminal 3 as the city prepares to re-open its main airport.
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Airports set to lose 38% of traffic and 50% of revenues in 2020
ACI World has issued its loudest warning yet about the COVID-19 pandemic, fearing that it could wipe out two-fifths of passenger traffic and almost half of revenues for airports in 2020.
In an economic bulletin published today, ACI World predicts that global passenger traffic close to two-fifths (38.1%) will be lost as compared to the forecasted pre-COVID-19 figure. This is equivalent to 3.6 billion passengers in absolute terms.
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Cardiff Airport to receive financial support from Welsh government
The Welsh government has announced that it is set to provide Cardiff Airport (CWL) with financial support to limit the longer-term consequences of the early impacts of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
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Portugal Shuts Down Commercial Flights During Easter
The government of Portugal has decided to close all the country’s airports over the busy Easter period in an attempt to stop the spread of the deadly coronavirus. When announcing the restriction, Prime Minister António Costa said that the new measures would begin from midnight on April 9th and run until midnight on April 13th.
LinkMilitary
Russian Military Plane Delivers Medical Supplies To New York Area
A Russian Air Force An-124 flew in to New York’s JFK International Airport on April 1st. The aircraft brought in much-needed medical supplies to the Big Apple after making some stops in Canada and Ireland.
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Boeing to receive $882 million in withheld USAF payments
The United States Air Force has reached two agreements with Boeing, one regarding the final corrections to the Remote Vision System of the KC-46A Pegasus tankers and the second about the release of $882 million in payments that had been withheld due to the technical problems affecting the refuellers.
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Aviation Quote
In a relatively short period of time—maybe 15 to 20 years—I believe we're going to fly hypersonic and we'll look at SSBJs [supersonic business jets] as not having been a necessary intermediate stop. We'll bounce across the top of the atmosphere at Mach 5-6 or do suborbital lobs flying weightless. Travel time may be reduced to as little as 60 minutes anywhere on Earth.
Within 25 years, virtual reality meetings will be essentially transparent to being there in person. Once we can do this, the idea of climbing into an aircraft, and burning up huge quantities of fossil fuels to propel our bodies and briefcases full of papers, will seem absolutely backward.
- Burt Rutan, interview in Professional Pilot magazine, March 2006.
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Trivia
General Trivia
1. What airplane produced by a well-known aircraft manufacturer was rejected by the U.S. Army in 1973 because it could be brought down by bow and arrow?
2. What is the largest, post-World War II, piston-powered, twin-engine airplane designed from scratch and produced exclusively as a general aviation airplane?
3. Why should every dedicated pilot fly at least once to KFFA
4. Several types of liaison airplanes served the U.S. military during World War II. Best known of these were the first five, the L-1, L-2, L-3, L-4, and L-5. Can you identify these utilitarian “L-birds?”
5. Almost everyone has heard of the Lockheed P-38 Lightning, but what is the Lightning II?
6. U.S. military flight-crew positions often have nicknames. What are the official positions of a boomer, a GAFO (pronounced GAY-fo), a raven, a GIB (pronounced gib), and a whizzo?
7. The Pratt & Whitney J58 (JT11D) engines that powered the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird use JP-7 fuel so inert that it could not be ignited with spark or ignition plugs. How was this exotic fuel ignited during engine start?
8. On November 13, 1942, and after having survived in a life raft in the western Pacific for 23 days, Capt. Eddie Rickenbacker, Col. Hans Adamson, and Pvt. John Bartek were found by the pilot of a Vought-Sikorsky Kingfisher, a U.S. Navy seaplane. What was so unusual about the subsequent rescue?
