NewsAccidents/Incidents
United Receives Class Action Lawsuit Over 777 Engine Failure
In a class-action lawsuit filed with a Colorado court two days ago, one of the passengers aboard United Airlines Flight UA328 claims to have suffered emotional distress as a result of the high-profile engine failure. The plaintiff’s legal counsel claims that the incident, strikingly similar to one from 2018, could have been avoided if United had inspected the engine’s fan blades properly.
Link
Pilot Left With Missing Tooth After Mid-Air Flight Attendant Brawl
Reports in Chinese media are painting a bizarre picture of an incident on a flight back in late February. Donghai Airlines was operating a service from Nantong to Xian on February 20th, when an argument erupted, leaving a pilot with a missing tooth and a flight attendant with a broken arm! Here’s what happened.
Link
FAA: Laser strikes increase even with fewer planes flying
FAA works closely with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to pursue civil and criminal penalties against people who purposely aim a laser at an aircraft.
LinkCommercial
Honeywell Is Developing A Hybrid-Electric Aircraft Engine
Commercial aviation is often singled out as the bad boy of carbon emissions. As such, manufacturers are seeking to minimize their impact on the environment through the development of low carbon technology. One such manufacturer is Honeywell Aerospace. The Phoenix-based company recently announced its plans to develop a hybrid-electric engine.
Link
Why Is Airbus Lagging Behind Boeing In The Freighter Market?
In the commercial airline duopoly that is Airbus vs. Boeing, the two companies regularly match each other on the pace and demand for their passenger aircraft. However, in terms of freighter jets, Boeing is king. Why is Airbus lagging behind in this important market?
LinkAirlines
Air India to phase out all its Boeing 747 jumbos
Indian flag carrier Air India is considering significant changes to its fleet. The airline reportedly will follow other air carriers’ steps as it is planning to phase out its entire fleet of Boeing 747 jumbo jets.
Link
Avianca Simplifies Rebooking Disrupted Flights To Just 3 Clicks
Avianca is changing how its passengers can reschedule their flights if the airline cancels them for any reason. According to the airline, now travelers need to do three clicks through Avianca’s website to change their itineraries. How will it work?
Link
BA CityFlyer Moves To All E190 Fleet With E170s Going To Envoy
British Airways subsidiary CityFlyer will not be bringing back the smaller of its Embraer jets, the ERJ-170, and will become an all-ERJ-190 airline. Some of the six ERJ-170s have been parked since the onset of the COVID pandemic, but none will be retired from service. Rather, they will be taking a long hop across the pond to begin life flying for Envoy Air under the American Eagle brand.
Link
Eurowings Begins Selling Empty Middle Seats For Just $12
Eurowings, a budget airline within the Lufthansa Group, is now allowing passengers to reserve an empty middle seat on all of its flights. Announced today, the minimum price for this has been reduced by nearly 45%, which could make it an even more appealing “add-on” for the airline’s customers. 10 euros, or $12, seems like an amazing deal for an empty seat. Is there a catch?
Link
American Airlines Encourages Employees To Get Vaccinated
Airlines are very wary of making vaccines mandatory for staff. However, American Airlines has come up with some incentives to encourage employees to get vaccinated without forcing them to do so. Staff members who accept the vaccine when it becomes available to them will receive one extra paid vacation day plus $50 of Nonstop Thanks points.
Link
Icelandair To Scrap Air Iceland Connect Brand
Today, Icelandair Group said it had decided to let go of its regional Air Iceland Connect brand as it looks to simplify overall operations. The move, which has been in the works for some time, is to make destinations in the north of Iceland more accessible for connecting international passengers. Meanwhile, there will be no changes to passenger services.
Link
Loganair Launches New Regional Connectivity Routes
Loganair has announced two new routes: City of Derry to Liverpool and Teesside to Bristol. Liverpool replaces Ryanair, while Teesside-Bristol will temporarily replace Loganair’s non-stop Aberdeen-Bristol.
Link
Cebu Pacific Celebrates Its 25th Birthday
With all the noise about how bad the airline industry is right now, it’s easy to overlook the good news. Yesterday, March 8, Cebu Pacific marked 25 years of flying. Many airlines have risen and disappeared in far less time, but Cebu Pacific continues to power ahead. Despite a rough 2020, the airline is looking ahead to the next 25 years.
LinkAirports
Guidance on drone incidents near airports published by EASA
EASA’s new guidance addresses unauthorised drone usage in the vicinity of airports, including by accident, with deliberate intent to disrupt, and criminal or terrorist motivation.
Link
Canadian airports call for urgent plan to reverse domestic and international travel restrictions
The Canadian Airports Council has called on the Government of Canada to increase its support for the country’s aviation sector in order to avoid the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic being permanent.
LinkMilitary
Safran contracted to speed up 6th generation fighter jet engine development
The New Generation Fighter (NGF) sixth-generation fighter jet developed by France, Germany, and Spain in the framework of the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) will require more powerful engines than the ones currently equipping the Dassault Rafale (Safran M88) or the Eurofighter Typhoon (Eurojet EJ200).
Link
UK could scrap plan to acquire 90 F-35B fighter jets
In September 2020, the United Kingdom announced it would significantly increase its military spending, adding £16.5 billion ($22 billion) to the defense budget. However, the increase would be accompanied by an optimization of the British Armed Forces’ capacities.
Link
Aviation Quote
The thing is, helicopters are different from planes. An airplane by it's nature wants to fly, and if not interfered with too strongly by unusual events or by a deliberately incompetent pilot, it will fly. A helicopter does not want to fly. It is maintained in the air by a variety of forces and controls working in opposition to each other, and if there is any disturbance in this delicate balance the helicopter stops flying; immediately and disastrously. There is no such thing as a gliding helicopter.
This is why being a helicopter pilot is so different from being an airplane pilot, and why in generality, airplane pilots are open, clear-eyed, buoyant extroverts and helicopter pilots are brooding introspective anticipators of trouble. They know if something bad has not happened it is about to.
- Harry Reasoner, 1971.
Daily Video
Editor's Choice
Trivia
Soviet Scramble
1. HDBIEFS
2. LENAFRK
3. AXOFTB
4. NCEREF
5. CAKAJLBKC
6. DNRLEBI
7. FBREAKCI
8. BONIS
9. DGAEBR
10. CDDNAI
