TUI Travel to cancel 10 of 23 787 orders TUI Travel said yesterday that it has engaged "in extensive discussions with Boeing" regarding its 787 order book and "both parties" have agreed that 10 of its 23 firm orders will be cancelled while 13 purchase rights will be added. Link
IATA: World traffic decline slows in August but profitability 'ever distant' World airline passenger traffic was down 1.1% in August compared to the same month in 2008, an improvement over the 2.9% year-to-year decline in July, IATA reported. Link
Air India suspends bookings as pilots' wildcat strike continues Air India cancelled at least 30 flights yesterday and took the unusual step of suspending bookings for the next 15 days as a standoff between pilots and management extended to its fourth day. Link
Qatar arranges financing for four 777s Qatar Airways said it arranged a pair of financings worth $700 million covering four 777s arriving this autumn. Link
Alenia Moving Forward With C-27J Upgrades As production on the C-27J continues at Alenia Aeronautica’s plant here, the company is already eyeing potential upgrades to improve the tactical airlifter’s performance. U.S. C-27J No. 4 will be delivered to the Pentagon in March. It will be the final aircraft included among the first four C-27Js headed to Iraq in the fall. Link
BA completes first transatlantic A318 flight British Airways has completed its inaugural all-business Airbus A318 service to New York from London City, arriving ahead of schedule. The first flight to New York JFK, coded BA001, departed London City and the intermediate Shannon stopover early, says BA's Airbus flight training manager Capt Simon Kinsey, and live JFK data shows it touched down ahead of time at 16:35.
Avantair plans regional expansion with Avanti II US fractional ownership company Avantair is planning to expand its regional network as demand for its Piaggio P180 Avanti-based fractional and charter card programmes continues to soar. Link
Other News
Airbus parent EADS CEO Louis Gallois told Reuters yesterday that the company has been in discussions with Singapore Airlines about pushing one of the carrier's A380 deliveries from December to January, which would lower the manufacturer's 2009 A380 delivieries from 14 to 13.
Welcome Air, a small regional carrier based in Innsbruck and owned by Swiss Lions Air Group AG, is in the process of taking over Air Alps, an independent Austrian regional that is 76% owned by BZS Holding, a consortium of several Italian companies. Air Alps connects regional airports such as Bolzano, Rimini and Parma with Rome Fiumicino and also flies between Perugia and Milan Malpensa. It operates the flights in cooperation with Alitalia. "The plan for the merger is well underway and could be completed soon," an Alitalia source said. Air Alps currently operates five 31-seat Dornier 328 turboprops.
Jet Airways is to raise up to $400 million to meet its working capital requirements, according to India's Financial Times. Chairman Naresh Goyal said Jet last year deferred plans to raise funds via a rights issue owing to volatile market conditions. It had planned to launch the issue in October 2008 but deferred it until conditions improved. Goyal also said he would dilute 5%-10% of his personal stake in the company. He currently holds 80%. He told the paper that the airline is open to various sources of funding including banks or private equity placement.
Etihad Airways CEO James Hogan, speaking with The Australian in Abu Dhabi, said the carrier has been able to maintain loads on Australian routes but has seen pressure on yields. "If you look at Melbourne and you look at Sydney, the two Sydney flights are certainly averaging 80% and so is Melbourne," he said, "And what's pleasing is the two premium cabins are holding up too.'' Hogan added that Etihad already is experiencing some improvement in cargo and some reversal in yield decline.
Iceland Express will launch four-times-weekly service from Reykjavik Keflavik to Newark beginning in June 2010 aboard a 757.
Goodrich Corp. said its Landing Gear business signed an "innovative agreement" with an unidentified major airline under which Goodrich will use the carrier's rotable landing gear as part of its landing gear overhaul services. Under the agreement, Goodrich will offer the rotables as exchange units to other airlines that purchase overhaul services. Covered types are 737NGs and 777-200ERs.
Embraer signed a five-year Flight Hour Pool Program service contract with Arkia Israeli Airlines covering an E-195 operated by the carrier since last December. Under the cost-per-flight-hr. program, Embraer assumes responsibility for maintaining a parts inventory to support the aircraft.
Lufthansa Technik signed a 10-year total component support contract with Air Canada for six 777-200LRs and 12 777-300ERs
Purolator USA said its Itasca, Ill., processing facility gained TSA approval to participate in the Certified Cargo Screening Program. The facility will be able to screen customers' air shipments so they can be loaded onto designated flights upon arrival at airports.
Scandinavian Avionics said it was chosen to provide full design, EASA certification and installation support for complete glass cockpit upgrades on a "significant number" of BAE ATP aircraft operated by West Air Sweden. The installations will include a five-panel suite of Universal Avionics' large format EFI-890R flat-panel displays as well as a Rockwell Collins TWR-850 Enhanced Weather Radar System. They will be performed at West Air Sweden's facilities in Malmo.
AVIATION QUOTE
I could not claim them because I was not supposed to be flying in combat.
Adolf Galland
AEROSPACE TERM
Gradient
1. The space rate of decrease of a function. Of a function in three space dimensions, the vector normal to surfaces of constant value of the function and directed toward decreasing values, with magnitude equal to the rate of decrease of the function in this direction. The gradient of a function f is denoted by - f (without the minus sign in the older literature), and is itself a function of both space and time. The ascendant is the negative of the gradient. See del-operator. 2. Often loosely used to denote the magnitude of the gradient or ascendant. 3. Either the rate of change of a quantity (as temperature, pressure, etc.) or a diagram or curve representing this.
DAILY VIDEO
HUMOR
The Size Counts
Shortly after just landing at a big international airport in his Cessna 150, our hero strolls into the busy airport cafeteria for a bite to eat. He finds an empty table by the window to keep an eye on the airport comings and goings. Shortly thereafter, a striking woman walks up and asks to share his table.
Naturally, he invites her to sit down. After several minutes of small talk, the woman asks if he is a pilot. He responds, "Why, yes, I am -- I fly a C-150." Knowing next to nothing about airplanes, she asks him what a C-150 is. The pilot looks out the window and spots a C-130 Hercules taxing out for takeoff.
Pointing to it, he tells his companion, "See that plane over there? That is a C-130. I fly a C-150!"
TRIVIA
Miscellaneous Trivia Avoid Google
1. Name the eight Grumman Cats:
2. The last dogfight between piston powered fighters took place where, when, and who won?
3. Which of the following are not JATO capable? C-130 Mirage IV DC-9 B-52 B-727 He-111 B-47
4. Which was NOT supersonic? P-59 F-80 F-94C F-100 F-101
5. Which of the following was not a Wild Weasel? F-100F F-105G F-4G F-111G F-15G F-16G
6. What was the first aircraft to fly around the world without stopping? B-25 B-29 B-47 B-50 B-52 B-58
And let's get one thing straight. There's a big difference between a pilot and an aviator. One is a technician; the other is an artist in love with flight. — E. B. Jeppesen
2. The last dogfight between piston powered fighters took place where, when, and who won?
I'll bet it took place over Central America, and I'll bet it happened in the 80's because there were still piston-engined front-line fighters down there until the 80's (might even still be a few in service). I'll say it was probably Nicaragua vs Honduras and Honduras won.
2. During the Soccer War between El Salvador and Honduras, 17 JUL 69. A Salvadorian F4U-5N shot down a Honduran P-51D Mustang.
3. Just the B-52, the rest have used JATO installations.
4. The P-59 and the F-80 were not supersonic.
5. The F-15G doesn’t even exist.
6. Lucky Lady II, a Boeing B-50 circled the globe in 1949 non-stop.
And let's get one thing straight. There's a big difference between a pilot and an aviator. One is a technician; the other is an artist in love with flight. — E. B. Jeppesen
