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NEWS

Lufthansa suffers first net loss six years
Lufthansa yesterday said it ended a "difficult" 2009 with a net loss of €112 million ($151.9 million), reversed from a restated 2008 profit of €542 million and the company's first full-year deficit since 2003.
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Borghetti to lead long-haul era at Virgin Blue
In a clear sign that it is moving its product offering up-market, Virgin Blue yesterday confirmed widespread speculation and appointed former Qantas Executive GM John Borghetti, 54, to take the reins from retiring founder and CEO Brett Godfrey.
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Orbitz's new travel agent program signals a shift to distribution side of its business
Orbitz Worldwide launched Orbitz for Agents, a program that provides access to Orbitz' global hotel inventory and discounted rates and pays commissions to travel agents for hotel and customized travel package bookings.
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Boeing Bullish On Phantom Ray

Boeing officials plan to begin taxi tests on the company’s Phantom Ray demonstrator in July, a slight delay from earlier plans, but first flight is still targeted for December 2010, according Darryl Davis, Boeing Phantom Works president.
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ILFC A380 deliveries pushed back by one year
US lessor International Lease Finance (ILFC) has pushed back by one year the deliveries of its Airbus A380 aircraft.
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Flight Safety Foundation rolls out global standard for mining sector
The Flight Safety Foundation's Australian office has started the roll-out of the first global aviation standard for the mining and resources sector.
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Airbus extends green airport trials to the A380 at Heathrow

Airport operator BAA Heathrow has been working with Airbus, Singapore Airlines and UK air navigation service provider NATS for a year to develop improved departure procedure for the A380, reducing fuel consumption and emissions.
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US court orders release of blocked aircraft tail numbers
The National Business Aviation Association has lost its fight to keep a list of aircraft tail numbers private following a US court ruling.
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Other News

Airbus will defend its presence in the under-150-seat market targeted by Bombardier with its CSeries, Head of Marketing Communications Alan Pardoe said yesterday. Speaking at the 24th Annual SpeedNews Commercial Aviation Industry Suppliers Conference in Beverly Hills, Calif., Pardoe noted that an aircraft seating 138 passengers, the configuration chosen by Republic Airways in its recent order for up to 80 CSeries 300s, directly impinges on the A319 market. Drawing an analogy between Airbus and the Chinese Year of the Tiger, which began last month, Pardoe said, "the Tiger is not going to let anyone steal a part of its business." Later, in response to a question concerning the challenge posed by the Bombardier product, he joked, "the Tiger is awake and looking at you and he could be getting hungry."

Also during the conference, Teal Group VP-Analysis Richard Aboulafia said he expects Republic's order will hasten plans by Airbus and Boeing to update their respective narrowbody offerings. "Any doubts that I had that a 737/A320 re-engining decision wouldn't take place this year. . .is taken care of by the Republic CSeries order. There are people who say Boeing and Airbus will be happy to give up the 130-seat segment. I doubt it. That's a key part of their volume output. They have no choice but to fight bac--to re-engine what they have," he said.

Continental Airlines said last month's snowstorms and their impact on its Newark operation cost it approximately $25 million in lost passenger revenue. At the same time, the resulting cancellations were worth a 1-point increase in RASM. February consolidated unit revenue rose an estimated 7.5%-8.5% from the year-ago month while mainline RASM was up an estimated 5.5%-6.5%. CO flew 6.07 billion consolidated RPMs during the month, up 3.3% year-over-year. Capacity fell 3.8% to 7.81 billion ASMs and load factor surged 5.2 points to 77.7%.

Air Canada said more than 1,000 mechanics who perform MRO work on its aircraft via Aveos Fleet Performance, formerly Air Canada Technical Services, will be laid off owing to reduced utilization of its A320 family aircraft resulting in lower MRO demand. Machinists based in Montreal, Winnipeg and Vancouver will be affected, with 470 dropped in April followed by an additional 540 in June. AC said that as many as 815 could be recalled later. International Assn. of Machinists and Aerospace Workers said AC rejected a government-sponsored workshare program that would have mitigated the number of layoffs. "Air Canada is not willing to administrate the [workshare] program," the union's AC unit said. "This program would have lessened the blow to our members and the company simply doesn't care."

IATA reported that international passenger traffic grew 6.4% year-over-year in January on a 1.2% lift in capacity, pushing load factor up 3.7 points to 75.9%. International cargo traffic jumped 28.3% compared to the prior year, when the airfreight traffic decline was near its lowest point. Cargo traffic is still 3%-4% below early 2008 levels, the organization noted. January passenger and cargo demand reflected "a steady improvement from the precipitous fall in demand that characterized the early part of 2009 rather than a dramatic improvement," it said. DG and CEO Giovanni Bisignani explained, "Airlines have lost 2-3 years of growth. Demand is moving in the right direction. . .We can start to see the future with some cautious optimism, but better volumes do not necessarily mean better profits. Passenger yields are still 15% below peak. And we expect 2010 losses to be $5.6 billion."

IATA pointed out that there "are large geographical differences in the improvements." Asia/Pacific carriers reported a 6.5% increase in passenger demand in January compared to the prior-year month while airlines in North America and Europe saw demand increase by 2.1% and 3.1% respectively. Middle Eastern carriers posted growth of 23.6% in January, Latin American carriers' traffic rose 11% and African airlines recorded a 6.3% improvement.

Qantas Group CFO Colin Storrie announced his resignation "for personal and health reasons" effective March 5, the airline announced yesterday. Gareth Evans, currently CFO of the QF airline unit, will fill in for Storrie on an interim basis. The company said it "will consider internal and external candidates" in its search for a permanent successor. Storrie, 41, was appointed CFO and finance director in September 2008.

Vereinigung Cockpit union, which represents the Lufthansa pilots who went on strike briefly last week, now plans to call on pilots at Air Berlin and its LTU subsidiary to stage 3-hr. wildcat strikes over the next few days. Negotiations on new working conditions have stalled, and VC complained that AB has not presented a viable offer to the union since the pilots presented their demands in January 2009. A key issue is the union's request for a third pilot to be added on certain long-haul routes. A tentative labor deal reached last October will expire on Dec. 31 and prohibits layoffs until then.

Japan Airlines announced that it has ended negotiations related to a possible merger of its cargo operations with Nippon Cargo Airlines. JAL and NCA parent Nippon Yusen announced last August that talks about a merger were underway. JAL, which is in the midst of a bankruptcy restructuring, said yesterday that both sides reached a "common understanding to halt discussions about the merger" but agreed to continue existing ties such as codesharing flights and coordinating ground handling activities.

LAN Airlines yesterday resumed limited domestic and international service from Santiago, where it has helped set up a temporary tent facility for passengers. "The situation is far from normal operations. We are working to be able to resume just 15% of our domestic and international operations," President and COO Ignacio Cueto said Monday. Until Friday LAN will focus on transferring passengers affected by cancellations. Afterward, "operations are expected to begin getting back to normal," the airline said. Saturday's earthquake was centered some 200 mi. to the southwest of the Chilean capital.

United Airlines will launch daily Washington Dulles-Accra flights, its first nonstop service to Africa, on June 20. UA is awaiting Nigerian approval to extend the flight to Lagos.

Panasonic Avionics Corp. will install its overhead Panasonic Digital Multiplexed Passenger Entertainment System on three Israir Airlines A320s. DMPES incorporates the company's X Series System, "which reduces space, weight and power when compared with traditional overhead systems."

Oman Air yesterday completed its first A330 flight offering Honeywell Inmarsat SwiftBroadband mobile and Wi-Fi Internet access. It currently offers GSM/GPRS and Wi-Fi aboard one A330 operating between Muscat and London Heathrow, with plans to expand it to the rest of the fleet.

Spatial Composite Solutions of Dubai received a $2.6 million order from Oman Air for two cabin evacuation trainers (one A330-300 and one 737NG). Delivery is expected in October.



AVIATION QUOTE

This is one hell of a good deal for United Airlines.

— Richard Ferris, Chairman United Airlines, after buying Pan Am's Far East route network.



AEROSPACE TERM

Heat Treatment Heating and cooling a solid metal or alloy in such a way as to obtain desired conditions or properties.



DAILY VIDEO





EDITOR’S CHOICE





HUMOR

The Pearly Gates

It seems a 727 crew had a bad day out and the poor buggers slogged into a paddy and bit the big one. The Captain F/O and S/O were, subsequent to the crash, walking up to the pearly gates to discuss their fate with the Guardian At the Gate.

The Captain, being from the old school and not well versed in CRM told his mates to wait where they were for a blink while he sorted things out with the angel at the gate. The captain, discusses the situation for awhile and comes back to the two and tells them that he's got a little good news and a little bad news. The F/O and S/O both insist on the bad news first.

"Well" he says, "the bad news is that any extra marital affairs we have had bar our entry into paradise." The F/O and the S/O start to walk away quite upset and wondering what an eternity in Hades is going to be like. The captain says "wait a minute mates don't you want to hear the good news?"

"Layovers, don't count."




TRIVIA

General Trivia

1. Why do some pilots in the Navy’s Blue Angels recommend that their guest passengers (members of the media, et cetera) eat bananas before a demonstration flight?

2. In what motion picture did the star of the movie say, “Now, I don’t propose to sit on a flagpole or swallow goldfish. I’m not a stuntman; I’m a flier.”

3. In 1935, Cosby Harrison crashed his Swallow while flying in stormy weather. What well-known aviation business was begun as a result of his accident?

4. What was the first airline to offer transcontinental passenger service, and what type of aircraft was used?

5. Pilots know that temperature generally decreases with altitude in the troposphere. Why does it increase with altitude in the stratosphere?

6. The Lockheed L–1011 was the first airliner to incorporate direct lift control. What is DLC?

1. Because they taste the same going in or coming out.

2.

3. Used aircraft parts business

4. TWA, no idea what kind of plane.

5.

6. It controls spoilers and horizontal stabilizers and allows for an increased descent rate without changing engine power.

halls120 wrote:1. Because they taste the same going in or coming out.

4. DC3?

No idea on the others.

miamiair wrote:4. What was the first airline to offer transcontinental passenger service, and what type of aircraft was used?

Is the question referring to non-stop transcon service? If so, I'd guess a TWA Connie.

5. The stratosphere is heated from above by the sun and gets warmer the closer you are to the sun. The troposphere also gets its heat from the sun, but it is reflected or absorbed by the earth, so it gets colder the higher up you are

ANSWERS:

1. Bananas taste the same coming up as they do going down.

2. Actor Jimmy Stewart recited that line when playing Charles Lindbergh in The Spirit of St. Louis while attempting to attract financial support for his proposed flight to Paris.

3. Harrison wanted to repair his airplane but finding parts was difficult. This inspired him to develop a buy/sell publication for aircraft and parts consisting only of advertisements (no editorial content). He called it Trade-A-Plane.

4. Transcontinental Air Transport, TWA’s predecessor, inaugurated 48-hour, coast-to-coast service on July 8, 1929. Westbound passengers went by night train from New York to Columbus, Ohio, then by Ford Tri-Motor to Waynoka, Oklahoma, then again by night train to Clovis, New Mexico, and finally to Los Angeles by air. Charles Lindbergh flew the first leg of the eastbound inaugural flight.

5. While the troposphere is heated from below by the Earth’s surface, the stratosphere is heated from above by the relatively hot ozone layer, which absorbs solar radiation like the Earth’s surface.

6. As the flaps are extended fully, a set of spoilers is partially and simultaneously deployed. Moving the control wheel fore and aft modulates these spoilers to increase and decrease sink rate during an ILS approach, for example, with minimal pitch change.