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NEWS

Korean Air slides to second quarter loss but touts 'record high' revenue
Korean Air posted a second quarter net loss of KRW233.1 billion ($197 million), reversed from a KRW78.5 billion profit in the year-ago period, blaming the negative swing in part on a 30% year-over-year surge in fuel costs and the falling value of the won.
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First A330-200 freighter delivered to Etihad
Etihad Airways last week launched the first A330-200 freighter, flying it from Toulouse to its Abu Dhabi base after taking delivery from Airbus.
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Chinese carriers post net income of $815 million in July
Chinese carriers earned collective net income of CNY5.52 billion ($815 million) for the month of July owing to robust domestic demand growth, according to CAAC.
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Emirates to double services to Los Angeles and Houston
Emirates announced it is doubling services to Los Angeles and Houston Intercontinental from Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 respectively to twice daily aboard a 777.
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Virgin Blue unveils wide-ranging restructure of network
Australia's Virgin Blue is withdrawing from the New Zealand domestic market, increasing trans-Tasman, medium-haul and long-haul services, and boosting capacity on the domestic market as part of the first phase of its network review.
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Other News

LAN Airlines and TAM reportedly are discussing a merger to create a mega-Latin American airline company. Exame, a Brazilian business magazine, first reported the potential merger between the Brazilian and Chilean carriers on Friday. Reuters later reported that TAM had filed a regulatory filing Friday confirming a preliminary merger accord, with the airline going so far as to say the new company's name would be "Latam Airlines Group." The news service said LAN had also confirmed a merger agreement, though the company said the deal is nonbinding.

flyLAL, the defunct Lithuanian scheduled services airline’s assets continue to be operated by flyLAL Charters, but the company has decided to rebrand as Small Planet Airlines. It said in conjunction with the new name, it is embarking on a product upgrade to enable it to add more services. It plans to install ergonomic seats from Acro Aircraft Seating on new 737NGs arriving that are replacing its 737 Classics. “The main catalyst for the rebranding was our international growth," CEO Vytautas Kaikaris explained. "The previous brand flyLAL was associated with scheduled flights, business travel and Lithuania, whereas today our business strength is in charter flights in four European countries: Italy, Poland, Estonia and Lithuania.” The new brand image and focus on passenger service will be supported by the renovation of the airline’s fleet. Its first two 737NGs are scheduled to be delivered in the 2011 summer. In 2009, flyLAL/Small Planet Airlines carried over 500,000 passengers and generated revenue of €46 million ($59.1 million). It aims to transport 2 million passengers annually by 2012. Owned by Avia Solution Group, the airline provides full charter, ACMI and ad-hoc solutions to tour operators and airlines.

Lufthansa's second A380 underwent an inflight engine shutdown Aug. 6, 1 hr. before landing in Frankfurt en route from Tokyo Narita, it was learned last week. The Rolls-Royce Trent 900-powered aircraft was delivered on July 19. LH said the engine shutdown decision was made after "confusing numbers" related to oil pressure appeared on a cockpit indicator. LH replaced the engine with a new one and the aircraft returned to service the next day.

Kenya Airways leased a 737-300 from KLM for two months. It will initially be used to boost services on the airline's Nairobi-Mombasa route.

Jetscape leased one E-175LR to Royal Jordanian for an eight-year term beginning in October.

Apple Aviation launched out of Liverpool (UK) with EASA Part 145 approval to offer line maintenance services on 737 Classics and NGs, 767ERs, A320 family aircraft and A330s. The company also offers base maintenance services, AOG support and other services.

AJ Walter Leasing announced it will provide Delta TechOps with a $10 million spare parts package to support A330 operators including Hawaiian Airlines.

Monarch Aircraft Engineering signed a long-term heavy maintenance agreement with Titan Airways to support the carrier's 757-200s and 767-300ERs at London Luton and Manchester. One Titan 757-200 has successfully undergone a 3C check at London Luton, Monarch said.

EgyptAir Maintenance & Engineering was selected by Air Italy as its MRO Provider in Cairo and Sharm El Sheikh. Separately, it signed a one-year line maintenance contract with UT-Air Ukraine.

Sabre Holdings announced it has acquired Fayetteville, Ga.-based Flightline Data Services, a provider of crew scheduling management solutions. Flightline's products and services, including real-time trip trading, mobile applications, preferential bidding, vacation bidding, system and training bidding capabilities. will be integrated into Sabre's solutions.

Lufthansa Systems said Cimber Sterling completed implementation of its Lido/TakeOff solution. The Danish airline signed a five-year deal for the performance analysis solution in January.

IBS Software Services said JetBlue Airways has implemented its iCargo solution.



AVIATION QUOTE

It is entirely impossible for man to rise into the air and float there. For this you would need wings of tremendous dimensions and they would have to be moved at three feet per second. Only a fool would expect such a thing to be realized.

— Joseph de Lalande, member of the French Academy, 'Journal de Paris,' 18 May 1782.



DAILY VIDEO

Thanks to Zak for the submission.





EDITOR’S CHOICE





HUMOR

Parachute Joke

An airplane was about to crash; there were 4 passengers on board but only 3 parachutes.

The first passenger said, I'm Kobe Bryant, the best NBA Basketball player. The Lakers need me, I can't afford to die.." So he took the first parachute and left the plane.

The second passenger, Hillary Clinton, said, "I am the wife of the former President of the United States; I am the most ambitious woman in the world. I am also a SecState, a potential future President and, above all, the cleverest woman in the world." She just grabbed the second parachute and jumped out of the plane.

The third passenger, The Pope, says to the fourth passenger, a 10year-old school boy, "I am old and frail and I don't have many years left. As a Christian I will sacrifice my life and let you have the last parachute."

The boy said, "It's Ok, there's still a parachute left for you. America's cleverest woman took my school backpack



TRIVIA

General Trivia

1. How long should a pilot wait after refueling to drain the tank(s) to check for the possible presence of water contamination?
a. 5 minutes per foot of tank depth
b. 10 minutes per foot of tank depth
c. 15 minutes per foot of tank depth
d. 20 minutes per foot of tank depth

2. True or false; Robin Hood Airport is near Sherwood Forest and serves Nottingham.

3. True or false; The first successful man-carrying balloon flight was made on November 21, 1783, and was particularly hazardous because buoyancy was generated by fire and the balloon was made of paper.

4. True or false; Tropical storms become hurricanes when their steady-state winds reach 74 mph or greater. This is the minimum wind speed required for a discernable eye to develop.

5. True or false; Like Gulfstream IVs and Vs, space shuttle orbiters are not equipped with a standby magnetic ("whiskey") compass.

6. True or false; SpaceShipOne's two historic space flights on September 29 and October 4, 2004, reached sufficient altitude to qualify its pilots, Mike Melvill and Brian Binnie, as astronauts, but neither flight achieved the altitude reached by Maj. Robert M. White on July 17, 1962, in the rocket-powered North American X-15.

General Trivia

1. a. 5 minutes per foot of tank depth

2. True

3. True

4. True

5. False

6. True

Mostly guesses here:

1. B
2. False
3. True
4. True
5. True
6. False

1. a
2. False
3. True
4. True
5. False
6. True

I'm not even going to guess on the trivia...

But that video... Correct me if I'm wrong, but it looks like the crosswind was pushing him all around even on take-off. I remember back in my GQ days, our aircraft had crosswind limits, rather low ones at that. I'd assume there are the same for larger aircraft...I wonder how close they were to them?

ANSWERS:

1. (c) This provides enough time for turbulence in the tank to dissipate and allow any water to settle to the bottom. A six-inch-deep tank requires 7.5 minutes, and so forth.

2. True. The international airport (EGCN) technically serves Doncaster and Sheffield but is fewer than 40 miles from Nottingham.

3. False. The Montgolfier brothers' balloon was made of cloth. It was lined with paper and coated with alum as fireproofing. The several sections were held together by 2,000 buttons.

4. False. Adm. Sir Francis Beaufort devised the Beaufort Wind Scale in 1806 according to how wind affects the sea. A hurricane was defined by a Beaufort (or Force) 12 wind, which is 64 knots (74 mph) or more, the speed at which the air becomes filled with foam, and the sea becomes completely white with driving spray.

5. True. Flux-gate compasses are used by Gulfstream IV and V pilots as backups. Orbiter crews use a star tracker.

6. False. The X-15 set an altitude mark of 314,750 feet, but SpaceShipOne achieved altitudes of 337,500 feet and 367,442 feet, respectively.