miamiair/forum/images/avatars/gallery/first/user54/1.pngoffline(netAirspace FAA) 16 Feb 11, 10:34
NEWS
Hawaiian announces daily service to Osaka as Asian growth continues Hawaiian Airlines says it will continue its growth in Asia with a daily direct flight between Honolulu and Osaka, Japan, beginning July 12. "We cannot expand in Asia successfully without having a strong focus in Japan," said CEO Mark Dunkerley in announcing the latest expansion. In recent months, Hawaiian has added routes to Tokyo Haneda and Seoul Incheon, and occupancy on both routes has exceeded expectations, with about 80% of seats filled, according to Dunkerley. Link
FedEx says weather, oil prices will cut quarter's earnings FedEx warned Monday that current-quarter earnings will come in lower than expected due to harsh winter weather and rising oil prices. Analysts said the reduced earnings forecast suggested that snowstorms could have a $150 million impact on revenue for the quarter. Though FedEx and UPS are considered economic bellwethers, experts said the earnings warning was no indication of an economic slowdown. "This isn't a read on the economy or volume," said analyst Art Hatfield. "It's a one-time weather thing, and the fuel costs they will recoup in time" through fuel surcharges. Link
Southwest swamped with "unprecedented" job-hunter traffic Southwest Airlines received "unprecedented traffic" when it offered a two-hour window on Monday for prospective flight attendants to apply online. With "thousands of people" hitting the servers all at once, many were unable to submit their applications in time, but Southwest noted that its system never crashed. "The application system can receive a finite number of applications to process at one time, and if applicants were unsuccessful getting their application to be accepted, it was because the 'pipeline' was full," a spokesman said. Link
Experts: NextGen technology endangered by broadband network The GPS industry is concerned by a plan to deploy 40,000 cell phone base stations across the U.S. in an effort to extend the reach of satellite broadband. Experts, including those from FAA and GPS manufacturers, say such a plan would interfere with L-band frequencies needed for NextGen air traffic control, among other applications. "We are concerned about the possibility of interference with GPS services and looking forward to further testing," says the FAA, which urged the Federal Communications Commission to reject the plan submitted by wireless provider LightSquared. Link
Analyst warns of fleet reductions due to rising fuel prices With some experts predicting $300-a-barrel oil by 2020, analyst Mike Linenberg says airlines will be forced to trim their fleets if the forecast proves correct. Hitting the $300 threshold would "significantly undermine every aircraft manufacturer's order book as the resulting higher air fares would lead to meaningful demand destruction," Linenberg says, noting that rising oil prices already have forced U.S. airlines to cut their fleets by about 1,000 planes. Link
Column: Southwest's rewards program inches toward rivals' Columnist Joe Sharkey explains how Southwest Airlines has long resisted launching the type of frequent flier program that results in a passenger hierarchy similar to the "seating protocol for a dinner at Versailles in the 18th century." However, Southwest is now striving to increase its business travel market share. The move includes a revamp of the airline's Rapid Rewards program for frequent fliers. Link
Record cancellations show change in airline strategy Since Nov. 1, about 86,000 flights have been canceled by winter weather -- and, experts say, by the airlines' more cautious policies. While airlines used to keep a flight on the schedule and hope for the best, they are now more likely to cancel ahead of time, allowing passengers to re-book without penalty. "Our philosophy is that if Mother Nature is going to win, let her win, and live to fight another day," says Rob Maruster, chief operating officer of JetBlue Airways. A new rule imposing heavy fines for tarmac delays of more than three hours also could be forcing the airlines to cancel flights further in advance of an impending storm. "With this rule, it is not worth the risk of having an aircraft on the ground," says analyst Robert Herbst. Link
FAA: US airline traffic to reach 1.71 trillion RPMs by 2031 US airlines' collective traffic will grow at an average annual rate of 3.8% to reach 1.71 trillion RPMs by 2031, well more than double the 786.7 billion RPMs operated by the carriers in 2010, FAA projected Tuesday in its latest long-term forecast. Link
Egyptair: Flights returning to normal after unrest Egyptair said its business is returning to normal following massive flight cancelations during the nearly three weeks of civil unrest in Egypt that led to President Hosni Mubarak's resignation Feb. 11. Link
Eurocontrol: Flights in Europe rise 0.8% to 9.49 million in 2010; LCCs drive growth Eurocontrol said the number of flights in Europe rose just 0.8% year-over-year in 2010 to 9.49 million. It noted in a statement that “growth was driven mainly by low-cost carriers, which saw an increase of 6.9% compared to 2009, though this slowed markedly at the end of the year.” Link
Delta to eliminate loyalty program mileage expiration Delta Air Lines on Tuesday announced that it has eliminated mileage expiration in its loyalty program, becoming the first major US carrier to do so. Previously, miles accrued in DL's SkyMiles program expired 24 months after a member's last qualifying mileage activity. DL said the change took effect for all customer accounts on Jan. 1. Link
Ryanair to slash Girona operations Irish budget carrier Ryanair is to slash its operations at Girona, near Barcelona, because its five-year expansion plan at the airport has fallen through. At the end of this month, the carrier will take five aircraft out of Girona, axe 18 routes and reduce frequencies on a further 17. Link
A400M, other charges push Thales into red Thales is to report a 2010 operating loss of €100 million ($135 million) after taking a remarkable €700 million charge against its troubled supply contracts for the Airbus Military A400M, Turkish Meltem maritime patrol aircraft and a Danish ticketing project. Link
Qantas to deploy widebodies on Perth services Qantas Airways plans to deploy larger widebodies, including Boeing 747-400s, on several Australian domestic routes as part of a plan to increase capacity to Perth. Australia's flag carrier says that from May, it will operate six weekly services on the Sydney-Perth route using 747-400s. Services on internationally configured Airbus A330s, which have more premium seating, will increase from three to five weekly. Link
Japan's Narita International airport mulls over business aviation terminal development Japan's Narita International airport is evaluating development of a business aviation terminal at its base around 60km (35 miles) from Tokyo, in an effort to attract the increasing volumes of business aircraft traffic flying to and within Asia Pacific. Link
Sea Avenger wing passes wind tunnel test The Sea Avenger, a carrier-based, jet-powered, unmanned aircraft, has completed key wind tunnel testing, says manufacturer General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA ASI). The wind tunnel tests, conducted with a model, validated the low-speed characteristics of a new wing, designed for higher endurance, lower approach speeds and increased aircraft dash speeds, the company says. Link
Other News
US Dept. of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics reported that US airlines carried 58.1 million scheduled domestic and international passengers in November 2010, a 6.1% increase from November 2009, representing the largest year-over-year rise since August 2007.
Kenya Airways flew 2.3 billion RPKs in its 2010 fiscal third quarter ended Dec. 31, 2010, up 8.9% over the year-ago period, on a 5.2% increase in capacity to 3.4 billion ASKs. Average load factor improved two points to 69.8%. Passenger boardings rose 7.3% to 829,263.
Southwest Airlines and its stock clerks, represented by International Brotherhood of Teamsters, announced Tuesday they have reached a tentative agreement for a new, five-year labor contract retroactive to Aug. 16, 2008. The accord, if approved, would run through Aug. 16, 2013. A previous tentative agreement was rejected by the 170 stock clerks.
GuestLogix announced it agreed to integrate its OnTouch retail technology and merchandising platform with digEcor's digEplayer family of products.
Jeppesen reached a five-year contract renewal with Jet Airways to continue providing its electronic flight bag tailored digital charting and navigations service solutions to the carrier, as well as to its subsidiaries, Jetlite and Jetkonnect. Agreement includes Jeppesen FliteDeck Pro class 2 EFB services with an enroute situational awareness application, tailored digital charting services and NavData navigational information.
International Communications Group announced its NxtLink ICS-400 has successfully completed the “Iridium Compatible Equipment Certification” testing, conducted by Iridium Communications Inc., and is approved for operation on the Iridium constellation and network.
Balanced IT signed a multi-year contract with Republic Airways Holdings to provide the airline with its COMPLY365 software. The solution allows employee and pilot training to be completed electronically, analyzed in real-time and integrated with other information systems automatically.
AVIATION QUOTE
I don't think I possess any skill that anyone else doesn't have. I've just had perhaps more of an opportunity, more of an exposure, and been fortunate to survive a lot of situations that many other weren't so lucky to make it. It's not how close can you get to the ground, but how precise can you fly the airplane. If you feel so careless with you life that you want to be the world's lowest flying aviator you might do it for a while. But there are a great many former friends of mine who are no longer with us simply because they cut their margins to close.
— Bob Hoover
ON THIS DATE
February 16th
• In 1912... Frank Coffyn takes aerial views of New York City with a cinema camera while controlling his airplane with his feet and knees.
• In 1960... The Vought F8U-2N Crusader interceptor makes its maiden flight in Dallas, Texas.
• In 1982... The first production Airbus Industrie A310 is rolled out at the factory in Toulouse, France, destined for Swissair as the launch customer.
DAILY VIDEO
EDITOR’S CHOICE
HUMOR
The Aisle Seat
Two Radical Arab Terrorists boarded a flight out of London. One took a window seat and the other sat next to him in the middle seat...
Just before takeoff, a U.S. Marine sat down in the aisle seat. After takeoff, the Marine kicked his shoes off, wiggled his toes and was settling in when the Arab in the window seat said, "I need to get up and get a coke."
"Don't get up," said the Marine, "I'm in the aisle seat, I'll get it for you."
As soon as he left, one of the Arabs picked up the Marines shoe and spat in it.
When the Marine returned with the coke, the other Arab said, "That looks good, I'd really like one, too."
Again, the Marine obligingly went to fetch it.
While he was gone the other Arab picked up the Marines other shoe and spat in it.
When the Marine returned, they all sat back and enjoyed the flight.
As the plane was landing, the Marine slipped his feet into his shoes and knew immediately what had happened.
"Why does it have to be this way?" he asked. "How long must this go on? This fighting between our nations? This hatred? This animosity? This spitting in shoes and pissing in cokes?"
TRIVIA
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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
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
