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NEWS

Eurofighter consortium lobbies for $10B Japan contract
A consortium of European military manufacturers is making an aggressive bid to Japan to snub America and instead invest in the Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jet in a contract expected to be worth more than $10 billion. Tokyo has long opted for U.S. planes, but the U.S. decision not to sell the country the stealthy F-22 Raptor that Japan really wanted and delays and cost overruns with the F-35 have strengthened the consortium's argument to go with the Eurofighter.
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Air Force keeps F-16s out of retirement amid F-35 delays
The Air Force has determined that hundreds of its oldest Lockheed Martin F-16s can remain in service for nearly 10 years with only enhanced maintenance and some low-cost adjustments. The Air Force is motivated to keep the jets out of retirement due to delays in the F-35 Lightning II, which is not scheduled to enter service until fiscal year 2016.
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Boeing and Airbus aim for record delivery volume in 2011
For the first time, Boeing and Airbus are expected to deliver more than 1,000 jets in a single year, but some analysts are concerned that the airline industry will not be able to absorb the higher production. "Even though the market has been able to digest 800 narrow-bodies a year, any further rate increases will make the manufacturing industry vulnerable to a traffic drop, or anything that weakens airline profits," said Richard Aboulafia of Teal Group.
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Boeing expands space business to include communications services
Boeing says it is expanding the scope of its traditional satellite-making unit to include satellite communications services as it works to build up its space businesses. The announcement marks a move to compete with some established private satellite operators to lease communications capacity directly to the military.
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Star partners Lufthansa, ANA plan to launch JV on Japan-Europe routes
All Nippon Airways filed an application Wednesday with the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Tourism for antitrust immunity to launch a joint venture with Lufthansa on routes between Japan and Europe. According to ANA, the new routes will “allow the two carriers to bring substantial benefits to passengers by creating a more efficient and comprehensive service across their networks.”
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GOL 2010 profit drops 76% to $129 million
GOL's 2010 net income of BRL214.2 million ($128.6 million) was down 76% from a 2009 profit of BRL890.8 million, a dip attributable in part to higher fuel costs, interest expenses and tax payments, the airline said Wednesday.
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Virgin Blue commits to 18 ATR 72s as second-half profit slumps
Virgin Blue Holdings reported a net profit of A$23.8 million for the fiscal first half ended Dec. 31, 2010, down 62% from A$62.5 million in the year-ago period as a series of one-time events ravaged the bottom line. Underlying net profit before interest and tax declined 8.5% to A$97 million ($97.3 million) while pre-tax profit plunged 62.6% to A$36.8 million. The airline recorded an 11.8% increase in revenue to A$1.70 billion but operating expenses lifted 14.6% to A$1.61 billion.
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Vueling net profit up 66% in 2010
Vueling Airlines posted net profit of €46 million ($62.7 million) for 2010, a 66% increase on the €27.8 million it earned in 2009 following its merger with Clickair. The increase comes despite a €5.2 million impact from the many disruptions experienced last year, such as the volcanic ash crisis, adverse weather in central Europe and air traffic controller strikes.
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Korean Air unveils newly-painted A380

Korean Air's first Airbus A380 has undergone painting in the Asian carrier's distinctive turquoise livery ahead of its delivery this year. The aircraft carries serial number 35 and bears the temporary French registration F-WWAT.
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Eurofighter reveals Typhoon development options for Middle East

The Eurofighter consortium is developing a roadmap for the Typhoon that it believes will offer potential customers in the Middle East options to greatly enhance the type's capabilities. "The plan is to, over the next eight to 10 years, take a phased approach to enhancing the Typhoon's capability," says Rob Wells, Eurofighter's export future business manager. "It is the exports that are driving these enhancements."
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Virgin Blue to build maintenance hangar at Sydney Airport
Virgin Blue will construct a maintenance hangar at Sydney Airport as part of a new engineering base to support its operations at its busiest airport. The base, due to be completed late next year pending approval, will cost over A$40 million ($40.2 million) and will support up to 300 jobs, New South Wales Premiere Kristina Keneally says.
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Other News

Republic Airways Holdings, parent of Frontier Airlines, Lynx Aviation, Chautauqua Airlines, Republic Airlines and Shuttle America, posted a 2010 net loss of $13.8 million, reversed from a $39.7 million profit in 2009.

Royal Jordanian reported consolidated net income of JOD9.6 million ($13.4 million) for 2010, down 66% compared to income of JOD28.6 million in 2009. RJ Board Chair Nasser Lozi said that a 35% increase in the airline's fuel bill was a major contributor to the profit decline. Operating revenues climbed 14% to JOD685 million.

The European Commission said it opened a formal investigation "under EU state aid rules" into the restructuring plan of Czech Airlines to examine whether it "is suitable to restore the company's long-term viability and whether the proposed reduction in activities will be sufficient to offset the distortive effect of the aid it received."

FedEx Corp. said that its FedEx Express business unit completed the previously-announced acquisition of the logistics, distribution and express businesses of AFL and its affiliate Unifreight India. Purchase price was not disclosed.

IATA said Wednesday that 2010 had the lowest ever accident rate for Western-built jet aircraft, although the total number of accidents involving Western and Eastern-built transports as well as the number of fatal accidents and fatalities rose compared to 2009.

Regional Express Holdings of Australia reported a 5.4% decline in pre-tax profit for the fiscal first half ended Dec. 31, 2010 to A$12.2 million ($12.2 million) from A$12.9 million in the year-ago period. Revenue increased 2.9% to A$121.2 million and expenses lifted 3.9% to A$109 million. The largest increase at 4.9% was fuel, which cost A$16 million for the period.

British Airways launched five-times-weekly London Heathrow-Tokyo Haneda service.

KLM will resume scheduled services between Amsterdam and Buenos Aires Ezeiza Oct. 31, operating thrice-weekly with a Boeing 777-200ER.

Alaska Airlines will increase its Boeing 737-800 service to Maui from Oakland (four-times-weekly) and San Jose (thrice-weekly) June 5 to daily. It will discontinue its San Jose-Austin service May 6.

Ryanair will launch new service from Brussels Charleroi to Almeria (thrice-weekly) and Rhodes (twice-weekly) in May, after it adds an additional Boeing 737-800 to the base.

WestJet will operate weekly seasonal St. John's-Orlando service until May 8.

Qatar Airways will launch daily Doha-Venice Airbus A320 service June 15.Itwill launch twice-weekly Airbus A320 Doha-Shiraz service June 5, its third route to Iran.



AVIATION QUOTE

The winds and the waves are always on the side of the ablest navigators.

— Edward Gibbon, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, 1776-1787.

ON THIS DATE

February 24th

• In 1921... Lieutenant William D. Coney completes a solo flight from Rockwell Field, San Diego to Jacksonville, in 22 hours and 27 minutes flying time.

• In 1931... John Lankester Parker makes the first flight of the prototype Short S.17 Kent flying boat, from the river Medway in Kent, England.

• In 1940... The 2,000-hp prototype Hawker Typhoon fighter makes its first flight in England.

• In 1957... Scandinavian Airline Services (SAS) opens the first regular scheduled service from Europe to the Far East over the North Pole, with departure from Copenhagen, Denmark and Tokyo, Japan; the DC-7C aircraft will circle the pole en route.

• In 1983... The youngest pilot known to have made a solo flight in a powered, heavier-than-air, flying machine takes to the air for the first time at age of 9 years 316 days. The flight takes place near Mexicali, Mexico and the aircraft the boy pilots is a Cessna 150.



DAILY VIDEO





EDITOR’S CHOICE





HUMOR

10 Ways To Know Your Pilot Is On Drugs

10. All the in-flight meals are missing their dessert squares.

9. In between 'May I' and 'have your attention' there's a 45 minute pause.

8. He's constantly yelling, 'Take that, Red Baron!'

7. Shuttle from New York to Boston includes stopover in Columbia.

6. His co-pilot: Robert Downey Jr.

5. For the last hour, he's been riding the beverage cart like a rodeo cowboy.

4. Keeps coming on the P.A. to point out clouds that look like his old high school teachers.

3. His wings are pinned to his bare chest.

2. When you fly over international dateline, he yells, 'Dude! We're, like, time traveling!'

1. When he exhales, the oxygen masks drop.



TRIVIA

Tail ID

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miamiair wrote:DAILY VIDEO

Saw the Hawker Sea Fury Dreadnought (NX20SF) fly up at Sonoma County Airport (STS) last year. That P&W R-4360 Wasp Major generates mountains of torque and is surprisingly quiet for 4,000 horsepower:



Great video choice--the unlimited class is my favorite air racing category.

6 - American
7 - Iberia
8 - Olympic
9 - United

My acute grasp of the obvious is telling - isn't it?

One other big news item coming up today, the USAF is supposed to announce the winner of the tanker competition this afternoon.

http://blog.al.com/live/2011/02/air_for ... _expe.html

bhmbaglock wrote:One other big news item coming up today, the USAF is supposed to announce the winner of the tanker competition this afternoon.

http://blog.al.com/live/2011/02/air_for ... _expe.html

We should take bets not on the choice but whether the choice will stick...

Eurofighter consortium lobbies for $10B Japan contract
A consortium of European military manufacturers is making an aggressive bid to Japan to snub America and instead invest in the Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jet in a contract expected to be worth more than $10 billion. Tokyo has long opted for U.S. planes, but the U.S. decision not to sell the country the stealthy F-22 Raptor that Japan really wanted and delays and cost overruns with the F-35 have strengthened the consortium's argument to go with the Eurofighter.

I guess no one told Eurofighter that after the US snubbed them on the F-22, Japan decided to go it alone and is developing the ATD-X in house.

UPDATE

Aeronautical Engineers has Moskovia Airlines contract to convert six 737-400s to 11-pallet freighters in 2011; COMMERCIAL JET will do mod work in Miami.

Aircelle was selected by Airbus to supply nacelle for LEAP-X-powered A320neo Family aircraft; Middle River Aircraft Sysytems will also work on project.

EMBRAER received FAA certification for Legacy 650.

ANSWERS:

1. N6, Aero Continente
2. OD, Aero Condor
3. P5, Aero Republica
4. PL, Aero Peru
5. RS, Intercontinental de Aviacion
6. AA, American Airlines
7. IB, Iberia
8. OA, Olympic Airways
9. UA, United Airlines
10. 6N, Aero Sucre