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Confident Boeing off to strong start in Paris
Boeing opened the Paris Air Show with some bold statements, such as a claim that its 747-8 Intercontinental had superior trip and seat-mile economics to the Airbus A380, and backed up its declarations by announcing a slew of new orders.
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GECAS orders 15 ATR 72-600s, plus options
ATR landed its first-ever order from GECAS, which committed to taking 15 ATR 72-600s, plus 15 options. The deal, announced Monday at the Paris Air Show, is valued at approximately $680 million at list prices, including options.
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Airbus pushes back A350-1000 EIS to 2017; Rolls developing higher thrust Trent XWB engine
Airbus pushed back EIS for the A350-1000 to 2017 from 2015 and unveiled a modified -1000 model featuring a higher thrust variant of the Trent XWB engine being developed by Rolls-Royce. Additionally, the company delayed A350-800 EIS to 2016 from 2014.
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Computer glitches result in flight disruptions at 2 airlines
US Airways Group and United Continental Holdings experienced technical issues over the weekend that caused flight delays and cancellations. US Airways said it had resolved a computer outage that affected its hub in Charlotte, N.C., and nearby facilities. United Airlines suffered a five-hour glitch that hit its global systems, forcing the delay of roughly 100 flights and cancellation of 36 flights.
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Southwest Airlines positions itself for next 40 years
Southwest Airlines, which transformed the airline industry with its low costs, low fares and customer-service focus, recently celebrated its 40th anniversary. "This is the largest U.S. domestic airline," said William Swelbar, an airline researcher at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "This is no longer the nice little model that flew between Dallas, Houston and San Antonio. This is a big, complicated and more sophisticated airline."
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Boeing considers larger version of Dreamliner
Jim Albaugh, commercial airplanes chief for Boeing, said the 787-10 could enter service within five years. "We have to go through some more analysis and we haven't decided yet if we'll offer it, but it wouldn't surprise me if we did," Albaugh said.
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Embraer CEO: Aircraft manufacturers face challenges
Frederico Curado, CEO of Embraer, said persistently high oil prices and the sovereign-debt crisis in Europe could hit the recovery of the aircraft manufacturing industry. "The industry was recovering nicely and then the issue of the Arab countries and the oil-price hike hit," Curado said, noting that Greece's debt woes are also weighing on the outlook.
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Passenger demand to spur in-flight Internet access, OnAir says
Passengers are increasingly demanding in-flight access to the internet to use their laptops, tablets and smartphones, according to OnAir. Ian Dawkins, CEO of the Airbus/SITA joint venture, said passengers are expected to quickly embrace its GSM service and Wi-Fi access and soon will see it as a necessity.
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Boeing evaluates options for 777s, Albaugh says
Jim Albaugh, president and chief executive officer at Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said the U.S. company is considering whether to upgrade its 777 or develop a new aircraft. "We can re-engine the 777 and make a great airplane better, or we can do a whole new airplane, which we can make 25-30% more efficient," Albaugh said. Meanwhile, Airbus is planning to redevelop its A350 range of planes to ramp up competition with Boeing's 777.
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Boeing's new 747-8 makes international debut
Boeing's new 747-8 Intercontinental made a high-profile landing at the Paris Air Show in a demonstration that highlighted the engineering strength of the plane manufacturer. "We've seen a great deal of interest in the last six to eight months as the market has gotten better," said Randy Tinseth, Boeing's vice president of marketing at the commercial division.
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FAA questions United Airlines drug-test protocols
The Federal Aviation Administration alleged that United Airlines did not perform required pre-employment drug tests and did not receive verified negative test results before 13 employees started their jobs. "Safety is United's top priority," United said in a written statement. "We are reviewing the letter and will cooperate fully with the FAA to resolve their concerns." The carrier has 30 days to respond to the FAA's enforcement letter.
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Sudden summer storms cause frequent delays, experts say
Summer thunderstorms that pop up without warning are often responsible for delaying airline flights, experts say. "We're no fan of the winter storm season, but for all the annoyance of ice storms, at least they tend to be predictable," said Allison Steinberg, spokeswoman for JetBlue. Travel experts say one way to avoid delays caused by thunderstorms is to take direct flights. Bad weather is responsible for about 60% of all flight delays, according to the Department of Transportation.
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Vueling CEO: Cooperation between legacy airlines and LCCs to change Europe
Barcelona-based LCC Vueling Airlines CEO Alex Cruz predicted that the ongoing transformation of the intra-European market will include a further shift toward "lower cost" operators and closer cooperation between legacy carriers and LCCs.
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Sydney and Melbourne flights hit by ash cloud
Disruptions to Australian air services have continued, affecting the country's two biggest cities Sydney and Melbourne, as an ash cloud resulted in the cancellation and delays of several flights.
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Other News

Airbus kicked off the Paris Air Show Monday with aircraft orders from GECAS, Air Lease Corp., SAS and Saudi Arabian Airlines totaling $15 billion in value. COO-Customers John Leahy said the manufacturer "will push up the pace" of orders Tuesday.

Embraer won commitments for 39 E-190s worth $1.7 billion at list prices, lifting the number of orders for its E-Jet family to more than 1,000. Of those, 99 have been booked this year. New E-190 orders announced Monday at the Paris Air Show include a contract from Air Astana (two firm and two options), GECAS (two firm), Sriwijaya Air (20 firm and 10 purchase rights) and Air Lease Corp. (five firm). The lessor now has 30 E-jets on contract with Embraer, of which 25 are E-190s and five are E-175s. Embraer's new order list also includes a letter of intent from Kenya Airways for 10 E-190s, plus 10 options. Earlier this month, KQ Group MD and CEO Titus Naikuni indicated the carrier was in talks to take additional Embraer aircraft.

EasyJet will set up a base at London Southend from April 2012 with three Airbus A319s operating some 70 flights per week to about 10 European destinations including Barcelona, Faro and Ibiza. The carrier signed a 10-year partnership agreement with SEN owner Stobart Group, which is building a new passenger terminal due to be opened in the fall. It also invested in a new control tower and a runway extension.

Bombardier said a "major network carrier" signed an order for 10 CSeries100 aircraft, valued at $616 million, with options for six more. The airline "has requested to remain unidentified at the present time," the Canadian manufacturer stated. Bombardier Commercial Aircraft President Gary Scott said the carrier "will be the first operator in the CSeries aircraft program." He noted the order is the third one announced this month for the narrowbody aircraft.

International Aero Engines announced an agreement with China Southern Airlines for 65 V2500 SelectOne engines. CZ also signed a long-term maintenance contract with IAE for the A320 engines. Deliveries will begin in May 2012. Total value of the agreement exceeds $750 million, according to IAE. The engine consortium additionally secured an order from Gulf Air for 12 V2500 SelectTwo engines.

Pratt & Whitney won an order from All Nippon Airways for 10 PW4074D engines to power five new Boeing 777s the carrier has on order. Deal's value is $230 million.

Hamilton Sundstrand reached an agreement with China's AVIC Engine Holdings "to form a partnership supporting the launch of a new auxiliary power unit for the commercial aircraft segment," the companies announced. "As part of the partnership, AVIC will design and develop certain non-hot section components for the APU in support of Hamilton Sundstrand's design and development of the overall APU."



AVIATION QUOTE

Do not let yourself be forced into doing anything before you are ready.

— Wilbur Wright



ON THIS DATE

June 21st

• In 1907... Romanian Trajan Vuia makes a flight in Paris of almost 66 feet, at a height of 16 feet, in his second machine which has a 24-hp Antoinette engine running on carbonic acid and has its wheels fitted with shock absorbers.

• In 1908... The first flight of the Aerial Experiment Association’s (AEA) promising June Bug biplane, their third machine, takes place in New York State. It has a 40-hp air-cooled Curtiss engine.

• In 1913... The first woman to make a parachute jump from an airplane is Georgia “Tiny” Broadwick. The 18-year-old American descends 1,000 feet over Los Angeles, California.



DAILY VIDEO





EDITOR’S CHOICE





HUMOR

Why Must I Speak English?

A Pan Am 727 flight waiting for start clearance in Munich overheard the following:

Lufthansa (in German): "Ground, what is our start clearance time?"

Ground (in English): "If you want an answer you must speak in English."

Lufthansa (in English): "I am a German, flying a German airplane, in Germany. Why must I speak English?"

Unknown voice from another plane (in a beautiful British accent): "Because you lost the bloody war."



TRIVIA

General Trivia

1. How was milkweed used to save pilots and crewmembers during World War II?

2. While in the traffic pattern, you overhear a pilot "requesting the option." The controller tells this pilot that he is "cleared for the option." This means that the pilot may execute his choice of five maneuvers. What are they?

3. What was so unusual about the first fighter aircraft used by the Israeli Air Force?

4. To what does the north pole of a magnetic compass point?
A. The north magnetic pole
B. The south magnetic pole
C. The geographic South Pole
D. None of the above

5. The world's first man-carrying airplane powered by jet propulsion flew in
A. October 1910.
B. November 1920.
C. December 1930.
D. January 1940.