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NEWS

Euro MP: Expect wider slots rules and more night-time bans
The European Commission will send a package of proposed new aviation regulations covering ground handling, airport slots and noise to the European Parliament later this month. The package is rumored to include an expansion of the scope of slot regulations so that it covers airports beyond those that are congested or slot-constrained, according to European Parliament Transport Committee chairman Brian Simpson. Speaking Nov. 4 in Seoul at the Assn. of Asia Pacific Airlines annual meeting, Simpson warned airline executives to follow the slots aspect “with some diligence.”
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CIT agrees to order 30 E-190/195s
CIT Aerospace, the aircraft leasing unit of CIT Group, signed an agreement with Embraer for up to 30 Embraer 190 and/or 195 jets, with 10 firm orders. Deliveries are scheduled through 2015, the manufacturer said. Embraer president-commercial aviation Paulo Cesar de Souza e Silva said, “After more than 1,000 firm orders, spread over 60 operators in 40 countries, this investment by CIT is further confirmation that the E-Jets have achieved a high level of attractiveness for the top-tier investor community.”
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Ryanair reports strong 1H profit; raises full-year earnings guidance
Ryanair (FR) reported net profit of €543.5 million ($750 million) in the first half ended Sept. 30, up 20.2% compared to adjusted net profit of €451.9 million in the year-ago period. Including exceptional items, earnings jumped 28% from €424 million to €543.5 million. Adjusted net margin was 20%. Revenue rose 24% to €2.7 billion, on a 12% growth in passengers carried to 44.7 million and a 13% hike in average fare to €50. Ancillary revenues grew by 15% to €486.5 million. Revenue per passenger rose 11% to €63.
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Continental launches US's first scheduled biofuel flight
United Continental Holdings (UCH) said Monday its subsidiary Continental Airlines (CO) operated a Boeing 737-800 on a scheduled flight from Houston Intercontinental to Chicago O'Hare using a fuel blend partially comprised of algae-derived biofuel. It marked the first scheduled, commercial biofuel flight operated in the US.
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ANA Boeing 787 Has Landing Gear Problem
Boeing and All Nippon Airways are investigating a landing gear problem on the 787 Dreamliner, the first technical glitch reported since the new jet entered service less than two weeks ago, the airline said on Monday.
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Air Canada Attendants Get Deal They Rejected
A Canadian federal arbitrator has imposed a contract on Air Canada's flight attendants that they voted down in October.
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Southwest, AirTran Pilots Agree On Seniority
Pilots at Southwest Airlines and AirTran Airways approved an agreement combining their seniority lists, clearing a hurdle as Southwest looks to fully integrate AirTran into its operations after acquiring it earlier this year.
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Two Thirds Of Air France Crash Victims Identified
French investigators have identified the bodies of 153 of the 228 passengers and crew who died in the 2009 crash of an Air France flight from Rio to Paris, authorities said on Monday.
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Qantas Offers Free Flights To Woo Back Passengers
Qantas Airways is offering free flights to passengers who were affected by the airline's decision to ground its entire fleet over a union dispute, in the first of a number of measures to regain customer loyalty.
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Boeing completes initial review of 737 Max configuration
Having completed a recent review of requirement, configuration and certification plans for its 737 Max, Boeing plans to fly the first re-engined narrowbody in 2016. It now holds commitments from eight customers for more than 600 aircraft with "hundreds more" on the way. John Hamilton, Boeing 737 chief programme engineer, in a briefing to media last week said the company will fix the configuration of the updated aircraft in 2013. It has already disclosed the aircraft will feature a 173cm (68in) fan on its CFM International Leap-1B engines.
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New London airport proposed to address Heathrow congestion woes
A group of architects and consultants has revealed a proposal to develop a £20 billion ($32 billion), four-runway airport with twice the capacity of London Heathrow on a piece of land in the Thames estuary, as part of a wider integrated transport solution for the UK that has a total price tag of £50 billion. In addition to the proposed airport, the "Thames Hub" project would include a new flood protection barrier, plus hydroelectric power stations that could harness enough energy to run the airport, and a four-track high-speed rail route that would circle London and link the airport with the rest of the UK.
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Rutan starts work on new light aircaft
Aircraft designer Burt Rutan is working on a new aviation project in the Idaho lake house where he retired only seven months ago after a 45-year career that produced SpaceShipOne, Voyager and dozens of other ground-breaking air vehicles.
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Libya's united front
Much of the Libyan Arab Air Force's inventory shared the fate of this MiG-23, with the replacement process likely to take years. Unprecedented both in scale and for the speed of its spread, the so-called "Arab Spring" movement has resulted in surprise political change in countries including Egypt and Tunisia this year, and also fostered ­continued unrest in others, such as Syria. But the regional transformation of 2011 will perhaps be most readily remembered for the end of Col Muammar Gaddafi's more than ­40-year tenure as Libya's leader.
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Allegiant reports 10% increase in passengers for October
Allegiant Travel reported a 10.3% increase in passengers on its scheduled and charter flights for October. The company operates Allegiant Air, based out of Las Vegas. Allegiant predicts up to a 6% increase in scheduled flights for the fourth quarter.
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Complaints continue over problems in Virgin's reservation changeover
Fliers are still complaining of problems in Virgin America's online reservation system one week after the carrier switched over to Sabre. Customers report being unable to book, change or cancel flights at the company's website and of hours-long delays at check-in counters. "It's one of the biggest business changes an airline can make," a Virgin spokeswoman said. "You have to do a knife-edge cut-over of all your reservations data, and migrate from the old system to the new." Virgin America has sent hundreds of apologies this week through Twitter and added manpower to its customer-service line to accommodate callers as it worked to fix the problems.
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Bombardier Q400 has reliability problems, Colgan Air says
Colgan Air, a subsidiary of Pinnacle Airlines, said the company is experiencing reliability issues with its Bombardier Q400 fleet. However, the carrier said the aircraft manufacturer is working to address the problems. "We are seeing good participation by Bombardier in this effort," said Pinnacle COO John Spanjers.
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All Nippon Airways takes 5 weeks to train Dreamliner pilots
All Nippon Airways, the first carrier to receive delivery of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, is taking around five weeks to train its pilots on the new aircraft. "We added what we thought was necessary," said Capt. Hideaki Hayakawa of the Japanese carrier. Boeing rival Airbus is pointing to the longer training time for the 787 as a disadvantage.
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United Continental will equip 300 jets with in-flight Wi-Fi
United Continental Holdings announced plans to equip 300 of its jets with in-flight Wi-Fi starting in 2012. The carrier turned to technology from Panasonic Avionics for its Airbus and Boeing aircraft. The installation should be completed by 2015, United Continental said.
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Delta and Marazul jointly offer direct flights to Cuba
Delta Air Lines and travel agency Marazul have partnered to re-establish direct flights between Havana, Cuba, and select U.S. airports. Marazul is offering round-trip tickets to government-authorized passengers flying from airports such as John F. Kennedy International in New York City and Hartsfield-Jackson International in Atlanta.
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Texas airport envisions future of passenger experience
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport plans to turn to technology to streamline the passenger experience. Airport board members heard a presentation on the future of the airport that includes customer agents equipped with iPads to check baggage. "It's important for us to get it right and make sure we have enough capacity for the future as well as really take advantage of some of the most current trends in passenger processing," airport CEO Jeff Fegan said.
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Other News

Boeing confirmed Monday morning that an All Nippon Airways (ANA) 787 aircraft has “returned to service” following a landing gear problem Sunday, less than two weeks after the aircraft’s inaugural flight.

LOT Polish Airlines’ (LO) first 787 delivery has again been postponed, according to LO CEO Marcin Pirog. "We have recently received new delivery dates. The first 787 will arrive in the fourth quarter of 2012 instead of April 2012,” Pirog told the Polish News Agency PAP last week (ATW Daily News, Oct. 21). “The next two aircraft are to reach Poland within two months after the delivery of the first one,” PAP reported.

Embraer earned third-quarter net income of $1.9 million, significantly reduced from a $126.1 million net profit posted in the year-ago period. The Brazilian aircraft manufacturer said the drop was "primarily as a result of deferred income taxes generated by the appreciation of the US dollar during the period."

Asiana Airlines (OZ) will expand its long-haul routes and focus on becoming a world top 10 carrier by 2015, according to the South Korean carrier’s senior VP, strategic planning. Speaking in Seoul Nov. 4 at the Assn. of Asia Pacific Airlines annual meeting, Kim Ebae said its fleet would grow from 71 aircraft this year, to 83 in 2013 and 88 in 2015.

AirAsia Japan, the joint venture between AirAsia and All Nippon Airways (ANA), plans to add Airbus A330 services to longer haul destinations from 2013, according to The Business Times.

WheelTug and EL AL Israel Airlines (LY) on Monday announced a Letter of Intent (LOI) under which LY will “obtain a substantial part of the initial production of WheelTug Aircraft Drive Systems for Boeing 737NG aircraft for installation on their own aircraft subject to financial and operational feasibility checks and regulatory approvals.” LY is the launch customer for the system.



AVIATION QUOTE

American 191 under way.

— Captain Walter Lux, American Airlines. Last recorded words. 25 May 1979.



ON THIS DATE

November 8th

---In 1881... Robert Estnault-Pelterie, early aviation pioneer is born. He invented ailerons (movable wing parts) and coined the word astronautics.

---In 1974…First flight of the IA 58 Pucará.

---In 1978…First flight of the Canadair CL-600 Challenger C-GCGR-X.

---In 1989… A KC-10A Extender tanker aircraft refuels a Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit bomber in the air. It is the first aerial refueling of a B-2

---In 2003…Kam Air commences flight operations out of Kabul International Airport.



DAILY VIDEO





EDITOR’S CHOICE


Image © Jeff Swearingen, 2011



HUMOR

The Rules

The PILOT always make THE RULES.
THE RULES are subject to change at any time without prior notification.
No CO-PILOT can possibly know all THE RULES.
If the PILOT suspects the CO-PILOT knows all THE RULES, he must immediately change some or all THE RULES.
The PILOT is never wrong.
If the PILOT is wrong, it is due to a misunderstanding wich was a direct result of something the CO-PILOT did or said wrong.
The CO-PILOT must apologize immediately for causing such misunderstanding.
The PILOT may change his mind at any time.
The CO-PILOT must never change his mind without the express written concent of the PILOT.
The PILOT has every right to be angry or upset at any time.
The CO-PILOT must remain calm at all times unless the PILOT wants him to be angry and/or upset.
The CO-PILOT is expected to mind read at all times. The PILOT is ready when he is ready.
The CO-PILOT must be ready at all times. Any attempt to document THE RULES could result in Bodily harm. The CO-PILOT who doesn't abide by THE RULES is grounded.



TRIVIA

General Trivia

1. Name three US war-planes named after planets.

2. What US interceptor is named after a Haitian Religion?

3. The North American T-28 was the lead-in trainer for what Navy airplane?

4. Which aviation pioneer taught Pacific ETO P-38 crews how to extend their range?

5. What airplane was an improved version of the airplane that dropped the atomic bomb on Japan?

1. a. Mars Flying Boat b. P-2 Neptune c. ???

2. McDonnell F-101 Voodoo

3. F-4 Phantom II?

4. Charles Lindbergh

5. Boeing B-50

To add to Jeff:

1. E-6 Mercury

3. F-14 Tomcat?

(Outstanding photo, Jeff.)

Answers:
1. Boeing E-6B Mercury (TACAMO), Martin JRM Mars, and Lockheed P-2V Neptune.
2. McDonnell F-101 Voodoo.
3. North American FJ-1 Fury.
4. Charles Lindbergh
5. Boeing B-50 Superfortress.