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NEWS

Air France KLM eyes full Alitalia acquisition in 2013

Air France KLM (AF KLM) is aiming to buy Alitalia (AZ) in 2013 through a share swap, La Tribune reported. However, using shares instead of cash to finance the acquisition will require a rebound of its share price, which is trading at around €4 ($5.27), and a swift execution of its three-year “transformation plan” to bring the company back to profitability.
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Air France-KLM Swings To Full-Year Loss

Air France-KLM swung to a full-year loss, scrapped its dividend for 2011 and opted not to give a profit forecast for this year because of uncertainty over the high cost of fuel.
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FAA proposes Colgan Air fine for crew rest duty violations

The FAA is seeking a civil penalty of $153,000 alleging that Colgan Air operated 17 flights without giving pilots or flight attendants the required minimum amount of rest. The US regional carrier is seeking to have the fines reduced or eliminated.
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AMR warns not much time is left for new labor contracts

AMR Corp., the parent company of American Airlines, may seek court intervention in crafting labor contracts with its unions. "Every day that passes without new agreements introduces more risk to our situation," said AMR in a notice to employees. Separately, a bankruptcy judge denied a motion by American Airlines pilots to form their own committee to represent them in AMR's bankruptcy proceedings.
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Virgin America to apply for beyond-perimeter slots at DCA

Virgin America will apply to the US Department of Transportation (DOT) for the authority to fly from its San Francisco base to Washington National Airport in the third quarter.
The airline is proposing to fly two daily roundtrip flights on the route using its 119-seat Airbus A319 aircraft.
The proposed flights would complement Virgin's existing service to Washington-Dulles, which the carrier launched in 2007. The carrier currently operates four daily flights between Dulles and San Francisco, along with twice-daily Los Angeles service.
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Spirit is unconcerned about other low-cost carriers in Denver

Spirit Airlines is not concerned about competition from other low-cost carriers when entering new markets, as long as it can offer fares 25% lower than the competition, it says. Florida-based Spirit plans to launch service to and from Denver on May 3. "We're not there to steal anybody's share, but just to grow the market and take up the growth," said Spirit Chief Marketing Officer Barry Biffle.
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Frontier Airlines CEO has plenty to tackle

David Siegel, the new CEO of Frontier Airlines, has a lengthy list of items to prepare the carrier for success. "[W]e need to figure out how we can treat our best customer even better and give our price-sensitive customers options that they can choose from," he said. Siegel is also meeting with Colo. Gov. John Hickenlooper and Denver Mayor Michael Hancock this week to discuss tax incentives for the Denver-based carrier.
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EU investigates SkyTeam alliance over possible antitrust violations

The European Union is looking into a trans-Atlantic airline partnership between Air France-KLM, Alitalia and Delta Air Lines. Regulators are investigating whether the SkyTeam alliance formed in 2009 and 2010 violates antitrust laws.
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Lufthansa Posts Surprise 2011 Loss On bmi

Lufthansa posted a net loss of EUR€13 million (USD$17.05 million) in 2011, after taking a larger-than-expected charge on the sale of its UK unit bmi.
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AMR Offers To Freeze, Not Terminate, Pensions

AMR, the bankrupt parent of American Airlines, on Wednesday proposed a plan to freeze pensions covering many of its workers, retreating from an earlier proposal to terminate them and leave them to government insurers, which could result in lower payouts.
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Air Canada Braces For March Break Strike

Air Canada braced for the possibility of a strike during next week's busy March Break travel period as the government indicated it may stop or limit any action if necessary.
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IATA Suspends Kingfisher Airlines

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has suspended India's Kingfisher Airlines from its account settlement system due to non-payment of fees, dealing a fresh blow to the carrier as it seeks funds to stay aloft.
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Air France Suspends All Flights To Damascus

Air France said on Wednesday it was suspending all its flights to Damascus due to the worsening security situation in Syria.
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Saudi Airlines Cargo adds Asian flights

Saudi Airlines Cargo is expanding its Asian services with new freighter flights out of Vietnam and China.
The carrier will launch twice-weekly Boeing 747-400 freighter service from Saigon, Vietnam March 25.
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Loose wire caused Afghanistan Global Hawk crash
In-flight electrical failure caused a Northrop Grumman EQ-4 to crash in Afghanistan on 20 August, says a newly-released accident investigation report. The aircraft crashed approximately 195km (120 miles) northwest of Kandahar.
Specifically, an electrical connector to an unidentified line replacement unit partially separated. This caused electrical damage inside the LRU, which cut power to the actuators that controlled ailerons and spoilers. Within 1min of the power failure, the aircraft lost control after hitting minor turbulence.
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Other News

LAN Airlines in late 2012 will become the first airline in Latin America to incorporate a Boeing 787 Dreamliner into its fleet

Air France KLM Group (AF KLM) has announced organizational changes in its finance departments “in line with the orientations defined by Air France KLM board of directors in October 2011,” when it ousted Pierre-Henri Gourgeon as CEO of AF KLM Group and CEO of AF in the wake of worsening financial performance

Western-built aircraft with more than 100 seats make up 74% of the Russian airline fleet and 28% in the regional fleet.

The Chinese government has raised domestic jet fuel prices to CNY7,725 ($1,222) per ton, up 3.48% from CNY7,465 per ton as the cost of international oil continues to climb.

Kingfisher Airlines is appealing to its pilots to show up for work and to the tax authorities to unfreeze its bank accounts as speculation about its possible shutdown continues.

The US Air Force is considering buying engine parts for some of its aircraft from third-party manufacturers, the service's top officials told the US Congress on 6 March.

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AVIATION QUOTE

He is most free from danger, who, even when safe, is on his guard.

— Publilius Syrus

ON THIS DATE

---In 1910... Claude Moore-Brabazon receives the Royal Aero Club’s first aviator’s certificate in London. Charles Rolls receives the second.

---In 1910... Elise Deroche, the colorful self-styled Baroness Raymonde de Laroche, becomes the first woman in the world to receive a pilot’s license in Paris.

---In 1917... German airship pioneer Count von Zeppelin dies.

---In 1934…Edwin Hubble photo shows as many galaxies as Milky Way has stars.

---In 1946…The Bell 47 receives the first type certificate awarded to a commercial helicopter.

---In 1949... Nonstop flight of 56 hours and 2 minutes has put captain William Odom in the record books. Leaving Honolulu, Hawaii, he covers a distance of 4,957.25 miles before landing at Teterboro, New Jersey to gain the world record in Class C-1-c for light aircraft.

---In 1974... Charles de Gaulle Airport at Roissy-en-France is officially opened. The new international airport is located 15.5 miles (25 km) from the center of Paris.

---In 1979…1st extraterrestrial volcano discovered on Io, a satellite of Jupiter.

---In 1986…Suisei, Japan Comet Flyby made its flyby.

---In 1989…EVA Air is founded.

---In 1996…Cebu pacific Airlines commences flight operations.

---In 2008…Donald S. Lopez, Sr., passes away. A former U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force fighter and test pilot and until his death the deputy director of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.

DAILY VIDEO

EDITOR’S CHOICE

HUMOR

The Pearly Gates

It seems a 727 crew had a bad day out and the poor buggers slogged into a paddy and bit the big one. The Captain F/O and S/O were, subsequent to the crash, walking up to the pearly gates to discuss their fate with the Guardian At the Gate.

The Captain, being from the old school and not well versed in CRM told his mates to wait where they were for a blink while he sorted things out with the angel at the gate. The captain, discusses the situation for awhile and comes back to the two and tells them that he's got a little good news and a little bad news. The F/O and S/O both insist on the bad news first.

"Well" he says, "the bad news is that any extra marital affairs we have had bar our entry into paradise." The F/O and the S/O start to walk away quite upset and wondering what an eternity in Hades is going to be like. The captain says "wait a minute mates don't you want to hear the good news?"

"Layovers, don't count."

TRIVIA

General Trivia

1. Why do some pilots in the Navy’s Blue Angels recommend that their guest passengers (members of the media, et cetera) eat bananas before a demonstration flight?

2. In what motion picture did the star of the movie say, “Now, I don’t propose to sit on a flagpole or swallow goldfish. I’m not a stuntman; I’m a flier.”

3. In 1935, Cosby Harrison crashed his Swallow while flying in stormy weather. What well-known aviation business was begun as a result of his accident?

4. What was the first airline to offer transcontinental passenger service, and what type of aircraft was used?

5. Pilots know that temperature generally decreases with altitude in the troposphere. Why does it increase with altitude in the stratosphere?

6. The Lockheed L–1011 was the first airliner to incorporate direct lift control. What is DLC?

CO777ER wrote:
6. As the flaps are extended fully, a set of spoilers is partially and simultaneously deployed. Moving the control wheel fore and aft modulates these spoilers to increase and decrease sink rate during an ILS approach, for example, with minimal pitch change.