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Hundreds Of Flights Canceled By German Strikes
Airlines canceled about 450 out of 1,300 flights scheduled at Germany's largest airport Frankfurt on Tuesday because of warning strikes by ground handlers in a dispute over pay, operator Fraport said.
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Kingfisher Appoints Directors To Meet Rules

Troubled Indian carrier Kingfisher Airlines has named three independent directors to its board to comply with company law, after the last of its independent directors quit last week amid growing concerns over its survival.
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UK buys eighth Boeing C-17

The UK Royal Air Force is buying an additional Boeing C-17 strategic airlifter, the company announced on 28 March, with the move to bring the service's total fleet to eight. "This C-17 will be a welcome addition to the RAF fleet," says Robin Philip, the UK Ministry of Defence's head of commercial for air support.
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Cost control worries USAF on new bomber and tanker
The US Air Force's nascent bomber programme and Boeing KC-46 tanker and the US Navy's Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine replacement programme are all critical to maintaining the US strategic nuclear deterrence - but controlling costs is going to be crucial, a top US military official says.
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Russia confirms 30-unit order for Su-30SM fighters
Irkut has received a production order to supply the Russian air force with 30 Sukhoi Su-30SM multirole fighters, with the contract having been signed by Russian defence minister Anatoly Serdyukov. A twin-seat derivative of the Su-30MKI already flown by the Indian air force, the SM includes new features such as identification friend-or-foe equipment.
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American asks bankruptcy court to reject labor contracts

American Airlines has filed a motion with a US bankruptcy court seeking to have its contracts with three unions representing nine work groups terminated, saying that its "greatest single challenge" is labor agreements that are unfavorable compared with those of its competitors.
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Union negotiations are moving too slowly, AMR CEO says to employees

AMR Corp., the parent company of American Airlines, asked Bankruptcy Court to cancel its labor contracts. "With losses mounting and oil prices rising, there is growing urgency to move more quickly," said CEO Tom Horton in a letter to employees. "The bankruptcy law provides a process for the court to address such a situation as has been done in virtually all prior successful airline restructurings." Some experts say the unions have left AMR with few options. "I don't see how they have a choice. They've been negotiating a long time, and the unions are sticking to their guns. This is the next step," said Anthony Sabino, an attorney and professor at St. John's University.
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United adds 600 call-center workers after reservations-system switch

United Airlines has added 600 call-center workers to handle the volume of calls after its switch to Continental Airlines' reservations system. On its website, United warned passengers of hold times of more than an hour to talk to an agent. However, airline spokeswoman Megan McCarthy said average hold times were down to less than 10 minutes by Tuesday afternoon.
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Iberia pilots announce 30 days of more strikes

Iberia pilots, represented by the Sepla union, announced they intend to strike for 30 days to protest the Spanish airline’s new low-cost airline, Iberia Express, which launched operations March 25. Pilots will walk out every Monday and Friday between April 9 and July 20, Sepla said.
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Latin America needs call for 2,500 aircraft over 20 years, Boeing says
Van Rex Gallard, Boeing's vice president of sales for Latin America, Africa and the Caribbean, forecasts carriers in Latin America will need 2,500 jets in the next two decades. Gallard points to the growth of regional airlines as a driver for the Latin American market.
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Airbus predicts industry needs 28,000 aircraft over 20 years
Rafael Alonso, vice president for Latin America and the Caribbean for Airbus, predicts the airline industry will need 28,000 new passenger airplanes over the next two decades. "That's a potential business valued at $197 billion," he said. Airbus also forecasts 4.8% growth in air traffic annually for the next 20 years.
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Fla. man is accused of pointing laser at aircraft at least 23 times
Authorities have arrested a Florida man who they say shined a laser at commercial airplanes. They say Glenn Stephen Hansen of St. Cloud shined a laser 23 times at planes departing Orlando International Airport from January to this month. Hansen has filed more than 500 complaints about noise from the airport and says that for him pointing lasers at planes is a form of "stress release," authorities say.
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A4A urges U.S. to oppose EU's Emissions Trading System
Airlines for America has ended its private lawsuit against the European Union opposing the bloc's carbon-dioxide Emissions Trading System, but urged the administration to accelerate its work to reverse the unilateral tax. A4A is recommending that the Obama administration submit a case through the United Nations' International Civil Aviation Organization. "The U.S. has been very clear in its opposition. We think the most appropriate action is a challenge under Article 84 of the Chicago Convention," said Nancy Young, vice president for environmental affairs at Airlines for America.
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Opinion: EU emissions-trading scheme violates international law
Nicholas Calio, president and CEO of Airlines for America, joins Capt. Lee Moak, president of the Air Line Pilots Association, International, in opposition to the European Union's emissions-trading scheme. "The EU Emissions Trading System violates every accepted norm of international law," Calio and Moak write. "The Obama administration, bipartisan leaders in Congress and all non-European countries, including China and Russia, have denounced the system as unfair and unwise."
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Obama nominates Huerta as FAA administrator
President Barack Obama has nominated Michael Huerta, interim chief of the Federal Aviation Administration, to a full five-year term. Huerta stepped in as interim administrator of the agency after former Administrator Randy Babbitt resigned. Huerta's nomination must be confirmed by the Senate.
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Southwest keeps baggage fee for AirTran Airways

Although there are no baggage fees on Southwest Airlines, the carrier has kept the fees in place on AirTran Airways. Southwest acquired AirTran in 2011, and received a single operating certificate this month. Southwest spokeswoman Whitney Eichinger said AirTran will fly under its own brand until 2013 or 2014.
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Fiji Takes Control Of Air Pacific From Qantas

Fiji's military government on Wednesday said it would take control of national carrier Air Pacific from Australia's Qantas Airways using a decree that states "substantial ownership and effective control" of all Fijian airlines should be local.
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Jet Blue Pilot Suspended Following Disturbance

A JetBlue pilot who caused a disturbance on board a flight to Las Vegas, forcing the plane to make an emergency landing in Texas, has been suspended while the FBI investigates the incident, the airline said on Wednesday.
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Pressure Grows On Ottawa To Lean On Air Canada

Canada's opposition parties stepped up pressure on the Conservative government to force Air Canada to maintain aircraft overhaul facilities that were shut down last week.
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Brussels Could Drop Carbon Levy On Non-EU Airspace
The European Union would consider limiting its new aviation carbon levy to its own airspace, but only as part of a global deal on plane emissions, a senior commission official said.
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Other News

British Airways has committed to another Embraer E-190, increasing the number of E-Jets it has on order to 14, comprising six E-170s and eight E-190s.

Air China reported a net profit of CNY7.082 billion ($1.12 billion) for 2011, down 41% from CNY12 billion in the year-ago period.

Brazil’s GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes reported a 2011 fourth-quarter net income of BRL$54.3 million ($29.9 million), down 40% from BRL$132 million in the year-ago period.

The Luxembourg District Court on Tuesday acquitted three former directors of Luxair of all charges in the fatal crash of flight 9642 on Nov. 6, 2002, in which 20 passengers and crew died.

OnAir has equipped all 21 Airbus A380 aircraft in the Emirates Airline (EK) fleet with inflight connectivity service.

Aircraft and Component News

TAP Portugal selected OnAir to provide its inflight Wi-Fi service onboard its Airbus A330 aircraft, targeting a launch date of early 2012. TAP will also deploy OnAir services on its planned fleet of A350s.

Pitch Aircraft Seating has introduced its new lightweight economy seat, developed in co-operation with Intier Automotive, the PF2000. The seat is designed for the high-density, single-aisle retrofit market and weighs less than 25 kg. for a triple unit.

Lufthansa Technik’s non-electric floor path marking system, Guideline ColourFit, has been certified for the Boeing 777 and 747-8. It was already available for Airbus, Embraer and Bombardier aircraft.

Atlantic Airways, the national carrier of the Faroe Islands, has taken delivery of an Airbus A319 as part of its plan to increase capacity. It will operate the A319 mainly to Copenhagen; it will also add a new route to Barcelona from June. The carrier also operates one Avro RJ-100 and two Avro RJ-85s.
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AVIATION QUOTE

The happily married man with a large family is the test pilot for me.

— Nevil Shute, Slide Rule: The Autobiography of an Engineer

ON THIS DATE

---In 1858... Two men – Brown and Dean – make the first balloon flight in Australia in a hydrogen balloon named the Australasian.

---In 1920... Located about 10 miles due south of the City of London, England, Waddon Airport at Croydon is used for the first time as London’s airport. Until this date, Hownslow has been considered the capital’s main airport.

---In 1951... Flight Safety Inc. begins operations at the Marine Air Terminal at LaGuardia Airport, New York with just one secretary and rented late night hours on a Link trainer simulator.

---In 1974… Mariner 10 flew past Mercury.

---In 2001… An Avjet charter flight, a Gulfstream III jet with 15 passengers and 3 crew, crashes on approach into Aspen, CO, killing all on board.

DAILY VIDEO

EDITOR’S CHOICE

HUMOR

Flying Truths

It's better to be down here wishing you were up there, than up there
wishing you were down here, and If you're ever faced with a forced
landing at night, turn on the landing lights to see the landing area. If you don't like what you see, turn'em back off.

A check ride ought to be like a skirt, short enough to be interesting but still be long enough to cover everything. Speed is life, altitude is life insurance. No one has ever collided with the sky.

Always remember you fly an airplane with your head, not your hands, and
never let an airplane take you somewhere your brain didn't get to five
minutes earlier.

Don't drop the aircraft in order to fly the microphone. An airplane flies because of a principle discovered by Bernoulli, not Marconi.

"Unskilled" pilots are always found in the wreckage with their hand
around the microphone.

If you push the stick forward, the houses get bigger; if you pull the
stick back, they get smaller. (Unless you keep pulling the stick
back-then they get bigger again.)

Hovering is for pilots who love to fly but have no place to go; the only time you have too much fuel is when you're on fire; flying is the second greatest thrill known to man, landing is the first!

Everyone already knows the definition of a 'good' landing is one from
which you can walk away. But very few know the definition of a 'great'
landing. It's one after which you can use the airplane another time.

The probability of survival is opposite to the angle of arrival.

IFR: I Follow Roads.

You know you've landed with the wheels up when it takes full power to
taxi.

Those who hoot with the owls by night, should not fly with the eagles by day.

A helicopter is a collection of rotating parts going round and round and reciprocating parts going up and down - all of them trying to become random in motion.

Helicopters can't really fly - they're just so ugly that the earth
immediately repels them.

Pilots believe in clean living. They never drink whiskey from a dirty
glass.

Things which do you no good in aviation: Altitude above you; Runways
behind you; Fuel in the truck; Half a second ago; Approach plates in the car; and Airspeed you don't have.

If God meant man to fly, He'd have given him more money.

Flying is not dangerous; crashing is very dangerous.

A good simulator check ride is like successful surgery on a corpse.

Asking what a pilot thinks about the FAA is like asking a tree what it
thinks about dogs.

Trust your captain but keep your seat belt securely fastened.

An airplane may disappoint a good pilot, but it won't surprise him.

Any pilot who relies on a terminal forecast can be sold the Brooklyn
Bridge. If he relies on winds-aloft reports he can be sold Niagara Falls.

The friendliest flight attendants are those on the trip home.

Good judgment comes from experience and experience comes from bad
judgment.

Being an airline pilot would be great if you didn't have to go on all
those trips.

Aviation is not so much a profession as it is a disease.

The nicer an airplane looks, the better it flies.

There are three simple rules for making a smooth landing. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are, but it's always a good landing if you can still get the doors open.

Passengers prefer old captains and young flight attendants.

One thing worse than a captain who never flew as a copilot is a copilot
who once was a captain. No matter which, it’s best to keep the pointed
end going forward as much as possible.

If an earthquake suddenly opened a fissure in a runway that caused an
accident, the FAA would find a way to blame it on pilot error.

Any attempt to stretch fuel is guaranteed to increase headwind.

A thunderstorm is never as bad on the inside as it appears on the
outside. It's much worse.

It's easy to make a small fortune in aviation. You have to start with a
large fortune.

A male pilot is a confused soul who talks about women when he's flying,
and about flying when he's with a woman.

A fool and his money are soon flying more airplane than he can handle.

The last thing every pilot does before leaving the aircraft after making a gear up landing is to put the gear selection lever in the 'down' position.

Try to keep the number of your landings equal to the number of your
takeoffs, and remember takeoff's are optional, but landings are
mandatory.

You cannot propel yourself forward by patting yourself on the back.

TRIVIA

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