NEWS
Indonesia’s Mandala Airlines restarts operations
Jakarta-based low-cost carrier (LCC) Mandala Airlines (RI) has resumed operations after undergoing financial restructuring last year. The carrier on Thursday launched its first domestic service from Jakarta (JKT) to Medan (MES). Its first international service is expected to begin April 20 from Singapore to MES, followed by JKT-Kuala Lumpur service May 4, RI spokesman Astriana Ekasari told The Jakarta Globe.
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Airbus begins center fuselage assembly of A350 XWB
Airbus has begun the final assembly of the first A350 XWB at its new final assembly line in Toulouse after delivery of the center fuselage Wednesday from St. Nazaire, France. Airbus will begin joining the 19.7-meter long center fuselage with the 21-meter long front fuselage.
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FedEx to acquire Polish courier company Opek
FedEx signed an agreement Thursday to buy Polish courier company Opek, part of an attempt to at least partially counter the blockbuster United Parcel Service (UPS)-TNT Express merger. UPS’s proposed $6.8 billion purchase of Amsterdam-based TNT is largely viewed as relegating FedEx to second-tier status in Europe, where FedEx’s presence is well below market leader DHL and soon to be significantly behind UPS/TNT, which likely will have the scale to compete head-to-head against DHL in Europe. But FedEx said buying Opek marked its “latest step in its strategy for growth in Europe.”
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Chilean Supreme Court clears LAN-TAM merger
LAN Airlines said Thursday that Chile’s Supreme Court has confirmed Chilean antitrust tribunal TDLC’s approval of the carrier’s proposed merger with Brazil’s TAM under LATAM Airlines Group, though the court rejected LAN’s appeal of three of the 14 conditions imposed on the merger by TDLC. The Supreme Court ruling is believed to be one of the final steps toward closing the transaction.
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US Airports May Face Financial Pressure
US airports may not get all the federal funding promised in a new capital improvements package and some airports will face financial pressures that could yield credit-ratings cuts, Standard & Poor's said on Thursday.
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Boeing Q1 Deliveries Up 32 Percent
Boeing said on Thursday it delivered 137 commercial planes in the first quarter, up 32 percent from the same period a year earlier, led by an increase in 737 deliveries.
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Other ATCs, Funds Eye Britain's NATS
Air traffic controllers, including Germany's DFS, and infrastructure funds are interested in the minority stake a group of airlines is selling in Britain's air traffic control authority NATS, the airlines said.
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Lockheed Martin awarded new contract to modernize USN MH-60 fleet
The US Navy has granted Lockheed Martin a $1.05 billion contract to "definitize" a previous award to install common cockpits and mission avionics for the service's Sikorsky MH-60R and MH-60S helicopter fleets. "This contract represents the Navy's commitment to build and field the most technologically advanced maritime helicopter fleet in the world," says Rear Adm Paul Grosklags, vice commander of the US Naval Air Systems Command.
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Southwest seeks more business travelers, CEO says
Southwest Airlines would like to attract more business travelers, but does not plan to change its all-coach service. "I don't see a move at this point to have dual-class service in the cabin," said Southwest chairman and CEO Gary Kelly. Instead, the carrier is investing in overall cabin comfort and adding destinations for the business traveler.
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JetBlue finally touches down in LIC
Three years after it began scanning the horizon for a new home, JetBlue Airways has finally landed in Long Island City, Queens. The airline opened its new 200,000-square-foot headquarters office at the Brewster Building Wednesday morning and was joined by Mayor Michael Bloomberg and other elected officials to herald the opening. JetBlue had been based at 118-29 Queens Blvd. in Forest Hills, Queens, since 2000.
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Analyst's upgrade boosts Southwest shares
Barclays analyst David Fintzen has upgraded Southwest Airlines from "Equal Weight" to "Overweight." Fintzen said the market has undervalued the cost savings from Southwest's merger with AirTran Airways. After the upgrade, Southwest shares rose 2.3% on Wednesday afternoon.
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American Airlines cancels more flights as fleet is checked for damage
American Airlines and American Eagle canceled about one-third of their scheduled flights in and out of Dallas/Fort Worth Airport on Wednesday as the carriers continued to check planes damaged by Tuesday's storms. A total of 517 flights were canceled Wednesday. Today, 335 flights in and out of DFW have been canceled, American spokesman Andrea Huguely said late Wednesday. The Fort Worth-based carriers have cleared about 36 aircraft and returned them to service. American has 57 aircraft out of service and American Eagle 15 planes, Huguely said.
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U.S. airlines are enjoying unprecedented era of safety, experts say
U.S. airlines have never been safer, experts say. "Safety is a nonevent which gives you the impression that it doesn't require active effort," said Bill Voss of the Flight Safety Foundation. "But it does." Improvements in cockpit resource management and technological advances have contributed to increased safety.
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Maintenance and repair costs continue to rise, Southwest says
Repairing and maintaining older fleets is costing airlines more. "Maintenance-cost trends have definitely gone up," said Southwest CEO Gary Kelly. However, Southwest's recent purchase of new Boeing aircraft should help lower maintenance and repair costs.
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Judge orders psych exam for JetBlue captain
A federal judge on Wednesday ordered a psychiatric exam for the JetBlue Airways captain accused of interfering with a flight crew when he disrupted a Las Vegas-bound flight after he left the cockpit and screamed about religion and terrorists. The order U.S. District Judge Mary Lou Robinson in Amarillo signed will send Clayton Osbon to a medical facility for federal prisoners for tests to determine if he was legally sane when passengers wrestled him to the floor after witnesses said he ran through the cabin yelling about Jesus and al-Qaida.
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Delta is considering buying Pa. oil refinery
Delta Air Lines is considering purchasing an oil refinery near Philadelphia. Delta and other carriers have faced rising fuel costs over the past few years. "It sounds like it's the ultimate hedge," said Ray Neidl, an analyst at Maxim Group.
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Bill would end dedicated security lines for first-class, elite fliers
Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., has introduced legislation that would eliminate preferred security lines for elite and first-class travelers. "This bill is about fairness," Nelson said. The legislation would not end the Transportation Security Administration's PreCheck program. Critics of the bill say it would penalize the airlines' best customers.
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Other News
Beijing raises domestic fuel prices 4.35%: The Chinese government has raised domestic jet fuel prices to CNY8,061 ($1,275) per ton, up 4.35% from CNY7,725 per ton as international fuel prices keep rising. This is the third time the Chinese government has raised domestic fuel prices this year. Beijing increased domestic fuel prices by 1.43% and 3.48% to CNY7,465 per ton and CNY7,725 per ton, respectively, in February and March.
Southwest Airlines (SWA) mechanics, represented by Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Assn. and the AirTran Airways mechanics, represented by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, met Thursday in Dallas to continue negotiating a seniority integration agreement.
Airbus on Thursday announced Brazil’s TAM MRO has joined the Airbus MRO Network, becoming the 18th member. It currently provides services for the Airbus A320 and A330/A340 families in South America.
Boeing’s 747-8 has so far exceeded Boeing’s performance expectations. “[It’s] better than we targeted,” Boeing CAS 747-8 support and services Leslie Lauer said at the Aviation Week MRO Americas conference in Dallas.
US Airways takes cautious approach to capacity: “Capacity discipline—that’s one of the ways we’ve been able to survive,” US Airways COO Robert Isom said of the carrier’s strategy. Along with capacity discipline, ancillary revenues have been helping the carrier offset the high price of fuel, he noted. It earned a $71 million profit for the full year 2011 on a $1.2 billion year-over-year increase in fuel costs.
Component Control was selected by AMETEK to supply its Quantum Control MRO and logistics solution at its Antavia business in France. The integration is scheduled for completion this summer, and will be the fifth implementation of the software for AMETEK since 2010.
A J Walter Aviation signed a three-year consignment agreement with StandardAero. AJW will gain access to StandardAero repair capabilities and current inventory while StandardAero will gain access to AJW’s inventory of engine material.
AFI KLM E&M won a contract from National Airlines to provide maintenance for its CF6-80C2 engines, powering its fleet of Boeing 747-400Fs. It will also lease aircraft engines to the carrier during repairs.
Boeing has a contract from Canadian charter airline CanJet for its landing gear exchange program covering the carrier’s 737-800s. It will cover four exchanges between 2012 and 2013.
Applied Composites Engineering (ACE) has expanded and extended a repair agreement with Aircelle, covering jet engine thrust reversers and nacelle repair. New terms will “enlarge the scope” of the repair services, which have been performed by ACE since early 2009.
WestJet today announced it will fly 54,254 guests today, setting a new single-day record for the airline. The previous record, set on February 26, 2012, saw 52,992 guests fly across the airline's network. The new single-day record comes as Canadians enjoy an extended weekend in celebration of Easter.
European Aviation Safety Agency granted to Ratier-Figeac, a Hamilton Sundstrand Corporation subsidiary, the FH385/386 propeller system type certificate for the Airbus A400M Military Transport Aircraft on Mar. 22, marking a major milestone in the A400M's eight-bladed propeller program. Hamilton Sundstrand is a subsidiary of United Technologies Corporation.
AVIATION QUOTE
It is not possible that any man can be a good and sufficient Pilot or skilful Seaman, but by painful and diligent practice.
— John Davies, The Seamans Secrets, 1594.
ON THIS DATE
---In 1890... Anthony Herman Gerald Fokker, Dutch pioneer airman and aircraft manufacturer, is born in Kediri, Java. His Fokker D.VIII was one of the finest all-around fighters of the WWI. He became a naturalized U.S. citizen and his Fokker T-2 made the first non-stop flight across the U.S. In 1926, the North Pole was over flown in a Fokker trimotor airplane.
---In 1909... The first machine wholly designed by Anglo-French air pioneer Henry Farman takes to the air at Bouy, France. Called either the Henry Farman III or, because it represents a new departure, the HF1, the biplane is the first aircraft to incorporate practical ailerons attached to the trailing edges of the wings.
---In 1924... The first successful flight around the world starts as four Douglas World Cruisers leave from Seattle, Washington. Of the four, only two complete the circumnavigation as they each fly 27,553 miles (44,340 km) in 175 days, and return to Seattle on September 28. The actual flying time is 371 hours, 11 minutes, and the successful pilots are Lt. Lowell H. Smith and Lt. Erik Nelson.
---In 1949... A Sikorsky S-51 completes a record helicopter flight of 3,750 miles from Elizabeth, New Jersey to Port Angeles, Washington.
---In 1957…Olympic Airways is created by the shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis from the ashes of bankrupt Greek state airline T.A.E.
---In 1965… Intelsat 1 ("Early Bird") 1st commercial geosynchronous communication satellite.
---In 1967... Trans World Airlines (TWA) becomes the first American airline to have a fleet composed entirely of jet aircraft.
---In 1973… Pioneer 11 - USA Jupiter/Saturn Flyby (April 6, 1973 - November 1995) launched. Pioneer 11 flew by Jupiter on December 1, 1974 passing 42,900 kilometers from Jupiter's cloud tops. It took better pictures than Pioneer 10, and measured Jupiter's intense charged-particle and magnet field environment. As it flew by Jupiter it was given a gravity assist which swung it onto a course for Saturn. On September 1, 1979, Pioneer 11 flew past the outer edge of Saturn's A ring at a range of 3,500 kilometers. It traveled underneath the ring system and passed 20,930 kilometers from Saturn's cloud tops. It has now left the solar system.
---In 1982… Columbia returns to Kennedy Space Center from White Sands.
---In 1984… 11th Space Shuttle Mission (41-C)-Challenger 5 is launched.
---In 1984… 1st time 11 people in space.
---In 1994…A surface-to-air missile shoots down the presidential jet of Rwanda, a Dassault Falcon 50, as it prepares to land at Kigali International Airport at Kigali, Rwanda, killing all 12 aboard, including President of Rwanda Juvénal Habyarimana and President of Burundi Cyprien Ntaryamira. Their assassination will spark the 1994 Rwandan Genocide.
---In 1997… Progress M-34 Launch (Russia).
DAILY VIDEO
EDITOR’S CHOICE
HUMOR
Out In The Field
While on a training deployment the Captain and the 1st Sgt were in the field. As they hit the rack for the night, the following exchange took place.
1st Sgt: "Sir, look up into the sky and tell me what you see?"
Capt: "I see millions of stars."
1st Sgt: "And what does that tell you, sir?"
Capt: "From an astronomy perspective, it tells me that there are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets. Theologically, it tells me that God is great and that we are small and insignificant. Astrologically, it tells me that Saturn is in Leo. Time wise, it appears to be approximately a quarter past three in the morning. Meteorologically, it tells me that we will have a beautiful day tomorrow. What does it tell you?"
1st Sgt: "Well sir, it tells me that somebody stole our tent!!"
TRIVIA
Google Airports
Need a hint? PM me.
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