NEWSQantas launches Australia’s first biofuel flight Qantas launched Australia’s first commercial biofuel flight Friday on an Airbus A330 flight from Sydney to Adelaide using a 50:50 blend of biofuel derived from used cooking oil and conventional jet fuel
LinkBoeing and Spirit suspend Wichita operations after tornadoSpirit AeroSystems and Boeing have suspended operations in Wichita, Kansas, after a tornado ripped through the southeast corner of the city late on 14 April. Local photographers snapped photos of the remains of a fuselage - most likely a 737 - blown against a fence near Spirit AeroSystems' production facilities on the edge of McConnell AFB. The storm damaged several of the company's buildings, which produce structures for aircraft across the aerospace industry, including for Boeing, Gulfstream, Airbus and Sikorsky.
LinkVirgin A330 makes emergency return to GatwickA Virgin Atlantic Airbus A330 bound from London Gatwick airport to Orlando, USA, turned back to Gatwick, landing a little less than 2h after its 10:48 local time take-off. The aircraft was stopped on the runway and all 299 passengers and 13 crew evacuated via its emergency slides. Gatwick has closed the aircraft to all traffic until further notice, and the aircraft has not yet been towed clear.
LinkIrAero An-24 crashed after crew failed to execute go-aroundDescent below the decision height and failure to execute a go-around in bad weather resulted in the crew of an IrAero Antonov An-24 flying the aircraft into trees at Blagoveshchensk. Russia's Interstate Aviation Committee (MAK) concluded that the crew made an "erroneous decision" to attempt the approach in a turbulent thunderstorm and heavy rain, which greatly reduced visibility. The landing runway had already been switched from 18 to 36, owing to the poor weather - introducing a tailwind component for the approaching aircraft.
LinkBoeing's 4000th 737NG to be delivered to China SouthernBoeing will deliver its 4,000th 737NG, a -700 variant of the narrowbody aircraft, to China Southern Airlines this week. The aircraft, which rolled off the 737 production line at Renton in Washington, was handed over to the SkyTeam alliance member in a special ceremony over the weekend.
LinkUS has concerns that EU ETS violates international law“The US government has very serious concerns” about the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) carbon tax, FAA assistant administrator-Policy, International Affairs and Environment Julie Oettinger said Thursday.
LinkAir India will get $5.8 billion; postpones decision on foreign airline investmentThe Indian government said Thursday it will invest INR300 billion ($5.76 billion) through 2020 to restructure struggling Air India (AI), including an immediate INR67.5 billion ($1.3 billion) injection. The state-owned carrier will also spin off its MRO and engineering units into separate subsidiaries, civil aviation minister Ajit Singh told reporters following a meeting of the Indian cabinet, according to multiple news reports from India.
LinkEgyptAir posts 75% profit decrease for 2011, will open new routes in 2013EgyptAir (MS) has reported a 2011 decrease in profit to $12 million, down 75% year-over-year. The carrier, which had been in the middle of an expansion year, cited the civil unrest in Cairo and other parts of Egypt as reasons for the results.
LinkTransaero inks A380 financing dealTransaero Airlines (UN) signed an agreement with the Russian Development Bank’s VEB-leasing to finance four Airbus A380s from an October 2011 memorandum of understanding. The deal makes UN the launch customer for the A380 in Russia, CIS and Eastern Europe.
LinkImplementing NextGen technology a ‘mindset’The delay in implementing the US NextGen advanced air traffic management system is more about mindset than technology according to airline and manufacturer CEOs. Speaking at the US Chamber of Commerce 11th Annual Aviation Summit in Washington, JetBlue Airways president and CEO Dave Barger said, “To me the glass is more than half-full, technology is definitely out in front to say the least … I think we’re working the right issues right now.”
LinkUS industry voices concerns about aerospace workforceUS aerospace chiefs are increasingly worried about sustaining a viable aerospace industry workforce, they told a Washington DC summit Thursday. “We’re short 500 mechanics,” AAR Corp chairman and CEO David Storch said at the US Chamber of Commerce 11th Annual Aviation Summit D. The company does roughly 3.8 million hrs. of maintenance a year. “Each of us has the obligation and responsibility … to make sure that future workforce is out there for us,” he said.
LinkEmirates recruits for continuing growth with fleet set to grow by two aircraft a month in 2012Just over a quarter century ago, somewhat marginalised by the region's main network carrier, Gulf Air, Dubai's ambitious sheikhs decided they needed a national airline to help drive the economic growth they had earmarked for their small Arabian port. Today, Dubai is one of the world's mega cities and the airline they created, Emirates, is an industry giant, with a fleet of 170 widebody airliners, including the biggest fleets of Airbus A380s and Boeing 777s, connecting 122 cities in 72 countries with the desert metropolis.
LinkAir Arabia pushes the attractions of working for a low-cost carrierEarly airliners were refuelling at Sharjah when Dubai airport was nothing more than a dream and patch of desert. Today the airports are a 20min drive apart, but Sharjah's modest facility is a world away from its high-flying neighbour's teeming three-terminal global hub. However, Air Arabia chief executive Adel Ali is delighted with the once-sleepy airport that has been its base since the Gulf's first low-cost airline began services in October 2003.
LinkQatar Airways looks for pilots as deliveries ramp upLast year was a landmark for Qatar Airways. Only 14 years after its launch, the airline took delivery of its 100th aircraft and launched its 100th route. However, 2012 promises to be even more significant, with its first Boeing 787 due to arrive in time for the Farnborough air show ahead of launching on the London Heathrow route, and the 42-gate new Doha International airport - with an initial capacity of 28 million passengers - opening by the end of the year.
LinkThe helicopter pilots that help keep the gulf's oil flowing Thanks to the world's thirst for oil, the few kilometres separating Abu Dhabi from some 600 oil rigs pumping the black stuff from the rock below the shallow waters of the Gulf have become one of the busiest airways in the world. Helicopter operator Falcon Aviation Services is the most prominent of a number of operators that ferry oil workers between the city's Al Bateen airport and the rigs, sometimes carrying up to 11 passengers, and at other times equipment or supplies.
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