NEWS
Etihad Takes 3 Pct Stake In Aer Lingus
Irish airline Aer Lingus said Etihad Airways has acquired a 2.987 percent stake, as Abu Dhabi's flag carrier makes further inroads into the European market.
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Malaysian To Suspend Shares Amid Tie-Up Doubt
Shares of Malaysia Airlines will be suspended from trading on Wednesday due to a pending corporate announcement, two sources said on Tuesday.
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AMR Posts USD$807 Million Loss For March
AMR, the bankrupt parent of American Airlines, posted a net loss of USD$807 million for March and said it spent more than USD$2 billion on fuel, wages and other expenses.
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Qantas To Cut 400 Maintenance Jobs
Australian carrier Qantas will cut 400 jobs at its heavy maintenance base near Melbourne Airport and 660 workers at another base are also at risk, media reports said on Tuesday.
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Boeing 727 deliberately crashed in desert for TV
Filmed from multiple angles, an empty Boeing 727 has been deliberately crashed in a remote Mexican desert as the centrepiece of a documentary on air safety. The aircraft was piloted to the crash location before the pilot ejected, and the trijet then descended in a level attitude - guided remotely by a chase aircraft - before impacting hard and breaking up.
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ALC purchases eight 787-9s
Air Lease Corp. (ALC) has purchased eight Boeing 787-9s, which it will lease to Vietnam Airlines, the lessor announced Monday. The aircraft are scheduled to be delivered in 2017 and 2018, ALC said. ALC also announced it purchased a 777-300ER from Macquarie Aviation; the aircraft is on a long-term lease to Emirates, which is a new customer for ALC.
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Airbus completes first new-build sharklet-equipped A320
Airbus has rolled out the first new-build A320 with sharklets from its Toulouse facility. The aircraft, MSN 5098, will be one of several A320 family aircraft in the certification flight-test campaign starting in May, which lasts around 600 flight hr., Airbus said.
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Spanish government steps in to end Iberia pilots’ dispute
The Spanish government intervened last week to help resolve the increasingly bitter dispute between Iberia and its pilots, imposing a compulsory arbitration order on both parties.
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UPS 1Q profit rises 6%
United Parcel Service (UPS) last week reported first-quarter net income of $970 million, up 6% from a net profit of $915 million in the year-ago period, on a 4.4% increase in revenue to $13.14 billion.
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Aeromexico posts 1Q income down 49%, record-high revenue
Grupo Aeromexico (AM) has reported first-quarter consolidated net income of MXP $135 million ($10.4 million), down 49% on the year-ago period. Revenue increased 17% to a record MXP$9.2 billion ($701 million).
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United Airlines aims to reduce its space at Denver airport
United Airlines has proposed a reduction in the amount of space it leases at Denver International Airport. "We're always working with airports to address cost competitiveness," said United spokeswoman Christen David. United, which leases 46 gates at the airport, is Denver's largest carrier.
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Emissions-trading dispute focuses attention on ICAO
The aviation industry supports the International Civil Aviation Organization as a source for a global emissions plan, but it could take some time to finalize. "A market-based global system would have to include a lot of decisions about who the main regulator would be, how monitoring and reporting would work, etc.," said Andreas Arvanitakis, senior analyst at Thomson Reuters Point Carbon. "Even if it is adopted at the general assembly in 2013, it might not apply until 2015 or beyond."
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FAA faces deadline for drone licensing next month
By May 14, the Federal Aviation Administration must write rules regarding how it will license drones capable of flying at low altitudes, many of which have been acquired by local law enforcement agencies. It is also expected to develop plans for integrating drones into U.S. airspace by 2015. While supporters of the drones think the FAA is not moving fast enough, critics say the timeline is too short and note that the drones could arouse privacy concerns.
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New application lets hungry travelers order delivery to gate
Travelers at Sacramento International Airport will now be able to download a free mobile app that allows users to order food from airport restaurants Esquire Grill or Burgers & Brew and have it delivered to their gate. The app, from HMSHost, is available for Apple and Android mobile.
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Other News
Denmark’s Nordic Aviation Capital has secured financing from Deutsche Bank and KfW IPEX-Bank for the acquisition of five ATR 72-600 aircraft.
South Korea's international passenger traffic jumped 12.4% in the first quarter, to a record 11.4 million from 10.1 million in the year-ago period, the Yonhap News Agency has reported.
Pratt & Whitney has launched ultrasonically pulsed waterjet stripping method PurePulse, a technology to remove hard coatings/materials applied by thermal spraying and plating processes, using 30% of the pressure of traditional units.
Spirit Airlines will increase 2X-weekly Myrtle Beach-Plattsburgh, N.Y. service to 3X-weekly June 14-Sept. 1. It will also increase 2X-weekly Myrtle Beach-Niagara Falls, N.Y. service to 3X-weekly June 21-Sept. 4. It will cancel all flights between Niagara Falls and Myrtle Beach, S.C. from May 15-June 20 and flights between Niagara Falls and Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. from May 15-June 30 due to runway construction at Niagara Falls.
Aeromexico and TAM Airlines have reached a codeshare agreement to operate flights between Mexico City and Sao Paulo as well as connections to destinations in Brazil and Mexico, which launched April 23.
Eastern Airways launched daily Southampton-Brussels service.
Avianca will resume Cali-Medellin-New York service May 19, bypassing its main hub at Bogota. The carrier’s Airbus A320 family flights will be operated 3X-weekly in the low season and daily between June 1 and Sept. 16 and between Dec. 3 and Jan. 13, 2013.
Lockheed Martin completed delivery of the 79th and final C-5 Galaxy aircraft of the current Avionics Modernization Program at a ceremony at Travis Air Force Base, Calif., on April 27.
WestJet today announced the launch of new, non-stop service between Toronto and Kingston, Jamaica. The inaugural flight departs Toronto Pearson International Airport at 9 a.m. EDT today.
The Boeing Company (BA) today celebrates 50 years in Alabama, where employees play a vital role in building and sustaining the United States' space and defense programs. The largest aerospace company in the state of Alabama, Boeing maintains its Strategic Missile & Defense Systems headquarters in Huntsville, as well as its largest program, Ground-based Midcourse Defense. Huntsville also hosts Boeing Exploration Launch Systems, which oversees the Space Launch System – NASA's new heavy-lift launch vehicle – and support to the International Space Station.
AVIATION QUOTE
Stars scribble on our eyes the frosty sagas,
The gleaming cantos of unvanquished space . . .
Hart Crane (1899–1932)
ON THIS DATE
---In 1942... Squadron No. 588 of the Soviet Air Force, an all-woman night-bombing unit equipped with Polikarpov Po-2 biplanes, is formed in the USSR.
---In 1947…Malayan Airways (predecessor to Singapore Airlines) is founded.
---In 1952... Trans World Airways (TWA), British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) and Air France launch the world’s first scheduled tourist-class flights on their transatlantic routes from New York, London and Paris.
---In 1954…The Myasishchev M-4, the first Soviet bomber designed to reach the United States and return to the Soviet Union, is displayed to the public for the first time.
---In 1960... A Lockheed U-2 reconnaissance aircraft, piloted by U.S. Air Force Col. Francis Gary Powers, is shot down over the Soviet Union by a surface-to-air missile (SAM).
---In 1960…Thai Airways International (TG) is founded.
---In 1963... Jacqueline Cochran takes off from Edwards Air Force Base, California, to set a 100-km (62-mile) closed-circuit world speed record for women of 1,203.7mph in a Lockheed Starfighter.
---In 1965… Luna 5, USSR Lunar Soft Lander, launched. The lunar soft-lander failed and impacted the moon.
---In 1982…A Royal Air Force Avro Vulcan bomber based on Ascension Island attacks the airfield at Port Stanley on East Falkland Island. It is the first strike of Operation Black Buck, a series of five very-long-range missions to strike Argentinian positions in the Falkland (Malvinas) Islands. Each mission requires a 16-hour round trip of almost 8,000 nautical miles (9,200 statute miles; 15,000 km); they are the longest bombing missions in world history up to that time, and are not exceeded in distance and duration until the 1991 Gulf War.
---In 1982…BAE Sea Harriers attack Falklands targets for the first time and shoot down two Argentine Mirage III fighters. They are the first air-to-air kills of the Falklands War.
---In 1982…American Airlines launches AAdvantage, the first frequent flyer program in history. United Airlines launches its own program, Mileage Plus, only a week later.
---In 1990…First flight of the McDonnell Douglas MD 520N.
---In 2006…Song (airline) turned down all operations to Delta Air Lines.
DAILY VIDEO
EDITOR’S CHOICE
HUMOR
HUMOR
Murphy’s Law on Armor
1. Just after you report “Redcon 1” (Readiness Condition 1 - ready to move out right "now") for your qualification run, you will realize that you desperately need to take a leak.
2. The fuel truck will run out of fuel just before he gets to your tank.
2a. You will run out of fuel before he returns.
3. Tanks don’t float.
4. If a supply sergeant is given a choice between death and going to the
field with his unit, he will ask for a few minutes to “Think it over.”
5. Attempting to help recover a mired tank will only result in your tank becoming mired also.
6. The primary purpose of an operations order is to ensure that all blame falls on the line units.
6a. For this reason, the staff will not publish an operations order until after the exercise is completed.
7. Night vision devices will only fail at night.
7a. They will function perfectly once the sun rises.
8. The dirtier and more tired you are, the less appreciative you become of “constructive criticism” from somebody in a pristine uniform.
9. The heater on your tank will fail in October. The part to repair it will arrive in April.
10. No matter how minor the ailment, a visit to the medics will result in an I.V.
10a. Arguing with the medics about this will result in your being evacuated in a neck brace and back board (in addition to the I.V.).
11. When loading the main gun, remember: “pointy end first.”
12. The only times you will throw a track (that flexible band of metal and rubber the tank travels on) are: a. At night, b. in the rain, c. during the movement back to garrison, or d. one hour after you installed the new ones.
13. Your vehicle will go NMC (Not Mission Capable - deadlined ) right after the contact team leaves the AO (Area of Operations).
14. All infantry fighting vehicles don’t look alike.
15. Shaking trees to your front mean that you are being hunted by helicopters.
16. When you are told your engineer support was needed elsewhere, the bridge will be out.
17. The exercise will finish and you’ll get back to garrison just after the wash rack (where tanks are cleaned) closes.
18. If all else fails, shoot at the muzzle flashes — the larger ones are the dangerous ones, the smaller ones are infantry.
18a. The infantry muzzle flashes you ignore are covering an anti-tank team setting up.
19. “Rebel yells” are not proper FM radio procedure after a successful Table VIII (The tank crew qualification test a 10 engagement run on a tank range which tank crews must successfully complete in order to be a qualified crew. Like going to the rifle range for a qualification of expert) shoot.
20. XO math: 3 pacs on the ground + no fueler + 2 deadlines = 100% FMC (Fully Mission Capable).
21. Close air support is safest from far away.
22. Proving that three feet of frontal armor protection will defend against any threat is probably best demonstrated on someone else’s track.
23. Hearing an “Aw, shit” soon after an “on-the-waaay!” means you’re probably not getting that promotion.
24. Tanks are very easy to see unless you’re dismounted and they’re backing up.
25. The one time you skip the firing circuit test is when you have the misfire.
26. “GUNNER, SABOT, SNIPER” (firing an anti-tank shell at a sniper) is not an appropriate use of ammunition.
27. It is cruel to tell NBC types “Damn, that Fox (NATO chemical/biological/nuclear weapons detection vehicle) looks like a BMP (Russian made armored vehicle used by many countries, like Iraq)!” — particularly when live rounds are being issued.
28. Blackout drive + autobahn + 0345 = polizei.
29. Unsecured turrets will only swing freely mid-way through a rail tunnel.
30. When doing a gunnery, the tank is always operational until you get to the ready line.
31. If you are promised “downtime,” what they really mean is: You will be breaking track.
32. First sergeant math: Buy Gatorade for $1.49 each and sell for $1.00 each — with the profits going to the unit fund.
TRIVIA
Aircraft Identification
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