News
JetBlue Fined For Violating DOT Rules
JetBlue Airways was fined by the US Department of Transportation on Monday for not informing passengers on a plane delayed at New York's John F. Kennedy airport that they could leave the plane as it waited at the gate.
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Virgin To Compete With BA On UK Routes
Virgin Atlantic will go head to head with rival British Airways on routes between London and Manchester next year after unveiling plans to make its first foray into the domestic short-haul market.
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Ryanair Confirms Talks Over Stansted Airport
Ryanair confirmed on Tuesday that it has held discussions with a number of parties who are interested in bidding for London's Stansted airport.
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Philippine Minister's Body Found In Plane Wreckage
Divers have recovered the body of the Philippines' interior minister from the wreckage of a light aircraft that crashed into the sea near the central island of Masbate three days ago, a senior official said on Tuesday.
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Legacy 500 first flight slips again to Q4 – Embraer
Embraer faces a new delay on the Legacy 500 program as the airframer continues to grapple with problems on the type's fly-by-wire system supplied by Parker Aerospace. First flight of the midsize business jet is now expected to slip into the fourth quarter and entry-into-service could slide into early 2014, although the official schedule for first delivery remains late 2013, says Ernest Edwards, president of Embraer Executive Jets.
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Etihad holding in Virgin Australia reaches 6.1%
Etihad has increased its stake in Virgin Australia to 6.1% after spending A$10.6 million ($11.1 million) on share purchases between 24 July and 17 August. In a disclosure sent to the Australian Securities Exchange, Etihad says it paid between A$0.39 and A$0.45 per share for 24.4 million additional shares. The Abu Dhabi flag carrier had initially acquired 3.96% of Australia's second largest airline in June - growing the stake to 4.99% within days.
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First non-pilot unmanned aircraft operators graduate from USAF's MQ-9 Reaper course
The first group of US Air Force student operators who have not completed the service's undergraduate pilot training (UPT) programme have graduated from the General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper training course. The new Reaper pilots are part of the USAF's new career field, designated 18X within the service's internal categorization, which is designed to train drone operators to fly unmanned aircraft without being trained as a manned aircraft pilot.
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RNLAF waits on Chinook delivery
Holland is close to receiving the first three Boeing CH-47F Chinooks dating from a 2007 order for six of the heavy transport helicopters. The airframes for the Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) are in transit to the port of Antwerp. From there they will be shipped to Woensdrecht for final assembly. Originally due to be handed over in 2009, development problems with the type's Honeywell Block 6 avionics suite have delayed their arrival. Official delivery is now scheduled for October, when the Chinooks will be added to the RNLAF's 298 Sqn at Gilze-Rijen air base.
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PAK-FA completes initial refuelling approach trials
Sukhoi's T-50 PAK-FA fifth-generation stealth fighter has completed initial approach trials to a flight refuelling aircraft, the company said on 21 August. Aircraft T-50-2 made approaches to an Ilyushin Il-78 tanker accompanied by a Su-25UB aircraft. Sukhoi's second prototype, T-50-2, is undergoing a range of flight trials to test the new plane's flight envelope in subsonic and supersonic regimes and in different configurations.
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Gatwick calls on CAA to deregulate UK market
London’s Gatwick Airport (LGW) said it welcomed the decision of its former owner BAA to drop its appeal to the Supreme Court and agree to sell Stansted Airport (STN), in compliance with a 2009 UK Competition Commission ruling to sell both LGW and STN airports. “This decision will increase competition in the airport market and improve customer service,” LGW said in a statement.
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Report questions value of high US aviation security costs
US aviation security costs have skyrocketed since 9/11 but it is not certain the benefits outweigh those costs, a new industry report finds. Authored by RAND Corp., the report suggeststhe US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and Congress should weigh both the costs and benefits of the complex US aviation security system.
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CDI Cargo Airlines launches operations
CDI Cargo Airlines has launched operations with a Boeing 737-300 service to Hangzhou-Qingdao-Changchun, despite the weakening cargo demand in China. The new cargo venture, which was approved by the Civil Aviation Administration of China in February, hasa registered capital of CNY200 million ($31.8 million). Huixiang Industrial Investment Co., which invested CNY102 million, has a 51% ownership. Haofu Group holds a 24% stake, Asia Yingsheng Investment Co. holds 15% and Caulfield Investment Co. holds the remaining 10%.
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Judge grants AA’s motion to dismiss Travelport’s antitrust counterclaims
A federal judge granted American Airlines’ (AA) motion to dismiss Travelport’s antitrust claims against the carrier, saying that whatever harm may have been committed by AA was done to travel agents and passengers. Travelport had filed its complaints as a counterclaim to AA’s antitrust lawsuit filed in April 2011 against Travelport and Sabre.
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Other News
All Nippon Airways (ANA) said it will start 5X-weekly Boeing 787 service between Tokyo Narita (NRT) and San Jose, Calif. from Jan. 11 and will replace Boeing 777s with 787s on its NRT-Seattle route from Oct. 1 and on its Tokyo Haneda-Beijing route from Oct. 28. The carrier said the new schedule “reflects ANA’s focus on strengthening its business model to capture demand for long-haul international flights and transit passengers … ANA plans to introduce the Boeing 787 on a wider range of international and domestic routes to improve competitiveness.” In addition, ANA will launch 3X-weekly 737-700ER flights between NRT and Yangon from Oct. 15 and daily NRT-Delhi 767-300ER flights from Oct. 28. ANA’s daily NRT-New York JFK 777-300ER service will be doubled to twice-daily starting Oct. 28.
United Airlines (UA), the North American launch customer for the Boeing 787, said its first Dreamliner took a 3-hr.-plus pre-delivery test flight Sunday to/from Boeing’s Everett, Wash., facility. UA pilots were able to examine and check the aircraft’s systems at high and medium altitude, and to make sure all safety elements are in place. The aircraft flew around the Seattle area.
Tomsk Avia (TSK), the Russian regional carrier, will take delivery of the first of three Cessna 208B Grand Caravans in September. The nine-passenger aircraft will be used on local routes in the Siberian regions. TSK’s fleet includes six Antonov An-24s, one An-26 and Mi-8T helicopters. In July, TSK operated several flights using Bombardier CRJ200s rented from regional carrier IrAero, based in Irkutsk.
London’s Gatwick Airport (LGW) is undertaking a three-month public consultation on its proposed implementation of Precision Area Navigation (P-RNAV). P-RNAV is a navigation specification that exploits the improved airborne navigation capabilities of modern aircraft to require a track-keeping accuracy of ±1 nautical mile (compared with ±5 nautical miles for the next best standard) for at least 95% of the flight time. It facilitates much more accurate track-keeping within terminal airspace and has been trialed on a limited basis at LGW for six years.
FL Technics Training signed an agreement with Avia Group Techniks to provide technical training courses for the company’s MRO specialists in Russia and Lithuania.
StandardAero delivered its 6,000th APU since the program inception in 1995, at its Maryville, Tenn. facility. The APS2300 was delivered to an unnamed commercial customer.
Signature Flight Support signed an agreement with Airside FBO Operations Ltd., of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada to become a fully licensed Signature Flight Support location, at Edmonton International Airport.
Tulpar Technic has been appointed as an authorized service facility for Bombardier CRJ100 and CRJ200 regional jets. Tulpar is based at Kazan International Airport in Russia.
Aviation Quote
I had no system of shooting as such. It is definitely more in the feeling side of things that these skills develop. I was at the front five and a half years, and you just got a feeling for the right amount of lead.
— Lt. General Guenther Rall, GAF.
On This Date
--- In 1909... The first great aviation meeting in Bétheny, France, opens as 23 European airplanes make 87 flights during one week. The meeting will have a strong influence on the technical and military aspects of flight.
---In 1922... The Vickers Victoria (serial no. J6869) military transport makes its first flight, taking off from Brooklands, England with Stan Cockerell at the controls.
---In 1938... The Civil Aeronautics Act becomes effective in the United States, coordinating all non-military aviation under the Civil Aeronautics Authority.
---In 1952…First flight of the Saunders-Roe Princess G-ALUN.
---In 1970…Two Sikorsky HH-53C helicopters complete a non-stop transpacific flight of 9,000 miles (14,484 km) using in-flight refuelling.
---In 1973…First flight of the Learjet 35.
---In 1974…First flight of the Shorts 360 G-BSBH.
---In 1985…A Boeing 737 of British Airtours explodes in Manchester before taking off, killing 55 of the 137 people on board and punctuating commercial aviation's worst month in history.
---In 1989… Alexander Yakovlev dies, aged 84.
Daily Video
Editor’s Choice
Humor
Can I Borrow The Car?
A son walks into the living room and asks his dad to borrow the car because he has a hot date.
The dad says, ''Sure, as soon as you cut your long hair.''
The boy smiles and thinking he has outsmarted his dad replies, ''Dad, Jesus had long hair...''
And the dad replies, ''Yeah, and Jesus walked everywhere he went too, didn't he?''
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miamiair wrote:First non-pilot unmanned aircraft operators graduate from USAF's MQ-9 Reaper course
The first group of US Air Force student operators who have not completed the service's undergraduate pilot training (UPT) programme have graduated from the General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper training course. The new Reaper pilots are part of the USAF's new career field, designated 18X within the service's internal categorization, which is designed to train drone operators to fly unmanned aircraft without being trained as a manned aircraft pilot.
vikkyvik wrote:That's all I got.
. Trying to find the differences between the A300 and the 310 I found a great website : www.plane-spotter.com
airtrainer wrote:Well I cheated on you
airtrainer wrote:Trying to find the differences between the A300 and the 310 I found a great website
vikkyvik wrote:Well then it's over!
