News
Airline Woes Chip Away Passenger Choices
Air passengers face higher fares, fewer flight choices and crowded aircraft as European carriers trim seating capacity growth or cut routes altogether, as they battle to salvage profits and fend off the impact of rising fuel prices.
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Air Berlin Denies Etihad Is Pushing For New CEO
Air Berlin denied a report that its major shareholder Etihad Airways is pushing for the German airline to find a new permanent chief executive quickly.
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Body Found On Plane At Heathrow Airport
A dead body has been found in the landing gear bay of a British Airways plane at London's Heathrow Airport.
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Australia to convert 12 Super Hornets into EA-18G Growlers
Australia will convert 12 of its Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornets into EA-18G Growler electronic attack aircraft. The country currently operates 24 Super Hornets, half of which were pre-wired to accept the Growler configuration. "It will provide options for the air force to undertake electronic threat suppression operations in support of Australian Defence Force operations, including land and sea forces," says an Australian government release. "The Growler capability can also undertake intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, and will be able to support the full range of defence tasks from evacuations to major conflicts."
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Joyce: Qantas on track for profit return
Qantas (QF) is on track with its plan to make its international business profitable by 2014, despite posting its first full-year loss since 1995, CEO Alan Joyce said Thursday. QF posted a net loss of A$244 million ($255 million) for the financial year ended June 30, compared with a net profit of A$249 million for the previous year.
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Qantas cancels 35 787-9 orders; posts $255 million loss
Citing lower international growth requirements in an “uncertain global context,” Qantas (QF) has canceled firm commitments for 35 Boeing 787-9s and posted its first full-year loss since 1995. QF will retain 50 787-9 options and purchase rights, available for delivery from 2016. The Australian carrier said there were no changes to its order for 15 787-8s, the first of which is scheduled for delivery in the second half of 2013.
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Air China launches Inner Mongolia subsidiary
Air China (CA) has launched a new subsidiary in Inner Mongolia as it expands in the North China market. Operations will begin at the end of the year. The new venture, Air China Inner Mongolia Limited, has a registered capital of CNY1 billion ($159 million), in which CA holds an 80% stake while the local government of Inner Mongolia holds a 20% stake.
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Lufthansa flight attendants delay strike decision until Tuesday
Lufthansa’s (LH) flight attendants, represented by the UFO union, will delay a decision on a possible strike to Aug. 28 while they consider a new pay offer. If the two parties cannot come to an agreement, UFO said strike action could be implemented quickly.
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AMR will purchase 11 Boeing 737s in deal with AerCap
A U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge has given the green light for AMR to purchase 11 Boeing 737-823 planes and sell them to AerCap Holdings, which will lease the jets to AMR. Before AMR filed for bankruptcy last year, AerCap agreed to acquire up to 35 of the jets.
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Delta asks approval for daily service between Detroit, Beijing
Delta Air Lines has asked for government approval to expand its flights from Detroit to Beijing. The carrier, which flies the route five days a week, asked to begin daily service on Oct. 28 on the route. "There definitely is an appetite among our customers to be able to fly to Beijing any day of the week," said Trebor Banstetter, a Delta spokesman.
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American Airlines pilots union considers strike vote
Pilots at American Airlines and US Airways are studying a memo of understanding in case of a merger between the two carriers, sources say. The pilots union representing American Airlines pilots is considering moves toward a strike-authorization vote if the carrier cancels its contract with the union. "Any form of job action by pilots would be unlawful, either before or after a decision by the court on the company's motion" to cancel the contract, said Bruce Hicks, a spokesman for AMR, the parent company of American.
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Other News
The US FAA has proposed a civil penalty of $1 million against Seattle, Wash.-based Horizon Air for allegedly operating 22 Bombardier DHC-8-402 turboprop airliners on more than 186,000 flights after installing security flight deck doors using blind rivets instead of the required solid rivets. FAA also alleges the airline, after being told the aircraft were not compliant, operated one of the aircraft on another 22 flights before replacing the rivets. “The installation of blind rivets can damage other components, including wiring,” FAA said in a statement. According to FAA, the violations were discovered when Horizon incorrectly modified a 23rd aircraft with blind rivets and the aircraft experienced an inflight wiring damage incident during a non-revenue flight.
Japan Airlines (JAL) will install new seats in every cabin class on its 13 Boeing 777-300ERs with eight in first- , 49 in business-, 40 in premium economy- and 135 in economy-class. The upgraded cabins will debut on daily Tokyo Narita-London Heathrow service in January 2013. JAL will next outfit its fleet of Boeing 767-300ER aircraft with full-flat business class beds, followed by a complete renewal of seats in every other class beginning in the second half of 2013.
Virgin Atlantic (VS) has signed a codeshare agreement with Russia’s Transaero Airline (UN). From mid-October, VS will place its two-letter code on twice-daily UN services between Moscow (DME) and London Heathrow (LHR). In late October, the UN code will be placed on VS flights from LHR to Los Angeles, Calif.; San Francisco, Calif.; Boston, Mass. and Orlando, Fla.
Emirates will resume 4X-weekly Dubai-Tripoli Airbus A330-200 service Oct. 29 following an 18-month suspension due to civil unrest in Libya.
Frontier Airlines will launch 4X-weekly Denver, Colo.-Minot, N.D. Embraer E-190 service Nov. 5.
Qantas will resume 3X-daily Gold Coast-Sydney Boeing 737-800 service from late October.
Aviation Quote
You can have computer sights of anything you like, but I think you have to go to the enemy on the shortest distance and knock him down from point-blank range. You'll get him from in close. At long distance, it's questionable.
— Colonel Erich 'Bubi' Hartmann, GAF.
On This Date
---In 1921... In the worst airship disaster thus far, 44 people die when the British dirigible R.38 is destroyed during routine operations off the coast of Yorkshire, England, by fire started by electrical sparks that engulfed the airship.
---In 1956... A U.S. Army helicopter becomes the first rotary-winged aircraft to fly non-stop across the United States.
---In 1961... Beginning this day through October 12, U.S. aviatrix Jacqueline Cochrane flying a Northrop T-38A Talon sets a wide range of records for women (altitude of 56,071 ft., a distance of 1,492 mi., a 100-km (62.14 mi.) closed circuit speed record of 784.337 mph and 15-km (9.32 mi.) course speed of 844.2 mph).
---In 1970... Two USAF Sikorsky HH-53C helicopters complete a non-stop trans-Pacific crossing from Eglin AFB, Florida to Da Nang, South Vietnam, aided by refueling encounters with Lockheed C-130 tankers.
---In 1976…Shorts 330 enters service with Time Air.
---In 1983…A Canadair Challenger 601 flies 4,364.2 miles from Calgary to London, setting a new distance record for a business jet.
---In 2001… Air Transat Flight 236, an Airbus A330-200, en route from Toronto to Lisbon with 306 crew and passengers, made an emergency landing in the Azores without engine power due to fuel starvation over the Atlantic Ocean. The aircraft safely landed at Lajes Air Base, on the island of Terceira. The aircraft was evacuated in 90 seconds. All 306 passengers on board survived. An investigation revealed that the cause of the accident was a fuel leak in the number two engine which was caused by an incorrect part installed in the hydraulics system by Air Transat maintenance staff. The part did not maintain adequate clearance between the hydraulic lines and the fuel line, allowing vibration in the hydraulic lines to degrade the fuel line and cause the leak. The aircraft involved in the incident was repaired and remains in service with Air Transat.
---In 2004…In separate incidents, Volga-AviaExpress Flight 1303, a Tupolev TU-134A (RA-65080), and Siberia Airlines Flight 1047 (RA-85556), a Tupolev TU-154B, both explode while in flight south of Moscow. The Russian government blams Chechen suicide bombers for the disasters, which kill a total of 89 people on both aircraft.
---In 2009…American Airlines retires its last Airbus A300 from scheduled service.
Daily Video
Editor's Choice
Humor
What just happened here?
A military cargo plane, flying over a populated area, suddenly loses power and starts to nose down. The pilot tries to pull up, but with all their cargo, the plane is too heavy. So he yells to the soldiers in back to throw things out to make the plane lighter. They throw out a pistol. "Throw out more!" shouts the pilot. So they throw out a rifle. "More!" he cries again. They heave out a missile, and the pilot regains control.
He pulls out of the dive and lands safely at an airport. They get into a jeep and drive off. Pretty soon they meet a boy on the side of the road who's crying. They ask him why he's crying and he says "A pistol hit me on the head!"
They drive more and meet another boy who's crying even harder. Again they ask why and the boy says, "A rifle hit me on the head!"
They apologize and keep driving. They meet a boy on the sidewalk who's laughing hysterically. They ask him, "Kid, what's so funny?" The boy replies, "I sneezed and a house blew up!"
Trivia
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Must go again!
