News
Lufthansa, Cabin Crew Union Talks Collapse
Lufthansa passengers are facing hundreds of possible flight cancellations after last-ditch talks to avert a strike by cabin crew collapsed early on Tuesday.
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AirAsia Brings Forward Orders As Demand Surges
AirAsia, Asia's largest budget airline and a key Airbus customer, said it was bringing forward some aircraft deliveries as rising demand helps it to offset the high fuel costs ravaging the industry.
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Travel Companies To Face AMR Antitrust Suit
A US federal judge has denied a request by Orbitz, Sabre and Travelport to dismiss a lawsuit filed by American Airlines that accuses the companies of antitrust violations.
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British PM Urged To Expand London Heathrow
British Prime Minister David Cameron should agree to a third runway at London's Heathrow airport to help drive economic growth, a senior Conservative politician said in an article published on Tuesday.
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Virgin Australia returns to profit
Virgin Australia (DJ) reported a net profit of A$22.8 million ($23.6 million), reversing an A$67.8 million loss in the year-ago period. DJ attributed the reversal to its game change program, which is delivering positive results despite high fuel prices.
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American earns $135 million net profit for July
American Airlines (AA) earned a net profit of $135 million in July, the second straight month it has been in the black, according to a filing Monday with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. AA has also turned things around on the operational side. The airline generated $2.33 billion in July revenue against $2.09 billion in monthly expenses, producing an operating profit of $240 million.
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Blog: US Airways plans to sign nondisclosure agreement with AA
US Airways' board has decided to sign a nondisclosure agreement with American Airlines, a union says. "This NDA prohibits US Airways from negotiating with unions at AMR and US Airways over terms and conditions related to a potential merger between the two companies, the US Airline Pilots Association told its members Monday.
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AMR reports net profit for second month in a row
AMR, the parent company of American Airlines, has reported a net profit of $135 million for July. AMR, which filed for bankruptcy last year, also posted a profit for June. "Their revenue performance is good, and it has been very good on a year-over-year basis," said Bill Swelbar, airline researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
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United Continental flight attendants want one contract
The Association of Flight Attendants is seeking a single contract from United Continental Holdings. The union represents about 25,000 flight attendants at the carrier. Flight attendants at United Continental have been working under separate contracts since the 2010 merger of United and Continental Airlines.
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Boeing boosts production of Dreamliner 787s
Boeing is boosting production of its Dreamliner 787 by adding a third assembly line. The aircraft manufacturer, which is producing about 3.5 Dreamliners per month, aims to build 10 Dreamliners monthly by the end of 2013.
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Airports take self-service route
Several airlines are implementing self-service tools at airports. In Seattle and San Diego, Alaska Airlines introduced a self-tag baggage system, while American Airlines has launched kiosks in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago that direct travelers to self-tag luggage. According to airline IT provider SITA, 70% of passengers like the idea of self-boarding.
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Other News
China Southern Airlines (CZ) has reported a first-half net profit of CNY449 million ($70.8 million), down 83.7% compared to a net income of CNY2.75 billion in the year-ago period. Operating revenue increased 13.2% to CNY48.03 billion, while operating expenses climbed 17% to CNY41.29 billion, mainly due to a 26.6% increase in fuel costs.
The US FAA is forming a government-study group to determine whether airlines can be permitted to allow passengers more widespread use of portable electronic devices (PEDs) during flight. The group, announced Monday and established through an aviation rulemaking committee, will be established this fall and will meet for six months, FAA said. Representatives from the mobile technology and aviation manufacturing industries, pilot and flight attendant groups, airlines, and passenger associations will be included.
Mexico is advocating for its neighboring countries—Belize, El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala—to agree on an open skies policy to jointly market the leisure destination known as Maya World. Under open skies, participating countries would benefit where local carriers operate fifth, sixth and seventh freedom rights in the region, linking city pairs such as Tikal-Cancún and Monterrey-San Salvador.
FLY Leasing has acquired two Boeing 737-800 aircraft manufactured in 1998. The aircraft are on lease to Russia’s Transaero Airlines. The new acquisitions were financed with secured bank debt and FLY’s free cash.
CIT Aerospace will lease two new GEnx-1B70-powered Boeing 787-8s to Aeromexico, with deliveries scheduled in 2015 and 2016.
GE Capital Aviation delivered two new Boeing 737-800s to Lion Air under a purchase and leaseback transaction.
Aviation Quote
I opened fire when the whole windshield was black with the enemy . . . at minimum range . . . it doesn't matter what your angle is to him or whether you are in a turn or any other maneuver.
— Colonel Erich 'Bubi' Hartmann, GAF.
On This Date
---In 1879... In Ontario, Nellie Thurston becomes the first Canadian woman to fly in a balloon.
--- In 1909... At the end of a two-day flight from Lake Constance during which Count von Zeppelin travels a total distance of more than 400 miles, he makes a spectacular flight in his dirigible LZ5 over the city of Berlin, Germany.
--- In 1911... Mrs. A. Hewlett is the first British woman to gain a pilot’s license.
---In 1929…Graf Zeppelin sets down at Lakehurst, New Jersey to complete its circumnavigation of the globe.
---In 1931…Graf Zeppelin completes the first flight between Germany and Brazil.
---In 1955... W.F. Gibb flies on Olympus-engined Canberra B.2 to a world record altitude of 65,889 ft.
---In 1958…The United States Air Force Academy opens in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
---In 1959…Lockheed and Convair submit proposals for Mach 3+ reconnaissance aircraft.(Q)
---In 1966…First flight of the McDonnell Douglas DC-8-62.
---In 1970…First flight of the McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10.
---In 1983…First flight of the Beech Model 115 Starship.
---In 1996…Vnukovo Airlines Flight 2801, a Tupolev Tu-154M (reg RA-85621) operating a charter flight from Moscow to Svalbard, Norway, crashes into a mountain after the crew botches the approach to Svalbard, killing all 141 on board. It is the deadliest crash ever to occur in Norway.
---In 1997…A Cubana de Aviación Tupolev Tu-154 crashed during takeoff into buildings in Quito, Ecuador. Seventy-five of the 90 people on board died as well as 10 on the ground.
---In 2005…Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY) is impacted by Hurricane Katrina, but suffering no flooding. The airport would reopen to supply and rescue flights by the following day, with commercial cargo flights resuming September 10th and passenger flights restarting on September 13th.
---In 2007…Airmen at Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota load six nuclear-tipped AGM-129 ACM cruise missiles onto a B-52H bomber for transport to Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana without ensuring that the nuclear warheads had been replaced with training warheads. The nukes shoot the breeze without proper handling or security precautions in place for a full 36 hours before anyone notices. The Pentagon would classify it as a “Bent Spear” event, four USAF commanders would lose their jobs and many other airmen would be disciplined.
Daily Video
Editor’s Choice
Humor
Seat Mate Conversation
A stranger was seated next to a little girl on the airplane when the stranger turned to her and said, 'Let's talk. I've heard that flights go quicker if you strike up a conversation with your fellow passenger.'
The little girl, who had just opened her book, closed it slowly and said to the stranger, 'What would you like to talk about?' 'Oh, I don't know,' said the stranger. 'How about nuclear power?' and he smiles.
'OK, ' she said. 'That could be an interesting topic. But let me ask you a question first. A horse, a cow, and a deer all eat the same stuff - grass -. Yet a deer excretes little pellets, while a cow turns out a flat patty, and a horse produces clumps of dried grass. Why do you suppose that is?'
The stranger, visibly surprised by the little girl's intelligence, thinks about it and says, 'Hmmm, I have no idea.' To which the little girl replies, 'Do you really feel qualified to discuss nuclear power when you don't know shit?
Trivia
General Trivia
1. To be type-certificated under Part 23 of the Federal Aviation Regulations, a lightplane must be demonstrated capable of landing with a crosswind component of no less than _____ Vso.
a. 0.20
b. 0.25
c. 0.30
d. No minimum cross- wind component is required to be demonstrated.
2. The following is a list of the four most common violations of the Federal Aviation Regulations committed by VFR pilots. Arrange them in order of their occurrence, the most common deviation first and the least common last.
a. airspace violations
b. airspeed violations
c. flying VFR into IFR conditions
d. low-level flight
3. Henry Ford took his first airplane ride in
a. a Fokker Trimotor.
b. a Ford Tri-Motor.
c. the Spirit of St. Louis.
d. Henry Ford never flew in an airplane.
4. True or false; the Cessna Aircraft Company never produced a piston-powered, single-engine, low-wing monoplane subsequent to the end of World War II.
5. True or false; the British navy had an aircraft carrier that used a sail to help keep the ship headed into the wind.
6. True or false; a person can climb a ladder inside the vertical stabilizer of a Lockheed C–5 Galaxy and step outside the aircraft at the top of the fin.
