NewsFirst flying A350 prototype rolls out of assembly line Airbus has completed primary structural assembly of the first flying prototype A350-900, and transported it to the testing station next to the assembly line in Toulouse. The twinjet, MSN1, has been moved, on its own undercarriage for the first time, from the final assembly line. It has yet to be equipped with its Rolls-Royce Trent XWB powerplants.
LinkSpaceplane air cooling technology 'could revolutionise aero engines' The technology behind a British attempt to develop an air-breathing rocket engine capable of powering a runway take-off and landing reusable spaceplane could also drive a revolution in the much more ordinary world of subsonic airliners.
Reaction Engine's SABRE rocket engine relies on an exotic heat exchanger capable of cooling intake air - from as much as 1,000˚C (1,832˚F) at Mach 5.5 to an almost-cryogenic -150˚C - to provide the near-liquid oxygen required to provide rocket thrust when mixed with tanked liquid hydrogen. The technology, formally "signed off" by the European Space Agency in November as viable, will now be the subject of a £250 million ($400 million) investment drive, which Reaction Engines hopes will raise funds to develop a demonstrator.
LinkQantas drops wi-fi plans on poor demand Australia's Qantas Airways has dropped plans to roll out wi-fi access across its fleet following poor take up of the service during a nine-month trial. The airline says that take up of the internet connectivity service "was extremely low" during a trial where it offered the service for a fee on board an Airbus A380 operating services to London and Los Angeles between March and November 2012.
LinkFAA Orders Boeing 787 InspectionsOn the same day that one of its new 787s made an emergency landing because of a mechanical problem, Boeing said US regulators had ordered the entire fleet of 787s to be inspected for a possible fuel line problem.
LinkUnited 787 diverts to New Orleans A United Airlines Boeing 787-8 diverted to New Orleans due to a "mechanical issue" today, according to the airline. The pilots of flight 1146 told air traffic controllers that they had an "electrical malfunction" on the aircraft after declaring an emergency, according to a Liveatc.net recording. The aircraft (N26902) was enroute from Houston Intercontinental to Newark when it diverted while over Mississippi to New Orleans and landed at 09:25 today, according to FlightAware.
LinkFastjet in talks to buy grounded 1time African low-cost start-up Fastjet is in negotiations to buy grounded South African budget operator 1time Airline from parent company 1time Holdings. 1time was forced to suspend flights at the start of November after filing for business rescue in August. Under the proposed deal, Fastjet would pay a nominal fee to acquire the airline and reach a settlement with 1time's creditors. It would ultimately rebrand the carrier under the Fastjet name.
LinkSandy Hit Delta Results, Delayed Refinery StartDelta Air Lines said on Tuesday that superstorm Sandy had reduced November revenue by about USD$30 million as it dented earnings by about USD$25 million.
LinkBritish Airways To Cut 400 Cabin Crew JobsBritish Airways is in talks with a union over plans to cut 400 senior cabin crew jobs, adding to pressure on parent IAG, which is already facing holiday season strikes at its Iberia business.
LinkStar Alliance’s AviancaTaca ready to fill gap for departing TAM Star Alliance member AviancaTaca Airlines is ready to fill the gap in Brazil if TAM Airlines leaves the alliance, as expected. Brazilian-based TAM merged with oneworld member LAN Airlines earlier this year, creating the LATAM Group. AviancaTaca CEO Fabio Villegas Ramirez told ATW in Shenzhen the airline is working to tap more into Brazil, which he considers an “important market. It is difficult to operate there, but it is a market you have to be in.”
LinkChinese couriers looking to launch cargo airlines China’s couriers are looking to launch their own cargo airlines in the fast-growing domestic express delivery market. Shanghai-based YTO Express Co. said it is applying to the Civil Aviation Administration of China to launch a cargo airline to alleviate belly payload capacity shortages of domestic airlines. According to YTO Express, it plans to invest CNY5.5 billion ($875 million) in the new cargo venture over the next 10 years once it secures regulatory approval. The new airline is expected to be based in Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport. It has a wet-lease agreement with Yangtze River Express Co. for three freighters to operate on Beijing-Hangzhou-Shenzhen route.
LinkFormer CEO: Defunct Bmibaby did not have strong takeover bids Defunct UK low-cost carrier bmibaby, which ceased operations in September, decided to shut down instead of accepting takeover bids from financially insecure purchasers. Speaking on airline consolidation at a conference on The Future of Air Transport in London Tuesday, former bmibaby managing director Julian Carr said the decision was made to cease operations in a controlled manner, giving passengers confidence up to the closing date. “We had approaches from people who were not [strong and stable] and we ruled them out,” he said. He feared if the airline was sold to a buyer that was not “strong and stable,” travelers could have found themselves incurring out-of-pocket expenses or stranded if a new owner shuttered the airline unexpectedly.
LinkAirbus CEO Upbeat On EADS RevampThe chief executive of Airbus moved to head off any concerns about a dip in profits or political interference at the European plane maker as France and Germany edged towards a shake-up of parent group EADS.
LinkSikorsky delivers first CH-53K ground test vehicle to flight test teamSikorsky has delivered the first CH-53K ground test vehicle (GTV) to the company's flight test team. The airframer is developing the massive aircraft for the US Marine Corps' heavy lift helicopter requirements as part of a $3.5 billion contract. The GTV will be used to wring out the CH-53K's systems in hundreds of hours of powered ground checks before four flying prototypes are flown starting in 2014. The checks will cover all of the machine's dynamic components including the rotors, transmission and engines.
LinkLockheed working on new air-to-air hit-to-kill missile Lockheed Martin has confirmed it is working on a new hit-to-kill (HTK) air-to-air missile which would increase the number of weapons that could be carried by the company's stealthy F-22 Raptor and F-35 Joint Strike Fighter fifth-generation aircraft. Called the "Cuda", the weapon would increase the F-35's air-to-air load-out from four Raytheon AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles to eight of the proposed HTK weapons. For the F-22, the number of beyond visual range weapons the jet could carry might increase to as many as 14. The Raptor currently carries six AIM-120s and two Raytheon AIM-9 Sidewinders.
LinkUS Air Force awards space launch contract for small payloads, and prepares to award block buy for large onesThe US Air Force (USAF) has made a major spacecraft purchase, and is preparing to make another. A contract worth up to $900 million for small spacecraft launch services, announced 3 December, was awarded to Lockheed Martin, Orbital Sciences and SpaceX. SpaceX, which declined substantive comment on the issue, presumably bid with the Falcon 9 launch vehicle, which is currently the company's only offering. Orbital Sciences offered Minotaur-series vehicles, which are modified into space launch vehicles from retired US Peacekeeper and Minuteman ballistic missiles
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