News
AirAsia orders 100 Airbus jets including 64 A320neos
Budget carrier AirAsia has ordered another 64 Airbus A320neos as well as a further 36 baseline A320s. The deal confirms AirAsia as the undisclosed customer behind a deal for 100 A320s booked in November. AirAsia had previously indicated that it was negotiating for 100 jets but that it had opted against a high-density Bombardier CSeries.
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Al Baker 'very disappointed' after latest 787 grounded by electrical issue
Qatar Airways chief executive Akbar Al Baker has vented his frustration about more technical problems blighting his Boeing 787s after the airline's third aircraft suffered an electrical issue on its delivery flight and had to be grounded for repairs. The carrier, which operated its inaugural long-haul 787 service on 13 December from its Doha base to London Heathrow, has received three 787s and will take two more before year-end.
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Airlines On Track For Safest Year Ever
Global airlines are heading for the safest year on record with an average of only one accident of any type for every 5.3 million flights, IATA reported on Thursday. IATA also said that so far in 2012 for the first time since the infancy of the industry in the second and third decades of the last century there had been not one loss of a Western-built jet aircraft among its 240 members.
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Embraer Sees Sales Rebound On US Orders
Embraer aims to rebuild its depleted order backlog next year with two major new offerings -- a military cargo plane and a re-engined family of regional jets -- executives said. With approval from its board of directors and a new engine supplier selected "within the next few months," Embraer plans to overhaul its E-Jet lineup, Paulo Cesar de Souza e Silva, head of Embraer's commercial aviation unit, told reporters.
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Court Rejects Ryanair Appeal Over Aer Lingus Probe
Britain's Court of Appeal has rejected an attempt by Ryanair to block regulators investigating the budget carrier's minority shareholding in Irish rival Aer Lingus. Ryanair, Europe's largest budget carrier, argued that it was not within the UK Competition Commission's jurisdiction to investigate its 30 percent stake in Aer Lingus.
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IATA improves 2012, 2013 airline profit outlooks
IATA has raised its 2013 net profit outlook for the world’s airlines by almost $1 billion based on improved financial performances in the second and third quarters. Expected net post-tax profits for next year are $8.4 billion, up from a previous forecast of $7.5 billion, IATA DG Tony Tyler said Thursday in Geneva, where the organization issued its global economic outlook.
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LOT dismisses CEO, may receive government aid
LOT Polish Airlines has dismissed CEO Marcin Pirog amid reports it will receive PLN400 million ($127.3 million) in financial help from the government. Polish media is reporting LOT would receive the first installment if it agrees to a sharp reduction in costs and to lay off hundreds of workers. According to a company statement, board member Zbigniew Mazur will serve as acting CEO.
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JetBlue capacity increase brings traffic up 5.7%
JetBlue Airways says its passenger traffic increased 5.7% in November when compared to a year earlier. The carrier has been increasing its capacity in recent months, with November's capacity showing an 8% increase over last year.
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GE will repair 300 regional-jet engines
The Federal Aviation Administration has ordered General Electric to repair 300 of its engines on specific Embraer and Bombardier regional jets after two of the engines caught fire but were safely extinguished. The affected engines have a potential valve problem, which affects about 15% of the total fleet of these engines. The FAA order estimates repair costs of $7.55 million.
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Delta expects refinery loss in Q4 but gains in the long term
Superstorm Sandy hurt production levels at the Pennsylvania oil refinery owned by Delta Air Lines -- enough to account for an estimated $50 million loss this quarter. However, the carrier expects the facility to turn profitable in 2013.
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AA introduces new tiered fare structure
American Airlines has released a new domestic airfare structure that allows customers to choose bundles of ancillary services and protection from change fees at a reduced cost. One of the benefits of the new fare structure is to "eliminate the fear about what-ifs," said Rick Elieson, American's managing director of digital marketing.
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AA, United, Delta ready for overseas Wi-Fi
United, Delta and American Airlines will offer Internet connectivity on flights overseas in the coming weeks. The planes will include satellite systems that make connectivity possible when the planes are over the ocean.
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What will replace the USAF’s F-15E Strike Eagle?
On 11 December, the Boeing F-15E Strike Eagle marked the 26th anniversary of its first flight, but the venerable strike fighter will continue serving with the US Air Force well into the 2030s. "There are no plans to replace the F-15E for the foreseeable future," the USAF says. "It is true that the F-15E, like all of our legacy aircraft, are accumulating more flight time than used to be typical, but given current fiscal realities, the AF [air force] fleet will continue to age well past the point at which they would have been replaced in pre-DESERT STORM days."
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Other News
Hong Kong Airlines’ affiliate Hong Kong Express Airways will rebrand as a low-cost carrier (LCC) by mid-2013. Hong Kong Airlines president Yang Jianhong said the LCC will confront declining international market demand. Hong Kong Express and Hong Kong Airlines, subsidiaries of Hainan Airlines, were launched in 2004 and 2006, respectively, and merged. Even though they are led by the same management staff, both carriers own separate operating licenses.
Embraer received Interstate Aviation Committee type certificates for its 112 to 124-seat E-190 and E-195 jets to operate in Russia and the CIS. “This is a significant milestone in the program that now allows prospective customers in Russia to add E-Jets to their fleets,” Embraer president and CEO Paulo Cesar Silva said. “We see tremendous potential in the Russian market, which has such a rich aviation history. I’m confident that these two E-Jets can bring new operating efficiencies to Russian airlines and help them succeed in a fast-growing domestic market.” Embraer forecasts domestic airline passenger volume in Russia to grow at an average of 5.6% annually over the next 20 years and sees a market for 445 new 30- to 120-seat aircraft over the forecast period.
SAS Scandinavian Airlines reported a year-end net loss of SEK985 million ($148 million), worsened from a SEK338 million net income in the year-ago period. The airline said the loss was due to a SEK1.4 billion hit from restructuring costs and other non-recurring items. “[Our] positive underlying income before non-recurring items of SEK23 million is somewhat better than expectations but otherwise not satisfactory by any measure. However, we are making progress on both the income and the cost sides,” SAS CEO Rickard Gustafson said.
The European Parliament has approved new rules on noise abatement and slot allocation at European airports. However, it has referred the European Commission proposals for increased competition in ground handling back to the Transport and Tourism Committee. Following a debate on the Commission’s “Better Airports” package of proposals Tuesday, the Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) voted to approve new regulations on noise-related operating restrictions that lay out common rules for noise abatement measures. The MEPs inserted a requirement that local authorities should take account of health, economic and social aspects when selecting noise mitigation measures, and follow ICAO’s “balanced approach.”
Mxi Technologies announced its Maintenix version 8 is now available commercially. The software offers an HTML5 line maintenance application to synchronize maintenance tasks, MELs and ETOPs requirements; systematically factored planning functions; and an updated interface design.
GA Telesis has launched a strategic nacelle access program with its subsidiaries GA Telesis Composite Repair Group and GA Telesis Component Repair Group SE to support airlines worldwide with their nacelle and nacelle actuation needs. The program gives airlines operating Airbus, Boeing and limited Bombardier platforms access to its inventory of nacelle systems plus its nacelle repair and overhaul business.
BAE Systems, FADEC International and GE have formed the FADEC Alliance to develop, produce and support the full-authority digital electronic control (FADEC) for aircraft engines and related specialized technologies. It will be the exclusive FADEC supplier for CFM International's next generation engine, LEAP and GE's Passport engine.
Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp., and By Kids For Kids Co., an organization that inspires kids to become successful inventors, today awarded an Indiana teenager the Igor Sikorsky Youth Innovator Award for his conceptual design of a circular-shaped medical evacuation helicopter. Ethan Chu, 16, from South Bend, Ind., received a trophy and a $1,000 scholarship check during a company-paid visit to Sikorsky's headquarters in Stratford, Conn. Accompanied by his father William Chu, Ethan toured the assembly line of Sikorsky's iconic BLACK HAWK and SEAHAWK military helicopters, and met with company rotorcraft designers and engineers.
Garmin International Inc., a unit of Garmin Ltd., the global leader in satellite navigation, today announced the release of European VFR and IFR charts for the aera® 795/796 aviation portable GPS, with VFR data sourced directly from Deutsche Flugsicherung (DFS). These charts are the most recent addition to the growing list of worldwide aviation charting products available from Garmin. “Pilots have flown behind DFS paper charts for years, but the ability to display the charts electronically is something our European customers have been asking for. We’ve listened to that feedback and have made significant investments over the last year to expand our electronic chart offerings for customers worldwide,” said Carl Wolf, Garmin’s vice president of aviation sales and marketing. “Having information available electronically in the cockpit offers pilots more immediate access to the information they need to make good decisions.”
Aviation Quote
The powered flight took a total of about eight and a half minutes. It seemed to me it had gone by in a flash. We had gone from sitting still on the launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center to traveling at 17,500 miles an hour in that eight and a half minutes. It is still mind-boggling to me. I recall making some statement on the air-to-ground radio for the benefit of my fellow astronauts, who had also been in the program a long time, that it was well worth the wait.
— Bob Crippen, STS-1 astronaut, regards first flight of the Space Shuttle, 12 April 1981.
On This Date
---In 1903... Wilbur Wright makes the first and unsuccessful attempt at powered flight at Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina. His aircraft stalls after 3 ½ seconds in the air and crash-lands 105 feet away.
---In 1920…An AT&T Handley Page 0/400crashes in Cricklewood, UK killing four. Likely cause was fog.
---In 1956…Brazil becomes the first country in Latin America to acquire an aircraft carrier, purchasing HMS Vengeance from the United Kingdom.
---In 1959… Cdr L Flint sets a new altitude record of 103,389 ft (31,513 m) in a F-104 Starfighter.
---In 1965... A Learjet 23 executive transport shows off its impressive capabilities by climbing to 40,000 feet in 7 minutes 21 seconds with seven people aboard.
---In 1977…First flight of the Mil Mi-26.
---In 1984…First flight of the Grumman X-29.
--- In 1988... Japan Air Lines says its future Boeing 747-400s will be fitted with personal video screens in the first and business class.
Daily Video
Editor’s Choice
Humor
Uncle Bob Gets Shot Down
The teacher gave her fifth grade class an assignment: Get their parents to tell them a story with a moral at the end of it. The next day the kids came back and one by one began to tell their stories.
"Johnny, do you have a story to share?"
"Yes, ma'am, my daddy told a story about my Uncle Bob. Uncle Bob was a pilot in Desert Storm and his plane was hit. He had to bail out over enemy territory and all he had was a small flask of whiskey, a pistol and a survival knife. He drank the whiskey on the way down so it would not break and then his parachute landed right in the middle of twenty enemy troops.
He shot fifteen of them with the gun until he ran out of bullets, killed four more with the knife, 'till the blade broke and then he killed the last Iraqi with his bare hands."
"Good heavens," said the horrified teacher, "What kind of moral did your daddy tell you from that horrible story?
"Stay the hell away from Uncle Bob when he's been drinking!
Trivia
Google Airports
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HT-ETNW wrote:For #8 the quest continues.
miamiair wrote:HHN
HT-ETNW wrote:These, and the 30 deg rotation mentioned by ShanwickOceanic, are some of the reasons why I could not match the picture to what is to be seen currently on GoogleMaps.
-HT
