News
UPS-TNT Express deal breaks down on EC objections
US freight giant United Parcel Service (UPS) has scrapped its takeover of European rival TNT Express after the European Commission (EC) said it would block the deal. Netherlands-based TNT Express said Monday the two companies met the EC case team investigating the proposed acquisition Jan. 11.
Link
American Airlines proposes new 787 and 737 Max terms
American Airlines parent AMR Corp may convert orders for 20 Boeing 787-9s to a smaller variant, restore the timing of the first 787 delivery to 2014 and finalise a deal to buy 42 787s overall by the end of the month. The proposed deals announced today by AMR also seek to finalise a purchase agreement for 100 737-8 Max aircraft, but at reduced prices. The contractual changes are included in AMR's financial restructuring under bankruptcy protection, a process that allows US companies to renegotiate previously signed contracts under new and more favourable terms.
Link
BOC Aviation orders 50 A320-family aircraft
BOC Aviation has ordered 50 Airbus A320-family aircraft, including 25 of the re-engined neo variants. The aircraft, which comprise both A320 and A321 variants, will be delivered from the second half of 2014 to the end of 2019. The leasing company has not made an engine selection. "Airbus's popular A320 and A321 aircraft with the current engine option are outstanding aircraft for airlines focusing on operational efficiency who want to offer their passengers a superior short to medium-haul travel experience," says Robert Martin, BOC Aviation's managing director and chief executive.
Link
NTSB releases picture of charred 787 battery box
The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) today released an image showing the melted and charred remains of the lithium-ion battery that caught fire on board a Japan Airlines Boeing 787 last week at the Boston Logan International airport. After triggering a broad safety review on the 787 by the Federal Aviation Administration, the 42.3cm (19in)-long, 25.9cm-high box is also the focus of a tri-national investigation involving US, Japanese and French aviation safety investigators, the NTSB says.
Link
Japanese Ministry To Probe JAL 787 Fuel Leaks
Japan’s transport ministry has launched an investigation into what caused two fuel leaks on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner jet owned by Japan Airlines, just days after US authorities began a wide-ranging review of the aircraft in the wake of a series of incidents, including a battery fire. Over the weekend, the JAL-operated jet, which was undergoing checks in Japan following a fuel leak at Boston airport in the United States last week, again leaked fuel during tests. Both leaks were due to separate valve-related problems.
Link
Lawsuit Says United Runs 'Sham' To Evade Tax
An Illinois mass transit agency on Monday sued United Airlines, saying the airline is operating a "sham" sales office in a smaller city to evade paying millions of dollars in taxes in Chicago, where it is based. The Regional Transportation Authority, which oversees train, bus and commuter rail service in the Chicago area, said United was improperly seeking to dodge higher sales taxes by "accepting" jet fuel at an office set up in Sycamore, Illinois, where the combined tax rate is 8 percent. That compares with a rate of 9.5 percent in Chicago. The lawsuit, filed in Cook County Circuit Court on Monday, claims the United office in Sycamore, a city about 55 miles (89 km) west of Chicago, is a "sham."
Link
Embraer Boosts Order Backlog With 20 Jet Order
Embraer reported its first quarterly backlog growth in a year on Monday with an order of 20 regional jets from an unnamed customer. The company, the world's largest maker of regional jets, broke a yearlong drought of big airline orders with a deal for 15 E-190 and five E-175 planes in the fourth quarter. The announcement in a securities filing raised hopes that Embraer can maintain production levels in 2013.
Link
Pentagon lowers F-35 performance bar
The US Department of Defense is lowering the performance bar for the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter according to a new report by the Pentagon's director of operational test and evaluation (DOT&E). The specifications for all three variants pertaining to transonic acceleration and sustained turn rates have been reduced. Worst hit in terms of acceleration is the US Navy's F-35C carrier-based model. "The program announced an intention to change performance specifications for the F-35C, reducing turn performance from 5.1 to 5.0 sustained g's and increasing the time for acceleration from 0.8 Mach to 1.2 Mach by at least 43 seconds," reads the report prepared by J Michael Gilmore, the Pentagon's DOT&E. "These changes were due to the results of air vehicle performance and flying qualities evaluations."
Link
Technical issues delay Turkish F-35 order
Turkey has decided to delay the purchase of its first two Lockheed Martin F-35s by one year, citing technical factors and a "high cost yield". The Turkish government approved an initial two-aircraft purchase on 5 January 2012, before launching talks with Lockheed to finalise a deal. However, an order for the pair has been put on hold because the technical capabilities of the aircraft are "not at the desired level yet", the nation's Undersecretary of Defence Industries procurement agency says. Ankara still intends to buy 100 of the combat aircraft in the long term, it notes.
Link
Other News
LOT Polish Airlines received a $127 million emergency government loan last month in a bid to continue operations. The Polish government, 93% majority owner, plans to reduce the size of the flag carrier, hoping to make the company profitable again. A Wall Street Journal Europe report, which quoted a cabinet minister just days after the airline received the state loan, said it would shed more assets to keep operating. However, Poland Prime Minister Donald Tusk had said earlier the government would not try to save LOT at any price.
Mexicana Airlines, which suspended operations under severe financial distress in August 2010, is again up for sale. Bankruptcy judge Edith Alarcón launched a new bid for local and international investors. Previous attempts to seek an investor included 30 business groups. The bid, which will remain open until Jan. 25, requires candidates to present a $100 million financial guarantee plus a $250 million to $300 million “verifiable” financial guarantee to acquire capital and management control over the troubled aviation group. According to local observers, if the bankruptcy court does not attract or approve interested investors, it has three options—extending the deadline, lowering the financial guarantee amount, or liquidating the airline and associated companies.
Embraer delivered 106 commercial airplanes in 2012, compared to 105 in 2011, including 23 commercial jets in the fourth quarter. Commercial jet deliveries in the last three months of 2012 comprised one E-170, three E-175s, 10 E-190s and nine E-195s, nine less than the 32 commercial aircraft it delivered in the year-ago quarter. For the full year, it delivered one E-170, 20 E-175s, 62 E-190s and 23 E-195s.
Dniproavia, which is a part of the Ukrainian Aviation Group, has stopped flights and ticket sales, effective Jan. 8. The group also includes AeroSvit, which filed for bankruptcy at the end of December. Last week, Russia’s aviation authorities said it would ban AeroSvit flights from Jan. 15 because of the carrier’s debt situation. Russia’s Interfax news agency reported a new company, called Aviadnipro, registered at the end of December in the Dnepropetrovsk region. Dniproavia’s fleet included 17 Embraer E-145s and operated domestic and international flights.
SIFCO ASC was acquired by The Norman Hay Group from Cleveland, Ohio-based SIFCO Industries. The acquisition includes SIFCO ASC LLC (USA), SIFCO ASC UK, SIFCO ASC France and SIFCO ASC Sweden. SIFCO ASC is a manufacturer and supplier of process equipment and associated chemicals for selective electroplating and anodizing.
IMP Group Limited finalized the acquisition of Abbotsford, B.C.-based Cascade Aerospace to strengthen its MRO services. IMP provides services including in-service support, engineering and aircraft repair, overhaul and modification services.
TP Aerospace won a contract from R Airlines to provide a long-term Boeing 737CL wheels and brakes lease program. It was also selected by Air Atlanta Icelandic to provide support for a Boeing 747-400 fleet with its brakes-for-less program. The program will provide support for up to 15 747-400s.
PEMCO World Air Services completed its 200th aircraft redelivery for JetBlue Airways. It is the MRO provider’s 500th total redelivery at its Tampa, Fla. facility.
SriLankan Airlines will construct and operate an $80 million aircraft repair and overhauling complex at the Mattala International Airport, according to Lanka Business Online, expected to open in 2013.
Aviation Quote
Lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine.
Anonymous
On This Date
---In 1914... The first regularly scheduled passenger airline in the United States begins service. The Benoist Company, flying its Benoist flying boat, runs a line between St. Petersburg and Tampa, Florida.
---In 1927…In what would later become United Airlines, Boeing Air Transport is established, carrying airmail between San Francisco and Chicago.
---In 1958…4751st Air Defense Missile Wing to develop and conduct training program for Bomarc units, and the 864th Strategic Missile Squadron to be equipped with Jupiter IRBM, were both activated.
---In 1963…First A-12 flight with duel J-58 engines. At speeds of Mach 2.4-2.8 the aircraft experienced such severe roughness that it was looking as if the program could not move forward. The trouble was diagnosed as being in the air inlet system of the engines. After a considerable period of experimentation the problem was solved. (Q)
---In 1973…The last mission of a B-52 in the Vietnam War.
---In 1973…Luna 21 lands on the Moon, carrying the Lunokhod 2 rover, the second robotic lunar rover.
---In 1976…US-German Helios B solar probe launched into solar orbit.
---In 1977…Linjeflyg Flight 618, a Vickers 838 Viscount (registered SE-FOZ) crashes on approach to Stockholm-Bromma Airport. The plane entered a steep dive from an altitude of 1,150ft due to ice that had developed on the horizontal stabilizer, killing all 22 aboard.
---In 1982… SR-71B (956) flies its 1000th sortie. (Q)
---In 1991... The first hot-air balloon to cross the Pacific Ocean takes off from Japan and eventually lands in Canada.
---In 1992…A Lockheed U-2 belonging to the United States Air Force is lost in the Sea of Japan. FACTOID: The U-2 is still in active service 50 years after development, and has actually out-lived its own replacement, the SR-71, by more than a decade.
---In 1997…Space Shuttle Atlantis docks with Mir Space Station.
---In 2002…First flight of the Airbus A318.
---In 2006…Stardust space mission returns dust from a comet to earth.
---In 2009…US Airways Flight 1549, the “Miracle on the Hudson” Airbus A320 (registered N106US) makes a successful water landing in the Hudson River after Canada geese destroy both engines. All 155 on-board survive one of the few successful ditchings in recent history.
Daily Video
Editor’s Choice
Humor
ATC
The German air controllers at Frankfurt Airport are a short-tempered lot. They not only expect one to know one's gate parking location but how to get there without any assistance from them. So it was with some amusement that we (a Pan Am 747) listened to the following exchange between Frankfurt ground control and a British Airways 747 (call sign "Speedbird 206") after landing:
Speedbird 206: "Top of the morning Frankfurt, Speedbird 206 clear of the active runway."
Ground: "Guten morgen! You will taxi to your gate!"
The big British Airways 747 pulled onto the main taxiway and slowed to a stop.
Ground: "Speedbird, do you not know where you are going?" Speedbird 206: "Stand by a moment ground, I'm looking up our gate location now."
Ground (with some arrogant impatience): "Speedbird 206, you have never flown to Frankfurt before?!?"
Speedbird 206 (coolly): "Yes, I have, in 1944. In another type of Boeing... but I didn't stop."
Trivia
Tail ID
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) today released an image showing the melted and charred remains of the lithium-ion battery that caught fire on board a Japan Airlines Boeing 787 last week at the Boston Logan International airport.
Wasn't it lithium-ion batteries that brought down that UPS bird?
)
