News
Iberia Workers To Strike After Rejecting Proposal
Workers at Spanish airline Iberia said they would strike after rejecting a fresh proposal by management on job and salary cuts hours before a deadline for agreement. Iberia, part of the International Airlines Group, and unions were in talks over the loss-making airline's plans to cut up to 4,500 jobs and reduce salaries in what it has called a "fight for survival". In a revised proposal, Iberia said it offered 3,147 job cuts, 30 percent fewer than in the original plan, lower wage reductions and capacity cuts of 10 percent for this year rather than an initial plan for 15 percent.
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Jet Expects Etihad Deal Within A Week
India's second biggest carrier Jet Airways expects to agree a stake sale deal with Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways in a week or so, an executive at the airline, who declined to be named, said on Thursday. India's civil aviation minister Ajit Singh said earlier on Thursday, after meeting the senior executives of the two airlines, that Etihad was in talks with Jet for a potential investment in the carrier. The terms of the possible deal have not been disclosed, but a government source said earlier this month Etihad was in talks to pick up a 24 percent stake in Jet for up to USD$330 million.
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ANA posts strong 3Q results despite $15.4 million hit from 787 grounding
All Nippon Airways (ANA) reported a record operating income for the first nine months of its 2012 fiscal year and a net income up 54% year-over-year. However, the airline also said the grounding of the Boeing 787 has so far cost it ¥1.4 billion ($15.4 million). As launch customer and the largest operator of 787s, with 17 aircraft in its fleet, ANA has been the most severely hit by the Dreamliner grounding. The grounding was prompted after an ANA 787 was forced to make an emergency landing because of a lithium ion battery malfunction. The incident happened just days after a Japan Airlines 787 caught fire while parked at Boston Logan Airport. Accident investigators are focused on the aircraft’s batteries in both cases.
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Virgin Australia gets ACCC go-ahead to buy Skywest
Australia’s competition watchdog has approved Virgin Australia’s acquisition of Perth-based Skywest Airlines, although hurdles remain. In October, Virgin Australia announced plans to acquire 60% of Tiger Airways Australia and 100% of Australian regional Skywest Airlines. Responding to the application, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said it will rule on the Tiger Airways deal Feb. 7 and announced it will not oppose the Skywest Airlines acquisition.
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UPS 2012 profit declines; disappointed by blocked TNT buy
United Parcel Service (UPS) posted net income of $807 million in 2012, down 78.8% from a net profit of $3.8 billion in 2011, though it attributed the earnings decline to a hefty non-cash charge. UPS said earnings were skewed by a mark-to-market, non-cash, after-tax charge of $3 billion related to pension values. It noted the charge did not affect cash flows. On an adjusted basis, the Atlanta-based delivery giant said it earned 2012 net income of $4.34 billion, up 1.8% compared to an adjusted net profit of $4.31 billion in 2011.
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American set to take-off with the 777-300ER
American Airlines will begin service on its new Boeing 777-300ER later today, with an inaugural run to Sao Paulo Guarulhos from Dallas-Fort Worth. The aircraft (N718AN) will also be the first to carry the Fort Worth-based carrier's new "soaring spirit" livery in revenue service, since the corporate makeover was debuted on 17 January.
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Aircraft paint suppliers explore sharkskin coating
The rough skin of sharks has long been known for the low friction of its myriad tiny, sharp-edged scales. Airbus tested aircraft in the 1990s which were partially covered with a foil that mimicked the animals' surface texture. But despite the promise of aerodynamic improvement, the technology has yet to pass the experimental stage. Lack of durability has been one problem. Another is the fact that while a sharkskin texture can be applied to aircraft or ships, the underlying physics of surface drag is extremely complicated; if nothing else, a shark is far more slippery than a similarly-textured aircraft if only because it is subtly flexible. However, evolution in paint technology has combined with rising fuel prices to revive interest in transferring the shark's slippery surface texture to aircraft.
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P&W poised for certification of CSeries engine
Pratt & Whitney has completed the airworthiness certification programme for the PW1524G engine that will power the Bombardier CSeries. "I'm proud to say that just last week, we completed the final certification test of the first new geared turbofan for Bombardier's application for the CSeries," P&W president David Hess told Flightglobal on the sidelines of a ceremony marking the start of construction at its new Singapore factory. "The engine testing and certification programme is 100% complete and successfully passed. We're working on the paperwork with Transport Canada to obtain formal certification for the engine, but all tests have been completed," he adds.
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Other News
Malaysia Airlines, on the eve of joining oneworld, has rolled out its first aircraft in the livery of the global alliance. In ceremonies at Kuala Lumpur International Airport Thursday, a Malaysia Airbus A330-300 was shown in oneworld livery along with a Boeing 737-800 in Malaysia livery but with the oneworld logo on the fuselage. Malaysia said it would paint two more of its aircraft in alliance livery; the rest of the 88-strong fleet will carry the logo.
Jetstar Hong Kong has won antitrust approval from the Chinese government, bringing it one step closer to launching this year. Jetstar Hong Kong is the joint venture (JV) low-cost carrier being set up by China Eastern Airlines and Qantas Group subsidiary Jetstar. According to China Eastern, the JV is expected to go into formal operations this year pending approval from Hong Kong authorities. It plans to operate three Airbus A320s initially on routes to China’s mainland and Southeast Asian countries from Hong Kong.
Aeroflot must postpone Boeing 777-300ER operations as it has not yet received type certification from the Interstate Aviation Committee. Aeroflot—which has 16 of the type on order—received its first 777-300ER Jan. 30 in Seattle, Wash. It had planned a flight to Moscow Jan. 31; its first commercial service from Moscow to Bangkok was scheduled for Feb. 1. The airline, which said it followed all necessary procedures to receive the type certification, plans to exact a penalty on Interstate Aviation Committee. Aeroflot, which did not specify a new date of its first commercial flight, said until the 777 type certificate is granted, Bangkok flights will be operated by Airbus A330 and Boeing 767 aircraft.
Allegiant Air parent Allegiant Travel Co. posted a fourth-quarter 2012 net profit of $14.8 million, up 36.6% over year-over-year. This marks its 40th consecutive profitable quarter. Net income for the full year leapt 59.1% to $78.6 million from $49.4 million earned in the full year 2011. “In 2012, we recorded the highest system fuel cost per gallon we have ever paid for a full year,” Allegiant chairman and CEO Maurice Gallagher said. “In spite of that, we were able to grow full year earnings per share over 58% to the highest ever." Revenues for the fourth quarter rose 14.9% to $222.8 million on a 13.6% jump in expenses to $197.5 million. Operating income lifted 25.8% to $25.4 million. Full-year revenues rose 16.6% to $908.7 million while expenses rose 11.9% to $776.4 million. Operating income was $132.3 million, up 54.8% from 2011. The carrier’s ancillary revenues, which have grown every month since April 2012, increased 40.3% year-over-year in the fourth quarter and 29.3% in 2012, increases it partly attributed to its carry-on bag fee.
Pratt & Whitney began construction on an 180,000 sq. ft. production facility at the Singapore Seletar Aerospace Park. It is slated for completion by 2014. The facility will manufacture commercial engine fan blades beginning in 2015 and high pressure turbine disks by 2016 for geared turbofan engines. The company said its Singapore Manufacturing facility will help it achieve production capacity required to meet customer demand for commercial engines and will increase its workforce in Singapore—where it now has nine businesses—to more than 2,500 people over the next five years.
Tec4Jets has won approval from Belgium’s regulatory authorities to perform line maintenance services and AOG support on all variants of the Airbus A320 family at its Brussels Airport base. The approval adds the A320 family to Tec4Jets’ existing line maintenance services and AOG support for Boeing 737 Classic and NG models, as well as the Boeing 767.
StandardAero has begun the process of certifying their aircraft paint technicians through the Embry Riddle Aeronautics University/Society for Protective Coatings (SSPC) program in aircraft painting. The SSPC program confers a license in Aerospace Coatings Application (ACA) to those who complete the course and pass an examination. It aims to have 100% of its paint technicians certified within the next 12 months.
Safran has signed support agreements to boost its investment in Messier-Bugatti-Dowty’s plant in Bidos, France. The agreement with Aquitaine Regional Council, the Pyrénées Atlantiques General Council and the Adour Garonne Water Agency will provide funding for the “Messier-Bugatti-Dowty Bidos: Horizon 2015” project. Safran will invest approximately €35 million ($47.3 million) in the second phase of the project, which includes the development of new landing gear production facilities, including a 6,500 sq. m. facility dedicated to the machining of large titanium parts and the introduction of new, environmentally responsible surface treatment technologies.
Volga-Dnepr Technics has completed the repair of a damaged nose radome on a Yakutia Airlines Boeing 737NG at Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport.
Aviation Quote
If you don't gear up your brain before takeoff, you'll probably gear up your airplane on landing.
Anonymous
On This Date
---In 1920...South African Air Force is established as an independent air arm.
---In 1923…Danish Army Flying Corps established.
---In 1934…South African Airways is founded.
---In 1942…The U.S. Navy aircraft carriers USS Enterprise (CV-6) and USS Yorktown (CV-5) launch air strikes against Japanese bases in the Marshall Islands. It is the first offensive operation by American forces in World War II.
---In 1945…The U.S. Navy's first recorded use of JATO, utilized to lift a PBM-5 Mariner off of a stretch of the Colorado River near Yuma, Arizona after being forced down.
---In 1949…200" (5.08-m) Hale telescope 1st used.
---In 1957…The Bristol Britannia enters service with BOAC.
---In 1964... President Lyndon Johnson publicly acknowledges the existence of the Lockheed A-12 Mach 3+ spy plane program and shows a picture that is actually an YF-12A.
---In 1964…The Boeing 727 enters service with Eastern Airlines.
---In 1971…Apollo 14 - USA Lunar Manned Lander (January 31 to February 8, 1971) Crew: Alan B. Shepard, Jr., Edgar D. Mitchell, Stuart A. Roosa. Shepard and Mitchell landed on the moon on February 5, 1971, in the Fra Mauro highlands, located at 3°40' S and longitude 17°28' E. They collected 42.9 kilograms of lunar samples and used a hand-held cart to transport rocks and equipment.
---In 1981…Donald Douglas, founder of the Douglas Aircraft Company, dies at age 88.
---In 1983…Boeing announces it will stop producing the 727. The 1,832nd, and final 727, would roll off the line in 1984.
---In 1985…TWA is the first airline to operate a twin-engine jet on scheduled trans-atlantic services, with the Boeing 767.
---In 1987…People’s Express Airlines ceases operations.
---In 1989…Comet Schwassmann-Wachmann 1 at perihelion.
---In 1992... British Aerospace’s latest Hawk demonstrator, Hawk Mk 102D, ZJ 100, takes to the skies for the first time. It is an enhanced two-seater ground-attack version with a modified wing and incorporates many improvements to its onboard sensors and weapons system.
---In 2003…Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrates over Texas during its descent to earth on mission STS-107, killing all seven astronauts on board. Heat shield tiles, which suffered damage during the shuttle’s launch, fail during reentry, allowing hot gases to enter the left wing and eventually cause it to break off, quickly leading to the destruction of the entire spacecraft.
---In 2006…UAL. Corp, United Airlines' parent company emerges from bankruptcy after being in such position since December 9, 2002, the longest such filing in history.
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The DI
As a group of soldiers stood in formation at an Army Base, the Drill Sergeant said, "All right! All you idiots fall out."
As the rest of the squad wandered away, one soldier remained at attention.
The Drill Instructor walked over until he was eye-to-eye with him, and then raised a single eyebrow. The soldier smiled and said, "Sure was a lot of 'em, huh, sergeant?"
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