News
Japan Airlines raises earning forecast despite 787 grounding
Japan Airlines (JAL) has raised its earning forecast for its fiscal year 2012/13 despite the continued grounding of its Boeing 787 fleet. The Japanese carrier forecasts a net income of yen (Y) 163 billion ($1.76 billion) for its fiscal year ending 31 March, up from its previous estimate of Y140 billion. Its operating revenue, meanwhile, is expected to hit Y1.23 trillion, up from Y1.22 trillion.
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ANA Looking To Accelerate 777 Deliveries
All Nippon Airways is in talks with Boeing to speed up the delivery of three 777s as its fleet of 787 Dreamliners remains grounded with undiagnosed battery problems, the Nikkei newspaper said on Sunday. All 50 Boeing 787s worldwide remain grounded as authorities in the United States, Japan and France investigate a battery fire in the US on January 7 and a separate battery failure that forced a second 787 to make an emergency landing in Japan a week later. ANA had planned to add the three Boeing 777 jets to its fleet in fiscal year 2013, but it will aim to get them delivered ahead of schedule to soften the negative impact from the 787 grounding, Shinzo Shimizu, ANA's senior vice president told Nikkei. The airline is also considering keeping older Airbus A320 jets in service for longer, he said.
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Investigation Into Rome Plane Accident Opens
Flights operated in Italy by Romania's Carpatair airlines were suspended on Sunday after a passenger plane went off the runway on landing in strong winds at Rome's Fiumicino airport, injuring 16 people on board. The ATR-72 plane ended up on the grass, on its belly with its landing gear collapsed, in the incident late on Saturday. Two of the 16 people hurt were seriously injured, including one crew member. Carpatair operates some domestic flights in Italy on behalf of the country's flag carrier Alitalia. Alitalia said in a statement that it had started an investigation and had suspended flights operated by Carpatair on its behalf from Pisa and Bologna to Rome.
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Iberia Workers Plan Five-Day Strike
Workers at Spanish flag carrier Iberia will hold five straight days of strike action in the second half of February after failing to come to an agreement with management over job cuts, a union spokesman said on Friday. "It will be at least five consecutive days... the date hasn't been set yet (but) it will be in the second half of February," the spokesman said. Unions representing Iberia's ground and cabin crews rejected a fresh proposal by management on job and salary cuts on Thursday and said they planned to strike. Willie Walsh, chief executive of loss-making Iberia's parent International Airlines Group - which also includes British Airways - said he was disappointed no agreement had been reached and the airline would press ahead with a planned rationalization.
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Alaska Airlines Pilot Passes Out In Mid-air
A Seattle-bound Alaska Airlines flight made an emergency landing in Oregon after its pilot passed out, in the second such fainting spell involving the US carrier in 10 days, the airline said on Friday. Flight crew and passengers helped revive the pilot and guide him into a vacant passenger seat while the co-pilot took control of the Boeing 737-700 and landed safely in Portland late on Thursday, airline spokesman Paul McElroy said.
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Last Chance For Ryanair-Aer Lingus Deal Says EU
Ryanair has one last chance to argue the merits of its latest attempt to acquire Irish rival Aer Lingus, the European Union's antitrust chief said on Friday, as he prepares to decide the deal's fate. Europe's biggest low-cost carrier is making its third takeover bid for Aer Lingus after the European Commission blocked its first attempt in 2007 and Ryanair dropped its second in 2009. Ryanair submitted a third set of proposals to the EU competition authority last month. Among them were a promise to cede 43 routes to British-based rival Flybe and three of Aer Lingus's Heathrow routes to British Airways, a person familiar with the matter told reporters earlier.
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Boeing 787 grounding persists; Airbus comfortable with A350 batteries
The worldwide grounding of the Boeing 787, initiated Jan. 16, shows no sign of being lifted. Meanwhile, Airbus said it could change plans to use lithium ion batteries on the A350 if necessary, though it remains comfortable with using the technology on the aircraft set to enter service in the second half of 2014. Boeing chairman, president and CEO Jim McNerney, speaking this week during a conference call with analysts and reporters, declined to discuss what actions will have to be taken to get the 787 back in service. “I don’t want to pre-judge what form of entry into service will be acceptable [to US FAA],” he said. “We all want to understand root cause [of the Japan Airlines (JAL) and All Nippon Airways (ANA) 787 lithium ion battery events] and that’s what we’re focused on.”
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Malaysia sees oneworld as best fit
The addition of Malaysia Airlines to the oneworld alliance brings membership up to 12 carriers serving 842 destinations to 156 countries. It was the “best fit” for Malaysia, Group CEO Ahmad Jauhari Yahya said Thursday. Speaking at ceremonies in Kuala Lumpur on the eve of joining oneworld, Yahya said, “Malaysia has been exploring the best fit for an alliance and we found that in oneworld. We complement oneworld very well. We cover an area of network that is not covered by their airlines and they are very likeminded, very much focused on premium service. So we took out time but we made the right decision.”
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Turkish Airlines orders five more A330-300s
Turkish Airlines has ordered five additional Airbus A330-300s, which it said are needed to meet capacity demand for global growth. In October 2012, the Istanbul-based carrier ordered 15 A330-300s, valued at $3.5 billion at list prices. From that order, four aircraft are slated to be delivered in 2014, six in 2015 and five in 2016. CEO Temel Kotil said, “We increased our recent order of 15 A330-300s by five more aircraft to 20.” Together with the recent order of 20 Boeing 777-300ERs, the 20 A330-300s “gives us 40 additional widebodies, which is a good number,” he said.
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Jet Airways swings to profit in 3Q; close to sealing deal with Etihad
Jet Airways has posted a fiscal third-quarter net profit of INR850 million ($15.97 million), reversing a loss of INR1.01 billion year-over-year. The Indian carrier’s third quarter runs from October to December. The airline is reportedly close to sealing a deal with Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways to take a stake in the Indian carrier, allowing it to retire some of its $2.3 billion debt. The Indian government in September last year allowed foreign direct investment of up to 49% in airlines.
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Other News
Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency, Rosaviatsia, has suspended Red Wings’ air operator’s certificate (AOC), effective Feb. 4. Authorities said the decision is not directly connected with the Dec. 29 crash of a Red Wings Tupolev Tu-204 in which the aircraft overshot a runway at Moscow Vnukovo airport, killing five people. Russia’s Interstate Aviation Committee determined the crash was caused by landing gear control failure. However, the suspension does have to do with inspections initiated in the aftermath of the Dec. 29 crash. In January, Rosaviatsia began inspecting Red Wings’ Tu-204 aircraft. The agency said in a Friday statement that investigators “found numerous significant violations in the organization of flight operations, aircraft maintenance, pilot training and other shortcomings.”
Air Astana has reported a 2012 net profit of $57.2 million, down 7% year-over-year. “The full year proved much better than expected after a difficult first half in which profit fell by more than 80%,” president Peter Foster said in a statement. In the second half, the strength of CIS markets, strong performance of new services to China and Hong Kong and nonfuel savings made up most of the difference and offset higher fuel prices. The Kazakhstan-based carrier plans to launch an initial public offering in 2013 to raise funds, but will require an agreement by its two shareholders of the principal and mechanics, Foster said, adding he is hopeful these discussions will take place in 2013.
Airbus is adding more cabin options to the A321neo, which will add more seats and boost revenue potential, the company said. Two new cabin options, which will enter service in the second half of 2017, include an additional over-wing exit door and the option to deactivate the forward exit. Airbus said the additional over-wing exit door “raises the current maximum exit limit so operators can make even more use of the available cabin floor space. When this new option is combined with the space-flex aft cabin configuration, the A321neo can accommodate up to 236 seats, 16 seats more than today’s maximum seating, which leads to a reduction in seat mile costs of 5%.” The second option to deactivate the forward exit will “create a seamless, undivided forward cabin allowing additional seats and even more flexibility in multi-class seat arrangements,” Airbus said. “This option will be of particular use in longer range markets where high comfort standards are needed in premium class.”
Air India has split its ground handling and MRO subsidiaries. The two companies—Air India Air Transport Services and Air India Engineering Services—now operate as separate profit centers. Air India Air Transport Services carries out ground handling at domestic Indian airports, both for Air India as well as third-party customers. Air India Engineering Services similarly undertakes maintenance, repair and overhaul services. The proposal to split off the two units from the airline was first discussed about 10 years ago. It was finally passed as part of a turnaround plan, approved by the Indian government.
Yakutia Airlines has taken delivery of its second Sukhoi Superjet 100. It will be used on routes from Yakutsk to Khabarovsk, Blagoveshchensk, Vladivostok and other cities in Russia’s Far East and Siberia. It will also be used on routes to Harbin, Niigata and Seoul.
India’s GoAir has taken delivery of its first sharklet-equipped Airbus A320. The aircraft, which is on sale and leaseback from Aviation Capital Group, is the 13th to be delivered from an order for 20 A320s placed by GoAir in 2006. The remaining seven aircraft on order will also be sharklet-equipped.
CSA Czech Airlines has phased out the last five out of 15 Boeing 737-500s, ending operations with Boeing jets after 23 years. The carrier phased out the last five out of 15 737-400s last year. CSA’s current fleet includes nine Airbus A319-100s, four A320-200s, two A321-200s, five ATR 42-500s and one ATR 72-500.
Aviation Quote
Navy carrier pilots regards Air Force pilots:
"Flare to land, squat to pee."
Anonymous
On This Date
---In 1902... First balloon flight in Antarctica when Robert Falcon Scott and Ernest Shackleton ascend to 244 meters in a tethered hydrogen balloon to take the first Antarctic aerial photographs.
---In 1902... Charles Augustus Lindbergh (1902-1974), one of the most famous aviators in history, is born in Detroit, Michigan.
---In 1920…Pioneers Pierre van Ryneveld and Quentin Brand fly out of Cairo in a Vickers Vimy, crossing Africa by air from North to South. They arrived in Cape Town on March 20th.
---In 1945... US President Franklin D. Roosevelt touches down at Yalta, the Crimean resort, in his presidential airplane Sacred Cow for a crucial summit with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin. The leaders are meeting to discuss terms for German surrender and the shape of post-war Europe.
---In 1949... In the US, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) gives authorization for the full use of ground control approach (GCA) landing aids. These will be used only in conditions of poor visibility caused by fog or bad weather and comprise a ground radar system.
---In 1958... The world’s first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the CVAN-65 USS Enterprise is laid down at the Newport News shipyard.
---In 1961…Sputnik 7 launches into Earth orbit; probable Venus probe failure.
---In 1964…A-12 (924 ) sustained flight at Mach 3+ and altitude. Pilot James Easthem reached Mach 3.3 at 83,000 feet for just over 10 minutes. Aircraft heated to 800 F. Wiring insulation was burned and the aircraft was almost lost. All A-12s grounded for 6 weeks while Lockheed replaced all wiring in all the A-12s. (Q)
---In 1966… All Nippon Airways Flight 60, operated by Boeing 727 JA8302 was landing at Tokyo Haneda Airport when it crashed into Tokyo Bay, with the loss of all 133 passengers and crew.
---In 1967…U.S. launches Lunar Orbiter 3.
---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 1977…Kenya Airways begins service from Jomo Kenyatta International airport in Nairobi.
---In 1986…Pakistan International Airlines Flight 300, a 747-200 (AP-AYW) lands on its belly at Islamabad Airport because the crew forgot to lower the gear. All of the 264 aboard escaped unharmed. After Boeing repaired the aircraft, PIA flew her for another 19 years. Incidentally, New York-based startup Baltia Airlines took delivery of this airframe in 2010.
---In 1988… Air Hong Kong commences operations.
---In 1993…Russian space agency tests a 82' wide space mirror.
Daily Video
Editor’s Choice
Humor
Shipwreck
Following a moment of inattention by the Captain, a ship sank in the middle of the ocean. Two guys managed to inflate a rubber life raft and grab a box of provisions before the ship slipped gently below the surface. After floating under blazing heat for six days they ran out of food and water.
On the tenth day, bleary eyed and half dead from heat, thirst and starvation, they spotted a small object floating toward them in the water. As it drew near, they were ecstatic to find that it was an oil lamp (Oil Lamp, Brass, One. Genies for the use of). They grabbed the lamp and rubbed it. Out popped a tired old genie.
"OK, so you freed me from this stupid lamp, yadda, yadda, yadda. But hey, I've been doing this three wishes stuff for a long time now and quite frankly, I'm burned out. You guys get only ONE wish and then I'm OUTTA here. Make it a good one."
The first guy, without hesitation or thought blurted out, "Give us all the beer we can drink for the rest of our lives!!!"
"Fine," said the genie, and with a wave of his hand, the entire ocean turned into beer.
"Great move Einstein!" said the second guy, slapping the first guy in the head. "NOW we're gonna have to pee in the BOAT!"
Trivia
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HT-ETNW wrote:TRIVIA:
#10: A-10 Thunderbolt II aka. Warthog - One awesome, intimidating and pretty silent beast ! An aircraft that was developed and built around its 30 mm Gatling gun (not silent when gun is working though)
-HT
