News
Rolls-Royce Trent XWB gains type certificate
European regulators have certificated the Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engine ahead of the planned first flight of the Airbus A350 later this year. Patrick Goudou, EASA's executive director, handed over the powerplant's type certificate to Chris Young, Rolls-Royce's director for the Trent XWB program, at the European authority's headquarters in Cologne, Germany, on 7 February. The approval covers the engines for the baseline A350-900 and planned smaller -800 variant. But the largest A350-1000 will require a higher thrust version of the engine which is still under development.
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EASA moves towards flight time limitations for business aircraft
The European Aviation Safety Agency says it hopes to publish a proposed rule by mid-2014 on flight time limitations (FTLs) specific to on-demand aircraft charter operations. At present there is no pan-European ruling on FTLs, but a proposal affecting only commercial airline operations is currently going through the final stages of consultation and rulemaking.
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Boeing completes 787 ferry flight to Seattle
Boeing completed a 787 ferry flight between Fort Worth Meacham International airport to Paine Field in Everett, Washington, at 10:56 local time, according to FlightAware. Boeing flight 382 took off from Fort Worth at 09:24 central time, 54min after its scheduled departure time of 08:30. The flight lasted 3h and 32min.
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TUI Travel Has No Plans To Cancel 787 Orders
Britain's TUI Travel has no plans to cancel its order for 13 Boeing 787 jets although it is making contingency plans in case deliveries are impacted, the travel group's chief executive said. "Our view is that this is the right airplane for us and we do not intend to change our order for the aircraft," TUI Travel's chief executive Peter Long told reporters.
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Air Canada Returns To Profit, Unveils Premium Economy
Helped by tighter cost controls and fuller flights, Air Canada's operations returned to profit in the fourth quarter, and the airline said it would launch premium economy services on overseas flights to try to woo more higher-paying passengers. Canada's biggest carrier also posted a net profit for 2012, its first annual profit in five years, in what analysts saw as a sign that management's 3-year-old plan for the high-cost, debt-laden airline is bearing fruit. "Everything that you want to see from a fundamental standpoint was trending well," RBC Capital Markets analyst Walter Spracklin said of the results, pointing to higher load factors, traffic and yields at the airline.
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American Airlines, US Airways are closing in on merger, sources say
American Airlines and US Airways are getting closer to an agreement for a merger, sources say. Bondholders are urging the carriers to complete an agreement by Feb. 15. The merger would create the world's largest airline.
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Hawaiian Airlines flew more passengers in January
Hawaiian Airlines said the carrier flew 7.2% more passengers in January compared with the same month last year. The carrier also boosted capacity by 24.6% in January, and revenue per passenger mile grew by 20.3% for the month.
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Southwest and Volaris to end partnership
Southwest Airlines and Volaris will end their connecting partnership from 22 February. Passengers were able to connect between certain Southwest domestic flights in the USA and certain Volaris flights to Mexico at designated connection airports, which included Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Oakland. The partnership was launched in late 2010 as a way to expand the former's solely domestic network into Mexico.
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Southwest Airlines' traffic dipped in January
Southwest Airlines reported a 1.7% drop in revenue passenger miles for January, compared with the same month of the prior year. The carrier's load factor also dipped, to 72.7% in January from 74.3% in January 2012. Capacity increased by 0.5%.
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FedEx execs take buyouts as part of corporate cost-cutting plan
Around 10% of senior executives of FedEx Corp. have accepted buyouts, the company says. The buyouts are part of the package shipper's plan to reduce spending and increase profits by $1.7 billion over three years. FedEx is also replacing older cargo aircraft with newer fuel-efficient models.
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United won't fly 787 in February
United Airlines is taking the troubled Boeing 787 out of its flying plans for the rest of this month. United says it has replaced its six 787s with other planes. U.S. regulators grounded the 787s last month after two battery incidents.
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Boeing is addressing battery issues on 787 with redesign
Boeing is working on a redesign of the Dreamliner 787 to address battery issues. A Boeing spokesman said the aircraft manufacturer has "hundreds of engineering and technical experts who are working around the clock with the sole focus of resolving the issue and returning the 787 fleet to flight status."
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NASA creates fuel-efficient aircraft design
NASA has developed a "hybrid wing" design that could lead to better fuel efficiency for aircraft. NASA is working with Boeing to flight test a prototype of the design. However, the space agency estimates it could take two decades for the design to come to market.
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NTSB won't rule out lithium-ion batteries for planes
Deborah Hersman, head of the National Transportation Safety Board, said the agency would not "categorically" rule out lithium-ion batteries for aviation. The U.S. safety agency is investigating the cause of a battery fire aboard the Dreamliner 787.
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Other News
Iberia’s trade unions have rejected the airline’s final offer and have warned of strike action as early as Feb. 18. The unions are protesting Iberia’s restructuring plans to lay off 4,500 workers to stem cash losses by mid-2013. The unions—which include the CCOO, UGT, USO, ASETMA, CTA-Flight and SITCPLA as well as the SEPLA pilots union—claim the final proposal falls far short of what was agreed through arbitration on Dec. 17 last year. In a statement, the unions described the proposals as “blackmail” and rejected any further negotiations. They said: “On Dec. 17, the six unions and Iberia closed a deal in SIMA [Spain’s arbitration board] that brought workers and management together trying to save the company. In the meeting this morning, it has become clear that the board of IAG [Iberia’s parent company International Airlines Group] does not assume that agreement, which means for the unions that Iberia has no Spanish address and is governed by the imposition of British Airways.” As a result, the unions have given notice of their intention to strike and are working on a timetable for industrial action.
Australia’s competition watchdog has warned that Virgin Australia’s proposed acquisition of a 60% stake in Tiger Airways Australia could limit competition. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has released a “statement of issues” on the tie-up and has set a Feb. 22 deadline for responses. It is aiming to reach a decision on the deal by March 14, pushing back the original Feb. 7 deadline. Budget carrier Tiger Australia launched operations in 2007 and serves 11 domestic routes with 11 aircraft. Its would-be partner, Virgin Australia, is also acquiring Australian regional Skywest Airlines. Virgin Australia ranks as the country’s second largest operator after Qantas Group. Laying down the watchdog’s preliminary views, ACCC chairman Rod Sims said the acquisition may raise domestic competition concerns, cutting the number of mainline airline groups from three to two.
Air Malta will reorganize its senior management structure in a bid to move the airline into the second stage of its restructuring plan. CEO Peter Davies said the first phase of restructuring has begun to show results, but he stressed: “While we have achieved some significant milestones we are still not out of the woods. Much has still to be improved as we continue down the vital path of profitability without which we cannot survive.” He said that, thanks to the first phase of restructuring, the airline was now focused on delivering profits and securing an improved balance and cash flow.
Russia’s United Aircraft Corp. (UAC) plans to validate the Sukhoi Superjet 100 (SSJ100) certificate in India this year. Speaking at the Aero India Air Show, UAC president Mikhail Pogosyan said India’s demand for the SSJ100 is estimated to be 50-70 aircraft. He added that UAC has already negotiated with Air India on the SSJ100. Pogosyan is sure the SSJ100 certification and launch of the operations in Laos and Indonesia will contribute to further demand for the aircraft in the region. Lao Central Airlines and Indonesian Sky Aviation will launch SSJ100 operations in March. “Now we are negotiating with the airlines in Vietnam and some other Southeast Asia countries,” he said. He also said other SSJ100 markets could be China and Australia. According to UAC, the regional aircraft market in China is estimated to be 250 aircraft in the next 10 years. “We have chances to promote our plane in China,” Pogosyan added.
Villa Air, which operates as FlyMe, has taken delivery of one ATR 72-600 turboprop, on lease from GECAS. Villa Air operates two ATR 42-500s; it will use the new aircraft to expand services in the Indian Ocean archipelago.
Copa Holdings has closed sale-leaseback transactions for four new Boeing 737-800 aircraft with SMBC Aviation Capital. The aircraft deliveries, which are part of Copa Airlines’ current order with Boeing, are scheduled for delivery in 2014.
Etihad Airways will wet lease an Air France Airbus A340-300 on the Paris-Abu Dhabi route from May 15 to Nov. 30. Air France will operate the 272-seat aircraft as one of Abu Dhabi-based Etihad’s two daily Paris-Abu Dhabi return services, using cabin crew from both carriers.
Embraer, Azul and TRIP Linhas Aéreas have signed a renewal and expansion contract for the Pool services, for support on more than 350 spare parts and all repairable components of the hydraulic, mechanical, pneumatic, electronic and propulsion systems for their E-Jets. The renewal means the $400 million agreement will be extended until 2020.
Aviation Quote
Forget all that stuff about thrust and drag, lift and gravity, an airplane flies because of money.
Anonymous
On This Date
---In 1743... Comet C/1743 C1 approaches within 0.0390 AUs of Earth.
---In 1908... Flight tests begin at Issy-les-Moulineaux for the Gastambide-Mengin I monoplane, built by Léon Levavasseur and fitted with a 50-hp Antoinette engine.
---In 1914…Berliner, Haase and Nikolai depart on a 1897-mile record flight in their free balloon from Bitterfeld to Perm. This record lasted until 1950.
---In 1919…Lafayette Escadrille, the US volunteer squadron serving in the French Army is transferred to the US Army and redesignated the 103rd Aero Squadron.
---In 1919... The Farman brothers make the first scheduled international flight in Europe when a Farman F.60 Goliath piloted by M. Lucien Bossoutrot carries a token load of military passengers between Toussus le Noble airfield outside Paris and Kenley in southern England.
---In 1933... The first Boeing 247 takes to the air opening a new era in air transport, representing the new age of all-metal monoplane designs.
---In 1965…Eastern Air Lines Flight 663 flies from Boston to Atlanta and crashes near Jones Beach State Park in New York, killing all 84 souls on-board. The Douglas DC-7 (N849D) had just departed JFK (one of its stops along the way) and made a hard right turn to avoid a Pan Am 707, missing by only 200-500 feet. Unable to recover from its bank and becoming disoriented, the aircraft plunged into the ocean.
---In 1966…Freddie Laker founds Laker Airways after quitting British United to start his own airline.
---In 1967…First flight of the Saab Viggen.
---In 1974…Skylab 4's astronauts land.
---In 1984…1st time 8 people in space.
---In 1984…Soyuz T-10 launches with crew of 3 to Salyut 7.
---In 1988... The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) retires an aircraft registration number for the first time – that of Amelia Earhart’s airplane, which disappeared over the Pacific in July 1937.
---In 1988…NASA launches DOD-2.
---In 1989…Independent Air Flight 1851, a Boeing 707-331B (N7231T) crashes into Pico Alto, a mountain on Santa Maria Island in the Azores. All 144 on the aircraft died after the flight crew failed to properly brief themselves about the 3,000ft minimum safe altitude (MSA), and were also given the wrong barometric altimeter setting by a trainee controller.
Eagle Airways Flight 2279 is hijacked 10 minutes after takeoff from Woodbourne Airport in New Zealand by a Somalian refugee. The pilots of the BAe Jetstream 32 (ZK-ECN) received minor injuries in the passengers’ knife attack until finally being subdued.
---In 1992…Ulysses - USA & Europe Solar Flyby made a Jupiter flyby. The Ulysses spacecraft is an international project to study the poles of the Sun and interstellar space above and below the poles. It used Jupiter for a gravity assist to swing out of the ecliptic plane and onward to the poles of the Sun. The first solar polar passage was in June 1994. The spacecraft passed the solar equator in February 1995 and passed over the north pole in June 1995.
---In 2010…First flight of the Boeing 747-8 in the United States.
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Humor
What Did It Say?
Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad calls Rush Limbaugh and tells him, "Rush, I had a wonderful dream last night. I could see America, the whole country, and on each house I saw a banner."
"What did it say on the banners?" Rush asks.
Mahmoud replies, "UNITED STATES OF IRAN."
Rush says, "You know, Mahmoud, I am really happy you called, because believe it or not, last night I had a similar dream. I could see all of Tehran, and it was more beautiful than ever, and on each house flew an enormous banner."
"What did it say on the banners?" Mahmoud asks.
Rush replies, "I don't know. I can't read Hebrew."
Trivia
Google Airports
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airtrainer wrote:2. AMS
3. Miamiair's preffered airport, BRU
5. FCO
