News
Super Tucano beats out AT-6 for Afghan Light Air Support tender
The US Air Force has awarded Sierra Nevada and partner Embraer a $427 million firm fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to supply the Afghan air force with 20 Embraer A-29 Super Tucano light attack aircraft. The award brings to a close a long-running battle between Sierra Nevada/Embraer and Beechcraft to secure the Light Air Support tender. "The A-29 Super Tucano with its proven track record is exactly what's needed for the LAS program where the mission is critical and time is short. We will deliver a superior product, on-time and on-budget," says Taco Gilbert, vice president of integrated tactical solutions for Sierra Nevada's intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance business.
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Boeing, Yuasa At Odds Over 787 Fix - Report
Boeing and GS Yuasa, the Japanese firm that makes lithium-ion batteries for the 787 Dreamliner, disagree about what should be included in a package of measures aimed at getting the airliner back in the air, the Wall Street Journal reported. But Boeing commercial planes chief executive Ray Conner told reporters in Tokyo that there was no dispute with GS Yuasa about the proposed solution, adding the plane maker has "a great partnership" with the Kyoto-based battery maker. All 50 of the technologically-advanced 787s in service have been grounded since mid-January after a battery fire on a Japan Airlines 787 in the US and a second battery incident on an All Nippon Airways flight in Japan. GS Yuasa believes the battery fix should include a voltage regulator that could stop electricity from entering the battery, the Journal said, citing government and industry officials.
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FAA administrator: No timetable for 787 decision
FAA administrator Michael Huerta said Boeing’s proposed 787 battery fix is being “carefully analyzed” but gave no guidance on how long it will take to review the proposal. “I’m not going to set a timetable,” he said while responding to questions following a Wednesday morning speech to the American Bar Association’s Forum on Air and Space Law in Washington DC. “People are working very hard [on the 787 issue but FAA is] not going to make that determination [to lift the grounding] until we’re convinced it’s safe.”
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IAG Swings To EUR€68 Mln Full-Year Loss
International Airlines Group, the owner of British Airways and Iberia, swung to a full-year operating loss, hit by its underperforming Spanish unit and higher fuel costs. IAG, Europe's fourth-biggest airline group by market value, on Thursday reported a 2012 operating loss of EUR€68 million (USD$89.14 million) compared to the EUR€485 million profit it posted a year earlier.
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US FAA Says Can't Avoid ATC Furloughs
The head of the US Federal Aviation Administration said on Wednesday the agency would have to begin furloughing air traffic controllers in early April because of a looming USD$627 million in automatic spending cuts, while Republican lawmakers argued there were other ways to handle the budget crunch. "We're looking at all options to reduce costs. We're looking at a hiring freeze, at cutting contracts and travel and other items not related to day-to-day operations," FAA administrator Michael Huerta told the US House of Representatives Transportation Committee. "But to reach the large figure we need to cut, we have little choice but to make up the rest through furloughing employees," Huerta said, referring to the automatic federal spending cuts known as "sequestration" due to take effect from Friday.
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NATCA chief condemns FAA budget cuts
US National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) president Paul Rinaldi warned Wednesday that FAA budget uncertainty was not good for the long-term safety of America’s national airspace system. Speaking at the Aero Club in Washington DC, Rinaldi attacked the potentially irreversible negative impacts that sequestration—mandatory and automatic federal cost cuts—will have on the nation’s aviation system and economy if Congress does not act to avert it.
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Iraq Launches First Flight To Kuwait Since 1990
After a freeze that lasted more than two decades, Iraq's state airline, Iraqi Airways, on Wednesday launched its first flight to Kuwait since Saddam Hussein invaded the nation in 1990. Iraq's foreign and transport ministers traveled on the symbolic Iraqi Airways flight, hailed by officials as a sign of improving relations between the oil-producing neighbors. They were greeted by Kuwaiti officials upon landing. The Iraqi transport ministry said there would now be regular flights between the countries.
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In Japan Idled Boeing 787 Pilots Lose Pay
The grounding of Boeing's global fleet of 787 Dreamliners due to battery problems is taking its toll on the hundreds of pilots trained to fly the high-tech plane. In Japan, the 350 or so pilots at All Nippon Airways (ANA) and Japan Airlines (JAL), who operate around half the 50 787s delivered, have been at home since the planes were idled in mid-January - an enforced rest period that is beginning to grate. "For the first two weeks after the grounding, the 787 was in my dreams. It's the first time I haven't flown for this long," one ANA 787 captain told reporters. He asked not to be named as he was not authorized to talk to the media. "It's like I'm rehearsing for retirement. My family teases me, saying I'm unemployed."
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Airbus resists price cuts for remaining A320 slots
Airbus will resist engaging in a price war to sell the final slots for the regular A320 before production switches to the re-engined A320neo. The airframer's parent, EADS, says the number of outstanding slots for the type is below 300.
"We want to sell [these] at a reasonable price and margin," said EADS chief financial officer Harald Wilhelm, speaking during the company's annual conference in Berlin.
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A350 could revisit lithium-ion batteries in future
EADS is leaving open the possibility of returning to lithium-ion batteries on the Airbus A350, once the uncertainties regarding the technology are resolved. Airbus has switched to nickel-cadmium batteries, in the wake of the problems which grounded the Boeing 787 in January, to reduce the risk of delaying the program. EADS warned again, during its annual conference in Berlin, that there is "no room left" in the A350 schedule. Chief executive Tom Enders says the switch to nickel-cadmium was a decision "taken out of prudence".
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A330 MRTT enters RAAF operational service
Australia's Airbus Military A330 multirole tanker transport (MRTT) aircraft have achieved initial operational capability (IOC), with the type demonstrating an air-to-air refuelling mission on the sidelines of the Avalon show. The aircraft, designated the KC-30A in Royal Australian Air Force service, refuelled a pair of Boeing F/A-18A Hornets from its wing-mounted hose and drogue refuelling pods. The event was witnessed by journalists travelling in the tanker's cabin.
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Saudi Arabia puts first A330 tanker into service
Saudi Arabia has placed its first Airbus Military A330-200-based multirole tanker transports (MRTT) into operational use, with the type to be flown from its Riyadh air base. Airbus Military says one MRTT was inducted into Royal Saudi Air Force service on 25 February, with this being the first of three examples "that have already been contractually delivered". Three more are also being produced under a follow-on contract, with deliveries to start in late 2014.
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San Juan takes off with first major US airport concession
Aeroportuario del Sureste (ASUR) and Highstar Capital-owned Aerostar Airport Holdings have closed a $2.6 billion concession of the San Juan Luis Munoz Marin International airport, making it the first major airport operated by a private consortium in the USA. Puerto Rico's governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla signed off on the 40-year deal on 26 February, a day after the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approved the concessionaire's application under the airport privatisation pilot program. The Puerto Rico Ports Authority (PRPA) awarded the concession to Aerostar in July 2012.
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Europe extends scope of passenger compensation
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that passengers on connecting flights must be compensated if they arrive at their destination at least three hours late, even if the original flight was not delayed more than three hours. The ruling specifically upholds the right to compensation for late arrival at the final destination even if the original flight was not delayed beyond the limits laid down by EU law. The ECJ judgment was in response to a case brought by Air France appealing an award of damages to passenger Luz-Tereza Folkerts. She was booked to fly from Bremen to Asunción, via Paris and São Paulo. The departure of her Air France flight from Bremen to Paris was delayed approximately two-and-a-half hours. As a result, Folkerts missed her onward Air France connection to São Paulo. She was then re-booked onto a later flight to São Paulo, but missed the connecting flight to Asunción. She eventually arrived in Asunción 11 hours after the arrival time originally scheduled.
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Other News
he European Commission (EC) on Wednesday blocked Ryanair’s third Aer Lingus takeover attempt. Competition commissioner Neelie Kroes said the takeover would “have led to dramatically reduced choice for consumers and, as a result, the likelihood of lower quality and higher fares. They were in particular not capable of ensuring that other airlines would enter the market on a sufficient scale to compete effectively with the merged airline.” Aer Lingus welcomed the decision. “Aer Lingus’ position from the outset has been that Ryanair’s offer should never have been made. The series of inadequate remedy offers presented by Ryanair only underlines the view that Ryanair made its offer without any reasonable belief that it could obtain clearance,” Aer Lingus CEO Christoph Mueller said in a statement. Ryanair immediately denounced the decision as “a political decision to pander to the vested interests of the Irish government—which is a minority 25% shareholder in Aer Lingus—and is not one that is based on a fair and reasonable application of EU competition rules orprecedent airline merger approvals in Europe.” It vowed to appeal the decision.
Airbus parent EADS reported a 2012 net profit of €1.22 billion ($1.59 billion), up 19% from 2011’s €1.03 billion, on turnover up 15% to €56.5 billion, compared to €49.1 billion in 2011. “The Group performance was driven by the strong underlying performance at Airbus Commercial,” which delivered a record 588 aircraft over the year, the company said in a statement. Airbus Commercial revenues were €36.9 billion, compared to €31.2 billion in 2011. No net profit figure was given for the division. The year saw one-off charges totaling €820 million recorded by the Group, of which €522 million was attributable to Airbus, including an anticipated €251 million incurred by the program for A380 wing rib feet repairs. There was also a charge of €124 million on the A350 XWB to reflect the latest program update, although this figure was unchanged since first half of 2012.
TAP Portugal reported annual net income of €15.9 million ($21 million), more than quadrupled from a €3.1 million profit in the year-ago period. The airline said the results were due to efforts to improve efficiency year-over-year. This is its fourth year in a row of positive results, mainly due to the expansion of TAP operations. In 2012, the Portuguese carrier reduced its total debt from €1 billion to €862 million. Aggregate debt dropped from 46% of total income in 2011 to 35% in 2012. The company also cites performance improvement of 23% in its maintenance and engineering business, which had recently been for sale, and increases in ticket sales of 6.7%. Revenue rose 6.9% to €2.43 million while expenses, ex-fuel, increased 4.8% to €1.42 million, producing an operating profit of €43.4 million, up 5.6% from a €41.4 million operating profit in the prior year. Fuel costs increased €93 mi llion in 2012, an increase of 13% in the fuel bill. Traffic rose 4.8% in RPKs on a 4.1% increase in capacity, producing a load factor of 76.8%, up 0.5 points. TAP broke the 10 million mark in passengers carried in 2012. At the end of 2012, the Portuguese government abandoned plans to sell TAP Portugal to Synergy Aerospace and plans to restart the TAP privatization by 2014.
Gulf Air said it is seeing the first results of its major restructuring program to restore profitability. The cost-cutting plan, which was announced in December 2012, is targeting a 24% in cost savings by year end. The airline said it is on track to realize that goal, despite a difficult operating environment. Gulf Air said in January it reduced losses 34% compared to the year-ago month, through measures such as the closure of loss-making routes, plus an aggressive efficiency drive. Personnel reductions are also ongoing through a variety of measures, including non-renewal of contracts, voluntary retirement and outstation restructuring. Gulf Air said it has achieved a 15% reduction in headcount. It said in January it wanted to reduce its workforce, which last year was 3,800, by one-third.
Etihad Airways has purchased India’s Jet Airways’ three pairs of slots at London Heathrow airport for $70 million. The Abu Dhabi carrier, which is in discussions over taking a substantial equity stake in the Indian airline, said the deal was part of a sale and leaseback arrangement, in which Jet Airways would continue to use the slots to operate flights to London. Airline analysts in Mumbai said the cash will help improve Jet’s liquidity position.
“The deal further strengthens the existing commercial relationship, which came into effect in July 2008, making provision for codesharing between the two airlines,” Etihad said. The Jet board was scheduled to approve a proposal to sell a 24% to Etihad for about $300 million, earlier this month. However, the signing was delayed after concerns in the United Arab Emirates over future changes in Indian policy that could force Etihad to exit. Indian ministers have declared their support for the deal, but investors are cautious because policy flip-flops by the Indian government have derailed investments in the past.
Air France-KLM chairman and CEO Jean-Cyril Spinetta has warned that the company needs to change its structure to preserve its status as a major world airline. “Today our industry is dominated by 15-20 major airlines. Air France is a part of this, but if we want to remain in the top 10-15 we need to remain strong and effective,” Spinetta said during the Air France-KLM results conference. Under the revamp, Air France-KLM’s functions will be centralized on three business areas: group corporate functions, joint business functions and group support functions. This change is aimed at maximizing revenues, minimizing costs, speeding up decision-making and streamlining the organization. “We are not integrating simply for the pleasure of doing so,” Spinetta said. The restructured Air France-KLM will be led by Spinetta, a CEO committee and a group executive committee. Beneath this there will be a range of centralized corporate functions, including joint passenger commercial functions, cargo, maintenance and group support functions. The two major airlines—Air France and KLM—will sit within this framework and draw off the centralized structure.
Flybe is in talks with the Estonian government over airline operations in the Baltic nation. In a statement, Flybe said its outsourcing arm is looking at various options. “Flybe Outsourcing Solutions confirms that it has had a range of discussions about the provision of contract flying solutions and commercial service provision with a number of regional bodies, including the state of Estonia. “There is no conclusion to these discussions, nor has a timetable been agreed to reach such a conclusion.”
Air Berlin has launched a new convertible bond of approximately €120 million ($156.8 million) with a maturity of six years. The bonds, which can be converted into Air Berlin stock, are issued at 100% of nominal value with an annual interest rate of 6%. The carrier said strong demand allowed it to increase the issue size by €20 million to €140 million. “We were able to close the order book after only a very short time and place the convertible bonds successfully on the market and even exceeded the issue amount … the placement of the bonds demonstrates as much more the confidence of institutional investors to our future development and our intensified turnaround program,” CFO Ulf Huettmeyer said in a statement.
FL Technics has purchased four Bombardier CRJ100/200 and six Boeing 737-300/400/500 landing gear sets to be dismantled for parts and components. The components and parts of main and nose landing gear will supplement its aircraft spare parts stockpiles in warehouses in Europe, the Russia’s Commonwealth of Independent States and Asia.
PEMCO World Air Services and AERGO Cargo Solutions have inducted the first two aircraft in a 20-aircraft conversion deal. The first was inducted at PEMCO’s Tampa facility and the second at the STAECO Jinan, China facility; both are 11-position Boeing 737-400 freighters. Three additional aircraft are slated for completion by the second quarter 2013 and AERO CEO Fred Browne said the company is confident it will convert half or more of the order within the next 12 months.
MTU Aero Engines Holding AG reported net income of €173.9 million in 2012, up 9.2% from €159.2 million on a 15.2% increase in revenues to €3.34 billion. Its commercial MRO business recorded revenues of €1.3 billion for the full year, up 16.9% from 2011.
Delta TechOps inaugurated a line maintenance operations center at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, with service set to begin this summer.
Aviation Quote
The most nerve-wracking of airline duties: the flight engineer's job on a proving run flown by two chief pilots.
Anonymous
On This Date
---In 1826... M Biela, an Austrian officer, discovers Biela's Comet.
---In 1907... Cabinet-maker Charles Voisin begins tests of the airplane made by his company for Lèon Delagrange. He takes off for a hop of several feet, but the fuselage breaks up.
---In 1918... Regulation of the airways begins as US President Woodrow Wilson issues an order requiring licenses for civilian pilots and owners. Over 800 licenses are issued.
---In 1929... An amendment to the Air Commerce Act, effective in June, provides for the federal licensing of flying schools.
---In 1946…First flight of the Republic XP-84 Thunderjet 45-54975.
---In 1959…First flight of the Aérospatiale Alouette III.
---In 1959…Launch of Discoverer 1 (WTR)-1st polar orbit.
---In 1990…U.S. 65th manned space mission STS 36 (Atlantis 6) launches into orbit.
---In 2010…Eurofly ceases operations (merged with Meridiana to create Meridiana Fly).
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Which Branch Is Better
A Soldier, a Sailor, an Airman. and a Marine, got into an argument about which service is "The Best."
The arguing became so heated, that they eventually ended up killing each other.
Soon, they found themselves at the Pearly Gates of Heaven. Soon they meet St Peter and decide that only he would be the ultimate source of truth and honesty so they ask him:
"St Peter, which branch of the American Armed Forces is the best?"
St. Peter instantly replies: "I can't answer that. But, I will ask God what he thinks the next time I see him."
Some time later the three see St. Peter again and remind him of the question and ask if he was able to find the answer. Suddenly, a sparkling white dove lands on St. Peter's shoulder. In the dove's beak is a note with glistening gold dust.
St. Peter says to the four men, "Your answer from the Boss. Let's see what he says." St Peter opens the note, trumpets blare, gold dust drifts into the air, harps play crescendos and St Peter begins to read it aloud to the four young men:
MEMORANDUM TO SOLDIERS, SEAMEN, MARINES, AND AIRMEN
SUBJECT: Which Military Service Is The Best?
"Gentlemen, all the Branches of the Armed Services are Honorable and Noble. Each of you served your country well and with distinction. Being a member of the American Armed Forces represents a special calling warranting special respect, tribute, and dedication. Be proud of that."
Very Respectfully,
GOD, USA SF (Ret.)
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ShanwickOceanic wrote:^What he said, plus
5 Estafeta
