News
Iberia Flights Grounded During Second Strike
Iberia workers are set to ground nearly 1,300 flights in a second round of five-day strikes from Monday to protest against deep job and wage cuts at the loss-making airline. Iberia is part of the International Airlines Group, which last week pledged to press ahead with plans to cut 3,800, or 19 percent, of jobs at the struggling Spanish airline despite union discontent. Unions representing ground and cabin crews have scheduled three week-long strikes in February and March and each day is estimated to cost Iberia EUR€1 million (USD$1.3 million).
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Virgin Atlantic to launch regional carrier
Virgin Atlantic announced it will launch a regional carrier, Little Red, beginning March 31. The new carrier, which will use four Airbus A320s leased from Aer Lingus, will offer 26 daily flights between London Heathrow and Manchester, Edinburgh and Aberdeen. Virgin Atlantic is taking over the routes as remedy slots that British Airways was forced to cede to maintain competition on UK domestic sectors after its parent company International Airlines Group took over bmi.
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Will 787 Problems Affect Industry Self-Inspection?
Eight years ago, US regulators substantially increased their dependence on the aircraft industry to help keep flying safe. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it would no longer directly manage routine inspection of design and manufacturing. Instead, it would focus on overseeing a self-policing program executed by the manufacturers themselves through more than 3,000 of their employees assigned to review safety on behalf of the FAA. These so-called designees had existed for decades, but the FAA had vetted and controlled them. Under the new system, companies chose and managed them, to the point where the FAA even had trouble rejecting those they felt were unsuitable for the job, according to one government watchdog.
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Turkish Airlines Still In Talks Over Airbus Order
Turkish Airlines is still in negotiations for an order for over 100 aircraft, a spokesman said, after a German report that a deal with Airbus had not come off during a trip by German chancellor Angela Merkel to Turkey. Turkish Airlines wanted up to 120 Airbus A320s but held back from signing at the last minute after the airline said it wanted more Turkish suppliers to be involved, German magazine Focus reported without citing sources.
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Airport Capacity Shortage To Cost UK - CBI
Britain must boost direct flights to the world's fastest growing economies or risk missing out on billions of pounds in trade, according to UK business lobby group the CBI. Without additional runways and airports Britain could become a global aviation also-ran as competition heats up from more attractive hubs in Europe, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) said in a report on Monday. "For too many businesses, our lack of direct connections means selling abroad to the fast-growing market is simply not a realistic option," said CBI chief policy director Katja Hall.
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Royal Jordanian Stops Flying Over Syria
Jordan's national carrier Royal Jordanian has stopped flying over Syrian airspace for security reasons, the airline's head said on Sunday. Syria is a major air and land transport hub for the Gulf and eastern Europe, and nearly two years of revolt there against President Bashar al-Assad has already severely hit multi-billion dollar cargo routes from Turkey to the Gulf and vice versa.
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Austrian Airlines to join ANA-Lufthansa JV
Austrian Airlines will join the All Nippon Airways (ANA)-Lufthansa joint venture (JV) on its daily Vienna-Tokyo Narita route from April 1. The Vienna-based airline, which will gain better market-access in Japan, will share revenues with ANA on the route. Austrian Airlines CCO Karsten Benz said the carrier will also launch a JV with United Airlines on its new Vienna-Chicago O’Hare route from May. “We will get full support from United, which we didn’t have in 2001 and 2008 [on earlier services to Chicago],” he said, adding that load factors on Austrian’s North Atlantic routes to Washington Dulles and New York JFK have been far above 90%.
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Russia’s Ilyushin Finance Co. to order MC-21, SSJ100 aircraft
Russia’s Ilyushin Finance Co. (IFC) leasing company is planning to order 22 Irkut MC-21s and up to 20 Sukhoi Superjet 100s (SSJ100s). The deals should be approved by company shareholders at the end of March, IFC CEO Alexander Rubtsov said. The company placed a firm order for 28 MC-21s, plus 22 options, at the MAKS Airshow in August 2009. With the new contract, the number of firm orders will grow to 50 aircraft. Last month, IFC ordered 32 Bombardier CSeries 300s, scheduled for delivery from 2015 to 2018.
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Air China to order 747-8s, 737s and 777Fs
Air China is to order two Boeing 747-8s and 20 737s as well as nine 777s, eight of which will be freighters for its cargo division. The carrier has disclosed the arrangement in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange. It says the flag-carrier will take two passenger 747-8s and a 777-300ER along with 20 737-800s, while Air China Cargo has agreed to purchase eight 777Fs.
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UK signs A400M training, self-protection deals
Eighteen months ahead of receiving its first of the aircraft, the UK Ministry of Defence has signed contracts worth more than a combined £300 million ($450 million) linked to the training service and self-protection equipment for its Airbus Military A400M airlifters. Announced at the type's future main operating base with the Royal Air Force at Brize Norton in Oxfordshire on 1 March, the deals will support the UK's eventually 22-strong fleet of Atlas tactical transports.
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A330 crash probe struggles to explain premature descent
Investigators have traced the loss of an Afriqiyah Airways Airbus A330-200 at Tripoli to the aircraft's premature descent while preparing to approach runway 09. But the inquiry struggled to determine the precise reason why the pilots failed to follow the correct descent profile for the non-precision approach. Libya's Civil Aviation Authority, in its inquiry into the 12 May 2010 crash, notes that the same crew made a virtually identical error two weeks earlier.
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Go-around is supposed to be an escape, not a trap
The go-around manoeuvre offers an escape from unstable approaches, but all too often its mishandling has led to a crash. Could eye-scanning technology present a solution? Go-arounds are supposed to be the safe route out of an approach that is not going as smoothly as it should. Accident statistics, however, reveal this ostensibly simple manoeuver has often gone catastrophically wrong, whereas an unstable approach continued to landing frequently causes damage to the aircraft, but no fatalities.
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Other News
[b]FAA, other US government agencies and aerospace companies with defense contracts are bracing for the impact of mandatory federal spending reductions that took effect on Friday. Although the cuts—known as budget sequestration—have officially started, the main effects of the government spending reductions, such as predicted flight delays at airports, are not expected to be felt until April. The US government’s spending authority for the remainder of the current fiscal year ending Sept. 30 expires on March 27. Many in Washington DC closely following budget deliberations believe that an agreement to extend the government’s spending authority past March 27 could also address sequestration, at least partially. Top Republicans in Congress said they will work to keep sequestration levels of spending in place for the remainder of the fiscal year, but are open to providing government agencies with more flexibility to manage the cuts. Democrats are pushing to replace some of the sequestration cuts with new tax revenue.
Ryanair will cut its London Stansted Airport traffic 9% over the coming year in response to a charges hike by outgoing owners Ferrovial/BAA. The move would reduce Ryanair’s passenger traffic from 12.5 million passengers to 11.4 million. Ryanair claims that—prior to the handover of the airport to new owner Manchester Airport Group (MAG) Thursday—Ferrovial/BAA announced that Stansted airport charges would increase 6% from April 2013. Ryanair called on the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) “to investigate whether this unjustified and unwarranted 6% price hike was a ‘sweetener’… to persuade MAG to pay £1.5 billion ($2.27 billion) for Stansted.” The airline suggested the price was disproportionate in view of the fact “that Stansted’s traffic has declined from 24 million passengers a year to just 17.5 million over the last six years.”
Skywest Airlines, the Perth-based airline, reported a consolidated net loss after tax of S$2.2 million ($1.8 million) for the half-year ended Dec. 31, 2012, reversed from a S$4.5 million profit for the year-ago period. The airline said the results were due to challenging conditions putting downward pressure on loads and yields, as well as several non-recurring costs, including the carbon tax implemented on July 1, 2012 (S$2 million pre-tax). Excluding these non-recurring costs, the result would have been profitable, the airline said. Revenue during the period increased 19% to a record S$173 million, up from S$145 million year-over-year. Non-recurring expenses included preparations for the introduction of a second Airbus A320, consolidation of administrative offices into a more economic off-airport location, the transfer of flight operations from the existing passenger terminal to new facilities at Perth Airport’s new terminal, and advisory costs related to the proposed acquisition of Skywest by Virgin Australia.
Air Berlin-Air France-KLM codeshare: The planned codeshare agreement between oneworld member Air Berlin and Air France-KLM, a SkyTeam member, should be in place by April. Air Berlin CCO Paul Gregorowitsch told ATW on the sidelines of the Austrian Aviation Association conference at Linz Airport that the process has been delayed as the two alliances work out partnership details. “But we have the commitment from Air France and KLM board of managers as well as from Etihad. I hope from April we can implement it,” he said. Codeshare agreements with majority owner Etihad to Japan and China via Abu Dhabi have been implemented. “We are working on codeshare connections to India and, I hope, in two to three months we can also establish a codeshare with Virgin Australia to cover the total Australian market,” Gregorowitsch said.
Jetairfly, the Belgian leisure carrier, has taken delivery of the first of two new Embraer E-190s, which it has secured on lease from Singapore-based BOC Aviation. The second aircraft is scheduled for delivery next month. Jetairfly is part of TUI Travel. The carrier plans to deploy the 112-seat single class aircraft on services to various European destinations from Brussels, including Faro in Portugal, Malaga in Spain and Zakynthos in Greece.
Aeroflot will take delivery of its first Boeing 737-800 in September. Aviacapital-Service is financing the deal. The 158-seat aircraft is configured for 20 business and 138 economy seats. The second and third aircraft will be delivered to Aeroflot in November and December, respectively. Currently, the airline’s medium-haul fleet includes only Airbus A320s family aircraft. In January 2012, Aeroflot signed a memorandum of understanding with Russian state corporation Rostech to lease 50 Boeing 737 NGs (-800 and -900 modifications). The 737-900 configuration has not yet been decided. Separately, Aeroflot announced it has taken delivery of its second of 16 777-300ERs. The aircraft will be used on service to Phuket in March; New York, Hong Kong, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatski in Russia’s Far East in April; and Seoul in May.
Korean Air has taken delivery of the first Boeing 777 built at the manufacturer’s increased production rate of 8.3 per month, or 100 aircraft per year.
JetBlue Airways has signed a letter of intent with Airbus to acquire 110 ship-sets of retrofit Sharklets for the airline's in-service A320 aircraft. Deliveries are scheduled to start in 2014.
Lufthansa took delivery of one Airbus A320 with Sharklets in Hamburg. The airline will receive 21 more Sharklet-equipped A320 family aircraft through 2015.
Spring Airlines took delivery of one new Airbus A320 on lease from GECAS.
Iberia took delivery of second of eight Airbus A330-300s scheduled for delivery through 2014.
Ameco Beijing completed the first Boeing 737-800 cabin modification for Air China, which includes first-class cabin layout modification and PC power system installation. Beginning April 1, Ameco Beijing will perform another 10 Boeing 737-800 aircraft cabin modifications for Air China.
Aviation Quote
The nicer an airplane looks, the better it flies.
Anonymous
On This Date
---In 1675...John Flamsteed appointed 1st Astronomer Royal of England.
--- In 1909... President William Howard Taft approves Congressional Gold Medals for the Wright brothers.
---In 1936... The last great passenger-carrying airship, a veritable behemoth in its day, takes to the air for the first time. The German dirigible LZ 129, the Hindenburg, is powered by four 1,320-hp Daimler-Benz DB 602 diesel engines. The Hindenburg makes its first Atlantic crossing in the record time of 64 hours 53 minutes on May 6.
---In 1946…American Airlines begins using the Douglas DC-4 cross country on trips that lasted 13-to-14-hours.
---In 1948... The first American civilian to fly at supersonic speeds is Herbert Henry Hoover in Bell X-1 in Muroc, California.
---In 1954…First flight of the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter.
---In 1957…A US Navy airship sets an airborne endurance record of 264 hours and 12 minutes, covering 9,448 miles.
---In 1959…U.S. Pioneer IV misses Moon and becomes 2nd (U.S. 1st) artificial planet.
---In 1962…Caledonian Airways Flight 153, a Douglas DC-7 (G-ARUD) crashes just after takeoff from Douala International Airport in Cameroon. An elevator trim jam causes the plane to plummet into a swamp in the jungle, killing all 111 on-board. Because of the terrain, it would take rescuers 6 hours to reach the wreck.
---In 1966…Canadian Pacific Airlines Flight 402 falls shorts of the runway and strikes a seawall while trying to land at Tokyo International Airport. The pilots of the Douglas DC-8-43 (CF-CPK) are suspected to have had difficulty landing in poor visibility, causing 64 of the 72 people aboard to perish.
---In 1968…Orbiting Geophysical Observatory 5 launched.
---In 1970…Cargolux is founded.
---In 1982…NASA launches Intelsat V.
---In 1983… a Cubana de Aviación Ilyushin Il-62M strays off course and overflies important American buildings two days in a row.
---In 1990…U.S. 65th manned space mission STS 36 (Atlantis 6) returns from space.
---In 1994…Space shuttle STS-62 (Columbia 16), launches into orbit.
---In 1997…Comet Hale-Bopp directly above the Sun (1.04 AU).
---In 1997…Zeya Start-1 launched (Russia).
---In 2002…The second attempt of Ansett Australia ceases operations, and is liquidated afterward.
---In 2006…The final attempt to contact Pioneer 10 results in no response, more than three years after the last contact was made from the spacecraft. It is considered to be the first human-built object to be on a solar system-leaving trajectory.
---In 2007…US Airways and America West combine their reservations computer systems.
Daily Video
Editor’s Choice
Humor
The Pawnee
This unemployed CPL is looking for work when he gets a call from the Malaysian government.
"We've got a problem with fires and smoke and stuff, how’s about you come out and fly our Pawnees? All the flying you want, loads of free food and beer, good girls and best of all, money!!"
So the chap thinks it over and then jumps on the nearest Virgin and off he goes. Time passes. About three weeks later he's told to take the Pawnee away for a break and a 500 hour check (500 hours in 3 weeks being about right there).
On the way he is overcome with tiredness and has to land in a field of grass. Except that's it's rice and rather wet. He gets out of the plane and lies on the wing, oblivious to his surroundings.
Suddenly, out of the distance comes a big white Toyota land Cruiser, and in it is an 18 year old beauty. Blonde hair, blue eyes, nice white clothes etc. fantasy etc. The girl insists our hero join her in the farm house, away from the field and the snakes etc. On the way she tells him her dad is away and she's alone on her own in the house. At length, hero goes to bed, only to be disturbed a while later by a knock on the door.
"It's me " the girl squeals, "I'm lonely" Our hero says to go away - he being a brave pilot type and scared of her dad.
"No, let me in " she insists "My dad would want it".
Our boy has to relent and he lets her in - she is wearing very little, nice see through nighty, good body etc. fantasy etc. She gets in beside him and he turns away, as a gesture of gentlemanliness.
"Come here" she pleads "I haven't seen a naked man before". "No" he insists "go to sleep, I'm a professional and I'm tired"
"Please" she says, "if you don't I'll tell dad you made me!" so, in deference to a failed situation, our hero rolls over the girl... and falls off the wing of the Pawnee and into the paddy field!
Trivia
Airplane ID
Seaplanes
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CO777ER wrote:Nice to see another 748i order
airtrainer wrote:No guesses for today's trivia
JLAmber wrote:Not even no. 7?
JLAmber wrote:Not even no. 7?
