NewsAirbus breaks ground in Mobile, JetBlue to receive first A320 Airbus and local officials broke ground on the airframer's new A320 family final assembly line in Mobile, Alabama, today, with JetBlue Airways slated to take delivery of the first aircraft from the plant. "Building an A320 family assembly line in Mobile is truly ground breaking for Airbus," says Fabrice Brégier, president and chief executive of Airbus, at the event. "When this assembly line opens, we will be the only one to assemble aircraft in Asia, the Americas and Europe." Construction of the facility at Mobile's Brookley Aeroplex will take two years with aircraft assembly beginning in 2015. Production capacity will be between 40 and 50 A319, A320 and A321, and the new A320neo family, aircraft by 2018.
LinkCathay Pacific A330 damaged after air bridge collapses A Cathay Pacific Airways Airbus A330's forward passenger door was ripped off after a rear air bridge at Hong Kong International Airport collapsed on 7 April. The incident happened at around 18:00 local time, after all 262 passengers had boarded flight CX532 bound for Nagoya. The aircraft, with registration B-HLF, had its airframe built in 1995. "The air bridge at gate 71 fell because of a technical problem," says an Airport Authority Hong Kong spokesman. A worker in the operating cabin of the air bridge was injured. It is understood that the rear air bridge had collapsed, crashing into the front air bridge and the forward passenger door of the aircraft was ripped off in the process.
LinkDiscussionVirgin America Best, United Worst In Airline StudyVirgin America did the best job of flying customers last year while United Airlines was the worst, though passengers experienced overall better performance, a study showed. The performance of the 14 leading carriers in 2012 was about the same as the best year ever in 2011, according to the 23rd annual national Airline Quality Rating (AQR), which ranks airlines based on US Department of Transportation figures. The industry improved in two of four areas: on-time performance and baggage handling. Involuntary denied boardings and customer complaint rated were higher, the study said.
LinkAir Travel To Get Bumpier As CO2 Emissions RiseTurbulence on transatlantic flights will become more frequent and severe by 2050 as carbon dioxide emissions rise, leading to longer journey times and increased fuel consumption, British scientists said in a study on Monday. Turbulence can happen without warning and is caused by climate conditions such as atmospheric pressure, jet streams, cold and warm fronts or thunderstorms. Light turbulence shakes the aircraft, but more severe episodes can injure passengers and cause structural damage to planes, costing around an estimated USD$150 million a year.
LinkMatutes Denies Counter Bid For VuelingSpanish company Grupo Empresas Matutes will not launch a counter takeover offer for low-cost airline Vueling, the group said in a statement to the stock market regulator on Monday. Vueling is currently subject to a takeover bid from IAG and recently there have been rumors Matutes could make a counter offer.
LinkUnion Rules Out Lufthansa Strikes Until Mid-AprilGerman union Verdi has ruled out warning strikes at Lufthansa until the middle of next week, saying the airline pledged to present a new offer at the next negotiation round starting April 17. "Therefore, there won't be any warning strikes up to and including April 17," a Verdi spokesman said on Monday. On Friday, Verdi had threatened to call for warning strikes before the third round of negotiations.
LinkBedek replaces wing box on Israeli C-130Israel Aerospace Industries' Bedek Aviation Group has completed centre wing box (CWB) replacement and rewiring on an Israeli air force Lockheed Martin C-130 transport. The company has also received an order to perform the same work on four additional aircraft. The IAI unit offers C-130 operators comprehensive service-life extension programmes, including CWB replacement, cockpit upgrades, rewiring and quick conversion to special-mission configurations.
LinkBoeing to demo Super Hornet enhancements in summer Boeing and the US Navy have confirmed plans to demonstrate the use of conformal fuel tanks, a weapons pod and radar cross-section enhancements on the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet late this summer. "We're actually doing a demo project this year, in concert with Boeing, to look at the conformal fuel tanks and the weapons pod there and some further signature enhancement efforts," says Capt Frank Morley, the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) program manager for the F/A-18E/F and EA-18G. "That's not a navy program of record but the demo is something that's supported by OPNAV [Office of the Chief of Naval Operations] and certainly by the program."
LinkPinnacle plans to relocate headquarters to Minn.Pinnacle Airlines will relocate to Minnesota's Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport after the regional carrier becomes a subsidiary of Delta Air Lines. Pinnacle is now headquartered in Memphis, Tenn. "Pinnacle went through an evaluation of its most cost-effective options, and Minneapolis was the most cost-effective," said Delta spokeswoman Kristin Baur.
Link8 airlines improved on-time performance last year, report saysEight out of the 14 largest U.S. airlines improved on-time performance during 2012, according to the Airline Quality Rating report. The authors of the report analyzed information from the U.S. Department of Transportation.
LinkBoeing completes test flights for 787 battery issueLast week, Boeing completed requirements for test flights of the battery fix for the Boeing 787. The Federal Aviation Administration will examine the results before allowing the aircraft to resume service. "We expect to deliver all of the materials to the FAA in the coming days. Once we deliver the materials we stand ready to reply to additional requests and continue in dialogue with the FAA to ensure we have met all of their expectations," Boeing said in a statement.
LinkMore-accurate flight delay predictions can reduce fuel costsThe winner of a math competition sponsored by GE and Alaska Airlines could help save millions in fuel costs. The winners of the first round of the Flight Quest competition came up with models to predict flight delays more accurately. According to GE, a one-minute reduction in departure delays can save $5 million in fuel.
LinkSome European airlines required to buy carbon permits for 2012Some European airlines may need to purchase carbon permits after exceeding their carbon allowances in 2012. The European Union's emissions-trading scheme requires airlines to purchase carbon permits when the airlines exceed their free allowances. "The Lufthansa Group doesn't see any oversupply of allowances," said Peter Schneckenleitner, a spokesman for Deutsche Lufthansa AG. "The money we are losing because of ETS would be better invested into new, fuel-efficient technology."
LinkFAA to push back closing of air-traffic control towersThe Federal Aviation Administration announced last week the agency would delay its plans to close 149 air-traffic control towers until June 15. "Safety is our top priority," said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood in a statement. "We will use this additional time to make sure communities and pilots understand the changes at their local airports."
LinkTrusted traveler programs can reduce wait times for passengersHomeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said the growth of trusted traveler programs can help the department focus on real threats and "take some pressure off the wait lines at the airports." She added, "Our hope is that by the end of this year, one in four travelers will be in some sort of expedited traveler program."
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