NewsNo distress call before deadly UPS A300F crash: NTSB The pilots at the controls of the UPS Airbus A300-600 freighter that crashed earlier today in Alabama had not issued a distress call before the incident, says the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). The agency, which sent an investigating team to the crash site at Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International airport, says it is still working to recover the flight recorders on the crashed aircraft. NTSB board member Robert Sumwalt tells reporters during an afternoon press briefing in Alabama that the tail section of the aircraft, which houses the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder, is "still smouldering" nearly 12 hours after the crash. "The first responders are out there continuing to put water, fire retardant, on that section of fuselage," says Sumwalt. Initial information obtained by the NTSB indicates the pilots did not issue a distress call prior to the crash, he adds. UPS has confirmed that both pilots were killed in the crash.
LinkDiscussionIAG to order up to 220 A320s British Airways and Iberia parent IAG is to order up to 220 Airbus A320-family jets, initially for low-cost carrier Vueling. The firm part of the order comprises 62 aircraft - including 32 A320neo - plus 58 options. IAG is also taking another 100 A320neo options for BA, Iberia and Vueling.
LinkNew Vueling A320s to be delivered from 2015 Spanish low-cost carrier Vueling will start taking delivery of new Airbus A320s from 2015, if a huge fleet-renewal deal from parent IAG is approved. IAG, which is placing orders and options for up to 220 A320-family jets, says the Vueling deliveries will continue to 2020. Vueling will take 30 regular A320s plus 32 re-engined A320neo aircraft under the firm part of the deal, which is yet to receive clearance from IAG shareholders. The provisional agreement also includes 58 options for Vueling. The airline already has 70 A320-family jets in its fleet.
LinkACA snaps up St Tropez airport to become leading destination for business aircraft in the South of France Aéroports de la Côte d'Azur (ACA) has cemented its position as one of Europe's leading business aviation airport owners, following its acquisition late last month of Aéroport du Golfe de Saint-Tropez (AGST) - owner of St Tropez airport. ACA is also evaluating other possible airport acquisitions throughout mainland Europe, but will not be drawn on specific locations. The purchase of St Tropez airport brings ACA's airport portfolio to three - all based on the French Riviera of southeast France - including Nice Cote d'Azur and Cannes-Mandelieu. The latter two facilities also serve commercial airlines.
LinkCathay Pacific Capacity Cuts Help H1 ProfitCathay Pacific Airways, the world's largest international air cargo carrier, is scaling back seating capacity on some long-haul routes to offset declines in its air freight business, allowing it to post a first-half net profit on Wednesday. Cathay, which competes globally against rival carriers such as Singapore Airlines and Korean Air Lines, retired three Boeing 747s in the first six months of this year and replaced them with two smaller, more fuel efficient Boeing 777s, as the company squeezes more income from its North American passenger routes, its biggest market. Cathay said on Wednesday its net income hit HKD$24 million (USD$3.09 million) for the first six months of the year, compared to a HKD$929 million net loss for the same period last year. That loss was its worst performance since the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome in 2003 curtailed air travel.
LinkANA Finds Faulty Wiring On 787 Fire ExtinguishersAll Nippon Airways said it had found an electrical wiring problem in the fire extinguishers of the engines of three of its Boeing 787 Dreamliner jets. The problem was first discovered during pre-flight maintenance of a 787 at Tokyo airport, an ANA spokeswoman said. The airline, which operates the largest fleet of 787s, is investigating whether the faulty wiring would have caused the extinguisher to malfunction in case of an engine fire. ANA operates 20 Dreamliners.
LinkGrounded Kingfisher Posts USD$189 Mln LossIndian carrier Kingfisher Airlines, which has been grounded for nearly 10 months, reported another quarterly loss on Wednesday, with no income from operations and creditors seeking to sell off assets. Kingfisher, once India's second-biggest carrier, owes more than USD$1 billion to a consortium of mostly state-run banks and hundreds of millions of dollars more to airports, tax authorities and others. After its flying licenses expired last year, Kingfisher, controlled by prominent industrialist Vijay Mallya, has twice submitted revival plans to the regulator in bids to restart operations, but the authorities are yet to be convinced. Last week lenders took possession of a key real estate company in Mumbai, but the property is estimated to be worth only about USD$15 million and auctioning it will not be easy due to pending legal issues. The banks, which have so far recovered about USD$90 million of the loans, do not expect to recover much by selling shares and property pledged against loans taken by Kingfisher, the head of Indian lender State Bank of India said in February.
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