NewsBoeing rolls out first 787-9
Boeing has rolled out the first 787-9 aircraft at its Everett, Washington production facility. The company says it is preparing to fly the aircraft "later this summer." The 787-9 is 6m longer than the 787-8. It can carry 40 more passengers than the 787-8 and can fly 300nm (555km) farther.
LinkFour killed in North Sea crash of Super Puma helicopterFour people were killed in the crash of a Eurocopter AS332L2 Super Puma in the North Sea near Sumburgh on 23 August, Scottish police have confirmed. Eighteen people were on board the rotorcraft, operated by CHC Helicopter. Fourteen were treated in hospital in Lerwick, including the two crew. Five were discharged and nine detained overnight "either for observation or suffering from exposure," say police. CHC Helicopter confirms that the UK's Air Accident Investigation Branch has dispatched representatives to conduct a probe into the accident.
LinkDiscussionTeenage Stowaway Arrested After Lagos FlightA Nigerian teenager hid in the wheel bay of a plane and survived a half hour flight to Lagos from his home town of Benin, Arik Air said on Sunday. Daniel Ihekina evaded airport security and hid in the wheel bay just before take off on Saturday, airline spokesman Ola Adebanji said. Passengers spotted him emerging from the wheel cavity and alerted the staff. "How he got through security is something for the authorities to investigate," Adebanji said. "He's lucky to have survived it. Not many people can do that and survive."
LinkAlitalia In Talks With Etihad - ReportAlitalia is in talks with Etihad Airways on a commercial deal that may lead to the Abu Dhabi-based carrier taking a stake in the money-losing Italian company, daily il Sole 24 Ore reported. Neither Alitalia nor Etihad could be reached for comment. Citing unnamed sources, the paper said there had been several meetings in recent weeks between managers at both companies, including recently appointed Alitalia chief executive Gabriele del Torchio. Del Torchio, who is known as a turnaround specialist, was recruited earlier this year to lead the struggling Italian airline back to profitability.
LinkXiamen Air Orders Six 787s To Launch Long-HaulChinese carrier Xiamen Airlines confirmed a long-awaited deal for six Boeing 787s worth USD$1.27 billion at list prices, allowing it to begin long-haul services to the United States and Europe in 2014. The airline's parent, China Southern Airlines, said in May 2011 that it had signed a letter of agreement for the six aircraft, but the deal was held up pending approval from the Chinese government. That came this week, according to sources familiar with the deal. "We've confirmed the order. The first jet will be delivered on July 25 next year," said Xiamen Airlines spokeswoman Shen Zikun. Boeing declined to comment.
LinkAmerican pushes for reorganisation plan confirmation, DOJ neutral American Airlines has asked the bankruptcy court to confirm its reorganisation plan, including its proposed merger with US Airways, while the US Department of Justice (DOJ) takes "no position" on the move. The Fort Worth-based carrier says that not confirming the plan would add an "unwarranted element of uncertainty" to both the airline and its creditors and adds that the plan will be annulled if the DOJ successfully blocks the merger, in a filing with the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York today. "All parties involved are well aware that if a satisfactory resolution of the DOJ action is not obtained, the merger will not be consummated and the plan will be withdrawn," says American in its brief. "As stated, a determination of a plan's feasibility only is relevant or applicable if the plan becomes effective. In the absence of an effective plan, there is nothing to consider for feasibility purposes." The airline says that if a settlement were reached with DOJ, it would have to be approved by the bankruptcy court.
LinkSierra Nevada Dream Chaser conducts captive-carry tests Sierra Nevada Corporation has conducted the first captive-carry tests of the Dream Chaser winged lifting body, with glide flights anticipated in coming weeks. Captive-carry testing is being conducted at NASA's Dryden Test Flight Research Center on the grounds of Edwards AFB, California. The tests follow taxi tests, in which the unpowered vehicle was towed to speed and released to roll down the runway. The vehicle is hauled aloft by an Erickson-owned Sikorsky S-64 Skycrane.
LinkInterjet to begin Superjet revenue flights in weeks Mexican low-cost carrier Interjet expects to launch revenue service with the Sukhoi Superjet in early September, as it hopes to get the green light from Mexican authorities next week. The airline has to put the aircraft through 100 flight hours in Mexico before it can begin revenue service, Interjet chief executive Jose Luis Garza explains to Flightglobal. "We will finish sometime next week," says Garza. Following this will be a process to add the aircraft type to the airline's air operator's certificate, which will put the first revenue flight in early September, he adds. Interjet will operate the inaugural flight from Mexico City to Torreon in northern Mexico, says Garza. The airline aims to operate the aircraft on about 10 domestic routes within Mexico but aims to deploy it on flights to the USA in early 2014.
LinkInterjet seeks probe of rival Volaris' financial statementsMexican low-cost carrier Interjet has requested Mexico's securities regulator to relook at rival Volaris' financial statements submitted in its bid to launch an initial public offering (IPO), to confirm that they were prepared according to international accounting standards. "We have already presented a case to the stock exchange commission to find out whether exactly their [Volaris'] auditors are following strictly the IFRS standards," Interjet chief executive Jose Luis Garza tells Flightglobal. IFRS refers to International Financial Reporting Standards. Volaris did not immediately respond to questions for comment. The airline filed for an IPO in June, hoping to raise up to $100 million through both a Mexican and international offering. It plans to list on both the Mexican and New York stock exchanges.
LinkNorthrop studying potential of civil airshipsNorthrop Grumman is studying the potential of entering the commercial sphere with a line of unmanned cargo-hauling airships, says Tom Vice, president of Northrop's aeronautical division. "[A] thing that's very exciting, and we're going through to try to understand just how fast this market could develop, and that's commercial long-haul cargo transport," says Vice. "So we're looking at it, we're starting to see some trends, we're not sure exactly how we want to claim it." Vice confirms that airships are the most likely scenario, with an eye to operations in the Arctic, where the routine need to haul large objects, the relatively large distances between towns and the lack of useful ground infrastructure make air transportation a tempting case.
LinkUnstable approach preceded Dash 8's hard landingPilots of a de Havilland Canada Dash 8-100 had not stabilised the turboprop's approach to Nuuk in Greenland before the aircraft landed hard and suffered a main gear collapse. The aircraft, operated by Air Iceland, had been arriving after a service from Reykjavik on 4 March 2011. It was attempting an approach to Nuuk's runway 23 in strong winds. Owing to the wind conditions the crew agreed to use a 15° flap setting, rather than 35°, and fly a steep approach from high altitude. Having made visual contact with the runway the pilots also opted, crucially, to offset their approach to the right of the runway centreline. The crew noticed that a stretch of sea leading towards the airport appeared calm, and chose to follow this approach path.
LinkMitsubishi says delay will not hurt MRJ salesDespite another delay to its Mitsubishi MRJ regional jet's schedule, Mitsubishi Aircraft is confident that its sales prospects will not be diminished. In a press conference on 22 August, the Japanese airframer announced that it would push back the MRJ's first flight more than 15 months to Q2 2015, with delivery to launch customer All Nippon Airways (ANA) pushed to the summer of 2017. "We don't believe there will be an impact on MRJ sales, particularly from the angle that our aircraft is further along development, manufacturing and entry into service stages, as well as our stance that the MRJ is an overall superior, more fuel efficient aircraft compared to Embraer's E2," says a spokesman. He adds that both Trans States Holdings and SkyWest Airlines have expressed "continued strong confidence" in the MRJ as well as their support for the program
LinkU.S. Airlines reinvest modest profitability in customer experienceAirlines for America (A4A), the trade organization for the major U.S. carriers, reported U.S. airlines achieved a modest 2% profit margin during the first half of 2013, reinvesting that profitability in nearly $6 billion in product and service improvements for customers, including new fuel-efficient aircraft, modern airport terminals and customer lounges, expanded Wi-Fi and in-flight entertainment, gourmet meal offerings and more. John Heimlich, the chief economist for A4A, said airlines "made the transition from razor-thin margins to paper-thin margins" but cited volatile fuel costs, the airlines' single-largest expense, as a constant threat to profitability. He noted that the industry's first-half profits would have been erased by an increase in jet fuel prices of just 20 cents per gallon. Since the end of June, prices have already increased 26 cents per gallon.
LinkBoeing clears space at Wash. factory for 737 MAXBoeing said the aircraft manufacturer has cleared a dedicated space at its facility in Renton, Wash., for the 737 MAX. Boeing will start a final assembly line for the 737 MAX in 2015. The aircraft is scheduled to enter service in 2017.
LinkAirbus stages mock flight for A350 with "Cabin Zero"Airbus tested the cabin of its Airbus A350 by inviting a crew and 129 passengers to board for a mock flight. Although the aircraft never left the ground outside Hamburg, Germany, the virtual flight helped test the cabin. "We thought this was the right time to put Cabin Zero to the test in a real operational environment with real cabin crew," said Michel Treillet, director of customer programs for the A350 XWB program.
LinkPilots should remain attentive to monitoring systems, experts sayEven as investigators sift for causes of the Asiana Airlines crash in San Francisco, safety experts want to improve how pilots set and keep track of their automated cockpit equipment. Federal investigators expect to spend a year determining what went wrong July 6, when Asiana Flight 214 hit the seawall at San Francisco International Airport and broke into pieces. Three passengers died. The Boeing 777-200ER was traveling much slower – 103 knots rather than the intended 137 knots – and lower than required before the crash. Deborah Hersman, chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, said the Asiana jet's auto-throttle was "armed" to keep the speed steady and investigators must determine why it didn't. "Let me be very clear: The crew is required to maintain a safe aircraft," Hersman said three days after the crash. "That means that they need to monitor. We have a flying pilot and we have two other pilots that are in the cockpit, and they have a monitoring function."
LinkAPI: Demand for jet fuel rose in JulyU.S. jet fuel consumption rose by 2.3% in July on a year-over-year basis, according to the American Petroleum Institute. Demand for jet fuel hit 1.5 million barrels per day during July. "The uptick in demand is a reflection of the economy," John Felmy, chief economist for API.
LinkFAA finalizes OSHA rules for flight attendants The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said on Thursday that it was finalizing new work place safety rules that would grant Department of Labor worker protections to flight attendants. Under the new rules, the Labor Department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) would regulate safety concerns that could arise for flight attendants during their work shifts that are currently not managed by the FAA. Flight attendants had complained that they were not being giving protections that were granted to workers in other lines of employment. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx framed the finalization of the flight attendant rules as a victory for safety.
LinkBoston airport branches out to Asian destinationsBlogger and pilot Patrick Smith said adding international destinations such as Asia to Boston's Logan International Airport gives the city a touch of prestige. "There's something exciting, even a touch glamorous, that comes with being able to reach some distant foreign capital directly from your home town," he writes.
LinkBritish inbound travel to Orlando to increase next yearThe number of British travelers entering Orlando will be up by 25% in 2014, according to a report from the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority. "Along with Central Florida remaining a very desirable destination, our airline partners have increased the number of available seats to Orlando International," said Phil Brown, executive director at the Orlando International Airport.
LinkCustoms kiosks help travelers speed through Chicago O'HareChicago O’Hare International Airport is the first U.S. airport to install self-serve kiosks for U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The kiosks went live last month, and have reduced wait times by one-third for U.S. passport holders during the first 40 days of operation.
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