NewsCivil Aviation
Delta Posts Stronger Quarterly Profit
Delta Air Lines on Tuesday reported a stronger quarterly profit as fare increases and strength in the United States and Europe boosted revenue. Net income came to USD$1.37 billion in the quarter, compared with USD$1.05 billion a year earlier. Revenue rose 6 percent to USD$10.5 billion, and passenger revenue was up nearly 7 percent as gains in the United States, Latin America and transatlantic markets offset weakness in Asia. Passenger revenue per available seat mile, or unit revenue, increased 4 percent. Yield rose about 5 percent to 16.85 cents. Total costs rose 4 percent.
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Iberia To Return To Profit In 2014 - Walsh
Iberia will return to profit next year for the first time since 2010, Willie Walsh, the chief executive of parent IAG said. The Spanish airline became unprofitable in all markets, including long-haul, following its merger with British Airways in 2011. It was hit by competition from low-cost rivals and high-speed trains, staff disputes and a recession that has left a quarter of Spaniards out of work. IAG has spent around EUR€700 million (USD$965 million) restructuring Iberia, which reduced losses for the first time in almost three years in the three months to the end of June. "Iberia was in a significant crisis but is well on the path to recovery. Iberia will be profitable next year, like British Airways and Vueling already are," IAG boss Willie Walsh said at the Airport Operators Association annual conference in London on Tuesday.
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Turkish Air In Talks On Plane Order Plans
Turkish Airlines is in talks with Airbus and Boeing over orders for 2020-2023, having placed orders for 274 aircraft for delivery up to 2020, the company's chairman Hamdi Topcu said. The Turkish flag carrier has been expanding rapidly in recent years in a bid to boost its share of the global market, placing large plane orders with both Boeing and Airbus. Topcu told reporters it was not clear how many wide and narrow-bodied planes would be ordered for between 2020-2023 and added Boeing had not made an offer regarding its long-awaited next generation 777X model.
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Ferrovial To Cut Indirect Stake In Heathrow Airport
Spain's Ferrovial said on Tuesday it had reached an agreement to sell an 8.65 percent share in FGP Topco, the consortium that owns Britain's Heathrow airport, to Universities Superannuation Scheme, a pension scheme. It said the sale was worth GBP£392 million (USD$635.5 million), and it would bring Ferrovial's indirect holding in Heathrow airport to 25 percent, down from 33.65 percent.
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Nigerian Aviation Minister's USD$1.4 Mln. Limos Cause Outrage
A government minister has angered Nigerians by buying two bullet-proof limousines for USD$1.4 million, in a country where 60 percent of people live on less than USD$1 a day. The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) said it ordered the BMW 760 Li vehicles for 225 million Nigerian naira two months ago at the request of aviation minister Stella Oduah, saying they were necessary for security. "It is internationally customary to convey our minister and... foreign dignitaries in a security vehicle whenever they are in Nigeria," NCAA director general Fola Akinkuotu told journalists over the weekend. News of the car purchase was revealed in a document leaked by a whistle-blower to US-based Nigerian diaspora website Sahara Reporters last week. Oduah's supporters say the story is an attempt by her enemies to smear her reputation.
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747 airprox crews' mix-up baffles UK probe
Investigators have been unable to explain why the crews of two Boeing 747s each apparently followed instructions meant for the other aircraft, resulting in an airprox event over Scotland. While the 23 June incident was assessed by the UK Airprox Board as bearing no collision risk, its analysis has been unable to determine the reason for the joint error. The crews of both aircraft – a British Airways 747-400 and a Lufthansa 747-8, according to archived automatic dependent surveillance data – had been preparing for the transition to oceanic airspace for transatlantic crossings but were on converging flightpaths at 34,000ft.
LinkCorprate Aviation
Corporate Bombardier CSeries on the cards
Bombardier has confirmed there will likely be a corporate version of its CSeries aircraft. But the company has not established a timeframe and is currently focused on sales and development of other business jet models. “I’m sure we will [produce] one at some point,” Steven Ridolfi, president of Bombardier’s business aircraft division, says of a corporate version of the CSeries. “I don’t think it’s in our near-term horizon... we have a lot on our plate.”
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Sharklets give bite to Airbus ACJ319
Airbus delivered the first A319 corporate jet (ACJ) equipped with sharklets to an undisclosed, private customer on the eve of the NBAA convention. The sharklet ACJ319 now matches the range of the Boeing 737-700-derived Boeing Business Jet, which is listed at 6,200nm (11,500km), Airbus says. Airbus launched the sharklet program in 2009, delivering the first example of an A320 to AirAsia. All A320 family ACJs will be provisioned for sharklets, but not as a standard item. Corporate jet customers will need to order it from a list of optional equipment. The sharklet improves the fuel efficiency and the range of the aircraft, Airbus says.
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Bell Helicopter rolls out new upgrade for 429
Bell Helicopter has rolled in a new upgrade for the Bell 429 light twin helicopter: wheeled landing gear. The retractable system replaces the familiar landing struts and skids on Bell helicopter products, allowing especially VIP operators the ability to taxi around confined airports. “Now with the wheeled landing gear, it will open an additional market,” says Danny Maldonado, Bell’s executive vice-president of sales and marketing. The Bell 429’s VIP operators often fly short distances on point-to-point flights, but are prohibited from some airports if they are unable to taxi from a landing spot to a parking area.
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Sikorsky-Boeing confident SB-1 Defiant won’t be the next Comanche
Boeing and Sikorsky expressed confidence today in SB-1 Defiant, their design for the US Army’s high-speed joint multi-role (JMR) technology demonstrator program. They also say the companies will work closer together and be more efficient than when they partnered to build the troubled RAH-66 Comanche. Samir Mehta, president of Sikorsky military systems, tells Flightglobal that the companies’ substantial investments in Defiant show their confidence in its design and in the Army’s ability to see the project through.
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Analysts: U.S. airline industry should report healthy Q3
Solid operating revenue and stable fuel prices should contribute to healthy quarterly earnings for the airline industry in the third quarter, according to analysts. "We expect the airlines to report very strong earnings results in 3Q, with revenues beginning to accelerate, driven by improving pricing," said Helane Becker, an analyst with Cowen and Co.
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Delta Air Lines reports 31% rise in Q3 earnings
Delta Air Lines reported earnings of $1.37 billion over the third quarter, which represents a 31% increase from the profit reported in the same quarter of last year. Richard Anderson, the CEO of Delta, said the strong earnings reflect the carrier's progress over the past five years.
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FedEx updates cargo fleet with Boeing 767-300s
FedEx has updated its fleet of cargo aircraft with the addition of the Boeing 767-300 jet. FedEx has ordered 50 Boeing 767s, and the first freighter was delivered in September. "This is yet another positive step in our company's fleet modernization strategy to add more efficient, lower-emission aircraft to our global fleet," said David J. Bronczek, president and CEO of FedEx Express.
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Alaska Airlines unveils livery with employee signatures
Alaska Airlines is showcasing the importance of employees to the carrier by incorporating employee signatures into a special livery. The carrier emblazoned "Employee Powered" near the L1 door on one of its Boeing 737-800s, which also features signatures from more than 8,500 Alaska employees.
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A350 expansion plans aren't a stretch
Airbus could create a bigger version of its popular A350 jet, the company said, but isn't rushing to produce the planes because it has 756 of the model on backlog. "It's in a pre-concept phase," said Didier Evrard, who leads the A350 program. "We can certainly do it; it's a question of market, of priorities, and we will continue to listen to our customers about what's best for them."
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Etihad considers order for Boeing 777Xs, sources say
Etihad Airways is discussing a $10.2 billion order with Boeing for 777X jets, sources say. Etihad is the third-largest carrier in the Persian Gulf, and could order up to 30 wide-body jets. Deutsche Lufthansa and Emirates have placed orders for the 777 upgrade.
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Columnist speculates on future of mileage runs
It may be too early to write the obituary for frequent-flier mileage runs — those legendary year-end flights that offer a shortcut to an airline's coveted "elite" status — but it's easy to see the end from here. With Delta Air Lines and United Airlines tightening their loyalty program rules in 2014 to require more spending in order to get singled out for special treatment, many of these frivolous round trips could vanish after this winter. "With the new revenue requirements in place, mileage running will rarely make economic sense, except in cases where a traveler is just a few miles and dollars short of an elite threshold," says Tim Winship, publisher of FrequentFlier.com.
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Airbus aims for lithium batteries on A350 jet
Airbus plans to ask for approval for using lithium batteries instead of nickel cadmium batteries in its A350 jet. "We didn't seek initial certification for the A350 with lithium because we didn't want to take any risk of delay," said Didier Evrard, chief of the A350 program.
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Judge approves reorganization plan for American Airlines
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Sean Lane approved a reorganization plan for American Airlines Monday. However, he noted that he does not have jurisdiction in the Department of Justice case against the carrier's proposed merger with US Airways. "Nothing in this Confirmation Order shall be construed as an adjudication of any causes of action asserted in the DOJ Action or as otherwise expressing the Court's position with respect to the DOJ Action," Lane said in his order.
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American Airlines asks vacation clubs to stop using its logo
ay you get a brochure or postcard from some travel promotion that shows the logos of an industry giant such as American Airlines, Carnival Cruise Lines or Hilton Hotels. You might think that the use of these and similar logos means that the promoter is actually selling the travel services these suppliers provide. If so, you'd be wrong: For years -- decades, even -- promoters have been displaying respected logos on dubious offerings that have nothing to do with the well-known companies. Genuine logos are easy to steal: Many company PR departments post them online for publications to use in their stories. Most of the time, the logo owners ignore these deceptions, but early this month, one big airline said, "enough, already." American Airlines filed a lawsuit asking a group of vacation club promoters to "cease and desist" from using its logo on their promotional materials.
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Ore. security guard arrested for pointing lasers at aircraft
An Oregon man pleaded not guilty Monday to federal charges of aiming a laser pointer at two commercial airliners. Stephen Francis Bukucs (BOO'-kuhs), 39, a private security guard who lives in Portland, aimed the laser pointer at United and JetBlue flights on Oct. 13, according to an indictment unsealed Monday. He was indicted and arrested last week. Investigators say he's the first adult to face criminal prosecution for laser attacks in Oregon. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen F. Peifer told Magistrate Judge Dennis J. Hubel that Bukucs admitted pointing a green laser light at aircraft at least 25 times and said he did it "for excitement, for thrills." After aiming the laser at the aircraft, Bukucs would go inside and listen for a response on a police radio scanner, authorities said.
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Aviation Quote
Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.
— Prime Minster Winston Churchill, House of Commons, 20 August 1940. The Royal Air Force has been known as 'the few' ever since. M. Hastings (2009) Winston's War states that Churchill came up with the phrase a few days earlier on 16 August, after visiting Fighter Command's 11 Group operation room. His chief of staff 'Pug' Ismay made some remark in the car riding back to Chequers, and Churchill said, "Don't speak to me. I have never been so moved." After a few minutes he spoke the classic line.
This quote is often changed by writers and speakers, giving us material such as 'Never . . . was so much owed by so few to so many,' seen after the Falklands War. Other folks have wondered if Churchill was referring to the RAF's bar tab.
On This Date
---In 1906... Brazilian aviator Alberto Santos Dumont makes the 1st sustained airplane flight in Europe in his own airplane, the N° 14 bis.
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Newleyweds
A man met a drop-dead gorgeous woman and decided he should marry her immediately.
She said, “But we don’t know anything about each other!”
He responded, “ No problem, we’ll get to know each other with time.”
They were married and they went to spend their honeymoon in a luxurious hotel.
One morning they were laying out next to the large Olympic-sized pool, when he got up, climbed to the 10 meter springboard and demonstrated every dive from the standards to the highest degree of difficulty; a perfect demonstration. He climbed out of the pool and rejoined his wife.
“Wow, that was incredible!” she exclaimed.
“I was a gold medalist in 2000 and 2004 in the high dive. I told you, we’ll get to know each other as time goes by,” he said.
She then jumps to feet, runs and dives into the pool with an impressive speed. After thirty laps at a world-record pace, she comes out of the pool and joins her husband.
“I am surprised. Where you an Olympic swimmer,” he asks?
“No,” she answered, I was a whore in Venice and did Out calls only…
Trivia
General Aircraft Trivia
1. What is or was the Lufberry circle?
2. Elvis Presley was one of the first entertainers to own a “business jet.” What type of aircraft did he own?
3. True or False. The magnetic north pole is in constant motion and currently is moving toward the southeast at 20 kilometers per year.
4. True or False. The Boeing 314 Clipper, a 1936 flying boat used by Pan American Airlines, had a 14-seat dining room, a promenade deck on which passengers could stroll during flight and a honeymoon suite in the aft fuselage.
5. A pilot is flying a typical light airplane with a normally aspirated engine at a given gross weight. Which – if any – of the following indicated airspeeds vary (varies) with density altitude?
a. Best-glide speed
b. Best-angle-of-climb speed
c. Best-rate-of-climb speed
d. Wings level, 1-G stall speed.
Queso wrote:I've been to Graceland (..)
Awesome place.Queso wrote:(..) I also saw a Lockheed JetStar there.
AndesSMF wrote:#3 is TRUE
FlyingAce wrote:To further confirm that, I just found out today that GUA's runway designation will soon change from 01/19 to 02/20
FlyingAce wrote:AndesSMF wrote:#3 is TRUE
To further confirm that, I just found out today that GUA's runway designation will soon change from 01/19 to 02/20
