NewsCivil Aviation
Dubai Launches Passenger Services At New Airport
Dubai officially launched passenger services at its new Al Maktoum airport on Sunday after a delay of nearly four years, with three airlines agreeing to operate from the facility. The airport, Dubai's second, officially received its first commercial flight by budget carrier Wizz Air, which brought passengers from Budapest. Since 2011, tourists have flocked to Dubai, a regional safe haven, at a time of political unrest elsewhere in the Middle East, which helped the emirate's economy emerge from a crippling debt crisis.
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Spirit inspects Airbus V2500 engines following inflight failure
Spirit Airlines began delaying flights last night to perform inspections on the engines of its Airbus fleet, a move that comes after an engine failure on a Spirit Airbus A319 on 15 October. “Following the engine failure on one of our aircraft last week, and after reviewing routine maintenance procedures, we are completing a proactive and voluntary check on our aircraft engines overnight as a precautionary measure,” the airline said Spirit’s statement, received midday today, adds that the airline completed inspections on all but one aircraft.
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Russia to revive Yak-242 name for Irkut MC-21
Russia’s government has indicated that the Irkut MC-21 will be redesignated as the Yak-242 once the twinjet type goes into serial production. The disclosure came from Russian deputy premier Dmitry Rogozin – a senior defence figure in the country – during a visit to the Irkut aviation facility this week. Rogozin visited the plant, he said, to “verify the preparedness” of the country’s aircraft industry to meet not only state defense orders but to develop civil products. Irkut will unveil the first MC-21 prototype in summer 2015, Rogozin said, adding that facilities in Perm would produce the Aviadvigatel PD-14 engine for the type.
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Man Arrested With Four Guns At New York JFK
A Tennessee man faces six felony weapons charges after police found two rifles, two handguns and high-capacity ammunition in luggage he was trying to check at New York's John F Kennedy Airport on Saturday, an official said. Police arrested Keenan Draughon, 23, at about 8 am local time when the guns and ammunition were found in his bags, said Joe Pentangelo, spokesman for the Port Authority of New York. Draughon, who is from Clarksville, Tennessee, approached the counter at United Airlines and declared he had two cases of firearms to transport, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said in a statement.
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Boeing Gets Commitments For 200 737 MAX From China
Boeing has secured commitments for around 200 of its 737 MAX aircraft, the upgraded variant of its best-selling short-haul jet, from multiple Chinese customers, according to two people familiar with the deals. The deals are worth a combined USD$20.7 billion at list prices and must be approved by the Chinese government, a usual practice for aircraft orders in the country, before the customers can be identified, the sources said. These are the first commitments for the 737 MAX from China, the world's fastest-growing airline market. Officials from both Boeing and Airbus, which makes the A320 that competes with the 737, have said China is likely to overtake the United States as the world's largest market over the next 20 years.
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Ryanair Bows To Pressure, Cuts Baggage Charges
Ryanair is to reduce its charges for extra baggage and for reprinting boarding passes in its biggest move yet to shake off a reputation for bad customer service. The measures aim to address some of the most frequent complaints against the airline, which was voted the worst of the 100 biggest brands serving the British market by readers of consumer magazine Which? The budget airline, Europe's largest, will also allow passengers to bring a second small carry-on bag on board at no extra charge and correct minor errors in bookings within 24 hours, it said in a statement on Friday.
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Lufthansa To Outsource 1,300 IT Jobs
Lufthansa plans to outsource 1,300 IT jobs, almost a third of IT unit Lufthansa Systems' workforce, as part of a deepening group-wide savings drive. Lufthansa has started to look for an international IT company with which to cooperate, a spokeswoman for Lufthansa Systems said on Friday. She said Lufthansa wanted to call for fresh tenders for its IT services but was looking to lower its IT costs by tens of millions of euros, which Lufthansa Systems cannot manage on its own.
LinkMilitary Aviation
Indian air force receives fourth C-17 Globemaster
The Indian Air Force (IAF) has received its fourth Boeing C-17 Globemaster strategic transport. The delivery on 19 October came after the type was formally inducted into the IAF in September. Boeing says it will deliver five more C-17s in 2014, completing its contract with the IAF.
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RAF C-130Ks make last operational flight
The UK Royal Air Force’s remaining Lockheed Martin C-130K tactical transports will be formally retired next week, with its last two examples having made their final operational flights on 25 October. Operated from Brize Norton air base in Oxfordshire, the RAF’s final K-model Hercules will be flown to St Athan in south Wales on 29 October.
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Boeing and Lockheed partner on long-range strike bomber
Boeing and Lockheed Martin will team up — again — to compete for a contract to build the US Air Force’s long-range strike bomber (LRS-B), according to a Boeing media release. Boeing will act as the prime contractor and Lockheed Martin will be Boeing’s “primary teammate” on the project, says the release. The relationship revives an earlier Boeing-Lockheed partnership announced in 2008. The companies cancelled that “teaming agreement” in 2010, saying they needed to better understand the government’s goals for the project.
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Unmanned Taranis has flown, MoD reveals
Breaking a long silence about the status of its BAE Systems-led Taranis unmanned combat air system technology demonstrator, the UK Ministry of Defence has revealed that initial flight tests have already taken place. “Taranis ground tests commenced in 2010 and flight trials took place in 2013,” the MoD confirms, in written evidence to the UK parliament’s defence select committee. Published on 25 October, its submission was to support an inquiry into the current and future use of remotely piloted air systems by the nation’s armed forces and other agencies.
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Saudi Arabia receives more Typhoons
BAE Systems has delivered its latest pair of Eurofighter Typhoons to export customer Saudi Arabia, boosting the nation’s fleet of the type to 32 aircraft. Photographed at Toulouse-Blagnac airport in France during delivery flights conducted from the UK company’s Warton site in Lancashire in mid-October, the single-seat fighters are drawn from a 72-unit Project Salam order.
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Analysts: Blue skies ahead for airline industry
Analysts predict a rosy future for U.S. airline earnings as airlines keep a close eye on capacity and fly more fuel-efficient planes. "The airlines are poised to show a good year overall for 2013," said Henry Harteveldt, a travel analyst. "The September quarter was good, and I anticipate a good December quarter, and I'm optimistic 2014 will be at least as good as 2013, if not materially better," he added.
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Southwest CEO speaks to potential a la carte offerings
Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly said the carrier has no plans to charge for bags through the end of 2014. However, he said if customers prefer "an a la carte approach… we'd be crazy not to provide our customers with what they want."
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Airbus CEO predicts growth in aircraft market
Fabrice Bregier, the CEO of Airbus, predicted sustained growth for the aircraft manufacturer because of demand from airlines for fuel-efficient aircraft, as well as growth in Asia of more than 10% per year. "We believe that the market will grow 5% per year," he said.
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Southwest CEO predicts solid Q4 despite shutdown
Gary Kelly, the CEO of Southwest Airlines, is predicting healthy revenue for the carrier's fourth quarter despite the government shutdown. "Consumers were out there buying and flying," Kelly said. "We were having a grand time until the government shut down in October, but we're still looking at a very good fourth quarter."
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Chambers of commerce press DOJ for US Airways-American Airlines merger settlement
Twenty-six chambers of commerce, from U.S. cities as well as states, have sent the Justice Department a letter urging the agency to settle over the proposed US Airways-American Airlines merger. "This combination will benefit the U.S. economy, the airline industry and local communities throughout the United States," the letter said.
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FAA: Rule on personal electronic devices expected soon
The Federal Aviation Administration said the government shutdown has delayed new rules for use of passenger electronic devices. FAA Administrator Michael Huerta said the agency will focus on safety issues first before turning its attention to expanding the use of electronic devices during flights. "We know that this has a great deal of public interest, and we're going to respond as quickly as we can," Huerta said.
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Tech influences airport design, architect says
Curtis Fentress, principal-in-charge of design at Fentress Architects, said technology is playing a major role in the way airports are designed. In addition to self-service technologies, others such as self-cleaning glass are in the works. "Technology affects the shape and look of airports and what we’re going to see is the retrofitting of screens and interactive devices in almost all airports. The potential is there for all sorts of interaction with the passenger of the future," he said.
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Wearable tech could become useful at airports
One of the highlights of SITA Europe Aviation ICT Forum 2013 was the SWIFT Boarding By Google Glass technology, which lets people scan travel documents using the wearable Google Glass.
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O'Hare spa offers massages, manicures
Chicago's O'Hare International Airport now has an XpresSpa location in the international terminal. The spa opened this week along with a restaurant and coffee bar.
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Aviation Quote
Hitler built a fortress around Europe, but he forgot to put a roof on it.
— Franklin D. Roosevelt
On This Date
---In 1952…First flight of the Douglas XA3D-1
---In 1972…First Flight of the Airbus A300.
---In 1974…First flight of the Dassault Super Étendard.
---In 1982…The last Air France Boeing 707 service, from Tunis to Paris.
---In 1982…The final Douglas DC-9 is delivered.
Daily Video
Editor’s Choice
Humor
The Brothel
The madam opened the brothel door and saw a rather dignified, well-dressed, good-looking man in his late forties or early fifties.
“May I help you sir?” she asked.
“I want to see Valerie,” the man replied. “Sir, Valerie is one of our most expensive ladies. Perhaps you would prefer someone else,” said the madam.
“No, I must see Valerie,” he replied
Just then, Valerie appeared and announced to the man she charged $5000 a visit. Without hesitation, the man pulled out five thousand dollars and gave it to Valerie, and they went upstairs. After an hour, the man calmly left.
The next night, the man appeared again, once more demanding to see Valerie. Valerie explained that no one had ever come back two nights in a row as she was too expensive. But there were no discounts. The price was still $5000.
Again, the man pulled out the money, gave it to Valerie, and they went upstairs. After an hour, he left.
The following night the man was there yet again. Everyone was astounded that he had come for a third consecutive night, but he paid Valerie and they went upstairs.
After their session, Valerie questioned the man, 'No one has ever been with me three nights in a row.
“Where are you from?” she asked
The man replied, ' Ontario '.
“Really?”, she said. “I have family in Ontario.”
“I know,” the man said. “Your sister died, and I am her attorney. She asked me to give you your $15,000 inheritance.”
The moral of the story is that three things in life are certain.
1. Death
2. Taxes
3. Being screwed by a lawyer
Trivia
General Trivia
1. A pilot is practicing an on-pylon. He notices during the turn that the pylon is slipping ahead of the wingtip. He should
a. climb and reduce airspeed.
b. climb and increase airspeed.
c. descend and reduce airspeed.
d. descend and increase airspeed.
2. A pilot is practicing an around-pylon in a counterclockwise direction while under the influence of an easterly wind. On which of the following headings will rate of turn be greatest?
a. 090 degrees
b. 180 degrees
c. 270 degrees
d. 360 degrees
3. There are three types of airmets. A phonetic letter names each type. _____ refers to IFR conditions and/or extensive mountain obscurations; _____ is issued for turbulence, high winds, and low-level wind shear; and _____ advises of icing and freezing levels.
a. Airmet Sierra, airmet Tango, airmet Zulu
b. Airmet Tango, airmet Sierra, airmet Uniform
c. Airmet Uniform, airmet Zulu, airmet Sierra
d. Airmet Zulu, airmet Tango, airmet Sierra
4
. A U.S. military fighter pilot broadcasts the word Winchester. What is the significance of this transmission?
5. What was the first type of jet aircraft to fly nonstop across the Atlantic Ocean?
6. In the jargon of flight attendants, what is a thumper?
