NewsKuwait Air To Buy 25 New Airbus JetsKuwait Airways has signed a contract with Airbus to buy 25 new aircraft and lease 12 others in the biggest overhaul of its fleet since the 1990 Iraqi invasion. "The company will start to receive the new planes from the second quarter of 2014," the airline said in a statement. The airline did not disclose the value of the agreement or give details about the type of aircraft, but said that it would give a news conference on Tuesday.
LinkBiden Seeks To Defuse China Air Zone RowUS Vice President Joe Biden will seek a delicate balance between calming military tensions with China and backing ally Japan against Beijing on a trip to Asia this week that is being overshadowed by a territorial row in the East China Sea. Japan reiterated on Monday that Tokyo and Washington had both rejected Beijing's move to set up an air defense zone that includes islands at the heart of a Sino-Japanese feud - despite the fact that three US airlines, acting on government advice, are notifying China of plans to transit the zone. Washington said over the weekend this did not mean US acceptance of the zone, and last week sent two B-52 bombers into the area without informing China.
LinkAeroflot Profits Up On Regional TurnaroundAeroflot posted big increases in third-quarter sales and earnings as it turned around the performance of regional airlines it bought two years ago. Quarterly net income rose 88 percent to USD$543.7 million, while revenues climbed to USD$2.9 billion from USD$2.4 billion a year earlier. In a statement, chief executive Vitaly Savelyev highlighted attractive ticket pricing, cost control and the successful integration of regional carriers bought from state military conglomerate Rostech in 2011 as reasons for the strong showing.
LinkEADS Founders To Face Trial In Insider CaseTwo founding industrial shareholders of Airbus parent EADS will join a group of current and former managers on trial in a long-running insider trading case, prosecutors said on Monday. In the latest twist to a saga that has haunted EADS ever since its A380 super jumbo hit unexpected development delays in 2006, an official at the French public prosecutor's office said French media group Lagardere and German carmaker Daimler would stand trial. Lawyers involved in the case reiterated that seven current and former managers including Airbus sales chief John Leahy also face trial over share trades carried out before the announcement of delays led to a sharp fall in the EADS stock price. Leahy, who like other individuals involved in the case has firmly denied wrongdoing, could not be reached for comment.
LinkChina Southern Says Four Execs In Anti-graft ProbeChina Southern Airlines has reported four middle-ranking executives to authorities after an internal audit uncovered irregularities as China steps up its anti-corruption campaign. A spokesman for China Southern declined to identify the executives, now under investigation by the police. The spokesman said he couldn't comment on the nature of the irregularities. The airline's comments came after China's official Xinhua news agency on November 30 reported that 10 executives at China Southern were taken away by police last week as part of the anti-graft drive. China Southern's spokesman said only four company executives are currently under investigation.
LinkAir Canada poised for A320neo orderAir Canada is expected to seek board approval for an order of Airbus A320neo family aircraft on 11 December. The potential order includes an undisclosed number of the A320neo and the A321neo aircraft, sources close to the negotiations tell Flightglobal. These are understood to be replacements for the Montreal-based carrier’s existing A320 and A321 fleets. Air Canada and Airbus decline to comment. The airline has stated repeatedly that it would place a narrowbody order by the end of the year, with executives making the first such comments in August 2012.
LinkLearjet 85 still close to first flightA top Bombardier executives says the Learjet 85 is close to making its maiden flight, but he stopped short of saying the composite aircraft will meet the company’s goal of a first flight by the end of the year. “We are very close to flying,” Bombardier’s president and chief operating officer Guy Hachey tells Flightglobal shortly after addressing attendees of the Aerospace Innovation Forum in Montreal. He declines to specify when the first flight will occur, adding only that the company, which owns Learjet, recently conducted taxi and other pre-flight tests at Learjet’s Wichita, Kansas, headquarters. “Like any first flight, we need to make sure everything is ready,” he says. Bombardier initially expected the eight-seat Learjet 85 to enter service by the end of 2013, but in February the company delayed deliveries by six to nine months until the third quarter of next year due to problems with manufacturing the composite airframe.
LinkBombardier’s first CSeries aircraft will conduct initial high-altitude testsInitial high-altitude tests of Bombardier’s new CSeries aircraft will be conducted in the manufacturer’s first flight test vehicle, not the soon-to-fly second flight test aircraft, says the company. Speaking at the Aerospace Innovation Forum in Montreal, Bombardier’s vice president and general manager of the CSeries programme Rob Dewar says the first flight test vehicle, a CS100 variant dubbed FTV-1, will conduct the first tests at altitudes above 30,000ft. Echoing past statements made by the company, Dewar adds that the second test aircraft, FTV-2, will be airborne in the coming weeks. FTV-1 has flown a number of test flights since its first flight on 16 September, but has not climbed above 25,000ft, says the airframer.
LinkAAIB confirms no mayday call from crashed EC135Accident investigators have confirmed the pilot of the Eurocopter EC135T2 that crashed through the roof of a busy Glasgow pub did not make an emergency call before impact. Speaking to media at the scene, David Miller, deputy chief of air accident investigations at the Air Accidents Investigations Branch, says that "there were no emergency transmissions from the pilot before the accident". Miller also says the helicopter made a vertical descent on to the roof of the Clutha Vaults. Nine people, including three crew members, died in the accident. There was no cockpit voice or flight data recorder present in the aircraft, says Miller, but he remains hopeful data can still be extracted from on-board electronic systems, such as the FADEC on the type's twin Turbomeca Arrius 2B2 powerplants.
LinkCaptain of crashed LAM E-190 experienced on typeMozambique carrier LAM has released information indicating that the captain of the Embraer 190 that crashed en route to Luanda on 29 November was experienced on the type. In a statement released on 1 December, the carrier said the captain of the flight had logged 9,053 flight hours, of which 2,520 were on the E-190 and 1,395 were in command of an aircraft. The first officer meanwhile had clocked 1,418 flight hours, of which 108h were on the E-190. Both pilots held valid airline transport pilot licences, says LAM. The regional jet went missing on 29 November while operating flight TM470 from Maputo to Luanda, with the wreckage located a day later. All 27 passengers and six crew members died in the crash. The jet, with registration C9-EMC, had logged 2,905 flight hours over 1,877 flights. The aircraft and engines underwent routine maintenance on 28 November, a day before the fatal crash.
LinkUS Airways CEO outlines merger hurdlesDoug Parker, the CEO Of US Airways, outlines the challenges the carrier faces in its merger with American Airlines. "We're doing everything we can to do it as well as possible and not cause disruption to our customers," he said. The merger will unite reservation systems, alliances and frequent-flier programs.
LinkCanada should keep cell-phone ban on flightsColumnist Gary Mason says Transport Canada should not allow passengers to talk on their cell phones during airline flights. "Air travel is stressful enough without allowing people to talk on their phones, making sleep all but impossible for those around them," he writes.
LinkWellness machines offer health checks at Boston airportA hospital system is sponsoring wellness machines at Logan International Airport in Boston. Travelers can check their blood pressure, weight and body mass index at the health stations. The machines also display suggested walking paths through the airport to encourage exercise.
LinkLas Vegas airport reports uptick in traffic for Oct.McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas reported a 1.2% increase in passenger traffic for October on a year-over-year basis. The airport handled 3.7 million passengers in October, with 35.2 million passengers traveling through the airport during the first 10 months of the year.
LinkBaggage security checks vital to hub efficiencyHold baggage screening is an important part of the air travel experience that affects flight timeliness and security. "Baggage handling systems, which transport bags from the airline’s check-in desk to the screening area and onto the proper flight, often run parallel with baggage screening systems," writes Andrew Goldsmith, vice president of marketing at Rapiscan Systems. Investments in baggage systems "ensure that passenger bags are threat-free while arriving at a given plane on time."
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