Commercial AviationLOT Agrees 787 Compensation With BoeingPolish flag carrier LOT said it had agreed with Boeing on compensation for the faults that grounded its 787 Dreamliners. "I can confirm that the agreement was signed yesterday, but we cannot reveal the details," LOT spokeswoman Barbara Pijanowska-Kuras said. The state-owned airline, which has struggled for years with large operating losses, has previously estimated the cost of the 787 problems at PLN100 million zlotys (USD$32.1 million).
LinkEADS Under Fire Over Planned Job CutsAirbus parent EADS has come under fire from France and Germany over plans to cut 5,800 jobs, but its chief executive said that ignoring weak military and space markets would have put even more jobs at risk. EADS said a three-year reorganization of its defense and space activities would affect 4,500 jobs on its main payroll, of which 1,500 would be redeployed to Airbus and helicopter unit Eurocopter. It issued figures showing that the largest burden of job reductions would fall in Germany, where 2,000 jobs would be cut compared with 1,260 in France, 557 in Spain and 450 in the UK.
LinkAlitalia Reaches Capital Increase TargetAlitalia has secured the EUR€300 million (USD$412 million) it needs to keep flying over Christmas, a source said on Tuesday, concluding a drawn-out capital raising that showed how much work the airline has to convince investors it can survive. Italy's national carrier, having pocketed cash that analysts estimate will last it six months, now goes straight to its next challenge: A meeting with unions where sources said it will try to persuade them to sign up to thousands of job cuts. The cash call was part of a bigger government-engineered rescue to keep Alitalia going while it searches for a new partner willing to invest in revamping its fleet and making it profitable in the longer term.
LinkAsiana Crash Hearing PostponedAn impending snowstorm has prompted US safety investigators to postpone a Tuesday hearing about the cause of the Asiana Airlines crash in San Francisco last July. The National Transportation Safety Board said a broader temporary closure of government agencies made it impossible to hold the hearing.
LinkBoeing Sees Export Credits Waning As Aircraft FunderMore commercial jet buyers will tap rapidly-expanding capital markets to finance USD$112 billion of jet sales in 2014 as state-backed export credits become pricier and more politically sensitive, according to a Boeing forecast. Money from government-backed export credit agencies (ECA), once used to pay for the bulk of jet deals, will make up 18 percent of aircraft financing next year, down from 23 percent in 2013, Boeing said in an annual forecast. "Higher fees and higher equity requirements are driving more customers to other markets... (and) export credit has a higher - than what we've seen historically - political component to it," said Kostya Zolotusky, managing director of capital markets development and leasing at Boeing Capital.
LinkLanding G550 damages London Stansted ILSUK investigators are examining a Gulfstream G550 which damaged the instrument landing system at London Stansted airport during an early morning arrival, forcing a downgrade of the site's low-visibility capability. While the Air Accidents Investigation Branch confirms it is probing the incident, it has not given details of the jet involved. However, a source familiar with the situation indicates that the aircraft is a Saudi-registered airframe (HZ-A6) and that it touched down some 25m (82ft) short of the runway threshold while landing at about 03:30 on 10 December. The long-range, large cabin business jet struck an antenna and suffered undercarriage door damage as well as scratches to the hull.
LinkFAA issues airworthiness bulletin for Hawker midsize business jet operatorsOperators of Hawker midsize business jets have been warned by the US Federal Aviation Administration that failure to maintain aileron control systems correctly could lead to wing and aileron oscillations that have the potential to cause structural fatigue. In a special airworthiness information bulletin published on 27 November, the FAA revealed it has received reports of wing/aileron oscillations from operators of 800XP and 850XP business jets, at altitudes above 33,000ft (10,100m) and at speeds over Mach 0.73. “These oscillations were not divergent, and when airplane speed was reduced and the airplane was flown at an altitude below 30,000ft, the oscillations ceased,” says the FAA. The agency says that further investigation revealed missing aileron bushings, low cable tension and improperly installed brackets, and that after the operators had corrected these faults according to the aircraft maintenance manual, “the oscillations did not recur."
LinkConsolidation should improve airline financial performance, experts sayExperts say the merger of US Airways and American Airlines, which closed on Monday, should correct the airline industry's course to financial stability. "I think there are some permanent changes to the U.S. industry now that suggest that financial performance in the future should be a lot better than the past 35 years under deregulation," said Michael Derchin, an airline analyst for CRT Capital.
LinkUnited reports uptick in passenger traffic for Nov.United Continental Holdings reported a 0.9% increase in consolidated traffic for November on a year-over-year basis. The carrier transported 10.8 million passengers in November, an uptick of 0.3% from the same month last year. November marked the third month in a row for growth in passenger traffic.
LinkFollowing merger, United, US Airways to end partnership in MarchUnited Airlines announced it will end its partnership with US Airways on March 30, as a result of the American Airlines and US Airways merger completed Monday. Through March 30, United customers can continue to earn frequent-flier miles on US Airways flights and access US Airways lounges.
LinkCalif. to bid for Boeing 777X production California will submit a bid aimed at persuading Boeing to choose the most populous U.S. state as a site for its new 777X jet production facility, a move that if successful could begin to rebuild its once-proud aerospace industry, a spokesman for Governor Jerry Brown said on Monday. California, which still has a Boeing facility in Long Beach, would be one of several states bidding for the facility, said Brook Taylor of Brown's office of Business and Economic Development. The deadline for submitting the proposal is Tuesday, Taylor said.
LinkColumn: Trusted Traveler programs benefit passengersThe Transportation Security Administration has opened up its PreCheck program for expedited security screening to all passengers. However, for international travelers, the Global Entry program may be a better fit, writes columnist Ed Perkins. More than 100 U.S. airports offer expedited screening through TSA PreCheck.
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