NewsCommercial
LOT Aborts 787 Flight After Computer Malfunction
A computer malfunction on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner forced LOT to abort a scheduled transatlantic flight from Warsaw late on Monday, the Polish airline said. In the latest in a series of operational problems that have dogged the aircraft, the carrier was forced to switch passengers on the Toronto-bound flight to another aircraft, delaying their departure by a few hours. "We had to restart the on-board computer just before take-off," broadcaster TVN24 quoted a LOT spokeswoman as saying.
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Boeing Sees No Bubble In 737 Market
Boeing said on Tuesday it sees no bubble in the market for 737s and that production could rise to 60 aircraft a month at the current factory in Renton, Washington, though production may not go that high. Beverly Wyse, Boeing's 737 program manager, told reporters the factory plans to step up production to 42 per month in the second quarter and may go to 52 per month in 2018 or 2019, but that the company was still studying the possibility. Faster production of Boeing's best-selling 737 increases revenue, while shortening the time between when airlines order aircraft and when they are delivered, now about eight years on average. Boeing and rival Airbus have record order backlogs.
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WestJet Q4 Profit Climbs But Costs To Rise
WestJet Airlines reported an 11 percent rise in fourth-quarter profit as costs fell, but cautioned a weaker Canadian dollar will contribute to higher costs this year. The Calgary, Alberta-based airline said net earnings rose to CAD$67.8 million (USD$61.3 million) in the quarter ended December 31, from CAD$60.9 million a year earlier. Revenue rose 8 percent to CAD$926.4 million. WestJet's cost per available seat mile, or the cost to fly a single seat one mile, fell about 1 percent in the quarter. Revenue per revenue passenger mile, or yield, rose 1.4 percent.
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Thai Protests Drive Away Some Tourists
Thailand's anti-government protests, now in their third month, have taken a heavy toll on tourism in the bustling capital Bangkok, but sparked an upturn in arrivals at beach and mountain resorts, officials say. Thousands of demonstrators have occupied areas near Bangkok's commercial and retail districts, halting traffic and causing logistical headaches for residents and visitors alike. Ten people have been killed in sporadic outbursts of violence since late November. Thailand attracted a record 26 million-plus visitors last year, up 19.63 percent from a year earlier, but arrivals fell by half to about one million in January from December.
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Alaska Airlines approves new online streaming service for fleet
Alaska Airlines has approved a plan to begin installing in one year a still undisclosed online streaming service across the fleet for in-flight entertainment. Chief executive Brad Tilden confirmed the move on 4 February on the sidelines of the Pacific Northwest Aerospace Alliance (PNAA) annual convention in Lynnwood, Washington. “We just signed a business case recently to go to servers on the airplane,” Tilden says. “So there will be like 1,000 movies, something like that, plus music, all sorts of choices that people will download either to their own device or to an enhanced service. That will be on in a year.” An airline spokesman confirmed the approval of the business case for the online streaming service, but declined to identify the vendor.
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MA60's nose landing gear collapses in China
A Xian Aircraft MA60 turboprop operated by Chinese carrier Joy Air was damaged after its nose landing gear collapsed at Zhengzhou Xinzheng International airport. The aircraft was operating flight JR1533 from Taiyuan-Zhengzhou service, and was taxiing after landing when the incident happened, says the manufacturer AVIC in a statement. Flightglobal’s Ascend Online Fleets database indicates that the aircraft bears registration B-3455.
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Southwest Airlines charts path for growth, analysts say
Southwest Airlines now offers 3,600 daily flights, and many analysts say it is not a scrappy start-up airline anymore. Logan Purk, an analyst for Edward Jones, said Southwest is no longer "a small fish in a big pond." The carrier recently gained slots, and also plans to expand internationally.
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JetBlue evaluates additional growth opportunities
With JetBlue set to launch service to three new markets in the coming weeks in Detroit, Savannah, Ga., and Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, the carrier continues to evaluate additional opportunities to expand service options for its customers. "What I can tell you is, our route planning team is always looking at options," said Morgan Johnston, manager of corporate communications at JetBlue.
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Alaska Airlines reaches tentative deal with union
Alaska Airlines has reached a tentative agreement with one of its unions over a five-year contract for 2,500 employees. Members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers will vote on ratification for the deal in April. The deal covers office, clerical and passenger service employees.
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Survey: 42% of air travelers would opt for overhead bin
A survey by Fly.com found that 42% of air travelers would prefer to have the option to purchase additional overhead bin space. "Our latest survey reveals the type of ancillary opportunities that can bolster passenger satisfaction," said Warren Chang, Fly.com vice president and general manager, in a statement.
LinkGeneral Aviation
Diamond DA52 on track for year-end certification
Austrian airframer Diamond Aircraft says it is on target to secure preliminary certification for its DA52-VII piston twin later this year, but will not begin its marketing push for the seven-seat aircraft until 2015, when it expects to secure full approval for the Austro AE300-powered type. Full validation covers the aircraft’s radar, anti-icing and air conditioning systems. "We are working hard to meet our European certification targets and plan to deliver the first batch of aircraft next year," says Diamond chief executive Christian Dries.
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Epic steps up E1000 single-engined turboprop manufacturing effort
Epic Aircraft is intensifying its efforts to gain certification for its E1000 single-engined turboprop next year, and has kick-started a recruitment drive to augment its workforce in order to bring the six-seat, high-performance type to market within 20 months. The $2.75 million E1000 is a certificated, factory-built version of the $1.95 million Epic LT kit plane - the last of which are now being assembled at its Bend, Oregon facility. "We made the decision last year to stop building the kits and to focus on the certificated version," says Mike Schrader, Epic’s director of sales. "We are building the final eight aircraft now, then the line will be cleared." In total the company has sold 46 LT kits, he says.
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FAA attacks GA safety weaknesses
The prevention of weather-related general aviation accidents will be the top priority for the US Federal Aviation Administration in its ongoing campaign to improve GA safety, according to administrator Michael Huerta. The FAA observes that the GA fatal accident rate stopped improving six years ago, and last year there were 259 fatal accidents at a cost of 449 lives, continuing a more-or-less flat trend. Over the past decade, according to FAA figures, loss of control in flight remains the top cause of GA fatal accidents, with 40% of those cases involving stalling. This has motivated the FAA to work with manufacturers to develop low-cost angle of attack indicators to keep pilots informed of how much of a performance margin they have from stalling. The other major potential fatality-reducer would be inflatable restraints – air bags – which could be retrofitted to existing types. The agency wants to achieve these advances without additional regulation by improving awareness and driving down the cost of improvements.
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Raytheon continues developing 'persistent close air support' technology
Raytheon is beginning work on the third phase of a multi-year project to develop a persistent close air support (PCAS) system to give ground troops faster, more accurate air support. The company announced in a 4 February media release that the US government's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has "exercised" an option allowing Raytheon to begin the work, which is worth $25.5 million over 18 months. The announcement comes many months after the phase three work was actually awarded, which happened in the third quarter of 2013. Phase three involves conducting a series of flight tests and performing live-fire demonstrations of the technology, which is aimed at allowing ground troops to better coordinate air support from multiple aircraft types, and to greatly reduce strike times, the company says.
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Aviation Quote
The greatest contributor to the feeling of tension and fear of war arose from the power of the bombing aeroplane. If all nations would consent to abolish air bombardment . . . that would mean the greatest possible release from fear.
— Ernest Rutherford
On This Date
---In 1919... The first regular, daily passenger service in the world is launched at Berlin’s city airfield. A German airline, Deutsche Luft Reederei, operates the new service on route from Berlin to Weimar via Leipzig.
---In 1920…The Royal Air Force College is established in Cranwell, Licolnshire.
---In 1929... Frank Hawks and Oscar Grubb land their Lockheed Air Express in New York after a record flight of 18 hours 20 minutes from Los Angeles.
---In 1946…TWA begins transatlantic service with the Lockheed Constellation flying the New York-Gander-Shannon-Paris route.
---In 1949... An Eastern Air Lines Lockheed Constellation lands at LaGuardia, New York, at the end of a flight of 6 hours 18 minutes from Los Angeles, a coast-to-coast record for transport aircraft.
---In 1951... The United States and Canada announce the establishment of the Distant Early Warning (DEW), the air defense system that uses more than 30 radar stations located across the northern portion of the continent.
---In 1958…A B-47 Stratojet on a simulated training exercise out of Homestead Air Force base in Florida collides with an F-86 Sabre. The bomber is carrying a 7,600-pound hydrogen bomb, which was jettisoned in an effort to reduce weight for a safe landing. The Sabre pilot ejects, the B-47 plane made it to Hunter Army Airfield safely, and the bomb, let go into the Atlantic Ocean, was never found. If you happen to reel it in on a fishing trip, please contact the United States Air Force.
---In 1958…Vanguard TV-3 back-up launches into Earth orbit; reaches 6 km.
---In 1962... A Sikorsky HSS-2 Sea King of the US Navy sets a world helicopter speed record of 210.6 mph, in the course of a flight between Milford and New Haven, Connecticut.
---In 1962…Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn within 16 degrees.
---In 1963…Soviet lunar probe failure.
---In 1967…Lunar Orbiter 3 - USA Lunar Orbiter launched. Orbited the moon, photographed the far side for potential Apollo 12 landing sites, then impacted on command.
---In 1972…First series of three SR-71 HABU flights launched at Kadena. At 14:16, 14:18 and 15:22. These missions were coordinated sorties to lay down sonic booms over the Hanoi Hilton POW camp. These flight were designed to show solidarity with the prisoners. (Q)
---In 1972…Airlines in the United States begin mandatory inspection of passengers and baggage for weapons and explosives.
---In 1972…Aeroflot and Lufthansa team up to operate joint Moscow-Frankfurt flights.
---In 1972… NASA and de Havilland Canada extensively modify a C-8 Buffalo for STOL experiments.
---In 1974…Mariner 10 - USA Mercury/Venus Flyby - 526 kg - (November 3, 1973 - March 24, 1975) flew past Venus for a gravity assist to the planet Mercury. Mariner 10 was the first dual planet mission. Mariner 10 was the first spacecraft to have an imaging system. It recorded circulation in the Venusian atmosphere and showed the temperature of the cloud tops to be -23°C. Mariner 10 flew past Mercury 3 times on March 29, 1974, September 21, 1974, and March 16, 1975. These three encounters produced over 10,000 pictures with 57% planet coverage. It recorded surface temperatures ranging from 187°C to -183°C on the day and night sides. A weak magnetic field was detected but it failed to detect an atmosphere. Mariner 10 is now in a solar orbit.
---In 1982…Laker Airways ceases operations.
---In 1987…Soyuz TM-2 launches.
---In 1994…Clementine - USA Lunar Orbiter - (launched January 25, 1994) spent 70 days (between February 6 and May 5, 1994) in lunar orbit. The official name for Clementine is Deep Space Probe Science Experiment (DSPSE). It was a Department of Defense program used to test new space technology. Clementine was a new design using lightweight structure and propellant systems. Its four cameras mapped the surface of the Moon at 125-250 meters/pixel resolution. Clementine also used a laser to gather altimeter data which will make it possible to generate the first lunar topographic map.
---In 2012…MatlinPatterson, the private equity firm in control of World Airways and North American Airlines, takes its Global Aviation Holdings subsidiary carriers into Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization less than four years after shuttering fellow subsidiary carriers ATA Airlines and Arrow Air.
Daily Video
Editor’s Choice
Humor
Two Moose Hunters
Two moose hunters got a pilot to fly them into the Canadian wilderness, where they managed to bag two big Bull Moose.
As they were loading the plane to return, the pilot said the plane could take only the hunters, their gear and one Moose.
The hunters strongly objected saying, "Last year we shot two, and the pilot let us take them both ... and he had exactly the same airplane as yours."
Reluctantly the pilot, not wanting to be outdone by another bush pilot, gave in and everything was loaded. However, even under full power, the little plane couldn't handle the load and went down, crashing in the wooded wilderness.
Somehow, surrounded by the moose, clothing and sleeping bags, Stosh and Stan survived the crash.
After climbing out of the wreckage, Stosh asked Stan, "Any idea where we are?"
Stan replied, "I think we're pretty close to where we crashed last year!"
Trivia
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Survey: 42% of air travelers would opt for overhead bin
A survey by Fly.com found that 42% of air travelers would prefer to have the option to purchase additional overhead bin space. "Our latest survey reveals the type of ancillary opportunities that can bolster passenger satisfaction," said Warren Chang, Fly.com vice president and general manager, in a statement.
The greatest contributor to the feeling of tension and fear of war arose from the power of the bombing aeroplane. If all nations would consent to abolish air bombardment . . . that would mean the greatest possible release from fear.
— Ernest Rutherford
