NewsCommercial
Flights Disrupted As Snow Again Hits US South
Hundreds of flights were disrupted as a potentially dangerous mix of snow and ice threatened a wide swath of the US South again on Tuesday. "This has the potential to be a catastrophic event," said a winter storm warning advisory issued by the National Weather Service office in Peachtree City, Georgia.
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787-9 flight tests progressing smoothly
The Boeing 787-9 is progressing with its flight test programme smoothly, and Boeing is on track to deliver the aircraft to launch operator Air New Zealand by the middle of the year. Speaking at the Singapore air show, Scott Fancher, Boeing Commercial Airplanes' vice president of airplane development says the airframer's three flight test aircraft have so far accumulated 750 flight hours. A fourth aircraft is also "nearing completion" in final assembly, and will soon join in flight test activities. “The flight test program is progressing extremely well. We’ve seen no major issues and are on track to meet customer commitment,” says Fancher. He adds that certification of an aircraft typically takes place a month before delivery, and that the -9 is on track to achieve that.
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Amedeo firms up 20 A380s
Lessor Amedeo, formerly known as Doric Lease, has firmed up its previously announced commitment for 20 Airbus A380s. Deliveries will start in 2016 and continue through to 2020. An engine selection will be made at a later date.
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Nok Air to order 15 737s
Thai low-cost carrier Nok Air has committed to order 15 Boeing 737s. The order comprises eight 737-800s and seven 737 Max aircraft. The deal is valued at $1.45 billion at list prices.
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Production system key to Boeing’s 757 successor studies
Deciding on the production system that Boeing adopts for any new aircraft developed to address the niche in the narrowbody market previously filled by the 757 will be a key aspect of its studies to ensure low build costs. The manufacturer has long been studying the market for 200-300 seater aircraft with a range of 4,000-5,000nm (7,400-9,250km). This category fits between the top of its single-aisle product line currently occupied by the 737-900ER and the bottom end of its 787 widebody family. This market was left vacant when Boeing ended production of the 757 narrowbody in 2004 after just over 1,000 deliveries.
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Republic to remove 27 aircraft in face of pilot shortage
Republic Airways will remove 27 regional jets with up to 50 seats in 2014, as a lack of qualified pilots forces it to reduce its fleet and analysts say could put its Bombardier CSeries order in jeopardy. The aircraft in question are 15 Embraer ERJ-140s with 44 seats operating for American Airlines and 12 Embraer ERJ-145s with 50 seats operating for United Airlines, according to an investor update today. The aircraft will exit the Indianapolis-based regional carrier’s fleet by the third quarter.
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Southwest CEO excited about growth potential
Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly said the carrier is looking to expand in additional markets. Kelly called the potential growth opportunities "very exciting for all of our employees who want to do more," and mentioned Memphis, Tenn., and Cleveland as possible sites for expansion.
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Hawaiian Airlines flew more passengers in Jan.
Hawaiian Airlines reported a 4.1% increase in traffic in January, as compared to the same month last year. The carrier transported more than 824,000 passengers during January. Meanwhile, Hawaiian's load factor also improved by 1.2% for January on a year-over-year basis.
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United boosts load factor in Jan.
Despite the barrage of severe winter storms affecting air travel across the Midwest and Northeast, United Continental boosted its load factor by 1% but reduced its capacity by 2.8% for January, as compared to the same month last year.
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To better compete, Asiana Airlines snaps up planes
Asiana Airlines is hoping to strengthen its edge against its long-distance route budget-carrier competition by purchasing Airbus superjumbo and other aircraft. The company says it will buy 14 airliners through 2018, a move CEO Kim Soo-cheon says will position the airline well. "A growing challenge from low-cost carriers is a stark reality," he said. "But I see a great potential in long-haul services, where budget carriers, by nature, have little access."
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Boeing exec: We will deliver aircraft on time to Asia-Pacific
At Singapore Airshow, a Boeing executive expressed optimism about delivering aircraft to the Asia-Pacific region on time. "I think there is good balance between supply and demand at this time," said John Wojick, Boeing's global sales chief. "I am confident that we can deliver on the orders we have.
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Customs kiosks aim to cut D/FW wait times
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport has unveiled new automated kiosks aimed at speeding international travelers much more quickly through customs, a source of frustration for many passengers in the past. "Our weekly international departures have grown 66 percent since 2008," said Ken Buchanan, D/FW's executive vice president for revenue management. "We saw wait times of three and four hours this past summer in customs, and that's no way to welcome our guests." U.S. and Canadian citizens will be able to get a clearance ticket from a kiosk by scanning their passports, avoiding lines at customs.
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In-flight cellphone ban heads to committee
A measure that would prevent fliers from talking on cell phones during flights heads to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee for lawmakers' review. "For those few hours in the air with 150 other people, it's just common sense that we all keep our personal lives to ourselves and stay off the phone," said bill sponsor Rep. Bill Shuster, R-Pa.
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Airlines debut geo-entertainment flight maps
New in-flight maps, which not only plot a plane's course in real-time but also offer photos and information about the land or sea beneath the plane, are being unveiled at Singapore Airlines and Norwegian Air Shuttle. "I think people just love to know where they are, and what's down there. It's quite a simple thing, really," says Ben Jarman, the project manager for Hidden Journeys, the program used by Singapore Airlines. "Many people look out the window and are amazed by what they see."
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Virgin Atlantic hopes Google Glass is half-full
Virgin Atlantic has started testing wearable technology such as Google Glass and Sony Smartwatch for its concierges at Heathrow airport in London. The concierge staff can receive information about passengers on the wearable technology while assisting the passengers. The technology also offers translation services.
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Cessna sees its future with a large-cabin Citation
Cessna is aspiring to offer a large-cabin aircraft in its future business jet line-up, as part of its continued focus on new product development and platform enhancements. "We are conducting advanced research and development across all of our product spaces and there are a number of designs on the drawing board," says Brad Thress, Cessna’s senior vice president of business jets. Cessna entered the large-cabin arena in 2008, with the launch of the Columbus. The programme was cancelled less than 18 months later following the onset of the global economic downturn. "We can see the importance of having a large-cabin business jet in the Citation family. Aircraft in this sector generate strong revenues and stability for OEMs so there is a desire to be there in the long term," he adds.
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Weather suspected in C-130 crash
Senior Algerian military spokesman Col Lahmadi Bouguern has suggested that today's fatal crash of an air force Lockheed C-130 Hercules was probably related to bad weather. He says there was high wind and turbulence over the surrounding mountainous terrain, and poor visibility in snow. The aircraft was approaching runway 34 at Constantine airport, which has an elevation of 2,316ft (706m), when it hit high ground, killing all four crew and 99 passengers.
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Boeing confident of placing unsold C-17s
Boeing is placing a high priority on finding customers for the 15 C-17 strategic transports it decided to build without confirmed orders. “[The C-17s] are not without a lot of focus in the company,” says Chris Raymond, vice-president of Boeing Defense, Space & Security. “Any time you’re in a position where you’re protecting things at risk, you pay a lot of attention to it. We pay attention to [the sale of the C-17s] at the highest levels of the company, but we are confident that we’ve got some folks out there who will buy up the remains of the production run.”
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Lockheed offers fixed-price F-16 upgrade
Lockheed Martin’s aeronautics chief has swatted down speculation that possible funding concerns related to US F-16 upgrades will compromise its international improvement offerings for the popular type. Speaking at the Singapore air show on 11 February, president of Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Orlando Carvalho said that if the Combat Avionics Programmed Extension Suite (CAPES) effort becomes a casualty of the US government’s 2015 budget request, it will not hurt his company’s international F-16 upgrade offering.
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Boeing closes in on Indian Apache, Chinook deals
Boeing expects to sign contracts soon covering India’s planned purchase of its AH-64E Apache and CH-47F Chinook helicopters, while global interest in the V-22 Osprey tiltrotor produced with partner Bell has reached a new high. India is currently in “final signature routing with the Ministry of Defence” for both its planned acquisitions, says Leanne Caret, Boeing’s vice-president, vertical lift. “We anticipate a contract for the Chinooks in the first half of the year, and the Apaches in the second half,” she adds.
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Singapore's Air force to receive last M-346 trainers
Singapore’s new-generation advanced jet trainer fleet will be complete within weeks, with Alenia Aermacchi poised to deliver its last of 12 M-346 aircraft. Ten aircraft have already been delivered to the Republic of Singapore Air Force, along with associated ground-based training equipment and an initial package of logistics support, the European manufacturer says. The remainder will follow in March, it adds.
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Bell pushes ahead with export V-22 sales
Bell is working with partner Boeing to finalise a number of export sales campaigns for its V-22 Osprey even as it continues development activities on its V-280 Valor third-generation tiltrotor. “There are targets of opportunity that we are continuing to pursue,” says Bell chief executive John Garrison. “Once we secure the first [Foreign Military Sales] contract, I think others will follow thereafter.” Israel is the leading candidate for the first export order having formally requested the acquisition of six aircraft via the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency.
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Aviation Quote
Above all, I shall see to it that the enemy will not be able to drop any bombs.
— Hermann Goering, German Air Force Minister. German original: "Vor allem werde ich dafur sorgen, dass der Feind keint Bomben werfen Kann."
On This Date
---In 1914... Igor Sikorsky’s giant four-engined biplane, the Ilya Muromets flies in Russia. It is an improved version of last year’s Bolshoi Baltiskii.
---In 1921... The U.S. Army Air Service establishes the first in an expending series of airways – routes safely surveyed by the army civilian and commercial users linking towns and cities by air – by leasing land between Washington and Dayton, Ohio to facilitate a stopover.
---In 1928... Lady Heath (formerly Mrs. Elliot-Lynn) becomes the first woman to fly solo from Cape Town, South Africa to London, England.
---In 1935…The USS Macon, a US Navy scouting zeppelin with the ability to launch fighter aircraft, is damaged in a storm and sinks off the coast of California.
---In 1955…Soviets decide space center to be built in Baikonur, Kazachstan.
---In 1959... The last Convair B-36 bomber in operational USAF service is retired to Amon Carter Field, where it is put on display; Strategic Air Command is now equipped with an all-jet bomber force.
---In 1960... A Delta Air Lines Convair 880 lands in Miami, Florida, from San Diego to set a new transcontinental speed record over the route of 3 hours 31 minutes.
---In 1961…The U.S.S.R. launches Venera 1 towards Venus.
---In 1963…A Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 705, a 720B, suffered an in-flight break-up over the Florida Everglades approximately 12 minutes after leaving Miami, bound for Chicago. All 35 passengers and eight crew died. The cause of the crash was determined to be an unrecoverable loss of control due to severe turbulence.
---In 1974…Mars 5 - USSR Mars Orbiter entered into orbit around Mars. It acquired imaging data for the Mars 6 and 7 missions.
---In 1979…Air Rhodesia Flight 827, a Vickers Viscount, is shot down by guerrillas between Kariba and Salisbury in South Africa with a Strela 2 missile, killing all 59 on-board.
---In 1979…Kosmos 1076, 1st Soviet oceanographic satellite, launched.
---In 1981…Max Anderson and Don Ida make a failed attempt to circumnavigate the world by balloon. Their craft, the Jules Verne only covers 2,900 miles (4,667 km) from Luxor to New Delhi.
---In 1991…Continental unveils their blue and gray paint scheme.
---In 2002…An Iran Air Tupolev Tu-154 crashes into mountains while descending for a landing at Khorramabad Airport in Iran, killing 119.
---In 2004…Exactly four years and one day after the launch of JetBlue, United Airlines responds to its low cost competitors with Ted.
---In 2009…Continental Connection Flight 3407, a Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 operated by Colgan Air (reg N200WQ), crashes into a house in Clarence Center, NY, while on approach to Runway 23 at Buffalo International Airport. All 45 passengers and 4 crew on board the aircraft are killed, while in the destroyed house one man is killed and four others are injured.
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Humor
Medevac Crew
After dying in a helicopter crash, three air ambulance crewmembers find themselves at an orientation to enter heaven. Each one was asked, "When you are in your casket, what would you like to hear your friends and family saying about you?" Sean says, "I would like to hear them say I was a great medic and a great family man." Karl says, "I would like to hear them say I was a wonderful husband and an excellent pilot who made a difference."
The copilot says, "I would like to hear them say, 'Look! He's moving!'"
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