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Commercial

China's CIC In Talks To Buy Avolon
China's USD$653 billion sovereign wealth fund, China Investment Corporation (CIC), is in talks to buy Dublin-based aircraft leasing firm Avolon. CIC and Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), a state-owned aerospace and defense company, will jointly bid for Avolon, which provides aircraft leasing and lease management services to airlines and aircraft investors, according to people familiar with the matter. The buyer group has been working on a potential acquisition of Avolon for the past few months but any deal is still months away, the people said on Monday, asking not to be named because the discussions are confidential.
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Embraer Trims Global Business Jet Outlook
Embraer trimmed its global sales forecast over the next decade but raised its outlook for executive jet sales in North America, highlighting the importance of the US market for a business jet recovery. Embraer cut its worldwide outlook to 9,235 aircraft sold in the next decade, from 9,250 in last year's ten-year estimate. The plane maker expects 4,620 business jets to be sold for a total of USD$120 billion in the North American market from 2015 to 2024, up from 4,530 in its 2014-2023 forecast. The shift is taking place as jet buyers in emerging economies such as Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, commonly referred to as the BRICS group, grow more wary over the outlook for domestic economic growth.
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ICAO To Look At Enforcing Intelligence Sharing
An ICAO task force, set up following the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine last month, will consider whether authorities should be forced to share safety intelligence. The task force set up by the United Nations' International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and including members of the airline industry and other aviation groups meets for the first time on Thursday and Friday in Montreal. The task force has been asked "to consider the need for enforceable compliance provisions for the identification and dissemination" of information about risks to civil aircraft.
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Iranian committee begins inquiry into IrAn-140 crash
Iranian investigators have received both flight recorders from the HESA IrAn-140 turboprop which crashed during departure from Tehran. The operator, Sepahan Airlines, says the cockpit-voice and flight-data recorders have been “delivered” by specialists to the Iranian authorities. A government committee has received initial information about the carrier and the aircraft’s history, says the Iranian Civil Aviation Organisation.
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Preliminary MH17 report still weeks away
Dutch investigators have indicated that a preliminary report into the loss of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 is still several weeks away. Preliminary reports into high-profile accidents are usually filed within 30 days but inquiries into the destruction of the Boeing 777 over eastern Ukraine on 17 July have been complicated by the armed conflict in the region.
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Airlines

Alitalia to become 'sexiest airline in Europe': Hogan
Alitalia will initiate a wide-ranging company rebranding in the first quarter of 2015 to transform it into "the sexiest airline in Europe", says Etihad Airways chief executive James Hogan. With the Abu Dhabi carrier set to take a 49% stake in Alitalia, Hogan says the focus will be on making the Italian flag carrier a premium brand and an "ambassador of Italy", with a focus on promoting the nation's luxury, culture and fashion of Italy.
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American to upgrade business-class cabins
American Airlines plans to add more coach seats and upgrade its business-class cabin on its fleet of Boeing 777-200s. The move will allow the carrier to boost capacity of its fleet by 17% without buying new aircraft.
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Delta's flight completion rate on the rise in June
Delta Air Lines is working to improve its flight completion rate as much as possible. Department of Transportation data show those efforts are paying off with the carrier completing 69,602 out of 69,621 total flights in June. "If that's what customers hate most, let's not cancel any more flights," said a Delta executive earlier this year.
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Air Fayre provides inflight meals for JetBlue Mint service
Air Fayre and JetBlue Airways first formed its business partnership in 2012 when Air Fayre was awarded JetBlue’s provisioning business at Long Beach Airport, one of the airline’s hub cities. Earlier this year, Air Fayre was awarded the catering contract at LAX just in time for the launch of JetBlue’s premium Mint service which showcases the airline’s take on a new way to fly,offering a unique tapas-style dining experience. “With the launch of our much anticipated Mint service out of LAX, we chose Air Fayre to help us deliver this stunning product to our customers. Not only does Air Fayre provide quality products onboard the aircraft for this service, but we have come to rely on their expertise in delivering this level of service with our existing EatUp Café items,” said Ossie David Jr., JetBlue Ground Services System Manager.
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Malaysia Airlines Shares Rise On Takeover Offer
Shares of Malaysia Airlines rose 8.3 percent on Monday after state fund Khazanah said it will offer 27 sen for each share in the company it does not own, amounting to nearly MYR1.4 billion ringgit (USD$435 million) to take the airline private. The move by Khazanah, which owns 69.37 percent of MAS, follows a difficult period for the airline since the disappearance of flight MH370 on March 8. The company's problems deepened on July 17 when flight MH17 was shot down over Ukraine, killing all 298 people on board.
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Airports

Heathrow Airport Has Busiest Ever Month
London Heathrow Airport saw its busiest ever month in July with 6.97 million passengers using the airport, 0.5 percent more than in the same month last year. Passenger traffic to China grew 10.4 percent in July, the airport said.
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Military

UK's first A400M powers toward flight debut
The UK’s first Airbus A400M tactical transport remains on track for a September delivery, with the Royal Air Force’s lead “Atlas” having performed its first low-speed taxi trial in Seville, Spain. Aircraft MSN15 “was moved under its own power for the first time on 10 August”, says Airbus Defence & Space.
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UK steps up Iraq support with C-130Js
Two Royal Air Force Lockheed Martin C-130J Hercules tactical transports have been deployed to provide aid to displaced Iraqis stranded in the Mount Sinjar region of the country. The aircraft will deliver aid to people from religious minorities pushed from their homes following the advancement of Iraqi insurgents throughout the country, the UK government announced on 9 August. “Two RAF C-130s are getting desperately needed aid to those caught up in the violence in Iraq,” says Justine Greening, international development secretary. “This means help from Britain will reach thousands of people trapped on Mount Sinjar.”
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Aviation Quote

Better to hit the far fence at ten knots than the close fence at VRef.

— Captain Rick Davies, Chief Pilot, Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia

On This Date

---In 1888... The first gas-powered aircraft flies. Built by the German experimenter, Wolfert, the powered airship (dirigible) fitted with a 2 hp Daimler benzene engine running two propellers, flies for 2 ½ miles from Seelberg to Kornwestheim, Germany.

---In 1908... Controlled by Thomas Baldwin and Glenn Curtiss, the Signal Corps’ Dirigible Balloon No.1, known as SC-I, the first Army dirigible, begins flight trials at Fort Meyer near Washington, D.C.

---In 1946... President Harry Truman signs a bill authorizing an appropriation of $50,000 to establish a National Air Museum in the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. The small museum eventually becomes the National Air and Space Museum - the most visited museum in the world.

---In 1960…NASA launches Echo 1A, the world’s first communications satellite. Essentially a metal balloon, it is used to bounce signals from one ground station to another.

---In 1966…First flight of the Learjet 25.

---In 1976…First flight of the Aermacchi MB-339 I-NOVE.

---In 1977…Space Shuttle Enterprise makes its first atmospheric test flight.

---In 1985… Japan Air Lines Flight 123, a 747-100SR flying from Tokyo to Osaka, crashes into Mount Takamagahara in Japan following an explosion of the rear bulkhead, which tears off the vertical stabilizer and knocks out all four of the aircraft’s hydraulic systems. All 520 on board are killed, and it remains the deadliest single-aircraft crash in history. It is believed a tailstrike eight years earlier caused the damage which led to the accident.

---In 2008…Gemini Air Cargo ceases operations.

Daily Video

Editor’s Choice

Humor

Combat Never Forgets

• Once you are in the fight, it is way too late to wonder if this is a good idea.

• It is a fact that helicopter tail rotors are instinctively drawn toward trees, stumps, rocks, etc. While it may be possible to ward off this natural event some of the time, it cannot, despite the best efforts of the crew, always be prevented. It's just what they do.

• NEVER get into a fight without more ammunition than the other guy.

• Cover your Buddy, so he can be around to cover you.

• Letters from home are not always great.

• The madness of war can extract a heavy toll. Please have exact change.

• Share everything. Even the Pound Cake.

• Decisions made by someone over your head will seldom be in your best interest.

• The further away you are from your friends, the less likely it is that they can help you when you really need them the most.

• Sometimes, being good and lucky still was not enough. There is always payback.

• "Chicken Plates" (bullet proof plates for flak jackets) are not something you order in a restaurant.

• If everything is as clear as a bell, and everything is going exactly as planned, you're about to be surprised.

• If the rear echelon troops are really happy, the front line troops probably do not have what they need.

• Happiness is a belt-fed weapon.

• Eat when you can. Sleep when you can. Visit the head when you can. The next opportunity may not come around for a long time. If ever.

• Combat pay is a flawed concept.

• Having all your body parts intact and functioning at the end of the day beats the alternative.

• If you are allergic to lead it is best to avoid a war zone.

• When you shoot your gun, clean it the first chance you get.

• Loud sudden noises in a helicopter WILL get your undivided attention.

• Hot garrison chow is better than hot C-rations, which, in turn is better than cold C-rations, which is better than no food at all. WHAT is often more important than WHY.

• Girlfriends are fair game. Wives are not.

• Everybody's a hero on the ground in the club after the fourth drink.

• There is no such thing as a small firefight.

• A free-fire zone has nothing to do with economics.

• Medals are OK, but having your body and all your friends in one piece at the end of the day is better.

• The only medal you really want to be awarded is the Longevity Medal.

• There is only one rule in war: When you win, you get to make up the Rules.

• While a Super Bomb could be considered one of the four essential building blocks of life, powdered eggs cannot.

• C-4 (plastic explosives) can make a dull day fun.

• Cocoa Powder (found in field rations) is neither. Always make sure someone has a P-38 (compact can opener).

• Flying is better than walking. Walking is better than running. Running is better than crawling. All of these however, are better than extraction by a Med-Evac, even if this is technically a form of flying.

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