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Commercial

Germany Considers Scrapping Air Traffic Tax
Germany's Transport Ministry is looking into potentially phasing out the country's tax on air traffic which has attracted strong criticism from airlines. The tax, imposed on flights from German airports, amounts to around EUR€1 billion (USD$1.3 billion) a year, with Lufthansa paying the largest chunk of it. "We are considering phasing it out," Katherina Reiche, a senior official at the Transport Ministry, said during an event in Berlin bringing together transport executives and politicians. She said the ministry had received many requests to review or scrap the tax and indicated there might be fiscal leeway for such a move because Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble on Tuesday presented plans for Germany to refrain from net new borrowing next year for the first time since 1969.
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US Ex-Im Bank Would Back Airbus Sales
The US Export-Import Bank would provide financing for exports of Airbus aircraft, provided they were assembled in the United States with sufficient content from domestic suppliers, the bank's head said on Wednesday. "We're about US jobs," Ex-Im Bank President Fred Hochberg told the Reuters Aerospace and Defense Summit in Washington. "We have no national treasures," Hochberg said, in a reference to Airbus rival Boeing. "Every company is a national treasure." The bank, which supports loans for US manufacturers selling products to foreign companies, is at the center of a bruising battle over whether Congress should renew its authority to operate, which expires on September 30. About 46 percent of the bank's total financial exposure is for airliners made by Boeing, according to US Government Accountability Office figures.
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Russia Says Ukraine Responsible For MH17
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu blamed Ukraine for the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in eastern Ukraine and was quoted as saying the tragedy would never have happened if Kiev had not taken up arms. "The catastrophe happened in the air space belonging to Ukraine, which bears full responsibility for what happened," he was quoted as saying by Interfax news agency.
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Airlines

American Switching To Tablets To Cut Fuel Costs
American Airlines has won regulatory approval to swap flight attendants' paper manuals for electronic tablets in a change that will save nearly USD$1 million a year. The move, which does not yet affect attendants at subsidiary US Airways, comes little more than a year after American's cockpits went paperless, and is one of many strategies that airlines have pursued to reduce weight and fuel costs. Delta and United have also distributed smart devices to their pilots, and Delta plans to roll out an electronic manual for flight attendants starting in October. American said its attendants already have the tablets, and those at US Airways will receive them after the combined company receives a single operating certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration. The timing of that is uncertain.
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American Airlines traffic stable for August
American Airlines reported flat traffic for August, and the carrier predicted around 2% growth in passenger revenue per available seat mile for the third quarter. American also reported 84.6% load factor for the month, compared to 85.5% in the same month last year.
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Hawaiian passenger traffic rose 4% in August
Hawaiian Airlines reported a 4% increase in passenger traffic for August on a year-over-year basis. The carrier boosted capacity by 4.6% in August, and also increased its load factor to 84.8% for the month.
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JetBlue has improved customer experience
David Cogswell, the editor of TravelPulse, praised JetBlue Airways after a recent flight from Costa Rica to New Jersey. "JetBlue has incorporated a number of creative innovations since I flew it last, and for the most part I think they are good attempts at creating a better customer experience for passengers," he writes.
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Ryanair Selling More Seats Per Flight
Ryanair is flying at least six more passengers per flight this year than in 2013, due to improvements in customer service and the way it sells tickets. The Irish airline, Europe's largest low-cost carrier, expects load factors to increase 3-4 percentage points to "close to 86 percent" of available seats this year, chief financial officer Howard Millar told reporters in Dublin. An increase of 3-4 percentage points on Ryanair's fleet of Boeing 737s, with a 189 passenger capacity, would represent between six and seven more passengers per flight. But Millar said higher ticket sales would be partially offset by lower fares due to increased capacity this winter.
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Southwest PRASM rose by up to 6% for August
Southwest Airlines reported a 5% to 6% increase in passenger revenue per available seat mile in August. The carrier also boosted its load factor to 85.5% for the month, compared to 81.3% in the same month of 2013.
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Southwest prepares for flights to Canada by end of 2020, CEO says
Senior executives of Southwest Airlines Co. are sending strong signals that they’re preparing to enter the Canadian market, although cities in Canada are among 50 new destinations the airline is still considering. “We have visited Canadian airports and Canadian airports have visited us and they make a compelling argument as to why we should serve Canada,” Andrew Watterson, Southwest’s vice-president of network planning and performance, said in an interview at the airline’s headquarters in Dallas. He would not identify which airports are involved.
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United volunteers deliver "Ben Flyin" teddy bears
On Tuesday, United Airlines helped deliver a very special cargo -- thousands of "Ben Flyin" teddy bears. United employees volunteered for the mission of delivering the teddy bears to children at hospitals, schools and other locations around the country. "With more than 370 destinations worldwide, United is committed to giving back to the communities where our employees live and work," said Bo Ellis, system chief pilot for United.
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Airports

Houston airport renovations temporarily close train service
A renovation project at George Bush Intercontinental Airport has temporarily shut down day-time service on the elevated train between Terminals A and B. The work is scheduled to continue until Sept. 29. While the renovation is in process, the train, known as TerminaLink, will continue to operate as usual among Terminals B, C, D and E. The underground train is also unaffected by the project and is operating normally. During the renovation, passengers who want to get from Terminal B to A between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. have two options: A wheelchair-accessible shuttle bus between the two terminals loads at Gate A-3 in Terminal A and at Gate B-84 in Terminal B. Two buses, each accommodating about 25 passengers depending upon luggage, run in a continuous loop, airport officials said.
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United inks contract with Simplicity at DIA
SkyWest is out, Simplicity is in. And nearly 650 Denver airport workers are now looking for new jobs. United Airlines has ended its contract with SkyWest Airlines for below-wing ground baggage handling at Denver International Airport. SkyWest has held the contract for nine years. It is evaluated every three years, spokeswoman Marissa Snow said. Chief operating officer Mike Thompson on Friday told employees by e-mail that starting Dec. 4, United's below-wing ground handling responsibilities will be taken over by Simplicity Ground, a subsidiary of United Kingdom-based Menzies. The change, which affects nearly 650 SkyWest employees, also means SkyWest will no longer have any ground baggage handling and ramp presence at DIA. The change does not affect United Express routes operated by SkyWest out of DIA, Snow said.
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Military

France to evaluate M-345 as possible Alpha Jet replacement
France appears to have begun the process of seeking a replacement for its air force’s fleet of aged Dassault-Breguet/Dornier Alpha Jet trainers – and Alenia Aermacchi's M-345 is in the frame. Officials from nation’s DGA defence procurement agency and the air force will later this month travel to Alenia Aermacchi’s plant in Venegono, Italy, to evaluate the M-345 high-efficiency trainer. “There is very important interest in the M-345 in countries like France,” says the manufacturer. “During our discussions, France told us that they want the same number as the Italian air force – 35.”
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India's fifth P-8 arrives for duty
The Indian Navy on 9 September received a fifth Boeing P-8I, filling out on time more than half of its planned fleet of maritime patrol aircraft. The aircraft flew from Boeing Field in Seattle, Washington, to Naval Air Station Rajali in India, which plans to buy at least eight of the aircraft, which the nation designated P-8Is. “The P-8I program is progressing on schedule, and the aircraft are providing the capabilities to meet our maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare requirements,” Vice Admiral RK Pattanaik, India Deputy Chief of Naval Staff, said in a statement. Boeing Defense, Space and Security plans to deliver another aircraft by the end of 2014 and two in 2015 under the contract awarded in 2009, says Dennis Swanson, the company’s vice-president in India.
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UK MoD begins training helicopter acquisition
The UK Ministry of Defence has kicked off the acquisition process to replace its fleet of 34 Airbus Helicopters AS350 B3 Squirrel HT1 trainers. Although the MoD declines to reveal details of its request for proposals, an article in the Desider magazine published by its Defence Equipment & Support procurement body reveals that the document has been “issued to six companies”.
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US Air Force pens A-10 maintenance deal with Korean Air
With top officers still calling for the aircraft’s retirement as a cost-saving measure, the US Air Force has announced a major potential investment in depot maintenance for the Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt. The air force on 9 September announced a $46 million contract award to Korean Air Lines Co. (KAL) for depot-level maintenance and repair of A-10s, commonly called Warthogs, stationed Osan Air Base, South Korea. The work will be performed at KAL’s facility in Seoul with an expected completion date of 30 September, 2020. No funds were obligated at the time of award, which is standard for maintenance contracts.
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Aviation Quote

The secret of this business is you've got to have a defensive strategy, as well as an offensive strategy.

— Fred Smith, FedEx founder and CEO, The Wall Street Journal, 14 July 2010.

On This Date

--- In 1920... Edison Mouton flies into Marina Field, San Francisco, to complete the 1st US transcontinental airmail flight. Having left from New York, it took Mouton and his crew over 75 hours to complete the feat.

---In 1929... The Fokker F-32 four-engined luxury airliner makes its 1st US flight at Teterboro Airport.

---In 1932…Franciszek Żwirko and Stanisław Wigura, Polish Challenge 1932 (International Tourist Plane Contest) winners, are killed in a plane crash when their RWD 6 crashed into the ground during a storm.

---In 1941…Ground-breaking for the construction of the Pentagon, which was attacked
exactly 60 years later in a terrorist attack involving a crashed hijacked airliner in 2001.

---In 1946…North American XFJ-1, prototype of the FJ Fury, the first jet aircraft to enter service with the US Navy.

---In 1968… An Air France Sud Aviation SE-210 Caravelle III (registration F-BOHB) operating the Ajaccio, Corsica - Nice sector as Flight 1611 crashed into the sea near Cap d'Antibes off Nice with the loss of all 95 lives on board. The accident occurred while the flight deck crew attempted an emergency landing at Côte d'Azur Airport, following the detection of a fire in the aircraft's rear cabin 21 minutes after takeoff from Ajaccio. The accident investigators believed that the fire had started in the right lavatory and galley area.

---In 1971…First flight of the Britten-Norman Trislander.

---In 1974…Eastern Airlines Flight 212, a DC-9 (N898FE), fell short of the runway at Charlotte -Douglas International Airport, killing 72 of the 82 onboard, including the father and two brothers of comedian Stephen Colbert. The crash was attributed to the flight crew’s lack of altitude awareness and cockpit discipline.

---In 1974…First flight of the Bell 206L LongRanger N206L.

---In 1991…Continental Express Flight 2574, operated by Britt Airways on an Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia (registered N33701), crashed on approach to Bush Interncontinental Airport in Houston, Texas, killing all 14 onb0ard. Missing screws on the horizontal stabilizer were determined to be the cause of the crash.

---In 2001… Airplanes are used as WMD on the World Trade Center Towers and the Pentagon. Combined with people on the ground, killed a total of 2,993 people.

---In 2012…bmibaby ceases operations.

Daily Video

Editor’s Choice

Humor

The Pawnee

This unemployed CPL is looking for work when he gets a call from the Malaysian government.

"We've got a problem with fires and smoke and stuff, how’s about you come out and fly our Pawnees? All the flying you want, loads of free food and beer, good girls and best of all, money!!"

So the chap thinks it over and then jumps on the nearest Virgin and off he goes. Time passes. About three weeks later he's told to take the Pawnee away for a break and a 500 hour check (500 hours in 3 weeks being about right there).

On the way he is overcome with tiredness and has to land in a field of grass. Except that's it's rice and rather wet. He gets out of the plane and lies on the wing, oblivious to his surroundings.

Suddenly, out of the distance comes a big white Toyota land Cruiser, and in it is an 18 year old beauty. Blonde hair, blue eyes, nice white clothes etc. fantasy etc. The girl insists our hero join her in the farm house, away from the field and the snakes etc. On the way she tells him her dad is away and she's alone on her own in the house. At length, hero goes to bed, only to be disturbed a while later by a knock on the door.

"It's me " the girl squeals, "I'm lonely" Our hero says to go away - he being a brave pilot type and scared of her dad.

"No, let me in " she insists "My dad would want it".

Our boy has to relent and he lets her in - she is wearing very little, nice see through nighty, good body etc. fantasy etc. She gets in beside him and he turns away, as a gesture of gentlemanliness.

"Come here" she pleads "I haven't seen a naked man before". "No" he insists "go to sleep, I'm a professional and I'm tired"

"Please" she says, "if you don't I'll tell dad you made me!" so, in deference to a failed situation, our hero rolls over the girl... and falls off the wing of the Pawnee and into the paddy field!

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miamiair wrote:US Air Force pens A-10 maintenance deal with Korean Air
With top officers still calling for the aircraft’s retirement as a cost-saving measure, the US Air Force has announced a major potential investment in depot maintenance for the Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt. The air force on 9 September announced a $46 million contract award to Korean Air Lines Co. (KAL) for depot-level maintenance and repair of A-10s, commonly called Warthogs, stationed Osan Air Base, South Korea. The work will be performed at KAL’s facility in Seoul with an expected completion date of 30 September, 2020.