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Airbus A380 celebrates 10th birthday
The double-decker aircraft has failed to win a single order from any new airline customer for two years now, and senior management was forced to come to the airliner’s defense in December after the planemaker’s parent introduced the possibility of axing the A380 outright. As the mid point of the year approaches, the plane has yet again drawn a blank on deals. It’s a far cry from the jubilations in 2005, when the giant airliner took off for the first time, hailed as the star of 21st century aviation. Airbus said the A380, certified to carry as many as 853 passengers, would push arch-rival Boeing Co. out of the monopoly on jumbo jets it held for decades and herald a new dawn of travel, pairing ultra-luxury with mass transport while alleviating the strain on congested airports.
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Forbes recognizes leadership of Southwest's Kelly and Alaska's Tilden
Fortune Magazine named Gary Kelly, CEO of Southwest Airlines, and Bradley Tilden, CEO of Alaska Air Group, as the top CEOs who are underrated for their leadership. "These model chief executives have steered their companies through impressive growth, all while receiving modest pay gains," the article states.
LinkAirlines
American CEO is confident in carrier's future
Doug Parker, CEO of American Airlines, said it's not "the same old airline business anymore," citing his confidence in the future of the airline industry during a quarterly earnings call.
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American succeeds with rebanking efforts
American Airlines has completed an effort to rebank flights in Miami and Dallas, and is almost finished with a similar push in Chicago. "As you can see, on-time performance has improved across the board," writes the Cranky Flier.
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American pushes back delivery of 5 Boeing 787s
American Airlines Group Inc. says it will delay delivery of five Boeing 787 jets in response to slower growth in international travel demand. American announced Friday that it will take the planes in 2017 and 2018 instead of 2016. American took delivery of its third 787 on Friday but has not yet used them on passenger flights. It plans to put the first one into service next month on flights between Dallas and Chicago, then use 787s on international routes starting in June.
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JetBlue Airways to start service from Cleveland on Thursday
JetBlue Airways, lauded by travelers for its generous legroom and in-flight amenities, brings its high-flying ways to Cleveland next week, launching nonstop service to Boston and Fort Lauderdale. Until recently, JetBlue seemed immune to the siren calls of the airline industry's bean counters, who for years have been clamoring for baggage fees and plane cabins crammed with passengers.
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Lion Air 737 involved in ground incident
A Lion Air Boeing 737-900ER was involved in a ground incident on 24 April at Medan Kuala Namu International airport. The low-cost carrier’s parent company Lion Group explained that the aircraft, registered PK-LFT, was due to operate as flight JT303 to Jakarta, when the incident happened. “After the aircraft had started its engine and was preparing for pushback, there was an ‘exploding’ noise at the back of the aircraft. Upon hearing the noise, passengers began to panic and they evacuated using the emergency slide,” says the firm.
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OneJet debuts with nonstop flight from Indianapolis to Milwaukee
A new airline has quietly taken its first flights, landing in Milwaukee with a few empty bottles of complimentary Evian but very little fanfare. OneJet’s nonstop service (you know, because passengers take one jet per trip) began on April 6, flying from Indianapolis to Milwaukee and the airline has since announced that it will add Pittsburgh to its list of destinations in early May.
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Ryanair Boss Eyes 10-15 Percent Cut In Fares
Ryanair expects its fares to drop by between 10 and 15 percent over the next two years as it passes on the benefits of lower oil prices. Asked if Ryanair's fares could fall further, chief executive Michael O'Leary told French weekly Le Journal Du Dimanche: "Absolutely, by at least 10-15 percent over the next two years. In 2016 our average air fare could be at EUR&euros;40".
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Turkish A320 sustained wing and engine damage during go-around
Investigators are trying to ascertain the extent of damage sustained by a Turkish Airlines Airbus A320, apparently during an initial landing attempt before the aircraft executed a go-around at Istanbul Ataturk. While the aircraft subsequently landed safely – albeit with a runway excursion and apparent gear collapse – there is evidence that it had been flying with substantial damage to its starboard wing and International Aero Engines V2500 powerplant.
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U.S. airlines report record Q1 results
Major U.S. carriers reported strong financial health for the first quarter. "We are pleased to report record first-quarter profits, exceeding the prior record set just last year," said Doug Parker, chairman and CEO of American Airlines. Southwest Airlines, United Airlines and Delta Air Lines also posted robust results for the quarter.
LinkAirports
Atlanta airport installs recycling kiosks
Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta has installed recycling kiosks in its food courts. The airport added 320 recycling bins in December, and also plans an initiative to recycle food waste.
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Helsinki becomes third airport to install GoSleep pods
Faced with a cross-continent voyage from their home in eastern Finland to a Turkish holiday resort, Hanna Nuutinen and husband Tuomo Hakkarainen were confronted with a common parenting quandary: how to fit in a nap. “Our daughter will soon turn three and we were thinking how do we handle this,” Nuutinen, a 32-year-old career adviser, said in an interview. The solution came in the form of Helsinki Airport’s latest passenger feature, the designer sleeping pod the size of a large bath tub, complete with a blind to conceal the occupant, a charging point for phones and a luggage compartment under the cocoon’s reclining seat.
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Seattle airport served 13% more passengers in Q1
When the passenger numbers for Seattle-Tacoma International Airport were compiled for this year’s first quarter this week, the result surprised even the airport officials who had seen the airport growth last year outdistance every other major U.S. airport. Those figures show Sea-Tac‘s overall passenger traffic grew by some 13 percent in 2015’s first three months, a rate three times what airport officials had predicted. International traffic increased by 16.2 percent while domestic passenger traffic jumped by 12.7 percent, according to new figures from the Port of Seattle, Sea-Tac’s owner.
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Military
US clears $96 million C-130J support deal for India
The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) has approved a possible $96 million support deal for India’s Lockheed Martin C-130J tactical airlifters. The package includes spare counter-measure dispensing systems, radar warning receivers, up to 9,000 flare cartridges, and other service and equipment related to the aircraft. If concluded, the package will be conducted under the US Foreign Military Sales mechanism. New Delhi operates five C-130J aircraft following the loss of its sixth example in a 2013 crash. It has also placed a follow-on order for six additional examples.
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Aviation Quote
Landing on the ship during the daytime is like sex, it's either good or it's great. Landing on the ship at night is like a trip to the dentist, you may get away with no pain, but you just don't feel comfortable.
— LCDR Thomas Quinn, USN.
On This Date
---In 1919... American Leslie Irvin makes the first jump from an airplane using a free-type (to be opened at will by a rip chord) back pack parachute and lands at McCook Field in Dayton, Ohio. The parachute is designed by Floyd Smith.
---In 1924... Imperial Airways inaugurates its London/Paris service.
---In 1927... The first airmail service north of the Arctic Circle begins between Fairbanks and Wiseman, Alaska.
---In 1937... The first commercial flight across the Pacific is made as a Pan-American Boeing 314 Clipper seaplane arrives in Hong Kong.
---In 1948... The first non-stop Paris/New York flight is made by an Air France sleeper Constellation; the journey from Orly airport, near Paris, takes 16 hours, 1 minute.
---In 1961… Little Joe 5-B launched Mercury spacecraft from Wallops Station, which provided abort test under severe atmospheric flight conditions.
---In 1967…Douglas Aircraft Company and McDonnell Aircraft Corporation officially merge to form McDonnell Douglas.
---In 1977…An Aviateca Convair 240 crashes near Guatemala City, Guatemala killing all 28 people on board.
---In 1979…Air Berlin’s first flight between Berlin and Palma Mallorca.
---In 1986… Pan Am returns to the Soviet Union, using a Boeing 747 from JFK International Airport in New York.
---In 1988… Aloha Airlines Flight 243 was a scheduled Boeing 737-297 flight between Hilo and Honolulu in Hawaii. The aircraft suffered extensive damage after an explosive decompression in flight, but was able to land safely at Kahului Airport on Maui. A senior flight attendant, Clarabell Lansing, was the sole fatality as she was blown out of the airplane, whereas another 65 passengers and crew were injured. The safe landing of the aircraft with such a major loss of integrity was unprecedented and remains unsurpassed. Subsequent investigations concluded that the accident was caused by metal fatigue.
---In 1999…Hamburg International commences operations.
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