NewsCommercial
Airbus Says A400M Test Flights To Continue
Airbus said that test flights of the A400M military cargo and troop carrier would proceed on schedule unless it discovered evidence that required them to stop. An A400M aircraft due to be delivered to Turkey crashed into a field north of Seville airport in Spain on Saturday on a test flight, killing four of the six crew.
Link
GE runs firsts tests on 3D-printed micro turbine
GE Aviation has run a 3D-printed micro jet turbine up to 33,000rpm, marking the first known test of a jet engine built using additive manufacturing. The project and test revealed on 7 May launched with a jet engine designed for the hobbyist, remote-controlled aircraft market, GE says in a video posted online on 7 May. The company used EOS M270 machines and a direct metal laser melting process to build about a dozen major components, including a centrifugal compressor stage.
LinkAirlines
Air France-KLM April Passenger Numbers Down 1 Pct
Air France-KLM carried 1 percent fewer passengers in April compared with a year ago, the airline said in a statement. In terms of revenue passenger kilometers, its passenger performance on the month was unchanged from a year ago, the airline said, although for cargo, revenue tonne kilometers fell 14.9 percent.
Link
American reports lower load factor for April
American Airlines Group reported April 2015 and year-to-date traffic results. American Airlines Group's total revenue passenger miles (RPMs) for the month were 18.1 billion, down 0.3 percent versus April 2014. Total capacity was 22.1 billion available seat miles (ASMs), up 1.3 percent versus April 2014. Total passenger load factor was 81.6 percent for the month of April, down 1.3 percentage points versus April 2014.
Link
Iran Obtains 15 Civilian Aircraft
Iran has bought 15 second-hand civilian aircraft in the last three months, the transport minister said in published remarks, to add to a fleet hit by US sanctions that restrict trade of aircraft and parts. ISNA news agency quoted Abbas Akhoondi as saying nine of the planes had been obtained in the past week, without specifying who had sold them or how they had been bought. "With the arrival of these new aircraft, the average age of the active planes in Iran has fallen from 20 years to 19 years," Akhoondi was quoted as saying. The report did not identify the type of aircraft purchased.
Link
JetBlue Airways adds Boston-Barbados flight
Barbados is a favorite destination for JetBlue New York travelers, according to CEO Robin Hayes, so adding a JetBlue Airways flight from Boston to Barbados is a natural choice. The move comes as part of JetBlue's continued expansion into the Caribbean.
Link
Malaysia Air Agrees New Catering Contracts
Malaysia Airlines has agreed two cheaper and shorter catering deals with Brahim's, as the national carrier looks to cut costs during its restructuring. The separate contracts covering wide-body and narrow-body planes are expected to save the carrier 20-25 percent in catering costs compared with the previous agreement, and are set to run for an initial five years.
Link
United Airlines to fly 787-9 out of Houston
The Boeing 787-9 stretched Dreamliner will replace the planes currently assigned to several international cities from Houston. The 787-9 will take over routes to Frankfurt, Buenos Aires, Amsterdam and Santiago de Chile.
Link
United Airlines adds twice-daily flight from Denver to Raleigh
United Airlines plans to launch nonstop service between Denver International Airport and the Raleigh-Duham area of North Carolina, making it the third airline to fly nonstop between the two cities. Two daily flights each way by 76-seat Embraer-175 jets will be offered starting Sept. 13.
Link
United revises estimate as fuel costs rise in second quarter
United Continental Holdings Inc. expects to spend $2.17 - $2..22 per gallon of fuel this quarter, as fuel prices have risen 3% since the carrier released its initial guidance.
LinkAirports
Pittsburgh airport enhances efficiency for international travelers
International travelers soon will no longer need to pass through a second security checkpoint after arriving at Pittsburgh International Airport and passing customs, officials say. "This was an important upgrade for international passengers, and we're thrilled to offer the new service for our customers," said Allegheny County Airport Authority CEO Christina Cassotis.
Link
United invests in new IAH concourse
The $244 million concourse is being built by United Airlines and the Houston Airport System. In addition to providing 11 new gates for United's planes, the concourse will add 20 new dining and retail stores. The new concourse is part of an ongoing IAH overhaul and will break ground in May.
Link
Military
Russia, China to develop massive heavy-lift helicopter
Russian Helicopters and China’s state aircraft manufacturer AVIC have entered a framework agreement to develop a heavy lift helicopter. ussian Helicopters’ chief executive Alexander Mikheev and AVIC chairman Lin Zuoming signed the deal during a visit to Moscow by Chinese president Xi Jinping, who was present at the ceremony along with Russian president Vladimir Putin.
LinkCorporate
Pilatus PC-24 'super versatile jet' takes to the skies
Pilatus’s first business jet, the PC-24, made its maiden sortie on Monday, 11 May 2015, two years after the seven-seat twin – dubbed a “super versatile jet” by the Swiss manufacturer because of its proposed short-runway performance and its ability to land on rough landing strips – was unveiled. The first prototype, P01, registration HB-VXA –– took off at 10.00 local time from Buochs airport, in Stans. Piloted by Paul Mulcahy, the PC-24 flew for 55min across central Switzerland. “The flight went exactly as planned with no problems whatsoever,” says Pilatus, manufacturer of the PC family of civil aircraft and military trainers.
Link
Aviation Quote
If God had intended man to fly, He would not have invented Spanish Air Traffic Control.
— Lister, in the BBC TV series, 'Red Dwarf.'
On This Date
---In 1949... The USSR ends its blockade of Berlin, Germany; the Western airlift continues to build up supplies in the city.
---In 1960…A USAF C-130 Hercules drops a record 35,000 lb (15,876 kg) by parachute.
---In 1961… USAF announced plans to institute special course for the instruction of space pilots at Edwards Air Force Base, and it was activated in June.
---In 1963... American flyer Betty Miller lands in Brisbane, Australia, to complete the first transpacific flight by a woman; she left Oakland, California, on April 30.
---In 1964... American flyer Joan Merriam Smith lands her Pipe Apache to complete the second round-the-world flight by a woman; she took 56 days.
---In 1984…The Airbus A-310 enters service with Air France.
---In 2004…The last F-4 Phantom fighters are withdrawn from service with the Israeli Air Force.
---In 2010… At 04:10 UTC (06:10 Tripoli time) Afriqiyah Airways Flight 771, an Airbus A330-202 flying from Johannesburg, South Africa to Tripoli, Libya crashed on approach to Tripoli airport. 11 crew members and 93 passengers were killed. The sole survivor was a nine-year-old Dutch boy. The aircraft, (serial number 1024), was delivered on 8 September 2009, thus being some eight months old at the time of the incident. The aircraft had logged approximately 1600 hours on 420 flights. The weather at the time of the crash was cloudy, but with good visibility, and no fog or thunderstorms.
Daily Video
Editor’s Choice
Trivia
Tail IDs
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
