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Airbus launches program to help airlines reduce emissions
Airbus has announced the launch of its new Sustainable Aviation Engagement Program designed to help carriers reduce their environmental impact.
LinkAirlines
US Fighter Jets Escort Air France Flight To JFK
An Air France flight from Paris was escorted by two US F-15 fighter jets to New York's John F. Kennedy Airport on Monday after an anonymous threat was made against the flight. Air France flight AF 22, from Charles de Gaulle Airport, landed safely in New York, officials said. The anonymous threat came in a phone call to a Maryland State Police barracks on Monday morning. The caller made a bomb threat involving commercial aviation, Maryland State Police said.
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Delta to begin flying to Brazil
Delta airlines has requested approval for a route from Orlando, Fla., to Sao Paulo, Brazil, beginning in December. The move is "in keeping with our goal of being the best U.S. airline in Latin America and the Caribbean," according to Vice President Nicolas Ferri.
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Delta designated as official airline of the 2015 Gold Cup
The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) reported May 21 Delta Air Lines Inc. will sponsor the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup. The agreement designates Atlanta-based Delta as the Official Airline of the 2015 Gold Cup, throughout CONCACAF territory including the United States and Canada, as well as Mexico, Central America and the rest of Latin America.
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JetBlue adds flight to Grenada
JetBlue has announced non-stop, twice-weekly flights between JFK International and Grenada's Maurice Bishop International Airport.
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Malaysia Air To Be Completely Revamped - CEO
Malaysia Airlines is set to undergo a complete overhaul as it is restructured into a new company, with a rebranding that will be unveiled next week and changes planned to its fleet and network strategies. Christoph Mueller, who joined from Irish national carrier Aer Lingus, said in his first interview since taking over as chief executive on May 1 that the new company will be like a "start-up". A new name and livery are a possibility. "I'm hired to run the new company entirely on commercial terms and there's very little margin for error," Mueller told Reuters news agency.
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Ryanair full-year profit rises by two-thirds
Irish budget carrier Ryanair has turned in a full-year net profit of €867 million ($946 million), a rise of two-thirds. The airline exceeded previous guidance and its performance followed a 12% rise in revenues to €5.6 billion. Passenger numbers increased to 90.6 million during the year to 31 March 2015 while load factor rose by five points to 88%.
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Sichuan Airlines takes 100th aircraft
Sichuan Airlines has taken delivery of its 100th aircraft. The all-Airbus operator was handed over its latest jet, an A321, in Hamburg on 22 May. The aircraft, registered B-1663, is configured with 194 seats – eight in business and 186 in economy. Powered by International Aero Engines V2533 powerplants, the aircraft is on long-term lease from Air Lease Corporation.
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Southwest Airlines expanding flight operations
Southwest Airlines has added eight new flights from Dallas Love airport alone in the past year, as well as at airports across the country. Its latest route is non-stop from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport to Orlando, Fla., beginning Nov. 1.
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United celebrates workplace equality, flies all-female flight from Seattle to Chicago
A female captain and co-pilot were behind the controls of a newly delivered 737-900, a first for United Airlines. The plane also had an all-female flight attendant crew, and the passengers were all women who worked for the airline. The flight was symbolic of United's commitment to promoting equality in the workplace.
LinkAirports
New Berlin Airport No White Elephant - Official
Berlin's new international airport, delayed repeatedly due to red tape and technical problems, is on course to open in 2017, a spokesman said, denying a media report it could end up as a white elephant. The opening will be six years after the original target date following a series of costly setbacks that have dented Germany's reputation for strong engineering and organizational skills. Ralf Kunkel, a spokesman for Berlin airports authority, denied a report in Germany's Bild am Sonntag newspaper that the EUR€5.1 billion Willy Brandt airport might never be finished because its building permit expires in November 2016.
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Record 18M passengers expected to visit Dallas/Ft. Worth airport this summer
A record 18 million passengers are expected to pass through Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport this summer, 1.3% more than last summer, according to airport officials. Passengers will be able to enjoy parking promotions and new shops and restaurants in Terminals A and B.
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Tulsa Airport reports growth year over year
Tulsa Airport reports an increase of 1.7% in passenger activity over April 2014, according to spokeswoman Alex Higgins.
LinkMilitary
RAAF’s E-7A Wedgetails achieve FOC
Canberra’s six Boeing E-7A Wedgetail airborne early warning & control (AEW&C) aircraft have achieved final operational capability (FOC). In a statement, Australia’s Department of Defence (DoD) says that the aircraft has proven effective during missions supporting Operation Okra – Australia’s contribution to the fight against Islamic State militants – with over 100 sorties amounting to 1,200 hours. It also says the 737-based AEW&C platform provided a valuable contribution in support of search efforts for MH370, a Malaysia Airlines 777 that is believed to have crashed in the Indian Ocean in March 2014.
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US government clears MH-60R sale to Saudi Arabia
The US State Department has approved a requested sale of 10 Sikorsky/Lockheed Martin MH-60R Seahawk anti-submarine helicopters to the Saudi Arabian government. The approval announced on 20 May by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency means that a foreign military sale (FMS) over the potentially $1.9 billion deal, including spares and logistical support, can move forward.
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More Super Tucano sales possible this year
New orders for the Embraer A-29 Super Tucano appear imminent, with the airframer hoping to announce additional commitments before year-end. Jackson Schneider, chief executive of Embraer Defense & Security, says it is in discussions "with about 10 countries in different stages of sales campaigns" and expects to announce "something this year". The airframer is currently in the early stages of its contract to supply an initial 20 examples to the US Air Force as part of the service's Light Air Support requirement.
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Embraer close to resuming KC-390 flight tests
Embraer will in the next two months resume test flights of its developmental KC-390 transport and tanker, following a lengthy pause since its first – and only – sortie on 3 February. This "lay-up period", says Jackson Schneider, chief executive of Embraer Defense & Security, was to allow the installation of all the instrumentation required for certification trials. Military approval is scheduled to be attained late in 2016, with first delivery to the Brazilian air force following that same year or in early 2017.
LinkRegulatory
New FAA rules allow e-mail, data traffic between cockpit and control tower
The Federal Aviation Administration is rolling out a new program that will allow pilots to file flight paths, receive updates and coordinate with control towers all through a data connection. The program will speed up departure times, especially during bad weather, because the control tower can update a number of planes at once.
LinkRotary Wing
S-97 Raider makes debut test flight
Sikorsky has completed a first flight of the self-funded S-97 Raider at the company's flight test facility in West Palm Beach, Florida, to open a year-long test and demonstration phase for the high-speed, compound helicopter proposed for light attack, scout and special utility missions. The S-97’s coaxial-compound, rigid-rotor configuration will eventually be tested at speeds up to 220kt – or about 50kt faster than the speed limit of most conventional helicopters – but the maiden flight on 22 May focused on exploring the low-speed envelope in a degraded mode of the fly-by-wire system.
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Aviation Quote
When asked why he was referred to as 'Ace':
Because during World War Two I was responsible for the destruction of six aircraft, fortunately three were enemy.
— Captain Ray Lancaster, USAAF.
On This Date
---In 1923... Lieutenant H. G. Crocker lands at Gordon, Ontario, to complete a non-stop transcontinental south/north flight from Houston, Texas, of 11 hours, 55 minutes.
---In 1942... The Northrop XP-61 Black Widow night fighter prototype flies for the first time.
---In 1969…The U.S. Army cancels the Lockheed AH-56 Cheyenne attack helicopter program, worth $US 900 million.
---In 1970... The prototype Tupolev Tu-144 supersonic airliner reaches a speed of 1,335mph, becoming the first commercial transport in the world to exceed Mach 2.
---In 1972... Cessna Aircraft Corporation announces completion of the company’s 100,000th aircraft, becoming the first company in the world to achieve such a production figure.
---In 1973… Skylab, USA Space Station, launched. Skylab, which was America's first space station, was manned for 171 days by three crews during 1973 and 1974. The space station included the Apollo Telescope Mount (ATM), which astronauts used to take more than 150,000 images of the Sun. Skylab was abandoned in February 1974 and re-entered the Earth's atmosphere in 1979.
---In 1983…a Learjet 55 sets a world speed record in its class of 448 mph (722 km/h) over the 5,655 mile (9,101 km) between Los Angeles and Le Bourget.
---In 1986…Helicopter prison escape from a Parisian jail. Escapee Michel Vaujour was flown to freedom via his wife, a newly graduated helicopter pilot.
---In 1989…Eurofly is founded.
---In 1991… Lauda Air Flight 004, a Boeing 767-3Z9ER named "Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart," was lost over Thailand shortly after take-off from Bangkok due to the un-commanded deployment of one of its thrust reversers, with the loss of 223 passengers and crew.
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Trivia
Space Shuttle
1.
What United States president signed an order that officially began the space shuttle project?
A. John F. Kennedy
B. Richard M. Nixon
C. Jimmy Carter
2. What year was the first space shuttle mission launched?
A. 1977
B. 1979
C. 1981
3. What shuttle was used to repair the Hubble Space Telescope in 1993?
A. Challenger
B. Discovery
C. Endeavour
4. How many successful U.S. shuttle missions had taken place before Challenger disintegrated into a ball of fire in 1986?
A. 9
B. 24
C. 99
5. What was the first shuttle to be launched following the Challenger disaster?
A. Atlantis
B. Discovery
C. Endeavour
6. What was the first shuttle to dock with Russia's Mir space station?
A. Atlantis
B. Columbia
C. Enterprise
7. Which Space Shuttle was the only abort to orbit?
A. Challenger
B. Discovery
C. Columbia
