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Airbus beats Boeing in South Korean tanker competition
Airbus Defence & Space this week added South Korea to its growing list of A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) operators after the nation downselected the tanker type over Boeing’s KC-46A Pegasus and Israel Aerospace Industries’ 767-based design. South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration announced the selection decision on Tuesday 30 June, citing the performance and price of the European tanker over the US and Israeli alternatives.
LinkAirlines
Air Canada rouge is adding London flights
Air Canada will add London Gatwick to its network in spring 2016, a move Canada’s largest carrier is making just as WestJet Airlines enters the market. Flights will be operated by Air Canada rouge, the low-cost subsidiary Air Canada created to compete with WestJet, Air Transat and other Canadian charter carriers. Air Canada rouge will fly Boeing 767s with 24 seats in a premium-economy section and 256 seats in economy. The summer-only service begins on May 19, 2016. [b]Link
Delta to increase flights between JFK, LAX
Delta will add a flight from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City to Los Angeles this fall, bringing its peak-day offerings on the route to 10 flights. Delta has also announced plans to upgrade some flights on its JFK-to-San Francisco route to wide-body 767s.
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Emirates formally rebuts US carriers' subsidy claims
Emirates Airline says it was assured by the US government that it would assess the ongoing dispute over alleged subsidies to Gulf carriers, without being influenced by the three US mainline carriers. “We were assured by each department that they would examine this case on the facts, that they would not be influenced by theatre, tactics, or whatever,” says Emirates president Tim Clark at a media briefing in Washington DC today.
Link
Lufthansa Strikes Postponed Until Mid-July
Talks to resolve a pay dispute at Lufthansa have made enough progress to lift the threat of any immediate work stoppages, flight attendants' union UFO said. Lufthansa had faced a June 30 deadline to make concessions or be hit with one-day strikes by cabin crew over the busy summer travel season. Due to the progress in the latest talks, a cabin crew union official told journalists the start of any possible industrial action had been pushed back to mid-July at the earliest.
Link
Dutch Confident An MH17 Prosecution Will Succeed
The head of the team of Dutch prosecutors looking into the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine last year said he was "confident" of concluding his investigation successfully, but was not ready to bring charges. "We are not yet far enough that we have formal suspects identified or are ready to arrest suspects," said prosecutor Fred Westerbeke. "If we continue at the pace we are at now, I am confident."
Link
Southwest launches new flights from Austin to Orange County, St. Louis, Portland
Southwest has announced three new nonstop flights out of its Austin, Texas, hub, with destinations in Portland, Ore., St. Louis, Mo. and Orange County, Calif. The flights will all run Sundays with return flights on the same day.
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United invests in renewable jet fuel
United Airlines has signed an agreement with Fulcrum BioEnergy Inc. to buy at least 90 million gallons of sustainable aviation fuel. The $30 million stake in the company allows the airline to purchase the fuel, subject to availability, for a minimum of 10 years, company officials said..
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WestJet Flight Diverted After Threat
A WestJet Airlines Toronto flight was diverted to Winnipeg and evacuated after an unspecified threat, with six passengers injured leaving the plane. It marks the second time in three days that a WestJet flight had to be diverted because of a threat. On Saturday, a flight from Halifax to Edmonton was diverted to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Police searched the aircraft, and nothing was found.
Link
Spanish Air Traffic Controllers To Strike In July
Spanish air traffic controllers will strike over four days in July in a dispute over penalties given by airport operator AENA to controllers for a strike in 2010. Controllers, who went on strike in June in response to sanctions handed down by AENA to 61 air controllers in Barcelona, will strike on July 11, 12, 25 and 26 for three hours each day.
LinkAirports
Heathrow shuts doors on Terminal 1 flights
British Airways carried out the final flight from Heathrow airport's Terminal 1 last night after 47 years in operation. Flights began from Terminal 1 in May 1968, which at the time was Europe's largest airport terminal. It handled 9 million passengers annually at full capacity.
Link
John Wayne Airport sees 5% traffic increase in May
John Wayne Airport saw a 5% boost in passenger traffic in May compared to last year, with more than 840,000 passengers boarding some 3,350 flights.
Link
Qantas, American Airlines team up for Sydney-Los Angeles service
American Airlines will operate the jets that fly between Sydney and Los Angeles starting this December, and passengers will enjoy the hospitality of Qantas' lounges when they land in Australia. Passengers can earn miles with either airline on the route depending on the code they use to book the flight.
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Military
Lockheed Legion Pod takes flight on F-16
Lockheed Martin has flight tested its new Legion Pod infrared search-and-track system for the first time on its F-16 Fighting Falcon in Fort Worth, Texas, as the US Air Force explores upgrades to make its legacy fighters more competitive against modern airborne threats. The pod carries the Lockheed IRST21 sensor, which traces its lineage back to the Grumman F-14 Tomcat and is now in operation on the Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet and international F-15 platforms.
Link
USN Prowler embarks on final flight
The US Navy’s last Northrop Grumman EA-6B Prowler electronic warfare aircraft flew its final flight from Naval Air Station Whidbey Island in Washington on 27 June, concluding 44 years in service with the force. The carrier-based aircraft took part in a ceremonial final take-off and flyaway from its previous home base, leading the way for the Boeing EA-18G Growler to take over as its replacement.
Link
Uzbekistan orders four C295s
A picture has appeared online of an Airbus Defence & Space C295W medium transport in an Uzbekistan air force livery, with the aircraft being one of four of the type that are believed to have been ordered by the service last year. It is understood that the undisclosed order was placed in May 2014 during the Kadex exhibition in Kazakhstan, and the first Uzbekistan C295 completed its maiden flight on 17 June from the company’s site in Seville, Spain.
LinkGeneral Aviation
Cirrus reaches 6,000 SR piston single delivery milestone
Cirrus Aircraft has delivered its 6,000th SR-series piston single, 16 years after the first member of the four-seat aircraft family – the SR20 – entered service. The all-composite SR20 was the first certificated general aviation aircraft to be equipped with an emergency parachute – the Cirrus Airframe Parachute System (CAPS) – as standard. This feature is designed to lower the aircraft safely to the ground after a loss of control, structural failure or mid-air collision. Cirrus says CAPS has helped save the lives of more than 100 people since its introduction.
Link
Piper delivers first Archer DX into Europe
Piper Aircraft has delivered the first European-owned Archer DX to its dealership for Scandinavia and the Baltic States, European Aircraft Sales. The handover to the Danish company comes just over a year after the diesel-fuelled version of the Archer LX piston single was launched, in co-operation with engine manufacturer Continental Motors. This Archer DX – which received European certification in 2014 – is designed as an alternative to traditional Avgas-fuelled aircraft.
Link
Aviation Quote
Today, the situation is exacerbated with costs exceeding revenues at four times the pre-September 11 rate. Today, we are literally hemorrhaging money. Clearly this bleeding has to be stopped - and soon - or United will perish sometime next year.
— James Goodwin, chairman and CEO of United's parent company UAL. The unions of the (at the time) employee owned company forced his replacement. 17 October, 2001
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