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Airbus resumes A320neo flight testing with PW1100G engine
Airbus has resumed flying the PW1100G-powered A320neo flight test aircraft in Toulouse, France after a three-month grounding. The A320neo is still scheduled to be delivered to launch customer Qatar Airways by the end of the year despite the flight test delay. The grounding was traced to a fault in a 25.4cm (10in)-diameter snap ring buried in the heart of the engine with the combustor module.
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Boeing reaches 787 milestone as leadership changes
Boeing on 27 July delivered the 300th 787 aircraft, reaching the milestone less than four years after the type entered service. The handover of the 300th aircraft follows a swift ramp up from two per month in 2012 to 10 per month two years later, despite overcoming challenges such as production breakdowns in Charleston, South Carolina, and a four-month delivery pause while Boeing and government officials investigated and fixed the aircraft’s faulty lithium-ion batteries.
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Cessna notches up Chinese orders for propeller-driven aircraft
Cessna secured two sizable orders from Chinese customers at the AirVenture show in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, in late July. Shanghai-based operator Joy Air acquired 20 Grand Caravan EX amphibians for its regional air tour operation. The single-engined turboprops – equipped with Wipaire’s Wipline 8750 floats – will be built at the Cessna-AVIC Aircraft facility in Shijiazhuang, Heibei Province. Deliveries are scheduled to begin later this year.
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UK's GKN to acquire Fokker Technologies
GKN Aerospace is to acquire the Dutch aerospace firm Fokker Technologies in deal worth more than €700 million ($775 million). Fokker Technologies specializes in supplying aerostructures, wiring connection systems and landing-gear. It also acts as a maintenance and modification provider. GKN describes the €706 million acquisition from Arle Capital as “compelling”, adding that it will combine two companies with “broad product portfolios” and “established positions” on key aircraft programs.
LinkAirlines
Air Canada passengers will soon be able to upgrade via app
Air Canada is about to become the first airline to use Airlines Reporting Corp.'s (ARC) Better My Trip application to sell ancillary products like seat upgrades and lounge passes. The new functionality will roll out in the fourth quarter.
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Alaska Airlines boosts speeds for in-flight Wi-Fi service
Alaska Airlines is upgrading its Gogo ATG in-flight Wi-Fi connectivity to a faster ATG-4 service.
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American Airlines is adding flights Down Under
American Airlines will begin daily service between LAX and Sydney in January.
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Delta makes significant investments at LaGuardia Airport
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Delta Air Lines announced plans for joint public/private investment in LaGuardia airport. The project will unfold in two phases, and Delta Air Lines will fund the second half of the expansion. "This doesn't happen without Delta Air Lines," Cuomo said. Delta President Ed Bastian said the carrier has spent more than $2 billion on infrastructure at NYC area airports. "The initiatives announced today are aligned with our ongoing commitment to providing an exceptional experience for anyone traveling through New York for business or pleasure," said Bastian.
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Delta customers will soon be able to upgrade to private jets
Delta's Medallion-level customers will soon be able to upgrade their tickets to a whole new level. The program is available only at Delta's East Coast hubs as a trial run, but it may expand worldwide.
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Qatar Airways, flydubai Reject Spicejet Report
Qatar Airways and flydubai have separately rejected reports of interest in buying a stake in India's SpiceJet. "Qatar Airways is not in talks to pursue a commercial stake in SpiceJet," Qatar Airways said in a statement, following a report in India's Economic Times that the Indian carrier was in talks to sell a stake.
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Southwest is expanding Texas service despite Dallas disputes
Southwest Airlines is vigorously expanding its presence in its home state of Texas, with a new international terminal at Houston Hobby airport.
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SpiceJet Swings To Net Profit In Q1
SpiceJet reported a net profit of INR718 million rupees (USD$11.2 million) for the three months ending June, after cutting costs and flying more passengers. SpiceJet made a net loss of INR1.24 billion rupees in the same quarter a year earlier. India's second biggest budget carrier by market share, which last quarter made its first profit since 2013, is in the midst of a recovery plan after it almost collapsed late last year.
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Transaero receives first A321
Russian carrier Transaero has taken delivery of its first Airbus A321, which is being supplied under a leasing deal with Chinese finance firm ICBC. Transaero says the aircraft, fitted with CFM International CFM56 engines, is configured with eight business-class and 176 economy-class slimline seats.
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UPS beats analysts' expectations for Q2
United Parcel Service beat analysts' expectations for the second quarter with improving margins offsetting a small decrease in revenue. "Even though the U.S. economy appears to be growing at a slower pace, our global portfolio and performance reinforces our expectations to attain the higher end of the guidance range." said Chief Financial Officer Richard Peretz.
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WestJet's Profit Rises On Lower Fuel Costs
WestJet Airlines reported a 19 percent rise in quarterly profit, helped by lower fuel costs and the addition of new routes. The company's net earnings rose to CAD$61.6 million in the quarter ended June 30, from CAD$51.8 million a year earlier. Revenue rose 1.3 percent to CAD$942 million.
LinkMilitary
USAF holding old gunships for laser demos
The US Air Force has kept some Lockheed Martin AC-130U gunships marked for retirement for use as directed energy weapon testbeds as the service pursues airborne lasers for offensive and defensive uses. Maj Gen Jerry Harris, vice-chief of Air Combat Command, says a number of gunships that would have otherwise been sent to the boneyard are now being used to test emerging directed energy technologies, like lasers and microwave energy guns.
LinkRotary WIng
Australia’s first H135 helicopter trainer gains factory acceptance
Airbus Helicopters has obtained factory acceptance for the first of 15 H135 rotorcraft bound for Australia’s Helicopter Aircrew Training System (HATS). The aircraft will be shipped to Australia in January 2016, following the training of Boeing and Australian aircrews and technicians in Donauwörth, Germany, says Airbus Helicopters.
LinkRegulatory
MAHB probes AirAsia aircraft rollback incident at KLIA2
Malaysia Airports Holdings (MAHB) says it is investigating an AirAsia aircraft rollback incident, which occurred on 17 July at KLIA2. This comes after AirAsia Group chief executive Tony Fernandes tweeted a picture of an Airbus A320 aircraft on the tarmac with a shifted landing gear.
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NTSB traces SpaceShipTwo crash to preventable error
A co-pilot’s fatal mistake that led to the break-up of SpaceShipTwo represented a single-point failure that could have been addressed long before the crash last October, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said on 28 July. A required hazard analysis completed by Scaled Composites failed to anticipate that a single mistake by the co-pilot could lead to an inflight break-up, the NTSB says.
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Aviation Quote
Once you get hooked on the airline business, it's worse than dope.
— Ed Acker, while Chairman of Air Florida
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How about some General Aviation for a change?
Identify the airplanes:
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