NewsCommercial
Inflight broadband offers range of benefits
Inflight broadband connectivity can go beyond inflight entertainment to help airlines operate more efficiently. Pilots can benefit from weather updates through broadband, while cabin crews can manage inventory in real time.
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Boeing Raises China 20-Year Aircraft Demand
Boeing has raised its forecast for China's aircraft demand over the next 20 years despite a slowing economy and a tumbling stock market that have triggered a worldwide slide in equity and commodity prices. Boeing expects China will purchase 6,330 aircraft over the next 20 years, a 5 percent rise from last year's two-decade estimate. Boeing currently values the aircraft demand at USD$950 billion.
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Comac engages backup suppliers to prevent C919 delays
Comac is using a dual supplier system to manufacture critical and potentially challenging parts of the C919 airframe, to ensure quality control and to prevent any major delays to the program. These include the aircraft's aft fuselage as well as its vertical and horizontal stabilisers, all of which are made of composites, Comac's chief engineer Jiang Liping tells Flightglobal in an interview in Shanghai.
LinkAirlines
A350-900 makes Moscow debut as Aeroflot continues review
Airbus has debuted the A350-900 at the 12th Moscow air show (MAKS-2015) at least three years ahead of the first delivery to the type’s only customer in Russia. Airbus A350 test pilot Frank Chapman piloted the A350-900 – MSN-001 – from Toulouse, France, landing on 24 August at the Ramenskoye airport that hosts the biannual air show.
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American Airlines invests in new aircraft
American Airlines is using its higher cash flows to invest in newer, nicer aircraft, according to analysts. "The airline expects to spend close to $5.4 billion on new aircraft in 2015, which should be easily funded through its annual operating cash flows and some incremental debt, if required," the Trefis Team writes.
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Hawaiian gets top marks for on-time performance
According to the Department of Transportation Air Travel Consumer Report, Hawaiian Airlines posted an industry best 90% on-time arrival rate.
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Nigeria Contemplates New National Airline
Nigeria is setting up a committee to consult with local and international partners on establishing a national airline, the ministry of aviation said. The committee will be chaired by a former pilot and will review reports on Nigeria's failed national carrier, Nigeria Airways, and other private airlines. It has four weeks to submit its findings.
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Qantas to pull out of Jetstar Hong Kong
Australian flag carrier Qantas will not pour any more funding into the long-delayed Jetstar Hong Kong low-cost carrier (LCC) subsidiary, according to Qantas CEO Alan Joyce. "From a Qantas perspective, we won't be investing any more funds in this airline," Joyce said. The attempt to start a Jetstar Hong Kong operation in partnership with China-based China Eastern Airlines and Hong Kong transport investment company Shun Tak Holdings has been dogged by opposition from local operators—notably Cathay Pacific and Hong Kong Airlines (HKA).
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Typhoon Hits Japan, Some Flights Cancelled
Japanese authorities advised 280,000 people to evacuate their homes as a typhoon hit southern Kyushu island and western Japan on Tuesday, bringing torrential rains and winds gusting over 110 miles an hour (180 kph). Japan Airlines suspended 110 domestic flights and ANA cancelled 78. International flights were unaffected, the airlines said.
LinkAirports
Berlin Brandenburg still to open in 2017
Plans to open the much-delayed and controversial Berlin Brandenburg International Airport (BER) in Germany remain on schedule for the second half of 2017 despite the bankruptcy of its construction company, Imtech Deutschland, officials said. BER has issued a statement saying that the airport opening plans will be only minimally affected by the bankruptcy of Imtech, which was announced earlier in August.
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Passenger traffic soared in July at Dallas Love Field
Dallas Love Field served 1.27 million passengers in July, a 63.8% increase from the same month last year. The Wright amendment, which restricted destinations from the airport, expired in October. Southwest Airlines and three other carriers use the airport.
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Calif. airport posted higher passenger traffic in July
John Wayne Airport in California handled around 928,000 passengers in July, an almost 11% increase from July 2014. The airport served 37,700 international passengers in July, a 25% increase from the same month last year.
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Military
Israel seeks more special mission-adapted G550s
Israel’s air force wants to increase the number of its airborne early warning and electronic intelligence-gathering systems based on the Gulfstream G550 “Nachshon” business jet. Speaking to Flightglobal recently, a senior air force officer said the two special mission variants are a main pillar of many current operations, and added: “We want more of them.”
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USAF moving F-22s to Europe as warning against Russia
The US Air Force has announced the inaugural deployment of the Lockheed Martin F-22 to Europe to counter a “resurgent Russia”. Service secretary Deborah Lee James announced the “training deployment” of the fifth-generation air superiority fighter at a State of the Air Force address 24 August at the Pentagon, but declined to say exactly when and where the F-22s would be in Europe.
LinkRegulatory
IG report bolsters case for ATC reform
A Department of Transportation's inspector general report looking at the Federal Aviation Administration’s oversight of NextGen found that significant delays and cost overruns are hindering the agency's transition to a satellite-based air traffic control system.
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Aviation Quote
If anybody ever flied to the Moon, the very next day Trippe will ask the Civil Aeronautics Board to authorize regular service.
— James M. Landis
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Editor’s Choice
Trivia
General Trivia
1. To be type-certificated under Part 23 of the Federal Aviation Regulations, a lightplane must be demonstrated capable of landing with a crosswind component of no less than _____ Vso.
a. 0.20
b. 0.25
c. 0.30
d. No minimum cross- wind component is required to be demonstrated.
2. The following is a list of the four most common violations of the Federal Aviation Regulations committed by VFR pilots. Arrange them in order of their occurrence, the most common deviation first and the least common last.
a. airspace violations
b. airspeed violations
c. flying VFR into IFR conditions
d. low-level flight
3. Henry Ford took his first airplane ride in
a. a Fokker Trimotor.
b. a Ford Tri-Motor.
c. the Spirit of St. Louis.
d. Henry Ford never flew in an airplane.
4. True or false; the Cessna Aircraft Company never produced a piston-powered, single-engine, low-wing monoplane subsequent to the end of World War II.
5. True or false; the British navy had an aircraft carrier that used a sail to help keep the ship headed into the wind.
6. True or false; a person can climb a ladder inside the vertical stabilizer of a Lockheed C–5 Galaxy and step outside the aircraft at the top of the fin.
6. True or false; a person can climb a ladder inside the vertical stabilizer of a Lockheed C–5 Galaxy and step outside the aircraft at the top of the fin.
