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Airbus CEO calls for ATC reform
Airbus Chairman and CEO Allan McArtor says it is time the nation's air traffic control system is "free from political shenanigans" and placed under control of a stand-alone organization. "I want the safest ATC system in the world, but I also want the most efficient system in the world," he said. "We have the safest system in the world, but that's not the issue. It's about efficiency."
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Airbus cuts first metal for A330neo
Airbus has started cutting metal on the first re-engined A330neo, with initial production beginning on the aircraft’s pylon and centre wing-box. The airframer’s Saint-Eloi site has commenced machining work on the titanium pylon which will carry the Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 engines.
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Airbus Orders Reach 754 After August Surge
Airbus won 754 orders in the first eight months of the year, boosted by an order surge in August that included one worth USD$26.55 billion at list prices from IndiGo. In addition to the order for 250 A320neos from India's biggest airline by market share, Airbus sold 40 A320-family planes to an undisclosed customer, while British Airways and Vueling each ordered 10 A320neos.
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Boeing Sticks With 747 Despite Sales Drought
Boeing is sticking with its current production plans for the 747 despite a cancelled order that left no net new orders for the plane in 20 months. Nippon Cargo Airlines cancelled an order for four 747 freighters on September 1, Boeing said, leaving no net new orders from this year or last. Boeing now has just 25 firm 747 orders, equal to about two years of production, for the USD$379 million plane.
LinkAirlines
Missing Medevac Plane May Have Collided With Airliner
A Senegal-bound medical evacuation plane with seven people aboard appears to have collided with a much larger Boeing 737 shortly before disappearing from radar screens. The private Senegalair plane was carrying a French patient as well as a doctor, two nurses and three crew members from Burkina Faso's capital Ouagadougou to Senegal's Dakar on Saturday night. But it overshot the coastal capital by more than 100 km (60 miles) and then vanished above the Atlantic Ocean.
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Air France considers launching low-cost, long-haul subsidiary
Air France is considering establishing a long-haul, low-cost subsidiary as part of its ongoing plans to stabilize and improve its financial performance. The troubled French national carrier is working its way through Perform 2020, a multi-pronged plan designed to improve profitability and remain a major global player in the airline sector. As part of this, a long-haul, low-cost operation is being studied.
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China United Airlines, pilots sanctioned over fight in cockpit
The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has penalized both China United Airlines and two pilots who reportedly started a fight in the cockpit. The CAAC has imposed a 10% reduction on the airline’s existing route time, and in addition has restricted it from opening up any new flight routings, either scheduled or charter. The regulatory agency also banned the two pilots from flying for six months, and said the incident was “one of a series of contraventions” that China United had seen that resulted in flight bans on both the pilots and the airline.
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Delta receives 2 awards from Latin American magazine
Latin Trade magazine honored Delta Air Lines with two travel awards for 2015. Delta received kudos for its self check-in program, as well as for its food and beverage menu aboard Delta One.
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Pilots' Union Calls Strike At Lufthansa
Lufthansa cancelled just under half of its long-haul flights planned for Tuesday after pilots' union Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) called an all-day strike in a long-running dispute over pay, retirement benefits and cost cuts. The union said the strike, the 13th walkout in 18 months, would affect all long-haul passenger flights and all cargo flights out of Germany from 06:00 GMT to 21:59 GMT on Tuesday.
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Lufthansa CEO warns of ‘brutal changes’ in industry
European airlines need more support from their governments in a fast-changing world where now-privatized carriers are competing with state-owned airlines, Lufthansa Group’s top executive said. Speaking at the Austrian Aviation Association Symposium in Vienna this week, Lufthansa chairman and CEO Carsten Spohr said there were “brutal changes in this business.”
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Republic pilots will not vote on labor contract
In a move that could put regional carrier Republic Airways on a path to filing for bankruptcy, The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) will not allow pilots at Republic Airways to vote on the company’s last-best-and-final contract offer, a union leader said. Jim Clark, president of IBT Local 357, told ATW’s sister publication Aviation Daily that the union’s general president decided not to put the proposal out for a pilot vote.
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Southwest, pilots union reach milestone in contract deal
Southwest Airlines and the Southwest Airlines Pilots' Association have reached an "agreement in principle" on a contract. "The process is far from complete, but we are pleased to have reached this milestone," said Craig Drew, vice president of flight operations for Southwest. "Our objective is to recognize our pilots with a rewarding contract, and I believe this agreement does that."
LinkAirports
Behind the scenes at DFW with American Airlines
Airlines for America predicts more than 14.2 million people will fly during the Labor Day travel week. American Airlines and Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport gave reporters an inside look at how the airport handles thousands of travelers every day.
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New Heathrow Runway 'Will Fail On Every Level'
London's mayor Boris Johnson said a proposal to build a third runway at Heathrow Airport was doomed to fail, complicating an already fraught issue for the UK government. In July, after a three-year study, the Airports Commission recommended Heathrow as the best option for an additional runway over other shortlisted airports, arguing this offered Britain the best way of adding long-haul routes to new markets that it said were "urgently required".
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Military
Indonesia moves closer to Su-35 buy
Indonesia has reiterated its desire to order 16 Sukhoi Su-35 fighters to replace its aging fleet of Northrop F-5Es. Defence minister Ryamizard Ryacudu says the air force’s familiarty with the Su-27, of which Jakarta has 16, was a key influencer in the air force’s decision for the Su-35. His comments were carried by state news agency Antara.
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Lockheed to open training center for C-130J, LM-100J customers
Lockheed Martin hopes to boost the popularity of its C-130J tactical transport and in-development LM-100J commercial freighter by establishing a new international training center for the types. To be set up at its Marietta production site in Georgia, the center is scheduled to open during the first quarter of 2018, says Vic Torla, business director for training solutions at Lockheed’s Mission Systems and Training business unit.
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Aviation Quote
I wish to have no connection with any ship that does not sail fast for I intend to go in harm's way.
— Captain John Paul Jones, in a letter to le Ray de Chaumont, 16 November 1778.
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Editor’s Choice
Trivia
General Trivia
1. Which of the following does not belong?
A. Inability to arrest sink rate
B. Lack of pitch authority
C. Lack of roll control
D. Lack of yaw control
2. Pilots are familiar with a variety of “V” speeds, such as Vx, Vy, and VNE. Why is the letter “V” used to designate these speeds?
3. Airframe manufacturers of yesteryear created some cryptic model designations for their aircraft. Among such aircraft was the Meyers OTW and the Howard DGA. What do these letters represent?
4. Following WW2, what famous pilot and Medal of Honor recipient was seen on television as a professional wrestler and referee?
5. With the exception of Rogers (dry) Lake at Edwards AFB, what is the longest runway in the United States and how long is it?
