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NEWS

Airbus tells airlines to replace Thales pitot probes on A330s/A340s with Goodrich
Airbus Friday told airlines that Thales pitot probes should be replaced with Goodrich models on all A330s/A340s as a "precautionary measure" and EASA said it will issue an order within two weeks calling for at least two of three Thales speed sensors on those aircraft types to be replaced with the Goodrich versions.
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British Airways swings to £106 million quarterly loss
British Airways reported a £106 million ($174.3 million) net loss for its fiscal first quarter ended June 30, reversed from a £27 million profit in the year-ago period, citing "volatile" yields and "trading conditions [that] continue to be very challenging."
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ANA reports ¥29.2 billion loss, maintains full-year profit forecast
ANA Group posted a net loss of ¥29.2 billion ($306.6 million) for its fiscal first quarter ended June 30, reversed from a ¥6.6 billion profit in the year-ago period, as falling revenue "far outweighed" cost savings.
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Merpati Twin Otter reportedly missing over Papua
Indonesian rescue personnel are searching for a Merpati Nusantara turboprop aircraft reportedly missing on a domestic flight over the Papua region.
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Private Indian airlines call off planned strike
Several privately owned Indian airlines have called off a plan to stop operations for a day on 18 August to lobby for government aid.
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Other News

IATA said last week that June international passenger traffic fell 7.2% year-over-year, an improvement on May's 9.3% decline. But it noted that a capacity cut of 4.3% "did not keep pace with the fall in demand, leaving average fares and yields under significant pressure. As a result, June revenue on international markets fell by a shocking 25%-30%." The organization said international air cargo demand "remained weak," with June freight traffic down 16.5% year-over-year, but it noted that marked a "moderate improvement" over May's 17.4% dip and prior monthly global air cargo traffic drops of more than 20%. It cautioned that "utilization of airfreight capacity on international routes remained very weak (47.3%) in June due to unbalanced trade flows with Asia and some market share loss to ocean transport."

DG and CEO Giovanni Bisignani said the apparent "stabilization [in passenger traffic] in some markets. . .comes at a steep price," explaining that "capacity cuts have not kept pace with demand falls. . .Airlines are seeing international revenue falls of up to 30% at the start of the busy June-August period when airlines traditionally make their money. The outlook remains bleak."

Republic Airways Holdings reported second-quarter net income of $14.1 million, down 50.4% from a $28.4 million profit in the year-ago period, on an 18.2% fall in revenue to $320 million. Operating income dropped 18.4% to $53.6 million from $65.7 million as operating expenses lowered 18.2% to $266.3 million. During the quarter Republic made a bid to buy bankrupt Frontier Airlines. A US Bankruptcy Court has approved its $108.8 million proposal, but Southwest Airlines is now considering making a higher offer.

Also in the quarter, Republic reached an agreement to acquire financially struggling Midwest Airlines, for which it currently operates 12 E-170s under contract. It said Friday that it has completed that acquisition. It is in the process of taking delivery of nine E-190s and 12 37/50-seat regional jets, all of which will be placed in service by January. For the six months ended June 30, Republic reported a 65.5% decline in net income to $16.3 million.

European Commission confirmed Friday that it will approve Lufthansa's takeover of Austrian Airlines Group. It did not offer details on its agreement with LH on concessions to alleviate antitrust concerns.

Lufthansa Italia asked for 10 additional slots at Milan Malpensa to enable it to offer more flights to other European destinations as well as more frequencies on domestic services within Italy. LH Chairman and CEO Wolfgang Mayrhuber has said that LH wants to play a central role at MXP in the future. An LH spokesperson told this website that LH Italia currently operates seven A319s including one wet-leased from BMI.

SkyEurope, the financially troubled LCC based in Bratislava, said it has secured a new investor, FOCUS Equity B.V., which it said plans to invest €16.5million ($23.2 million). The carrier also said it will lease two 737-300s from Air Slovakia.

Emirates will launch daily Dubai-Durban service Oct. 1 aboard a 278-seat A330-200. Separately, it has postponed the launch of thrice-weekly Dubai-Luanda service to Oct. 25.

Wataniya Airways will launch daily Kuwait City-Jeddah service Aug. 19.

American Eagle on Nov. 19 will launch daily flights to Miami from Knoxville and Charleston, S.C., and increase Dallas/Fort Worth-Santa Fe service to twice-daily.

Lufthansa Cargo will launch a twice-weekly Frankfurt-Seattle-Los Angeles freighter service on Aug 20. It also introduced a weekly stop in Athens on its Frankfurt-Mumbai-Hong Kong freighter routing.

SITA won a $12 million, four-year contract from Czech Airlines to implement its Horizon portfolio of passenger management solutions.

AJW Aviation expanded its power-by-the-hour contract with Sweden's Viking Airlines to include an additional three 737-300s and one 737-800.

IBS Software Services signed a five-year contract with startup Japanese domestic carrier Fuji Dream Airlines to supply its iFly Res technology to manage the carrier's inventory and reservation system.

Air Exchange arranged the lease of an ex-Zoom Airlines 757-200ER to Astraeus Airlines on behalf of Global Knafaim Leasing.



AVIATION QUOTE

"The emergencies you train for almost never happen; It's the one you can't train for that kills you."
Ernest K. Gann, advice from the 'old pelican'



AEROSPACE TERM

Geometrical Acoustics

The study of the behavior of sound under the assumption that sound transversing a homogeneous medium travels along straight lines or rays. Used for ray acoustics.



DAILY VIDEO





HUMOR

Air Force One

Air Force One crashed in the middle of rural America. Panic stricken the Secret Service mobilized and descended on the farm in force. When they got there, the wreckage was clear. The aircraft was totally destroyed with only a burned hulk left smoldering in a tree line that bordered a farm. Secret Service descended upon the smoking hulk but could find no remains of the crew or the President's staff. To their amazement, a lone farmer was plowing a field not too far away as if nothing at all happened. They hurried over to surround the man's tractor.

"Sir," the senior Secret Service agent asked, panting and out of breath.

"Did you see this terrible accident happen?"

"Yep. Sure did." The man muttered unconcernedly.

"Do you realize that is the President of the United States airplane?"

"Yep."

"Were there any survivors?" the agent gasped.

"Nope. They's all kilt straight out." The farmer sighed cutting off his tractor motor. "I done buried them all myself. Took most of the morning."

"The President of the United States is dead?" The agent gulped in disbelief.

"Well," the farmer sighed, obviously wanting to get back to his work. "He kept a-saying he wasn't ... but you know what a liar he is."



TRIVIA

3 View ID

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10.

At a quick glance:

3. Grumman F-14 Tomcat
5. Dassault Mirage F1
7. Hawker Hunter
9. Tupolev Tu-22

1. Lockheed P-38 Lightning
2. Douglas A-4 Skyhawk
3. Grumman F-14 Tomcat
4. Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star (or T-33?)
5. Dassault Mirage F1
6. Electric Lightning
7. Hawker Hunter
8. Saab 37 Viggen
9. Tupolev Tu-22
10. Hawker Sea Fury

I'm surprised that EK is postponing the DBX-LDA flight. That seems like it would do alright given Angola's oil boom.

Halls' answers look pretty good to me.

UPDATE

Pentagon seeks to deploy new "bunker buster" by next summer
The Pentagon is studying the feasibility of accelerating deployment of the 30,000-pound Massive Ordnance Penetrator, the largest conventional bomb ever created by the U.S. military. With more than 5,300 pounds of explosives, the super "bunker-buster" weapon would be 10 times more powerful than existing models. The precision-guided weapon is being developed by Boeing Co., and the Air Force believes Northrop Grumman Corp.'s B-2 bomber could carry the MOP by July 2010.
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MDA claims success for ballistic missile interceptor
The Missile Defense Agency says a naval destroyer off the coast of Hawaii successfully launched an interceptor that shot down a short-range ballistic missile about 100 miles above the Pacific. The Aegis system aboard the USS Hopper "successfully guided the SM-3 (interceptor) to a direct body-to-body hit, approximately two minutes after leaving the ship," according to the agency. Aegis-guided interceptors have now been successful in 19 of 23 tests at sea, the MDA reports.
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Editorial: Lawmakers pushing back on Pentagon cuts
A New York Times editorial praises lawmakers in the Senate and House for voting to kill the F-22, helping to preserve "precious tax dollars [for] essential equipment -- not glitzy, self-indulgent toys." But despite last week's legislative victories for the Obama administration, the Times notes a "parochial pushback" by Democrats on the Hill, including some $6 billion in weapons that the Pentagon does not want. "The House also reaffirmed its undying addiction to projects lawmakers insert in legislation to curry favor in their districts," the paper notes.
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Mullen taking activist role in Afghan strategy
Navy Adm. Michael Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is emerging as the prime strategist behind U.S. efforts in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the Los Angeles Times reports. Mullen pushed for 21,000 additional troops and a leadership shakeup among the military brass. He also has pushed for top graduates of the National Defense University to deploy to Afghanistan, rather than taking desk jobs in Washington. Mullen is seen as the originator of the idea that Afghanistan and Pakistan are inseparably linked -- an idea that has now become conventional wisdom.
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American finds scratches in 737s, suspects damage from jetbridge
Following dozens of inspections, American Airlines says it has found three Boeing 737 aircraft with tiny scratches in their fuselages that may have been caused by contact with airport jetbridges. The planes will be removed from service during repairs, because the depth of the scratches exceeds manufacturer guidelines. "There's absolutely no safety concern," said an airline spokeswoman, noting that fewer than a dozen flights had been canceled as a result. American is inspecting the jetbridges at several unnamed airports while it continues examining the remaining 737-800 aircraft in its fleet.
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Done deal: Republic completes Midwest purchase
Republic Airways Holdings has completed its $31 million purchase of Midwest Airlines. Republic reiterated on Friday that it intends to continue operating Midwest as a separate brand. Republic also has bid to take over Frontier Airlines, with an auction expected later this month.
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Amid rising fuel prices, airlines remain mostly un-hedged
As oil edges back toward the $70-per-barrel mark, big U.S. airlines are declining to hedge their fuel costs as aggressively as they did in past years. The airlines lost hundreds of millions last year on bad hedges, The Wall Street Journal explains, and a shortage of cash makes the hedging decision even harder to justify. "Scarce capital means airlines are being forced to add to the risk of weak passenger volumes, pricing and balance sheets, by exposing themselves to the full vagaries of the oil price," the paper says.
[url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124909020953498607.html?mod=dist_smartbrief

Endeavour completes 16-day mission to ISS
The space shuttle Endeavour returned to Cape Canaveral on Friday following a 16-day mission to the International Space Station that included five spacewalks and numerous maintenance and assembly duties. Only seven flights remain on the schedule before NASA shuts down the shuttle program. The next launch should take place around Aug. 25.
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TSA: Airport screening is about "war," not "theater"
The CBS newsmagazine 60 Minutes on Sunday rebroadcast a December 2008 investigation into TSA screening procedures at U.S. airports. Though some critics have said the checkpoint routine amounts to little more than "security theater," outgoing TSA Administrator Kip Hawley told reporter Leslie Stahl that the delays and inconveniences are necessary to keep the public safe from terrorists. "This is war. These people are trying to kill us. They got on the planes on September 11th, 2001, killed 3,000 people. And they will do it again as many times as they can," he said.
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1. P-38
2. A-4
3. F-14
4. T-33
5.
6. SAAB something...
7. Hawker Hunter
8. EF-2000
9.
10.

ANSWERS:
1. Lockheed P-38J Lightning
2. McDonnell Douglas A-4E Skyhawk
3. Grumman F-14A Tomcat
4. Lockheed T-33A Shooting Star
5. Dassault F-1 Mirage
6. English Electric Lightning
7. Hawker Hunter
8. SAAB J-39 Grippen
9. Tupolev Tu-22 (NATO: BLINDER)
10. Hawker Sea Fury