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Airbus to debut A350 at show
Airbus’s A350-900 is making its FIDAE debut by taking part in the flying display, just weeks after Brazil’s TAM became the first Latin American airline to introduce the big twin into service. The European manufacturer, which has been attending FIDAE for two decades, has brought showpiece aircraft to the show before, displaying the A380 in 2014, and its vice-president for Latin America, Rafael Alonso, is excited about the type’s prospects in the region.
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CFM guides Leap toward next hurdles
Despite its relatively untroubled path toward service entry, the CFM International Leap engine series continues to be dogged by allegations – always strenuously denied – that the narrowbody powerplant is not meeting its performance specifications. Raising this issue in interviews inevitably provokes visible irritation in its executives.
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Embraer forecasts 720 70-130 seat jets for Latin America by 2036
Embraer has forecasted that Latin American airlines will take delivery of 720 new jets with between 70 and 130 seats over the next 20 years. The Brazilian aircraft manufacturer said the number of 70-130 jets going to Latin America will comprise 11% of worldwide demand for such aircraft during the forecast period. The 70-130 seat jet fleet currently stands at 310 units in Latin America, but will grow to 740 by 2036, Embraer said.
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French ATCs plan another 36-hour strike
French air traffic controllers (ATC) plan to strike for at least 36 hours, starting from Wednesday evening, Airlines for Europe (A4E) lobby group said in a statement. A4E said this will be the 43rd strike day in France since 2009, resulting in the cancellation of hundreds of flights and creating disruption and extensive delays across the continent.
LinkAirlines
Volcano eruption prompts Alaska Airlines to cancel flights
Alaska Airlines has canceled 41 flights to and from six cities in northern Alaska—including all flights operating to and from Fairbanks—because of a massive ash cloud that is moving north at up to 65 knots (75 mph). The canceled flights affect 3,300 passengers. Mount Pavlof, an active volcano located 600 miles southwest from Anchorage, Alaska, has been actively erupting since Sunday evening.
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American Airlines applies for LAX-Beijing service
American Airlines has submitted an application to the Department of Transportation to fly from Los Angeles to Beijing. The daily nonstop service would begin in December if approved. "This new route would solidify Los Angeles as American's West Coast gateway to Asia," said Andrew Nocella, chief marketing officer for American.
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Atlas Air flies equipment for rock 'n' roll concert in Cuba
Atlas Air transported 97 tons of equipment for the free Rolling Stones concert held in Havana last week. "With our global reach and flexible scale, our customers depend on Atlas Air for reliable service anywhere in the world," said Atlas Air's Michael Steen. "As the first US freighter operator chosen to operate into Cuba we were delighted to support this one-of-a-kind event."
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How EasyJet transformed its pilot training
EasyJet has travelled a long way in its 20-year existence. Since introducing the British public to the low-cost carrier model, and inspiring multiple other operators to follow its lead, the UK-based company is now an established airline of choice for many leisure and business travellers. More than 69.8 million passengers flew with EasyJet in 2015: a 4.6% increase on its previous year of operations. During the same period, its load factor also climbed, by 0.8%, to reach 91.6%.
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EgyptAir A320 hijacker arrested; Lanarka Airport operations restored
EgyptAir has confirmed the hijacker of its Airbus A320—which was en route from Alexandria to Cairo and forced to divert to Larnaca, Cyprus—has been arrested and flight operations at Larnaca Airport have returned to normal. All hostages were released and are safe, the Egyptian flag carrier said on Twitter. The motive behind the hijacking remains unclear. According to earlier reports, the hijacker claimed to be strapped with explosives, though EgyptAir later confirmed to be fake.
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flydubai 737 had no technical failures
Russia’s Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC) said a preliminary analysis of the flydubai Boeing 737 data recorder has found “no onboard system malfunctions, aircraft components’ defects or power system failures.” The flydubai 737, flight FZ981, crashed on landing in severe weather at Rostov-on-Don Airport March 19, killing all 62 aboard.
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Singapore Airlines, SilkAir establish codeshare with Air China
Singapore Airlines Group (SIA) parent airline Singapore Airlines and SIA subsidiary SilkAir announced a codeshare agreement with Air China, effective March 29. Both Singapore Airlines and Air China are Star Alliance member airlines. Under the codeshare agreement, Singapore Airlines will add its ‘SQ’ designator code to Air China flights between Singapore-Beijing and SilkAir will add its ‘MI’ code to Air China flights between Singapore-Chengdu. Reciprocally, Air China will add its ‘CA’ code to selected Singapore Airlines-operated flights between Singapore-Beijing as well as on SilkAir-operated flights between Singapore-Chengdu
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Virgin America in buy-out talks with Alaska, JetBlue
Virgin America, which started operations out of San Francisco in 2007, is reportedly in talks to sell itself to either Alaska Air Group or US independent JetBlue Airways. Bloomberg first reported the discussions, citing unnamed sources. Virgin America, JetBlue and Alaska are all declining comment.
LinkAirports
Zaventem airport closure costs Brussels Airlines $5.6m a day
As Brussels Airport in Zaventem, Belgium, remains closed following the March 22 deadly terrorist attacks, Brussels Airlines says the airport closure is costing it €5 million ($5.6 million) a day. This is putting Brussels Airlines in its deepest crises since it was established in 2002, spokesperson Wencke Lemmes said in Brussels. “Our first priority is to do everything for our passengers,” Lemmes said.
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Kenya Scraps Plans For New Nairobi Terminal
Kenya has scrapped plans for a new terminal building at Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta airport due to financial pressures and excess capacity caused by recent upgrades to existing facilities. President Uhuru Kenyatta launched the USD$650 million terminal project for the airport in December 2013.
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Military
Embraer displays Phenom 300 and Super Tucano, but no KC-390
Embraer’s flagship programs – the KC-390 and the E2 – may be absent from FIDAE, but the Brazilian manufacturer is represented with a Phenom 300 business jet and Brazilian air force A-29 Super Tucano trainer/light combat aircraft, one of 162 operating in the region. The KC-390 is “at a crucial point of its flight-test campaign” and taking it to FIDAE “would have caused issues”, says Jackson Schneider, chief executive of Embraer Defense & Security.
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Slimmed-down F-35 Gen III helmet to be introduced sooner
The Pentagon is bullish about resolving issues with the F-35 Lightning II’s escape system that has restricted lightweight pilots of from flying the fifth-generation combat jet, with the joint program office (JPO) now expecting delivery of a slimmed-down “Gen 3” helmet from Rockwell Collins by November for rollout in 2017. One US Air Force pilot was transferred to the F-22 Raptor last year after sled tests of the Lockheed Martin F-35's emergency escape system revealed “unacceptable” loads and stresses on mannequin weighing 47kg (103lb) and 62kg (136lb) when ejecting with the newly delivered third-generation helmet. Those loads might break a human pilot's neck or cause serious injury.
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Aviation Quote
Keep thy airspeed up, less the earth come from below and smit thee.
— William Kershner
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Editor’s Choice
Trivia
RECORDS
The most types of planes flown on by a passenger is:
178
383
841
999
Most amount of people to fly in an airplane?
555
892
1069
1072
Most amount of parachute jumps in a day
119
457
640
757
Largest aircraft landed on an aircraft carrier?
A-3
B-66
R-5C
C-130
What was the largest Carrier based aircraft?
F-14 Tomcat
R-5C Vigilante
A-3 Sky Warrior
C-130 Hercules
Which aircraft was the first around the world record without landing?
B-29
B-45
B-47
B-50
Which type of aircraft holds the most speed records with payloads at altitude?
B-29
B-50
B-52
Boeing 747
What is the fastest piston engine aircraft over a closed circuit?
North American P-51D Mustang
Hawker Sea Fury
Ryan Fireball
Grumman F-8F Bearcat
What type of aircraft hold the around the world speed record, westbound?
British Aerospace/Aerospatiale Concorde
Gulfstream IV
Boeing 747SP
Lockheed SR-71A
The deadliest aircraft accident killed how many people?
473
555
583
623
What is the heaviest aircraft ever made?
An-224
An-225
An-124
C-5C
Most spark plugs ever installed on an airplane?
96
128
224
448
