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Second Pratt-powered A320neo acceptance was conditional
Lufthansa Group’s acceptance of a second Airbus A320neo was conditional on a compensation agreement because the Pratt & Whitney PW1100G geared turbofan (GTF) engine is still not operating to full expected performance levels, the airline Lufthansa spokesperson Anja Lindenstein said that agreement to accept the second aircraft was made after reaching a compensation deal with Airbus and after further performance improvements were made on the engine.
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Boeing Cancels License To Spirit For Spare Parts
Spirit AeroSystems has confirmed that it will no longer be providing a wide range of spare parts for Boeing aircraft after the plane maker cancelled its license. Spirit said the financial impact would be minimal and prompt only a small reduction in its worldwide staff of 15,000.
LinkAirlines
AirAsia Founders To Boost Stakes
AirAsia's founders tightened their grip on Asia's biggest budget airline with a deal to invest MYR1 billion ringgit (USD$257 million). The move to issue shares to Group chief executive Tony Fernandes and chairman Kamarudin Meranun is an attempt to draw a line under market concerns about the company's debt and accounting-related issues that hurt it last year.
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Cebu Pacific reports net profit up fivefold in 2015
Philippine-based low-cost carrier (LCC) Cebu Pacific Air reported a PHP4.4 billion ($93.6 million) net profit in 2015, a fivefold increase over a PHP85.3 million net profit in 2014. An airline spokesperson JR Mantaring said Cebu had seen a significant growth in passenger numbers as part of the Philippines’ “dynamic market … growing exponentially in the last two decades,” along with overall expansion boosted by support from “airline regulators and stakeholders.”
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Eastern Air Lines Group converts order for 737-800NGs to -MAXs
Miami-based startup Eastern Air Lines Group has reportedly converted its March 16, 2014, order for 10 737-800NG aircraft to 10 737 MAX 8 aircraft. On March 2, Eastern tweeted “this week, Eastern confirmed its firm order for 10 737 MAX aircraft and 10 options.”
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EVA Air chairman replaced
Former EVA Air chairman Steven Lin has been reinstated as chairman after K.W. Chang was removed during an extraordinary meeting of the Taiwanese airline’s governing board. The action by EVA Air’s board March 11 came less than two months after the death of Evergreen Group’s founder and chairman Yung-Fa Chang. Evergreen Group is a major international conglomerate with subsidiary cargo, shipping, and hotel businesses in addition to oversight of EVA Air.
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Hong Kong Airlines to launch Self-Bag Drop service
Hong Kong Airlines will launch the Self-Bag Drop (SBD) service for passengers departing from Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA). Six SBD machines will be installed at Hong Kong Airlines counters at Aisle K of HKIA. Ground staff of the airline will assist passengers with the new service. According to the carrier, for the first two weeks, each passenger who uses the service will be presented with a gift as a token of gratitude for their support to the airline’s innovative initiatives.
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JetBlue to expand its Mint service in the fall
JetBlue Airways plans to expand its Mint premium service, which includes lie-flat seats, to more routes this fall. In October, JetBlue will offer Mint on flights between Boston and Los Angeles. In November, JetBlue will offer Mint on flights from East Coast cities to the Caribbean.
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KLM launches E190 Oslo-Amsterdam biofuel flights
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines has launched a series of around 80 biofuel flights from Oslo to Amsterdam using an Embraer E190. The remaining flights will be operated over a period of five to six weeks, KLM said in a statement. They will depart from Oslo Airport (Avinor), the first airport to supply biofuel directly from its hydrant system in January this year. Oslo Airport has begun supplying Air BP Biojet via its regular fuel hydrant system, for launch customers KLM, Lufthansa Group and SAS Scandinavian Airlines.
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SAS Scandinavian Airlines launches ninth US route to Boston
SAS Scandinavian Airlines has launched daily Copenhagen-Boston services as part of a major North American long-haul expansion. SAS will open a Copenhagen-Miami route from September. SAS Group CEO Rickard Gustafson said the new routes “will bring us to 11 USA services by September.”
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Saudi Arabian regional Nesma Airlines takes first two ATR 72-600s
Nesma Airlines has taken delivery of its first two ATR 72-600s, which are leased from Dubai Aerospace Enterprise. The aircraft will operate in Saudi Arabia, where the airline is developing regional connectivity with the support of the national government, according to an ATR statement. Nesma Airlines and ATR also signed an eight-year global maintenance agreement (GMA), which includes a spare parts inventory on lease at the airline’s premises.
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Southwest to launch Long Beach-Oakland flights
Southwest Airlines plans to use its four new slots at Long Beach Airport to offer four daily flights to Oakland, Calif. "As we bring much-needed competition to Long Beach this summer, our aim continues to be offering Californians the best value in air service," said Andrew Watterson, senior vice president of network and revenue at Southwest.
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United makes Australia route an all-Dreamliner market
United Airlines now serves Australia exclusively with Boeing 787 Dreamliners. In 2015, 1.2 million Australians visited the US, staying an average of more than three weeks.
LinkAirports
Garuda Indonesia swaps to Heathrow from Gatwick
Indonesian flag carrier Garuda Indonesia has launched its first scheduled flights from Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta Airport to London Heathrow from March 31. The 5X-weekly service will use a 314-seat Boeing 777-300ER aircraft in a three-class layout.
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Honduras To Build New, Safer Airport
Honduras will build a new USD$163 million airport designed to improve on the poor safety record of the existing airport in the capital city, Tegucigalpa. The project will be led by a consortium of local firm Inversiones EMCO and Flughafen Munchen, the operator of Germany's Munich Airport, which will invest USD$87 million and receive a 30-year concession. The rest of the money will come from the Honduran government and a Spanish cooperation fund.
LinkMilitary
Airbus Sees 20 A400M Deliveries This Year
Airbus is sticking with plans to deliver 20 A400M military transporters this year as it works with engine partners to resolve problems discovered in the propeller gear boxes. Two separate problems have been identified in the gear boxes, requiring the aircraft to undergo regular inspections and to have parts replaced if necessary, Airbus said.
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F-35 begins Raytheon JSOW qualification flights
The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II will soon count Raytheon's AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW) among its list internally carried munitions after “cleanly” releasing the 475kg (1,050lb) inert glide bomb during a trial off the coast of Maryland. The drop test on 23 March by the Naval Air Station Patuxent River-based CF-05 test aircraft is the first of many that will take place in 2016 to qualify the bomb for use by the stealthy combat jet.
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Aviation Quote
Never fly the 'A' model of anything.
— Ed Thompson
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Trivia
Commercial Pilot – Airplane Exam Questions
5440
Hatching on a Constant Pressure Analysis Chart indicates
A) hurricane eye.
B) windspeed 70 knots to 110 knots.
C) windspeed 110 knots to 150 knots.
5430
Which provides a graphic display of both VFR and IFR weather?
A) Radar Summary Chart.
B) Weather Depiction Chart.
C) Surface Weather Map.
5417
What type of Inflight Weather Advisories provides an en route pilot with information regarding the possibility of moderate icing, moderate turbulence, winds of 30 knots or more at the surface and extensive mountain obscurement?
A) AIRMETs and Center Weather Advisories (CWA).
B) Convective SIGMETs and SIGMETs.
C) Severe Weather Forecast Alerts (AWW) and SIGMETs.
5470
If an airplane is consuming 95 pounds of fuel per hour at a cruising altitude of 6,500 feet and the groundspeed is 173 knots, how much fuel is required to travel 450 NM?
A) 248 pounds.
B) 265 pounds.
C) 284 pounds.
5504
To use VHF/DF facilities for assistance in locating your position, you must have an operative VHF
A) transmitter and receiver, and an operative VOR receiver.
B) transmitter and receiver.
C) transmitter and receiver, and an operative ADF receiver.
5360
Which situation would most likely result in freezing precipitation? Rain falling from air which has a temperature of
A) more than 32 °F into air having a temperature of 32 °F or less.
B) 32 °F or less into air having a temperature of more than 32 °F.
C) 0 °C or less into air having a temperature of 0 °C or more.
5043
Excluding Hawaii, the vertical limits of the Federal Low Altitude airways extend from
A) 1,200 feet AGL up to, but not including, 18,000 feet MSL.
B) 700 feet AGL up to, but not including, 14,500 feet MSL.
C) 1,200 feet AGL up to, but not including, 14,500 feet MSL.
5212
An airplane will stall at the same
A) angle of attack regardless of the attitude with relation to the horizon.
B) angle of attack and attitude with relation to the horizon.
C) airspeed regardless of the attitude with relation to the horizon.
5076
A pilot flying a single-engine airplane observes a multiengine airplane approaching from the left. Which pilot should give way?
A) Each pilot should alter course to the right.
B) The pilot of the single-engine airplane should give way; the other airplane is to the left.
C) The pilot of the multiengine airplane should give way; the single-engine airplane is to its right.
5085
What is the minimum flight visibility and proximity to cloud requirements for VFR flight, at 6,500 feet MSL, in Class C, D, and E airspace?
A) 5 miles visibility; 1,000 feet above and 1,000 feet below.
B) 1 mile visibility; clear of clouds.
C) 3 miles visibility; 1,000 feet above and 500 feet below.
5608
What will occur if no leaning is made with the mixture control as the flight altitude increases?
A) The volume of air entering the carburetor decreases and the amount of fuel decreases.
B) The density of air entering the carburetor decreases and the amount of fuel increases.
C) The density of air entering the carburetor decreases and the amount of fuel remains constant.
5761
Hypoxia is the result of which of these conditions?
A) Insufficient oxygen reaching the brain.
B) Excessive oxygen in the bloodstream.
C) Excessive carbon dioxide in the bloodstream.
5163
If the airspeed is increased from 90 knots to 135 knots during a level 60° banked turn, the load factor will
A) remain the same but the radius of turn will increase.
B) decrease and the stall speed will increase.
C) increase as well as the stall speed.
5961
Which of the following is the final step of the Decide Model for effective risk management and Aeronautical Decision Making?
A) Estimate.
B) Eliminate.
C) Evaluate.
5002
NTSB Part 830 requires an immediate notification as a result of which incident?
A) Damage to the landing gear as a result of a hard landing.
B) Engine failure for any reason during flight.
C) Any required flight crewmember being unable to perform flight duties because of illness.
