NewsCommercial
Pratt & Whitney to make major investment in Georgia facility
East Hartford, Connecticut-based Pratt & Whitney will invest another $386 million in its Columbus, Georgia maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) site, including building a 200,000-sq.-ft. facility to overhaul geared turbofan (GTF) engines. Pratt last year said it was investing $65 million in the Georgia center, which has existed for over 30 years, to enable the facility to be the North American maintenance site for GTF engines. The announcement of the increased investment comes as Pratt works to overcome GTF production ramp-up challenges.
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Aircastle posts $152 million 2016 net profit
Stamford, Connecticut-based commercial aircraft lessor Aircastle posted a 2016 net profit of $151.5 million, up 24.4% from net profit of $121.7 million in 2015. Aircastle attributed the growth primarily to a $91.3 million reduction in non-cash impairment charges. Aircastle’s total revenues for the year were $773 million, down 5.6% from $819.2 million in 2015. Full-year lease rental revenues were $742.4 million, up 0.2% over 2015. Aircastle said the decrease in total revenues was driven by reductions in maintenance revenue and lease-end termination fee revenue. The company’s maintenance revenue for the year totaled $33.6 million, down 52.7% year-over-year (YOY); lease-end termination fee revenue for the year was $7.3 million, down 58.8% YOY.
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US airline boom 'won't last': Embraer commercial chief
Some executives at US airlines insist that the industry has fundamentally turned a corner into profitability, but the head of Embraer's commercial aviation unit appears unconvinced. "Airlines are utilities that are not designed to make $2 billion in a quarter," says John Slattery. "Trust me, it won't last."
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Airbus sees new appetite for Indian widebody operations
Airbus believes there is "now an appetite" for Indian carriers to make greater use of widebodies in order to challenge overseas rivals for market share between the subcontinent and other regions. Speaking to Flightglobal, Airbus India president Srinivasan Dwarakanath (Dwaraka) identified the India-North America market as one of the major battlegrounds.
LinkAirlines
Air Canada drops route from Ottawa to New York's LaGuardia, Delta adds flights
Air Canada has stopped flying directly from Ottawa to LaGuardia Airport in New York City. Air Canada said Tuesday that as of March 26 it will instead offer flights from Ottawa to Newark airport in New Jersey, which is about 25 kilometres from Manhattan. “The service will operate three times a day, as did the Ottawa-LaGuardia service, with convenient early morning, afternoon and evening departures from Ottawa,” said Air Canada spokesman Peter Fitzpatrick in a statement.
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Nigerian state takes control of Arik Air
Nigeria’s largest airline, Arik Air, has suspended its two long-haul international routes following a temporary takeover of the company by a state entity. The airline announced Feb. 15 that it was halting services to London and Johannesburg. This followed the decision by the Asset Management Co. of Nigeria (AMCON) to replace the company’s management.
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British Airways Unite cabin crew to strike again Feb. 22-25
British Airways (BA) cabin crew, represented by the Unite union, will strike again Feb. 22-25 in a long-running dispute over pay levels. Unite cabin crew who work for BA’s London Heathrow-based mixed fleet, which handles both short- and long-haul services, have had 11 days of strike action since the start of the year. The latest strike is for the longest period yet.
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Finnair profit slips in 2016, but prospects hopeful
Finnair recorded an annual profit for 2016 of €85.1 million ($90 million), down from the 2015 figure of €89.7 million. It achieved the result on 2.8% greater turnover of €2.31 billion, compared to €2.25 billion a year ago. The company plans to declare a dividend, of 10 euro cents per share, for the first time since 2012.
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Hawaiian receives top marks for on-time performance
Hawaiian Airlines has held the No. 1 spot in on-time performance for 13 years in a row after averaging a 91.1% rating for 2016. "It's no secret that our more than 6,000 employees work passionately every day to ensure our guests arrive at their destination on-time," said president and CEO Mark Dunkerley.
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Lufthansa, pilot union negotiators accept recommended settlement
Lufthansa and the negotiating committee of pilot union Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) have accepted a mediator’s recommendations to end a pay dispute that has resulted in repeated flight deck crew strikes. The German flag carrier said the settlement, which covers Lufthansa, Lufthansa Cargo and Germanwings pilots, will add €85 million ($90.1 million) in annual costs.
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Kelleher: Southwest invented the budget airline
As a pioneering budget airline, Southwest made flying more accessible to the mass market. "I can teach you the secret to running this airline in thirty seconds. This is it: We are the low-fare airline," said Southwest founder Herb Kelleher.
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Transavia to close Munich base by October
Air France-KLM low-cost carrier (LCC) Transavia will shut down its base in Munich, Germany, by Oct. 31, the company said in a statement. “We have to adjust our business model constantly to new market conditions,” Transavia MD Mattijs ten Brink said. “We decided to change our strategy and to concentrate on growth opportunities within our home market. Therefore, and because of the carefully evaluated profitability prospects, a base in Munich is no longer part of this strategy.”
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United hints at widebody fleet plans with Polaris retrofits
United Airlines will begin retrofitting 66 of its Boeing 767s and 777-200s with its new Polaris business class this year, the first indication of how many of each type it plans to keep in its widebody fleet. The Chicago-based carrier will begin modifications to the first of 14 767-300ERs in April and the first of 52 777-200s in the fourth quarter, says Maria Walters, managing director of product and brand strategy at United, during a media preview flight for the new premium product.
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United considering ‘alternatives’ to A350-1000
United Airlines is considering “different alternatives” to the 35 Airbus A350-1000s that it has on order, says chief financial officer Andrew Levy. “That’s an order we’re paying a lot of attention to and considering different alternatives,” he says during a presentation at the Stifel Transportation & Logistics conference today.
LinkAirports
St. Louis airport takes on new name
The former Lambert-St. Louis International Airport has officially started using its new name: St. Louis Lambert International Airport. The original name had been in use since 1971.
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Austrian court blocks Vienna airport expansion
An Austrian court has blocked plans for a third runway at Vienna International Airport on environmental concerns, a ruling the airport intends to appeal. The court concluded the new runway construction would have resulted in a 2% increase in greenhouse gas emissions. Austria has pledged to reduce emissions by 2.25% by 2020 in the transport sector.
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Military
US Navy revives interest in Super Hornet engine upgrades
The US Navy has revived interest in studying a major upgrade of the engine that powers the Boeing F/A-18E/F, EA-18G and two foreign fighters, including the possible addition of new technologies. In early February, Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) notified industry that it would ask GE Aviation to submit a proposal for a contract for the company’s engineers to perform a study on an “F414-GE-400 core enhancement evaluation”.
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KC-46A tests delayed until January 2018
Initial operational test and evaluation on the Boeing KC-46A tanker will begin in January 2018 at the earliest, US Air Force officials said. In a 10 February interview at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, KC-46 program manager Col. John Newberry said testing will begin pending the results of a US Air Force IOT&E readiness review in the fall of 2017.
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Aviation Quote
Ladies and Gentlemen, I'd planned to speak to you tonight to report on the state of the Union, but the events of earlier today have led me to change those plans. Today is a day for mourning and remembering. Nancy and I are pained to the core by the tragedy of the shuttle Challenger. We know we share this pain with all of the people of our country. This is truly a national loss.
Nineteen years ago, almost to the day, we lost three astronauts in a terrible accident on the ground. But, we've never lost an astronaut in flight; we've never had a tragedy like this. And perhaps we've forgotten the courage it took for the crew of the shuttle; but they, the Challenger Seven, were aware of the dangers, but overcame them and did their jobs brilliantly. We mourn seven heroes: Michael Smith, Dick Scobee, Judith Resnik, Ronald McNair, Ellison Onizuka, Gregory Jarvis, and Christa McAuliffe. We mourn their loss as a nation together.
For the families of the seven, we cannot bear, as you do, the full impact of this tragedy. But we feel the loss, and we're thinking about you so very much. Your loved ones were daring and brave, and they had that special grace, that special spirit that says, 'Give me a challenge and I'll meet it with joy.' They had a hunger to explore the universe and discover its truths. They wished to serve, and they did. They served all of us.
We've grown used to wonders in this century. It's hard to dazzle us. But for twenty-five years the United States space program has been doing just that. We've grown used to the idea of space, and perhaps we forget that we've only just begun. We're still pioneers. They, the members of the Challenger crew, were pioneers.
And I want to say something to the schoolchildren of America who were watching the live coverage of the shuttle's takeoff. I know it is hard to understand, but sometimes painful things like this happen. It's all part of the process of exploration and discovery. It's all part of taking a chance and expanding man's horizons. The future doesn't belong to the fainthearted; it belongs to the brave. The Challenger crew was pulling us into the future, and we'll continue to follow them.
I've always had great faith in and respect for our space program, and what happened today does nothing to diminish it. We don't hide our space program. We don't keep secrets and cover things up. We do it all up front and in public. That's the way freedom is, and we wouldn't change it for a minute. We'll continue our quest in space. There will be more shuttle flights and more shuttle crews and, yes, more volunteers, more civilians, more teachers in space. Nothing ends here; our hopes and our journeys continue. I want to add that I wish I could talk to every man and woman who works for NASA or who worked on this mission and tell them: "Your dedication and professionalism have moved and impressed us for decades. And we know of your anguish. We share it."
There's a coincidence today. On this day 390 years ago, the great explorer Sir Francis Drake died aboard ship off the coast of Panama. In his lifetime the great frontiers were the oceans, and a historian later said, 'He lived by the sea, died on it, and was buried in it.' Well, today we can say of the Challenger crew: Their dedication was, like Drake's, complete.
The crew of the space shuttle Challenger honored us by the manner in which they lived their lives. We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for the journey and waved goodbye and 'slipped the surly bonds of earth' to 'touch the face of God.'
Thank you.
- President Ronald Reagan - January 28, 1986
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Trivia
General Aircraft Knowledge
1. The Douglas DC-7C, the Lockheed L-1049G Constellations a,d other aircraft were powered by Wright R-3350 turbocompound engines. What did these 18 cyclinder mengines have in common with the two reciprocating engines that powered the RMS Titanic?
2. Explain why rain entering a pitot tube during flight neither floods the airspeed indicator nor damages the instrument's internal mechanism?
3. The Bell UH-1 Iroquois "Huey" was the worlds first production turbine powered helicopter; true or false?
4. An acrobatic pilot enters a knife-edge turn to the left, while maintaining this 90-degree bank angle, his conventional turn indicator will show:
A A Large turn rate to the left.
B A large turn rate to the right.
C Either a left or right turn.
D That the airplane is not turning.
5. What is the difference between severe and extreme turbulence?
