NewsDelta international 747 drawdown enters final chapterDelta Air Lines begins the final chapter in the drawdown of its international Boeing 747-400 fleet with the introduction of the Airbus A350-900 today. The new Airbus aircraft enters service operating flight DL275 from Detroit to Tokyo Narita today. A 747 operated the flight yesterday.
LinkBrussels Airlines retires last AvroBrussels Airlines has retired its last BAE Systems Avro RJ100 regional jet. The Lufthansa Group carrier says it operated a final scheduled service with the type on 28 October: a flight from Geneva to the Belgian capital. "From today onwards, Brussels Airlines' operator license only consists of Airbus aircraft," notes the airline.
LinkUS fines Compass for failing to provide weather dataThe US Federal Aviation Administration proposes an $869,125 fine against Compass Airlines for failing to give flightcrews full weather information on a number of flights to Mexico. The regulator cites 47 flights operated by the Trans States Holdings-subsidiary operating as Delta Connection to Monterrey, Mexico, where the airline failed to provide the required Mexican meteorological data to flightcrews from May to June 2015, in a notice on 27 October.
LinkA319 evades ultralight collision during initial climbGerman investigators have detailed a serious low-level airprox incident at Stuttgart during which a Germanwings Airbus A319's collision-avoidance system ordered the crew to descend while just 1,200ft above ground. The aircraft had been conducting its initial climb after taking off from runway 07 when it encountered an ultralight which had been approaching from the south and had been instructed to cross behind the A319.
LinkNextjet suspects aircraft sabotage at regional airportSwedish regional carrier Nextjet has called in police after discovering possible sabotage to an aircraft parked at Gallivare airport. The airline has cancelled its flight 2N551 to Kramfors for 30 October.
LinkEASA revisits angle-of-attack upgrade on A330 computersAirbus A330 operators are to be instructed to update software on flight-control computers in order to reduce the risk of undetected blockage of angle-of-attack sensors. The proposed order from the European Aviation Safety Agency covers the A330-200 and -300 variants and follows the discovery that sensor blockage could, under certain circumstances, lead to unexpected activation of angle-of-attack protection.
LinkEasyJet acquires part of Air Berlin's Tegel operationsLow-cost carrier EasyJet will pay €40 million ($46.4 million) to acquire part of Air Berlin's operations at Berlin Tegel Airport. The agreement will see it entering leases for "up to 25 Airbus A320 aircraft", says EasyJet in a statement.
LinkCFM reviews fleet after finding Leap-1A durability issueCFM International is evaluating the Leap-1A engine fleet on Airbus A320neo aircraft for a prematurely-deteriorating coating on a turbine part after identifying the problem on eight engines in service. The scope of the problem should be understood within two weeks, says a GE Aviation spokesman. GE and Safran are equal partners in the CFM joint venture, but GE is responsible for the high-pressure turbine module.
LinkUnited Aircraft among firms on US sanctions target listSeveral Russian aerospace firms feature on a newly-issued list of companies against which the US government is aiming new sanctions. The firms include United Aircraft and United Engine Corporation, as well as Tupolev and Sukhoi, and the state technology company Rostec.
LinkMB Aerospace buys Asian engine MRO firmSIA Engineering Company (SIAEC) and joint venture partners Pratt & Whitney (P&W) and China Airlines, will fully divest Asian Compressor Technology Services (ACTS) to MB Aerospace Newton Abbot. Based in Taiwan and founded in 1995, ACTS is a joint venture between SIAEC (24.5%), P&W (51%) and China Airlines (24.5%). It provides repairs and overhauls of compressor stators, shrouds and honeycomb seals and segments for PW4000, PW2000, International Aero Engines V2500 and CFM International CFM56 engines.
LinkUSAF floats software solutions for KC-46 issuesThe US Air Force believes a software reprogramming could solve some deficiencies discovered earlier this year on the Boeing KC-46 tanker, following initial findings from testing earlier this month. Though testing is ongoing, early data indicates that reprogramming could fix a high-frequency transmit and an “uncommanded boom extension” on KC-46, Gen Carlton Everhart, commander of the USAF Air Mobility Command, said last week.
LinkAirbus Helicopters lines up orders for H160 to match output ramp-upAirbus Helicopters is confident of securing sufficient orders for its new H160 medium-twin to match an ambitious ramp-up target that will see it produce up to 45 aircraft a year by 2021, even as it works through the final 12 months of flight testing.
LinkICAO considers checked baggage laptop ban over fire concernICAO is considering amending its dangerous goods instructions to largely ban large personal electronic devices (PEDs) from checked baggage after US FAA’s Fire Safety Branch reported “troubling” results from tests conducted on potential fire risks to commercial aircraft from laptops in checked baggage. Results of FAA’s testing, conducted over the summer and previously made public in an “Information for Operators” bulletin issued by the agency in July, were included in a report released during a meeting of ICAO’s Dangerous Goods Panel (DGP) that concluded Oct. 27 in Montreal.
LinkMint flights soon to be majority of JetBlue transcon capacityMint-configured Airbus A321 aircraft will make up the majority of JetBlue Airways’ transcontinental capacity for the first time in November, a sign of the premium offering’s ongoing success.
LinkAllegiant sees 4Q demand slowdown post-Irma, Las Vegas shootingLas Vegas-based Allegiant Travel Co., parent of LCC Allegiant Air, posted third-quarter 2017 net income of $22.3 million, a 51% drop from $45.5 million in net profit during the year-ago quarter, as a result of September’s Hurricane Irma and the Las Vegas shooting Oct. 1.
LinkAmerican Airlines to close St. Louis pilot baseAmerican Airlines plans to close its St. Louis pilot base in 2018, as it retires its remaining MD-80 fleet.
LinkAmerican plans enhancements, service segmentation by fare levelsPrinted headline: American Dreams American Airlines is planning more enhancements to its onboard products as it pursues a strategy of segmenting cabins to offer multiple levels of service at different fare points.
LinkVolaris posts $40 million 3Q net profit despite natural disastersMexico City-based ultra LCC Volaris posted its first quarterly profit of 2017, reporting MXN731 million ($40.2 million) in third-quarter net income, down 27.6% from MXN1 billion in 3Q 2016. “Demand and traffic patterns, despite a competitive fare environment, had been sequentially improving, but in September, natural disasters in Mexico and in the region temporarily interrupted such recovery,” Volaris CEO Enrique Beltranena said.
LinkIrish lessor Avolon forecasts demand for 43,000 new aircraft by 2036The global commercial aviation market, by 2036, will require 42,000 new passenger aircraft and 800 new freighters, at a financing investment of $4.3 trillion, according to a world fleet forecast released Oct. 30 by Ireland-based aircraft lessor Avolon.
LinkJuneyao Airlines 3Q net profit up as market demand rises Shanghai-based Juneyao Airlines reported a 2017 third-quarter net profit of CNY618.9 million ($93 million), up 11.7% over a net income of CNY554.3 million in the year-ago quarter, as market demand continues to grow.
LinkSkyWork Airlines temporarily suspends operationsSwitzerland-based SkyWork Airlines canceled all flights for Sunday, Oct. 29 and Monday, Oct. 30, because of a still-missing operating license for the winter timetable. “At the moment we have no evidence that SkyWork can ensure financing of flight operations for the winter timetable,” SkyWork Airlines said in a statement.
LinkRussia suspends AOC for VIM AirlinesRussian authorities have temporarily suspended the air operator’s certificate (AOC) for VIM Airlines, TASS agency reported, quoting Minister of Transport Maxim Sokolov. He clarified the AOC had not been canceled and could be restored.
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