NAS Daily 21 AUG 19

airtrainer 20 Aug 19, 23:04

News

Commercial

Boeing to hire more Moses Lake staff for MAX return to service
Boeing plans to hire “a few hundred” temporary staffers at its Moses Lake, Washington, facility for work that must be done on stored 737 MAXs awaiting delivery to customers, the company said. The ramp-up at Moses Lake’s Grant County Airport, one of several places where Boeing is storing undelivered MAXs, will enable the company to handle all work required to get aircraft ready to return to service.
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FAA warns AOA sensors ‘can be easily damaged’
FAA—citing non-specific “continued airworthiness activity”—reminded operators that angle-of-attack (AOA) sensors can be easily damaged during “normal operations,” and must be carefully maintained to ensure safe flight operations.
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GE recalls 777X turbofans to address compressor issue amid scramble to minimise 777X delays
GE Aviation is recalling four GE9X powerplants from Boeing to address a previously disclosed engine compressor issue that already forced Boeing to delay the 777X's first flight.
News of the recall surfaced in a 19 August regulatory filing with the US Department of Transportation (DOT) by Russia's Volga-Dnepr Airlines, which has applied for rights to fly the engines from Washington state to Ohio.
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ARJ21 on tour of high elevation Chinese airports
The Comac ARJ21 regional jet has embarked on a high-altitude demonstration flight tour in southwest China.
The Chinese airframer says the aircraft, registered B-001T, first flew from Kunming to Lijiang, then to Xishuangbanna and back to Kunming.
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Airlines

Air Transat shareholders urged to vote against Air Canada deal
Air Transat parent Transat A.T. is urging shareholders to ignore a last-minute appeal from a high-profile, low-percentage shareholder looking to derail Air Canada’s proposed bid as the Aug. 23 vote on the proposal nears. Quebecor Inc. CEO Pierre Karl Péladeau, a former politician and well-known Canadian business executive, says he will use his 1.6% share to vote against Air Canada’s proposed bid, and wants enough shareholders to join him so that more than one-third oppose ...
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Avianca Brasil to exit Star Alliance Sept. 1
Brazilian airline Ocean Air Linhas Aéreas S/A, formerly doing business as Avianca Brasil, will leave Star Alliance Sept. 1.
Ocean Air’s withdrawal follows several months of bankruptcy protection and the revocation of its air operator’s certificate by Brazilian regulator ANAC.
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Lufthansa, Eurowings to expand leisure long-haul network in 2020
Lufthansa and its LCC subsidiary Eurowings plans to expand their leisure long-haul network from their Munich and Frankfurt hubs, starting from summer 2020.
The Lufthansa Group carriers will launch new North Atlantic services to Las Vegas (Nevada), Phoenix (Arizona), Anchorage (Alaska), Seattle (Washington), Orlando (Florida) and Detroit (Michigan).
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Korean Air cuts routes, capacity in Japan market
Korean Air has made significant reductions to routes in the Korea-Japan market, as political tension between the two countries affects traffic.
The Seoul-based airline announced the suspension of six Japan routes either indefinitely or temporarily; it will also reduce frequencies on another five. Korean Air had previously suspended another Japan route and had indicated that further capacity reductions were being considered.
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American to add seasonal Chicago-Europe long-haul 787 routes in 2020
American Airlines’ long-haul schedule changes for 2020 will continue to position Chicago O’Hare International Airport as a mid-country gateway to Europe and will test Royal Air Maroc’s Casablanca operation as a potential link deeper into Africa. The changes, unveiled Aug. 7, include new summer seasonal service between Chicago and Budapest, Krakow and Prague, all using Boeing 787-8s.
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Transavia pilots file strike notice for September, October
Air France-KLM LCC Transavia pilots’ union SPL has filed a strike notice from Sept. 1 to Oct. 15, saying there is insufficient representation of union bodies at talks over the future of Transavia and that Air France pilots’ union, SNPL, has too much say in Transavia’s future.
The SPL union represents about 30% of approximately 350 Transavia pilots.
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Air Austral closes in on mid-haul fleet renewal decision
Réunion-based Air Austral plans to finalize a medium-haul fleet decision over the coming months, as it seeks to develop its network from Réunion and possibly the nearby Indian Ocean island of Mayotte.
Air Austral’s operating fleet operates three Boeing 777-300s, two 787-8s, two 737-800s and a single ATR 72-500, which is used to serve Bangkok (Thailand), Chennai (India), the Comoros islands, Madagascar, Marseille (France), Mauritius, Mayotte, Paris Charles de Gaulle (France), the Seychelles and South Africa.
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Public help sought to find fallen Swiss A220 engine parts
French investigators are seeking assistance to locate engine parts which they believe fell from an Airbus A220-300 as it passed over the east of the country last month.
The Swiss aircraft had been operating the LX348 service to London Heathrow from Geneva on 25 July.
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Second Ural A321 hit by birds a week before field landing
Russia's federal air transport regulator is seeking information to verify that adequate bird-control measures are in place at airport following the accident involving a Ural Airlines Airbus A321 at Moscow Zhukovsky.
Rosaviatsia has disclosed that another Ural A321 (VQ-BOB) suffered a bird-strike – including impacts to the left-hand engine inlet – while landing at Zhukovsky on 8 August, one week before the cornfield landing of VQ-BOZ which apparently lost power in both engines after a strike on take-off.
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Airports

New Saratov airport opens with Pobeda and Aeroflot flights
Commercial services have commenced at Saratov's new Gagarin airport, with Pobeda and Aeroflot conducting initial flights from Moscow.
Pobeda operated a Boeing 737-800 as DP467 from Moscow Vnukovo, which arrived more than 20min early at 08:07.
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Chisinau airport acquired by Rothschild family vehicle
Moldova's primary airport, Chisinau International, is being taken over by a member of the Rothschild banking family through a Channel Islands property investment vehicle.
The vehicle, NR Investments, has agreed to acquire a 95% shareholding in the Chisinau airport concession from current operator Avia Invest.
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Military

Seoul to receive four more F-35As, as Tokyo confirms F-35B
South Korea is set to receive four additional Lockheed Martin F-35As, bringing the number of the type on the Korean peninsula to eight.
According to a report by official news agency Yonhap, quoting military sources, the four aircraft will arrive later this week. By the end of 2019 the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) will have ten examples on the peninsula, out of a total order for 40.
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US Navy looks to replace or improve F/A-18E/F EO/IR targeting pods
The US Navy (USN) is soliciting options to improve or replace the electro-optic/infrared (EO/IR) air-to-air and air-to-surface targeting pods on its Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornets and EA-18G Growlers.
The move comes amid concern about the current hardware's readiness state and sustainment cost.
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