NewsCommercial
MAKS: Irkut MC-21 makes air show debut
The Irkut MC-21 narrowbody airliner has made its debut at the MAKS air show outside of Moscow on the week of 26 August.
Irkut sent three examples of the aircraft, with FTV-1 performing a flight display in front of Russian President Vladimir Putin and the show’s guest of honor, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, on 27 August. Two other MC-21s were placed on static display.
Link
Rostec unit sues Boeing alleging 737 Max fraud
Russian aircraft lessor Avia Capital Services is suing Boeing for at least $115 million, alleging that the airframer deceptively sold 737 Max aircraft on the premise that the aircraft were properly certificated, and that pilots would not need months of additional training.
Avia, a subsidiary of Russian aerospace firm Rostec, filed the lawsuit on 26 August in Cook County, Illinois, which is the jurisdiction of Boeing's Chicago headquarters.
Link
Ilyushin to design modernised An-124 with Russian components
Ilyushin is drawing up a revamped Antonov An-124 outsize freighter based solely on domestically produced components, in response to a request from the Russian government.
Over the past two years, the design bureau has been working on development of an extensively modernised An-124-100M variant, the national minister of industry and trade Denis Manturov disclosed at the MAKS air show in Moscow.
LinkAirlines
Virgin Australia to cut 750 staff after FY2019 loss
The Virgin Australia Group reported a net loss of A$315.4 million ($212.7 million) for the 2019 fiscal year ended June 30.
This was an improvement from the A$653.3 million loss in the previous year, but the carrier’s underlying pre-tax loss of A$71.2 million was worse than the A$64.4 million profit a year earlier.
Link
UK CAA investigates British Airways’ strike miscommunication
The UK CAA is looking into whether British Airways (BA) fully complied with its passenger-rights obligations, after the airline mistakenly told some passengers their flights were canceled during an upcoming pilots’ strike.
“We have been in contact with the airline to determine what has happened and are seeking an explanation to confirm how it complied with its re-routing obligations to consumers,” UK CAA director Richard Stephenson said Aug. 27.
Link
African startup Uganda Airlines launches operations
East African startup Uganda Airlines has launched operations with an initial scheduled service between Entebbe and Nairobi (Kenya), marking the start of a growth plan that foresees 20 destinations by the end of 2021.
State-run Uganda Airlines, which secured its air operator’s certificate (AOC) in July, performed its first flight to Nairobi Aug. 27, followed by an inaugural flight to Juba (South Sudan) Aug. 28.
Link
AirAsia Group 2Q net profit drops 85% on higher costs
The AirAsia Group reported a net profit of MYR46.8 million ($11.1 million) for the June quarter, down 85% from the same period a year earlier.
Several factors contributed to the group’s net profit decline. These included the recognition of prior years’ losses in AirAsia India, higher maintenance and overhaul costs, and a fine from Malaysia’s competition watchdog agency.
Link
Bulgaria’s Holiday Europe begins operations
Bulgaria-based airline Holiday Europe launched operations Aug. 24, with a flight from Antalya (Turkey) to Nuremberg (Germany) with 218 passengers after receiving an air operator’s certificate.
The carrier, which operates one 219-seat Airbus 321, plans to increase its fleet to seven Airbus aircraft by October.
Link
United to temporarily shift 737 Max fleet to Arizona desert
United Airlines' fleet of 14 Boeing 737 Max aircraft are set to take off again – but without paying passengers.
The Chicago-based airline has received regulatory approval to ferry the otherwise-grounded narrowbodies from Los Angeles and Houston to the Arizona desert, where they will be placed in "short-term storage."
Link
Alaska plans eight-city California expansion
Alaska Airlines plans to expand in California early next year with the launch of eight new routes, including several that Seattle-based Alaska served in years past.
Alaska's regional airline partners, which include Horizon Air and SkyWest Airlines, will operate most of the new flights.
Link
Air Canada to begin year-round Toulouse flights
Air Canada will begin five-times-weekly flights between Montreal and Toulouse on 4 June 2020.
The Star Alliance carrier notes that this will be the only year-round service between the Canadian and French aerospace hubs. Airbus is headquartered in Toulouse, and the European airframer's A220 jet is manufactured at Mirabel near Montreal.
LinkAirports
Sheremetyevo sets date for third runway opening
Moscow Sheremetyevo airport's operator is formally to open the Russian hub's third runway on 1 September.
The operator has detailed a high-level event which will include transport minister Yevgeny Ditrikh and federal regulator Rosaviatsia's chief Alexander Neradko.
LinkMilitary
MAKS: China & Iran show tactical UAV concepts
In their national pavilions at the MAKS air show Chinese and Iranian aircraft developers showed subscale models of new tactical unmanned air vehicles (UAV) concepts.
China’s Xi’An CCKW Development Company displayed a model of a jet-powered tactical target drone, called the LJ-I, that appears similar to many of the target drones in the USA that have been transformed into tactical UAVs, such as the Kratos UTAP-22 Mako.
Link
MAKS: US sanctions make air forces wary of Russian jets
The USA’s Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) is making air forces wary of buying Russian aircraft and other weapons.
That’s according to officials from Russian defence holding company Rostec and the country’s export agency Rosoboronexport, who spoke during the MAKS air show near Moscow on 28 August.
Link
Aviation Quote
In a relatively short period of time—maybe 15 to 20 years—I believe we're going to fly hypersonic and we'll look at SSBJs [supersonic business jets] as not having been a necessary intermediate stop. We'll bounce across the top of the atmosphere at Mach 5-6 or do suborbital lobs flying weightless. Travel time may be reduced to as little as 60 minutes anywhere on Earth.
Within 25 years, virtual reality meetings will be essentially transparent to being there in person. Once we can do this, the idea of climbing into an aircraft, and burning up huge quantities of fossil fuels to propel our bodies and briefcases full of papers, will seem absolutely backward.
- Burt Rutan, interview in Professional Pilot magazine, March 2006.
Daily Video
Editor's Choice
Trivia
First Flights
Place in chronological order which one flew first.
1. Boeing 707
2. Douglas DC-8
3. Convair 880
4. DeHavilland Comet
5. Tupolev 114
