NewsCommercial
Airbus to add A350 completion work at Tianjin plant
Airbus is expanding its industrial presence in China by adding A350 completion work at its Tianjin plant.
Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury and National Development and Reform Commission of China (NDRC) chairman He Lifeng signed an MOU on Nov. 6 about “practical and effective measures for new initiatives regarding both Airbus single-aisle and widebody aircraft.”
Link
Boeing chair talks certification 'reform', stands with Muilenburg
The chair of Boeing's board of directors conceded this week that the US aircraft certification processes needs "reform", though industry analysts remain uncertain what changes might be in store for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
"Reform will happen. Reform has to happen," Boeing's board chair Dave Calhoun told CNBC on 5 November when asked about the effectiveness of the FAA's certification process. "The system let everybody down."
Link
Boeing insists it addressed 787 oxygen bottle concerns
Boeing is pushing back against allegations that faulty emergency oxygen systems on 787s pose a threat to aircraft safety.
The company says its oxygen systems undergo thorough testing before and after aircraft are delivered and that federal regulators determined that recently reported issues with the 787's oxygen system do not threaten safe flight.
LinkAirlines
Lufthansa cancels 1,300 flights ahead of cabin crew strike
Lufthansa was forced to cancel 1,300 flights on Nov. 7 and 8 as a strike by cabin crew union UFO neared.
The airline said it would operate 2,300 of 3,000 planned departures on Nov. 7 and 2,400 a day later.
Link
SIA to retrofit 737-800s as MAX 8 grounding drags on
Unsure when the Boeing 737 MAX 8 will return to service, Singapore Airlines (SIA) will retrofit subsidiary SilkAir’s 737-800 aircraft instead as it moves ahead with integration into the parent airline.
Speaking at a press briefing, SIA CEO Goh Choon Phong and SVP-finance Stephen Barnes said the airline has already selected the vendor for the new cabin product but has not yet identified a timeframe, as the situation is “still very fluid” and could happen in either the fourth quarter of FY2019/20 or the first quarter of FY2020/21.
Link
Air France sees 787s as 'leverage' in A330/777 replacement talks
Air France's Boeing 787s could be phased out of its fleet but in the meantime provide "good leverage" in negotiations about the replacement of early-generation 777s and Airbus A330-200s, Air France-KLM chief Ben Smith has indicated.
"Right now, we are assuming they [the 787s] stay in the Air France fleet," Smith said during a webcasted investor briefing on 5 November, but he noted that the airline's relatively small fleet of 10 787-9s – nine in service, one still on order – gives it "a lot of flexibility", and added: "We can look at moving those aircraft to KLM in future."
Link
SIA sets 2022 date for 777-9 service entry
Singapore Airlines will place the Boeing 777X into service in 2022, updating earlier indications that the carrier would take delivery of the widebody from 2021.
SIA chief executive Goh Choon Phong says at a results briefing that the 2022 timeline takes into account the production issues that currently plague the 777X programme.
LinkAirports
DHS studies developing airport passenger self-screening lanes
The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has requested industry feedback about the feasibility of developing passenger self-screening stations at US airports.
“Just like self-checkout at grocery stores, self-tagging checked baggage or ATM machines, many patrons prefer an experience that they can complete all by themselves, at their own pace. Personal screening stations would increase the overall passenger screening throughput,” the DHS said in a request for information (RFI) issued Nov. 5.
Link
Kazakhstan introduces Open Skies at 11 airports
Kazakhstan has implemented Open Skies at 11 airports as of Nov. 1.
Fifth freedom rights were granted to international carriers operating to the capital, Nur-Sultan, as well as Aktau, Almaty, Karagandy, Kokshetau, Pavlodar, Petropavlovsk, Semey, Shymkent, Taraz and Ust-Kamenogorsk.
Link
Schiphol hijack alert is 'false alarm': Air Europa
Spanish carrier Air Europa has admitted that a hijack alert which triggered a military police response at Amsterdam Schiphol aiprort was issued inadvertently.
Dutch military police had stated that they were investigating a "suspicious" situation on board an aircraft at Schiphol airport, but had not detailed the nature of the 6 November incident.
Link
RAF Northolt reopens following runway renovation
RAF Northolt, the fourth-largest airport in the London area for business aviation traffic, reopened on 1 November after a six-month renovation of the runway. Commercial operations at the Ministry of Defence (MOD)-owned site are set to begin on 11 November.
The MoD says the renovation work started on 15 April and involved resurfacing the almost 1,690m (5,530ft)-long runway, "improving drainage, and installing new arrestor beds to improve safety and extend the life of the runway by at least 15 years”.
Link
New $1 billion terminal opens at New Orleans international airport
Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY) is celebrating the official opening of its eagerly awaited new $1 billion North Terminal.
The gateway's new 35-gate terminal, which was seven years in the making in terms of the design and planning work by global architecture firms LEO A DALY and Atkins, will ensure that the US's fifth fastest growing airport has the capacity to meet rising demand.
Link
Aviation Quote
Take possession of the air, submit the elements, penetrate the last redoubts of nature, make space retreat, make death retreat.
- Romain Rolland, 1912.
Daily Video
Editor's Choice
Trivia
The Buff In Vietnam
1. How many crew members were on a typical bombing flight during missions over Vietnam?
Various
4
6
8
2. How many engines are on a B-52-B?
4
8
6
10
3. How many bombs could a fully loaded B-52-D carry?
112
58
32
108
4. From how many bases did B-52 aircraft fly to drop bombs over Vietnam?
4
1
3
2
5. What B-52 model was the most heavily used during bombing missions over Vietnam?
B-52-D
B-52-G
B-52-A
B-52-F
6. What B-52 model was the most heavily used during bombing missions over Vietnam?
B-52-D
B-52-G
B-52-A
B-52-F
7. How many B-52 aircraft were lost to enemy action during the 'Christmas Bombing' campaign?
15
27
0
6
8. At which U.S. Air Force base were all B-52 crew members trained during the 1960's and 1970's?
Plattsburg AFB New York
Barksdale AFB Louisiana
Castle AFB California
March AFB California
9. In which seat position did the Electronic Warfare Officer sit on a B-52?
Lower deck, left side
Lower deck, right side
Upper deck, right front
Upper deck, left rear
10. What magnetic compass system was the PRIMARY magnetic compass system for the B-52?
J-4 Compass
N-1 Compass
ANG 1 - Astrotracker
NAV 12 Compass system
11. In 1963, just prior to the Vietnam War buildup, the U.S. Air Force had the largest number of B-52 aircraft in its fleet. How many B-52's did the U.S.A.F. possess at that time?
725
1091
650
456
12. The B-52 was produced at two different sites in the U.S. One was at Wichita, Kansas. Where was the other?
Los Angeles
Atlanta
Long Island
Seattle
13. What was the function of the ANALE24 system as it was used on the B-52?
Radio Telecommunications
Bombsite mechanism
Chaff dispenser
Radar navigation set
14. During an actual bomb run, which crew member (other than the pilot) sometimes handled steering of the aircraft?
Electronic Warfare Officer
Co-Pilot
Navigator
Radar navigator
15. During the Christmas bombing effort (1972) how many B-52 aircraft were lost to Mig Jet fighters?
0
5
2
7
