miamiair/forum/images/avatars/gallery/first/user54/1.pngoffline(netAirspace FAA) 11 Feb 10, 10:32
NEWS
Air France KLM reports reduced but heavy third-quarter loss Air France KLM Group reported a net loss of €295 million ($404.6 million) for its fiscal third quarter ended Dec. 31, 2009, a 41.9% improvement compared to a loss of €508 million in the year-ago period when results were impacted severely by fuel hedge losses. Link
Air Canada posts C$24 million 2009 loss, focuses on cost-cutting Air Canada reported a 2009 net loss of C$24 million ($22.4 million), significantly improved over a net loss of C$1.03 billion in 2008, as it was helped by C$657 million in gains on foreign exchange that were reversed from C$655 million in losses in the prior year. Link
EC charges UPS, DHL, others with freight forwarding price-fixing The European Commission yesterday said it issued charges against "a number of companies concerning their alleged participation in price-fixing cartels in the airfreight forwarding business" and major air cargo players including UPS and DHL confirmed they were included. Link
Historic snowfall brings Northeast US to standstill The second major snowstorm to hit the US Mid-Atlantic region in five days closed airports up and down the East Coast yesterday, forcing cancellation of more than a thousand flights and resulting in delays across the nation's air transport system. Link
U.K. Report Argues For Growth Space British industry, academia and government are setting out a highly ambitious vision to radically increase the size of the nation’s space sector at the heart of a 20-year plan. Link
EASA not ruling out AD after Koito falsified seat test results European aircraft safety regulators are not ruling out the possibility of issuing an airworthiness directive (AD) after the stunning revelation from Japan that seat maker Koito Industries falsified test results on as many as 150,000 seats used by 32 carriers. Link
Vietnam reportedly buys 12 more Sukhoi Su-30MK2 fighters Russia has reportedly sold a dozen Sukhoi Su-30MK2 fighter jets to its political ally Vietnam. Link
Other News
Air China signed a purchase agreement with Airbus for 20 A320s for delivery in 2011-14, according to a filing with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Aircraft are worth $1.63 billion at list prices, but CA said it was afforded "significant price concessions." It said the new aircraft will support a new hub in Chengdu "and expand the fleet capacity of the company in southwestern China while supplementing, to an appropriate extent, the flights in eastern China." Airbus confirmed to ATWOnline that the contract dated yesterday covers aircraft that were part of the 2007 order from China Aviation Supplies Import and Export Group Corp. that were included in the manufacturer's 2008 order book.
In January, Airbus booked orders for 10 A320s from Yemenia Yemen Airways and one A319 from an unidentified customer. It delivered 29 aircraft, including single A380s to Emirates and Qantas.
Aeronautical Engineers Inc. announced formal launch of an MD-80SF passenger-to-freighter conversion program focusing on modification of MD-81, MD-82, MD-83 and MD-88 series aircraft. It expects initial certification by summer 2011 and plans to certify the program with FAA, EASA, and CAAC. According to AEI, the MD-80SF will offer up to 12 88x108-in. ULDs including a custom 108-in. container, 47,000 lb. of upper deck cargo capacity and up to 4,400 cu. ft. of main deck volume. Conversions will take 75 days. Development costs are "being fully funded by AEI including the purchase of prototype aircraft."
Kingfisher Airlines was granted traffic rights from New Delhi to London Heathrow (its first European destination), Hong Kong, Bangkok and Dubai and from Mumbai to Colombo, Bangkok and Dubai. No launch date was announced. Kingfisher will operate A330s to LHR and HKG and A320 family aircraft on the remaining routes. Chairman and CEO Vijay Mallya said it "may even look at inducting new aircraft into our fleet sooner than planned so that we are fully geared to capitalize on the upturn. We are actively pursuing various options for fundraising and our plans are on track."
Ryanair will extend its maintenance facilities at Glasgow Prestwick with a second hangar, representing an £8 million ($12.5 million) investment. The 6,000-sq.-m. facility, due to open in October, will create 200 new engineering jobs and join to the LCC's existing 4,000-sq.-m. hangar that opened in 2004. Ryanair operates 29 routes from the airport. The Scottish government is contributing £1.5 million to the project.
Separately, Ryanair announced new flights from Edinburgh to Faro, Marrakech and Paris Beauvais starting in May, when it will base a sixth aircraft at the airport. It also will increase frequencies on 11 other routes from EDI. New service from Frankfurt Hahn to Agadir and Pula also is scheduled to start in May.
South African Airways said it is seeking private investors for its SAA Voyager division that administers its frequent-flyer program and its SAA Technical maintenance division. The state-owned carrier would remain in control of the two divisions but wants "equity partners," a spokesperson told Bloomberg News, while denying the move is a precursor to privatizing the airline.
Malev Hungarian Airlines withdrew its five F70s from service and now is operating a fleet comprising 18 737NGs and four Q400s. The F70s will be returned to AWAS over the next six months. "This simplified fleet structure means a significant reduction in our company's maintenance and operational costs, the positive impacts of which will be apparent even in 2010," CEO Martin Gauss said. As recently as 2008, Malev was operating a mixed fleet that included 767s and CRJ200s.
Titan Airways introduced a 767-300ER on an eight-year lease from GECAS, expanding the London Stansted-based charter specialist's fleet to 11 aircraft (four 737-300s, three BAe 146-200s, one 757-200, one 757 in all-business-class configuration, one 767-300ER and one King Air 350). Several of the aircraft are quick-change.
Sky Holding Co. of San Francisco delivered one A320-200 to Avianca as part of a sale/leaseback transaction. It is the Colombian carrier's 13th A320.
American Airlines yesterday modified standby procedures for travel within and between the US, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands and Canada, stating that for tickets purchased from Feb. 22 it will only allow premium loyalty program members, holders of first- and business-class tickets, those who paid unrestricted economy fares and military personnel to remain eligible to fly standby at no charge on the day of travel for a flight on which they are not confirmed. Holders of standard economy tickets who want to change flights on the day of travel will be charged $50 if space is available.
AirBaltic will launch thrice-weekly Riga-Tehran flights on June 8 aboard a 737.
Germania will launch weekly Berlin Tegel-Beirut service on March 11 with a 737-700 and plans to increase frequency to thrice-weekly by April.
NavAero said it achieved an STC for the tBag C22 Class 2 electronic flight bag for the 727-100/-200. It is the 11th STC issued for the tBag C22 EFB.
Thales said Belgocontrol, the Belgian air navigation services provider, inaugurated CANAC2, its new ATC system for Belgian airspace management built on the Thales Eurocat E-product platform. CANAC2 was installed in a new operational room dedicated to en route and approach control inside Brussels Airport's control tower and its contingency tower, as well as in towers at Liege, Ostend, Charleroi and Antwerp.
AVIATION QUOTE
In the '80's my gut feeling was that airlines were crap. I hated spending time on planes. I thought we could create the kind of airline I'd like. So we got a secondhand 747 and gave it a go.
— Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Atlantic. Interview in 'Men's Journal,' May 2006.
AEROSPACE TERM
Heat Balance
1. The equilibrium which exists on the average between the radiation received by a planet and its atmosphere from the sun and that emitted by the planet and atmosphere.
That the equilibrium does exist in the mean is demonstrated by the observed long-term constancy of the earth's surface temperature. On the average, regions of the earth nearer the equator than about 35 degrees latitude receive more energy from the sun than they are able to radiate, whereas latitudes higher than 35 degrees received less. The excess of heat is carried from low latitudes to higher latitudes by atmospheric and oceanic circulations and is reradiated there.
2. The equilibrium which is known to exist when all sources of heat gain and loss for a given region or body are accounted for. In general this balance includes advective, evaporative (etc.) terms as well as a radiation term.
DAILY VIDEO
EDITOR’S CHOICE
Image by Lucas
HUMOR
Gear Pins Installed
While taxiing out in sequence behind a Lufthansa airliner at Frankfurt, a C-130 crew noticed an orange "Remove before flight" streamer hanging out of the Lufthansa nose wheel well (their nose gear locking pin was still installed). Not wanting to cause too much embarrassment by going thru the controller, the 130 crew simply called the Lufthansa aircraft on the tower frequency: "Lufthansa aircraft, Herky 23." No reply.
They repeated the transmission and again there was no reply. Instead, the Lufthansa pilot called the tower and asked the tower to tell the Herky crew that "the professional pilots of Lufthansa do not engage in unprofessional conversations over the radio."
The 130 pilot quickly replied, "Frankfurt tower, can you please relay to the professional pilots of the Lufthansa aircraft that their nose gear pin is still installed?"
TRIVIA
3D ID
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And let's get one thing straight. There's a big difference between a pilot and an aviator. One is a technician; the other is an artist in love with flight. — E. B. Jeppesen
ShanwickOceanic/forum/images/avatars/gallery/first/user55/8.pngoffline(netAirspace FAA) 11 Feb 10, 12:31
JLAmber and I saw a Kingfisher in the take-off queue as we left LHR on Sunday.
One or two WTFs in the trivia today.
3. Cessna 337 Skymaster 7. Boeing 737? (It doesn't look quite right to me. -100?) 9. Lockheed L-1011 TriStar 10. Gazelle?
My friend and I applied for airline jobs in Australia, but they didn't Qantas.
aloges/forum/images/avatars/gallery/first/default.pngoffline(Founding Member) 11 Feb 10, 13:25
2. Tupolev 104 6. Vought Crusader 7. Dassault Mercure - a supposed 737 competitor with the amazing range of "once across France" 9. Lockheed L-1011
sosumi
halls120/forum/images/avatars/gallery/first/user58/1.pngoffline(Plank Owner) 11 Feb 10, 13:37
And let's get one thing straight. There's a big difference between a pilot and an aviator. One is a technician; the other is an artist in love with flight. — E. B. Jeppesen
An A330 of some description, it was joining the queue behind us. It looked like it was coming from a remote stand.
