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NEWS

SkyTeam eyes further expansion on 10th anniversary
SkyTeam member airline CEOs meeting in New York this week to mark the alliance's 10th anniversary formally signed an agreement with China Eastern Airlines to begin its process for becoming a full member and upgraded the status of Air Europa and Kenya Airways from associate to full membership.
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BA reaches key agreement on pension deficits
British Airways announced that it reached agreement with the trustees of its two main pension plans, New Airways Pension Scheme and Airways Pension Scheme, concerning a recovery plan to address the plans' combined deficit that stood at £2.7 billion ($4 billion) as of March 31, down from £3.7 billion one year earlier.
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Passenger revenue for US carriers jumps 21% in May
US airline passenger revenue soared 21% in May compared to May 2009 based on data provided by a sample of its member carriers, the Air Transport Assn. reported.
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Bagnato resumes ATR leadership
ATR reappointed Filippo Bagnato as CEO, stating that the move "responds to the aim of ATR’s shareholders, Alenia Aeronautica and EADS, to ensure the continuity of the ATR program management and its further growth, keeping up strong relationship with customers and privileged confidence from them."
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Airborne Laser Demonstrating Increased Range
The Boeing 747-400-based Airborne Laser (ABL) Test Bed for the U.S. military is now firing its high-power chemical laser at three to four times the range seen in the original shootdown exercise, according to Boeing. The test bed is flying about twice a month with the laser firing once a month against a target board or against actual targets, says Roger Krone, president of Boeing Network & Space Systems. Several firings have taken place since the first shootdown in February and further shots this year are planned. Much of the focus has been on expanding the envelope of the laser system, not just in range but also engagement angles, Krone notes.
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Boeing 787 test effort reaches 1000h, GE to deliver 2% improvement

Boeing is fast approaching the halfway stage in the 787's flight-test program, having recently achieved the important milestones of 1,000h in the air and the introduction of the second engine option in to the trial effort.
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Cessna to refresh Citation X with new avionics
Beginning in 2011, Cessna will begin delivering Citation X business jets with Honeywell Primus Elite avionics systems and a new Honeywell cabin management system featuring MP3 player inputs and high definition monitors.
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Ryanair to re-open Valencia base
Irish budget carrier Ryanair is to re-open its base at Valencia in Spain this winter, following a commitment from the local tourism ministry to provide marketing support.
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Israel opens doors at Eitan UAV squadron

Israel has for the first time opened the doors at its newest unmanned air vehicle unit, offering the chance to see its strategic Heron TP, or "Eitan" system on the frontline.
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Other News

Vancouver Airport Services announced that it reached agreement with Peel Group to acquire a 65% share in Peel Airports Ltd., which owns Liverpool John Lennon and two smaller airports in northern England. Peel Group will retain a 35% investment stake in PAL, which also owns 100% of LJLA and Robin Hood Doncaster Sheffield and 75% of Durham Tees Valley airports. Liverpool opened in 1933 and handled almost 5 million passengers last year, while DSA handled more than 850,000 and DTVA more than 300,000. VAS participated in a consortium of bidders for the failed Midway Airport privatization last year. It operates and/or invests in 19 airports around the world. It is owned jointly the Vancouver Airport Authority and Citi Infrastructure Investors.

Delta Air Lines and Air France KLM Group operating units Air France and KLM yesterday signed a joint venture protocol with their respective pilot union leaders recognizing "that a cooperative and productive relationship is essential to the success of the corporations' Joint Venture Agreement," which was signed last May. "This is a milestone agreement, and I believe it will serve as a template for future labor-management engagement in the industry's globalization arena," Delta Air Line Pilots Assn. Master Executive Council Chairman Lee Moak said.

Under terms of the JV signed last year, AF KLM and DL share capacity, revenue, costs and profits/losses on all routes between North America and Europe, between Amsterdam and India and between North America and Tahiti. Yesterday's protocol agreement "establishes intent" to "enable the further development of the transatlantic route structure and increase the profitability of the JV, as well as to strengthen the respective airline hubs," according to ALPA. It also establishes a metric to ensure balance of work between the parties, calls for a balance of flying between the carriers, and mandates that the corporations provide their pilot unions with "detailed historical and projected operating and financial information on the JV" on a regular basis and have periodic meetings to discuss the status, progress and future initiatives of the JV.

"As pilot labor, we view it as critically essential that no single corporation or pilot group benefits at the expense of the other[s], and this agreement helps to establish a level of mutual trust and cooperation between all parties to the agreement," VNV President Evert van Zwol said.

American Airlines yesterday introduced YADA (Your Assistance Delivered Anywhere), handheld mobile devices to enable airport employees at Dallas-Fort Worth, New York JFK and LaGuardia, Chicago O'Hare, Miami, Boston, Albuquerque, St. Louis and San Juan to assist customers anywhere in the airport by providing real-time information on flights, gates and standby lists and printing bag tags and boarding passes, as well as pulling up maps of other airports. "YADA is a major step in the enhanced customer experience at American Airlines and is part of a suite of real-time technologies that have transformed our operations," VP-Airport Services Planning Mark DuPont said. AA said its eventual goal is to have a YADA device at every gate. It first launched a pilot of YADA at Boston Logan during summer 2009.

China Southern Airlines said that with the addition of an A330-200 delivered over the weekend, the combined fleet of CZ and its subsidiary and affiliate airlines now numbers 400 units, making it the sixth-biggest carrier in the world in terms of fleet size based on IATA data. The Guangzhou-based carrier noted that its fleet will continue to grow. It plans to take delivery of five A380s beginning in February 2011, which a CZ insider told ATW will be operated on routes to Europe and the US. The company also is scheduled to introduce 10 787-8s starting from 2011, which are expected to be used on routes to the US. CZ operates more than 660 routes to more than 190 domestic and international destinations. It carried 30.1 million passengers in the first five months of 2010, up 16%, while cargo traffic climbed 38% to 427,000 tons.

Royal Jordanian confirmed that it intends to introduce seven A320 family aircraft to replace six Airbus jets currently operating in the fleet. The first delivery is scheduled for April 2011 and the others will follow in 2012. Aircraft are being leased from AWAS, which previously announced the transaction. President and CEO Hussein Dabbas said the order for new aircraft underlines "the airline's continued commitment to modernize its fleet and to expand, thus enabling RJ to offer its passengers the highest level of comfort and an extensive choice of routes." AWAS aircraft will replace four A320s and two A321s on a one-for-one basis, plus an extra A320.

Spring Airlines will lease two new CFM56-powered A320-200s from BOC Aviation. The first aircraft has been delivered from Airbus's Hamburg facility with the second scheduled for delivery next month.

Edelweiss Air said it will take delivery of a 332-seat A330-300 in March 2011 to replace its single A330-200. The Swiss International Air Lines subsidiary also said it is investing CHD4.2 million ($3.8 million) to install new lighter Recaro seats on its three A320s between June and August. The seats save 800 kg. of weight per aircraft.

Ryanair opened its newest base at Malaga yesterday with four 737-800s. In the coming days it will launch almost 20 new routes, expanding its network at the Spanish airport to 44 domestic and international routes and 360 weekly flights. The LCC said the base represents an investment of more than $250 million. It expects its operations at the airport will grow to serve more than 2 million passengers annually.

Ural Airlines will operate seasonal thrice-weekly Ekaterinburg–Simferopol service aboard an A320 this summer. From Ekaterinburg it also will serve Sochi (daily), Anapa (five-times-weekly in June, six-times-weekly beginning in July), Mineralnye Vody (twice-weekly), Krasnodar (twice-weekly) and Gelendzhik (thrice-weekly via Moscow Domodedovo). The Russian airline will resume weekly service to Vienna July 16.

Kam Air launches new twice-weekly Kabul-Vienna-London Gatwick service later this month. A senior management member of VIE confirmed that the carrier plans to use as a first stage a wet-leased A310-300 that should be exchanged later for a 767-200.

Jet4you launched thrice-weekly Casablanca-Venice Marco Polo service.



AVIATION QUOTE

"There is no excuse for an airplane unless it will fly fast!"

- Roscoe Turner, early racing aviator



AEROSPACE TERM

Ideal Velocity

The velocity acquired by an ideal rocket in field free space, under the influence of no external forces except the thrust force.



DAILY VIDEO





EDITOR’S CHOICE





HUMOR

The Programmer and the Engineer

A programmer and an engineer are sitting next to each other on a long flight from Los Angeles to New York.

The programmer leans over to the engineer and asks if he would like to play a fun game.

The engineer just wants to take a nap, so he politely declines and rolls over to the window to catch a few winks.

The programmer persists and explains that the game is real easy and is a lot of fun. He explains "I ask you a question, and if you don't know the answer, you pay me $5. Then you ask me a question, and if I don't know the answer, I'll pay you $5."

Again, the engineer politely declines and tries to get to sleep.

The programmer, now somewhat agitated, says, "OK, if you don't know the answer you pay me $5, and if I don't know the answer, I'll pay you $100!"

This catches the engineer's attention, and he sees no end to this torment unless he plays, so he agrees to the game.

The programmer asks the first question. "What's the distance from the earth to the moon?" The engineer doesn't say a word, but reaches into his wallet, pulls out a five dollar bill and hands it to the programmer.

Now, it's the engineer's turn. He asks the programmer "What goes up a hill with three legs, and comes down on four?"

The programmer looks up at him with a puzzled look. He takes out his laptop computer and searches all of his references. He taps into the Airphone with his modem and searches the net and the Library of Congress. Frustrated, he sends e-mail to his co-workers--all to no avail.

After about an hour, he wakes the Engineer and hands him $100. The engineer politely takes the $100 and turns away to try to get back to sleep. The programmer, more than a little miffed, shakes the engineer and asks "Well, so what's the answer?" Without a word, the engineer reaches into his wallet, hands the programmer $5, and turns away to get back to sleep.



TRIVIA

Google Airports.

Need a Hint? PM me.

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Six is DAB - but I'm stumped on the rest as usual.

1. BAQ Ernesto Cortissoz, Barranquilla
2. OSH Wittman Regional, Oshkosh, WI
3. PRG Prague-Ruzyne
4. BSL Euroairport Basle-Mulhouse
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6. DAB Daytona Beach, FL
7. MLB Melbourne, FL
8. MGE Dobbins AFB, GA
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10. RSW Fort Myers-Southwest Florida Int'l

DAL764 wrote:10. RSW Fort Myers-Southwest Florida Int'l

Damn that place has changed a lot. Why two terminals??

Back around 1981 or 82, in a drunken stupor, I climbed one of the perimeter fences, swam one of those moats, and ran across the airfield to get back to my hotel room. The next morning I couldn't figure out which was more dumb - running across an airfield, or swimming across a gator infested moat.

ORFflyer wrote:

DAL764 wrote:10. RSW Fort Myers-Southwest Florida Int'l

Damn that place has changed a lot. Why two terminals??

Only one terminal. The old one has replaced the new one which simply became too small to handle all the traffic.

DAL764 wrote:Only one terminal. The old one has replaced the new one which simply became too small to handle all the traffic.

Thanks. And looking at the picture more closely, the new terminal's parking lots are all empty. This pic must have been taken before completion. It also apears to be where the hotel was I was staying at when I.......

ORFflyer wrote:

DAL764 wrote:Only one terminal. The old one has replaced the new one which simply became too small to handle all the traffic.

Thanks. And looking at the picture more closely, the new terminal's parking lots are all empty. This pic must have been taken before completion.

March 2005, around half a year before the new terminal opened, IIRC.

ORFflyer wrote:It also apears to be where the hotel was I was staying at when I.......

Nah, only swamps and fields there before the new terminal was built, no hotels

DAL764 wrote:Nah, only swamps and fields there before the new terminal was built, no hotels

I was only there once - for two nights. Did I mention alcohol was involved....

Wow, zero for ten today.