NASA plans to work with Canada and Germany on joint flight tests to study the atmospheric effects of emissions from aircraft burning alternative fuels. The research is a follow-on to flights conducted in 2013 to measure emissions from biofuel blends. The latest series of flights is set to begin May 7 under NASA’s Alternative Fuel Effects on Contrails and Emissions (Access-II) program. The agency’s McDonnell Douglas DC-8 will burn different mixes of fuels while other aircraft make inflight measurements.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) has transferred the right wing of the first MRJ regional jet to the program’s Komaki South final assembly plant, with completion of the aircraft due this year.
The stronger focus on a defined catalogue for interior options in the Airbus A350 is reducing complexity and effort for suppliers, Diehl Aerosystems CEO Rainer von Borstel says. “It is significantly less,” he told Aviation Week on the sidelines of the Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg, comparing the A350 to the experience on the A380.
Spirit Airlines expects to boost capacity by 17% in 2014, driven by aircraft deliveries expected this year. The ultra-low-cost carrier is adding 11 Airbus A320s this year. Two aircraft were delivered in the first quarter, one will be added in each of the second and third quarters and seven aircraft are expected in the fourth quarter. This correlates with a 21% increase in first-quarter capacity, and the average for the year is expected to be 17% more capacity than 2013, the company says in an update to investors.
Fiji Airways – formerly Air Pacific – has significantly expanded its reach into Europe and other key markets through an interline deal with Etihad Airways.
FAA will order Boeing 737NG operators to perform daily functional checks designed to detect faulty engine fuel shutoff valves while Boeing finalizes a permanent fix. The defect, which FAA explains is caused by “deficiencies in the valve actuator design,” was revealed in an April 14 draft airworthiness directive. FAA says operators have discovered the defective valves during routine fuel filter replacements.
Airbus is looking at using dynamically scaled models to flight-test new aircraft configurations and technologies under Europe’s €4 billion ($5.5 billion) Clean Sky 2 public-private civil aviation research program, which kicks off formally in July. NASA has for decades used free-flying models dynamically scaled to match the flight dynamics of full-sized aircraft, most recently testing the Boeing X-48B/C—an 8.5%-scale, remotely piloted powered model designed to investigate the low-speed handling qualities of a blended wing-body airliner.
BRUSSELS – The continuous strong growth of Turkish Airlines is affecting the ranking of Europe’s largest airports, with Istanbul Ataturk Airport now the continent’s third busiest and handling more passengers than Frankfurt Airport and Amsterdam Schiphol.
Avox Systems, the Zodiac Aerospace Oxygen Systems subsidiary, has earned regulatory approval for a “plug-and-play” lavatory emergency oxygen system that satisfies what industry fears is a costly directive with a challenging compliance window, Aviation Week has learned.
16-20 June 2014 Atlanta, GA Orlanda Carvalho Executive Vice President Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Allan McArtor Chairman and CEO Airbus Americas, Inc. Peter Cerda Senior Vice President, The Americas International Air Transport Association Larry Lawson President and CEO Spirit AeroSystems www.aiaa-aviation.org/programAVD
NASA is starting up a program within its aeronautics research portfolio designed to rapidly demonstrate the feasibility of new ideas, bring back a culture of “learning by doing” and provide seedling funds for external projects. The Transformative Aeronautics Concepts program is introduced with NASA’s fiscal 2015 budget request, the first to be shaped by the agency’s new vision for aeronautics, which aligns research projects with six strategic thrusts ranging from ultra-efficient aircraft to assured autonomy.
The Export-Import Bank of the U.S. is defending its loan guarantees against objections from the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) and Delta Air Lines, declaring they do not distort the markets and do no material harm to U.S. carriers, which cannot access its financing.
Air India has secured a $200 million loan from the state-owned Bank of India to finance the purchase of three Boeing 787 aircraft. On April 2, Air India sought bids from Indian and foreign banks to finance up to $50 million for making pre-delivery payments for three Boeing 787s, according to an airline official. The three aircraft are slated to be delivered starting in June, the Air India official says.
The Australian government has ended decades of prevarication by deciding that a second Sydney airport will be built in the city’s western suburbs, although many questions relating to investment still need to be answered. Prime Minister Tony Abbott confirmed that the airport will be built at the Badgerys Creek site that was considered the favorite among a handful of options. The government bought land for an airport at that site in the late 1980s, but political bickering since then has stalled the decision to build there.
The flurry of Transportation Department (DOT) filings over a slot pair at Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) shows just how valuable – and how rare – a commodity access to the close-in airport to the nation’s capital is.
Bolstering the trend toward power-by-the-hour (PBH) maintenance contracts from Chinese carriers, Cathay Pacific Airways subsidiary Dragonair has opted for a Fleet Hour Agreement (FHA) deal with International Aero Engines AG (IAE). The agreement signed with IAE will see the manufacturer managing 48 V2500 power plants on 15 Dragonair Airbus A320s and 7 A321s, with four spare engines also covered under the contract.
