Mitsubishi Aircraft has again extended the development schedule for its MRJ regional jet, this time by about one-and-a-half years, with first delivery now due in the second quarter of 2017, nine years after the program was launched. First flight of the Pratt & Whitney PW1217G-powered aircraft, previously scheduled for the last quarter of this year, now will occur in the second quarter of 2015.
A 5% drop in fuel expenses enabled the U.S. airline industry to turn a modest profit in the first half of 2013, but a recent rise in jet fuel prices may not portend well for the coming months. The 10 largest publicly traded U.S. airlines posted a combined net profit of $1.6 billion in the first half of 2013 on revenue of $72.8 billion, up from a $1.2 billion profit during the first six months of 2012. Net margins were 2.1%, compared with 1.6% in the first half of last year.
Setting up a component repair facility halfway around the world is no small undertaking, but SR Technics is on track to open its new repair facility in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in December. The new shop will complement the company’s existing repair network with locations in Switzerland, Spain and Abu Dhabi, as well as support the growth of its Integrated Component Services (ICS) business.
Click here to view the pdf Fuel Watch: Global Jet Fuel Prices (midpoint) As of August 21, 2013, compared with previous week and previous year cts/gal prev. week prev.
The Commercial Aviation Safety Team (CAST) later this year and early next year is expecting to roll out a series of safety enhancements targeting aircraft state awareness, runway excursions and performance-based navigation departures. Along with the new interventions, the government and industry safety group also has begun an initiative to review the status of 76 safety enhancements made over the past decade with airlines, manufacturers and the government.
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AMR Corp. and US Airways yesterday filed a motion to start the U.S. Justice Department’s trial against their proposed merger on Nov. 12. The airlines argue that the request is reasonable despite the Justice Department’s call to start the trial 180 days after it filed its lawsuit, which would delay the case until February 2014.
Boeing and General Electric are conducting flight tests of a 747-8 to study the buildup of ice crystals in the aircraft’s GEnx-2B engines as part of an investigation into an in-flight icing event on a Russian-operated freighter which damaged three engines.
Boeing this fall will launch a line maintenance applications suite for mobile devices with an unidentified customer, following a year of development. “Airlines are using more mobile technology every day, and the mobile platform is an ideal tool for mechanics to have the information when and where they need it, and to share that information with other experts or departments across the company,” says Elizabeth Holleman, a representative for Boeing Commercial Airplanes, Digital Aviation Business, in Renton, Wash.
Initial tests of the fourth-generation composite fan blade for the GE9X engine destined for Boeing’s 777X have been “very positive,” says General Electric (GE), which is gearing up for a further set of fan module tests later this year. The GE9X was selected earlier this year by Boeing for the 777X derivative over a competing offer from Rolls-Royce, and is due for certification in 2018.
Russian carrier Transaero Airlines and Virgin America have started interlining on services through Los Angeles International Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York and Moscow’s Domodedovo International Airport. Transaero’s U.S. network currently includes Kennedy, Los Angeles and Miami International Airport.
Northrop Grumman is looking at the potential of “really large” unmanned airships for commercial freight transportation, says Tom Vice, president of the company’s Aerospace Systems segment. Comparing the impact of such a system on air freight operations to the advent of Boeing’s 747 freighter in its day, Vice says that while there is “a lot of work to do” on the concept, the company has looked at promising technologies and that the company would continue the work—if it opts to do so—in partnership with a large airfreight hauler such as FedEx or UPS.
Click here to view the pdf Nonstop Passengers Per Day Each Way, Los Angeles - Vancouver Nonstop Passengers Per Day Each Way, Los Angeles - Vancouver Alaska Air Canada Others 2008Q1 495 381 141
London’s airports urgently need extra capacity, but finding the best locations for new runways—and deciding if the city needs a single, main hub airport—are likely to be major subjects for debate in the coming years.
Latam Airlines Group has reduced its capacity expansion through to the end of 2015 by 21 narrowbodies and one widebody. The revision reduces the company’s aircraft investment by $1.1 billion, some 17% less than planned when Latam was created a year ago with the merger of LAN Airlines and Grupo TAM.
All Nippon Airways (ANA) will maintain a low-cost operation at Tokyo Narita International Airport with the launch of Vanilla Air one day after its joint venture with AirAsia ceases operation Oct. 31. In June, AirAsia and ANA announced the joint venture AirAsia Japan, which started in 2012, would cease operation. Vanilla Air will start operations Dec. 1 using AirAsia Japan’s air operator certificate. Routes and ticket sales will be announced next month, says Tomonori Ishii, Vanilla Air’s recently appointed president.
Flight tests of a laser radar designed to detect clear air turbulence (CAT) are winding up in Europe, with the goal of reducing passenger and crew injuries by providing sufficient advance warning of an encounter. The ultraviolet (UV) lidar sensor is being tested under the €5.6 million ($7.4 million) Thales-led Delicat program, which is supported by the European Union. Developed by German aerospace center DLR, the lidar has been flown in a Cessna Citation II research aircraft operated by Dutch aerospace laboratory NLR.
What started in the cockpit and on the hangar floor is now touching the tarmac, making its presence felt in line maintenance and ground operations. The migration of mobile information technology is something short of a torrent, but “I think it’s going to accelerate very quickly,” says Freelon Hunter, Boeing’s director of fleet and maintenance solutions for Commercial Aviation Services. The use of mobile devices has grown 100% in the space of a year and he contends that within five years “a standard part of the mechanic’s tool [kit] will be a mobile device.”
