Airbus plans for around 2,500 flight test hours to achieve certification of the aircraft using five test aircraft. MSN001 is the first test aircraft to fly, equipped with about 30 tons of test instrumentation. The aircraft is going to be used for basic performance tests in the first phase, opening the flight envelope to extremes including flutter and maximum dive tests relatively early in the program.
Click here to view the pdf Fuel Watch: Global Jet Fuel Prices (midpoint) As of June 5, 2013, compared with previous week and previous year cts/gal prev. week prev.
A legislative effort to stop the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS’s) plan to open a Customs and Border Protection preclearance facility at Abu Dhabi International Airport has been added as an amendment to the department’s fiscal 2014 appropriations bill being considered by the House of Representatives.
China Eastern Airlines and Qantas are selling a one-third stake in Jetstar Hong Kong to a local company to reinforce their application for an air operator’s certificate for the proposed budget carrier. Conglomerate Shun Tak Holdings says it will pay $66 million for the share in Jetstar Hong Kong. The investment means that the airline will have partial Hong Kong ownership, although it will still fall short of the usual requirement in the global industry that local investors hold 51%.
Adding more seats to the Airbus A321NEO will lead to a 5% reduction in fuel burn per seat, Klaus Roewe, senior vice president for the A320NEO program told attendees at the Airbus Innovation Days in Toulouse. Airbus is offering the aircraft in a 236-seat lay-out that includes a new overwing exit. Door three is positioned further aft and door two can be deactivated as an option.
Thales is testing an electronic eye-tracking system for next-generation air traffic management systems that will making greater use of delivering instructions through datalinks rather than voice commands. Currently, controllers in busy centers may be in contact with an aircraft every 6-7 sec., updating data on aircraft in their airspace sectors on the large digital screens in front of them.
Airbus is working with its airline customers to find ways to add up to 10% in capacity in the economy- and business-class cabins of the A380 without compromising comfort levels, executives said at the Airbus Innovation Days in Toulouse. “Airlines are not using the full capacity of the A380,” says Senior Vice President Marketing Chris Emerson. To resolve this the manufacturer is talking to operators about a three class lay-out seating 560 passengers.
Indian low-cost carrier IndiGo says it will add 28 new Airbus A320 aircraft to its fleet by 2014. “We have been granted permission by the Indian Civil Aviation Ministry to import new aircraft. The additional aircraft will enable IndiGo to take its low-fare and hassle-free service to more customers and enable stronger connectivity,” a spokesman for the airline says.
FedEx Corp. will accelerate the retirement of 60 MD-10 and 16 Airbus A310 aircraft—along with 282 related engines—as the result of a double-edged sword in which weakened global demand for air cargo services provides the company the opportunity to speed up its fleet modernization schedule.
NASA has awarded $38 million in contracts to four companies to address “system technology gaps that are exposed by the operational challenges” of the next-generation air traffic control system (NextGen).
Airlines are criticizing the focus by regulators—specifically, European regulators—and lobby groups on market-based measures (MBMs) while ignoring the importance of other strategies that could help reduce aviation-related carbon emissions.
Delta Air Lines’ decision to stop using Memphis International Airport as a hub could open up new opportunities for lower airline ticket prices for local travelers, says Larry Cox, president of the Memphis and Shelby County Airport Authority. Delta will de-hub Memphis in September after reducing service there for years, with another round of cuts that will drop the number of daily flights at the airport from 96 to about 60 and the number of destinations served from 42 to 29.
JetBlue Airways could offer four enclosed “mini-suites” as well as a dedicated business-class cabin on its transcontinental fleet of Airbus A321s, according to a regulatory filing by the manufacturer seeking an exemption to install the contained units on the narrowbodies. According to Airbus, JetBlue could configure the A321s with 143 economy-class seats, 12 business-class seats and the four mini-suites.
Emirates Airline President Tim Clark expects Boeing to be able to get “a few hundred firm orders” for the proposed 777-8X/9X soon. “All the 777 operators are interested in the 777X,” Clark said on the sidelines of the International Air Transport Association annual general meeting in Cape Town.
The FAA still is not using a reliable schedule and cost estimates for replacing the automation systems at some of the largest U.S. air traffic control (ATC) facilities, the U.S. Transportation Department’s inspector general concludes in a new audit of the program, which is considered an essential base for the air traffic control system’s modernization.
Click here to view the pdf Summary of Network Extenders Carriers Systemwide Expense Indicators, Fourth Quarter 2012 (Dollar Amounts in Thousands) Aircraft Aircraft
London’s Heathrow Airport is planning to open the re-built Terminal 2 in June 2014. The new £2.5 billion ($3.8 billion) facility, which is earmarked for use by Star Alliance airlines, will open its doors to passengers on June 4, 2014. The new installation includes the main Terminal 2 building, a 522-meter-long satellite pier, known as T2B, as well as a 1,340-space parking lot, energy center and cooling station.
Avic and Rockwell Collins will develop, build and market civil full-flight simulators in a joint company that they hope to set up by the end of this year. The agreement offers a joint path to success in a market that presents great challenges to both companies.
Airbus has named the six-strong flight crew for the first flight of the Airbus A350. Peter Chandler, the company’s chief test pilot, will be at the controls of MSN001, along with Guy Magrin, the A350 project pilot. The two will be accompanied in the cockpit by Pascal Verneau, the project’s test-flight engineer. Three experimental flight test engineers—Fernando Alonso, Patrick du Che and Emanuele Constanzo—will monitor the flight at test stations installed in the cabin.
