Airworthiness directives issued this week by U.S. and Canadian authorities are targeting unrelated yaw and pitch control-system problems experienced by certain Bombardier regional jets. Transport Canada has issued an airworthiness directive (AD), requiring operators of all Canadian-registered CRJ100/200/700/705/900 regional jets to incorporate new emergency procedures into the aircraft flight manual by July 11, instructing pilots how to deal with uncommanded rudder deflections.
Boeing says it has completed all 50 of the retrofit installations of battery containment systems on 787s that had been grounded for safety reasons. All 50 aircraft are expected to operating revenue service by the end of this week.
Regional Express (Rex) has acquired a FlightSafety International Saab 340 full-flight simulator to expand its Australian Airline Pilot Academy (AAPA) into simulator type-rating training. “This full-flight simulator was the last Saab 340 simulator built by FlightSafety, and is the youngest of its type in the world,” says a statement from Rex. FlightSafety also will provide product support services and spare parts for the simulator.
Click here to view the pdf Fuel Watch: Global Jet Fuel Prices (midpoint) As of May 29, 2013, compared with previous week and previous year cts/gal prev. week prev.
Aviation Week 2013 Commercial Fleet & MRO Forecast! The MRO Fleet, Forecasts and Data you need to accurately plan and strategize for the future. See for yourself with a free demonstration: AviationWeek.com/FleetMRO Aviation Week Intelligence Network Click here to view the pdf
Malaysia’s AirAsia X could establish a medium-haul carrier based in Jakarta as soon as this year. CEO Azran Osman-Rani declines to say when AirAsia X’s Indonesia venture will launch, but notes that the company is applying for the relevant business license, after which it will need to apply for an air operator certificate. This application coincides with similar plans to launch a carrier in Bangkok. Azran says arrival of the licenses will dictate which venture launches first, and that the second airline will follow six-months later.
An interim report released by German investigators reveals that a Lufthansa A330-300 that departed Chicago O’Hare International Airport for its hub at Munich Airport the night of March 5 had experienced significant damage to its aft structure following a tail strike. The pilots continued the flight to the Munich, where the aircraft landed without incident.
Air France and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines have launched trials of a wireless inflight connectivity system. The Panasonic Avionics system, which is installed on two Boeing 777-300s, will be tested for the remainder of the year. Passengers will be charged €10.95 ($14.20) per hour or €19.95 for the entire flight to access the Internet above 20,000 ft. The two Wi-Fi equipped aircraft will operate on several long-haul destinations during the trial.
Click here to view the pdf Top Carriers: Chicago O’Hare - New York LaGuardia, May 15-21, 2013, Ranked By Scheduled Seats Top Carriers: Chicago O’Hare - New York LaGuardia, May 15-21, 2013, Ranked By Scheduled Seats Daily Each Way Departures Share ASKs (000) Share
The U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has issued a proposed policy change that would shift the responsibility for monitoring passenger exits to airport operators—a plan that airports and airlines are condemning as an “unconscionable” effort to push national security costs onto the private sector without Congressional approval.
EADS subsidiary Premium Aerotec is exchanging almost its entire executive board as the company struggles with inefficiencies in the ramp-up of key programs, particularly the Airbus A350. Premium Aerotec’s CEO Kai Horten, CFO Helmut Kretschmer and Head of Human Resources Wolfram Sauer are leaving the company. Horten and Sauer stepped down with immediate effect, Kretschmer will remain in his position until the end of June.
The National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA)—committed to monthly meetings with the FAA on sequestration’s ongoing impact following a flurry of conclaves since mid-April—still is expecting some delays this year in the progress on NextGen and the constitution of the controller-inclusive teams that help push the air traffic modernization program forward.
American Airlines’ parent company AMR Corp. lost $104 million in April but posted an operating profit of $14 million, which it says portends a strong operating profit for the second quarter. “Excluding reorganization and special items, we posted a very strong improvement to our bottom line. And, if current trends continue, we are well on our way to a strongly profitable second quarter,” Chairman and CEO Tom Horton says in a May 29 message to employees.
The Pentagon has selected three companies for cost-sharing projects to build refineries capable of producing biofuels at costs competitive with petroleum-derived aviation and naval fuels. Emerald Biofuels, Fulcrum BioEnergy and Nature’s BioReserve will receive contracts totaling $16 million, funded under Title III of the Defense Production Act (DPA). They will be matched by more than $17 million in company investment.
KLM Cityhopper will install new light-weight seats in its Fokker 70s and introduce the economy comfort-zone class already offered on mainline KLM flights.
Jet Airways plans to buy more Boeing single-aisle aircraft and trim its widebody capacity by leasing out three Airbus A330s to Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways. The Indian airline, which has agreed to sell a stake to Etihad, is contemplating an order for Boeing 737s, K.G. Vishwanath, vice president of commercial strategy at Jet Airways said during an earnings conference call. He would not, however, disclose the size of the order or when it will be placed.
Singapore’s Changi Airport has disclosed its first set of monthly passenger figures since losing the long-haul business of Qantas Airways, and warned that the outlook remains unclear. Changi Airport Group says that its traffic in April grew 0.8% year-on-year to 4.24 million passengers, while the number of flight movements grew 4.3% to 27,500. The 0.8% traffic growth compares poorly to recent years, when the airport often recorded double-digit passenger growth figures.
Click here to view the pdf Top Carriers: Chicago O’Hare - New York LaGuardia, May 15-21, 2013, Ranked By Scheduled Seats Top Carriers: Chicago O’Hare - New York LaGuardia, May 15-21, 2013, Ranked By Scheduled Seats
Robust demand for large commercial jets is softening the blow of defense cuts on aerospace companies and their suppliers, according to new results from Aviation Week’s Top-Performing Companies (TPC) study. Boeing saw its sales rise by nearly $13 billion last year, while sales of commercial Airbus jets were up by $7.5 billion. That means in a single year the world’s two largest airframers generated enough new sales to create a company that would be bigger than GE Aviation or Rolls-Royce.
