Boeing has completed three key tests of the redesigned 787 battery system and could complete its evaluation of the system, including a final check-out flight test, by month-end. Updating the status of the testing and providing new detail of the redesigned battery system, 787-8 Engineering VP Ron Hinderberger says the company is confident of achieving so much in a relatively short time because of the large amount of engineering development test work already conducted in ground labs at Boeing.
Hawaiian Airlines is unlikely to add any more destinations this year beyond the ones already announced, says CEO Mark Dunkerley. The carrier has “pretty much taken care of potential growth” in 2013 with the introduction of a new route to Auckland, New Zealand, and the planned start of service to Taipei, Taiwan, and Sendai, Japan, Dunkerley tells Aviation Week at the launch of the Auckland route.
AMR Corp. is dismissing claims by the U.S. Justice Department official overseeing the company’s Chapter 11 reorganization that various compensation packages, including a termination deal for Chairman and CEO Tom Horton, do not meet regulatory standards. The official, known as a U.S. trustee, says that the compensation packages exceed the limits of the bankruptcy code, and that the company’s justification fails to explain how the payments are permissible.
The FAA can make cuts in its Air Traffic Organization budget to reduce the number of towers it has to close and employees it must furlough to meet the mandates of sequestration, says the chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. “The sky isn’t falling,” Rep. Bill Shuster, (R-Pa.), said of sequestration in a speech last week at the Aero Club of Washington. The cuts at the FAA, he added, instead provide the agency an “opportunity” to streamline.
The British government will create an institute to develop technologies for the next generation of commercial aircraft as part of a £2 billion ($3 billion) investment package revealed yesterday. The investment will be split equally between the U.K. government and industry and provided over the next seven years. The government expects the program will secure 115,000 jobs. Investment will be focused on four sectors: wings, engines, aerostructures and advanced systems.
Click here to view the pdf Top Carriers: Barcelona - Madrid, March 15-21, 2013, Ranked By Scheduled Seats Top Carriers: Barcelona - Madrid, March 15-21, 2013, Ranked By Scheduled Seats Daily Each Way
Airbus yesterday celebrated another landmark order for its NEO narrowbody program with a record-setting deal with Indonesian carrier Lion Air. The deal, coming just days after Airbus celebrated its 2,000th NEO order, also marks the first Airbus purchase for Lion Air, which until now has favored Boeing aircraft. The airline, notably, still has a major backlog with the U.S. manufacturer, with 201 737 MAX, 113 737-900ERs and 11 737-800s as well as five 787-8s scheduled for delivery, according to the Aviation Week Intelligence Network fleets database.
The European Commission is focusing too heavily on chasing states for failing to comply with airspace redesign mandates, prominent air traffic management (ATM) officials say. Not only is it questionable whether the EC will prevail with sanctions, but expectations for the redesign initiative are unrealistic, according to the officials. Also, other programs and concepts have emerged that offer greater potential for ATM reform.
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Tests of the revised Boeing 787 battery system are expected to be completed “within weeks” and will involve only a single flight test, says VP and 787 Chief Project Engineer Mike Sinnett. Revealing full design details of the revised lithium-ion battery system, Sinnett also discloses that the enclosure system developed for the battery is designed to prevent a fire and not, as widely reported, to contain one.
U.S. Transportation Security Administration chief John Pistole says a long overdue repair station security rule has been forwarded to the White House’s Office of Management and Budget for review, although the OMB on March 15 had yet to acknowledge receipt. Upon receipt of the rule, OMB will initiate a 60- to 90-day review, which usually is the final hurdle before a rule can be issued.
The primary trade groups for U.S. airlines and repair stations weighed in against the FAA’s proposed air carrier contract maintenance rule revision, calling the agency’s draft a duplication of existing regulations and an unjustified expansion of the congressional mandate driving the rulemaking.
