Aerovision International has disassembled five of the 10 young Embraer ERJ-145 aircraft it acquired last August and is in the process of parting out a sixth, which marks the first retirements of the 50-seat regional jet other than that of one prototype. But the Muskegon, Mich.-based company is repairing the other four in hopes of finding airlines willing to buy or lease them, says President and Co-owner Jeff Barnes.
Sequestration will force the closure of 100 low-capacity air traffic control towers and end the midnight shift at 60 more, a joint letter from the heads of the FAA and U.S. Transportation Department details. The Feb. 22 letter to industry groups also says the FAA will have to furlough almost every one of its 47,000 employees two days each month should Congress allow the mandatory budget cuts to take effect on March 1.
The FAA Friday issued an airworthiness directive (AD) requiring modifications of the battery systems on Boeing 787-8s before the aircraft can resume operations.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Donna Thomas at [email protected] Feb. 26-28—2013 Air Charter Safety Symposium, NTSB Training Center, Ashburn, Va., 571-223-3900 www.acsf.aero/symposium/Feb. 28—NBAA Business Aviation Regional Forums, AirFlite, Long Beach Airport (Daugherty Field) Long Beach, Calif., www.nbaa.org/events/forums/20130228/ March 4-6—SpeedNews 27th Annual Commercial Aviation Industry Suppliers Conference, Beverly Wilshire, Beverly Hills, Calif., www.speednews.com/ConferenceInfo.aspx?conferenceID=21
Boeing and CFM International are scrutinizing fuel supplies and the Honeywell-built fuel-control system in the CFM56-7B following a series of thrust-instability events on Boeing 737NG aircraft. Their findings could have broader implications for the Jet A supply chain and fuel-testing regimen if contamination is behind the incidents. “We’re doing a root-cause analysis, looking at the fuel-control unit and the entire fuel supply chain,” says Boeing. “The problem might be fuel-based.”
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Click here to view the pdf Fuel Watch: Global Jet Fuel Prices (midpoint) As of February 20, 2013, compared with previous week and previous year cts/gal prev. week prev.
Chorus Aviation, the parent company of Canadian regional operator Jazz, anticipates a decrease in block hours in 2013 due to lowered demand from the carrier’s primary customer, Air Canada. “From the preliminary indications we get from Air Canada, it looks as though the demand will be lower for this year,” Chorus CFO Rick Flynn said Feb. 21 during the company’s 2012 earnings call. President and CEO Joe Randell added, “Of course, the demand is down on the RJs [regional jets] because we have a number of airplanes exiting the fleet.”
After almost 15 years since the idea was raised, India will create a new aviation regulatory body to oversee the troubled airline sector, monitor aviation safety issues and take steps to modernize more airports and air traffic management services.
Asia, the Middle East and North America are emerging as the most attractive likely markets during the next three years for Boeing 777 widebody heavy maintenance visits and C checks, underscoring the potential for a capacity crunch heading the industry’s way. According to data in the Aviation Week Intelligence Network’s MRO Prospector tool, today’s active 777 fleet will need $684.9 million worth of heavy maintenance visits (HMV) and C checks in a 36-month period ending in September 2015, the most recent study period.
The U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) from April 1 will offer its PreCheck expedited screening program for pre-approved travelers at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas; Ohio’s Cleveland Hopkins International; Memphis and Nashville International, Tenn.; and Raleigh-Durham International Airport in North Carolina. Once these airports are added, PreCheck will have 40 domestic airports enrolled.
As new Boeing 787s continue to stack up at Everett and others remain idle around the world, the airframer’s battery crisis is finally coming to a head as the FAA decides on whether to approve a company plan to return the aircraft to the skies.
The trading and parts joint venture created by GA Telesis and Air China last November has reached an agreement to acquire three to five of Air China’s Boeing 747-400 aircraft, with delivery of the first three by March.
Air Line Pilots Association President Lee Moak warns that looming federal budget cuts could affect the national airspace system for years to come. The budget cuts known as “sequestration” that are scheduled to go into effect on March 1 could immediately decrease spending on NextGen initiatives, says Moak. But a more serious, long-term issue could be the attrition of valuable FAA technical staff, the pilots union chief warns.
Bombardier expects to build 20-30 CSeries aircraft in the program’s first year of production and increase this rate to 120 about three years later. The manufacturer’s top executive, Pierre Beaudoin, during the company’s 2012 earnings conference call Feb. 21 cautioned that the rates “were not at an exact point” but that his guidance indicates the production rates envisioned when both the baseline CS100 and stretched CS300 are in service.
Qantas has boosted its orders for Boeing 737-800s and revealed plans for a cabin refurbishment of its Airbus A330 fleet, with both moves aimed at further upgrading its domestic operation.
EADS is revising its goal for equal revenues from its civil and defense programs by 2020 after failing to finalize its merger with BAE Systems and accounting for cuts in government defense spending. But the European manufacturer has yet to decide on a new target and the future direction of its Cassidian defense business. “There is nothing magical about the 50/50 [goal],” EADS CEO Tom Enders told Aviation Week after a Feb. 21 event at New York’s Wings Club, adding that a new target will be determined after a strategic review is concluded.
