Honeywell is in hot pursuit of a new family of cockpit aids to help airline pilots better manage the takeoff and landing phases of their flights. The avionics maker is close to rolling out a takeoff-roll acceleration-monitor software upgrade as part of its enhanced ground proximity warning system (Egpws), and is in the midst of researching a more comprehensive landing-and-takeoff performance monitor upgrade that will include a dedicated display area on the primary-flight or navigation displays.
Beechcraft is nearing completion of the sale of its shuttered Hawker 4000 and Premier aircraft lines along with tooling and associated facilities. The company has long maintained that it had hoped to close on the sale of those programs by year’s end, and confirms that it is still on track this month.
The FAA finalized a new pilot training rule on Nov. 5 giving the airlines five years to begin exposing pilots to full stalls in flight simulators. But how much exposure should they get? The rule came primarily as the result of the 2009 Colgan Air Q400 crash near Buffalo, N.Y., the product of an improper control input that put the aircraft into a deep stall. To support the rule, hundreds of full-motion simulators will have to be upgraded with expanded envelopes that include performance in a stalled state for more than 50 aircraft models and configurations.
The idea of recycling regional-jet winglets into bookshelves may raise a skeptical eyebrow, but manufacturers are talking seriously about how to manage the end-of-life for their aircraft and engines—however distant that may seem today.
Austrian Airlines CEO Jaan Albrecht says 2014 will be the year during which the airline will have to demonstrate that its drastic restructuring and cost-cutting efforts have been worthwhile.
The U.K. Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is preparing to formally allow its airlines to seek approval for expanding passenger usage of portable electronic devices (PEDs) to all phases of flight. CAA says it is preparing a notice for airlines that will explain the approval-request process for “gate-to-gate” usage by passengers of devices without cellular signals. CAA’s move follows the European Aviation Safety Agency’s (EASA’s) approval of guidance that European airlines can use to broaden PED usage under current regulations (DAILY, Dec. 11).
In simulator centers worldwide, training providers are coming up with clever and creative ways to boost the relevance of virtual flight-training scenarios, where pilots experience and respond to unusual circumstances like upsets. The trick will be to keep the pilots from trumpeting their experiences on social media and alerting pilot colleagues of what awaits them in the simulator.
FAA and airport funding are already emerging as key issues as Congress begins initial preparations for the next FAA reauthorization bill. Airport groups are urging a $4 increase in the passenger facility charge (PFC), airlines are appealing to Congress to refrain from looking at them as a piggy bank and business aviation groups are stressing the importance of retaining current fuel taxes.
Two House General Aviation Caucus members are taking steps to ease medical certification requirements for recreational pilots, a move that comes after FAA failed to act on a nearly two-year-old petition from the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) and Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) seeking relief from third-class medical certification requirements.
The global airline industry is notorious for losing money. But for various reasons, 2014 looks set to be the most profitable year ever. That is the International Air Transport Association's (IATA) upbeat forecast and it applies to profits in absolute numbers. While the figure may look impressive, it only corresponds to a margin of 2.6%; the industry has had some better profit margins, most recently in 2010.
Brazil’s Synergy Group is still exploring ways to invest in a European airline and TAP Portugal and LOT Polish Airlines are serious candidates for an investment, according to Synergy Chairman German Efromovich. “We might put an offer in for TAP if the conditions are still the same as a year ago,” Efromovich told Aviation Week on the sidelines of the Star Alliance Chief Executive Board meeting in Vienna/Austria. “But you need two partners to agree to a marriage.”
Asiana Airlines has made significant changes to its pilot training programs in the aftermath of the Boeing 777-200ER accident at the San Francisco International Airport on July 6. Though the National Transportation Safety Board has not yet determined the cause of the crash, the focus of an initial factual hearing in Washington on Dec. 11 has been pilot monitoring lapses and potential confusion about the 777’s autopilot and autothrottle systems, both of which reflect on Asiana’s pilot training programs.
A major development project has been launched at Honolulu International Airport that will add capacity and allow Hawaiian Airlines to dramatically improve the efficiency of its main hub. The multi-phase project involves the construction of new cargo and heavy-maintenance facilities for Hawaiian Airlines, with their relocation allowing for taxiways to be widened. This in turn will improve access for larger aircraft to a new passenger terminal that will be built when the other facilities are finished.
Daniel Clare, who stepped in to take the reins of Jet Aviation in July 2011, is going back to Gulfstream as CFO after steering a restructuring that has returned the aviation services business to profitability. Clare, formerly CFO at Gulfstream, moved over to sister company Jet Aviation to succeed Peter Edwards amidst a management shake-up and realignment of facilities. Both Gulfstream and Jet Aviation are General Dynamics companies.
Thomson Airways recently launched Direct Maintenance’s Boeing 787 line maintenance services, the second current-generation Boeing widebody support capability added by the Dutch aftermarket provider in as many weeks. Direct is helping Thomson turn 787s at the airline’s Mombasa, Kenya line station. The work started following Thomson’s inaugural 787 service between London Gatwick Airport and Moi International Airport Dec. 3. The charter carrier had been operating 767-300ERs on the route.
Bell Helicopter is planning to build its SLS helicopter at a new facility in Lafayette, La. Bell CEO John Garrison jointly announced with Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal plans for Bell to lease a newly built 82,300-sq.-ft., $26.3 million hangar facility at Lafayette Regional Airport. The facility, to be constructed on a 14.5-acre site, will be funded by the state of Louisiana.
By the logic of “bigger is better,” Alaska Airlines should be in real trouble. It operates a modestly sized fleet from a relatively small home market with a business model somewhere between a low-fare carrier and legacy airline. Seattle-based Alaska, however, proves that logic does not always apply.
Business aviation advocates are anxiously watching European Parliament (EP) deliberations on the next iteration of the European Union’s Emissions Trading System (EU-ETS), worried that as deliberations focus on the scope of EU-ETS, important reforms for business aircraft operators will be left behind.
The highly publicized failure of the right engine of a Thomas Cook Airbus A330-200 (G-OMYT) taking off from Manchester, England, on June 24 was caused by the failure of a single turbine blade in the high-pressure section of the Rolls-Royce Trent 700 turbofan.
