Monthly Archives: April 2018

Red Bull Air Race Debuts in Cannes

Build A Plane to Use XCOR Assets for Build A Rocket Project

Worldwide Airframe Heavy Maintenance Demand: 2018-22

Over the five years, demand for airframe heavy maintenance will be led by North America and Western Europe.

Over the five years, demand for airframe heavy maintenance will be led by North America and Western Europe, accounting for a combined total of 52% of the market.

Source: 2018 Commercial Aviation Fleet & MRO Forecast, Aviation Week Network. For more information, please see http://pages.aviationweek.com/2018forecast

Investigation Points to Metal Fatigue in 737 Engine Failure

NTSB investigators found evidence of metal fatigue in the left engine of the Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-700 that made an emergency landing at Philadelphia International Airport on April 17 after the pilots initially reported an engine fire, then clarified that there was no fire but that engine parts were missing.

A woman died after an apparent engine explosion blew out a window and caused the cabin to depressurize, nearly pulling her from the aircraft, according to media reports. The passenger fatality was the first on a U.S. airline since 2009.

There were 144 passengers and five crew aboard for Southwest flight 1380, which had departed New York La Guardia Airport for Dallas Love Field. Southwest initially said the flight carried 143 passengers.

At a 9 p.m. briefing at the airport the day of the incident, NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt said investigators immediately focused on a missing fan blade in the damaged CFM56-7B turbofan engine. The number 13 fan blade, one of 24 fan blades that draw air into the engine, was broken at the point where it attached to the hub. “Our preliminary examination of this was that there is evidence of metal fatigue where the blade separated,” he told reporters.

The engine cowling was found in Bernville, Pennsylvania, about 70 miles northwest of the airport.

Sumwalt said the NTSB wants to determine if the affected engine part is subject to a pending FAA airworthiness directive (AD) for certain CFM56-7B engines that would require ultrasonic inspections of certain fan blades. The agency proposed the AD after a Southwest 737 experienced a fan blade failure while flying from New Orleans to Orlando in August 2016. The flight crew landed the aircraft safely at Pensacola International Airport.

In June 2017, engine manufacturer CFM International issued a revised service bulletin that recommended one-time ultrasonic inspection of high-time fan blades “as soon as possible” on CFM56-78 engines.

Southwest CEO Gary Kelly informed Sumwalt that the airline will immediately begin enhanced inspection procedures involving ultrasonic inspection on its entire fleet. In a statement posted on its website, Southwest said it will accelerate its existing engine inspection program relating to CFM56 engines “out of an abundance of caution,” a process it expects to complete in 30 days.

CFM, the joint venture of GE Aviation and France’s Safran Aircraft Engines, said the CFM56 engine type entered service in 1997. The FAA issued a certificate of registration to the incident aircraft in 2000.

During the briefing, Sumwalt provided a timeline of the emergency landing. The flight departed La Guardia Airport at 10:43 a.m. About 20 minutes after takeoff, as the aircraft was passing through 32,500 feet, multiple aural alerts and warnings sounded on the flight deck. The two pilots donned oxygen masks and reported to air traffic control that they had a Number 1 engine fire, were operating on a single engine and were initiating an emergency descent.

“Because they were concerned with potential aircraft controllability issues, they elected to land the airplane with flaps 5 instead of the normal flap setting for a Boeing 737, which would be either flaps 30 or flaps 40,” Sumwalt said. “Once they were on final approach, they clarified to the tower that there was no engine fire, but they were operating single engine and they reported parts of the engine were missing.”

Asked about the significance of the lower flap setting, Sumwalt said: “That would mean that they were going to have a faster approach speed by a good bit, and they did that because of concerns about controllability.”

Sumwalt said the flight crew consisted of a female captain and a male first officer. Media reports identified the captain as Tammie Jo Shults, who was described by friends as one of the first women to fly the U.S. Navy’s F/A-18 Hornet fighter.

Source: MRO Network

Avianor Parters with Lufthansa Technic, Increasing Facilities

The Montreal-based MRO plans to move into new facilities and could expand even further.

Because of our international partners,” responds Gérald Hotte, customer service director at Avianor, when asked why his MRO has the confidence in the aftermarket to expand facilities and grow its staff. “We are getting an increasing amount of work from international operators.”

One crucial partner of the Montreal-based MRO has been the Lufthansa Group. Avianor does heavy checks for Lufthansa Airlines and recently received other help from Lufthansa Technik. LHT will give Avianor access to its data in planning, engineering, materials and logistics, which should help it both make more attractive offers to customers and execute maintenance tasks more efficiently for shorter turnaround times.

And Avianor is making new commitments based on its confidence in sales prospects. In early April, it decided to move from three dispersed and rented facilities at Montreal-Mirabel Airport to one by purchasing more than 100,000 square feet of consolidated shops and office space. It is now renovating the new facilities and will take up occupancy shortly.

CEO Earl Diamond says there is more ahead. Demand is strong enough that he expects Avianor will acquire a second hangar near its new space.

Staff is expected to grow along with facilities. Although Hotte says recruiting new mechanics is “challenging,” in Montreal, as it is said to be in much of North America, he expects Avianor will increase its employees to 375- 380 by the end of 2018 from from 350 today.

The MRO’s offers are flexible enough to meet many demands. It performs heavy checks on narrowbodies and widebodies of both Boeing and Airbus, manufactures interior components, refurbishes cabins with new seats and inflight entertainment systems, and supports mechanical and electrical components. With its own design and engineering staff, Hotte says Avianor also will begin manufacturing 3D plastic parts for aircraft interiors.

House Passes FAA Reauthorization Minus ATC Privatization

Global 7000 Wins Red Dot Product Design Award

RYANAIR BOSS MICHAEL O’LEARY TREATS ASTONISHED PASSENGERS TO FREE DRINKS AFTER HIS HORSE, TIGER ROLL, WINS GRAND NATIONAL

Passengers aboard a Ryanair flight from Liverpool to Dublin on Saturday evening shared some Grand National luck: free drinks during the 43-minute flight.

The airline’s chief executive, Michael O’Leary, was flying home to Ireland after his horse, Tiger Roll, won the steeplechase in a photo finish. It was the owner’s second Grand National victory.

Flight FR447 was delayed by half an hour while waiting for the winning jockey, Davy Russell, to board the Boeing 737.

Mr O’Leary used the public address system to apologise for the delay, saying: “This is because we had to bring the Grand National-winning jockey, Davy Russell”.

After the passengers cheered, the airline boss broke a long-standing Ryanair rule by giving away free alcohol.

He said: “Today we won the Grand National so, unusually on board this flight, there’s going to be a free bar, which I am personally going to pay for, but you’re all restricted to one free drink only.

“So free bar, and we may need to do a circuit over Dublin to get it all done.

“Thank you and apologies once again.”

The average price of an alcoholic drink on Ryanair is £5, so assuming 180 passengers availed of the once-in-a-lifetime offer, the gesture will have cost Mr O’Leary £900.

As winning owner, he collected over half-a-million pounds from the victory. His shareholding in the airline is worth around £700m.

Before the big race, Mr O’Leary picked up another trophy for the Stayers Hurdle, won by 14-1 outsider

In the press conference after his second Grand National win, the Ryanair chief executive complained that he would “have to pay a fortune in excess baggage fees” to take the two trophies back to Ireland. The airline charges £11 per kilo.

Some passengers took to social media after the race to mock Ryanair’s reputation. “Tartantrums” tweeted: “Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary owns the horse that won the Grand National at Aintree.

“It crossed the finish line somewhere near Carlisle. Jockey was charged £5 for the saddle.”

Source: INDEPENDENT 

BRITISH AIRWAYS’ PARENT COMPANY BUYS SHARES IN NORWEGIAN AIR, SPARKING TAKEOVER BID RUMOURS

Shares in Norwegian, the rapidly expanding low-cost airline, have soared by one-fifth after IAG called its rival an “attractive investment” and sparked rumours of a possible takeover bid.

IAG, which owns airlines including British Airways, Aer Lingus and Iberia of Spain, has already bought 4.61 per cent of Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA. In an announcement, IAG said: “The minority investment is intended to establish a position from which to initiate discussions with Norwegian, including the possibility of a full offer.

The conglomerate stressed that no such discussions have taken place, that no decision had been made to make an offer, and “there is no certainty that any such decision will be made”.

“A further announcement will be made if appropriate,” said IAG.

Shares in Norwegian soared from €18.70 to €22.59, an increase of 21 per cent, while IAG’s share price initially dipped but then recovered.

A spokesperson for the Oslo-based airline said: “Norwegian has just been made aware that the International Airline Group (IAG) has acquired of 4.6 percent of the shares in Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA.

“Norwegian had no prior knowledge of this acquisition before it was reported by the media mid-morning Thursday.

“Norwegian has not been in any discussions or dialogue with IAG about the matter. Norwegian believes that IAG’s interest in the company confirms the sustainability and potential of our business model and global growth.”

Norwegian was created in 1993 by a former fighter pilot, Bjorn Kjos, who remains its chief executive.

It has grown to become Europe’s third-largest budget airline, behind Ryanair and easyJet.

Unlike its giant rivals, Norwegian has a big and expanding low-cost, long-haul operation, with a large route network at Gatwick — mainly to the US, but also including Buenos Aires and Singapore.

It has also launched transatlantic flights from Barcelona, the base for IAG’s Vueling subsidiary. In response, IAG set up Level, a low-cost, long-haul airline that flies many of the same routes.

Norwegian has also been cited by British Airways as a benchmark for costs on long-haul routes from Gatwick. BA is “densifying” its Boeing 777 fleet at the Sussex airport in order to become more competitive. In addition, on Wednesday it launched “Economy Basic” fares designed to compete with Norwegian’s offering.

A takeover would also strengthen IAG’s competitive position against low-cost, short-haul rivals, notably easyJet and Ryanair.

Mr Kjos recently told The Independent: “You will always see airlines come and go. Mostly you will see them go.”

Source : INDEPENDENT 

FRIDAY 13TH: MYSTERY OVER CHEAP FLIGHT CLAIMS

Claims by a fare-comparison website that “superstitious Brits” are shunning flights on Friday 13th have been flatly rejected by the three biggest airlines serving the UK.

Kayak claimed fares for Friday 13 April to Auckland are barely half the level for other Fridays in April. The firm asserts the average fare for departures to New Zealand’s largest city on “the superstitious date” was just £554 return, compared with an average of £1,049 on other Fridays.

The Independent has been unable to replicate Kayak’s results, or find any fares to Auckland as low as £554 return.

Looking ahead to the next Friday 13th, in July, the lowest fare to Auckland with a two-week stay on Kayak is £1,039 return. That is 4 per cent higher than the average of the other Fridays in July.

Kayak’s research on Friday 13 April also shows fares to Las Palmas on Gran Canaria are 42 per cent lower, with an average price of just £119 return from London to the island.

The lowest fare The Independent could find booking direct with an airline was £184 from Luton on Ryanair.

The fall in fares to Belfast was almost as dramatic, according to Kayak, with the April average of £107 return falling 41 per cent to £63.

British Airways, easyJet and Ryanair all compete between London and Belfast.

The Independent asked each airline for its assessment of demand on Friday 13th compared with other dates, and also if there was any effect on 11 September, the anniversary of the terrorist attack on New York and Washington in 2001.

A spokesperson for easyJet said: “There is absolutely no truth in this effect. Either for Friday 13th or September 11th”

British Airways reported that there is no drop in demand, adding that Friday is its busiest day.

Ryanair’s spokesperson said: “No, as always customers continue to book in their thousands. Every day is a lucky day for our 130 million customers, who enjoy the lowest airfares in Europe both on Friday 13th, September 11th and each of the 364 days we operate annually.”

On 11 September 2002, the first anniversary of the attack, numerous flights were cancelled, but since then schedules have operated normally.

Source: INDEPENDENT