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General Aviation/Helicopter News

Discussion in 'Commercial & General Aviation' started by Jet News, Dec 30, 2012.

  1. Jet News

    Jet News JF News Editor Staff Member

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  2. Jet News

    Jet News JF News Editor Staff Member

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    More intense competition and careful airline aftermarket spending helped Lufthansa Technik’s year-over-year sales fall in the second quarter, breaking a one-year streak of quarterly growth. "Disproportionate growth in MRO capacities and airlines’ persistently tight financial situations are leading to consistently high pricing pressure in the MRO business," LHT explained in analyzing its second-quarter results. "Moreover, the market stays affected by consolidation activities of both customers and competitors."
  3. Jet News

    Jet News JF News Editor Staff Member

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    AirAsia's second-quarter net profit jumped more than five times on foreign exchange gains, the deferment of taxes and a small increase in passengers. Asia's largest budget airline by passengers reported net profit for the three months to end June increased to MYR367.16 million ringgit (USD$116 million). Revenue rose to MYR1.31 billion ringgit from MYR1.25 billion.

    Without foreign exchange gains and deferred taxes, AirAsia's net operating profit fell 17 percent. The company attributed this to its Thai unit posting a quarterly loss for the first time. AirAsia said political unrest in Thailand kept loads and fares low, and that the situation is expected to persist until September. It had expanded capacity in Thailand by 23 percent during the quarter; passenger growth fell short at 16 percent despite a 14 percent cut in the average fare.

    AirAsia Indonesia saw an operating loss of IDR271.8 billion rupiah (USD$23.23 million) compared to an operating profit of IDR87.7 billion rupiah a year ago, as operational costs increased and the rupiah weakened. The airline will cancel a number of loss-making routes in Indonesia, it said in a press statement. Philippines saw its net loss narrow to MYR12.4 million ringgit from MYR24 million ringgit. "I am very optimistic the worst is over as our turnaround plan has been put into place," chief executive Aireen Omar said in the statement.

    AirAsia said the operating environment in the two countries remains challenging for the remainder of the year. Group CEO Tony Fernandes said the airline will see its capacity growth return to a "realistic" level. "We foresee capacity in Malaysia reducing, and there will a re-alignment of business strategy by competitors to ensure sustainability," he said. It will add eight Airbus A320s in the third quarter: four in Malaysia, three in Thailand and one in India. It will also dispose of two older aircraft. The company had seen net profit slide 54 percent in the last financial year, hit by volatile currency moves and price competition in its home market.

    (Reuters)
  4. Jet News

    Jet News JF News Editor Staff Member

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    China signs a deal with the EAA that should result in setting up the first EAA Chapter in that country.
  5. Jet News

    Jet News JF News Editor Staff Member

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    We normally do not cover helicopter news but this one is significant.

    Bell Helicopter commenced construction of its facility in Lafayette, LA, where the company will assemble its newest commercial helicopter, the Bell 505 Jet Ranger XTM. Governor Bobby Jindal, Lafayette City-Parish President Joey Durel and others joined Bell Helicopter’s President and CEO John Garrison to commemorate the occasion at Lafayette (LFT). The new 82,300-square-foot, $26.3 million hangar facility will be built on a 14.5-acre site. (FC)
  6. Jet News

    Jet News JF News Editor Staff Member

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    JetBlue Airways is well-known for its rather hospitable service, with 32+ inches of pitch standard across its fleet, as well as plenty of on-board snacks and customer-focused marketing. But the New York-based carrier is making a deeper foray into the hospitality business, sort of, with its first hotel in central Florida.

    At a ceremony today at JetBlue’s Orlando Support Center, the airline unveiled a nearly-finished hotel, The Lodge at Orlando Support Center, which will house crewmembers studying at the adjacent JetBlue University during initial and recurrent trainings, as opposed to putting them up off-site at various nearby properties.
  7. Jet News

    Jet News JF News Editor Staff Member

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    There will be US Airways Airbus A330-300 round-trip between Philadelphia and Miami this winter, when the 291-seat aircraft replaces the normal 124-seat Airbus A319 on US Airways Flights 2051 and 710. The A330-300 will begin serving the route in both directions on November 6th, 2014 and service will continue through December 1st, 2014, when both flight legs are replaced by Airbus A321s
  8. Jet News

    Jet News JF News Editor Staff Member

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    American Airlines Group announced it will no longer sell tickets via the popular online ticket agent, Orbitz.

    The change is effective immediately for all American Airlines fares. US Airways fares will disappear from the site effective September 1st. The decision delists the world’s largest airline from the site, along with several subsidiary sites including CheapTickets.com and ebookers. The news sent shares of Orbitz tumbling down as much as 5% in trading.
  9. Jet News

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    With the Mitsubishi MRJ taking shape, Japan is devising plans for a second aircraft type that would incorporate an abundance of advanced Japanese technology.
  10. Jet News

    Jet News JF News Editor Staff Member

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    Photo of the Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ).

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  11. Jet News

    Jet News JF News Editor Staff Member

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    Airbus and Boeing both topped 1,000 new jet orders in the first eight months of the year, with Boeing leading the race after adjusting for cancellations. Airbus sold 21 aircraft in August, a traditionally quiet month following the Farnborough Airshow in July, bringing its total gross orders for the year to 1,001 aircraft.
    In contrast, Boeing booked 107 orders in the same month, bringing total gross orders for the year to 1,004. Adjusting for cancellations, Airbus reported 722 net orders between January and August. That compares with 941 net orders for Boeing from January 1 to September 2, after accounting for 63 cancellations. Airbus says the total of 279 cancellations it has announced this year are boosted by conversions from one product to another, as airlines convert from the current-generation A320 to the newer and more efficient A320neo.
    It has argued Boeing will face similar pressure to convert orders when its own revamped 737 MAX approaches delivery, but some analysts have expressed concerns about the underlying level of cancellations as investors remain sensitive to any signs of weakness in recently strong demand for passenger jets.
    In its latest update, Airbus said it had delivered 389 aircraft between January and August. Boeing delivered 461 between January and August, including 13 787 Dreamliners, above its target of 10 deliveries a month of the high-tech jet. For the full year, Airbus is targeting around the same number of deliveries as last year, when it delivered 626 passenger jets. It says net orders should exceed this. Boeing is targeting 715-725 deliveries in 2014.

    (Reuters)
  12. Jet News

    Jet News JF News Editor Staff Member

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    6 of the worlds 9 longest flights are flown by B777-200ER/LR.
  13. Jet News

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    The FAA has issued an emergency Certificate of Authorization (COA) to the National Institute of Standards and Technology of Gaithersburg, Maryland, for the use of a drone to aid in the search for a 23-year-old woman who disappeared recently near Plano, Texas. The request to the FAA came from the Plano Police Department.

    The emergency COA was issued within 24 hours of the request and is limited to the time period from September 11 through sunset on September 15. Texas EquuSearch, a non-profit search and rescue operation that has had a contentious relationship with the FAA in the past as a result of its use of drones, will conduct the legal drone operation. (FLYING)
  14. Jet News

    Jet News JF News Editor Staff Member

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    The US aviation industry has only minimal confidence in the ability of the FAA to overhaul the nation's air-traffic control system, a survey released by a government watchdog agency said on Friday.
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    Jet News JF News Editor Staff Member

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    FAA Administrator Michael Huerta has asked for a review of all US air traffic control contingency plans and security policies, following a fire on Friday that crippled air travel over much of the Midwestern US. Speaking at an industry conference, Federal Aviation Administration Administrator Michael Huerta said the agency won't hesitate to make changes in security policies if needed.

    The outage affected more than 3,000 flights. It was caused by a contract employee who allegedly started a fire at a control facility near Chicago and suffered self-inflicted wounds. Huerta, in his first public comments since the incident, said 20 of 29 pieces of communications equipment were damaged by the fire, and installation of new equipment began on Sunday night.

    He said the agency was undertaking a 30-day review of its contingency plans at air traffic control facilities and also a review of security procedures. "It's very, very important that we do a thorough review of the security protocols for the access to all of our facilities and make sure that we have the best processes in place," Huerta said. Speaking more broadly about an ongoing overhaul of the air traffic control system, known as NextGen, Huerta said the FAA was committed to meeting a 2020 deadline for air carriers to equip aircraft with the capability to work with the new system.

    "We will try to identify what the issues are, or what the barriers are, so that the carriers can equip by the deadline that we worked with industry to establish, a deadline that is rapidly approaching, January 2020," Huerta said. "That date is not going to change," he added. "NextGen is on track. And we will keep it on track, but to do so, we’ve got to meet that equipage mandate." NextGen will use global satellite navigation and other changes to fit more aircraft into the airspace and improve the efficiency of air travel. Cancellations and delays continued on Monday at Chicago airports, with 300 cancelled flights at O'Hare Airport, according to Chicago's Department of Aviation.

    (Reuters)
  16. Jet News

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    First commercial A380 service lands in Manila, flown by the only Filipino A380 pilot in the world. This one-off Emirates flight was welcomed by President Benigno Aquino III on 7th October. Photo by: Malacañang Photo Bureau.

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  17. Jet News

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    Airbus sold 76 aircraft in September, but ended the first nine months of the year behind Boeing in the number of planes sold and delivered. Airbus sold a net total of 69 aircraft last month after adjusting for the cancellation of seven of the nine A321s ordered by privately owned regional carrier Nile Air at the Dubai Airshow in 2007, according to monthly order figures. It delivered 54 aircraft during September, including four A380s, bringing the total number of deliveries for that type of aircraft so far this year to 21.

    In the first nine months, Airbus booked orders for 1,077 aircraft. Net orders, which are adjusted for cancellations or conversions between different models, ended the period at 791. Airbus delivered a total of 443 aircraft between January and September. For the full year, Airbus is targeting about the same level of deliveries as the 626 total seen in 2013, including the first A350 which won European safety approval last week. It has also said net orders should be above the level of deliveries.

    Leasing company AWAS converted two A350-800 aircraft to the larger A350-900 in September, becoming the latest company to move out of the smallest and least-sold A350 type which is not expected to be produced as Airbus fills that spot of the market with a revamped version of its A330 aircraft. Boeing last week reported 1,106 orders in the first nine months, or 1,000 after adjusting for 106 cancellations. It delivered 528 aircraft, against a full-year target of 715 to 725.

    (Reuters)
  18. Jet News

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    Mitsubishi Aircraft rolled out Japan's first commercial jet in half a century, amid doubts it can achieve an ambition to sell more than 2,000 aircraft in a competitive market segment. Developed by a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries that includes Toyota as a shareholder, the USD$42 million regional jet, with just under 100 seats, is Japan's second bid to break into the commercial aircraft market.

    "This has been a long-held dream of ours, and one that all of Japan has waited for," Hideaki Omiya, chairman of Mitsubishi Heavy, said at a factory in Nagoya in central Japan. The ceremony, attended by about 500 people, kicks off a sprint to complete flight tests before the first delivery of the aircraft in June 2017 to ANA.
  19. Jet News

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    ‪Qatar Airways‬ celebrates its one year anniversary of joining the oneworld alliance.
  20. Jet News

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