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Boeing said Monday that its second quarter 2015 commercial airplane deliveries were up from a year ago. The Chicago-based company said it delivered 197 commercial airliners in the second quarter of 2015, and 381 jets in the first half of the year.That compares with 181 jet deliveries in the second quarter of 2014 and 342 in the first six months of 2014. Delivieries were led by the single-aisle 737 - the fuselage of which is made by Spirit AeroSystems in Wichita...Read More
With 787s Arriving, Air Canada Prepares For International Expansion
Few North American carriers have been as aggressive as Air Canada in the past three years. It has created a new low-cost subsidiary, added capacity, modernized its fleet with Boeing 787s and upgraded its mainline onboard product. But airline executives say they are just getting started in restoring Air Canada as one of the premier carriers in the Americas. Even as it tries to withstand a challenge from domestic competitor WestJet Airlines, the company is thinking globally, telling...Read More
Boeing, Embraer To Collaborate On ecoDemonstrator Technology Tests
Boeing and Embraer have announced that they intend to collaborate to test environment-focused technologies through the ecoDemonstrator Program in a joint effort to improve aviation's environmental performance. This expands ongoing cooperation between two of the world's largest airplane manufacturers. Frederico Curado, president and CEO of Embraer, and Marc Allen, president of Boeing International, signed a Memorandum of Understanding at the Brazil-U.S. Business Summit organized by the Brazil-U.S. Business...Read More
Why Jim McNerney Will Be Remembered As One Of Boeing's Greatest CEOs
A favorite industry pastime is about to wind down. I'm talking about public bashing of Boeing CEO Jim McNerney, who will retire July 1. There is plenty of fodder for McNerney's critics. Labor relations are poor in the wake of bruising negotiations with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, growth of the non-union facility in Charleston, South Carolina, and an unfortunate remark about employee "cowering." The Boeing 787 continues to rack...Read More
F-16, Cessna Collide over South Carolina
An Air Force F-16 fighter jet and a Cessna 150 collided over South Carolina this morning, scattering debris from the airplanes over a wide area. The collision occurred about 11 miles north of Charleston near the uncontrolled Moncks Corner Airport in the vicinity of a number of military jet routes. The F-16 pilot safely ejected. He was picked up and transported back to base, authorities said...Read More
Swiss pilot Andre Borschberg landed in Hawaii after an almost five-day flight from Japan in Solar Impulse 2, during which he only slept in 20-minute intervals. The solo flight took 118 hours, setting records for manned, solar-powered flight. Borschberg offered regular updates during the flight via Twitter. "During the fourth day I felt very tired, having climbed the equivalent altitude of Mount Everest four times," he wrote in a tweet on Thursday...Read More
Bombardier Delivers First Of 7 CRJ900 Aircraft To Mesa Airlines
The first of seven CRJ900 aircraft have been delivered by Bombardier to Mesa Air Group of Phoenix, AZ (Mesa Airlines). Mesa will operate the aircraft for American Airlines under the American Eagle brand. The aircraft delivered is one of a firm order for seven announced on March 12, 2015. The CRJ900 delivery ceremony held at Bombardier's Mirabel, Québec facility, was attended by executives of both Mesa Airlines and Bombardier Commercial Aircraft."As the launch customer of the CRJ900 and a Bombardier customer for more than...Read More
Virgin Atlantic Will Cut 500 Jobs
After reporting in March that it had returned to the black side of the ledger, Virgin Atlantic has announced that it will be cutting 500 jobs as it restructures some of its business units and continues to reduce costs. Buying Business Travel reports that the airline said its goals is to streamline its corporate structure with fewer layers of management. In a statement released to the media, the airline said the move would "build on its successful return to profitability by structuring the business in a simpler, more...Read More
NGC, U.S. Navy Celebrate Legacy Of EA-6B Prowler
The U.S. Navy's venerable EA-6B Prowler tactical jamming aircraft, designed and built by Northrop Grumman Corporation has been a fixture at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island and in the nation's carrier-based strike forces since 1971. On Saturday, June 27, the longest serving carrier-based aircraft in history passed that electronic attack baton to its successor, the EA-18G Growler, with a ceremonial final take-off and flyaway from its longtime home base. It was the culmination of a two-day event honoring...Read More
Navy's New Aircraft Launch System Tested On Future Carrier CVN 78
With the successful launch of the first test sled from the starboard bow catapult, Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) continued to make history June 16 with the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) aboard the future USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78). Hurling the dead-load sleds, which represent different aircraft weights, marks a significant testing milestone for the first new aircraft launch technology employed by the Navy in more than 60 years...Read More
Kuwait Airways Receives First A330-200
Kuwait Airways has taken delivery of its first A330-200, becoming a new operator for the type. In February 2014, Kuwait Airways announced the lease of 12 Airbus aircraft including 7 A320ceo and 5 A330-200s in addition to the purchase of 25 aircraft including 10 A350-900 and 15 A320neo Family aircraft marking the start of a major fleet renewal plan. Kuwait Airways' first A330-200 accommodates a three-class configuration of 17 full-sleeper first class modules, 30 very high-comfort business...Read More
USAF Airborne Air Control Squadron Tests Upgraded AWACS Platform
Flying at 30,000 feet in the midst of nearly 100 fighters, bombers and refueling tankers executing a battle scenario, an Air Force E-3G Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) surveys every aircraft in a 300 mile radius, calling out commands, verifying target hits and sending aircraft back home safely. Threat detection, improvisation, air battle management - it was all part of a typical mission for the E-3G crew of the U.S. Air Force...Read More
United Airlines Purchases $30 Million Stake In Fulcrum BioEnergy
United Airlines has announced an historic $30 million equity investment in U.S.-based alternative fuels developer Fulcrum BioEnergy, Inc. The company has developed and commercialized a process to convert municipal solid waste into low-cost sustainable aviation biofuel. It is also the single largest investment by a U.S. airline in alternative fuels and sets United apart in the aviation industry in the advancement of aviation biofuels and carbon...Read More
Test Flight Completed After F-35B Modifications
The Ogden Air Logistics Complex completed an F-35B Lightning II functional check flight at Utah's Hill AFB June 18, after the first depot-level short take off and vertical landing modifications were completed on two F-35Bs for the Marine Corps. Lt. Col. Kevin Hall, a member of the 514th Flight Test Squadron and the first depot test pilot in the Air Force qualified in the F-35B, took off from Hill Air Force Base and zoomed to altitude before heading to the Utah Test and Training Range...Read More
Eclipse 'Special Edition' Twin-Engine Jet Announced By ONE Aviation ONE Aviation is pleased to announce the Eclipse Special Edition (SE) twin-engine jet. The Eclipse SE is a factory-renewed Eclipse 500 which has been substantially upgraded and reconfigured to include nearly all new features introduced on the new Eclipse 550, including a Dual Avio Integrated Flight Management System (IFMS), Anti-skid Brake System, a newly designed pilot-side Standby Display Unit...Read More NOAA Plane Receives Upgrade, Participates In Field Campaign The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration stationed on MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, installed upgraded engines on one of their two Lockheed WP-3D Orion aircraft as part of a larger upgrade project for the two planes June 3, 2015. In an effort to stay ahead of the technological curve and to ensure they will be able to fulfill their vital environmental intelligence gathering mission moving forward, NOAA initiated a $42 million...Read More
Ghostrider Grounded
The Air Force's prototype AC-130J Ghostrider gunship is grounded, pending investigation of an in-flight incident that occurred during a test sortie from Eglin AFB, Fla., earlier this year, according to Air Force Materiel Command. The aircraft "returned to base and safely landed without further incident or any injuries to the crew" after the April 21 mishap, the command told Air Force Magazine in a statement on Monday. AFMC officials on June 15 elevated the accident from a Class-C mishap after "structural analysis suggested damage greater than the $2 million monetary threshold for a Class-A...Read More
Vietnam War Airman's Remains Identified
The Department of Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that the remains of a serviceman, missing from the Vietnam War, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors. U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Edwin E. Morgan, 38, of Eagle Spring, N.C., will be buried June 27 in Rockwell, N.C. On March 13, 1966, Morgan was assigned to the 6252nd Combat Support Group, as the loadmaster of an AC-47D gunship aircraft, that departed...Read More
American Airlines To Finish Repainting Aircraft Livery By 2017
In its weekly "Arrivals" newsletter, American Airlines says that the last of its fleet will be repainted in American's new livery by fourth quarter 2017. The last to finish getting the paint job will be the Boeing 737-800 fleet. Here are some factoids we've stolen/borrowed from Arrivals:- About half the fleet of American and US Airways jets has the new paint job...Read More
American Airlines And CEO donate $300,000 To Honor Slain S.C. Pastor
American Airlines is making a $150,000 donation to the fund honoring Clementa Pinckney, the Charleston, S.C., pastor murdered last week. The company's CEO Doug Parker then matched the company's contribution. "We work for a company that will not tolerate bigotry, intolerance or hatred," Executive Vice President Elise Eberwein wrote in a memo to employees. "Instead we proudly support, and will take action to promote, tolerance, diversity and inclusion...Read More
Delta, Virgin Partnership Means More Options For Consumers
Their Finest Hour
The Battle of Britain, which began 75 years ago this month, was the single most important engagement of World War II. If the British had lost, the consequences would have been catastrophic. At best, Britain would have had to seek a peace settlement with Germany on Hitler's terms, which would have been severe. Winston Churchill would most likely have been replaced as Prime Minister by the Foreign Secretary, Lord Halifax, or former Prime Minister David Lloyd George. Both of them thought negotiation with Germany was inevitable...Read More
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