Google looking to make big impact on airline distribution

Google spent less than $2bn to buy 79 businesses in 2011, the largest being its $700m cash purchase of flight data specialist ITA Software. "By combining ITA's expertise with Google's technology, we'll be able to develop exciting new flight search tools for all our users," Google says.

Within five months of the deal closing in April 2011, Google launched Google Flight Search (GFS) in the USA. GFS, which despite being live is officially still in testing, searches inventory and fares from airline websites, giving users a direct link to the airline's booking page. At the moment GFS is limited to major airlines and key domestic routes, but it includes filters so users can search by budget, departure times and location-specific tools. In its current form, it presents a clear idea of how powerful it might be once more airlines become involved. GFS does not have a presence in Europe, although Google's official soundings promise an international roll-out.

Ian Tunnacliffe, an independent IT consultant, believes Google is serious about becoming a major player in airline distribution. "Arguably, with so many large online travel agencies (OTAs) dependent on traffic from Google's natural and paid search, it already is," he adds.

Office in the Sky Becomes Reality

There’s just never enough productive work time available during the workday. That’s why for nearly three decades, business aviation operators have looked forward to the day when they could use their aircraft cabins as “offices in the sky” where their passengers could continue to work as productively at 41,000 ft. as they could on the 41st floor.

Years ago, air-to-ground radiotelephones and faxes, complemented by onboard computers and printers, were the tools available for business aircraft passengers to maintain communications between ground and sky. That level of office technology seemed to suffice then.

However, about two decades ago a revolution in communications began taking place on the ground with the advent of Internet connectivity. The new technology began to collapse the information float to near zero between offices and factories, customers and suppliers, headquarters and subsidiaries. Connectivity speeds soared from 56 Kbps using dial-up in the early 1980s to today’s cable modem, high-speed DSL and satellite broadband speeds of 1 Mbps upload and 20 Mbps download. Some ground-based connectivity systems now provide 45 Mbps, or higher, Internet speeds.

Stung by fuel, LAN embraces RNP navigation tools

LAN Crew preparing for next flight

Stung by higher fuel costs, LAN Airlines flew Latin America's first flight on Thursday using a navigational system from takeoff to landing that it says will save time and money and reduce pollution.

LAN said the Required Navigation Performance system by General Electric will cut 19 miles, 6.3 minutes, 67.5 gallons of fuel and 1,420 pounds of carbon emissions from each flight on its popular Cusco-Lima route, which takes tourists from the Inca ruins of Machu Picchu in the treacherous Andes to the capital on the Pacific Coast.

Though components of the technology have been around since the mid-1990s and are used on landings at some airports around the world, GE said Thursday's flight was unusual because the satellite-based technology was used along the entire journey.

NTSB calls for safety upgrades for Boeing 737 cabin, pilot seats

Passengers and pilots in a series of survivable Boeing 737 crashes may have been injured by approved cabin overhead systems or crew seat belt restraints designed or tested to inadequate levels for an actual crash.

A series of new recommendations from the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) call on the US Federal Aviation Administration to modify the design and test requirements related to passenger service units (PSUs) in Next Generation Boeing 737 family aircraft, and to analyse aircraft from other manufacturers for similar problems.

PSUs, which are mounted above each seat on the underside of the overhead bins, include supplemental oxygen generators, oxygen masks and ventilation air vents, and typically weigh about 5.7kg (12.5lb).

More A320s hit the market after Air Australia ceases operations

The collapse of Air Australia last week has left six CFM56-5A3-powered Airbus A320s available for purchase or lease in the market.

Air Australia operated six A320s that that were manufactured between 1991 and 1993. The carrier was also due to receive a new A320 from AerCap in April.

According to Flightglobal's Ascend online database, there are 2,767 A320s currently in service with an estimated 130 aircraft now in storage.

The CFM56-5A powered population accounts for 325 aircraft and 44 of them, or 18%, in storage.

Of the 99 V2500-A1 engine powered fleet, an estimated 24 aircraft are in storage, or 24% of the population.

Another 23 stored A320s have CFM56-5B engines out of a 1,268 aircraft population. There are also 39 V2527-A5-powered aircraft in storage out of a total fleet 1,075 units.

Air Australia is the sixth A320 operator to stop operations since March 2011.

Case Study: Your recruitment agency isn’t supporting your job application; should you apply through a second one?

A Betts Blog subscriber rang to ask my view about how he should manage his current Job Application last week, because he finds himself with something of a dilemma to overcome.

Having applied for a position he really wants through a Recruitment Agency a few days earlier, he then noticed that a second Agency is also handling the role.  The Candidate had read my recent Blog article, Moral of the Tale: If you are job hunting build bridges, don’t burn them and he wanted to discuss how he might best proceed, to give himself a good chance of being considered for the job.

The Candidate explained how he’d first sent his CV to Agency A and then a few days later called to follow-up and enquire about the status of his application, because he’d heard nothing from them.  Rather shockingly (in my view) he was told that such information was confidential and when he finally put the phone down, he had no idea if he was being shortlisted or not.

UK government supports EASA flight time rules

UK minister of state for transport Theresa Villiers has supported the proposed flight time regulations put forward by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), saying that new rules would offer a "significant safety gain" for UK passengers.

The UK Parliament's transport select committee today discussed the impact of EASA's proposal with Villiers, the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), pilot unions and airline industry representatives.

The British Airline Pilots' Association (BALPA), along with other European pilot unions, believes that the proposed harmonisation and unification of varying flight time regulations across European Union (EU) member states will lower safety standards in certain countries, such as the UK, where stricter national rules are currently in place.

Soaring demand drives Airbus to plug freighter gap

Airbus's decision last week to launch a passenger-to-freighter conversion programme for its A330 twinjet was long overdue. The airframer's own global market forecast for freighters, issued last year, predicts demand for a total of 2,731 cargo aircraft over the next 20 years, split between 834 new-builds and 1,897 conversions.

Yet until last week's announcement, Airbus had addressed that demand solely with its new-build A330-200F. Although that programme has arguably under-performed, accumulating just 69 orders to-date, Airbus believes that section of the market still holds considerable sales potential.

Ukraine introduces new squawk-code relief concept

Ukraine's air navigation service has become the first to introduce a new assignment system aimed at overcoming a worsening shortage of aircraft transponder squawk codes.

The navigation service, UkSATSE, has put in place the Centralised Code Assignment Management System (CCAMS) which operates from a server hosted by pan-European air navigation organisation Eurocontrol.

Thirteen other countries are set to put CCAMS in place this year.

Squawk codes have previously been "statically" allocated to individual countries and assigned to aircraft by the air navigation service under a specific procedure.

But the limitations of the squawk coding means this mechanism is leading to a shortage of codes at peak times.

Narrowbodies make mark in Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia has become an increasingly lucrative market for narrowbody aircraft, with the growth of low-cost travel and relaxation of regulations helping to drive orders throughout the region - and fuelling fears of overcapacity.

Most of the existing fleet in Southeast Asia consists of widebodies, and several of the legacy airlines have continued to place orders to replace their ageing aircraft and reduce costs. However, narrowbody aircraft will account for the majority of deliveries in the coming years, analysis of Flightglobal's ACAS database reveals. Many of the major carriers in the region already have large backlogs of orders for both Airbus A320s and Boeing 737s, including the re-engined options that became available to order last year. And a handful of orders could be made this year, including one or two at the 2012 Singapore Airshow.

Boeing studies ultra long-range 777-8LX concept

The new 777 variant would be capable of a range of 16,330 miles
holding a maximum of 195,270 liters or 51,585 gallons.

Boeing is exploring an ultra long-range replacement of the 777-200LR, conceptually dubbed the 777-8LX.

Likely to be the last of three members of a conceptual 777X family, the -8LX could potentially have a service entry in the 2020s, providing a mission range of 17,550km (9,480nm), industry sources tell Flightglobal, which is 85nm longer than the 17,395km (9,395nm) offered by the 777-200LR.

The reduced fuel burn per seat for the -8LX is estimated to be a 14% to 16% improvement over the 777-300ER, and the extended range may, for the first time, open the prospect of profitably operating flights between Sydney and London without a "kangaroo" stop in Southeast Asia.

Today's ultra long-range 777-200LR and the Airbus A340-500, which is no longer in production, have served in mostly niche roles for carriers requiring long-range capacity on hot and high and extended missions.

More Aviation Companies Hired than Fired in 2011

According to online aviation job distribution network JSfirm (Booth No. 7244), the first two quarters of this year should be a good time to find a job in the aviation industry. The Fort Worth, Texas-based company released the results of its latest Aviation Industry Hiring Trends survey here at Heli-Expo. The survey indicates that companies across the aviation spectrum hired more people than they cut last year and expect to hire additional personnel this year.

“Eight-five percent of companies surveyed expect to hire in 2012,” said JSfirm manager Jeff Richards. The survey spanned various aviation sectors including rotorcraft, general aviation, corporate and commercial aviation. About 41 percent of respondents represented small firms employing 30 people or fewer, while 92 respondents represented large companies employing more than 501 people.

Singapore Air Show...starting!!

Singapore Air Show will start very soon!

Dates: 14-19 February 2012 

Official Site: Singapore Air Show

Asia's Aviation Boom Comes With Rising Competition

While Europe's debt crisis and global economic uncertainty are threatening airline profitability in the West, in Asia airlines are experiencing relatively strong growth.

According to forecasts from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), carriers based in Asia Pacific will make profits of $2.1 billion in 2012. That's 60 percent of the total profits of $3.5 billion predicted for the global airline industry.

But below the surface, there's a growing risk to the health of the region's airline sector from increased competition. Airlines in Asia are adding capacity at such a rapid clip on international routes that industry watchers are growing alarmed.

Airline CEOs will be meeting on the sidelines of the Singapore Airshow this week to discuss the challenges facing the sector.

Airberlin First Airline In Europe To Use Satellite-Based Landings

GBAS (Ground Based Augmentation System)

Following the German Federal Office for Air Traffic Control’s accreditation of the ground station for the new satellite-based approach and landing system GBAS (Ground Based Augmentation System) as a primary landing system, Airberlin will be the first airline in Europe to use satellite-based landings on regular flights at Bremen Airport.

Since 2008, the German Air Traffic Control Authority (DFS) has been working closely with Airberlin on the development of the new system. In November 2009, Airberlin was the first airline worldwide to receive approval for its Boeing 737 Next Generation fleet to use the GBAS on landings up to a visual range of only 550 meters.

The new satellite-based landing system is much more precise than the instrument- based landing system (ILS) which has been used until now.

Other advantages of GBAS landings are that noise pollution on the ground is reduced because approach angles can be varied and in the future it will be possible to use the system in mountainous areas, where it was not previously possible to land using the instrument-based landing system.

Airbus Conducts 4-D Trajectory Management Test

Airbus has conducted what it is calling the world's first flight using a four-dimensional optimized and upgraded air traffic management (ATM) technology to fly more accurate and efficient routes, the airframe manufacturer said Friday.

The test, using Airbus's dedicated A320 test aircraft flying from Toulouse, France, to Copenhagen and Stockholm, used Initial-4D (I-4D) trajectory management, which relies on an aircraft function to predict and transmit data to the ground in order to accurately fly a trajectory. It is described in three dimensions (lateral, longitudinal and vertical) and it includes one target time at a specific merging point (time as the fourth dimension), Airbus said.

Airlines urge U.N. deal to avert carbon trade war

A passenger plane flies over a barbed wire fence as it approaches an airport
in this February 23, 2010 file photo. Credit: Reuters/Tim Wimborne

Global airlines called on Sunday for a U.N.-brokered deal to prevent a row over aviation emissions between China and the European Union spilling into a damaging trade war.

The call by the head of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) comes amid signs that the EU may be willing to soften a unilateral stance that also risks souring efforts to resolve Europe's sovereign debt crisis with Chinese support.

In an interview, IATA Director General Tony Tyler said airlines had become wedged between conflicting domestic laws after China ordered its airlines not to join the EU's compulsory market-based system for regulating airline emissions.

French Rafale - India Jet Deal

NASA Offers Reward For Green Propellant

NASA’s Technology Demonstration Missions Program is looking for “green” alternatives to toxic hydrazine as a storable propellant for spacecraft, offering contracts worth as much as $50 million each to researchers with promising ideas.

The agency is seeking proposals for demonstrations of systems that use storable monopropellants or bipropellants that are safer than hydrazine to generate spacecraft propulsion and power. The broad area announcement, which is available at http://go.usa.gov/Qbx, calls for complete integrated systems that include engines, tanks, valves, injectors, igniters, thrust chambers and propellant-control systems.

Top ten flying cars!

For more than five decades, science fiction has been tormenting us with hallucination of in-the-air roadways and hastily choreographing sports car-like flying cars. A number of businesses have been hunting the reverie for such a long time. NASA's PAV (Personal Air Vehicle) Challenge could do a great job to chase the wild dream. To kindle rapid modernism and advancement in PAV performance, NASA has funded $2,000,000 in cash prizes for the PAV flight competition. Here is a list of some of the flying cars, including some vehicles that have taken a voyage in the air while some are waiting to do the same in the near future.


Read the full article on: Gizmowatch


And also, check this article explaining the technology behind these Flying cars:
http://www.gizmowatch.com/top-flying-cars-technology.html

Airbus reports 2011 aircraft orders and deliveries

 Airbus beat Boeing in 2011, delivering 534 commercial aircraft and booking 1,419 net orders. Most of the orders were for the A320neo (new engine option).


Airbus (Toulouse, France) announced on Jan. 17 that it delivered 534 commercial aircraft to 88 customers (10 new) and booked 1,419 net orders in 2011, making it the most successful year in the company’s history, and the 10th in a row with a production increase.

The 534 deliveries beat the previous record set in 2010 by 24 aircraft. Deliveries include a new record for 421 single-aisle aircraft (401 in 2010), 87 A330 Family (87 in 2010) and 26 A380s (18 in 2010). December was a record month for the A380, with four deliveries in a single month. Airbus Military also delivered a record number of 29 aircraft (20 light and medium military and transport aircraft — C212, CN235 and C295, three P-3 conversion aircraft and 6 A330 MRTTs).

Firmed A320 deals lift Airbus's January orders

Despite expectations of a slower sales year, Airbus nevertheless logged more than 90 orders for January 2012, notably following the firming of tentative agreements by AviancaTaca and Spirit Airlines.

AviancaTaca signed for 51 A320-family jets, including 33 re-engined airframes. The 51 include 27 A319s, 20 A320s and four A321s, meaning that the carrier group will be taking at least some re-engined A319neos or A321neos.

Start-up Tibet Airlines has placed orders for three more A319s, which will give it a total of eight of the type. Air Namibia has also ordered a pair.

US carrier Spirit Airlines firmed its order for 30 baseline A320s on 27 January, having previously signed for 45 A320neos on 29 December last year.

Air Berlin to join Oneworld on 20 March

Air Berlin will become a full member of Oneworld on 20 March.

In addition, Air Berlin group member Niki will join Oneworld as an affiliate member on the same date.

British Airways sponsored Air Berlin's entry into the alliance, along with the Oneworld central team. Air Berlin received approval to join the alliance after successfully completing a thorough review of its readiness, conducted by British Airways.

Air Berlin's membership will add almost 70 destinations to the alliance's map, extending Oneworld's global coverage to around 840 destinations in 150 countries, said the airline.

Lufthansa outlines €1.5 billion cost-saving scheme

Lufthansa is aiming to make cost savings of €1.5 billion ($1.9 billion) every year until 2014 through a large-scale restructuring programme which will entail the "partial dismantling and reconstruction" of the entire group.

Chief executive Christoph Franz presented the three-year efficiency improvement scheme - named SCORE (synergy, costs, organisation, revenue and execution) - to the airline's staff this week.

Apart from slashing costs and reducing overheads "across all divisions and [group] airlines", Lufthansa wants increase co-operation between its carriers to avoid duplicated effort, wrote Franz in the company's internal employee newspaper "Lufthanseat" today.

Traffic in the European "neighbourhood", including services operated by Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Germanwings, Swiss International Air Lines, as well as regional subsidiaries and partners, will be optimised, said Franz.

Boeing - Design your own 787 Dreamliner

On this Boeing website, you can design your own  787 Dreamliner....

Link: Design your own new airplane

Singapore Show Should Reveal Realities of Asia’s Aerospace Destiny

This month’s Singapore Airshow (February 14 to 19) is on track to surpass the previous 2010 event, with more than 900 exhibitors booked to participate from some 50 countries.

What many observers will be keen to gauge is the extent to which the Asia-Pacific’s air transport and defense markets are holding up in the face of continued Western decline. As important, the show will shed light on what progress the region’s emerging aerospace players–most notably China, Korea, Japan and India–are making in their efforts to ascend through the industry food chain.


According to Jimmy Lau, managing director of Singapore Airshow organizer Experia Events, the 2012 show will give positive answers to both of these questions. “Asia-Pacific is riding on the wave of growth as the region continues to lead in providing new opportunities in the aerospace and defense industry,” he told “Singapore Airshow, strategically positioned as a gateway to the thriving Asia-Pacific region, plays an important role as an effective springboard for industry players to experience the vibrancy of Singapore’s aviation industry and tap into the growing regional markets.”

Nice Airplane pictures

The Last Malev Ad

Today’s free Metropol ‘newspaper’ – distributed in public areas across Hungary – features the last Ad by Malév Hungarian Airlines on its last page – featuring portraits of current and ex-employees. It was paid for by the employees, who chose this extraordinary way to say goodbye to the passengers. Márta Róna, communications director said: “The employees of Malév would like to thank the passengers with this symbolic last ad purchased by themselves. We keep all those lots of happy moments of 66 years spent together in hearts!” Malév ceased operations exactly one week ago, last Friday on February 3, 2012.

Exact translation:

“We Thank You!

We hereby thank all Malév passengers who chose to fly with the national airline in the last 66 years, for flying with us.

Much love,

The Employees of Malév

The last Malév ad was published from money collected by the employees of Malév with the support of this newspaper.”

Source: Airline World

American Airlines Wants To Cut 13,000 Jobs, Pensions

American Airlines will cut maintenance staff,
flight attendants, pilots and management

American Airlines laid out for the first time on Wednesday what it will expect its employees to give up in its restructuring process — and the proposal was far worse than they feared. 

The airline, which filed for bankruptcy in November, said it wanted to get rid of 13,000 workers, or 16 percent of its work force. It plans to terminate its pension plans. It wants to cut back health benefits for current employees and retirees. Over all, it said, it seeks to cut employee costs by 20 percent.

The proposals are just the opening move in what are expected to be long and contentious negotiations. A bankruptcy judge must approve any new contract if the unions reject American’s proposals. But judging from previous airline bankruptcies, American might get much of what it is seeking.

Union representatives said they were stunned after meeting throughout the day with airline executives at the carrier’s headquarters in Fort Worth.

Indian bid to cut aviation emissions set for takeoff

Government body orders all domestic airlines and large airports to monitor CO2 output ahead of possible national registry

Indian airlines and airports have been asked to record their annual carbon emissions in what would be a first step towards creating a national inventory that could be used to reduce the aviation sector's CO2 output.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued a note earlier this month requiring the monitoring of both emissions directly from aircraft and those arising from the operation and use of airports, including ground support equipment, power generation and ground transport.

The order covers all scheduled domestic airlines, airports with more than 10,000 flights in and out, and some non-scheduled operators, and appears designed to build up an overall carbon footprint for the aviation industry in India.

easyJet to trial greener electric taxiing

UK-based bargain airline easyJet has thrown its weight behind the development of an electric taxiing system in a bid to cut its fuel consumption and enhance its environmental credibility.

The "electric green taxiing system" (EGTS) is a joint venture by engineering and aerospace conglomerates Honeywell and Safran. Safran claims that four percent of easyJet's fuel consumption is used taxiing aircraft before take off and after landing from and to gates.

Four percent may not sound much, but it's a figure that's higher than the norm for budget airlines like easyJet which typically have a high turnover of short-haul flights and so spend a proportionately higher amount of time on the ground. easyJet's planes are thought to average 20 minutes of taxiing time per flight, amounting to 3.5 million ground-miles a year over its entire fleet.

Finnair May Outsource Narrowbody Flying

Finnair plans to outsource all or part of its narrowbody flying to a new affiliate company. The airline said today that it is in talks with possible partners for a joint venture that, it hopes, would be able to operate European services at much lower costs. A partner is expected to be selected by the middle of this year, and the new airline should be flying in the first half of 2013, according to CEO Mika Vehvilainen



The Finnish carrier’s losses grew in 2011 despite a €140 million ($186 million) cost-savings program. The airline’s full-year net loss was €87.5 million, up from a loss of €23 million a year earlier. Finnair expanded capacity by almost 17% last year even though some of its important Asian routes were hit by slowing demand after the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, Also traffic growth started to decline in other markets in the second half. Demand was up 11.8%, but that came at the expense of a 3.1% reduction in unit revenues. Finnair’s turnover was up 11.6% at €2.25 billion.
The airline already has a joint venture for regional routes with FlyBe, FlyBe Nordic, but is not talking to the British carrier about expanding the service to narrowbody flying. Vehvilainen also ruled out Norwegian Air Shuttle and SAS, its two primary competitors in the region, as possible partners.

Source: Aviation Week