Aviation News

Delta Airlines

Delta Air Lines Inc. has released a statement denying rumors of religious discrimination related to its new partnership with Saudi Arabian Airlines.

The Atlanta-based carrier announced in January Saudi Arabian Airlines, the flag carrier of Saudi Arabia, plans to join Delta’s global alliance SkyTeam in 2012. Rumors swirled in recent days in media outlets, blogs and the Internet that Delta (NYSE: DAL) would adopt the Saudi airline’s policy of not flying Jews and allowing Christian and Jewish bibles aboard flights into the kingdom, the Atlanta Business Chronicle reported.

Delta spokesman Trebor Banstetter said in a statement on the company’s blog the airline does not discriminate. Delta is the largest carrier at the Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky International Airport.

However, the airline noted “visa requirements to enter any country are dictated by that nation’s government, not the airlines, and they apply to anyone entering the country” and that Delta must “comply with all applicable laws governing entry into every country we serve.”

Boeing-747-8 in Paris

Boeing’s 747-8 has been slowed enough by a complex new flight-management computer system that the jumbo jet is vying for first delivery with the 787 Dreamliner, which has not progressed as far in airborne tests.

The 747-8, the newest version of Boeing’s biggest and most expensive plane, has completed more than a third of its function and reliability testing, a segment the 787 has yet to start. The 787 still has to complete a test for twin-engine extended operations that isn’t required for the four-engine jumbo.

The planes are neck-and-neck as they near their delivery targets because the 747-8‘s new flight management computer is still being worked on, so it requires twice as many flight hours, Elizabeth Lund, the program chief, said in an interview this week. Boeing and its suppliers don’t get the bulk of their payments until planes are delivered.

The 747-8 freighter, which has an average list price of $US319.3 million that doesn’t reflect discounts negotiated by buyers, is about a year and a half late in shipment to the launch customer, Luxembourg-based Cargolux Airlines International. The most recent schedule had targeted a “midyear 2011″ delivery.

Executives recently began saying “summer” instead, and Boeing Commercial Airplanes President Jim Albaugh gave a third- quarter promise this week. Boeing said guidance hasn’t been changed. Still, it now matches the goal of delivering the 787 by the end of September.

It’s a “horse race” as to whether the Dreamliner or the 747-8 commence deliveries first, Albaugh said before the Paris Air Show.

The 747-8 initially suffered from a diversion of engineers to the even later 787 Dreamliner, which was originally supposed to enter service in May 2008. Since the 747-8′s maiden flight last year, Chicago-based Boeing has had to fix several problems including flutter in the wings.

Final Configuration

Honeywell International, which designed and built the computer, is doing its last testing now, and Boeing expects the flight management computer to reach final configuration next week, Lund said.

Honeywell personnel have “kept Boeing apprised of the development and certification process and continue to work closely with them to deliver this highly advanced flight management system,” Dave Douglass, vice president of Honeywell’s Boeing business segment, said in an e-mailed statement.

Reaching final configuration will let Boeing count every hour of function and reliability testing toward certification by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, Lund said. In the more than 100 hours flown since testing began June 1, only one of every two has counted, because of the incomplete system, she said.

‘Tremendous Progress’

“In the last month, we’ve made tremendous progress on the flight management computer,” Lund said. “The last three to four flights we’ve had no squawks whatsoever, and that’s amazing for an airplane this new.”

The system has a brand-new architecture that made it “a challenge to develop,” she said. The freighter version will start out with all the functionality and more of the last derivative, the 747-400. An upgrade to the software package will roll out with the 747-8 Intercontinental passenger version’s delivery, due at the beginning of 2012, Lund said.

About 97 per cent of the documentation and testing for the FAA has been completed now and pilots, engineers and mechanics are working around the clock on the jet they’ve nicknamed “The Big Red” for its distinctive livery, Lund said. “We fly the bejesus out of that plane.”

Boeing 787

Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner made its first landing in Germany on Saturday, 25th June 2011 at 9am, local time. airberlin will be the first airline in Germany to receive the Dreamliner.

The Boeing test aircraft ZA001 was welcomed at Berlin-Tegel airport by airberlin, representatives of the manufacturer Boeing and of Berlin Airports with an official ceremony.

Prof. Dr. Rainer Schwarz, Chief Executive Officer of Berlin Airports, said: “In less than a year we will open the new Airport Berlin-Brandenburg Willy Brandt. The Boeing Dreamliner will become the Berlin aircraft par excellence: An aircraft of the next generation for an airport of the next generation. Designed for 210 to 250 passengers, the Dreamliner is the first medium-sized aircraft for long-haul flights and bridges a gap in the market. The Dreamliner will finally enable airlines like airberlin to offer non-stop long-haul flights from airports other than the major hubs.”

Greg Delawie, Deputy Chief of Mission U.S. Embassy Berlin: “I am delighted to help celebrate the global launch of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and its first flight to Germany. This is truly a historic occasion, marking the debut of an aircraft that represents the culmination of innovative technologies in design, materials, fuel efficiency, and passenger comfort.

Moreover, it is fitting that Berlin, a city rich in style, engineering and aviation history, is the site for the Dreamliner’s first ever landing in Germany. I would also like to congratulate airberlin as the first airline in Germany to receive the Boeing Dreamliner 787.”

“We have received great interest and support for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner as we have presented it this week in Europe,” said Scott Fancher, vice president and general manager of the 787 program. “It’s wonderful to be in Berlin today for further validation that this airplane provides the technologies and value that our customers need.”

Added Joachim Hunold, CEO of airberlin: “We are proud to be the first German airline to receive the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. With a specific fuel consumption of 3.6 liters per 100 passenger kilometers, the airberlin fleet already ranks among the most efficient in Europe. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner also sets new standards in the area of fuel efficiency. It is therefore the perfect addition to our modern fleet, from both an economic and ecological point of view, and is certain to prove its worth on long-haul routes”

The test aircraft ZA001 is the first 787 built by Boeing. The 787 stands out first and foremost for its environmental and cost efficiency, cabin comfort and use of state-of-the-art technologies, with a fuel consumption 20% lower than that of other, similar sized aircraft. The first Boeing 787 in airberlin livery is planned to be delivered to the airline in April 2014. A further 17 deliveries are planned between then and August 2019.

A Qantas 747 jet has landed safely after a burning smell was detected.

A QANTAS plane has landed safely in Brisbane after a burning smell was detected in the cabin.

The flight from Los Angeles landed safely at 6.40am (AEST) after the pilot called ahead for emergency services to be on standby.

A Qantas spokesman said a faulty fan in the cabin rest area had caused the burning smell and the pilot had radioed asking for emergency crews to be on standby as a precaution.

He said the incident was compounded by a medical emergency, in which paramedics boarded the flight to help an elderly woman who’d apparently suffered a stroke.

The 747 would be back in service, as scheduled, later this morning, the spokesman said.

ABC cameraman Craig Berkman was on the flight and told the broadcaster staff were moving up and down the aisle towards the back of the plane trying to find the source of the smell, after reports of fumes in the cabin.

“At one point they were running their hands up and down the walls of what appeared to be a toilet cubicle, perhaps looking for some sort of warmth,” he said.

“We found out later that there were fumes apparently detected in the cabin.

“It certainly did cause the staff on the plane some consternation but there was apparently no drama, because we landed safely.”