Sri Lankan Airline Flight Has narrow Escape As Two Tyres Burst On Landing At Delhi's IGI Airport

Passengers onboard a Sri Lankan Airline plane had a miraculous escape today when two tyres of the aircraft burst after landing at the IGI airport here.

The incident took place at around 6.55 PM when Sri Lankan Airline flight (UL 195), with over 70 passengers and crew onboard from Colombo, landed after second attempt, airport sources said.

The pilots had aborted their first attempt of landing due to turbulence caused by the crosswinds at the airport and the air traffic control tower asked them to take a go-around for the second attempt, they said.

As soon as the flight landed and was on taxiway, the pilots messaged the ATC tower about some technical problem saying the brakes of the aircraft had failed.

A team of Delhi International Airport Limited officials were sent to tow the aircraft to the terminal building, but after reaching there they found that two rear tyres of the Boeing 737 plane had burst, the sources said.

As towing the aircraft in that state was not possible, the passengers, who all were safe, and baggage were offloaded at the taxiway itself and taken in buses to the terminal building, they said.

With the aircraft stuck on the taxiway, the flight movement at the airport was affected and the taxiway was closed for operations and aircraft had to take detour to reach the terminal.

The airline was getting a new set of wheels and tyres and then the aircraft would be towed to the terminal, sources said.

Source: indiatoday

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Air India To Fly Again To Africa

LONDON: Air India will soon resume direct services to some East African nations to grab a share of the steadily growing traffic between India and Africa on account of increasing trade, services and medical tourism. 

No Indian passenger carrier at present flies to Africa, which is fast emerging also as a resource hub for Indian companies. 

Also, the national passenger carrier is losing out passenger traffic to Middle East-based airlines like Dubai's Emirates Airlines, Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways, which till now are the only reliable air link between India and Africa. 

"There are plans to start services to Africa soon," India's civil aviation minister Ajit Singh told IANS during a visit here. 

"There is a huge potential in the sector due to growing traffic between India and some of the African countries on account of trade and business developments as well as education and medical tourism," said Singh. 

Africa has in recent years emerged as one of the fastest growing aviation markets in the world after the BRICS nations of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, as there has been an exponential increase in tourist inflows, business travellers and foreign investments into the continent. 

European and Middle East-based airlines have begun seeing the continent's potential for passenger traffic and feeding their home hubs. Even US-based passenger carriers are also increasing their presence in the African markets. 

Buoyed by the increase in traffic, some African airlines such as Kenya Airways, South African Airlines and Ethiopian Airlines are looking at expanding their operations into India. Kenya Airways and Ethiopian Airlines, for example, are considering starting services to and from Chennai, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad. 

Top Air India sources said plans were afoot to restart services to Kenya. 

"We are looking at operating Nairobi flights. The plans are being worked out. We used to operate the services nearly a decade ago from Mumbai. The new flights may be operated from New Delhi as well," a senior official of the national carrier told IANS. 

The airline hopes to attract passengers like general tourists, medical tourists, business professionals, transit passengers to other countries, students and government delegations. 

Nairobi currently hosts several Indian companies like Tata, Essar, Reliance Industries and Airtel. 

The city can also act as a continental hub for Air India's passengers as it has several onward connecting flights to other African cities. 

Airlines officials said the new routes will help India's trade with Africa as Indian companies seeks to gain access to the continent's emerging markets.

Source : TOI

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British Airways’ First New Boeing 787-8 Makes Its First Flight

British Airways‘ (London) first Boeing 787-8 G-ZBJB (msn 38610), made it’s first flight yesterday afternoon (June 8) at Paine Field near Everett.

Two hundred and fourteen customers will enjoy the comforts of the new British Airways 787-8 Dreamliner when delivered.

The 24 new British Airways 787-8s will feature the elegant cabin designs fitted on British Airways’ new Boeing 777-300 ER aircraft.

All eight 787-8s will feature a new Club World 2:3:2 layout, the latest generation World Traveller and World Traveller Plus seats.  The exact seating plans of another 16 787-9s on order have yet to be finalized, they could have three or four-cabin configurations.

British Airways will take delivery of its first 787-8 and Airbus A380 this summer.

The British Airways 787-8 will have 35 seats for customers in the new Club World triple configuration of 2:3:2; 25 seats in a World Traveller Plus layout of 2:3:2; and a further 154 seats for those travelling in World Traveller, with a 3:3:3 configuration.

Both new aircraft will also feature the airline’s latest Thales inflight entertainment system, which offers customers 50 percent more movies, 200 percent more TV shows and 200 percent more audio programs and music.

Customers will also benefit from new larger screens in all cabins and an easier to use system with shortcut buttons. They will also be able to connect personal devices, such as laptops and use the in-seat power available for the first time in all cabins.

In 2013, British Airways will take delivery of nine new long haul aircraft. The first British Airways 787 will be delivered shortly. A further three will arrive by the end of the year. The first A380 will be delivered in July, with additional deliveries in August and October. Two additional 777-300 ERs will arrive in September and October 2013.

British Airways has issued this statement:

British Airways is poised to become the first airline in Europe to introduce both the Airbus A380 and the Boeing 787 into its fleet.

The airline will take delivery into the UK of its first two 787s on consecutive days, June 26 and 27, Followed by its first A380 on July 4. The new aircraft will arrive around mid-morning.

Following their arrival, both aircraft types will begin a complex “entry into service” programs at Manston Airport in Kent, customer service trials at Heathrow and short-haul flying for both aircraft, including flights within the UK.

Seats on the A380 are currently on sale for travel from October 15 to Los Angeles and from November 15 to Hong Kong.

Top Copyright Photo: Royal S. King/AirlinersGallery.com. We have two views of this historic event. Boeing 787-8 G-ZBJB (msn 38610) passes the camera at PAE after its successful first flight on June 8, 2013.

Source : http://worldairlinenews.com

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EADS Demonstrates Hybrid Propulsion Technology

EADS is demonstrating here at Le Bourget a number of electric- and hybrid-propulsion technologies developed under its commitment to reduce aircraft CO2 emissions. In cooperation with Royan Aero Composites, EADS has developed and built the E-Fan fully electric general-aviation training aircraft and, separately, has engineered with Diamond Aircraft and Siemens the Diamond Aircraft DA36 E-Star 2 hybrid-electric motor-glider. EADS also cooperated with Rolls-Royce on the future distributed-propulsion system concept, and all three projects are dubbed “E-aircraft.

Such developments are part of EADS’s research to support environmental-protection goals in the European Commission Flightpath 2050 report. Compared with environmental standards set in 2000, that plan aims to reduce aircraft CO2 emissions by 75 percent NOx by 90 percent, and noise by 65 percent.

EADS Innovation Works, the group’s research and technology network, is developing environmentally friendly propulsion technologies that it hopes will provide components for EADS’s operating divisions. The two-seat E-Fan represents a strategic aviation-research step, according to chief technical officer Jean Botti. “We are committed to exploring leading-edge technologies that will yield benefits for civil and defense products.”

The E-Fan is 6.7meters long with a 9.5-meter wingspan and sports several innovations: two 0.75-kN electric motors using energy from two wing-located battery packs; ducted fans to reduce noise and increase safety; electric power for taxiing and takeoff; and Fadec-controlled engine.

EADS Innovation Works is developing the electric and propulsion systems with Royan, which performed aerodynamic studies and is building the all-composite structure and mechanical systems. French materials-research laboratory Critt Matériaux Poitou-Charentes, academic consortium Institut Supérieur de l’Aéronautique et de l’Espace/École Nationale Supérieure de Mécanique et d’Aérotechnique and C3 Technologies produced the wing.

Electrical engineers at Astrium and Eurocopter helped EADS Innovation Works test the battery packs, while the livery was designed by Airbus. The E-Fan is co-funded by France’s DGAC, the European Regional Development Fund, the French Government and local French authorities in the Région Aquitaine and Département Charente-Maritime. “We believe that the E-Fan demonstrator is an ideal platform that could be matured, certified and marketed for pilot training,” said Botti.

Diamond Aircraft’s two-seat DA36 E-Star 2 motor-glider was introduced here two years ago. Since then it has been updated with a smaller, lighter Siemens electric motor and now weighs 100 kilograms less. Electricity comes from a small Austro Engine Wankel rotary-driven generator.

Since last year, EADS Innovation Works has worked with Rolls-Royce and Britain’s Cambridge and Cranfield Universities on the Distributed Electrical Aerospace Propulsion (DEAP) program that could power future airliners. The project, which is co-funded by the UK’s Technology Strategy Board, uses six electric fans–distributed in clusters of three along the wing and fed by a common intake duct–that are expected to improve fuel economy and reduce gas and noise emissions.

An advanced gas turbine provides the fans’ electric power and recharges the energy-storage system, which could be based on lithium-air technology, according to Rolls-Royce. “During climb, the distributed fans draw power from the energy-storage system, but during descent act like wind turbines to generate electrical energy, which recharges the batteries,” said the engine manufacturer.

For the megawatt power levels required by an electrical distributed-propulsion network, Rolls-Royce said a new “high-power superconducting electrical system will have to be designed and validated, based on cryogenic cooling at temperatures as low as –252 degrees C.” A major benefit claimed for such systems is that they can be integrated into the airframe structure to maximise aerodynamic efficiency and optimise the surrounding airflow, according to Rolls-Royce. “This reduces weight, drag and the amount of noise [the aircraft] makes.” Distributed propulsion “optimizes the overall system integration,” concluded EADS Innovation Works chief Sébastien Remy.

Source : www.aviationonline.com

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Two New Airlines To Debut In Indian Skies

India will see the advent of two new airlines this year – Air Costa and Kairali Airlines, to take off in July and November respectively.

Air Costa, based in Vijaywada, Andhra Pradesh, is currently awaiting final approval from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). It has purchased one and leased two Embraer jets so far, and is shopping for two more to lease.

K N Babu, CEO, Air Costa, revealed: “We intend to link regional towns and cities with short-haul connectivity to ensure that these destinations are served adequately with air services.”

Meanwhile, LCC Kairali Airlines will commence operations from Kerala with five planes, connecting Bengaluru, Chennai, Mangalore and Mumbai with Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode and Kochi. It will also run a service to popular diving destination, Lakshwadeep Islands.

K Praveen Kumar, chairman and managing director, Kairali Airlines, said: “Our tickets will cost at least 25 per cent less than other Indian carriers in the domestic sector.

Source: TTG Asia

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Flight WY823 Diverted To Mumbai Due Bomb Threat

Oman Air flight WY 823, Muscat to Kuala Lumpur departing this morning, was diverted to Mumbai following receipt of a bomb threat, since shown to be a hoax.

The pilot was informed immediately and the aircraft diverted to Mumbai an landed at 12.19 this afternoon. All passengers and crew were disembarked safely before local security forces began investigating the incident.

Oman Air is now making arrangements to get passengers to Kuala Lumpur as soon as possible.

Passenger safety is Oman Air’s over-riding concern and any perceived threat to our customers’ well-being is taken extremely seriously. We would like to thank customers affected by this incident for their patience and we hope that there will be as little disruption as possible to their travel plans.

We would also like to thank the aircraft’s Captain and crew for their professionalism and swift reactions, and the airport authorities in Mumbai for their invaluable support.

Our priority remains to look after our customers and get them to their destination safely and as soon as possible.

Corporate Communications & Media
Oman Air

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Boeing Confirms Plan For Longer Dreamliner, Designed To Seat 330 Passengers

LE BOURGET, FRANCE: Boeing said Tuesday that it had formally committed to building a stretched version of its flagship 787 Dreamliner jet after receiving firm orders for 102 of the planes from five airlines and leasing companies.

The announcement gives the U.S. plane maker orders for the new version worth more than $29 billion at list prices, a welcome bit of news for the Dreamliner program after troubles with its lightweight but volatile lithium-ion batteries grounded the entire 787 fleet for three months this year.

Boeing made its announcement on the second day of the Paris Air Show, soon after an announcement by its European rival, Airbus, that it had secured an $11.5 billion commitment from the British budget airline easyJet to purchase at least 135 of its smaller A320 single-aisle planes.

Boeing's latest Dreamliner, known as the 787-10, is designed to seat as many as 330 passengers, compared with the 210 to 290 seats on the models currently in production, and is meant to compete directly with the largest version of Airbus's A350-XWB, which made its inaugural flight last week but is not due to enter service until late 2014.

Air Lease Corp. signed a memorandum of understanding Tuesday for 30 of the new versions. United Airlines, which already has six 787s in its fleet and has ordered at least 25 more, converted 10 of its existing orders into 787-10s and placed 10 new orders for the stretch version.

GE Capital Aviation Services, another lessor, firmed up a previously announced commitment for 10 planes and Singapore Airlines for 30. British Airways said it would buy 12 planes, subject to the approval of its shareholders.

Such a large initial order book for the 787-10 suggested that a bigger Dreamliner was probably overdue, analysts said.

"This is a highly unusual example of the market launching a plane rather than the company," said Richard Aboulafia, an aerospace analyst at the Teal Group in Fairfax, Va. "This plane is off to a very solid start."

Boeing said it planned to begin deliveries of the 787-10 in 2018, just after Airbus says it expects to deliver the first 350-seat version of its A350, in 2017.

The competition between Boeing and Airbus in the market for wide-body jets in the 300- to 400-seat category has intensified as the nascent global economic recovery encourages airlines to invest in larger, longer-range aircraft after several years of brisk purchases of single-aisle jets like the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737.

With oil prices remaining stubbornly high, airlines are hoping to both replace older fuel-guzzling planes with newer models and maximize the number of passengers who can be carried on lucrative long-distance routes. "That means getting the most you can get in terms of aircraft length and number of seats," Aboulafia said.

With a range of 7,000 nautical miles, or 13,000 kilometers, the larger 787 will not be able to fly as far as the A350 on a single tank of fuel; Airbus says the A350 will have a range of as many as 8,400 nautical miles. But Boeing argues that its plane will cost less to operate.

"The 787-10 is 25 percent more efficient than airplanes of its size today and more than 10 percent better than anything being offered by the competition for the future," said Raymond L. Conner, the chief executive of Boeing's commercial aircraft division.

Source: Economic Times

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Cargolux operates first ever commercial 747-8F flight to Brazil

Cargolux Airlines International S.A. today announced that the airline will introduce its advanced Boeing 747-8 freighter on its services to Brazil on 16 June 2013. Flight CV7687 to São Paulo Viracopos marks the first commercial operation ever of a Boeing 747-8 into the country.

Cargolux, together with Boeing, welcome the clearance of Viracopos airport for 747-8 operations by the Brazilian authorities. The Luxembourg carrier’s quest for this clearance for all major Brazilian airports has been actively supported by Jean Asselborn, Luxembourg’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs. The excellent long-standing bilateral relations between Luxembourg and Brazil and the substantial work of the Brazilian aviation authorities paved the way for this first commercial clearance of the Boeing 747-8 for a Brazilian airport.

Until today, none of the airports served by Cargolux in Brazil were certified for 747-8 operations. Cargolux could therefore only deploy its 747-400 freighters, offering significantly less payload capacity on these routes. Brazil ranks as Luxembourg’s largest trading partner in Latin America. In addition to Viracopos, Cargolux also serves the airports of Curitiba, Manaus and Petrolina. Including Viracopos, Cargolux has already deployed its 747-8 freighter aircraft to 78 destinations worldwide.

Source: Cargolux

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120 Air India Fliers Spend Night On Grounded Plane As Pilots Don’t Turn Up

One hundred and twenty passengers were forced to spend Friday night on a grounded Air India flight to Singapore, and the next morning at the terminal, as the pilots didn't turn up and the airline didn't provide them lodging.

The passengers, one of whom was pregnant, boarded AI Flight 342 at Mumbai International Airport around 11.50 pm Friday, and were not allowed to deplane till at least 3 am. The plane was scheduled to take off at 12.15 am, but in the absence of the pilots, the cabin crew couldn't turn on the AC, and refused requests to open the doors.

To add to the passengers' woes, they weren't given anything to eat, and even water was in limited supply. Many of them had to wait more than 14 hours at the airport, before they were accommodated on other flights. Deprived of sleep and filled with anger, the passengers kept waiting for announcements, but the elderly and the children suffered the most.

Source: Mumbai Mirror

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Boeing Forecasts Demand For More Than 35,000 New Airplanes

Boeing projects a demand for more than 35,000 new airplanes over the next 20 years, valued at $4.8 trillion. The company released its annual Current Market Outlook (CMO) today in Paris, forecasting the world fleet to double over the next two decades. Both passenger traffic and cargo traffic are expected to grow 5 percent annually.

"This forecast gives us confidence as we increase our production rates and invest in new products like the 777X and 787-10X," said Randy Tinseth, vice president of Marketing, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. "Airlines are demanding more efficiency and that is exactly what we'll be giving them."

The single-aisle market, served by Boeing's Next-Generation 737 and the future 737 MAX, is the main driver of the forecast and continues to show strength. 24,670 new airplanes will be needed in this segment due to the growth of low-cost carriers and airlines from emerging markets.

Widebodies, such as Boeing's 747-8, 777 and 787 Dreamliner, also make up a large part of the forecast. 8,590 new airplanes will be needed in this segment, fueled in part by airlines replacing their older fleet with new, more fuel-efficient airplanes.

New Airplane Deliveries: 2013-2032
A/c-----------------------seats----------total deliveries
Regional jets-------------90&below----2020
Single-aisle---------------90-230-------24,670
Small wide-body---------200-300-----4,530
Medium wide-body-----300-400------3,300
Large wide-body--------790------------760

The market for new airplanes will continue to become more geographically balanced over the next two decades. Asia-Pacific, including China, will lead the way in total airplane deliveries.

New Airplane Deliveries: 2013-2032
Region------- ---Airplane deliveries
Asia-Pacific--------12,820
Europe-------------7,460
North America----7,250
Latin America---2,900
Middle East-----2,610
C.I.S.-----------1,170
Africa-----------1,070
World Total----35,280

After facing high and volatile fuel prices and a highly competitive environment, airlines have been forced to change the way they manage their business.

"Our customers are focused on growing their networks, managing their capacity and investing in new fleets," said Tinseth. "These trends will shape market demand for airplanes that have high efficiency, low operating costs, environmentally progressive technologies and a great passenger experience. We believe Boeing's current and future products are perfectly aligned to meet those needs."

Source: Boeing

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Airbus A350 Completes First Flight

The Airbus A350 is undergoing three to four days of inspections before the aircraft’s flight-test program continues. “We will be flying some time next week,” Airbus’s chief test pilot Peter Chandler told Aviation Week after the landing of the first flight in Toulouse. Airbus indicates that the second flight is planned for June 18, if no major flaws are found.

Chandler was at the controls along with fellow test pilot Guy Magrin when the aircraft took off for the first time at 10 a.m. today. The flight lasted around 4 hr. 5 min., only a few minutes longer than originally expected. Chandler said he initially took the aircraft to an altitude of 10,000 ft. to perform basic handling checks and then gradually began testing different speeds at different configurations.

Initial speeds did not exceed 200 kt., but eventually minimum and maximum speeds at various flap settings were checked.

Around 33 min. into the flight, the crew retracted the landing gear for the first time. It also turned on the primary flight- control computers, changing from direct law—as initially used—to normal law. Chandler and Magrin then took the aircraft to 25,000 ft.

Both at 10,000 ft and 25,000 ft, the aircraft reached its maximum speed of 340 kt., equivalent to Mach 0.8 at 25,000 ft.

The full flight envelope, including climbing to 43,000 ft., is planned to be opened during the second flight. The decision not to go to the maximum altitude during the first flight was taken last week, because collecting low-speed data at different settings was deemed to be initially more valuable for early upgrades to the flight-control software.

The aircraft returned to Toulouse-Blagnac Airport at 2.04 p.m after having made a low pass over the airport, and was welcomed by EADS Prsident and CEO Tom Enders and Airbus President and CEO Fabrice Bregier, among others. Bregier says he had set the target—for the aircraft to make its first flight before the Paris air show—nine months ago.

Credits : Airbus

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