Commercial Aviation News

Qantas is going to retire its last Boeing 767 in late December 2014.

The last flight, flight QH 490, will operate from Melbourne to Sydney. The company retired the type from international service on September 14 when it was replaced on the Honolulu route. The Boeing 767-300 currently only operates on domestic routes.

Would you?

http://www.nbcnews.com/business/tra...ery-n208746?cid=sm_n_main_1_20140922_32068926

Frontier Airlines is adding nonstop service between Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport and San Francisco, with daily nonstop service beginning November 20, 2014. Frontier’s new service will be operated using an Airbus A319, seating 138 passengers in a single class configuration, and will be launched on the same day as a new daily nonstop flight to Phoenix.

A birds eye view of the first 777-300ER for China Airlines being prepared at Everett.

http://www.airliners.net/photo/Chin...06134/L/&sid=82ec81d84c6e417d4af21a838dd4950f

From American

Our Boeing #787 is now in Position 2, where it’s powered up, and its floors and gears are installed.

Air Berlin has cancelled orders for Boeing aircraft worth a total of USD$5 billion at list prices as it strives to curb spending and return to profit. Air Berlin, 29-percent owned by Abu Dhabi-based Etihad, has been cutting jobs, costs and unprofitable routes after a period of rapid expansion left it saddled with debt. Last month, it presented new turnaround plans including shrinking its fleet and reducing aircraft types.

"Not taking on the 33 aircraft ordered will significantly reduce future capital expenditure for Air Berlin and improve our balance sheet," finance chief Ulf Huettmeyer said. Air Berlin said it did not owe Boeing any compensation for the cancellation of the orders, which had been for 18 Boeing 737s and 15 787s. Its existing 45 737s will remain in service on European short and medium-haul routes, it said, adding it would continue to adapt its fleet by buying or leasing aircraft, albeit on a smaller scale than originally planned. "As our customers operate in a dynamic environment, their overall fleet needs evolve and change. It is our objective to support their needs and to adapt as necessary," a spokesman for Boeing said.

(Reuters)

Our first 787 is in Position 3 – one step closer to rolling out of the factory doors.

Etihad Airways (Abu Dhabi) is now planning to introduce the new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner on December 27 on the Abu Dhabi-Dusseldorf and Abu Dhabi-Doha routes per Airline Route. The new type will also be operated to Brisbane (starting on June 1, 2015), Moscow (Domodedovo) (starting on June 1, 2015), Mumbai (starting on January 1, 2015) and Washington (Dulles) (starting on January 1, 2015).

Virgin Atlantic has taken delivery of their first Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. Registration is G-VNEW and her name is "Birthday Girl".

The Federal Aviation Administration expects to issue safety approval for the Airbus A350 by the end of this month, a spokesman said. "The FAA anticipates being able to issue the A350 type certificate during the latter part of October," the spokesman said. Airbus won European safety approval last week for the A350, clearing the main regulatory hurdle before its most technically advanced jet can fly passengers, but approval from the US regulator is seen as another critical milestone.

(Reuters)

Qantas introduces new suites onboard A330s

Get ready for a new standard of luxury on international flights to Asia, Hawaii and key domestic routes, with new A330 Business Suites introduced from later this year.

Thomson toying around with new innovations for their new aircraft in the future.

http://www.businessinsider.com/brit...l&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

They pulled this American livery Airbus a reported 15-feet

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10152368895841078

The last KLM MD-11 flight has been flown. KLM has been the final carrier to retire its MD-11 from passenger service. I believe the last flight was from Amsterdam to Toronto and back.

Emirates received its 100th Boeing 777-300ER today.

JetBlue Airways (New York) today (October 29) expands its destination offerings at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) with the addition of four new routes. The new flights include daily service to Cartagena, Colombia; Las Vegas, Nevada; and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; as well as a twice daily service to Jacksonville, Florida.

Spirit AeroSystems, which makes parts for Boeing and Airbus, reported a 79 percent rise in quarterly profit and raised its full-year profit forecast. Spirit's net profit rose to USD$168 million in the third quarter ended October 2, from USD$93.7 million a year earlier. Revenue rose 12.6 percent to USD$1.69 billion.

(Reuters)

British Airways Boeing 747-436 G-BNLE was withdrawn from service at London Heathrow this morning (Oct 30th) after arriving as BA284 from San Francisco. The aircraft immediately positioned London Heathrow – Cardiff-Wales as BA9171 for component recovery which will include removal of the New First cabin for re-use in another aircraft. This brings the active BA Boeing 747-400 fleet down to 44 aircraft.

With Air Passenger Duty 20 years old this week, Willie Walsh, chief executive of British Airways’ parent company IAG has spoken out against the tax. Rises in Air Passenger Duty mean that a family of four flying to a destination outside Europe will soon pay £284 in tax, compared with just £40 when the levy was introduced on November 1, 1994. That seven-fold increase in Air Passenger Duty has taken place while inflation has not even doubled over the same period.

Air Passenger Duty, which is the highest aviation tax imposed anywhere in the world, has also hugely outstripped other UK taxes such as petrol duty, road tax, duties on alcohol and insurance premiums over the last two decades. Annual Treasury revenue from Air Passenger Duty is now nearly ten times as much as in the tax’s first full year. In total, air passengers in the UK have paid more than £26 billion in Air Passenger Duty since 1994.