American Airlines delays the start of Chicago O’Hare-Beijing to May 4

American Airlines (Dallas/Fort Worth) was unable to launch its daily, nonstop flight service from Chicago (O’Hare) to Beijing yesterday (April 26) as planned and will delay the start-up tentatively until Tuesday, May 4 (Chicago-Beijing) and Wednesday, May 5 (Beijing-Chicago).

American did not receive the commercially-viable landing and take-off slots for Beijing Capital International Airport from the Chinese aviation authorities.

American stated “In line with established International Air Transport Association (IATA) and industry guidelines and procedures which give preferential treatment to new-entrant carriers to a market, American applied for commercially reasonable — and industry accepted — slots at Beijing in October 2009.”
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Spirit Airlines to Use Aircraft Seat Unadjusted on New Airbus A320s

Customers traveling aboard Spirit Airlines’s new Airbus A320 aircraft are among the first to experience Brice Seating’s new pre-reclined B3100 Featherweight™ Super Light seat design.

The new leather seats with a greater recline built into the design offer comfort throughout the entire flight as you do not need to put the seat in a full upright position during take-off and landing. The new design also offers more space under the seat in front of you.

The lightweight seat means greater fuel efficiency, which is better for the environment and reduces costs. It is more than 30 percent lighter in weight than other seats. 178 seats on Spirit’s A320 weigh less than 145 seats on its A319.
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Cargo Airplane Crash in Philippines

A Bulgarian national has died in an airplane crash in the Philippines on April 22 2010, caused by an electrical fire, international media reported.

The cargo plane’s pilots subsequently tried to land the aircraft in a rice field as the plane was engulfed by flames, but the emergency landing proved to be fatal for three out of the six crew, Philippine authorities said.

Among the three dead were two Russians and one Bulgarian ground engineer.

The Russian-made Antonov-12 was conducting a flight from Mactan in the central Philippines and crashed late on April 22, local time, in the field about 35 kilometres south of Clark airport, which served in the past as a U.S air base near Manila, said Alfonso Cusi, director-general of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, cited by Philippine media.
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Delta Air Lines to Introduce Nonstop Flights Between Detroit Metropolitan Airport and Sao Paulo

Delta Air Lines (Atlanta) announced plans to introduce the first-ever nonstop flights between its Detroit Metropolitan Airport hub and Sao Paulo.

Delta has requested authorization from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to introduce two weekly flights between Detroit and Sao Paulo beginning November 4, 2010. Delta already holds certain rights to operate Sao Paulo service, but requires DOT permission to fly from Detroit. The airline would operate the flights using 216-seat Boeing 767-300ER aircraft with 35 seats in BusinessElite and 181 seats in Economy Class.

Brazil would be the latest addition to a long list of new services introduced from Detroit since Delta’s merger with Northwest Airlines last year. Other planned or recently launched nonstop routes from Detroit include :
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Qatar Airways Begin Daily Flight to Brazil and Argentina Use Boeing 777-200

Qatar Airways today announced that it will begin daily flights to Brazil and Argentina from June 24, marking the airline’s first online operations to South America.

With the airline’s acquisition of two brand new Boeing 777-200 Long Range aircraft in the last three months, these will be deployed on the two South American routes – to the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo and Argentine capital Buenos Aires this summer.

The date announcement comes just weeks after the airline revealed plans to serve South America, and spread its wings to yet another Continent. The flights will offer convenient connections from key markets across Asia and the Gulf to South America.
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Malaysia Airlines Replace MH674 Boeing 737, Flight Destination Singapore to Penang

The problematic engine of a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 737 aircraft on flight MH674 from Singapore to Penang yesterday is being replaced, the national airline said on Friday.

“The aircraft is expected to be fully serviceable by Monday,” said Malaysia Airlines director of operations, Capt Mohamed Azharuddin Osman.

The affected aircraft with 95 people, including a crew of seven, landed safely with one engine at the Bayan Lepas International Airport in Penang.

Mohamed Azharuddin said in a statement that during the approach of the aircraft to Penang, its captain noticed that the right engine was surging with vibrations.

The captain decided to go around to further assess the situation and initiated a precautionary shutdown of the engine before landing the plane safely, he said.
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Malaysian Regional Airline Plans Twice Daily Flights From Singapore to Ipoh

FlyFirefly Sendirian Berhad (Firefly), the regional airline owned by national flag carrier Malaysia Airlines, proposes doubling its flight frequency to twice daily for the service from this capital of northern Perak state to Singapore.

Firefly Managing Director Eddie Leong said here Wednesday the proposal was based on the high demand for the sector which had recorded a 90 per cent take-up rate for each flight.

“Prior to this, Firefly had followed the World Travel Mart in London and had been at the ITB in Berlin recently and we saw a lot of interest for the Ipoh-Singapore route and now they are aware of this direct link between Singapore and Ipoh. Many European companies offer flights to Singapore such as KLM, Air France and British Airways,” he told reporters. Read more

FAA Reminded American Airlines Aircraft Maintenance Violations

For the second time in a week, the Federal Aviation Administration has announced that it has proposed fining American Airlines for aircraft maintenance violations.

The FAA revealed Thursday that it sent a letter to American last week proposing a $300,000 civil penalty for the maintenance lapses, which could have endangered the aircraft, flight crew and passengers.

American Airlines maintenance workers, the FAA said, failed to properly document a malfunctioning speed indicator on an MD-82 jet in February 2009.

Not knowing about the defective indicator, crews flew the plane five times, including at night and in inclement winter weather. Such flights are allowed under American’s FAA-approved procedures, but only in daylight and clear weather.
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Emirates Airlines warned Airbus Not Postpone Delivery of A350

Emirates Airlines has issued a strong warning to Airbus not to delay the introduction of the A350.

“We have clearly told Airbus that we will not accept again what they did to us with the A380,” Emirates Airlines President Tim Clark told The Daily at the ITB tourism exchange in Berlin. He pointed out that unlike in the case of the A380 – which was two years late – Emirates Airlines has alternatives to buy elsewhere: “All I have to do is pick up the phone and order more Boeing 777s,” Clark stressed. He showed concerns that the schedule could already begin to slip. “We have told Airbus numerous times that in our view they should build in more margin in terms of time and performance parameters, but they wanted to have it their way. Now they are already eating into margins,” Clark criticized.
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British Airways to Charter Planes from Another Airlines During Cabin Crew Strike

British Airways expects to lease up to 22 aircraft from eight airlines in order to maintain services during a planned cabin crew strike this month.

It will use the aircraft to supplement its short-haul schedule from London Heathrow, and allow it to operate, overall, about 30% of its short-haul schedule over the initial strike period.

British Airways expects to carry 60% of booked passengers during the three-day strike from 20-22 March, adding that a number of other customers will be offered alternative British Airways flights or services on other carriers.
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