A video to remember the fantastic 2012 that Airbus had with some milestones to remember.
0 Comments
I just had a look at the AIRBUS GLOBAL MARKET forecast for 2012-2031, very interesting information about the future outlook of the aviation industry seen by Airbus. They are very positive on the market reaction after the last years of lost and they expect big growth from the new markets from Middle-East, Asia, India. I just post you here below the consideration about this Global Market Forecast with a small video of introduction and two PDF attachments, one is a smaller presentation with the most important points, the other is the full Global Market Forecast, where you can find thousand of interesting numbers, for those that are also interested you can find a App that Airbus created for iPad/iPhone, here the link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/gmf-2012/id555003957?l=fr&ls=1&mt=8 Airbus’ Global Market Forecast for 2012-2031 offers a forward-looking view of the air transport sector’s evolution – taking into account such drivers and factors as population growth, urbanization, emerging markets, innovation and environmental impact. During this period, Airbus foresees the need for some 27,300 passenger airliners with seating capacities of 100 seats and above, along with nearly 900 new factory-built freighter aircraft. The Global Market Forecast also anticipates a more than doubling of the world’s overall passenger aircraft inventory, from 15,500 today to more than 32,500 by 2031.
February 9, 2013
ZA005, Boeing's fifth 787 flight test airplane, departed from Boeing Field at 12:32 p.m. Pacific time on Saturday, Jan. 9, with a crew of 13 onboard (Boeing pilots and flight test personnel). The flight lasted 2 hours and 19 minutes, landing back at Boeing Field at 2:51 p.m. Pacific time. The crew reports that the flight was uneventful. During the flight, the crew monitored the performance of the main and APU batteries. Special equipment onboard ZA005, which is currently the only member of the Boeing 787 flight test fleet in service, allowed the crew to observe and record detailed battery performance in normal flight conditions. Data gathered during the flight is considered part of the investigations into the 787 battery events that occurred in January. For that reason, we cannot share any additional details. We have no flights planned for ZA005 Sunday, but plan to resume flights early this coming week. As a matter of long-standing practice, we do not provide flight schedules in advance of flight plans being filed. Boeing Press Release At a crewmember event today at its base at New York City’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), JetBlue Airways unveiled the first of its Airbus A320 aircraft to be outfitted with Sharklets. The aircraft – registration number N821JB – is also the first of any North American airline to feature the fuel-saving structures. Sharklets are newly designed wing tip devices that improve the aerodynamics of Airbus aircraft and significantly cut fuel burn and emissions by up to four percent. “The addition of Sharklets to our A320 fleet creates more fuel efficiency and allows us to be a greener airline,” said Rob Maruster, JetBlue’s Chief Operations Officer. “As the world’s first carrier to perform a production retrofit to an A320 aircraft, the project also speaks to JetBlue’s history of innovation and being on the leading edge of the industry.” “When JetBlue was born, it entered service with an efficient all-Airbus fleet and – since day one – has been an industry leader,” said Barry Eccleston, Airbus Americas President and Chief Executive Officer, who spoke at today’s event. “The fact that they are the first North American airline to fly with Sharklets demonstrates again their focus on the efficiency of the fleet benefiting their customers, the environment, and the airline’s own bottom line. Plus, the Sharklets look really sharp!” Sharklets are an option on new-build A320 Family aircraft and offer operators the option of an additional 100 nautical miles range or increased payload capability of up to 1,000 pounds. Sharklets are standard on all members of the A320neo Family. In the case with the JetBlue aircraft unveiled today, the aircraft was produced with a wing structurally ready to accept the Sharklets that were retrofitted with support from Airbus at JetBlue’s JFK facility. JetBlue is known for its award-winning service and free in-flight entertainment, as well as low fares and ample legroom for its passengers. JetBlue serves 75 cities with 750 daily flights. JetBlue currently flies a fleet of 127 Airbus A320 Family aircraft, with another 86 on backlog. The airline will take delivery of its first of 30 A321s later this year. The A320 Family is the world’s best-selling and most modern single-aisle aircraft Family. To date, more than 9,000 aircraft have been ordered and more than 5,400 delivered to more than 380 customers and operators worldwide. Airbus Press Release In the meantime in internet appear a picture that shows the first A320 with Sharklets also for Lufthansa, here below you can find the image. Here below you can also find the video of the first Sharklet-equipped A320 delivered to AirAsia on 21 December 2012: Investment in the future: Executive Board recommends to Supervisory Board that Lufthansa purchase 108 aircraft for the entire Group / Focus on customer comfort and operational efficiency / The Group’s medium and long-term requirements for short and medium-range aircrafts will be met with Airbus and Boeing aircraftAt its meeting today, the Executive Board of Lufthansa AG decided to recommend to the Supervisory Board that Lufthansa purchases a total of 108 new aircraft for the Group.
In all, eight long-range aircraft would be required. In addition, the Executive Board recommended the purchase of 100 short and medium-range aircraft from Airbus and Boeing. Lufthansa is engaged in ongoing discussions with the respective manufacturers about the specific aircraft types under consideration. Following the decision, Chairman and CEO of Lufthansa AG Christoph Franz commented: "Modern aircraft and state-of-the-art inflight products are an investment in the customer experience and in the operational efficiency of the fleet. The greater fuel efficiency and lower noise and exhaust emissions of modern aircraft will also make an important contribution towards protecting the environment.” The order has a total list-price value of approximately nine billion euros. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in 2015 and will continue until 2025. Altogether, by the end of 2025, the Lufthansa Group expects to take delivery of 239 aircraft with an order volume of 23 billion euros, based on list prices. The new aircraft will meet the Lufthansa Group airlines’ future growth and fleet renewal requirement for this period, particularly with regard to short and medium-range aircraft. Purchasing the aircraft will enable the Lufthansa Group to position itself successfully in the highly competitive passenger business. The orders will be funded from the Group’s own assets or from external financial resources. The purchase of the aircraft is subject to approval of the Supervisory Board. Deutsche Lufthansa AG Media Relations Lufthansa Group Designated MSN3, this aircraft will be deployed for a variety of A350 XWB testing – including performance at high and medium altitudes, in cold weather and hot temperatures and on long-range flights.
Build-up activity for the no. 3 A350 XWB commenced during February on the final assembly line, where the aircraft’s three fuselage sections were transferred following their arrival in Toulouse aboard a Beluga transporter. It joins the MSN5000 aircraft at Toulouse, currently undergoing preparations for static testing in another hangar, and MSN1, which is completing indoor ground evaluations. Initial assembly steps for MSN3 included installation of the jetliner’s 50-metre-long electrical harness for flight test measurements, which – along a complement of electrical cabinets – forms an advanced “supercomputer” called METRO. This was followed by the fuselage sections’ successful moulding at the final assembly line’s Station 50. There are two such Station 50 locations for fuselage join-up on the A350 XWB Final Assembly Line: the first, which is designated Station 50A, and another called 50B. MSN3 was the first aircraft joined on Station 50B, which had a higher readiness level thanks to debugging that followed the initial two jetliners’ assembly on Station 50A. “The whole process also is quicker thanks to high maturity of the sections and great efficiency of the teams who have already trained on the first two aircraft,” explained Airbus’ Loic Perrin, who in charge of Station 50. Airbus.com After the merge between United and Continental, it's the turn of other two major USA airlines to merge together.
American Airlines and US Airways have announced plans to merge in an $11 billion deal that will create the largest airline in the world. The combined carrier will carry more than 170 million passengers and generate revenues of more than $38.7 billion annually, based on 2012 numbers. It will retain the American name, be based in Fort Worth, Texas, and be a member of the Oneworld alliance. "The combination of American and US Airways brings together two highly complementary networks with access to the best destinations around the globe and gives us a strong platform to provide our customers the most connected, comfortable travel experience available," says Tom Horton, chairman, president and chief executive of American. "The operational and financial strength of the combined airline is expected to enable continued investment in new products and technologies and will create exciting new opportunities for our people, even as we deliver strong cash flow and sustainable profitability." Doug Parker, chairman and chief executive of US Airways, says: "Today marks an exciting new chapter for American Airlines and US Airways. The combined airline will have the scale, breadth and capabilities to compete more effectively and profitably in the global marketplace." Parker is to become chief executive and Horton chairman of the new company. Horton will step down and Parker will become chairman after the new carrier's first annual meeting of shareholders. American creditors will receive a 72% stake and US Airways shareholders a 28% stake in the new company. The airlines hope to close the deal during the third quarter, however it requires approval of the bankruptcy court, US Airways shareholders, as well as US antitrust regulators. The combined fleets will have 948 mainline aircraft, ranging from the 99-seat Embraer 190 to the 310-seat Boeing 777-300ER, and 568 regional aircraft, as of the end of 2012. It will have hubs at Charlotte, Chicago O'Hare, Dallas-Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Miami, New York John F Kennedy (JFK), Philadelphia, Phoenix and Washington National. If you want to read in interesting article about the airline merger that happen in the last years in the USA market, I suggest you to have a look at this article of the The Economist. The PC-7 involved in the incident A-939 he Swiss BFU have released their final report reporting, that the minimum separation between the two aircraft was 0.5nm at 200 feet vertical associated with "high risk of a collision". The investigation into the serious incident concluded: The serious incident is attributable to the convergence of an Air Force training aircraft with a civil commercial aircraft, because the flight instructor allowed the trainee to control the aircraft in a manner that endangered the commercial aircraft. The instructor and the trainee pilot were not aware of any threat. When the Cirrus SR20 and 22 first appeared a dozen years ago, the models' full airframe parachute system and stall/spin resistant wing were expected to set new standards for light aircraft safety. But according to Aviation Consumer's January edition, the Cirrus line has achieved, at best, a middle of the road safety and accident record that makes its fatal accident rate a bit better than Mooney and Piper high-performance models, but a bit worse than the Columbia/Corvalis series and Cessna's venerable 172 and 182. The magazine studied accident records dating back as far as 30 years on 11 popular GA light aircraft. Among its findings are that the Cirrus overall accident rate is 3.25/100,000, placing it closer to the top of the list of airplanes Aviation Consumer considered and about half of the GA average overall accident rate of 6.3/100,000. Only Diamond's DA40 and DA42 had better overall accident rates -- dramatically so in the case of the DA40, whose overall rate is 1.19, a little more than a sixth of the GA average.
Cirrus aircraft finished lower when fatal rate is considered. The Cirrus combined rate (SR20 and SR22) is 1.6, compared to the GA average of 1.2/100,000. Diamond's DA40 has the lowest fatal rate at .35, followed by the Cessna 172 at .45, the Diamond DA42 at .54 and the Cessna 182 at .69. Cessna's Corvalis line, which began life as the Columbia, has a fatal rate of 1.0, a bit less than the GA average of 1.2. The Columbia/Corvalis models are essentially similar in construction and performance to the Cirrus SR22, but without the Cirrus Airframe Parachute System (CAPS). The magazine also examined how effective CAPS has been and concludes that when deployed under optimal conditions of speed and altitude, the system has proven effective in saving lives in preventing serious injury. But it's far from perfect. Of 31 CAPS deployments, both intentional and possibly unintentional, 39 of 57 occupants emerged without injury, while seven occupants have been seriously injured by touchdown under CAPS. There have been six fatalities associated with CAPS deployment, several of which occurred either at very low altitude or speeds beyond the system's demonstrated performance envelope. One surprise from the magazine's study is that at least 12 of the aircraft that landed under CAPS were repaired and returned to service. The Cirrus Owners and Pilots Association has studied Cirrus accidents extensively and concludes that the models would have a much better safety record if some 83 pilots who got into trouble in circumstances where CAPS was well within its envelope had simply used it. COPA is developing new training methods to teach pilots how to include CAPS more effectively in their response to abnormal flight situations. AVweb Boeing (NYSE: BA) welcomes the progress reported by the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in the 787 investigation, including that the NTSB has identified the origin of the event as having been within the battery. The findings discussed today demonstrated a narrowing of the focus of the investigation to short circuiting observed in the battery, while providing the public with a better understanding of the nature of the investigation.
The company remains committed to working with the NTSB, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and our customers to maintain the high level of safety the traveling public expects and that the air transport system has delivered. We continue to provide support to the investigative groups as they work to further understand these events and as we work to prevent such incidents in the future. The safety of passengers and crew members who fly aboard Boeing airplanes is our highest priority. The 787 was certified following a rigorous Boeing test program and an extensive certification program conducted by the FAA. We provided testing and analysis in support of the requirements of the FAA special conditions associated with the use of lithium ion batteries. We are working collaboratively to address questions about our testing and compliance with certification standards, and we will not hesitate to make changes that lead to improved testing processes and products. |