Ethiopian Airlines flight ET702 from Addis Ababa to Rome was hijacked by the co-pilot and diverted toGeneva this morning.

Swiss police say the co-pilot waited until the pilot went to the toilet before locking himself in the cabin and rerouting the Boeing 767-300ER to Geneva, where it landed at around 06:00 local time.

The co-pilot then climbed down a rope from the window and surrendered to police officers.

Geneva airport was temporarily closed during the incident but reopened for take-offs at 08:00 and for landings at 08:45. The aircraft is expected to be kept at the airport for one or two days while an investigation is carried out.

Ethiopian Airlines says the flight departed Addis Ababa at 00:30 local time and was scheduled to arrive in Rome at 04:40 local time but “was forced to proceed to Geneva airport. Accordingly, the flight has landed safely at Geneva airport. All passengers and crew are safe.”

It adds that it is “making immediate arrangements to fly its esteemed customers on board the flight to their intended destinations”.

flightglobal.com

Le Forze aeree hanno il compito assegnatoli dal Consiglio federale di proteggere e di difendere lo spazio aereo. Una parte dei velivoli da combattimento disponibili a tale scopo è obsoleta. I 54 F-5 Tiger sono in servizio da oltre 30 anni e devono essere sostituiti con urgenza. Il Consiglio federale e il Parlamento hanno pertanto deciso di sostituire questi 54 F-5 Tiger con 22 velivoli da combattimento moderni del tipo Gripen E. Le Forze aeree rappresentano l’unico mezzo in grado di provvedere alla sicurezza nello spazio aereo. Per questo motivo Consiglio federale e Parlamento raccomandano di accettare la legge sul Fondo Gripen.
La Svizzera è uno dei Paesi più prosperi e sicuri al mondo. La sicurezza e il benessere vanno di pari passo e sono due concetti imprescindibili l'uno dall'altro. L'Esercito svizzero ha il compito di garantire la sicurezza del nostro Paese, creando in tal modo i presupposti per vivere nel benessere come Stato indipendente. La Svizzera, in quanto Stato non allineato, deve essere in grado di garantire la sicurezza con i propri mezzi. Inoltre, ci si aspetta dalla Svizzera che fornisca un contributo solidale alla sicurezza in Europa. Per questo motivo Consiglio federale e Parlamento hanno deciso di sostituire con nuovi velivoli da combattimento la flotta di F-5 Tiger, ormai obsoleti e in servizio da oltre 30 anni.

L'Esercito svizzero è un pacchetto globale in cui sono contemplate Forze aeree efficaci. Mentre la sicurezza al suolo è garantita da diversi attori, le Forze aeree sono l'unico mezzo in grado di provvedere alla sicurezza nello spazio aereo. Proteggono lo spazio aereo effettuando quotidianamente il servizio di polizia aerea, sorvegliando lo spazio aereo e assicurando la difesa aerea. Le Forze aeree, in quanto unico mezzo per garantire la sicurezza aerea, sono indispensabili e devono quindi essere equipaggiate in maniera ragionevole. Oltre a un sistema di sensori, a elicotteri, a drone e alla difesa terra-aria, è assolutamente necessario un numero sufficiente di velivoli da combattimento moderni.

L'acquisto del Gripen è un investimento nella sicurezza fino al 2050. La sostituzione degli obsoleti F-5 Tiger è pertanto assolutamente urgente per assicurare anche nel prossimo futuro la funzionalità dell'esercito. Senza l'acquisto dei Gripen, entro la metà del 2016 la Svizzera disporrebbe ancora soltanto di 32 velivoli da combattimento e non sarebbe possibile garantire la sicurezza in situazioni straordinarie. Non sarebbe possibile una possibilità d'intervento permanente, 24 ore su 24 e 365 giorni l'anno. La Patrouille Suisse inoltre potrebbe continuare ad esistere unicamente con l'acquisto del Gripen.

Il Gripen E rappresenta la giusta scelta per la Svizzera. Armi e radar moderni, capacità di comunicazione e di interconnessione adeguate, equipaggiamento elettronico dell'ultima generazione e un sistema di autodifesa globale caratterizzano il velivolo da combattimento. Il Gripen E non soddisfa soltanto i requisiti militari, ma è la variante più economica per quanto concerne l'acquisto e l'esercizio. Per l'acquisto dei 22 Gripen E dal 2014 al 2024 saranno devoluti annualmente circa 300 milioni di franchi. Ciò rappresenta lo 0,5 per cento delle uscite della Confederazione e saranno finanziate dall'esercito con il suo budget ordinario. L'acquisto di 22 Gripen E moderni è quindi una soluzione equilibrata.

Inoltre, l'acquisto del Gripen riveste grande importanza per l'economia svizzera per due ragioni. Da un lato, perché gli affari di compensazione ammontano a 2,5 miliardi di franchi e saranno garantiti posti di lavoro per 10 000 anni-persona. Dall'altro, perché s'investirà in un settore economico interessante a livello tecnologico.

Per tutti questi motivi Consiglio federale e Parlamento raccomandano di accettare la legge sul Fondo Gripen e di provvedere affinché anche in futuro la «casa svizzera» possa avere un tetto resistente alle intemperie grazie a velivoli efficienti.

Voters are likely to have the final say on the planned purchase of 22 fighter jets for the Swiss Air Force. Parliament approved the deal last year, but opponents have now collected enough signatures to have a nationwide ballot.

Two separate groups handed in more than 100,000 signatures to the Federal Chancellery on Tuesday, twice as many as necessary to challenge a parliamentary decision.
 
The purchase of the jets is too costly and unnecessary according to a committee of centre-left politicians. It said the existing fleet of FA/18 aircraft was sufficient to defend Switzerland’s airspace.
 
A separate group of centrist politicians for its part, added that it was not the right time to buy new aircraft for CHF3.1 billion ($3.4 billion) from the Swedish Saab company.
 
However, the centre-right Radical Party said the opponents were undermining Switzerland’s air force and national security.
 
No date for the vote has been set.
 
Last September, parliament approved the purchase following five years of heated discussions.


Source: swissinfo.ch

Airbus exceeded commercial targets in 2013, achieving a new record of 626 aircraft deliveries (493 A320 Family aircraft, 108 A330, 25 A380) to 93 customers (15 new) and a new industry record of 1619 gross orders (377 A320ceo, 876 A320neo, 77 A330, 239 A350 XWB, 50 A380) beating the previous record in 2011 by 11 aircraft.  The year was also Airbus’ most valuable gross order intake (List price US$ 240.5 billion). By year end, the backlog had climbed to an industry wide record of 5,559 aircraft, valued at US$ 809 billion at list prices, or eight years production.

Aircraft deliveries in 2013 were up for the 12th year in a row, beating the initial target and surpassing the previous record set in 2012 (588) by an additional 38 aircraft.

At 2013 year end, Airbus commanded 51 per cent gross market share (aircraft above 100 seats). Decisions by customers to move towards larger aircraft in all segments (A321, A330-300, A350-1000 and A380) is having a positive result on revenues, complementing Airbus’ lead in both single aisle and widebody aircraft markets.

During the year the A320neo surpassed 2,600 orders while strong sales of the A320ceo continued with more than 1,000 sold since the NEO was launched. The A350 XWB had significant commercial breakthroughs especially with a first order from Japan, and the A380 coninued to dominate the Very Large Aircraft market with 50 new orders.

Signalling Airbus’ successful transformation to a more agile company, 2013 was also notable for the A350 XWB first flight. Test flights are progressing well with two aircraft having accomplished over 800 flight hours. Certification is targeted for Q3 and Entry Into Service for Q4 2014. The A330 new longer range and regional variants were launched, A330 production reached a new record high of rate 10 per month and single aisle remained stable at rate 42. 

In 2013, Airbus Military delivered 31 aircraft including seven A330 MRTT and two A400M for the French Air Force, confirming the programme is well back on track.

Airbus hired some 3,000 people in 2013.

“I thank the Airbus teams for these great achievements. The transformation of our company into a simpler, more agile and faster one is clearly taking shape. We are producing aircraft at all-time-highs and selling our market leading products at record levels,” said Fabrice Bregier, Airbus President and CEO. “These benchmark results are feeding nicely into our profitability targets, and I am proud to report that the trajectory is showing strongly upwards. To expand our leadership in single aisles and widebodies, 2014 will be significant with the first flight of the A320neo and the Entry Into Service of the A350 XWB.”


Airbus Media Release

Bombardier Aerospace Confirms Change to its CSeries Aircraft’s Entry-into-Service

• Entry-into-service of CS100 aircraft now expected in the second half of 2015, to be followed approximately six months afterwards by entry-into-service of the CS300 aircraft.

Montréal, January 16, 2014 – Bombardier Aerospace confirmed today that the CSeries aircraft program is making solid progress and initial performance results are in line with the company’s expectations. However, based on the thorough review of the CSeries program after the first flight of the CS100 on September 16, 2013, the flight test phase will require more time than originally anticipated to ensure, amongst other things, that the aircraft has the overall system maturity to support a successful entry-into-service. The CS100aircraft’s entry-into-service is now scheduled for the second half of 2015 and will be followed by the CS300aircraft’s entry-into-service approximately six months afterwards.

“We are taking the required time to ensure a flawless entry-into-service. We are very pleased that no major design changes have been identified, this gives us confidence that we will meet our performance targets,” said Mike Arcamone, President, Bombardier Commercial Aircraft. “While the process has taken more time than we had expected, our suppliers are aligned with the program’s schedule and together, we will continue to work closely to move the program steadily forward. With the first flight of flight test vehicle 2 (FTV2) successfully completed on January 3, 2014, the CSeries aircraft program will continue to gain traction over the coming months.”

CSeries aircraft
Designed for the growing 100- to 149-seat market, the 100 per cent new CSeries aircraft family combines advanced materials, leading-edge technology and proven methods to meet commercial airline requirements. Powered by Pratt & Whitney PurePower PW1500G engines, the CSeries aircraft family will offer a 15* per cent cash operating cost advantage and a 20* per cent fuel burn advantage. With the extra capacity seating option, the CS300 aircraft’s productivity further improves, offering airlines an average of four* per cent additional cash operating cost advantage per seat.

The CSeries aircraft’s clean-sheet design is ensuring that the aircraft will achieve greatly reduced noise and emissions, as well as superior operational flexibility, exceptional airfield performance and a range of 2,950 NM (5,463 km)*. The CSeries aircraft will be up to 12,000 lbs. (5,443 kg)* lighter than other aircraft in the same seat category and will provide passengers with a best-in-class, widebody cabin environment in a single-aisle aircraft.

As of today, Bombardier has booked orders and commitments for 445 CSeries aircraft, which include firm orders for 198 CSeries airliners. Some 17 customers and lessees have joined the CSeries aircraft program.


Bombardier Media Release

Con base in Svizzera e presentata oggi a Zurigo, Etihad Regional inaugura una nuova era di collegamenti regionali ed internazionali per i viaggiatori europei. Nata dalla collaborazione con Etihad Airways, la compagnia aerea degli Emirati Arabi, il nuovo vettore sarà operato dalla svizzera Darwin Airline, dal suo headquarter di Lugano e dall’hub di riferimento a Ginevra. Il primo degli aerei con la nuova livrea Etihad Regional, un Saab 2000 da cinquanta posti, dagli interni completamente rinnovati così come le uniformi dell’equipaggio, sono stati illustrati per la prima volta all’Aeroporto di Zurigo insieme ad un Airbus A330-300 della flotta di Etihad Airways. La sera è invece previsto un evento per gli ospiti d’onore al Dolder Grand Hotel. La nuova livrea rivestirà tutti i dieci aeromobili attualmente in flotta entro giugno 2014.

James Hogan, Presidente e Chief Executive Officer di Etihad Airways ha illustrato la strategia di stringere forti alleanze in tutto il mondo con compagnie aeree regional. “Etihad Regional offrirà un’opportunità unica di rafforzare i network regionali dalla vitale importanza e di collegarli a quello globale di Etihad Airways, in continua e rapida espansione. Sceglieremo i partner, così come abbiamo fatto per Darwin Airline, che condividono la nostra passione di offrire servizi di grande qualità ai nostri viaggiatori, i quali avranno così una scelta più ampia e più conveniente”. Una volta ricevute le necessarie ratifiche regolamentari, Etihad Airways acquisirà il 33,3% delle azioni di Darwin Airline in linea con la sua strategia di equity alliance. Darwin Airline sarà il settimo partner del network di alleanze internazionali ed il quarto in Europa.

Maurizio Merlo, Chief Executive Officer di Darwin Airline, ha commentato: “Etihad Regional è una grande novità sia per i viaggiatori sia per le diverse economie europee. Noi abbiamo una chiara strategia ed un solido impegno nel voler creare una compagnia regionale forte che colleghi non solo le principali città europee a quelle più periferiche ma all’intero network globale di Etihad Airways. Ciò che rende Etihad Regional unica è come Etihad Airways ed i suoi equity partner, in particolare airberlin e Air Serbia, ne potranno aumentare il traffico nel proprio network regionale. Ci aspettiamo inoltre che grazie alla sua espansione, Etihad Regional sarà inoltre in grado di offrire nuove opportunità d’impiego sia in Svizzera che nei mercati in cui andrà ad operare”.

Etihad Regional, operato da Darwin Airline, offre attualmente voli annuali verso 15 destinazioni in Europa utilizzando una flotta di 10 Saab 2000 turboprop. Entro la metà del 2014, tali destinazioni saranno più del doppio, raggiungendo quota 34. Grazie all’implementazione di queste nuove destinazioni, il network di Etihad Regional toccherà sette degli scali europei serviti da Etihad Airways: Ginevra, Amsterdam, Parigi, Düsseldorf, Belgrado, Zurigo (a partire da giugno 2014) e Roma (a partire da luglio 2014). Grazie ad airberlin, il network di Etihad Regional raggiungerà Berlino, Düsseldorf e Zurigo, offrendo da lì collegamenti a diverse destinazioni in Europa e in Nord America. La partnership prevede inoltre la graduale introduzione di accordi di codeshare, che dovranno ricevere le necessarie ratifiche regolamentari. In questa prima fase Etihad Airways implementerà il suo codice EY sulle 16 rotte operate da Darwin Airline. Oltre a beneficiare del network e dell’efficienza di Etihad, Darwin Airline ne adotterà il programma di fidelizzazione - Etihad Guest - con il pieno utilizzo dei suoi benefici e regolamenti.

Attualmente Etihad Airways detiene partecipazioni societarie nelle seguenti compagnie aeree: 29% di airberlin, 40% di Air Seychelles, 19,9% di Virgin Australia, il 3% di Aer Lingus ed il 24% dell’indiana Jet Airways. A gennaio 2014 acquisirà il 49% di Air Serbia. Insieme, Etihad Airways e queste sette compagnie aeree partner raggiungono quasi 400 singole destinazioni con una flotta di più di 500 aeromobili. Nel 2013, hanno trasportato complessivamente un totale di oltre 80,5 milioni di passeggeri, numeri comparabili solo alle alleanze tra le maggiori compagnie in Europa.


Ethiad Regional Ufficio Stampa

Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) transported 15,968,833 passengers systemwide in 2013 – a 0.9% increase on the previous year (2012: 15,819,558). Total available-seat- kilometre (ASK) capacity for the year was raised 3.7%; and the increase was fully absorbed by the growth in traffic volume, which was up 4.7% in revenue-passenger- kilometre (RPK) terms. Systemwide seat load factor improved accordingly, from the 82.9% of 2012 to 83.7%. Total flights operated amounted to 146,436, a 2.9% decline.

Seat load factor on intercontinental services amounted to 87.3%, a 0.2-percentage- point improvement on 2012. Intercontinental ASK capacity was up 6.1%, while RPK traffic volume was 6.3% above its prior-year level.

ASK capacity for SWISS’s European network was 1.1% below its 2012 equivalent, while RPK traffic volume rose 0.9%. Seat load factor stood at 76.2%, compared to 74.7% for the previous year.

Annual cargo load factor for the airfreight business of Swiss WorldCargo slipped 0.4 percentage points, from the 79.3% of 2012 to 78.9%. But total cargo sales were a 3.2% improvement year-on-year.

In December 2013 a total of 1,205,128 customers travelled with SWISS (compared to 1,183,657 in December 2012). Total flights operated showed a 3.2% decline. Systemwide seat load factor stood at 81.0% (2012: 79.7%), while cargo load factor amounted to 81.9%, compared to 82.4% for December 2012.

SWISS will be presenting its 2013 financial results on 13 March.

SWISS Media Release
 

The rebranding of Eurocopter as Airbus Helicopters, effective today, marks a new era in the history of the company, which joins Airbus and Airbus Defense & Space within the new Airbus Group – the global leader in aerospace, defense and related services.

Airbus Helicopters will benefit from and enrich the Airbus brand as it develops, manufactures, markets and supports a diversified and highly capable rotorcraft product line.

“This rebranding works hand in hand with our ongoing transformation, which is now bolstered by the Airbus brand’s strong foundation in innovation, quality and industrial excellence,” said Guillaume Faury, President of Airbus Helicopters. “Both of these together will serve our ambition of setting the industry standard in terms ofsafety, mission capability and performance for our operators around the world.”

The naming and designations of Airbus Helicopters’ products remain at present unchanged in the new branding, while the company’s primary website has migrated to a new identity: www.airbushelicopters.com. Airbus Helicopter team members will remain reachable via their current e-mail coordinates, with the migration to an airbus.com root address occurring this summer.

About Airbus Helicopters

Airbus Helicopters, formerly Eurocopter, is a division of Airbus Group, a global pioneer in aerospace and defense related services. Employing approximately 22,000 people worldwide, Airbus Helicopters is the world’s No. 1 helicopter manufacturer with a turnover of 6.3 billion euros. The company’s fleet in service includes some 12,000 helicopters operated by more than 3,000 customers in approximately 150 countries.Airbus Helicopters’ international presence is marked by its subsidiaries and participations in 21 countries, and its worldwide network of service centers, training facilities, distributors and certified agents. Airbus Helicopters’ range of civil and military helicopters is the world’s largest; its aircraft account for one third of the worldwide civil and parapublic fleet. The company’s chief priority is to ensure the safe operation of its aircraft for the thousands of people who together fly more than 3 million hours per year.

Pilots have extracted an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 767-300 from the small Tanzanian airport of Arusha, two days after it made an unscheduled landing on its short runway.

It has been flown to Kilimanjaro, says a spokesman for the Tanzanian Civil Aviation Authority, its original destination before the mishap which resulted in the jet's overrunning and becoming temporarily stranded.

The 767 had been operating flight ET815 from Addis Ababa on 18 December and had been intending to land at Kilimanjaro at 12:55.

Air traffic control communications indicate that the crew established radio contact with Kilimanjaro control tower at 12:29, says the Tanzanian CAA spokesman, and was told to report having the airport in sight.

He says that a light aircraft was stuck on the runway, designated 09/27, but that this should not have affected the ability of the jet to land because there was 3,200m available. The Ethiopian crew had been told of the situation, he adds.

“The space was a bit smaller,” he says. “But two or three other similar aircraft had landed there.”

After the crew reported sighting the airport the flight was cleared to continue on a visual approach to runway 27.

It was cleared to land after the crew contacted air traffic control while flying the left base leg. But the tower subsequently lost contact with the aircraft, and did not see it arrive at Kilimanjaro.

Kilimanjaro air traffic control was then contacted by a controller at the smaller Arusha airport, about 50km to the west, that a 767 had landed there. Arusha’s runway, like Kilimanjaro’s, is aligned east-west. The aircraft landed at 12:47.

Tanzania’s CAA gives Arusha’s runway length as 1,640m, adding that the 767 requires almost 1,800m at maximum landing weight. The aircraft came to a halt entirely off the end of the runway, turned to the left.

Investigators are looking into the circumstances of the incident. The crew of the aircraft (ET-AQW) did not declare an emergency.

Ethiopian Airlines is claiming that a "miscommunication" between tower controllers and the pilots resulted in the Arusha landing. But it stresses that the 767 had adequate fuel to divert to an approved alternate airport.

The carrier says the jet was undamaged. The Tanzanian CAA spokesman says a team at Arusha worked to lighten the Pratt & Whitney PW4000-powered aircraft to ease its departure, removing unnecessary weight and offloading excess fuel.

Asiana Airlines’ first A380 has successfully completed its maiden flight. The A380 flew on Friday from Airbus’ facilities in Toulouse, France to the aircraft manufacturer’s site in Hamburg, Germany, where it will undergo painting and cabin furnishing.

Asiana Airlines will become the twelfth operator of the A380 when it takes delivery of its first aircraft in the second quarter of 2014. The airline has firm orders for six A380s and will operate the aircraft on its primary routes from Seoul to the US.


Airbus Press Release