AIRLINE BRIEFS NEWS FROM AROUND
AIRPORT V 34 OICE, DECEMBER 2019
THE AIR INDUSTRY
Atlas Binding Agreement.
A federal appeals court
on Thursday upheld a lower
court ruling that pilots for Atlas
Air Inc. and Southern Air
need to follow binding arbitration
to resolve differences
over whether each company’s
merger agreements applied
to bargaining with the combined
company over a new
joint labor agreement. The
International Brotherhood of
Teamsters, which represents
the pilots, had argued the
disagreement should be handled
before a federal mediation
board. Judges on the U.S.
Court of Appeals voted 2-1 on
Nov. 21 in favor of Atlas’ right
to compel arbitration after
the two sides couldn’t reach
an agreement. The decision
dismissed all three union arguments,
including that an
arbitration board for one of
the companies can’t exercise
jurisdiction over the other’s
employees. The arbitration
boards consist of designated
representatives from both
sides.
Shhhh. Quiet supersonic.
The X-59 supersonic jet developed
by Lockheed Martin
(which normally works on
classified military projects)
is set to halve flight times to
Australia. Unlike Concorde,
a breakthrough in sound reduction
will allow overland
flights. Concorde was limited
to flying over water because
its sonic boom meant
it could only break the sound
barrier away from population
centres. But new technology
means a sonic boom of 75
decibels, no louder than closing
a car door. The X-59 is the
plane testing the technology
to make possible Lockheed
Martin’s Quiet Supersonic
Technology Airliner (QSTA),
a plane for around 40 passengers,
flying at Mach 1.6. Working
with Nasa, Lockheed
Martin plans to open up longhaul
supersonic fights to all.
Boeing Maxes out. Boeing
has launched the 737 Max
10 during a ceremony at its
Renton, Washington factory.
newest member of the 737
Max family.
The 737 Max 10 is the
highest capacity, but also the
shortest range, variant of the
Max family.
The plane can seat up to
230 people and can fly up to
3,300 nautical miles.
The 737 Max 10 currently
has more than 550 orders
and commitments from more
than 20 customers around the
globe.
However, it is currently
grounded while Boeing
works with the FAA to recertify
onboard software following
crashes in Indonesia and
Ethiopia.
Airbus delivered the
1,000th aircraft in its
A320neo family of passenger
jets on Thursday. The
neo—standing for “new engine
option”—line includes
the A319neo, A320neo and
A320neo. Number 1000, an
A321neo, went to India-based
airline IndiGo, Airbus’ biggest
customer for the A320neo
family with orders for 430 aircraft.
“The A320neo program
was designed with fuel efficiency
in mind,” said Airbus.
“Building on the A320ceo’s
popularity, the aircraft delivers
20 percent reduced fuel
burn as well as 50 percent
less noise compared to previous
generation aircraft.”
The A320neo typically seats
between 150 and 180 passengers
in a two-class configuration.
It has a range of 3400 NM
and can be powered by either
Pratt & Whitney’s PurePower
PW1100G-JM geared turbofan
or CFM International’s
LEAP-1A engines.
Norwegian News. On November
20, 2019, Norwegian
Air Shuttle announced it will
replace Chief Executive Officer
and founder, Bjørn Kjos.
with Jacob Schram, a experienced
executive but not in
aviation. Schram takes over
in the midst of big corporate
debt, grounded 737’s and
some engine issues but with
good quarterly profit and the
Boeing jets expected to be
back in service soon, the airline
continues to offer more
routes and is optimistic.
Air India faces new operating
issues as the Indian
government seeks to sell its
shares and forgive $7 billion
in order to make the sale
more attractive of the ailing
airline. Worst case the airline
will have to shut down if
it is not sold. “The airline will
have to close down if it’s not
privatized,” Hardeep Singh
Puri told the Indian parliament
on Wednesday. “Once
we invite bids, then we’ll see
how many bids will come in.”
Volaris. Volaris, the ultra
low-cost Mexican airline
operating in Mexico, the
United States and Central
America, was recognized by
the international organization
ECPAT (End Child Prostitution,
Child Pornography
and Trafficking of Children
for Sexual Purposes) for the
company’s commitment to responsible
tourism and for its
promotion of initiatives that
prevent and combat the sexual
exploitation of children
and adolescents in the travel
and tourism industry (ESCNNAVT).
Boeing headache. A failure
during the final pressurization
test for Boeing’s
777X last September may
have been worse than it first
seemed, according to a new
report by The Seattle Times.
Originally thought to be a
blown-out cargo door, images
obtained by the Times
show a significant breach in
the fuselage just behind the
wing. The failure reportedly
occurred at 1.48 times the
limit load, 1 percent short of
FAA certification requirements.