Bombardier’s new CS300 is scheduled for its first flight tomorrow

Bombardier Commercial Aircraft (Montreal) confirmed, pending optimal weather conditions, the CS300 aircraft’s first flight is expected to occur on February 26, 2015. The first flight follows last week’s receipt of the Transport Canada flight permit that allowed the first CS300 flight test vehicle to join the flight test program and the successful high speed taxi runs conducted earlier this week.

Update: Bombardier later issued this statement: Due to weather conditions in Mirabel, Québec, the first flight of the CS300 flight test vehicle will not take place on February 26, 2015.

Photo: Bombardier.

Air France Airbus A380 passengers stranded in Manchester for nearly 7 hours

Air France (Paris) on Saturday (February 21) diverted its flight AF 007 from New York (JFK) to Paris (CDG) to Manchester. The prestigious flight was operated with an Airbus A380. The 460 people aboard the Air France flight were diverted to Manchester at 11.30 am (1130), but were not allowed off the Super Jumbo until around 6 pm (1800) on the same day.

It all started in New York, where passengers’ tempers were already being tried after flight AF 007 had been delayed from taking off by around four hours at New York while the aircraft had to be de-iced.

But once the aircraft entered UK airspace, the few hundred people were begging to get off.

The 4 hour delay meant that the flight crew would have exceeded their allowance of flying hours, so the captain decided to take a sommeil (pardon my French) in my beloved Manchester. At the time, Manchester was experiencing torrential rain, I might add.

The aircraft touched down at 11:30 am (UK time) and that is where it happened. Six and a half hours on the grounded plane with reported no food or water.

Air France had originally told passengers it would send a new crew to fly the plane onto its destination. However, while pre-flight checks were being carried out a technical fault was then discovered in the cabin. The airline then said it would fly three extra planes (two Airbus A318s and an A320) over to collect the passengers, but these relief aircraft took hours to arrive. After being eventually let off the double decker A380, passengers were taken to a waiting room near departures, where they say around 50 burgers were provided.

You can already imagine the tweets and statuses by the passengers. With the common denominators being “awful experience” and “worst flight of my life”.

The story that really shocks me is of a woman who’s destination was actually Manchester, but almost wasn’t allowed to end her journey prematurely.

She had been due to get a connecting flight back to Manchester from Paris – but refused to get on the later service and went home without her luggage.

The woman, who lives in south Manchester, told the Manchester Evening News: “They wouldn’t let us off the plane – I kept saying ‘I only live down the road, please can you let me off?

“But there were other people on there flying to all over Europe from Paris. There was no food whatsoever. There were kids who hadn’t eaten since leaving New York the previous day who had had no food.

“There was a lot of frustration on the flight, people were getting quite annoyed. Eventually, about 6 pm they let us off into a secluded area near departures and 50 Burger King burgers were sent down.”

“About 13 of us who live in the UK refused to get on the later flight to Paris so eventually they let us go, but our bags had to go on the original plane and I am still waiting to get my luggage back.”

Manchester Airport did not comment.

Air France said in a statement it “understands well the exasperation of its customers in this situation”.

Read more from The Telegraph: CLICK HERE

Assistant Editor Oliver Wilcock reports from Manchester.

Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing/AirlinersGallery.com. Formerly with the special 80 Ans/Years logo, Airbus A380-861 F-HPJI (msn 115) no longer wears the special logo.

Air France aircraft slide show:

Southwest Airlines misses the inspections of the standby hydraulic systems on 128 Boeing 737-700s, cancels 80 flights yesterday

Southwest Airlines (Dallas) failed to inspect 128 Boeing 737-700s standby hydraulic systems used to control the rudder if there is a main system failure. The airline discovered the failure to inspect at the proper time, reported the problem to the FAA and got approval to quickly complete the inspections in the next five days.

The airline issued this statement:

Southwest Airlines discovered an overdue maintenance check required to be performed on the standby hydraulic system, which serves as a back-up to the primary hydraulic systems. As a result of this discovery, 128 Boeing 737-700 aircraft were identified as having overflown a required check.

Once identified, Southwest immediately and voluntarily removed the affected aircraft from service, initiated maintenance checks, disclosed the matter to the FAA, and developed an action plan to complete all overdue checks. The FAA approved a proposal that would allow Southwest to continue operating the aircraft for a maximum of five days as the checks are completed.

Approximately 80 cancellations occurred on February 24 as a result of the events and the airline is anticipating a very minimal impact to their operations today (February 25). The Safety of our Customers and Employees remains our highest priority and we are working quickly to resolve the situation.

Today the airline issued this short statement on Twitter:

A select number of aircraft have been removed from service for maintenance checks, resulting in minimal delays.

Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 737-7H4 N905WN (msn 36617) with the special “Kidd’s Kids – Kidd Kraddick in the Morning” markings and the underside Southwest Heart logo, departs from Los Angeles International Airport.

Southwest Airlines aircraft slide show (new livery only):

Allegiant announces 22 new routes, will acquire two more Airbus A320s

Allegiant Air (Las Vegas) has announced new, nonstop jet service on 22 routes, including a new destination in the Allegiant network — Savannah-Hilton Head, Georgia.

New routes announced include:

Seasonal Nonstop Service to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) from:

1. Cincinnati, Ohio – begins June 4, 2015

Seasonal Nonstop Service to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) from:

1. Little Rock, Ark. – begins June 4, 2015

Seasonal Nonstop Service to Telluride, Colorado via Montrose Regional Airport (MTJ) from:

1. Los Angeles, California – begins June 5, 2015

Seasonal Nonstop Service to Myrtle Beach International Airport (MYR) from:

1. Akron / Canton, Ohio – begins June 3, 2015

2. Clarksburg, West Virginia – begins June 5, 2015

3. Indianapolis, Indiana – begins June 4, 2015

4. Sanford (near Orlando, Florida) – begins June 4, 2015

5. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania – begins June 5, 2015

Seasonal Nonstop Service to Oakland International Airport (OAK) from:

1. Omaha, Nebraska – begins May 1, 2015

Seasonal Nonstop Service to Savannah-Hilton Head International Airport (SAV) from:

1. Akron / Canton, Ohio – begins May 21, 2015

2. Cincinnati, Ohio – begins May 8, 2015

3. Columbus, Ohio – begins June 4, 2015

Year-Round Nonstop Service to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) from:

1. Concord, North Carolina – begins May 8, 2015

2. Memphis, Tennessee – begins May 22, 2015

Year-Round Nonstop Service to Las Vegas McCarran International Airport (LAS) from:

1. Brownsville, Texas – begins June 4, 2015

2. Memphis, Tennessee – begins May 22, 2015

Year-Round Nonstop Service to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) from:

1. Boise, Idaho – begins June 5, 2015

Year-Round Nonstop Service to Orlando-Sanford International Airport (SFB) from:

1. Memphis, Tennessee – begins May 22, 2015

2. Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina – begins May 7, 2015

Year-Round Nonstop Service to Punta Gorda Airport (PGD) from:

1. Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina – begins May 7, 2015

Year-Round Nonstop Service to St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport (PIE) from:

1. Akron / Canton, Ohio – begins May 21, 2015

2. Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina – begins May 6, 2015

Over the years, Allegiant has carried over 43 million passengers, and the company continues to grow, offering more nonstop service in more communities. In 2014, Allegiant announced service in six new cities and added 25 new routes to its network, at a time when many airlines are consolidating and cutting service. The company recently announced its 48th consecutive quarter of profitable operation while keeping its average one-way fare under $100.

Allegiant Travel Company also announced that it has entered into an agreement to purchase two additional A320 aircraft. The aircraft are currently being operated by Philippine Airlines (Philippines) and are scheduled to enter the Allegiant operating fleet toward the end of 2015.

Including the two A319s that deliver in 2015, which were announced on February 23, the company now expects 2015 CAPEX to be approximately $230 million.

Copyright Photo: Bruce Drum/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A320-214 N217NV (msn 1347) arrives at Orlando-Sanford International Airport (SFB).

Allegiant Air aircraft slide show:

Is IAG’s seduction of Aer Lingus working?

International Airlines Group’s (IAG) (British Airways, Iberia and Vueling Airlines) (London) continued seduction of Irish flag carrier Aer Lingus (Dublin) seems to be finally working, as the airline is revealing the positives of a takeover by the owner of British and Spanish flag carriers British Airways (London-Heathrow) and Iberia (Madrid).

In a statement to The Guardian, Christoph Mueller, the clover-tailed carrier’s outgoing CEO says that Ireland’s entire economy will benefit if the International Airlines Group takes over Aer Lingus.

Mueller, who steps down as CEO of the airline this week, said IAG’s £1.02 billion (€1.4 billion) ($1.57 billion) offer to buy Aer Lingus would be the biggest single foreign investment in the Republic since the financial crash.

He continued that there was “a great deal of excitement” that Aer Lingus would be able to create jobs on a much larger scale if IAG took charge of the former state-run airline.

Mueller also stressed that talks between IAG and the Aer Lingus trade unions had been “very constructive”.

Aer Lingus announced on Tuesday that its profits had risen by almost 18% to €72 million ($81.6 million) from the previous year. Total revenue was up by 9.2%. For the first time in the airline’s history the number of passengers has exceeded 11 million.

On the hike in profits and the IAG take-over proposal, Mueller added: We profitably expanded our long-haul network utilizing our cost advantage and favorable geographic position and helped establish Dublin as the 7th largest European hub for transatlantic connections.

“Our short-haul business continued to demonstrate its resilience despite a highly competitive market. Commercial initiatives, in addition to cost control, led to the highest operating profit since the financial crisis and 17.8% above last year.”

Lufthansa starts operations with its pilot-controlled LEOS “TaxiBot”

Lufthansa (Frankfurt) has started using this hybrid-electric aircraft tractor to tug aircraft with turned-off engines to the runway. The airline issued this statement:

Following approval by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), Lufthansa LEOS, a subsidiary of Lufthansa Technik AG, has commenced operations with the innovative TaxiBot aircraft tractor, developed by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) with Lufthansa LEOS’ extensive support and cooperation. After extensive testing, the TaxiBot will now be used in real flight operations at Frankfurt Airport.

At a media event held at Frankfurt Airport on February 19, the TaxiBot’s towing procedures were demonstrated for local and international journalists, while taxiing a Lufthansa Boeing 737-500 to the take-off position.

TaxiBot (NB) is a towbar-less 800-hp strong hybrid-electric aircraft tractor, controlled by the pilot and intended for towing aircraft between the gate and the runway with the aircraft’s engines turned-off.

“The Lufthansa Group is setting global standards in sustainable mobility. With innovations like the TaxiBot, we are not only helping to conserve fuel but are also making an important contribution towards reducing noise and exhaust emissions at airports,” said Kay Kratky, member of the Lufthansa German Airlines Board – Operations & Hub Frankfurt. The use of the TaxiBot at Lufthansa’s Frankfurt hub can save up to 2,700 tonnes of fuel on long-haul flights per year.

“IAI, along with its partner TLD, has been cooperating since 2007 with Lufthansa LEOS in the development of the TaxiBot, with the support of both OEMs Airbus and Boeing,” said Yehoshua Eldar, IAI Executive VP, and head of the TaxiBot program steering committee. “TaxiBot is the only certified and operational alternative taxiing solution in the world. We are proud to create this innovative, eco-friendly revolution in commercial aviation and would like to thank Lufthansa for their wonderful support of the TaxiBot certification and validation process. The TaxiBot family is expanding with the testing of the Wide Body (WB) model which will operate with all WB families of aircraft such as the Boeing 747 and Airbus A380. We look forward to the WB certification tests with a Lufthansa Boeing 747-400 and to continuing our long and fruitful cooperation with this leading flagship airline.”

Accordingly, a memorandum of understanding was signed today between Lufthansa LEOS and IAI for wide body aircraft certification testing. The test phase will be performed using a Boeing 747-400 and is expected to be completed by the end of 2015.

“The development of the TaxiBot represents a milestone in environmentally friendly aircraft ground operations at airports. The use of the aircraft tractor in real flight operations means that we are now taking the next step towards the long-term goal of environmental friendly aircraft taxiing right up to ‘green aircraft handling’,” said Peter Unger, Managing Director of Lufthansa LEOS.

A special nose wheel cradle in the TaxiBot registers all the steering movements and transfers these to navigate the tractor’s eight wheels. This enables the pilot to steer the tractor from the cockpit using “Pilot Control Mode” after pushing back from the gate, until it is released at the runway. The aircraft engines are not required to start up until the TaxiBot is separated from the aircraft.

The TaxiBot is part of the “E-PORT AN” project at Frankfurt Airport. Partners of the initiative include the state of Hesse, Fraport AG, the Lufthansa Group and the Rhine-Main model region. As part of this project electric mobility ventures for the future are realised in order to make towing procedures for aircraft and ground vehicles more environmentally friendly. The projects are supported by the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure.

Lufthansa aircraft slide show:

VLM Airlines to expand operations in April

VLM Airlines (Antwerp) in April is launching new daily scheduled flights between Rotterdam (Netherlands) and Hamburg (Germany) and between Antwerp (Belgium) and Hamburg.

The move continues VLM Airlines’ evolution as a scheduled operator, building on the launch of an Antwerp-Geneva service last month.

Passengers will be able to choose from two return Rotterdam-Hamburg flights each weekday from Monday April 13. Twice-daily return weekday flights between Antwerp and Hamburg will begin flying on Monday April 20. Both services will utilize VLM Airlines’ fleet of Fokker 50 aircraft.

Copyright Photo: Ton Jochems/AirlinersGallery.com. Fokker F.27 Mk. 050 (Fokker 50) OO-VLJ (msn 20105) rests between flights at Rotterdam.

VLM aircraft slide show:

Route Map:

Virgin Atlantic moves up the retirement date for the last Airbus A340-300 flight

Virgin Atlantic Airways (London) has moved up the planned date for the final revenue flight of the Airbus A340-300 according to Airline Route. The last flight is tentatively scheduled as flight VS 251 from Shanghai (Pudong) to London (Heathrow) on March 29.

Virgin Atlantic aircraft slide show:

Frontier Airlines to add two more routes from Cincinnati

Frontier Airlines (2nd) (Denver) has announced two additional routes from its expanding operations at Greater Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG). The carrier will add new routes to Atlanta and Fort Myers starting on April 30.

Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A320-214 N219FR (msn 1860) with Jack, the Hare, on the tail, taxies to the runway at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

Frontier Airlines aircraft slide show:

New video from Icelandair: Inside its “Hekla Aurora”

Icelandair (Keflavik) has introduced this new video above of the unique cabin “Northern Lights” lighting of its Boeing 757-256 TF-FIU (msn 26243). Description by Icelandair:

Grab a seat on board Hekla Aurora, Icelandair’s new airplane celebrating the northern lights. When you take an Icelandair Stopover on your next trip across the Atlantic, you might be lucky enough to see this natural phenomena in Iceland, but now there are guaranteed sightings on this stunning airplane. Take a look!

Below: The painting of TF-FIU: