Aviation News Daily (23.04.2020)
Hello, my friends! I would like to wish a happy beginning of Ramadan to the Muslim community within the IFC. Today we don’t have as many news, but let’s get right to them anyway.
Non-Existent 747 Operator Applied For US Government Aid
This is a strange setting. Most of you, me included, haven’t ever heard of the US carrier Avatar Airlines. Apparently, they have applied for government subsidies, about $15 million, through the CARES Act. It was submitted this Tuesday to the US Treasury. This airline had existed for 30 years and was based in Las Vegas, but on paper only.
Brand New 787s Fly Straight To The Storage
A brand new 787-8 Dreamliner was sent to storage right after entering service with American Airlines. On March 31st, the 787-8, registered as N870AX was sent to AA’s base, Dallas Fort-Worth, but not long after was sent to storage in Tulsa, Oklahoma. This was done by American, because it would be cheaper for them to have the plane delivered and immediately sent to storage, rather than being stored at Boeing’s factory. Delays of deliveries sometimes come with penalties.
Melbourne Airport Wants Virgin Australia To Make It Their Base
Virgin Australia is in voluntary administration right now. There is a restructuring effort behind the scenes, with deals in progress aside from the main point – getting the airline to fly again. Various State Governments are eager to get the “new” Virgin Australia to move from its main base in Brisbane.
Amsterdam Schiphol To Reduce Aircraft Emissions
Amsterdam Schiphol really wants to become the world’s eco-friendly airport. They will be experimenting with a new way for aircraft to taxi to the runways. What they have in mind is to use a hybrid vehicle, similar to the pushback tug, which will pull the aircraft along the taxiways until it reaches the runway the aircraft was assigned, instead of disconnecting after pushing the aircraft back. The administration of Amsterdam Schiphol believes that this action will reduce the fuel emissions by 85%.
However, while this has its pros, it also has its cons. The oil in the aircraft’s engines needs to warm up prior to applying takeoff thrust, otherwise the engines could suffer from severe issues and that would require a lot of maintenance to get the plane back to normally functioning.
AirArabia Gets Their Operating Certificate
The new low-cost carrier from the Middle East is getting closer and closer to becoming a real thing. Today, the airline received its AOC (air operating certificate). The airline officials still haven’t decided when the airline will be officially launched, but according to the CEO of Etihad Aviation Group stated that, despite the tough times, the launch will commence soon.
Air Greenland Operates 8-Hour Non-Stop Dash 8 Flight
Now this is a non-standard flight to say the least. In previous ANDs, I have covered such flights, but this flight is different. Air Greenland operated a non-stop flight in a Dash 8-200 from Copenhagen to Nuuk, which took 7 hours and 52 minutes. There were only four people on board: 2 pilots, a flight attendant and a doctor, whereas the first one (on March 20th from Nuuk to Copenhagen) had one more person – a patient.
Wizzair To Launch Abu Dhabi Flights Before Fall
Although times aren’t the easiest for airlines and businesses in general, Wizzair is determined to launch their Abu Dhabi services before autumn rolls around. They can afford to launch the Abu Dhabi flights earlier than anticipated, because they do have financial resources for about a year and a half. This should be plenty for them to survive the global pandemic. This new division of Wizzair, Wizzair Abu Dhabi, should be launched together with AirArabia.
No A380s Are Airborne Now
Some sad news for all Airbus, big boi fans and planespotters. No A380s are in the air as of now and will most likely remain grounded for months to come. There is simply no demand and the capacity of the plane is unnecessary. It became a victim of itself practically.
Turkish Airlines 777 Draws The National Flag In The Sky
One more sky drawing, woo hoo! First of all, I’d like to wish a happy start of Ramadan to all my fellow Muslim community members.
A Turkish Airlines 777-300ER took off from Ankara with the sole purpose to draw the national flag of Turkey. The aircraft which did drew that was the TC-JJF and it took the plane to draw 2 hours and 38 minutes to draw a massive recreation of the flag. Here is what it looked like:
I took that screenshot myself from FlightRadar24.
ALAFCO Sues Boeing Over 737 MAX Order Cancellation
Things are getting worse and worse for Boeing. ALAFCO, an aircraft lessor, has filed a $336 million lawsuit against Boeing, because the plane manufacturer refused to refund the money for 40 737 MAX aircraft ALAFCO had cancelled orders for.
MC-21-300 Resumes Flight Testing
The Russian alternative of the 737 MAX, as it’s nicknamed, has resumed its test flights required for the manufacturer to secure its certification. The plane will need a whopping additional 350 test flights to receive its certification.
Austrian Airlines Haven’t Applied For Government Subsidies Yet
Many European airlines have asked their governments to support them, but Austrian is not on that list yet. They are negotiating on the terms of the financial help and are delaying it as much as they can. Environment ministers have requested that the bailouts have some kind of environmental limitations.
Sri Lankan Airlines Will Operate 3 Repatriation Flights To India
India has banned international flights, but stranded passengers still need to get to their home countries. Sri Lankan will operate a total of three repatriation flights to get stranded Sri Lankan citizens back. Two flights to Coimbatore on Thursday and one to Amritsar on Friday will take place.
Alitalia Will Not Be Part Of SkyTeam Anymore
Alitalia is now taken over by the government and will be restructured, after which it will likely no longer be a member of SkyTeam. The new Alitalia will have 23 aircraft taken away from its fleet, that will mean that they will have 90 aircraft. The focus, though, isn’t on the reduced aircraft numbers, but on the SkyTeam membership. If the membership isn’t renewed by May 21st, Alitalia will no longer sell tickets for Delta, KLM, Air France, Aeroflot-operated flights, to name a few, and vice versa. Put simply, Alitalia won’t be part of SkyTeam after 21.05.2020 if the contract isn’t renewed. We will see what will happen in a month.
That’s All, Folks!
I have missed some articles here and there, as I didn’t find them interesting enough. Your feedback is essential for this series, so if you want to share your thoughts, feel free.
I hope you enjoyed today’s Aviation News Daily and that I saved you some time and succeeded in my mission to keep you guys up-to-date in the aviation world.
All news stories are from SimpleFlying’s website. Any critique, tips, opinions, comment and advice is awaited, respected and appreciated!