50 SKY SHADES - World aviation news

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One Flight Attendant on 5 Decades of Flying

Carol Andrews, a United Airlines flight attendant for 52 years with more than 10 million miles under her belt, was showing no signs of slowing down on a recent afternoon as she addressed a lady’s group while dressed in her 1960s United uniform. While the Pinewood Springs resident persisted in offering to show some magic tricks to the century-old Country Club, the lady’s group that m...

Drone delays Heathrow flight as MPs say they back expansion of airport

A flight was delayed at Heathrow Airport on Saturday after a drone was flown over one of its runways. The departure runway was closed for seven minutes between 12.45 and 12.52pm – delaying at least one flight - after a drone was spotted flying in Heathrow air space. One passenger, Aimee Fuller, a member of the British Olympic snowboarding team, wrote on Twitter: "Onboard! At Heath...

Mehair secures Goa seaplane/chopper contract

Mehair (MW, Mumbai Int'l) has signed a contract with the government of Goa to provide helicopter and seaplane services to remote locations within the western Indian state. The contract, which comes into being from January 6, will see Mehair deploying its seaplanes on scheduled flights to tourist locales on the Mandovi and Chapora rivers. This will be followed by helicopter operations on Jan...

Gulf airlines remain at close quarters over open skies

Aviation policies or “open skies” was the main theme in the airlines business last year. First, American carriers got tangled with their Arabian Gulf rivals in a long, dismal tale with both sides portraying the other as a beneficiary of protectionism. In March, three American airlines – Delta, United, and American – disclosed what they called a detailed piece of inves...

Finmeccanica becomes “One Company”

AgustaWestland and Alenia Aermacchi parent Finmeccanica has transformed from a holding company of separately controlled businesses into a single corporate entity with operating divisions. Under the Italian industrial group’s ‘One Company’ plan, announced on December 22, Finmeccanica now has a new governance and operating model, with the company organised into four sectors...

Chinese civil aviation sees improved flight safety in 2015

China's civil aviation sector saw improved safety in flights, according to a senior official in charge on Friday. Chinese civil aircraft have completed 3.62 million safe flights for a total of 8.46 million hours, up 7.4 percent and 10.8 percent year on year respectively, according to Li Jian, deputy head of the Civil Aviation Administration of China. The frequency of severe aircraft inci...

Jet AirWerks Awarded Repair Station Certification by the Civil Aviation Administration of China

 Jet AirWerks, LLC (JAW), a Kansas-based turbine jet engine component repair station, has been awarded certification by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) for the performance of repair and overhaul services for commercial turbine jet engine and airframe components. The CAAC certification allows Jet AirWerks to expand its market footprint and enhance its curr...

Delays at Dubai International Airport

As rain swipes across the country, Dubai International Airport (DXB) is going to experience some delays. The state of the weather and operations are the cause of the delays, but airport staff is working with airlines and other partners to take control of the situation. A Dubai International Airport spokesperson said, “Dubai International is experiencing some delay in arrivals and departur...

Fly Blue Crane CEO on breaking the aviation glass ceiling

Sizakele Mzimela is the co-founder, CEO and shareholder of South African-based regional airline Fly Blue Crane. She is a veteran aviation and business leader with 20 years of experience in executive leadership roles, including CEO at flag carrier South African Airways (SAA) and regional SA Express. Ms. Mzimela (pictured at top, center) has served as chair of the African Airlines Association (...

4 Charts Showing the State of Airline Flight Schedules Around the World

If your flight home for the holidays seemed longer or shorter than usual, that probably wasn’t a coincidence. Travelers rely on accurate flight times to ensure they make their business meetings or connecting flights on-time and there’s been fluctuation in recent years regarding how long airlines say a flight will actually last, according to a new report on flight time padding and on...

Delta’s Pilots Say It’s Their Turn To Cash In

The union representing Delta Air Lines Inc.’s pilots wants raises of almost 40 percent compounded over three years, attempting to reverse some of the pay and benefit cuts adopted in the early 2000s. The union cites the carrier’s surging profits in saying it had requested a 22 percent raise for 2016, followed by 7 percent raises in the following two years, according to a memo from th...

No drone zone around Washington DC grows

The Federal Aviation Administration's no drone zone around the nation's capital has grown. The FAA warned this summer that unmanned aircraft, such as drones and model aircraft, were prohibited within 15 miles of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, just south of Washington. But its online guidance now says they're banned from Washington's special flight rules area, a ring...

A look at facts, lingering questions in Alaska plane crash

Days after a deadly plane crash in the heart of Alaska's largest city, there are lingering questions regarding what caused the pilot to fly into two office buildings, including one where his wife works. The FBI is leading the investigation into the Tuesday morning wreck that killed 42-year-old pilot Doug Demarest, but has released little information. It declined to comment on any possible l...

EasyJet investigated by Italian aviation authorities after plane landed on wrong runway at Pisa airport

Italian aviation authorities have launched an investigation after an easyJet flight landed on the wrong runway at the airport in Pisa. Flight EZY1847 from Manchester landed on a closed runway that is used for passenger jets taxiing to or from the adjacent airstrip. The Airbus A319-100 was given permission to land on runway 04L but touched down on runway 04R instead. EasyJet said the s...

China rejects Vietnam protest over sea flight test

China rejected a protest from Vietnam over a flight test it has conducted on a new airstrip on a man-made island in the South China Sea, saying it is part of China's territory. The Chinese Foreign Ministry said Saturday it conducted a civil flight test on the newly built airstrip on Fiery Cross Reef in the Spratly Islands, a chain of islets rich in natural resources that are the focal point...

Special missions Gulfstream 550s for the RAAF?

L-3 Communications will modify an unspecified number of Gulfstream G550 aircraft for Australia under a US$93.6 million foreign military sales deal announced by the US Department of Defense on December 28. “L-3 Communications Mission Integration, Greenville, Texas, has been awarded a $93,632,287 firm fixed-price undefinitised contract action task order (1648) for Australia Government...

Lawsuit Blames Sikorsky, Other Contractors, for Death of Sailors in 2014 Sea Dragon Helicopter Crash

The widows of three sailors killed in a Navy helicopter crash two years ago off the coast of Virginia are suing the manufacturer, Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., and several other companies that produced components for the MH-53E Sea Dragon. The lawsuit filed in federal court alleges that Sikorsky and the other defendants, including General Electric, designed and manufactured an unsafe helicopter and...

Air France staff threaten January strike action

UGICT-CGT, the largest of the two unions, has called for a strike on January 28 to protest the job cuts as well as the legal action taken against five employees involved in an October 5 attack on Air France officials after the airline presented its restructuring plan. The union is also protesting the airline’s plans to spin off some of its operations. “In 2016 we’re lett...

Airbus beats own target to deliver record jetliners last year

Airbus Group SE managed to beat a company target for deliveries last year by churning out almost twice the average monthly number in December, people familiar with the achievement said. The European plane maker reached a total of about 635 and handed over 79 units in the last month of the year alone, said the people. Airbus shipped 629 planes in 2014. Airbus spokesman Stefan Schaffrath decli...

Adventurer Tracey Curtis-Taylor's England-to-Australia solo flight a homage to aviation pioneer Amy Johnson

Flying long distances solo in a bi-plane is daunting enough in modern times; to have done it in the 1930s is bordering on superhuman. PHOTO: English aviation pioneer Amy Johnson, pictured two years before her death in 1941. (Supplied: Rex/Shutterstock) Canada-based British adventurer Tracey Curtis-Taylor has some idea what aviation pioneer Amy Johnson went through to become the first fem...

7 best aviation apps

Whether it is shuttling between different time zones or bearing the responsibility of so many lives while flying, everything about a pilot’s life is tough. Thank goodness for smartphones and apps as the right app can make life simpler and easier for them. Numerous companies have been working on apps that cater specifically to pilots and aviator? We have made a list of few that we found to...