SEATTLE, May 17, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — About 18,000 pounds of fresh Copper River salmon arrived on a fish-filled Alaska Airlines plane touching down at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport shortly after 6:30 a.m. Today officially marks the start of the salmon season that is anticipated by seafood lovers throughout the Pacific Northwest and beyond. By noon, Alaska Air Cargo is expected to deliver a total of 50,000 pounds of Copper River salmon to the Lower 48 with more scheduled on later flights.
Alaska Airlines pilots hold up the first Copper River Salmon upon arrival in Seattle
WASHINGTON – With temperatures heating up in the Northeast, Amtrak is making it easier to enjoy the warm weather and weekends with your favorite travel partner through its “Saturday BOGO Sale.” The sale offers customers one free adult ticket, with the purchase of one adult ticket for Saturday travel throughout the Northeast Corridor (between – and within – Washington, D.C., and Boston.) and the option to travel conveniently and affordably on the Northeast Regional (NER) or experience upscale amenities on the Acela.
The Commonwealth of Australia has taken delivery of the first of three very long range Falcon 7X trijets it has acquired for government VIP service.
The other two aircraft, to be operated by the Royal Australian Air Force, will be handed over in the following months.
The VIP units are being delivered with the latest connectivity solutions, intended to provide seamless access to high speed broadband data anywhere in the world.
The Falcon 7X offers a combination of range, and operational flexibility that no other large cabin business jet can match. The 5,950 nm 7X can fly from Canberra to any point in Asia nonstop or link Canberra to Washington or London in one hop. It can land on short and challenging runways and operate across a wide range of environmental conditions, including extremely hot and humid and dry desert climates. And the aircraft’s three-engine design provides additional safety margin and frees operators of twin engine operating constraints when flying intercontinental transoceanic routes.
These characteristics explain the immense popularity the 7X has enjoyed since its service introduction more than a decade ago. More than 280 of the big trijets have been delivered to date around the world.
“We are extremely honoured that Australia has once again chosen to renew its confidence in our Falcon product line,” said Eric Trappier, Chairman & CEO of Dassault Aviation. “The RAAF already has decades of successful experience operating Dassault aircraft, from the Mirage III fighter to the Falcon 20 and Falcon 900 business jets.”
Australia has been a key market for the Falcon for almost half century. The company’s first business jet, the Falcon 20, entered commercial service ‘Down Under’ in 1967, two years after its entry into service. The Falcon 20 entered the inventory of the RAAF the same year (under the name Mystère 20) and served in the RAAF’s transport and utility wing for 22 years before being replaced by the Falcon 900. The five-aircraft Falcon 900 fleet remained in operation through the early 2000s.
More than 120 Falcon aircraft, including over 50 Falcon 7Xs, are currently flying with public and private operators in Australia and other Asia Pacific countries.
MIRAMAR, Fla., May 02, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The savings and signature service has arrived in the Research Triangle! Today Spirit Airlines officially began service to and from Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU). The airline’s signature yellow Airbus jets will now connect RDU to Baltimore/Washington, DC, Boston, Detroit, Fort Lauderdale, New Orleans, Chicago, and Orlando with nonstop flights. The new routes also create dozens of connections to other Spirit destinations in the United States, as well as the Caribbean and Latin America. Raleigh-Durham is Spirit’s third destination in the Tar Heel State, joining the Piedmont Triad and Asheville and will soon be joined by Charlotte on June 20.
“The time has finally arrived for us to begin serving the Research Triangle, and we are ready to do just that,” said Ted Christie, Spirit Airlines’ president and CEO. “With eight daily flights to some of our biggest destinations, and connections to many more, we believe our service and value will resonate in the Raleigh-Durham region. In less than a year, Spirit has gone from no footprint in the state to serving four destinations by June 20, and I want to thank North Carolinians for embracing us.”
“We are happy to welcome Spirit Airlines as the newest carrier connecting the Research Triangle community to the world,” said Michael Landguth, president and CEO of the Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority. “Spirit’s low fares and suite of nonstop destinations will add to the world-class airport experience business and leisure travelers expect from RDU.”
Raleigh-Durham, NC (RDU)
Starts:
Frequency:
Baltimore, MD/Washington, DC (BWI)
May 2, 2019
2x daily, year-round
Boston, MA (BOS)
May 2, 2019
Daily, year-round
Detroit, MI (DTW)
May 2, 2019
Daily, year-round
Orlando, FL (MCO)
May 2, 2019
Daily, year-round
Fort Lauderdale, FL (FLL)
May 2, 2019
Daily, year-round
New Orleans, LA (MSY)
May 2, 2019
Daily, year-round
Chicago, IL (ORD)
May 2, 2019
Daily, year-round
Beyond next month’s launch in Charlotte, the airline will also be expanding on the West Coast, adding Burbank and Sacramento to its network. All three new cities will launch on June 20. Spirit’s growing route network comes with ongoing investments into its guest experience. The airline continues to rank among the top in on-time arrivals, baggage handling, and is in the process of installing high-speed Wi-Fi to its entire fleet.
About Spirit Airlines: Spirit Airlines (NYSE: SAVE) is committed to delivering the best value in the sky while providing an extraordinary Guest experience. We are the leader in providing customizable travel options starting with an unbundled fare. This allows every Guest to pay only for the options they choose — like bags, seat assignments and refreshments – something we call À La Smarte. We make it possible for our Guests to venture farther, travel more often, and discover more than ever before. Our Fit Fleet™ is one of the youngest and most fuel-efficient in the U.S. We operate more than 600 daily flights to 75 destinations in the U.S., Latin America and the Caribbean, and are dedicated to giving back and improving the communities we serve. Come save with us at spirit.com. At Spirit Airlines, we go. We go for you.
WASHINGTON – Continuing its FY18 success, Amtrak is on track for its best year as the company celebrates its 48th year of operations. Fiscal year ridership is up 1.3% through March over FY18, and Amtrak is heading toward breakeven on an operating earnings basis by FY21. Amtrak has committed to investing billions in modernizing infrastructure, fleet, and facilities to meet the growing needs and ensure a continued, bright future for passenger rail service across the nation.
Following the enactment of
the Rail Passenger Service Act in 1970, Amtrak began serving customers on May
1, 1971, taking over the operation for most intercity passenger trains then
operated by private railroads in exchange for access to their respective
networks, thus preserving intercity passenger rail service across America. With
demonstrated success under new leadership and growing demand for passenger rail,
it’s a pivotal time for America’s Railroad® to reinforce the
promises made 48 years ago and to reassess Amtrak’s network for the next 50
years.
“We are changing intercity passenger
rail to meet the needs of America – modernizing our trains and stations,
improving on-time performance, and adding contemporary amenities – making it
the preferred mode of travel for customers,” said Amtrak President & CEO
Richard Anderson. “We are experiencing record growth, and we look forward to
working with Congress to further invest in our rail infrastructure to better serve the
changing landscape of our nation.”
With much of Amtrak’s infrastructure dating
to the early 1900s and most of Amtrak’s equipment nearing the end of its useful
life, considerable investments are needed to address increased highway
congestion, rapid urbanization, and the threats posed by our changing climate.
Additionally, millennials and aging
populations are changing the overall travel landscape, forming new markets,
with many of the fastest growing markets having limited or no intercity
passenger rail service.
“We have been building a successful
company over the last several years: best-ever operating performance, record
ridership and revenue, and the highest ever capital spend,” said Amtrak Board
Chair Tony Coscia. “We have the potential to meaningfully enhance how this
country moves in the future, to provide frequent and reliable, city-to-city
passenger rail service.”
Last month, Amtrak submitted its 5 Year Plans which provide a comprehensive strategic and financial view of the services that Amtrak provides its customers along with its General and Legislative Annual Report to Congress. Amtrak is preparing to transmit a comprehensive re-authorization proposal to Congress later this year as the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act is set to expire.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao said on Monday she named four experts to a blue-ribbon committee to review the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) aircraft certification process after two deadly Boeing 737 MAX crashes killed nearly 350 people.
Chao said she was naming NASA’s former aviation safety program director Amy Pritchett and Gretchen Haskins, chief executive of HeliOffshore Ltd, an international expert in aviation safety and a former U.S. Air Force officer.
She also named Kenneth Hylander, chief safety officer at Amtrak and a former senior safety executive at Delta and Northwest airlines, and J. David Grizzle, chairman of the board of Republic Airways and a former FAA chief counsel.
The committee is “specifically tasked to review the 737 MAX 800 certification process from 2012 to 2017, and recommend improvements to the certification process.”
U.S. lawmakers have criticized the FAA’s program that allows Boeing Co and other manufacturers to oversee the process that ensures air worthiness and other vital safety aspects of new aircraft.
Chao said last month the panel would be co-chaired by retired Air Force General Darren McDew, the former head of the U.S. Transportation Command, and Lee Moak, a former president of the Air Line Pilots Association.
Federal prosecutors, the Transportation Department’s inspector general and lawmakers are investigating the FAA’s certification of the 737 MAX 8 aircraft. A joint review by 10 governmental air regulators is also set to start April 29.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Tom Brown)
Lisbon-based TAP Air Portugal has taken delivery of its first of twelve A321LRs on order, becoming the first airline to operate a combined A330neo and A321LR fleet. The A321LR is the world’s most flexible and capable large single-aisle aircraft. Powered by CFM engines, TAP’s A321LR is configured with 171 seats (16 full flat Business, 48 Eco Premium and 107 Ecomomy seats).
The combination of the A321LR and the A330neo within a single fleet provides operators a powerful lever to cover the needs of the medium- to long-haul market. With both newest-generation single-aisle (20% fuel burn reduction) and widebody aircraft (25% fuel burn reduction), airlines benefit from an unrivalled commonality for operations while passengers experience a higher and harmonised comfort standards.
“The A321LR is critical for TAP’s expansion plans. With its superior range we can comfortably explore markets in North America, South America and Africa from Portugal, and it’ll fit in seamlessly with our A330neos,” said Antonoaldo Neves, CEO, TAP Air Portugal. “In North America it allows us to explore markets on the East Coast, such as New York, Boston, Montreal or Washington. In Brazil the A321LR can open new markets in the Northeast and complement existing services to cities like Recife, Natal, Fortaleza or Salvador,” he added. “The aircraft are equipped with the latest-generation full flat business class and high comfort economy seats, a full suite of in-flight entertainment (IFE) and connectivity, as well as free messaging services”.
TAP’s A321LR will be operated on the Lisbon-Tel Aviv route at its entry into service.
“We applaud TAP Air Portugal for becoming the first airline to leverage the benefits of the A321LR and the A330neo in a common fleet. The A321LR and A330neo working in tandem have the middle market segment nicely covered. The ‘Airbus NEO Midsize Aircraft’ – let’s call them the ‘A-NMA’s,’ are a winning, seamless combination – unprecedented capacity and transatlantic range with single aisle cost with the A321LR, and unbeatable unit costs and flexibility for true long haul with the A330neo. Both with the most contemporary technology and cabin comfort in their class,” said Christian Scherer, Airbus Chief Commercial Officer.
TAP currently operates an Airbus fleet of 75 aircraft comprising five A330neo, 13 A330ceo,4 A340s, and 45 A320 Family aircraft. The single-aisle fleet includes 21 A319ceo, 20 A320ceo, four A321ceo, two A320neo and six A321neo.
The A321LR is a member of the A320neo Family, with over 6,500 orders by more than 100 customers. It delivers 30% fuel savings and nearly 50% reduction in noise footprint compared to previous-generation competitor aircraft. With a range of up to 4,000nm (7,400km) the A321LR is the unrivalled long-range route opener, featuring true transatlantic capability and premium wide-body comfort in a single aisle aircraft cabin.
The A330neo is a true new-generation aircraft building on the A330’s success and leveraging A350 XWB technology. It incorporates the highly-efficient new-generation engines, new wings and new sharklets derived from A350 XWB technology.
WASHINGTON, March 31 (Reuters) – Two U.S. Marine pilots died when their helicopter crashed near Yuma, Arizona, during a routine training mission, the Pentagon said on Sunday.
The Marines were flying an AH-1Z Viper helicopter as part of a weapons and tactics instructor course when the crash occurred late on Saturday, the Pentagon said.
The cause of the crash is being investigated. The Pentagon said the identities of the pilots would not be released for 24 hours pending notification of next of kin.
The AH-1Z Viper, a twin-engine attack helicopter built by Textron Inc subsidiary Bell Helicopter, entered production in late 2010. The Marine Corps was to acquire a total of 189 of the aircraft, according to a March 7 news release.
(Reporting by David Morgan; Editing by Dan Grebler and Daniel Wallis)
SINGAPORE/ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) – Boeing Co said it invited more than 200 airline pilots, technical leaders and regulators for an information session on Wednesday as it looks to return the 737 MAX to commercial service.
The meeting is a sign that Boeing’s planned software patch is nearing completion, though it will still need regulatory approval.
Over the weekend, Ethiopian Airlines executives had questioned whether Boeing had told pilots enough about “aggressive” software that pushes the plane’s nose down, a focus of investigation into a deadly crash in Ethiopia this month that led to the global grounding of 737 MAX jets.
The informational session in Renton, Washington on Wednesday is part of a plan to reach all current and many future 737 MAX operators and their home regulators to discuss software and training updates to the jet, Boeing said in a statement.
Garuda Indonesia, which on Friday said it planned to cancel its order for 49 737 MAX jets citing a loss of passenger trust after the crashes, was invited to the briefing, CEO Ari Askhara told Reuters on Monday.
“We were informed on Friday, but because it is short notice we can’t send a pilot there,” he said, adding the airline had requested a webinar with Boeing but that idea had been rejected.
A Boeing spokeswoman said the Wednesday event was one of a series of in-person information sessions.
“We have been scheduling and will continue to arrange additional meetings to communicate with all current and many future MAX customers and operators,” she said.
Garuda has only one 737 MAX and had been reconsidering its order before the Ethiopian crash, as has fellow Indonesian carrier Lion Air, which experienced a deadly crash in October.
Singapore Airlines Ltd said on Monday its offshoot SilkAir, which operates the 737 MAX, had received the invitation to the Wednesday event and would send representatives.
Korean Air Lines Co Ltd, which before the grounding had been due to receive its first 737 MAX in April, said it planned to send pilots to Renton.
The 737 MAX is Boeing’s best-selling plane, with orders worth more than $500 billion at list prices.
Teams from the three U.S. airlines that own 737 MAX jets participated in a session in Renton reviewing a planned software upgrade on Saturday.
A U.S. official briefed on the matter Saturday said the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has not yet signed off on the software upgrade and training but the goal is to review them in coming weeks and approve them by April.
It remained unclear whether the software upgrade, called “design changes” by the FAA, will resolve concerns stemming from the ongoing investigation into the March 10 Ethiopian Airlines crash, which killed all 157 on board.
“After the crash it came to our attention that the system is aggressive,” Yohannes Hailemariam, vice president for flight operations at Ethiopian, told local reporters speaking in the Amharic language.
“It gives a message of stalling and it takes immediate action which is faster than the action which pilots were briefed to take by Boeing,” said Yohannes, himself a pilot with over 30 years of experience, including flying Boeing’s 777 and 787.
The U.S. official said planned changes included 15 minutes of training to help pilots deactivate the anti-stall system known as MCAS in the event of faulty sensor data or other issues. It also included some self-guided instruction, the official added.
American Airlines said Sunday it will extend flight cancellations through April 24 because of the grounding of the 737 MAX and cut some additional flights.
(Reporting by Jamie Freed in Singapore and Jason Neely in Addis Ababa; additional reporting by Cindy Silviana in Jakarta, Heekyong Yang in Seoul, Tracy Rucinski in Chicago and David Shepardson in Washington; Editing by Chris Reese and Michael Perry)
WASHINGTON
(Reuters) – Purchases of U.S.-made Boeing Co aircraft by China could be
part of a sweeping deal currently being negotiated to end the
months-long trade war between Washington and Beijing, Boeing’s top
executive said on Thursday.
A
tit-for-tat trade war between the world’s two largest economic powers
has slowed the global economy. It has also opened up new risks for
Boeing, which calls itself America’s biggest exporter, in the world’s
fastest growing aviation market. Boeing sells roughly a third of its
top-selling U.S.-made 737 jetliners to customers in China.
Boeing
Chief Executive Dennis Muilenburg told an aviation summit in Washington
that he sensed U.S.-China trade talks were progressing “in a good way.”
“They
are dealing with some of the tough framework issues around intellectual
property and things like that,” Muilenburg said. “I do think they are
making progress. And at the same time, I think there’s an economic
opportunity here for airplanes to be part of the ultimate deal and help
further close the trade deficit gap.”
Governments
typically use jet deals to achieve broader diplomatic objectives. In
talks with Beijing, U.S. officials have demanded more details on China’s
pledge to make big purchases of American goods, as well as to push for
ways to hold China to any commitments on changes to industrial policies.
U.S.
President Donald Trump has demanded that China shrink its widening
trade surplus with the United States. On Wednesday, the U.S. reported
the goods trade deficit with China rose 11.6 percent to an all-time high
of $419.2 billion in 2018.
China
is poised to overtake the United States as the world’s largest aviation
market in the next decade and is gobbling up planes made by both Boeing
and European rival Airbus SE, while also investing in homegrown
aircraft businesses.
Boeing forecasts Chinese demand for 7,700 new airplanes over the next 20 years valued at $1.2 trillion.
(Reporting by Eric M. Johnson and David Shepardson in Washington; Editing by Tom Brown)
NOTE: Planesintheair.com forcast that 12 to 16 Boeing 747-8F freighters will be included in any new US-China trade deal!
