LUFTHANSA EXTENDS ITS AIRBUS ORDER
Airbus's biggest customer, Lufthansa, has taken its backlog with the airframer to 91 aircraft with an order for 32 A320-family aircraft and eight Rolls-Royce Trent 700-powered A330-300s to be operated by itself and its Swiss and Germanwings units. Lufthansa operates 325 Airbuses and now has 68 A320-family jets, 11 A330s and 12 A380s on order. The carrier also last week ordered eight Embraer 195s for use by Lufthansa Regional.
RYANAIR CALLS FOR ATC DEREGULATION
Ryanair is calling for Europe's air traffic control system to be deregulated and opened up to competition to prevent further ATC strikes, which it says have caused "unnecessary flight delays all summer". Chief executive Michael O'Leary says calling time on "bloated, inefficient, state-owned monopolies will ensure that Europe's airlines and passengers are no longer held to ransom by striking ATC bureaucrats."
INDIA MAY OPEN MILITARY SKIES TO CIVIL FLIGHTS
The Indian government is considering making part of the nation's airspace now closed for all but military use available to civil aircraft. Some 30% of Indian airspace is under military control, but dual, flexible use is seen as a way to accommodate the country's fast-growing civil aviation sector.
PILOTS, CONTROLLERS GET ONE ALERT SYSTEM
The US Federal Aviation Administration has launched a new, non-punitive voluntary safety reporting system that merges reporting by pilots and air traffic controllers into a single FAA database. Transportation secretary Ray LaHood says: "Having pilots and controllers provide information about potential air safety problems will help us correct them before they become accidents."
PARKING BRAKE ERROR BEHIND JETBLUE MISHAP
The US National Transportation Safety Board says pilots of a JetBlue Airbus A320 that suffered four blown tyres and ground-down wheel rims in a difficult landing at Sacramento International airport on 26 August had mistakenly engaged the aircraft's parking brake during approach on an otherwise normal arrival.
SCANDINAVIA GETS FIRST CITATION SERVICE CENTRE
European Maintenance Service has opened Scandinavia's first Cessna authorised Citation service centre at Gothenburg Säve Airport in Sweden. There are more than 60 Citations operating in the region.
AEROFLOT HOPES TO PLAY GAMES WITH 787
Aeroflot hopes to secure with Boeing an earlier date for the delivery of two of the 22 Boeing 787s it has on order to have them operating ahead of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. First deliveries are currently scheduled for 2016.
PUSH FOR HUMAN-POWERED FLIGHT OLYMPICS
The Royal Aeronautical Society's human-powered flight group hopes to encourage teams to come to London for a fringe event at the 2012 Olympics. Group member John Edgley says the effort is in its infancy, but it is hoped that teams from Japan, which is a hotbed of human-powered flight activity, can be lured to London as part of a broader push to develop human-powered flying as a sport activity.
Source: Flight International
