All articles by David Kaminski-Morrow – Page 93
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NewsEuropean Parliament backs draft rules to increase availability of sustainable fuel
Members of the European Parliament have adopted new draft rules broadening the definition of sustainable aviation fuels and accelerating availability levels in a bid to achieve 2050 climate targets. Parliament has raised – from 32% to 37% – the European Commission’s original proposal for minimum availability of sustainable fuel at ...
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NewsZeroAvia tightens flight-test regime after Piper crash probe flags pressure points
ZeroAvia has tightened the experimental regime for its hydrogen fuel-cell aircraft testing, including management of commercial pressures, after a UK investigation into a serious loss-of-power accident uncovered safety weaknesses in the programme. The accident, at Cranfield on 29 April last year, involved a modified Piper M350 (G-HYZA) whose single piston ...
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NewsSAS secures court approval to continue operating under Chapter 11
Scandinavian carrier SAS has obtained court approval to continue operating as normal, following its filing for US Chapter 11 protection. The company has been granted clearance to continue operating as an airline, pay employees’ wages, suppliers’ fees, and taxes, and honour customer programmes including its EuroBonus loyalty scheme. SAS had ...
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NewsZeroAvia’s electric Piper force-landed after windmilling propeller locked out motors
UK investigators have determined that the windmilling propeller on an experimental Piper M350 – which had been modified with a hydrogen fuel-cell engine – locked out power to the electric motors, leading to a forced landing which badly damaged the aircraft. The ZeroAvia aircraft (G-HYZA) had been undergoing a flight ...
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NewsJet2 chair lambasts ‘atrocious’ service from ‘ill-prepared’ UK airports
UK budget carrier Jet2’s executive chair has issued a scathing opinion over the readiness of its base airports to deal with recovering passenger demand, describing them as being “woefully ill-prepared”. Philip Meeson says “most” of the airline’s 10 base airports in the UK have been “poorly resourced” for the volume ...
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NewsAn-124 successor tweaked to feature winglets and larger cross-section
Russian developers have tweaked the design of a proposed successor to the Antonov An-124 to increase its capacity, and assess the potential benefits of winglets. The proposed design – tentatively designated the ‘Slon’, a word meaning ‘elephant’ – has been undergoing windtunnel tests at the Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute. Previous testing ...
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NewsLogistics entrepreneur Kuehne overtakes state as largest Lufthansa shareholder
Logistics entrepreneur Klaus-Michael Kuehne has increased his stake in German flag-carrier Lufthansa, becoming the largest single shareholder in the company. Lufthansa Group filings show that Kuehne raised his stake on 5 July from just over 10% to a little more than 15%. The company states that its shareholder structure, as ...
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NewsVertical Aerospace picks battery cell supplier for VX4 eVTOL
Vertical Aerospace has selected the Taiwanese firm Molicel to supply high-power battery cells for the company’s VX4 electric vertical take-off aircraft. The two sides have entered a partnership which will result in Molicel providing its cell technology for integration with Vertical Aerospace’s battery-pack design. Vertical Aerospace says the agreement will ...
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NewsAeroflot Group to consolidate MRO capabilities within A-Technics subsidiary
Russian flag-carrier Aeroflot is to reinforce its maintenance capabilities by transferring infrastructure and personnel to its specialised technical subsidiary A-Technics. It intends to complete the transfer of production facilities – including hangar complexes at Moscow Sheremetyevo – and re-assignment of qualified staff by the end of this year. As a ...
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NewsUnited 737 Max computer examined after ‘blanking’ precedes wrong-runway landing
US investigators are examining a United Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9’s flight-management computer after an incident in which the system’s displays apparently blanked before the aircraft inadvertently landed on the wrong runway at Pittsburgh. The crew had needed to input a number of amendments into the flight-management computer during the ...
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NewsSaudi Arabian sovereign fund establishes new aircraft leasing company
Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund is to branch into aircraft management and leasing, through the establishment of a lessor branded ‘AviLease’. The Public Investment Fund, which has some $620 billion in assets under management, already supports a diverse number of sectors – such as finance, mining, transport and construction – ...
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NewsSAS Chapter 11 filing 'accelerated' to protect company: chief executive
SAS chief executive Anko van der Werff insists the pilot strike affecting the company did not directly trigger its US Chapter 11 filing, but has accelerated the decision to seek court protection. The board made the decision on 5 July to proceed with the filing, the day after SAS pilots ...
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NewsSAS files for US Chapter 11 protection to push through restructuring
Scandinavian operator SAS has voluntarily filed for US Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, as part of its efforts to push through a comprehensive restructuring of its business. Through the court-supervised process it aims to reach agreements with its main stakeholders, restructure its debts and reconfigure its aircraft fleet. It expects the ...
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NewsStar Alliance ties up with Deutsche Bahn to offer air-rail interchange
German rail operator Deutsche Bahn is to become a non-airline partner of Star Alliance, offering surface connections to passengers of the carrier group later this year. Deutsche Bahn will be the alliance’s first intermodal partner from 1 August. It states that the tie-up will “intelligently connect” air and rail, and ...
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NewsTAP A330neo threw up dust during near-overrun take-off from Angola
Investigators believe a take-off performance miscalculation at Luanda meant a TAP Air Portugal Airbus A330neo became airborne at the far end of the runway after a late increase in thrust. The A330-900 (CS-TUL), with a take-off weight of 191.3t, was bound for Lisbon on 12 April. Although the twinjet had ...
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NewsSAS warns 'reckless' pilots' strike threatens carrier's survival
SAS is warning that industrial action by pilots is reckless and threatens the survival of the company, after it failed to avert a strike by cockpit crews. Efforts at mediation had twice deferred a strike notice, pushing it back from 29 June until 4 July. But SAS says the members ...
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NewsVallair prepares to convert A330s under new Class-E freighter programme
French engineering specialist Vallair has unveiled a Class-E cargo modification for Airbus A330-300s, which is intended to offer a quick low-cost alternative to full freighter conversion. The upper-deck modification – which will offer a 60t payload and range of some 4,200nm – is designed to “bridge the gap” for operations ...
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NewsEl Al strives to settle labour dispute with cockpit crews
Israeli flag-carrier El Al is continuing negotiations with cockpit crew representatives in a bid to resolve a persistent dispute ahead of a labour court hearing. The dispute – focused on pay claims and working conditions – has led to disruptions in the airline’s schedule over the past couple of months ...
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NewsSAS gains more negotiating time as pilots push back strike again
Mediators have obtained a further postponement of threatened industrial action by SAS pilots, at least until 4 July. The planned strike by cockpit crew for the Scandinavian carrier was originally scheduled to commence on 29 June. It was deferred by three days, to 2 July, after the two sides agreed ...
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NewsEASA spearheads rulemaking for VTOL-capable operations and licensing
Europe’s air transport safety authority has laid out pioneering proposals for integrating operation of air taxis within cities, using innovative vertical take-off aircraft, with rules complementing those previously drawn up for unmanned aircraft systems. The proposals cover airworthiness and flight-crew licensing, as well as air operations, and the European Union ...