Mexico City based Mexicana becomes the 11th member to join the One World alliance founded by American Airlines, British Airways, Qantas and Cathay Pacific in 1998. One World is one of the three major airline alliances in the world. Other members of One World are Finnair, Iberia, Malev, Japan Airlines, Lan Chile and Royal Jordanian.
Mexicana, operating a fleet of mainly Airbus A318, A319 and A320 aircraft on short and mediun haul routes, as well as the Boeing 767 and Airbus A330 on long haul routes, officially joined the One World alliance on November 9th 2009. Mexicana operates also a fleet of Fokker 100's and Boeing 717's on short haul regional routesAt the ceremony of Mexicana joining the alliance, one Airbus A320 painted with the One World logo jet was brought for the celebration. The other major airline of Mexico, Aero Mexico, is part of the Sky Team alliance.
Next member expected to join One World is S7, an airline based in Siberia Russia.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
American retires last A300
On the night between Aug 24th and 25th 2009, flight AA 1908 bound from Miami FL (MIA) landed in New York's John F Kennedy International Airport (JFK) at 121 am local time. This was the last official Airbus A300 flight at American Airlines.
American started operating the Airbus A300 in revenue service on May 10th 1988. It looked at the Airbus A300 while at the same time it launched and ordered the Boeing 767-300ER, both models had the capacity and range American wanted for its international networks but the Boeing jets could not all be delivered as quickly as the Airbus jets could, so an initial order for 25 Airbus A300-600's was placed and those were delivered in the late 1980's. A further 10 aircraft were ordered and delivered between 1991 and 1993. All Airbus jets were assigned on East Cast flights and Latin America flights in the beginning, but in the late 1990's part of the fleet was reconfigured in an F/C/Y class layout for international operations, those were also used on trans Atlantic flights between JFK and LHR, but they were quickly removed from trans Atlantic operations once the Boeing 777's arrived and took over the JFK-LHR flights. The Airbus jets were reconfigured in a two-class layout and all were assigned on the East Coast and Latin American networks, they were based in MIA and JFK.
American suffered one major disaster with the Airbus in November of 2001 when flight AA 587 crashed in the New York City area shortly after take off out of JFK. Rudder malfunction is thought to be the cause of the crash but the disaster turned out to be a major disagreement between American Airlines and Airbus Industries. They blame each other for the disaster in the training of the pilots and the maintenance procedures of the aircraft. This disaster lead to a deteriorated relationship between the airline and the manufacturer, this is one reason why American has never ordered any other Airbus model since then. No more than 34 Airbus aircraft remained in the fleet between 2001 and 2009.
The decision to retire the Airbus A300's was made following three reasons:
1 - Cut capacity, given the troubled economy of the United States all airlines cut capacity, retired older aircraft sooner than originally planned and deferred deliveries of new aircraft.
2 - They face more maintenance issues than the Boeing do, hence more delays and grounding of equipment. They are more costly in maintenance and take longer in being serviced than the Boeings do.
3- Simplify the fleet by reducing the number of aircraft types and lowering the average age of the fleet. The A300's were older than most aircraft in the fleet, the only aircraft at American older than the A300 is the Boeing 767-200ER still in operation on long domestic routes. The Boeing 767-200ER's were delivered between 1985 and 1987.
American has drastically simplified its fleet. Only five types remain in the mainline fleet, all Boeing types: B737-800, B757-200, B767-200/300ER, B777-200ER and MD-80. The Airbus A300 has been in service with American for 21 years, it was American's only Airbus product. All former A300 routes are now flown mostly with Boeing 757 and 767 equipment.
American started operating the Airbus A300 in revenue service on May 10th 1988. It looked at the Airbus A300 while at the same time it launched and ordered the Boeing 767-300ER, both models had the capacity and range American wanted for its international networks but the Boeing jets could not all be delivered as quickly as the Airbus jets could, so an initial order for 25 Airbus A300-600's was placed and those were delivered in the late 1980's. A further 10 aircraft were ordered and delivered between 1991 and 1993. All Airbus jets were assigned on East Cast flights and Latin America flights in the beginning, but in the late 1990's part of the fleet was reconfigured in an F/C/Y class layout for international operations, those were also used on trans Atlantic flights between JFK and LHR, but they were quickly removed from trans Atlantic operations once the Boeing 777's arrived and took over the JFK-LHR flights. The Airbus jets were reconfigured in a two-class layout and all were assigned on the East Coast and Latin American networks, they were based in MIA and JFK.
American suffered one major disaster with the Airbus in November of 2001 when flight AA 587 crashed in the New York City area shortly after take off out of JFK. Rudder malfunction is thought to be the cause of the crash but the disaster turned out to be a major disagreement between American Airlines and Airbus Industries. They blame each other for the disaster in the training of the pilots and the maintenance procedures of the aircraft. This disaster lead to a deteriorated relationship between the airline and the manufacturer, this is one reason why American has never ordered any other Airbus model since then. No more than 34 Airbus aircraft remained in the fleet between 2001 and 2009.
The decision to retire the Airbus A300's was made following three reasons:
1 - Cut capacity, given the troubled economy of the United States all airlines cut capacity, retired older aircraft sooner than originally planned and deferred deliveries of new aircraft.
2 - They face more maintenance issues than the Boeing do, hence more delays and grounding of equipment. They are more costly in maintenance and take longer in being serviced than the Boeings do.
3- Simplify the fleet by reducing the number of aircraft types and lowering the average age of the fleet. The A300's were older than most aircraft in the fleet, the only aircraft at American older than the A300 is the Boeing 767-200ER still in operation on long domestic routes. The Boeing 767-200ER's were delivered between 1985 and 1987.
American has drastically simplified its fleet. Only five types remain in the mainline fleet, all Boeing types: B737-800, B757-200, B767-200/300ER, B777-200ER and MD-80. The Airbus A300 has been in service with American for 21 years, it was American's only Airbus product. All former A300 routes are now flown mostly with Boeing 757 and 767 equipment.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Lufthansa retires last Airbus A300
Farewell to the A300 at Lufthansa.
Frankfurt based Lufthansa retired the last Airbus 300-600 Series on July 1st 2009, the final flight originating in Rome (FCO) arrived in Frankfurt (FRA) where a farewell party took place.
Lufthansa has a long history with Airbus. It was one of the first airlines to fly the original A300 back in the mid 1970's when this model was new, it was also the time Airbus Industries came in the airliner business to compete against Boeing in the large aircraft market, not surprising since German aerospace companies are part of the Airbus Consortium based in Toulouse, and since then it helped Airbus launching later models including the A310 (launched with Swissair), the A320 (launched with Air France) and the A340. Lufthansa was also an early customer for the Superjumbo A380, and also flies the A330 on long haul routes.
Lufthansa (and maybe Thai) is one of the airlines that have flown the A300 of all variants for the longest period of time in its history, it has indeed flown the type for over three decades. The smaller and younger A310 which was introduced in the mid 1980's was retired a decade ago. Lufthansa is one of the most important customers at Airbus (other important customers include Air France and Iberia), it has been since the mid 1970's and will continue to be for many more years to come. For a long time to come, the A319/320/321 will remain in service in the short and medium haul sectors and the larger A330 and A340 will remain in service int he long haul sectors on intercontinental flights. The A380 will enter service with the German airline in the near future on hi density long haul flights. The Boeing fleet will consist of the 747-400's followed by the all new 747-8I, as well as the MD-11 (only in the freighter version, the passenger version was not considered). The 737's will be phased out in 2012.
Lufthansa, known for its punctuality and excellent inflight service, is a member of the Star Alliance and was one of the founding members. It bought Swiss in the middle of the 2000's and is now in the process of buying Brussels Airlines, the latter two based in Zurich and Brussels respectively are to be members of the Star Alliance. Other members of Star include but are not limited to SAS, Thai, United, SAA and Austrian.
Frankfurt based Lufthansa retired the last Airbus 300-600 Series on July 1st 2009, the final flight originating in Rome (FCO) arrived in Frankfurt (FRA) where a farewell party took place.
Lufthansa has a long history with Airbus. It was one of the first airlines to fly the original A300 back in the mid 1970's when this model was new, it was also the time Airbus Industries came in the airliner business to compete against Boeing in the large aircraft market, not surprising since German aerospace companies are part of the Airbus Consortium based in Toulouse, and since then it helped Airbus launching later models including the A310 (launched with Swissair), the A320 (launched with Air France) and the A340. Lufthansa was also an early customer for the Superjumbo A380, and also flies the A330 on long haul routes.
Lufthansa (and maybe Thai) is one of the airlines that have flown the A300 of all variants for the longest period of time in its history, it has indeed flown the type for over three decades. The smaller and younger A310 which was introduced in the mid 1980's was retired a decade ago. Lufthansa is one of the most important customers at Airbus (other important customers include Air France and Iberia), it has been since the mid 1970's and will continue to be for many more years to come. For a long time to come, the A319/320/321 will remain in service in the short and medium haul sectors and the larger A330 and A340 will remain in service int he long haul sectors on intercontinental flights. The A380 will enter service with the German airline in the near future on hi density long haul flights. The Boeing fleet will consist of the 747-400's followed by the all new 747-8I, as well as the MD-11 (only in the freighter version, the passenger version was not considered). The 737's will be phased out in 2012.
Lufthansa, known for its punctuality and excellent inflight service, is a member of the Star Alliance and was one of the founding members. It bought Swiss in the middle of the 2000's and is now in the process of buying Brussels Airlines, the latter two based in Zurich and Brussels respectively are to be members of the Star Alliance. Other members of Star include but are not limited to SAS, Thai, United, SAA and Austrian.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Continental pilot dies in flight
On Thursday Jun 18th 2009, the captain of a Continental Airlines Boeing 777 jet died in flight while operating flight CO 61 originating in Brussels (BRU). The aircraft was scheduled to arrive in Newark (EWR) where Continental has one of its major hubs. The captain, age 61, died of a heart attack in flight not long before preparing for the approach to Newark NJ. A cardiologist on board the flight tried to save his live. The two copilots on board took over the controls of the big jet and landed the aircraft safely at destination and on time as scheduled, it was a rainy day in the New York City area that day.
The major airlines have a policy such that a third pilot is always on board a large aircraft when operating long haul flights even if the aircraft requires only two pilots in the cockpit, the Flight Engineer's position is long gone from the major passenger airlines. The FAA passed the law that an airline captain is allowed to fly a commercial aircraft until age 65 for as long as the copilot is under 60 years of age, before that all commercial pilots had to retire at age 60 by law. The captain of flight CO 61 had his last physical check earlier this year, he had been flying for Continental for 32 years. He was based in Newark but had his home in Houston. He was going to bring chocolates from Belgium to his wife.
An airline pilot must undergo a thorough medical examination every six months during his or her career until retirement. The two copilots who took over the controls of the aircraft had been with the airline for several years and had logged thousands of flight hours according to media sources.
In 2007 another pilot of the same airline died in flight, a captain of a Boeing 757-300. The copilot and a passenger who had a private pilot licence landed the aircraft safely.
Continental is a major US airline based in Houston TX (IAH) with its other major hub in Newark NJ (EWR) as well as a smaller hub in Cleveland OH. It operates a well developed domestic and transatlantic network as well as a few routes to Latin America. It has a subsidiary Continental Micronesia operating flights out of Guam in the Pacific Ocean. Continental's mainline fleet consists of only Boeing aircraft including a large number of NG 737-700/800/900's (they still have older Classics but those will be phased out in the near term future), 757-200/300's, 767-200ER/400ER and 777-200ER. It is one of only two airlines operating the Boeing 767-400ER Series, the other one being Delta. It has ordered the all new Boeing 787. Its Express fleet consists mostly of Embraer Jets as well as a few Bombardier Dash 8 turboprops, one of which crashed in Buffalo NY. Continental is to leave the Sky Team Alliance before the end of 2009 and is then switching to Star Alliance, the plan to move to Star was announced in the summer of 2008.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Air France A330 vanishes over Atlantic Ocean
On the night from Monday 1st of June to Tuesday 2nd of June 2009, an Airbus A330-200 aircraft vanished over the Atlantic Ocean while flying from Rio de Janeiro (GIG) to Paris Charles de Gaulle airport (CDG) as flight AF 447. The aircraft had taken off at 700PM local time, or 1200midnight Paris Time, and four hours into the flight the aircraft flew into a stormy area and encounted severe turbulence, all electrical systems onboard the aircraft had failed. Normally all airliners are designed to sustain severe turbulence and are tested in ability to fly near lightning strikes, but for unknown reasons the aircraft was hit by lightning even before the pilots could spot a thunerstorm on their navigation displays, so it hit the aircraft very quickly. The pilots were unable to control the aircraft since all electrial systems had failed, so did the back up electrical systems.
The Atlantic Ocean is not a radar covered area but pilots have to do position reports at regular intervals, radio contact was lost four hours after departure. Brazilian and African air traffic control centers desperately tried to contact the doomed Air France jet but were unable to. It was then obvious that chances to find survivors were slim, if not very close to zero. Over 200 passengers and 12 crew members including one captain, two copilots and nine flight attendants, were onboard the aircraft. The captain had logged a total of 11000 flight hours including close to 2000 hours on the A330/A340 aicraft. Among the passengers were mostly French and Brazilian passengers, as well as a few from other countries. There were a few children and one baby on board.
The Airbus A330 is a long haul twinjet dating from the mid 1990's, when it entered revenue service with major airlines. It was designed with FBW control sticks like its smaller predecessor the A320 was. Fly By Wire means that the flight controls are not powered by hydraulic systems like odler models were, it means that the controls respond by electrical signals following pilot input. It is a technology dating from the 1980's.
Air France operates a fleet of Airbus A330-200 aircraft on its long haul sectors. The one involved in the desaster was delivered to the company in 2005 and had logged since then a total of over 18000 flight hours, its last maintenance check took place in April 2009. Air France's last major disaster was in 2000 when a Concorde crashed shortly after take off in Paris, because of a part left on the runway by another aircraft. In 2005 an Airbus A340-300 crashed upon landing in Toronto (YYZ) in poor weather conditions. It landed and overran the runway, all the passengers and crew members survived but the aircraft burst into flames and was damaged beyond economical repair. The last disaster of an A330 was back in 1994 when an aircraft was undergoing flight testing in France, test pilots were killed, there were no passengers on board.
The Airbus A330 has maintained a good safety record since its introduction to the airlines fifteen years ago, many of them remain in service with various operators around the world.
The Atlantic Ocean is not a radar covered area but pilots have to do position reports at regular intervals, radio contact was lost four hours after departure. Brazilian and African air traffic control centers desperately tried to contact the doomed Air France jet but were unable to. It was then obvious that chances to find survivors were slim, if not very close to zero. Over 200 passengers and 12 crew members including one captain, two copilots and nine flight attendants, were onboard the aircraft. The captain had logged a total of 11000 flight hours including close to 2000 hours on the A330/A340 aicraft. Among the passengers were mostly French and Brazilian passengers, as well as a few from other countries. There were a few children and one baby on board.
The Airbus A330 is a long haul twinjet dating from the mid 1990's, when it entered revenue service with major airlines. It was designed with FBW control sticks like its smaller predecessor the A320 was. Fly By Wire means that the flight controls are not powered by hydraulic systems like odler models were, it means that the controls respond by electrical signals following pilot input. It is a technology dating from the 1980's.
Air France operates a fleet of Airbus A330-200 aircraft on its long haul sectors. The one involved in the desaster was delivered to the company in 2005 and had logged since then a total of over 18000 flight hours, its last maintenance check took place in April 2009. Air France's last major disaster was in 2000 when a Concorde crashed shortly after take off in Paris, because of a part left on the runway by another aircraft. In 2005 an Airbus A340-300 crashed upon landing in Toronto (YYZ) in poor weather conditions. It landed and overran the runway, all the passengers and crew members survived but the aircraft burst into flames and was damaged beyond economical repair. The last disaster of an A330 was back in 1994 when an aircraft was undergoing flight testing in France, test pilots were killed, there were no passengers on board.
The Airbus A330 has maintained a good safety record since its introduction to the airlines fifteen years ago, many of them remain in service with various operators around the world.
Monday, May 18, 2009
UPS retires last DC-8
United Parcel Service (UPS) retired its last Douglas DC-8 aircraft after a water cannon salute in Louisville KY where there final flight touched down. The company operates now a fleet of Airbus A300-600F, Boeing 747-400F, 757-200F and 767-300ERF, it was also considering ordering the A380-800F but it decided not to. UPS flies to numerous destinations around the world. It had at one time a fleet of 49 DC-8's and had 44 remaining in service up until recently, the first one arrived in 1988. Most, if not all of the DC-8's at UPS, arrived second hand and flew previously for major airlines in passenger version as DC-8-60's or 70's. The DC-8's at UPS were DC-8-70's powered by CFM power plant, some were converted from older 60 variants.
The DC-8 (Douglas Commercial type 8) was designed and built by the then Long Beach based Douglas company in the late 1950's at the dawn of the jet age as a response to Boeing's 707, at the time the two main rivals of the industry were Boeing and Douglas. Douglas merged with Mc Donnell in the 1960's and remained Mc Donnell Douglas until the late 1990's when it was absorbed by Boeing. 556 DC-8's were built and today (2009) less than 100 of then remain airworthy, most of those are still flying as freighters for small companies around the world. The DC-8 was a popular long haul aircraft during the 1960's, along with the Boeing 707, but it became a popular freighter in later years when the major airlines began replacing those with Boeing 757's and 767's in the 1980's. Freight companies that flew the DC-8 for a long time include, but are not limited to, Cargolux, UPS, and Airborne Express. Many pilots who flew the DC-8 for those companies now fly the Boeing 747 or 767.
The DC-8 (Douglas Commercial type 8) was designed and built by the then Long Beach based Douglas company in the late 1950's at the dawn of the jet age as a response to Boeing's 707, at the time the two main rivals of the industry were Boeing and Douglas. Douglas merged with Mc Donnell in the 1960's and remained Mc Donnell Douglas until the late 1990's when it was absorbed by Boeing. 556 DC-8's were built and today (2009) less than 100 of then remain airworthy, most of those are still flying as freighters for small companies around the world. The DC-8 was a popular long haul aircraft during the 1960's, along with the Boeing 707, but it became a popular freighter in later years when the major airlines began replacing those with Boeing 757's and 767's in the 1980's. Freight companies that flew the DC-8 for a long time include, but are not limited to, Cargolux, UPS, and Airborne Express. Many pilots who flew the DC-8 for those companies now fly the Boeing 747 or 767.
Monday, April 27, 2009
American takes delivery of new B737 aircraft
American Airlines is now gradually replacing its Mc Donnel Douglas MD-80 aircraft with new Boeing 737-800 Series. The new Boeing 737's equiped with winglets to save fuel were ordered in the early 2000's, in addition to the 77 units already in service, to replace the oldest MD-80's in service with the airline since 1984. The first 77 aircraft, the first of which was delivered in 1999, were ordered in 1996 to replace the last remaining Boeing 727-200's then still in service.
The two 737's delivered in April of 2009 will be followed by an additional 70 units in the next two years, which means that by 2011 American will have a fleet of over 150 Boeing 737's and fewer MD-80's will remain in the fleet, some of the latter were inherited from defunct TWA in the early 2000's. The Boeing 737-800 burns 25% less fuel than the MD-80.
American showed interest in the Next Generation Boeing 737 aircraft in 1996 when the then CEO Robert Crandall decided the company would eventually have an all Boeing fleet in the long run, Seattle aircraft manufacturer Boeing would then be the sole supplier of new aircraft to the company. The idea was to replace the last Boeing 727's which left the fleet in 2002 and eventually the MD-80's in the future. The last MD-80 will leave the fleet in the early 2020's, but I don't think that all 300 MD-80's will be replaced with 737's although the latter has a reduced fuel burn compared to its predecessor, what I think will happen next decade is this: by the time American takes delivery of all the 737's it still has on order, American will look at a newer model currently under study at Boeing, the 737RS or whatever new model will be available at that time, to replace the last MD-80's around the year 2020 or so. The MD-80 is already an obsolete aircraft but American still operates that aircraft on a lot of domestic flights.
I enjoy flying on the MD-80, especially when I am seated in the front rows near a window. It is a quiet aircraft and it rises quickly. The MD-80 fleet will eventually diminish in size in the new decade coming, the 2010's, but I am confident that I will still have plenty of opportunity to fly on those for another few years. I would rather choose to fly on that one instead of the new 737-800.
The two 737's delivered in April of 2009 will be followed by an additional 70 units in the next two years, which means that by 2011 American will have a fleet of over 150 Boeing 737's and fewer MD-80's will remain in the fleet, some of the latter were inherited from defunct TWA in the early 2000's. The Boeing 737-800 burns 25% less fuel than the MD-80.
American showed interest in the Next Generation Boeing 737 aircraft in 1996 when the then CEO Robert Crandall decided the company would eventually have an all Boeing fleet in the long run, Seattle aircraft manufacturer Boeing would then be the sole supplier of new aircraft to the company. The idea was to replace the last Boeing 727's which left the fleet in 2002 and eventually the MD-80's in the future. The last MD-80 will leave the fleet in the early 2020's, but I don't think that all 300 MD-80's will be replaced with 737's although the latter has a reduced fuel burn compared to its predecessor, what I think will happen next decade is this: by the time American takes delivery of all the 737's it still has on order, American will look at a newer model currently under study at Boeing, the 737RS or whatever new model will be available at that time, to replace the last MD-80's around the year 2020 or so. The MD-80 is already an obsolete aircraft but American still operates that aircraft on a lot of domestic flights.
I enjoy flying on the MD-80, especially when I am seated in the front rows near a window. It is a quiet aircraft and it rises quickly. The MD-80 fleet will eventually diminish in size in the new decade coming, the 2010's, but I am confident that I will still have plenty of opportunity to fly on those for another few years. I would rather choose to fly on that one instead of the new 737-800.
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