Sharklets soon to be on the A318

"Airbus has confirmed that A318s will be offered from 2013 with fuel-saving sharklets wing tips. The A318 will be the last model in the A320 family to receive the sharklet, which will first enter service on the A320 in 2012 with Air New Zealand, followed byFinnair's A321s in 2013, with the A319 and lastly the A318 that same year."
Flightglobal.com


AIrbus has received confirmation that starting in 2013, Sharklets on Airbus A318's will become available to customers who are willing to pay a little extra. Ok, lets backtrack a bit here, what's a Sharklet? So when an aircraft flies, there is obviously drag that occurs. Now drag is not a good thing because it basically slows an aircraft down in a way. When it slows an aircraft down, you need more thrust so that it can move faster. When you use more thrust you use more fuel and that is costly and not efficient. What these Sharklets do, is that they reduce the amount of drag that leaves the wing because of their design. This is a very cost effective measure because then pilots can fly at a lower thrust setting saving fuel and essentially go even farther destination wise because of the "extra" fuel they now have. However, Sharklets are not cheap either, so sometimes the price of the Sharklet does not pay out by savings in fuel efficiency. Thats why Sharklets are generally installed on aircraft that fly further distances. More info on Sharklets can be found here.


"British Airways operates a pair of 32-seat all-business class A318s from London City to John F Kennedy International in New York, with a westbound fuel stop in Shannon, Ireland for fuel and immigration pre-clearance. The return leg from New York is flown directly. While it is not yet clear that the additional fuel stop could be eliminated with the 2.4m (8ft)-tall sharklets, which Airbus claims will improve climb performance and reduce fuel burn by 3.5% over the longest segments, the airframer says a "proper study would need to be done for each particular mission", referring to the transatlantic service offered by British Airways."
Flightglobal.com


This is a perfect example of a great use of Sharklets. Because of the Sharklets, British Airways might be able to cut the fuel-stop needed in Shannon, Ireland which will be good because BA would be able to save on airport taxes and landing fees. Sharklets are a good cost measure idea if used in the right places at the right time. If you instal Sharklets on aircraft that will fly short distances when fuel prices are cheap, then its a bad idea. But if you instal Sharklets on aircraft that will fly long haul distances and also when fuel prices are high, they can significantly cut your fuel bill.

                      Sharklets are those blue pieces of aluminum that are sticking up at the end of the wing. 

AirTran, the new Southwest

As we all know Southwest as the the no-frills low price airline in which many of us love because of its quick and friendly service. They have decided to take a bold move and has buy out their main rivals in a deal worth approximately 3.4 billion dollars. We have been hearing of these many mergers between the main legacy carriers such as United and Continental, and Northwest with Delta. But no one had expected the deal between the two no-frills airlines of Southwest and AirTran to actually work out.

"Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - News) announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire all of the outstanding common stock of AirTran Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:AAI - News), the parent company of AirTran Airways (AirTran), for a combination of cash and Southwest Airlines' common stock."
Link

Unlike the merger between the major legacy carriers such as United and Continental in this situation the difference between the two is when a merger occurs management and many other high positions are made obsolete or are smudged together and made whole. In this situation, all of the employees of AirTran will now be under the operations of Southwest. In a way this is good because there's not as much complication that occurs. However there are also certain problems, since it is not a merger and it's more of the buyout there are many overlapping jobs that might need to be cut. Also since management is not merging many of AirTran's higher officials will not have no say in how their employees are treated or what their future will end up to be.

""Today is an exciting day for our Employees, our Customers, the communities we serve, and our Shareholders," said Gary C. Kelly, Chairman, President, and CEO of Southwest Airlines. "As we approach our 40th Anniversary of providing exceptional Customer Service at everyday low fares, the acquisition of AirTran represents a unique opportunity to grow Southwest Airlines' presence in key markets we don't yet serve and takes a significant step towards positioning us for future growth."
Link


People always have that bad taste in their mind that mergers are buyouts are always a bad idea. We always have that sense that quality and service will go down while the price goes up.The truth is that fares and other statistics depend on different variables. There is not always one way in which aviation works. Prices will fluctuate with demand and the economy.

The future of Southwest looks great and they now have a bigger and stronger airline than ever. The hope of to bring the best of the companies in order to make a more perfect airline.

An invisible plane? Airbus might have plans

So wait, two things, what year are we in? and most importantly, why?


Well the very innovative European aircraft manufacturer Airbus, might be going a bit beyond the extra mile. In their latest press conference, they brought up an idea of an invisible plane. 


"Aircraft manufacturer Airbus has theorized a see-through passenger plane for the future, one with a completely transparent fuselage. In this concept craft, the push of a button by the captain would a send an electrical pulse through a high-tech ceramic skin -- making the main body of the plane see-through." Foxnews.com 


Bigger question in my opinion is why? I dont really see the point of it. I guess everyone would be able to have a window seat and the viewing experince would be much more pleasurable. But, things like water, luggage, lavatories, people, and physical parts of the aircraft like landing gear would still show. So I really do wonder what they mean. 


"This smarter structure would help to make the aircraft lighter and more cost-efficient while giving the passenger 360 degree views of the skies," wrote the company. "The planes of the future will offer an unparalleled, unobstructed view of the wonders of the five continents -- where you will be able see the pyramids or the Eiffel Tower through the transparent floor of the aircraft." Foxnews.com


So apparently the viewing option like I previously mentioned is what is at stake. You would think that at a time like this when airlines are not being to extravagant and luxurious, something this out of the ordinary would be out of the question, but surprisingly enough it has caught some eyes. 


Aviation is an amazing field and anything is possible if hard work is put towards it.  

United Airlines Capt. Flanagan finds a way!

Well, as you all might know, air travel has changed significantly from what it used to be, to what it is now. People actually used to get dressed up in pretty luxurious clothes just to take a flight. It was considered pretty spectacular for someone to just jump on a plane and go across the country. There were nice big seats,  REAL food, and none of these nonsense fees that we are overburdened with. Flying was a dream too many. 

Airliners.net

United Captain Denny Flanagan is trying to bring back some of the essence of what was, back to current life. Capt Flanagan is known to be one of the airlines most favorite pilots because of his unique ways to make sure that he can make his passengers experiences the best possible. He is known to keep the passengers entertained with his antics but more with his care and generosity. He loves to play games with his passengers by setting up raffles inflight and seeing if you can win maybe a bottle of wine by trying to figure out certain math equations through the information he gives you. They have to do with the flight that they are on. He is also known to be a very caring person, there have been stories when his flight had been delayed and he bought over 200 hamburgers from Mcdonald's for his passengers as a gesture. He has gotten thousands of compliments and they just keep rolling in. CBS did a whole story on him here. 

Since i have personally met him a few times, i can safely say that CBS basically covers him as a whole. But they still seem to miss how good of a person he is. Some things you cant just capture through a camera but more through your own eyes. 

This is what flying should be all about. Not what we have gotten ourselves into today. 

Airliners.net

   

Ryanair at it again

"Low cost carrier Ryanair is considering three hundred additional aircraft to buy." luchtvaartnieuws


Ryanair the super low cost airline that runs in Europe is in the market for 300 aircraft to add to its growing fleet. Ryanair is known to be the southwest of Europe but even cheaper! Their famous 5 pound tickets or about $7 can get you up to 500 miles. Their also famous seat give aways have made them very popular with customers. However be warned, this is an absolutely no frill airline. Complain about service here? On Ryanair everything, is charged, and I mean everything. Yes a cup water is 2 pounds. The famous CEO of Ryanair Michael O'Leary has been called crazy for all of his money making ideas. Ideas have included things such as making passengers stand instead of sit so as to increase capacity per aircraft, charge people extra by their weight, and one of the craziest, charging 50 pents or around $0.75 per bathroom visit!


"But Ryanair's O'Leary plans in the coming years to grow yet again, perhaps so up three hundred additional aircraft. Boeing and Airbus would be in the race for the order. However, there are no negotiations, and Airbus has reportedly refused to negotiate with Ryanair." luchtvaartnieuws

Again another bloody war between Airbus and Boeing will be fought again to try to secure this order which could generate millions of dollars. Even though Airbus has said that they would not cater to Ryanair's needs, I find it hard to believe and I really doubt that Airbus would take a chance to loose a multi-million dollar opportunity like this. The airline industry is one that is very dynamic and in a not so correct way "shoddy". Manufactors and airlines always like to play each other in order to get a better deal for themselves. I have a very good feeling that Airbus is playing hard to get, but if made the right offer, would jump on this deal when offered.

CEO Michael O'Leary having a good time with his airline

United and Continental to finally merge!

"The Justice Department says it has closed its investigation into the proposed merger of UAL Corp. and Continental Airlines Inc." AP


The heavily anticipated merging between the two enormous legacy carriers is now one step closer to reality. Continental Airlines, (who ranks approximately 4th in size out of US airlines) who is based out of Houston, Texas has agreed to merge with UAL Corporation (United Airlines) who is currently the 3rd largest carrier in the country based out of Chicago, Illinois. I the deal is worth approximately $3.14 billion. Continentals CEO Jeff Smisek will take over as CEO for the new airline which will be called United. Current United Airlines CEO Glenn Tilton will take over as acting Chairman over the company until he retires.


"The department says the proposed merger would combine largely complementary networks of the two airlines, resulting in overlap on a limited number of routes." AP


The DOJ or Department of Justice who handles and controls very difficult cases and extremely large and valuable assets such as this one has the job to make sure that no rules or regulations are being broken such as route overlap and a few other issues in order not to decrease competition so much so that the airlines can take advantage of the situation and set extremely high fares to its customers because there is no other alternative. The DOJ has looked over and has agreed to this merger and all of its assets as it determines that there is not much route overlap and that competition will not be decreased too much because of the merger. Once the merger does go through, United will become the biggest airline in the world leap frogging over Delta which merged with Northwest in 2008. The new airline will offer a diverse fleet tied with destinations that either of the carriers did not have before.   


Sources are from AP (Associated Press)

ANA's Boeing 787

"Boeing 787 launch customer All Nippon Airways plans to quickly ramp up its fleet of the type; it wants to introduce its first 787-8s before the end of March 2011, President and CEO Shinichiro Ito told AviationWeek in an interview.


The airline will take delivery of another 12 aircraft until the end of its fiscal year 2011 (March 2012). Ito says Boeing has given ANA the same information that has been made public—that margins in the flight test program have been eaten up. But ANA still expects to get its first 787 before the end of this year, around two and a half years later than planned." -aviationweek.com

ANA, (All Nippon Airlines) one of the official airlines of Japan are the launch customer for the brand new Boeing 787. The aircraft is behing schedule by about 2.5 years because of faults in the aircraft.   The 787 is a completely redesigned new aircraft that has the latest technological advancements that are currently possible. Airbus, are creating the A350 in response to the 787 in order to stay current and try to compete this this very demanding world. 

"Ito says ANA has no plans to order the 787-10 if Boeing was to offer a further stretch of the aircraft. Soon, ANA’s long-haul fleet will be made up of only two types, the 787 and the 777. The airline plans to retire its remaining three Boeing 747-400s from international service later this year, the type will however be used on domestic routes for several more years. In spite of the current economic recovery, ANA still sees no room for larger models such as the Airbus A380 or the Boeing 747-8 in its fleet any time soon. The airline suspended a decision on a larger aircraft when the global financial crisis broke out." -aviationweek.com

ANA who has been an extremely loyal customer to Boeing has sort of shook the reigns when they announced that there was no interest in the 787-10 or the 747-8 which is a revamped model of the 747-4. ANA reports that they will also be retiting their old 747-4's from service and that there 773ER's will be taking over as their biggest aircraft.

I do not and cannot realisticly see ANA sticking with this decision becuase as the economoy tends to get better and better the airline will definitely need to increase its capacity in order to meet customer needs. I have a feeling that eventually ANA will come to their senses and order a larger aircraft or at least more 773ER's in a high capacity seating chart in order to cope with travel demands.

Quotes are from aviationweek.com