General News
Below are links to stories of general interest in relation to aviation and airports.
Fire breaks out on an empty, parked Ethiopian Airlines Dreamliner, at Heathrow
A fire occurred in an Ethiopian Airlines Dreamliner, parked at a remote parking stand. There were no passengers on board and the plane was not due to fly for several more hours. Pictures showed the aircraft on the runway, surrounded by fire engines and covered in flame-retardant foam; TV footage showed an area on the fuselage in front of the tail that appeared to be scorched. It is not known if the battery system was associated with the fire, and the batteries are not in that part of the plane. A statement released by Ethiopian Airlines said the jet had been "parked at the airport for more than eight hours" before the fire. The lithium batteries were the cause of the previous incidents that led to the grounding of the Dreamliner in January.Flights at Heathrow were suspended for an hour and a half. Heathrow said suspension is a standard procedure if fire crews are occupied with an incident. BA now has two Dreamliners and a BA spokesman said it was too early to say whether its two would now be grounded. On April 27, Ethiopian Airlines was the first carrier to resume flights with Dreamliners.
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EasyJet board approves purchase of 135 Airbus A320s between now and 2022
Easyjet shareholders have voted in favour of the airline’s order of 135 new Airbus A320 aircraft despite opposition from founder Sir Stelios. He says the aircraft order was “a good deal for Airbus and a bad deal for Easyjet shareholders”. Easyjet chairman John Barton said: “The vote in favour of our new fleet arrangements will allow Easyjet to continue its successful strategy of modest, profitable growth and sustainable returns for our shareholders.” EasyJet has ordered 35 current A320 aircraft for delivery between 2015 and 2017, and 100 new generation A320 Neo aircraft for delivery between 2017 and 2022. The Neo planes (new generation engine) planes are meant to be a bit more fuel efficient. EasyJet's fleet currently consists of 191 planes, of which 138 are A319s (which can take 156 passengers) and 53 are A320s (which can seat 180 if all in one class). The new A320 Neo planes are the same size as the older A320s and can also take 180 passengers, in one class. Easyjet so far only has one class, so can get the maximum number of seats per plane.
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BA flight emergency landing at Heathrow due to engine covers unlocked: 9 passengers sue
A group of 9 British and Norwegian passengers have begun legal action against Airbus and Aero Engines, after the BA plane made an emergency landing at Heathrow in May. The flight to Oslo had to make an emergency landing, soon after take off, as the engine covers few open and fell off during take-off. The cover on the right engine split a fuel pipe on the engine which subsequently caught fire. The plane flew back with an engine burning, right across London, but landed safely and though passengers had to use the emergency shutes, no-one was hurt. The covers had not been closed and locked properly following maintenance checks the night before. The 9 passengers have now filed a complaint in the US saying that they have suffered severe psychological trauma as a result of the emergency landing, which has affected their personal and professional lives. There have been more than 30 other cases when engine covers have not been closed properly. It is likely that there will be more passengers joining the claim, which could total $25m
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‘Quick death’ might be better for Stanwell Moor in Heathrow debate
A "quick death" for Stanwell Moor is the best-case result for residents - that was the feeling after a meeting on 1st July to discuss the blight of a potential third Heathrow runway through the village. The threat of long term blight and community death are some of the most serious concerns. Kathy Croft, chairman of Stanwell Moor Residents’ Association, said after the gathering: “I would rather a quick death for Stanwell Moor than endure the fate suffered by Sipson.” Heathrow has yet to confirm or deny the reports of plans for a third runway to be built over the Stanwell Moor area - it will publish its submission to the Airports Commission on 17th July. The Stanwell Moor Residents have another meeting with Heathrow scheduled for July 18. A spokesman for Heathrow said: “It is important that those who are most affected by the airport are given the opportunity to put their concerns to Heathrow first hand, and that we listen and respond to them. “We will continue to meet regularly with local communities, such as Stanwell Moor as we move forward through this process.” Mrs Croft said: “I would just like a decision, the last thing we want is to be like Sipson."
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Gatwick Airport appoints MI6 HQ architect Sir Terry Farrell to promote its 2nd runway plans
Gatwick Airport has appointed a leading architect, Sir Terry Farrell, to help in its plans to build a 2nd runway. Sir Terry will help Gatwick in its proposals for a "constellation of 3 London airports" with 2 runways each - 2+2+2. Gatwick hopes competition between it, Heathrow and Stansted was "the best solution for London". Sir Terry's previous projects include the MI6 building and Home Office headquarters in London and Incheon Airport in South Korea. Sir Terry's firm, Farrells, will look at the impact on London of having competing airports of equal size compared to a single "mega-hub" airport. He said: "The world city of London, with the largest aviation market in the world, is the hub and its airport infrastructure needs to evolve and grow around the city" and that "a single mega-hub airport is at significant odds with what London needs."
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Aviation Noise discussion paper launched by Airports Commission
The Airports Commission has published Aviation noise, the 5th and last of its series of discussion papers, for public comment. The Aviation noise paper explores current scientific understanding and existing policy on aviation and noise, and the issue of annoyance and how this develops over time. It contains chapters on: How does noise affect people? (including health, night noise, amenity, quality of life, productivity and learning effects); Measuring aircraft noise (including noise metrics); Quantifying noise effects (including monetising noise impacts); Mitigation (including operational restrictions, and compensation). Sir Howard Davies, the Chair of the Airports Commission, said understanding the impact of noise from aviation on communities around airports and under flight paths is central to the Airport Commission’s work - both for options to make best use of existing airport/runway capacity in the next 5 years, and any future recommendations to Government for new airport capacity. Deadline for comment is 6th September - it is not a technically difficult document, so possible for the public to respond to
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Only a 4-runway hub airport will do, says new study for Boris (done by York Aviation)
As their response to the Airports Commission discussion paper on airport operational models the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has had a report commissioned from York Aviation - a company that has produced many reports for the aviation industry over recent years. This report, (not yet publicly available) not surprisingly bearing in mind Boris's continuing support for a huge new hub airport for London, comes out saying London needs a new huge, 4 runway hub airport. The findings of the report were made public by City Hall two weeks before the Mayor submits his proposals to the Airports Commission. Boris is against Heathrow expansion, so unsurprisingly, the York Aviation report says Heathrow is not the right site for a 4 runway hub, as it lacks the space to configure the facilities and its expansion would be a blight on local residents (ignoring the blight that would be caused for others elsewhere?). York Aviation comes up with all the usual stuff about need for flights to emerging markets, need for the UK to retain its hub supremacy, and so on. Nothing new.
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IATA bemoans its poor returns to investors – and calls for more airline consolidation
In a recent IATA study, they say that returns on capital invested in airlines are still far below what investors would normally expect to earn. Investors can make much more money investing elsewhere. IATA's director general, Tony Tyler, said: "Unless we find ways to improve returns for our investors it may prove difficult to attract the $4-5 trillion of capital we need to serve the expansion in connectivity over the next two decades, the vast majority of which will support the growth of developing economies.” IATA says during 2004-2011 period, returns on capital invested in the airline industry worldwide averaged 4.1% but that is nowhere near the average cost of capital of 7.5% which represents the return on capital that investors would expect. "On average industry returns were just sufficient for the industry to service its debt, with nothing left to reward equity investors for risking their capital." Tony Tyler said: “Airlines . . . face a hyper fragmented industry structure owing to government policies that discourage cross-border consolidation. There is plenty of room for some fresh thinking.” Tony Tyler also said that net profits per airline passenger worldwide were just $2.56 in 2012. So little profit - for so much environmental damage and so much CO2.
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European Commission defends €3bn annual subsidies for airports and low-cost airlines
The European Commission published new draft guidelines that will allow regional airports and EU airlines using them to keep receiving subsidies worth as much as €3bn a year. The consultation lasts till 25th September. In several cases the EC subsidies prop up unprofitable regional airports and low-cost carriers, so they can continue to operate in an unsustainable way which distorts competition between budget and national carriers. Commercial airlines can receive subsidies to establish and run new routes from financially non-viable airports. Transport & Environment (T&E) have expressed their disappointment about this, and that the draft guidelines to not go far enough to prevent the continued construction of f trophy" airports by regional administrations, which end up under-used or even permanently closed and invariably add unsupportable financial burdens on regional coffers. T&E say scarce taxpayer money should be put to better use.
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EADS and Rolls Royce considering the concept of a hybrid electric-biofuel plane ??
EADS (European aerospace, defence etc) and Rolls Royce say they are developing the concept of the first “hybrid” airliner propelled by a combination of electricity, and algae- derived biofuel. They claim it would produce 75% less CO2 than a conventional airliner, and work in a similar way to hybrid cars, such as the Prius. While all electric planes would not be able, at best, to carry a couple of passengers, there might be the potential for hybrid planes to carry more. EADS' “E-Thrust” project would give the plane propulsion by 6 electric fans along the back of its wings. Its engine (using liquid fuel, perhaps biofuel) would generate electrical power, which would be stored in a large lithium battery [the sort that caused the Dreamliner such problems with overheating] in the aircraft’s fuselage. The aim is for the plane to use liquid fuel plus battery power to take off and climb, and then for the battery to get some charge back while cruising. The plane would then glide in to land, generating more electrical energy to top up the battery for the extra power it will need for the landing. Many decades ahead, if it works at all? .