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Aviation News
December 2009

 

 
 

A selection of this month's aviation news, sorted newest articles first:

 

 
 

17/12: The British High Court has ruled that the announced strike of 12,500 British Airways flight attendants is not allowed. Around one million passengers would be affected by the strike, many of whom decided to purchase new tickets with other carriers to make sure they could travel between Christmas and New Year.

 

 
 

16/12: Scottish carrier Flyglobespan has ceased all operations following a failed attempt to find a new investor. The airline operated low cost and charter flights between Scotland and destinations in southern Europe, as well as services between the UK and North America. The carrier has a fleet of ten aircraft including Boeing 737s and 767s.

 

 
 

16/12: NetJets has cancelled 90% of its order with Hawker Beechcraft, which amounts to 2.6 billion US dollars. The cancellation affects aircraft which were planned to be delivered from 2011 onwards and includes 32 Hawker 4000 jets. The business jet manufacturer has been hit hard by the recession and has decreased its work force by 25% over the past two years.

 

 
 

15/12: The Boeing 787 Dreamliner has successfully completed its maiden flight. The aircraft took off just before 10.30 from Paine Field near Everett and landed three hours later at Boeing Field. The aircraft will now undergo a series of certification flight tests. Click here to see a video of the take-off, and here for a video of the landing.

 

 
 

14/12: 12,500 flight attendants of British Airways will go on strike for 12 days starting on December 22. One million passengers are expected to be affected by the strike, which will cost the company an estimated 330 million euro, while British Airways is already in financial trouble.

 

 
 

13/12: All eight occupants, including seven skydivers and the pilot, were killed when their plane crashed after take-off from Chelyabinsk in Russia. The single-engine Technoavia SM-92T Turbo Finist plunged down from height of 150 metres.

 

 
 

13/12: Boeing has indicated that the maiden flight of its 787 Dreamliner could take place on December 15. After a series of modifications since its roll-out in 2007, the latest static tests have shown that the aircraft is now ready to fly. Whether the maiden flight will take place on the 15th or not depends on a final approval from the FAA and the actual weather conditions on that day.

Boeing has successfully conducted a high-speed test run where the aircraft's nose wheels temporarily lifted off the runway. Click on these links to see videos of this test: Video 1 / Video 2

 

 
 

12/12: An Ilyushin Il-76 originating from Pyongyang in North Korea made an emergency landing at Bangkok's Don Mueang Airport, upon which an inspection revealed that the aircraft was carrying 35 tons of illegal weaponry. It is believed that the plane's final destination was Pakistan, with another stop in Colombo, Sri Lanka enroute. The aircraft, with five crew members on board, was operated by Air West Georgia.

 

 
 

11/12: After years of negotiations, the US and Japan have reached an Open Skies agreement for flights between the two countries. The agreement will lift the restrictions on air traffic between the nations, opening up possibilities for more flights and routes and enabling companies to collaborate more closely. The agreement is expected to come into force within six months.

 

 
 

9/12: Coventry Airport in the UK has been closed by its owner West Midlands International Airport. Main user Thomsonfly ceased all operations to and from Coventry some time ago. Coventry is the home base of cargo carrier Atlantic Airlines.

 

 
 

8/12: United Airlines has placed a long-awaited order for 50 new widebody aircraft, including 25 Airbus A350s and 25 Boeing 787s. Delivery of the aircraft, which are meant to replace the carrier's Boeing 747-400s and 767-300s, is scheduled between 2016 and 2019.

 

 
 

8/12: Three business men were killed when their Beech King Air C-90 crashed during the approach to Egelsbach Airport near Frankfurt. Dense fog could have been a factor in the accident.

 

 
 

8/12: Air Algerie has placed an order for four ATR 72-500s. The aircraft will be delivered in 2010.

 

 
 

7/12: An Embraer ERJ-135 of SA Airlink overran the runway upon landing in George. 3 of the 33 occupants received minor injuries. South African Airways stated that aquaplaning may have caused the incident.

 

 
 

1/12: An Irish investor is preparing to launch a new low cost carrier to offer flights between Europe and the US. AerFair's fares would be 30 to 50% lower than those of legacy carriers. Proposed routes include Dublin-Boston, London-San Francisco, Frankfurt-New York and Paris-Chicago, where the carrier would operate to and from secondary airports. The carrier hopes to gain a market share of 4% over the next five years and is in negotiations with Boeing for its first aircraft.

 

 
 

2/12: Boeing has indicated that the maiden flight of its 787 Dreamliner may be performed during this month. The first flight of its new airliner has been delayed many times since the aircraft was first shown to the public in 2007.

 

 
 

3/12: Regional carrier American Eagle reached an agreement with Bombardier for the purchase of 22 CRJ700 regional jets. The airline currently operates 25 aircraft of this type.

 

 
     
   
 

 

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