לקט ידיעות עתונות תעופה בעולם
מעת: דודי בן שחר
- תאונות בואינג 737MAX.
החודש "כיכבו" המטוס, התאונות וההשלכות הרגולטוריות בכל אמצעי המדיה. מצד אחד הנושא חשוב, מצד שני רוב הכתבות היו פרשנות כזו או אחרת. כדאי לחכות לגורמי החקירה הרשמיים, הסבר על מערכת ה MCAS מובא בהמשך. - חברת סוות'ווסט תובעת את איגוד המכונאים שלה על קרקוע מטוסים
סאגה מתמשכת של סכסוך עבודה בין ההנהלה למכונאים. לאחר שבמספר מקרים בוטלו טיסות רבות של החברה באותו יום עקב "תקלות טכניות" במטוסים, עלה חשד שהדבר נעשה במסגרת סכסוך עבודה של המכונאים. איגוד המכונאים מכחיש.
Southwest Airlines sues mechanics' union over grounded planes
Southwest Airlines on Thursday alleged in a lawsuit that its mechanics' union is encouraging the workers to purposefully write up minor maintenance issues in order keep jets out of service to gain leverage in contract talks.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Dallas, intensified the feud between the low-cost airline and its mechanics. Southwest has canceled hundreds of flights this month as the number of out-of-service jets more than doubled. The two have been in contract negotiations for more than six years.
The lawsuit against the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association called the action illegal and said that it would cause "irreparable injury" to Southwest and the public if it wasn't stopped.
Southwest normally plans to have about 20 planes out of service each day, a spokesman said. The lawsuit said it had 51 planes out of service on Wednesday and 45 on Tuesday.
The AMFA did not immediately respond to a request for comment but has recently denied Southwest's allegations after the airline said it would investigate the issue.
"No matter how small an issue we may find with an aircraft, we have an obligation mandated by operation of our [Federal Aviation Administration] issued licenses to repair it and make the aircraft airworthy," the union's national director Bret Oestreich said last week. "It is our hope that the Southwest management will join this commitment to restoring our safety culture and looking at this transition not as an 'operational emergency' but rather the beginning of a new normal."
The mechanics rejected a new contract in September after the proposed pay increase came up short of what they had sought.
"Today's action does not alter our goal of reaching an agreement that benefits our hardworking Maintenance Employees nor does it change the Company's unwavering commitment to Safety," Russell McCrady vice president of labor relations at Southwest said in a statement. "Southwest is – hands down – one of the best companies in the world to work for and we will not stray from our focus on rewarding our mechanics, while we work to shield our employees and customers from unnecessary disruptions within the operation."
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/01/southwest-airlines-sues-mechanics-union-over-grounded-planes.html
- 20 החברות הגדולות בעולם.
על פי הצע המושבים. יש לקחת בחשבון שהחברות האמריקאיות המובילות עברו בשנים האחרונות מיזוגים עם חברות נוספות.
The 20 biggest airlines in the world, ranked
- Through recent mergers, airlines such as American, Delta, and United have grown to become colossal mega-carriers.
- Recently, the aviation-data firm OAG provided us with data sets that ranked the 20 largest airlines in the world based on the number of seats each carrier made available to passengers during 2018.
- As expected, US carriers made a strong showing with American, Delta, United, Southwest, and Alaska airlines all in the top 20.
- The low-cost carriers Ryanair, EasyJet, and IndiGo placed in the top 20.
- Other international carriers to make the list include Emirates, Air China, China Eastern, China Southern, Lufthansa, Turkish Airlines, ANA, LATAM, British Airways, Air France, Air Canada, and Aeroflot.
Over the past century, the airline industry has changed the way humans travel. It has effectively made the world a smaller place – making it possible for billions of people everywhere to explore the world.
According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), consumers spent an estimated $871 billion, or roughly 1% of the global GDP, on air travel.
The trade group, which has a membership made up of 290 airlines, expects the total number of airline passengers around the world to reach 8.2 billion people by 2037 – that's double today's passenger count.
As a result of the industry's growth, many of the world's airlines have become household names. Through recent mergers, American, Delta, United, and Southwest have grown to become colossal mega-carriers.
Read more: The 11 longest flights in the world, ranked
This got us at Business Insider thinking about how they stack up against the largest airlines.
Fortunately, the good folks at OAG provided us the data sets that answered our question.
The London-based aviation-data-and-intelligence firm ranked the world's airlines based on the total number of seats each carrier made available to customers during 2018. OAG also included the total number of aircraft in each airline fleet.
Some airlines on the list are able to offer substantially more seats while operating fewer aircraft.
According to OAG senior analyst John Grant, this variation is because of the differences in the planes that comprise a carrier's fleet and the seat configurations of each aircraft. As a result, airlines that operate larger aircraft and aircraft with higher seat density will be able to make more seats available to customers.
Here's a closer look at the 20 biggest airlines in the world:
20. Alaska Airlines: Capacity: 54,574,295 seats. Fleet size: 233 aircraft.
19. Aeroflot Russian Airlines: Capacity: 56,260,035 seats. Fleet size: 253 aircraft.
18. Air France: Capacity: 58,888,616 seats. Fleet size: 206 aircraft.
17. British Airways: Capacity: 63,253,213 seats. Fleet size: 267 aircraft.
16. Air Canada: Capacity: 64,529,302 seats. Fleet size: 180 aircraft.
15. LATAM Airlines Group: Capacity: 68,393,747 seats. Fleet size: 309 aircraft.
14. All Nippon Airways (ANA): Capacity: 72,674,568 seats. Fleet size: 294 aircraft.
13. IndiGo: Capacity: 74,570,054 seats. Fleet size: 206 aircraft.
12. Emirates: Capacity: 78,255,966 seats. Fleet size: 271 aircraft.
11. Lufthansa: Capacity: 90,465,791 seats. Fleet size: 338 aircraft.
10. Air China: Capacity: 90,531,776 seats. Fleet size: 418 aircraft.
9. Turkish Airlines: Capacity: 93,109,025 seats. Fleet size: 350 aircraft.
8. EasyJet: Capacity: 100,082,969 seats. Fleet size: 317 aircraft.
7. China Eastern Airlines: Capacity: 122,917,175 seats. Fleet size: 525 aircraft.
6. China Southern Airlines: Capacity: 131,972,745 seats. Fleet size: 597 aircraft.
5. Ryanair: Capacity: 142,540,776 seats. Fleet size: 439 aircraft.
4. United Airlines: Capacity: 193,981,547 seats. Fleet size: 765 aircraft.
3. Southwest Airlines: Capacity: 209,526,838 seats. Fleet size: 749 aircraft.
2. Delta Air Lines: Capacity: 233,758,798 seats. Fleet size: 879 aircraft.
1. American Airlines: Capacity: 256,928,663 seats. Fleet size: 956 aircraft.
https://www.businessinsider.com/biggest-airlines-world-oag-2019-3
- תאונת התאבדות בבוצוואנה.
על רקע יום העיון המצוין שערך האיגוד, תאונה המיוחסת (כרגע) להתאבדות של הטייס.
An aircraft with two occupants, enroute from Palmerston North to Taupō ,was reported missing Saturday night near the Kaimanawa Ranges on the North Island were it was located at Sunday 24 March at 11:30, about 24 km east of Turangi.
Both pilots, who were qualified flight instructors, were fatally injured.
https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=223479
- בדיקות אלכוהול בסינגפור.
גם על נושא זה דובר ביום העיון האחרון. אצל הסינגפורים, כרגיל, הולכים עד הקצה: 50,000$ (סינגפורי) קנס לטייס שיתפס.
Pilots flying out of Singapore now face a S$50,000 fine if they fail an alcohol test imposed randomly at airports
Pilots who flout the rules can also be fined up to S$50,000 and can be jailed for up to two years. The Straits Times
Flying while intoxicated is a serious and highly dangerous offence, and pilots flying out of Singapore will soon face tougher measures put in place to ensure this doesn't happen here.
On Thursday (March 28), the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) announced that random alcohol testing will soon be implemented at Singapore's two airports in Changi and Seletar.
Under the Airport Alcohol Testing Programme (AATP), pilots who are found to have more than 0.02 grams of alcohol per 210 litres of breath will not be allowed to fly, CAAS said.
According to The Straits Times, this gives an allowance for the potential presence of alcohol due to other factors such as medication or mouthwash.
Pilots who flout the rules can also be fined up to S$50,000 and can be jailed for up to two years.
Repeat offenders could face penalties of up to S$100,000 and may be sentenced to five years in jail.
Last year, a Singapore Airlines pilot caused a flight to be cancelled after failing an alcohol test in Melbourne. He was later fired by the company.
In addition to the new tests, Singapore Air Operator Certificate holders will now be required to strengthen their alcohol abstention policies.
Starting from May 1, Singapore Air Operator Certificate Holders will be required to implement an Airline Alcohol Management Programme (AAMP) to proactively identify, manage and rehabilitate pilots with problematic use of alcohol.
Singapore Airlines and Jetstar Asia currently require their pilots to abstain from alcohol 10 hours before flying.
The AAMP must include components such as a comprehensive peer and self-reporting system, as well as an alcohol rehabilitation programme for pilots that address the root causes of problems, rehabilitate the pilot and prevent recurrence, said CAAS.
CAAS added that the enhancements to the regulatory regime have been developed following a comprehensive review and consultations with the aviation community and will also be complemented with other actions by airlines, pilot associations and unions.
- טייסי קתאי פסיפיק בסכסוך עבודה על הדרכת הטייסים
לחברה כ-3000 טייסים. מאז 2015 קיים סכסוך עבודה המתבטא בעצירת ההדרכות בחברה. ישנם מספר טייסים אשר העדיפו לעזוב את האיגוד המקומי כדי לשבור את השביתה ולהדריך תמורת כסף נוסף…
Cathay Pacific halts union ban on pilot training
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd on Wednesday said it would no longer allow its unionized pilots to refuse training roles despite a near four-year union ban in a move that a pilot said could raise workplace tensions.
Relations between Cathay and its 3,000-plus pilots have become strained as the airline seeks to cut costs as part of a three-year transformation plan designed to make it more competitive against Chinese and Middle Eastern rivals and low-cost carriers.
The union ban on pilot training has made it more difficult for the airline to promote pilots quickly when it has been expanding capacity and also when a global pilot shortage prompted some expat pilots to take other jobs.
A Cathay spokesman said the ban had been in place since 2015.
"The selection and appointment of training captains will be solely at the company's discretion," the Cathay spokesman said of the new policy on Wednesday. "This means, suitable pilots no longer have the right to refuse a training appointment."
A Cathay pilot, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters these roles attracted extra pay and some captains had quit the union to take them up during the ban. But the pilot also said the company's action was not likely to be received well by the workforce.
The Cathay spokesman said the airline's trainers had faced undeserved criticism during the ban for supporting the company's training programs which enable more junior pilots to progress.
The Hong Kong Aircrew Officer Association (HKAOA) said on Wednesday evening that it could not comment immediately.
In January, the HKAOA members overhwelmingly voted down a contract proposal which offered at least a 1 percent pay rise and some housing guarantees even though it had been recommended by the union's leadership.
The announcement to pilots on the ban was made shortly after Cathay agreed to buy low-cost carrier Hong Kong Express Airways Ltd from cash-strapped Chinese conglomerate HNA Group for HK$4.93 billion ($628 million), giving it a foothold in the fast-growing budget travel market.
- חברת WOW האיסלנדית מפסיקה לטוס
חברת לואו-קוסט שלקחה את ה"לואו" לקצה. החברה כבר זמן מה בקשיים כלכליים, ניהלה מו"מ עם איסלנד-אייר לרכישתה, אך מו"מ זה נכשל החודש והחברה מפסיקה לטוס ומשאירה נוסעים מתוסכלים לחפש לעצמם פתרונות.
החברה התחילה לטוס ב-2012, לרשותה 11 מטוסים.
Icelandic airline Wow Air collapses and cancels all flights
Iceland's low cost carrier Wow Air has canceled all flights and told passengers to book with other airlines.
Its website has a travel alert that begins: "Wow Air has ceased operation. All Wow Air flights have been canceled."
The alert said people who wanted to travel should now look for "so-called rescue fares" which may now be offered by rival airlines.
Wow added that those who made bookings by credit card or via a European travel agent should try to get their money back through those businesses. It said some passengers may be entitled to compensation from the airline itself.
In November, it was announced that Icelandair Group, the holding company of rival carrier Icelandair, would acquire the entire share capital of Wow Air but that proposal fell apart within weeks.
Further talks between the two airlines ended Sunday.
Founded by chief executive Skuli Mogensen, Wow Air took off for the first time in 2012.
The carrier employed more than 1,000 people by 2018 and in the same year carried around 3.5 million passengers in its 11 aircraft.
The company's model was to entice passengers with ultra-low prices before slapping on extra charges for seat selection, baggage, leg room and expensive refreshments. A typical base fare for a Wow flight from the U.S. to Europe could come in at less than $200.
A fall in tourist visits to Iceland and rising fuel costs had been cited as headwinds to profitability.
The airline had also suffered poor customer reviews and was particularly criticized over recurring delays.
Mogensen told CNBC in Junethat it was "obviously in our interest" to fix the problems.
The carrier had operated services between Iceland, Europe and North America. It flew both short and long-haul routes, flying to places such as Washington, New York, Boston, Copenhagen, Warsaw and Alicante, Spain.
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/28/icelandic-airline-wow-air-collapses-and-cancels-all-flights.html