Stories

SAS Expands Offerings Following Shaky Financial Rebound

Ezra Gollan
Verified

Edited By:

Vanni Gibertini

Scandinavian Airlines currently has three Airbus A321neoLRs on order. (Photo | SAS)

Coming off of a near collapse just a few months ago, Scandinavian carrier SAS has announced expanded route offerings from secondary cities in both Sweden and Denmark to New York City for the summer season of 2023. The airline plans to serve Gothenburg, Sweden and Aalborg, Denmark on a thrice-weekly basis in a somewhat surprising expansion for an airline that is already facing numerous financial struggles. 

The flights will depart on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays from Gothenburg and on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays from Aalborg. The homebound flights from New York to Gothenburg will operate on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, while the homebound flights from New York to Aalborg will operate on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. The first flights will depart on Apr. 27, with the outbound flights from Gothenburg and Aalborg departing on that date and the homebound flights from New York departing on Apr. 28.

Untapped Demand From Secondary Cities

The flights will depart from New York’s Newark Liberty International Airport and will arrive at Aalborg Airport and Gothenburg Landvetter Airport, providing passengers with easy access to a wide variety of destinations throughout Scandinavia and Europe. Erik Westman, SAS’s EVP & CCO of Network and Revenue Management said in a press release, “As part of SAS’ strategy to strengthen the regional offering in Scandinavia, we are pleased to add intercontinental routes from Gothenburg and Aalborg. We see a demand from secondary cities and are delighted to connect even more parts of the world. The Airbus A321 Long Range is a slightly smaller long-distance aircraft and perfect in size for servicing the regional markets. Having a comfortable way of traveling with fewer stops to exciting cities such as New York, is something we believe will be highly valued by our travelers.” SAS is in an interesting position making a push to expand while also still battling severe financial woes. The announcement of the new routes could be likened to the industry-wide perception of the carrier as one that lacks an identity between being a low-cost airline and a full-service carrier offering all the amenities of the big legacies. 

It can be argued that this has caused much of the airline’s troubles as there is often a visible lack of direction. Nonetheless, the carrier will add the Aalborg and Gothenburg routes to recent announcements by the airline to serve New York’s JFK Airport in early 2023 with its wide-body fleet from Copenhagen. The airline currently has a fleet of just 3 Airbus A321 LR aircraft and opting to deploy them on such interesting routes should inspire some confidence in the fact that there is demand in these markets.

Ezra Gollan

Ezra Gollan is a student, photographer and aviation enthusiast based in New York, New York. He has spent over half a decade around New York City’s airports as a photographer.

Lufthansa Installs Film Technology to Improve Aircraft Efficiency, Emissions

Vincenzo Claudio Piscopo
Verified

Edited By:

Parker Davis

Detail of the Lufthansa 777 Freighter livery. (Photo: Lufthansa Group)

Lufthansa has become the first aviation group in the world to equip its fleet aircraft with innovative AeroSHARK surface technology from Lufthansa Technik and BASF, a world leader in chemicals and coatings, in order to improve fuel efficiency and reduce CO2 emissions.

AeroSHARK is a bionic film that mimics the fine structure of shark skin, managing to optimize airflow in contact with the aircraft structure, resulting in significant savings in fuel and carbon emissions. According to Lufthansa and BASF material engineers and scientist, if the entire long-range fleet used this technology, it could save nearly five million tons of kerosene per year.

Following extensive testing and a certification process, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) granted Lufthansa Technik a Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) for the mass application of this innovative technology on two Boeing 777 models. Lufthansa has already a Boeing 777 equipped with AeroSHARK (registered HB-JNH) in service for the Lufthansa Group airline Swiss since last October, having completed the flight test program for certification. In the near future, more than 20 aircraft in the fleet will receive AeroSHARK technology very soon: all twelve of SWISS’s long-haul B777-300ER aircraft and Lufthansa Cargo’s current fleet of eleven Boeing 777F freighters.

According to Lufthansa’s website, the AeroSHARK film consists of millions of ribs about 50 micrometers across, known as “riblets”. They mimic the properties of sharkskin and thus optimize aerodynamics at flow-relevant points on the aircraft, such as the fuselage or engine nacelles. This special skin covers about 950 square meters of the outer skin of a Boeing 777-300ER and annual savings of about 400 tons of kerosene, or more than 1,200 tons of CO₂, can be achieved.

The riblet film is easy to apply, even on large commercial aircraft: up to 500 m2 on the lower fuselage and belly fairing of a Boeing 747-400. It is extremely durable and withstands the large temperature changes, pressure differentials and ultraviolet radiation of high flight levels.

“We are the first aviation group in the world to use this new technology,” said Christina Foerster, Lufthansa Group Executive Committee member responsible for brand and sustainability. “By covering more than 20 aircraft with the new sharkskin film, we will reduce the Lufthansa Group’s CO₂ footprint by more than 25,000 tons per year.”

At the end of 2021, the Lufthansa Group fleet comprised 713 aircraft. By 2030, Lufthansa Group is committed to halving its net CO2 emissions compared to 2019, and by 2050, Lufthansa Group wants to achieve a carbon-neutral balance sheet. To this end, the company is relying on accelerated fleet modernization, continuous optimization of flight operations, the use of sustainable aviation fuels, and innovative offerings for its customers to make a flight CO2-neutral.

Vincenzo Claudio Piscopo

Vincenzo graduated in 2019 in Mechanical Engineering with an aeronautical curriculum, focusing his thesis on Human Factors in aircraft maintenance. In 2022 he pursued his master's degree in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Palermo, Italy. He combines his journalistic activities with his work as a Reliability Engineer at Zetalab.

Delta Increases Flights in Australia and South Korea

Aviacionline
Verified

Edited By:

Pablo Diaz

Delta aims to take delivery of their first A350 in July (Photo: Clément Alloing)

Last week, Delta strengthened its presence in the trans-Pacific market by increasing its operations from the U.S. West Coast to Australia and South Korea. As passenger demand increases, the airline is rebuilding its network in the Asia-Pacific region.

South Korea

On December 13, Delta began its new service between Seattle (SEA) and Seoul (ICN) increasing its operation to ten flights per week and will offer 5,620 seats per week, representing a 42.9% increase in capacity compared to pre-pandemic levels.

Flight DL 251 was operated in an Airbus A330neo registered with registration N406DX, which took off from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) at 00:26 local time and landed at Incheon International Airport (ICN) at 06:02 the following day, after 12 hours and 35 minutes.

Flight Schedule
Seattle (SEA) – Seoul/Incheon (ICN)
Flight DL 197 SEA 11:15 – ICN 16:25+1 daily flights.
Flight DL 251 SEA 23:45 – ICN 05:00+2 Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
Seoul/Incheon (ICN) – Seattle (SEA)
Flight DL 196 ICN 20:05 – SEA 13:30 daily flights.
Flight DL 250 ICN 13:00 – SEA 06:10 Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.

All services will be operated on Airbus A330-900neo with a capacity of 281 passengers in four classes (29 Delta One/28 Premium Select/56 Delta Comfort+/168 Main Cabin).

According to data obtained by Aviacionline through AirPortal, Delta moved 680,606 passengers and 29,236 tons of cargo in 2019 between the United States and South Korea in 2,686 operations.

Currently, the U.S. airline offers nonstop service to Seoul/Incheon (ICN) from Atlanta (ATL), Detroit (DTW), Minneapolis (MSP), Seattle (SEA) and as of March 26, 2023, will begin operations from Portland (PDX).

Australia

On December 16, Delta began a second operation between Los Angeles (LAX) and Sydney (SYD) offering up to 10 weekly flights and a supply of 6,120 weekly seats. This new service will be seasonal during the austral summer season.

Flight DL 43, operated by Airbus A350 registered N516DN, took off from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) at 21:40 local time and landed at Kingsford Smith International Airport (SYD) at 07:26, after 14 hours and 47 minutes.

Delta recently began its interline partnership with regional carrier Rex Airlines, allowing the U.S. carrier to connect to 58 cities in Australia.

Flight Schedule
Los Angeles (LAX) – Sydney (SYD)
Flight DL 41 LAX 22:35 – SYD 08:35+2 daily flights.
Flight DL 43 LAX 20:55 – SYD 06:50+2 Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.
Sydney (SYD) – Los Angeles (LAX)
Flight DL 40 SYD 11:15 – LAX 06:15 daily flights.
Flight DL 42 SYD 14:15 – LAX 09:00 Tuesday, Friday and Sunday.

All services will be operated on Airbus A350-900 with a capacity of 306 passengers in four classes (32 Delta One Suites/48 Premium Select/36 Delta Comfort+/190 Main Cabin).

According to data obtained by Aviacionline through the Department of Infrastructure, Transportation, Cities and Regional Development, Delta moved 183,015 passengers and 7,613.8 tons of cargo in the June 2018-2019 period between the United States and Australia.

This article was originally published by Rainer Nieves Dolande on Aviacionline in syndication with AirlineGeeks

Aviacionline

Air Canada Inaugurates Flights Between Vancouver and Miami

Aviacionline
Verified

Edited By:

Pablo Diaz

An Air Canada Boeing 737 MAX taxies to its gate. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | James Dinsdale)

On December 17 Air Canada began flights between Vancouver (YVR) and Miami (MIA), this is the third service served by the company from the second main airport in Florida. This new operation will provide MIA with another connecting point to other long-haul destinations such as Australia and New Zealand.

Flight AC 1034, operated in a Boeing 737 MAX registered C-GMEX, took off from Vancouver International Airport (YVR) at 08:51 local time and landed at Miami International Airport (MIA) at 16:58, after five hours and seven minutes.

The Canadian flag carrier’s last operation between the province of British Columbia and Florida was on April 8, 2018, with a thrice-weekly service operated by Air Canada Rouge on Boeing 767-300ERs.

Flight Itinerary:
Vancouver – Miami Flight AC 1034 YVR 08:20 – MIA 17:06 Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
Miami – Vancouver Flight AC 1035 MIA 18:00 – YVR 21:45 Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

The route will be operated on Boeing 737-8 aircraft with a capacity of 169 passengers in two classes (16 Business Class/153 Economy) and promotional fares are available from USD 173 one way.

Route details:

Service is available year-round.
Between May 13, 2023, and October 28, 2023, service will be reduced to two flights per week.

According to Cirium, Air Canada will have an offer of 14,234 weekly seats between Canada and Miami (MIA). In addition to the Vancouver (VYR) route, the company offers non-stop connections from Toronto (YYZ) and Montreal (YUL) and is also the airline that connects MIA with more Canadian cities.

Air Canada is the leading carrier between Canada and Florida in terms of seat capacity and number of destinations, offering 97,549 weekly seats and non-stop service to Fort Lauderdale (FLL), Miami (MIA), Orlando (MCO), West Palm Beach (PBI), Tampa (TPA), Fort Myers (RSW) and Sarasota (SRQ).

This article was originally published by Rainer Nieves Dolande on Aviacionline in syndication with AirlineGeeks.

Aviacionline

Finnair Expands Operations to Asia for Summer 2023

John Flett
Verified

Edited By:

Benjamin Pham

Finnair A350
A Finnair A350 takes off. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | William Derrickson)

Finnair recently announced plans to increase the frequency to destinations in Asia for summer 2023. The Oneworld member airline will resume service between Helsinki and Osaka, Japan’s Kansai International airport on March 26. In addition to the airline’s daily operation to Tokyo’s Haneda Airport in the summer months, Finnair will also operate four times weekly to Tokyo’s Narita International Airport beginning March 27.

The carrier has also announced additional frequencies over the summer to Kong Kong and New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International airport. Both destinations will now be serviced daily from Helsinki to meet the increased demand.

Ole Orvér, Chief Commercial Officer at Finnair, said, “We are happy to be able to respond to the increasing travel demand between Europe and key Asian destinations. In summer 2023, we will be operating altogether 14 weekly connections between Finland and Japan, and we have daily connections to Delhi and Hong Kong. The Helsinki Airport’s spacious new facilities offers an excellent experience both for customers visiting Finland and those who continue onwards to one of our many European destinations.”

Finnair has been significantly affected in its recovery from the Coronavirus pandemic by the invasion of Ukraine, which impacted the ability of commercial airlines to operate in Russian airspace. Services to Asia were impacted, which mostly resulted in extended flight hours that made the feasibility of operation for commercial passengers unprofitable.

As a result, the airline has been undertaking strategic measures to reduce unit costs and last month announced the reduction of 150 positions in ‘executive, manager and expert roles.’ In addition, the airline has proposed changes to conditions of employment for cabin crew including  ‘crew utilization efficiency, layover hotel rules and to additional pay per hour rules for long flights.’

Airline management has been undertaking negotiations with cabin crew based in Finland to facilitate a ‘subcontracting plan’ that could result in the loss of up to 450 jobs in Finnair’s Inflight services. The airline already utilizes third-party partners to provide inflight services for flights from Helsinki to Singapore, Hong Kong and India and on those routes to Doha, Qatar from Stockholm, Sweden and Copenhagen, Denmark. In response to these proposed changes cabin crew initiated a 24-hour strike on November 20-21 that resulted in approximately 100 flight cancellations.

Commenting on the situation, Finnair Chief Executive Officer Topi Manner said, “Our target continues to be to find a savings solution together with our cabin crew. We now need a genuine will from the negotiators to find solutions that would allow us to continue inflight service with our own crew and avoid redundancies. Discussion on alternative solutions is a vitally important part of the change negotiations process.”

John Flett

John has always had a passion for aviation and through a career with Air New Zealand has gained a strong understanding of aviation operations and the strategic nature of the industry. During his career with the airline, John held multiple leadership roles and was involved in projects such as the introduction of both the 777-200 and -300 type aircraft and the development of the IFE for the 777-300. He was also part of a small team who created and published the internal communications magazines for Air New Zealand’s pilots, cabin crew and ground staff balancing a mix of corporate and social content. John is educated to postgraduate level achieving a masters degree with Distinction in Airline and Airport Management. John has held the positions of course director of an undergraduate commercial pilot training programme at a leading London university. In addition he is contracted as an external instructor for IATA (International Air Transport Association) and has been a member of the Heathrow Community Fund’s ‘Communities for Tomorrow’ panel.

London City Airport Asks for Permission to Increase Passenger Numbers

Vanni Gibertini
Verified

Edited By:

Parker Davis

Aerial View of London City Airport (Photo: London City Airport)

London City Airport, one of the five airports serving the Metropolitan area of London, and one of the only two inside the M25 orbital, has filed an application to change its existing planning permission in order to increase its traffic by 38%.

Located in the East London Borough of Newham, just a few miles away from the City of London and its business district, London City Airport is subject to operational restrictions in order to limit the noise disturbance to residents of the area. The total number of flights per year allowed at the airport will remain at 111,000 and no change will be made to the 8-hour per night curfew imposed on operations. However, the press release issued by the airport on Tuesday reports that after a 10-week non-mandatory consultation involving 5,000 respondents, the request was filed to increase the number of total passengers from 6.5 million per year to 9 million by 2031.

Airport to Operate on Saturday Afternoons

Other requests contained in the filing include the extension of operational hours on Saturdays: currently the airport opens at 6.30 a.m. and closes at 12.30 p.m., but the plan is to delay the closure until 6.30 p.m., with an additional hour in the Summer for arriving flights only, up to a maximum of 12.

The initial plan submitted to the respondents involved in the consultation involved also a proposal to anticipate the opening hours by 30 minutes to 6 a.m., but the issue raised convinced the management at the airport to scrap this proposed extension, although the request to have three additional departures between 6.30 a.m. and 7 a.m. has been upheld, bringing the total number of flights leaving the airport during the first 30 minutes to nine.

On Sundays, the airport will continue to operate between 12.30 p.m. and 10 p.m. and the number of movements allowed during the last 30 minutes of operations each day will remain capped at 400 per year and only for later departures or arrivals.

Slots Reserved for Cleaner Aircraft

During the new hours of operations on Saturday and during the first 30 minutes of each day it will be possible to operate new flights only with next-generation, cleaner, quieter aircraft. Due to its proximity to the skyscraper at Canary Wharf, London City Airport has a steeper approach path than most airports: aircraft approach the short runway on a 5.5 degrees slope instead of the usual 3 degrees, therefore each aircraft operating at the airport needs to be appositely certified. Both the Airbus A220s and the Embraer E2s operating on new generation engines are certified to operate at London City and will have to be used to avail of the new slots during the additional opening hours.

Commenting on the plans, the airport’s Chief Executive, Robert Sinclair, said: “As we bounce back from the pandemic and demand increases, we need to ensure London City can accommodate the increase in business and leisure passengers forecast over the next decade or so, particularly as East London grows, and more and more passengers choose to fly through London’s fastest and most convenient airport. Most importantly, the proposals have been very carefully designed with input from our airlines to ensure that flying from London City becomes more sustainable, with more new generation aircraft, reducing noise impacts and emissions per passenger.”

“We are committed to working with our local community to ensure our plans work for residents as well as our airlines and passengers – said the London City Airport’s Chief Executive, Robert Sinclair – We have listened to the feedback provided in our extensive consultation, and have adjusted the proposals to reflect the concerns raised, including reducing the proposed increase in operating hours on Saturdays, reducing the proposed increase in flights in the first 30 minutes and retaining the existing limit on flights in the last 30 minutes. Our proposals will create more jobs, invest more money into the local community, fund better transport connections and improve sound insulation for local residents.”

Over 2,000 New Jobs

The growth in passenger numbers is going to create approximately 2,200 direct and indirect jobs in an area of London that has been particularly hit by the increase in cost-of-living in the U.K. Of these jobs, 1,340 will be directly created at the airport.
London City will also contribute directly to the Borough of Newham through a Trust established to distribute up to 3.8 million pounds ($3.41 million) to local good causes.

Vanni Gibertini

Vanni fell in love with commercial aviation during his undergraduate studies in Statistics at the University of Bologna, when he prepared his thesis on the effects of deregulation on the U.S. and European aviation markets. Then he pursued his passion further by obtaining a Master’s Degree in Air Transport Management at Cranfield University in the U.K. followed by holding several management positions at various start-up carriers in Europe (Jet2, SkyEurope, Silverjet). After moving to Canada, he was Business Development Manager for IATA for nine years before turning to his other passion: sports writing.

U.K. Border Force Agents Strike Amid Holiday Travel

Pete Ainsley
Verified

Edited By:

Benjamin Pham

A British Airways Airbus A319 on approach to London's Heathrow Airport. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | William Derrickson)

The wave of industrial actions has no sign of abating in the U.K. Britons could spend two hours on passport control as the Border Force agents are set to walkout amid the festive season. 1,000 staff are going to strike on the travel season. The first strikes will take place from Dec. 23 to Dec. 26, and the second strike period will be on Dec. 28 to Dec. 31. 

 

The U.K. is expecting an extremely busy holiday after the pandemic, but the strike could cost Britons and their holiday plans. The industrial action will affect the major airports across the country, including London’s Heathrow Airport, London’s Gatwick Airport, Manchester, Birmingham, Wales’s Cardiff and Scotland’s Glasgow Airport. 

 

More than 100,000 members of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) have voted in favor of industrial action. 75% of Border Force agents are among the members of PCS. The PCS has demanded a 10% pay rise, preventing job redundancy in the future and reductions on pensions.

 

Home Office is “disappointed with the union’s decision” and mentioned the government has robust plans in place to minimize any delays. Earlier, Suella Braverman, the Home Secretary of the United Kingdom, asked the citizens to “think carefully“ before making decisions on traveling abroad during the Christmas holidays.

 

The government forecasted the strike could leave the arriving passengers facing two hours at the border and the second strike could affect the travelers coming back to the U.K.

 

“If everything backs up, or anything fails, the airports will have to instruct that passengers are held on planes to prevent overcrowding,” according to reports from local media.

 

According to local media, a total of 10,072 arrivals with more than two million travelers could be affected. Heathrow would be the most affected airport during the industrial action.

 Heathrow said the ”vast majority of a journey through will be unaffected”, but it “strength contingency plans and minimize any disruption.”

 

It is expected 625 military personnel and civil servants have been deployed on standby to cover the airport. Meanwhile, Border Force has urged the airlines to reduce their schedules by 30%. However, there is no cancellation has been made thus far.

Free Ticket Changes for Passengers

In response to the strike, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic have restricted their ticket sales from Christmas Eve to New Year’s Eve. Both airlines are continuing to work closely with the government to minimize the impact of the strikes.

 

“We’re offering anyone booked to travel on an international flight into London Heathrow or Gatwick Airport on strike dates the option to change their flight dates.,” British Airways said.

 

Virgin Atlantic allows their passengers at Heathrow and Manchester to change their flights on strike days as a result, but the new travel dates must be completed by Jan. 14.  Jet2 is going to operate a full schedule throughout the strike period. EasyJet, the budget carrier, has informed their passengers could face long queues at the airports.

 

Pete Ainsley

Kenya Airways Begins Nonstop Flights between Mombasa and Dubai

Victor Shalton
Verified

Edited By:

Benjamin Pham

A Kenya Airways Boeing 787-8 at Schiphol Airport. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | James Dinsdale)

Dubai, United Arab Emirates’ International Airport now has a new African destination in its network of 200 plus international destinations on Friday, with the recent launch of Kenya Airways’ inaugural service from the coastal city of Mombasa, Kenya.

Kenya Airways will now be operating four weekly flights between Mombasa and Dubai’s Terminal 1 on a B737-800 aircraft, increasing the carrier’s frequency to Dubai to 14 roundtrips a week.

The flight will originate from Nairobi, Kenya and make a stop in Mombasa to pick up passengers. The airline already operates 10 weekly flights to Nairobi, Kenya and will be adding 4 weekly flights to Mombasa, Kenya, which was an unserved destination in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Kenya Airways chief commercial and customer officer Julius Thairu said, “The introduction of this route is key and strategic as it will open up the Kenya coastal region, boost the tourism and hospitality industry as well as stimulate trade to the coastal city. This launch is part of Kenya Airways network expansion strategy and commitment towards supporting the recovery of the tourism and hospitality industry in Kenya.”

The introduction of this route is in response to demand from the market and is expected to boost the Kenyan coastal region tourism industry through direct access to and from the Middle East. In 2019, nearly 650,000 passengers flew between Dubai and cities in Kenya.

The Dubai, United Arab Emirates – Mombasa, Kenya route will give tourists from the Middle East, Russia, Northern Europe and Australia direct access to the wonders of coast region tourism and hospitality industry.

In addition,  the Mombasa – Dubai route is expected to attract travelers to the Middle East for holiday or religious trips. The region’s traders of electronics, clothes and other consumer goods will also benefit from the belly cargo capacity that will be available on the flight. Additionally, the flights offer increased capacity for direct exports of seafood and fresh produce directly to the Middle East.

The table below shows the flight details: Mombasa to Dubai
Day Flight No Depart Arrive
Mon, Tue, Thur, Sat KQ 306 23:10 p.m 05:45 a.m
Dubai to Mombasa
Day Flight No Depart Arrive
Tue, Wed, Fri, Sun KQ 307 06:55a.m 11:20a.m

While speaking on the sidelines of the inaugural event, Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) Managing Director, Alex Gitari noted that the city of Mombasa is internationally recognized as one of the most attractive tourist destinations in Africa and therefore the introduction of the new route by KQ was key & strategic not only to the national airline but also to the airport.

“By having direct access to and from the Middle East, this new flight will greatly contribute towards the growth of passenger traffic at this airport, enabling Moi International Airport to become the premier tourist hub of the East African region,” Gitari said.

Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) recently completed the rehabilitation & expansion of the airside pavements i.e the runway, taxiway and apron as well as the Airfield Ground Lighting (AGL) systems at Mombasa, Kenya’s Moi International Airport.

This has greatly improved the airport’s safety and efficiency standards while ensuring that air operators enjoy world-class airport services and facilities.

Victor Shalton

Victor Shalton's love for aviation can be traced to when he was 11-years-old. As a seasoned aviation writer, he takes pride in providing the best aviation coverage around the globe and is passionate about advancing his skills in the aviation space. In addition, he loves travelling, writing, arts and while his speaking engagements have taken him around the world, he is proud to call Nairobi home.

Laminar Research Releases X-Plane 12

Fangzhong Guo
Verified

Edited By:

Parker Davis

An Airbus A330-300 exterior during take off in X-Plane 12.(Photo: Laminar Research)

Laminar Research announced the official release of X-Plane 12 today. The simulator has been in early-release testing since September. If you have not heard of them, they are one of Microsoft Flight Simulator’s main competitors. The company specializes in simulating realistic flight dynamics. They even offer an FAA-certified version that allows pilots to accrue training hours.

The latest iteration of the flight simulator features 18 unique aircraft models as well as over 17,000 accurate 3D airports, with new ground textures, towers, and pavement effects to improve reality.

Another aspect is that X-plane is also available on Mac for those who do not own a PC or Xbox.

New Airplanes

Like the Microsoft Flight Simulator, the new X-plane has a small list of default aircraft out of the box. The only new addition on the airliner side is Airbus A330, while the version inherited McDonnell Douglas MD-82 and Boeing 737-800 from the previous version. However, X-plane has a large community of developers for add-on aircraft. The developers also ensured backward compatibility with plug-ins for X-Plane 11. 

Notably, the developer also included an eVTOL airplane designed by Beta Technologies. The piloted Alia-250 is still in development. However, it has already attracted the airlines’ attention. For instance, UPS holds an order of 10 Alias with the option to purchase another 150. According to AOPA, ‘A spokesperson from Beta Technologies said that Beta uses X-Plane along with its in-house simulation software to power the company’s simulators and is excited to share some of the simulations its engineers and test pilots use to build and fly their aircraft with the X-Plane community.’ This new addition is certainly interesting to help people understand the dynamics of an eVTOL airplane.

Below is the complete list of new aircraft in X-Plane 12,

  • Airbus A330
  • Cessna Citation X
  • Lancair Evolution
  • Cirrus SR22
  • Piper PA-18 Super Cub
  • Van’s RV-10
  • F-14 Tomcat
  • Robinson R22 (plus a floats version)
  • Beta Technologies Alia-250 eVTOL

New Engines

One of the most significant selling points of Microsoft Flight Simulator is the fantastic scenery upgrades. While there is still a noticeable difference in the world scenery between the two simulators, the new X-Plane also included many engine updates to provide a more authentic flight simulation experience.

One of the features highlighted in the announcement keynote was the continuous weather engine. In addition to using real-world METAR weather information, the latest simulator also pulls forecast models from NOAA to construct more comprehensive and continuous weather systems.

Version 12 also added additional support for its sound engine. In addition to making designing sounds for plug-ins easier, it also improved features such as ground vehicle sounds at airports.

New Engine Features in X-Plane 12

  • Volumetric 3D Clouds
  • Physics-Based Photometric Lighting Model
  • Worldwide 3D Water
  • Rewritten AI Air Traffic Control System
  • Global 3D Forests
  • Seasonal Textures and Weather Effects
  • Revamped Real Weather Data

X-Plane has long been dubbed as the most realistic flight simulator regarding flight dynamics. I’ve enjoyed the simulator, especially how it visualizes forces and environments in the simulation. I can’t wait to spend some time flying in the latest version. 

 

Fangzhong Guo

Fangzhong grew up near an OEM airport in northeastern China, where he developed his enthusiasm for aviation. Taking upon his passion, he's now working as an aircraft interior design engineer. Besides working in the aerospace industry, Fangzhong enjoys trying out different types of airplanes and seeing how airplane interiors have evolved. So far, he's flown on over 80 types of aircraft. He also planespots in his spare time. His rarest catches included the 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft and AN-225.

ATSB Recommends Improving Boeing 737 Inspections

Mike Mangano
Verified

Edited By:

Benjamin Pham

A Southwest 737-800 approaches Dallas Love Field. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Parker Davis)

The Australian Transportation Safety Bureau (ATSB) has recommended that inspections for Boeing 737 wing flaps be improved, following an investigation of an incident earlier this year in Australia. The said incident — involving a Virgin Australia 737-800 — occurred on a flight from Queensland, Australia’s Gold Coast Airport to Sydney, New South Wales on April 27, 2022.

According to ATSB Chief Commissioner Angus Mitchell, an issue occurred on the Boeing aircraft, registered as VH-YFZ, “immediately after take-off.” The pilot observed the aircraft began a right-rolling tendency. Although the roll stopped after the retracting flaps, the roll occurred once again when the flaps were extended for landing in Sydney.

Mitchell said, ” A walk-around inspection after the flight found the outboard aft flap on the left wing had not completely retracted, and a subsequent inspection found several components in the aft flap actuation system had failed.”

Following the investigation, the ATSB concluded the cause was due to a pre-existing fatigue crack in the flap’s inboard programming roller cartridge, which houses and secures the flap’s roller. During the inspection, part of this cartridge was found to have caught on the underside of the main flap from which the outboard flap extends, damaging the flap and preventing a smooth retraction. The remaining sections of the roller and cartridge were not found, with the ATSB noting the parts had detached from the aircraft.

Commenting on the last inspection, Mitchell said, “The last general visual inspection had been carried out on (the aircraft’s) left outboard flap, according to Boeing’s specifications, in October 2020, and no defects were found,” adding “the ATSB believes the reduction in safety margins… warrants safety improvement in the detection of fatigue cracking prior to failure.”

Boeing’s Disagreement with ATSB

Boeing, according to the ATSB, does not agree that the fatigue cracking issue requires further safety action. According to Boeing’s guidance on the aircraft’s programming roller cartridge, a general visual inspection is scheduled for either every 6000 flight cycles or every 36 months.

The general inspection, described by Boeing, is to involve “a visual inspection of an interior or exterior area, installation or assembly to detect obvious damage, failure or irregularity,” adding that the inspection is to be made from “within touching distance” of the parts mentioned. According to the ATSB report, Boeing only recommends a detailed visual inspection of inboard and outboard programming rollers every 12,000 flight cycles.

Being manufactured in 2017, the Virgin Australia aircraft had only flown a total of 6,377 cycles, meaning the parts were not due for a more scrupulous inspection. The ATSB went on to say that Boeing noted a “review of prior failures showed that airplane-level effects were correctly mitigated by the flight crew,” and that the aircraft affected had landed without any incident.

Mitchell concluded by stating, “Inclusion of the cartridges in the detailed inspection would provide the greatest opportunity for fatigue cracks to be identified prior to failure.”

Mike Mangano

Mike’s love affair with flight and mechanical objects in the sky began at an early age, fascinated by space documentaries and the vintage Flight Simulator ’95. He currently works as an instructor for UAVs and is training to receive his Private Pilot Licence with the goal of working in manned flight instruction. An avid reader of all things aviation and manned space flight, Mike stays close to developments in aerospace while reminiscing and sharing the rich history of flight with others. He loves writing, engineering and science.
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