BA's OpenSkies

It's my post in a loooong while. Something newto chew on.
NEWS: British Airways efforts to start a subsidiary, Open Skies, are getting off the ground. The plane was received by the new upstart on March 24 and went into a hangar to be repainted. Lo and behold, on April 4, the new airplane got its winglets and title. The new airline has plans to launch service between New York and Paris, as well as other cities in Europe, using Boeing 757 aircraft that are going to be retired from British Airways fleet and replaced by newer Airbus fleet. It's still unknown which airport in New York the new carrier is going to serve.
The new fleet will feature a three classes of service: BIZ (OS's business class), PREM+ (premium economy) and ECON (economy) , in total of about 80 seats, instead of the usual 180.
OPINION:The new airline is certainly a follower of EOS and Silverjet, but is also introducing a new concept into the mix: introducing the BA brand outside of the UK. The new service certainly aims at the passengers who usually transfer through Heathrow on their way to Europe, most of them premium passengers. It remains to be seen, however, if this airline will or won't succeed. The airline said it has obtained slots for Paris, but no information is available for its New York point or origin - where it's going to be based - New York's Kennedy or Newark airport.
More information: http://flyopenskies.com/
Photo credit: British Airways

Throwing in the napkin (towel, whatever)

Well, since noone is going to read this, I'll make this short and sweet: this blog is suspended indefinitely. Thanks to all who have read this.

Sidenote: a bit about the lunar eclipse and misconceptions

There was a lunar eclipse on March 3, which was seen throughout most of the world, except for parts of the Pacific. I won't explain why the lunar eclipse happens, but many people believe that the Moon doesn't spin. Phil Plait, an astronomer and a blogger (Check his blog out at http://www.badastronomy.com/) proves them wrong:



For more of his videos and science (especially astronomy) easily explained, check out his website and watch his videos. It's worth it.

JetBlue contracts ExpressJet to fly some of its routs

NEWS The regional airline ExpressJet was contracted by JetBlue Airways to operate some of its flights, as JetBlue is experiencing software glitches in their Embraer EMB-190 fleet, Bloomberg.com reports. The EMB-190 was introduced to operate flights that its Airbus A320s cannot, due to their size. The 190s operate some long flights, such as JFK to Bermuda's Hamilton Airport.

Bloomberg.com reports the people that already booked on the flights will receive notice of the change as well as a $25 voucher good for a flight on JetBlue. Bloomerg.com reports that the ExpressJet planes will be operated by its own crews, while JetBlue's crews will be compensated. The planes will fly between Boston and Buffalo, NY and Washington-Dulles, New York's JFK and Columbus, OH and Richmond, VA.

ExpressJet launched an airline of its own, XJet, targetting business travellers travelling to mostly desintations on the West Coast, Midwest, as well as the Southwest. Under an agreement made with Continental Airlines, ExpressJet retained 69 of its ERJ-145, which were previously used by Continental. XJet will be using 44 of the aircraft, Delta Airlines contracted an additional 10, and four for JetBlue.

This is an unusual move for JetBlue, which follows the traditional low-cost structure. Most low-cost airlines don't code-share or contract a regional partner, something that sets low-cost carriers from traditional airlines, like Delta and Continental. However, JetBlue made a code-sharing agreement with Air Lingus, an Irish airline as well as Cape Air for some of its flights to Boston.

Aeroflot-Boeing Deal on Hold

NEWS Boeing's new 787 model, Dreamliner, suffered a bit of a setback. Aeroflot, Russia's national airline, which is 51% owned by the Russian government, put its deal to get 22 Boeing 787 on hold, according to an AP article. The airline was also planning to buy an equal number of Airbus A350s, 787's competitor. Aeroflot asked its major shareholder (Russian government) to approve the deal, but the deadline has already passed, even though a Boeing spokesperson said that they were continuing. Seattle Times states, "Boeing finally wrote off the Aeroflot order 'a month or so ago,' said a Boeing insider familiar with the negotiations."

This latest development may be a result of cooling relations between Russia and the United States. Another article by AP states that Russia wants a larger stake in Airbus' parent, European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co. (EADS). Russian company Vneshtorgbank invested 5% in the company, but French and German heads of state claim that they don't Russia to have a seat on the board of directors.

Boeing's 787 is scheduled to make its first flight later this year, with deliveries starting next year. Two of three Large Cargo Freighters, or modified Boeing 747 freighters are already flightworthy. The planes will carry pieces of the Boeing 787 to Boeing's assembly plant in Seattle. Boeing touts the airplane as its most successful airplane in history with 464 orders as of February 2007. (List of 2007 orders for Boeing + List of orders for previous years)

OPINION Whenever a government gets involved in regulating something it doesn't understand, the consequences could be disastrous. Aeroflot should be a private company, more independent of its parent nation. Foreign policy could bankrupt the company. However, when was the last time Western companies ordered a Russian civilian airliner? We could discuss the reasons why: Russian airliners pollute too much, don't meet US emissions and noise standards, but there is actually more than meets the eye, in my opinion. There is a reason why nations operate local-made aircraft (among other things locally made): national pride. There is also a reason why nations don't operate other aircraft: economic discrimination based on nation of origin.

Regional Jet Battle Heats Up

(Image from Bombardier)










Bombardier Aerospace, based in Canada, launched a larger regional jet, based on the Canadair Regional Jet (CRJ) family, the CRJ-1000. The plane will hold up to 100 seats. Its current largest civilian aircraft, CRJ-900 holds up to 90 people. CRJ-900's latest order was placed by Delta Air Lines. CRJ-1000 was launched by Brit Air, an Air France subsidiary, ordering eight and eight options, and My Way Airlines, headquartered in Italy, which converted 15 of their 19 CRJ-900 orders to CRJ-1000. An undisclosed customer ordered 15, bringing the total order to 38. (Bombardier)

CRJ series directly competes with E-Jets, made by Embraer, a Brazilian company. Unlike Bombardier's large regional jets, Embraer made an entirely new regional jet and reinventing it at the same time. Embraer's series, EMB-170, 175, 190 and 195 seat anywhere from 70 to 118 people, depending on the model. The E-Jets family was launched in 1999 and put into production in 2002.

Bombardier's Canadair is studying its own large regional jet, CSeries, a project which was initially cancelled in 2006, but then relaunched. CSeries will come in two variants, C110, seating up to 110 people and C130, seating 130 people. CSeries may replace aging aircraft, such as DC-9, older Boeing 737 aircraft as well as eclipse Airbus A318 and A319. First entry is planned in 2013.

(Image from Sukhoi)

While Bombardier and Embraer may be the only regional aircraft makers, they may not be the only ones for long. Russia's Sukhoi, which has a legacy of making military and trainer aircraft, is developing its Sukhoi Superjet (SSJ), which was previously known as the Russian Regional Jet (RRJ). The airplane, which will seat up to 78 to 98 people, depending on the model, is part of a collaboration between Sukhoi, Boeing and other aviation companies. The company already has received orders from Aeroflot, among other Russian airlines. The company is now part of United Aircraft Building Corporation, a public company owned by the Russian government (Source)

Flight Global's article looks at the Superjet closer.

Boeing is looking at developing its replacement for its Boeing 737, according to ATW Online. The company may consider two solutions for the replacement, as it looks at its designs. The company may shift its capacity from 90-200 people to 130-230-seat family airplane. The company says that environmental concerns are a top priority and is one of the reasons why it is looking to replace its most popular airliner.

Airlines Hit an "Eddie" in Northeast

NEWS Jetblue announced that it cancelled 23% of its February 17 and 18 flights, due to a snowstorm on Wednesday (AP). The snowstorm forced JetBlue to cancel and delay some of its flights since the storm. According to some FlightAware data, JetBlue leased planes from other companies to get people where they want to go.

JetBlue cancelled service to Richmond, VA; Pittsburgh, PA; Charlotte and Raleigh/Durham, NC; Jacksonville, FL; Austin and Houston, TX; Bermuda; Columbus, OH; Nashville, TN and Portland, ME (JetBlue)

Delta and American Airlines also reported hardships, with flights still being cancelled as a result of the storm. All three airlines (Delta, JetBlue and American) have hub operations in New York and suffered greatly because of the storm. Cincinnati's Enquirer reports two-thirds of Cincinnati's flights were cancelled by Delta on Tuesday, February 13. American Airlines, which has the biggest presence at Kennedy International Airport, said they expected to cancel as many as 40 flights in New York area, AMT reports. Continental Airlines had delays and two cancelled flights at its Newark hub.

OPINION Weather causes delays almost everywhere. It is proven through traffic jams, airport delays, public transportation troubles and so on. The general media is hitting JetBlue hard, mostly (probably) because hundreds of people were stuck on airplanes for hours; some as much as eight hours. I cannot say that this is JetBlue's fault and I cannot say it's not. It was the airline's decision to keep people in the planes, but they based the decision on what the Air Traffic Control was telling them. The airline is run pretty good (same goes for some major carriers too), in my opinion. However, as with anyone, bad days happen, no matter how hard you try not to let them get to you.

Airlines will live through this and it will happen again next year, regrettably.


UPDATE In an interview with David Neeleman, founder and CEO of JetBlue, the New York Times (registration required) reported that the company will set up a system where JetBlue's penalties would be more severe than anything Congress can do. Mr. Neeleman was referring to a 'Bill of Rights for Passengers,' being considered by the U.S. legislature. The introduction of such a bill, which may require airlines to release passengers, if those choose to want to leave, after a certain time on the tarmac. Mr. Neeleman promised a different company after the changes, which he will announce on Tuesday.

JetBlue's delays, Gordon Bethune (former CEO of Continental Airlines) said, were a result of fast growth.

Traces of Recent Liquid Water Found on Mars

(Image by NASA) Victoria Crater's ridges have been fractured by sedimentary bedrock.
(Image by NASA) Gully deposits in Terra Sirenum. Picture on the left was taken in 2001, picture on the right in 2005.

NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) found even more evidence for something fluid on Mars, perhaps water, and even below the surface. MRO's High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera took pictures of Candor Chasma, a Martian canyon last year. Dr. Chris Okubo, a geologist at University of Arizona analyzed the images, discovering "mineral alteration by fluids."

However, Space.com's (via Yahoo! News) article questioned the validity of the conclusion that the fluid may be water. Philip Christensen, a researcher at Arizona State University, said the fluid may be also magma. Other researchers say it may be water mixed with liquid carbon dioxide or just liquid carbon dioxide alone.

A liquid flowing underground often deposits sediments, usually iron-rich or clay-like minerals which cement over time and bleach the layers. Erosion later revealed the underground pipes, which is what MRO detected.

Surface liquid water has been detected by NASA's Mars Global Surveyor, which began orbiting Mars in 1997, and its research team. Researchers compared images from Terra Sirenum and Centauri Montes regions, both located in the Martian southern hemisphere and found that something cut through the walls of the craters. (Source)

Water cannot stay liquid on Mars for long because of the low pressure and temperature, but it can stay liquid for some time before it quickly turns into ice or evaporates. MRO's discovery provides scientists a little bit of a solid footing think that Mars may have subterranean water. To space agencies water is crucial to not only finding life, but may also pave way to manned flights to planets that have water or water ice.

Space Shuttle Gets Ready for Launch

(Image from Nasa.gov)

Space Shuttle Atlantis is being moved to the launchpad, to be launched just before dawn on March 15. The mission, STS-117, will deliver and install the third set of solar panels to the station. This will be 28th Atlantis' launch and the first space shuttle launch this year.

Relieving Congestion in New York

(Image from SHoP Architects and New York Magazine)

An article in the New York Magazine wrote how SHoP Architects came up with an idea of completely rebuilding Kennedy International Airport to facilitate a sort of a "moving terminal" environment, where the current definition of terminals, where flyers go to check in, wait for the flight and then fly, is eliminated. Instead, the flyers would board shuttle trains at stations throughout four boroughs (the plan excludes the Bronx) and go directly to their gate. While on the shuttle trains, flyers can check in their baggage, grab a few drinks, go online, since the plan will incorporate some of the latest technologies into the train.

The plan also calls for the reconstruction of the entire airport, encasing it in an environmentally-friendly "garage," which would generate electric power and protect the airplanes from the weather while they are parked at their gate. The plan is not considered by PANYNJ, the agency which controls New York-area airports, but is a suggestion made upon a request by the magazine. (New York Magazine)

The FAA, however, has a more realistic view, according to an article in the New York Times (registration required). The agency has concluded studying and is expected to make a decision soon about rerouting airplane paths coming into not only New York-area airports, but also changing paths of airplanes coming into smaller airports ranging from Delaware to Connecticut.

The agency has four plans in the works: "Modifying existing air space, routing air traffic over the ocean, making additional airspace available for air traffic controllers, or taking no action at all." (New York Times)