Algemeen Luchtvaarttopic #57

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This Saturday morning, the last commercial Air Belgium flight operated by an Airbus A340-300 landed at Charleroi airport, coming from Fort-de-France, Martinique, and Pointe-�-Pitre, Guadeloupe, French Antilles. Future flights will be operated by the airline’s newly acquired A330neo aircraft.

At 09:49 on 26 March, Air Belgium flight KF5961, the last Airbus A340-300 flight from Fort-de-France and Pointe-�-Pitre, landed at Brussels South Charleroi Airport with a delay of half an hour. The aircraft registered OO-ABB will in the future be replaced by the new A330-900s. Three other A340-300 aircraft had been retired earlier by Air Belgium.

Air Belgium currently has two A330-900s in its fleet, but intends to lease two more in order to develop its network from both Brussels and Charleroi airports.

The four A340-300s, formerly with Finnair, were the first aircraft in Air Belgium’s fleet. The intention was to fly them to Hong Kong and other destinations in China. If Hong Kong was served for a few months, other destinations failed to materialise and Air Belgium changed its strategy, aiming at Caribbean destinations. The surge in oil prices compelled the airline to look at more fuel-efficient aircraft, hence the choice of the A330neo to replace the gas-guzzling A340.

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A DHL Air Boeing 757-200, registration HP-2010DAE performing flight D0-7216 from San Jose (Costa Rica) to Guatemala City (Guatemala) with 2 crew, was climbing out of San Jose's runway 07 at about 09:40L (15:40Z) when the crew stopped the climb at about FL210 declaring Mayday due to a hydraulic failure. The aircraft entered a hold while the crew worked the related checklists. The aircraft subsequently returned for an approach to runway 07 about 50 minutes after departure. After touchdown at 10:24L (16:24Z) the crew lost control of the aircraft, which spun around and went off the runway causing the aircraft to break up into two parts, both main gear struts collapsed. The crew was able to exit the aircraft without serious injuries.

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NASA and its partners at the German Space Agency at the Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR) will conclude the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) mission, after a successful eight years of science. SOFIA will end operations no later than Sept. 30, 2022, at the conclusion of its current mission extension.

SOFIA is a Boeing 747SP airplane modified to carry a reflecting telescope. SOFIA completed its five-year prime mission in 2019 and currently is completing a three-year mission extension.

As part of its review of the current state of astronomical research, the National Academies’ Decadal Survey on Astronomy and Astrophysics 2020 evaluated SOFIA. The report, which provides peer-reviewed recommendations to NASA for the future of U.S. astrophysics, concluded SOFIA’s science productivity does not justify its operating costs. The report also found SOFIA’s capabilities do not significantly overlap with the science priorities the Decadal Survey has identified for the next decade and beyond.

The Decadal Survey therefore recommended NASA end the SOFIA mission after its current mission extension. NASA and DLR have accepted this recommendation. SOFIA will finish out its scheduled operations for the 2022 fiscal year, followed by an orderly shutdown.

Hundreds of individuals in the United States and Germany have contributed to the SOFIA mission over its lifetime. It began development in 1996, saw first light in 2010, and achieved full operational capability in 2014. In the eight years since, SOFIA’s observations of the Moon, planets, stars, star-forming regions, and nearby galaxies included the discovery of water on the sunlit surface of the Moon in 2020.

Moving forward, SOFIA’s data will be available in NASA’s public archives for astronomers worldwide to use. NASA will continue to advance the future of scientific discovery in infrared astrophysics, starting with the recently launched James Webb Space Telescope, as well as further opportunities recommended by the Decadal Survey.

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• Approval of Project Sunrise, with order for 12 x Airbus A350s capable of flying direct from Australia to any other city including New York and London, starting from Sydney in late 2025.
• Domestic fleet renewal from late 2023, with order for 40 x A321XLRs and A220 aircraft; 94 purchase order rights spread over at least a decade.
• Major improvements in emissions, running costs and passenger comfort vs retiring aircraft.
• No change to FY23 capital guidance; structure of orders to align with Group Financial Framework

ABOUT THE ORDER

• Firm orders for 12 Airbus A350-1000 for Project Sunrise. Deliveries to begin in 2025 and complete by 2028.
• Firm orders for 20 A321XLR and 20 A220-300 for Project Winton to start renewal of Qantas’ narrow body fleet as its fleet of 95 Boeing 737 and Boeing 717 aircraft retire. Deliveries of A220s to start late calendar 2023; A321XLRs deliveries to start a year later in late calendar 2024.
• An additional 94 purchase right options spread across A320 and A220 families, with significant flexibility on delivery timing (over 10-plus years) and aircraft type.
• Combines with the existing order of 109 A320s (plus purchase rights) for Jetstar into a single Qantas Group narrow body order of 299 aircraft (half of which are firm orders and half are purchase right options), with the flexibility to draw down on that order by choosing any variant from the A320 and A220 families.
• Demonstration of this flexibility with confirmation today that Jetstar will convert 20 of its existing A320 family order to A321XLRs, which have the potential to fly short haul international routes, with delivery to start in the second half of calendar 2024. (The first tranche from this existing order – 18 A321LRs – are due to arrive from July 2022 onwards.)
• Total cost of the deal is commercial in confidence, though a significant discount from standard price should be assumed.

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Herdenkingsvluchten Nationale Dodenherdenking
Tijdens de Nationale Dodenherdenking op 4 mei maakt een Britse Lancaster van de Royal Air Force Battle of Britain Memorial Flight vluchten boven Nederland en Belgi�.

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- DC-area location is close to Boeing's global customers and stakeholders
- Boeing will develop a research & technology hub in Virginia to harness and attract engineering talent; hub to join the company's global engineering network

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ARLINGTON, Va., May 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Boeing [NYSE: BA] announced today that its Arlington, Virginia campus just outside Washington, D.C. will serve as the company's global headquarters. The aerospace and defense firm's employees in the region support various corporate functions and specialize in advanced airplane development and autonomous systems. In addition to designating Northern Virginia as its new headquarters, Boeing plans to develop a research & technology hub in the area to harness and attract engineering and technical capabilities.

"We are excited to build on our foundation here in Northern Virginia. The region makes strategic sense for our global headquarters given its proximity to our customers and stakeholders, and its access to world-class engineering and technical talent," said Boeing President and Chief Executive Officer Dave Calhoun.

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