Abu Dhabi aviation signs LOI for two Bombardier Q400 NextGen aircraft

By BA Staff

Bombardier Aerospace announced that Abu Dhabi Aviation, based in Abu Dhabi, has signed a Letter of Intent for two Q400 NextGen aircraft. The airline is a long time Bombardier Q-Series aircraft customer.

Based on the list price, the potential contract value for Abu Dhabi Aviation’s transaction, covering two Q400 NextGen aircraft, would be approximately $70 million US.

Abu Dhabi Aviation, the largest commercial helicopter operator in the Middle East, operates a fleet that includes one Q400 aircraft, one Dash 8/Q300 aircraft and two Dash 8/Q200 turboprops. The carrier’s main activities relate to the support of offshore oil, engineering and construction companies.

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FAA issues final rule on pilot training

By BA Staff

The United States Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a final rule on the training of commercial air carrier pilots.  

The final rule stems in part from the crash of Colgan Air 3407 in February 2009 near Buffalo, NY, and addresses a Congressional mandate in the Airline Safety and Federal Aviation Administration Extension Act of 2010 to ensure enhanced pilot training. This rule is one of several rulemakings required by the Act, including the requirements to prevent pilot fatigue that were finalized in December 2011, and the increased qualification requirements for first officers who fly U.S. passenger and cargo planes that were issued  in July 2013.
The final rule requires:

• ground and flight training that enables pilots to prevent and recover from aircraft stalls and upsets.  These new training standards will impact future simulator standards as well;
• air carriers to use data to track remedial training for pilots with performance deficiencies, such as failing a proficiency check or unsatisfactory performance during flight training;
• training for more effective pilot monitoring;
• enhanced runway safety procedures; and
• expanded crosswind training, including training for wind gusts.

In addition, FAA Administrator Michael Huerta is inviting the nation’s commercial aviation safety leaders to Washington, D.C. on November 21, to discuss additional voluntary steps that can be taken to further boost safety during airline operations, including pilot training.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said:

“Today’s rule is a significant advancement for aviation safety and U.S. pilot training. One of my first meetings as Transportation Secretary was with the Colgan Flight 3407 families, and today, I am proud to announce that with their help, the FAA has now added improved pilot training to its many other efforts to strengthen aviation safety.”

FAA Administrator Michael Huerta said:

"This pivotal rule will give our nation’s pilots the most advanced training available. While the rule marks a major step toward addressing the greatest known risk areas in pilot training, I’m also calling on the commercial aviation industry to continue to move forward with voluntary initiatives to make air carrier training programs as robust as possible.”

The FAA proposed to revise the training rules for pilots in 2009, one month prior to the Colgan Flight 3407 accident. The FAA issued a supplemental proposal on May 20, 2011, to address many of the NTSB’s recommendations resulting from the accident, and incorporate congressional mandates for stick pusher, stall recovery and remedial training.  A stick pusher is a safety system that applies downward elevator pressure to prevent an airplane from exceeding a predetermined angle of attack in order to avoid, identify, or assist in the recovery of a stall.

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Boeing Forecasts Growing Need for New Pilots in Asia Pacific Region

By BA Staff

Boeing projects that the Asia Pacific region will continue to lead the globe in demand for hundreds of thousands of new commercial airline pilots and maintenance technicians to support expanding demand for new airplane deliveries over the next two decades.

The 2013 Boeing Pilot and Technician Outlook calls for 192,300 new commercial airline pilots and 215,300 new technicians in the Asia Pacific region through 2032.

Bob Bellitto, the global sales director for Boeing Flight Services said

"There is a very real, urgent demand for competent aviation personnel globally, and the Asia Pacific region is particularly impacted. While Boeing is investing in cutting-edge technologies to attract and retain young people interested in careers in aviation, this is an industry-wide issue that can only be solved with industry-wide solutions. Aviation is a great field to be in. We have a responsibility to make sure it's a viable career option for the world's youth. Tomorrow's aviation workforce is going to be very different than their present-day peers. We need to focus on their expectations for learning, moving away from paper and chalkboard-based techniques to incorporate tablets, eBooks, gaming technology and three-dimensional models."

Leading the region in projected demand for new pilots and technicians:

• China – 77,400 pilots and 93,900 technicians
• Southeast Asia – 48,100 pilots and 50,300 technicians

Other parts of the region will also continue to see long-term demand in the tens of thousands of pilots and technicians:

• Southwest Asia will need 30,900 pilots and 28,500 technicians
• Northeast Asia will need 18,500 pilots and 25,500 technicians
• The Oceania region will need 17,400 pilots and 17,100 technicians

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Interesting trivia: It takes 96 people to fly an airline passenger

by Devesh Agarwal

A montage of photos to create a globe. Image courtesy BA.

British Airways has calculated the number of essential people involved in the customer journey in order to fly.

It is 96 different roles, across 18 different departments, using over 11 external suppliers in the process. This figures rises to 107 for premium customers, which normally includes the additional benefits of additional personalised service, fast track boarding, lounge access, and transportation, meet and greets, etc.

Before flying there are 23 crucial roles behind the scenes working to ensure everything is in place for your flight. On the day you fly, there are 38 people that contribute directly to getting you in the air. On board there is an average flight team of 16 people, including cabin crew, flight crew, may be engineers, and upon landing a further 19 people ensure your safe arrival and exit.

If one looks at just one strand in the chain; as an example a fish dish served to customers on board;

• it starts at Severn and Wye smokery in Gloucestershire, in the United Kingdom, where the fish is farmed and pre-prepared. 
• At Gate Gourmet, the flight kitchen, in London, meal trays are assembled and dishes freshly prepared ahead of flying. 
• Global logistics major Kuehne and Nagel deliver the cutlery, crockery, and tableware for the meal trays. 
• The menu has been considered for quality, taste and seasonality in advance by Mark Tazzioli, the menu manager at British Airways. 
• The meal is loaded in to food carts which are sealed by a security inspector, transported on special meal trucks that undergo more elaborate security checks, before being loaded in to the aircraft's galley. 
• On board a member of cabin crew prepares and another delivers the meal. 
• Once enjoyed, the process is reversed. The meal tray is stacked in to food carts, and returned to the galley. For premium passengers the tray is cleared and loaded into the food carts in the galley. When the aircraft lands, the containers are offloaded and returned to Gate Gourmet for cleaning, and the whole process starts again.

The equipment carried is equally challenging. On board a typical long-haul British Airways Boeing 747 flight, there will be 1,263 items of metal cutlery, 735 glasses, 233 toothpicks, 337 copies of the in-flight magazine, 2,000 ice cubes, 99 full bottles and 326 quarter bottles of wine, 58 toilet rolls, 337 donation envelopes to ‘Flying Start’ charity, and 40 skyflyer packs for children.

Abigail Comber, British Airways head of marketing, said:

“Our new TV advert shows the work that goes on behind the scenes, in order to get 100,000 people in the air every day. The research gave us a real appreciation for every single person that makes flying a seamless process. From the tug driver to the ramp agent, from NATS air traffic control to our chefs – there’s more people than you realise, that get you from A to Z.”

See the TV advert here.

Share your interesting aviation trivia via a comment.

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Video: Etihad's new TV commercial

by Devesh Agarwal

Abu Dhabi based Etihad Airways is releasing a new TV commercial (TVC) across the world in the next few days.

Created by M&C Saatchi, the TVC will be released in the UAE on March 3rd, and then across Australia, China, Germany, India, Japan, UK, USA, and Nigeria the next day.

The commercial which has been produced by Rogue Films in London, is directed by David Edwards, and was filmed in Abu Dhabi, Bangkok, Prague and Sydney over a one month period starting in mid-December 2012. Using a split screen technique the commercial tries to juxtapose Etihad on-board service with lifestyle scenes from international destinations, fine dining restaurants and five star hotels around the world. The soundtrack is Bobby Darin’s 1967 classic, "Beautiful Things".

Once you watch the video, do read on for another interesting link.



You can also watch video detailing the making of the commercial by visiting the Bangalore Aviation Facebook page. While you are there, give our page a "Like" and remember in addition to an e-mail subscription, or RSS feed, you can up to date with us via Facebook as well.

For other exciting videos, please visit the Bangalore Aviation YouTube page also.

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