Free Republic

NEW details have emerged revealing just how close Qantas flight QF32 came to disaster earlier this month. Turbine fragments flew out of the plane’s engine when it exploded in mid-air, severing cables in the wing, narrowly missing the fuel tank and taking out flight control systems during the November 4 incident, according to a preliminary report by Airbus. The pilots were forced to deal with an "unprecedented" number of issues during the two-hour ordeal, Vice President of the Australian and International Pilots Association, Richard Woodward, said. “The amount of failures is unprecedented,'' Mr Woodward, a Qantas A380 pilot who has...

Rolls Outlines Trent 900 Modification Plan By Max Kingsley-Jones kingsley.jones@aviationweek.com LONDON Rolls-Royce says that last week’s uncontained failure of a Trent 900 on a Qantas Airbus A380 was caused by the malfunction of “a specific component” in the turbine area, which will be addressed by a modification programme across the fleet. Meanwhile Airbus boss Tom Enders has warned that the problem may impact A380 deliveries this year and next. Rolls says that the investigation and Trent 900 engine inspections launched in the wake of the QF32 incident on Nov. 4 has led it to draw two key conclusions. It confirms...

INVESTIGATORS probing the A380 engine saga found an oil fire may have led to the mid-air engine explosion last week that seriously damaged a Qantas jet, the Herald Sun reported today. Details of what is believed to have occurred were revealed in an emergency directive by the European Aviation Safety Authority to all airlines which bought super jumbos fitted with the now suspect Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engine. Singapore Airlines and German carrier Lufthansa are the only other airlines flying Rolls-Royce powered superjumbos. In today's directive, the European safety regulator said that a preliminary study indicated an oil fire may have...

Australia's Qantas Airways has grounded its A380 fleet for at least another three days as it investigates oil leaks as a possible cause of the explosion which tore apart one of the super jumbo's engines last week. Qantas shares fell as its reputation as one of the world's safest airlines came under the spotlight and investors started counting the financial cost of grounding aircraft and compensating passengers.

Qantas grounded its Airbus A380 fleet after one of the superjumbo jets blew out an engine Thursday, shooting flames and raining large metal chunks before making a safe emergency landing in Singapore with 459 people aboard.

Only a headline so far.

BERLIN, June 8 - The US aircraft leasing company ILFC may cancel its orders for 10 Airbus A380 superjumbo jets because clients' interest in the huge plane has waned, its boss said in comments published on Monday. "We are asking ourselves if we are really going to take delivery of the 10 planes" on order, Steven Udvar-Hazy told the the business weekly Wirtschaftswoche in comments published in its online edition. A cancellation would be the first for the A380, the world's largest passenger jet. "We can cancel our order without penalty between January and June 2009, but we might...

The world is littered with vanity projects intended more to glorify the government in power than serve the needs of its citizens. The extravagant waste by the Chinese government, spending tens of billions of dollars in Shanghai for last year’s Olympics, is a prime example of this. Now many of the gleaming new office buildings stand nearly vacant and many of the Olympic structures ill suited for further use. But worse than where the money was spent, is where it wasn’t. Three months before the Olympics in Sichuan...

Emirates has presented Airbus with a damning list of defects in the new A380 super-jumbo jet. The airline, which has ordered 58 of the aircraft, warns of a possible "loss of confidence" in the giant plane.

Emirates has presented Airbus with a damning list of defects in the new A380 super-jumbo jet. The airline, which has ordered 58 of the aircraft, warns of a possible "loss of confidence" in the giant plane. In a 46-slide presentation, the aviation experts painstakingly listed what they viewed as the giant jet's serious growing pains. To illustrate their points, they included snapshots of singed power cables, partially torn-off sections of paneling and defective parts of thrust nozzles in the engines as evidence of what they described as a shoddy work ethic at Airbus and its suppliers. The confidential manufacturer's information...

Weary Emirates Airbus A380 pilots are complaining that they cannot sleep in their crew-rest area in the aft main cabin because the aircraft is too quiet. The pilots say that the lack of engine noise in the A380's cabin compared with other long-haul airliners means they are constantly disturbed by sounds created by passengers, such as crying babies, flushing vacuum toilets and call bells. Passengers also mistake the rest area for a lavatory, and pull the door handle. The Dubai-based carrier has asked Airbus for a solution that does not involve substantially adding weight, which rules out insulating the walls...

Emirates airline said Monday it would launch nonstop service between Dubai and New York on August 1, the first service to the United States with the new Airbus A380 superjumbo. "The United States represent a key focus area in Emirates' route development plans, and we are delighted to be the first airline to launch commercial A380 services to the continent," said Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, chairman and chief executive of the largest airline in the Middle East. "We are confident that Emirates' customers traveling to and from North America will welcome the A380's additional space and capacity, as well...

The aging planes of United, American, and Delta guzzle more gas and make the U.S. carriers more vulnerable to soaring oil prices—and to their global competitors For a look at one of the biggest headaches facing U.S. airlines, head out to Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport any day and watch the big jets taking off for the U.S. There goes United Airlines to Chicago, American Airlines to Boston, Delta Air Lines to Atlanta, and Air France to New York's John F. Kennedy airport. What's the big deal? Many of the U.S. carriers' planes are Boeing 767s, a model that dates...

Noël Forgeard, once the most powerful man in Europe's aerospace industry, suffered a stinging humiliation yesterday as he was detained by police in connection with the insider trading allegations that have rocked EADS, the aerospace and defence giant. Mr Forgeard was summoned for questioning by the Paris police's financial division, where he was told that he would be placed in custody over claims that he used privileged information to earn millions of euros from his stock options in 2006. The move increased fears that EADS's current executives could receive similar treatment. Mr Forgeard, 61, could be put under formal...

India's Kingfisher to firm up A380 options: report By Nicholas Ionides India’s Kingfisher Airlines is reportedly planning to firm up its options on five Airbus A380s. Kingfisher chairman and CEO Vijay Mallya is quoted on the website of India’s Mint newspaper as saying that “I am planning to convert the options to confirmed orders”. The carrier in 2005 became the first Indian airline to commit to the A380 when it placed firm orders for five of the ultra-large aircraft and took options on five more. Deliveries are due to begin in 2011. Kingfisher, which launched services in 2005, currently only...

Der Flugzeughersteller Airbus hält an Plänen für eine noch größere Version des A380 fest. Mit der Entwicklung eines solchen Flugzeuges werde das Unternehmen voraussichtlich aber erst dann beginnen, wenn die Produktion des aktuellen Modelles A380-800 auf 40 Flugzeuge pro Jahr hochgefahren ist, so Verkaufschef John Leahy. Dieses Ziel strebt Airbus für das Jahr 2010 an. Der A380-900 hätte in einer normalen Auslegung Platz für rund 650 Passagiere. Würde man das Flugzeug nur mit Economy-Sitzen ausstatten, würden sogar rund 900 Passagiere mitfliegen können. Der größte A380-Kunde, die Dubaier Fluggesellschaft Emirates, hat schon seit längerem großes Interesse an dem Flugzeug. (...)

Saudi prince buys world's first 'Flying Palace' By Aislinn Simpson  Last Updated: 3:07pm GMT 12/11/2007     A Saudi billionaire has raised the stakes in the rich mens' toys game by investing in the world's first ever "Flying Palace".Rumours have been swirling for some time about who would be the first to sign up for the "VVIP version" of the new double-decker Airbus A380.   Prince Al-Waleed signs on the dotted line to purchase his Airbus 380 at the Dubai air show   Commercial airlines including Singapore Airlines have already taken possession of some of the planes and during last...

Tony and Julie Elwood booked the first A380 double suite but the journalists clamouring to see inside their room prevented them from beating the sex ban Steve Bleach The A380 may have the world’s first airborne double bed, but it won’t be put to the obvious use if Singapore Airlines has its way: “If couples used our double beds to engage in inappropriate activity, we would politely ask them to desist,” said the company’s Stephen Forshaw. “There are things that are acceptable on an aircraft and things that aren’t, and the rules for behaviour in our double beds are the...

The new Airbus A380 proudly flown by Singapore Airlines last week is a huge aircraft with plenty of room for all kinds of activities. Except one: sex. If you're thinking of booking the world's first flying double bed, you'll first need a lot of money. And second of all, no desire to have sex. Singapore Airlines has said that if couples using the double suites "engage in inappropriate activity," they'll be politely asked to stop. One of the first couples to fly in the suite thought this seemed a bit unfair since the flight attendants kept bringing champagne. We agree...

As my taxi pulled up at Changi airport, I knew this was going to be a special day - the day of the first A380 commercial flight was finally here. The airport had long been adorned with banners and posters declaring Singapore "A380 ready" and anticipating the flight.