AVIATION NEWS BRIEFS

*The city of Chicago has struck a deal that could open OHare International Airport to VIRGIN AMERICA and other new carriers, providing fresh competition to UNITED and AMERICAN AIRLINES. After lengthy negotiations, DELTA AIRLINES is poised to hand the city control of the L Concourse in OHare's Terminal 3, including 5 gates that the city could rent to Virgin America, JETBLUE or even European charter tour companies seeking to begin service to OHare. The deal also represents a potential breakthrough for Virgin America, which has sought for nearly 3 years to enter OHare as part of a plan to more than triple in size from 34 jets to 111 aircraft by 2019. "We do still hope to bring our low-fare service to OHare in 2011, and we're continuing to work with the city toward that goal," a Virgin America spokeswoman said.

*CONTINENTAL AIRLINES plans to layoff up to 500 employees based in Houston, Texas. The move is a direct result of the carriers merger with UNITED AIRLINES. The job cuts represent about 17% of the estimated 3000 employees based in Houston. The merged carriers base in now Chicago, Illinois.

*The AER LINGUS dispute over cabin crew rosters that led to hundreds of flights being cancelled has been resolved. An Arbitrator issued a final and binding arbitration last night. The cabin crew union IMPACT said the ruling has removed anti-family measures from new rosters imposed by management last month. The 3 week dispute disrupted travel plans for thousands of passengers and over 300 staff were removed from the payroll. IMPACT said the deal It said will prevent management from imposing unacceptable changes in future. Aer Lingus said it was happy to have reached agreement and was confident that it would secure the 850 flying hours a year that it had sought from cabin crew.

*The UK Civil Aviation Authority has published a statistical review of avation safety in the country for the years 2000 to 2009. The document covers reportable and fatal accidents, serious incidents and occurrences as a whole. Information is provided for UK public transport, UK non-public transport, UK airspace and UKaerodromes, large and small airplanes, helicopters, airships, balloons, gliders, gyroplanesand microlights. There were 113 reportable accidents involving large UK public transport aeroplanes between 2000 and 2009. The most common type of accident was a ramp incident, followed by abnormal runway contact or runway excursion. 3 accidents involved fatalities to aircraft occupants, with a total of 5 fatalities. 1 accident involved a 3rd party fatality. The reportable accident rate over the period as a whole was 9.8 per million flights, and the fatal accident rate was 0.3 per million flights. The full Report can be found on the UK CAA website.

*Manufacturing giant Rolls-Royce has said the mid-air failure of one of its Trent 900 engines on the QANTAS A380 had led to costs of £56m. The explosion in the engine forced an emergency landing of the A380 in November last year. The one-off cost contributed to annual pre-tax profits dropping 76% to £702m in 2010 from £2.96bn. Foreign exchange costs and interest rate and fuel hedging contracts also contributed to the profit fall. But the company said that underlying pre-tax profits, which strip out one-off costs, were up by 4% to £955m in 2010 and were a better indication of its performance. The long-term effects of the engine failure, for instance a potential fall in new orders over the months and years ahead, cannot be measured at this stage.

*EMIRATES has seen a significant drop in its global business since the start of the unrest last month in North Africa and the Middle East. The Dubai-based carrier's president said in Washington DC yesterday that Emirates' system-wide load factor has been averaging 75% in recent weeks, compared to a typical 81% to 82% during this time of the year. Emirates is the largest Airline in the Middle East and is one of the largest carriers in all the markets which have witnessed political instability in recent weeks, including Egypt, Tunisia and Yemen.

*AIR INDIA will receive its 1st Boeing 787 in the 4th quarter of 2011. The aircraft was originally scheduled to be delivered in September 2008. The Indian state-owned flag carrier has ordered 27 of the long-delayed widebodies. JET AIRWAYS is the only other Indian customer for the 787 with an order for 10 aircraft. Boeing did not say when it will get its aircraft. Japan's ANA is the launch customer for the 787, and it is due to receive its 1st aircraft in the 3rd quarter of 2011.

*A 2nd day of strike action at PAKISTAN INTERNATIONAL AIRLINES (PIA) has caused significant disruption. An Airline spokesman said several flights were cancelled at Islamabad Airport today, leading to delays. In addition there were scuffles between strikers and PIA management at Islamabad and Karachi Airports, preventing some Pilots and cabin crew from reaching aircraft. Among other demands, staff want PIA to reinstate a number of employees they allege have been fired for opposing the proposed route-sharing deal with TURKISH AIRLINES.

*The SINGAPORE AIRLINES A380 that was temporarily grounded in Zurich, Switzerland, due to a rudder control system fault has been repaired and will return to Singapore today. The aircraft, registration 9V-SKC, will return to service afterwards. The A380 was preparing to depart Zurich for Singapore on  February 7 when it experienced a rudder control system fault message.

*QANTAS Pilots will meet tomorrow to discuss strike action that could affect thousands of international Airline passengers, after a prolonged wage dispute flared dramatically last night. The Pilot's demands for a pay rise and greater job security were bluntly rejected by Qantas chief executive, Alan Joyce in a meeting last night, drawing a furious response from the Pilots' association. The president of the association accused Qantas management of trashing the Qantas brand and seeking to smash Pilots, warning that "tragedy looms" for the carrier.

*KELOWNA Flight 277, a Boeing 727 on Cargo Service, had to make an emergency landing in Winnipeg, MB, Canada, yesterday, February 9, due to an unsafe gear indication. The crew had aborted their initial approach after the indication was received. The worked their checklists and a visual check of the nose gear alignment marks indicated the gear was down and locked. Emergency Services were on standby for the landing. Maintenance replaced the landing gear module and returned the 727 to service.

*TNT AIRWAYS Flight 825, a BAe 146-200 on Cargo Service, had to make an emergency landing in Vienna, Austria, yesterday, February 9, due to an unspecified technical problem.

*FINNAIR Flight 1961, a Boeing 757, had to make an emergency return to Ahmedabad, Pakistan, yesterday, February 9, after ingesting a bird into the left hand engine while on its initial climb.

*UNI AIR Flight 871, a Dash 8-300, had to divert to Makung, Taiwan, yesterday, February 9, after the crew shut down the left hand engine due to an engine oil indication.

*KELOWNA Flight 309, a DC10 on Cargo Service, had to return to Winnipeg, MB, Canada, on Monday, February 7, after the gear lever would not move and the landing gear did not retract. The DC10 has since been repaired and returned to service.

*TAM LINHAS AEREAS Flight 3558, an A320, suffered a bird strike on approach to Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Sunday, February 6. According to media reports, a loud thud was heard thru-out the aircraft about 10 minutes before landing. Passengers reported that the Captain reported that they had hit a large bird. The damaged A320, seen above, was removed from service for repairs.

*WESTJET Flight 453, a Boeing 737, had to reject takeoff at high speed from from Montreal, QC, Canada, on Friday, February 4. The crew, who had rejected takeoff due to an unspecified cockpit indication, requested Emergency Services attend the aircraft due to hot brakes. The 737 was cleared to taxi back to the gate about 15 minutes later and was later removed from service for inspection.