AVIATION NEWS BRIEFS

*Boeing should be required by US regulators to run passenger-evacuation tests on its new 747-8 Intercontinental since the jumbo jet can carry more people than its predecessor, rival Airbus SAS’s sales chief said. Boeing, whose original 747 1st flew in 1968, unveiled its latest version of the aircraft last weekend. The 747-8I will carry about 467 passengers in a typical 3 class configuration, about 12% more than the 747-400 flying today. Boeing has asked US aviation officials for a waiver on emergency evacuation tests for the new model because of tests performed on the original version 4 decades ago, the Airbus Chief Operating Officer told journalists in Paris. “That’s wrong,” he said. “I intend to fly in that airplane one of these days and I’d like to know you can get out of it". Boeing declined to respond directly to Leahy’s comment. The company will work closely with the FAA on certification for the 747-8I. “We will meet or exceed all certification standards,” said a spokesman for the Chicago-based planemaker. Emergency evacuation tests require a planemaker to fill the aircraft with the maximum number of passengers and crew that it’s certified to carry, and then have everyone exit the plane in darkness, with random doors shut, to ensure that the plane can be emptied in the event of an emergency. Boeing plans to take the 747-8I on its 1st flight before the end of March

*UNITED-CONTINENTAL Holdings has announced plans to retain 'Economy Plus' seating on UNITED AIRLINES flights and expand the option to CONTINENTAL AIRLINES aircraft, under a massive retrofit project that will begin in 2012. Economy Plus offers up to 5 inches of additional legroom to customers seated in the forward section of United's economy-class cabins. United currently offers Economy Plus on all 359 mainline aircraft and more than 150 larger regional jets operated by UNITED EXPRESS carriers. When the multi-year conversion process is complete, the company plans to offer Economy Plus on more than 700 mainline aircraft, including all Continental mainline aircraft, as well as larger regional aircraft.

*UNITED-CONTINENTAL Holdings has unveiled plans to begin using both CONTINENTAL AIRLINES and UNITED AIRLINES operated Boeing 757s on transatlantic routes from Washington Dulles as part of the next phase of its aircraft redeployment project. United-Continental now competes against AIR FRANCE and BA's OPEN SKIES unit between Washington and Paris. Air France plans to begin using the A380 on the route from June 2. United-Continental's spokesman said the carrier's once daily Dulles-Amsterdam flight will also switch on September1 from a United 767-300 to a Continental 757-200.

*DELTA AIRLINES is under fire for offering a woman $50.00 and reimbursment for the ticket, after her cat died from hypothermia due to a problem with a cargo door. The woman paid nearly $300 to fly Snickers, an 11-week-old, 3 pound hairless kitten pictured above, from Utah to Connecticut in the climate-controlled air cargo. But by the time the kitten was reunited with its owner, she was icy cold and could not move her head or paws. She died a short time later on the way to the vet. The aircraft arrived in Connecticut without incident and the woman went to the cargo area to await Snickers being unloaded and delivered to her. However, the door malfunctioned and it took ground staff about an hour to get the door open. In the meantime, Snickers was exposed to the freezing temperatures. As soon the cat was delivered to the woman, she and her 2  daughters wrapped Snickers in a coat and ran for the car where they turned the heater up and headed to the vet. During the journey, the cat let out what Ms Lombardi described as a 'bloodcurdling cry' and went limp. Snickers was pronounced dead on arrival. The vet who treated her said she was cold and bleeding from the mouth and nose, all symptoms of hypothermia. The woman paid $289.94 for Snickers cargo ticket, which included $70 to make sure Snickers was taken off the plane quickly. Delta initially told her that she would get $2,900 for the loss of her pet and $290 airfare, plus reimbursement for vet bills and even a freezer where she is keeping Snickers until the ground thaws to bury him. However, Delta later changed its mind and now is only offering the $50.00 and a refund on the ticket. Instead, the woman went to the press to explain her outrage and Delta's handling of the incident. Delta had no comment other than to say they were still investigating the matter.

*After reviewing more than 5000 complaints against DELTA AIRLINES by disabled passengers, the US Department of Transportation slapped Delta with a record fine of $2 million on Thursday. The FAA said many of the violations were "egregious" and accused Delta of breaking rules meant to make it easier for disabled passengers to fly, in part by providing access to wheelchairs. The penalty against Delta is the largest the department has ever assessed against an Airline in a case not involving safety violations.

*The FAA yesterday hit CORPORATE AIR, a charter and air-taxi company in Billings, Montana, with a proposed civil penalty of $585,725 for allegedly failing to properly maintain a cargo plane. The FAA said Corporate Air flew the Shorts SD-3-30 at least 81 times while failing to conduct daily inspections for corrosion on the exterior skin. The FAA said the company also failed to conduct required structural inspections on the twin-turboprop plane between March 2006 and February 2010. Carriers have 30 days to respond to proposed FAA penalties. Corporate Air operates charter and air taxi service and makes daily cargo flights under contract to a major next-day air package Airline.

*Hi-techface recognition gates at the Airport in Manchester, England, were suspended after they allowed a man back into the country on his wife’s passport. It is understood an immigration officer double-checking the data on a computer picked up the blunder and the man was stopped before he left Manchester Airport’s Terminal One. The couple are thought to have swapped passports accidentally. The woman could not pass through the gates, which match a face to a digital photo stored on ‘chipped’ passports. It was the 2nd recent security problem at the Airport. On Sunday, a mistake at the check-in let 2 strangers board an AIR FRANCE A321 on 1 boarding card, resulting in a major security alert and a near 3 hour delay for passengers. That has been blamed on human error.

*The solicitor acting for MANX2 following the February 10 fatal crash at Cork airport in Ireland has claimed that the Airline has no liability to the passengers involved in the incident. The liability, says Manx2's Isle of Man-based solicitor in a letter to a solicitor acting for the family of 1 of the casualties, resides entirely with FLIGHTLINE BCN, the Barcelona, Spain-based company that operated the Manx2 flight using its crew and the Swearingen Metroliner that crashed at Cork. The aircraft was owned by AIRLADA, based in Seville, Spain. The 2 Pilots and 4 passengers died when the aircraft turned upside down on landing following an approach in fog. There were 6 survivors. Since the accident Manx2 has cancelled its contract with Flightline. The letter says: "Your client's contract was with Flightline BCN and your client's claim should be directed to that company". On Manx2's booking website, the terms and conditions of carriage on the Belfast City-Cork route state: "We shall be liable to you in the event of an accident resulting in your death or other bodily injury whilst on board an aircraft operated by us or in the course of any of the operations of embarking or disembarking".

*Skymark Airlines, the Japanese low-cost carrier, has signed a firm agreement to order up to 6 Airbus A380s, becoming the 1st Japanese carrier to acquire the superjumbo. The Airline inked the deal in Toulouse yesterday to purchase 4 A380s with 2 options. Deliveries will begin in the 2nd half of 2014 with the Airline receiving 2 aircraft. The 3rd A380 will arrive in 2015, and the 4th in 2016.

*The Swedish Havarikommission announced yesterday that they have opened an investigation into Monday's incident involving EMIRATES Flight 203. As previously reported, the 777 diverted to Stockholm, Sweden, due to smoke in the passenger cabin. The aircraft was on the ground at Stockholm's Arlanda Airport for 5.5 hours before resuming its flight to New York JFK. It is not know why Sweden has opened an investigation, however passengers interviewed by Swedish media on the day of the incident complained about actions of the crew during and after the diversion.

*The CIAIAC of Spain has released their Final Report into an incident involving an AIR NOSTRUM CRJ200 at Vigo, Spain, on February 25, 2010. On that date, Flight 8962, on Domestic Service on behalf of IBERIA, was landing on Vigo's runway 20, when a gust of wind hit the aircraft from the right, and the CRJ struck its right wing tip on the runway. No one onboard was injured. The CRJ suffered minor damage to its right wingtip and winglet. In their Final Report, the CIAIAC said: "The root cause of the incident is considered to be the brusque actions taken by both crew members to roll the airplane to the right in an effort to counteract a wind-induced roll to the left. A contributing factor was the fact that a non-stabilized approach was made instead of deciding to go around, as specified in the procedure". The full Report, including details on events as they unfolded and the investigation itself, can be found on the CIAIAC website.

*SKYWEST Flight 4620, a CRJ200, had to make an emergency diversion to Grand Junction, Colorado, on Wednesday, February 16. The CRJ was on approach to Salt Lake City, Utah, and at about 11000 feet, when the aircraft encountered severe turbulence. The crew reported injuried and requested diversion to Grand Junction. They then climbed up to 29000 feet and landed safely in Grand Junction about 1 hour later. According to the FAA, 3 passengers suffered minor injuries and they were treated and released at the Grand Junction Airport. It is not known why the aircraft diverted to Grand Junction, rather than land at Salt Lake City.

*JETBLUE Flight 733, an A320, had to make an emergency return to Boston, Massachusetts, on Wednesday, February 16, due to a low engine oil indication for the right hand engine. The crew had to make a short final for the runway 22L, however they landed safely about 30 minutes after their original departure.

*YAKUTIA AIRLINES Flight 522, an Antonov AN24, had to make an emergency return to Okha, Russia, on Wednesday, February 16, after the crew shut the left hand engine down due to low oil quantity and pressure.

*SAUDI ARABIAN AIRLINES Flight 817, a Boeing 747, veered left off the runway 17 upon landing in Madinah, Saudi Arabia, on Wednesday, February 16. Saudi media reported that the 747 was going too fast upon landing. The aircraft came to a stop with the left hand main gear and left body gear, off the paved surface. No one onboard was injured. The 747 suffered damage to the left hand flap and left engine, which contacted the ground as a result of the wheels sinking into the soft ground. The aircraft has been removed from service for repairs and Saudi aviation officials have opened an investigation.

*DELTA AIRLINES Flight 6562 reported an "emotionally disturbed" female passenger onboard to controllers as they descended into New York JFK, on Saturday, February 12. According to media reports, as the aircraft began its descent, a female passenger disrobed. Flight Attendants attempted to cover her with a blanket, at which time she began yelling "No No No". The woman was restrained by cabin crew and local police met the aircraft and transported her to a Queens Hospital. No charges are expected to be filed.