AVIATION NEWS BRIEFS

*DELTA AIRLINES is removing the 1st DC9-50 from its fleet today. The aircraft, registration N678NC and pictured above, will depart Minneapolis/St Paul, Minnesota today for Marana, Arizona. The DC9 will be parked at the Pinal AirPark in the desert. Delta plans to remove a total of 9 DC9-50s this year, with the remaining 25 to exit the fleet next year. Also going into storage soon is a Boeing 747 aircraft, registration N674US, also pictured above. The carrier will then have 15 Boeing 747s operational, until late next year, when it plans to return 2 747s to the lessor.

*DELTA AIRLINES will reduce its daily Memphis, Tennesee, to Amsterdam, The Netherlands,service to 4x weekly beginning in September. It’s part of the carrier's recently announced effort to reduce or eliminate trans-Atlantic flights done in partnership with European partners KLM and AIR FRANCE. When it was inaugurated by NORTHWEST AIRLINES and KLM in June 1995, the Memphis-Amsterdam route was hailed as a cornerstone of the Airport’s development into a world-class facility. But recent moves by Delta, which acquired Northwest in 2008, have downsized Memphis as a passenger hub and left it bragging rights primarily as FEDEX’s global cargo hub. Delta said in March it would also reduce departures from Memphis by 25% and cut seat capacity at the hub by 8-10%.

*US AIRWAYS Pilots, represented by the US Airline Pilots Association (USAPA), have filed a complaint against defendant US Airways in the US District Court Southern District of New York alleging that US Airways has violated its duty to maintain the status quo during contract negotiations as required by the Railway Labor Act (RLA). The complaint lists numerous instances of of problems encountered by the Pilots in their negotiations with the carrier.

*The US Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood and the FAA Administrator announced Wednesday that the FAA will begin to impose civil penalties against people who point a laser into the cockpit of an aircraft The interpretation reflects the fact that pointing a laser at an aircraft from the ground could seriously impair a Pilot’s vision and interfere with the flight crew’s ability to safely handle its responsibilities. The maximum civil penalty the FAA can impose on an individual for violating the FAA’s regulations that prohibit interfering with a flight crew is $11,000 per violation. Thus far this year, Pilots have reported more than 1100 incidents nationwide of lasers being pointed at aircraft. Laser event reports have steadily increased since the FAA created a formal reporting system in 2005 to collect information from Pilots. Reports rose from nearly 300 in 2005 to 1527 in 2009 and 2836 in 2010.

*Despite receiving numerous objections from multiple parties, the US FAA has issued a new airworthiness directive for aircraft seats made by embattled Japanese manufacturer Koito Industries, which falsified test data on some 150,000 seats in the world fleet. The AD, which is expected to have a wide-reaching impact on the industry, requires Airlines to determine if affected seats and seating systems are compliant with certain FAA regulations and remove seats shown to be unsafe. The FAA has outlined compliance time requirements ranging from 2 years to 6 years for various portions of the AD. Some 278 US aircraft operated by CONTINENTAL AIRLINES carry Koito seats. The FAA estimates a cost for the US fleet of $875,000 for implementing the AD. However, the cost to non-US carriers of compliance could be staggering.

*Chile's LAN AIRLINES has promised to guarantee lower fares and more competition on key routes shared with Brazil's TAM, to win approval for a proposed merger as a regulatory probe neared an end. LAN laid out the concessions, which are expected to have a limited impact on its bottom line, in oral arguments before Chile's antitrust tribunal last week, defending the creation of Latin America's largest carrier from a consumer group's challenge. The probe has pushed back the effective date of any merger from the 3rd quarter to early next year, but most analysts agree the tribunal is likely to approve the deal with some competitive guarantees before the end of July. A a member of TAM's controlling family told reporters at the hearing that he expects final approval from Brazilian regulators soon. Brazil's civil aviation authority approved the planned merger in March. Unconfirmed reports say that if the merger is not approved, then LAN would make a play for GOL LINHAS AEREAS.

*English carrier MONARCH AIRLINES is moving away from the charter business and positioning itself as a scheduled carrier. The relaunch marks the Airline's biggest rebrand in the past 7 years. Changes include an overhaul to the plane's livery and a new brand message that focuses on the Airline's scheduled services. The carrier's fleet of 30 aircraft will be rebranded in the company's yellow and purple colours, pictured above, and the message "Fly your way. Every day". The new services provided by Monarch claim to let consumers "tailor" their flight packages to their own preferences, by booking allocated seats and having different options for inflight meals and extra-leg room.

*Braathens Leasing has placed a firm order for 10 Bombardier CSeries aircraft and taken options on an additional 10, raising the Canadian airframer's backlog to 100 CSeries firm orders. The $665 million deal with Braathens Leasing, a member of BRAATHENS AVIATION of Sweden, covers the acquisition of 5 Bombardier CS100 and 5 CS300 mainline jetliners. Options for 10 additional CSeries aircraft, if converted to firm orders, would raise the amount to about $1.37 billion. The twinjets will be operated by Braathens Aviation member MALMO AVIATION from the regional Airline's base at the Bromma-Stockholm City Airport outside of downtown Stockholm. Malmo Aviation, which operates a fleet of BAE Systems Avro RJs, intends to renew its fleet and explore new business opportunities with its CSeries aircraft starting in 2014. The 110-seat CS100 aircraft is scheduled to enter revenue service in 2013, followed by the 130-seat CS300 aircraft in 2014.

*South Korea's ASIANA CARGO announced that it will begin 3x weekly service between Incheon, South Korea, and Portland, Oregon, on September 2. The Boeing 747 Cargo Service will operate on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Asiana offers connecting cargo service from Incheon to multiple countries, including Japan, China and Hong Kong.

*QANTAS was forced to ground one of its Boeing 767 passenger jets after rats were found onboard. Flight Attendants found 5 rats in the cabin of the767 that was due to leave Sydney on Tuesday afternoon while making a routine safety and security inspection. The rodents were discovered in emergency medical equipment carried on the aircraft, 10 minutes before passengers were due to board. Qantas said they were not sure how the rats got on the plane. The carrier grounded the plane at Sydney Airport while staff killed the rats and searched the cabin to ensure no more were onboard. Engineers were still inspecting the 767 yesterday to determine whether any damage had been caused to wiring and the aircraft systems. The aircraft returned to service this morning. The Civil Aviation Safety Authority was informed of the temporary grounding.

*DELTA AIRLINES Flight 8882, a Boeing 737 on Charter Service from Kansas City, Missouri, to Santa Ana, California, had to make an emergency diversion, last evening, June 1. The 737 was carrying the Los Angeles Angels professional baseball team home to Santa Ana, after a game in Kansas City. While descending thru 18000 feet on approach to Santa Ana, the crew declared an emergency, reporting a hydraulic failure. Due to concerns over runway length, the aircraft was then diverted to Los Angeles, California, where it landed safely on the runway 25R, about 15 minutes later. The 737, pictured above after arrival in LAX, was removed from service for inspection and repairs.

*EXPRESSJET Flight 2586, an ERJ145 on service for CONTINENTAL AIRLINES, had to make an emergency return to Indianapolis, Indiana, yesterday, June 1, after the crew shut down the left hand engine due to the loss of oil pressure. The aircraft landed safely back in Indianapolis about 15 minutes after its initial departure for Newark, New Jersey. The aircraft was then removed from service for inspection and repairs and a replacement jet was dispatched to continue the flight to Newark.

*BRITISH AIRWAYS Flight 95, a Boeing 777, had to make an emergency medical diversion to Dublin, Ireland, yesterday, June 1. While enroute at 36000 feet from London Heathrow to Montreal, Canada, and near Limerick, Ireland, the crew declared PAN PAN PAN, reporting a female passenger was suffering from cardiac arrest. The 777 was diverted to Dublin, where it landed about 25 minutes later. Emergency Services met the aircraft and transported the passenger to hospital. Her condition was not released. Flight 95 departed shortly thereafter for Montreal.

*RYANAIR Flight 1625, a Boeing 737, had to make an emergency return to Lodz, Poland, yesterday, June 1. While on their intial climb, the crew reported they had ingested a sea gull into the right hand engine. They then leveled out at 15000 feet and reported that engine vibrations had developed. The 737 landed back in Lodz without incident, about 35 minutes after its initial departure. The aircraft was then removed from service for inspection and repairs and a replacement 737 was dispatched to complete the flight to East Midlands, UK.

*JETLITE Flight 721, a Boeing 737, ingested a bird into an engine after touching down in Patna, India, yesterday, June 1. The crew was able to roll out the aircraft, which was inbound from Ranchi, India, without incident. The next segment of Flight 721, to Mumbai, was delayed for about 7 hours so that the aircraft could undergo an inspection, which it passed without any damage or problems detected.

*AIR PHILIPPINES Flight 988, an A320, was delayed in departure from Davao, The Philippines, yesterday, June 1, due to a bomb threat. According to media reports, the Airbus was about to take off from the Runway 23 for Manila, when the flight crew and controllers intercepted a message through the aircraft's radio that said: "Urgent there is a bomb on board!" The crew then departed the runway and taxied to the apron, where passengers were offloaded. Police and K9 dogs then conducted a search of the aircraft, cargo, luggage and passengers with no explosives being found. About 5 hours later, the Airbus and passengers were cleared to depart for Manila, where they arrived without incident. Local police are investigating the incident.

*FIRST AIR Flight 883, an ATR42, had to make an emergency diversion to Hall Beach, NU, Canada, on Tuesday, May 31. While enroute from Arctic Bay to Iqaluit, NU, Canada, the First Officer's cockpit windshield cracked and then shattered. The crew declared PAN PAN PAN and performed an emergency descent down to 10000 feet, before making a safe diversion and landing in Hall Beach, about 40 minutes later. The ATR was removed from service for repairs.

*AIR BALTIC Flight 361, a Fokker 50, had to reject takeoff from Riga, Latvia, on Tuesday, May 31, due to abnormal engine indications. The crew was able to stop the aircraft on the runway. After inspection by maintenance, the Fokker was cleared about 35 minutes later to depart for Tallinn, Estonia, where it arrived without incident.

*TURKISH AIRLINES Flight 350, a Boeing 737, had to make an emergency return to Istanbul, Turkey, on Tuesday, May 31. While climbing out of Istanbul, the crew reported a hydraulic failure and then leveled off at 26000 feet. They then entered into a holding pattern over the Black Sea to burn off fuel, before landing safely back in Istanbul, about 2 hours after its initial departure. The 737 was removed from service for inspection and repairs and a replacement 737 was brought in to complete the flight to Almaty, Kazakhstan.