AVIATION NEWS BRIEFS

*AIR CANADA’s 3,800 customer service agents are threatening a strike at midnight on Monday night. The Canadian Auto Workers union is meeting with the company at a downtown Toronto hotel in hopes of averting a strike. The 2 big issues of contention are a proposed discount Airline and pension changes. The low-cost carrier would fly to vacation destinations down south and to Europe that would require lower wages and different work rules. Air Canada also wants significant pension changes including switching to a defined contribution pension plan for new hires from the current defined benefit plan, which has a guaranteed payout.

*AIR FRANCE-KLM is expected to announce an order for 100 aircraft on or near July 7, when the carrier has its annual meeting. The Air France-KLM order will be for either the Boeing 787 or the Airbus A350, or a combination of both. Most analysts say that the Boeing 787 has the edge, however they expect the order to be split between the 2 airframers, with perhaps Boeing netting the majority of the 100 aircraft order.

*QATAR AIRWAYS has finalized its agreement to acquire 35% of CARGOLUX, ending the Luxembourg State's temporary participation in the freight carrier. The 2 companies have also signed a draft commercial co-operation plan, details of which will be disclosed when the transaction closes "in the coming weeks". SAirLines (part of the defunct Swissair Group) sold its 33.7% stake in 2009 to 3 existing shareholders (including LUXAIR, which holds a 52.1% stake) and the Luxembourg State.

*MALAYSIA AIRLINES 1st Airbus A380 has entered the airframer's final assembly line in Toulouse, France. The superjumbo, which entered the line on Tuesday, will have its front, central and aft fuselage sections, wings and horizontal and vertical tails assembled at the 1st stage. This will be followed by the installation of engines and tests on the aircraft's electric and hydraulic systems, mobile parts and landing gears. Final ground tests and first engine tests will take place after that, before the aircraft is flown to Hamburg for cabin completion and painting. MAS, which has 6 A380s on order, has said it is due to receive its 1st in April 2012. The Airline is likely to deploy the A380 to London, followed by Sydney and Melbourne.

*An EASYJET A319 had to make an emergency return to Liverpool, England, today, June 9. According to media reports, about 18 minutes after departure for Belfast, Northern Ireland, the crew requested return, reporting unspecified technical problems. Emergency Services were dispatched for the landing, which took place without incident. The Airbus was removed from service for inspection and a replacement aircraft was dispatched for the flight to Belfast.

*DONAVIA Flight 608, a Boeing 737, had to make an emergency return to Rostov, Russia, today, June 9, after the flaps became asymmetric while being retracted. The aircraft landed safely and was removed from service for inspection. A replacement aircraft was dispatched to complete the flight to Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport.

*AIR NELSON Flight 8077, a Dash 8-300 on service for AIR NEW ZEALAND, had to make an emergency diversion to Dunedin, New Zealand, today, June 9. The Dash was enroute from Christchurch to Invercargill, New Zealand, when the crew declared an emergency, reporting smoke in the cargo hold. The aircraft was diverted to Dunedin, where it safely landed and was met by Emergency Services. No trace of heat, smoke or fire was found and the carrier said later the incident may be related to a false indication. The Dash was removed from service for inspection. This incident took place about 6 hours after the ANZ Flight 175 incident, which is detailed below.

*AIR NEW ZEALAND Flight 175, a Boeing 767, had to make an emergency return to Auckland, New Zealand, today, June 9. While climbing thru 1800 feet out of Auckland, the left hand engine ingested a bird with 3 loud bangs and then began to emit flames. The crew declared an emergency and shut down the left hand engine. Auckland Airport deployed a full Emergency Services team for the landing, which took place about 25 minutes later without incident. The aircraft was cleared to taxi to the gate where passengers were offloaded. The passengers were later bussed to a hotel and will depart for Perth, Australia, at 1:00am on June 10. The aircraft was later removed from service for inspection and repairs. New Zealand's Civil Aviation Authority said it had been told of the incident and would wait until it had further details before decided if an inquiry would begin.

*EXPRESSJET Flight 5822, an ERJ145 on service for UNITED AIRLINES, had to make an emergency diversion to Rockford, Illinois, on Wednesday, June 8. While climbing thru 13000 feet, out of Madison, Wisconsin, and moving around thunderstorms, the ERJ was struck by lightning. The crew reported then reported that the cockpit windshield. They declared an emergency and diverted to Rockford, where they safely landed about 16 minutes later. The aircraft was then removed from service for repairs and the passenger and crew were bussed to their destination, Chicago OHare.

*AUSTRIAN AIRLINES Flight 416, an A321, had to make an emergency landing in Vienna, Austria, on Wednesday, June 8. While enroute at 37000 feet, from Paris, France, to Vienna, Austria, and near Zurich, Switzerland, the crew reported that the Captain's windshield had cracked. They descended down to 20000 feet and continued on tto Vienna, where they safely landed, about 80 minutes later. The Airbus was repaired and returned to service today, June 9.

*An OLT BN2B Islander suffered minor damage when it was blown off the runway upon landing in Helgoland, Germany, on Wednesday, June 8. According to media reports, as the Islander touched down on the rain slicked runway, after a domestic flight from Bremerhaven, a "heavy" wind gust hit the aircraft. At least part of the landing gear then collapsed as the Islander rolled into soft ground and came to a stop. None of the 7 passengers or crew onboard were injured. The Islander was removed from service for inspection and repairs. German aviation officials have opened an investigation.

*LUFTHANSA Flight 758, an A340, had to make an emergency medical diversion to Simferopol, Ukraine, on Wednesday, June 8. While enroute from Frankfurt, Germany, to Chennai, India, a male passenger fell seriously ill. The Airbus was diverted to Simferopol, where it safely landed and was met by Emergency Services. The passenger was transported to hospital and the airliner was able to depart for Chennai, about 4 hours later.

*AEROFLOT Flight 826, an Ilyushin IL96, suffered a minor runway excursion at Kamchatsky, Russia, on Wednesday, June 8. The IL96 was turning around to line up for departure from the runway 16, when the nose gear went off the paved surface and onto soft ground. The Ilyushin had to be towed off the runway. After undergoing inspection, it was cleared to depart about 5 hours later for Moscow Sheremetyevo, Russia, where it arrived without incident.

*EMIRATES Flight 213, a Boeing 777, had to reject takeoff at high speed from Dubai, UAE, on Wednesday, June 8, after one of the nose gear tires burst. The aircraft came to a stop about 2000 feet short of the runway end, with both nose gear tires flat. Emergency Services responded to cool down the overheating brakes. The 777 was towed off the runway, repaired, and departed for Houston, Texas, about 8 hours later.

*DELTA AIRLINES Flight 30, a Boeing 767, rejected takeoff from New York JFK, on Tuesday, June 7. Moments after beginning their takeoff roll for Moscow, Russia, a crew onboard another Delta airliner, called for the crew of Flight 30 to abort their takeoff, reporting a flat right hand main gear outboard tire. The crew of Flight 30 was able to slow on the runway and taxi to the apron. The 767 was repaired and departed for Moscow about 2.5 hours later.

*BRITISH AIRWAYS Flight 239, a Boeing 777, had to make an emergency medical diverions to Dublin, Ireland, on Tuesday, June 9. The 777 was enroute from London Heathrow to Boston, Massachusetts, overhead the Atlantic at 40000 feet, and about 450 miles W of Ireland, when a female passenger began to show signs of a possible heart attack. The crew turned around and diverted to Dublin, where they safely landed and were met by Emergency Services. The passenger was transported to hospital and after about 4 hours on the ground, the 777 departed for Boston, where it arrived without incident.