AVIATION NEWS BRIEFS

*CHINA EASTERN AIRLINES is working with Hawaii's Department of Transportation to establish nonstop twice-weekly Shanghai to Honolulu service starting August 9. The flights would represent the 1st regularly scheduled service between China and Hawaii. The new service is projected to bring about 82,000 Chinese visitors to Hawaii this year, an increase of 24%, according to the Hawaii Tourism Authority.

*VISION AIRLINES will reconnect Grand Bahama Island with direct air service to at least 5 US cities beginning in November. Starting November 11, Vision will provide non-stop service to Grand Bahama Island from Richmond, Virginia; Louisville, Kentucky; Greensboro, North Carolina; Baltimore, Maryland and Ft Lauderdale, Florida. The carrier will use Boeing 737-300 aircraft on the routes.  

*SOUTHWEST AIRLINES has terminated a codeshare agreement with SKYWEST AIRLINES. The original agreement was between AIRTRAN and Skywest. With Southwest's purchase of AirTran, the continuation of the codeshare would have been in violation of its current contract with its Pilots.

*Boeing has announced it will add a 3rd 737 production rate increase, with plans to boost narrowbody output to 42 aircraft per month by the 1st half of 2014. The airframer currently plans to increase production at its Renton, Washington facility from 31.5 to 35 aircraft per month by early 2012, followed by another boost to 38 in the 2nd quarter of 2013, citing increased demand for its venerable narrowbody. "Customers are demanding our Next-Generation 737 at an unprecedented rate," said the CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Boeing holds 2100 unfilled orders for 737 family aircraft, 80% of which will deliver with the company's new Boeing Sky Interior, which 1st entered service with FLYDUBAI in late 2010.

*BRITISH AIRWAYS, DELTA AIRLINES and US AIRWAYS will conduct in-trail procedure tests, beginning later this year, using equipment from the ACSS joint venture between L-3 and Thales. Carriers participating in the tests are using the SafeRoute software suite of products developed by ACSS featuring ADS-B "in" capability that uses GPS to allow an aircraft to communicate its position to other aircraft, survey the location of other in-trail aircraft and communicate with ground stations. By using ADS-B in to communicate its position and monitor the location of other aircraft, the 3 carriers will be able to operate at a more efficient altitude in airspace not controlled by radar, which results in reductions in fuel burn and emissions. BA is equipping 4 of its Boeing 777-200s with SafeRoute functionality while Delta plans to use 3 Boeing 767-300s and US AIRWAYS 5 Airbus A330s in the program.

*Boeing has delivered the 1st 777-300ER to Angola flag carrier TAAG LINHAS AEREAS DE ANGOLA. The aircraft, which was handed over in ceremonies in Everett, Washington, is the 1st purchased, owned and operated by an African carrier. The delivery is the 1st of 2 airplanes ordered by TAAG in October 2009. TAAG will use the aircraft for route expansion to destinations including direct routes to Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Lisbon and Oporto. The carrier is also preparing its application to fly into the United States with its new 777-300ERs. TAAG currently flies 777-200ERs from Luanda, Angola to Lisbon, 7x weekly, to Beijing 1x weekly, to Dubai 2x weekly, to Sao Paulo 4x weekly and to Rio de Janeiro 3x weekly. The new aircraft will depart Everett today and fly non-stop to Luanda. It is scheduled to arrive there at 11:00am tomorrow.

*Japan's ALL NIPPON AIRWAYS (ANA), the launch customer for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, has unveiled the flight schedule for the aircraft's service ready operational validation (SROV) in Japan in early July. The SROV, to be performed by test aircraft ZA002, will be conducted between Tokyo Haneda Airport and other Airports in Osaka, Okayama and Hiroshima. ZA002 will depart Seattle on July 3 at 5:00am and arrive at Tokyo Haneda at 6:30am on July 4. On July 5, it will operate a return flight between Tokyo Haneda and Osaka Itami Airport. This will be followed by a return flight between Tokyo Haneda and Osaka Kansai Airport on July 6. Finally, on July 7, it will operate 2 return flights between Tokyo Haneda and Okayama and between Tokyo Haneda and Hiroshima. ZA002 will return to Seattle on July 9, departing Tokyo Haneda at 1:00pm and arriving in Seattle at 6:30am. ANA said the flight schedule is subject to government approval. ANA, which has 55 787s on order, expects to receive its 1st 787 in August or September.

*Philippine Budget carrier CEBU PACIFIC has ordered 37 new Airbus aircraft worth $3.8 billion in line with a plan to expand operations in the Asia Pacific region. The carrier said in a statement that it has made a deal for 30 A321s and 7 A320s to be delivered between 2015 and 2021. This was on top of earlier orders for 18 A320s that will arrive by the 2nd half of this year through 2014. The carrier also has options for 10 more A321s. "These 220-seater aircraft will be a real game changer for Cebu Pacific because the A321neo will have a much longer range. We will be able to serve cities in Australia, India and Northern Japan, places the A320 cannot reach,” said the head of Cebu Pacific. It is the #1 Airline in the Philippines in terms of passenger numbers, overtaking flag carrier PHILIPPINE AIRLINES. This year, Cebu Pacific will carry more than 12 million passengers, a growth of 19% over 2010.

*THAI AIRWAYS has announced the 2nd  phase of its new aircraft acquisition plan. The carrier aims to buy 38 new aircraft, to be delivered from 2018 to 2022. It is in the process of selecting the aircraft and the plan is not yet approved by its board. Earlier this week, Thai announced that it would acquire 8 Boeing 787 Dreamliners and 12 Airbus A350s as part of a 37 aircraft order. The 37 aircraft are to be delivered from 2012 to 2017. Thai's board has approved this acquisition. Thai has said the new aircraft acquisition would help it develop a modern, efficient and safe fleet.

*Australian air passengers will be required to produce photo identification before boarding domestic flights as part of the biggest recommended overhaul of Airport and maritime security since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the US. According to media reports, the recommendation is contained in a report to be released today by the parliamentary joint committee on law enforcement into the failure of existing security measures to combat organised crime in the aviation and maritime sectors. The committee is said to have identified drugs as the focus of most organized criminality in the aviation and maritime sectors, but says tax evasion, money laundering, fraud, identity theft and high-tech crimes are also being committed. QANTAS had argued against the mandatory use of photo ID, claiming that elderly people, infants and people who don't have a driver's licence might not be able to meet requirements. However, the committee is believed to have rejected Qantas's view, suggesting those unable to provide photo ID should produce a signed statutory declaration confirming their identity before boarding.

*AIR NEW ZEALAND resumed operations in the lower South Island this afternoon, as ash plumes from a volcano eruption in Chile continue to affect flights in the region. Thecarrier, which cancelled some flights yesterday due to increased volcanic ash, said a new forecast from the New Zealand Metservice has allowed it to resume flights to and from Christchurch, Dunedin and Invercargill. However, services to and from Queenstown will remain cancelled. Airservices Australia said the ash cloud is not expected to affect any Australian cities in the next 24 hours, with ash having cleared from Perth and Tasmania. QANTAS domestic services are operating as scheduled today, although a few flights are cancelled as there is no aircraft in position due to earlier disruptions. It has, however, cancelled all its flights to and from New Zealand today, for the 4th day in a row. It expects to operate all Australian domestic flights tomorrow. JETSTAR and TIGER AIRWAYS are operating at a near normal level. VIRGIN AUSTRALIA's PACIFIC BLUE has also cancelled flights to and from New Zealand today, after cancelling 6 flights yesterday.

*The explosion on the LIGHTSHIP EUROPE Zeppelin, that killed its Pilot on Sunday in Germany was caused by leaking fuel, crash investigators say. The Australian Pilot died when the Zeppelin he was flying was consumed by flames at the Reichelsheim airfield on Sunday evening. The experienced aviator lowered his airship to allow 3 journalists onboard to leap to safety 2 metres from the ground before it rose and exploded, killing him. Wreckage from the Zeppelin, called The Spirit of Safety, has been sent to the offices of the German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation. A spokesman  investigators said the final report into the crash would be completed in 4 to 8 weeks.

*IRAN ASEMAN AIRLINES Flight 1393, an ATR72, had to make an emergency return to Tehran, Iran, yesterday, June 15. Upon departure from Tehran, the ATR encountered a flock of birds and suffered a "number" of bird strikes. The crew requested return and the aircraft landed safely back in Tehran. The ATR was then removed from service for a full inspection and a replacement aircraft was dispatched for the flight to Bojnord, Iran.

*PLUNA Flight 630, a CRJ900, had to make an emergency return to Montevideo, Uruguay, on Tuesday, June 14. The CRJ, which was enroute to Sao Paulo, Brazil, returned after the crew could not fully retract the landing gear. The aircraft was removed from service for repairs and a replacement aircraft was dispatched for the flight to Sao Paulo.

*JETSTAR Flight 83, an A321, departed from an intersection of the runway in Darwin, Australia, on Sunday, June 12. According to reports, the Airbus was planning to depart for Denpasar Bali, Indonesia, from the runway 11, using the full length of the runway. However, after taxi, the crew lined up on the runway 11, at the intersection of taxiway B2, which was about 3600 feet down the runway. The crew then took off and climbed out without incident. The ATSB has opened an investigation.

*PORTER AIRLINES Flight 133, a Dash 8-400, had to make an emergency landing in Newark, New Jersey, on Friday, June 10. While on approach to Newark, the crew reported a hydraulic failure, which was affecting the brakes and nose gear steering. The Dash, which was inbound from Toronto, ON, Canada, went on to make a safe emergency landing. According to the Canadian TSB, the US NTSB has opened an investigation.

*GERMANWINGS Flight 2529, an A319, was involved in a loss of separation, near Bern, Switzerland, on Friday, June 10. The Airbus was enroute from Barcelona, Spain, to Stuttgart, Germany, and was in contact with Zurich ATC. While descending thru 26000 feet near Bern, the crew received a TCAS advisory and climbed to 27600 feet. The Airbus was later cleared to descend back down to 26000 feet and continued on to Stuttgart, where they arrived without further incident. According to reports, the controller at Zurich Center stated that Flight 2529 had only been cleared to descend to 28000 feet, while the flight crew said they had been cleared to descend to 25000 feet. The Swiss BFU has opened an investigation. In a brief statement, the BFU said the conflicting traffic was HAHN AIR Flight 201, a Raytheon 390, that was enroute from Zurich to Palma Mallorca, Spain. The 2 aircraft had a "close encounter" at 25800 feet.

*AIR CANADA Flight 1160, an ERJ190, had to make an emergency landing in Toronto, ON, Canada, on Wednesday, June 8. The incident was just made public yesterday. While enroute at 35000 feet, and near Winnipeg, MB, the crew received a number of EICAS messages, indicating fault with a number of systems. The crew declared PAN PAN PAN and requested a block altitude between 35000 and 37000 feet. As the aircraft approached Toronto, the crew declared an emergency and made a safe landing, with Emergency Services in attendance. According to the Canadian TSB, the aircraft has been repaired and returned to service.