Tag Archives: Virgin America

443 Heli-Expo 2017

Interviews from Heli-Expo 2017, a Boeing 797 might be in our future, a hybrid/electric powered vertical takeoff airplane is taking shape, companies attend the 2017 International Women in Aviation Conference looking to hire, some post-merger developments for Alaska and Virgin America, and a flight instructor who really was not. Also, a report on EAA at SXSW, and another memorable flight from a listener.

An MI-24 was displayed at the 2017 Heli-Expo. Courtesy Cold War Air Museum.

An MI-24 was displayed at the 2017 Heli-Expo. Courtesy Cold War Air Museum.

Heli-Expo 2017

Helicopter Association International says over 17,000 people attended Heli-Expo 2017 in Dallas, Texas, with 731 exhibiting businesses and organizations, and 62 aircraft on display. Our Airplane Geeks Reporter-at-Large “Launchpad” Marzari attended the event and recorded a number of interviews.

Mat Noble, U.S. Customs and Border Protection. CBP is looking to hire pilots. Apply at USAJOBS.gov and search for agency 1881. See also CBP Frontline Careers.

Charles Schneider, CEO of MyGoFlight. This company offers iPad flight apps and accessories, and introduced a HUD concept product.

Emmanuel Davidson, President of AOPA France, talks about bringing medical certification reform to Europe for light planes, and the role of IAOPA, the International Council of Aircraft Owner and Pilot Associations.

Bill Thompson from Embry-Riddle was at the show to support their graduates.

John Batey from the Cold War Air Museum (CWAM) brought one of their Mi-24 helicopter gunships. The museum is located on Lancaster Airport, 20 minutes south of Dallas.

Giovanni Mazzoni, AW609 program manager, describes the twin-engined tiltrotor VTOL aircraft with a configuration similar to the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey, and aimed at the civil aviation market.

And then Launchpad ran into an aviation journalist named Rob Mark.

Aviation News

Boeing’s talking with airlines about a ‘797,’ and they like what they hear

There has been talk of a so-called “B757 replacement.” Something between the single-aisle 737 and the widebody 787. It’s been called the MOM airplane (Middle of the Market) and the NMA (either New Mid-sized Airplane or New Market Airplane). Now Steven Udvar-Hazy, chairman of Air Lease Corporation, says, “Call it a 797. That’s what it’s going to be.”

Companies form alliance for hybrid aircraft

XTI Aircraft Company is teaming up with Bye Aerospace to develop a hybrid/electric powered prototype of their TriFan vertical takeoff airplane. XTI says that because of cost and weight reductions, the first TriFan prototype will be a full-size rather than the 65% scale version that had been planned.

Women in Aviation 2017: We’re Hiring

The 2017 International Women in Aviation Conference was held March 2-4, 2017 and Dr. Peggy Chabrian, president and co-founder of WAI noted that, “Major airlines have been coming to WAI for the past four years and hiring WAI members in significant numbers, but this year the companies accepting résumés seem to be more diverse.

If You Thought the Alaska/Virgin America Merger Was Anti-Competitive, Take a Look at San Francisco

Since its merger with Alaska, Virgin America has added a number of new destinations from San Francisco. It looks like a strategy shift with Virgin America now adding mid-sized markets (as Alaska was successful doing) instead of the large-market approach that characterized Virgin America.

Fake flying instructor convicted

A 25 year old man represented himself to North Weald Airfield (EGSX) in Essex, England as a pilot and flight instructor. Suspicious work colleagues investigated and found he was not. After the man plead guilty to several counts, he was sentenced to an eight-month jail sentence suspended for 14 months, 140 hours of unpaid work, and costs.

Listener Recording

Listener John tells us about his most memorable flight.

Mentioned

Visit AvGeekFests.com for a calendar of aviation events where AvGeeks can meet up and participate in aviation events.

Episode 186 of The UAV Digest features the AOPA Senior Director for UAS Programs Kat Swain talking about why AOPA is welcoming drone pilots to the organization.

After Heli-Expo, Launchpad Marzari travelled to SXSW, visited the EAA Spirit of Aviation Mobile Experience, and spoke with Trisha Rothermel. This mobile unit is sponsored by NATCA and is touring throughout the United States in 2017. See Catch the Spirit of Aviation During EAA’s Mobile Unit National Tour.

Applications now being accepted for AOPA scholarships

Titan Missile Museum

96-year-old WWII pilot takes flight again in Tampa

Credit

Intro music courtesy Brother Love from his Album Of The Year CD. Outtro by Bruno Misonne from The Sound of Flaps.

 

AirplaneGeeks 396 The Emirates Employment Model

Emirates A380 by Paul Flimer

Conversation with the recruitment manager for Emirates about opportunities at the airline. Also, possible layoffs (or retirements) at Boeing, Air France service returning to Iran, new student pilot rules from the FAA, a buyer for Virgin America, and dogs – can they really fly?

Guest

Andrew Longley is Head of Recruitment – Flight Operations (Pilots) at Emirates. The airline operates to over 140 destinations with an all-widebody fleet of Boeing and Airbus aircraft. Emirates is the world’s largest operator of 777 and A380 aircraft.

Andrew Longley

Andrew Longley

Andy describes how the Emirates employment model is different than that of many other airlines. We take a look at the need to attract pilots and cabin crew from an international pool of candidates with strong leadership potential and good CRM skills. We also talk about pilot certification requirements, the Dubai lifestyle and airline accommodation of employee families, salaries, housing, medical insurance, and other career opportunities at Emirates.

Andy started his career in 2006 in the Royal New Zealand Navy as a Military Psychologist where he was responsible for the selection and assessment of specialist trades including helicopter pilots, special forces, and Navy divers. He also served as a UN peacekeeper for a year where he worked and lived in Syria and Lebanon monitoring the peace between the various at-war countries.

After Andy’s military time commitment ended in 2013, he worked as a consultant in the telecommunications and business fields including a year working at IBM.

But Andy saw a unique opportunity with Emirates and he moved to Dubai as a senior psychologist.  He became involved in Emirates pilot assessment and was responsible for profiling and assessing pilot candidates. He moved into pilot recruitment and leads the effort to find enough safe and capable pilots to fly a quickly growing fleet of wide-body aircraft.

Learn more at the Emirates Group Careers webpage. Pilots can look for the closed LinkedIn group “Future Pilots of Emirates Airlines.” Andy will be presenting and exhibiting at the FAPA Job Fair April 26, 2016 and the OBAP Spring Career Fair April 27, 2016, both in Las Vegas.

News

How The U.S. Government Helped Kill 4,000 Jobs This Week At Boeing

Boeing says that at least 4,000 (or 5%) of it’s workforce needs to be cut, and maybe as much as 10% (or 8,000 jobs). CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes (BCA) Ray Conner points to pricing pressure from Airbus with their A320 family and its effect on the 737.

Loren Thompson describes some other factors where the U.S. government shares blame:

  • Illegal European launch aid subsidies.
  • The Ex-Im Bank cannot make new deals until the Senate acts to confirm a necessary quorum of board members.
  • Low tanker price will drain funds from Boeing that could have been used to compete with Airbus.

Forget About Airbus Pricing Pressure At Boeing; Bigger Danger Is 15,000 Early Retirements

Aerospace analyst Scott Hamilton of Leeham Co. says early retirements by factory-floor workers could be a bigger impact than layoffs on the 737 and 787 production ramp up starting next year. The IAM (International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers) told told Hamilton that between 7,000 and 9,000 workers are eligible for early retirement in November, and they expect 3-5,000 might actually retire. However, Dennis Muilenburg, the CEO of The Boeing Co.says that “booking rates have held up well.” Cost cutting is offensive rather than defensive.

Air France cabin crew defy airline chiefs order to wear headscarves in Iran

Air France is scheduled to resume service between Paris and Tehran on April 17. By law, Iranian women are required to cover their hair. Some female cabin crew members say they won’t fly to Iran if they are ordered by the airline to wear headscarves after they disembark. Reportedly, an Air France memo to staff said female employees would be required to “wear trousers during the flight with a loose fitting jacket and a scarf covering their hair on leave the plane.”

New Student Pilot Rules Take Effect Today

In the past, many student pilots have celebrated their 16th birthday with their solo flight on that day. Now the FAA says it cannot start processing the student pilot certificate application until all requirements are met, including age.

Jason Blair posted a good resource on his website: Step by Step Process for Issuance of Student Pilot Certificates Using Updated FAA Student Pilot Certificate Procedures.

Alaska Air clinches Virgin America deal for $2.6B

Alaska Air Group plans to Virgin America in a deal valued at about $2.6 billion. If it goes through, Alaska Airlines would become the fifth-largest U.S. airline, behind  American, Delta, United, and Southwest.

Abandoned Dog Learns To Fly A Plane, Becomes World’s Cutest Co-Pilot

Maybe. Maybe not.

Listener Recording

Our Main(e) man Micah tells us about his second visit to the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum’s Stephen Udvar-Hazy Center in June 2015 for the Innovations in Flight Family Day and Outdoor Aviation Display. Join us at the 2016 June 18 in Chantilly, Virginia, adjacent to Dulles International Airport. See also Scott Spangler’s visit report Udvar-Hazy: Surprises & Friends Restored on Jetwhine.com.

Mentioned

Top 10 Aviation Museums to Visit in the U.S.

US Chamber of Commerce’s 15th Annual Aviation Summit

Listener Photo

Ryan Hothersall's model Mil Mi-8 in Mongolian markings

Ryan Hothersall’s model Mil Mi-8 in Mongolian markings

Credit

Post photo courtesy Paul Filmer, Skippyscage Photography.

Intro music courtesy Brother Love from his Album Of The Year CD. Outtro by Bruno Misonne from The Sound of Flaps.

 

Episode 194 – The Aeroscholar

Guest Steve Harris is currently a senior at the University of Michigan in Aerospace Engineering and writes the Aeroscholar blog. He’s also the president of the UofM Student Chapter of The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), and is a member of the Jet Engine Team of Michigan. Steve is starting to pursue a private pilot’s license, he has taken students on a tour of the top aerospace companies in southern California, he attends the Aerospace Sciences Meeting every year, and through the AIAA he lobbies for the aerospace industry in Washington D.C. Steve Tweets as @Aeroscholar.

The week’s aviation news:

David’s aircraft of the Week: the Aérospatiale SA 315B Lama.

No Australia Desk news report this week, but you can still find more from Grant and Steve at the Plane Crazy Down Under podcast, and follow the show on Twitter at @pcdu Steve’s at @stevevisscher and Grant at @falcon124.

This week on Across the Pond, Pieter talks again to Rohit Rao from AeroBlogger about developments in India with the focus on airlines. There’s more news from Kingfisher and the guys look at some of the new airlines starting up in the region. Find Rohit on Twitter as @TheAeroBlogger.

Find Pieter Johnson on Twitter as @Nascothornet, on his blog Alpha Tango Papa, and also on Facebook at XTPMedia.

Links from Listener Email:

Opening and closing music is provided by Brother Love from the Album Of The Year CD. You can find his great music at http://www.brotherloverocks.com/.

Post photo by David Vanderhoof

 

Episode 151 – The Cranky Flier

Virgin America photo by Ron McCormick taken from the SEA terminal.

Virgin America photo by Ron McCormick taken from the SEA terminal.

Brett Snyder, the Cranky Flier (and also the Cranky Concierge) returns to the show to talk aviation and travel. Brett writes CNN’s “Out of the Office” column for the business traveler, and you can follow him on Twitter as @crankyflier.

The week’s aviation news:

Steve Visscher and Grant McHerron provide their Australia Desk report. Be sure to listen to the Plane Crazy Down Under podcast, and follow the show on Twitter at @pcdu. Steve’s at @stevevisscher and Grant at @falcon124.

This week on Across the Pond, Pieter talks to Tim Robinson, Editor of Aerospace International, about the future of London’s Heathrow Airport. With the governments decision to cancel the third runway, will LHR survive in todays competitive market?

Mentions:

Be sure to see Max, Rob, Dan, and David at the Become a Pilot Family Day and Fly-In June 18, 2011, 10 a.m. – 3p.m., at the National Air and Space Museum’s Udvar-Hazy Center next to Dulles International Airport. The Geeks will be joining Milford and Charlie from FlightTime Radio, along with some other aviation podcasters as they broadcast their show live.

The Cranky Jackass Award

The Cranky Jackass Award

Follow the @AirplaneGeeks on Twitter and on Facebook, send us email at thegeeks@airplanegeeks.com, or leave a message on our listener line: (361) GEEKS01.

Opening and closing music is provided by Brother Love from the Album Of The Year CD. You can find his great music at http://www.brotherloverocks.com/.

Episode 132 – (The real one) Peter Sanders

Virgin America

Our guest this episode is Peter Sanders. He’s a Staff Reporter in the Los Angeles bureau of The Wall Street Journal, covering the commercial aerospace industry. Peter earned his PPL at age 17 and has flown a number of airplanes, including Cessnas, Pipers, and a DeHavilland Beaver. He recently wrote a Page One story profiling FiFi, the last flying B-29 bomber, and is an avid ATC enthusiast. Find Peter on Twitter at @PeterSandersWSJ.

We talk about the week’s aviation news, “journalists” who race to be first to “print” without having the full facts, and even the color of the Financial Times. Steve and Grant from the Plane Crazy Down Under podcast have their Australia Desk Report, and Pieter Johnson brings has an interview with Steve Cook from The Flying Podcast in his Across the Pond segment.

The week’s aviation news:

Follow the @AirplaneGeeks on Twitter and on Facebook, send us email at thegeeks@airplanegeeks.com, or leave a message on our listener line: (361) GEEKS01.

Opening and closing music is provided by Brother Love from the Album Of The Year CD. You can find his great music at http://www.brotherloverocks.com/.

Episode 119 – Rafael Loves Planes

Blue_Angels_by_Gavin_Werbeloff

Guest Rafael Marquez blogs at I Love Planes and tweets as @rafaelmarquez. Rafael and Gavin Werbeloff discuss the weeks aviation news with Max, Rob, David, and Dan. We also have Dan’s interview with David Cush, the CEO of Virgin America, David’s This Week in Aviation, and the Australia Desk report by Steve and Grant from the Plane Crazy Down Under podcast. Gavin reports on the recent San Francisco Fleet Week Air Show. (His photo above.)

The week’s aviation news:

Mentions:

Follow the @AirplaneGeeks on Twitter and on Facebook, send us email at thegeeks@airplanegeeks.com, or leave a message on our listener line: (361) GEEKS01.

Opening and closing music is provided by Brother Love from the Album Of The Year CD. You can find his great music at http://www.brotherloverocks.com/.

Episode 114 – Back with Benet

Virgin America

Benet Wilson, Online Managing Editor-Business Aviation for the Aviation Week Group, joins once again as our guest. We talk about the week’s aviation news, the upcoming NBAA Conference, and other aviation topics. Find Benet on Twitter as avweekbenet and avweektweets, and read her posts at Business Aviation Now and Things With Wings, the commercial aviation blog.

The week’s aviation news:

Mentions:

Follow the @AirplaneGeeks on Twitter and on Facebook, send us email at thegeeks@airplanegeeks.com, or leave a message on our listener line: (361) GEEKS01.

Opening and closing music is provided by Brother Love from the Album Of The Year CD. You can find his great music at http://www.brotherloverocks.com/.

Episode 107 – Farnborough 2010

Max, David, and Rob talk about the recently concluded Farnborough International Airshow 2010, and Dan sends in some information about quarterly airline earnings reports. We have David’s This Week in Aviation, the Australia Desk Report, and listener mail.

The week’s aviation news:

Mentions:

Follow the @AirplaneGeeks on Twitter and on Facebook, send us email at thegeeks@airplanegeeks.com, or leave a message on our listener line: (361) GEEKS01.

Opening and closing music is provided by Brother Love from the Album Of The Year CD. You can find his great music at http://www.brotherloverocks.com/.

Episode 90 – From the Flight Deck with Doug

Air Canada A320

Doug Morris, an A320 captain for Air Canada, joins as this week’s guest to talk aviation. Doug is also a certified meteorologist and he writes aviation and weather articles for enRoute magazine other publications. He also blogs at From the Flight Deck and is author of the book From the Flight Deck: Plane Talk and Sky Science.

David Vanderhoof has his This Week in Aviation segment, and we have the Airplane Geeks Australia Desk report, still without Steve Visscher who remains under the weather. But Grant McHerron comes through, with a little help from a suprise contributor to the Report.

Follow the @AirplaneGeeks on Twitter, send us email at thegeeks@airplanegeeks.com, or leave a message on our listener line: (361) GEEKS01.

Air Canada A320 photo courtesy NYCAviation.com.

This episode’s opening and closing music is provided by Brother Love from the Album Of The Year CD. Visit his site at http://www.brotherloverocks.com/.

Episode 74 – Joshua on Airports

900lx_4a

Our guest this episode is Joshua Abramson, he’s the Airport Manager at Winchester Municipal Airport, and also an aviation advisor for the Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) which carries out applied research on problems that are shared by airport operating agencies. We talk with Josh about issues of concern to regional airports. His website is Airport Solution, which is home of the Airport Executive blog.

The news:

David Vanderhoof has another This Week in Aviation. His links this week are The Flying Clippers and Pan Am Clipper Flying Boats.

We also have Steve Visscher and Grant McHerron from the Plane Crazy Down Under podcast with their Australia Desk report. The guys sent along a second bonus clip that we found very funny and think you’ll enjoy. We also have some listener mail.

Follow the @AirplaneGeeks on Twitter, send us email at thegeeks@airplanegeeks.com, or leave a message on our listener line:  (361) GEEKS01.

This episode’s opening and closing music is provided by Brother Love from the Album Of The Year CD. Visit his site at http://www.brotherloverocks.com/.