Aviation News March 25

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Airbus Mega Deal
30 billion Euros: China awards a major contract to Boeing's rival Airbus for 300 airplanes. The deal was agreed during the visit of Head of State Xi to France - together with other mega deals.

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Southwest Baggage Allowance
Each Southwest passenger is allowed two pieces of checked luggage without a fee. No piece of checked luggage may exceed 50 lbs. or 62 total inches (length plus width plus height).  Active military personnel are exempt from this policy and may check any number of bags provided that no one piece weighs more than 100 lbs or measures more than 80 inches.
https://traveltips.usatoday.com/southwest-airline-checked-luggage-rules-61139.html

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Air Italy replaces Max 8 with A319
Air Italy is leasing an A319 from Bulgaria Air to replace its 737 MAX 8 that has been grounded by regulators. “With the grounding of our [737 MAX 8] aircraft, it was vital to find alternative aircraft as rapidly as possible to minimize any impact on our passengers,” said Air Italy Chief Operating Officer Rossen Dimitrov.
http://www.aviationnews-online.com/leasing/air-italy-replaces-max-8-with-a319/

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How to Disable a Malfunctioning Flight-control System
As the Lion Aircrew fought to control their diving Boeing Co. 737 Max 8, they got help from an unexpected source: an off-duty pilot who happened to be riding in the cockpit.
That extra pilot, who was seated in the cockpit jump seat, correctly diagnosed the problem and told the crew how to disable a malfunctioning flight-control system and save the plane, according to two people familiar with Indonesia’s investigation.
The next day, under command of a different crew facing what investigators said was an identical malfunction, the jetliner crashed into the Java Sea killing all 189 aboard.
https://www.pilotcareercenter.com/Aviation-Pilot-Recruitment-News-Item/8432/Pilot-Who-Hitched-a-Ride-Saved-Lion-Air-737-Day-Before-Deadly-Crash

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Boeing Informational Sessions
Boeing has invited more than 200 pilots, technical leaders and regulators to a briefing Wednesday on its plants to safely return its grounded 737 MAX fleet to service.
The informational sessions at the Renton, Washington, home of the 737 is part of the company’s effort to share more details about its plan to get the grounded 737 MAX fleet back in the air.
https://www.airlineratings.com/news/boeing-brief-200-pilots-experts-737-max-plans/
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Second Iranian Fokker in three days suffers gear failure
None of the 81 passengers and eight crew members was injured. The aircraft was jacked but the main landing gear failed to extend when commanded.  Inspection of the hydraulic system revealed that contamination in the vicinity of filter screens and the restrictor check valve in the right-hand main gear had prevented the release of hydraulic pressure, and stopped its deployment.
https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/second-iranian-fokker-in-three-days-suffers-gear-fai-456852/

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No Weather Information, no Approach Safety Briefing, no….

The National Transportation Safety Board said a pilot’s failure to perform a go-around following an unstable approach resulted in a low-altitude stall and the subsequent crash of a Learjet Model 35 at Teterboro Airport, New Jersey (TEB) in May 2017.

https://www.flyingmag.com/ntsb-determines-probable-cause-2017-learjet-crash-at-teb

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Aviation Fees & Taxes Increase
US airlines have hit out at proposed Trump Administration aviation tax increases they estimate will cost passengers an extra  $US2.9 billion a year.  Aviation lobby group Airlines for America (A4A) has said the “unnecessary” tax increases in the 2020 budget would be in addition to the $US25 billion customers already pay each year into government coffers through 17 federal aviation taxes, and fees. The increases include a rise in the Transport Security Administration passenger security fee from $US5.60 to $US6.60 in fiscal 2020 and from $US6.60 to $US8.25 starting in the financial year 2021.
https://www.airlineratings.com/news/airlines-slam-trumps-additional-2-9-billion-passenger-tax-burden/
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Singapore Airlines Starts 2019 ab initio Recruitment
Singapore Airlines accepts flight student applications. The ab initio training scheme is the fast lane into a cockpit of Singapore Airlines or Silkair.
Unlike other airlines, Singapore Airlines pays its flight students a monthly allowance to cover living expenses. 
The 2019 application process comprises a preliminary interview, aptitude tests, a final interview, and a medical check-up. Flight students admitted to Singapore Flying College will undergo flight training in Singapore and oversea facilities and graduate with either an ATPL or MPL.
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Delta Flight Attendant is now Georgia National Guard's First Black Female Pilot
Andrea Lewis, daughter of a military pilot and commercial flight attendant, is combining both parents’ careers as a Delta flight attendant and the first African-American female pilot with the Georgia Air National Guard.
Lewis, who has worked at Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE: DAL) as a flight attendant for eight years, also serves as first lieutenant in the 116th Air Control Wing, piloting the E-8C Joint STARS.  Lewis first followed in her mother's footsteps after graduating from the University of Georgia in 2009. Her mother has been a Delta flight attendant for more than 40 years, and her father, James Cuyler, served as a pilot for 14 years in the U.S. Marine Corps before flying commercially for another 22 years.


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