United Adding Service To Denver From Love Field

Why is the Wright amendment still in effect again?



I should start referring to Dallas Love Field as the little airport that could. Despite efforts to kill it over the years, the airport has refused to die and is actually being renovated in anticipation of the expiration of the Wright amendment in 2014.



I'll try to post some pictures of Love field and a United ERJ-145 over on my aviation news site

Amplify’d from www.dallasnews.com

United Airlines Inc. will begin offering service between Dallas Love Field and its Denver hub in 2011, using commuter partner United Express to operate two daily flights on regional jets. The arrival of United Express on April 3 will mean that four airlines will be operating out of the airport: United Express, Southwest Airlines Co., ExpressJet Inc. and Pinnacle Airlines Inc. United Express' Dallas-Denver route is one of a number of city pairs that parent United Continental Holdings Inc. will launch next year as it optimizes the route systems of United and Continental Airlines, spokeswoman Mary Clark said Friday. United and Continental finalized their merger Oct. 1 but will continue to operate as separate airlines for some time. The Wright amendment, a 1979 law, limits nonstop service out of Love Field on airplanes larger than 56 seats. Those restrictions, which expire Oct. 16, 2014, require at least one stop in Texas or eight other states. Colorado isn't inside the Wright amendment boundaries. However, United Express will operate 50-seat Embraer ERJ-145s on the route, a size that can be flown from Love Field to anywhere in the U.S. Read more at www.dallasnews.com

 

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Iran To Mass Produce The IRAN-140 Plane

Apparently, the plane was originally designed to perform maritime patrol duties, but is also capable of light passenger carrying work as well.

Amplify’d from english.farsnews.com

"Once the Roads and Transportation Ministry makes the decision for purchasing such airplanes from the Defense Ministry, the Ministry is fully prepared to manufacture them," Vahidi told FNA. He further pointed out that his ministry has already manufactured seven IRAN-140 planes and would soon finish production of the eight and nine planes. The Defense Ministry is ready to mass-produce the airplane on demand, Vahidi said, reminding that the aircraft which can be used as a 52-seater passenger plane is also good for cargo transportation and marine patrolling. The IRAN-140 is a double-engine turboprop aircraft which can fly almost 1,865 miles before re-fuelling and seats 52 people.

See more at english.farsnews.com

 

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Thai Airways To Start New Airline

Thai plans to start a new short haul carrier so it can focus on its long haul wide-body routes.

Amplify’d from www.aviationweek.com

Thai Airways International plans to establish a separate full-service, short-haul carrier, so Thai Airways mainline can concentrate solely on widebody operations. The new carrier will be a separate business unit and have its own brand and its own profit and loss (P&L) center, says Teerapol Chotichanapibal, Thai Airways’ acting executive VP-commercial. Having short-haul premium services under a separate business unit means that it will be able to achieve a lower cost base than Thai Airways mainline, he says. It also means Thai Airways can focus on operating only widebodies, and as a consequence deliver a more consistent level of service, says Teerapol. He says it is hard to provide a consistent user experience if one has a mix of narrowbody and widebody aircraft. Thai Airways in recent years has transferred some Boeing 737-400s and short-haul routes to its low-cost carrier Nok Air, but it still operates five 737-400s, mostly on domestic routes popular with either international tourists or government officials. Teerapol says the yet-to-be named carrier will focus on serving these same premium travelers. Its routes will include Bangkok-Phuket, Bangkok-Koh Samui and Bangkok-Chiang Mai, he says. Read more at www.aviationweek.com

 

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Crocodile Causes Plane Crash

This is just a bizarre story. The croc escaped from a bag where it had been hidden, created a panic on board the plane and caused the crash.



All that's missing, is someone yelling out "I'm tired of these mother luvin crocs, on this mother luvin plane" or something like that.

Amplify’d from www.telegraph.co.uk

A lone survivor apparently relayed the bizarre tale to investigators. The crocodile survived the crash, only to be dispatched with a blow from a machete. Danny Philemotte, the Belgian pilot and 62-year-old owner of the plane's operator, Filair, struggled in vain with the controls, with Chris Wilson, his 39-year-old First Officer from Shurdington, near Cheltenham, Glocs. The plane was on a routine flight from the capital, Kinshasa, to the regional airport at Bandundu when the incident unfolded, on August 25. It crashed into a house just a few hundred feet from its destination. The occupants of the property were outside at the time. According to the inquiry report and the testimony of the only survivor, the crash happened because of a panic sparked by the escape of a crocodile hidden in a sports bag. One of the passengers had hidden the animal, which he planned to sell, in a big sports bag, from which the reptile escaped as the plane began its descent into Bandundu.

See more at www.telegraph.co.uk

 

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Virgin Galactic Spaceship Flies Solo

This is a pretty cool story. I'd love to have the scratch to buy myself a ticket on this thing.

Amplify’d from www.bbc.co.uk

The spaceship was carried to an altitude of 45,000ft (13,700m) by an aeroplane and then dropped to glide back to the Mojave Air and Space Port. Enterprise will soon be taking people prepared to pay $200,000 (£126,000) on short hops above the atmosphere. The British billionaire behind the project, Sir Richard Branson, was on hand to witness the drop test. "This was one of the most exciting days in the whole history of Virgin," the entrepreneur said. "For the first time since we seriously began the project in 2004, I watched the world's first manned commercial spaceship landing on the runway at Mojave Air and Space Port and it was a great moment." Virgin Galactic is aiming to become the world's first commercial space line, and has already taken deposits from 370 customers who want to experience a few minutes of weightlessness on a suborbital flight. "We're not far off booking out our first year of operations," said Stephen Attenborough, head of astronaut relations at Galactic. Enterprise will soon start rocket motor testing "We'll see exactly how many we decide to fly in year one, but the intention has always been around 500. We're well on our way to that," he told BBC News. The Enterprise ship is based on the X-Prize-winning SpaceShipOne vehicle, which made history in 2004 by successfully flying to 100km (60 miles) in altitude twice in a two-week period. The new ship, built by Mojave's Scaled Composites company, is bigger and will be capable of carrying eight people - two crew and six passengers.

Virgin Galactic's suborbital spaceship, Enterprise, has made its first solo test flight, in California. Read more at www.bbc.co.uk

 

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