Air France's new short-haul thinner seats
Dan Webb over at Things in the Sky took a look at Air France’s new, thinner seat to use on short haul flights. They are lighter, take up less room and are not as comfortable. That is why Air France is only installing them on their 37 all-economy Airbus A319/A320/A321 fleet. The extra room will allow the airline to install an extra row in the A320 & A321, but the A319 will keep the same number of rows.
The seats will not recline, but they will increase leg room 2-3″, which is always a nice thing. They will start showing up in aircraft starting at the end of the month and will slowly make their way to the entire A320-family fleet.
Check out Webb’s blog for more photos and information on the seats. Be sure to check out the picture of the separate cup-holder — which is a genius idea!
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Hook yourself up with a VIP seat to the Boeing 747-8's first flight
Do you want to watch the Boeing 747-8 take off from one of the best vantage points? Do you have an extra $125 laying around? Do you want your money to help support aviation? If you answered yes to those questions, do I have a deal for you!
The Future of Flight is offering VIP tickets to watch the Boeing 747-8’s first flight from their Strato Deck. I have been up there first-hand many times and I can say, the vantage point doesn’t get much better than this!
Go to their website to find out more and reserve your spot today! We still aren’t sure of the exact date yet, so you will need to be a little flexible. Official word is sometime during the first quarter, but I am hearing dates around January 28th to February 2nd. Much like the Boeing 787, the 747 will complete taxi tests before its first flight, so we will have a little bit of a heads up.
I will be volunteering for the Future of Flight this event, so if you are up top, I’ll see you there.
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CRJ200 (N246PS) after hitting the concrete barriers
US Airways Flight 2495 was departing from Charleston, heading to Charlotte with 31 passengers and 3 crew and was powering up for takeoff. During take off, the pilot decided to abort. It is still not clear why the pilot made this decision.
The CRJ200 was going too fast and went off the end of the runway and about 150 feet onto a crushable concrete arresting system that stopped the aircraft from going down a steep hillside behind the runway. Normally the FAA requires 1000ft of safety room at the end of the runway, but due to the safety system’s superior stopping abilities, only 403 feet of it is needed.
None of the passengers or crew were injured and the runway was re-opened six hours after the incident.
For more information and an additional picture, check out Flight Global
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Digital image of the Boeing 747-8 from Boeing's NewPlane.com
The Boeing 747-8 is just a few weeks away from taking off for the first time. Before the plane goes into service, the FAA wants to make certain the plane’s computer systems cannot be hacked. Even though this sounds like the makings of a summer blockbuster movie, the FAA and Boeing want to make sure it can’t become a reality.
The FAA states the Boeing 747-7, “will have novel or unusual design features associated with the architecture and connectivity capabilities of the airplane’s computer systems and networks, which may allow access to external computer systems and networks”.
With passengers being able to access on board internet and in flight entertainment systems, there is a chance someone could cause harm to the aircraft’s computer systems. The FAA requested similar precautions for the Boeing 787 as well.
By the time the 747-8 can fly passengers:
* Boeing must ensure electronic system security protection for the aircraft control domain and airline information domain from access by unauthorized sources external to the airplane, including those possibly caused by maintenance activity.
* Boeing must ensure that electronic system security threats from external sources are identified and assessed, and that effective electronic system security protection strategies are implemented to protect the airplane from all adverse impacts on safety, functionality, and continued airworthiness.
Vijay Takanit, a vice-president for Exostar which provides airline security solution stated points out that most of what happens for passengers and for pilots are disconnected, but there is some crossover. “The passenger equipment, the equipment that is actually providing service in the cabin, is completely segregated from what is providing services in the cockpit. But there is some crossover and [the industry] is trying very hard to make sure the number of crossover points are very limited.”
Find out more information at Mary Kirby’s Runway Girl blog.
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An Iran Air Airbus 300-600 stands in the snow after skidding off the runway on takeoff from Stockholm Arlanda Airport (AP Photo/Maja Suslin)
Air Iran flight IR762 was trying to leave from Stockholm on its way to Tehran, but it didn’t make it off the runway. As the Airbus A300-600, with 172 aboard, started its take off roll, it went off the runway about 130yards.’œSome 100, 150 meters out on the runway (the plane) made a very slow turn and got stuck in the snow on the side of the runway,’ airport spokesman Jan Lindqvist said.
There was light snow on the ground at the time of the incident, but investigators are looking to see if there was something wrong with one of the engines, causing the slow turn.
The airline states the aircraft was not damaged and none of the passengers were injured.
Source: The Local
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