- 7 Passengers Rushed To Hospital After Lufthansa Airbus A330 Diverts To Washington DC Simple Flying
- Matthew McConaughey and Camila Alves take bumpy second flight after ‘CHAOS’ on Lufthansa plane: ‘Wish me luck’ Fox News
- Lufthansa flight diverts to Virginia after ‘significant turbulence,’ and 7 people are transported to hospitals Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News
- 7 hurt on flight to Germany after severe turbulence, emergency landing at Dulles | FOX 5 DC FOX 5 Washington DC
- “The Plane Was A CHAOS”: Camila Alves McConaughey Details Her Experience On The Lufthansa Flight That Dropped Nearly 4,000 Feet BuzzFeed News
- View Full Coverage on Google News
Tag Archives: airbus
20 Injured Onboard Condor Airbus A330-900 Due To Turbulence – Simple Flying
- 20 Injured Onboard Condor Airbus A330-900 Due To Turbulence Simple Flying
- ‘The plane was chaos’: Matthew McConaughey and wife Camila on Lufthansa flight from Austin that experienced ‘severe turbulence’ San Antonio Express-News
- Matthew McConaughey and Camila Alves take bumpy second flight after ‘CHAOS’ on Lufthansa plane: ‘Wish me luck’ Fox News
- Lufthansa flight diverts to Virginia after ‘significant turbulence,’ and 7 people are transported to hospitals Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News
- Litter thrown all over Lufthansa aircraft after turbulence diverts plane to Washington The Independent
- View Full Coverage on Google News
Airbus and Qatar Airways settle bitter A350 jet row
PARIS, Feb 1 (Reuters) – Airbus (AIR.PA) and Qatar Airways have settled a dispute over grounded A350 jets, the companies said on Wednesday, averting a potentially damaging UK court trial after a blistering 18-month feud that tore the lid off the global jet market.
The “amicable and mutually agreeable settlement” ends a $2 billion row over surface damage on the long-haul jets. The spat led to the withdrawal of billions of dollars’ worth of jet deals by Airbus and prompted Qatar to increase purchases from Boeing.
The cancelled orders for 23 undelivered A350s and 50 smaller A321neos have been restored under the new deal, which is also expected to see Airbus pay several hundred million dollars to the Gulf carrier, while winning a reprieve from other claims.
Financial details were not publicly disclosed.
The companies said neither admitted liability. Both pledged to drop claims and “move forward and work together as partners”.
Latest Updates
View 2 more stories
The deal heads off what amounted to an unprecedented public divorce trial between heavyweights in the normally tight-knit and secretive $150 billion jet industry.
The two sides had piled up combined claims and counter-claims worth about $2 billion ahead of the June trial.
French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire welcomed the deal, which came in the wake of increasing political involvement amid close ties between France, where Airbus is based, and Qatar.
“It is the culmination of significant joint efforts. It is excellent news for the French aerospace industry,” he said.
Airbus shares closed up 1% before the announcement.
Qatar Airways had taken the unusual step of publicly challenging the world’s largest planemaker over safety after paint cracks exposed gaps in a sub-layer of lightning protection on its new-generation A350 carbon-composite jets.
Airbus had acknowledged quality flaws but, backed by European regulators, had insisted that the jets were safe and accused the airline of exaggerating flaws to win compensation.
DAMAGES
Supported by a growing army of lawyers, both sides repeatedly bickered in preliminary hearings over access to documents, to the growing frustration of a judge forced to order co-operation.
Analysts said the deal would allow both sides to feel vindicated, with Qatar Airways winning damages and recognition that the problem lay outside the manual and therefore required a new repair, and Airbus standing its ground on safety and spared the difficult task of finding a home for cancelled A350s.
Qatar will get the in-demand A321neos needed to plan its growth, albeit three years later than expected, in 2026. Airbus’ decision to revoke that order, separate from the disputed A350 contract, had been criticised by global airlines group IATA.
Airbus said it had done its best to avoid pushing Qatar too far back in the queue, though some experts question whether it could have met the earlier schedule because of supply problems.
The settlement is also expected to stop the clock ticking on a claim for grounding compensation that had been growing by $6 million a day, triggered by a clause agreed upon after the repainting of a jet for the World Cup revealed significant surface damage.
Originally valued at $200,000 per day per plane, Airbus’ theoretical liability was ratcheting upwards by a total of $250,000 an hour for 30 jets – or $2 billion a year – by the time the deal was struck, based on court filings. Neither side commented on settlement details.
Airbus said it would now work with the airline and regulators to provide the necessary “repair solution” and return Qatar’s 30 grounded planes to the air.
Confirmation of a settlement came after Reuters reported a deal could arrive as early as Wednesday. In 2021, a Reuters investigation revealed other airlines had been affected by A350 skin degradation, all of whom said it was “cosmetic”.
The dispute has focused attention on the design of modern carbon-fibre jets, which do not interact as smoothly with paint as traditional metal ones, and shed light on industrial methods.
Additional reporting by Leigh Thomas, Michel Rose
Editing by David Goodman, Diane Craft and Gerry Doyle
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Airbus Revives Order From Qatar Airways Following Paint-Dispute Settlement
LONDON—
Airbus
EADSY 2.36%
SE agreed to revive orders for close to 75 aircraft from Qatar Airways after reaching a settlement with the Middle East airline over a long-running dispute about chipping paint on its A350 wide-body models.
A spokesman for Airbus said it would now go ahead with delivering 50 A321 narrow-bodies and 23 remaining A350 twin-aisles previously ordered by Qatar.
The orders had been scrapped as part of an escalating, multibillion-dollar legal battle over the paint issue, which the airline had claimed could pose a safety concern. Airbus repeatedly denied the claims.
Airbus and Qatar Airways earlier Wednesday said in a joint statement that they had reached an “amicable and mutually agreeable settlement” in relation to the legal dispute. The companies didn’t disclose the details of the settlement other than to say the agreement didn’t amount to an admission of liability from either party. A program to repair the degradation on Qatar’s current fleet is under way, the companies added.
Qatar Airways had previously grounded 29 of its A350 jets and refused new deliveries over the issue, reducing its capacity amid a surge in travel to Doha for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The airline has said the peeling paint was exposing the meshed copper foil that is designed to protect the aircraft from lightning strikes.
That led Qatar Airways to initiate legal proceedings against Airbus in London, in which the carrier had sought damages partly based on the impact on its operations from not being able to use the aircraft. A possible trial had been scheduled for later this year.
While the paint issue has also affected other A350s in service at other Airbus customers, only Qatar Airways had taken the step to unilaterally ground the aircraft. Airbus and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency, which oversees the Toulouse, France-based plane maker, have insisted that the issue is only cosmetic.
The situation had led to a broad fallout between Airbus and one of its biggest customers. In August, Airbus ended all new business with Qatar Airways, canceling contracts valued at more than $13 billion according to the latest available list prices and before the hefty discounts plane makers typically give to customers.
After Airbus canceled a deal to sell Qatar Airways 50 of its A321 jets, the Gulf carrier ordered up to 50 of rival
Boeing Co.
’s 737 MAX 10 single-aisle jets within two weeks. Qatar Airways had previously canceled most of an existing MAX order in 2020 after receiving five of the planes.
Airbus lawyers alleged that Qatar Airways had exaggerated concerns about the issue in an attempt to claim compensation and refuse delivery of aircraft that it didn’t need as the pandemic hit demand for air travel. The plane maker complained in court that the airline and its regulator, the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority, had failed to provide documentation that showed the technical justifications behind grounding the aircraft.
Qatar Airways has said it provided images of the damage, which it purported showed the scale of the issue and the potential safety risk.
Qatar Airways Chief Executive
Akbar Al Baker
has long had a reputation as a tough customer, publicly lashing out at both Airbus and Boeing when he perceives delivery or quality issues.
Write to Benjamin Katz at ben.katz@wsj.com
Copyright ©2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
Vega C Rocket Fails During Second Launch Attempt
Arianespace’s medium-lift Vega-C rocket failed to reach orbit on its second mission, resulting in the destruction of the two satellites on board.
The rocket, developed by the European Space Agency (ESA), built by Italian company Avio, and operated by Arianespace, took off on Tuesday at 8:47 p.m. ET from the Kourou space base in French Guiana, carrying the Neo 5 and Neo 6 satellites for for Airbus’ Pléiades Neo Earth-imaging constellation.
The rocket’s first stage separated successfully from the second stage, but trouble ensued shortly thereafter. Around two minutes and 27 seconds after liftoff, the rocket’s second stage, called the Zefiro 40, experienced a catastrophic anomaly, Arianespace announced on Twitter.
“Following the nominal ignition of the second stage’s (Zefiro 40) engine around 144 seconds after lift-off, a decrease in the pressure was observed leading to the premature end of the mission,” Arianespace wrote in a statement.
“After this underpressure, we have observed the deviation of the trajectory and very strong anomalies, so unfortunately we can say that the mission is lost,” Stéphane Israël, chief executive of Arianespace, said on the launch webcast, as reported by SpaceNews. Per standard procedures, the rocket was ordered to self-destruct.
The satellites on board were meant to complete Airbus’ six-satellite constellation, providing high-resolution imagery of Earth.
Arianespace and ESA have appointed an independent inquiry commission to analyze the reason for the rocket’s failure and determine what needs to be done before Vega-C can resume flights, according to an Arianespace statement.
Vega-C was originally scheduled to launch on November 24, but the mission was delayed due to faulty equipment in the payload fairing separation system. The launch system hasn’t had the best track record, with the latest incident marking the third time a Vega rocket has suffered a mission failure in the last eight liftoffs, according to the BBC. In November 2020, a Vega rocket failed eight minutes into the mission, the result of human error.
More on this story: Vega Rocket Failure Apparently Caused by Human Error
It’s a disappointing follow-up to Vega-C’s debut this summer. On July 13, Vega-C successfully completed its inaugural flight, delivering the Italian Space Agency’s LARES-2 to orbit as its primary payload. Vega-C is a more powerful successor to the Vega launcher, which was in operation for 10 years. Vega-C is fitted with a more powerful first and second stage, along with an improved re-ignitable upper stage.
Tuesday’s mission marked the first time Vega-C carried a commercial payload, so it is unfortunate that the mission ended in failure. ESA is counting on Vega-C to deliver European payloads to orbit and maintain its presence in the growing space industry by virtue of possessing its own launch vehicle.
ESA is also getting ready to debut Ariane 6, the next-generation launcher to follow Ariane 5. Ariane 6 was originally slated for launch in 2020, but has suffered numerous delays, and is now scheduled to fly in 2023. “With Vega-C and Ariane 6, Europe will have a flexible, independent solution for a fast-changing launch market,” Daniel Neuenschwande, ESA’s director of Space Transportation, said in a statement in June.
Hopefully ESA can recover from the mission failure and get Vega-C back on track.
More: We Can’t Wait for These Futuristic Rockets to Finally Blast Off
Abandoned Mars Rover Could Get a Second Chance on the Moon
The Anon rover was built for Mars, but its interplanetary mission got derailed. The car-sized robot is now undergoing tests at a quarry near London in hopes that it could one day go to the Moon instead.
Over the past two weeks, Airbus has been testing its sample fetch rover in a quarry near Milton Keynes in the U.K., which nicely simulates alien environments. The developing team is hoping that the rover might eventually explore and work on the Moon, The Guardian reported.
The Mars Sample Fetch Rover, also known as Anon, was built by European aerospace company Airbus, and it’s designed to collect sample tubes left behind by NASA’s Perseverance rover, which has been roaming the Red Planet since February 2021. Earlier this year, however, NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) announced a change of plans for its Mars Sample Return mission, which seeks to return samples to Earth next decade. Instead of using the sample fetch rover, NASA wants Perseverance to transfer the sample tubes to a lander that will be waiting nearby. The space agency also wants to send two Ingenuity-class helicopters to Jezero Crater to scoop up the sample tubes and deliver them to the vicinity of the lander.
The abrupt change in plans meant that Europe’s rover lost its ticket to Mars. That said, Anon’s developers, which have been working on the rover for the past four years, aren’t giving up on this little guy just yet and continue to run tests of the rover’s systems. “Even though the mission may have faded away, the core technology is still ready and able to go and this is the kind of the final step in proving that it works,” Ben Dobke, a project manager at Airbus, told The Guardian.
Instead of Mars, Anon could be headed to the Moon’s surface as part of NASA’s Artemis program, which seeks a sustained and sustainable presence in the lunar environment. The rover won’t collect sample tubes on the Moon, but it could be used for other purposes, such as helping to build lunar habitats.
The rover will need some tweaking for a Moon mission, otherwise it won’t survive the colder temperatures and the total lack of atmosphere. Anon will also have to be adjusted such that it can recover from the long nights on the Moon, which last for 14 days, thereby placing it in total darkness for extended periods, according to The Guardian. Anon does not yet have a ticket to the Moon, but its developers want to be ready should the opportunity emerge.
Anon is the second European-built Martian rover to miss out on its chance to visit the Red Planet. ESA’s ExoMars rover was supposed to launch this year, but the space agency suspended the joint mission with Russian space agency Roscosmos following the invasion of Ukraine. The two rovers are currently awaiting their new fate, but both seem ready for some celestial exploring.
More: The Perseverance Rover Finally Got Its First Martian Rock Sample, For Real This Time
Airbus slams sceptical supplier Raytheon over jet output
Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com
PARIS, Sept 23 (Reuters) – Europe’s Airbus (AIR.PA) clashed on Friday with U.S. giant Raytheon Technologies (RTX.N) over plans for a record leap in jetliner output, after the industry’s largest contractor questioned whether a battered supply chain could keep up.
The world’s largest planemaker said it was sticking with a two-part plan to raise output by 50% from current levels in 2025 – a goal that would contribute to Airbus becoming the first civil planemaker to deliver 1,000 planes in a single year.
Chief Executive Guillaume Faury said demand was likely to outstrip supply for the most-produced medium-haul models where Airbus enjoys a lead over U.S. rival Boeing (BA.N).
Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com
But speaking at the company’s first full-scale investor event for four years, he acknowledged worries from inflation to interest rates and said the wide-body recovery was less certain.
“We are in a period where things are accelerating; we have multiple crises to manage,” Faury said.
He talked of a possible share buyback as Airbus rebuilds cash depleted by what he called the “existential crisis” of COVID-19, but cautioned “we are not there yet”.
Airbus shares floated in and out of positive territory and by mid-afternoon were up 0.4%.
A travel bounce-back outside China has seen demand for medium-haul A320neo and Boeing 737 MAX jets recover faster than expected. But Airbus’ plans to build 75 A320neo-family jets a month in 2025, up from around 50 now, have met with some scepticism.
The head of Raytheon Technologies, which owns engine maker Pratt & Whitney, told a conference last week that Faury “might say rate 75, but we think rate 65 is doable” by 2025.
Faury called the comments “really unhelpful” and said engine makers were worried by the timing, not the number. “They believe in 75. I can be quoted because I checked,” he told investors.
Raytheon had no immediate comment.
Reuters reported this week Airbus had relaxed pressure on suppliers to commit to the 2025 deadline, leaving room for it to slip to 2026, but was sticking to targets for now. The company has not said when in 2025 it might hit the 75 goal. read more
The key, suppliers say, is when targets can be hit consistently.
“We will see when we plan to hit rate 75, in (20)25 hopefully. I am committed to (20)25. That’s probably something we will be communicating more precisely on at our full-year results,” Faury said on Friday.
A220 UPGRADE
Airbus meanwhile gave the strongest hint yet that it plans to launch a bigger version of its 110-to-130-seat A220 passenger jet but gave no clues about the decision’s timing.
A stretched version of the lightweight airplane makes a lot of sense, “but we don’t want to be right too early”, Faury said.
The A220 was developed with an eye on the main part of the jet market but Canada’s Bombardier struggled to keep up with the investments needed to displace Airbus and Boeing and sold its aerospace jewel to Airbus in 2018.
Airbus has faced higher-than-expected costs on the loss-making programme but believes it can break even by mid-decade.
An A220-500 would begin the process of replacing the 150-seat-plus A320neo, Europe’s aerospace cash-cow and a major battleground in the transatlantic war for sales with Boeing.
Airbus has seized a commanding lead in the main part of the single-aisle market, most recently through the larger A321neo, which finance chief Dominik Asam said would have an increasing proportion of sales.
Although Airbus was born as a producer of wide-body long-haul jets with the A300, which took flight 50 years ago next month, its biggest commercial success by far has been in workhorse single-aisle jets made popular by budget carriers.
Improvements in the largest single-aisle jets have eaten into the lower end of a market reserved for decades for wide-body jets like Boeing’s 747, 777 and 787 or the Airbus A350.
Faury said Airbus aimed to step up competition with Boeing in the wide-body market, starting with the new A350 Freighter. Experts say Boeing dominates air cargo and has so far outsold the A350 with its future 777X Freighter.
Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com
Reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by Edmund Blair and Mark Potter
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Exclusive: Airbus axes remaining A350 jet deal with Qatar – sources
PARIS, Aug 3 (Reuters) – Airbus (AIR.PA) has revoked its entire outstanding order from Qatar Airways for A350 jets, severing all new jetliner business with the Gulf carrier in a dramatic new twist to a dispute clouding World Cup preparations, two industry sources said.
No comment was immediately available from Airbus or Qatar Airways.
The two aviation titans have been waging a rare public battle for months over the scarred condition of more than 20 long-haul jets that the airline says could pose a risk to passengers and which Airbus insists are completely safe.
Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com
Qatar Airways, which was the first airline to introduce the intercontinental jet to the skies in 2015, is suing Airbus for at least $1.4 billion after almost half its A350 fleet was grounded by Qatar’s regulator over premature surface damage.
It has refused to take delivery of more A350s until it receives a deeper explanation of damaged or missing patches of anti-lightning mesh left exposed by peeling paint. read more
Backed by European regulators, Airbus has acknowledged quality problems on the jets but denied any safety risk from gaps in the protective sub-layer, saying there is ample backup.
Until now, the dispute has had a piecemeal effect on the order book for Europe’s biggest twin-engined jet as first Airbus, then Qatar Airways, terminated some individual jets.
Now, however, Airbus has told the airline it is striking the rest of the A350 deal from its books, the sources said, asking not to be identified as discussions remain confidential. read more
At end-June, the European planemaker had outstanding orders from Qatar Airways for 19 of the largest version of the jet, the 350-passenger A350-1000, worth at least $7 billion at catalogue prices or closer to $3 billion after typical industry discounts.
WORLD CUP
The sweeping new A350 cancellation comes six months after Airbus also revoked the whole contract for 50 smaller A321neo jets in retaliation for Qatar refusing to take A350 deliveries.
The spillover to a different model was branded “worrying” by the head of a body representing global airlines, the International Air Transport Association. read more
The latest move is likely to widen a rift between two of the flagship companies of close allies France and Qatar.
Barring an elusive settlement, the dispute is already set for a rare corporate trial in London next June. read more
It comes as the airline industry grapples with an uneven recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and as Qatar Airways is preparing to handle the bulk of some 1.2 million visitors expected for the FIFA World Cup in November and December.
Airbus has argued that the airline is using the dispute to bolster its finances and reduce its fleet of costly long-haul jets as its target long-haul market recovers sluggishly.
Qatar Airways, which in June posted its first annual profit since 2017, maintains it needs more capacity for the World Cup, forcing it to lease planes and bring less efficient A380s out of retirement to plug a gap left by grounded A350s.
The row centres on whether the A350’s problems – including what appears to be damage to parts of the wings, tail and hull according to two jets seen by Reuters – stem from a cosmetic issue or, as the airline claims, a design defect. read more
A Reuters investigation in November revealed that several other airlines had found surface damage since 2016, the second year of A350 operations, prompting Airbus to accelerate studies of an alternative mesh that also saves weight. read more .
So far, however, none of the A350’s other roughly three dozen operators has joined Qatar in voicing concerns over safety as a result of surface flaws, as they continue to fly the jet.
Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com
Reporting by Tim Hepher; editing by Jason Neely, Kirsten Donovan
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Boeing disappointed after China’s top three airlines buy 300 Airbus planes
The Boeing logo is pictured at the Latin American Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition fair at Congonhas Airport in Sao Paulo, Brazil August 14, 2018. REUTERS/Paulo Whitaker//
Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com
July 1 (Reuters) – Boeing Co (BA.N) said on Friday “it is disappointing that geopolitical differences continue to constrain U.S. aircraft exports” while responding to China’s three biggest state-owned airlines buying 300 jets from European planemaker Airbus SE (AIR.PA).
The U.S. planemaker added that it continued to urge a productive dialogue between the U.S. and China governments.
(This story was corrected to show Airbus is a European manufacturer, not French.)
Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com
Reporting by Nathan Gomes in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
SpaceX Just Pulled Off Three Launches in 36 Hours
It was a busy weekend for SpaceX, with the private space company launching three of its Falcon 9 rockets into orbit over a period of three days. SpaceX’s final launch may even have been carrying a classified government payload in addition to launching a spare satellite for low Earth orbit operator Globalstar.
The back-to-back launches kicked off Friday from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A, where a Falcon 9 rocket carried 53 Starlink satellites to orbit as part of the company’s growing broadband internet megaconstellation. The rocket’s first stage booster set a new record for SpaceX, marking the 13th flight and landing for the reusable booster.
The next day, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 launched a radar imaging satellite for the German military. SaRah-1, built by Airbus, launched from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California to replace the existing SAR-Lupe system. The satellite is designed to deliver images of Earth’s surface at any time of day, regardless of weather conditions.
On Sunday, SpaceX made its final launch of the weekend. Its third Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The company identified one payload on the rocket, Globalstar FM15, a spare satellite for phone and low-speed data communications company Globalstar.
However, several reports suggest that this lone satellite wasn’t the only one hitching a ride to low Earth orbit. Those observing the launch and deployment of the Globalstar payload noticed that the rocket was sporting three unusual burns and landed on the Autonomous Spaceport Drone Ship, which is used when the rocket is carrying heavier payloads, although the Globalstar payload would have been light enough for it to land back on the launch pad, according to SpaceNews.
Additionally, SpaceX provided a video of the payload deployment to orbit, which showed that it had deployed nearly two hours after liftoff. The video showed what may have been a payload adapter on the rocket’s second stage, suggesting that the rocket may have deployed another payload after its first burn. The mysterious circumstances gave credence to rumors suggesting that SpaceX had launched a U.S. classified government payload. SpaceX has not confirmed the second payload and did not immediately respond to Gizmodo’s request for comment.
Sunday’s launch marked SpaceX’s 26th launch of 2022, and the company is planning to go even bigger for the rest of the year. After passing an environment assessment by the Federal Aviation Administration for a proposed site expansion in Boca Chica, Texas, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk announced that heavy rocket Starship would be ready for its first orbital launch in July. Musk is hoping that Starship will be transporting the company’s next-generation Starlink satellites to orbit, which has some astronomers worried over their potential interference in observations of the cosmos. SpaceX has also recently fired several employees over criticism of Musk’s behavior.