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Thielert Opens It’s Doors to Buyers
The word is out that some “well-known” investors as well as some new prospective customers have been showing a high interest in purchasing the insolvent Thielert Aircraft Engines. Diamond, however has dropped out of the bidding because they believe the Summary Description included by Thielert as part of the process “withholds relevant facts” and preludes them from vital information. Aside from Diamond dropping their bid, a spokesman for Thielert said that many of the offers have surprisingly exceeded their expectations. When the bidding ends, potential buyers will be able to examine Thielert more thoroughly and at that time negotiations will take place.
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Go Away Gustav!
I really dislike hurricanes! After living a month without electricity because of dear old Katrina, you can imagine how I feel about Gustav making his way into the Gulf of Mexico. This means no flying for a while… possibly a long while. I pray for all my fellow New Orleanians!
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JetBlue Compensates for High Fuel Prices
JetBlue figured out how to compensate for their continuing loss in revenue. Passengers now have the option to buy JetBlue’s “eco-friendly” pillow and blanket, since they have done away with their standard overly-used pillows and blankets. For $7, you get piece of mind knowing your item is new, clean, and has never been used by a stranger! Not too bad since you keep it and it comes with a $5 coupon to Bed Bath and Beyond. Not only is JetBlue making a little extra, Bed Bath and Beyond will cash in too! If you have a little extra height, don’t worry there is an option for you too. For $10 extra you are put in one of the front or emergency rows which provide “much-lusted-after” space. This alone is expected to pull in an estimated $40 million. Now let’s see how long it takes for the others to catch on
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Icon A5 Makes First Flight
The A5 is a new light sport amphibian that made it’s first flight on July 9th. The airframe is made of carbon fiber making it very strong and light weight. The A5 is powered by a 100HP Rotax engine and like a Cirrus, the A5 will come with an emergency parachute! You can expect to see these little amphibians by late 2010 at a price of $139,000 USD.
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Internet-a-Gogo for Some Airlines
In just a few weeks, passengers may be able to use Wi-Fi on some airliners. The service is called Gogo by Aircell and will cost $9.95 for short flights and $12.95 for flights over three hours. The first to incorporate this service will be American Airlines. One important caveat: Gogo is a data-only system and will not allow phone calls and will filter all services that allow voice conversations to be made over the Internet.
Click here for more information from Walt Mossberg.
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United drops TED
United’s TED (United without the U-N-I) is the airline’s “low fare” fleet of A320’s. I never completely understood the point of TED, but United is now dropping it. This effects close to 70 airplanes and a loss of as many as 1,200 jobs in response to the high cost of fuel. This is the second large cutback United has made in the past two months. These reductions amount to fifteen percent of United’s fleet. They are in addition to thirty grounded aircraft announced in April and hundreds of management job cuts. United predicts to spend more than $3B more on fuel than last year. United is trying hard to keep their head above water, but it’s not looking good. It seems they are really hoping for a merger with another airline. I’m not sure who would be interested, especially since Continental Airlines practically told them to take a hike.
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Thielert Has Students Biting Their Nails
Thielert, who produces the diesel engine for Diamond’s Twinstar, has filed for bankruptcy the day after ousting Chief Financial Officer, Frank Thielerton on April 23rd. For years, the company looked promising having bought out Superior Air Parts and striking deals with Diamond and Cessna, but was recently accused for writing false invoices for fictitious sales in a scheme designed to pump up share prices and secure loans.
The problem for many students undergoing flight training, such as myself is that Diamond’s Twinstar is very unique and sophisticated. It has become a popular multi-engine trainer and requires special parts and inspections. My flight school currently has two DA42’s, one being down for the next few months because of multiple engine failures, while the other is 50 hours away from having the gearbox shipped back to Germany. With the company already in bankruptcy and shares worth zilch it could collapse at any time. For me, this means that I have approximately two weeks to cram the finishing touches on my Commercial multi-engine training before the Twinstar enters the unknown.
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Dassault Aviation Lands $1B Deal With NetJets
On Monday, Dassault Aviation signed a deal worth over $1 Billion USD with NetJets, owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway. The order is for thirty Dassault Falcon 2000 LX model aircraft to be delivered over the next eight years, starting in September 2008. This is a bold move despite the high oil prices and the gloomy economic slow down for business travel. Dassault’s LX series airplanes have undergone a few minor changes including winglets, that provide approximately 7% fuel savings. However, the cost of winglets for a Falcon can be nearly $1M USD. An operator would need to fly the airplane for years before seeing any benefit. Even with a few improvements, this large cabin fleet burns a considerable amount of jet fuel and today’s crude oil price hit $127.77 per barrel and continues to rise. With these kinds of prices, I wouldn’t be surprised if NetJets decides to cancel after taking delivery of so many and going with a more fuel efficient Cessna.
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JetBlue Sued Over Flight Spent on Toilet
A New York man, Gokhan Mutlu was denied a seat on a JetBlue flight before a flight attendant offered to give up her seat and fly in the airline employee “jump seat.” After an hour in flight, the off duty flight attendant complained to one of the pilots that she was uncomfortable. Mutlu said he would sit in the jump seat, but the pilot became aggravated and told him that the jump seat is for airline employees only and that he should “hang out” in the bathroom, on the toilet, for the remainder of the five hour flight. Mutlu is suing JetBlue for $2M USD because the flight experienced turbulence and he had no seat belt while on the toilet, claiming he was scared and humiliated.
If this is true, then Mutlu will definitely get something out of this lawsuit. I do not believe he will win the full amount he is suing for, but I don’t blame him for being angry. I would not want to pay for spending four hours in a lavatory on an airplane. I wonder if he was still offered his meal and beverage?
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Toyota invests $96M into Mitsubishi Regional Jet Project
Toyota Motor Corp. announced they will be investing $96 million US Dollars (taking 10% ownership interest) into a project to develop a mid-size passenger aircraft by Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation, a new unit of Mitsubishi Industries. The idea is to develop a fuel-efficient, 70-90 seat regional jet; nicknamed the “MRJ” (Mitsubishi Regional Jet). It will compete with Brazil’s Embraer and Canada’s Bombardier fleets. The plane is scheduled to fly in the year 2013.
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