Argentinean investigators have found that a Flybondi Boeing 737-800 was out of balance before it tipped up and struck its tail while attempting to depart from Iguazu Falls airport last year. The aircraft had just commenced its take-off roll from runway 31 when, about 6s after its thrust levers were advanced, it abruptly pitched up at about 30kt, causing its aft fuselage to scrape the ground. Its crew aborted the departure and returned to the parking stand. Argentinean investigation authority JIAAC says the aircraft was transporting 65 passengers and a crew of six on a service to El Palomar at night on 16 July 2018. Budget airline Flybondi had acquired the aircraft (LV-HQY) three months earlier, in April, after it came off lease with Turkish Airlines as TC-JGH. It had been configured with 165 economy seats for the Turkish carrier but it was refitted in France with 189 economy seats for Flybondi. Airport handling documentation was updated, as required, to reflect the aircraft' new weight-and-balance envelope under the new seating layout, says JIAAC. The load and trim sheet for the flight lists the passengers as being distributed primarily in the front of the aircraft, with 38 in the two forward cabin sections and 27 in the two aft sections. This put the calculated centre-of-gravity at 22.2% of the mean aerodynamic chord. But JIAAC says the actual distribution "did not correspond" to that prepared on the sheet. All but a few passengers were located in the two aft sections, with just one person in the front cabin where 20 were supposed to be sat. The inquiry says this distribution would have shifted the centre-of-gravity to a position 38% of the mean chord, placing it "outside the flight envelope".

Source: FlightGlobal

Airbus's A320 family appears to have overtaken the Boeing 737 in terms of total orders, in the wake of the 737 Max crisis and strong single-aisle activity from the European airframer. Total A320-family orders by the end of October this year had reached 15,193 after Airbus secured firm agreements for almost 400 of the twinjets last month – including 300 from IndiGo. Boeing's customer data for the 737 shows total orders of 15,136 to the end of October. These figures include airframes for the US military. Airbus's latest backlog revision indicates that Taiwanese carrier China Airlines' order for 11 Airbus A321neos, sealed on 15 October, edged the manufacturer ahead of its rival. At the close of last year the Boeing 737 had been more than 400 orders in front of the A320 family. But the grounding of the 737 Max in March 2019 reduced the order flow for the family to a trickle, and Boeing recorded agreements for just 36 737s over the first 10 months of this year. Airbus still remains nearly 1,500 aircraft behind Boeing in terms of deliveries, however, with 9,086 A320-family jets handed over against 10,563 737s of all variants. Boeing took its first orders for the 737 in 1965 and delivered the initial aircraft to Lufthansa two years later. Airbus delivered its first A320, to Air France, in 1988.

Source: FlightGlobal

South African Airways' acting chief has warned that continued strikes will deepen the airline's financial crisis, after flights were disrupted by industrial action. Zuks Ramasia says the carrier's financial position is already "precarious" and that strikes will have "dire ramifications" that will "without doubt place SAA's future in jeopardy". While the action by cabin crew union SACCA and the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa is already problematic, Ramasia is concerned about the possibility of the strike broadening to include transport unions SATUWU and NTM. She says such an escalation, into a "full-on aviation strike", could bring all airport operations to a standstill and cause "huge damage" to South Africa's economy. The flag-carrier has managed to reinstate flights to a number of international destinations, having decided that it has sufficient numbers of personnel for the operations, and has been trying to use capacity on Mango Airlines and Airlink to maintain services on other routes. Evidence that relations between SAA and the unions is deteriorating has emerged with Ramasia accusing the unions of spreading untruthful allegations about the safety of the airline, and threatening legal action. "SAA is mindful of its obligations to comply with all regulations and continue to ensure safe and secure operations," she says. "SAA will therefore maintain the required levels of personnel, including oversight post holders and necessary compliance training during this strike period." Ramasia points out that SAA's pilots are not on strike and that it is using trained cabin crew, who meet regulatory requirements, on its services. The industrial action also appears to be causing divisions within staff ranks. Ramasia warns that the airline's management will not tolerate intimidation against personnel who opt not to strike. "We will always protect our employees’ right to decide for themselves and serve our customers," she says, adding that any employees engaging in misconduct or criminal behaviour may be liable for arrest or prosecution. "Striking is a personal choice. No one should be pressured by a union or striker to participate in the strike." The SACCA and NUMSA unions have demanded an 8% salary increase, but the carrier says it cannot afford any rise in wages. SAA is, however, offering a 5.9% rise from March 2020 and to provide back-pay around this date if it has received the necessary funds. The airline says it is restoring flights from Johannesburg to Sao Paulo, New York, London, Frankfurt, Munich and Washington DC on 17 November, and to Perth and Hong Kong on 18 November. "We hope all our customers understand that the cancellations were beyond our control," says SAA chief commercial officer Philip Saunders. "We pledged to rebook all passengers caught up in the flight cancellations."

Source: FlightGlobal