UK investigators have revealed that a weight entry error during take-off calculations resulted in a Blue Air Boeing 737-800's suffering a tail-strike on departure from Birmingham. Analysis of the incident, on 28 July last year, found that the captain read the zero-fuel weight – rather than the take-off weight – to the first officer during calculations for take-off performance. This incorrect weight, 12t below the actual figure, was entered into the electronic flightbag. As the aircraft rotated from runway 15 at 143kt, ground operations personnel saw the tail of the jet come close to the ground and air traffic control asked the crew whether they had experienced a strike. Inspection of the 737 after it landed showed damage to the tail-skid and auxiliary power unit drain mast. None of the 190 passengers and six crew members were injured.

Source: FlightGlobal

Southwest Airlines has issued this updated statement on its Boeing 737 MAX fleet: " In compliance with the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) order on March 13, 2019, our Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft remain temporarily grounded." Southwest Airlines continues to await guidance from Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on the impending 737 MAX software enhancements and training requirements." We are encouraged by the reported progress and proposed path forward for returning the aircraft to service, and we remain confident that, once certified by the FAA, the enhancements will support the safe operation of the MAX. In April, we revised our flight schedule by removing the MAX through August 5 to offer reliability to our operation and stability for our Customers during the busy summer travel months. With the timing of the MAX’s return-to-service still uncertain, we are again revising our plans to remove the MAX from our schedule through September 2."

Source: World Airline News

United Airlines is introducing ConnectionSaver, a new tool dedicated to improving the experience for customers connecting from one United flight to the next. ConnectionSaver is powered by new technology that automatically identifies departing flights that can be held for connecting customers, while ensuring those who have already boarded the aircraft arrive at their destination on time. ConnectionSaver also sends personalized text messages to every connecting customer (who has opted in to receive notifications) with clear directions to the gate for their connecting flight and information about how long the walk will take. United launched its ConnectionSaver tool on all flights at Denver International Airport in February, and then expanded it to Chicago O’Hare International Airport – two of the airline’s busiest hubs with thousands of connecting customers every day. During the past four months, more than 14,400 customers, who would have otherwise missed their connections, were able to make their flights thanks to ConnectionSaver. Flights that were held for connecting customers were delayed an average of six minutes. This ConnectionSaver technology will expand to the airline’s hubs by this fall and to all other airports that United operates at in the future.

Source: World Airline News