Boeing 747-8 intercontinental's first flight !!

Boeing's 747 reaching her next milestone , yes the Boeing 747-8 intercontinental !!! Her first flight will begin tomorrow ie, 20 th of March , 2011 at 10.00 AM PST (17:00 GMT)


Also the live web cam is available for the viewers which starts at 9:45 AM PST (16:45 GMT)


For more details VISIT www.boeing.com

Boeing 747

Sendai Airport hit by Tsunami

Massive Tsunami Hits Japan, Airport Flooded, Country Devastated

A massive, massive Tsunami of magnitude 8.8 – 8.9 on the Richter’s scale, hit Japan’s northeastern coast this morning (14:46 Japanese time), causing devastation to where it went.

The country’s meteorological agency sent out early warnings a Tsunami of magnitude 7.9, but later updated it to 8.9.

Even the Parliament was adjourned as the Tsunami shook the country. An estimated 300+ are believed to have been killed (another 400+ missing), and an airport completely flooded (the Sendai second-class airport).

Officials say that huge waves of muddy waters as high as 10 meters slammed the city of Sendai, its farms and the Cosmo oil refinery (in Ichihara city, where fires erupted) in its way. So goes the name, the "2011 Sendai Earthquake And Tsunami."

It’s apparently the worst earthquake to hit Japan in a century, and the seventh largest in the world among those recorded

Airbus beats Boeing in 2010 plane orders

A late rush of orders helped European aircraft-maker Airbus to record higher sales than US rival Boeing in 2010.

Airbus said it had received 644 new orders last year, worth $84bn at their full list price - with 200 of them placed in December.

Airbus benefited from a late rush of 200 new orders placed in December

That was enough to push Boeing into second place with 625 plane orders.

The news came as Virgin America confirmed 60 new A320 orders, half of which will be in the new eco-friendly "Neo" format.

GPS overlay is ready for the planes to use

The European system that augments GPS signals to make them more accurate is now suitable for use in aviation, the European Commission says.

Egnos, the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service, can tell planes and helicopters where they are to within a couple of metres.

The system was certified for "safety of life" applications on Wednesday.

This means its performance is of a high enough standard that pilots can reliably use it as a navigation tool.

Big airliners landing at major international airports typically rely on ground technologies to guide them to a runway, but Egnos is likely to help with some final approach phases and in improving the positioning of aircraft en route.

The system should be more important at some small airports where the ground infrastructure is much more limited.

Antonio Tajani, Vice-President of the European Commission, made the Egnos announcement in London.

Continue reading the main story

“Start Quote

Having more reliable information... will deliver huge savings in fuel and greenhouse gas emissions”

Terry MooreNottingham University

He told BBC News that Egnos and the soon to launch Galileo system - a European version of GPS - were key initiatives for the EU and its interests in space.

"I believe in Egnos and Galileo, not because they are my dream, but because they are part of our industrial policy," he said.

"Space may be up there," he added, pointing to the sky, "but Egnos and Galileo will deliver services to the citizen here on the ground."

Egnos is a joint project of the European Commission, the European Space Agency (Esa), and Eurocontrol, the European organisation for the safety of air navigation.

It started initial operations in 2005 and has gradually ramped up its service.

Soon, no baggage scan before check-in :

Chennai: International passengers may no longer need to stand in long queues to scan their baggage before checking in. The airport is planning to introduce in-line baggage screening system that will automatically scan bags that are checked in at airline counters. Trials for the system would start by mid-March, airport director E P Hareendranathan said.

In-line baggage scanning system is part of a four-layer foolproof security system that will be introduced after trials.

Under the system, bags that are checked in will be automatically screened by two X-ray machines on conveyor belts and will be segregated if suspicious items are found. The isolated bags will be put through a standby scanner and will be moved along the conveyor to a designated area where explosive detector test will be conducted and passengers will also be summoned to explain the content.

"The X-raying of bags can be monitored from six stations. Passengers will have to scan their bags themselves during the trial period. The bags that are scanned by the passengers will be routed through the in-line baggage system. We will monitor the functioning of the system and also the way personnel monitor the bags," Hareendranathan said.

When the system is introduced, Airports Authority of India (AAI) is planning to remove baggage scanners from international departure terminal.

IndiGo to hire 1500 people

New Delhi: Low-cost carrier IndiGo on Wednesday said it plans to hire up to 1,500 people this year to support its major expansion drive.“IndiGo will hire 1,200-1,500 people in the calendar year 2011, of which 400-500 would be cabin crew staff, 200-300 pilots, besides some engineers and ground staff,” IndiGo President Aditya Ghosh told PTI.
At present, IndiGo has about 3,400 employees and by the end of this year the number is expected to go up to 4,500-5,000.
In January this year, the no-frill carrier made news by announcing acquisition of 180 A-320s, worth an estimated $ 15.6 billion, from European plane manufacturer Airbus — the single largest aircraft deal in global aviation history.
This is the second time IndiGo has placed such a massive aircraft order. The company had first entered into an agreement with Airbus in 2005, to buy 100 A-320s worth $ 6 billion.
On being asked about the order delivery, Mr. Ghosh said, “One hundred aircrafts from the earlier order (2005) would be delivered by 2015. The delivery process of the 180 new planes would start thereafter and is expected to be completed by 2024.”
The airline has already sought government’s permission to launch global operations from the middle of this year, when it will also be completing five years of domestic service.