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Air Seychelles gets ready for delivery of their first Airbus A320NEO

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Air Seychelles has over the past few months started to implement its training calendar in preparation for the delivery of the A320neo set for July 2019.

Last week, key staff members from the Technical Operations and Project Management including the Flight Operations team, as well as representatives from the Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority, attended the A320neo general familiarization training held in-house at the Air Seychelles head office in Pointe Larue.

The training held over four days, delivered by Mr. Michael Mahn, an experienced engineer from Airbus, provided the participants a general overview of the airframe that is the whole mechanical structure of the new aircraft. Currently another batch of staff members from similar areas within the business are also taking part in the training which commenced on Monday, April 15, and lasted until Thursday, April 18, 2019.

During the month of February, the Airbus Hamburg Training Centre welcomed the first group of Air Seychelles aircraft engineers as part of its comprehensive A320neo training program. The agenda composed of both theory and on-the-job experience provided the technical operations team further knowledge on how to conduct maintenance on the A320neo besides having the chance to view the Airbus assembly line.

Held from Monday, February 18, until Wednesday, February 27, the sessions in Hamburg were attended by engineers Clyne De -Letourdis, David Saminaden, and Denys Assan.

In addition to that, as of Tuesday, February 5, until Thursday, February 7, Manager of Cabin Safety Standards, Magdalena Hubert, and Manager for Cabin Safety Training Programs, Dereck Charlette, also had the chance to participate in the Airbus A320neo safety training held at the Airbus Training Centre Europe in Toulouse.

The training will proceed over the next upcoming months as part of the entry into service program of the new Air Seychelles A320neo aircraft.

The Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority in the meantime is progressing the type approval of this new aircraft which had not been registered in the Seychelles before and, therefore, requires additional regulatory approvals and licensing measures.

Travel News | eTurboNews

National Research Council in Canada wants to improve air passenger experience

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From visiting friends and family to getting goods to market, Canadians, tourists, and businesses rely on a safe, secure aviation system. While safety is everyone’s top priority in air travel, the air travel experience is arguably a passenger’s next biggest concern. Air travelers and crew want a safe and pleasant flight experience, and so do air carriers. By providing a positive passenger experience through well-designed, research-vetted cabin systems and products that complement human behavior, companies can ensure safer, smoother operations while earning and maintaining customer loyalty.

To understand how people interact with the controlled air travel environment, a National Research Council of Canada(NRC) multidisciplinary team is studying human responses to the cabin environment and the impact of new design concepts and emerging technologies on air travelers and crew.

The NRC is in the third year of a five-year research collaboration with the Research & Technology team at Airbus Americas Engineering to improve the air passenger experience by studying and demonstrating the human impact of technology innovations. The research team is using the new NRC Centre for Air Travel Research and real people in simulated tests to evaluate and analyze innovative disruptive concepts, cabin air quality and environmental control systems, passenger comfort, and issues associated with boarding and exiting aircraft.

After carefully analyzing the data gathered during these comprehensive tests, researchers will be able to identify low-cost, high-return changes that can be applied early in the aircraft design process to the benefit of Airbus and its industry customers, affording them the opportunity to make evidence-based decisions that balance the safety and comfort of air passengers and crew with manufacturing and operational costs for next generation aircraft.

This research collaboration is due in part to Airbus’ Industrial and Technological Benefits (ITB) obligation associated with Canada’s Fixed Wing Search and Rescue Aircraft Replacement (FWSAR) program. Canada’s ITB Policy ensures that prime contractors provide business activities in Canada equal to the contract value. The FWSAR program is supporting approximately 2.5 billion CAD in ITB activities within the Canadian economy.

  • The multi-disciplinary team in the National Research Council of Canada’s Centre for Air Travel Research includes a variety of expertise— specialists in physiology, psychology, industrial design, engineering, instrumentation, fabrication, and project management— that allows the team to fully explore the impact of new aircraft design concepts and emerging technologies on air travelers and crew.
  • The Centre for Air Travel Research has five laboratories and can facilitate the study of security screening systems, airport navigation tools, virtual reality devices to address flight anxiety, and the specific needs of communities such as seniors or persons with disabilities.
  • In addition to offering a realistic re-creation of an airport terminal, the Centre for Air Travel Research also boasts the Flexible Cabin Laboratory, complete with an A320 aircraft cabin that allows for the study of passenger flight experience, human vibration, and more.

Travel News | eTurboNews

Thank you for flying TAP Air Portugal: Welcome to Tel Aviv

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Israel has about 9 million inhabitants and annually receives more than 4 million visitors. TAP Air Portugal landed its inaugural flight between Lisbon and Israel on time on Sunday night at Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv.

With this new route, TAP will offer connecting service from the United States via its Lisbon hub. Like all TAP’s “beyond Portugal” destinations, Tel Aviv qualifies for the airline’s stopover program en route.

TAP’s daily flight leaves Lisbon at 2:20 pm and arrives in Tel Aviv at 9:30 pm. From Tel Aviv, flights depart at 5:05 am, arriving in Lisbon at 9:00 am.

One of Israel’s main tourist attractions is the city of Jerusalem, where one can visit holy sites of various religions. Within walking distance are the Holy Sepulcher (Christian), the Wailing Wall (Jewish) and the Mosque of Al-Aqsa (Muslim).

But Tel Aviv, Jaffa, Nazareth, Tiberias, Caesarea, Haifa, the Dead Sea region, and in the Palestinian part, Bethlehem and Jericho, among other points, also have many attractions.

The Portugal Stopover comprises a network of more than 150 partners who provide exclusive offers for Stopover customers for hotels discounts and complimentary experiences such as tuk-tuk tours, visits to museums, dolphin watching in the River Sado and food tastings – even a free bottle of Portuguese wine in participating restaurants.

Travelers can also enjoy a stopover in Lisbon or Porto even if their final destination is in Portugal, such as: Faro (Algarve); Ponta Delgada or Terceira (the Azores); and, Funchal or Porto Santo (Madeira).

Furthermore, Stopover passengers can also create a multi-destination journey, making it will be possible to travel to one destination and return from another. For example, people may choose to fly to Barcelona then return from Seville, but they will still qualify for a stopover in Lisbon or Porto on either their outbound or return travel. Stopover visits are now also available on just one-way travel to Europe or Africa.

TAP will receive 37 new aircraft by the end of this year — and 71 by 2025 — thus becoming the operator of one of the most modern fleets in the world. This renewal and growth of the fleet has allowed TAP to announce new routes and more frequencies. From the United States, new service from San Francisco, Washington DC, and Chicago start in June. TAP has also announced new routes including Naples, Tenerife, Dublin, Basel and Conakry for 2019.

Travel News | eTurboNews

FAA reputation ruined while Boeing MAX 8 certification becomes a criminal matter

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FAA restricts drones over high-priority maritime operations

FAA Nominee Steve Dickson formerly a Delta Airlines executive,  should get a prompt confirmation hearing before the U.S Senate,” stated Paul Hudson, of FlyersRights.org and longtime member of the FAA Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee (ARAC).

He continued, “The FAA’s safety reputation is in tatters, with current safety officials facing multiple investigations for improper certification of the 737 MAX after two crashes and inadequate emergency evacuation testing, criticism for long delays and defaults in safety rulemaking, lax enforcement of existing safety regulations, ineffective management of air traffic control modernization, mounting congestion delays from lack of airport management and construction, and no Senate-confirmed senior management.”

The New York time reported today about the Boeing MAX 8 crash: As the pilots of the doomed Boeing jets in Ethiopia and Indonesia fought to control their planes, they lacked two notable safety features in their cockpits. One reason: Boeing charged extra for them.

CNN reported, US Justice Department prosecutors have issued multiple subpoenas as part of an investigation into Boeing’s Federal Aviation Administration certification and marketing of 737 Max planes, sources briefed on the matter.

The criminal investigation, which is in its early stages, began after the October 2018 crash of a 737 Max aircraft operated by Lion Air in Indonesia, the sources said. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao on Tuesday asked the agency’s inspector general to investigate the Max certification.
Criminal investigators have sought information from Boeing on safety and certification procedures, including training manuals for pilots, along with how the company marketed the new aircraft, the sources said.
The Seattle Times reported: The FBI has joined the criminal investigation into the certification of the Boeing 737 MAX, lending its considerable resources to an inquiry already being conducted by U.S. Department of Transportation agents, according to people familiar with the matter.
It’s not yet clear what possible criminal laws could be at issue in the probe. Among the things, the investigators are looking into is the process by which Boeing itself certified the plane as safe, and the data it presented the FAA about that self-certification, the sources said.
The FBI Seattle office and Justice Department’s criminal division in Washington are leading the investigation.

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