FAA Directs Airlines to Check Mechanism That Controls Tail Flap of Boeing 737s

The Federal Aviation Administration has issued an emergency airworthiness directive demanding that airlines check a mechanism that controls tail flaps on about 600 Boeing 737s.

The directive was issued Friday and concerns flaps on the horizontal tails of the jets. On March 2, a Ryanair 737-800 en route from the Netherlands to Madrid, Spain, experienced severe vibrations in flight and had to make an unscheduled landing in Belgium.

Inspection afterward found “extensive damage” to the left elevator, which is a movable flap on the horizontal tail that controls the pitch of the airplane, up or down.

The agency says some of the jets must be inspected within 12 days, and the rest within 30 days. FAA spokesman Allen Kenitzer said about half the affected airplanes are operating in the U.S.

Ash Cloud Grounds Flights in Scotland And Ireland

A cloud of abrasive volcanic ash drifting south from Iceland disrupted flights to and from Ireland and Scotland anew on Wednesday.

Two airports serving Glasgow, Scotland’s largest city, were closed until at least 1800 GMT, while flights from the Irish capital Dublin face restrictions until at least 2300 GMT.

The latest disruption signaled that travel hold-ups would continue into the summer holiday period because of ash being blown from the same volcano in Iceland that caused mayhem for 10 million travellers last month.

The European air traffic agency Eurocontrol said about 300 of 29,000 scheduled flights were likely to be canceled across Europe on Wednesday. “The situation is not expected to improve in this area during the day,” the agency said in a statement.

“The whole of Ireland, west Scotland and northwest England could be affected, with risk to operations at Manchester and Liverpool airports,” it continued.

In addition, according to Eurocontrol, roughly 900 flights in Greek airspace would be canceled assuming a general strike in Greece against austerity plans lasted until midnight.

ASH CLOUD STAYING?

Britain’s official weather forecaster, the Met Office, said predictions indicated the ash would remain over much of Ireland, Scotland and western England into Thursday and would continue to move south.

British Airways said it was cancelling all flights to and from the Scottish cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh until 1800

GMT.

Irish budget airline Ryanair also canceled flights to and from Glasgow Prestwick and the Northern Irish cities of Belfast and Derry until 2300 GMT.

It also warned that services at the English airports of Liverpool, Bristol, Leeds and Manchester could be affected.

Britain’s Civil Aviation Authority said, based on current forecasts, it did not expect problems in the southeast, where the major airports serving London are located.

“The situation remains changeable, so passengers expecting to travel today and tomorrow from airports in Scotland, Northern Ireland, the North West of England, Wales and the West Country should contact their airlines to check whether their flight is operating,” the CAA said in a statement.

Much of European air traffic was grounded last month because of the spread of ash from the erupting volcano under the Eyjafjallajokull glacier in Iceland. Some 100,000 flights were canceled and millions of passengers stranded.

Tuesday was the first test of a European system of progressive closures, including partial no-fly zones, introduced after the ash cloud prompted a blanket ban that was criticized by airlines forced to ground thousands of flights in April.

European transport ministers have agreed to set safety limits for flying through the ash, which can paralyze jet engines, and to unify European airspace.

Last month’s airspace closures cost Europe’s airlines 1.5 billion to 2.5 billion euros ($2 billion-$3.3 billion), the European Commission has estimated.

Decline In Global Air Travel ‘Begins To Slow’

There are signs that the fall in the number of global air passengers is beginning to stabilise.

Figures released by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) indicate that the economic situation which has crippled the airline industry could be easing.

According to the group, year-on-year falls in air passenger numbers dropped to 7.1 per cent in June – a marked improvement on the 9.2 per cent fall seen in May.

“Passenger travel numbers in June are now indicating some stabilisation in air travel demand,” the IATA stated in its monthly Premium Traffic Monitor.

Economy bookings enjoyed the highest proportional fall – declining by just 5.5 per cent against a 7.6 per cent in May – while premium traffic also stabilised. Demand for first and business class seats was down 21.3 per cent in June, compared with 23.6 per cent in May.

Indicating that the worst of the downturn could be over, the IATA said: “Adjusting for seasonal fluctuations, passenger numbers were broadly unchanged in June compared with levels in May.”

Earlier this year the industry group had given a glum assessment of the sector, warning that debt-laden consumers will curtail spending even after the recession ends. IATA Chief Economist Brian Pearce said: “The speed of the recovery is going to be a lot slower than in the past.”

But many airlines appear to be weathering the downturn, with reports suggesting that no-frills carriers have succeeded in poaching market share from full-service competitors.

Ryanair and Aer Lingus Allow Passengers to Rebook Flight

Ryanair and Aer Lingus will allow passengers to rebook flights without charge and both will give full refunds on tickets for flights cancelled due to airport closures.

Holders of tickets for cancelled flights were advised to rebook using special facilities on the websites of both airlines and most other airlines.

However, hoteliers and other accommodation providers have been warned by Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey not to engage in “bumping up prices” for people whose flights out of Ireland have been cancelled.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin said a consular crises centre has been set up in Hainault House, Dublin, to handle hardship cases among Irish people stranded abroad. The international access phone number is 353-14082999. The centre will remain open throughout the week.

The Government’s taskforce on emergency planning, which is co-ordinating the response to the volcanic ash which closed airports and led to the cancellation of thousands of flights each day since last Thursday, said Irish embassies and consulates in the countries concerned are responding directly to cases as they arise.

A small rise in the number of inquires had been received but a specific number was not available. The taskforce stressed the advice to Irish people abroad was to contact their tour agent or airline.

Ryanair said it had cancelled some 850 flights a day across northern Europe, affecting about 100,000 passengers daily. Aer Lingus said it cancelled about 200 flights affecting some 20,000 people per day. Both airlines have said those whose flights have been cancelled will be invited to rebook for available seats beyond Wednesday.

They will not, however, be given priority over those who already hold reservations for seats on dates after Wednesday and seats will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.

However, tickets for journeys beyond Wednesday will not be changed or refunded unless these flights too are cancelled.

Once normal service resumes changes will be subject to normal change conditions. This may affect the return journeys of some travellers.

Responding to reports that hotel prices in some European cities had risen sharply as a result of the closure of airports, Mr Dempsey said he hoped Ireland would not see “the kind of behaviour where people start getting greedy because people are in a bad situation here”.

While the Consumers’ Association of Ireland welcomed the offer of full refunds or rebooking, a spokesman said the EU directive which applied to passenger rights was still too vague.

“It allows a get out clause for technical difficulties and we are lucky that on this occasion the airlines didn’t use this,” he said.

The Irish Travel Agents Association said it could not put a figure on the number of Irish people travelling with its member companies.

However, a spokesman said arrangements for hotels and airlines were being carried out by the tour operators “so in that way they are a little better off than those who may have booked themselves”.

Flight Delay Predictor Saves Airport Time and Hassle

I hate lacking information when I fly, especially about delays. Sometimes, I’ll rush to get to the airport on time, only to have a flight delayed at that point. Who cares if you can look up a flight status before getting in a taxi, if the plane gets officially delayed afterwards? FlightCaster preempts this situation by predicting potential delays before the airline makes an announcement.

The free website lets you look up U.S. domestic flights from yesterday, today, or tomorrow. In addition to tracking official delay information for the airline–and basics including the gate number–the site factors in many conditions to estimate your schedule.

FlightCaster’s prediction data-points seem as elegant as they could be effective. FlightCaster tracks your inbound aircraft; that arrival turns into your departure, so unless an airline scrambles an extra jet–which happens on occasion–you can’t leave without that plane. FlightCaster considers current FAA alerts about weather and airport status in your departure and arrival cities. FlightCaster also weighs 10 years of flight data; delays are often predictable based on previous patterns.

All combined, FlightCaster spits back its departure estimation. It even guesses the the length of the hold-up. You might even know that a flight will be delayed before the airline itself, saving you from wasting time at the gate.

FlightCaster recently launched iPhone and BlackBerry versions of the software, tapping in easily from your smartphone. (You could also just visit the website in a mobile browser, too.)

Because the service relies on previous FAA records, FlightCaster works only with U.S. domestic routes. A spokesperson said that the company plans to eventually add international flights with a U.S. origin or destination. Then, depending on the data available, FlightCaster might be updated for flights worldwide.

Before expanding its service, FlightCaster will add push updates, such as email and SMS alerts. And if you’re ever stuck and trying to get to a destination, an update might suggest alternate routes or airlines based on current predictions.

More than an hour ahead of its departure today, I found that FlightCaster had predicted a delay on Northwest 1416 from Chicago O’Hare to Minneapolis. The service even estimated that the hold-up would last for more than an hour. Northwest waited until about 20 minutes ahead of the scheduled departure time to say it’d be just a few more minutes. After updating in that manner for 20 minutes, Northwest finally estimated–or admitted–an hour-long delay.

I’m impressed, even though I’ve only briefly sampled the service so far. If FlightCaster nails other predictions as well as this one, it could be an invaluable travel tool.