American latest to try 757s on international routes

American Airlines has become the latest U.S. airline to begin flying Boeing 757 jets on international routes. AA yesterday unveiled a reconfigured version of its 757 that it says it will deploy on certain trans-Atlantic and Latin American routes. AA says it is reconfiguring 18 of its 124 757s for international service. AA’s 757’s “revamped interiors — which include new seats and updated in-flight entertainment systems — are expected to be completed by the end of the year. The 757 Business Class cabin, with a 2-2 seating configuration, features 16 lie-flat seats with drop-down armrests. The coach cabin has 166 seats in a 3-3 configuration.”

The first flight on one of those 757s took place yesterday, flying between New York JFK and Brussels.  AA will also fly the 757s between Miami and Salvador, Brazil, with continuing service to Recife.

AA “also has revamped 47 Boeing 777 airplanes to improve passenger comfort on flights performing on U.S. routes to the United Kingdom, Japan, China, India and Latin America.”Continuing upgrades of AA’s 767-200s are expected to be finished by mid-year.

American Airlines codeshares with Jet Airways

American Airlines has issued a notice that it’ll codeshare on Jet Airways’ new Brussels – Bangalore route when the latter launch the service at the end of October.

AA finalises new Boeing 737 deal

American Airlines (AA) has announced the completion of an additional order for 26 Boeing next-generation 737 aircraft.

This forms part of the 2009 to 2010 fleet renewal plans revealed by the operator earlier in the year and AA now has 36 737-800s on order with Boeing as well as fast tracking orders made in previous years.
The 737-800 is the most popular version in Boeing’s next-generation series of aircraft, largely due to its strong fuel efficiency, reliability and performances statistics

Emergency landing at JFK after LaGuardia takeoff

An American Airlines MD-80 bound for Atlanta was forced to make an emergency landing yesterday when one of its two rear-mounted engines failed shortly after takeoff from LaGuardia Airport. The plane landed a short time later at Kennedy Airport. No one was injured and the cause of the engine failure was not known yesterday.

Debris, believed to be from one of the aircraft’s two rearmounted engines, fell to the runway below.

Bill McLoughlin, National Air Traffic Controllers president, was working at the time in the LaGuardia tower . “We heard a large bang on departure,” he said. Moments later, the pilot radioed the tower that he had lost his right engine and was declaring an emergency.

McLoughlin said there are degrees of emergency. “On a level of one to three, this was a level two,” McLoughlin said. “Number three would be an aircraft that actually crashed.”

The pilot had difficulty gaining altitude and control of the aircraft, McLoughlin said, and controllers cleared aircraft from airspace around that plane, notified Port Authority security, New York City police and fire department about the emergency, and notified JFK officials to do the same, in case the pilot decided to try to land there.

The pilot landed at JFK, where the runways are longer, McLoughlin said, and the airspace and runway he wanted were cleared for him. McLoughlin said he received word at 5:10 p.m. that the aircraft had landed safely on JFK Runway 31R.

The debris on LaGuardia’s Runway 4 was cleared, and that runway was reopened at 5:16 p.m., McLoughlin said.

MD-80s like the one that landed yesterday at JFK have had their share of problems this year.

Over March 26 and March 27, and then again between April 8 and April 12, an FAA safety audit against American Airlines forced the airline to ground its MD-80 series fleet, to inspect the aircraft’s hydraulic wiring. American was forced to cancel nearly 2,500 flights in March and more than 3,200 in April.

In addition, Delta Air Lines inspected their own MD-80 fleet this year to ensure their 117 MD-80s were also operating within regulation. This prompted Delta to cancel 275 flights.

Airlines warn of potential flight delays from Tropical Storm Edouard

Airlines have warned that Tropical Storm Edouard could scramble air travel in Texas, causing delays and flight cancellations over the next couple of days.

The carriers recommended Monday that passengers call ahead to make sure flights are still on schedule. Continental Airlines Inc. said that with weather conditions likely to worsen, it expects delays and cancellations at airports in the region through Wednesday.

The Houston-based airline said it would waive rescheduling fees for customers who want to delay trips that were scheduled to or from Houston’s Bush Intercontinental Airport, San Antonio and Austin through Wednesday. But passengers will have to plan new travel to begin no later than Aug. 13.

Southwest Airlines Co. issued a travel advisory for Houston due to the storm, which was expected to make landfall in Louisiana or southeastern Texas on Tuesday.

American Airlines, a unit of Fort Worth-based AMR Corp., also enacted a fee-waiver policy when Edouard hit hurricane watch-status Monday afternoon, a spokesman said.