Bhoja Air 737 Crashes in Pakistan

Pakistan's Civilian Aviation Authority has confirmed that a Bhoja Air Boeing 737 has crashed close to Islamabad's international airport. Authorities do not expect any survivors. Weather conditions at the airport may have contributed to the crash. Fox News reported that it was the maiden flight for Bhoja Airlines which had been discontinued for more than ten years.

To read the CNN article, please click here.

New Speculation About American-US Airways Merger

CNN Money just reported that three American Airlines unions support a potential merger with rival US Airways.

To read the full article, please click here. Also watch out for an Aviation Insider blog post this weekend about why this merger may be great news for Airbus.

What's Wrong with JetBlue?

Since its inception more than ten years ago I have been a big fan of JetBlue. Whenever I have the choice of flying JetBlue or another airline, I pick JetBlue. I like the airline's culture, its fleet and its service. It's just fun to "jet" with JetBlue. Their fleet consists of the newest planes in the North American market, operating only A320s and Embraer 190s - two of my favorite aircraft.

However, on a flight from JFK to Vegas last week, at least one person on board flight 191 did not seem to have too much fun - the A320's captain, Clayton Osbon. According to various media reports, the pilot suffered some kind of mental breakdown while flying the A320. According to media reports, first officer Jason Dowd noticed Osbon's weird behavior shortly after take-off. Dowd asked Osbon to leave the cockpit and then locked the door, so the confused pilot could not re-enter. According to CNN, Osbon said "Pray f***ing now for Jesus Christ" and mumbled about Jesus, September 11, Iraq, Iran and terrorists. Eventually, a group of passengers could subdue Osbon and the flight was diverted to Amarillo, Texas. Luckily, there was another JetBlue A320 pilot on board who took over (which would not have been totally necessary, but it's always easier to fly and land a plane with two people in the cockpit).

This is not the first time a JetBlue cabin crew member has acted weird on board one of the airline's planes. Remember the weirdo JetBlue flight attendant at JFK airport in 2010? The one who said "I've been in this business 20 years. And that's it, I'm done!" over the speakers and then activated the emergency slide and left the plane on the tarmac? What is it with JetBlue that encourages its employees to go nuts? Well, honestly, this is not really a JetBlue-only problem. Just recently, an American Airlines flight attendant said funny things about the plane crashing and the 9/11 attacks. Everybody who has been on a Southwest Airlines flight would agree that some of their flight attendants are crazy, but at SWA, it's integrated into their job - they rap over the speaker phones, dance, etc.

We should never forget that pilots and flight attendants are human beings like everyone else. They have personal problems, work long hours and don't really make a lot of money. So let's be realistic - four or five such incidents over the last couple of years are not really that disturbing. I am a bit surprised things like this don't happen more often. Whenever I'm stuck between two 200-kilo people on a plane I want to go crazy. I can't imagine dealing with all these stupid passengers every day.

I don't even think Osbon should go to prison for this. He had a mental breakdown. I really don't think he did this intentionally. I'm not sure he should ever fly a plane again, but this man was ill and he needs treatment, no prison.

Japan Airlines Receives First 787

Stemming from their "bad conscience" about World War II and military as well as economic collaborations with the United States, the Japanese have been very enthusiastic about American airplanes over the last decades. Japanese airlines are well known to be suckers for Boeing planes and have generally been among the first to order new American built aircraft. Even though the Japanese aviation market would be ideally suited for the A380, no major Japanese airline has ordered any of the European super jumbos (Skymark being the only exception).

So it just makes sense that, after delays of more than three years, Japan Airlines (JAL) today received its first 787 - the second airline in the world to operate Boeing's Dreamliner, after main competitor ANA. Japan Airlines announced it would operate the 787 on routes to the U.S. (Boston, San Diego) as well as Europe (Helsinki, Moscow) and closer markets in Asia (Beijing, Singapore, New Delhi). In contrast to ANA, JAL's routes appear to make much more sense for the long-range 787. ANA's first Dreamliners have been flying mostly to nearby cities as the planes were much heavier than originally announced, reducing the aircraft's range immensely.

To read more about JAL's 787, please click here to read an article in Bloomberg Businessweek.

Southwest Airlines Receives First 737-800

In an effort to transport even more passengers on board its all-737 fleet, Southwest Airlines received its first 737-800 this March. So far, Southwest only operated smaller versions of the 737, such as the 300, 500 and 700 versions. According to the Orlando Business Journal, Southwest's 737-800 will feature 175 seats, 38 more than the airline's other 737s. Southwest will add an additional flight attendant to the 800s, of which the Texas-based airline ordered a total of 73, to accommodate for the additional passengers. The 800s will be ETOPS configured upon delivery.

Southwest will likely use the 800s on routes originating or arriving in the Northeast where additional slots are either unavailable or very expensive, such as at New York's LaGuardia airport. The airline could also use the ETOPS 800s on longer and over-water flights to places like Hawaii, Canada or the Caribbean.

In December 2011, Southwest also placed an order for 150 737 MAX 8 (and/or 7) planes, with the option of receiving an additional 150. They are slated to enter service in 2017.