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US investigators have determined that a Boeing 737 Max 9 aborted take-off with a damaging wheel fire, the result of its brakes overheating as the crew attempted to burn excess fuel while taxiing. Denver is a high-altitude airport and the air temperature was high, which left the heavily-laden United Airlines aircraft with little weight margin for departure. When the crew of the aircraft – bound for Boston on 30 September 2023 – arrived on board, they reviewed performance data for take-off on runway 16R, the longest available. But they discovered that the initial flightplan, which resulted in a maximum take-off weight of 174,500lb, had been based on an air temperature of 29°C, whereas the temperature had since risen to 31°C. Although the crew tried various runway and engine bleed scenarios, the US National Transportation Safety Board says the aircraft, which had a weight of 172,800lb at the gate, needed to be below 171,700lb. This resulted in three revisions to the flightplan. The revisions involved removing of 1,000lb of cargo and eight passengers, and also included an extended taxi route to burn off 1,000lb of excess fuel. The fuel-burn would enable the aircraft to depart without having to offload more passengers. According to the inquiry, the crew conducted a “long, slow taxi” to runway 16R using higher-than-normal power balanced by additional braking in order to burn off the fuel. After the 737 reached the runway it held for a further 10-15min, with its parking-brake set, in order to reduce the fuel weight further. “The pilots reported that they never had any indication that the brakes were getting hot,” says the inquiry, pointing out that the cockpit had no brake-temperature monitor. Story has more.<br/>

Star Alliance member Shenzhen Airlines is now flying between Harbin and Singapore four times a week. The flights operate every Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday from China’s snow and ice capital to Singapore’s Changi Airport. The service, however, is not nonstop and includes a brief layover in Shenzhen. From Harbin, the flights depart at 1420, arriving in Singapore at 0055. They return each Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday early morning at 0155, arriving back in Harbin at 1250. Shenzhen Airlines is deploying its two-class Airbus A320 narrowbody aircraft on the route, including eight 2-2 business class recliners and a 3-3 economy class cabin. The new Singapore-Harbin flights on Shenzhen Airlines are the latest in a number of recent route launches between Singapore and Chinese cities.<br/>

Korean carrier Asiana states that the crew of an Airbus A350 involved in a low-approach incident at San Francisco was aware of the situation before receiving an air traffic control warning. The A350-900, inbound from Seoul on 23 February, had descended below the glidepath during its approach to runway 28L. “Our flight crew recognised the low-altitude approach situation and had already decided to execute a go-around while simultaneously receiving information from air traffic control,” says a spokesperson for Asiana. The type of approach being followed by the crew has not been confirmed. It had been nearing the airport from the south, and instructed by approach control to fly a heading of 310° to intercept the 28L localiser. The crew was also told to watch for a Virgin Atlantic Boeing 787 – inbound from the north and turning south for the parallel 28R – and to maintain visual separation. After confirming that they had the 787 in sight, the Asiana crew replied that they would maintain visual separation, and descend to 2,600ft, according to air-ground communications archived by LiveATC. Just before handing the A350 to the San Francisco tower, the controller reiterated that the 787 was heading for the right runway and the A350 to the left runway. The tower controller cautioned the A350 over possible wake turbulence from the presence of the 787 on its right, gave the wind conditions as 290° at 5kt, and cleared the A350 to land.<br/>

Thai Airways International (THAI) executives have moved quickly to reassure stakeholders that the huge loss reported for fiscal year 2024 was solely attributable to a one-off debt-to-equity conversion, and would not impede the airline's operational performance or its planned exit from its rehabilitation programme. This clarification came after the airline released its financial performance report to the Stock Exchange of Thailand on Wednesday. Speaking at a press conference later in the afternoon, Piyasvasti Amranand, chairman of the rehabilitation plan administrator for Thai Airways, highlighted that the airline's total revenue, excluding exceptional items, continued to rise in 2024, reaching 187.989b baht (US$5.55b)—a 16.7% increase from 2023. The operating profit before financial costs, also excluding one-off items, grew by 3.2% to 41.515b baht (US$1.23b), while the operating profit margin before financial costs (EBIT Margin) reached 22.1%, surpassing the projections set out in the rehabilitation plan.<br/>

A woman is understood to have given birth on an Air New Zealand flight shortly after arriving in New Plymouth. NZ5041 had flown in from Auckland on Wednesday afternoon. The airline wouldn’t confirm the birth but a spokesperson said a customer remained on board to receive medical attention. The airline said in a statement: “Our crew, and other customers onboard acted quickly and showed real manaakitanga. We thank everyone who helped and wish the customer well.” Later, Hato Hone St John said they took two patients in an ambulance to Taranaki Base Hospital in a moderate condition. They were notified of an incident on Airport Drive, New Plymouth at 3.01pm Wednesday. Air New Zealand said flight NZ5052 from New Plymouth to Auckland later on Wednesday afternoon was cancelled. A recovery service was put on Wednesday evening to accommodate customers, the airline said.<br/>