NewsIAG encouraged despite higher first-quarter lossesBritish Airways and Iberia parent IAG's first-quarter operating loss has increased to €278 million ($363 million), before exceptional items, compared with last year's figure of €249 million. IAG adds that it took a €311 million exceptional charge during the quarter, principally relating to restructuring at Iberia. But chief executive Willie Walsh says the operating loss, at constant currency, actually improved by €38 million.
LinkBoeing seeks common avionics suite for 777X, consultant saysBoeing will seek to transfer major elements of the 787's cockpit systems to the new 777X, perhaps preserving the common cockpit rating achieved between the 787 and the legacy 777 series, according to an industry analyst. The decision was announced on 7 May by vice-president of marketing and business development Mike Bair at a Boeing-hosted conference for investors and analysts in New York, says aerospace consultant Ernest Arvai, who attended the meeting. Boeing says it has not finalised the avioincs architecture and source of supply for the 777X.
LinkKuwait Airways To Sign Airbus Deal - ReportState-run Kuwait Airways will spend 850 million dinars (USD$2.98 billion) on 25 new Airbus jets and aims to lease a further 13 to upgrade its fleet, a Kuwaiti newspaper reported on Sunday. Daily Al-Watan cited sources close to the decision-makers as saying the airline would start receiving the new aircraft from Airbus from 2019. Kuwait Airways plans to buy 10 wide-bodied A350-900s and 15 A320neos, the newspaper said, adding that the deal would include support services.
LinkLATAM Airlines Posts First Monthly Traffic DropLATAM Airlines' passenger traffic fell 1.1 percent in April versus a year before, the first monthly drop since the creation of the merged carrier in June. LATAM Airlines, Latin America's largest carrier, is the product of Chilean flagship airline LAN's takeover of Brazil's TAM last year. In April, Brazilian domestic passenger traffic dropped 6.9 percent while non-Brazil domestic passenger traffic jumped 12.3 percent.
LinkUS Cancels Plan To Close Airport ATC TowersThe Federal Aviation Administration on Friday cancelled budget-driven plans to close 149 air traffic control towers at smaller US airports, two weeks after Congress passed legislation to end air traffic controller furloughs that had delayed flights. US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said federal officials determined the legislation gave the FAA enough flexibility to keep funding the towers, which had been scheduled to be closed in June to save money. "This victory is thanks to a bipartisan coalition of senators and congressmen and women who came together to demonstrate that there are more responsible ways to cut spending than by compromising safety," Senator Jerry Moran, a Kansas Republican, said in a statement welcoming the decision.
LinkUS Senators Want Info On UAE Airport DealAn agreement to extend US customs pre-clearance operations to Abu Dhabi airport in the United Arab Emirates has drawn criticism from a group of US senators, who are pressing for more information on the pact. Pre-clearance allows US-bound passengers to get advance approval to enter the United States from established locations in airports outside the country. "We question whether the Department (of Homeland Security) has the authorisation to enter into such an agreement, and we are concerned by the precedent set by the Department's action," 11 senators said in a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, dated Wednesday.
LinkMPs Call For Heathrow Airport ExpansionBritain should expand London's Heathrow airport by building a third or even fourth runway, MPs said on Friday, weighing into an argument pitting business leaders against environmentalists. Parliament's Transport Committee rejected a plan championed by London Mayor Boris Johnson to build a new airport in the River Thames estuary to the east of the capital, citing the cost of new transport links and the impact on wildlife. It also dismissed suggestions that rising demand could be met by connecting existing airports with high-speed rail links.
LinkF-35B performs first vertical take-off Sources say that test pilots at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, performed the first Lockheed Martin F-35B Joint Strike Fighter vertical take-off on 10 May. The US Marine Corps' short take-off and vertical landing variant had a requirement to perform vertical take-offs right from the outset of the JSF programme. However, the capability is not emphasised because the F-35B would not be able to carry a tactically significant payload in that configuration. Operationally, the USMC envisions its F-35Bs performing short rolling take-offs carrying a full load of ordnance and fuel, and then performing a vertical landing once the aircraft returns to the amphibious assault ship or expeditionary airfield.
LinkStealth coatings on F-35 'easier to maintain' than on older jetsUS Air Force maintenance troops working on the Lockheed Martin F-35A Joint Strike Fighter at Eglin AFB, Florida, say the stealth coatings on the new fifth-generation type are proving easier to work on than those on earlier low-observable (LO) platforms. Maintaining the LO coatings on the new aircraft marks "a significant improvement", says Senior Master Sgt Eric Wheeler, a maintainer assigned to the 33rd Fighter Wing at the base. "Typically, [it] has not caused us a whole lot of downtime on this jet."
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