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UK continues to raise passenger tax
UK finance minister George Osborne has signaled a further rise in air passenger duty (APD) in his annual budget speech. APD is charged on most passengers on flights departing from UK airports. It is one of the highest rates of passenger taxes in the world and can add as much as £146 ($206) to the price of a ticket, depending on the class of cabin chosen and the distance flown by the passenger.
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Terra Firma Rejects Chinese Bids For AWAS
Private equity firm Terra Firma has rejected two bids from China's HNA Group for leasing group AWAS worth up to USD$2.2 billion, two people familiar with the matter said. HNA made two offers for the leasing company after buying Ireland's Avolon through its Bohai Leasing arm last year for about USD$7.6 billion, the people said.
LinkAirlines
Majority takeover of Adria Airways completed
Restructuring specialist 4K Invest has completed the majority takeover of Slovenian flag carrier Adria Airways. The new owner is registered in Luxembourg, but is managed from Munich, Germany. It acquired 96% of Ljubljana-based Adria and will make an offer to the remaining 4% of shareholders in the next few days.
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First Air Baltic CS300 in production
Latvian carrier Air Baltic has shown off its first Bombardier CS300 on the production line, delivery of which it expects later this year. The Riga-based operator has 13 of the Pratt & Whitney PW1500G-powered type on order.
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American to fly Boeing 787 on Manchester-Chicago route
American Airlines will fly a Boeing 787 Dreamliner on service between Manchester, UK, and Chicago O'Hare International Airport. "Serving Manchester, along with our joint business partner British Airways, is crucial to maintaining our strong competitive position in the UK," said David Thomas of American Airlines.
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AA & UA expand service in Pacific region
American Airlines and United Continental have both ramped up flights to the Pacific region, writes columnist Adam Levine-Weinberg. American has turned its Dallas-Fort Worth International hub "into a major Asian gateway," he writes. Meanwhile, he notes United is emphasizing "secondary cities in China."
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Metrojet AOC restricted citing debt violations
Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency, Rosaviatsia, has restricted Metrojet-branded Kogalymavia Airlines’ air operator’s certificate (AOC), prohibiting it from operating domestic and international flights from March 15 because of debt violations. Following the downing of its A321 in October 2015, which was later determined to be from a bomb, inspections revealed the airline had significant debt to employees, airports and an air navigation service provider, Rosaviatsia said in a statement. Authorities recommended the management provide a business plan to reduce the debt.
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Royal Jordanian moves into profit in 2015
Royal Jordanian recorded a net profit of JD16 million ($22.5 million) in 2015, reversed from a loss of JD39.6 million in 2014. The Jordanian flag carrier had been forced to close several destinations due to security concerns and increased competition on long-haul routes from the Gulf airlines “Big Three” as well as several low-cost carriers on regional services.
LinkAirports
Fraport Reports Stronger 2015 Profit
German airport operator Fraport reported 2015 operating profit up 7.4 percent to EUR€848.8 million (USD$941.9 million). It expects profit to rise to between EUR€850 million and EUR€880 million in 2016.
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Military
Lockheed pushing $1 billion Mach 6 airbreather
Lockheed Martin’s unmanned SR-72 aircraft concept has surfaced again with renewed vigour, with company leadership now pushing a reusable, air-breathing hypersonic vehicle as an “affordable” way to validate a new propulsion concept for achieving speeds within the atmosphere between Mach 6.0 to Mach 20.
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USAF working on new defensive missile for fighters
US industry could be competing within three years to develop a new self-defence missile for fighters aimed at countering the latest generation of Russian- and Chinese-made air-to-air weapons, says a top Lockheed Martin executive. For several years, the US Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and several contractors, including Lockheed, Raytheon and Boeing, have been researching concepts and subsystems that could be used in a new kind of air-to-air weapon.
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Aviation Quote
Flying for the airlines is not supposed to be an adventure. From takeoff to landing, the autopilots handle the controls. This is routine. In a Boeing as much as an Airbus. And they make better work of it than any pilot can. You're not supposed to be the blue-eyed hero here. Your job is to make decisions, to stay awake, and to know which buttons to push and when. Your job is to manage the systems.
— Bernard Ziegler, former Airbus Senior Vice President for Engineering, interview in William Langewiesche's Fly by Wire: The Geese, the Glide, the Miracle on the Hudson, 2009.
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