NewsCEO report: Airberlin should be sold by SeptemberAirberlin—which filed for bankruptcy last week—should be sold by September at the latest, CEO Thomas Winkelmann has told the German daily Bild am Sonntag. The daily quoted Winkelmann as saying, “Airberlin will not be sold to only one buyer; it will have two or three buyers. Negotiations have been held with more than 10 prospective customers, including several airlines.”
LinkUnited continues to evaluate 100-seat mainline aircraftUnited Airlines continues to evaluate adding a 100-seat aircraft to its mainline fleet, less than a year after it cited the aircraft category's poor economics for the conversion of its Boeing 737-700 order to larger variants.
LinkAir Caraibes A350 appears to suffer tyre damage at GuadeloupeOne of Air Caraibes' Airbus A350-900s has apparently sustained tyre damage during a landing in Guadeloupe. The aircraft had landed on 20 August and images circulating on social media purport to show at least one shredded main landing-gear tyre.
LinkCathay Dragon signs MoU for 32 A321neosCathay Dragon has signed a memorandum of understanding to acquire 32 Airbus A321neo aircraft, in a deal valued at HK$31.7 billion ($4.05 billion) at list prices.
LinkEVA Air retires Boeing 747-400 passenger aircraftEVA Air retired the Boeing 747-400 passenger aircraft from its fleet on 21 August. Aircraft B-16411 operated its final service with flight BR892 on the Hong Kong-Taipei Taoyuan route, says the Star Alliance carrier.
LinkAn-74 in Sao Tome excursion lost power in both enginesUkrainian investigators have disclosed that an Antonov An-74TK-100 suffered power loss in both engines before a runway excursion in Sao Tome. The Cavok Air aircraft, bound for Accra, had encountered a flock of birds during the take-off on 29 July, says the Ukrainian air accident investigation authority NBAAI.
LinkNo unplanned flight cancellations from PW1100G issues: IndiGoIndiGo says it has not had any unplanned flight cancellations arising from on-going issues with the Pratt & Whitney PW1100G engines that power its Airbus A320neos. The airline's comments follow media reports that it had cancelled 85 flights in the last week due to issues with the PW1100G powerplants. The airline denied this but said that there have been days where it had to park up to nine A320neos due to the lack of spare engines.
LinkNew strategy helps United flights arrive on timeUnited Airlines achieved the second overall ranking for on-time domestic flights, thanks in part to the company's "Quick-Turn Playbook" strategy. United developed the strategy last year after conducting an analysis of its operational standards, compared to other carriers.
LinkUS carriers facing more trans-Atlantic competitionSavanthi Syth, an analyst with Raymond James Financial, notes that US airlines are likely to start extending similar basic economy pricing for their overseas flights as excess capacity in the marketplace has driven down average fares per mile.
LinkStudy: "Southwest Effect" lowers competitors' faresThe average fare costs for airlines in 56 markets dropped 15% after Southwest Airlines entered the market, while demand for tickets along those routes increased by 28%, according to a study from the University of Virginia's Darden School of Business. The study termed this phenomenon the "Southwest Effect."
LinkAmerican Airlines to launch daily Beijing flights Nov. 5The Department of Transportation granted an extension to American Airlines' start date for daily flights from Los Angeles to Beijing. The flights will begin Nov. 5.
LinkBenchmark jet fuel prices reach 2-year highJet fuel prices in New York Harbor are at a two-year high due to refinery outages and a high demand for fuel during the upcoming Labor Day weekend.
LinkPassengers observe solar eclipse on Southwest flightsFive Southwest Airline flights will travel along the path of the solar eclipse today, and flight crews are preparing to celebrate the event. Passengers will receive free solar viewing glasses and "cosmic cocktails."
LinkHow Boeing is approaching the future of pilotless airlinersSometime next year Mike Sinnett, Boeing’s vice-president of product development, will enter a small, experimental aircraft and – he hopes – do nothing. Boeing Commercial Airplanes (BCA) has started exploring autonomous flight technology for passenger-carrying aircraft and Sinnett, as a pilot and engineer, plans to fly in – as opposed to “fly” – the first test subject. Boeing’s newly developed, machine-learning software is already loaded into a flight simulator, which Sinnett and his team have been using to refine the algorithms. But the real test will come next year when flights begin with Sinnett on board, as the software makes decisions that respond to changes in the environment.
LinkBrazil asks WTO for Bombardier CSeries support rulingBrazil has asked the Word Trade Organization (WTO) to rule whether Canadian federal and provincial government support for Bombardier’s CSeries constitute illegal subsidies.
LinkEmbraer targets 650-plus jet deliveries to China over 20 yearsEmbraer believes a push for more regional domestic flights by Chinese regulators and growing air travel demand in western and central China open up a major opportunity for regional jet sales to Chinese airlines.
LinkNepal’s Shree Airlines launches passenger jet service with CRJsNepal carrier Shree Airlines has launched commercial passenger jet service following its acquisition of three Bombardier CRJ Series aircraft. Bombardier said the airline commenced fixed-wing service with the first of two CRJ200s Aug. 11. Shree also acquired a CRJ700; all three aircraft were purchased from an unidentified third party. Shree plans to equip its CRJ700 with a six-seat business-class section.
LinkDubai Aerospace Enterprise completes AWAS acquisition Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) has completed the acquisition of Ireland-based lessor AWAS, quadrupling its aircraft portfolio. DAE closed the deal Aug. 20, after announcing plans to acquire DAE from private equity investor Terra Firma Capital Partners and the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board in April.
LinkReport: 30% of Norway’s aviation fuel could be sustainable by 2030Research commissioned by Norwegian airports operator Avinor has concluded that 30% of Norway’s aviation fuel could be sustainable by 2030, but this depends on available funding. The report, which performed by Danish consultancy firm Rambøll in partnership with research firms Vista Analyse and Sintef, looked at biofuel production technologies and the funding needed to make them a reality at Norwegian airports.
LinkSpring Airlines’ 1H net profit down 25% on higher operating costsShanghai-based LCC Spring Airlines reported a net profit of CNY554 million ($81.7 million) in the 2017 first half, down 25.2% over net profit of CNY740.1 million in the year-ago half because of a sharp increase of operating costs. Operating expenses jumped 41% to CNY5 billion while operating revenue was up 28.1% to CNY5.1 billion. Ancillary revenue grew 23.6% to CNY409 million.
LinkUK lessor Falko boosts E190 portfolioUK lessor Falko Regional Aircraft, which focuses on the regional aircraft sector, has added four Embraer E190 regional jets to its portfolio, the company said Aug. 21.
LinkDelta to launch new service to NigeriaDelta Air Lines will begin 3X-weekly New York JFK-Lagos, Nigeria services from March 24, 2018. Delta said the new service will complement its 4X-weekly service from Atlanta to Lagos. The new route will use an Airbus A330-200, which offers 34 lie-flat seats with direct-aisle access in Delta One, 32 in Delta Comfort+ and 168 seats in the main cabin.
LinkRussia’s
Pobeda Airline will launch 3X-weekly Moscow Vnukovo-Baden-Baden Boeing 737-800 service from Oct. 19, 2017
Russia’s
Orenburg Airport Airlines, operating under the Orenburzhye brand, launched 5X-weekly L-410 Samara-Izhevsk service.
Qatar Airways will begin 4X-weekly seasonal Doha-Chiang Mai service from December 2017-May 2018.
JetBlue still start 2X-daily Atlanta-New York JFK; 2X-daily Atlanta-Fort Lauderdale; and daily Atlanta-Orlando services from March 8, 2018.
Ukraine International Airlines will launch double-daily Kiev-Eliat, Israel Boeing 737-800 service from Oct. 30.
