NewsAmerican Airlines president confident about carrier's futureRobert Isom, president of American Airlines, says in this interview that the carrier is making five-year plans that will allow it to produce returns of about $5 billion per year. "We are going to provide steady careers that people can depend on and have a view that when they sign up for American Airlines they can sign up for American for life," Isom says. "We're going to be incredibly competitive especially when it comes to defending our hubs and gateways. We serve the full spectrum of customers' needs -- those that are the most-frequent flyers and those that are really leisure-oriented."
LinkAmerican Airlines upgrading to jet service at Conn. airportOn Wednesday, American Airlines will begin upgrading its passenger service at Connecticut's Tweed-New Haven Airport, replacing its 37-seat Dash 8 turboprop planes with 50-seat CRJ-200 regional jets. "We are thrilled that American will be introducing jet service at Tweed-New Haven," said Tim Larson, the airport's executive director. "This upgraded service represents an improved and more seamless passenger experience for our customers and is a demonstration of American's commitment to our growing market."
LinkJetBlue to continue service to storm-ravaged US Virgin IslandsOfficials at JetBlue Airways met with Beverly Nicholson-Doty, the US Virgin Islands' commissioner of tourism, and agreed to continue daily service from San Juan, Puerto Rico; to St. Croix and St. Thomas.
LinkHawaiian Airlines courts Chinese travelers with service upgradesHawaiian Airlines has upgraded its service to and from China with lie-flat seats and Extra Comfort premium economy seats in an effort to attract more Chinese passengers. "China is a very important market for our company," said Li Wei, head of Hawaiian Airlines China.
LinkChina Southern eyes further collaboration with American AirlinesChina Southern Airlines says there is potential for further collaboration with American Airlines, and that it is open to bring private investors into the carrier. In a televised interview, the airline's vice-chairman and president Tan Wan Geng says that the market between China and the US "is the biggest", and hence it wants more support from its American partner.
LinkATSB probes Air New Zealand 777 descent below minimum altitudeThe Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) is investigating an incident on 18 November where an Air New Zealand Boeing 777-300ER descended below minimum safe altitude while on approach to land at Brisbane airport. As the aircraft (registered ZK-OKN) was tracking to land on runway 01, it had been cleared to descend to 3,000ft but was observed to have descended to 2,500ft. The crew were alerted to this, but the aircraft continued to descend to 2,000ft.
LinkDenpasar airport closed as volcano eruption intensifiesDenpasar's Ngurah Rai airport has closed with the eruption at Bali's Mount Agung volcano intensifying. Airport operator Angkasa Pura says the airport will close from 27 November to the morning of 28 November.
LinkLufthansa details 777X business-class seatingLufthansa has revealed details of its next business-class seat, to be introduced on the airline's on-order Boeing 777X twinjets. The Star Alliance carrier says the seats will be installed in 1-1-1 and 1-2-1 layouts on the widebodies, giving passengers a choice between seats with more working room "or a higher degree of privacy".
LinkRussian windtunnel tests wing for proposed long-haul jetRussian analysts have conducted windtunnel tests to verify the performance of the preliminary wing design of a proposed long-haul widebody aircraft. The windtunnel work was carried out during November at the Moscow-based Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute.
LinkSwiss regional Darwin Airline enters insolvency proceedingsDarwin Airline, the Lugano, Switzerland-based regional carrier, has entered reorganization under Swiss insolvency regulations just four months after the airline changed ownership. From 2014 until July 20, 2017, Darwin was 33.3% owned by Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways and operated under the brand Etihad Regional. Luxembourg-based private equity fund 4K Invest, owners of Slovenia’s Adria Airways, acquired the airline in July, including Etihad’s share, and began the process of restructuring the carrier, which operates six Saab 2000 and four ATR 72-500 turboprops.
LinkCanada’s WestJet links with Pacific Coastal regionalCanadian LCC WestJet Airlines has signed its first capacity purchase agreement (CPA) with a regional carrier to link smaller cities with its Calgary, Alberta hub starting from spring 2018. Richmond, British Columbia-based Pacific Coastal Airlines will connect Calgary with three other cities in Alberta—Lethbridge, Lloydminster and Medicine Hat.
LinkSouth African carriers Airlink, FlySafair reach merger agreementJohannesburg-based Airlink, the largest regional airline in southern Africa, and Cape Town-based Safair, parent of LCC FlySafair, have entered into a merger agreement under which Safair will be acquired by Airlink. Safair is wholly owned by Dublin-based ASL Aviation Holdings, which will become a minority shareholder in Airlink following the merger.
LinkAir France plans return of engine-failure A380 from Goose BayThe Air France Airbus A380 that was forced to make an unscheduled landing in Canada two months ago after one of its four engines failed is expected to return to scheduled service in January. The A380, operating as flight AF66 and powered by Engine Alliance GP7200 engines, was enroute from Paris Charles de Gaulle to Los Angeles LAX Sept. 30 when it diverted to Goose Bay, Canada, following the uncontained engine failure.
LinkUK passenger tax to rise yet againAPD is already the world’s highest tax of this nature. Currently, rates for economy-class passengers are £13 ($17) for short-haul flights (within 2,000 miles of London) and £75 for long-haul (more than 2,000 miles). Business-class passengers pay £26 and £150 for short- and long-haul journeys respectively. Charges levied on executive jet passengers are even higher, at £78 for short-haul and £450 for long-haul.
LinkTrent 1000 TEN enters commercial serviceThe Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 TEN engine, which is designed to power all Boeing 787 family members, entered commercial airline service on Nov. 23. A Rolls-Royce spokesman declined to comment on the identity of the first commercial operator, but three airlines have taken almost simultaneous delivery of Trent 1000 TEN-powered aircraft this week: European LCC Norwegian, Singaporean carrier Scoot and Air New Zealand.
LinkEU moves forward on UAV regulationA European Union-wide agreement has been reached on future commercial operations of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The agreement aims to have the necessary regulations in place by 2019. The European Commission(EC), national aviation authorities and the UAV industry hammered out the details at a conference in Helsinki, the Finnish capital.
LinkPentagon taps Silicon Valley firm for aircraft predictive maintenanceA Silicon Valley-based firm will deliver software to predict maintenance activity for US Air Force aircraft, starting with the Boeing E-3 Sentry and Lockheed Martin F-16. The Defense Innovation Unit Experimental (DIUx) selected the software firm C3 IoT for a multi-year contract aimed at leveraging the technology industry's advances in artificial intelligence and machine learning for aircraft maintenance, the company says.
LinkIsrael offers Croatia mixed fleet of F-16sIsrael's defence ministry is offering to supply Croatia with a mix of 12 second-hand Lockheed Martin F-16s, facing competition from Saab Gripens being promoted by Sweden. Current Israeli air force F-16C/Ds are now being offered, with the service to retire some of its examples as more Lockheed F-35I Adirs enter use. The Israeli proposal also could include a mix of C/D-model aircraft and already-retired F-16A/Bs which it has previously pitched to the Croatian government.
LinkSurf Air readies for move and first PC-12NGsEuropean members-only airline Surf Air is relocating its UK hub to London City airport in December, as it prepares to introduce the Pilatus PC-12NG single-engined turboprop to its expanding route network from early next year. Simon Talling-Smith, chief executive of the all-you-can-fly, subscription-based service, says it is "essential" that the operator moves to the downtown airport from its current base at London Luton, around 50 miles (80km) away.
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