NewsAir New Zealand, JetBlue to partner on technology venturesAir New Zealand has announced it will partner with New York-based JetBlue subsidiary JetBlue Technology Ventures (JTV) to support the development of new technology in the travel industry. JTV and Air New Zealand said they will “work together to build an internationally recognized technology innovation ecosystem that will seek out, partner and implement emerging technologies in the travel sector.”
LinkAirlines interested in Boeing’s NMA, but differ on designAn in-depth survey among more than 200 airlines shows a high level of industry interest in Boeing’s proposed new mid-market airplane (NMA), but potential customers highlight requirements differing from the preliminary design.
LinkNorwegian swings to profit in 2Q on lower unit costsNorwegian Air Shuttle said lower unit costs helped the airline earn a NOK300 million ($37 million) profit for the second quarter, reversed from a loss of NOK691 million in the year-ago period. The low-cost, long-haul carrier, which has been growing aggressively—expanding its fleet and launching numerous new bases and destinations—has met with some skepticism over a pace of growth that is not seen as sustainable. Norwegian has sought to address these concerns, reiterating that growth would now slow and ramp-up costs decrease, in line with its strategy.
LinkAirbus, Boeing June orders quadruple; deliveries at record levelsAirbus and Boeing both saw significant new aircraft order placements in June, representing approximately $44 billion in combined new business. The rival manufacturers delivered nearly the same number of new aircraft to their respective commercial airline and lessor customers, at about 80 aircraft each. For Airbus, June’s orders quadrupled its May bookings, as 100 new aircraft were ordered from four airlines and three unidentified customers, valued at about $20.6 billion. Airbus’ biggest June booking came as Turkish Airlines firmed a commitment for 25 A350-900 XWBs, valued at about $7.9 billion at list prices, representing Turkish’s first order of the widebody model type. An additional 10 A350-900s were ordered by an undisclosed customer, a $3.2 billion sale.
LinkEthiopian Airlines resumes flights to Eritrea after 20 years Ethiopian Airlines will resume daily flights from its Addis Ababa hub, to Asmara, the capital of Eritrea, on July 18. Ethiopian will operate Boeing 787s on the 70-min. flight sector. Flight services between the two nations have been interrupted for 20 years. A war between Ethiopia and Eritrea lasted from May 6, 1998 to June 18, 2000 and ended with the Ethiopian occupation of the disputed territories. A ceasefire was signed in the Algiers Agreement.
LinkSSJ100 sustains damage in hard landing during testing; no injuriesA Sukhoi Superjet 100 (SSJ100) was damaged in a hard landing during winglet testing July 12 in Russia, manufacturer Sukhoi Civil Aircraft reported. The right landing gear of the twinjet did not fully deploy as the pilot attempted to land at Gromov Flight Research Institute in Zhukovsky, Russia, following a winglet aerodynamics performance evaluation test flight. After “fuel depletion, the landing was performed safely to the prepared runway,” the manufacturer said.
LinkFAA agrees to improve safety oversight of airlines The FAA has agreed to improve its safety oversight of airlines after a finding by the US Department of Transportation Inspector General (IG) that its oversight of American Airlines “lacked objectivity.” In an audit report dated July 10, the IG’s office found that FAA’s oversight office in Irving, Texas, which is responsible for overseeing the American Airlines’ maintenance program and flight operations, did not adequately respond to safety concerns raised by the carrier’s pilots’ union over maintenance verification flight testing. The FAA requires airlines to verify the airworthiness of aircraft following major repairs or maintenance.
LinkDelta 2Q net profit down 14% on higher fuel pricesA strong demand environment enabled Delta Air Lines to somewhat mitigate surging fuel prices to post a $1.03 billion net profit for the second quarter.
LinkBombardier confident in new supply chain for CRJ Bombardier is confident that interiors supply-chain challenges that plagued its CSeries program will not be an issue on its new CRJ Atmosphere cabin, even though the supplier—Zodiac Aerospace—is the same. “We don’t anticipate any particular issue on the platform, and the ramp-up is going extremely well,” Bombardier Commercial Aircraft (BCA) VP & head of marketing Patrick Baudis said during a recent briefing ahead of the Farnborough Air Show.
LinkSingapore’s CAAS, EASA and Airbus to partner on urban UAV safetyThe Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS), EASA and Airbus signed a tripartite agreement July 12 to collaborate on the development of safety standards and regulatory requirements for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in urban environments. Known as the Project Document, it lays out a framework for the smooth exchange of information and technical expertise and to facilitate the development of safety standards and regulatory requirements, as well as operational and technological assessments for the deployment of UAVs in urban environments.
LinkUK report: New measures needed to deal with airline failures The risk of failure among airlines is “significant,” according to the interim report of a UK government inquiry. The UK Department for Transport (DfT) set up the Airline Insolvency Review following the autumn 2017 collapse of Monarch Airlines.
LinkRyanair cleared to take control of LaudamotionRyanair has been given the green light to take a controlling stake in Austrian carrier Laudamotion. The European Commission says the transaction would raise no competition concerns within the European Economic Area.
LinkBA incident revisits 787 cockpit-recorder clarityUK investigators are seeking modifications to the Boeing 787 audio system to improve clarity of cockpit-voice recorder information. The advisory follows a loss of cabin pressurisation on a British Airways 787-9, operating from London Heathrow to New Delhi on 29 April last year, which resulted in deployment of oxygen masks.
LinkC919 undergoes ultimate wing load testThe Comac C919 programme is making progress, with the aircraft passing a key static testing milestone and flight test aircraft 102 making a cross country flight. On 12 July, top Comac executives witnessed the bending of static test aircraft 10001’s wings by nearly three metres for three seconds, simulating a 2.5g manoeuvre, and an ultimate wing load of 150%, says Comac.
LinkUK approved to buy 200 AIM-120D missilesThe US State Department approved the sale of up to 200 radar-guided Raytheon AIM-120D medium-range air-to-air missiles for an estimated cost of $650 million to the United Kingdom. The possible sale would arm the Royal Air Force with the longest range version of the AIM-120. The D-variant’s range is thought to be more than 90 nautical miles (167km), which is roughly the detection range of an active electronically scanned array radar.
LinkSlovakia to purchase 14 Lockheed Martin F-16s The Defence Ministry of Slovakia announced on 11 July that it intends to purchase 14 F-16 Block 70 aircraft from Lockheed Martin to replace its aging fleet of Mikoyan MiG-29s. When the US State Department approved the jets for export in April, the aircraft, packaged with accompanying subsystems and weapons, were estimated to cost $2.91 billion.
Link 
