NewsBoeing completes Ryanair 737-800 deliveriesIrish carrier Ryanair has taken delivery of its last new Boeing 737-800, a little over 20 years since it first ordered the jet. In March 1998, Ryanair placed a firm order for 25 737-800s, the first of which joined the fleet the following year. This has since been added to by a series of follow-on orders from the pan-European low-cost giant.
LinkEmirates to use A380 for Glasgow when Dubai runway shutsMiddle Eastern carrier Emirates is to offset capacity disruption caused by Dubai runway closure by deploying Airbus A380s on its Glasgow route. The airline serves Glasgow twice-daily with Boeing 777-300ERs.
LinkWizz Air UK taking Luton-based fleet to 11 next yearWizz Air is to expand its UK operation with another pair of Airbus A321s next year, supporting a network expansion from London Luton. The airline has nine Airbus jets stationed at Luton but will take this to 11 over the course of June-July 2019, says Wizz Air UK managing director Owain Jones.
LinkBoeing to pay $4.2 billion for Embraer commercial business Boeing and Embraer have hammered out terms of their proposed commercial business merger, including a Brazil-based management that reports to Boeing chairman, CEO and president Dennis Muilenburg, as well as for a joint venture (JV) to make and sell the medium-lift KC-390 military transport aircraft. Boeing would own 80% of the commercial JV after paying $4.2 billion—up from an initial $3.8 billion Boeing outlined in July when the deal was formally unveiled. That stems from a revised enterprise value of the whole commercial JV of $5.26 billion now from $4.75 billion before.
LinkVirgin Atlantic to seek injunction against pilots over strike action UK-based long-haul specialist Virgin Atlantic plans to seek a legal injunction against members of its pilot workforce taking strike action over Christmas. Members of the Professional Pilots Union (PPU) have said they intend to strike from Dec. 22-25 in support of their demand for recognition by the company. The PPU makes up about one-third of Virgin’s 1,000 pilots, although only around half of that figure voted for the industrial action.
LinkUK, Switzerland sign post-Brexit bilateral air services agreement UK and Swiss authorities have signed a new bilateral air services agreement to ensure the continuation of flights between the two countries post-Brexit. The new bilateral guarantees that the terms of the current European Union (EU)-Switzerland air services accord will continue to apply to the UK when it leaves the EU on March 29, 2019.
LinkFastjet secures new funding, suspends Tanzania services African LCC fastjet has secured a major financial boost that should ensure the continuation of its services. At the same time, however, the directors of its offshoot fastjet Tanzania have advised that it should suspend all services within its Tanzanian network.
LinkGreybull Capital puts Monarch Aircraft Engineering up for saleUK-based Monarch Aircraft Engineering (MAEL) has been put up for sale by private equity group owners Greybull Capital and its board of directors, the company confirmed Dec. 14. MAEL said talks have begun with several potential parties from the UK and abroad with a view to selling all or parts of the business. So far, interest has been registered by potential buyers in the entire business, as well as in individual units such as its line maintenance division, CAMO services and base maintenance. No sale valuation was disclosed.
LinkFormer FAA official returns as FAA’s administrator for airportsFAA acting administrator Dan Elwell has appointed former FAA official D. Kirk Shaffer to serve as FAA associate administrator-airports, effective Dec. 17. Shaffer will directly oversee the Airport Improvement Program (AIP), a federal program that provides grants to airports to build out airport and airfield infrastructure. Shaffer will also be in charge of national airport planning, safety, standards, airport design engineering and regulatory compliance.
LinkAir Europa to move to all-Boeing fleet; phase out E195s from 2021Spain’s Air Europa will begin phasing out its Embraer E195 aircraft in 2021 as part of a strategy to transition to an all-Boeing fleet by 2023. The carrier, a division of Spanish tourism group Globalia Corp., operates a mixed fleet comprising Airbus A330-200s, Boeing 787s and 737-800s, and E195s. By 2023, Air Europa’s fleet will consist of 27 787s—a combination of -8s and -9s—and 34 737-family aircraft, according to a spokesperson.
LinkInvestor group to acquire Sabena TechnicsFrench maintenance specialist Sabena Technics is to be sold to a consortium comprising Bpifrance, Power Corporation of Canada’s Paris-based private equity arm Sagard, and Anglo-US investment firm TowerBrook. Sabena Technics says its parent TAT Group has entered exclusive negotiations with the investor group to sell a majority stake in the MRO specialist, with a plan to finalize the transaction during second quarter 2019.
LinkCBO floats variety of cost cutting ideas, including fewer F-35sThe Congressional Budget Office floated a number of cost-cutting ideas for the US federal government including reducing the number of additional Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II purchases, retiring the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor or Rockwell B-1B Lancer bomber fleets, and deferring development of the Northrop Grumman B-21 stealth bomber.
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