NewsCommercial
Boeing values 20-year Chinese market at $2.9 trillion
Boeing forecasts that China will need 8,090 new commercial aircraft over the next 20 years in addition to $1.6 billion in services related to passenger air transport.
Its 2019 China Commercial Market Outlook for the next two decades sees the entire aircraft and services market through 2038 reaching $2.9 trillion, a 7% increase over its forecast last year.
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A320 family embarks on approach to 10,000 deliveries
Airbus is likely to take A320-family deliveries into five figures around the first quarter of 2021, after it handed over its 9,000th example to UK budget carrier EasyJet earlier this month.
The airframer has cut to fewer than 600 days the time to deliver 1,000 of the single-aisle jets. Its 8,000th delivery took place at the end of January last year.
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Airbus closes hangar and inspects jets after Mobile incident
Airbus is evaluating two aircraft for potential damage and has closed one hangar at its Mobile aircraft assembly site after a fire suppression system activated on 13 September.
Airbus confirms the incident to FlightGlobal but does not specify the type of aircraft affected or the extent of potential damages.
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Qantas, Virgin Australia eye Tokyo Haneda slots
Qantas and Virgin Australia have confirmed they are both seeking slots at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport that have been earmarked for Australian carriers.
Japanese regulators have made two Haneda slots available for Australian authorities to distribute to airlines. Qantas has applied for both these slots, while Virgin Australia said it will seek one.
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Aigle Azur bidders given extra time to improve offers, save jobs
France wants the would-be buyers of Aigle Azur’s activities to improve their bids and take on more of its employees, France’s secretary of state for transport Jean-Baptiste Djebbari said Sept. 17. “I hope that the offers will be improved, including when it comes to saving jobs,” Djebbari said on France Info radio a day after a commercial court ruled that the process of liquidating the airline should begin, but activities could continue until Sept. 27.
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Alitalia deadline pushed back once again to Oct. 15
A deadline for would-be investors in Alitalia to present their business plan for the relaunch of the bankrupt Italian flag carrier has been pushed back once again, this time to Oct. 15, a union source confirmed to ATW.
“The economic development ministry has announced another delay, to Oct. 15,” the union source said, adding that the postponement will allow more time for rescue partners to reach an agreement on the group’s industrial strategy.
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United, Expedia sign multi-year contract, resolve legal dispute
United Airlines has signed a new, multi-year agreement with Expedia Group, resolving a bitter legal dispute that threatened the companies’ years-long partnership.
The companies said in a joint statement that the new agreement “ushers in an expanded relationship, meeting the strategic objectives of both companies and benefiting travelers around the world.”
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Flybe to close Isle of Man base
UK-based regional carrier Flybe will close its base on the Isle of Man and hand over services there to one of the companies that took it over earlier this year.
The Isle of Man is a self-governing British Crown dependency in the Irish Sea between England and Ireland.
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Airports
Bristol Airport to open specialised waiting zones for Uber cars
In a bid to reduce traffic impacts on surrounding areas, Bristol Airport has made a specific zone for Ubers collecting passengers.
Drivers who use Uber will now use a new waiting zone at Bristol Airport from October 2019, helping to reduce the number of vehicles parking in lanes and laybys in close proximity to the airport.
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Bengaluru Airport to pave roads around the site with plastic waste
Plastic waste has become one of the largest burdens of our modern world, but Bengaluru Airport has found a novel way to re-purpose the material.
Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru (BLR) has received approximately 11 tonnes of plastic waste from the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).
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Vancouver increases airport improvement fee in bid to meet future growth
As of the 1 January 2020, it will cost more to fly out of British Colombia from Vancouver Airport as the airport registers 74 months of consecutive growth and plans to future-proof the infrastructure at the airport.
In an address to the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade, Craig Richmond, President and CEO, Vancouver Airport Authority, announced that Vancouver International Airport (YVR) will be increasing its Airport Improvement Fee (AIF) to meet forecasted growth and ensure the airport’s long-term financial health.
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New Plaza premium lounge opens at Mactan Cebu
Mactan Cebu International Airport has a new area for passengers to escape the hustle and bustle of the terminal following the opening of a Plaza Premium Lounge in Domestic Arrivals.
The T1 located lounge joins Plaza Premium's existing facility in the International Terminal.
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DXB retains statuts as world's busiest international airport
Despite the enforced 45-day closure of one of its two runways for refurbishment work, Dubai International Airport (DXB) welcomed 41.3 million passengers in the first half of 2019 to maintain its status as the world’s busiest international airport by traffic volumes.
The closure of its southern runway meant that passenger traffic at the airport was actually 5.6% down on the same period a year ago, but DXB’s loss was Dubai World Central’s gain as most flights were reallocated to DWC during the rehabilitation project and the switch resulted in its passenger volumes soaring by 14.1%.
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Zurich Airport runs noise reduction approach tests
A guidance system designed to help pilots fly complex low-noise approaches has been flight tested at Zurich Airport by German aerospace center DLR using its Airbus A320 advanced technology research aircraft (ATRA).
The DLR-developed Low Noise Augmentation System (LNAS) uses an electronic flight-bag display in the cockpit to show the pilot the optimum times for deploying the flaps and lowering the landing gear as late as possible, to minimize approach noise.
LinkMilitary
U-2 channels F-35 sensor data in ballistic missile test
A Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter, U-2 and a ground station have demonstrated a capability to shorten the decision loop involved in detecting and acting upon a long-range missile launch.
“During the demonstration, called Project Riot, an F-35 detected a long-range missile launch with its onboard sensors and shared the information through the U-2 to the air defense commander on the ground, enabling the commander to quickly make the decision to target the threat,” says Lockheed.
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Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider first flight route announced
The Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider stealth bomber’s first flight will be a short hop, about 22mi (35km) north across the Mojave Desert, from Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California where it is being built to its testing site at Edwards Air Force Base.
The US Air Force’s next generation bomber is being built at the same Northrop Grumman facility as its predecessor, the B-2 Spirit, says acting secretary of the air force Matthew Donovan at the 2019 Air Force Association’s Air, Space and Cyber Conference in National Harbor, Maryland on 16 September.
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VIDEO: USAF christens new trainer as T-7A Red Hawk
The US Air Force has designated the Boeing T-X jet trainer the T-7A Red Hawk, in tribute to the US Army Air Corps’ Tuskegee Airmen and their World War II-era P-40 Warhawks.
The naming was announced by acting secretary of the air force Matthew Donovan at the 2019 Air Force Association’s Air, Space and Cyber Conference in National Harbor, Maryland on 16 September.
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