NewsRepublic Air Says Still Working To Shed FrontierRepublic Airways said on Tuesday it still plans to shed its Frontier unit by June or July, depending on whether a sale agreement is reached. Indianapolis-based Republic, which operates regional carriers Republic Airlines and Chautauqua Airlines, has been looking to divest itself of Frontier since late 2011. It bought Frontier out of bankruptcy in 2009.
LinkAir Cargo Recovery Stalls In March - IATAInternational air freight traffic fell by 2.1 percent in March from the same month a year ago on lower demand from Asian Pacific carriers, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said on Tuesday. "The March decline in air cargo is most likely a temporary stall. The fundamentals for a sustained improvement in air cargo volumes are in place," said IATA Director General Tony Tyler.
LinkRussia Bans Airlines From Flying Over SyriaRussia has banned its airlines from flying over Syria, the country's aviation agency said on Tuesday, after an aircraft with 160 passengers detoured to avoid danger from fighting on the ground. Syria's spreading civil war has largely halted airline traffic to and from the country. The Rosaviatsiya agency said most Russian airlines had heeded a recommendation issued in February not to cross Syrian territory but some had ignored the risk and continued to do so on flights to and from Egypt, among other destinations.
Link787 Grounding Cost JAL, ANA USD$110 MlnAll Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines, which together operate nearly half the world's fleet of 787 Dreamliners, estimate the jet's three-month grounding will shave a combined USD$110 million off operating profit, an expense they may ask Boeing to shoulder. ANA estimates the revenue loss from mid-January up to the end of May from being unable to sell flights on its 787s at JPY¥12.5 billion (USD$127.36 million), with the subsequent operating profit loss at around half that level or around JPY¥6.5 billion. The 787 squeeze on its earnings may have been enough to push ANA into a JPY¥3.6 billion loss in the three months ended March 31, Kiyoshi Tonomoto, a vice president at the airline, said at a briefing in Tokyo.
LinkVideo captures Bagram 747 crash sequenceThe fatal departure of a National Air Cargo Boeing 747-400F from Bagram air base on 29 April has been caught on amateur video. This is what the video shows: The first sight of the aircraft on film shows it in an apparently steady climb through about 200ft (60m) above airfield level, just after take-off, but with an extremely high nose-up attitude.
LinkThomson sets date for first 787 services UK holiday carrier Thomson Airways is to carry out its first Boeing 787 services in the second week of July, following regulatory for the battery fix on the type. Thomson Airways says the first flights will take place on 8 July on routes to Cancun and Florida. The airline will still be using 767s for services up to 7 July, it says. Thomson had originally implemented a surcharge for passengers wanting to fly on the 787, but says it will repay the fee for travellers whose outbound flights are on the older jets.
LinkUS Army OH-58F makes first flight The US Army's OH-58F Kiowa Warrior made its first flight on 26 April at the Redstone Arsenal in Alabama. The helicopter, which was designed and built by the army itself, will make a formal debut on 30 April. "What you're going to see is the ceremonial first flight of this aircraft," says Col Robert Grigsby, the army's project manager for armed scout helicopters. "The aircraft actually flew on Friday for the first time." Grigsby notes that a "structural test" airframe has already been flying for a few weeks, but that it does not have the avionics found on the F-model aircraft.
LinkSerbia nears new order for MiG-29s Serbia is close to finalising a deal with Russia for the purchase of military equipment including six RAC MiG-29M/M2 multirole fighters and two Mil Mi-17 helicopters, according to local media reports quoting deputy prime minister and defence minister Aleksandar Vucic and chief of staff Gen Ljubisa Dikovic.
LinkOman's Skyvan replacement nears flight test Airbus Military's first of eight C295 medium transport and maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) on order for the Royal Air Force of Oman is due to enter flight testing at the company's San Pablo site near Seville on 14 May. Oman ordered five transports and three MPA in May 2012, as replacements for its aged Shorts Skyvans, with its deal including personnel training. The first of its new aircraft entered the final assembly line in Spain on 27 February.
LinkAA-US Airways merger will require new credit cardAmerican Airlines and US Airways are talking to banks about branded credit cards after the two carriers complete their proposed merger. Currently, Barclays issues credit cards for US Airways, while Citigroup issues credit cards for American Airlines. "As we bring two strong currencies together, we'll have one, stronger currency," said Andrew Nocella, US Airways senior vice president for marketing and planning.
LinkChina will approve Boeing 787 next month, exec saysChina's regulators are preparing to approve the Boeing 787 in May, according to an executive from Hainan Airlines. China Southern Airlines and Hainan Airlines have ordered 10 Boeing 787s each, while other carriers in the country have ordered 15 of the fuel-efficient aircraft.
Link2 unions agree to seniority rules for AA-US Airways mergerThe Transport Workers Union and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers have agreed on how to calculate seniority for their workers after the American Airlines-US Airways merger. "This agreement was reached ahead of the deadline included in the TWU's Memorandum of Understanding, and represents significant progress as we continue to move toward closing our merger with US Airways," American spokesman Paul Flaningan said.
LinkBoeing: 787 grounding did not have a significant financial impactBoeing CEO Jim McNerney said the grounding of the 787 Dreamliner did not have a significant financial impact on the aircraft manufacturer. "The customers are very positive," he said. "In fact, we've added orders over the time of the battery incident."
LinkBoeing prepares to launch new 777 modelA drop in the global air-cargo business is hastening the decline of the 747 jumbo jet just as Boeing Co. is preparing to launch a new plane that could ultimately replace it. With its distinctive hump and four big engines, the 747, nicknamed "the queen of the skies," has been a symbol of jet travel for much of the past four decades. But in recent years, as airlines have chosen to fly passengers in more fuel-efficient, two-engine planes, the 747 has increasingly become an aviation packhorse. Most new 747 orders have involved freight carriers, which have been weighed down by two consecutive years of recession in global air cargo.
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