CommercialBoeing 777X Orders To Dominate AirshowBoeing looks set to dominate next week's Dubai Airshow with more than USD$100 billion of deals as it aims to launch the 777X with up to 250 potential orders from as many as five airlines, industry sources said. Boeing is pressing ahead with the launch of the 777X despite uncertainty over where it will be made, with workers at the existing 777 plant outside Seattle holding a ballot over a new employment contract. A widely expected potential order for up to 150 777Xs from Dubai flag carrier Emirates could come close to matching the USD$62 billion of deals amassed at the last Dubai show two years ago.
LinkItalian Union Warns On Alitalia Job CutsItaly's biggest union CGIL is preparing a tough response if reports of thousands of job cuts at Alitalia are confirmed, its secretary Susanna Camusso said on Wednesday. Camusso told RAI state radio the response would be "hard, very hard" if Alitalia goes ahead with a mass firing plan that chief executive Gabriele del Torchio is expected to unveil at a board meeting on Wednesday.
LinkWhat customers can expect next with the American-US Airways mergerThe merger between US Airways and American Airlines is expected to close in December, and customers may begin to see changes at the beginning of the year. By Jan. 7, the two carriers plan to offer reciprocal frequent-flier miles. The merged carrier will also be part of the oneworld alliance instead of the Star Alliance.
LinkExperts: Minimal effect on fares from airline mergerThe merger between US Airways and American Airlines should not have much of an effect on airfares, experts say. "Right now the big driver of ticket prices is the economy," said Rick Seaney, CEO of Farecompare.com. "Don't expect much of a rise unless the economy perks up. And we don’t know when that will be."
LinkEADS puts full-year Airbus deliveries at 620Airbus will deliver up to 620 commercial jets this year, under the latest outlook from parent EADS, while the airframer has already exceeded a revised net order forecast of 1,200 aircraft. But EADS revenues will experience “moderate” growth owing to lower A380 deliveries – expected to be around 25 this year – the company says in its third-quarter results. Airbus took net orders for 1,062 aircraft over the first nine months of 2013, and higher deliveries totalling 445 jets meant commercial revenues rose by 9.5% to €27.5 billion ($36.3 billion).
LinkIAM votes down Boeing’s pension proposalUnion members have rejected Boeing’s offer regarding changes to their pension arrangements, setting the stage for the airframer to explore assembling the future 777X aircraft outside of Everett, Washington. “Today, the democratic process worked and our members made the decision to not accept the company’s proposal,” said International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) District 751 directing business representative Tom Wroblewski in a statement. IAM 751 says that 67% of union members voted against Boeing’s proposal, which called on the union to agree to the conversion of a company-funded pension to a defined contribution plan, among other concessions. It also offered to pay the employees a $10,000 signing bonus.
LinkAirbus fleet roll-over options under review at TAMEEcuador’s TAME will add to its Embraer and Airbus fleet over the coming year, and is updating its longer-term narrowbody fleet plan, says Rafael Farias Ponton, chief executive of the state-owned carrier. "We are beginning to explore other options with Airbus for our whole fleet," says Farias. Flightglobal's Ascend Online database shows that the airline currently operates five A320s and four A319s. TAME has an exclusively leased fleet of A320s but would like to move to a mixed owned and leased fleet, says Farias. It is interested in the A320neo and the A321 equipped with sharklets. The latter type is particularly appealing because of the increased performance it delivers, which is important at the hot-and-high conditions imposed by TAME's high-altitude main base at Quito’s international airport.
LinkInselAir prepares for opening of Aruba baseInselAir will open its long-planned Aruba base in December, as it continues expansion by adding Boeing MD-80s and Fokker 70s. The Curacao-based carrier will launch its new Aruba subsidiary with one MD-80 and plans to add a second in March 2014, says its president and chief executive Albert Kluyver. Aruba will also be the base for two of four Fokker 70s the airline is buying from KLM, he says. The first Fokker 70 will arrive in April 2014 for certification purposes, with the second following in June and the final two in August, says Kluyver. The type will enter service with the carrier in June, he says.
LinkSol closes in on new turbopropsArgentinian regional carrier Sol is close to acquiring new turboprops to complement its fleet of Saab 340s. Its chief executive and president Horacio Gabriel Angeli says Sol hopes to close a deal for up to six turboprop aircraft in the next 60 to 90 days. Angeli declines to specify the aircraft type, citing ongoing negotiations, but he says Sol is looking at turboprops with a seating capacity of 50 to 70 passengers.
LinkEasyJet plans to trial Avoid ash detection systems on fleetBudget carrier EasyJet along with partners Airbus and Nicarnica Aviation have completed the final test of their jointly developed Avoid ash-detection system in the skies above the Bay of Biscay. Following the successful trial, EasyJet will look to install a number of the systems on its A320-family jets by the end of 2014, it says. The test involved the creation of an artificial ash cloud to simulate the plume of debris caused by the eruption of Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökul volcano in 2010 which brought chaos to travellers through the closure of most European airspace.
LinkFatigue failure suspected in F-27 blade-off accidentFrench investigators have revealed evidence of fatigue on a retaining bolt from the Fokker F-27 that sustained serious damage when a propeller blade passed completely through the fuselage. The blade from the left-hand Rolls-Royce Dart engine came away shortly after the freighter, operated by MiniLiner on behalf of Europe Airpost, took off from Paris Charles de Gaulle on 25 October.
LinkBoeing eyes bigger slice of Latin American marketLosing a recent order to Airbus was “painful” but has not altered Boeing’s ambitious goals to increase its presence in Latin America. The existing split between Airbus and Boeing aircraft in airline fleets in the region is “too close” to even, says Van Rex Gallard, Boeing’s vice-president of sales for Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. Gallard says Boeing’s objective is to keep a 50% share of the narrowbody market, while riding the 787 family and the future 777X family to a 60-70% share of the widebody fleet.
LinkAirlines grapple with tough times in BrazilBrazilian carriers have battled tough conditions this year in their domestic market, although actions taken by airlines in recent months have helped them fight against the headwinds. Rising fuel prices, the depreciation of the Brazilian real and weaker than expected demand have proven to be hurdles impeding growth at Brazil's major carriers TAM, Gol and Azul. TAM and Gol have vastly reduced domestic capacity in 2013, and both announced in the summer that they would further slash full-year domestic available seat kilometres (ASKs). TAM's parent LATAM Airlines Group announced in August it would reduce full-year domestic capacity in Brazil by 7% to 9%, instead of the 5% to 7% estimate it provided previously.
LinkAerolineas tentatively signs for four A330sAerolineas Argentinas has tentatively agreed to order four Airbus A330-200s to reinforce the South American carrier's long-haul fleet. Two of the jets will be introduced in the first and second quarters of 2015 and the deliveries will be complete in 2016. The airline has confirmed the signing of a memorandum of understanding for the aircraft by Aerolineas president Mariano Recalde.
LinkUnited Airlines to raise money for Philippines aidUnited Airlines is partnering with three organizations, including the Red Cross, to raise funds for aid to the Philippines in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan. "Our hearts go out to the people in the Philippines as they recover from this devastation," said Mark Anderson, United's senior vice president of corporate and government affairs. "In difficult times like these, our employees and customers always show their generosity." The United Airlines Foundation will match up to $50,000 in donations made to partner organizations involved in the Typhoon Haiyan relief efforts.
LinkLow-cost carriers look to grow presence, acquire slots at DCA, LGALow-cost carriers including JetBlue Airways and Southwest Airlines could become major beneficiaries of the slots American and US Airways will divest at New York’s LaGuardia Airport (LGA) and Washington Reagan’s National Airport (DCA) as part of the settlement agreement reached with the DOJ yesterday. Southwest said in a statement, "We look forward to working with DOJ on a fair and transparent process by which Southwest can expand our low fare competitive presence in DCA and LGA."
LinkDelta expresses interest in DCA slotsDelta Air Lines is the first major carrier to publicly express interest in acquiring American and US Airways' divested slots at Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C. "Delta is the airline best positioned to continue competitive nonstop flights from Reagan National to small- and mid-sized cities that could otherwise see service reduced or eliminated, which should be a strong consideration in the divestiture," Delta said in a statement.
LinkAmerican receives Airbus A320 equipped with ROPS Airbus delivered its first Airbus A320 family aircraft equipped with Runway Overrun Prevention System (ROPS) to American Airlines. FAA recently certified the ROPS technology. According to Airbus, the onboard cockpit technology “increases pilots’ situational awareness during landing, reduces exposure to runway excursion risk, and, if necessary, provides active protection.” The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) certified ROPS on the A320ceo family in August.
LinkActivist investor acquires stake in FedEx Daniel Loeb, the activist investor who has pushed for change at companies including Sony Corp., said his Third Point LLC has taken a stake in FedEx Corp., operator of the world’s largest cargo airline. Loeb, speaking today at the DealBook conference in New York, said he met with FedEx Chief Executive Officer Fred Smith in Memphis, Tennessee, last week and won’t push for his ouster. “We like the business,” Loeb said at the conference. “We think that they could better optimize their capital structure, pay a better dividend, and they’ve done that.” FedEx is in the midst of a $1.7 billion restructuring program to lower costs and boost earnings with steps such as cutting air capacity to Asia, retiring older planes and offering employee buyouts. Smith, who founded the company in 1971, is under pressure to reduce expenses as customers shift towards less-expensive delivery options from overnight air shipments.
LinkEASA to publish new rules on PEDs by end of NovemberThe European Aviation Safety Agency said it will publish new rules on allowing personal electronic devices on aircraft by the end of the month. “This is a major step in the process of expanding the freedom to use personal electronic devices on-board aircraft without compromise in safety,” said Patrick Ky, executive director of the EASA. The Federal Aviation Administration allowed gate-to-gate use of PEDs last month.
LinkGulf carriers look to U.S. expansion Perhaps nothing illustrates the ambitions of the well-established Gulf carriers -- Emirates, Etihad and Qatar -- and Turkish Airlines so much as the swift expansion of their route networks. Turkish Airlines currently flies to about 190 destinations, and plans to add another 60 to its network in the next five years. Emirates, meanwhile, is expected to soon add to its already gargantuan fleet with a rumored record-breaking order for Boeing's 777X aircraft. "These carriers have a good modern fleet and can fly long distances, and because of their geographical position, they can connect anywhere from their hub to almost anywhere else in the world, either non-stop, or one-stop," says John Strickland, an independent transport consultant.
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