NewsCommercial
Boeing shrugs off effect of lower fuel prices on aircraft orders
Boeing is not concerned about the effect of lower fuel prices on orders for its fuel-efficient aircraft such as the 787. "We're sold out on many of our production lines for multiple years," said Darren Hulst, Boeing's director for market analysis. "So I don't think you make a long-term decision on a short-term trend like the price of fuel."
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Boeing To Make 754 Jet Deliveries In 2015
Boeing will deliver 754 commercial aircraft in 2015, an increase of up to 5.5 percent, the US Aerospace Industries Association forecast on Wednesday, reflecting expectations of steadily rising production at the plane maker. The Washington, DC-based trade group said its forecast is based on information supplied by Boeing, and comes amid concern that Boeing may have to cut production of some models to keep the assembly lines from running out of orders.
LinkAirlines
FedEx reports increase in quarterly profit
FedEx reported a quarterly profit of $616 million, compared to $500 million in the same quarter last year. Analysts had predicted higher profits, but FedEx said maintenance costs for aircraft affected its earnings. FedEx maintains a fleet of 600 aircraft.
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EU Clears Lufthansa Outsourcing Deal With IBM
The European Commission said on Wednesday it had approved the sale of Lufthansa's IT infrastructure unit to IBM. Lufthansa was seeking a buyer for the unit, which provides data centers, networks and telephony, because it requires a high level of investment and economies of scale, which the airline could not provide. "The Commission concluded that the proposed acquisition would not raise competition concerns given the very limited overlaps between the parties' activities and the presence of several strong alternative players that would remain active after the merger," the EU executive said in a statement.
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SpiceJet Parent Says No Cash For Bail-Out
The parent company behind India's SpiceJet said on Wednesday it could not afford to spend what could be hundreds of millions of dollars to rescue the beleaguered low-cost airline, raising questions over its future. SpiceJet was granted a reprieve on Tuesday after the government asked suppliers to give it more time to pay its bills. But it was still forced to ground its entire fleet on Wednesday after oil firms refused to refuel its planes. Loss-making SpiceJet is trying to avoid meeting the same fate as Kingfisher Airlines, which stopped flying in 2012 and left billions of rupees in unpaid debts.
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Spirit Airlines Announces $100 Million Share Buyback Authorization
Spirit Airlines announced today that its Board of Directors had authorized the repurchase of up to $100 million in aggregate value of shares of its Common Stock, par value $0.0001 per share, from time to time in open market or privately negotiated transactions over the twelve months ending December 16, 2015. The timing and amount of any stock repurchases will be subject to prevailing market conditions and other considerations.
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TUI Travel, TUI Complete Merger
The merger of Britain's TUI Travel and Germany's TUI completed on Wednesday, bringing to a conclusion a deal to create the world's largest leisure and tourism company which will be known as TUI Group. London-listed TUI Travel and TUI, the British company's biggest shareholder, reached an agreement in September on the terms of a EUR€6.5 billion merger.
LinkMilitary
NASA launches study for Skunk Works SR-72 concept
NASA has awarded a contract to Lockheed Martin to study the feasibility of building a hypersonic propulsion system for a concept intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft dubbed the SR-72 using existing turbine engine technologies. The $892,292 contract “provides for a parametric design study to establish the viability of a turbine-based combined cycle (TBCC) propulsion system consisting of integrating several combinations of near-term turbine engine solutions and a very low Mach ignition Dual Mode RamJet (DMRJ) in the SR-72 vehicle concept,” the award document says.
LinkCorporate
Dassault rolls-out ultra-long-range Falcon 8X
Dassault rolled-out the first Falcon 8X on 17 December during a dedicated customer event at its 60-year old manufacturing facility at Bordeaux-Merignac. The ultra-long-range business aircraft was unveiled at the Europan Busiiness Aviation Association in May and the French airframer is now readying the tri-jet for its maiden flight in the first quarter of 2015. This aircraft will be dedicated to flight envelope expansion, while a second 8X – now assembled and scheduled to fly in the second quarter – will focus on performance. A third fully conforming aircraft will help with cabin systems and preparation for entry into service.
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Embraer Legacy 500 receives European certification
Embraer has received European approval for its Legacy 500 business jet and is preparing to deliver the first midsize aircraft into the region during the first quarter of 2015. The airframer received Brazilian and US certification for the clean-sheet twinjet in August and September respectively and plans to ship between three and six of the clean-sheet types to customers before the end of the year.
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Aviation Quote
Our headline ran, "Virgin screw British Airways." We'd have rather preferred 'British Airways screws Virgin,' but we had to run with the facts.
— News Editor, 'The Sun' newspaper.
On This Date
---In 1912... French aviator Rolland Garros becomes the first pilot to bridge two countries in a single flight. He flies his Blériot monoplane from North Africa to Europe, half-way across the Mediterranean, 177mi.
---In 1940…First flight of the Curtiss SB2C Helldiver.
---In 1969… SR-71 (953) lost near Shoshee CA due to a pitch up accident. Pilot Joe Rogers and RSO Garry Heidlebaugh survived. (Q)
---In 1970... Airbus Industrie is formally established to develop the Airbus A300; it is comprised of Aérospatiale, Deutsche Airbus, Fokker and Hawker Siddeley.
---In 1992…First flight of the McDonnell Douglas MD-90.
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