NewsCommercial
Bombardier starts CSeries production ramp-up
Bombardier has begun the ramp-up to full CSeries production, after completing the structural build of Swiss International Air Lines’ first CS100, which is scheduled for delivery in 2Q 2016. “The final assembly facility is fully equipped and production is progressing according to plan with aircraft in various stages of the build sequence,” Bombardier said on Jan. 19.
LinkAirlines
Slovenia Sells Adria Air To German Fund
Slovenia has sold state-owned Adria Airways to German investment fund 4K KNDNS, state investment firm Slovenian Sovereign Holding (SDH) said. SDH, which is coordinating the country's privatization efforts, said the state would inject EUR€3.1 million into Adria while 4K would inject €1 million.
Link
American to star as official airline of Hollywood Reporter
American Airlines has inked an agreement to star as the official airline of The Hollywood Reporter, an entertainment industry publication based in Los Angeles. Fernand Fernandez, vice president of global marketing for American, said the deal allows American to "have the largest presence during awards season."
Link
American expects service to Cuba in first half of year
American Airlines is planning commercial routes from the US to Cuba after the two countries reached a preliminary agreement last month. "We still believe we'll be flying scheduled service to Cuba within the first half of 2016," said Howard Kass, vice president of regulatory affairs for American. "We're optimistic that DOT will move swiftly to permit US carriers to offer scheduled service."
Link
Atlas Air Cargo to expand global footprint with Southern Air acquisition
Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire privately held Southern Air Holdings, a US provider of intercontinental and domestic air cargo services. The deal is "an immediately accretive, all-cash, debt-free transaction" valued at approximately $110m, said Atlas.
Link
Delta taking a ‘serious look’ at the CSeries
Delta Air Lines is taking a “serious look” at the Bombardier CSeries, says chief executive Richard Anderson. “We actually think at the right price it’s quite a competitive airplane given the engine technology,” he says during an earnings call today.
Link
Delta 2015 operating profit more than doubles to $7.8bn
Delta Air Lines reports an operating profit of $7.8 billion in 2015, more than double its profit of $2.21 billion the year prior. Operating revenues increased 1% to $40.7 billion and operating expenses decreased 14% to $32.9 billion during the year. Operating fuel expenses fell $5.12 billion, or 44%, to $6.54 billion.
Link
JetBlue and Hawaiian Airlines Expand Codeshare Agreement
JetBlue today announced it has expanded its existing partnership with Hawaiian Airlines through a bilateral codeshare agreement. JetBlue is placing its ‘B6’ code on nonstop flights operated by Hawaiian Airlines between New York (JFK) and Honolulu (HNL).
Link
United Airlines customer satisfaction hits high note in December
United Airlines reported a customer satisfaction score of 33..7 in December, the highest score in more than two years. December's score also exceeded the carrier's goal for the month by 2.1 points.
LinkAirports
Fitch Rates SFO Revs 'A+'
Fitch Ratings has assigned an 'A+' rating to the Airport Commission's, City and County of San Francisco, San Francisco International Airport (SFO) approximately $244 million series 2016A second series revenue refunding bonds. Fitch has also affirmed the 'A+' rating on approximately $4.5 billion of parity SFO second series revenue bonds. The Rating Outlook for all of the bonds is Stable.
Link
Military
First of 20 A-29 Super Tucanos arrive in Afghanistan
The Afghan Air Force’s new fixed-wing Embraer/Sierra Nevada A-29 Super Tucano could soon make its combat debut after four aircraft arrived at Hamid Karzai International Airport last week. The low, slow-flying attack airplane of Brazilian origin is already employed by 10 air forces around the globe, and the Lebanese air force is next in line to be equipped with American-made examples produced in Jacksonville, Florida.
Link
Search continues for missing USMC CH-53E crews in Hawaii
The US Marine Corps says four life rafts from two Sikorsky CH-53E Super Stallions that crashed off the coast of Hawaii last week have been accounted for, but as yet there is no sign of the 12 missing Marines. Two CH-53Es of Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron-463 crashed into the ocean during a nigh-time training operations near Oahu's Waimea Bay on 14 January.
Link
Germany to choose between Chinook and CH-53K for heavy-lift successor
Germany is moving ahead with an acquisition program to replace its air force's Sikorsky CH-53 heavy-lift helicopters, with the choice narrowed to two types. One key driver for Berlin's effort under the fledgling heavy transport helicopter project is the need to purchase a rotorcraft already in production, rather than launching a clean-sheet development program.
Link
Aviation Quote
I could be president of Sikorsky for six months before they found me out, but the president would only have my job for six seconds before he'd kill himself.
— Walter R. 'Dick' Faull, test pilot.
Daily Video
Editor’s Choice
Trivia
General Knowledge
1. What well-known production airplane never flew out of, or in to the US airport where it was manufactured?
2. True or false, a turbocharged engine developing 36 inches of manifold pressure and 2,700 rpm at sea level produces 300 horsepower. The same manifold pressure and rpm at 20,000 feet results in the same horsepower.
3. Why did all Trans Atlantic air service terminate in May of 1937?
4. What is believed to be the first diesel-powered airplane in the United States?
