AirlinesAerosucre 727 freighter crashes in Colombia Media reports from Colombia indicate that a Boeing 727-200 freighter operated by Aerosucre has crashed. The aircraft reportedly was operating a flight from Puerto Carreno to Bogota when it went down shortly after takeoff. A video posted on social media website YouTube purports to show the aircraft, registered HK-4544, failing to rotate and become airborne. It crosses the runway threshold just above the ground, and plows through a perimeter fence before flying out of the frame after failing to gain altitude.
LinkDiscussionSouth African carrier Airlink adds 11 ERJ 140sIndependent South African regional airline Airlink is to add 11 Embraer ERJ 140s, taking it to a fleet of 30 Embraer aircraft that operate alongside other types. “The addition of a further 11 ERJ aircraft is a major vote of confidence in the platform’s capability, as well as in its suitability for the expanding African market,” Embraer Commercial Aviation VP-Africa, Latin America & Portugal Simon Newitt said Dec. 21.
LinkAmerican offers more cargo capacity on DFW-Spain routeAmerican Airlines boosted its capacity for cargo between Dallas-Fort Worth and Madrid, Spain, with a Boeing 787-9. "The introduction of the 787-9 brings another more fuel-efficient aircraft type with even greater cargo capacity into the American Airlines fleet," said American's David Vance.
LinkAmerican Awarded LAX-Beijing service by DOTThe Department of Transportation has awarded American Airlines seven weekly frequencies for service between the US and select points in China, offering daily return services between Los Angeles and Beijing. The DOT ruling awarded the service to American while rejecting a request from Delta Air Lines.
LinkDelta, Aeromexico accept DOT’s conditions; move to establish JVDelta Air Lines and Aeromexico have accepted antitrust conditions imposed by US regulators on the carriers’ transborder joint venture (JV), and will move forward to establish the JV. Atlanta-based Delta and Mexico City-based Aeromexico had threatened to “reconsider” the JV unless the US Department of Transportation (DOT) dropped the conditions it was requiring for granting the JV antitrust immunity, including the divestiture of 24 slot pairs at Mexico City International Airport and six slot pairs at New York JFK International Airport. But ultimately the airlines decided there was too much to gain from the JV to drop it over regulatory conditions.
LinkEgyptAir receives first of Boeing 737-800 orderEgyptAir has taken delivery of the first of nine Boeing 737-800 NGs. The delivery is part of a major fleet modernization plan for the Egyptian national carrier, which is aiming to have 105 aircraft on strength by 2020, and 150 by 2025.
LinkFedEx posts $700 million net profit in fiscal 2Q resultsFedEx Corp. has posted a consolidated net profit of $700 million for its FY2017 second quarter ended Nov. 30, up 1.3% from $691 million net income in the company’s FY 2016 second quarter. Second-quarter revenue for the Memphis, Tennessee-based company was $14.9 billion, up 19.9% year-over-year (YOY) from $12.5 billion; consolidated operating expenses totaled $13.8 billion, up 21.6% YOY over $11.3 billion in the company’s fiscal 2Q 2016.
LinkJetBlue to invest $1.3 billion annually on capital expendituresJetBlue Airways announced stock buyback plans to repurchase $500 million of shares by 2019's end. The company also announced it has paid down billions of dollars' worth of debt since 2011 and will spend an average of $1.3 billion annually on capital expenditures from 2017 to 2020.
LinkLufthansa takes delivery of first Airbus A350 XWBLufthansa has taken delivery of its first of 25 Airbus A350-900s. The first 10 of the type will be deployed on long-haul routes from Munich to Delhi and Boston. Lufthansa Technik will install the cabin interior—which includes a new premium-economy class—as the aircraft readies to begin Munich-Delhi services Feb. 10, 2017.
LinkAirline, Pilot Responsible For LaMia CrashThe Bolivian government has concluded that the crash of the LaMia airlines flight that killed 71 people in Colombia last month was the fault of the airline and the pilot. Bolivian Public Works Minister Milton Claros said the airline and the pilot were “directly responsible” for the crash. He added that it was an isolated incident and flying in Bolivia was safe.
LinkSouthwest to expand cargo to international flightsSouthwest Airlines plans to carry cargo on international flights in 2017 after an overhaul of its IT infrastructure that will allow interlining. "With the interline capabilities, we fully intend to not only feed other carriers from our network, but also accept freight into our network from other carriers," said Southwest's Wally Devereaux.
LinkUnited takes first 777-300ER amid widebody fleet shiftsUnited Airlines has taken delivery of its first of 14 Boeing 777-300ERs, as part of a larger rejig of its widebody fleet. The Chicago-based carrier took delivery of the aircraft (registration N2331U and MSN 62642) in Everett, Washington, today, it says in a statement.
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