AirlinesChina Southern to lease five 787-9s from Air Lease Corp.Guangzhou-based China Southern Airlines has agreed to lease five Boeing 787-9s from Air Lease Corp. (ALC), the Los Angeles-based lessor said. The aircraft will be powered by GE Aviation GEnx engines. Deliveries of the leased 787-9s to China Southern will start in the 2019 first quarter. The airline will receive three of the 787-9s in 2019 and two in 2020, according to ALC.
LinkHainan Airlines acquires 48% stake in Tianjin AirlinesHNA Group subsidiary Hainan Airlines has completed the acquisition of a 48.2% stake in Tianjin Airlines, also an HNA subsidiary. The deal makes Hainan Airlines the controlling stakeholder in the Tianjin-based carrier with an 87.3% stake. Hainan purchased a 39.1% stake in Tianjin in 2013 and 2014 through a cash investment in an effort to increase Tianjin’s competitiveness. In September 2016, Hainan collected more than CNY16.5 billion ($2.4 billion) by circulating nonpublic A shares on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, of which CNY5.6 billion was used to pay for the 48.2% stake.
LinkTail-strike after bounced landing damaged Jet2 737Portuguese investigators have detailed a bounced landing at Funchal in which a Jet2 Boeing 737-800 was substantially damaged by a tail-strike. The inquiry states that an “excessive” nose-up input on the control column after the bounce – during which the aircraft travelled about 300m at a height of 8ft – resulted in a sharp nose-up attitude of 9.15°.
LinkLufthansa to operate A350 under triple type ratingLufthansa's Airbus A350s will be operated by pilots who also fly its A330s and A340-600s. The German airline received its first A350-900 in December and will start regular passenger flights with the twinjet on 10 February. These will be operated from Lufthansa's secondary base in Munich.
LinkMesa Airlines flight attendants to vote on strike actionFlight attendants for US regional operator Mesa Airlines have decided to vote on possible strike action against Mesa management following a breakdown in negotiations over wages, according to the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA), the union representing the flight attendants. The vote is scheduled for March 29. Phoenix, Arizona-based Mesa operates regional flights for American Airlines and United Airlines, as American Eagle and United Express, respectively. Mesa employs over 700 flight attendants.
LinkRyanair cautious over full year as third-quarter profit fallsBudget carrier Ryanair is expecting a sharp decline in fourth-quarter yields, although it is maintaining its full-year forecast of a €1.3-1.35 billion profit. It gave the forecast as it disclosed an 8% fall in third-quarter after-tax profit to €95 million.
LinkRyanair to expand Israel servicesIrish low-cost carrier (LCC) Ryanair will expand Israel operations, as the airline heads east in search of new territories as competition increases on its more “traditional” routes in Western and Southern Europe. The LCC will add eight new routes from Israel’s Eilat Ovda and seven new routes from Tel Aviv, beginning with its winter 2017 schedule.
LinkWest Africa’s Air Cote d’Ivoire gets connectedWest African flag carrier Air Cote d’Ivoire has signed up for inflight passenger connectivity services from air transport IT specialist SITAONAIR. The agreement will see the airline’s new Airbus A320s being equipped with SITAONAIR’s Internet ONAIR and Mobile ONAIR systems.
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