NewsUnited Airlines to add flights to Tahiti United Airlines will begin offering nonstop service to Tahiti from San Francisco on Oct. 30, 2018.
LinkHawaiian Airlines to embrace big changes in 2018Hawaiian Airlines faces changes in 2018 that include a new CEO, new routes, a new fleet of Airbus jets and intense competition within the industry. "What the team has done over the last half dozen years is we have established a kind of a business model, and we've got things absolutely on the right track," said Mark Dunkerley, the carrier's outgoing CEO. Peter Ingram, Hawaiian's chief commercial officer, will begin his role as CEO in March.
LinkAmerican Airlines to launch seasonal Dallas-Rio de Janeiro flights On Friday, American Airlines will begin seasonal service from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport to Rio de Janeiro. The flights will be available on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays through Feb. 11, 2018.
LinkHawaiian Airlines' new Airbus A321neos will give a competitive edge Hawaiian Airlines CEO Mark Dunkerley, who will retire in March, says the carrier's new Airbus A321neos will allow it to expand into US markets that had been beyond its reach. "On both the cost and revenue sides of the equation, Hawaiian is going to be better positioned than any present or future competitors as a result," Dunkerley said.
LinkNorwegian Air Argentina to receive first 737-800 in January Norwegian Air Argentina (NAA) will receive its first aircraft—a nine-month old Boeing 737-800—in January 2018, bringing the Buenos Aires-based subsidiary of the European LCC closer to flight-operational status, the company said Dec. 14. The 189-seat aircraft, which made its first flight in March 2017 and is presently operating in Europe, will be the first of 10-12 737-800s NAA is planning to operate during its first year of operations in Argentina.
LinkNew beginnings get under way at Meridiana Italian carrier Meridiana, the subject of a 49% shareholding buy-in by Qatar Airways, intimated the first tangible signs of the Arab carrier’s influence Dec. 14 with announcements of initial fleet upgrades and route network expansion.
LinkAmerican Airlines consolidates New York La Guardia operations American Airlines has consolidated its New York’s LaGuardia Airport operations at Terminal B, bringing together legacy US Airways services from another terminal and existing ones for Dallas/Fort Worth-based American.
LinkDOT opens new frequency allocation for Havana flights The US Department of Transportation (DOT) is opening a new frequency allocation proceeding to assign six daily roundtrip slots between the US and Havana, Cuba.
LinkNIKI bankruptcy leaves thousands of passengers stranded Airberlin subsidiary NIKI—which filed for insolvency Dec. 13 and abruptly ceased operations—has left up to 40,000 passengers stranded throughout its European network after a rescue deal by Lufthansa collapsed, four months after airberlin filed for bankruptcy. Lufthansa had planned to integrate NIKI into its own Eurowings.
LinkSuperJet International appoints new SVP SuperJet International (SJI) has named Stewart Cordner as SVP-commercial. According to a company statement, he will be responsible for delivering on SSJ100 sales and expanding sales campaigns for the aircraft.
LinkUK and China expand air links The UK and China have announced a major expansion of air connections between the two nations. The new agreement, announced this week, will increase by around 50% the number of flights allowed between the countries. Notably, the agreement allows for considerable growth in Chinese routes from UK regional airports, not just London. In 2016, the first services from a UK regional airport to China were launched by Manchester Airport, in northwest England.
LinkZhejiang Loong Airlines increases fleet to cope with growth Lessor BOC Aviation has delivered a batch of three Airbus A320ceos to Chinese airline Zhejiang Loong Airlines. Zhejiang is a province in eastern China, immediately south of Shanghai. Delivery to the carrier, known familiarly as Loong Air, is part of a five-aircraft lease placement from Singapore-based BOC’s orderbook. The first aircraft was delivered in October 2017.
LinkDelta orders 100 A321neos valued at $12.7 billion; selects GTF engines Delta Air Lines has placed a firm order for 100 Airbus A321neo aircraft, ending speculation on what was perhaps the most heated aircraft order campaign waged between Airbus and Boeing in recent months.
LinkDHL Express firms Air Hong Kong partnership though 2033 Global express freight provider DHL Express and subsidiary cargo carrier Air Hong Kong have agreed to a 15-year block space agreement that will extend Air Hong Kong’s support of DHL Express’ network through 2033. Bonn, Germany-based DHL Express is set to sell its 40% minority stake in Air Hong Kong to Cathay Pacific Dec. 31, 2018, making Cathay the sole owner. Cathay entered into a joint venture with DHL to manage Air Hong Kong in 2002. The JV—set to expire at the end of 2018—is majority-owned by Cathay, which holds a 60% share.
LinkTrade balance played role in Vietnam Airlines 787, A350 buys Political considerations were an element in Vietnam Airlines' decision to obtain both the Boeing 787-9 and A350-900. Vietnam Airlines executive vice president Le Hong Ha says that from an airline perspective, it is useful to have exposure to aircraft technology from both Europe and North America.
LinkChengdu Airlines puts ARJ21 on regional route Chengdu Airlines has put the Comac ARJ21 regional jet on its first regional route, after using the jet on services to major domestic cities for over a year. The carrier is now using the aircraft on the Chengdu-Shangrao route. Shangrao is a city in northwest of Jiangxi province.
LinkAIA calls Congress to strengthen Ex-Im bank The head of the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) praised Republican lawmakers’ efforts on new tax legislation while encouraging the more radical Tea Party contingent to back down from their attack on the US Export-Import Bank. In a speech at the group’s annual holiday luncheon in Washington DC today, chief executive David Melcher chalked up the Republican tax plan as a win for AIA’s civil and defence members, noting the permanent reduction in the maximum corporate income tax rate and repatriation of overseas revenues promised in the legislation.
LinkSun Country to be sold to private equity firm Minnesota-based Sun Country Airlines will be sold to funds affiliated with private equity firm Apollo Global Management. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2018, says New York-based Apollo, which is purchasing the airline from the Davis family. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Sun Country chief executive Jude Bricker, who joined the airline earlier this year after a decade with Allegiant Air, will continue to lead Sun Country.
LinkNorwegian boosts Los Angeles and New York service Norwegian will begin new flights to Los Angeles and New York from Amsterdam, Madrid and Milan in May, increasing to 10 the number of new transatlantic routes it plans to launch next year. The carrier will add service to Los Angeles from Madrid four-times weekly from 15 July, and from Milan Malpensa four-times weekly from 16 June, it says.
LinkFlawed bid to outclimb icing led to serious ATR upset UK investigators have determined that an Aurigny Air Services ATR 72-500 suffered a serious in-flight upset after its crew vainly attempted to climb out of a region of icing instead of following the correct checklist procedures. It had entered a frontal weather system over the English Channel, featuring moderate icing conditions, and the accretion of ice reduced the turboprop's performance to the point where it reached its operational ceiling.
LinkAll on board survive ATR 42 crash in northern Canada All 25 passengers and crew of a Canadian-operated ATR 42 have survived after the aircraft crashed outside of Fond du Lac airport in the province of Saskatchewan. The aircraft had been en route from Fond du Lac to Stony Rapids in the far north of the province, says West Wind Aviation, the operator of the turboprop. West Wind says there were 22 passengers and three crew members on board the aircraft.
LinkSuparna Airlines takes Hainan's 787-8 Suparna Airlines has taken delivery of its first widebody, a Boeing 787-8 from fellow HNA group carrier Hainan Airlines. It took delivery of the aircraft on 29 November and will put it on the Shanghai Pudong-Sanya route from 15 December. On its website, Suparna adds that the aircraft will also fly the Zhengzhou-Sanya route.
LinkAmerican rethinks procedures after confused A330 evacuation American Airlines has revised its procedures after a communications breakdown led an Airbus A330-300 captain to attempt to halt an evacuation, which had been initiated by cabin crew unable to contact the cockpit. Cabin crew ordered the evacuation after the aircraft quickly filled with smoke, while parked at London Heathrow's stand 307, as flight AA731 prepared for departure to Charlotte on 26 June last year.
LinkBirdstrike caused Rex Saab 340 propeller tip failure Regional Express has changed its maintenance procedures following a propeller failure incident on one of its Saab 340s that was caused by an earlier birdstrike. The aircraft, registered VH-OLM, struck a flock of galahs during its landing roll at Moruya, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) states in its final report on the incident.
LinkJAL in alliance with Japanese private space company Japan Airlines has committed to invest in Japanese space transport business Ispace, which is attempting to launch two missions to the moon by 2020. JAL says it has agreed to a “capital and business alliance” with the company, in addition to its sponsorship of the Hakuto lunar exploration team managed by Ispace.
LinkEnders says 'fresh minds' needed to lead Airbus Airbus chief executive Tom Enders says "fresh minds" are needed to take the company through the period from 2020, as he confirmed he would not seek to extend his mandate past April 2019. His decision is part of a broad shake-up of Airbus's senior management, which will also see Airbus commercial aircraft president Fabrice Bregier step down in February next year.
LinkSecond C919 to take first flight 'imminently' The second Comac C919 prototype will take its first flight imminently, in-line with the original target of an end-2017 maiden sortie. The Chinese manufacturer tells FlightGlobal that all is in place for Flight Test Aircraft two (FTA-2) to fly "over the next few days".
LinkIndia's Tata to manufacture Leap engine components General Electric (GE) has partnered with Indian conglomerate Tata Sons to manufacture CFM International Leap engine components in India. The deal was signed between GE and Tata on 29 November, but was only announced on 14 December.
LinkUSAF finds F-35 maintainers outside A-10 fleet The US Air Force no longer needs to rob its A-10 fleet’s maintainers to support the incoming Lockheed Martin F-35As, according to a Congressional report. The F-35 delivery plan currently outpaces the number of maintainers the USAF can maintain and recruit until fiscal year 2020. In the interim, the service is hiring contract maintainers through 2019 in non-deploying squadrons to allow the USAF to stand up new F-35 squadrons, but Congress remains wary of a long term gap.
LinkLebanon to receive MD530Gs, ScanEagles from USA Lebanon is to receive MD Helicopters MD530Gs and Boeing Insitu ScanEagle unmanned air vehicles as part of a new military assistance package from the USA. Announced by the US embassy in Beirut on 13 December, the deal is worth more than $120 million.
Link 
