NewsBoeing rolls out 10,000th 737Boeing has rolled-out the aircraft that represents the 10,000th 737 assembled in the Seattle area since 1967 – a 737 Max 8 in Southwest Airlines livery. The aircraft, registered as N8717M with serial number 42571, will be delivered to the Dallas-based low-cost carrier later this month.
LinkAir Canada resolves IT issues following ‘worldwide’ systems outageAir Canada late Monday was working to clear a backlog of passengers following what the carrier termed “computer-telecommunications issues” that affected both domestic and international flights. “The computer and telecommunications issues affecting our operations have been resolved and we apologize for any inconvenience this situation has caused,” Air Canada president Ben Smith said in a statement issued Monday afternoon. “We appreciate our customers’ patience and we have arranged additional staffing to get our customers on their way as soon as possible.”
LinkALPA: Frontier pilots confident new agreement within reachThe recent agreement with Florida-based ultra-LCC Spirit Airlines set against a generally positive industry economic environment has the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) confident that a long-sought-after new deal for its pilots at Denver-based Frontier Airlines is within reach.
LinkUK government provides export backing for CSeriesUK Export Finance (UKEF), the government body that underwrites export orders for British products, has supported the sale of Bombardier CSeries regional jets for the first time.
LinkUtair to add routes in the South of Russia, FIFA World Cup 2018 citiesRussia’s Utair Aviation is developing a network in the South of Russia and adding new routes to cities hosting the 2018 FIFA World Cup this summer. Utair will launch direct flights to the resort town of Anapa from Moscow, Surgut, Ufa and Nizhnevartovsk; to the resort town of Gelendzhik from Moscow and Surgut; and to Sochi from Krasnodar, Moscow, Surgut, Nizhnevartovsk and Tyumen.
LinkTurkish Airlines finalizes Boeing 787-9 orderTurkish Airlines has finalized a firm order for 25 Boeing 787-9 aircraft, plus five options. The Istanbul-based carrier originally agreed to buy 40 787-9s in an LOI signed in September 2017, but reduced the number to 25 last week.
LinkAmerican Airlines applauds Brazil's Open Skies agreement with USAmerican Airlines is commending the Federal Senate of Brazil for ratifying an Open Skies agreement with the US, which opens the door for the carrier's proposed joint business agreement with Brazil's LATAM Airlines Group.
LinkJetBlue reports 6.8% increase in Feb. trafficJetBlue Airways reported 3.69 billion revenue passenger miles for February, a year-over-year increase of 6.8%. The carrier's capacity also increased 6.8% to 4.7 billion available seat miles and its load factor remained unchanged at 82.6%.
LinkSouthwest celebrates first international flight from San Jose, Calif.Southwest Airlines on March 10 celebrated its first international flight from Mineta San Jose International Airport in California. The flight, to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, will be offered weekly on Saturdays.
LinkCarriers serving Aspen, Colo., see combined load factor of 58.3%Data from Aspen-Pitkin County Airport in Colorado show that the three airlines serving the airport had a combined load factor of 58.3% January, down from 70.9% in January 2017.
LinkCathay's operating loss nearly triples in 2017The Cathay Pacific Group's 2017 operating loss ballooned to HK$1.45 billion ($185 million), as overcapacity and intense competition continued to put pressure on yields. The poor operating result is nearly triple the HK$525 million loss from a year ago.
LinkDelta a 'prime launch candidate' for new Boeing modelDelta Air Lines chief executive Ed Bastian says the airline would be a "prime launch candidate" for Boeing's proposed New Mid-market Airplane (NMA). The Atlanta-based carrier is in discussions with the airframer on the potential aircraft with Bastian himself meeting with Boeing executives in Seattle to discuss it during the week of 5 March, he says at the JP Morgan Aviation, Transportation and Industrials Conference today.
LinkCessna SkyCourier completes round in wind tunnelTextron Aviation has completed the first round of wind tunnel testing for the Cessna 408 SkyCourier turboprop launched last November with an order by FedEx for up to 100. Initial tests in the wind tunnel used electric motors and propellers tailored to simulate the real thrust of the aircraft’s two Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6-65 engines and aluminum, four-bladed McCauley propeller, says Brad Thress, senior vice-president for engineering at Textron Aviation.
LinkAG600 to fly from water in second half of 2018The AVIC AG600 amphibian has conducted three successful test flights from land, and is gearing up for flight tests from the water. Following its maiden flight on 24 December 2017, the four-engine turboprop conducted two subsequent flights on 24 January and 26 January, says AVIC.
LinkShell executive Dick Benschop named as Schiphol Group CEOFormer Royal Dutch Shell executive Dick Benschop has been named as the next president and CEO of Amsterdam Schiphol Airport operator Royal Schiphol Group. Benschop, who takes up his new position May 1, succeeds Jos Nijhuis, who was scheduled to retire March 31 but will stay on through April 30. Further, Nijhuis will continue with Royal Schiphol Group through July 1 to ensure a smooth handover to Benschop.
LinkGKN rejects second Melrose bidUK Tier One aircraft components supplier GKN has rejected a second takeover bid from turnaround specialist Melrose. GKN, which is a major supplier to both Airbus and Boeing and is the world’s largest provider of aircraft transparencies, has been trying to fend off Melrose, which claims it will improve profits by cutting costs and streamlining the 259-year-old British engineering giant.
LinkRyanair will launch twice-weekly Liverpool (LJLA)-Paphos, Cyprus service from at the end of October for the winter 2018/19 season.
Air Canada will begin daily Calgary-Palm Springs and Edmonton-Las Vegas seasonal service from Oct. 28.
China Eastern Airlines will start 4X-weekly Shanghai Pudong-Stockholm Arlanda Airbus A330-200 services, starting June 16.
Turkish Airlines will start 5X-weekly Istanbul (IST)-Krasnodar Airbus A319 service May 7, its 10th destination in Russia. Turkish will also launch 2X-weekly IST-Samarkand, Uzbekistan service from March 16.
USAF likely to issue B-52 engine replacement request for proposals in early 2019The US Air Force is likely to issue a request for proposal for its Boeing B-52H Stratofortress bomber engine replacement program close to the first quarter of 2019, according to an Air Force document released on 13 March. The contract for re-engining the USAF’s 76 Boeing B-52H bombers would likely be granted some four to six months after final proposals are submitted, according to the document. The department is looking to acquire at least 608 new, commercially available turbofan engines to replace the eight Pratt & Whitney TF33s each bomber carries.
LinkUSAF considers accelerated light-attack aircraft buy in 2019Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson may ask Congress to reallocate funds to the light-attack aircraft program this year, a move which would accelerate the department’s purchase of the aircraft by one year to 2019. Funding for procurement of the light-attack aircraft is currently slated to begin in fiscal year 2020 and there is about $2.5 billion budgeted over the next five years for the program, according to the Air Force. The possible reallocation of funds was first reported by Aviation Week & Space Technology.
LinkQuality pays for Australia's jet fighter training simulationWith an ongoing push to expand and improve the efficiency of its fast-jet pilot training, the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) has implemented three new flight mission simulator (FMS) stations at its training campuses at Williamtown in New South Wales and Pearce in Western Australia.
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