NewsStrong cargo demand prompts Atlas Air to add six 747-400Fs Continued strong demand for dedicated cargo services and a shrinking inventory of viable used widebody freighters led Atlas Air Worldwide (AAW) to add six second-hand Boeing 747-400 freighters to its fleet.
LinkCathay widens full-year loss, posts 2H profit on transformation planHong Kong flag carrier Cathay Pacific has reported a deeper group-wide loss of HK$1.3 billion ($160.6 million) for 2017, although a return to profit in the second half signals its transformation plan is yielding results.
LinkBritish Airways expands biometric boarding technologyBritish Airways (BA) is trialing biometric technology to speed up boarding and arrivals processes in US airports at Orlando, Los Angeles, Miami and New York. The UK-based carrier said the new technology enables nearly 240 passengers to board in around 10 minutes at Florida’s Orlando International Airport (MCO), where two biometric gates have been installed on one stand. BA customers flying on the daily BA2036 flight to London Gatwick Airport can use the new technology.
Link‘Smart core’ router manages onboard data communicationsInflight communications provider SITAONAIR and Astronics Ballard Technology unveiled an integrated “smart core” system to assist airlines in managing onboard data communications.
LinkAustrian Airlines completes premium economy roll-outLufthansa Group subsidiary Austrian Airlines has finished installing premium economy seats on its 11 long-haul aircraft, as part of a €15 million ($18.5 million) investment. The Vienna-based carrier first announced plans to equip its fleet with premium economy in September 2016 and revealed the seat design in September 2017.
LinkSpohr: Privatization of Europe’s major airports was a mistake Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr has spoken out against Europe’s airports, saying that privatization was a “big mistake.” “The problem is, in Europe, our major airports have been privatized and that was a big mistake,” Spohr said.
LinkBastian: Delta has strong interest in Boeing’s new mid-market aircraftDelta Air Lines continues to express strong interest in shaping Boeing’s new mid-market aircraft (NMA), the airline’s chief executive said March 13.
LinkUnited bullish on revenue environment, raises 1Q guidance on strong demandCiting strong network-wide demand, United Airlines raised first-quarter PRASM guidance to up 1%-3% and said pre-tax margins, expected to be flat before, could be up 1% or more.
LinkCathay to start boosting 777 economy seating densityCathay Pacific will start increasing the number of economy seats in its Boeing 777-300s and 777-300ERs next month. The first aircraft will enter the hangar in April, with the reconfiguration of six aircraft to be completed before the summer peak. The airline will adopt a 3-4-3 seating configuration in economy, up from the current 3-3-3 configuration.
LinkR44, 737 separation event nearly 'severe': ATSBThe Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has issued its final report on a lost of separation assurance involving a Robinson R44 helicopter and a Boeing 737-800 at Canberra airport on 2 June 2017. The incident occurred when a tower controller cleared the helicopter, being flown by a student and an instructor, to take-off parallel to runway 12.
LinkUnited pilots union opposes more large jets at regional partnersPilots at United Airlines are striking back at the carrier's push to add more large regional jets at its partners, arguing that growth targets can be met within existing limits. "[United] doesn’t need scope relief and has the ability to accomplish our growth strategy today," said Todd Insler, chairman of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) United master executive council, in a letter to pilots on 13 March.
LinkSkyWest receives first 70-seat E175-SCNo one would blame you for thinking SkyWest Airlines' newest regional jet is a run-of-the-mill Embraer 175. It looks exactly like an E175 from the outside. But the newest addition to SkyWest's fleet is actually Embraer's newly-designated E175-SC, a "special configuration" derivative of the E175 that carries 70 seats, not the typical load of 76.
LinkInvestigators detail Paris A320 incursion on departing A330Investigators have disclosed that an Aeroflot Airbus A320 crossed a hold-short line at Paris Charles de Gaulle while an Airbus A330-300 had been conducting its departure from the same runway. The Air Transat A330 had been cleared to take off from runway 27L, for a service to Montreal, and had been lining up when its crew saw the A320 landing on the parallel runway 27R.
LinkAeroflot to resume Cairo flights after security overhaulRussian flag-carrier Aeroflot is to restore services to the Egyptian capital Cairo, more than two years after the suspension of flights over security concerns. Aeroflot says it will resume the route on 11 April. It will operate thrice-weekly from Moscow Sheremetyevo, as flight SU400, using Airbus A320s.
LinkBoeing publishes plan for "non-normal" 777X wingtip ops A folding wing tip on a commercial airliner is never supposed to fail. With the first such mechanism scheduled to enter service on the 777X family in two years, Boeing set a goal to design a folding device so elegant and reliable that its workings would be as unnoticeable to the operators as flap tracks and thrust reversers today.
LinkUnited Airlines considers adding domestic premium economy fareUnited Airlines executives said Tuesday that the airline could introduce a domestic premium economy fare. "We are working on ways to even have a premium economy product in the domestic market and look forward to announcing that if we can get to a great product at some point," United President Scott Kirby said.
LinkGE9X enters flight test phase GE Aviation’s GE9X turbofan flew for the first time on 13 March, launching a months-long engine certification campaign for the largest turbofan engine in history. The 340cm (134in)-diameter fan mounted on the inboard station of the left wing of GE’s Boeing 747-400 flying test bed took off from Victorville, California.
LinkLinkPacific Aerospace launches Super-Pac XL single-engined turbopropNew Zealand’s Pacific Aerospace has launched a new variant of its P-750 XSTOL single-engined turboprop, featuring more power, range, and a faster rate of climb. Called the Super-Pac XL, the aircraft is designed as a challenger to the Supervan 900 – a re-engined version of the Cessna 208 Caravan, introduced in 2008 by US engineering company Texas Turbines.
LinkQatar ups order for NH90 helicopters as it firms 2014 dealQatar has finally firmed a long-held tentative deal for NH Industries (NHI) NH90 helicopters, to be split between the naval and troop transport variants. The revised order sees the Gulf state increase its commitment to 28 helicopters, up from the 22 it initially signed for in 2014.
LinkSaab's GlobalEye makes flight debutSaab's GlobalEye swing-role surveillance aircraft completed a 1h 46min debut flight from Linköping in Sweden on 14 March, less than three weeks after its formal unveiling. Carrying the temporary registration SE-RMY, the heavily modified Bombardier Global 6000 demonstrated "smooth handling, just as predicted," according to Saab experimental test pilot Magnus Fredriksson.
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