NewsFedEx sees $1.5 billion benefit from US tax reformFedEx Corp. posted an unadjusted $2.1 billion net profit for its fiscal 2018 third quarter, as the Memphis-based package delivery company saw a $1.53 billion benefit following US tax reforms enacted in late 2017. Excluding the tax benefit, FedEx’s third-quarter adjusted net income came to $1 billion, up 63.2% compared to $625 million in adjusted net income for 2016, reflecting higher base rates and increased volumes in FedEx’s ground and freight business, offset by increased peak-related costs at FedEx Express and adverse weather challenges.
LinkANA confirms merger plans of LCC subsidiaries Peach, VanillaAll Nippon Airways (ANA) has confirmed it will merge its LCC subsidiaries Peach Aviation and Vanilla Air, after boosting its shareholding in Peach.
LinkSouthwest Airlines lowers 1Q RASM guidanceSouthwest Airlines said a combination of factors will keep it from growing first-quarter RASM as much as expected, but the carrier remains confident in its full-year outlook for a unit-revenue uptick.
LinkRussia restricts Saratov Airlines’ AOC, grounds An-148 fleetRussian authorities have temporarily restricted Saratov Airlines’ air operator’s certificate (AOC) through April 27 and have grounded its Antonov An-148 fleet, following an unscheduled inspection, Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency, Rosaviatsia, said in a statement. The Saratov-based airline has until the end of April to remedy the breach.
LinkQatar Airways, Iberia expand codeshare partnershipOneworld members Qatar Airways and Iberia are expanding their codeshare partnership. The extended codeshare offers Iberia customers increased connectivity to destinations across the Middle East and Asia, as well as providing enhanced accessibility for Qatar Airways’ passengers to key destinations across Latin America, including Brazil, Colombia, Uruguay and Panama.
LinkCalgary’s Integra Air to operate Orca Airways’ Vancouver Island routesFollowing Transport Canada’s suspension of Vancouver-based Orca Airways’ air operator’s certificate (AOC) last week, Alberta carrier Integra Air will take over Orca’s scheduled passenger and cargo flights in British Columbia, Integra CEO John Macek said March 19. Transport Canada suspended Orca Airways’ AOC March 15, citing Orca’s “repeated non-compliance with aviation safety regulations … including maintenance, operational control, documentation and quality assurance.”
Link787 suffers nose gear failure at VIP conversion siteA Boeing 787 undergoing conversion into a VIP configuration recently suffered a nose gear collapse at Grant County International airport in Moses Lake, Washington. A photograph posted online last week shows an unmarked 787 with its nose on the tarmac outside a hangar labelled with the name Greenpoint Technologies, a company that provides VIP completions to large jets, including 787s.
LinkUncleared Q400 take-off roll sparks incursion incidentCanadian controllers intervened to stop a Jazz Bombardier Q400 from departing Thunder Bay airport without clearance, as a second aircraft prepared to land on an intersecting runway. The Jazz aircraft had been cleared to position and hold on runway 25 ahead of a flight to Toronto on 9 March, according to the Transportation Safety Board.
LinkXiamen Airlines signs for 30 737 Max aircraft Xiamen Airlines has firmed an order for 20 Boeing 737 Max 8 and 10 737 Max 10 aircraft. In a stock exchange statement through parent China Southern Airlines, it details that the jets will be delivered between 2019 and 2022. Five -8s will first join the airline’s fleet in 2019, followed by seven in 2020. In 2021, it will take eight -8s and seven -10s, before receiving the final three -10s in 2022.
LinkLeap derivative likely in CFM's bid for NMA engineA CFM International engine for Boeing’s New Mid-market Airplane (NMA) would be a growth version of the Leap series turbofan, suggesting a balance between a derivative and a clean-sheet design, says GE Aviation chief executive David Joyce. “It will be bigger,” Joyce told a JP Morgan investment conference on 14 March. “It’s advancing [on the Leap technology] not a full generation but a half-generation.”
LinkAirbus waiting on A330-200 cycle to lift A330-800 ordersAirbus believes its A330neo is capable of defending the airframer's position against the Boeing 787 as a replacement wave for older A330s accelerates. The airframer – still smarting after the loss of its sole A330-800 customer, after Hawaiian Airlines switched to the 787-9 – points out that the replacement cycle for the -800's predecessor, the A330-200, has yet to gain traction.
LinkAirbus pitches higher-weight A330neo at transpacific sectorAirbus is expecting that a planned higher-weight version of the A330neo will provide a 650nm range hike compared with the current 242t variant. It is putting the range of the A330-900, with a 251t maximum take-off weight, at 7,200nm while that for the A330-800 will increase to 8,150nm.
LinkCongress rejects proposal to increase taxes on flyersThe new federal spending bill includes $1 billion for airports and does not raise the cap for passenger facility charges, saving travelers $2.2 billion per year in potential ticket taxes. Airlines for America President and CEO Nicholas Calio lauded lawmakers for declining to raise taxes on passengers, saying, "This is a continuation of the promise Congress made to the American people three months ago when they passed historic tax cuts."
LinkAlaska Airlines to open rooftop flagship lounge at Seattle airportNext year, Alaska Airlines will open a flagship lounge on the roof of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The new lounge is part of a multimillion-dollar renovation of the airport's North Satellite terminal.
LinkSwiss fighter buy to hinge on 2020 referendumFighter manufacturers are eyeing an opportunity to replace the Swiss air force's entire fighter fleet, although the requirement will be the subject of a public vote planned for early 2020. Four years ago, Switzerland's planned acquisition of 22 Saab Gripen Es was scrapped after a public referendum narrowly rejected the allocation of funds required to purchase the Swedish-built type. The deal had been intended to replace the Swiss air force's aged Northrop F-5 interceptors.
Link 
