NewsLOT Polish Airlines to launch route to IndiaLOT Polish Airlines plans to begin 5X-weekly Warsaw-New Delhi services from Sept. 17 using a Boeing 787 in a three-class configuration, its first route to India. LOT CEO Rafał Milczarski said the long-awaited flight between Poland and India is becoming a reality. “The potential for this flight is huge—over 8.9 million passengers traveled between India and Europe in 2017,” he said.
LinkRussia’s S7 Technics increases MRO training capacity Russia’s S7 Technics, the maintenance arm of S7 Group, is expanding its MRO training facilities as it responds to growing demand for maintenance staff training for Western-built aircraft such as the Airbus A320neo and Boeing 737 MAX, the company said Jan. 14. The MRO provider is looking to Moscow Domodedovo International Airport for space to train staff for other MRO providers. “Apart from this, S7 Technics also offers on-site staff training elsewhere. For instance, a training schedule for the Boeing 737 MAX has also recently been completed at Ufa,” the provider said.
LinkDelta’s 2018 net income up 22.5%, warns of revenue drop from shutdownDelta Air Lines on Jan. 15 reported fourth-quarter 2018 revenue of $10.7 billion, up 5% year-over-year, but warned of revenue slowing because of the partial federal government shutdown that started in late December 2018.
LinkFinnair to expand services to Japan, Dominican Republic Finnair will launch 2X-weekly Helsinki-Sapporo (Japan) seasonal service, from Dec. 15, 2019 through March 27, 2020. Sapporo will be Finnair’s fifth destination in Japan, in addition to Tokyo Narita, Osaka, Nagoya and Fukuoka. “Japan is a key market for us … Finnair is the only European airline to fly a scheduled route to Sapporo. And with five key Japanese cities in our network, we are now the largest European carrier flying to Japan,” Finnair SVP-network and resource management Christian Lesjak said in a statement.
LinkCathay Pacific’s December load factors slip despite healthy demandHong Kong-based Cathay Pacific Airways reported a decrease in load factor for both passenger and cargo for December 2018, although the carrier said demand was healthy. Business-class demand remained strong in December, driven by premium leisure travel over the holiday period, the airline said. Economy class yields were improved. The peak cargo season leading up to Christmas was also strong, easing off toward the end of the month.
LinkUK’s Hybrid Air Vehicles gains approval to produce Airlander 10 UK-based Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV) is a step closer to launching its Airlander 10 heavy-lift platform now that the CAA has granted Production Organization Approval (POA). The Airlander 10 resembles an airship but is effectively a flying wing, with around 40% of its lift being derived from the vehicle’s aerodynamic shape. A further 40% comes from the lighter-than air helium with which it is filled. The vehicle is powered by four 4.0-liter Mercedes-Benz V8 engines, each developing 350 hp and powering its own propeller, for a speed of 100 mph (160 kph).
LinkIndonesian military jets intercept Ethiopian Airlines 777FIndonesian Air Force (TNI AU) military jets intercepted an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 777F over Sumatra, Indonesia, forcing it to land at Batam’s Hang Nadim International Airport on Jan. 15. Batam is part of the country’s Riau Islands, south of Singapore. Two Lockheed Martin F-16s from Pekanbaru scrambled to intercept flight ET3728, which had entered the Indonesian airspace without permission, according to a TNI AU spokesperson.
Link 1Link 2TSA staffing shortages, delays grow as shutdown continuesSome US airports are warning of terminal closures and longer wait-times at Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screening lanes as the US partial federal government shutdown—now the longest in history—shows no sign of ending soon.
LinkTurkish Airlines forecasts strong growth for 2019 Turkish Airlines expects its full-year revenues to reach $14.1 billion in 2019, on the back of a strong passenger growth forecast for the coming year. The carrier said in a Jan. 14 disclosure statement that it expects passenger numbers in 2019 to reach 80 million—of which 33 million will be carried on domestic routes and 47 million on international services. Turkish carried 75.2 million passengers in 2018.
LinkConnect Airways raises takeover offer for Flybe The Virgin-led consortium seeking to acquire Flybe has increased its offer by £600,000 ($771,000) and agreed to immediately provide £10 million to improve the struggling UK regional carrier’s liquidity, after it was revealed the conditions for the original bridge loan facility could not be met. Connect Airways—the new company formed by Virgin Atlantic, Stobart Group and Cyrus Capital to acquire Flybe—upped its offer for the carrier to £2.8 million, Flybe said in a Jan. 15 statement to the London Stock Exchange.
LinkSecurity staff at eight German airports continue strike actionFlights in Germany faced further disruptions Jan. 15 because of planned strike action by security staff at eight of the country’s airports. It was the third strike by Germany’s security personnel in 10 days. On Jan. 15, security employees at Bremen, Dresden, Erfurt, Frankfurt, Hanover, Hamburg, Leipzig-Halle and Munich are on strike for most of the day, affecting more than 200,000 passengers.
LinkRegulator asks Hong Kong Airlines to further clarify finances Hong Kong’s airline licensing authority has called for Hong Kong Airlines (HKA) to further clarify and provide supplementary information on its financial situation. This comes after a meeting with the airline where it reviewed information on its financial state, says the Air Transport Licensing Authority (ATLA).
LinkDelta foresees delay to A220 service launchDelta Air Lines expects it could be forced to delay the start date for its Airbus A220 operations due to ramifications of the US government shutdown, management told analysts and media on an earnings call on 15 January. “With non-essential work at the FAA shut down, our Airbus A220 start date is likely to be pushed back due to delays in the certification process,” says Delta chief executive Ed Bastian. The carrier did not expect to cancel any routes or flights, he clarified later in the call.
LinkAMAC secures its first BBJ Max 9 completion contractSwiss firm AMAC Aerospace has secured its first BBJ Max 9 completion contract and plans to take delivery of the re-engined narrowbody at its Basel facility in September 2020. Bernd Schramm, AMAC chief operating officer, says the design team has already started work on a mock-up of the interior, which he describes as "very special and unique".
LinkLockheed wins second Long Range Anti-Ship Missile contractLockheed Martin has won a $172 million contract from the US Navy and US Air Force for the second production lot of its stealthy Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM). The contract continues production for the air-launched variant of LRASM, including engineering support, the manufacturer says in a statement. The first set of LRASMs were delivered to the USAF in December, a milestone reached as part of Early Operational Capability for the weapon. Lockheed Martin says it anticipates receiving several annual production lot orders in total.
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