NAS Daily 21 FEB 20

airtrainer 20 Feb 20, 21:00

News

Commercial

What If The Airbus A380 Had Been Released 50 Years Ago?
The Airbus A380 was never the huge success it could, or should, have been. While everyone agrees it’s a superb aircraft, its release coincided with a number of external factors that meant it never achieved its full potential. We take a look at how things could have been different for the Airbus superjumbo if it had been created around the same time as the Boeing 747.
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Boeing Wants Tax Breaks Suspended Amid US-EU Trade Dispute
The long-running trade dispute between the EU and the US has taken another turn this week as Boeing has reportedly asked for its tax breaks to be removed. The tax breaks, worth an estimated $1bn to Boeing since 2004, could be suspended in a bid to prevent the EU from slapping retaliatory tariffs on imported US goods.
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Airbus Delivered Just 8 A380 Superjumbos In 2019
Airbus only built and delivered a total of eight A380 aircraft in 2019, down from 12 in 2018 and 15 in 2017. This move highlights the declining production of the type, as Airbus prepares to build and deliver the final few aircraft.
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Airlines

Is JetBlue's Boston Hub Under Threat?
Within the past year, JetBlue’s outlook in its important hub city of Boston has worsened significantly. Two of the airline’s biggest competitors, American Airlines and Delta, have confirmed they will be expanding their presence at the airport. But how will JetBlue cope with this additional pressure?
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SWISS Takes Delivery Of Its First Airbus A320neo
Switzerland’s flag carrier SWISS has taken delivery of its first Airbus A320neo aircraft. The Lufthansa Group airline collected the aircraft from a gloomy-looking Hamburg earlier today.
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Afghanistan's Ariana Eyes Six More Aircraft
Ariana Afghan Airlines has issued a request for proposals (RFP) to purchase six new aircraft. Contained within the proposal are four widebody aircraft and two turboprops. The airline is looking for submissions by next Wednesday, February 26th.
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What Happened To British Airways Boeing 737s?
British Airways at one point had 122 Boeing 737 aircraft, but has since completely retired the type. Where did the aircraft go? And why did British Airways seemingly give up what was once an almost all-Boeing airline?
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The Curious Case Of The Missing PIA Airbus A310
It goes without saying that large commercial passenger aircraft are generally well tracked and monitored. However, it seems that, at some point, the whereabouts of a Pakistan International Airlines Airbus A310 was unknown. Now, court documents made public Wednesday allege that the former CEO of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) took the Airbus A310 to Germany where it was then sold for a total of US$1.4 million.
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Qantas Worries Coronavirus Impact Will Exceed $100 Million
Qantas CEO Alan Joyce is citing weakening demand due to the coronavirus outbreak as the reason for an expected decline in the airline’s earnings. Mr Joyce says he expects earnings before interest and tax in the second half of 2020 to be down as much as USD$100 million.
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What's Happening To All The Widebodies Not Flying To China?
The impact of China’s quarantine is so large that airlines have been forced to cancel weeks of routes. But what has actually happened to their widebody aircraft that are no longer flying to China? Where did they go? Let’s find out.
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American Gets The Most Complaints Of A US Airline For 2nd Year
The United States Department of Transportation has released its report from 2019 highlighting airline complaints from the year. Unfortunately for American Airlines, the carrier ended up taking the top spot in terms of the outright number of complaints.
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Former Australian PM Belives Murder-Suicide Behind MH370 Mystery
Former Australian prime minister, Tony Abbott, believes MH370 was downed by one of its pilots in a murder-suicide.
Malaysia Airlines MH370 vanished while operating a scheduled service between Kuala Lumpur and Beijing on 8 March 2014.
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Air Canada Profits Suffer Double Whamy From MAX & Coronavirus
Air Canada announced that the first quarter 2020 Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) will be approximately $200 million USD lower than the first quarter of 2019. This is because of the impact the airline has sustained due to the ongoing MAX and coronavirus crisis worldwide.
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Airports

Stuttgart Runway Work Leads To Flight Suspensions
Delta Air Lines has been forced to cancel some of its upcoming flights between Atlanta and Stuttgart due to construction work on the Stuttgart Airport runway. The German airport will be undergoing construction in spring 2020.
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Across 41 U.S. states $520 million will be invested into 287 airports
The U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Elaine L. Chao, has announced that $520.5 million will be awarded by the U.S. Department of Transportation in airport infrastructure grants. The investment will be shared across 287 airports in 41 states, including Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and Chicago O’Hare International Airport.
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Extensive expansion plans unveiled for Malta International Airport
As part of efforts to address and accommodate the airport’s continuous passenger increase, Malta International Airport (MLA) has begun the most significant expansion programme in its history, aiming to help achieve its vision to create the best airport passenger experience in Europe.
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Las Vegas McCarran awards $1.5 billion F&B contract extension
The Clark County Board of Commissioners has approved a seven-year, $1.5 billion extension to HMSHost's F&B contract at Las Vegas' McCarran International Airport.
In return HMSHost, which now has a contract at McCarran until at least 2035, will invest in opening new and remodelled restaurant locations throughout the airport.
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Aviation Quote

Hang onto it. Hang onto it.

- Captain Edward States, last recorded words, American Airlines Flight 587, from New York's JFK to the Dominican Republic. 09:15 Eastern, 12 November 2001.