NEWSAir India to hire more pilots as strike continues
The Indian minister of civil aviation and Air India management have announced a contingency plan to help the airline resume full operations after an ongoing pilot strike has crippled the airline.
LinkFuel supply disruption delays flights at Manchester
Flight operations at Manchester Airport (MAN) returned to normal Thursday following a disruption of fuel supply from the Essar refinery caused by “production problems” the day before. A total of 13 flights were delayed after aviation fuel stocks ran out Wednesday night.
LinkIAG completes sale of bmi regional
International Airlines Group (IAG), parent company of British Airways and Iberia, has completed the sale of British Midland International’s bmi regional to Sector Aviation Holdings, a group of Scottish business investors.
LinkIAG Performance Dented By Euro Zone CrisisInternational Airlines Group, formed by the merger of British Airways and Iberia, said worsening economic conditions in Spain hit its performance last month, undermining strength in long-haul travel out of London.
LinkAPAC/Helios team to project manage FAB CE implementationThe air navigation service providers of Austria, the Czech Republic and Hungary have contracted air traffic management consultants Austrian Product Assurance Co. (APAC) and Helios to provide project management services to the Functional Airspace Block Central Europe (FAB CE) initiative through the rest of the year.
LinkUnited Reaches Tentative Deal With F/A Union
United Airlines has reached a tentative agreement with the union representing Continental Airlines' flight attendants to extend their contracts with the company.
LinkAir Canada To Keep Some Work With Aveos
Air Canada and Aveos have reached an agreement that will help facilitate a sale of some assets of the bankrupt aircraft maintenance firm, and the airline promised to offer some service contracts to a buyer of the Aveos assets.
LinkUS Stiffens Opposition To EU ETSUS Senate lawmakers and the Obama administration stiffened their opposition to a European law that targets emissions from commercial airliners and applied new pressure on Brussels and the United Nations to resolve global concerns.
LinkAirbus Recorded 149 Aircraft Orders To MayAirbus said its total gross aircraft orders stood at 149 from January to May, helped by a contract recently signed with Air Lease for 36 planes.
LinkBritish Airways may take more 777-300ERs as it ponders ‘big-twin’ order 
Concerns over the robustness of delivery schedules for potential new large twinjet acquisitions could prompt British Airways to opt for additional Boeing 777-300ERs as an interim solution. The UK carrier is incorporating the second phase of its widebody fleet replacement order into a joint deal with sister airline Iberia (both are owned by International Airlines Group), and is evaluating new large widebodies including the Airbus A350-1000 and Boeing's proposed upgraded 777X. "We've got a large-aircraft [acquisition] program and so has Iberia, so we'll get a better buying capability by combining the two," said British Airways' chief executive Keith Williams, in an interview.
LinkBoeing closes in on firming 747-8I MoUs and additional orders Boeing is confident it will convert the 30 commitments it has for the 747-8I passenger variant into firm orders, and also expects to secure near-term incremental sales. The 30 memorandums of understanding (MoUs) for 747-8Is that Boeing holds are from a mix of announced and undisclosed customers including Air China (five), Transaero (four) and an undisclosed operator (15).
LinkQantas Defense completes last A330 MRTT conversion Qantas Defense Services (QDS) has completed its fourth and final Airbus Military A330 multi-role tanker transport (MRTT) conversion. The conversion was undertaken at the company's Brisbane facility, says Qantas Defence in a statement. The aircraft will now be flown to Airbus Military's facility in Getafe, Spain, for final testing. The aircraft will be delivered to the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) later this year, becoming its fifth and final A330 MRTT. The type is designated KC-30A in Australian service.
LinkNational airline policy would help the free market, Delta CEO saysDelta Air Lines is pushing for a national airline policy that would allow free markets to operate in the airline industry. "We're advocating that the U.S. government ... get serious about adopting a national airline policy," said Richard Anderson, CEO of Delta. Other countries, such as China, have national airline policies in place.
LinkBlog: Seniority integration will be issue in an AA-US Airways mergerBlogger William Swelbar says US Airways and American Airlines will face a thorny issue of seniority integration if the two carriers merge. US Airways still has not fully integrated work groups since its acquisition of America West in 2005, Swelbar writes. US Airways "has touted the synergies merging with American would immediately bring. What happens to those synergies if integrating pilots, flight attendants and ground workers drags on, or as I expect, become overly contentious and litigious?" writes Swelbar.
LinkBlog: Rockwell Collins chief has doubts about NextGen timelineClay Jones, chairman, president and CEO of Rockwell Collins, has expressed some doubts about funding for NextGen initiatives by 2020. "Technology is light years ahead of policy," Jones said in April. "We've gone from no architecture to no implementation plan to no political will.
LinkColumn: Consultant breaks down airfares per passengerConsulting firm Oliver Wyman analyzed a hypothetical US Airways flight with 100 passengers paying an average airfare. The analysis found 99 out of 100 passengers covered costs for the airline, with one passenger making up the profit. The airfares of 29 out of 100 passengers covered fuel costs for airlines.
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