NewsJet fuel yields well below targets at Delta refineryDelta Air Lines' Trainer oil refinery is producing jet fuel in amounts well below the targets it laid out when it bought the plant last year. Modifications to maximize production will allow the Atlanta-based carrier to increase output to 40,000 barrels per day of jet fuel by early 2014, says Ed Bastian, president of Delta, at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch 2013 Global Transportation Conference on 15 May. This equates to 21.6% of the refinery's 185,000 barrel per day capacity. This is well below the up to 32% jet fuel yield target - about 59,000 barrels per day - that Delta laid out when it bought the Pennsylvania refinery from Phillips for $280 million in May 2012.
LinkKuwait Air Signs 25 Plane Airbus DealKuwait Airways said it had signed an initial agreement with Airbus to buy 25 new aircraft and take an option on 10 more in the biggest overhaul of its fleet since the 1990 Iraqi invasion. The order for the new planes includes 15 A320neo narrow-body jets and 10 of Airbus's new A350-900 XWB, chairman Sami al-Nisf told a news conference on Thursday. "We signed a letter of acceptance with Airbus," he said, adding that this was the step before signing a memorandum of understanding with Airbus within the next couple of weeks.
LinkUS Airline Group Predicts Strong SummerMore people will likely fly this summer compared with a year ago as US airlines gain a record level of international passengers, an industry association said on Thursday. Airlines for America, an airline industry lobby group, forecast that close to 209 million people will fly on the nation's carriers between June and August, up 1 percent from a year ago. That outlook includes 27 million international travellers, a record number, the group said on Thursday. This week, Delta Air Lines and Southwest Airlines said revenue trends were improving for May after softness in March and April.
LinkVirgin Atlantic Loss WidensVirgin Atlantic said tough economic conditions over the last year and lower demand for business travel caused by the London Olympics dragged it to a wider annual loss. The airline, founded by British entrepreneur Richard Branson, on Thursday reported a loss of GBP£93 million (USD$141.6 million) for the year to the end of February, 16 percent worse than the GBP£80 million loss it reported a year earlier. "Last year saw a double dip recession, a continued weak macro economy, and an Olympic Games which, although a fantastic event, severely dented demand for business travel," said chief executive Craig Kreeger, who joined Virgin earlier this year from American Airlines.
LinkBrussels Airport Moves To End Baggage StrikeBrussels airport began to resume baggage operations on Thursday after a four-day strike by baggage-handlers over working conditions left more than 20,000 pieces of luggage stranded in Belgium's largest hub. Baggage-handling firm Swissport appeared to have reached an agreement with unions late on Wednesday, but some employees remained on strike, airport officials said. A Swissport spokesman declined to comment. One union official told Reuters on Thursday "we are still involved in negotiations", while another said: "lots of people don't agree."
LinkUS Government Blacklists Syrian AirlineThe US government on Thursday blacklisted four Syrian government ministers, an airline and a television station it said helped the Assad government in its two-year crackdown on opposition forces. The move follows broad US sanctions on any aid to Syria since the beginning of the civil war between President Bashar al-Assad's government and opposition groups that has killed an estimated 80,000 people.
LinkGermany pulls plug on Euro Hawk UAV programGermany has cancelled its planned €1 billion ($1.3 billion) procurement of five Northrop Grumman Euro Hawk unmanned air vehicles, citing significant barriers to certificating the type for flights in civil airspace. The country's defense ministry said on 15 May that the program faced "significant certification difficulties", which made it impossible to operate the high-altitude, long-endurance type "reliably and without [safety] concerns".A full-scale demonstrator of the RQ-4 Global Hawk-derived type was delivered to Manching air base, near Munich, for test flights in 2011. If these had proved successful, Germany planned to buy four additional Euro Hawks for its air force.
LinkSouthwest quadruples dividend, pushes back some aircraft deliverySouthwest will quadruple the increase in dividends, providing an annual yield of about 1%, based on Tuesday's closing stock price of $13.98. "For those trying to do the math, that's a big increase," Southwest CEO Gary Kelly said. Southwest's board also has increased the stock repurchase plan by $500 million to $1.5 billion. Meanwhile, the airline revamped its jet delivery schedule by pushing back delivery of some Boeing aircraft from 2018 to 2019. "Our restructured aircraft delivery schedule will reduce our capital spending for firm orders through 2018 by more than $500 million," said Kelly.
LinkDelta Air Lines predicts lift in Q2 profitDelta Air Lines predicted a growth in profit for the second quarter. "Our summer bookings look solid," Delta President Edward Bastian said. "While corporate demand across the industry appears to be flat in terms of overall corporate spend, our corporate revenues this year to date are up 4% as we continue to grow share." Lower prices for jet fuel, helped in part by Delta's refinery, will create "solid margin expansion" in the second quarter, Bastian said.
LinkGE to send replacement gearbox parts to airlinesGeneral Electric and Boeing have notified airlines of a manufacturing defect in gearboxes installed on the Boeing 777-300ER, 777-200LR and 777 freighter versions. The engine manufacturer is shipping replacement parts to the airlines. The only U.S. airline with these airplanes expects the work to be completed on Sunday without impacting customers.
LinkPilots and controllers could communicate by text messageThe Federal Aviation Administration performed a limited test of technology that would allow pilots to text message air traffic controllers through cockpit systems. "We love the technology. It's accurate and quick," said Capt. Joseph Burns, managing director for flight standards and technology at United Airlines. Air traffic controllers say the new system's top benefit is improved safety.
LinkBoeing 787 Dreamliner at Boston airport returns to skiesThe 787 Dreamliner that caught on fire at Boston’s Logan International Airport in January — one of a series of incidents involving the fleet’s lithium ion batteries that prompted a worldwide grounding of the new jet — is back up in the air today. Boeing took the Japan Airlines-owned 787 up for a test flight this afternoon. Boeing spokeswoman Loretta Gunter said it’s Boeing policy not to discuss flight activities until formal flight plans are filed. But the website planefinder.net showed the 787 took off from Logan, traveled up past Bangor, Maine, swung down through Vermont and New York and was doubling back on the route.
LinkU.S. government treats air travel as nuisance, not economic contributorAsk the Pilot columnist Patrick Smith opines how the U.S. was once the world's leader in aviation, but is no longer. U.S. airlines are finding it harder and harder to compete globally and long customs lines are a key factor. "The government seems to treat air travel as a nuisance, something to be dissuaded, rather than a vital contributor of tens of billions of dollars to the annual economy," Smith writes. "To add insult to injury, airline tickets in America are taxed to the hilt. Overall flying is a lot more affordable than it has been in decades past, but if it feels expensive, one of the reasons is the multitude of government-imposed taxes and fees."
LinkAirlines report 79.8% on-time performance for MarchThe Bureau of Transportation Statistics reported no domestic tarmac delays for U.S. airlines of more than three hours in March. Airlines also reported an on-time arrival rate of 79.8% in March, compared with 79.6% in February. Airlines for America spokeswoman Katie Connell said, "Airlines and their employees remained focused on getting their customers where they need to be as safely, efficiently and comfortably as possible, all while navigating some severe weather challenges."
LinkDenver listed as best domestic travel departure cityCardHub.com ranked Denver as the best departure city for summer domestic travel, followed by Dallas, Chicago, Detroit and Las Vegas. The rankings took into account cost and duration of flights based on 2013 bookings.
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