NewsAmerican to lease A319s and A321sAmerican Airlines plans to lease the 130 Airbus A319s and A321s that it has on order, continuing its preference for lease financing. The Fort Worth, Texas-based carrier and Airbus requested bankruptcy court approval for lease financing from the airframer, as well as possible third party lessors, in a court filing on 16 May. Third party lessors could include AerCap, Avolon Aerospace Leasing, GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS), Guggenheim Aviation Partners, International Lease Finance (ILFC) and ORIX Aviation, all of which have relationships with American.
LinkLate delivery delays start of Emirates A380 wing repairsWing modification work on Emirates' Airbus A380 fleet has begun around two months later than planned due to late arrival of new aircraft. The repair programme, designed to address wing cracks, will cover 34 Emirates A380s and is due to be completed by the end of next year. "The modifications were due to begin in mid-March, but the first aircraft only went into modification in early May," says Tim Clark, president of the Dubai-based carrier. "We need to receive the new aircraft to backfill the fleet and maintain the route network when we release A380s for modification. There's been quite a long delay driven by the lateness of delivery of the new aircraft."
LinkANA 787 experiences minor electrical fault owing to loose nutAn All Nippon Airways Boeing 787 experienced a minor electrical fault during a recent proving flight, but the cause was traced to an insufficiently turned nut in an electrical panel. During a proving flight on 4 May on the Tokyo Haneda-Chitose route, the flightcrew of aircraft registration JA809A observed five advisory messages about an error in an electrical distribution panel located in the aircraft's aft power bay, says an ANA spokeswoman. Only a pilot and co-pilot were aboard the aircraft.
LinkEmissions Deal May Not Come Before EU DeadlineHope is fading for a global deal to regulate the airline industry's greenhouse gas emissions ahead of a September deadline, even though failure could push the industry back to the brink of a trade war over the European Union's emissions trading system. Last November the EU suspended its controversial scheme to force all airlines to buy carbon credits for any flight arriving in or departing from European airspace. The scheme had pitted European states against China, India, the United States and others, who said it violated their sovereignty. The EU said it had to act, after more than a decade of inaction on the environmental impact of aviation.
LinkUS Airways Plane Belly Lands At Newark AirportA US Airways made an emergency landing on its belly at Newark's Liberty Airport early on Saturday after the plane's landing gear failed to deploy, but no one was injured, airline and government officials said. The Piedmont Airlines De Havilland Dash 8, operating for US Airways as flight 4560, was flying from Philadelphia with 34 passengers and three crew members aboard. It landed safely at 1 am, with passengers evacuated onto the tarmac and transported to the terminal, a Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman said.
LinkEmirates Renews Paris Soccer SponsorshipFrench league champions Paris St Germain and Dubai airline Emirates extended their shirt sponsorship deal by another five years on Friday. Despite maintaining a relationship between the two parties that dates back to 2006, neither PSG president Nasser al-Khelaifi nor Emirates executive vice-president Thierry Antinori were prepared to reveal the official value of the agreement.
LinkUS Airways changes terms on $1.6B in debt for refinancingUS Airways Group has reduced the rate on $1.6 billion in debt the carrier plans on refinancing, a source says. US Airways will now offer the $1 billion term loan at 3.25% interest, compared with a previous plan for up to 3.75% interest. The remaining debt will be sold at a discount of 99.5 cents on the dollar, compared to a previous plan of 99 cents on the dollar.
LinkAmerican Airlines changes boarding policyAmerican Airlines is changing its boarding policy to allow travelers with only personal items that can fit under the seat to board before passengers with roller bags. American tested the boarding policy at seven airports before implementing the change on Thursday.
LinkNextGen software tool helps aircraft spacingAs part of NextGen, Automated Terminal Proximity Alert software alerts air-traffic controllers of errors in aircraft spacing to reduce the number of times planes circle airports. "If we can properly line up the aircraft as they approach the airport, it improves safety and the overall efficiency of the system," said Jeff Price, an associate professor in aviation and aerospace science at Metropolitan State University in Denver.
LinkANA to resume service with 787s on June 1ANA Holdings Inc. operator of a fleet of Boeing Co. 787 jets grounded since January after batteries overheated, said a switchboard was damaged by heat on a 787 training flight after a nut was not fully tightened. The part was replaced and the Tokyo-based carrier will finish plane and pilot tests on schedule, Yoichi Uchida, an ANA spokesman, said by phone today. The scheduled June 1 restart for commercial 787 flights is unchanged, Uchida said. The damage was discovered after a flight to Sapporo from Tokyo on May 4 and wasn’t related to the lithium-ion battery system, Uchida said. ANA, which operates the world’s largest fleet of 17 787 Dreamliners, is implementing Boeing battery repairs approved by the Federal Aviation Administration and Japan’s transport ministry to allow the restart of flights.
LinkMRO market for commercial aircraft to reach $49.2B, analysts sayThe global commercial aircraft maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) market will reach a value of $49.2 billion in 2013 in response to growing demand for maintenance services to handle the global fleet of commercial aircraft, predict Visiongain analysts. The expansion of air travel will ensure an increase in production rates for new aircraft which should give MRO providers ample opportunities for new business. Newer aircraft, which require less maintenance than older aircraft coming into retirement age, will require MRO providers to invest in adding new training techniques and new tooling in order to attain relevant certification. Many smaller third-party providers will struggle to achieve this by themselves, Visiongain analysts recognize.
LinkEU could levy fines against China, India for emissionsThe EU is considering levying fines against China and India for failing to report airline emissions data. The missing emissions data are for flights within Europe by eight Chinese carriers and two Indian carriers.
LinkEU regulators to decide on Delta's stake in VirginEU antitrust regulators will rule on a deal between Delta Air Lines and Virgin Atlantic by June 20. Delta has offered to buy a 49% stake in Virgin, which would allow Delta to offer more flights at Heathrow Airport in London.
LinkAmerican Airlines invests in CRM softwareAmerican Airlines has invested in customer relationship management software developed with Salesforce.com. "We have overhauled and invested like we've never invested before on the sales technology side," said Derek DeCross, the vice president of global sales.
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