CommercialFlights Cancelled As Winter Storm Hits US SouthA rare blast of snow, sleet and ice hit the US South on Tuesday, prompting airlines to cancel flights and emergency officials to warn of icy roads. The southern cold snap is part of an arctic front that has put much of the Northeast and northern Plains under warnings and advisories for dangerous wind chills. Temperatures in parts of those regions could feel as cold as -30 Fahrenheit (-34 Celsius) on Tuesday, the National Weather Service said. The winter storm could extend from southern Louisiana and the Gulf Coast into northern Florida and through the Carolinas, the weather service said.
LinkVietJetAir To Sign USD$9 Bln Airbus Order Next MonthVietnamese carrier VietJetAir said it would sign a USD$9 billion order for up to 92 Airbus aircraft next month as it seeks to tap into Southeast Asia's fast growing low-cost market dominated by AirAsia and Lion Air. In September, VietJetAir and Airbus agreed a provisional order for mostly A320s, but the deal did not show up on the Airbus order book in its 2013 data. "VietJetAir will sign a purchasing agreement with Airbus in Singapore next month to buy 92 aircraft," said Luu Duc Khanh, VietJetAir's managing director.
LinkEmirates To Move To New Dubai Airport After 2020Emirates is expected to move all of its operations to Dubai's new Al Maktoum Airport after 2020, a senior executive at Al Maktoum said on Tuesday. Major international carriers, including Emirates, have so far not indicated any plans to move to the new airport, which officially launched passenger services in October last year. "Emirates have to move to the new airport at some point. They will move some time after 2020, when we have the capacity to accommodate them," Khalifa Al Zaffin, executive chairman of Dubai Aviation City, which built the Dubai World Central logistics complex housing the new airport, told reporters.
LinkAlitalia Holds Board Meeting To Examine FinancesAlitalia will hold a board meeting on Tuesday to examine its strained finances as it risks running out of cash before striking a deal with a possible partner. The airline raised EUR€300 million (USD$410 million) in an emergency share issue last month and was pledged EUR€200 million in fresh bank financing, which analysts said would keep it flying for the next six months. But it may again run out of cash if it fails to attract a cash-rich partner soon. Alitalia CEO Gabriele Del Torchio said earlier this month the group could be forced to launch another share issue if it did not reach the goals outlined in a new business plan.
LinkNew Gatwick Runway Good For Whole Of UKBuilding a new runway at London Gatwick Airport would provide economic benefits throughout the UK, according to the airport's CEO Stewart Wingate. Wingate said: "The debate over airport expansion in the south-east is not just about what is good for London - it is about delivering economic benefits, more affordable travel and greater connectivity for passengers throughout the UK." He said that there was a strong case why those outside London and the South East of England should back Gatwick over Heathrow. And he announced that a new study is to be commissioned into airport expansion and connectivity to Scotland.
LinkPower asymmetry triggered Cork Metro's fatal rollSignificant torque split between the throttle levers of a Fairchild Metro contributed to the pilots’ losing control of the aircraft during a low-visibility approach to Cork, a fatal accident inquiry has disclosed. Although the first officer was the flying pilot, the captain took control of the throttle levers on the final approach to runway 17 – the crew’s third landing attempt. He then retarded the levers below flight-idle, against normal procedures, and the Irish Air Accident Investigation Unit believes this would have been “unexpected” by the first officer. Such was the power asymmetry that the left-hand engine entered a negative torque regime, normally only used during ground manoeuvring, and the propeller’s automatic feathering mechanism began to activate.
LinkLion Air, Bombardier talks on CSeries slowsDiscussions between Lion Air and Bombardier on a possible CSeries deal appear to have slowed down. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an event in Batam, Lion's president director Rusdi Kirana says the group has not made a decision on whether to add the CSeries to its fleet. "From our side, [there hasn't been] so much progress," he said. Kirana would not be drawn into discussions on whether a delay in the CSeries' schedule has affected the progress of the discussions. Neither would he say whether a deal would be made, and if so when.
LinkAmerican Airlines reports Q4 profit after mergerAmerican Airlines Group reported an adjusted profit of $436 million for the fourth quarter, the carrier's first quarterly result since merging with US Airways last month. The fourth-quarter results were reported as if the carriers had been merged for the entire quarter.
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